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Traces of Spring

Summary:

While investigating a strange phenomenon, Po inadvertently brings Tai Lung back from the Spirit Realm. Forced to live again, Tai Lung must grapple with his place in the world and the feelings that led to his attack on the Valley of Peace.

Notes:

In this story, I am considering the first two movies and shorts canonical. For the third movie, I am picking and chosing only the parts I like and I am ignoring the third short completely. Thank you for your comprehension. If there are any grammatical or orthographic mistakes, please feel free to tell me! I try my best but english is also not my first language... Having that said, I hope you enjoy! :3
EDIT (MARCH/2024): As this was published May 2023, the fourth movie won't be considered in this story, making it an AU. Once again, thank you for your comprehension!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Let's Go!

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Chapter 2: Confrontation

Summary:

Po and Tai Lung finally meet again. And uh, a little accident happens.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

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Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! And thank you all to have commented so far, I always feel a bit awkward receiving compliments, but they're very dear to me! It's good to know that my work on it is paying off :) If you liked this chapter, please consider also leaving a comment, if you didn't consider leaving one as well. One needs to try to improve their craft after all...
By the way: here is the link to the Bao Juyi poem! Definetely check out the other ones in the website!
See you next chapter! ^_^

Chapter 3: Second Failure

Summary:

Po tries to figure out a way to send Tai Lung back to the Spirit Realm. Tai Lung and Tigress see each other for the first time.

Notes:

Character interaction proper begins in this chapter. Unfortunately things have to be set up and such before we can get into it. Hope you enjoy! :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

Follow me on twitter and tumblr ! I'll try to post more fanart on there as well as comic updates. Been having some trouble sleeping, so the tiredness has been getting to me... You understand...
If you have the time, please leave a comment! If not, thank you for reading anyways ^_^ See you guys next chapter!

Chapter 4: Memory of Kindness

Summary:

Tai Lung shares a moment from his childhood, and Po develops a new plan for dealing with him.

Notes:

Character art is much improved in this chapter, especially Tigress :) Thank you for putting up with the first three chapters, where I was still finding my footing. It should be smooth sailing from now on. Hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

1) Tai Lung was roughly 9 years old when he met Shen. Shen was also in his lab rather than his room, but Tai Lung just thinks he's a weird geek and doesn't care about details.
2) The dish that Tai Lung eats in the flashback is Zha Jiang Mian. I used the recipe presented in this site, as it contains radishes and Mr. Ping said he used them before adopting Po. It's actually a recipe from Northern China, but I think Mr. Ping would have variety in his shop.
3) I promise that even if these conversations seem inane, it's all going to come back later in the story :)
Thank you as always for reading! Drop a comment if you''d like and if not, I'm grateful either way! See you all next chapter!

Chapter 5: Snack Stop!

Summary:

Po tries to come up with a strategy to help Tai Lung. Tigress and Tai Lung have a calm conversation by the riverside.

Notes:

Themes matter, right? It's important to stories and such. Well, some of the themes of the story are going to show up this chapter. Um... Hopefully I can carry them through it in a meaningful way. Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

1) I hope when Tai Lung says he was at a battle at 14 it comes across less as "wow he is so cool" and more as "wow he did not have a childhood, huh". That's what I intende at least. I like to think when Shifu brought him, other masters were like "Shifu this is literally child abuse" and Shifu was like "NAH, YOU'LL SEE". They did see.
2) I also hope you guys buy Tai Lung not remembering the attack cause figuring out why he did it is, um... one of the points... of the story... <:3 He secretly knows what led to it, he's just not confronting it because that would mean admitting guilt. But I've said too much.
As always leave a comment if you enjoyed it, and if not I'll be thankful either way !! <3 See you guys next chapter!!

Chapter 6: There Are No Accidents

Summary:

The gang has dinner, Tai Lung finds out about one of Po's hobbies and we have some developments on the Gate situation.

Notes:

Wow, this one took a while, huh? I'm so sorry. I've been far busier than usual this month and had basically no time whatsoever to work on it. That and the art for it beat my ass in ways I can not even begin to describe such was the extent of my humiliation. The rest of it should come out in a timely manner. Regardless, I think it's clear that I won't be able to finish it before KFP4 comes out in March next year so I hope you guys are still interested in this story even as canon starts to contradict it. . . Anyways enjoy the chapter! :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

1) I don't think Shifu would've beaten Tai Lung for eating that much, to be clear. What matters is that that's the way Tai Lung remembers him
2) To the person who spotted the peach petals in chapter 2: congrats! :) I know "Oogway did it" is somewhat of a generic explanation but hopefully I can write something good with it. Hopefully.
3) HUGE shout out to my friend EVERETT who helped me with the structure of chinese meals as well as introducing me to seitan. Did not know about that. They also helped me with names a ton :) Follow Everett on twitter HERE !
As always, if you enjoy the chapter, leave a comment and if not, thanks for reading it anyways! Until next chapter :3

Chapter 7: Infinite Potential

Summary:

In which events happen in quick succession.

