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lkaruss · 7 months ago

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An extensive KFP 4 rant (spoiler heavy)

So, Kung Fu Panda 4 was… an experience. It took about 3 glasses of whiskey to get through it.

There is so much wrong with this movie, from the pacing to lore breaking issues. However, this is an attempt at trying to formulate my opinions regarding the film, and explain why certain story decisions were detrimental.

My live reaction to the film:

The movie makes it clear right from the start that it was made for very young children. It’s filled to the brim with jokes. If there is a chance to make a joke, then there is a joke. Regardless if it's appropriate or if it hurts the story/lore/characters. In normal circumstances, this would be offset by the fact that the jokes are creative and unpredictable, but they aren’t. I would say most of them can be seen either from a mile away, or they just fall flat. I think I only managed to laugh once or twice when Po’s dads were doing something, but outside of that, the film couldn’t get a chuckle out of me. On the contrary, I found many to be cringe, and some even made me uncomfortable.

But why am I talking so much about the jokes? In the previous Kung Fu Panda films, the jokes were used to break tension. The way the seriousness of the story and the jokes were in harmony is what made those films so memorable and impactful. The story (and films) took itself seriously, but it would sprinkle in jokes that fit the universe, the situation, and most importantly originated from the scene themselves.

Compared to this, the jokes in KFP 4 are, unoriginal, forced, and usually can be traced back to pop-culture. The last one being important as the original Kung Fu Panda films stayed away from referencing pop-culture as it would break the immersion and authenticity of the setting.

This ties into the ERA that these films depict.

Setting

Based on my limited understanding, the original films have done an excellent job at depicting a world that is supposedly set in an authentic ancient China. From the way names are handled, to symbolisms, everything was well done.

The same cannot be said about Kung Fu Panda 4.

I’m not an expert on chinese culture, but from what chinese friends have told me, „Juniper” city doesn’t sound Chinese at all, or has a meaning in Chinese. It’s essentially a Latin word for a common plant that can be found all over the globe.

The architecture of the city is also questionable. It’s trying to give off a metropolitan feel, which doesn’t fit the ERA. Additionally, the architecture of the buildings is odd. It’s like a mesh of the architecture of several Asian cultures.

Then there are some of the names. „Steve” and „Scott” to be specific. These are the names of some masters and I don’t think I need to explain why these don’t fit the setting at all.

I was constantly questioning what movie I was watching as it was hard to believe this is Kung Fu Panda.

Identity crysis

What made me question the film’s identity the most however is the story.

This 4th film felt like a 1st installment rather than a sequel. It conveniently disregards everything from the previous movies that would contradict its plot and world.

The film immediately starts with Shifu coming out of nowhere and saying Po has to choose a new Dragon Warrior at that very moment. Not only did this feel incredibly random, but it’s also thematically incorrect.

First off, why is Shifu saying this? Why would he want Po to pass on his „title” if it's destiny? Why would he want him to do it now? Why did he not even consider ANYONE FROM THE FIVE and instead got 5 randos as candidates out of the blue?

The issue with the whole premise is incredibly flawed. Let me explain…

Po was chosen as the dragon warrior in the first film. There he proved his worth as such. The key to this is that he is the chosen one because it’s his destiny to deal with threats that no one else can.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that he is the best. He is the guy who is and will be in the right place at the right time, with the right tools to deal with threats that no one else can deal with. But I digress, it's a different topic.

The point is that Po’s role as the Dragon Warrior is his destiny. The „title” merely represents that role in the world. So you can pass the title to anyone you want, but that does not change the fact that due to destiny, it’s still going to be Po’s role.

This is not just a coincidence though. Po has shown many times that he has a very open view of the world. This is then combined with his traits of being is warm, outgoing, energetic, friendly, goofy, and unorthodox. He represents the Dragon, Yang in the Yin Yang.

All of this is important to understanding why there is only 1 dragon warrior, and that is Po. End of the story.

The film however completely throws all of this out the window and goes with the new Dragon Warrior plot anyway.

That means the new Dragon Warrior is literally right there next to him. Master Tigress.

Now you might be asking why that would be the case.

This film, although throws out all the symbolisms of the previous films, still shouldn’t disregard the other characters that are around Po.

The 2 characters work like the 2 sides of the Yin-Yang, as complementary forces. They are opposite forces that need each other in order to create balance.

Her influence is extremely necessary throughout the three films, particularly the second and third. It is her companionship, her support, and her constant push against Po’s natural instincts that lead to the best outcome.

Po has achieved a lot of spiritual enlightenment and character development. A lot of it through his own means, but without Tigress he wouldn't be where he is right now.

The Yang is the strongest when it contains the Yin, and the Yin is the strongest when it contains the Yang.

But this dynamic goes both ways. Although we mostly see the effects of this relationship on Po as the films focus on him, it has also changed Tigress. This leads to her opening up more and being more expressive as the films went on, giving us glimpses into the compassionate person she truly is.

While symbolically she is not the dragon, the 4th film establishes that it doesn’t care about the symbolisms or anything that the previous films have established. So naturally a character that compliments Po this well, should be put into the spotlight and get the character development that she deserves. A character that went through serious changes, but is still left incomplete. You might as well make her the new Dragon Warrior then.

She - altough deserved the title the most even in the first film - lacked the ability to see the world from a perspective that's required to handle certain situations. The Dragon Warrior is way more than just being the perfect warrior. Po's presence was necessary for her to change her attitude. Leading to her slowly becoming her best self. Knowing all of this, it's not such a wild thought that if there has to be a new person who takes over that role, then Tigress would be a great choice for that.

But what is there for her to learn from Po? Spirituality.

Tigress has always been a grounded, by-the-book character. This can be mostly attributed to her upbringing. Her changing and becoming more open, seeing things differently would have been something interesting to explore, and this would also take care of the issue of the „new trilogy” copying the original trilogy’s main character development.

However, the film completely ignores her existence, and the new Dragon Warrior is instead a random Zootopia fox.

The (new) deuteragonist

There is so little to say about Zhen. The best thing I could compare her to is an untreated wooden board.

It’s rough, full of splinter, and there are many like it. Probably one of the most cliché characters I have seen in a very long time.

She is generic, has an overused „misunderstood fox thief” trope, and a character arc that is so predictable that we all knew what was going to happen just from reading the film’s synopsis at the beginning of 2023.

Her backstory is a copy of Tigress’ except if Shifu was evil. An orphan who is taken in by a master who emotionally neglects her. Said orphan doing what her master wants in order to be loved/accepted by said master. Except that Zhen doesn’t seem to have any attachment or loyalty to the Chameleon. So the „Sad backstory” fails to garner any sympathy towards the character.

Her dynamic with Po is non-existent, which is why their „friendship” is forced. The creators tried so hard to make the two bond, that they forgot to give them time, shared experiences, or anything that would resemble an emotional connection between them. They just quickly went over everything that they have in common in a dialogue and that’s it. There was no prerequisite completed that would make Po care about Zhen or vice versa.

Furthermore, Zhen doesn’t fit the traits that the dragon has, she is not spiritual either or has an open view of the world. So why is she the new one then?

And I wanted to avoid talking about this, but the character is a textbook Mary Sue.

per wikipedia

Zhen is more than capable in a fight to keep up with Po, even though it was not shown why she is so good at fighting. One thing is for sure, she shouldn’t know Kung Fu as she certainly didn’t learn it from her „master” the Chameleon if the film’s plot has any consistency.

She is not only able to manipulate Chi, but also to use Po’s staff without knowing anything about either of those.

A previous character’s role being retconned so that she can take it for herself (See the rant about the Dragon Warrior title above)

She always gets along with characters that matter, getting what she wants.

No real character drawbacks.

A throwaway character like this, should be a minor support character, not the new main protagonist for crying out loud.

Her inadequacies are so blatant as a character, that no wonder they didn’t even want to have at the very least Tigress in the film as Zhen would immediately become irrelevant to the audience. They put all the spotlight they could on her, at the expense of the story, and in the end achieved nothing in return.

Tell me with a straight face that a character that has an entire movie focusing on them - who still remains a generic, boring character by the end, without any story potential - should be the new main protagonist. The fact that most people don’t even refer to the character by her name, but by the actress’ name Awkwafina should tell you everything about how memorable she is.

Most new characters and animal designs don’t fit the KFP art style.

A good example of this is Zhen.

This is how a fox would look like in Nico Marlet’s KFP style:

And this is what we got:

Sorry, wrong picture. I meant this:

Now, I’m not a character designer, or a professional artist, I only draw a couple of his characters, but I can see that this is way too far off from his work. If not from personal experience, then from the interviews that Nico Marlet himself gave.

The same issue applies to the villain of the film, the chameleon, but atleast with her they tried (somewhat).

The Villain

They say a film is as good, as its villain. This seems to be true in the case of this film too.

The Chameleon sucks.

She has no connection to anyone from the cast. She has no emotional leverage or pressure on the cast. She is not scary or powerful enough to make the audience care about the cast. Her motivation is so terrible, it might be one of the reasons why the Five was kept out of the film because their mere existence single-handedly demolishes her reason for breaking bad.

Outside of this, the character is unoriginal and uninspired. She basically can “lick” people and steal their Kung Fu? I honestly don't know how to put this into words because it doesnt make any lick of sense (I did the funny). If anything it's a budget version of Kai.

They didn’t even bother to give her a name.

What I will say though is that Viola Davis did what she could with what she was given. I found it amusing that she managed to give the chameleon those serious villainous vibes, while at the same time, the character is a joke. If that’s not a testament to the voice actor’s abilities then I don’t know what is. She was definitely wasted on this role.

As for the “returning villains”. I knew they were only there for cash-grab from the moment they said that all of them would return. Shen, is dead. He is not a Kung Fu master, he doesn’t have any connection with Chi, and he hasn’t been banished to the spirit realm. Then there is Kai, whose soul/spirit doesn’t exist anymore.

The only one that could ever return was Tai Lung. However, due to the gravity of his character, if he does return it has to be done perfectly regardless of what direction his character takes.

Now, many of us knew from the start that whatever they were gonna do with him would be bad (I mean there is a massive beef between Tigress and him, and yet she is not even in the film), but I think I speak for all of us when I say that they managed to somehow lowball it even worse than expected.

Basically, the Chameleon brings him back from the spirit realm, licks the Kung Fu out of him, he says like 3-4 lines, and returns to the spirit realm…. what the actual f*ck.

I’m sure I don’t need to go into a 10-paragraph rant on how much storytelling potential was wasted with this, because everyone knows. From reconciling with his dad, to her little sister having a crazy beef with him, to having to accept all the wrongs he did, accepting that he is not the Dragon warrior etc. etc. etc…

There was always only 1 chance of bringing him back. If he came back in a new film or show (again) it wouldn’t have anywhere near the same impact as it should, and it would also feel weird to the audience.

DreamWorks, you had 1 chance to bring this guy back, and you wasted it all on this film.

The non-existent magic system.

Or rather, how this film didn’t care about it at all.

Kung Fu Panda has a relatively grounded world. It’s animals that do Kung Fu based on their natural abilities. The closest thing we got to supernatural was Chi, but it was well handled in the 3rd film in my opinion.

