#kuroneko rock

[basedkikuenjoyer]

I finally made time for Stray Cat Rock and holy shit am I glad I did. We've mentioned it a little bit, it's a modern-day (70s) gangster movie series starring Meiko Kaji who you may remember as the iconic Lady Snowblood. She's the one in white, will stick around for the series but this first installment Delinquent Girl Boss also features Akiko Wada as the badass biker chick throwing off some major queer vibes who gets to deliver a killer soulful alto ballad on the whole big "a woman is still a woman" theme. Yeah, Stray Cat Rock isn't there for show, this was about one step below a bona fide musical. Here, have a listen, a minute and a half of the distilled ethos of these movies injected straight into our flower of Wano:

Does it need a plot? It's friggin 70s girl gangs banging, doing drugs, rocking out, and getting into trouble. AKA everything rad. There is a plot about an insidious group of men rigging a boxing match but once again who cares? It's 70s exploitation movie levels of cartoon violence oozing classic cool out of every pore. The soundtrack is absolutely to die for and you get some funky effects on top of wild scenes of mayhem. Like always, these are a very hard R with graphic violence and sexual assault though this one glossed over the worst. It's going for big stupid fun and on that it 100% delivers. I'm definitely watching the rest of these.

[dummy-dot-exe]

後藤ひとりGhost Hunting by Rappa

[flyingcarp]

cat from kuroneko

[goryhorroor]

Do you have any folk horror recs for someone who’s just getting into horror? Midsommar’s the only one I’ve seen and I loved it

blood on satan’s claw, the conquerors worm, haxan, viy, eve’s bayou, witchhammer, the devil rides out, the white reindeer, captain clegg, robin redbreast, marketa lazarova, the city of the dead, tumbbad, a field in england, the ritual, onibaba, kwaidan, apostle, picnic at hanging rock, kuroneko, the wicker man, and the wailing!

[punisheye]

Wolfwood's gone before the cops can show up.

He stumbles into the house in a daze. Blood smears on the door as he slams it shut behind him—hadn't even realized he got it on his hands too. Kuroneko runs to greet him, meowing worriedly, but he doesn't take a moment to pet her and say hello like he always did when coming home. Wolfwood just steps over her, doesn't even take his shoes off.

Vash isn't anywhere in sight, but he's home. Wolfwood got the text an hour ago now, and his boots are at the front door. He's either upstairs, or he's outside.

There is the instinct to hide away, but it'd be painfully hypocritical of him after everything. Despite Vash's propensity for lying and running away, Wolfwood still wants to tell him the truth.

Besides, it's awfully hard to hide the blood. It'll get all over the bathroom, too, and stain the towels. What a pain. It's not as bad as it looks, at least. His admittedly less-than-stellar healing at least made most of the bleeding stop on the way back home.

When he approaches the back door he heaves a heavy sigh at the sight of Vash on the porch swing, rocking himself back and forth in deep, nervous thought. Wolfwood fumbles with the handle and slides it open. He only steps halfway out and rasps out: "Vash."

"M'sorry."

[pinkanonwrites]

Trigun Streamer AU

On a desolate desert planet at the far corners of our known universe, an evolved form of humanity fights for the right to survive amidst brewing wars, burrowing beasts, and threats from beyond the stars. Play alone or with friends on your journey to become the hero of NO MAN'S LAND.

No Man's Land is an MMORPG with a massive and committed fanbase of players, speedrunners, artists, and people who just want to dress their characters up in cute outfits to take screenshots of. With an expansive story, multiple playable classes, and far too many ways to spend your time messing around on the danger-filled space rock, many devoted gamers spend their time together adventuring across the wild golden yonder that awaits them in-game.

(If you are a Trigun Stampede fan only, there are SPOILERS about Livio the Double Fang in his role and description! Read on only if you don’t mind those)

The Players (And Friends!)

Our Reader Twitch Handle: Mayfly Gaming You've been a full-time streamer for several years, bouncing all over the board when it comes to the types of games you like to play. Mostly you stick to your favorite MMORPG, No Man's Land, but you've been known to dabble in all sorts of games so you've amassed many curious viewers. Plays the Fighter class on No Man's Land.

Vash Saverem Twitch Handle: HumanoidTyphoon Having recently transitioned from part-time to full-time streamer, Vash is known throughout the gaming viewer base as a player with ridiculous luck, both good and bad. Whether it's random power outages, never before seen game-breaking glitches, or just his cat Kuroneko stepping on the power button of his PC, many of his fans are tuning in just to see what ways things can go horribly wrong for their favorite streamer, and how he fantastically bounces back from it. He's really good at FPSs, but his favorite games are long, story-driven RPGs. He's been a fan of your streams basically since day one. Plays the Gunslinger class on No Man's Land.

Nicholas Wolfwood Twitch Handle: NicoThePunisher Vash's roommate and closest friend, Nicholas is a part-time streamer who specializes in horror and FPS titles. He's known as being remarkably hard to rattle, responding to jumpscares and screamers with barely more than a blink. Most fans are tuning in for his scathing commentary, and even though he only streams every few days he's developed a devoted fanbase. He's sick and tired of Vash gushing about how much he loves your streams. Plays the Paladin class on No Man's Land.

