October | Event: Goodbye to the Golden Moon

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Goodbye to the Golden Moon↲ OOC Plotting

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On the evening of the 14th, as citizens throughout Nippon enjoy the final day of the Tsukimi festival, the refugees will receive a message on their magi-comm from MRU in Kyoto. Which is rather unusual, as typically communications through this network come exclusively from the NRL.

"To all refugees who will be staying in the Western Kingdom for the annual Sakumi Festival, please be aware that there is a curfew for all humans and hanyo before sundown. It is for your own safety that you heed this curfew, and remain indoors until sunrise.

The Festival will continue until the night of the 31st. It is recommended that refugees not to look at the night sky for the duration of the festival.

Should you or anyone else you know experience strange symptoms after dark, such as erratic behavior or transformations unrelated to the side effects of Kizuna bonds, please contact the MRU right away. Affected individuals are encouraged to remain indoors and in brightly lit rooms, away from any open windows.

We apologize for the short notice, and are working with the NRL to communicate better in the future. Please enjoy the festival, and may the gods bless you all."

Understandably, this message is not met well.

Upon hearing of curfews and strange happenings, many refugees choose to flee, flooding the last train to Tokyo and contacting the NRL to secure accommodations in Nihonbashi on short notice. But they aren't the only ones, as most of the seats have been reserved by native Hanyo and Humans, as those who can afford it are also choosing to leave until the end of the month.

But what's the big deal? Weren't people excited for this festival? Well, as it turns out: it's only "celebrated" by Yokai. For everyone else, the Sakumi Festival is the worst time of year to be in the Western Kingdom.


A Celebration of Darkness

According to legend, the moon was a gift from the gods. Once a beautiful string of pearls, now only one remains, the others shattered by greed and war, their remains gathered together to form Gaia's ring. This is the story of the Tsukimi Festival, celebrated throughout Nippon.

But there's a continuation to this story, told only in the Western Kingdom. Because this gift was no ordinary gift. It's said that the light of the moon is what allowed the Yokai to evolve from mere Ayakashi into enlightened and intelligent beings. However, that same intelligence is what would prove to be their downfall, as various clans rose in power and sought the magical radiance of the pearls for personal gain. As more and more pearls were destroyed, fewer and fewer ayakashi were able to benefit from their light, with the last remaining pearl not strong enough to offer even the slightest of blessing.

As punishment for their greed, the gods took back the final pearl, with no intent of returning it. Without its light, the Yokai became twisted, devolving back into their basal instincts, and feasting upon one another with reckless abandon. Saddened by their plight, the gods quickly reversed this decision, and the final pearl returned to the sky after 15 nights of darkness.

This is the Sakumi Festival, held in honor of those fifteen days their ancestors spent in perpetual darkness. As the festival begins, on the evening of the 15th, the full moon will begin to fade away, like a lightbulb that's gradually losing power. Within an hour after sunset, it will have disappeared entirely, causing the rings around the planet to dim in turn.

But just what effect does this have? And why does this festival carry with it a sense of danger?

Paper Faces on Parade Tenri, Nara
Due to the nature of the festival, it should come as no surprise than many of the festivities are held during the day, starting early to take advantage of the daylight hours. For those unable to secure transit out of the West, or simply not giving in to the fearmongering, they'll be encouraged to visit the Tenri district of Nara, where most of the best events are taking place.

But there is one thing of note that makes the Sakumi Festival different, which can be seen regardless of whether one attends a festival or not. Everyone at the Western Kindgom is wearing a mask. And every mask is unique, telling the story of the one wearing it and how they've chosen to preset themselves. The Yokai in particular are noted for having quite extravagant looking masks, some of which must have taken weeks if not months to craft.

But this is more than simply a fun tradition, as signs can be found throughout cities explicitly stating that masks must be worn outside festival grounds and that individuals will be held accountable for their behavior should they remove them. Those curious enough to ask around will receive an explanation:

"It's like this, yeah? The masks are who they've become. And the Sakumi Festival is about what they once were. They wear the masks to remember who they really are. And-- look, I mean this literally! You'd be better going home before it gets dark. Things have gotten better over the years, but not everyone sticks to the rules. And you don't wanna be outside when the monsters come to play."

