#He raised Tai lung as a son!

[lovewillthaw-j]

Something about Tai Lung's death bugs me.

Later, over breakfast:

Shifu: So Po, tell me all about it. How did you defeat Tai Lung? And is he safely back in prison?

Po: (beaming with pride) No master, I used the Wuxi finger hold and obliterated him. He's gone forever!

Shifu: (horrified) YOU DID WHAT???!!!!

You KILLED HIM? You said you defeated him! I never taught you to KILL anyone! The good guys can't kill their enemies in this kid-friendly film! We never actually use the forbidden Wuxi finger hold on anyone! And he was my adopted son! I'll never ever get to see him again or get to hope that he'll repent and turn good!!

Po didn't kill Tai Lung in self defense. He wilfully executed the Wuxi finger hold on a weakened TL 🤯

[ariel-s-awesome]

I wish they did more with Tai Lung and Tigeress' indirect sibling relationship in Kung Fu Panda.

Tai Lung's entitlement wasn't born out of pure ambition and arrogance. It was born from wanting to make his father proud by following the dream Shifu had for him.

Tigress was Shifu's second chance. He was emotionally distant and strict with her because he blamed Tai Lung's rampage on him being spoiled by too much love and support. The real problem was raising him for a specific, highly prestigious role that only one person can fill and not preparing him for anything else.

Then when Master Oogway said that Tai Lung wasn't worthy Shifu didn't try to convince his master of his son's talent and potential. He didn't reassure him that he wasn't a disappointment and redirect him towards other goals. He just... silently went with it without thinking about what was behind Tai Lung's anger.

Does Tigress resent Tai Lung for getting raised by a far more fatherly version of her dad and ending up as a villain anyways? Does she blame Shifu's awful parenting on the brother she never met? Does she worry about turning out like him?

At the very least she despises him for hurting her dad.

And what does Tai Lung think of Shifu's new kid? Does he resent her for being his replacement? Is he jealous that she became part of the Fearsome Five while he (in his mind) never amounted to anything? Does he ever wonder what it'd be like to have a sister (in more than name?) Would Shifu's heavy expectations be less crushing with a sibling to share them with?

I wish their parallels, along with the potential parallels between their sibling relationship and Tigeress' relationship with Poe, got a chance to be explored.

[bietrofastimoff23]

they really watched the first movie kfp, saw how Shifu raises Tai Lung as his son, how Shifu could not attack Tai Lung out of love for him, how Shifu refrained from touching his unconscious son because he thought he had no right, how Tigress says that Shifu never loved anyone like Tai Lung neither before nor after, how Tai Lung even years later is angry and jealous of the idea that the father has a new favorite, how Tai Lung admits that everything he ever did was just to make Shifu proud of him, how he literally knocks this words out of Shifu, how Shifu admits that he's always been proud of him, how decades later Shifu finally admits responsibility for his son's ruined fate and asks for forgiveness, how Tai Lung freezes in confusion because of his words, - and they still dismissed the idea of S&T reconciliation and farewell in kfp4 with the words "nah, it would be superfluous 🚬".

[fushipurro]

In the Shadows of Love

Chapter 6 - Vega

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☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, heavy angst, depression, suicidal ideation, implied/reference ED, mentions of blood (nosebleed), emotional hurt/comfort, insecure/intrusive thoughts

☆ Word Count: 7.8k

After your little “diner date” as Shoko and the gang started calling it, you found yourself hanging out with Toji more often than not, much to your surprise. You had your worries that the opposite would occur during said “date”, but it appears now to have brought you closer together.

Meals between the three of you ─ Megumi included of course ─ became a common occurrence, along with shared trips to the store. With winter settling in now, Toji stated he felt more comfortable with having you in his car instead of letting you carry bags home in the snow.

“Don’t need you freezin’ to death out here,” he’d say in an effort to convince you.

Other times, he would invite you over so Megumi could share some quality time with you to make up for all the times it’s just you and his dad. And who are you to deny the sweet boy?

Tonight is one of those nights.

The day began (early afternoon for you) with some games before dinner, enjoying said meal in front of the TV while watching a movie together. Megumi loves anything that features talking animals, so you thought it best to put on Kung Fu Panda, to which he fell in love. Hard.

He tired himself out trying to replicate all the moves, leading to Toji having to carry him off to his room to sleep. Turns out in this one-bedroom apartment, the two share the same king-sized bed. Toji had said before to you that because he’s out all night working, Megumi has the bed all to himself and vice versa during the day. He even took Megumi into consideration as far as bedroom décor went, stating his only preference is the happiness of his son, even if that means his sheets have dinosaur print all over them.

“Kid’s finally asleep,” Toji tells you upon his return, sinking back down into his spot on the couch with a thump. He laughs with a simpering expression, “Now we can watch something with a little more excitement for two adults.” His eyes fall on you from the side.

You jokingly gasp. “How can you say that movie wasn’t fun?” You place your hand over your heart to exaggerate the feeling of shock. “I’m telling you now, he’s going to be doing kung fu all week and have you in the Wuxi finger hold.”

“I can fight better,” he snorts, and you giggle. “I bet I could give any dragon warrior a run for their money.” Toji raises the sleeve of his ivory-colored sweater upwards. The veins and muscles bulge as he flexes with that same annoying grin stretched across his face looking for your approval.

“Okay, Tai Lung,” you tease, your voice coy sounding. “Whatever you say.” Your eyes roll away from him and back to the TV.

Toji laughs, snagging the remote before you can even think about it. “Just for that, I’m picking the next one,” he declares.

He pans through the options, debating what might be a good choice. He has a few ideas, but his primary goal like always is to get a reaction out of you. So, when he lands on a classic you know and love, he wastes no time putting it on.

Bride of Chucky.

“Perfect.” The words roll out like a purr. Or maybe a warning growl? Either way, he puts the remote down, leaning back against the couch and draping his arm over the back.

The movie picks up right away with an introduction to the main characters as you remember quite well. Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” playing while the one and only Tiffany Valentine makes off after the first kill of the movie.

Toji had thought the combination of blood and murderous dolls would have you leaning into him for protection, but to his surprise ─ and disappointment ─ you don’t. The most he gets out of you so far is a recoil during the first murder committed by Chucky himself.

“That’s what gets a reaction out of you?” His question comes out with a pout he doesn’t even hide.

You laugh through your nose, “Hey, the stabbings are one thing, but piercings getting ripped out?” You shudder. “No thank you.”

“Not even a little afraid of some creepy ass doll running around, killing people with a knife…” He goes silent for a minute as the bathtub scene occurs. “Or…a TV?”

“If we’re talking about Slappy from Goosebumps, then yeah,” you huff. “That guy was nightmare fuel for me, but Chucky I can enjoy.” You reach out for some popcorn, ever so quietly humming to “Call Me” by Blondie as it plays.

Toji takes his own handful before speaking, “You’re one odd girl, I’ll give you that.”

It’s funny the things that can affect you. Meeting new people turns you into a stuttering mess, yet you watch horror movies without a care in the world. As if the blood and guts doesn’t do anything to you unlike the words or actions of others do.

To others, you’re that of an iceberg. The image of you that others see is only a mere glimpse with the rest hiding below the surface. All it takes to reveal that side of you is time to warm up, something Toji is finally starting to see as you grow comfortable with him in your presence. No alcohol needed.

Throughout the rest of the movie, even if you weren’t clinging to him in order to shield your eyes, he still had his ways of keeping the distance close. There’s the brushing of fingers reaching for popcorn that seemed like more than accidents or the arm he has resting behind you this entire time for you to lean your head against.

It's like the awkward theater date you never had as a teen, except you’re the only one feeling awkward about it now. But at the same time, it’s endearing because you’re going through this milestone event in your life.

Except… you still aren’t aware if he’s single or not.

All signs point to yes since you’ve never once heard of another woman, or Megumi even talking about a mother. But she could just not live here, or they’re going through something, or she’s working abroad. The fact is, until you mount the courage to ask, or he tells you, you don’t know.

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t hoping he’s single. You’re enjoying this too much to think about this crush of yours falling apart.

Toji is sweet as could be and he makes you laugh every time you’re together. He continues to treat you and while you can’t return the favor financially, you’ve been trying with the little things like bringing baked goods over with the excuse that you made too many to cover up your nerves.

It's all you could ever hope to have with a friend or even a significant other, even if all it must be is platonic. It’s something you haven’t had in a long time, and one thing you don’t want to ruin by desiring more.

The movie ends and Toji stands up to stretch, collecting the leftover dishes to clean. You take a few, following him into the kitchen area.

“I would say let’s watch another, but I can’t be late for work tonight,” he groans, and you swear you can hear him pouting even with his back facing you.

“There’s always another night,” you reassure.

“I think we should just start the kid now with the good stuff.” His head turns in your direction flashing a mischeavous grin. “What do you think about watching Alien next time?”

“And scar him for the rest of his life over the spaghetti scene?” you reply with a sarcastic tone. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Hey, I saw much worse at an earlier age and look how I turned out.” He raises both his hands and shrugs all nice and proud.

“And it’s a miracle you’re sane.” He rolls his eyes with a laugh. “I vote that we watch Finding Nemo next time. I’m sure he’d love that one especially with how similar one of the characters is to you.”

He looks to you dumbfounded. “In what way could I possibly resemble a fish?” he says with disbelief lacing his words.