Meryl Stryfe Twitch Handle: Stryfe's Records Meryl is a news/current events streamer and video producer, both for global news and news occuring in the creator space. She keeps herself and her loyal viewers up-to-date on all the latest drops, hits, and scandals, doing her best to separate her own opinions from her videos in the name of journalistic integrity (though her feelings tend to slip through the cracks anyway, she's very passionate). She's been a friend of Vash's since high school, and though she knows he could use his smarts to do some amazing things, she's glad he's found something he really enjoys doing. When she does choose to kick back and game with her friends, she plays the Summoner class on No Man's Land.

Milly Thompson Insta Handle: ceylonandcircuits Meryl's best friend and roommate, Milly is a competitive weightlifter and tea enthusiast who usually ends up accidentally appearing in the background of Meryl's streams and vlogs. Because of her soft and friendly demeanor as well as her incredible buffness, she's somehow amassed her own little fanbase amongst Meryl's viewers despite not having much of an online presence herself. Her Instagram page got very popular after she accidentally dropped her handle during Meryl's livestream.

Nai Saverem Twitch Handle:MillionsKnives Vash's older twin brother, Nai is not a streamer and has little to no interest in joining his brother's antics. He knows Vash is smart, as smart as he is at the very least, and that if he just applied himself a little more he could be doing some really amazing things with him to change the world. Majored in Conservation Biology with a minor in Humanities, Nai is a certified genius with better things to do than watch his brother's group of friends play video games together on the internet. He certainly isn't subscribed under the handle ‘MillionsKnives’, running Vash's streams in the background of his work computer and occasionally redeeming bits for hydration and posture checks, that's for sure.

Livio Wolfwood Twitch Handle: DoubleFang Nicholas’s younger step-brother and Vash’s friend, Livio has recently sought to reconnect with his brother after a turbulent and emotional childhood and Livio’s eventual running away from home. For several years Livio struggled with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and has only in the past year or so begun to find some level of balance within himself and with his protective alter, Razlo. Both of them were quite nervous about reentering Nicholas’s life, but he welcomed his brother back with open arms. Though Livio is a large and intimidating man at first glance, on the inside he’s quite the softie, and enjoys watching Vash and his brother play games together, occasionally joining in when he has the free time. He’s an elementary school gym teacher as his day job, and will often join Milly at the gym for their workout routines when their schedules line up. Plays the Berserker class in No Man’s Land.

These are our main players in the Streamer AU. If y’all have any questions about my AU, please feel free to send them in!

[usotsuki-no-sora]

For some reason…I can see Time from LU maybe being voiced by Matt Mercer or Liam O’Brien maybe…I have no clue why…oh maybe Gackt?

For like Wind maybe Todd Haberkorn or VALSHE?(example:Hayato from FE:IF and nico nico doga singer)

Legend…Legend gives me Vic Mignogna? (example: Edward Elric and Suoh Tamaki)No clue why…

Twilight? That is hard…maybe Yuri Lowenthall(Example plw:Uchiha Sasuke)or Troy Baker? (Yuri Lowell ToV)

Warrior though totally gives off J Michael Tatum vibe to me…if it was Japanese totally Daisuke Ono

Hyrule? Totally Eric Vale maybe? Jay Baruchel?(Hiccup)

Oh man Four…where would I start? Hnng…so hard to think of someone for him in English but weirdly Takeshita Sakurai if Japanese (Example: Hibaro Kyoya (KHR) or Akasuna No Sasori (Naruto))….but that’s just me or wait Akira Ishida or Yuya matsushita.

Sky? Oh boy…for Sky can see Sam Rigel or mamoru Miyano.

Wild? Suguru Inoue…maybe Mitsuki Saiga? Kuroneko/96Neko?

Mind you, I am not talking about the grunts and yelps we hear in the games—but say if there was a voices series or they spoke to us. Imagination is the key or simp brain…

But what I mean is what we (individually) envision them to sound like in say our heads or in linked universe like when Four asks how Wild broke the sword and he said on a rock…that face Four made man. Dude may have an aneurism if he ever saw totk!wild’s inventions I think…makes imagining the voices more amusing in my mind and everyone else’s reactions.

My brain is weird….anyone got any thoughts or,opinions on this? Trying to go by how they seem via @linkeduniverse amazing comic as well as how to precise them a bit cannon and oh fuck I forgot about First and Fierce Diety…

I blame @trippygalaxy for the Out in the Woods little ficlet for this brain spiral…cuz fuck Time and that sexy voice he totally would have. *whispers* also them Forearms …and those back muscles…that tight black shirt aaaad spiraling i am. Dam rabbit hole.

Pics are from zerochan.net and/or pixiv or just google search as well as official comic. Minus one picture comic panel from @ovegakart adorable comic panel.

If you actually know who the artist is just say so/tell me, and/or link them (plz? Maybe?) Be nice to know actually since their work is amazing. More so if the pictures are really old as well and can only be found if you go down a rabbit hole.

I can’t even draw stick figures…I think? Would they even count as stick figures?

