jigokulogs | March 2022 IC Mingle

1. WELCOMING COMMITTEE

cw: optional aphro in Tamamo Clan prompt

The influx of Lost Souls means the factions need to have a little welcoming party of sorts. The leaders of each faction each send a message to their new recruits, telling them to meet at their respective headquarters.

The Shuten Clan directs their new recruits to the Arena. There’s plenty of food and booze to go along with the exhibition matches from the toughest fighters they’ve got. Enjoy the view or get involved in an arena fight, if you’re feeling spicy. If bloodsport isn’t your cup of tea, there’s a number of gambling games to partake in, too – don’t worry, your money isn’t at stake here, unless you want it to be.

The Tamamo Clan recruits are sent to the brothel Mizukume. Hosts of all sorts are there to fill your every need. If you’re not one to be doted on, there’s also exotic dancers in every state of undress for you to look at. You may be tasked with being a host or a dancer yourself. If you’re not in the mood for that, there’s plenty of food from Tamamo-controlled restaurants to eat and seemingly endless drinks. The drinks may or may not have a little something extra in them, so check the labels carefully.

The Sutoku Alliance meets at the nightclub Konoha. It’s truly a celebration with an enormous amount of fast food from every joint in their district and an equal amount of cheap drinks. Sing your heart out with live band karaoke – don’t worry about them not knowing your song, they seem to have a depth of knowledge beyond this world. Once that settles down, there’s plenty of dancing to do or you can be a wallflower, whatever suits your mood.

The Department of the Enma meets at a meeting room on the top floor of Kaigo no Bou. The room is uncomfortably opulent and wouldn’t be out of place in a Heian imperial court. Fine silk tapestries cover the walls, richly lacquered wood is inlaid with gold, and it all feels like it was decorated by someone with more money than taste. There’s fine food and even finer drink available. Various multi-armed youkai play in a jazz band, playing their instruments in a much more complicated manner than strictly necessary. Stretch your legs and dance. Take a peek out the window for a bird’s eye view of the city. If the interior is too stuffy for you, escape to the roof for some fresh air – just be careful not to fall off.

2. PARTY TIME

CW: optional aphro

After everyone’s had their fill of food, drink, and entertainment: the party isn’t over. They’re told to make their way to Konoha with the instruction to show their faction’s pride. That’s a careful way to tell them to raise hell. Upon arrival, all recruits are provided with an advance on their pay by The Enma. Food is provided by the Shuten Clan, a variety of all sorts of meaty foods. Drinks are provided by the Tamamo Clan, but be wary because some may have that special Tamamo kick to them (read: aphro). It’s technically a neutral meeting place, but there’s almost certain to be a fight sooner or later. Entertain yourself, meet the other factions, and raise some Hell.

Welcome to the IC mingle!

If you have any questions about the mingle content, please ask them here!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The insinuation flies right over her head as she blinks up at him, her face smoothing out a little as she acclimates to the cacophony of the dance floor. Though--she does capture the image of that smirk for later, for when she parses out what situations she might be able to use such an expression for in the future. But for now, as the evening wears further into night, she's been struggling more and more with her mirroring protocols.

She tips her head back a little further to look him in the eye rather than at his mouth, where his voice comes from. This is the first point at which she truly internalizes that her creator was perhaps on the diminutive side. Her eyes widen a little at the request, her fingers twitching beneath the brush of his, seeking continued sensation.

"I can," she agrees and, because she sees no reason why not to--hearing is her primary sense--she closes her eyes with her face still upraised towards him.

"Good," His voice called out, just clear enough to be heard over the loud noises surrounding them. Holding Ophelia's wrists within his hands, he took a step closer to her. Their bodies were now only a few inches apart. He knew there was still plenty of room between them and the rest of the crowd, but he also understood how important intimacy was to the art. His body slowly swayed and shifted, his weight moving from one foot to the other. It was not an extreme form of movement, but something to start adjusting her into the sensation.

"Now. I want you to listen to the music. Feel the sway of the melody, but more than that, I want you to keep track of the rhythm. Notice the way the beat grows faster and slower? That generates the general 'feel' of the song."

As if proving where he was going with this, Gojyo's slight shifting movements began to flow to the rhythm of the heavy base of the song—lightly swinging her hands back and forth to the beat.

Ophelia hears him just fine, even with all the noise. Her audio doesn't function entirely like human ears (though not entirely dislike human ears, of course) and his voice is distinct enough that she can focus on it. She feels him shifting, too, and stays preternaturally still until he instructs her otherwise.

Well, except for her arms, held by the wrists, as he sways in place in front of her. "Rhythm," she repeats, not taking over the movement from him at all but internalizing when and how Gojyo synchronizes. It's...organic. On the beat, yes, but there's a push-pull-not-quiteness that makes the motions slower and faster at different points in between the bass hits. "I feel it."

In a more literal sense: it's hard not to. The thump of the bassline vibrates her metal frame. "It is not mechanical. Nor random." She does not let him bear the weight of her arms, but makes it so they move almost frictionlessly at his direction.

"That's right. Neither one nor the other. Just like you, yeah?"

He smiled with that, his head tilting to the side as he looked down at her. The way the dim neon lights flashed and moved across the floor occasionally reflected against the blue scales along his cheeks, causing them to glimmer out. He may have gotten caught up in the song, but he was not stopping the movements of her arms, hoping to help her grasp the concept of his motions. He wasn't entirely on time to the rhythm, but more than close enough, the buzz of the rum warming his body and hitting him just enough to loosen him up.

"Now, the problem is, music, it's fluid like that, yeah? It's timed but organic. Following a score but also capable of a certain human touch that makes you able to translate emotion through it. So the skill comes to mimicking that with your body movements. There are different techniques of dance, sure. You can learn certain skills, but making it look natural has to do sheerly with sensing out the music and letting your body melt into its rhythms and melodies."

He paused. He was thinking of how he could help someone who is still so new to the concepts of 'moving organically.'

"Feel how my hands are moving? Try rocking your hips from side to side in the same way. Try to shift your weight from foot to foot. Form a balance between how my hands are swaying and the song's rhythm."

March 2022 IC Mingle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject