- Guy who is hopelessly obsessed with someone who won’t give him the time of day
- Guy who is mean to his crush but secretly has a soft spot for him
- Guy who is terrified of being his true self x Guy who is desperate to be his true self
- Two terribly sad teenage boys who could either help one another or make one another worse depending what you want to do with them
- Red/Blue
- Narrative foils
- They could both be girls if you want them to be
- Nerd x Jock bullshit
- Potential academic rivalry assuming Jamil is actually allowed to try at school after book 4 (and a genuine academic rivalry, rather than Azul thinks they’re rivals and Riddle does not gaf about it)
- Character whose backstory is an allegory for racism
- Character whose backstory is an allegory for casteism
- Guy everybody hates (Jamil) x The only person who seems to think his struggles are real (Azul)
- Two cringe teenagers who “want to rule the world together some day”
Also. I think they both need somebody who loves them. Someone with the “twisted mind” to understand them. Azul is literally the only character in the game who makes any effort at all to understand Jamil, and Jamil understands Azul so well (book 7.5). It’s just nice to imagine Jamil getting to be understood and adored and Azul getting to be told he’s not a complete dumbass for his vapid desires.
Freshman Azul is so great to me conceptually. Just imagining a boy trying so very hard to acclimate to human life seamlessly and he his not very good at it. So in awe of being able to smell things and see the sky and also he’s not great at walking or running or anything to do with coordination. He’s trying so hard to seem like a normal human being but it’s so clear he is not. He just wants to be as capable as everyone else, he doesn’t appreciate having limitations.
Also I think it is conceptually really funny the idea of love at first sight with Jamil Viper. Azul Ashengrotto having his Ariel moment and deciding to change the trajectory of his life for a pretty guy who he’s barely even spoken to. You see my vision? Freshman Azul is among people for the first time and there’s this really pretty guy and he won’t even talk to him and so he starts observing him and realizes there’s something wrong with him and that just makes it worse.
The Grand Vizier asks for Jamil's help, but things turn out differently than Jamil expects.
Word Count: 1,845
Chapter Index
[Read on AO3]
---
Jamil is reading a book in his chambers when he hears a knock on his door.
He frowns as he stands up, wondering who it could be. Azul wouldn't knock, and even the servants rarely called on him in his private chambers.
He opens the door and a smiling Crowley greets him.
"Jamil! Just the man I wanted to see!"
"Grand Vizier. How can I help you?"
"Draconia House has informed me that they are willing to pay a considerable amount of money for their very own Oasis Maker. Tomorrow morning I shall bring them to the tower where we keep the machine, and explain to them how it works. Therefore I need you to explain to me how it works." Crowley is smiling like he usually does when he sees money in his near future.
"When do they want it? It took me almost two months to build the one we have."
"Oh, they aren't in a hurry," Crowley waves a hand dismissively. "And once I explain to them how the whole thing works, they would understand why you need time to make another one."
"And do I get paid some of this considerable amount of money?" Jamil raises an eyebrow.
Crowley chuckles. "Of course, Mister Viper! You know how generous I am."
"Right. Fine, I'll tell you how it works. Give me a moment." Jamil goes back inside to put his book down on the table. Then he removes one of the gold jewelry in his hair and places it down beside the book.
They make their way out of the main palace and into the Southern Tower. Crowley tells the guards at the entrance that they're going to check on the Oasis Maker, and they climb the stairs to the fifth floor, where another set of guards are standing at the front of the corridor allow them passage.
Crowley opens the door to the room at the other end of the corridor, and Jamil immediately feels the breeze as they step inside, looking up at the open sky above them.
"Here we are!" Crowley gestures with a flourish to the machine that's sitting on a small table in the center. "Explain away, Mister Viper!" He closes the door behind them and walks forward.
Jamil walks up to the table and glances at the sky. "Okay, so you already know that we keep the Oasis Maker here because it shoots energy beams at the sky at 20-minute intervals."
"Indeed! To encourage cloud formation and give us more frequent rains, yes?" Crowley says beside him.
"Right. This part that looks like an umbrella stores the energy," Jamil points at the blue swirling cap of the machine. "And this sharp rod pointing at the sky fires the energy beam," he indicates the rod that looks like a small white tower with three prongs, the middle one being longer than the other two.