[zefrind]

Hello everyone, Zenri is in touch. And here is the long greedy tenth series of Trigun. As I wrote in the previous post, the fight will be in the eleventh series. Also about Tesla in this adaptation, she was not replaced, she was shown to us. The same girl's name is Elendira. The way Vesh allowed to shoot for Gineora Rock gave him goosebumps. I thought Nicholas would kill that shooter. But Vesh held him back. And also what was hiding under the Vesh golf course. The sight alone brings tears to the fact that he went through to earn these scars. It is also now clear why there was no Mircea with Roberto. I feel so sad about this old man. Yes, a reference to the spider-man in the form of a fishing line in the wrist. Naive will still use his brother for his own purposes against his will. To be honest, July reminded me of Las Vegas and Macau, just as colorful with their signs and lights. As Nicholas said: (The city is a spender). Kuroneko could also be seen against the backdrop of the city. I love how the details are so well worked out in this adaptation. The trailer also shows that the city was destroyed. Though it could be Wesh's memories of the past. They will also show how Vesh and Knives find out about Tesla and this will be one of the reasons Knives hates people. That's all for now until the connection.

[ashknife]

I watched the first episode of Trigun 1998 last night. It was all I had at the time for, but man, that was a blast of nostalgia.

Trigun was a hard sell for me. However, back in 2003, I only had access to what few titles were available to rent from Hastings and the anime lineups on Cartoon Network. Thus, it was the Trigun and Cowboy Bebop hour at night with my little sister. If I wanted to watch anime, that was what I was going to get. It was a good thing I didn't have much choice but to stick with it.

Back then, I didn't care for the grunge prevalent in the soundtrack. I was highly annoyed with Vash's character (initially). The desolate desert was too much like Dragon Ball Z, and this wasn't Dragon Ball Z. I had opinions. Not very good opinions, but I had them, and slowly they were discarded as the show's story unfolded.

After 20 years of exposure to all kinds of music and study as a music minor in undergrad, I totally dig the grunge elements of the soundtrack. In fact, the grunge forms a great counterpoint to the country acoustic guitar. When Vash and company save the day, or their ideals fully shine through, we often get the peaceful country sounds. When the villains come into focus, we have the harder rock with the electric guitars. The soundtrack is a musical argument between Vash and Knives long before Knives is revealed.

My reintroduction to Vash the Stampede was a lot more favorable, but only because I had previous knowledge of who he is and what he is about. Still, he shows incredible dexterity and skill before we really know anything about it, and that lizard/bug crawling bit is still pretty funny. We do see the power of gossip and hearsay, and that has saved the man a certain amount of grief. Just beware when he puts on the yellow glasses and actually has bullets in his gun.

I had forgotten about Kuroneko-sama (Lord Black Cat) until she made her appearance in the bar. Fun tip: she appears in every episode.

[discopomp]

0000 Warbunton Shrine | 0001 Doroshi Hachimangu | 0002 Hamamura Shrine

0003 Katakana Shrine | 0004 Mishima Shrine | 0005 Bazumitama-sha

0006 pomponne Shrine | 0007 Eifuku Shrine | 0008 Eifuku Temple

0009 Cue Gri Jinja | 0010 Princess Shrine | 0011 Tonarino Shrine

0012 Laem Shrine | 0013 Para Shrine | 0014 Kuroneko Jinja

0015 Yasaka Jinja | 0016 Tenmangu Jinja | 0017 Itame Ham Shrine

0018 Japonica Shrine | 0019 Neochi Shrine | 0020 Okinawa Shrine

0021 Kokuryu Shrine | 0022 Ni Jinja | 0023 Piyopiyo Shrine

0024 Noha Shrine | 0025 Saihate Inari Shrine | 0026 Koyagi Shrine

0027 Hamstar Shrine | 0028 Haiku Shrine | 0029 Sen-Cat-Shrine

0030 Venezia Shrine | 0031 Hinamizawa Shrine | 0032 Kanaru Shrine

0033 Mr. Louis Shrine | 0034 Susukino-Inari Jinja | 0035 Shiki-Shinto Shrine

0036 Apo Hachimangu | 0037 Salmaru Grand Shrine | 0038 Il Micio Shrine

0039 Son Clave Shrine

0040 DROBAK Shrine 泥爆神社:

Through a natural arch created by a rock formation, DROBAK Shrine serves DROBAK village. While the winter lasts, wander through the winter wonderland, and warm yourself up at the cafes when you need a break from the cold.