Chi is life force and not magic. This means if you use it, you are exhausting your own life force. This means you would only use it in certain situations, such as healing someone who is mortally wounded, or perhaps to enhance an attack in a desperate fight.

The film doesn’t care about this and handles it as just a regular, inexhaustible force of energy. This can mostly be seen with Po as he uses it whenever he feels like it.

The other type of magic is what the Chameleon is using. It’s not explained, or shown how it works. It’s just there to further progress the plot so that the character can take the Kung Fu from others. (Seriously, how does that work?)

The Kung Fu action

The fight scenes were also a downgrade compared to the previous films.

In KFP 4 they felt less energetic, less grounded, and overall too cartoonish. As an example, Po can jump ridiculously high because… I don’t know, I guess the film just ignores the fact that he is Panda who sometimes even struggles to pull himself up to a rooftop.

The previous films incorporated the strengths and weaknesses of the animals that fought. Po is not very mobile, but he is very durable, and his fighting style compliments this. However, when he really needs to get somewhere, his lack of mobility is then offset by his friends, the Furious Five.

The Furious Five

Their absence can be severely felt throughout the movie. That is because in their place was a generic character that had forced interactions with Po.

They have great synergy with him, that cannot be replicated, however minor their role might be sometimes. They serve as a great way to fill in those empty spots in the story, and to elevate the villain. Additionally, their fight scenes are entertaining and help to spice up the choreography.

Although they are great companions, if the film really doesn’t have the time to spare for them, then it's understandable if they aren’t around. However the same cannot be said about Tigress.

A Kung Fu Panda film has to have Po and Tigress interact, due to the reasons already explained above regarding her, and also because of the following:

They are direct opposites, which is why their relationship is so entertaining, regardless if you look at them as platonic best friends, or as a potential couple.

Po is warm, outgoing, brash, energetic, friendly, goofy, and unorthodox, however, he is also serious when needed. While Tigress is introverted, calm, calculated, passive, and intuitive, but deep down she is also a very compassionate and conflicted person that we rarely see. This is then in conjunction with the emotional bond that the previous films have built up between them. These are the reasons why just putting these two in a room is enough to create entertaining scenarios. They add a lot of fun, heartfelt, and emotional moments to every film.

Whenever Po is facing a problem, she is right there to help him through it, whether by talking it through or by beating some sense into him (literally).

She has always been quintessential in Po’s development and motivations.

Memberberries, Memberberries everywhere…

It was jarring to see the film disregarding the existence of the previous movies to justify its plot, but at the same time heavily relied on tropes, and scenes from said films. I’m not kidding when I say that there were moments that were ripped straight out of them.

One of those moments is the standoff between Po and Zhen before the final fight. Zhen wants to stop Po to avoid him getting hurt, but the fight ends with her hugging Po….

Yeah… it was a blatant copy of the prison scene from the 2nd film. However, I think the 2 scenes here perfectly encapsulate why the previous films worked, and why the 4th film doesn’t.

The prison scene in the 2nd film was essentially an emotionally unstable Po being held back by a caring Tigress. Po is so focused on getting to the truth that he forgets the reason they are there, and would put his and his friends’ lives in jeopardy to know what happened to him and his parents. So much so that Po was ready to get beaten to a pulp by Tigress instead of staying down there and waiting until the Five finished the task.

But instead of that happening, Tigress saw how lost Po was, and realized she needed to calm him down to help him understand their situation. And so the person who has always been portrayed as an unfeeling, hardcore, essentially perfect warrior gave Po an unexpected hug and told him he is too important for her to lose him.

This moment has gravity and weight, because of how she is perceived, because of how Po views her, and because Tigress was forced out of her comfort zone to emotionally connect with Po, to help him. It’s a moment of pure comradery and care towards each other that ascends the situation they are in. It’s a moment that in many ways defined their relationship going forward.

In comparison to this, the scene that copied this in the 4th film has none of the emotional underlinings that I discussed, and so it falls flat and feels cringe rather than heartfelt and warm. This is mainly due to Po and Zhen having no connection, bond, or reason to care about each other. But then there is the other element that I discussed when talking about the villain. Po is in no real danger, and it never felt like he was.

Production

From the early leaks, it was blatantly obvious that the production of this film was rushed. Between the artificially forced plot, the generic character designs, the non-existence of the Five, the lack of time, money, commitment, and care was apparent.

However, due to an interview that the Co-director did with some folks on the subreddit discord, light was shed on the nightmare that was the production. I won’t go into details, as everyone should read the Q&A for themselves, but I’ll touch upon a point that was brought up as an excuse for this film turning out the way it did.

(this is a real concept art from the production btw)

Some are saying the reason the film turned like this was due to the budget restriction. That they simply didn’t have the money to have characters like Tigress return due to Angelina Jolie costing a ridiculous amount of money.

But then I have to ask: They had the budget for characters like Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Po’s dads (James Hong & Bryan Cranston), Tai Lung (Ian McShane), who in the end turned out to be completely irrelevant to the story, but not at the very least for Tigress (Angelina Jolie)?

I’m not saying that you cannot make a story with these characters, because you obviously could make a great one. What I’m trying to point out is if you have such a limited budget, are you really going to blow it all on actors who play characters that essentially add nothing to the story? This is why I call bullshit on them not getting at least Angelina Jolie back to play Tigress.

Let’s not even mention how you could always recast these characters anyway (although it's clear that the execs are the ones forcing the use of A-list actors).

So for the sake of the argument, let’s come up with a story, that has a reason to exist, has characters that you can do something with, and fits the budget that you are given.

For me - considering that this film was essentially a buddy adventure film - it's an easy task. Just have Po help Tigress explore her origins. I know it's cheesy and basic, but at the very least you have what’s needed for a decent story that would be able to expand on a beloved character, and even help develop Po into a spiritual leader as he has to aid her best friend.

Another idea is what my friend and I had come up with. Have Po bring Lei Lei (now much older, and is a student under him and Tigress) on an adventure. You wouldn’t even need Tigress to appear in the film, because these characters would reference her many times. Lei Lei is a copy of Po in the sense that she wanted to do Kung Fu because she puts Tigress on a pedestal. Because of how influential she was in her life, Lei Lei’s personality is a copy of Tigress’.

I’m just shooting ideas here, but at least these wouldn’t ruin the continuity of the franchise and would be able to navigate the studio limitations that the creators had to face. (from the ones we know of).

"Limitation is the mother of creativity"

KFP 4 was a shallow, artificial story that didn't add anything to the franchise, only degraded it and stripped it of it's remaining value. It's missing the foundations of a KFP film, such as the heart, artistry, and warmth. It's not unexpected as none of the original brains worked on this film.

So what can be expected from this franchise going forward?

Well, not much honestly. It was a weak attempt by DreamWorks to continue the main storyline, not for the sake of the story, but to milk as much money out of it as they can. Even though with a little bit of effort they really could have at least made a good film in the end. However, between the incompetence of the decision makers, the rushed production, and the new people not knowing much about the franchise, that was never going to happen.

The only thing that we can hope for is a spinoff (which is about a decade late at this point), that focuses on Tigress. It’s the only way I see anything for this franchise going forward and hopefully, this film served as a wakeup call for the executives.

Thank you to those who had the patience to read through my inessential rant. Let me know what you guys think about the film.

#kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 #kfp #kfp 4 #review #rant post

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chososcamgirl · 5 months ago

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𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆 - y/n’s cattery!

—

m.list

background !

you and maki’s first ever interaction was at the age of 5 when maki pushed you off the playground slide in kindergarten. the stunt of hers left you both in tears as you had a grazed knee and she had a scolding in which after she ended up apologising to you. since then you guys have been bestfriends ever since. you and mai were also close but nothing could compare to the friendship you and maki shared. when you both turned 15, maki moved into the town over so you both went to different high schools. you both still kept in touch by calling every night - discussing the different gossip and one another’s school. alongside this you both met up frequently - every sunday to be accurate because you both could not stand to be physically distant with eachother.

the little rendezvous both of you held still continued until after you both graduated from high school. you both ended up attending eachothers because the ceremonies were a day apart - maki’s being first. after the ceremony, maki introduced you to yuta, panda & toge in which you called out toge as to why he was wearing what looked like his pyjamas under his robe (it was in fact his pyjamas.) after a bit of back and forth banter and laughter, maki invited you to join them for dinner together to which on you agreed to. after 5 courses of pure goodness, 32 dirty plates, 2 attempts of a food fight (toge being the prime suspect for both), some underage drinking - mostly from panda getting crunk after 4 bottles of soju - and many many embarrassing stories shared later, you guys all headed home, full of food and joy. you didn’t realise how fun maki’s other friends were. sure you heard stories here and there but experiencing a night out with them was for sure in your top 10 most cherishable memories.

you would’ve never imagined being hungover at your graduation. even you took 3 ibuprofen in the morning, your head was still banging and it was your turn next up to claim your certificate. suddenly your name was called and an eruption of screams came from the crowd. not only did the front row consist of your parents and family, but also maki, toge, yuta and panda in which the loudest of screams and cheers came from them. later on maki told you that the three guys were also planning on attending the same college as you and maki. maki who is studying law, yuta who is studying occupational therapy, panda & toge who are both studying finance and commerce, and you who is studying veterinary science.

during summer of that year, the 5 of you became inseparable, doing anything and everything together. you realised that everyone had a part in your friendgroup. maki whilst keeping the role of your bestfriend is also the “mom friend” and always keeping everyone in line - in another words from being arrested. yuta is the empath, you could always go to him whenever you needed an unbias opinion or just to rant - he always reassures you that if you need to let go he’s always there and his advice is always understanding. panda is the party animal, you always know it’s gonna be a good time if panda is there. the most memorable moments are always with him and he is the literal embodiment of gaf. and finally toge. toge is your partner in crime, you grew closest to him over the summer. you want to go egg your ex’s house? he’s there with shopping bags full of eggs. you want to bully some kids on roblox? he’s there with two headsets. you want to get drunk and forget about everything? he’s there with panda and three fake id’s. needless to say that summer was unforgettable.

after summer, you guys found an apartment complex that were currently looking out for people to rent the two rooms available. of course you guys immediately jumped onto it. what’s the next best thing living with your best friends? living 4 doors down! you guys were going to make these next couple years the best ever.

fun facts !

ᨘ໑▸ the characters included in this post are all aged 19-20

ᨘ໑▸ on the third day of college toge and panda got banned from the campus library after playing penis.

ᨘ໑▸ you, toge and panda always have a big going on and it used to concern poor yuta at the start because he thought it was actually serious.

ᨘ໑▸ panda, yuta and toge live together in one room and you and maki live together, along with your tabby cat called ‘beck’.

ᨘ໑▸ you guys all do grocery shopping together, but panda always comes to your apartment to steal food because theirs is always gone halfway through the week.