"And it's perfectly safe if the energy beam were to fire while we're in here?" Crowley asks with a nervous glance at the machine.
"Yes, as long as the rod remains pointed at the sky. There are indicator lights here that would tell us if it's about to fire, so we can take a step back." Jamil points at the four small circles at the side of the machine, three of them are lit up with a green color.
"I see! Again, I'm very impressed with your work, Mister Viper! Can you tell me how long it would take each part to construct, so that I may explain it to Lord Draconia tomorrow?"
"Of course." Jamil wonders if Lord Draconia would leave the palace as soon as he finishes building a second Oasis Maker. Now that's motivating.
He explains the building process to Crowley, skipping over the parts where Azul's help would be needed. As he's talking about the materials that he would need to buy to make another machine, the fourth indicator light glows green, and the Oasis Maker makes a beeping sound.
"Ah, there," Jamil points at the lights. "Once the machine beeps like that, we have about three seconds before it fires." He takes a step back with Crowley.
A blue beam shoots from the machine and into the sky, glowing so bright that they had to avert their eyes. After about five seconds, the beam disappears.
"Goodness!" Crowley puts a hand to his chest. "That is marvelous! I had never seen it this close before. That almost looked like lightning! What if the machine is tipped over by a sandstorm and the beam fires while the rod is pointed sideways? Is there no danger that the whole building might collapse?"
"Well, we're using the Oasis Maker so that the sand around the city would receive enough rainfall that a sandstorm wouldn't be possible. But if the machine does tip over for some reason, it could theoretically fire a hole in the wall, but it wouldn't destroy the entire building. That's also why the guards are stationed at the end of the corridor and not right outside the door, in the unlikely event that the beam fires sideways."
"Ah, of course. Truly you are brilliant to have thought of everything!" Crowley claps his hands together, no doubt excited about how marketable the machine is.
Jamil ignores the flattery and just continues to explain the resources he would need to build another Oasis Maker.
Jamil isn't sure how much Crowley understands of all the science stuff that he's explaining, but he doubts that Lord Draconia would ask complicted questions, anyway. Nobles like him are rarely interested in how something works, as long as it benefits them.
Crowley agrees to use money from the royal treasury to buy all the material that Jamil needs, as long as Jamil can say with confidence that he can have the machine finished in no later than two months.
"That's the entire process of it," Jamil concludes his explanation. "Azul and I check this once a week to make sure that it's still working properly, and so far we haven't seen anything wrong with it."
"And now that three out of four lights are on, it means that it's about to fire another beam soon, right?"
"Yeah, but as you saw earlier, it's perfectly safe as long as the rod is pointed at the sky."
"Excellent!" Crowley takes a whip out of his pocket and throws it at Jamil.
Jamil only has time to gasp and step back before the long leather cord pulls him back against a pillar and wraps around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides.
"What the hell?!" Jamil struggles against the bonds but he's firmly tied to the stone pillar.
Crowley chuckles. "That magical whip cost me a fortune back then, but I knew it would come in handy someday."
Jamil tries to shout for help but the whip wraps tighter around his chest, making it hard to speak or even breathe.
Crowley begins to slowly pace back and forth. "I'm not as blind as the rest of the council, Mister Viper. I know you intend to take the seat of the Sultan. You have already made Kalim agree with your plans to give out more of our resources to the commoners," his face scrunches up like the word disgusts him. "If you become Sultan, more of our money would be distributed to those street rats. And then what will become to the council?"
"It's not… your money…" Jamil gasps for breath as he glares at Crowley.
"I'm afraid that's not for you to decide." Crowley sneers.
He walks to the table and pushes the Oasis Maker onto its side, making the rod face Jamil.
"Very unfortunate that the machine malfuntioned while you were explaining it to me!" Crowley puts a hand to his chest. "I will say that the great Jamil Viper sacrificed his life to save mine, and you will have a hero's burial while the treasury gets filled from all the tourism that your tragic story will attract. It should be enough to replace all the money you made Kalim give away to those commoners. It's quite a brilliant plan, don't you think?"
Jamil very much wants to tell Crowley what he thinks, but he's starting to get lightheaded from how tightly the whip is squeezing his chest, and his heart is hammering as he stares wide-eyed at the rod aimed right at him.