Goshuin Project 2024

0041 SnowPastel Shrine | 0042 Nadeko Shrine | 0043 Katsudon Shrine

0044 Mambo Shrine | 0045 Sessha Mambo Shrine | 0046 Umigami Shrine

0047 Yozakura Shrine Ocean | 0048 Sakura Shrine | 0049 Akiba Inari Shrine

0050 Lazy Shrine | 0051 Honpou Inari Jinja | 0052 Togetsu Jinja

0053 Neko Jinja | 0054 Kusanagi Shrine | 0055 Ouse Jinja

0056 Nekoma Shrine | 0057 Lion Temple | 0058 Usagi Shrine

0059 Kiyomizu Temple | 0060 Kingyo Jinju | 0061 Azuki Shrine

0062 Megumi Jinja | 0063 Sea Butterfly Shrine

[saturdayschecklist]

done (active: albums pt. 1)

Hardcore techno:

dat file records (as of 2023/8/16)

ネコノツカ (as of 2022/11/29)

OTOMEKAN/Black Label Records (as of 2022/11/14)

Rolling Contact (as of 2023/8/16)

Necollex (as of 2022/6/20)

Nostalgic Crescent (as of 2022/12/12)

MAD MIND MACHINE (as of 2022/10/16)

東方 with SCHRANZ (as of 2023/8/16)

Art of Heart (as of 2022/11/14)

CXR Record (as of 2023/1/9)

Neo Sanctum (as of 2023/8/16)

C9 (as of 2023/1/9)

夢想茶館 (as of 2023/4/21)

Defiant Groovings (as of 2023/7/20)

miso-nicomi records (as of 2023/7/20)

Enforce (as of 2023/7/25)

Astral Sky (as of 2023/9/1)

Various/other electronic:

ZYTOKINE/CYTOKINE (as of 2023/8/16) (minus omakes)

荒御霊 (as of 2023/8/16)

梶迫小道具店 (as of 2023/8/16)

ジェリコの法則 (as of 2022/10/16)

ESQUARIA (as of 2023/8/10)

* Works (as of 2022/10/16)

Kuroneko Lounge (as of 2021/12/1)

greenscarf (as of 2022/2/11)

Nakarin (as of 2023/8/16)

Nami Haven (as of 2023/1/16)

Moonlight Magic (as of 2023/1/8)

Shoop (as of 2023/4/21) (NEED 1 MORE)

Kwszh (as of 2023/1/8)

Chiircle (as of 2023/7/18)

ClumsyRecord (as of 2023/7/18)

suwawa Records/mondorium (as of 2023/7/18)

Evariaworks (as of 2023/7/18)

Illusionary Projections (as of 2023/7/18)

MANDALLIUM (as of 2023/7/18)

Sound Team, LORB (as of 2023/7/18)

flap+frog (as of 2023/7/31)

Structure Sound (as of 2023/7/31)

AGGRESSIVE BEAT CIRCLE (as of 2023/8/5)

Matthiola Records (as of 2023/8/16)

給食頭蛮/Glassy:oceaN (as of 2023/8/16)

EastNewSound (as of 2023/8/16)

BamBoO₂ノVOICE (as of 2023/8/16)

XL Project (as of 2023/8/16)

マッコ屋 (minus unknown albums) (as of 2023/8/20)

幻華楽 (as of 2023/8/24)

非可逆リズム (as of 2023/8/25)

Echoes Construction (as of 2023/9/20)

Groovy Trancer (as of 2023/10/15)

Tengu Corp (as of 2023/10/15)

Eurobeat:

EURO BAKAICHIDAI (as of 2022/12/3)

K2E†Cradle (as of 2023/8/16) (minus some exclusives)

TTL SOUND (as of 2023/4/21)

Rock/post-rock:

凋叶棕 (as of 2023/8/16)

BUTAOTOME (as of 2023/1/6, everything except some singles and best of albums)

minimum electric design (as of 2022/11/14)

Akane (as of 2023/1/8)

Aftergrow (as of 2023/2/14)

ねこしょくどう (as of 2023/1/8)

赤音羽 (as of 2022/10/16)

anoare (as of 2023/7/17)

Crab Crab Club (as of 2023/7/17)

ふぁくりーむ (as of 2023/7/17)

アリスミア・アリスメア (as of 2023/8/11)

Bullet IX (as of 2023/8/11)

カワテ☆ブクロ (as of 2023/8/11)

うーじう (as of 2023/8/20)

暁Records (as of 2023/8/20)

the tumbling we's (as of 2023/8/24)

Kurage seek room (as of 2023/9/1)

Pop:

天秤亭 (as of 2021/12/28)

C-CLAYS/K2 Sound (as of 2023/8/16)

ORANGE★JAM (as of 2022/11/14)

Crazy Berry (as of 2023/4/4)

Yonder Voice (as of 2023/8/16)

Romero (as of 2023/7/17)

ShibayanRecords (as of 2023/8/24)

フーリンキャットマーク (as of 2023/8/25)

Liz Triangle (as of 2023/9/10)

発熱巫女～ず (as of 2023/9/10)

森羅万象 (as of 2023/9/20)

Metal:

Yumi Sakata (as of 2022/12/12)

Holmgang Ov Gensokyo (as of 2023/8/16)

Sworn to the Black (as of 2023/1/8) (minus a demo)

Bright Stars in Daylight (as of 2023/7/17)

Jazz:

fractanisharmonicoo (as of 2023/7/17)

SNUG SPACE (as of 2023/8/25)

Folk/Classical:

sound refil (as of 2022/11/14)

光と闇の協奏曲 (as of 2023/8/16)

O-LIFE.JP (as of 2023/1/18, minus some demos)

Melodic Taste (as of 2023/9/20)

[nathancone]

A Year In Movies, 2022

Since 1999, I’ve logged every movie I’ve seen, in the theater, online, or at home on video. In 2022 I saw 84* movies, down 2 from 2021. Eleven of the movies were new releases viewed at the theater, another ten or so were big screen classics at TPR's Cinema Tuesdays, which returned to in-person screenings in 2022. My favorite new movie in the theater was a very traditionalist pick, "Top Gun: Maverick," was simply superior Hollywood entertainment. My favorite new-to-me movie from a previous year I discovered was Emilio Fernández's classic “Enamorada,” featuring a brilliant performance by Maria Felix.

