#Gonna ink and color tomorrow

[painted-bees]

sketch for the next DnD adopt! Kobolds are silly lil' guys and I wanted to have fun with their shapes haha

hmm...thinking about this for a probably color palette!:

[moe-broey]

Somewhere in here I gotta fit a speech bubble BUT. Sillies...

[fayehartz]

extrEME ARTSTYLE CHANGE FOR A QUICK MOMENT

[nebquerna]

good night sketch

[wereh0gz]

Think I've nailed down what she'd look like if she were in tmosth. They're an embroiderer who dabbles in other crafty hobbies like knitting and sewing, creating things to fill a void in their heart

[softwaluigi]

ohhh my god why did I put that assignment off til the last minute

[rnaeborowski]

finished the sketch for my halloween drawing that i do yearly :) drew a cute bunny witch with their weird bat spider moth creature

[mountainsideturnip]

Trissssss

[meiieiri]

𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 ! [toji fushiguro]

synopsis: in which toji notices how you color-code your outfit every time you see each other…and promptly makes a game out of it in hopes it will cure his gambling addiction.

pairing: toji fushiguro x f!reader | song inspo: colors | outfit inspos | hidden inventory: the lost tapes series masterlist

warnings: 18+, suggestive themes at the end (explicit sex, fingering, mentions of masturbation), but otherwise, just a fluffy/semi-angst/semi-crack scenario of a lovestruck toji trying to cure his gambling addiction~~

Chewing on his pen, Toji’s fangs were beginning to hurt as he stares at the blank face of a random receipt he found in his mostly empty wallet. He seems to be deep in thought, he almost looks like he’s trying his best to crack a mathematical mystery except…he doesn’t give a shit about math and the only mystery he seems to be interested in cracking is…

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late!”

“Fuck.”

There you were in all your radiant magnificence eagerly waving to him from the university gates with your signature gummy smile he’s grown to love so much. You looked so beautiful and happy today…and you were wearing purple. A purple floral wrap dress. He was so sure you were gonna be wearing pink today Toji crosses out today’s date and the word: pink next to it with a frustrated “X”.

And in case anyone was wondering, this little guess-the-color-his-girlfriend-is-wearing-today game is something he came up with on a whim one day while waiting to pick you up after class. Of all the misfortune that has befallen him in his life, he has to thank the Zenin clan for one thing: sparing him the trouble of having to sit through an entire day of brain-frying university lectures about Kant’s second law of physics.

He hurriedly buries the receipt in his back pocket as he crosses the street, closing the twenty-five meter gap between the two of you. Pressing his lips against yours, Toji hums appreciatively when he tastes his favorite strawberry-flavored lip tint on your Cupid’s bow. You giggle as you nuzzle his nose when he pulls away, your hot breaths against one another’s lips providing a sense of comfort to you both. “What were you saying a while ago?”

“Ah, nothing.” Toji places a protective hand around your waist as the two of you walk to the nearby park for your and his usual after class/work stroll. “Just the usual profanity.”

Your lips curl into a soft pout at the thought of your boyfriend being upset about something. “Why?”

“Nothing babe,” he presses a soft kiss to your temple, his arm coming to rest on your shoulders. “Just lost at the boat races again,” he easily comes up with a white lie — a white lie that is bound to make you sad. He knows how upset you get when he relapses into his gambling addiction which, in his defense, he really is trying to quit for his and your — mostly your — sake. “Ah, I’ll do better, squirt. ‘m sorry.”

“Please?” you plead with him softly to which he nods, softly pinching your cheek in a silent promise to try to limit his gambling to…

…Getting tomorrow’s color right.

The next day, Toji spends about fifteen minutes in the shower trying to figure out what color you’d be wearing today. He’s already ruled out the possibility of you wearing black since it’s thirty degrees outside today, but with your extensive wardrobe, crossing out one color from the list is hardly enough to narrow it down. He’s never felt like this with boat races before since he has this natural tendency to just pick the boat with the most stable engine.

Ah, who was he kidding? He’ll just have to guess…and hope for the best, he steps out of the shower a few minutes of deliberation later.

After putting on a black shirt, he looks at his makeshift gambling ticket on the kitchenette counter with an angry look on his face. “Red. It has to be red.” He jots it down next to today’s date in red ink as if to manifest you’ll wear your off-shoulder red top today and those black trousers you bought from that thrift store in Harajuku last week.

Suddenly, a knock rips through the silence of his apartment and he goes to immediately answer the door. Toji clasps his hand around the doorknob for a bit, somehow still intent on delaying the inevitable. “Toji? The bags are getting kinda heavy,” you sheepishly called from the other side of the door and your boyfriend instantly snaps out of it. He swings the door open a little too aggressively that it makes you jump a bit when you hear the ear-splitting screech of the hinges nearly coming off the door. “Ah…hi, babe?”

