Oh, okay okay :D Hmm... How would she spend her time with the Furious Five, Master Shifu and Oogway?
you asked for it ~~~~ (btw thank you for doing it)
oh, warning: this shit’s long.
I perceive her as being extremely focused on training. So much in fact she may not give attention to anything else. Just kung fu, strength and her “responsibilities as a hero”. The rest is rest. So the Furious Five are, sure, great friends of hers, but specially partners in battle. First of all, they are warriors, so I believe Tigress would immediately treat them like that. With time they would have gotten to know each other and the rest of the Five would have noticed Tigress’ temper as well as her obvious passion for fighting. So they would have stayed safely distant. We actually see them being afraid of her. Twice. Viper was the only one to try to stop her the second time, when she thought Tigress was going to attack Po. So Viper, motherly as she is, may be the closest companion of Tigress. As they are the only females in the group, they may have bounded over it, getting as close as Tigress would let them.
Then comes Monkey. I have this headcanon that he idolizes her. Just like Po, but secretly. He is younger than her, and he grew up learning kung fu alongside Tigress, who, as we know, was the first of the Five to join the group. So Monkey is amazed by her strength and even now that they’re older he will try to impress her and make her like him, try to please her. He knows about her personality and even though he is afraid of her, he manages to cope with it. She can be rude to anyone, but he kind of goes with it.
Crane seems shy. I don’t think he interacts with Tigress. He is retreated in his own way. I’ve seen many people supporting the idea that he may have a crush on Tigress. And even though this is plausible (with the feline~ness of Tigress resembling his crush Mei Ling), it is the kind and warming personality of Viper that brings him back to his love. So he would have little or no opinion on Tigress. She resembles Mei Ling, but she is nothing like her, so for that Crane might hold some distaste or apathy.
And Mantis is Monkey’s bro, so I think he’s learned to share his friend’s admiration for Tigress. On a much lower level, but still. He fear her as always. I think he is the one who fear her the most. But I still have to decide why, haha.
With that said, she would train and train. Hardly ever have some fun with them. We’ve seen that Po is the one who could ignite some change in Tigress (why, god, why), and that’s why she’s now more open and less serious about everything. So if it was Po who could break into Tigress armor and loosen her up a bit, there’s barely a way she would have fun and be “light” around the Five before knowing Po. If you take in consideration that Shifu’s change (also consequence of Po’s actions) is what affects Tigress the most, we could say the Po’s arrival caused more of an indirect effect on Tigress (eventually changing her serious ways) through Shifu.
So I picture Tigress having almost no fun. Specially when older, as I believe she still let herself be more open and sociable as a cub than she does now. But then she would lose her temper and scare the Five; that would take her mind back to the orphanage and she would remember Shifu’s training and close herself from others, until eventually only interacting with them when needing to train or battle.
It’s a harsh view on Tigress, but it’s how I understand her.
Excuse me my rant. I’ll just explain my headcanon on Oogway and Tigress and shamelessly skip Master Shifu, as this is a subject I will take too long fantasizing about (and probably ruin KFP for you, haha)
Oogway. This will be nice. My whole idea of Tigress revolves around the fact that she came from a orphanage and, consequently, all that took place there and what those events caused on her.
Oogway is a wise turtle. We saw how he easily knocked some sense into a very bad Monkey, and how peacefully he can deal with Shifu. Now imagine this patient, zen turtle helping an angry misunderstood tiger cub. He knew Tai Lung. He saw what he did to the Valley and what he did to Shifu. Tai Lung is a mark on Shifu’s life and Oogway has watched how his friend turned, from a sweet hopeful man, into a bitter master. He knows why Shifu acts so coldy (like he probably knows everything, really this turtle is god). But he cares for the tiger he brought with him. He sees as Shifu treats Tigress so coldly, fearing she will became like Tai Lung, closing himself for her. Not giving her love or affection just to not get hurt like he did with Tai Lung. And Tigress is the one hurting. Because she’s left this cold, loveless place, where she’s longed for a family, only now to finally have one that can’t exactly be called a family. What has changed? She can hide behind kung fu. She can make kung fu her life. She can train and train in hope she will be good, strong enough to one day Shifu acknowledge her, and love her like she wishes to be love. But she doesn’t know any better, so she settles with it. It hardens her, of course, but it’s leaving her wounded and she can’t even notice it, because she’s too focused on kung fu now. Because that’s the only bond she has with Shifu. One of master and student. Not father and daughter.
But where is Oogway on this, you ask. He is watching Tigress growing up. He is trying to make Shifu see how he’s affecting her, what he’s doing to her and how he’s making her be. But Shifu refuses to see anything. And Oogway joins Tigress, sitting beside her, next to the Peach Tree, where she’s close to tear, feeling tired and sad; and feeling like she’s failing, like she is not enough for Shifu. Like she is weak. And Oogway helps her through it. He tells her about Tai Lung and how it made Shifu what he is now. And Tigress learns she’s not only failing, but she’s living in the shadow of a lost child. She’s even sadder now, but Oogway’s words keep her from breaking entirely.
LOOK I JUST WROTE AN ANGST FIC. WOW ME.
man that turned out long. that’s how much i love when you put “headcanons” and “tigress” on the same sentence. don’t blame me. i’m obsessed like that.
anyway~~~~ :)