If a title is hot linked, it's because I've written or podcasted about the film.

Here’s my full list from 2022, in chronological order. Thanks for reading!

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Picnic at Hanging Rock Police Story Brother Bear Contact The Rescue Walk With Me            Poto and Cabengo Encanto X2 The Power of the Dog Summer of Soul The Worst Person in the World Turning Red Death on the Nile (2022) Saboteur Phi Slama Jama Jane Goodall: The Hope A Quiet Place Part II Everything Everywhere All At Once War of the Worlds (2005) Blackbeard’s Ghost Downton Abbey: A New Era Christine The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Moneyball Casablanca Interstellar Field of Dreams Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Say Amen, Somebody            Forrest Gump Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Lawrence of Arabia Top Gun The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Star Trek Generations The Godfather            Devil in a Blue Dress Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Pather Panchali Driving Miss Daisy Back to the Future Clueless Elvis Enamorada Top Gun: Maverick Malcolm X E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Psycho Eyimofe: This Is My Desire Nope Filmworker Sherlock, Jr. Jurassic World Dominion Catch Me If You Can Licorice Pizza  Jackie Brown Mississippi Masala For Heaven’s Sake See How They Run Sneakers Slacker            The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Apollo 10 ½ Kuroneko Batman (1989) Best in Show Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Special Edition) My Big Fat Greek Wedding Elvis Time After Time North By Northwest Inception Glass Onion Places in the Heart The Fabelmans On the Waterfront Avatar: The Way of Water Notting Hill Bridge of Spies Alien Spider-Man Chariots of Fire

*(asterisk because I counted "Elvis" twice)

[jpopstreaming]

🆕 「天地創造デザイン部 オープニングテーマ「Give It Up?」」 by Kuroneko #jmusic #jpop #jrock Listen to it 🎧 https://ift.tt/2ZLwvqQ

[flightfoot]

It's okay if you can't answer this, but I got this fanfic idea that's having trouble taking off cause I'm not sure how to characterize Marinette for this. The concept is sort of a two-way Kuroneko extended edition jumping off an Ephemeral alternate ending. Time stayed unstable for a little while longer, warping people and things in and out of the present - including Chat Noir and now there's a new cat who got warped in his place. So basically, Marinette is stuck with this new cat like in Kuroneko, but without the twist of having the cat be also Adrien. It's only for like a week, as Bunnix has to iron out the time stream before she can send the cats back to their rightful timelines.

Calico is the Black Cat wielder from the future. She is completely different from Adrien - she's a little older than Marinette, a sly pragmatist, a consumate professional, used to taking the lead and having her bug follow, prideful, confident, a bit of a troll, outspoken and not afraid to rock the boat to fight for what she believes is right. She's got a softer side though, especially for people who takes superheroing seriously (always idolized heroes, lowkey admires her own bug partner). Also as a revelation, she'll turn out to be a descendant of Lila - a major blow to her pride, having an evil ancestor. Calico even has major Lila vibes, but with heroic intentions.

Calico's character is meant to cause friction with Marinette, like Calico's similarities to Lila can make Marinette biased against Calico or Calico's skill with the Black Cat Miraculous is a harsh reminder of Chat Noir's true potential Marinette is unintentionally hindering cause she won't let him in on her guardian stuff (as her new tricks were stuff Adrien will eventually iron out post-reveal).

Calico's arch around Marinette is meant to go from "OMG I'm actually meeting the living legend Ladybug!" to "Ah. So this is why they say 'never meet your heroes'.", only to eventually evolve into "She's been through a lot for a kid her age. Actually kinda inspiring. I can see how this klutz(affectionate) could grow up to be history's greatest Ladybug".

But I'm having trouble figuring out Marinette's side of things.

(Meanwhile, Adrien gets stuck in the future with Calico's bug. Their side is a little easier to picture not going too far with the salt cause Adrien doesn't tend to escalate situations as much as Marinette. Bugboy is a natural mom friend who can both be stern with Adrien but still be nice.)

I'm hesitant cause I'm not sure how to balance some of Marinette's nicer traits with some of her worse traits that Calico will surely point out or trigger. I don't wanna go too far into the salt but this oc of mine just seems destined to aggravate Marinette. How do you think Marinette would deal with a person like Calico?

A quick note about salt, first: it's not really the fact of "pointing out something negative about these characters" that's a problem, but more when it's blown out of proportion, or is out of character more generally. So long as you are fair to the characters, keeping in mind their mindset and reasoning for making decisions and giving those reasons due consideration, as well as identifying when one of their other traits will stop them going too far, you'll probably be okay.