ᨘ໑▸ there once was a big ass spider in your apartment so you called toge to come and kill it but as soon as he walked in it jumped on his face and he scream was so high it was comparable to a dog whistle. you also recorded the whole thing and mention it atleast twice a week.

a/n: there is a love interest in each group :3

#𝐂𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐄

synopsis ; the season of sun-kissed oceans and golden-hued moments is before you! however being a broke college student is not an ideal look to have, especially at your age. desperately seeking solace from financial woes, you and your bestfriend stumble upon an unexpected opportunity - a cat cafe. crafting lattes and pampering purring patrons seems easy enough, right? that fantasy lasts about one day before reality claws in.

🏷️taglist: @coquetteslvt @aliventboo @izakyun @luvvmae @tuihiatus @soonajeeme @ascybous @rotten1angel @catobsessedlady @myguumi @enhleui @viviennevianna @spacebaby1 @iheartlinds @haikyuu-tothetop @mua-for-now @waytootiredforthisss @j2upiters

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ayyy-pee · 6 months ago

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𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 3: 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝑶𝒏

Discord 18+ - Twitter - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - Series Masterlist

Pairing: Choso x f! Reader

Summary: Things take a turn.

Chapter Warnings: Angst...

WC: 6.6k

Choso Art By:NC9__

**While not all chapters contain adult content, the themes of this story are targeted towards adults, so minors DNI please.

No one warned you just how difficult university would be.

Your first semester of college has been kicking your ass in all honesty. Between your art projects, extracurriculars and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, you’re completely burnt out. It was quite the adjustment from high school where teachers stayed on you about your school work and assignments. You'd learned very quickly that now, one was responsible for you but you.

At 19, it was a true test of your maturity. And you were failing that test quite miserably.

“I have one last project due and then I’ll finally be able to breathe. This professor has been up my ass all semester. I can’t wait for winter break and to be done with his class.” You set your bags down on your desk before you adjust your cell phone between your cheek and shoulder. “Sorry to rant. How are you all doing?”

A deep voice rumbles on the other end of the line with a laugh that makes your cheeks warm every time you hear it.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I’m just happy to hear from you. At least you’re letting me know what to realistically expect when I start school next year.” You hear shifting on the other side and you know he’s getting comfortable, probably in bed. “Yuji’s good. He’s also getting ready for winter break so he’ll be home most of the time. Eso’s been struggling with algebra, but Kechizu is surprisingly good at it. He’s been helping him study and–”

You listen closely, hanging on every word falling from your friend’s lips as he catches you up on his brother’s lives. It’s been a few months since you’ve spoken to Choso over the phone. While you’d keep in touch after the summer months until you were back on the beach, you’ve both been busy with your new normal. You haven’t seen Choso either, your first year of college being surprisingly more difficult than you’d expected so you opted for summer classes in hopes to maintain your GPA instead of taking your annual trip with your parents.

It was the first time since you were 9 that you hadn’t gone back to the beach. Your parents reluctantly returned without you your first summer in university, only after you had pushed them to enjoy a romantic vacation together for once. You remember the pictures you’d received from your mother the night they got into town. She was quick to spam you with pictures of your little pink haired friend who had grown even taller since the last time you’d seen him. She’d also sent a photo of all four of the brothers sitting at your dinner table, just as they always did on your first night in town since you were all kids.

It was reminiscent of all the summers you’d spent together growing up, except there was a noticeable gap where you’d usually be sitting, right between Choso and Yuji. As your eyes roamed over every detail, every way the boys had grown and changed, you couldn’t help the pang of disappointment you felt from missing out on this. You wanted to see them, hug them, be with them and enjoy your summer together. But you couldn’t. And it hurt more than you wanted to admit.

It hurt that you wouldn’t spend days and nights at the beach. You wouldn’t be taking Yuji all over the town with you and spoiling him rotten like you always have. You wouldn’t be climbing out of your bedroom window to sneak out to parties. You wouldn’t be working the summer at Panda’s, closing shop and sitting at the shoreline to watch the sunsets with Choso.

Choso…

Your eyes were locked on the tall figure in the photo and you found yourself pinching your thumb and index finger together, pressing them to your phone screen before expanding and zooming in on the picture. He was wearing his signature tiny smile that he reserved only for you and your family. Those same pigtails that have sat atop his head since he was 10 years old were still there, but that baby face was long gone. He was all chiseled jawline and sharp cheekbones now, even more handsome than when you saw him last summer, if possible, and your heart fluttered at the thought.

You stared at those dark eyes that had peered into yours that cool summer night last year as he leaned closer, those soft lips that pressed against your mouth as you exchanged your first kisses with each other. Those lips…they consumed your thoughts. Those lips that uttered those three words that still kept you up at night as they echoed through your mind:

“Just one more.”

Heat rushed to your cheeks, to the tips of your ears and you could hear the blood rushing through your body as the memories played clearly through your mind.

The slight tilt of Choso’s head as he deepened the kiss just barely. The way you gasped when his tongue gently ran along the seam of your lip. How he sighed, low and deep when he heard the little sounds you were making and all because of him.

Neither you nor Choso have spoken about your first kiss since it happened. He’d walked you home from the beach that night, hugged you tight one last time and then you spent the remainder of the night clutching at your chest, desperately willing your heart to calm down.

“You still there?” Choso’s voice pulls you from your trip down memory lane and you clear your throat to buy yourself time to gather your thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just…I’m sad. I’m glad everyone’s doing well, but I almost feel like I missed a part of that because I didn’t go back to the beach for the summer.” You fall back onto your bed with a groan. “I miss you.”

The words fall from your lips easily, though your eyes widen when you realize what you’ve said. While you had never been one to sugarcoat your words with Choso, you couldn’t help but feel as though those simple words held more weight since the kiss.

Choso doesn’t seem to be having the same thoughts, because he quickly replies with an, “I miss you, too.”

And just like that, the conversation picks right back up.

It’s easy with Choso. It’s always easy. You sometimes forget just how easy it is.

- - - - - - - -

That breather you thought you’d be getting for winter break? Yeah, that didn’t happen.

Could it be because your first year of college hadn’t gone according to plan which resulted in you ending the year with a lower than desired grade point average? Who could say? That wasn’t important anyway. The important thing was that you’d opted to take Winter classes as well. Because your life wasn’t already hell Monday through Friday during the spring and fall semesters. Not to mention the summer classes you’d taken earlier in the year that had kept you from being able to tag along on your annual beach trip.

College was turning out to be more of a drag than anything. Luckily, you had made plenty of friends here that made the fact you were missing out on these things a lot more bearable.

It was during the Winter semester that you’d met Iori Utahime, a beautiful young woman with a curious scar across her face that somehow only added to her stunning looks. The two of you had quickly hit it off, both wanting to take your studies seriously and needing someone to hold the other accountable for reaching their goal. Utahime wanted to pursue a career in music and while your majors differed, you were still artists just the same.

Your similarities didn’t end there either. You shared core classes and unfortunately also shared struggling GPAs, which only brought you closer to each other. So when you found yourselves paired up for a project for one of your Winter courses, you soon found yourselves together more often than not.

And she’d introduced you to more friends as time went on.

There was Satoru. Satoru was goofy. That was the best way to describe him. He never took anything seriously, because everything was easy for him. Seriously. He was a genius who never needed to study because he just knew he’d ace his exams. Because of this, he was all about enjoying the college experience.

You could catch Satoru at every party, the center of attention everywhere he went. He was Mr. Popular. There was no one on campus who did not know who Satoru Gojo was. Almost every student on campus either wanted him or wanted to be him. And although you didn't share the same desires as them, you could see the appeal.

Satoru was tall. Way too tall. And had the strangest hair color you’d ever seen– stark white and so messy. He claimed it was natural, though you had your doubts. In a way, his hair reminded you oddly of Choso, if only because you could only think about how it was the total opposite of your friends. And his eyes…they also reminded you of Choso. Because they were as blue as the ocean you’d sat in front of many times with him. As blue as the waters that had brought you to Choso in the first place.

But that was where the similarities ended. Satoru was carefree, going with the flow whenever he could. He never planned for anything, he just let things happen. And he bugged Utahime in a way you couldn’t understand. It’s not really like he had to do much in the first place to get under her skin. All he needed to do was breathe within the same vicinity as Utahime and she was going ballistic. And Satoru seemed to love that.

There was Suguru, Satoru’s best friend. Or more? You could never quite tell with those two. He also reminded you of Choso in a way. Not physically, but general demeanor. Suguru was quieter, more observant than Satoru. He was thoughtful and kind, not abrasive at all; soft spoken in a way that made you feel as though he truly cared for you. And you liked that about him.

When out, you’d often find yourself next to Suguru. His presence was warm and comforting, almost familiar. You felt safe and protected with him and you knew that if Suguru was with you, you could just count on him to look out for you. You’d grown close fairly quickly and had established a friendship outside of your immediate friend group. You spent a lot of time together, but there was never any connection between you two aside from friendship.

And then there was the last of your group – Shoko. Clearly there was something going on between her and Utahime. But if you asked either of them, they'd quickly deny it. None of you were dumb, even with your low GPAs. The stolen glances, the touches they thought you all didn’t notice, the way one always ended up leaving exactly three minutes before the other decided to call it a night.

You found it very amusing, the way they thought none of you knew what was going on.

Their situation made you think more about Choso and how he –

Wait.

Why were you thinking about Choso so much? Why did everything suddenly remind you of him? You couldn’t think about any of your new friends without comparing them to Choso. Even after all this time.

After your last summer vacation, Choso had spent a good amount of time on your mind. But it’s been almost two years now. A second summer vacation was coming up and you were once again abandoning plans to go to the beach with your family and opting to take more summer courses to boost your GPA.

And it wasn’t as though you’d spoken to Choso much, either. Between your studies and his own life happenings, there wasn’t much time to chat. You carve out time when you can and appreciate the usual nightcap you both share every so often. But you're busy with your studies and Choso…well…

When your second year of college began, that was also when Choso had broken the sad news to you that college would be put on hold for him indefinitely.

“It’s my dad,” he’d told you. “Fucker just up and left and we haven’t heard from him since. Not that I should be surprised. I guess I'm only shocked it took him so long.”

You could hear the words come through gritted teeth, how he’d tried to hide the venom that dripped from each syllable. He was beyond pissed. You knew Choso better than you knew any other friend. There was no better way to get on his bad side than to mess with his beloved siblings.

But you knew more than anything that Choso was disappointed, crestfallen even.

For Choso, getting out of that small beach town and getting an education was his path to a better life for himself and for his brothers. His father taking that from him felt like the ultimate betrayal. What could you even say to lift his spirits at that point?

“I'm so sorry, Cho. Fuck, I'm sorry.”

It didn't feel like enough.

You checked in with him when you could. And he checked in with you when he could, but he was busy working. He’d accepted a full time position as a manager at Panda’s and had even told you a spot would be there for when you returned the next summer.

But it looked like someone else would have to fill the position this year.

You missed your vacations back to your second home. You missed the warmth of the sand beneath your feet and the smell of the salty ocean air as you all spent your days at the beach. You missed scooping ice cream at Panda’s and doodling the horizon in your sketchbook from your spot behind the counter when work was slow. You missed sneaking out to bonfires and having Choso toss you his sweater the moment you landed in his arms in nothing but the shorts and bikini tops he so hated.

You missed Choso.