You giggle, “Personality for one; Gill is tough, smart, and cares a lot almost like a dad.” You extend your hand, gesturing to the man. “And two, you share similar features, like the color black, how you glare at others, scowl, even having a facial scar.”

You bite your tongue, eyes widening at what you just said. Another piece of info Toji hasn’t told you about yet is how he even got the scar on his lip. You know more than anyone that it may not be the easiest thing to talk about, mainly if there’s trauma tied to it versus something mundane like getting cut by a sticker bush.

It doesn’t help that he’s facing away from you so you’re unable to read his current expression. “I’m sorry, I–“

“You think I’m all that, huh?” He interrupts with a huff, appearing unbothered. “Bet I’m tougher than any fish in the sea,” he tells you again, with another flex of both his arms this time around.

You sigh in relief, “What about an orca?” you ask, and he flashes you a toothy smile.

“Now that’s a better comparison for someone like me over some stinkin’ fish.”

You both laugh and continue to chat for a little while longer. While Toji is cleaning the dishware, you’re occupying yourself with Megumi’s toys, helping to tidy up. When all is said and done, he walks you out, hanging back in the threshold of his home and the hallway.

“I’ll see you later then, hope you have an easy time at work.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. Try not to have any nightmares later.” He winks, and you laugh.

“If I do, then I know who to blame,” you scoff. “Goodnight, Toji.”

“Sleep tight, and don’t let the cursed dolls bite.” You roll your eyes, calmy walking into your home. Once inside, you’re anything but calm. You practically skip your way over to your couch, throwing yourself onto the cushions to pet Tsumiki.

Sweetheart.

He calls you that from time to time, and the butterflies you feel are something else. It takes a few breaths to relax from such giddy feelings. It’s been far too long since you had someone like Toji in your life, and you crave this kind of attention. This closeness. For the first time in what’s most likely been years, you feel as though nothing could possibly go wrong.

You eventually pick up your phone that you haven’t bothered to look at in the hours spent next-door, and there were several notifications to greet you.

The first dozen were some cheers from work, namely from Kento regarding the publication of the magazine you modeled for.

The second bunch were the obligatory Instagram mentions, the most important being the one from Satoru’s post alongside a series of his choice photos from that day with you.

That’s when you remember things can and will go wrong, as the third set are all various notifications of strangers blowing up your account. The majority falls under Satoru’s post, a bunch of his followers spitting venom your way to target you.

Who’s this nobody he’s with?

Can she get any closer to him? I bet she’s just using him for clout

Must’ve been torture for him :( she’s not even that pretty lmao

Would look so much better with only Satoru.

You want to look away, you really do. You’d love nothing more than to shut your phone off and throw it at the wall, but you can’t bring yourself to do it.

It’s nothing new for you to be hated on like this. The sad reality is that it’s to be expected, no thanks to the anonymity of the internet. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

They’re jealous.

You know that.

Just obsessed fans taking out their anger on you because they wish it was them at his side.

You know that too, but it doesn’t stop the dark cloud that hangs over you wherever you go.

Why don’t you just stay in your lane? Be a flower on the wall?

You should’ve turned the project down, given it to someone else. You don’t deserve the recognition it brings.

This is your fault, you know. You should’ve listened to your parents when they said you weren’t going to succeed in life.

You sit up properly on the couch, tucking your knees to your chest. For a while, all you can bring yourself to do is stare blankly at the screen, watching all the new messages come through every passing minute. It’s a given, considering Satoru’s astonishingly high following. It isn’t until your phone shuts down from a low battery that you throw it aside and fall to your side, letting the tears come cascading down.

You wake up later, still lying on your side with a damp feeling against your face. The light that comes through your apartment is soft, no doubt earlier in the day compared to when you normally choose to wake up. Begrudgingly, you push yourself off the couch, listening to every creak your bones make like dated wood.

The first thing you do is plug your phone in to charge, followed by feeding Tsumiki her breakfast. You ponder whether you want anything, but even if your stomach was growling, you don’t feel all that deserving to eat. Not only does your depression take away your appetite at times, but it also puts a strain on the relationship you have with food and other things pertaining to your day-to-day life.

A shower helps. At least there you can attempt to drown out your thoughts with the water that rains down. Even when physically after you’re clean and smell nice, you still don’t feel all that great. Against your better judgement, you go to see how things were looking today on your phone.

The answer?

Worse.

More of the same shit fills your feed, but with the added bonus now of threats and other hate in your DMs, and all over your own posts that had nothing to do with the magazine. All are a courtesy from the people with nothing better to do than wish harm upon you for breathing the same air as their celebrity crush.

Speaking of, there’s a new message from him.

Satoru Gojo heyyy so sugu, sho, and I are going out to star plasma later to celebrate, you wanna meet up???

You Sorry, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on :( hope you guys have fun though!

Satoru Gojo boooo :( well if you change your mind, we’ll be there <3

You wonder if he’s seen the same hate you have, or maybe he’s just that good at ignoring it for his own sanity. That, or maybe he just doesn’t care what they’re saying. Not everyone is like you.

Oh, how you wish you could be like that. You also wish you didn’t feel the need to lie to him about having work. The thought of the gang seeing you in this state fills you with disgust, not to mention if Toji’s working tonight.

You place your phone back down on your nightstand, eyes drifting across to your bed. Most of the time, it’s the only place you want to be in, all wrapped up nice and tight under lays of blankets.

Other times it feels like a prison.

All the fabric acting like chains, keeping you bound to your mattress with no hope to escape. It’s during these times that everything outside the walls of your apartment frighten you to no end. And like always, you give in to the call of your damnation.

Sinking down into the cold sheets, you stare now up at the blank, white ceiling. The various scuffs and spots act like sheep for you to count as you make a mental note to clean them later. That will have to wait for a day you feel capable. A day you feel better if that day ever comes before it’s too late.

Why does it seem so easy for others to ignore all the drama of life and intrusive thoughts? They make it sound so easy, that being a normal, functional being is easy but here you are, wallowing in your own misery. You long to feel happy in life rather than the sorrow you feel now.

But will that ever happen?

A few unremarkable days have gone by since then, and you still bear no signs of feeling better.

You’ve stopped crying now, but the emptiness took over. Somehow you manage to get out of bed, only to mindlessly complete your work and anything else you have to do. Tsumiki’s been hanging close-by, as if she senses how distraught you are. Her meows and cuddles are the only thing bringing a ghost of a smile to your face as you shut out the rest of the world.

Food has been minimal, most of it not even having a taste when it hits your tongue. Your appetite is lacking either for anything more than a few bites. All in all, you’re just passing time until you can fall asleep, letting time go by that you later hate yourself for missing.

Depression is an awful cycle.

Today you decided you needed to head to the store. You tell yourself it’s to get Tsumiki more food or toys for putting up with you, but the truth is that your fridge is looking scarce. Your meals have mainly consisted of whatever is easy to make, jokingly referring to it as “girl dinners” to try and make yourself laugh.

You don’t put much thought into your outfit, choosing to wear something easy to keep you warm in this December month. Sometimes it’s nice to try and look pretty to help your confidence and all, but right now you’d rather hide under bulky fabrics. There doesn’t feel like much of a point to care, either way. What does it matter?

It's a quick trip in the end, only coming back with a few bags. You keep your eyes low to the ground, counting the concrete tiles to keep your mind at bay. It works, up until you notice your neighbor hunched over an idled car out front of your building.

Something’s off, you notice, and it makes the hairs stand straight up on your neck.

Never once have you seen Toji express an emotion like the one you’re seeing ─ the death stare he’s giving whoever is sitting in the car. For someone so typically calm, this apparent anger is so much scarier than any cursed doll could hope to achieve.

Who is he talking to?

You want to know, but at the same time you don’t if they’re upsetting Toji this much. Your breathing stills as you walk by, hoping to slip into the front door without being noticed. You make it as far as a few steps up before you’re stopped short from a voice.

“Hey.”

Your body tenses up. You’ve been avoiding contact with anyone outside of work for a few days, and you especially don’t want to be near whatever was going on outside just moments ago. He doesn’t need to be burdened by you.

“Hey, Toji.” You turn your head slowly to the man, weakly smiling.

He makes a few steps up to where you are, a silent urge to continue heading up to your floor together. The fire you previously saw raging in his eyes no longer appears present, instead replaced with his normal scowl.

“I saw your friends the other night at the bar, was hoping you’d be with ‘em.”

You exhale quietly, swallowing thickly. “Yeah, I– wasn’t feeling it that day,” you mutter.

Toji’s eyes narrow with furrowed brows to match but he continues with your pace.

“I’ve got some time before my shift if you wanted to watch that fish movie or somethin’ else,” he asks. You bite your lip as you think of your response.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on.” You go silent for a moment, save for the tapping of shoes against the tiled floor. “Some other night?”

He raises his hand sheepishly to his neck. “Yeah, no problem,” he says with the hint of disappointment in his words.

Fuck, you don’t want to hurt him. Especially with another lie to someone close to you.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, turning the key in your front door. “See you later.”

“See yo–“ The door shuts before Toji can even finish responding.

The guilt settles in like a knife to your heart. Enough so that you slide your back down the door to sit with your head between your knees.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” Disgust drips off your words.

Tsumiki comes right up to you purring away. For several minutes, you remain there on the ground petting her before finally getting up to put the groceries away. Shortly after, you return to your bed, indulging yourself with some good old blue-light exposure therapy. Tsumiki joins you, bringing in one of the new toys you bought for her.

Later, a soft knocking startles you from your sleep, not even realizing you had fallen asleep in the first place. The time on your phone shows that it’s after midnight, so who in their right mind needs you at this hour?

Cautiously, you approach the door, peering through to the peephole only to reveal…no one?

Huh, wrong house?

You turn away from the door, only for there to be another knock, but still nothing through the peephole. You end up opening the door without even thinking, and now you realize why you couldn’t see anything.

“Megumi?” He stands there teary-eyed, clutching his frog plush tightly in his arms. “What’s wrong, did something happen?” you ask with a gentle voice.

“I had a bad dream.” He sniffles, his lip starting to quiver with oncoming sobs.

“Come here, ‘Gumi.” You take him into your arms, lifting him up, and closing the door behind you as you take him to the couch. With one hand, you rub soft shapes over his back as you sit him down with you. “There, there,” you coo.

Megumi holds on to you tightly like a baby koala. There’s a damp feeling sticking to your chest from the tears falling from his eyes. In this moment, you put aside whatever troubles you might have. He needs you right now.

You give him a minute to relax and calm down, waiting to ask, “Do you want to talk about it?” But he shakes his head in response. “That’s alright, you don’t have to,” you tell him softly, further adding, “I’m right here with you, you’re safe now.”

Toji must be at work for Megumi to have come knocking, so you pull up his number on your phone, texting to let him know about the situation.

“Hey, ‘Gumi? You want to try going back to sleep?” He whines into your shirt, doing everything he can with his tiny hands to stay fixed to you.

“Don’t leave me, please…” He sniffles, and your heart breaks. There are those words again, you think, remembering the time in the bathroom with him once before.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you reassure.

You give him some time to calm down, humming a familiar lullaby to whisk him away to sleep. He grumbles when you place him down into your bed, the spot still warm from your earlier rest, but he finds that he can’t fight his heavy eyelids. Between your song and the fingers running through his hair, he has no choice but to fall asleep once again.

“Ma..ma…” he murmurs, and you feel a tear fall from your eye.

Tsumiki joins you now, curling right up to Megumi’s side like the comforting angel she is. You send another message to Toji to let him know he’s still with you, to which he replies that he’ll be right over after his shift ends.

So much for avoiding contact with others, but it’s for Megumi’s sake right now.

It feels like déjà vu the next time you hear the knocking at your front door.

“Hey Toji,” you greet, parting the door for him to enter. He looks around with a confused look at first. He’s thrown off by the lack of lit candles, ambient light, or anything else. Instead, it’s just you, illuminated only by the moonlight peeking through the apartment.

“Did I wake you?” he asks, meeting your eyes. It’s a good thing it’s dark, so he hopefully can’t see the evidence of your tears.

“No, I haven’t slept yet,” you admit, and it only serves to puzzle him further. There’s a lot he wants to ask, but you’re already motioning towards your bedroom. He sighs, moving to catch up with you.

“He looks right at home,” Toji remarks, brushing Megumi’s hair back to better see his face. He gives Tsumiki some attention, careful not to disturb his son’s sleep in the process. Once Megumi is up into his arms, the two of you head back towards your door. He stops, turning to look you in the eyes again. “Thanks for watching him.” He doesn’t move from his spot, though his brows begin to furrow in thought. “About earlier…is everything okay? Did I do something to upset you?”

You feel your stomach dropping. The guilt you felt earlier comes crawling back up with razor-sharp claws. “Oh. No, no ─ I’m…sorry about that,” you stammer out, feeling your chest tighten. “You didn’t do anything, I promise.”

“What’s up then, you’ve been actin’ weir–“ Megumi interrupts with some slight stirring in his sleep from Toji’s raised voice.

“I’m okay, Toji. Really,” you try and convince, despite feeling the exact opposite. Another lie that stains your soul, but you remind yourself that it’s not his problem. You’re not his burden to bear.

You’re not sure if even bought it, especially after the noncommittal grunt he makes with eyes that stare intently, as if peering into your soul despite the darkness.

“Alright,” he says after a minute, his voice noticeably calmer, but still unsure. “If there is something, you can talk to me, okay?”

“I will, thanks.” You open the door to let him out. “Goodnight.”

His head dips to you before the door shuts completely. “Goodnight,” he replies, with your name punctuating.

For some reason it hurts to hear your actual name for once instead of a pet name.

With your apartment empty once again, it feels colder than ever. Lately you’ve been feeling that way a lot. It’s only when Toji is there that your house truly feels like a home.

You meander your way back into bed, curling up into a ball facing the window. You can’t shake the cold you’re feeling, no matter the number of blankets overtop your body. Even the dimly lit skies seem to relate with you.

When was the last time you could see the stars shining so beautifully?

There was a time you yourself felt like a bright star once, one that floated easily through the cold expanse of the universe without any issue. Unlike the other stars that met their fate, there was no spectacular supernova at the end of it all. No rainbow plumes of stardust to vividly show all of existence how good of a life you’ve lived.

It was more like a flip of a switch when it came to you. Shining one day like normal and the next, a bleak void of what you once were, absent of any light.

You roll away to face the wall opposite of your room, moving your hands to clasp either shoulder in a self-embrace.

I miss the warmth.

You wake up alone for once, with Tsumiki nowhere to be found from where you lay. It’s nothing you worry about quite yet, as you figure she’s out in the living room watching birds. You get up to investigate, but to your dismay, she isn’t out there either.

You don’t see her anywhere.

Strange, you think. Maybe she’ll come out for breakfast…?

You try that next. Heading to the kitchen to prepare her usual pampered meal, making noise as you call for her.

“Tsumi!” you croon, adding a pspsps after, but again, nothing.

There’s no way she could’ve gotten out of the house, so she must be around here somewhere. Your heart beats a mile a minute as you’re scouring in and around every piece of furniture you have looking for her. Eventually, you do find her, all tucked away inside your closet on a pile of your clothes.

“There you are!” you exhale in relief. “Do you know how worried I was?” you coo. You then move to pick her up and she doesn’t protest, but she also doesn’t start purring or mewling either.

You bring her out the kitchen, placing her down with her bowl. Your heart sinks again when she sniffs the dish and ultimately turns her nose up.

Tears weld up at the edge of your eyes. “Fuck, Tsumi’, don’t do this to me.” You start to pace, chewing anxiously on your lip as you watch her huddle up in another corner of your apartment. “What’s the matter, baby?”

Fuck, fuck, what do I do?

Searching the internet is your first idea, but the results are anything but helpful. Half the results are akin to that of WebMD (read: you’re already dead). By this point, you’re hysterical now, fixing to hyperventilate as the last bit of control you have slips away.

Of all the times for something like this to happen, it has to happen to Tsumiki. You’d give anything to swap places because you love her more than life itself. But when it rains, it pours, and right now it feels like a hurricane is hanging overhead.

She needs a vet, but you can’t possibly run with her across town. Waiting for a taxi will only prolong whatever she’s suffering from. Fuck, if only you could afford your own car, this wouldn’t be an issue!

But then you remember one thing.

Toji has a car.

Toji.

With no time to waste, you sprint out the door of your apartment, frantically knocking on his all while desperately hoping he’s even home to answer. Your prayers are answered when the door opens, revealing the man himself, half-asleep and shirtless.

“Toji, I-I-I–“ your voice cracks between sobs.

“Woah, woah, slow down,” he interrupts, placing his hands on both ends of your shoulders. He lowers his head to your level. Seeing you in distress snaps him awake. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Tsumiki ─ I-I don’t know, I think she’s sick!” you stammer out, “I need to get her to a vet but–“

“Go get her; I’ll get my keys.” His voice is calm as he tries to reassure you, bringing his thumb up your cheek, wiping away a tear with the rough padding of his thumb. “Breathe, okay?” You nod, but you’re still trembling.

Toji releases his hands from you, allowing you to run back inside to grab Tsumiki. You place her gently into her transport while at the same time, Toji enters your apartment, taking the crate from your unsteady hands.

The two of you exit the building as quickly as you can, letting Toji settle her into the backseat while you situate yourself right there at her side, cooing to ease your baby’s scared hollers. Toji wastes no time pulling out on the main road for the directions you gave him, putting on his seatbelt as he went.

From time to time, he looks back at you through the mirror, seeing you hunched over in tears over the crate. You’re trying to be calm for her, you really are, but it’s so hard.

You arrive in record time at the emergency clinic, Toji once again carrying the crate inside the building while you briskly make your way to the receptionist. You tell them your name, and everything else they need to know while they work on all the check-in procedures, eventually handing you a clipboard and pen to fill out with further information to fill out.

Toji guides you with a steady hand to the waiting area which includes several benches and tables to take advantage of. He places Tsumiki’s crate on a spot directly in front of you, pulling you down to sit instead of letting you pace the room. Both your legs and hands are shaking uncontrollably with fear, teardrops dotting the paper and ink as you try to write out what they need.

“Hey.” Toji cups your dominant hand with his own, bringing the movement to a standstill. “Breathe,” he calmly requests. “I know it’s tough, but you gotta try and relax for Tsumiki. You aren’t gonna be helpful to her if you suddenly drop over,” he tells you, and he’s right.

“I can’t let anything happen to her,” you mutter with a hoarse voice. You lean forward in your seat, moving your hands to the back of your head.

Toji slings his arm around your shoulder, pulling you against him. “I know.” His words are low, only for you to hear as he speaks into your ear.

“I don’t know what I’d do if something h-happened to her, she’s–“ A hiccup interrupts you. “she’s all I have left. Without her, I…I can’t.”

Toji takes the clipboard from you, putting it next to Tsumiki so he can fully embrace you with both arms. Your head is pulled against his chest and the fabric of his shirt helps to muffle your shattering heart.

“That’s not true,” he begins, his tone of voice calm, but equally stern, “You have me, Megs, those other three friends, even that boss of yours. You said it all yourself to me.” He pauses, bringing his hand up through your hair. His grip is tight yet offers indescribable comfort. The bottom of his jaw settles on the crown of your head. “You are not alone. Not anymore,” he promises.

If you could put a pin on when you start to fall in love in with someone, this would be one of those moments. Even if all he’s doing is reassuring you as any good friend would, it means the world to you and more. A moment in time you’ll never forget for as long as you live.

“Toji, I–“ You lift your head from his chest, taking one sniffle before you catch that metallic scent. You move fast to clutch your nose, but it’s too late. “Shit!” you hiss.

Toji leans back to see what happened. His eyes widen upon seeing the blood trickling down the palm of your hand, hitting his shirt in the process. Thankfully, there’s plenty of tissues given the environment, so he grabs a handful to hold under your nose.

“Fuck,” you cry out, “I’m so sorry, Toji.”

“Don’t be,” he huffs with some underlying amusement. “A bit of blood is nothing, I couldn’t care less.” You swap places with his hand holding the tissues. “Are you okay?” he asks, helping to clean the area around your hand.

“I’m sorry, Toji,” you mumble, lowering your head. “I’m such a mess right now, I don’t mean to burden you.”

“Don’t say that,” he replies, resting his palm on the apex of your head, teasing your hair in the process like he does to Megumi. “You have nothing to be sorry for, and you’re not a burden. Let your ‘knight in shining armor’ be here for you.” He winks.

His helpful teasing earns the hint of a smile on your face and a short-lived laugh, but it’s enough to begin to lighten the mood. At least until you hear a voice calling out your name.

You stand up, reaching out for Tsumiki’s carrier but then you hesitate. “Hey Toji?” He hums in acknowledgement. “Do you mind coming with me for this, please?”

He smiles. “Not at all, princess.”

When all is said and done, Toji drives you back home, walking you back up into your apartment. There, he places the carrier down gently, allowing Tsumiki to roam free.

“I feel, so stupid,” you sigh, kneeling down and hiding your face with your hands out of embarrassment. “All of that for a simple tummy ache.”

Toji chuckles, “Hey, it shows how much you love her. You can’t fault yourself there.”

You turn your head to look at him with a soft smile. “I’m sorry I took so much time out of your day.” Your mind flashes back to when he opened the door earlier in his sleeping form and you can feel the heat reawakening in your body. “I woke you up for it too,” you breathe out a laugh.

“What did I say about the apologies, princess?” He crouches down in front of you causing his denim jeans to bunch up. One of his knees bumps against yours given how close he is. “I’d like to know what else is bothering you though,” he suddenly inquires, and you feel the same guilt you felt the last time creep back up like bile in your throat.

Once again, you border on the crossroads of what to say. It’s a huge step to trust someone else enough to share your vulnerabilities ─ but if it’s Toji… maybe you can? You did it before and it worked out better than expected.

You remain quiet as you stand from your spot, moving towards the couch. While you’re busy pulling your phone out, he rises and makes his way over to your side.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he says, trying to meet your eyes. “But we’re friends. I want to help you if you’ll let me.”

It’s a lot coming from Toji.

You’ve learned over the course of knowing him that feelings don’t come easy. He does what he can, and what he feels is the best course of action. It’s a big reason as to why you struggle to pay him back for all his moments of kindness. You’ve come to realize that that’s how he best expresses himself, not only through teasing, but also through acts of service.

Being not only a bartender, but also more importantly a father, it’s forced him to open up more to others and to himself. To reflect on his own feelings and shortcomings so he can be better for Megumi. It’s not easy and he certainly doesn’t do all this effort for others, but for you, he will.

You pass him the device silently, pulling your knees to your chest. You let one knee rest against your cheek as you look his way, and at the same time you avoid eye contact. Toji’s expression softens, and there’s the slightest hint of red on his ears, but mainly there’s some confusion in his features.

“These are beautiful ─ you’re beautiful,” he tells you, looking back your way. “What’s the problem with ‘em?”

You want to smile. It’s hard not to let alone the blush trying to come alive. There’s just one issue.

“This,” you proclaim, scrolling down to expand the comment section with your finger. “This,” you repeat, “is the problem.” You wrap your arms around your legs, hugging them to you with an empty expression.

He looks back and his face immediately darkens into a scowl. “You know they’re just spewing shit out of their asses, right? Bunch of dumb fucks that don’t have anything better to do,” he grumbles, more curses following under his breath.

“They’re not all wrong though,” you let out a dry chuckle.

“No, uh uh.” He shakes his head, the words spilling out fast and like that of a growl, “Do not do that to yourself. Don’t think for a second this shit means anything.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it!” you exclaim, drawing out each word. Your fears have come alive as the dam breaks. The tears that fall from your eyes are hot and heavy, flooding down your cheeks. “Every single thing they say sticks with me, and I hear it all the time in my head!”

He moves to sit in front of you, placing one hand down on your knee. “You shouldn’t listen to anything on here,” he says more calmly this time, scrolling further down the post. “It’s all garbage, they’re garbage.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t,” you mumble, tightening your grip around yourself to the point your nails are digging into the fabric of your pants to reach your skin. “I hate it so much,” you drawl, “and I hate mys–“

“No.”

His tone makes you flinch, stopping you from continuing. The only noises shared between you two is that of the sobs you try and hold back to not make a sound. To not let another hear you sob.

“Look at me,” he almost whispers to you. “Please?” he insists when you don’t respond.

You eventually do, keeping half your face hidden beneath your forearms, but your eyes finally meet his own and you see the worry behind them.

“No matter what anyone says, you deserved to be on that magazine. Satoru didn’t make you the model you are, that was all you, do you understand?” He pauses, waiting for you to nod before he continues, “Listen to me when I tell you that you are beautiful. These assholes don’t mean shit, and even he agrees,” he finishes by handing you your phone back.

You’re puzzled until you see what Toji is referring to ─ a recent update on Satoru’s page where he expresses how disgusted he is by the comments. He goes on to bash the people spewing hate at someone he deems his friend and how you deserve none of it. The words bring more tears to your eyes, but not all of them are sourced from a well of sorrow this time around.

Toji goes on to say, “You should post your own pics too from that day. Be proud of yourself and the work you put in.”

You still can’t help but scoff, “Yeah, and give them more fuel? It’s bad enough they’re under all my other photos too.”

“So?” he scoffs back. “Fuck whatever they have to say. Remember what I told you.”

“Okay,” you sigh, wiping your tears. “I’ll do it.”

His lips upturn into a wolfish grin. “Good girl. Show ‘em who’s boss.” He pats your knee a few times before returning it to his side. “Now what do you say about ordering in some food? We can watch that fish thing too with Megs if you’re up for it.”

Your eyes widen, darting to the clock on your phone to see how late it is. “Oh my god, Megumi! I’m so sorry, is he–“

“Relax, he’s fine,” he states, appeasing your worries. “I had his sitter pick him up from school.”

“Oh, thank god,” you sigh again. “I was so caught up with my own shit, I completely forgot.”

“No harm done, so quit apologizing already,” he teases.

“I’m sorry ─ fuck, sorr–“ You clasp your hand over your mouth to shut yourself up. Toji gives you a blank stare with his mouth stretched in a fine line before your stomach breaks the silence with a loud growl. You hide yourself behind your legs from the humiliation, meanwhile Toji breaks out laughing.

Funny how the tables have turned.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” He stands up, pulling his phone out from his back pocket. “Speaking of the kid though, his birthday is coming up.” His hand meets the back of his neck. “It’d mean a lot to him if you’re there for it, we’re havin’ a small party.”

“I’d love to,” you reply with a bright smile ─ the first and most genuine one you’ve made in several days.

“Thanks.” He returns your smile. “I’ll go get the kid then and order your favorite, so get comfortable while I’m gone.”

As he leaves, you go back to some of the latest posts on your profile. To your surprise, a lot of the hate and threats you saw were no longer there. Even the threats in your DMs disappeared or their accounts suspended. You have a feeling Kento has something to do with this, to which you’ll have to thank him later.

You pan through the official photos from the shoot, choosing all your favorites. With a shaky hand, you remember Toji’s words and hit the button to upload your post. Moments later, a new message comes through from your group chat.

Satoru Gojo oi oi, you’re posting again! are you okay??? we miss you :(

You I’m okay now, I’m sorry for worrying you guys.

Suguru Geto Don’t be, you have every right to want your own space. We’re just happy to hear from you again.

Shoko Ieirinext time though you should tell us so we can help you feel better 💕

Satoru Gojo yeah^^^ I was this 🤏 close to getting that double D DILF you like to drive us to your place so we could see you

You oh my god, don’t even start

Satoru Gojo hehehe I can see you blushing through the screen >:3

Shoko Ieiri no need to deny the obvious :)

Suguru Geto I’m with them on this. :)

You wipe the happy tears off your face just in time for Megumi to come running in. He throws himself into you for a nice big hug, with Toji following closely behind.

“Food’s on its way, you feelin’ better?”

“Yeah.” You nod in response. “And thank you, Toji. I’m glad we’re friends,” you tell him with a sincere sounding voice.

“Me too, sweetheart.” He plops down next to you, pulling Megumi into his lap to bounce on his knee. “Now let’s get this movie going then so we can watch Alien later.” He gives you a devious grin.

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Yeah, funny joke.”

“We’ll see about that,” he teases.

Megumi ends up thoroughly enjoying Finding Nemo, reciting Dory’s iconic line “just keep swimming” over and over to the amusement of you both. Toji on the other hand tries his best to deny the Gill allegations, but it proves to be an impossible battle once Megumi began to point it out and back you up on the claim.

After dinner, Tsumiki ends up joining you three on the couch as well, feeling better than ever now that she has the laps of three people to choose from for love. But between all the laughing and combined joy, you can safely say that in this moment, you feel a whole lot warmer than you did before.

☆ Notes: I will self-indulge myself with movie and song titles that I know and love unapologetically. It’s my way of giving recommendations in a self-insert fic where I try and make the reader as inclusive as I can within the realm of what I’m trying to achieve. jennifer tilly is my celebrity crush <3

also I don’t know about you all, but when I get super stressed out and cry, my nose starts bleeding like hell which is why I wanted to add that scene in specific to add to the depth of the reader's anxieties

revising this chapter makes me realize how much dialogue is hard to do for me. I get so stuck on whether or not I believe a character would actually say what I’m making them say, but then I try to remind myself that there’s some wildly outlandish stuff I’ve seen in other fics that’s still enjoyable to read even their personalities are crazy OOC. Hope that isn’t too much the case here, as soft!toji is something I really try to focus on given all the shit he’s been through.

Here's a fun toji edit by the way >:)

[wickedcoeur]

i think that we, as a community, need to talk about the parallels between the black brothers and tai lung and tigress from kung fu panda. i can (AND WILL) elaborate, but now i'm just lazy

oKAY, NOW I'M READY

so it all started when i went to watch kung fu panda 4 with my niece. first i was inconsolable bc the great lesbian icon tigress wasn't in the movie, but then, when i was out with some friends we started to look up fanarts of her at pinterest and there was this cute fanart of her and tai lung being siblings and playing togheter and IMMEDIATELY i thought about the black brothers

i need you guys to forget about the goodxbad stuff here bc that's not the point, the point is siblings angst. so tai lung, aka sirius, is the first son, the one to carry all the expectations, the one literally beign raised to become the dragon warrior/heir to the black house. and here they diverge a little bc tai lung tries, he gives all of him to achieve this, and all the love and attention from master shifu is conditioned to him beign the next dragon warrior but sirius is a rebel, he hates all that's linked to be a black and hates the person that his parents want him to be, so he do wathever is in his power to not be that person.

BUT THERE IS A BREAKING POINT FOR THE BOTH OF THEM: when their parents realized that they aren't and never will be what they want them to be. so tai lung goes insane bc not only he's beign denied everything that he fought for, the very thing that defines him as a person, but he can see that his father, whom he always though loved him, is starting to resent him bc he didin't get what he wanted from tai lung (this post is not a shade to master shifu, i love him, but i'm here for the drama). now with sirius his parents finally realized that he's not going to be the perfect little heir, so they torture him, and the last piece of hope that he had for his parents to love him is gone, THEIR LOVE AND ATTENTION WAS CONDITIONED JUST AS IT WAS WITH TAI LUNG AND MASTER SHIFU, now that he's to no use, he isn't valuable anymore. so they're both gone (tai lung go insane and ends up in jail and sirius go live with the potters)

meanwhile, we have tigress, aka regulus, the younger one, that is only there to fill the void that their older siblings left. regulus saw sirius with their parents, he (regulus) never received much attention from any of them, but he just knew that if sirius had been a good son they would've loved him, bc they tried, they tried to teach sirius the ways of the black family and there were moments, when they were satisfied with sirius behavior, that almost seemed that they loved him. so when sirius left and their focus turns to regulus he's ready to be the most obedient and well behaved son on this earth. now, tigress had never lived with tai lung, when she came to the temple he was already in jail, but she heard how master shifu adored him, and how broken he was that he was gone. she also knew that what caused them to drift apart was the whole "you're not the dragon warrior" thing, so the only way that she could gain the master's attention was to become the dragon warrior. but it didin't matter how hard they tried, how much they gave away to those people, they just weren't their siblings, they weren't enough.

i also like to think of the fact that tigress always felt like she was doing good, like, i'm not enough, my father doesn't really care about me, but this is my purpose and i'm actually helping people so at some point everything is going to be ok (when i become the dragon warrior), and i think that's kinda what regulus felt too, and i'm NOT excusing any bigotry behavior here, but he genuinely believed that he was doing some good for the wizard world by supporting his parents cause, so it's interesting when we think about "why reggie didn't leave??", because why would tigress leave???

i ALSO like to think about the skittles beign the furious five: tigress as reggie, monkey and crane as barty and evan (just two dorks who are superpowerfull), viper as pandora (i fell that there's no explanation needed) and mants as dorcas (c'mon, that little thing full of rage is very dorcas coded).

anyways, now i'm tired and won't be rereading nothing, so i don't know if it's understandable or if it's even english at this point, if you have any doubs fell free to ask

@morallyundefined

[sillykytty]

"If Oogway was so "Good and Wise" why didn't he stop Tai Lung for once or prevent him from ending like he did? 🙄"

First: Tai Lung was SHIFU'S SON, even if he had gotten Tai's custody that kid would still be 100% attached to Shifu (cause OMG KIDS ACTUALLY LOVE THEIR PARENTS ¿¿) and Shifu was a damn stubborn, so yeah.

Second:

YOU REALLY WANTED OOGWAY TO KILL TAI LUNG (SON OF HIS CLOSE FRIEND/ STUDENT) IN FRONT OF SHIFU (WHO LITERALLY COULDN'T EVEN FIGHT CAUSE HE KNEW THAT TAI LUNG'S CRIMES WERE HIS FAULT)???

OOGWAY PROBABLY EVEN HELPED TO RAISE HIM

[harvestingsun]

SPOILERS FOR KUNG FU PANDA 4

This is a massive rant btw. I have a lot of thoughts about this movie

(TW: Bad spelling and not remembering any names 💀)

...

Yh so I'm ranting rn

Like it was good, but not great 🕴️. Does not compare to the first 2, DEFINITELY not the second one, that one was just 🙌🏽 . And u know, that's ok, it's hard to pull a puss in boots and do better than the originals, but still the movie was lack luster

These are my points for why:

1. Plot was SO obvious. As soon as I saw that fox I knew she d be the new dragon warrior, cuz yh. Just obvious. And you know what? I wouldv been fine with that if they developed her character more. Like her bond with po SHOULDV been developed SO MUCH MORE. It felt like their whole dynamic was she was sarcastic and he went 🥺 n that's it. Like, why couldn't they have bonded more on them both being orphans ? How she feels unwanted because the world has rejected her and KEEPS rejecting her, but Po (who has gone thru a very similar thing) can teach her that yes that may be true, but that won't always be the case and once she finds her found family she can feel accepted, just like what happens to Po.

2. The villain and her daughter - so much potential but not enough done for them. Like just. I loved their dynamic, just SO MICH POTENTIAL BUT NOT ENOUGH GIVEN. There was one flashback of them meeting. That's it. There was basically only r4 interactions between them aswell: the betrayal scene, the "I'm using you" scene,the flashback and the final fight. And in NONE of these does it show how strong of a connection they have what about their relationship makes the fox betray Poe for the chameleon??? I wish we had a shi fu and tai lung type flashback where it showed the chameleon raising her and them developing a bond so that we know how hard it is for the fox to go against her orders

3. The villain herself - what motive ? U cannot convince me that "I'm evil because all the kung fu masters rejected me because I was too small" WHEN THERES A SNAKE THE SAME SIZE AS HER AND A F*CKING BUG WHO ARE BOTH AMAZING KUNG FU WARRIORS . like no. Just no. Someone would accepted her. U can't use her size as a reason for her becoming evil, just no. Instead, why not explain her reason being that she was poor/living in the streets ? A large portion of the movie is set around how there's a large group underground who have turned to crime, and poverty is often rampant in cities, so why not use that ? It also allows her to bond more with the fox as they have the same upbringing, but instead the chameleon was never able to get past how no one helped her and everyone rejected her, whilst the fox is able to accept where she is and find ppl who will accept her. Then they could've had a rlly impactful scene in the end where the fox accepts change and wanted the chameleon to change with her because SHE loves her and would fight for her, mother daughter style. Like writing that out just rlly made me think about how much they missed the mark, almost all 3 KFP movies are about father-son bonds, this movie could've had an impactful mother-daughter bond n it blew it 😩. So yh, I don't think the villains motive was fleshed out enough, I just don't think that her being small should have been the main centre for her character. Compare her to all the past villains, her motive is too simple and not developed enough

4. Tai lung and shen. NOT USED ENOUGH. How dare u bring those GODS OF VILLAISN back and not use them properly. And also have Po barely be surprised about them . SHEN IS THE MAN THAT COMMITTED MASS GENOCIDE AGAINST UR SPECIES, KILLED UR MOTHER AND LEFT U AN ORPHAN, Y R U NOT SHOCKED OR WORRIED THAT HE S HERE. And on top of that, ain't no what that peacock would simply bow and go " 🙂" and leave. He ain't bowing to Po, why would he respect him ? Shen doesn't CARE about being the dragon warrior, that wasnt his calling or whatever. Like, i could hav accepted it if he at least had a sentence apologizing for his actions, just ANYTHING that explains why he s so calm. I'm not angry that he is calm, I'm angry that it wasn't explained 🕴️(and tbh, I don't even think he needed a redemption arc much. He did horrible stuff, yes he has trauma, doesn't explain his actions. His death was a result of his arrogance and karma for his actions, I just think his character was fine (stressing him as a character was well written) the way it is, of anything this movie and taken away from his character )

And tai lung. Most of his character in this was comedy. And him going from "you are a mistake🙄" to "actually ur not a mistake 😏" within 10 minutes was annoying. I wish there was more interaction between him and Po. Then fighting together, bonding. Have them BOTH grow to move on from the title of dragon warrior together, since that title is such a grand part of both of their identities that they both have had a tough time letting go of. Once again, I'm not angry that he made jokes n was acting goofy (that was fun, I liked that), I'm annoyed that the movie didn't explain or provide context for why he was able to get over his past feelings and beliefs.

I can understand that they died and were able to let go of their actions in their mortal life, i just wish that it was addressed or properly shown. Especially shen, in his last moments he was given the chance to fess up n be good and he still refused. Bro died with u finished business, I would like to see how he came to terms with that or at least hav it b addressed

Overall, the bringing back of the past VILLAISN was fumbled. So much potential, but not used and on top of that it just kinda makes a joke of them and their original actions.

--> quick add on that I just remembered. Where r the five ? Like, I understand that they could've get the actors back or whatever. Ok find. But why not hav the chameleon capture all of them at the start and then they remain captured/past out/in a coma the rest of the movie until they R rescued :/. Like. That's such a better way of writing them out cuz a. It gives Poe even more incentive to want to take down the chameleon B. It makes the chameleon a much more threatening villain, cuz all the chameleon does in this movie is push one dude down some stairs, and then bring back so dead ppl, lick them n put them in a cage 🕴️. I would appreciate more stakes. ALSO PO SHOULDV TALKED ABOUT HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH THE 5 MORE, cuz this guy is a yapper, ain't no way he ain't talking bout them. It couldv once again been a way he bonded with the fox, if both of them had looked up to the 5 or something like that, or maybe even just about how Po can't wait to accept the fox into his found family

ANOTHER SIDE NOTE: wish they developed po and the foxes friendship. I might hav said this b4, I hav bad memory. Just there could've been more bonding , wish there was but alas 😪

5. Poe s trauma ? Now, I'm a psychology student. I love seeing mental health and depth show in movies so I kno I'm being a bit picky. I just wished that we could see more of Poe coming to terms of all the stuff that has happened to him. Or at least referenceing it. I just think that he was way too jokey and light hearted the whole time. Like, there was a scene where fireworks suddenly went off next to him. I wish he flinched or anything like that, since fireworks were such a big thing (almost a trigger) for him in the first movie because of the mass killing of his species by shen. Like, even if he has gotten over it all, it would have been great to have him reference everything he s been through. It could hav been one of the things he bonded over with the fox, how yes, times get tough but you can get thru it if u r supported by the right people

Like tbh I think it wouldv been rlly cool if this movie focused on love :both the healthy and toxic types. Bringing back old villains can reference old baggage , like the toxic love between tai lung and shi fu, and the chameleon and the fox. It could be about breaking those toxic habits and changing to move past them and let the last go. Po couldv acted as the message of that, he could show his surroundings characters how to let go of the past to move on to a better future . Like, after everything he s been through that wouldv been so impactful.

Overall, just a lot of missed potentials in this movie. Still liked it tho. So here are some things I liked.

Visuals: fun visuals . Tho I do think some of the scenery wasn't as memorable as previous movies. Like comparing this villains hideout (wrong word but oh well) to shens, shens is so much more memorable and impactful. Looking at it you feel intimidated. In this movie, not so much. But it was still very pretty and u can tell some hard work went behind it, had some great animations, very smoothe, so yh :)

VIOLA DAVIS AS THE CHAMELEON 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 LOVE HER, LOVE THE VOICE ACTING JUST 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽 like, the chameleon wasn't fleshed out as much as I'd hoped, but I still love her because I can FEEL that's she could be AMAZING cuz everything else was great except for the lack of backstory. Like I love her power, I love her character design, I love her voice .

The gay dad's 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 I loved them. Highlight of the movie for me🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 every scene I saw them I smiled. I just loved them so much, that was so cute, I love how they cared about Po so much AND CARED ABOUT EACH OTHER!! That was so cute. Loved that so much. I would watch an entire movie of them cuz just 🙌🏽🙌🏽 loved them so much.

So yh, that's it. Gonna go rewatch all the other movies now

[eosofspades]

no bc you’re SO right that kai is WAY weaker as a villain than tai lung or shen (shen especially, bc imo he’s the best villain of the trilogy) and i’d love to hear your thoughts on why <3

100% agree shen is my FAVORITE villain of the trilogy and possibly one of my favorite villains of all time. and tai lung is an incredibly close second! however, i really didn't care for kai.

the biggest thing about kai for me is that, as a villain, he is way weaker than the other two because he is extremely lacking in a personal connection to po, and also much weaker when considering how his character reflects the themes and narrative of the movie as a whole.

tai lung, as a villain, worked so well because he was obsessed with the concept of being the dragon warrior, and the supposed "power" that would come with that. the lesson of kfp1, though, was that there WAS no real magical power given by the scroll - there is no secret ingredient! it's just you! it was never about the scroll; it was about choosing to be good and do good for the sake of being good, not because you wanted power for it. tai lung couldn't accept this, which is why he made a fantastic villain for this one, thematically. (and ALSO a fantastic foil to po, who is so humble and doesn't NEED power, he's just passionate about kung fu and wants to have a good time with his friends.)

lord shen as a villain who reflects the themes of the story, though, takes this to the absolute HIGHEST level. the entire story of kfp2 pivots around po's struggle to reconcile his origins with who he is now, and both of those things are directly related to shen - he leads the massacre that ends up getting po sent away, which sets him on the journey to BECOME the dragon warrior, and po's destiny was always going to be to defeat him. both then and now, the course of po's life is being shaped by shen. shen is also a fantastic foil to po in the same way that tai lung was - shen cannot let go of the past, he clings to his anger and his fear; while po is able to accept what happened, accept that it is part of who he is but not what defines him, and is able to find healing and peace.

kai, by comparison........ has almost nothing to do with po. kai actually has NO personal connection to po! his evil scheme is related to the pandas, but absolutely nothing to do with po, specifically. tai lung had no shared past with po the way lord shen did, but he still had personal and specific reasons to hate po because po was getting the title and role that he so desperately wanted. but kai's only beef is with oogway! he didn't even seem to know that po existed until oogway says "it was never my destiny to stop you - i have set another on that path." and kai just says "then i will find him, and take his chi as well." his motives are also much weaker than the other two's - who both wanted power, yes, but tai lung was also deeply desperate to make shifu proud, to live up to the legend that he had been raised to believe he would become, and part of this was shifu's fault! that's extremely interesting and tragic!! and shen was motivated by fear - fear of his prophecized defeat, of the inescapability of his fate - and by grief over his (perceived) inability to make his parents proud, or get them to love him. kai, by contrast, was..... mad that oogway wasn't okay with letting him become a magical chi-stealing warlord??

kai also doesn't tie in with the themes or po's arc in this movie. in terms of other characters, po's arc in this one revolves way more around his fathers - trying to handle his new responsibilities of being the teacher to the five, trying to figure out how to balance the two different identities he has as the son of these two different fathers, but the only connection he has to kai is that he needs to be a master of chi to defeat him, which he can only learn how to be from the pandas, which incidentally happen to be his family. (and the fact that at the end, everyone is doing chi makes it seem like him being a panda or not might not have even been that relevant to begin with!) and kai's defeat is also sort of weak - he's defeated by the "too much power" trope, but nothing else in this story was about being power-hungry or the dangers of it. it wasn't something any of the pandas struggled with, hunger for power was NEVER a part of po's journey, and at least in kfp1 tai lung's desire for the dragon scroll was about more than just power (he wanted to make shifu proud), but also, because the entire theme of that story was that you didn't NEED power to be the dragon warrior. kfp3's narrative isn't ABOUT power; it's about identity and culture and balancing different aspects of your life to find your truest self. kai's character has nothing to say about ANY of this, he doesn't struggle with or care about any of these things - he is JUST power-hungry.

he also lacks that character foil aspect the other two had. the ability to take chi is never even presented as an option to po. what MIGHT have been interesting would have been if the only way to defeat kai was to take HIS chi - something a master of it would be able to do! - and po was forced into the dilemma of having to choose between risking going down the same path as kai for the sake of protecting his loved ones, or the risk of endangering them even more by refusing to. if the conflict had been about the good vs evil uses of chi powers, then that would have made kai a foil to po as well. but as it is now, kai has nothing to do with po, personally.

basically what it boils down to is that kai, as a villain, is serviceable, but when held up in contrast to the previous two, it becomes very obvious how much weaker he is narratively. his motivations are much shallower than the others', his connection to po is tangential at best, and as an antagonist, he doesn't have anything to say about the themes or messaging of the story OR the protagonist's arc.