You don’t know what to make of Toji’s face.

It’s like he’s feeling an odd mix of emotions all piled into one that they somehow cancelled each other out and now, he’s…staring at you…blankly. You have to admit, it looks a little funny. It’s not his usual stoic expression, it’s just pure…nothingness…like he caught a glimpse of the void or something and he can’t peel his eyes away from it.

“Can I come in—?”

“—Hi.”

“Eh?”

You burst out laughing at his delayed response. It’s like your boyfriend buffered for a full minute there which is so unlike him, considering he’s always so smoothly unbothered and suave in his demeanor. Toji scowls when you place a hand over his forehead. “You feeling okay?”

Toji gently shrugs your hand away, nodding absentmindedly. “Fine.” That sounded awfully peachy but you didn’t mind, Toji’s normally so awkward anyway, unbeknownst to most. In the eyes of those who don’t know him, Toji’s image is nothing short of a big, bad delinquent, but in your eyes, you mostly associate him with a typical house cat — quiet and snooty in every regard but actually genuinely affectionate. “Oh, let me help you with those.” He crouches down to help you with the groceries, sneakily stealing a kiss from you as you remove your shoes at the genkan before stepping into the living room.

Toji watches as you bound over to his apartment’s balcony, searching for the stray cat that normally drops by in the afternoon, with a grimace on his face.

“Of course she’s wearing beige,” he grumbles under his breath. Again, he crosses out today’s entry a little more forcefully this time.

At the balcony, you find Toji’s pet emeritus lounging away at the foot of the laundry rack. “Oh, there you are!” You crouch down and pet the white cat whom Toji affectionately refers to as ‘Yuki’ when he thinks you aren’t listening in whenever he feeds it after dinner. “You look like you could use a warm bath, come on!” You gently pick up the little creature and bring her inside. “Toji, I found Yuki~!”

You stop in your tracks when you see Toji with his forehead pressed to the cold marble counter causing you to instinctively place a comfort hand on his upper back to placate him while Yuki climbs atop the counter. At the familiarness of your touch, Toji, who looks like he’s still upset over some unknown thing he won’t tell you, rights his posture. What’s a man gotta do to get a winning streak around here?

“Hey, maybe you should lie down…”

“…I’m okay,” Toji half-whimpers, defeated, gaping at Yuki as she licks her paw contentedly. “Huh. You brought the fleabag in here?”

Somehow offended by that, Yuki violently hisses at him.

Okay, something is seriously wrong with Toji.

You just came out from using the washroom to see Toji on the kotatsu agitatedly scribbling on a piece of paper that doesn’t exactly look like a betting stub. You surmised it would have been something like that since Toji doesn’t normally get angry over anything except losing money on bets, but you are thoroughly surprised and comforted to see that wasn’t the case this time around. You sit down next to him, pulling your big baby into an embrace.

“My poor baby,” you teased amid Toji’s obvious misery. “Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” you smiled softly when he playfully pushes you down onto the tatami mats, all his weight pinning you down, his hand easily overwhelming yours as he pins them above your head. You try to squirm away from him, laughing when his other hand secures your hip to the floor, rendering you unable to struggle against him. Then, he lowers his lips close to your ear, his warm breath sending goosebumps to appear all over your skin, he sighs, falling slack at the crook of your neck.

Toji hates this, he probably looks like a kicked dog right now.

Today’s bet was yellow but when you opened the door to your apartment, you were wearing a mint green sweater over your cream relaxed fit ankle pants.

“Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I just win for once?” Toji’s voice is muffled as he buries his face in your shoulder. Instantly, you feel a pit form in your stomach. You’ve heard this before. You slowly push him off of you, your disappointment palpable in the way you utter your next words.

“Toji, you’ve been…gambling again, haven’t you? Baby, we talked about this.”

Your lover steadies the movements of his chest, feeling the need to defend himself. He wasn’t gambling, quite the contrary really, the thought of wandering over to the horse races hasn’t crossed his mind since he started this harmless little game. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and every so often, he relapses into these undertones of his gambling addiction particularly the crippling desire to win at least once, to guess just one daily color scheme right.

And he’ll let it go. He swears he’ll let it go.

“I know, but really, babe, I’m not—“

“—Really? Then, what’s this?” You shakily point to the folded up piece of paper on the kotatsu. He has to pinch himself to hold in his laughter when he sees just how cutely distressed you are over an unassuming crepe stall receipt. “Don’t you start laughing now!” You swat his arm.

“I’m not laughing, you brat!” Toji purses his lips together, thoroughly enamored by you right now. “You’re worrying over nothing, Y/N. Trust me.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, pushing Toji’s face away when he tries to kiss you. You cheeky little brat. “But you’re acting so weird though…” You poke him relentlessly on the cheek to get him to come clean, and you dodge whenever he tries to playfully catch your index finger with his teeth. “Just tell me.”