Like for instance, after "Ephemeral" aired, I was really unhappy with Marinette, since well, she betrayed Chat Noir's trust on a pretty fundamental level in that episode, and that betrayal never really got addressed. So I wrote a fic to help deal with that, to work through it, and to help me feel more positively towards Marinette by using some her more generally positive character traits - her compassion for her friends, and willingness to own up to her mistakes and to fix them as best she knows how, once she realizes she's made them - to have her realize that she ended up hurting Adrien, even though he didn't know that she'd tricked him with the identity reveal, and have her resolve to make things right, by fully disclosing what she did, and what she was thinking when she did it, and allowing him to make his own judgement on what he wanted to do next, even if she didn't like it.

In a case like this, I tend to think of positive character traits - or ones that are positive in the particular context anyway - as limiting factors. Like yes, your main character can be unfair or petty or have biases, but there are lines they won't cross, things that will cause them to reverse course.

From what you describe here, I think Marinette would immediately be biased against this new Black Cat, especially if she reminds her of Lila. Don't forget, Volpina pretended to be a superhero at first. It definitely wouldn't help that Marinette's already stressed and snappish and anxious about not having Chat Noir by her side, so a "replacement" that seems like Lila isn't going to help matters - she may well make the same assumption that Chat did in Hack-san, and believe that Calico is a villain of some sort, and it would probably take quite a bit to persuade her otherwise. Marinette can be pretty stubborn once she has a view of someone in her head.

What would be a limiting factor here, I think, that would stop her from going too far, is if she saw some sort of emotional vulnerability from Calico, saw Calico being hurt by her words. That's what got her to see that there was more to Chloe in Malediktator, after all, is Chloe opening up about her feelings and vulnerabilities. Marinette doesn't like seeing people hurt, even people she doesn't like, and she doesn't kick others when they're down.

[petri808]

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

The tit for tat game was well known to both of their top confidants and lieutenants because it had been going on ever since Natsu and Lucy broke up. Plus, it was hard to get around such knowledge considering most of them came from the same neighborhoods. These intrigues ebbed and flowed like waves. Months could pass by without any interactions between the two, at other times they’d go back and forth continuously until one of them finally gave up, and on the odd occasion ended in a huge fight that led to another round of ignoring each other. Up until now, it had been kind of amusing to watch them torture each other because it was better than a drama shows on television. But that didn’t mean Natsu, and Lucy’s friends didn’t worry about one or both being truly hurt one day because of it.

“It’s fine,” Natsu rolled his eyes as Gray chastised him after the soapland incident. The two men were at Natsu’s home after work hours and supposed to be relaxing. But clearly his friend didn’t want to drop the subject. “What’s the big deal?”

“Dude, you let yourself be blindfolded in a public space! Have you forgotten what kind of business we’re in? What if it had been an assassin instead?”

“Oh, that’s just ridiculous. We’re talking about Lucy’s company, and I trust their security measures because she has just as much to lose if a hit took place there.”

“Still, you should be more careful, at least take a bodyguard with you…”

Natsu’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. “And what, so they can watch the show? We got any voyeurs on the payroll? Cause I can’t think of anyone here who’d wanna see another guy getting his balls fondled!”

Gray ran a hand down his face. “So not the mental image I wanted. You’re missing the point.” He sighed. “Natsu you are the head of this clan, and your safety is my top priority.”

“I get it, I get it,” Natsu drawled.

“And frankly,” Gray continued, “you’ve become distracted by her lately.”

“Tch! No, I haven’t!”

“Yeah, you are. You think I haven’t noticed? I know you drive by her place sometimes. I know you’ve followed her to that coffee shop she likes to frequent. But ever since her employee was robbed, things have escalated again.”

“You’re imagining things and apparently spying on me. I’m just keeping an eye on the competition.”

“Watching over you is my job! That’s not spying.” Gray crossed his arms. “And oh, it’s no doubt that you’re keeping an eye on her. That’s why you went to Katsunuma’s party and to soapland too. The problem is you’re getting sloppy and sloppy gets people killed.”

Natsu groaned. “Are you done yet? We’re supposed to be enjoying the baseball game, not psychoanalyzing my life.”

“Almost.” Gray placed a hand on his friends’ knee and leaned in. “Natsu, you’ve been chasing that tail since high school, just lock her down and convince her to work together already.”

Natsu snorted a laugh. “Gray we all grew up together, so what in all these years makes you think that’s a possibility? You know damn well Lucy’s not a woman you can control without her consent.” Natsu knew that, and frankly he loved that part of her. In fact, it made him even more fired up whenever he thought about it, just like a treasure you don’t just find but must win at the end of a game. “I’ll find a way, some day.”

“Well until that day arrives, could you promise me you’ll be more cautious?”

“Fine, fine,” Natsu waved his hand. “I’ll back off of Lucy for now.”

“Good.” Gray relaxed back onto his recliner thinking the drama was over.

“However, there is a new guy I want surveillance placed on.”

“Who?”

“The bartender from the party.”

Gray groaned. “Seriously? Why? He’s just a bartender!”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Was he spiking the drinks or something? Dealing drugs at the party?”

“Maybe.”

Gray huffed. “You really gonna try that? Do I look like an idiot? This is just straight jealousy talking.”