That last night at the beach revealed to you for the first time that you may have feelings for your best friend that are more than just friendship. Freshly 18 year old you with almost no prior dating history hardly knew what those feelings meant. But almost 20 year old you, well it's been loud and clear for some time that this has slowly become more than some childish crush.

You like Choso.

The whispered call of your name pulls you from your spiraling thoughts and you look up to find Satoru’s bright eyes staring questioningly at you from across the table. You’d all met up in the library to study for your exam coming up at the end of the week. Of course he was checking in because you’d zoned out in the middle of your cram session to daydream about your long distance crush.

Except, that wasn’t why Satoru was checking in at all.

It’s only when Satoru waves his hand next to him that you see another tall figure standing beside the table. Your eyes roam up his form until they land on his face. And it surprises you when you feel your heart kickstart and begin racing.

Because you thought only Choso could get that reaction from you.

“This is Kaito,” Satoru introduces him and Kaito smiles, eyes locked on yours and you think you can hear your heart pounding in your chest.

Kaito is tall, slender, but not in the way Satoru is. If anything, you’d say he has the same body type as Suguru. He’s lean. You can tell from the way his clothes accentuate his form that he’s fit. And he’s got the most beautiful smile, teeth so brilliantly white that you’re nervous to see how brightly they shine in the sun. Gorgeous emerald green eyes sit beneath long black lashes and wow, he is really fucking good looking.

He politely introduces himself, running his hand through a messy black wolfcut as he takes the seat right beside you after Suguru heads to his next class.

You all resume studying shortly after Satoru’s friend’s arrival. Kaito seems to fit right in, quickly becoming friendly with the rest of the group and you. But you soon notice that Kaito has taken quite a liking to you.

Again, 20 year old you is not as clueless as you used to be and the attention he focuses on you is giving you an insane amount of butterflies.

You catch his little glimpses at you from the corner of your eye, the way he’s quick to lean over and help you resolve an equation you were stuck on, the way he never breaks eye contact with you when you’re speaking with him. Like every word that leaves your mouth is the most important thing he’s ever heard.

“So yeah, that’s why hot cheetos are like the best chip there are.” You finish your rant, beaming because you finally got to tell someone your true feelings about this.

“Absolutely…fascinating…” Utahime comments sarcastically. She’d stopped listening to your rambling ages ago, nose buried in her textbook.

Shoko and Satoru had left to get refreshments so unfortunately for them, they'd missed the entire thing.

But Kaito, you’ve got his full attention. “No, really. It’s truly fascinating. I’d love to hear more.”

His grin has your tummy squeezing, that sweet tickle returning and you find yourself smiling right back despite your little epiphany about your feelings regarding your childhood friend just moments before Kaito showed up.

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

A loud slurping can be heard from across the table, effectively popping the little bubble that you and Kaito had suddenly found yourselves in. On the other side of the table sits Satoru, back from his trip to the cafe, guzzling a sweet juice while he watches you and Kaito talk over the rim of his glasses. Next to him, Utahime’s face is twisted into a look of pure hatred and disgust. Satoru ignores it.

“Y’all should go out,” Satoru suggests casually, like he’s talking about something as unimportant as the weather. “Talk about animal crackers or whatever the hell.”

Shoko snorts as she discreetly slides a snack over to Utahime while no one is looking. Except everyone sees it anyway because these two are so fucking obvious.

“Yeah, go out,” Shoko also chimes in. “Think you two would make a great couple.”

Your face ignites with heat, the sudden idea making you want to kick Satoru and Shoko under the table.

But Kaito smirks, eyes holding your gaze like they have been this entire time and he says, “I’d like that. Can I?”

You glance at Utahime who stares at you in surprise.

“Um…can you what?” You question, trying to buy yourself time to think.

“Can I take you out? Like, on a date.” His response is quick. It’s so easy for him. He just spits it out and says what he wants. And you’re sitting here still freaking out just over Satoru’s suggestion.

“I…”

“If I bring hot cheetos with me, would that make it more tempting?” He’s so charming, and cute, and sweet and–

Ugh, what reason do you have to say no to him?

The sudden vision of pigtails flashes through your mind. And suddenly, the excitement you were feeling seems to fall away. And Kaito seems to sense it, because his grin falters a little, becoming just a small smile on his lips and he simply nods and gives you a “sure” when you ask him, “Can I get back to you?”

- - - - - - - -

“I met someone today,” you speak quietly into the phone, lying in bed after leaving your study date with your friends. You’re nervous. Probably because you’re testing the waters here. Probably because your walk back to your dorm after Kaito had asked you out was eye opening.

Can you really open yourself to date someone else seriously when your thoughts are plagued by another man? Can you open yourself to the possibility of being with someone else when the person you want to be with is hundreds of miles away, in some little beach town?

Because that's what you've come to realize. You want to be with Choso.

You just need to know if he feels the same way you do. You have an idea of how Choso feels about you based on the last time you’d seen each other. But that doesn’t make you feel any less like digging a hole in the ground and burying yourself in embarrassment thinking about bringing any of this up.

“Oh yeah? Another new friend?” Choso asks distantly. He’s currently at Panda’s closing shop, so he’s got you on speaker while he completes his nightly tasks. You were happy (maybe too happy) when he'd answered your call tonight.

“Sort of a friend, sure…He’s nice…”

You’re hoping he’ll take the hint quickly here.

But when Choso just gives you an absentminded “that’s cool”, you know you’ve only got half of his attention. And you want all of it.

“Yeah. His name is Kaito. Really nice guy.” And it’s true. You think Kaito is nice, but you think Choso is nicer. That's not to say you're not into Kaito either. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t interested in him. But you’d also be lying if you said you weren’t interested in Choso as well. Maybe more than you are Kaito. Because for you, you’re pretty sure it will always be Choso. Even though you've never had anyone else, you know you don't need to. It's Choso for you.

That is why your thoughts have been consumed with him. This revelation has been so freeing.

You just need to know if he feels the same.

“Glad you’re meeting new people.”

He’s still distracted, the sounds of him pushing the chairs around the store’s lobby echoing through the phone. You didn’t want to have to show your hand so quickly, but you’re tired from a long day of studying and tired from years of beating around the bush. It’s been over a decade of your feelings slowly building for Choso and now your heart is ready to burst. You have no choice but to push this conversation along a little faster.

“Yeah, his name is Kaito. He asked me out on a date actually.”

And finally, you get an actual reaction from Choso. Not a grunt, not a hum in reply or some offhand comment. Instead, you hear him shuffling around, then the sound of tapping on his phone, likely taking you off of the speaker. His voice comes through, crisp and clear now.

“Sorry,” he apologizes through quick breaths. “What was that?”

“I said Kaito asked me out on a date…this weekend.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep,” you reply cheerily, hopefully driving the knife a little deeper. Immature, sure, but at this point you’d do anything to get Choso a little closer to saying whether or not he has any feelings for you, if he wants you in the same way you want him. “Probably dinner at his place. Maybe a movie. Not sure yet.”

Choso hums quietly. “And you like this guy…that you just met…today…Kaito…” He says his name like he’s testing it on his tongue.

“He’s really nice.”

“As you’ve said.”

You’re about taken aback by the sudden bite in Choso’s tone, but you ignore his snarkiness. “I don't know how I feel about him yet.”

“Clearly you like him enough to be telling me about him.”

More bite behind his words. Still, you push forward. “I mean, is that bad?” You adjust the phone, moving it to your other ear as you get comfortable beneath your blankets. “You’re my friend, right?”

“Sure, but we don’t talk about stuff like this.”

And he had a point. Even during your summers entertaining Mahito, Choso never wanted to hear about any conversations you had with him. And it’s not like you had that many interactions with him anyway since Choso seemed to always be there whenever the silver haired boy was near you. And you had friends back home to talk about your school girl crushes that never resulted in anything with.

Aside from your first encounter with Mahito, Choso had also never discussed whether or not you were ever interested in anyone romantically and you had never thought to ask him either. Granted, you only saw each other over the summers and during the year, school kept you both so busy, you couldn’t worry about dating. Your parents were never against it and you'd gone to a movie or two with people who had asked you out, but it was never serious. You didn't care enough to commit to anyone, too focused on trying to get into a good school.

In the summers, the last thing on your mind was asking Choso if he had feelings for anyone else. Most of the time he was with you, anyway. And when he wasn't, he was with his brothers.

You'd never given thought to Choso…desiring anyone.

Suddenly, the thought of Choso with someone else makes your stomach churn, has your head spinning. Choso in someone else’s arms, hugging someone else, kissing someone else’s lips.

Oh, it has your blood boiling in a way you’ve never experienced before and you try not to sound too petulant when you finally mutter, “Yeah, but I want to talk to you about it now.”

“But why?” He sounds thoroughly confused. You try not to sigh into the receiver.

“Choso…we’ve literally kissed before, but talking about crushes is where you draw the line?”

It’s the first time either of you have ever mentioned the kiss, now a memory that continues to plague your thoughts and your dreams.

“Even weirder reason to talk to me about this,” you hear him mumble on the other end.

“How? We’re adults! We can talk about things like that. Besides…” you fiddle with your blanket, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth nervously. “It’s really not weird at all…unless the kiss meant something…more to you?”

You’re met with silence. A long stretch of silence that has you fidgeting anxiously. You almost want to laugh, say “I’m just kidding!” and hang up. But then Choso surprises you. He speaks so quietly, you almost don’t hear it over the thundering of your own heart.

“Did it mean something to you?”

Of course it did. What a stupid question. That silly little first kiss and those lips of Choso’s have been eating away at your brain for almost two years. Saying it meant something to you felt like the understatement of the century. You want to scream out loud that that kiss meant everything to you and you’re sorry it took you so long to stop being an idiot and realize that yes, the kiss was more than that. It opened the door for you to realize exactly how you felt about Choso.

But even so, you still answer with a very quiet “yes”.

And because it’s Choso, who has never lied to you a day in his life, he responds without hesitation. “Me too.”

Finally! The confirmation you were waiting for! The kiss meant something to Choso, too. You weren’t crazy!

“I’ve been thinking about it since it happened. A lot,” Choso confesses.

“Me too. Probably way too much.”

Choso chuckles, which makes you laugh in turn. It’s the answer you wanted to hear from him, but now that that’s out there and your heart is calming down just a bit, it gives your brain enough time to catch up. And now, you’re a little confused.

“Wait. Why’d you tell me I should go out with Kaito?” You laugh again; half from nerves, half from feeling so silly that you used the guy as bait instead of just outright asking Choso how he felt.

The silence has suddenly returned and any semblance of humor seconds ago has now vanished. Now, you feel nervous again. Like your gut is telling you to end this call immediately. This is the calm before the storm and that knife you were twisting into Choso’s back to try and urge an honest response from him soon finds its way into yours when Choso says, “Because you should.”

The knife twists.

“You like him, don’t you? Go on a date with him.”

“Ha ha.” It’s all you can think to say, because it’s keeping the pain at bay for just a second longer. Only a second longer.

“I’m being serious.”

Another twist. And the sting begins to settle in.

“Choso…”

He says your name back to you. “Do you like him?”

