#Cactus Tattoo Designs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

natalie-inkx · 7 months

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The gangs all together 🌱🌿🍀✨ finally finished the set of designs for my cactus pin up inspired set! These are stickers for sale on my red bubble account and they will be for sale at the exhibition I will be taking part in in November!

#artist #artists on tumblr #looking for tattoo apprenticeship #art #tattoo design #artists on ig #female artists #tattoo #design #neo traditional tattoo #american traditional #tattoo flash #tattoo art #cactus #plant parent #pin up girl #pin up illustration

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theradiantkale · 9 months

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Growth— Black ink only in this painting. It was a blast drawing a saguaro 🌵! Did you know that because saguaros grow so slowly, it might take 50 to 75 years for them to grow their first arms?! Arms are important to them because they store extra water. After 100 years, they usually have several arms.

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mercedezart · 1 year

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🌙🌾🌵

#art #artwork #design #redbubble #tattoo #aesthetic #music #trippy #desert #cactus #drawing #art for sale #digital painting #digital illustration #procreate #mercedezart

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jetjaguartart · 2 years

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❀❀❀ some garden designs ❀❀❀

#tattoo design #monstera #pomegranate #tattoo flash #cactus #botanical

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dejemonosdebobadas · 2 years

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#blacktattoo #blackworktattoo #tattooargentina #tattooartist #tattoo #design #art #tatuaje #art nails #blackworkers #black and white #pencil #draw tattoo #drawing #cactus #cactustattoo

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coyoteroyalty · 8 months

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assignment eight!

my mentor was out in a park with sand dunes and there were a ton of beetles everywhere, so his prompt for me on this one was "beetle and cactus". i fought a lot with this at first. i wanted to do a symmetrical chest piece but it just wasn't hitting right. after taking it around to some of the other artists and chatting with my mentor i ended up on this.

i wanted to keep everything colorado-native: cottonwood beetle, tulip prickly pear cactus, and amethyst.

even though i struggled a lot with this guy at first i like how the design came together.

#homework assignments #someone arted in here #tattoo apprentice #art #digital art #digital illustration #tattoo designs #tattoo ideas #neotraditional #cottonwood beetle #prickly pear cactus #amethyst #colorado

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sergio-e-m · 2 years

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#cactus #tattoos #tattoed girls #tatto design

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baejax-the-great · 8 months

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WIP Whenever

A little Agua Caliente:

The artist had explained that the more detailed the tattoo, the better hidden the scars would be. Too much ink, and the shininess of the scarred skin would become obvious, so smaller lines that both blended into the shapes of the scars and directed the eyes away from them were best. For that reason, she recommended an art style similar to scientific drawings. A prickly pear would be perfect she said when Achilles suggested it, but her brows had furrowed when she saw the extent of Achilles’ scarring.

“No good?” he’d asked.

“Don’t worry about it, hun. I’ve just got some extra ideas.”

She sent him two designs after a few days, both on their own and overlaid on a picture of his arm. One was a pretty enormous prickly pear that would cover his entire forearm, but it was the second he couldn’t stop looking at. He’d told her why he wanted a cactus—his memories of camping, how often they used to go—and she’d drawn up a desert landscape at night, prickly pear in the foreground, but mountains and blooms and a teddy-bear cholla as well. In terms of things for him to permanently put on his body, this would be a nicer one. If it were a print, he might consider buying it.

“So then what’s the problem?” Patroclus asks him.

He’s the only other person who has seen his arm, so he’s the only person Achilles can show sketches to.

He shrugs. “It feels… disingenuous.”

“How can a tattoo of a landscape possibly feel disingenuous?” Patroclus is frowning, and Achilles had thought it would be obvious to him. “You mean… because you’re covering up—”

“No.” It’s not that. “It’s like I’m faking being someone I’m not.” Patroclus only gives him a confused look at this, so Achilles says, “I haven’t been to the desert in ages.”