“Nope.”

You climb onto his lap, hugging him.

“Please.”

A kiss is a good bribe right?

“Uh-uh.”

He returns the kiss with a loud smooch!

“I’ll break up with you.”

You whine when he flicks your forehead, leaving an obvious red mark on it.

“You won’t.”

Your little back and forth is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Sighing, you finally let go of him. Looks like he isn’t going to budge. Toji gets up to answer the door, setting you down on the cushioned seat. Feeling a little bad when he glances back to see you still sulking about the issue, he subtly and intentionally allows the receipt to fall from his pocket knowing you’ll almost certainly go straight for it. He’ll just have to deal with your constant teasing for the next two weeks once you read the contents of the slip of paper. But he’d rather hear you laughing your heart out (even if it’s at his expense) than see you getting all anxious about him slipping back into his old destructive hobbies.

When you see the piece of paper falling like a leaf dancing in the wind, your eyes light up, and you crawl over to the spot where it’s fallen near the small bookshelf you have in the corner.

“Rakuten delivery.” Toji signs the courier’s clipboard, receiving your package. Just as he’s about to walk back into the living room to hand you your parcel, he stops in his tracks when he hears your cute chortles which you’re pathetically trying to subdue and a smirk appears on the corner of Toji’s lips.

Looks like the crisis has been averted for now.

“Wait, Toji…”

Toji pretends to not hear you, his fingers still buried in your sopping cunt, lusciously pushing in and out, your arousal coating his fingertips as he devours your lips in wanton need. You moan out his name again and he scowls when you reluctantly remove his fingers from your heat. “What? What is it?” What could possibly be so important?

You flush when he sensually licks his fingers clean, and you sit up, pulling down your skater skirt. “What’s an anniversary without a little surprise?” You kissed him on the lips, lingering for a bit, your eyes fluttering close as you taste your arousal on his tongue. “Mmh…”

“Just forget it.” Toji bucks his hips against yours, his clothed erection rubbing against your bare slit.

“No way. Just…wait here,” you kiss him again, boldly running your tongue over his bottom lip before pulling away and heading to the bathroom to get your surprise ready.

Toji groans in frustration, his head hitting the pillows he set down on the futon. After a few restless moments of him resisting the urge to fuck his hardened cock into his hand to finish himself off, he hears your melodious voice calling for him from down the hall.

A satisfied lopsided smirk appears on Toji’s lips, his eyes dark as he gazes at the most beautiful being in the world right now, shyly making her way towards him wearing nothing but an emerald silk robe. He licks his lips when he sees the outline of your nipples through the fabric, smirking as you sit down on the foot of the futon.

“All that for a silly little robe? What a letdown,” Toji smirks as he moves to untie the knot of your robe, only for you to slap his hand away.

“Uh-uh…you have to guess first.”

Toji gulps when you pull out the one thing he’s been agonizing over for the last few weeks from your robe’s hidden pocket. You grab a pen from the nearby bookshelf which he expertly catches when you throw it in his direction alongside the crumpled up piece of paper he’d been meaning to destroy for a while now.

“If you guess right, we could ditch the condom tonight. So do well,” you innocently bat your eyelashes at him.

Toji looks like he wants to jump off a ditch, the obvious tent in his sweatpants indicating just how hard he is right now. “No, don’t do this. Don’t fucking do this, Y/N…”

“…What color am I wearing tonight?”

[flippinpancakes64]

Hello, I absolutely love your work. iv re read your stuff so many times that it's getting concerning.

Can I request the cullens x artist reader who made a painting of them I just think that would be cute

The Cullens with an Artist! Reader

Thank you?!?! I suggest seeking mental help for rereading my bad stories tho

Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!

Edward:

We all know that he is an artist too

He made Bella a whole song on the piano

As someone who can play the piano, that’s not easy

So he definitely loves that you’re also artistic

For you, he’s a muse

I mean, how could he not be

Literally the definition of perfect

So obvs you sketch him a lot

When he finds an almost finished painting one day of him, he is floored

He can never seem to wrap his mind around the fact that you are just as obsessed with him as he is with you

He hangs it up

Even if it’s not finished

If you insist on finishing it, he will begrudgingly take it down and give it back

But as soon as it’s done it’s all his

Alice:

She’s also an artist

But more with fashion

And design

She’s not so well-versed with the classical arts like painting or sketching

So she always loves seeing your paintings

She’s a coexistence girly

She loves to just be doing something while you’re painting

You know just sort of existing in the same space at the same time

The day you give her the painting, she is so surprised

It was so difficult for you to hide this from her

Especially with her gift

She absolutely loves it

She hangs it in the main room of the Cullen house

She wants absolutely everyone to see it and acknowledge how talented her s/o is

Jasper:

He loves the arts

They’re relaxing to him

Some of his favorite classes he’s ever taken in all of the schools they’ve been at have been art classes

He’s not good by any means, but he loves it anyway

Art dates with him are a must

He would love that tiktok trend where you and your partner trade paintings every couple of minutes

Never misses an opportunity to tell you that he loves your work

He honestly almost started crying when you showed him your painting of him

You made him look so happy, so peaceful

He’s used to being perceived as a monster

Definitely hangs it up

But only in his room

He wants to be the only one to see it

Rosalie:

She’s more of a technical, sciencey person

Not to say she doesn’t like art

Just that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy making it

She can definitely appreciate good work tho

And she loves everything you make

She buys you new supplies all of the time

If just one pen ran out of ink in your favorite set, she would buy you a whole new set

When you give her that first painting though, she’s obsessed

She wants at least 20 more by tomorrow

But actually, she knows that she’s beautiful

But something about the way you capture her is just so different she loves it

Emmett:

He’s not an art person either

He’s a bit of a meathead

But he can appreciate art

Probably not as deeply as other people can

But he know when it looks good

And he genuinely thinks you’re the best artist ever

He will gladly put all of your little doodles in the clear pockets of his binders

And hang them on his locker

When you give him the painting of him he’s actually dumbfounded

Like awestruck

What do you mean the best artist in the world just made a painting of him?

Get ready to be cuddled for the rest of the night

Esme:

Resident artist

We already knew that tho

I’m pretty sure it’s said that she’s the one who made the grad cap piece?

Idk

Either way she loves art

Pottery dates, painting picnics, date nights at the art museum

She loves it

So if you were to ever paint her and give it to her?

Yeah she’s gonna start crying

She just loves art, she loves you, and you put them together and she’s so in love

She hangs it in the main room

It doesn’t matter if the colors clash

And it’s never coming down

Carlisle:

Another appreciater of the arts

I mean, he probably knew Da Vinci on a personal level this guy is so old

So it’s no shock

Whenever he’s home and hanging out with you, he loves to watch you paint or draw

Especially if he’s doing some paperwork

I just feel like he would like the company while he’s working

Now I don’t see Carlisle as the type of guy to necessarily enjoy pictures or paintings of himself

The only portraits he has in his office are either him in a crowd or family photos

So when you give him a portrait of himself, he’s a little shocked at first

He doesn’t want to seem narcissistic, but damn you made him look good

He hangs it up in your shared bedroom

Even though he knows he will likely never have guests who would see it, he wants to make sure it’s hidden

He just doesn’t want people to think he’s vain

But he secretly loves it so much

Vampire! Bella:

I think I’ve talked about it before but this girl would have loved deviantart

Rip Bella you would have loved fan art of your favorite characters

But she totally had an artsy phase

I don’t think she’s necessarily good or bad

She just prefers to look at art rather than make it

So that’s where you come in

She loves just watching you work

Every once in a while she paints with you

But she always feels inferior when she looks at what you made vs what she made

So she usually just sticks to admiring

The first time you give her a portrait of herself, she doesn’t even know what to do

She’s still getting used to actually perceiving herself as beautiful

And then you capture her like she’s a goddess?

She needs to lie down

She loves it tho

[glitteronadumpsterfire]

Sneak peek of the wip nobody asked for

Using my powers for evil again (drawing gerard way as the virgin mary)

[sant-riley]

is it ok to request some headcannons with the team? if so, could you do a reader that’s covered in tattoos? like heavily tattooed. even their fingers. right? anyways, the reader is always covered during missions (like ghost level covered) and the team have subconsciously created this image of them under it all but haven’t really seen them until one day reader is wearing normal clothes and they’re like 🧍‍♀️ what? you have tattoos and like barely any skin 🧍‍♀️ IDK I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE CUTE NVM THOUGH IF U DONT WANNA WRITE ❤️ NO ISSUE IF YOU DONT!

[Task force 141 and Laswell with reader who has a lot of tattoos)

A/N: I am not heavily tattooed yet but I did love this request sm soooo here this is :) Ty for the suggestion and I hope you enjoy!

They can’t really be blamed for not knowing about the tattoos, y’all are all covered typically in heavy gear and clothing and weapons most of the time. And they don’t question it when you’re covered up even more than usual bc yk, Ghost exists walking around in a Halloween costume 365 days a year. They’re used to it so they won’t prod.

Most task force members have tattoos of their own, it’s not a strange concept but they just assume you have none, they see you covered up and that’s that.

But then one day, let’s say there’s a mission and you guys get fucking d r e n c h e d in water, and you’re in a cold climate so leaving your clothes on is not an option. They need to dry by the fire and you cannot catch hypothermia.