“I like you.” It’s the first time you’ve openly admitted it to him. A few seconds pass by with no response, so you keep talking, if only to fill the silence. “Obviously you feel the same way or that kiss wouldn’t be on your mind two years later, right?”

Choso sighs softly. How can he be so calm and collected when you’re sitting here just now realizing that you’re shaking, nearly vibrating out of your skin.

“I like you, too,” he finally admits. “Have for a long time. Couldn’t tell you when it started, but it’s been for as long as I can remember. So yeah, I feel the same.”

“Okay…” You should feel calmer now, confident in the fact that your feelings for each other are out in the open. But that sharp sting of rejection is slowly starting to build, the knife in your back ready to bury itself deeper. “But?”

“Hmm?”

“I know you. There’s a but coming…isn’t there?”

Another bout of silence and you’re starting to lose your mind having to sit through it. This is not how you expected this conversation to go. And you blame yourself for the way it feels like your heart is going to beat straight through your ribcage and fall flat to the floor.

“But I can’t do anything about these…feelings.” He spits the last word out like it’s bitter. “There’s no future where we could ever be together.”

The knife sinks in.

“Why not?”

“Because–”

“And don’t give me some bullshit reason, either.” You cut him off. Because you don’t want excuses. You want honesty, like Choso has always given you.

“What’s a bullshit reason to you?” His tone is snippy again.

What is a bullshit reason? You don’t know. All you know is that you have feelings for this man who once pulled you from certain death over a decade ago. And he has feelings for you, too! He just told you so! You want to be with him, but he doesn’t seem to want to be with you even if he hasn’t said so yet.

Ironically, all this makes you feel like you’re drowning all over again, struggling to pull your head above the water but going nowhere. It's Choso holding you under instead of pulling you out this time.

“...I don’t know,” you finally answer.

“I do,” Choso responds tersely. “I can give you a reason. Hell, I can give you two, three, maybe even four reasons why we can’t be together.”

“Cho–”

“But I don’t need all of those reasons. I only need one – I’m no good for you.”

You roll your eyes. “Choso, you’ve been my best friend practically my whole life. I cannot think of a single person better for me than you.”

He sighs your name, calling for your attention, but you keep going. “And you know me better than anyone else. I know you better than anyone else–”

Choso says your name again, a little harsher this time. You keep on.

“Besides, you said yourself how that kiss stays on your mind. It’s always on my mind too and we can–”

“Stop!” Choso’s harsh voice cuts through your droning. This time, you can’t ignore the snippiness. Never, in all the time that you’ve known Choso, has he raised his voice at you. At least, not in anger or annoyance. Maybe when you were kids, because kids yell. Kids are loud and bossy and Choso was both of those things as a kid. He was always yelling. But he had never yelled at you the way he just had.

You’re so shocked, your mind so suddenly frazzled, that you can’t bring yourself to respond.

“Why are you insisting on this?” Choso sighs, trying to calm himself, but his voice is still coming out a lot rougher than it ever has in your direction. And it’s hurting you in ways you hadn’t known possible, your little heart beginning to crack within your chest.

“I...I just thought –”

“Thought what, exactly?” Choso asks, a dry chuckle following. “Thought that we’d confess that we have feelings for each other and then we-we’d talk about our futures, make plans to be together forever and ever and then sail off into the sunset?”

“I mean–”

“No.”

That’s all he says.

“No?” You’ll need more than that.

“No. There will be no talking about futures together, making plans, sailing off into the sunset…none of it.”

Those little cracks in your heart start to spread, slowly chipping away. That sharp knife you were twisting into Choso’s back is now lodged deep into your own and it’s fucking killing you slowly.

“I don’t–” Your voice is quivering now and you have to take a deep inhale to steady yourself. “I don’t understand. If I have feelings for you, and you have feelings for me…you said the kiss meant more to you!”

“And I meant that.”

“Then why?! Why are you doing this? Is this because of Kaito?”

“Yes!”

“ I–I barely know him! I only brought him up being childish. I was hoping you would realize you had feelings for me. That’s it! I want to be with you!”

“But you should be with someone like him.” Choso’s voice is quiet now, the harshness of it finally gone. “It wouldn't have mattered if it was Kaito or Utahime or whats the other guy? Suguru? I can’t give you what he– what anyone who isn’t me can.”

Now you’re lost. “What?”

“I can’t be what you need me to be. I can’t be the boyfriend you need, the support you’d need if I were to become your boyfriend…”

It’s embarrassing how quickly you feel the tears brimming along your waterline. How your heart shatters into pieces as he lists off the reasons he isn’t good enough for you.

“Look at my fucked up life. No mother, a deadbeat piece of shit for a father, three brothers that I’m solely responsible for and have been for practically my entire life…” He says your name, like a plea, begging for you to listen to him. Like you should take his word for it and simply accept it.

But you won’t accept it.

“I know all of that, Choso. I know you and what you’ve been through – what you’re going through – better than anyone else. And I still want you.”

Now you say his name like a plea, begging for him to hear you and your words. You don’t care about his struggles, about how he’s had to keep his family together his entire life, forced to grow up too quickly and become the glue that holds everything together. You were there for all of that up until recently. And even through it all, you always found your way back to Choso. That won’t change now.

The quiet drags on, just dead air hanging between you two and when he finally speaks, he surprises you. “And I want you, too.” He tells you, lifting your spirits ever so slightly.

Then just as quickly, he breaks you. Again.

“But I’m doing you a favor, so please. Just go date whoever you want, whoever’s good to you.”

“Choso–” Your voice breaks, your lip trembling as you try to fight the sob threatening to crawl up your throat.

“Please.” You hear the way Choso’s voice cracks in a similar manner. Like he has a sob to match your own trying to escape as well. “You…God, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Don’t waste it on someone like me. You have everything going for you. I have nothing going for me. Just some loser working a deadend job in the same deadend town I’ve always been in and will probably always be in. And I refuse to drag you down with me. I’m looking out for you…Like I’ve always tried to do.”

Your protector.

Even when you don’t want him to be. Even when you wish he wouldn’t be. Even when it hurts you.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you,” Choso tells you. “I do. Fuck, believe me when I say that. I would love nothing more than that because I've wanted it for so long…but you deserve so much more than this.”

“You are not a loser, Choso. Just…stop. I think we can–”

“I have to go,” He interrupts. “Need to finish this stuff up and head home. Yuuji has a project due tomorrow that I need to help with.” He’s quiet again, but you can just make out the sound of him sniffling, choking down that same sob before he says, “I’ll talk to you later.”

Choso ends the call abruptly, before you can even say goodbye, and the shakiness of his voice stays with you for the rest of the night. Even as you shower, numb to the excruciating heat of the water. As you brush your teeth and crawl beneath your sheets where you finally allow your heart to fully crumple. Even then, you hear the clear tremble of Choso’s words.

It hurts. This is a pain you don’t have any experience with. You don't know what to do with it. This is a pain you’d hoped you would never have to feel. And you never expected your best friend to be the one to cause it.

But you’re hopeful that you two will be able to patch things up. That you two will be able to go back to normal, even if things are awkward for a bit. Because you don’t want to lose Choso. He’s your very best friend, long distance or not. He means way too much to you for your crush to get in the way. You just hope you haven’t ruined things between you two.

Besides, he did say he would talk to you later. You take solace in that, finally letting sleep take over even as your tears still fall.

If only you’d have known that when you opened your eyes the next morning and opened your phone to send an apology text to Choso, that your text would fail to go through.

If only you’d known that you would go to check Choso’s social media pages only to see blank screens because he’d apparently blocked you. You'd search through every account he has on every social media platform and find yourself no longer able to see any of his information.

“I refuse to drag you down with me.” Those words play on a loop in your mind.

He really meant it.

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railleriee · 2 years ago

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Bungou Stray Dogs Men with a S/o that has an Animal Ability:

This was just something I whipped up! I also edited my layout! lmk what u think! Still some add-ons and fixes I need to do but I'm really liking it so far! Without further ado, enjoy :) -spence

(I may make a second part to this if it does well.)

Characters: Dazai, Chuuya, Kunikida, Ranpo, Akutagawa, Atsushi

Warnings: Slight nsfw halfway through Kunikida's part, but for the most part it's fluff!

Reader is non-gender specific!

Dazai:

S/o with a dog ability!

We all know he hates dogs

So after finding out about your ability, long after the relationship had begun, he was quite thrown off.

I’d like to think he doesn’t show any fear towards your ability, although he’s secretly terrified.

Rants to kunikida, even asks for advice on the situation.

( Has never seen said ability in person, just knows from stories you’ve told him. )

You try convincing him that your ability isn’t that scary, that all that happens is you turn into an adorable puppy! ( Your ability isn’t well created for combat. )

Couldn’t help but stare in awe as a little fluffy animal appears in front of him.

Screams like a little girl when you try to approach him.

Has his arms held out in front of him, eyes squeezed shut as you nudge up and down his bandaged arms.

He eventually gets warmed up to the little fur-ball constantly around him now!

Shows off to the ADA his “major” improvement towards your ability as he picks up the newly turned dog.

Everyone stared at him with a “seriously?” look across their faces.

Still startled when coming home to find a little puppy laying on his bed!

He secretly got over his “fear” of dogs a little while ago, although claims he’s still frightened to tease you.

He’s like a puppy, he’s always all over you, littering you with kisses.

Chuuya:

S/o with a Red Panda Ability!

He ADORES your ability.

Walking into the PM to see a Red Panda wandering around one Saturday afternoon was not what he expected, although he wasn’t too bothered with it.

Thought it was some pet Mori bought to please Elise.

Soon finds out it’s not some pet, but the new recruit.

The two of you instantly became close after Dazai left the PM, soon developing into something more.

You tend to have the mannerism of a Red Panda, he’s always sure to cater to any needs!

Makes sure to find the best, high quality, expensive bamboo he can to satisfy said mannerisms and tendencies.

He’s a big whiny baby who refuses to fall asleep (some nights) with you unless you are in panda form.

Enjoys the warmth, and softness of your fur!

Finds you to be the cutest thing he’s ever witnessed, I think he’d honestly prefer you to stay as the red fluff ball forever.

Kunikida:

S/o with a Fennec Fox Ability!

He’s honestly not bothered by it much, see’s it as any other ability.

Can often be easily annoyed by how playful you are.

You’re very talkative and active, often tiring him out while he’s trying to focus on work.

He also is very tentative to your needs.

Understands your ability to easily be scared, always is able to calm any anxious jitters!

Just like fennec foxes, you hate being held, touched, any of the sorts, he knows better to push those buttons, no matter how badly he wants to cuddle after a long day at the agency!

( You do often allow him to hold you upon seeing how exhausted he is! )

Nsfw (ish) Below !

January-February is mating season for Fennec Foxes, Kunikida has the dates marked in his calendar!

Your sex drive goes up incredibly.

Ensure to take a little bit of time off to help with your needs.

100% willing to partake in anything to help you feel relieved!

Will go round-after-round for you <3

Secretly enjoys Fennec Fox mating season, stress relief for both of you!

Ranpo:

S/o with a lamb ability!

ADORES how fluffy and cute you are.

I imagine the ability to cause disorientation and confusion on basic topics.