“I don’t care! I want someone to dig up what they can on the guy!”

“No, what you wanna know is if he fucked Lucy that night!”

Natsu jumped up with his fists clenched. “Fuck you!”

“Fuck you too!” Gray stood up and matched his boss’s energy. “Unless you give me a damn good reason to check into him, I’m not wasting my guy’s time! You might be the boss, but don’t you fucking forget who you’re talking to! I’m not some punk off the streets!”

Realizing he was taking things too far, Natsu sat back down. “Sorry.”

Gray sighed and plopped back down too. “I only joined because you asked me to and you’re my best friend, then I helped you build this new empire, so I’m just as invested in protecting it as you are. But Natsu, personal emotions have led to the downfall of many in this business, and as a friend, I’ll check you any time I think you’re going to far.”

“You’re right…” Natsu sighed too. “She just gets me so worked up.”

“Don’t I know it,” Gray laughed, but stopped when Natsu glared at him. “Sorry, it slipped out.”

“But I swear, there’s something suspicious about him. When he saw me, I thought he just reacted because he thought I was Lucy’s boyfriend or something, but the more I think about it, he might have recognized me.”

“Well, that wouldn’t necessarily be suspicious either.”

“True. But the look in his eyes just made me wonder.”

“Alright…” Gray groaned, “if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll have someone do some digging. So, you said he has orange hair and glasses, and the name on his tag was Loke?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s an unusual name, shouldn’t be too hard to check on.”

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Gray sent out feelers for any information on this Loke guy. Katsunuma junior gave them their first small lead that the bartender had worked the party through a local food catering company. That catering company was a legitimate business who had both full-time staff as well as independent contractors brought in per event as needed. Loke had been one of the latter. From there Gray obtained a last name, de Lioncourt.

According to his sources at the local precinct, Loke de Lioncourt had no rap sheet, no prior dealings with police, and for all they knew was an average citizen. The man’s Line blog profile listed him as a 28-year-old, Japanese/French American, model and bartender, and it was filled with pictures from events, parties, as well as many gorgeous women— none of which contained Lucy. But as Gray trolled through the man’s feed, he did come across one person he recognized and passed the information along to Natsu.

“Wow, she’s in a bunch of photos,” Natsu mumbled as he scrolled through the blog.

“Well, considering Cana’s reputation are you surprised. Parties and alcohol are the two things that woman lives for.” Gray laughed. “Now see, this makes sense to me. Lucy and him, not so much.”

“Tch… still pisses me off he even tried.”

“Lucy’s a free woman, she can go out with whoever she wants to.”

“We’ll see about that,” Natsu mumbled low.

“What was that?” Gray asked with a raised brow.

“Nothing.”

“Better be nothing, cause this is a dead end. He’s just a flirty bartender. It’s how they make tips.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Natsu sat back in his chair. “So, back to business. What this I heard about some missing stock?”

“Oh, right. One of the warehouse clerks noticed a shortage, but when I checked with Yura, he said the books were fine. I had him show it to me, and it appears the numbers were just inverted by accident. So, instead of 185 kilos, it’s supposed to be 158 kilos.”

“Did you talk to the clerk again? Does he have any history of messing up like this?”

“Nah, he’s one of our better clerks.”

“Just keep an eye on it.”

“Sure thing, boss. By the way, have you seen Gajeel today?” Gray questioned. “I haven’t seen him.”

“He called me this morning said he wasn’t feeling well, thinks he ate something bad for dinner last night.”

“Tch, seriously? Thought he had an iron stomach?”

Natsu shrugged. “Must’a been some bad sushi or something. We ain’t got much happening today, so it’s fine. Anything else? I got some stuff I need to finish.”

Gray tapped his chin. “Just a reminder you have an appointment with our tech guy dropping by later this week to go over some upgrades on the system.”

“Like I’m supposed to know anything about that stuff, it’s what I pay him for.”

“You still gotta approve it,” Gray shrugged and took his leave.

Once the man was completely out of the office, Natsu opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a nondescript box he’d hidden inside. He grinned to himself. It was time to make another special delivery. Even though he’d told Gray he was backing off the whole Lucy and Loke subject, there was no way he was gonna let it slide. Natsu didn’t care if the man seemed legit, and he wasn’t the first nor would probably be the last that he’d eventually scared away. And besides, being a Yakuza boss had a lot of down times too, easily filled with having a little fun.

Today’s little care package was being sent to Lucy by a courier service and Natsu just had to drop it off to the delivery company. Just a normal company like Kuroneko Yamato so it wouldn’t rouse too many suspicions. It was turning into a fun game for him just coming up with ideas of what he could do to rile Lucy up or irritate this Loke guy. Natsu chuckled to himself. So far, his favorite prank was a box of small sized condoms and a bottle of enhancement pills that he’d had delivered to Loke while on the job at another party. He’d even snuck in to watch it delivered, gaining a good laugh when the man took a peek in the box and frowned at its contents.

