#kuzon

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How I personally imagine how people see Kataang vs Zutara.

got started on chapter 7 of kuzon's fic tonight and im very much enjoying being ominous <3 not sure if ill keep the exact opener thats there rn in the final posted chapter, but the foreshadowing is very much fun

“I looked everywhere for you,” Kuzon said. “I looked in the north. I looked in the south. I looked in the Earth Kingdom. I looked at the air temples. I looked in the Spirit World. I was trapped there for decades. I knew you wouldn’t be there when I finally got out, but-” His chest hurt. It burned. Kuzon bended, so desperate to make the pain stop. The flame went right into the wall across from him. It was as pathetically small as everything else he ever bended. And then suddenly his leg stung, and the wall was burnt, and Kuzon realized, with striking absurdity, that he wasn’t going to be getting his security deposit back. Kuzon sunk down to the ground. When he heard an ugly, ugly sob coming from his apartment, he realized it was coming from him. “You were alive,” Kuzon said, “and I missed you.” It was confirmation of what Kuzon had already long ago realized: he was a terrible best friend.

He never meant to fall into the mist. It had been an accident. He had stepped too close to the edge of a ledge that couldn’t support his weight, and then he had plummeted down into the mist below. This mist wasn’t like any mist he had ever seen before. It was so dense that he couldn’t even make out what lay a few feet in front of him. He knew that he wasn’t alone. He could hear other people moving, and could see glimpses of them. But they’d fade out of his view just as quickly as they appeared, consumed by thoughts and memories he couldn’t ever see. He was losing himself. He could feel it in his gut. He knew to be careful around spirits, and he knew that this one was desperate for his attention. They were feeding him memories he didn’t want to see. He kept trying to block out the screams of fire and rushing of the air.  He never should have gone on that cliff. He never should have looked in the Spirit World in the first place. It had been a mistake, this plan, and now he was paying the price for it. And he couldn’t even light a fire to show him the way out.

At some point in the conversation, Mushi suggested that Lee go and get a bite to eat.  It wasn’t until Lee stepped outside that he realized why: Mushi’s nephew had also been banished from the tea house. Lee gave him an awkward smile. He tried to focus on anything but the scar. He knew he was failing miserably at that. “It looks like we’ve both been kicked out for today,” he said. The younger Lee just looked away and crossed his arms again, an angry expression on his face.  The older of the two resisted the urge to sigh. Mushi hadn’t outright said it, but he could definitely see what he was angling for. He wanted someone to explore Ba Sing Se with his nephew. Feeling a surprising burst of indignity, Lee decided that he wasn’t going to press this ill-fated relationship. It was clear the boy didn’t want to talk to him. But Lee couldn’t help but glance back when he started to head into the street.

“I didn’t know you were coming to visit Mushi and Lee,” Lee said. “I didn’t know you lived in this building,” Jet said, giving him a cool look. “I would have said hi.” Lee followed his gaze. Jet was eyeing the set of spark rocks that were out. That should have made something click in Lee’s mind, but he was coming off of a long, stressful day at work. He couldn’t think clearly right now. “It must have been a surprise visit,” Lee guessed, “because you didn’t stop by last night and I didn’t see you at work or at the market.”  Jet gave him a long, hard look. Lee returned it.  For good measure, he also raised the teapot up a little higher—just in case the threat that wasn’t really a threat wasn’t registering. “Why are you trying to ‘liberate’ Mushi’s spark rocks?”