#pretty sure this was the first au my tiny mind ever conjured like woah..what if...<- everyone in 2009 having the same idea...

[allgremlinart]

CLASSIC Zhao captures Zuko after ep 13 AU doodles... mostly because I needed an excuse to muzzle this loser... it'd fix him...

bonus:

[mintyjin]

mermaid au: jooheon

I’ve heard your cries for part two of mermaid! au changkyun and shownu (seriously, guys, you’ve flooded my ask box lmao), but listen, this concept is vibing with me tonight. enjoy!

once, a long time ago, there was a war between two cities

no one knows for sure why it started, but everyone agrees on one thing: it had something to do with magic

one city specialized in magic capable of moving and creating fire and earth, the other in taming the wind and water

you can kinda see where the conflict arose

years passed, bringing bloodshed and loss to everyone involved

to this day, it is the ugliest war to take place on the grounds and in the waters of your kingdom

and with all ugly wars come stories

this war is no exception, but the stories have a bit more of a peculiar tone

you see, it’s rumored that, to protect their magic and their lives, citizens of the wind and water city did something strange

they dove into the ocean and their legs morphed into tails, their necks creating small gills

and there, in the ocean, is where they dwelled as the earth and fire lineage took the throne, afraid of persecution, of further genocide

and there, it’s said, they remain

no one can definitively prove they exist, but every now and then, there are sightings of these mythical, magical people

and everywhere you go, there are murmurs saying one day, perhaps someday soon, they will grow weary of the ocean and walk back onto land

and on that day, the age-old war will continue

you see, the current monarch is a wielder of fire and earth

and he hasn’t forgotten the stories of his grandfathers

how do you know this so certainly?

well, you’re his only child, the first in line to the throne

while the story entertains you, you’re not so sure it’s entirely accurate

would generation after generation really subject themselves to a life of constant concealment?

magic, too, has its limitations. you know of gill spells and swimming potions, but could there really be a magic powerful enough to allow an large group of people to survive for so long underwater?

that said, you can’t just shrug off the legends completely. the war, after all, did happen

one day, during a particularly heinous arithmetic lesson, you gaze in boredom out of your window, which overlooks the sea

the sight of the rolling sea, ornamented with birds diving in and out of the water, gives you an idea

you should escape this lesson for a little while and go let the water run over your toes

the castle gets so stuffy, and not just because nearly everyone within it is a fire wielder

you excuse yourself to the bathroom, quickly ducking into the hallway of servants’ quarters and slipping through the door at the end

you leave your shoes at the door and dash over to the sand, relishing the way it shifts beneath your feet

and then you sprint as fast as your legs allow so that no one sees you leaving

and when the castle is out of sight, your lungs are burning and your feet feel heavy but you’re so exhilarated at the feeling of freedom that you throw off your unnecessary layers of clothing and hurl yourself into the ocean

with strong strokes, you pull yourself to the calmness of the deeper waters

you turn so that you’re floating on your back, feeling the cool, gentle lull of the waves beneath you, closing your eyes against the sun 

and it’s so warm and peaceful that you just lay like that for a while, feeling your stresses melt away

when you grow bored of that, you watch the sun send specks of light dancing along the waves and you decide to try to mimic that light with your magic

you conjure up some small sparks in your palm and lightly blow, casting them onto the sea

they spark and pop like tiny fireworks, the ashes crumbling in the water

not exactly what you wanted 

but then you hear a splash behind you, followed by a voice 

“Woah... that was actually very pretty.” 

you whip around, hand raised, ready to fend for yourself if need be 

but the sight that greets you forces you to falter 

there, in front of you, is a boy. a very handsome boy, to be exact. with small, dark scales on the sides of his eyes and neck 

and unless your eyes are tricking you, you can see the beginnings of a silvery tail beneath the water 

mermaid... he’s a mermaid

you shake off your surprise, still poised and on guard. “Who are you?” you ask

“Jooheon. You don’t have to be so tense, I won’t hurt you.” 

you still hold your stance, aware that his people don’t have a great relationship with yours

he just sighs and narrows his eyes and says, “Just because our ancestors fought means we have to? And here I thought this could be a fun conversation.” 

and you finally put your hand down but you’re still unsure 

this could be a trick. he could be waiting for you to relax. 

“What do you want?” you ask

he shrugs. “Not sure. I’ve never spoken to a human before.”

and you're like... huh

“I’ve never spoken to a... mermaid... before.” 

and to your surprise, he laughs, throwing his head back a bit, his smile magnificent 

“Then this should be interesting. Have you ever seen water wielding before?” 

you shake your head, no, and he smirks 

he dips one hand into the ocean and cups some water in his palm, blowing a bit of air into it not unlike how you did

and then the water seemingly comes to life, taking the shape of a dragonfly and flying to you, landing on your shoulder 

and it’s beautiful magic, you can’t deny it 

you also can’t fight back the astonished smile that spreads across your face

what you don’t know is that jooheon is like, wow.... she's cute...