“You named your store after one of our camping spots,” Patroclus says incredulously.

Achilles grimaces. That’s not who is anymore, though. He’s not someone who goes there. When Achilles was young, they might have called someone like him a “poser.”

“The desert hasn’t gone anywhere,” Patroclus says. “I could point you toward it right now.”

#patrochilles #bonus points if you can figure out who the tattoo artist is #achilles being a sad sack #as always #tbh I've been a little burnt out and focusing on some other things #so idk when I'll update

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bananasofthorns · 6 months

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very important question. should I get a general Lord Huron tattoo or a tattoo specifically for Lord Huron's song Never Ever first? (details about both under the cut if you're curious)

final designs for both of these are not confirmed because I haven't had a consultation or anything yet, but here are my thoughts

general Lord Huron:

around my ankle

black and white

inspired by the hills, sun, cactus, etc. thing they've got going on as their concert backdrop and on some of their previous merch

will incorporate the quote "may you live until you die"

Never Ever:

on my forearm

geometric, possibly also vaporwave-ish; see the Vide Noir album cover and graphic/animated thing for the song on Spotify

black and green

possibly will incorporate the lyric "are you dead or are you alive?"

#lord huron #vide noir #banana made a post

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junkdyke · 7 months

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do you have limits about what you tattoo? like is there any specific design(s) that you absolutely will not do because of personal values?

besides the obvious hate speech stuff, I think there's a few things yeah! I really like drawing/tattooing sexy girls, but I wouldn't be comfortable tattooing something really explicitly pornographic on someone! I'm cool with doing sexual tattoos, but in a way that's cheeky or subtle or tastefully erotic/pinup-y. I've seen some that are just so blatant and detailed, I wouldn't feel okay putting something like that on someone's body

I'm also very iffy on tattooing anyone's face, unless they're very heavily tattooed already and depends on the design/placement. Once had a girl who wanted one of my cheap flash tattoos of a cactus on her cheek and luckily she changed her mind on placement, but i straight up would not have done it because...i'm not gonna be responsible for fucking up someone's face with a silly ass tattoo lmao

I will not tattoo someone's partner's name on them. Matching tattoos of a design sure, but no names unless it's a family member's.

and then there's just some style I won't tattoo! I don't work in a walk-in shop so i do not have to tattoo anything I don't want to, and there's a lot of styles that I either don't feel are my strong suit so i wouldn't do it justice, or I just straight up think are ugly/tacky lmao. No watercolor tattoos, no trash polka, no american traditional, no paw prints on someone's tiddies, no soft blended clouds with prayer hands and script, no clock-rose-lions...i like doing my anime-inspired babes and delicate lines n shading lmao

#ask #asks #tattoos #tattoo artist #tattoo stuff #mine

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aloekat · 1 year

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wof headcanons pt. 3/10!

alright, getting back into the headcanon game (finally) with:

SandWings! woohoo!

= a popular SandWing trend is to tattoo not just your scales but your poison barb as well! popular designs are plants, sun/moon, skull, or mandala motifs/symbols.

= country accents and cowboys. that is all.

= SandWing barberry (like a hair cutter, not a tail barb) is a well respected job! it's important to make sure frills are kept clean and stylized, especially to the more wealthy dragons.

= SandWings, while even more rarely than SkyWings, are capable of having flamescales. only a few have been recorded in history, much less than SkyWings, but it makes sense considering they live in high temperatures and are more exposed to heat than i would argue SkyWings are!

= SandWing dragonets are similar to baby rattlesnakes. they can't control the poison level of their tail barb yet, so they tend to release way more than needed! tail cozies can be bought for them, protecting others around them (and themselves) until they can properly use their tail.

= a popular accessory is the Tail Rattler! it's a small, almost maraca-like tail band that fits over the SandWing's barb, making it shake and rattle when their tail moves! it's most worn for dances and music.