It was childish, but Natsu didn’t care. Every day for two weeks now, something new was sent to Loke. Random gifts like children’s candy to a toy gun, a big bottle of lubricant wrapped in a bow, a week’s worth of meals sent for lunch one day, even an empty box with rocks inside it just to drive the man crazy wondering who in the world was sending them. Lucy too wasn’t immune to his pranks, though hers had a different feel to them. Flowers with no note attached. Tickets to a canceled show he made up. A supposed dinner invite from Loke that wasn’t real— okay that was to test her, but she didn’t fall for it. And today’s little care package fit right into his prank scheme.

Natsu dropped off the package at a Kuroneko Yamato office with the address instructions already filled out and paid the company’s employee extra to keep their mouths shut. ‘She’s gonna kill me one day,’ he laughed to himself as he rode back to his office. ‘If it’s suffocation by her boobs it wouldn’t be a bad way to go!’

“Anymore stops sir?” The driver asked Natsu.

“Nope. Back to the office.”

He looked at his watch. The package should be arriving at Lucy’s office within the hour. Give or take another to open it, and by 4pm he would be receiving another phone call. Maybe he won’t answer it. Oh, that would piss her off even more! ‘Well, if she’d just take the hint...’

The afternoon was supposed to be mellow at headquarters that day. No shipments, and no appointments. But when Natsu got back, another general in the organization named Jellal Fernandez came to his office to inform him of a problem. One of the new local restaurants in their territory was refusing to cooperate and he wanted to know how Natsu wanted it handled. They were right in the middle of discussing it, when Natsu’s office door flew open with a loud bang!

In stomped Lucy who immediately threw a box at his head, causing Natsu to duck and Jellal to pull his gun.

“Don’t!” Natsu screamed at his general and motioned for him to stand down, to which the man complied. “Do you have a death wish Lucy!”

“Get. Out.” She snapped at the general. “Get out! This is between me and your boss!”

Jellal looked to Natsu, who nodded his head to scram. “I got this, don’t worry.” The man holstered his gun and left, but Natsu could see he’d stayed right outside of the now closed door.

“I take it you didn’t like the gift,” Natsu pretended to stay calm.

“Gee, me throwing it at you give you that impression? I know it’s you sending all these damn deliveries to me and Loke. That needs to stop now!”

He crossed his arms and scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Play dumb all you want. Just stop! Why are you even doing this?!”

“Take a guess,” he sneered back.

“I could’ve sworn we were adults now, but apparently I’m the only one who grew up. Stay out of my love life Natsu!”

“So, you admit you’re sleeping with the guy!”

“That’s none of your damn business! I can fuck whoever I want!”

“Not as long as I’m alive,” Natsu growled back.

Lucy crossed her arms. “That could be arranged.”

“Is that a threat?!”

“Yes! If you don’t stay out of my love life!”

“A woman shouldn’t be sleepi—”

“Don’t you finish that sentence!” Lucy grabbed a stapler that was within reach and chucked it at Natsu’s head. “Stop trying to control me!”

“Are you crazy?!”

At that moment, Gray barged into the room. He’d heard the screaming from the other side of the office, and when he got close enough to see Jellal standing outside the door, he became alarmed. Why would a general leave Natsu vulnerable! The man told him their boss told him to leave, but as the sounds inside escalated, Gray couldn’t wait anymore.

“Stop it!!” Gray got between them. “What are you two doing! Lucy you shouldn’t be here!”

“Then tell your damn boss to leave me the fuck alone!” Lucy spat back. “Ask him how he’s been harassing Loke and me!”

Gray turned to his boss with a groan. “Natsu, we talked about this!”

“Tell Gray what you been doing!” Lucy pressed. “Show him the stupid packages you send!”

“What packages?” Gray looked to Lucy, then repeated the question as he stared at his boss. “What packages?”

“Tch,” Natsu crossed his arms, “it’s not even that bad.”

Lucy stomped over to where the box fell and picked it up, pulling the contents out. “Bullshit!” She snapped as she held up a very racy, red nightie with flame prints, a pair of fluffy handcuffs, and a large dildo. “See this shit?!” Lucy shook the floppy latex toy at Gray before chucking it to the ground again. “He includes messages too,” then handed the man a folded piece of paper.

Gray read it aloud, “to make up for what playboy lacks. Had it custom made to my size wink wink. Ugh, seriously man,” he tossed the letter.

Natsu shrugged. “I was just having fun.”

“This is the yakuza, not a daycare!” Gray snaps. “I’m not here to babysit the boss so he stops harassing the competition! There’s more important business to worry about!”

“That’s right listen to Gray,” Lucy sneered.

Gray turned to her. “Oh, you ain’t innocent either, so don’t even try it. You both do things to purposely rile the other up and get mad when there’s consequences. Stop it!” He looked back and forth between the two. “Just stop it already!”

Natsu and Lucy looked away from the man with scowls on their faces. Neither wanted to admit he was right.

“Jellal,” Gray called out. When the man entered, he instructed him to escort Lucy out of there. “Next time, just call me instead. It’s best you two just stay away from each other. Got it?!”

“Yeah,” Lucy grumped.

“Got it?!” Gray questioned his boss.

“Yeah,” Natsu mumbled.

“Fucking like high school,” Gray ran a hand down his face in irritation. “You two need therapy.”