He’s very understanding and talks through everything with you!

Many lamb mannerisms and tendencies, often ask questions on why he doesn’t eat greens like you!

Tries to feed you sweets 24/7.

Gets scolded by Kunikida because your digestive system can’t handle such foods.

Tries to encourage your interactions with others as the result of knowing how shy you tend to be.

Immediately sticks up for you against Dazai’s teasing.

JEALOUS!

Someone tries to pat your head? Expect him to plan their death.

Someone tries to make flirty remarks? He’s throwing himself at you.

So protective of your innocence :(

He’s genuinely a really sweet s/o, always thinking of his partner and making sure they are okay. <3

Akutagawa:

S/o with a Sea Otter Ability!

Shocked with how much energy you have, Sea Otters have a ton of energy, didn’t expect for it to rub off on your actual personality!

VERY social!

It’s a, you talk, he listens, relationship.

People often question your relationship as the two of you are total opposites.

I feel like he hates water, idk why he just does.

So when he found out about your love for water he internally scolds himself.

You two take baths together!

(Enjoys when you wash his hair.)

He struggles to express his emotions 99.9% of the time, unlike you.

He gets easily flustered at your ability to compliment him with such ease!

You’re very touchy, another shock for him.

He’s not used to physical affection, so when you randomly grab his hand while out in public, he tenses up.

In private he’s super sweet and tends to any of your needs!

A relationship with him is a learning process, but he’s trying his best. <3

Atsushi:

S/o with a sloth ability.

He genuinely has a bunch of energy, so having a s/o with the ability of an animal so sleepy he doesn’t know how to handle himself at first.

Should he ask you to hangout? Should he invite you to movies with Kenji?

He soon finds out you’d love to do anything with him, just to be patient with you.

Often has to catch you when you fall asleep standing up.

Work for you takes quite a long time, he often insists he helps you!

Startles every time he comes back to his dorm to see you asleep on a support beam.

( Often has to help you down from the high places you get stuck in. )

Like sloths, some of your actions and thinking are rather slow!

He waits patiently while waiting for an answer, or anything for that matter.

He knows not to rush you, knowing you get upset thinking you aren’t trying hard enough!

Enjoys napping with you SO much.

Poor baby goes through so much, sometimes he just wants to curl up and sleep with you in his arms.

#bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungo stray dogs fluff #bsd fluff #bsd x reader #bsd smut #atsushi x reader #dazai x reader #chuuya x reader #akutagawa x reader #kunikida x reader #ranpo x reader #atsushi fluff #dazai fluff #chuuya fluff #kunikida fluff #ranpo fluff #akutagawa fluff

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cbsxreader · 1 year ago

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could i please have the mercs with an s/o who is a shapeshifter that can turn into nearly any form?

Mercs with an S/o who is a shapeshifter!

Scout

He's the one that has the biggest freak-out when he finds out about his S/o's abilities. He's not really scared but not very calm either.

Once he gets comfortable with it, he decides to see his S/o's limits by challenging them, but he learns his lesson pretty quickly.

"Bet you can't win against me in a race!" Scout challenged his S/o. he knew very well that his S/o could take different forms but he was still confident in his speed.

"I bet I can!" His S/o accepted the offer to a race, standing right by Scout to fairly start the run. they both got into position to start running.

"Alright 3, 2, 1, Go!" Scout counted before both of them sped off, beginning to run circles around the building.

It was basically neck and neck before his S/o started to run out of breath. In a desperate attempt to not fall behind, they transformed into a dog, the extra legs carrying them forward to catch up with Scout again. Only to grow tired after a few more circles.

As they watched Scout get ahead with a smug smile, they decided to go with the last ditch effort to change to a cheetah. they easily sped past Scout, getting a lap ahead of him. This continued until Scout stopped, panting.

"Wait- slow down..." He called out to his S/o before they could run past him again.

"Am I too fast for you?" His S/o asked in a sly tone.

"Yeah..." Scout answered, breathless.

Soldier

Genuinely thinks his S/o should replace Spy in terms of having someone who can change their appearance on the battlefield. His S/o has to convince him that they don't need to strip Spy of his job though he secretly considers it to be an open option.

He doesn't freak out about his S/o's abilities at all, which isn't too bad. It keeps him from overthinking if he just considers them to have the same abilities as Spy.

"Stand back sweetheart. That little bastard is unpredictable and can attack at any moment." Soldier said, putting his hands in front of his S/o and trying to protect them from the bread monster in front of them.

"It isn't that threatening to be honest." His S/o looked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the little creature.

"It fears nothing, it is a high level threat-" Soldier continued to rant before another bread monster appeared by his foot. It barked at the other, smaller one, making it scoot away.

Soldier got confused for a moment before realizing his S/o decided fight fire as fire. They ran after the other creature, chasing after it.

"Yeah!! Get him, cupcake!!! Show him who's boss!!" He cheered, running behind his S/o.

Pyro

They're amazed by their S/o's abilities and don't see it as a weird thing. Like, after the first time Pyro saw their S/o change form, they hugged them out of wonder and happiness.

Tea parties with his S/o are regular occurrences. It's fun for both of them to pretend random animals can drink tea while putting up their pinkie fingers and eat cookies.

"Hmm mph mmm hm mm hm?" Pyro asked their now red panda S/o, reaching out the kettle filled with pretend-tea.

"Oh yes, absolutely." Their S/o responded, playing into the act and putting on a posh accent. They reached out their cup closer to Pyro with their paws.

"Thank you, Pyro." Their S/o thanked them after having their cup filled with tea. They brought the cup to their lips, sipping the non-existing drink.

"This tea is amazing!" Their S/o said, complimenting them.

"Phm mm." Pyro mumbled.

"What is going on?" The Spy head that Pyro stole from Medic's fridge asked.

Demoman

Is completely obsessed with mythical creatures and cryptids so his S/o just brings his interest to a whole new level.

He's already dealt with the Loch Ness monster, wizards, his haunted eye and other weird stuff. And the fact that he can get so close to his S/o without getting killed makes him just sit while mesmerized by them.

Sometimes, Demoman can't help himself but ask for them to transform into something specific, just to see how they would look like and see the transformation over and over.

"Can ye be a hamster?" He asked his S/o, smiling and holding his head in his hands.

"Sure!" His S/o accepted. In the blink of an eye they suddenly were so small that they could fit in the palm of a hand. They looked at Demoman with cute eyes, sniffing the air around them.

"Aww yer adorable! Now can you be a dog?" He said, smile growing wider. Quickly, his S/o abandoned the form of a little rodent and became a trusty canine. Demoman nearly squeaked out of joy and was about to ask for a different animal but his S/o spoke up first.

"Come on, give me a challenge!" They eagerly wagged their tail, eager to see what Demoman had in mind.

"Alright, let's see...Dragon!" He cheered, giving a more interesting answer. His S/o only jumped in the air and glowed as they transformed, their wings stretching out in utter majesty.

"Now that's more like it! Demo?" His S/o cheered before tilting their head at Demoman's stunned expression.

"Ye look amazing..." He whispered, absolutely in awe of his S/o.

Engineer

As a man with a scientific mind, he's shocked at his S/o's abilities at first. He knows he lives in a crazy world where anything could happen but his S/o to him is just next level.

Other than that, Engie treats it as a pretty casual thing and tries to not make his S/o left out. He just doesn't want to exclude them just because they're different and constantly checks up on them to make sure everything's good.

There's nothing else that cheers him up like his S/o randomly transforming into a different form and handing him a tool while he works. Especially after working non-stop.

"Oh, why can't it just- work??" Engineer said after once again failing to fix up the sentry.

"Maybe this can help?" His S/o spoke up, handing him a wrench.

When he looked in their direction, only to see them as a monkey with a hardhat on. Engie looked at them for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"And I thought I made bad dad jokes!" He said in-between chuckles.

Heavy

He may have been a bit confused at first about the whole shapeshifter thing but he doesn't let it get in the way of their love for each other.

Honestly, his favorite moments are when his S/o does something he didn't know they could do. And the moment becomes even more memorable to him if his S/o explains it to him and he gets to learn more about their abilities.

It's not that he hates his S/o, but they've got a work-out routine of them being a bear and wrestling together. It may look pretty tough from afar but it's like harmless banter between them.

"Is that all you have, leetle one?" Heavy asked as he stopped his S/o from knocking him down by grabbing their big front paws.

His S/o took it as a challenge and proceeded to use all of their strength to push Heavy back. When he barely budged, his S/o tackled him with their full weight, making him fall back. Heavy felt like he was in a sandvich between his S/o on top of him and the ground.

"Who's the little one now?" His S/o asked, lowering their face closer to his, their wet nose tickling his skin.

"Ohohohoho- alright, alright, you win.." He chuckled, grabbing his S/o's snout and pushing them away.

Medic

Oh you bet he's curious abt his S/o's anatomy. Like, he has so much questions. Does his S/o get an entirely new organ system when they transform? Do they have organs that can only be found in specific animals?

Of course, he'd only experiment on them with their consent. Medic's scientific and malicious mind is racing with ideas but he hold himself back. He finds his S/o fascinating and can't help but admire them in all of their forms.

His S/o finds it fun to transform into a dove and see if Medic can tell which dove is them.

"Liebe, where did you go? Ach, don't tell me you're a dove again.." Medic said, scrambling around his lab before stopping at a row of his doves. He looked at the birds with narrow eyes, examining their features.

"Wait, you're Archimedes, you...I forgot your name- Is it you?" He murmured, pointing to the different doves, eventually ending up on his disguised S/o.

"You got me!" They spoke up, stretching out their wings.

"Aha! I'm getting better at recognizing you!" He cheered as he lightly tapped their beak.

Sniper

He keeps his curiosity about his S/o a secret because he doesn't want to feel like he's bothering them with his questions. But when he can squeeze a question out of their conversation he listens to their every word.

Loves having his S/o around as small animals because then he can practice sniping while they're on his shoulder or on his head.

Sniper remained still as his S/o flew to his nest. They softly landed on his head, trying not to rip his scalp with their talons.

"If you're not finding anything, there's a Soldier that might turn a corner into your sight." They said out loud. His S/o didn't get a response but the Soldier quickly showed up.

"There he is." They spoke up again. Right after their comment, Sniper put a bullet in the Soldier's skull. The sudden shot scared them and they gripped their talons, making Sniper hiss in pain.

"Oh no, Sniper, I'm so sorry!" They quickly got off of his head, apologizing.

He quickly collected himself and spoke in a calm voice "It's alright...but could you get me a small medkit, please?.."

Spy

He finds it somewhat endearing that both him and his S/o have some sort of shapeshifting abilities. Sure, it's more of a disguising thing for Spy but point still stands of them being able to appear as something different.

Likes his S/o's cat form. He finds their purring relaxing and they can get comfortable on his lap while he reads. Also it helps the old man relieve pains or cramps from battles.

Spy stumbled into his room, exhausted from fighting. His chest ached from how much he had been stabbed, shot and exploded and his legs were about to make him collapse.

He fell onto his bed, carelessly letting his limbs fall wherever. Then he felt the mattress dip right by him, his S/o was a cat now with a corner of a towel in their mouth. Spy took the towel and put it on his chest to not get cat fur on his clothes.

His S/o climbed on his chest, slightly kneading the towel before curling up and purring. The vibrations traveled through Spy's body, making him relax.

"Thank you, mon cher." He quietly said, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.

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harvestingsun · 7 months ago

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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

#kfp 4 #kung fu panda #tai lung #lord shen #master shifu #shifu #the chameleon

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olivernothere · 4 months ago

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NAME: Oliver Castellioa Solace-Di Angelo

ALIAS: Ollie, Ol, Olive Tree (sigh), Olive (ONLY Iggy)

AGE: 16 years old, 6th of January

WEAPON(S): A dagger made out of celestial bronze, 20 centimeters

POWER(S): He can enter peoples dreams, and watch what’s happening from afar. He can also change their dreams to however he’d like, this tends to drain him very much though.

PERSONALITY: He’s a bit rude and cold, sometimes shy, in the start, but if you get to know him, he’ll warm up. Once you know him, he’ll be the most caring person, he’s a bit loud sometimes, he’s a little overprotective of his family, even though hems the youngest, he ignores rude comments and such in public, he doesn’t know how to say no, so you never really know if he wants something or not. He’s REALLY scared of adults (sometimes even Will and Nico), and WILL call them sir, miss, ma’am, etc., he can and will sometimes isolate himself from everyone if he’s having one of his “episodes”.

FATAL FLAW: Thinking that he’ll never be good enough for anyone and it’s why his mother disowned him

HOBBIES: I like to paint, mostly landscapes and such, sometimes I write poems I guess? Oh and I love to spend time with my cat, is that considered a hobby?

FAMILY: Nico Di Angelo (Papa), William Andrew Solace (Dad), Daphne Naria Solace-Di Angelo (Sister), Hades (Grandfather), Maria Di Angelo (Grandmother), Apollo (Grandfather), Naromi Solace (Grandmother), Morpheus (Father A stranger to me.), Allison Castellioa (Mother Who is this?)

People I know (!!):

FAMILY:

@ghost-king-and-thebones - Nico Di Angelo, my wonderful papa!! <3

@daffy-not-a-duck - Daphne Naria Solace-Di Angelo, my lovely sister!! (STAY AWAY FROM EPHIE)

@doctor-sunshine-andcarebears - William Andrew Solace, my awesome dad!!!

@drea-and-nico - Andrea and Nicolas Lilith, Children of Hades, my aunt and uncle, but Drea is like a sister to me

@iggy-mini-miny-moe - Ignis Grace, a child of Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, my boyfriend fjbfjgbekd<33, DON'T let him near bleach

FRIENDS:

@chasing-that-jackson - Charlotte Sally Chase-Jackson, a child of Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase, please stop dying

@ineedtoescapefromreality - Echo and Rosalyn Mclean, children of Piper Mclean and Shel

@hey-guys-its-sam - Samantha Zhang, a child of Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque

@violent-cinnamonroll - Aria Nicole La Rue, a child of Clarisse La Rue and Silena Baeuregard

@notwillingtobefound - William Valdez, a child of Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, Iggy’s brother

@not-a-panda - Pandora Stoll, a child if Travis Stoll amd Katie Gardner, she has a cute cat!!

@morningstar-of-the-night - Kallisto Danica Arrelano-Grace, a child of Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Thalia Grace

@daredevil-larue - Lucine La Rue, a child of Clarisse La Rue and Silena Beauregard

@overwhelmingly-his-son - Lukas Castellan, a grandchild of May Castellan, he's cool

@the-poison-and-the-sky - Belladonna Chase-Jackson, a child of Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase-Jackson, from another Universe

@praetor-ambrose-asher - Ambrose Asher, a legacy of Primordial Khaos

ADULTS I KNOW:

@leo-repairguy-valdez - Leo Valdez, father to Iggs and William, married (?) to Jason Grace

@percy-jackson-xxx - Perseus Jackson, father to Charlie and Cassie, married to Annabeth Chase

@sincerely-anniejackson - Annabeth Chase-Jackson, mother to Charlie and Cassie, married to Perseus Jackson

ACC IS RAN BY: @moonssong

Tags:

#Oliver arrived - In character Oliver

#Oliver died - ooc

#Ephie supremacy - About his cat

#Oliver rants - something random ic Oliver

#Sister tag☀️ - When he interacts with his sister

#Death and fire - Oliver and Iggy (They’re shipped)

#oliver arrived #oliver died #ephie supremacy #oliver rants #sister tag☀️#death and fire

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urgayoldercousinmags · 1 month ago

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creepy panda hcs!!?? meowwwqwwwewgrrrrrrBARK :3

like pandora??? rosier?? that's rlly cute i've never heard her called panda before except in pandalily

ummm idk how creepy mine are but ik she definitely collects bones. like a lot.

she also has a very big interest in anatomy, so like. idk i like the idea that she could easily be a doctor but instead she focuses on studying the best ways to kill a man and the cheapest but most effective ways to preserve a body

also she most definitely has a big thing for the dead. like she communicates with spirits n shit but also she's really obsessed with death itself. idk if you've ever read The Art Of Taxedermy but it's a really great novel in verse about a young girl interested in death and decay and taxidermy and that's how i picture pandora. she totally has a lot of dead and decaying things in her room and she reluctantly uses magic to keep them from smelling bc the girls in her dorm complained

anyway overall she's a creepy freak and like. completely mental and i'm in love with her so thanks for letting me rant :)))

#pandalily #pandora rosier #pandora #pandora lovegood #marauders era #marauders girls #creepy aesthetic #creepycore #i got an ask!

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merpdaberp · 4 months ago

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I disagree with people defending the Chameleon's Backstory

So when Kung Fu Panda 4 came out there was a lot of mixed reception from fans. Some hated it, some liked it or loved it, and others found it fine.

Personally, I think it's fine, I don't hate but I don't like it either. It could've been worse and could've been better.

One thing that always bugs me about fans defending the chameleon's backstory is that keep mentioning the shorts and one animator saying not all dojos were as excepting. Which I have several issues.

1. We don't know if the shorts are canon or not. The shorts are character backstories. Especially in the secrets of the Furious Five and secrets of the scrolls. Fans would mention how some of the dojos didn't accept or respect certain species. They bring up Crane not being accepted because he is skinny and looks weak. That sure is fair enough. But the thing is in the same short we have Mantis kicking ass! Now we don't know much about how Mantis learned Kung Fu. This is another thing I'm skeptical of in the shorts especially Secrets of the Furious Five, as it was Po telling the stories as lessons to kids. So we don't know how accurate they are.

Then we have the secrets of the scrolls. People also brought up but it doesn't make sense as an argument. Like Shifu is a master and he's also small. We even see other Red Panda masters. People say when he gets mad at the five as an example. But people missed the point, He was not mad because they were different species, he's mad because they weren't the people he asked for.

My rule is if it ain't in the actual movie then it ain't canon or brought up at all. Unless DreamWorks actually says they are canon but they haven't. Btw I like the shorts but I wouldn't take them too seriously.

2. People keep bringing up one animator on Twitter who says that not all dojos are as accepting as the Jade Palace. That would've been fine but like, the issue is that it's one animator.

We haven't heard from the others and not even the writers. Also, they said that Secrets of the Scrolls is canon. But my criticism is that she only worked on the fourth movie and not the previous ones. Unless it's her personal opinion or headcanon. But like I said if it ain't in the movie it dosnet count. I wouldn't mind it if we saw a flashback to see it happen, but we never did.

Edit: I should also mention that there might be biases, as it is an actual animator, so of course they would defend their work but there is also a Kung Fu Panda fan. I do not hate Abbey btw, I just think we shouldn't take their word for it. The context was someone asking who would defeat Death from The Last Wish and the Chameleon, Abbey tried to explain it and gave a backstory that was never in the film. As a KFP fan, she used the shorts to explain it.

Now, as I said, there's nothing wrong with that; I just have an issue with certain fans using it to explain the chameleons' backstory. Especially since it's only one person saying it.

3. Even if the dojos were rejected just because of her size. It still doesn't make sense because we already have canonically small masters. Like we literally have a Master Rat that leads an army. We knew this because we the army's battle helmet at the Jade Palace in the third movie.

Heck, even in 4 Po mentions a Master Chipmunk. So how unlucky does the Chameleon to find the right dojo? There are probably dojos out there who specifically train small animals. Heck we even saw them in Secrets of the Scrolls of red panda masters (I know I just repeated myself)

So that's why I disagree with some fans. I feel like there trying to make it sense in their heads which is fine, but they acted as if were in the movie? Like in the film Chameleons just said she was rejected because was small and lowly. Nothing else to flesh it.

So that was my rant and stuff. I gotta go to bed. Sorry for any grammar mistakes.

#kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 #the chameleon #crazy ramblings #old man screaming at cloud type of post #its 1am #Its fine if you like the movie #i actually liked the chameleons design #Viola Davis is a good voice actor #should've given her a backstory from the beginning #Went back and decided to edit a few things #kfp #kfp 4 #kfp the chameleon #kung fu panda chameleon

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luxxtuxx · 1 year ago

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WAIT CUTE IDEA hobie could be talking to pav and the topic of reader comes up, Hobie starts ranting about how cool she is (all fluff and stuff) and reader comes up walking totally oblivious and pav says “speak of the devil” and she’s worried he was taking sour of her but pav reassured her it was all good things while Hobie is just kinda baffled by her beauty until he snaps out of it and covers pavs mouth so he doesn’t spoil his big fat crush on her

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!

This is a hobie X Fem Reader.