Whatever reason you cover up, you know it’s only logical so you shyly take off your gear, quickly going by the fire while the guys quietly stare at your figure, staring at the ink decorating your body. Yes you’re beautiful and yes it’s their first time seeing so much of your skin but is that a fucking narwhal on your arm-

You have to snap at them to quit their staring bc you think they’re only staring at your chest or at your underwear but soap just blurts out “YOU ‘AVE TATTOOS?” And everyone else nods.

~

Individual reactions:

Ghost:

Ghost fucking loves it so much, he could stare at your tattoos for hours on end. He rolls up his sleeves to show you the ones decorating his forearms, letting you trace your fingers over the skull and withholding a shudder.

He immediately brings his hand up and traces yours back, asking questions about them and how long they took with you sitting in the chair, grunting in response as he zones out.

Asks why you cover them up as often as you do but when you send him that look he quickly says never mind.

Soap:

He immediately asks you about the meaning (if you have any for them). He admires them and thinks they make you look beautiful and badass.

He also will take a marker and draw ones on your empty bits of skin and color any grayscale tattoos you have.

If you were to ever get one of his doodles or drawings tattooed he would probably tear up on the spot. Also maybe kiss you stupid bc wow you have something from him on your skin forever and he loves you sm.

Would design y’all matching pieces, in your line of work tomorrow isn’t guaranteed so if you’re down, he’ll make the appointment for you both.

Price:

I personally don’t think Price has tattoos or would ever get any bc he doesn't care for them but he has an appreciation for yours.

Everyone would think he would be the type to talk down on them but all he said to you was “do you like ‘em? You do? Then why the fuck would I care?”

In between breaks, he’ll casually ask if you got any new ones and that he’d like to see them.

Gaz:

Gaz doesn’t have any but that’s just because he can’t fully decide on what he’d get, he’s young like you and cannot handle the commitment.

Therefore he lives by you and eagerly encourages all your ink and will always go with you to your tattoo session if he’s free.

He’s the best kind of person to have come along esp for long sessions bc he’ll go get you food, drinks, etc while he sits with you.

He always says he’s gonna get one when he goes with but always said never mind lmao.

Bonus <3 Laswell:

Now she's no stranger to ink, she's not covered up but she does have a matching tattoos with her wife and a few small patches of her wedding flowers on her.

She absolutely adores your ink and will not hesitate to defend you and it if someone were to disrespect you bc of what you've done with YOUR body.

She's a mom what can I say, she knows her authority and won't be shy to use it.

Taglist:

@devilsfoodcake22 @simon-rileys-princess

@stupid-ninja @milkmily

@lune-la-chanson @tamayakii

@teacupcollector @sweet-as-an-angel

@perilous-pasta @ihatethisappsomuchitpains

@marsbar127xx @baddump

@xncasi @king-cookiex

@palomaxaxaxa @amatchasky @wolfyland07 @diejager

@hailstrum18 @pretty-little-bunny382728 @mzfandom @solarslushee @areislol

@cluelessyasmin @sesshomaruwaifu @chaos-unchecked @kalamataolivesssss @arunasmisfortune @tbrfic

[bluezebrafly]

Just read the latest chapter for "I'm Gonna Make this Place Your Home" by @rocksibblingsau and the last line Branch says

“Good.” He leaned over, giving her a quick hug, “If I didn’t get it tomorrow, I was going to put out an ad selling you.”

Truly inspired me, so I finished this in... 10 minutes

Will ink and color later

[unpredictable-probabilities]

VIP Privileges

Summary

It's his third year at NRC and Jamil is content to spend much of his birthday cleaning the gym.

However, Azul's gift makes him reconsider his plans.

Word Count: 2,956

Notes:

For Day 4 of AshenViper Week 2024!

Prompt: Jamil's Birthday

Happy birthday, Jamil! ^_^

----

Jamil placed the basketball on the rack along with the others, double-checking to be sure that nothing was missing.

“Jamil?” a voice echoed across the gym.

He turned to see Azul walking over to him. “Oh hey. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Floyd, he isn’t answering his phone as usual,” Azul answered as he stopped in front of Jamil. “What are you doing here? And so early in the morning, too. Shouldn’t the birthday boy be off celebrating somewhere?”

Jamil rolled his eyes. “There’s gonna be a celebration dinner later at Scarabia. Kalim’s leading the preparations, if you can believe that.”

Azul chuckled. “I can, actually. Kalim has really stepped up now that we’re in our Third Year. But anyway, now that I’ve got you here,” he took a small card from his pocket and handed it to Jamil. “Happy birthday.”

Jamil took it and saw that it was a coupon for a free meal at Mostro Lounge, no price limit and free use of the VIP area that was separated from the rest of the Lounge with a magical rope and curtains. Jamil remembered that some students do hold small gatherings in the VIP area, and if anyone who wasn’t invited tried to cross the red velvet rope cordoning it off, the rope emitted colored ink to splash on them that would last for days. And the Leech Twins would hunt down the ink-stained culprit and settle debts.

“VIP area privileges?” Jamil raised an eyebrow at Azul. “Did you think I was the type to invite a bunch of people to eat with me?”

“No, but I know you hate being approached all day for birthday greetings. If you use the VIP area, you can eat in peace. Perhaps invite a friend or two to join you. The velvet rope would accept anyone if you verbally give them permission.”

“Alright, thanks,” Jamil pocketed the coupon. “Is it only valid for today, though? I don’t know if I’ll have time to eat at Mostro Lounge right now, I still gotta finish cleaning up here.”

Azul frowned. “That’s a birthday coupon, you can only use it today. And why are you tidying up all by yourself?”

“Coach said everything had to be ready for the practice tournaments on Monday. Since it’s Saturday now, I volunteered to get the gym ready,” Jamil shrugged.

Azul looked at him curiously before nodding in understanding. “I see. You volunteered to stay up here the entire day so you wouldn’t get pestered by people wishing you a happy birthday.”

Jamil chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. “That obvious, huh?”

The corner of Azul’s mouth lifted in a smile. “Yes. But, now that you have the option to stay at Mostro Lounge instead, I shall help you clean up so you’ll have time to use that coupon.”

“What?” Jamil frowned, following Azul with his eyes as the Octavinelle Prefect took off his coat and hung it neatly on the rack where some spare jerseys and clean towels were hanging. “Why would you care if I spend my birthday up here?”

Azul sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes. “Because we’re friends, Jamil. Despite you insisting otherwise whenever the subject comes up.”

Jamil’s frown deepened as he felt his face warm. Some of their classmates liked to subtly tease him about having romantic feelings for Azul whenever they worked together in Alchemy or Flight class, so yeah, he would say to them that they weren’t even friends. But Azul always seemed oblivious to the implications of their classmates, so as far as he knew Jamil just liked to deny they were friends. And Jamil wasn’t about to correct him on that.

“Don’t you have other things to do?” Jamil asked instead. “You were looking for Floyd, right? Don’t you guys have work?”

“I was looking for him because tomorrow is our weekly meeting at the Lounge, and I need him to write down the new recipe he came up with so we could discuss it at the meeting,” Azul replied as he rolled up his sleeves. “Since I’ve already sent him multiple texts reminding him of it and I have no further responsibilities for the day, I’m free to help you get the gym ready for your practice tournament.”

“Is this a ploy to get me to owe you a favor somehow?” Jamil narrowed his eyes.

There was that half-smile from Azul again. “If it would make you feel more at ease about letting me help, then you can answer a feedback form at the Lounge after your meal. We’ll consider it even.”

“Fine,” Jamil relented. “All that’s left to do is mop the entire gym floor and make sure the bleachers are clean. I wasn’t gonna use magic so I’ll have an excuse to spend most of the day here, but…” he shrugged. “We can use magic now to make it easier.”

Azul nodded and adjusted his glasses. “Alright. Shall we?”

With the two of them teaming up, they made quick work of the tasks while hardly breaking a sweat. Jamil was quietly glad of Azul’s help, mainly because in hindsight he would have gotten bored spending so much time tidying up by himself. They talked while they worked; about homework and the upcoming exams, the tragedy of how Floyd was a danger to society but also competent and talented enough that they couldn’t afford to lose him in Mostro Lounge and the Basketball Club, and other random things that they happened to think about as the minutes went by.

After making sure that they didn’t miss anything, they both sat on the bench next to the water dispenser and took sips of cold water from paper cups.

“It’s past 11,” Azul said after looking at his watch. “If you go to Mostro Lounge now you can get to the VIP area before the lunch crowd arrives.”

“Yeah…” Jamil glanced down, fidgeting with his paper cup. “Do you… wanna come with  me?”

“Oh, you don’t need me there. Just show them the coupon and they’ll lead you to your seat. The velvet rope would be magically activated once you pass it.”

“No, I mean—” Jamil sighed and ran a hand down his face. It was already a challenge trying to say the words, and Azul’s obliviousness was making it even more difficult. “Do you wanna have lunch with me?” he directed the words to his cup.

From the corner of his eye he saw Azul freeze midway into lifting his own cup to his lips. “What? You’re… inviting me to have lunch with you?”

“Yeah, why not?” Jamil drank all the water in his cup so he wouldn’t have to meet Azul’s gaze. “We eat together all the time when we’re working on projects. The only difference now is I get free food.” And we’ll be alone together at a private table. Which means no one can interrupt our conversations to ask you out like they’ve done multiple times now.

Azul kept a busy schedule and was generally hard to find outside of classes, so some of their schoolmates tended to ambush him in the hallways or at lunch to ask him out to school dances and parties and whatever. As far as Jamil knew, Azul always politely declined the advances, but it was still annoying whenever those people would appear and blatantly flirt with him while Jamil was standing right there.