= some SandWings can be born with a very noticeable green hue/tint to them! these SandWings are called "Cactus Scales", although it's mostly a slang term and nothing actually biologically changes about them besides their color!

well that's all for the sand fellas! drop your own SandWing headcanons below, i'd love to read em :D!

next up will be either IceWings or SkyWings!

#wof #sandwing #hc #headcanon #wof headcanon #wings of fire headcanon #dragon #i love the idea they are just big rattlesnakes with frills and legs like thats cool cmon #what about gunslinger sandwing thats also so cool #in fact im gonna go make that an oc #right now #like right now right now

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jadesfound · 1 year

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CC List For My Townies <3

From left to right: Sophia Tongol, Jared Cordero, Jana Bullock, Alexander Elkins

video here: https://youtu.be/LnWwZ5M2IuY

Sophia Tongol:

Skin Details:

- whimsy.berries rosemary skin (cannot find)

- https://miikocc.tumblr.com/post/653369415716519936/face-kit-no1

- https://sammi-xox.tumblr.com/post/695769342200201216/belly-overlay-n1-stuff-custom-thumbnail-10

- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/floral-a-skin-detail-cc-pack-by-peachyfaerie-in-2022--751749362812652277/

- Faeish Structure Merged

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-skintones/title/raina-skin-overlay-female/id/1451646/

Presets/Sliders:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/25928157

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/eyebrow-slider-39393841

Tattoos:

- https://earthmoonz.tumblr.com/post/189630512051/luv-ya-babes-a-set-of-tattoos-technically-pt-3-of

- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/leafvy-gracias-a-mmfinds--758293656004101623/

Eyebrows:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/gpme-gold-f-g12-31992546

Eyelashes:

- https://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-uncurled-eyelashes-edition/

Hair:

- https://simstrouble.tumblr.com/post/675996155756380160/tyler-by-simstrouble-base-game-compatible-24

Makeup:

- https://ppoyyopoyo.wixsite.com/pyopyosim/post/poyopoyo-eyelashes-n1-3-eye-contacts-n11

- https://www.tumblr.com/sims3melancholic/622193494913662976/download-ea-info-contacts-65-60

Clothes:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/55848646

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/incheon-arrivals-67750031

Accessories:

- https://simstrouble.tumblr.com/post/667477937646338048/bruna-by-simstrouble-base-game-compatible-24

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-necklaces/title/cactus-necklace/id/1450226/

Shoes:

- https://arethabee.tumblr.com/post/669176529167745024/november2021

Jared Cordero:

Skin Details:

- https://faaeishccpreviews.tumblr.com/post/648642853067800576/skin-details-nose-shaders-by-faaeish-download

- https://lamatisse.tumblr.com/post/663592369391861760/mercuria

- https://sammi-xox.tumblr.com/post/689881262932082688/skindetail-dump-just-some-skindetails-from

- https://squeamishsims.tumblr.com/post/633692177214652416/moomoo-blush-by-squeamishsims-im-not-rlly-feeling

- https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/694208998289948672/misc-face-details-originally-meant-to-make-a

- Faeish Structure Merged

Presets/ Sliders:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/eyebrow-slider-39393841

Tattoos:

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-male-tattoos/title/stay-wild-full-body-tattoo/id/1482613/

Eyebrows:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/gpme-gold-f-g12-31992546

Eyelashes:

- https://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-uncurled-eyelashes-edition/

Facial Hair:

- https://introsims.tumblr.com/post/660842344000684032/intro-beard-10-male-young-adults-elders

Hair:

- https://johnnysimmer.tumblr.com/post/694028186546241536/michael-hair-new-promo-art-design-who-dis-info

Makeup:

- https://lamatisse.tumblr.com/post/705636235410046976/tapioca-default-nondefault-eyes-i-always-found

- https://www.tumblr.com/sims3melancholic/622193494913662976/download-ea-info-contacts-65-60

Clothes:

- https://arethabee.tumblr.com/post/654435314691145728/socasualcollection

- https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/663949332951842816/planet-axa

Shoes:

- https://mmsims.tumblr.com/post/673366594684076032/s4cc-mmsims-dunk-low-sneakers

Jana Bullock:

Skin Details:

- https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/694208998289948672/misc-face-details-originally-meant-to-make-a

- https://obscurus-sims.tumblr.com/post/162047969368/skin-n1-overlay-3-swatches-teen-females-only

- https://miikocc.tumblr.com/post/653369415716519936/face-kit-no1

- https://squeamishsims.tumblr.com/post/633692177214652416/moomoo-blush-by-squeamishsims-im-not-rlly-feeling

- https://sayasims-cc.tumblr.com/post/682386301134274560/saya-sigr%C3%BAn-skin-overlay

Presets/ Sliders:

- https://stretchskeleton.tumblr.com/post/187172222703/some-mouth-presets-that-i-havent-posted-yet

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/eyebrow-slider-39393841

Eyebrows:

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-hair-facial-eyebrows/title/eyebrows-30/id/1472024/

Eyelashes:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/3d-eyelashes-68587728

Hair:

- https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/695574171820900352/romy-hair-slay-info-17831-polys-bgc-hat

Makeup:

- https://www.tumblr.com/sims3melancholic/622193494913662976/download-ea-info-contacts-65-60

-https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-makeup-female-eyeliner/title/winged-smoky-eyeliner-n11/id/1307391/

- https://ppoyyopoyo.wixsite.com/pyopyosim/post/poyopoyo-eyelashes-n1-3-eye-contacts-n11

Clothes:

- https://sentate.tumblr.com/post/635394993993990144/sentate-x-trillyke-2020-trillyke-and-i-have-come

Accessories:

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-clothing-female-teenadultelder-everyday/title/trillyke-run-away-socks/id/1469854/

- https://arethabee.tumblr.com/post/654435314691145728/socasualcollection

Shoes:

- https://jius-sims.tumblr.com/post/676168239204712448/boots-collection-03-jius-leather-ankle-boots

Alexander Elkins:

Skin Details:

- https://okruee.tumblr.com/post/694208998289948672/misc-face-details-originally-meant-to-make-a

- Faeish Structure Merged - https://miikocc.tumblr.com/post/653369415716519936/face-kit-no1

- https://sammi-xox.tumblr.com/post/688321643964186624/saturnine-skinblend-stuff-for-all-ages-genders

- https://sammi-xox.tumblr.com/post/689881262932082688/skindetail-dump-just-some-skindetails-from

- https://miikocc.tumblr.com/post/653369415716519936/face-kit-no1

- https://squeamishsims.tumblr.com/post/633692177214652416/moomoo-blush-by-squeamishsims-im-not-rlly-feeling

- https://simandy.tumblr.com/post/630272666330415104/because-every-time-i-look-at-photoshop-i-want-to

Presets/ Sliders:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/eyebrow-slider-39393841

Eyebrows:

- https://obscurus-sims.tumblr.com/post/619679854568292352/eyebrows-n-30-33-colors-teen-female-only

Eyelashes:

- https://kijiko-catfood.com/3d-lashes-uncurled-eyelashes-edition/

Hair:

- https://simstrouble.tumblr.com/post/189809040505/jazzriff-hairstyle

Makeup:

- https://lamatisse.tumblr.com/post/705636235410046976/tapioca-default-nondefault-eyes-i-always-found

- https://www.tumblr.com/goppolsme/189529101062/gpme-gold-eyes-g16-download-at-goppolsme-patreon

- https://obscurus-sims.tumblr.com/post/174533730818/obscurusxmelancholic-collaboration-dl-video

Clothes:

- https://www.patreon.com/posts/euphoria-cc-pack-59513334

- https://gorillax3sims4.blogspot.com/2020/11/short-sleeve-shirt.html

Accessories:

- https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-accessories-female-earrings/title/piercing-set-n16/id/1382712/

Shoes:

- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/555631672759744306/

#TheSims #thesims4 #the sims 4 #the sims cc #the sims 4 cc #TS4 #ts4cc #ts4 cc #ts4mm #TS4CAS #the sims 4 custom clothes #sims 4 custom content #custom content #sims4 #sims #sims 4

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flower-biter · 28 days

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1-7 April 2024

Boop-pocalypse! 'twas a lot of fun, even if I did wind up blocking someone over it.

