23 - Crazy Cat Shuffle

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Crazy Cat Shuffle
When: September 20
Where: Shibuya & Ikebukuro, as well as the Far Shore
Summary: The new Crazy Cat mascot keychains are sparking real passion in Tokyo's hot spots. Brawls have broken out over the extra-rare versions, and all of this angst is attracting ayakashi. The gods have been asked to step in before things get out of control.







Crossing Crisis

The Shibuya scramble crossing is always busy, but it's especially wild today. Ten new Crazy Cat vending machines have been installed at the mouth of the alley across from Shibuya Station's exit. Rumors are flying that these machines have extra Blue-Star Cats in them: the very rarest kind! A crowd of hundreds of excited fans have gathered, but the people at the front of the lines are buying lots of cats, and the mood is starting to grow sour as the people at the back of the lines begin to wonder if there will be any left by the time it's their turn.

This crowd needs crossing guards... or just someone who can snag some of those ultra-rare Cats and sell them to the back of the line for crazy cash. Everything a god does is righteous, after all.

Sunshine Struggle

Crazy Cat machines dot the Sunshine City complex in Ikebukuro. The machines here are attracting some particularly nasty ayakashi: jealous little purple creatures with too many legs that stoke buyers' envy and need for more and better collectibles. Under their influence, it's not just the Cats going fast. The local stores are selling out of everything cute on the shelves.

Worse, some of the ayakashi victims are turning to theft when they run out of pocket money. Time to exterminate those bugs before they start a new crime wave.

Taking Stock

Accident? Sabotage? No one's telling, but a delivery truck carrying boxes of new keychains to restock the machines blew a tire and overturned on a major street. Under the influence of those greedy little ayakashi, collectors are descending on the wreck to snag their favorites before the police show up.

The dazed driver doesn't know what to do, the crowd is starting to get violent, and those Cats do look amazingly cute. And appealing. And, for that matter, valuable.

Bad Kitty

The cat keychains are super cute! Even gods or shinki might be tempted to buy one and take it home, but taking these keychains back to the Far Shore will give away their hidden secret. It's not just human envy that's attracting ayakashi to the Crazy Cats. There are ayakashi hiding inside this batch of cute kitty dolls, and bringing them through a shrine to the Far Shore will force the hidden creatures out of their plushie prisons.

They're big, they're mad, and they're hungry. And the Heavens are full of souls that smell delicious.

The ayakashi escaping from Crazy Cat dolls on the Far Shore resemble gigantic (taller than a person at the shoulder) versions of the cute plushie cats, with very real and sharp teeth and claws. They run and attack at random once released from the dolls, so even gods and shinki who did not bring the toys back could be faced with a fight. The patrolling shinki will do their best to hold them back with borderlines, but they need help to rend these crazy cats before they do too much damage!

In Summary:

• Placate the crowds
• Squash bitty ayakashi
• Struggle with temptation
• Defeat the cat invasion
• Have fun~

Comments

[letteropener]

We'll work on that.

[In deeper they go, out of areas suited for public display and into quieter back hallways more suited for actual living. Celestia opens a door with her magic and leads Zelda in, revealing a bathing room beyond.]

Here we are. I will uncover and warm the water. [She motions to a covered tub, which the cover is already lifting off of thanks to the pony's magic.]

[sageprincess]

My... it is quite different from the holy spring in my own temple...

[She hasn't seen a bathing room like this since she was a child, honestly. But she bites that comment back, not wanting to seem any less un-princesslike in front of Celestia than she has already. She steps forward to glance into the tub.]

Is there anything special I need to do, or it is simply a matter of washing the blight away as one would do with dirt?

[letteropener]

Just bathing, fortunately. Holy water is an excellent cure for blight. You might wish to start carrying a small amount with you, if you can -- just in case.

[The tub shines brightly for a moment, then begins to steam, instantly filling the room with a gentle, humid warmth. The effect is already soothing, even if holy steam isn't quite the treatment its liquid counterpart is.]

[sageprincess]

I believe I will be following that advice from now on.

[Aaah... the steam does feel really nice, even beyond the holy properties. After a moment's pause to breathe it in, she pulls off her long gloves, sets them aside, then dips a hand into the water, cupping a small amount to wipe down her other arm with. She watches with awe as the blight that stung at her skin seems to just... melt away into nothingness as soon as the water touches it.]

Remarkable...

[letteropener]

Oh, let me go get you a towel. [Celestia won't be satisfied with less than a full cure to be certain, but she understands most people get twitchy about disrobing. Even around a pony. So Celestia paces off, putting some distance between them so Zelda can treat herself properly.]

[Also she really does need a towel.]