[rwac96]

Prompt

OG Stud

Tai and Ghira reunite, as old friends talk about how things have been. But when Ghira talks about his daughter and shows a picture of her, that is when Tai gets worried... because he slept with Blake and is in a secret relationship with her. Better play it cool and not tell him about that, it will be so awkward.

"Taiyang Xiao Long," Ghira shouts with jubilation as he approaches his old friend, "you son of a bitch!"

"Ghira, ya bleeding heart," The Team STRQ Brawler greets his friend. "It certainly has been a long time."

The two men walk towards a seat at a diner, the outside dining area. Once the duo were seated, they ordered their specific meals; a steamed crab combo for Ghira, while Taiyang ordered a BBQ steak. Waiting for their food, the duo began to talk, catching up with one another; as Tai informed Ghira about his time after graduating from Beacon, raising Yang and Ruby, Raven's departure, and Summer's death. Ghira shared his life with the Xiao Long Brawler; from his time as the White Fang high leader, the group's attempts to gain civil rights for Faunus, his stepping down for Sienna to take over, and one that broke his heart was Blake leaving to stay, despite Sienna taking the Fang on a more violent path.

"Brothers," Tai creases his brows, "I'm sorry Ghira. Wait? Did you say, Blake, Ghir?"

The bearded man nods, "Yeah," he reaches into one of his pockets pulls out his Scroll, and shows his old friend a picture of a black-haired girl wearing a bow. "This is a recent picture of my little girl, she's just left the White Fang and she's attending Beacon."

Taiyang's blue irises focused on the picture, as a memory plays in his mind. He gulped, doing his best to keep his poker face, or lack thereof as Qrow and Summer had pointed out. The girl certainly does have Ghira's eyes and the realization that she developed Kali's curves. Tai felt his heart racing, as he knew Blake. More than he's letting on.

---

Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!-Schlap!

"Fuck!" Tai grunts as he gyrates his hips back and forth against a pair of shapely ass cheeks. "Kitten--Nnngh! You're so tight!"

"Nyaaahh, you're so big!!" Blake Belladonna moaned as she felt the seasoned Hunter's cock pistoned in and out of her womanhood. "Aaahh, you're spreading me wide, Tai~!"

The sounds of wet, smacking flesh echoed throughout the motel room the couple were staying at. Tai was on top of the Faunus Girl, naked, and bucking his hips against her rear. Blake wailed at the top of her lungs, her womanhood clamping down upon the man's invading breeding organ. The two had met when Blake was exploring Vale, wanting to get away from the usual ruckus of her team. She met the seasoned Huntsman, who she admitted was rather eye-catching. It started with a conversation, then a joke that she expected from Yang, but it made her chuckle. Now, she found herself being railed by the blonde man.

Platt!-Platt!-Platt!-Platt!-Platt!-Platt!-Platt!-Platt!

"Tai--Aaaahhh!!" Blake moaned, arching her back as Taiyang continued to thrust, hammering against her 'G-Spot'. "Don't stoop--Ooooh!! Keep fucking me, Taaaaiii~!!"

---

"Tai! Taiyang!!" Ghira shook his old friend out of his stupor, making the blonde realize that his steak had arrived. "You've been staring at my daughter's picture for a long time."

"Oh, sorry," Tai chuckled sheepishly, grabbing his silverware and began cutting into his steak. "I was just, uh, been thinking of a joke I was cooking up earlier."

"Please tell me it doesn't involve a shark and a Faunus captain," Ghira said with a groan.

"Some people like it," Tai exhaled, sinking his teeth into the barbecued meat.

[laughingsour]

Wind’s father figures.

Okay, this is definitely one fic I gotta write when I finish my current one for One Piece:

Before meeting the Chain, Wind has had a total of three people he's considered his dad.

Everyone talks about Linebeck and how he's Wind dad even if he won't admit it, so for now I'll leave him be and focus on the other two.

-First it was his birth father that tragically died when he was 5. He was a famous cartographer from whom Wind inherited his love for the sea and navigation skills.

-Wind's father would tell him the legend of the Hero of Time himself and other stories about his journeys across the Great Sea while they would both stare longingly at the waves.

-When Wind was born, he stopped sailing for some time because he was afriad of leaving his family alone if something happened to him. But when Wind's mother got pregnant with Aryll, the family was suddenly in need of more money.

-It was then that someone offered Wind's father a huge sum for drawing a map to locate the infamous ghost ship of the Great Sea. He took the job because the money would be enough for the family, but he'd have to lie to say he wasn't happy to get back on the waves one more time.

-Wind's father was able to complete the map and even discovered what was the supposed treasure in it's cargo. But before he could tell anyone, he mysteriously died and his map dissappeared.

-Since the map was nowhere to be found, the rich man who commissioned him refused to pay his familiy. This is one of the reasons Wind started to embrace the pirate's life while sailing the Great Sea.

-Wind's mom died when she gave birth to Aryll and so her two children were left to be raised by their grandma.

-During Wind Waker, Wind bonds with the King of Red Lions/King Daphnes

-I imagine King Daphnes as an opposite to King Roahm, but just as tragic and unintentionally harmfull. While Roahm didn't make sure to let Zelda know that he was in her corner, Daphnes innocently put too much pressure in Wind by remaining supportive, but still placing all his hopes in him.

-Think of Shifu's line to Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda, "I loved you too much to realize what I was turning you into. I'm sorry."

-King Daphnes is not only is the first to believe that Wind has the makings of a Hero, he remains his biggest supporter through their journey.

-King Daphnes is the one who teaches Wind how to navigate and sail and Wind is ecstatic to find out he inherited his father's skills as a natural navigator and cartographer.

-He also encourages Wind to explore the Great Sea as he's wanted to his entire life, on the basis that it'll help him become strong enough to face Ganondorf. More importantly though, Daphnes just wants Wind to be as much of a kid as he can be in their situation.

-It's not long before they start to see each other as father and son. Daphnes tells him that, even if the gods thought otherwise, to him he would always be as brave and heroic as any old legend and that he's proud no matter what happens.

-This does become a problem because Daphnes has such belief and pride in Wind that he fails to realize in how much danger he's dragging his boy into. A brave boy, yes. But still a boy who shouldn't have to fight a man's battle.

-Because of that, he never stops to think about persuading Wind to stop and let an adult handle it. Wind would've refused of course, but that conversation between them never happens.

-It's not until Wind's friends start to be chosen one by one to fullfill their duties as Princess and Sages that Wind starts to question Daphnes and the kingdom's importance.

-Makar becoming a Sage is the last straw for Wind and he and Daphnes have a terrible disagreement. In the end, Wind tells Daphnes that he'll keep fighting to save his friends but that he was a fool for getting attached to someone who's just using him.

-That serves as a wake-up call to Daphnes to what he's doing and he starts to wonder if this world would be better off without Hyrule.

-Wind not only discovers his father's ghost ship map but also manages to hunt the ship down and recover the treasure aboard: A piece of the Triforce. He still doesn't find out what truly happened to his father but he's glad that his final work wasn't for nothing in the end.

-His expirience aboard the ship leaves him very shaken, but he still refuses to speak or listen to Daphnes unless necessary.

-When Wind gets appointed as the new Hero Spirit before descending to Hyrule again, Wind no longer feels as excited as he thought he would be in that moment.

-When Daphnes wishes for Hyrule to be drowned, part of him wants to come with Wind to keep raising his boy, if he'll have him. But the other is too weighted down by regret over failing his kingdom before and his son in the present.

-To this day, Wind is still guilt-ridden over saying Daphnes never cared for him. He'd give anything to be able to take it back.

-Wind is very much aware that Daphnes put him and his loved ones in danger and he's conflicted on why he chose to stay to drown. But he can't find it in him to stop missing the King or loving him.

[danvssomethingorother]

I think a lot of issues with the 4th kung fu panda would have been fixed just adding in all the core characters?

Also maybe not making this Poe’s story since he has no where else to go.

Tai Lung was prominent to the climax (spoilers) so why wasn’t this story about Tigress and Shifu? I don’t think they ever came to terms with their history with him?

Poe is the only main cast member who had no lingering loose emotional threads with Tai Lung, so him seeing him again was just like “hey man, how was hell?”

Also Li Shan, you just see Lord Shen and have nothing to say? This is the guy who committed genocide on your people, murdered your wife and was the sole reason you missed out on raising your son? Nothing? You and your husband who are both over protective helicopter parents have nothing to say seeing him?

This entire scene was a wasted opportunity.

I didn’t hate the new character Fox girl but she didn’t feel needed? Maybe if she had more characters to interact with I would feel she wasn’t just a tossed in character to sell toys and a well written character (pieces are there and hmm maybe her talking to Shifu or tigress would have helped expand her character instead of just telling dumb jokes with Poe).

