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

[futhark]

"Got minions!" Like a good Overlord should

"-how did they get here? They're not shinki, and they don't seem like ayakashi"

It's a professional curiosity, he'd know what he might be up against in the future. Or very near future.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"What part of 'I'm a freaking Overlord' was ever unclear?" Okay, legitimately, it was the 'book' part, but Zetta refused to acknowledge that as suitable grounds for doubting him. "It's a simple matter of binding wandering souls to items with mana power."

[futhark]

"Oh, so you're a big mana source. Right. I should have noticed that. That might be useful one day." Since needing a constant source of it become irrelevant since coming here he could allow himself to overlook details like this. But realistically speaking, he could always use some for more powerful spells.

He nods to himself, noting this information as Important, and forgetting about it until it will be necessary. At the same time sits more comfortably on the machine - this is a method of transportation that has not been tried yet.

"You know, I probably should tell you to return these things back, stop causing the ruckus or something." Caster muses aloud watching as theft train goes right on the red lights and just by some miracle doesn't cause an accident.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"But you won't, because this is the perfect solution. Too many humans after too limited goods -- and plenty of them being downright evil to the others in the process. That whole situation was a powderkeg waiting to blow. By doing this, I'm saving the humans the only way they can be saved."

The smug tone in Zetta's voice spelled out how clever he knew himself to be. It was an adequate answer that very conveniently benefited the Overlord directly. He'd accepted that for the moment he couldn't directly battle most of the gods here, so he'd come up with a solution that played enough by their rules to give himself carte blanche.

[futhark]

"You sure got this all figured out..." Caster says that with a mock thoughtfulness. There was sound logic to that statement. And while the methods could be argued, the stated intention sounds entirely valid. Not to mention, everything a god does is righteous.

It's kind of a fun rule, really.

"See, I kind of like this district" And with all the car horn blaring, crazed people running amok after the demon pack and total disregard of any street rules it doesn't look like it usually does. "I've got a meeting scheduled and all that."

He summons his staff out of thin air and offers a smile "Say... If I ask nicely, will you drop those machines and go your merry way?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Zetta was an idiot, no question -- but he was also more shrewd and tactical than most realized. One didn't become the strongest Overlord in the cosmos by being totally incompetent, after all.

"Actually, I'd already planned that if I couldn't have these, nobody could," the Overlord said rather smugly. "So if I end up having to drop then, they're getting wrecked. Seems kind of a waste."

[futhark]

"Good, they deserve the garbage bin anyway." That's a sound deal for Caster. It's the machines fault the people went insane in the first place and disrupted potential dating spot.

"So I take it's a 'yes'?" If it's not, he'll have to use other arguments.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Sounds like you're asking for a battle anyway."

The minion train abruptly came to a halt -- right in the middle of the street, causing no inconvenience to both traffic and pedestrians who had to abruptly cope with a subconscious obstacle in their path. Zetta jerked one corner of his cover towards a spot a few feet away.

"Line up and make your preparations. I've been preparing a special plan for just this sort of occasion."

[futhark]

Caster jumps off in that moment, landing on a nearby lamp post - because high perches offer good vantage points.

“Ooh...” His grin turns knifelike, sharp angles and teeth. “I like you, you catch up so quickly!” Not that “liking” means all that much. He’s quick to take a liking to people, for no reason at all even. The further evaluations might make him change his mind, but just because Zetta is crazy enough to pull a stunt like this theft train makes him land in the “fun” book.

Almost lazily he starts writing a fire rune in the air, preparing to send it flying in the general direction of the minions and Zetta. For all the talk about the “disruptions” and “protecting the place he likes” he’s a little too eager to resort to violence, instead of going for negotiations.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Zetta smirked at him as his minions formed ranks, six in front and three in back to protect the vending machines they held over their head.

"I'd prepared a speech, but since you're already gearing up for battle, I'll keep it simple...

"Yoink!"

Zetta, and by extension his minion crew and their ill-gotten plunder, teleported right the hell out.

I am in awe....

[futhark]

Very often learning the difference between cowardly escape and strategic retreat was what made warrior live longer. It's smart, it's tactical, generally a good idea in certain, specific circumstances-

"...really?"

He sat for a moment longer on that lamp, blinking owlishly. Is this how probably everyone felt when he fell into a habit of breaking every fight, due to the given orders? Not that he can remember that part clearly, as it was related to a different summoning but...

[futhark]

"Well, I guess it does count as a job finished..." No more gacha machines here, no train on the streets, and everyone returning to going by as if nothing happened, because Far Shorers antics don't register at all.

Someone could probably do some cleaning, but that's not going to be him! So he runs off to get to the rest of his errands instead.