And since it’s Jamil’s birthday, he figured he could afford to have the audacity to want Azul’s attention all to himself for just one meal.

“Alright,” Azul replied. “I do wish to eat now after all that work.”

“Cool.” Jamil stood up and tossed his empty paper cup into the trash bin. “Let’s go.”

—

“I thought you were hungry. Is that all you’re gonna eat?” Jamil asked before taking a bite of his shawarma.

They were now in the VIP area where the thick fancy curtains blocked out most of the noise from the lunch hour rush. Jamil ordered a bunch of dishes that he wouldn’t otherwise order if he had to pay. He was hungry too after basketball practice and then the clean-up, and it was nice to eat good food that he didn’t have to prepare.

Azul was picking at his salad with a fork. “I already indulged in a rather heavy breakfast, I don’t want to consume too many calories when it’s only lunchtime.”

“But I ordered for two people. You can’t expect me to eat all of these,” Jamil gestured to the food. “Besides, you burned a lot of your breakfast calories earlier at the gym. Now you’ll just be getting them back.”

Azul pursed his lips and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose you’re right.” He reached for a macaron and took a bite.

Jamil sipped his iced tea to hide his smile. Azul wasn’t as self-conscious about his diet now as he had been back then, but sometimes he still needed a bit of encouragement to eat what he wanted. That's why Jamil ordered food that he knew Azul liked in the hopes that he could persuade him to eat more.

“Has Floyd replied to your messages yet?” Jamil asked.

Azul got his phone from his pocket and checked the screen. “Not yet. He’s probably off terrorizing Riddle again. In hindsight I should have checked Heartslabyul; if he had caused any damage to their topiaries I would have to convince Riddle not to behead him. He needs to have magic for his afternoon shift here.” He pocketed his phone.

Jamil chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry too much. I think Riddle would be more lenient if you’re the one convincing him.”

Azul furrowed his eyebrows and picked up his glass of iced tea. “What do you mean?”

“Uh…” Jamil internally cursed himself. He had let his guard down too much and slipped with that remark. “You know. Because he likes you.”

Azul coughed out his mouthful of iced tea. “What? What are you talking about?”

Jamil shifted in his seat. “Well, doesn’t he? Our classmates even talk about how maybe you two are dating but just aren’t admitting it.”

Azul looked baffled, absently wiping his chin dry with the table napkin. “What in the Great Seven is the basis for those rumors?”

“Well, you never say yes when people ask you out,” Jamil shrugged. “And they say Riddle definitely has a secret boyfriend because he smiles at his phone now and receives small gifts from time to time.”

“And you believe inane gossip with such a weak foundation?” Azul raised an eyebrow at him.

“Of course not,” Jamil said defensively. And it was true. If he really believed Azul already had a romantic partner, he wouldn’t always be finding ways to spend time with him. But it was entirely possible that Riddle did like Azul. And that Azul might like him back… “I just explained what the basis of those rumors are, since you asked.”

Azul sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Riddle’s ‘secret boyfriend’ is Trey. He’s off on his internship now so of course they’re always texting and sending gifts to each other. Absolutely do not tell anyone this, or Riddle might just literally behead me,” he said pointedly.

Jamil’s mouth was open in surprise, and he blinked repeatedly to recover. “Wow, uh, okay. Yeah. I don’t wanna risk Riddle coming for me, too.”

“Good. And so what if I never say yes to people asking me out? You do the same. It doesn’t mean you’re dating anyone… Right?” Azul sounded a little unsure.

“Yeah I’m not dating anyone.” Jamil took his knife and fork and began slicing the shawarma on his plate. He'd never eaten shawarma like that before but he felt restless and wanted something to do with his hands.

“Right. I thought so,” Azul said. “There aren't even any rumors about it.”

Jamil couldn't stop the disbelieving snort that came out of him.

“What?” Azul frowned.

“Nothing,” Jamil suddenly felt irritated. “Just… you're so dense,” he muttered.

“Excuse me?” Azul sounded offended.

“There are rumors about me dating someone,” Jamil snapped. “In almost every class we go to I hear them. You've just been too dense to notice.”

Azul was taken aback. “Why do you seem so angry? Forgive me if I don't pay attention to gossip,” he said sarcastically.

Jamil rolled his eyes and sliced his food more aggressively. At this rate he'd be eating shredded shawarma.

“... Who is it, then? Who do they think you're dating?”

Jamil felt his face burn up and he kept his gaze on his plate. Damn him for losing his temper and slipping up like that. “Why do you care?”

“Well it seems awfully important if you'd snarl at me for not knowing it—”

“It's you, Azul!” Jamil met his gaze to glare at him. “They think we're dating, okay?”