“This is amazing!” you exclaim, your previous hesitation forgotten 

and jooheon’s like, “Naturally.” 

you roll your eyes but seriously, you’re impressed 

“Ok, Jooheon,” you say, noticing how he starts when you say his name, “but can you do this?” 

you hold your hand palm up, concentrating 

and then a flame bursts from your hand and you focus harder, controlling its movements so that it forms a small orb of fire floating a few inches above your palm 

and jooheon is already transfixed because he’s never seen fire this close before, but then you snap your fingers and he watches in amazement as it blows away in some invisible wind 

and naturally, he has to one-up that, so he shows you another trick of his

which leads to a whole thing where you’re each showing off your magic to the other 

you end up laughing a lot, half at this boy’s antics and half in amazement as he conjures things you never could’ve imagined possible 

but then you notice he’s giving you a funny look and you ask why and he goes, “You never told me your name.” 

“Oh, it’s Y/N.” 

“Ok, Y/N, do you trust me?” 

“Depends. Why?” 

he points behind you, towards the direction of the palace. “I think someone is looking for you.” 

you turn and he’s right- even from a distance you recognize the silhouette of your teacher and groan 

“I know a place you can hide out,” jooheon says, “but you have to trust me.” 

and you’re a little hesitant again but you nod and he pulls you underwater with him

your eyes fling open, bearing the sting of saltwater so that you can see what jooheon is doing 

he makes a fist with one hand and then brings it to your mouth, motioning for you to open

when you do, he pushes what feels like a small bubble into your mouth and, to your surprise, you can feel yourself breathing 

breathing..... underwater

you even notice the sting in your eyes disappearing 

you’re sure your surprise is written all over your face because jooheon laughs, but when you go to open your mouth, he clasps a hand over your lips and shakes his head

you take the hint- don’t open your mouth

from here you can see the entirety of his tail, which is gorgeous

 it’s silver, like you thought, but with dark translucent fins 

he gently grabs your wrist and pulls you towards him, wrapping an arm around your waist so that you’re pulled right up against him

and it’s not like you mind,,, he’s very warm,,, and uhhhh also very attractive 

then he places his mouth above your ear and whispers, “Don’t panic, ok?” 

and starts swimming, still holding you

and you’re just looking around in amazement because on one hand, there’s jooheon, who is very fun to look at, but then there’s also schools of fish you’ve never seen up close before swimming by 

and you’ve never seen the sun through water like this 

it’s all so beautiful and fascinating and you can’t believe you’ve gone your whole life without seeing it

but before long, jooheon swims to the surface and you emerge from the water to find that you’re in a small sort of enclosure 

like a small cave

“Where is this?” you ask

“Right behind the castle,” he says

you can’t conceal your surprise, saying, “What? I never knew-” before catching yourself

jooheon has been friendly enough, but that might change if he finds out you’re a member of the royal family 

the family that caused his people to jump into the water in the first place 

thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have any suspicions 

“So, what’s human life like?” 

“Kind of boring, to be honest,” you say, launching into descriptions of your teacher and various classes 

and you think it’s horribly monotonous but he’s hanging on to your every word and asking questions left and right 

he’ll interrupt a story to ask what a bathtub is

and you're like oh yeah I guess you wouldn’t really have a use for one would you

he tells you stories of his life, too

of exploring sunken shipwrecks and huge, expansive corals with his friends 

and it’s all so alien and interesting that you figure you could listen all day

but before long, it gets dark and a bit cold, so you think you should go

he notices your glances and is like, “Ah, they’re probably looking for you back at the palace, aren’t they?” 

you flinch. “How did you know I live at the palace?” 

“I get that our societies are a little separated, but my people know of your family.” 

“Oh.” 

and he senses that you’re uncomfortable so he takes your hand in his, a blush dusting his cheeks 

“I think you’re a good person. Regardless of what our families did to each other, you’re good,” he says

and you squeeze his hand, not meeting his gaze

“Y/N,” he says, oddly serious, “I don’t want this to be the last time I see you.” 

and you’re like.... yeah, me neither 

and you agree to meet him in that small cave behind the palace wednesday night

you pull yourself out of the water, jooheon’s hand steadying you to keep you from falling

and once you’re on dry land, you bend down to kiss his cheek, smiling to yourself as it turns bright red 

“Goodbye, Jooheon.” 

“Nononono don’t say it like that it sounds so depressing and as if I’ll never ever see you ever again-”

you just laugh and wave goodbye 

as you leave, you turn around and jooheon is just staring at you, watching you leave with his chin resting on his hand

he gives you a smile and waves goodbye with the ferociousness of a little kid 

and you’re like.... if the rest of the kingdom could see this, peace would stand a fighting chance 

but for now, you’re just excited to see jooheon wednesday night