Requested a booking at an NYC tattoo artist I’ve had my eye on for a while! Fingers crossed they’ll accept my request during my visit dates (and that I won’t be a baby when I sit for it, it’ll be my biggest piece yet)

Still haven't really read anything. My brain just says No. <3 right now.

Even costar’s ai word salad bot thing is aware of how ferociously lonely and horny I’ve been lately. Sigh.

Trivia night again; we did poorly but still had fun. Cute bartender had a strong southern accent and she kept calling me “baby” and “darlin’” which had me grinning like an idiot.

How did my friend not tell me he is a literal doctor?? Why did it come up in a conversation where he confessed to having to google what’s in honey mustard?? (I’m never letting him live that down. It’s like the time I went to a bar and asked for a gin & tonic and the bartender said “oh I’ve never heard of that, what’s in it” and I like. Bluescreened. Sir I don't know how to explain this one without sounding really rude but. Say it again, slowly ????)

Office drama has my manager whom I really like getting moved to a different building; however, a new position is opening up that I think I might apply for. I’m mostly qualified and a bit scared but think I can (and probably should) do it. And the company is prioritizing hiring internally so I think I have a decent chance.

Saturday was gorgeous and I got to spend most of the day outside. Mum and I took a walk along a rail trail to our favorite coffee shop to get breakfast, then enjoyed a sunny, birdsong-filled stroll before we went and poked around a local antiques mall.

My friend invited me to her ultrasound and I got to see her twins moving around and hear their heartbeats, which was wild!Afterward her parents took us out to celebrate. We’re doing the gender(s) reveal party Sunday and I’m the designated keeper of the knowledge! I get to find out first thing and then get supplies for the party (Will report back). Nobody is allowed to bet on the genders because according to my friend, “if anyone in the family bets wrong they’ll remember, and if one of the kids turns out to be trans they’ll insist they were right all along and demand their betting prize with interest and adjustment for inflation, and we just don’t need that kind of drama.”

Update: I went over this morning and she logged me into her patient portal and I got to be the first to see that the twins are a healthy girl and boy! I threw them a little gender reveal party (which felt really funny to shop for because what’s the surprise? You get both??) and they’re so excited, it’s adorable. I’m so so happy for my friend and to get to be part of this phase of her life.

Reminded each day just how much I love love love spring. It’s so beautiful right now: cool and sunny, birds singing, flowers in bloom, windows open, not too hot. Feels like maybe everything will be okay.

This week:

last week

#i may edit this one a bit later it's a bit of a brain dump #catalog of little joys

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unfogged · 7 months

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🎮 — favorite video game(s)? 🖊 — any tattoos? 🐶 — any pets? 😖 — what annoys you?

munday asks ⤷ @uncxntrxllable

🎮 — favorite video game(s)? overwatch is my absolute favorite! i enjoy the resident evil games too. legend of zelda link to the past, donkey kong double trouble! we happy few is up there for me, too!

🖊 — any tattoos? so many! stars and the moon on my right shoulder, carpe diem and deathly hallows symbol ( yeah, i know, i need to get it covered tbh ) on my left foot, a rainbow watercolor splash on my right forearm, paper airplane on right wrist, equal sign on my right middle finger, ghost cat on my upper right arm, terrarium thing on my right arm, daisies on right arm, my gram's initials in her handwriting on my left wrist, snake and mushrooms on left arm, little hands holding on left arm, polaroid of bluebells and sunflowers on left arm, heartbeat thing on left arm, rainbow dots on right collarbone, tiny cactus on left collarbone, a grim reaper on right thigh, weird heart face on right leg above knee, weird eyeball with wings on left leg above knee. a few elliot either did himself or at least designed. we have a couple matching ones too! a few i could do without, but they meant something to me at one point so.