CW: Pav missing social cues and almost spilling the beans to YN

Im sorry if I spelled pavitrs GFs name wrong. My autocorrect won't let me change it

~~~~~~~~

Hobie watched the girl he loved do tiktok dances with gwen, watching her laugh and cheer. He watched as she struggled with a fast pace dance, seeing how today she was in the 3-inch, knee-high platform hot pink boots he bought her for her birthday. Her outfit looked adorable, A white top with a panda on it, a black and pink plaid skirt, ripped-up black tights, her boots, with a cute fluffy black purse

Pavitr walked over and looked at hobie confused "Hey Dude! Why are you pink? And why are you staring at Y/n and gwen?" he tilted his head confused. It took a second "OH MY GOD YOU LI-" hobie quickly moved and covered Pavi's mouth as Y/N looked their way.

He huffed, "Stay quiet man. she can't know" He growled at him. Pav cheers "Awwww that's so cute! if you ask her out, we could have a double date with me and Gaytari!" Hobie looked at his Indian friend with a frown. "Bruv cant. She is so much better than me" The punk sighs.

"What makes you think that? he asked sitting next to the tall punk. Hobie looks at Pav like he is offended. "Bruv, Have you seen her?" he sighs a bit "Those gorgeous eyes, and her colorful style, her never-ending kindness, Oh and have you seen the way she takes care of Mayday." he stared at the ceiling, "her voice... just her saying hi makes me all happy, I don't get it. I don't know how she has such a hold on me. Every time she looks at me I fall farther in love." He growls "Im not supposed to be soft or mushy or sweet, But she makes me feel that way. And I hate it and love it at the time Ya know" he looked at Pav, who muttered to him "Speak of the devil"

Y/n walks over, "Good morning, pav I thought you were spending the day with Gaytari." Pav hums "I was until I got talking with hobie about his crush" hobie quickly hit his arm "-INg new song!" She could tell Pav was lying "That was great, really good show stopper now the truth"

Hobie was quick to make a cover "Truth is umm, Pav was trying to rally people together to go to that ice cream place you always talk about" He sighs calming down when she bought that lie. "Oh COOL ILL GO ASK GWEN AND MILES" The second she walked off hobie turned red "YOU ALMOST TOLD HER" Pav ran away at the dark voice and hobie chased him

Bonus:

Hobie and the squad sat at your favorite ice cream parlor happily nomming down on the ice cream. Y/n had picked a flavor for everyone, "Mm! Hobie try this" She held her cone near his lips, And at his actions, she gasps. "HE BIT MY ICE CREAM! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" she moved gwen in between them, all of them joking around as hobie watched her joke and thought (I am crazy.... Crazy in love with you)

#atsv hobie #hobie brown #hobie spiderverse #hobie headcanons #hobie x y/n #spider man: across the spider verse #spider punk #spiderpunk #fluff #across the spiderverse #hobie brown x you #hobie x you #hobie x reader #hobie fluff #hobie my beloved

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bilbao-song · 3 days ago

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well!!!!!! phoenix photos. (finally!!!!!!!!) it was a positively magical experience in like 700 different ways. extended ranting below the cut if ur interested

(warning: SUPER long and half of it i wrote just for my own sake tbh so i can reminisce someday……but i tried to divide it up at least a little in case u want to read about the concert but not all the trials and tribulations that were involved in actually Getting to the concert. whatever take it or leave it here u go)

so <3 this whole entire thing was insane. <3 i expected this to be a really lowkey sort of thing. like, this was supposed to be a low-maintenance, laid-back concert experience........and then it somehow turned into the absolute most chaos i have ever gone through for the sake of attending an ELO concert (MAJOR statement due to the fact that my life somehow revolves around enduring chaos in the name of jeffrey-based tourism) or just any concert ever in general (finally something to beat narrowly avoiding missing elton john in nashville). i have rambled at length about it in various forms over the past week or so but to recap:

i was in phoenix last week-ish (as of when i started writing this shgdsgh) <3 from the 17th-22nd. the concert was supposed to be on the 21st. we flew like 3.5ish hours to get there and made a whole entire experience of it

we got up early on the 21st, drove downtown, went thrift shopping and record shopping etc., and then went to the venue only to be told at the parking garage that the concert was postponed until the 29th. as far as i know, nobody knew about this until like 4:00 pm that day. someone was apparently sick (nobody will ever say who other than Not Jeffrey. shoutout to the problem child [affectionate] whoever they may be but i’m glad all is apparently well now)

after all the planning/scheming/gallivanting etc. this was like……..shocking information. genuinely the next few hours are a blur to me lol but to give you a general impression we drove like an hour back to the hotel and i had black eyeliner streaming down my face bc the crying was just nonstop. we went to panda express and i don’t even remember what i ordered. we stopped at ross and i bought a christmas gift for my mom and i forgot that even happened until i unpacked it at home. i know this sounds insanely dramatic but truly this is like, the second most brutal emotion i have ever experienced in my life which probably is a bold statement about what my priorities are but it was SO bad. i guess particularly bc it was potentially our last chance ever (i still hope not…but well………you know.) and we had to go home the very next day, so at the time actually getting to go seemed ummm nearly impossible.

we went home which was a shitshow in itself bc we got stuck in traffic for so long we were actually at risk of missing our flight. we made it but we ended up LAST in line to board the plane, so we had to just sit wherever we could. i ended up by myself and wedged between some random people. worse things have happened obviously but it sucked <3

once home it was ummmm narsty. throes of despair. i shan’t elaborate lmao

tbh at first it was just like…outside the realm of possibility that we would come back (or so it seemed). but then eventually………..against all odds……….we figured something out. like i truly even now cannot believe this even happened at all lmao

soooooo after even more scheming and conflicting emotions (idk if this is relatable or not but changing plans makes me so anxious. like even if it’s a good thing i start getting like, actual paranoia-level nervous about it) we got everything lined up to go BACK to phoenix on the day of the concert. by the time we decided to actually do this (!! omg like. it already happened and i still can’t believe it.) i had already refunded my original tickets, but that was honestly a wonderful decision bc i discovered that prices had dropped (presumably due to the kerfuffle…the show was totally sold out before this happened) and i was able to get tickets in a much better area for almost the same price. delicious

the direct flight was truly unacceptably expensive but we got a vastly better deal by instead having one layover each way. seems kind of counterintuitive to me but idk that's why i'm not responsible for running an airline i guess

our flight left at like 1:35 PM local time which left pppplany off time to get there and deal w everything. or so we thought

we had a layover in houston which was supposed to be pretty short. but then they kept delaying it and delaying it and delaying it until i was losing my mind bc i had just flown like 2.5 hours AGAIN and it eventually started to seem like we actually wouldn’t be there in time. at one point it said our next flight was supposed to LAND at 8:05. the concert was supposed to start at 8:00 and we also had to like, have time to get off the plane and go get the car. there were no other flights available so it was like…keep this one or give up and go home lol. we got chinese food which was really good but i stopped eating like halfway through bc i kept getting flight updates and just got way too nervous to keep eating. rip. that was some good broccoli tho

eventually the estimate started trending in the opposite direction so i gradually felt slightly less dire, but it was still really pushing it. at one point in my head i was like “well they could probably push the arrival time til 7 PM at the latest and we could still manage it.” when we boarded the plane the estimated landing time was 7:31 PM lol

we got tremendously lucky!!!!!! and got the very first row of seats!!!! which i would highly recommend btw bc that was a massive amount of leg room, but most importantly we were able to get off that plane the very second the doors opened. bye!!!!!!!!!!!!

we fortunately planned this super strategically and brought nothing that couldn’t go in carry-on luggage, so we didn’t have to go to baggage claim. this probably saved the whole endeavor tbh. our next challenge was getting on the tram to the car rental place. this was lowkey intimidating but fortunately some really nice people who worked at the airport were walking in a group in that direction anyway and just kind of led us there. then we rode the tram which took like ten minutes and thank GOD there was no line at the car rental place, presumably bc it was like 8:00 by the time we actually got there and i guess that isn’t a popular time

we got our car impressively quickly and then drove to the parking garage, which in itself was an Experience bc once again against all odds we managed to get a parking spot that was like…….honestly so good and easy to access i was scared we did something wrong and would be towed or something. it was cräzy. by this point it was 8:23 (per my ugly photos i took so we could have a point of reference to find the car again). throughout all of this i was getting EVEN MORE nervous bc i remembered that some random person at one point had been like, "haha this [the rescheduling] means phoenix will be the only concert without an opening act." and i knew that made absolutely zero sense bc like...why? nobody ever said that lmao. but it was just enough to make me be like omg what if......what if they actually start at 8:00. positively maddening

(now begins the part that isn’t strictly about me competing in the concertgoer olympics)

we walked across the street to the venue and i started losing my mind bc well......all of this was truly insane. i could tell a ton of people were still just standing around looking @ merch so i knew we were Safe. tbh i was so happy that given the opportunity i would have gladly gone over an intercom to make a public announcement about how happy i was to be there. idk sometimes u just want to scream about these things. especially after the sheer turmoil idk i feel like this is one of the best feelings i have ever felt. we made it!!!!!!!!!! somehow!!!!! positively bananas to have been on a plane less than an hour prior. i'm still kind of in disbelief tbh

i think maybe the opening act was late? don’t quote me on that but it seemed like everything was pretty quiet until like 8:30-something which is definitely late for them. i was kind of okay with it bc i lowkey wanted to hear them too (i like them!!!!!! opinions seem divided overall but i am very pro-rooney [at least live??? still haven't listened to their albums or anything]. i'm sure the way i have now been practically brainwashed into associating them w/ good times is a factor tho) and this just made things easier…although if i’m right on that they definitely played fewer songs than before (which would make sense i guess? due to time constraints?). idk. whatever i was there in time for jeffrey and that’s the most important thing 💕

the concert itself was exquisite. they have all been amazing so it’s hard for me to draw comparisons and i struggle to even know what to say tbh but it was truly soooo good. all of this was very worth it. to make things even better i finally i got to witness firsthand my favorite autumnal phenomenon (jeffrey w/ a nice little scarf). he sounded wonderfullll (his voice is just so lovely.........like. experiencing this in person just truly never gets old to me [more please i am begging]) and everything was pretty much perfect. my mom was like "he seems like he's having a good time" and i definitely agreed 🥺💕 very adorable and nice to see. sigh

one of my faaaavorite parts of the whole thing was just everyone screaming and clapping for him for soooooooooo long. it went on for a really long time (like, significantly longer than at the other concerts i’ve attended lol) and i loved that bc frankly much of my whole entire life is dedicated to that exact sentiment (jeffrey appreciation). it felt wonderful to be a part of that :’) i love him so much (not that u didn’t know that). it was all just really heartwarming and ummm. absolutely precious 🥺🥺🥺 a very nice outlet for about 1/100000000th of the adoration i have for him

overall it was a very emotional experience…….like, i was already kind of losing my mind a little before the whole postponement fiasco just bc of the whole “potentially the last time” factor. like before anything even went wrong i was already kind of secretly crying in the car. so anyway i got through like a little under half of this concert before losing it yet again. it’s just so crazy to me how alllllll of this has like, dominated the portion of my life i’m actually capable of remembering. like the point at which my memories of life become pretty consistently clear coincides kind of perfectly with the point at which the whole ELO thing intensified for me and my life just totally changed from there……..so. needless to say it's all really important to me and i’m super sentimental about it. not to mention, again, how crazy all of this was!!!!!! still cannot believe it even happened but i'm so so so so so glad it did

also i just hope so desperately that SOMETHING else does eventually happen bc um <3 i’m not sure what else to do now lol. this was supposed to be the ~*~last US show~*~ (originally that was going to be one of the ones in CA but phoenix getting postponed changed that hehe) but i'm still eternally crossing my fingers for some kind of loophole on that. obviously i'm 100000% thrilled to have done all of this BUT......it will just never be enough for me and i never want it to be over :-( @ jeffrey......................please please please i will jump through any hoops necessary

tl;dr it was super good and i am so glad it all somehow worked out. also most importantly: i love jeffrey. so much

oh btw eat @ thai esane inside arizona mills mall and also say sushi in maricopa. u will not be disappointed

#SIGH i feel like i could go on forever but i feel like 379769368 bullet points is already enough #jeff lynne #electric light orchestra #elo #i do find it kind of funny that they’re being sooo cagey about who was actually sick bc it gives me the vibe that they’re like #afraid of getting hatemail or something #which honestly??? valid. ppl are crazy #anyway hgkjsgh i just loved this so much. everything about it #literal only complaint is that it doesnt go on like. infinitely #oh also one small thing i enjoyed is that at one point the guy next to me just shouted JEFFREYYY #very relatable

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