Thankfully, for the first few days, everything stays pretty peaceful. It helps that there's no shortage of businesses offering mask-making services, though many of these now require a fee for those who waited to the last minute to craft one. As during the Tsukimi Festival earlier in the month, these masks are meant to reflect how one pictures their inner self. Though at the end of the day, all that really matters is that it was crafted by their own hands.

Seven Minutes in Hell Tenri, Nara
As part of the Sakumi festival, one shrine in particular has become a popular destination for those looking to add a bit of spookiness to the season. At Chogakuji Temple, a rare set of paintings depicting scenes of hell have been placed on display. These paintings are very special, as the paint contains a very complex spell that's long since been lost to time. And according to rumors, should someone sit in a closed room with the painting, they'll be taken inside and forced to experience a hell born of their worst fears.

As it turns out, the rumors are very true, and have been widely spread by youths who enjoy pranking visitors by nudging them into the room and closing the door behind them. The effects of the painting are immediate, often leaving the visitor shaken until someone opens the door to free them from the spell.

However, should more than one person be forced into the room, the effect is very different. While they'll still be pulled into a mysterious dreamscape of their worst nightmares, these nightmares have all taken on a distressingly sexual edge. Those with a fear of snakes may find their friend transformed into an irresistibly sexy naga, while those with a fear of heights may themselves in the middle of fucking their companion while atop a very high mountain. Whether the fear be one they share or one that belongs to only one side seems to be random.

Why exactly does this happen...? Well, no one knows for sure, but theories suggest the painter may have simply been sexually frustrated, given some of themes in the initial hell painting. Honestly, it's a shame no one knows how to cast that spell anymore.

Monster Mash

However, hardly a day passes before it becomes known that the refugees are indeed a special case. Due to their Kizuna bond with Nippon, they now resemble an existence seemingly nestled between Hanyo and Yokai. This is what enables them to learn the native magic so easily. However, it also means that they are not immune to the effects of the new moon.

Those who stay indoors between sunset and sunrise, or who simply avoid the Western Kingdom all together, will experience no changes throughout the month. But this is unrealistic, and at some point, someone in the West is going outside. And when they do, they'll find themselves transforming, their bones bending and bodies stretching and as they become monsters.

Wereyokai Kansai, Western Kingdoms
The exact form of these monsters is widely varied. Some simply become more monstrous forms of themselves. Others may not transform at all, instead gaining supernatural abilities or minor cosmetic changes. And even others may become entirely unrecognizable. These transformations will last until sunrise, and should they forget their mask again the next evening, a different transformation entirely may very well take place. And as refugees from different worlds, the monstrous forms they're capable of taking seem nigh endless.

But what now? Well, that depends.

For some, they remain completely lucid throughout the transformation, merely transformed in body but not at all in mind. This is most common for those who choose to head indoors upon transforming, away from the transformative effects of the darkened night sky. For these refugees, the transformations are just a fun quirk of the holiday or an inconvenience. Thankfully, this is generally pretty easy to avoid happening more than once, as they won't feel compelled to transform again.

For those who were unfortunate enough to stare at the sky for any extended period of time, their transformation may be more extreme, as their personality becomes corrupted. Certain aspects of their personality may completely overtake everything else, while others may act entirely out of character. But perhaps the worst part is that those who experience this corruption will feel a strong desire to trigger it again, despite the lack of a guarantee that it won't be any worse the next time.

And for the truly unlucky, they may find themselves in a state the Yokai refer to as a lunar curse. Those who are under the effects of a lunar curse will be overwhelmed with an insatiable appetite, hungering for any number of things, be it a specific type of food, a heightened sexual appetite, or even a desire to feed on the flesh and blood of others. As it turns out, this is the most common side effect, and is the true reason for the curfew: as Humans and Hanyo caught outside by a Yokai afflicted by a lunar curse may find themselves devoured. Once someone has been afflicted by a lunar curse, they'll do whatever they can to continue the cycle the following evening, growing irrational and violent near sunset, even while wearing their mask.

Dangerous Dating Narashi, Nara
Thankfully, festival grounds are still considered safe spaces for exploring these transformations without putting anyone in danger. Powerful masked Tengu Yokai stand at the ready to round up any "monsters" trying to cause trouble, putting them in a timeout block until sunrise. And while some Yokai still prefer to keep their masks on, the majority attend these festivals in whatever form they're granted, no matter how monstrous.