🐶 — any pets? 8 cats! villy, victor, alex, cleo, roach, dollar, truffle, cookie. technically 9 if you include my mom's cat milo.

😖 — what annoys you? is it cheating to say everything? i am a deeply irritable person and grow annoyed by many a thing lmao.

#uncxntrxllable #OOC ⤷ ALLISON'S BULLSHIT.

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pollyna · 2 years

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Halix tattoo/flowers shop au.

Callie has a sleeve tattoed with flowers and a flower shop that looks like a plant nursery more than everything else, Natasha is the type of person who kills cactus and made her art tracing ink lines of mostly not stupid design. They share a street and a very distracted postman who leaves most of Callie's packages at Natasha's and viceversa. It starts with a wrong delivery of hippeastrum, the rest is history.

#callie halo shen #natasha phoenix trace #halo x phoenix #halix #tattoo and flower shop au #au: florist!halo and tattoo artist!phoenix #hippeastrum should mean i'm thinking of you #the dagger squad is around in a way or another #top gun: maverick #(mr. blue sky drained my brain oh god)

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shoshiwrites · 2 years

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while spring is making promises outside — a flower shop AU featuring my OC Jo. Chapter 5/9. Some chapters a little NSFW.

Catch up on Chapters 1-4 at the link!

They start talking more, somehow. Probably has something to do with the fact that he's on Jo's block more often than not now, if he's not fixing up a busted cabinet or doing one-off woodworking jobs or running arrangements out to clients. Either at the shop or the tattoo place a few doors down, talking to Angelo about getting some pieces fixed up or maybe even a new one. He doesn't really have the money for it if he's being responsible, but he didn't really have the money before, either. That's why he's only got a couple real good pieces, the ones he'd basically bartered for, and the rest are the stick-and-pokes of an unsupervised youth.

The lights are always on, at Fran's.

He can always busy himself with whatever tasks are urgent that day, mostly heavy lifting that Jo says she'll do herself. He's the one on call the most now, since Bill's at home with Fran and the newest addition — a baby girl. Something inside Joe's heart hums at the thought. He's already at work on the gift, a little music box where you can see the mechanism under glass.

Today it's unpacking shipments for Easter, lilies and Easter cactus and hyacinth and azaleas. He doesn't care so much about the differences between flowers. It's nice to be surrounded by things that smell nice and look nice, especially the colors that usually crowd the store. But white lilies he hates. White lilies are funeral flowers, are the same church twice over, headstones and suits that are too big or too small, a flag-draped casket that makes your ribcage feel too big for your body. He swears he's seen Jo make a face at them too. He wants to ask her who it's for.

It's Sunday, after closing, but they're here behind the scenes while Frankie does a big wedding consult downtown.

Clara raises her voice from the front of the store. "You want a coffee, Joey?" Clara might be the only person who gets away with calling him Joey other than his Ma or Ann or Sarah. The reason for it is practical, but he still fights a wince. At least it's better than mister, which is what he'd gotten the first few weeks. The answer's yes now, more often than now, but bless her, she always asks.

"How come you never ask if I want a coffee?" Jo says, ignoring the half-drunk glass in front of her, the melted ice. They work shoulder to shoulder, like an assembly line, if you count all the interruptions about beverages or to switch the music or to argue about spring training prospects.

"You know where the machine is."

Jo snorts.

"We have vanilla syrup if you want some, Joe. Oh! And I just made some almond too. Sort of an amaretto vibe."

