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

[boneofsword]

[Respect, huh. All in all, it isn't bad.]

Whenever you need it.

[Archer is well aware of the risk, even if after the first Gáe Bolg fiasco he tried to find out his limits and speed of mana replenishment. Overworking himself with projection and reinforcement included.]

We may as well test it. I'm not planning to hide it if I'm weakened.

[futhark]

[ Servant using other Servant as battery just sounds like a lot of trouble. Even if the shinki nature seems to tamper with the "Servant'y" nature somehow. Lancer either doesn't have his weapons or haven't realized yet he can get them. Berserker... he saw her only once so it's impossible to determine if she has her- either way, it seems neither of them possesses the access to their Noble Phantasm, and if they energy replenishes normally...

That might mean they might not be Servants at all, just souls of dead, famous people- but if that's so, the class-confusion shouldn't be even part of it-- argh, Heavens, why you make no sense ]

I know you're offering because you're going to enjoy this. [ Duh, you twisted, sly fox ] Ah, with my luck, of course, I had to get stuck with unmanageable shinki. So I can only make sure I'm equally handful of a god.

[ So there is equivalent exchange of giving each other trouble ]

[boneofsword]

[Funfact is that Archer wouldn't be able to project his weapons if not for his NP, but shh, he doesn't remember that fact.]

Hmph. You should start blaming your legendary charm. [E rank luck and all that. At least they can disagree without dropping a rank if they do.] You're a good kisser.

[futhark]

[ Legendary charm, bah. Turned out later he was a son of a god, probably that's why half of Ulster wanted to foster-parent him ]

I don't think it deserves to be "blamed" if anything it's a perk, don't you think? [ It's his bad luck that could be blamed not the "charm" itself. ] Looks like the legends kept that part though- [ The part where he really got around ] -but I'm good leaving that behind me.

[ He's a weaponized spirit, a summoned copy, etc, etc. Not seeking for a "new life", his old one was good enough ]

[boneofsword]

[That doesn't diminish Caster's charm and his easy-going nature, quite on the contrary. Here he can be appreciated for who he is, not his bloodline or anything else.]

We can spend some time exchanging stories. [Archer will gladly listen to Caster's retelling of his own tale, or some other ones.]

[futhark]

[ The "here" is still strange. He's a fish out of the water but works on fitting in. ]

What, you want to hear about my... adventures? [ Adventures, or "adventures", really? What kind of stories exactly are you angling for Archer?

Fanservice time over, he starts dressing up again, albeit only now he noticed that his shirt suffered some damage... aw shoot, he really liked it. His hair is still a bit wet because of the water, but nothing he can't deal with- by wringing them casually. ]

[boneofsword]

[It's not exactly a lot of damage and it can be salvaged thanks to someone with skilled fingers. No portable sewing kit this time. Even if the shirt is an eyesore.]

About you, about your times and your people. [Archer has it much easier - short hair and just a turtleneck.] While I can't share stories about mine I can share stories of weapons.

[futhark]

[ He doesn't know it. But he's not close to giving it a pyre funeral yet ]

A druid is a storyteller, hmph... [ He's not a real druid, you should know that since you've read on him. ]

There's no bonfire here- [ Storytime demands it or he's just making an excuse. And they just got blight off themselves ] But we can do that, sure. Just think in advance about what you want to hear.

[ He looks at the forest in the direction where there is exist from his temple grounds. ]

I wonder if there's more of them still there?

[boneofsword]

[Archer would happily burn it himself if it wasn't nearly fireproof. But it's still Caster's favourite shirt, so.]

Duly noted. [it's not like Archer expects the story time right now, just in general. Caster's remark, though, makes him narrow his eyes slightly.]

It's related to those keychains, right? Most of the teenagers, and even adult women, are drawn to such things. I assume there's at least thirty or so aykashi running around.

[pragmatic at its finest.]

[futhark]

Thirty just in Heavens? [ The surprise on his face shows it's not an assessment he expected. But that's what scouts are fore ]

That sounds like a work to be done. Looks like I'll be borrowing more from you, your time that's it.

[ Breaks over it seems, storytelling will have to happen some other time ]

[boneofsword]

[That's a rough estimate, given the amount of potential victims. If one has their god or shinki nearby it's all fine, if they're alone it can pose a problem. Archer simply smirks.]

Time to go for a hunt? [it's not really a question, he's ready to follow.]

[futhark]

[ At least on this, they can be on the same terms for once. A battle is to be fought, one is all about rushing into danger, the other is all about planning ahead- ]

You better keep count on how many will fall today.

[ He calls the vessel name, and have fun being a pendant again Archer. Holding it in closed fist, Caster rushes forward looking for mayhem ]