Unlike the festival earlier in the day, these late night monster fests are far less family friendly, with booths set up for smoking uki, no shortage of special sake saved just for this festival, and rather suspicious food items being sold. While in some cases, it's obvious the booths selling mystery meat and glasses of bright red liquid have simply gone with a theme, adding food coloring to achieve the effect, others are a bit more suspect. Where exactly are they getting this meat and blood from...? Maybe it's better not to ask.

But not everything is like that, and one festival in Narashi is holding an impromptu dating auction every night of the festival. Guests can sign up to be auctioned off to the highest bidder for a romantic evening with a pretty stranger. Of course, while the rules officially state that it's just an innocent date, given the nature of the festival, there's a general assumption that these dates will end in sex.

But some in the crowd have more dastardly things in mind, so perhaps it'd be a good idea to buy up your friends before a monster snatches them away. All money raised go towards feeding and caring for the saiwaika who live in Nara's parks, so it's for a good cause!

Consuming Darkness

Starting on the 24th, as the Sakumi Festival enters its final week, those bold enough to look up at night sky will notice that the stars are disappearing. The night sky will appear to grow blacker and blacker, absorbing any light and appearing more like a dark void overhead than a night sky.

All of this culminates on the final day of the festival on the 31st, during which the sun never rises. A perpetual night blankets the nation, and as Humans and Hanyo remain huddled in their homes, the Yokai gather at temples all across the West to welcome the return the moon. Large bonfires are lit, as masked Yokai dance around them, singing songs to beg the mood goddess Tsukuyomi for absolution.

And as the clock strikes midnight, all masks are throw into the fire as they look up -- and watch as the moon and stars slowly fade in, lighting up the night sky once more.

Goodnight Stars Kansai, Western Kingdom
The disappearance of the stars is an uncommon occurrence during Sakumi, but not unheard of. For those affected by the transformations, the lack of stars in the sky does little else but make the night a bit more eerie, as even streetlamps seem to struggle to keep the city well-lit. Rather than simply disappearing, it's almost as if light itself was becoming a luxury.

But for certain refugees, the gradual loss of the stars and the moon will have more devastating effects. Those with an affinity for stars, space, the moon, or who have begin learning Sora magic will begin experiencing bouts of sudden weakness. Without warning, they may suddenly collapse on the street, or fall unconscious all together. This effect will be more pronounced for those who attempt to hide from the festival's transformative effects by staying indoors or wearing a mask.

As the end of the month draws nearer, this effect escalates, as those afflicted will seemingly begin to fade away, their bodies growing translucent the weaker they become. Only prolonged contact with someone they've bonded with seems to have a positive effect, slowing or even reversing the symptoms. But once someone has faded entirely, they won't come back until the end of the festival on the night of the 31st.

Where exactly do they go? Somehow, it seems the only way they'll be able to contact anyone is through their dreams. The moment they appear, the dreamer becomes lucid, and though there's nothing they can really do, perhaps they can at least offer some comfort. Rather curiously, anyone visited in their dreams by one who has faded away will notice that all their dreams take place on the night of a full moon, even weeks after the festival ends.

Day of Darkness Narashi, Nara
The final days of the festival prove to be the most chaotic. As more and more Yokai find themselves lunar cursed, they become more bold, as some will roam the streets at night and snatch the masks off of people's faces to force them to transform. Others treat the streets as their hunting ground, feeding on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside alone. Even with the aid of every Samurai clan and Exorcist guild in the West, they just can't keep up, and even the peaceful city of Nara seems to be getting hit rather hard this year.

To combat this, volunteers capable of putting up a fight are enlisted in Nara to provide safe escort between stations and supervise festival goers to be sure nothing illegal is going on. For the most part, refugees will be in charge of protecting and monitoring other refugees, as their unpredictable powers are harder for native magic users to figure out. Not that refugees from one world will necessarily understand another world's magic better, but not everyone is very informed about how these off-worlders work.

All of this culminates into the final day, in which the sun never rises. All sources of light appear to have gone dim, and the monsters prowling the streets grow ever hungrier. Those with a thirst for sex grow bolder, fucking in the streets or on public transit without a care in the world. And many restaurants begin offering crazy deals on all-you-can-eat buffets to keep the prowling masses satisfied.