"Now just stay there and in a few minutes—"
The door opens and Azul is standing there, staring in shock at the situation before him.
You found my signal. Jamil is suddenly grateful that Azul insisted that he should have one, too. It's a very good thing that he thought to leave that gold jewelry from his hair next to his book.
Azul raises his hand and releases a white flash of light towards Crowley, causing the man to shout and stumble blindly backwards. Then he runs to the Oasis maker, but Crowley grabs his arm and pulls him away before he could reach it.
Jamil watches helplessly as the two of them grapple on the ground. He knows that Azul can't use his magic to harm anyone, and Crowley is using his physical advantage to pin Azul to the ground.
Time seems to slow down for Jamil.
The Grand Vizier begins strangling Azul as Jamil watches in horror.
The Oasis Maker starts beeping.
Jamil realizes that the last thing he would see before he dies is his best friend being murdered in front of him.
The machine starts beeping faster. Jamil braces himself—
Azul kicks the leg of the table and the Oasis Maker falls to its side as it fires, hitting the wall beside Jamil and causing the room to shake in an explosion of dust and falling stones.
Jamil falls to the ground, curled up and gasping for breath as he realizes that the whip had fallen loose somewhere.
As the dust settles, Jamil shakily sits up. He sees that one of the columns has pinned Crowley's legs, and the man is struggling to get out from under it.
"Jamil!" Azul stumbles over, his lip bleeding and his hair caked in dust. He crouches down. "Are you alright?"
Jamil nods, still catching his breath. His chest still aches but he's breathing better by the second. "You're injured," he says worriedly, seeing the bruises around Azul's neck.
"GUARDS!" Crowley bellows, legs still trapped. "Jamil Viper attempted to kill me! Seize him!"
They hear rapid footsteps coming from down the corridor.
"Come on," Azul quickly helps Jamil stand up and pulls him by the arm toward the gaping hole in the wall.
They stand at the edge of it, and Jamil's stomach turns as he looks down at the ground far below them.
The door bursts open.
"Stop! In the name of the Sultan!" a guard yells, pointing a crossbow at them.
Azul holds out a hand to Jamil. "Do you trust me?"
Jamil nods, unsure that his voice wouldn't waver if he spoke.
historic 🐍🐙 day it's been like an hour and im still thinking about it like holy fucking shit the manga is not messing around !!!!!!!!! like okay!!!! im just supposed to go on with my life after that like i didnt just see the gayest thing in the world. in my twisted wonderland™️
HELPPP THE WAY AZUL JUST DROPPED TO HIS KNEES (new manga chapter)??? I'M DYING. an excellent start to pride month...
NONW OF THIS IS NECESSARY AT ALL. FIRST OF ALL. FIRST OF ALL. WHY THE FUCK DOES HE GET THAT CLOSE TO HIM. HE DOES NOT NEED TO GET THAT CLOSE TO HIM. SECONDLY WHY DOES AZUL GET ON ALL FOURS. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK . and then in jamil's dream he has an azul who does all this nonsense oh my god what is WRONG with these people (well, I understand what's wrong with jamil)
WHY DOES HE DROP TO ONE KNEE LIKE THAT. look i have an active imagination, but i never imagined anything REMOTELY like this. WHAT. ARE. THEY. DOING. ?????????????????????
Ans: psychosexual bullshit
Thank you raven at the writing desk. you were correct in that assessment
Noooo you don’t get it he had to get on his hands and knees and grovel or else Jamil wouldn’t have believed himmmm. Kalim standing normally when he’s hypnotized doesn’t mean anything. That’s just because he’s used to it. I promise. Azul was just doing what was necessary.
The full body trembling? Also part of the act. Azul could never get flustered. He’s not capable of love.
literally everybody in the fourth chapter: Kalim this guy sucks we gotta kill him
Azul, for some reason: okay well hold on guys what if he has a perfectly reasonable reason for tweaking out huh? I think we should hear him out. Yes he did chuck us 10 miles out into the desert so what
I need to remind everyone that Azul is fully willingly doing this for no fucking reason he went through EXTRA unnecessary effort to put himself in this position and immediately acted his ass off and then immediately AFTER this, and after he got chucked into the desert he went on to say
jbbartram-illu
gummygunk
yousharknotpass
turnnoffyourmind
vaporwave
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
germansingergirl