Notes:

And what took THIS ONE so long, HUH? Well, hopefully it's self-explanatory. Art wise, this is the chapter I'm the most proud of so far. Truth to be told, it was supposed to be ready yesterday, but I had a family emergency and couldn't work much on it. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

Sorry to come back with such a boring chapter where no plot changing event happens. I'll try to make things actually move forward with the next one. Comment if you liked the chapter, but if you don't want to, I still appreciate it! Thank you all for your continued interest in this story and your patience with me! 🙇♀️
See you next chapter!

Chapter 8: An Interlude

Summary:

In which Tigress is in dire need of medical attention and Tai Lung witnesses something new.

Notes:

Hi! First of all, a person kindly informed me last chapter that I had been spelling "wuxi" wrong, which is very embarrassing. That's what happens when 80% of your brain energy is dedicated towards placing the second H in Chorh-Gom, which always trips me up for some reason. Anyways, I fixed some grammatical mistakes in earlier chapters, included some details I had forgotten and fixed the spelling of some terms. When I post these chapters I'm pretty drained, so mistakes happen. I'm drained posting it right now.
Second, there is medical gore in this chapter. I know. Yes, I needed to include it in my fancomic for a kid's cartoon. It's not strictly plot necessary, but it makes a difference in the tone. It's relatively mild, but if you don't want to see it, skip the page after the doctor asks "Are you ready?" and the bonus pages with black backgrounds. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

Sources for ancient Chinese surgery and medical treatment: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Sources for treatment of impalement injuries (warning for graphic images): 1, 2
Sources on suture and surgical instruments: 1, 2


Final notes: I clarified this in other places, but I figure this chapter is the best place for it. I'm not writing a romance between Tai Lung and Tigress, alright? I'm aiming for their relationship to be ambiguous and hard to define. I'm not saying this to shut down interpretation, more so I'm just clarifying that my intent isn't to have them end up as a couple in the end. Regardless, I think their relationship will still be very enjoyable.
Thank you for reading the comic! This year was truly special thanks to everybody who gave this a chance and left kudos and lovely comments! I'm glad I got over my hesitance to make this! :) May 2024 be joyous to us all!

Chapter 9: Inner Peace

Summary:

In which Tai Lung finally begins opening up to Po. Just a little bit.

Notes:

Hi... this one took a while, but it's the chapter I'm the most proud of, art wise! Hope you guys enjoy it! It's a monster with 39 pages! And bonuses! Secondly... since the fourth movie is coming up, this is officially an AU now! Kinda inevitable... still I hope if you guys like the movie that this comic is a fun side story... and if you don't like the movie... hope this chapter comforts you? Anyways, read on!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

1) Link to Aini's channel and the video I spoke of
2) The opening sequence in the rain was based on this scene from Ghost in the Shell.
3) I realized while I was coloring it that the Chorh-Gom page can have... implications? I just want you guys to know it wasn't intended, I was mostly just going for a feeling of powerlessness and fear. But, as usual... interpret as you wish.
Thank you for reading! ^_^ Despite the work it took, this was I think my favorite chapter so far! Leave a comment if you wish, and if not that's fine too! See you next chapter!

Chapter 10: A Bit Of Fun

Summary:

In which Tai Lung realizes some things about his past and he and Po grow just a bit closer.

Notes:

Ahoy! Here we are, in a post-KFP4 world! How are we feeling? Bad, from what I've seen. Regardless, I have to say I didn't change anything about this comic to accomodate the movie. Everything will go on as I planned from the beggining!
Now, I have to give a small content warning for this chapter. Tai Lung briefly describes an experience of an adult suddenly kissing him when he was a child. Nothing is shown, and the description isn't very explicit. I hope it isn't very jarring. There is a certain path I'm going forward with Tai Lung's character and I hope that it all adds up as the comic goes on and makes sense in the end. I hope I can make this vision clear. For the sake of drawing a hard line in the sand here about the kind of subjects I won't get into: the comic will address similar experiences in a future chapter but nothing more violent or explicit than that. Thank you! Enjoy the chapter!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Notes:

About the flashback page with Shifu: I hope he doesn't come across as callous or cruel. From what I heard about Kung Fu training, it's common to ignore pain or injury. It's not that he is a cruel master, but that training in itself can be cruel. Hopefully that comes across!
Leave a comment if you liked the chapter, if you don't want to that's fine too! Thank you for reading :)
I'm going to sleep for 1000 years now

Chapter 11: Rice

Summary:

In which Tai Lung starts to explore new possibilities

Notes:

Hello. Sorry for my absence. It wasn't on purpose. Since I was already way off schedule anyways, I took the time to make this chapter extra special. Enjoy.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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Notes:

Sorry for the hideously offensive nurse costume in the end there, but you know how it is.
Thank you so much for reading! Drop a comment if you want and if you don't want to, thank you anyways!
Oh, I also have a blusky profile now, same username as twitter and tumblr, nehezt. Follow me there! There's a post in my profile you guys might be interested in (I can't say any more in case I get sniped, you know how it is).
See you next chapter!

Notes:

If you enjoyed it, please leave a kudos or comment! I would love to hear your thoughts!
Follow me on tumblr and twitter also!! :3 See you guys next chapter!