As evening approaches, whether they know where to go or not, those who've transformed will find themselves compelled towards one of many shrines throughout the West. There, a special ceremony is conducted, as monsters are bewitched with a spell to compel them to confess their sins. These confessions are told around large bonfire, which crackles and glows brighter the more sins are offered to it. Then, just as the clock strikes midnight, those present with masks will be asked to throw them into the fire, and as they burn, the sky up above begins to clear up. The ring around Gaia surges with rainbow light, as the full moon one more reveals itself. Those who've transformed immediately revert to how they once were, and the night ends on a more somber tone, as they thank the gods for their compassion in returning their gift.

With the festival coming to an end, all that's left is to pick up the pieces of their beleaguered city. Humans and Hanyo return to the streets once more, while the Yokai attempt an awkward return to normalcy. And for the refugees, perhaps now they'll understand a bit better why Hanyo in the East never speak very fondly of their homeland.

OOC Notes
Welcome to Jikan's October event! Please direct any questions to the Question Thread in the OOC Plotting post.

• If you do not wish to participate in this event: characters who are able to flee to the Eastern Kingdom will not experience any of the effects of the moon's disappearance.

• If your character would flee but you want them to participate, it's entirely possible that they may find themselves utterly unable to secure a ticket to leave the Western Kingdom, given there is only one train.

• While the sky will continue to look spooky in the East as well, this annual phenomenon is explained as a scientific one. As Gaia's moon and rings are magical in nature, the increase in energy expelled during the Tsukimi festival causes them to release a gas-like by-product that blots out the sky at night for a period of two weeks. This has been proven to be true, but the reason this happens at the same time each year is still unknown.

• You have 100% freedom to pick whatever sort of monster your monsterfucker heart desires, be it from Japanese lore, your character's canon, or another canon all together. Whether transformations are painful or not is up to you, and monsters with supernatural powers or abilities will also be allowed to keep those powers! Go wild!

• You are free to have the transformations linger even upon going indoors, but putting on their own mask or waiting until sunrise will always end the transformation.

• There are no limits to how often a person can sign up for the dating auction, and for players who want to participate but have characters who would not ICly sign up, they can find themselves strong-armed into it by a transformed Yokai.

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Comments

iv gimme the succ

[dreamvour]

[given the . . . nature of what's going on, Baku has not let her mask leave her face. The monsters don't bother her - honestly, this is the most she's felt at home yet - but for her, losing control will inevitably end terribly for someone. A fate worse than death, because of what happens when she eats more than just nightmares. And she really doesn't want to leave behind shells of people because that's just not right.

So the mask stays on. But she does wander at night, what else is she going to do after she's eaten? Being followed isn't strange, either; again, she feels at home, being hunted because someone didn't bother to look past her disguise. It's exciting, it means that her night won't be boring for once, and - look, she might be a neutral, peaceful creature most of the time, but she enjoys a good fight, too.

When she feels like she's being hunted, she turns down a more private alley, away from the main roads. And then she slows her pace, because as much fun as it is to get hunted, she can feel him coming up behind her and honestly, it gets old after the first ten minutes]

Can I help you with something? [a polite, calm tone, like she isn't about to get jumped]

[neetvampire]

[It's an unexpected move for his prey target to isolate themselves, but Kuro is far too taken by the lunar curse to question it. He sticks to the shadows as he follows Baku down the alleyway, blending into the darkness almost unnaturally.

The woman slows, but then--

Ah. He's caught. It doesn't matter.]

...Yes, you can.

[He steps closer, maybe a little too close, seemingly calm. But if she looks carefully, the thing betraying the quiet of his voice is the wild look in his eyes.]

I need something....

[And then he's leaping at her with surprising speed, aiming to grab her shoulders and crowd her against a wall.]

[dreamvour]

[oh, personal space. She does take a step back, but before she knows it she's against a wall. She blinks in surprise - and that's really the only other reaction, aside from her reaching up to grab his wrists. Gently, or at least, much gentler than you would expect given the situation]

What do you need?

[a frown] You should be wearing a mask.

[Baku be more concerned]