His voice crackles with a laugh as he eyes Jo's face. "Vanilla sounds nice. Thank you, Clara."

"Don't mention it."

"You guys are so cute," Jo says flatly, clacking her gum on her back teeth, and he laughs. "You wanna run some practice questions?"

That's how they find themselves at a folding table in the back, Jo sketching a twine-tied bunch of herbs and greens and pale orange poppies, and Joe hunched over his exercise book. Jo can technically pass off what she's doing as work, since Frankie asked her to design some new promotional materials for the store. He looks up a little too long, at her eyes and the freckles scattered under her jaw, the press of her mouth.

"What?"

"Have you thought about what Evie and Angelo offered?" Evie won't stop talking about Jo's drawings whenever he walks in the place and neither does Pat or Angelo. How they'd love someone with that eye for detail to get into the business. Joe sees it himself, her careful sketches and the way she shades, the subtle colors. They want her to train with them.

She moves her mouth around a little, but doesn't say anything. Probably the same face he'd given her when she'd softly suggested he call his ma after he'd been looking at business courses at the local community college. But he'd actually picked up the phone and done it. Maybe next week he'll try Ann and Sarah. Jimmy's still a wildcard, though. The guilt comes in waves. Joe bites at his tongue with his back teeth.

"Listen, I know it's scary."

"Human skin, no big deal," she says. She doesn't look away from the bouquet. The tiny gold hoops in her ears glint under the bright lights.

"Well, there is this thing called practice."

"Are you volunteering?"

Done with the last question on the page, he drops his pencil on the table. It starts to roll. He leans back in the metal folding chair, nearly tipping the back legs. "Call me scratch paper, baby."

She finally looks at him. "You're full of it."

"Yeah, probably."

She turns back to her paper.

"I'm heading out, Jo," Clara calls.

"Have a good class!" The bell above the door chimes as Clara leaves.

Joe puts himself back upright, now acutely aware of the fact that they're the only two people in the store. "Listen sweetheart," he says. "You'd be good at this." The word sweetheart pulses like an exposed nerve. Fuck. Why did he say that? He can see her swallow.

"I'll think about it."

She always says that, but he doesn't push. He doesn't have a right to, does he, with everything he knows about her and everything he doesn't. With the mess he calls his personal life. With Allie.

There hasn't been a sweetheart since the two of them had met at a rock show god knows how many years ago, back when he felt a swing in his stomach when she smiled, back when he thought she looked so cool and unbothered and he couldn't believe she was talking to him.

Do you wanna go get a beer, he wants to say, and to his shock he realizes that he's actually said it. Even more shock when Jo says yes.

This is how they find themselves at some dive that's open, and somehow also has a patio. It's a little too cold to be out there but not terrible, as they huddle in their jackets with their drinks.

Jo-with-a-beer isn't much different than Jo-with-coffee, he finds, at least at first.

They stumble around what they can. He hears about Berlin, from her, for the first time. Very small pieces. He swears her eyes look a little watery, in the fading light, but when he blinks it's gone. There's a tension in him, watching her skirt around things that have clearly hurt her, but that she doesn't name. He tells her about his family, the parts he can, at least. The facts, or some of them. She smells so sharply of green, and the soft floral smell of her shampoo.

This isn't a date, so he lets her pay her half. He walks her back to the shop, and gets in his car. He can't bring himself to call Jimmy so he texts, something that says nothing but still feels like too much. The air is like winter still, but the light... In his room he thinks about her, the way she must have looked there. Filling in the spaces of what she'd said about supplemental income, artists and modeling. The look on her face as she'd said it, something like regret. It feels wrong, the clench of his jaw here in his bed, the way his skin feels too tight. His hands fumble. He flips over on his stomach, hips begging artlessly for release.

#while spring is making promises outside #jo's tag #sort of #shoshi writes #i'll make a post with all the links soon #genuinely ty guys for just. letting me go wild w this this week #i need/ed it #shoshi's au problem

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