To Jamil's surprise, Azul's fair cheekbones became scarlet. “W-What— When—” Azul sputtered.

“Shut up, we don't have to talk about it,” Jamil said and looked down at his plate again.

A few seconds of silence passed before Azul spoke.

“I didn't realize it was such an upsetting idea,” Azul said ruefully.

“Ugh, what is wrong with you? I can't believe I like you!”

Jamil saw Azul's eyes widen and he realized what he just said.

“I…” Jamil felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been poured over him. He couldn't tell if he had gone pale or entirely red in the face. He stood up. “I should go.”

“Jamil, wait,” Azul stood up as well.

Jamil turned to leave—

“I like you too,” Azul's hurried voice said behind him.

Jamil's eyes widened as he stood frozen and staring at the curtains. He turned and saw that Azul had walked around the table to stand in front of him. “You don't have to say that just because—”

“Jamil,” Azul cut him off. “I… lied about looking for Floyd.” He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before speaking again. “He replied to my text immediately, and I asked him where you were so I could give you the coupon. And I helped you in the gym because I didn't want you to spend your birthday hiding away doing chores.” His eyes mirrored the nervousness that Jamil felt, but he never looked away.

“I asked you to have lunch with me in private because I hate it when people ask you out, especially when we're together,” Jamil heard himself say, the words rushed as if he would be too scared to say them if he spoke any slower.

Azul's eyes widened and his face turned an even brighter red. He opened his mouth and then closed it again without saying anything.

For several heartbeats they just stood there, the air between them rippling with an energy that Jamil didn't dare name.

Jamil couldn't tell who stepped forward first, but in the next instant they were holding each other, teeth clacking in a hurried kiss. They pulled away just long enough to right themselves, and the next press of their lips sent a shiver down Jamil's spine. His hands found Azul's hair, his fingers threading through impossibly soft locks. Azul's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling him even closer.

The kiss was a spark that lit something, something Jamil had long denied was real but now threatened to consume them.

Jamil gave as much as he took; Azul's tongue was soft against his, sweet and intoxicating and just as demanding as his own. He was a ship caught in a storm and all he could do was hold on for dear life as the waves rose and fell.

They were both breathing heavily by the time they broke apart; Jamil rested his forehead against Azul's, and they just held each other as they caught their breaths, lingering in the quiet that blanketed them.

“You mean we could have been doing this a long time ago?” Jamil said softly, playfully incredulous.

Azul chuckled and straightened up to look at Jamil, still keeping his hold around him. “No matter. We can do this more from now on. I-If that's what you want,” he added hurriedly.

“I do,” Jamil wound his arms tighter around Azul. “And, I want…” he looked down, feeling his face warm.

“Yes? What is it?” Azul's voice was soft and encouraging.

Jamil swallowed and met Azul's eyes. “I want… just you and me. Do you… wanna date?”

The smile that slowly appeared on Azul's face was like the sun coming out, and Jamil almost forgot to listen to Azul's response because he was so busy staring.

“I do,” Azul looked right into Jamil's eyes. “Just you and me.”

Jamil smiled, drinking in the sight of Azul so close to him, Azul happy to be with him.

“Oh by the way,” Jamil suddenly remembered something. “I've been meaning to ask, do you wanna come over to Scarabia tonight for that birthday dinner? Earlier I wasn't sure if it would be weird to invite you, but,” he shrugged. “I can now,” he smiled.

Azul chuckled. “I would love to be there. But what about the… rumors? About you and me dating? Are we telling anyone or…?”

“I want to,” Jamil sincerely said. “If that's okay with you.”

Azul nodded, his eyes twinkling as he smiled, and Jamil wished he could tell everyone right now. “That's what I want as well.”

“Great,” Jamil grinned. “Do I still need to answer that feedback form for the meal?” he raised an eyebrow playfully.

“No need, I can already tell you enjoyed it immensely,” Azul smirked.

Jamil rolled his eyes fondly and leaned in to kiss his smug boyfriend again.

----

(AshenViper Week 2024 Masterpost)

(Masterlist)

[the-nomad-rainworld]

You can see so much from this high up. I wonder just how many other Iterators are out there, past the horizon.

[alonzoarts]

I’ve been making great progress!! I’m so happy I’m actually working on this thing consistently and diligently :’). The rough animation is done, and I’m currently inking and coloring.

I’m not sure if I can get it completed before the 3rd is over. I want to try out some experimental glitch effects for Spamton, like I’m gonna try to have him in a lower resolution than Kris. Maybe like he was animated with MS paint. I also am going to try data moshing only his animation on a green background, then chroma keying that out on top of the rest of the animation, so only he shows the effects of the corruption.

All that stuff is gonna take some time, so I’ll post the rough animation tomorrow. (Unless I somehow finish it by then.) I’ve got to do something for my favorite #1 rated salesman’s specil day!