KFP4 is ok. It’s just more like those tv shows I don’t watch then a part of the main film franchise

[dracocheesecake]

(((OOC: Since Fan Tong is mostly a momma's boy and is raised by his mom in the Modern AU, is his dad absent for most of the time. Also, as for Tai Lung and Lord Shen, what're they like in this AU?)))

Yeah his dad is absent at work alot- however, he does make time for his family and always shows up for special occasions, especially for his son's kung fu tournaments and matches. He's always the one filming everything (if it was a show it'd be a running gag that the audience never sees his face- it's always concealed by a phone or camera or something else). He's very shy.

Lord Shen?- I think he'd be a politician as well as a CEO of an arms dealership. He had to start his own business from the ground up after his parents disowned him from their fireworks congolmerate after he participated in some...shady dealings. He runs most of the black market in Gongmen City, and provides gangs with arms and ammo in exchange for their "services". I don't think there was a panda genocide in this AU, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few certain pandas ended up being collateral in some of his projects/dealings.

Tai Lung is Shifu's adopted son, and was also once the best student in Oogway's school. However, after being denied the honors title of Dragon Warrior, Tai Lung fell into a bitter streak that eventually led him to getting into violent fights with other students, performing illegal moves in matches, and finally getting expelled. After that, it was a downward spiral- Tai Lung successfully burned every bridge in his life, and began participating in street-fighting and gang violence. He became a sort of jailbird, going in and out of prison for awhile until a confrontation with Po caused him to see the light and slowly, painfully, and steadily seek redemption...starting with repairing his broken relationship with his adopted father. Currently he works in Mr. Ping's noodle shop (and can occasionally be seen with a certain ribbon dancing panda on his arm 👀).

[minadi-mga2023mi5016]

How Villains are Portrayed in Animation - Research pt. 4

Tai Lung (Kung Fu Panda) - DREAMWORKS

The adopted son of Kung Fu master Shi Fu, Tai Lung was trained to be the best fighter he could be in the hopes of being found worthy of the mythical Dragon Scroll. As an adult, he was shown to be dark, dangerous and arrogant. However, in the past when he was raised and trained by Shifu, he seemed to be a happy energetic cub with much talent and dedication to the arts of Kung Fu and was viewed as a prodigy in the eyes of his father and master.

Tai Lung is an interesting villain for demonstrating the dangers of pride. All he cared about was being the best, and when that was denied to him, he refused to be humble and rather gave into wrath until he was given what he wanted. The animators do a phenomenal job showing Tai Lung's skills with some stylized and fast-paced action scenes, and McShane gives him the right amount of arrogance and emotional pain in his voice.

Over time, Tai Lung became proud and overly confident in his abilities, having mastered Leopard-style kung fu and advanced techniques such as nerve attacks, as well as all one thousand scrolls of kung fu.

Despite all his accomplishments, Tai Lung still sought the power of the Dragon Scroll and firmly believed he was the Dragon Warrior. It was this overwhelming pride and lust for power that alerted Oogway of the darkness in Tai Lung's heart. He refused him the title, surprising and disappointing both Shifu and Tai Lung, and Tai Lung looked to his master and father figure for support, only to be further dismayed when Shifu did nothing to object to Oogway's decision. Tai Lung attacks the innocent civilians of the Valley of Peace before being captured. Twenty years later, a Dragon Warrior is chosen, prompting Tai Lung to escape prison and challenge them for the scroll.

Sources:

https://collider.com/animated-movie-villains-ranked/

https://kungfupanda.fandom.com/wiki/Tai_Lung

[solatgif]

TGIF: Roundup for May 19, 2023

Glo is a new podcast from The Gospel Coalition, hosted by four women from diverse backgrounds who are united around a common desire to magnify Christ. SOLA Network’s Editorial Board member Soojin Park is one of the hosts. Over 10 episodes, you’ll hear conversations about God’s work around the world, in different cultural contexts.

Soojin is also taking the lead to mentor and train in our SOLA College Writing Cohort. Applications are due May 31. And in case you missed it, check out our Moms & Motherhood collection. Featured authors include Faith Chang, Amy Loh, Alice Kim, Heidi Tai, Grace Lung, and Kristen & Karisa You.

This newsletter is one of the many ways you can keep in touch with us. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram.

Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator

Enter to win this outstanding book! Are the Psalms simple poems, or do they carry theological significance? Reading the Psalms Theologically presents integrative approaches to the Psalter in an academic yet rich biblical-theological study. Read my review. Thanks to Lexham Press for providing this book for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut.

Articles From Around The Web

Tasha Jun: Moses Was Bicultural Like Me

“God chose a Hebrew raised as an Egyptian to lead his people out of slavery.”

Peter Lee: Joy of Being a Son of God

Before we are pastors, we are sons. And that thought is worth its weight in gold. It gives us a foundation to stand upon when we face the inevitable ups and downs of ministry.

Connie Nelson: The Best is Yet to Come: How Knowing Jesus as Our Resurrected Lord Impacts Our Parenting

“We parent by God’s grace as faithful stewards of the children he has entrusted to us. Our children are a blessing, a gift to us from our Good Father, and they belong more to him than they do to us.”

The SOLA College Writing Cohort is our new writing cohort for college-age students to receive mentorship and training as young Christian writers. Editorial Board member Soojin Park will personally be leading this initiative, and she is very excited at the prospect of nurturing the next generation of Asian American thinkers and writers who will help encourage and edify the Church!

Books, Podcasts, Music, And More

IVP: A Conversation on Asian American Identity & Faith

The authors of Learning Our Names (Sabrina S. Chan, Linson Daniel, E. David de Leon, and La Thao) share insights into the creation and purpose of the book, what they hope readers take from it, and more.

Related: God’s Goodness to Asian Americans: A Book Review of “Learning Our Names” by Aaron Lee

Rooted: Gospel-Centered Ministry to Asian American Teenagers

On this recording of a live call, Rooted friends Clark Fobes, Danny Kwon, and Connie Nelson talked about how they have implemented ministry in various Asian American contexts.

Related: Serving in Asian American Youth Ministry: An Interview with Pastor Danny Kwon by Daniel K. Eng

Aaron Lee: Related Works

Book Reviews: Treasures of John Owen Box Set by Banner of Truth, Words from the Cross by Ian Hamilton, Refreshment for the Soul by Richard Sibbes. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.

For Mother’s Day, check out our Moms & Motherhood collection! Featured authors include Faith Chang, Amy Loh, Alice Kim, Heidi Tai, Grace Lung, and Kristen & Karisa You.

Featured This Week On SOLA Network

Aaron Lee: Delight in the Law of the Lord: A Book Review of “Reading the Psalms Theologically”

“This book is an incredible work of academic excellence, and will change the way you read the Psalms and see them as a whole.”

Steve S. Chang: Two Journeys to Pastoring a Multiethnic Church: Interview with Jay Y. Kim and Mitchel Lee

What is it like to pastor a multiethnic church? What are some of the challenges, and how can you prepare?

Moses Y. Lee: The Idolatry of Ministry Longevity and the Abuse that Follows

“The result of social uniformity is an inner ring of power and favoritism that looks more like a middle school cafeteria than the Kingdom of God. But pastors of all people should model what friendships with people of different ideologies, personality quirks, and “sinners” should look like.”

SOLA Network: My Church Band Raised a Hallelujah on Netflix’s ‘Beef’ (Excerpt)

Zachary Lee of Christianity Today interviewed Jason Min, and we wanted to publish an excerpt for you to read. In this section, they discuss the impact of that scene on Korean American viewers and the discussion around whether or not praise music is “emotional manipulation.”

TGIF: Roundup for May 12, 2023

The Gift of Loneliness: 3 Ways God Uses Our Desert Seasons / What is Neo-Calvinism? / ‘Memorizing’ the Scars of South Korea’s Gwangju Massacre / Mended to Make: An Interview with Makoto Fujimura by Chris Carter / On Missions Work in Central Asia, with Tyler Markson and George Jamieson (Mission Talk, Ep. 13)

General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.

[mellfazguer]

The difference between tai lung and tigress with shifu in their upbringing:

"Shifu loved Tai Lung like he never loved anyone before ... or after"

shifu educated and raised Tai Lung as if he were his son more than a student, he received affection and love from him, he also taught him kung fu and at the same time giving illusions to be the future dragon warrior, but we already know what happens later

And with tigress ,well.., she had no affection or love from him, it was as a student and teacher, she received harsh criticism if she was wrong, unlike Tai Lung, she did not correct her in a good way, nor did she get excited to be the next warrior dragon, turning her into a tigress with a cold and serious demeanor , as we see in the first movie 😾

I think this is due to what happened with Tai Lung, perhaps Master was trying not to become fond of her and less to excite her, so that the same thing that happened to Tai Lung would not happen to her 😔

[jabberwockprince]

I WAS WRONG

THE POPCORN PITTER PATTER SOUND IS NOT THE MILKENBASE, ITS THE CASU MARTZU WHICH USES MAGGOTS, NOT TERMITES 

MY APOLOGIES FOR NOT DOING PROPER RESEARCH ABOUT BUGS IN CHEESE, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN

i only care about two things in life : the kung fu panda movies and the termite cheese wikipedia article that used to say the termites, when taken out of your cheese and put in a bag so they'd suffocate, would go pop pop pop and make a sound similar to popcorn