#besides the hanged man tarot

[psiioniicarts]

The Hanged Man (& A Snake)

🐍🌙🧧Happy Lunar New Year 🧧🌙🐍

(Alt. shots below)

[dirt-str1der]

Everyone look at how cute the dr stone ed tarot cards are ....

[mothandpidgeon]

Nine Lives (witch's familiar!Ezra x witch!f!reader) - Part 5

Moth's Masterlist // follow @mothandpidgeon-updates and turn on notifications to stay updated with my fics!

SERIES MASTERLIST

pairing: witch's familiar!Ezra x witch!f!reader

rating: E MDNI

summary: As you came into your powers and your curves filled in, Ezra realized he feelings for you were more than just affection. The only problem? He's a 300 year old crused witch. Oh, and he's a cat.

contents: age gap (like 300 years), alcohol, yearning masturbation, vegan slander, moth never uses y/n.

wc: 6.2k

a/n: Today feels like a really rough day in the US so I wanted to share this new chapter. Hopefully it'll take your mind off things. I've had a really really hard time writing this chapter. Really glad I stuck with it and struggled through. Could not have done this without input and beta from @moonlitbirdie @schnarfer and @whocaresstillthelouvre. Thank you my little witches!

🐈‍⬛

With Margot’s reprieve, life with Ezra becomes the new normal. Weeks pass and he’s slotted into your day to day so easily. Grocery shopping, breakfast at the cafe down the street. He comes to work with you. Except now, instead of lounging on top of a dusty bookshelf, he helps man the cash register. 

Despite your aunt’s insistence that she would not under any circumstances be involved with this “conspiracy” (her word), she had pointed you in the direction of a vieling spell that would keep Ezra’s transformation under wraps. You and he cast the ward around town hoping it might buy some time but you’ll have to come clean eventually.

“By Yuletide, you’d better come up with a proper appeal,” Aunt Margot said. “People will ask questions if you’re absent and I’m not going to lie.”

There’s still time and so you choose to enjoy this secret, this new chapter with Ezra.

You’re smiling to yourself as you climb the stairs to the second floor of the Page with a book in your hands. It’s an antique school primer someone just brought in for Margot to appraise. Nothing special except that the little darling that once owned it filled the margins with dirty limericks and pencil sketchings of cock and balls. Some things never change, no matter what century it is. Ezra will get a kick out of it. He probably knows a few lewd poems himself. 

You hang back when you find him beside the front window. Soft morning light falls over the angular planes of his face. There’s a divot in the center of his throat just visible above the collar of his olive sweatshirt that always catches your eye. You still haven’t quite gotten used to the fact that your old pal Ezra is so damn handsome. Not that you’re attracted to him. He’s just attractive. You’ve reminded yourself of the distinction between that many times over the past few weeks. 

But it’s not the cast of the sun that has you hesitating. Ezra’s talking to a customer, his crooked smile revealing the dimple in his cheek, with a tarot deck in his hands.

“And it was the exact image I’d seen when I took ayahuasca,” she says. “The four of cups.”

“Well, cards are certainly prophetic,” he says, his voice edging on a tease. 

You know her— Zoe’s a regular. She moved into town after backpacking through South America, and waitresses at the diner. She comes in to buy crystals from time to time and she’s good for business. Ever since the diner got written up as one of the “hidden gems of the Catskills,” she sends more and more of her customers over to the Page. 

She’s been stopping in even more recently, the shop’s newest doe-eyed employee obviously her motivation. Twice a week you find her in conversation with Ezra. In fact, she’s given up the pretense that she’s actually shopping for anything anymore. 

“Have you ever had your aura photographed?” she asks. 

“No. A picture of me is a rare thing, indeed,” he says. 

Zoe’s the exact kind of mortal Ezra detests– always talking about “getting into wicca” as if magic is a hobby she can try on– but she’s beautiful. She has hazel eyes and razor sharp cheekbones. Her slim arms are tattooed with delicate talismen and her haircuts seamlessly straddle the border between chic and edgy. 

“I know a place down in Woodstock where you can get it done. Next time I’m going, maybe you can tag along,” she offers. 

There’s a sparkle in Ezra’s eye that makes your chest tight.

You retreat to the stairs before you hear his answer. The sensation building in you is a stab, a flare of something bitter and dark. You’re not sure why you’re jealous because you don’t have feelings for Ezra. Okay, maybe a little crush. But you’ve got that in check. You’re not going to fall for your best friend just because he woke up with the most handsome face you’ve ever seen.

And you’re definitely not intimidated by Zoe’s waif-like frame and heavily lidded eyes. Next to her, you look like an ogre. But why would you need to compare yourself to her? And why shouldn’t Ezra get to bang a goddess when he has a mouth that should be sculpted in marble?  

You realize how ridiculous this train of thought is becoming so you shove it down as tightly as you can, actually shaking your head as though this insanity might tumble out of your ear.

“You okay?” 

Zoe’s standing in front of you at the register, the tarot deck set on the counter between you.

“You’re buying something,” you say, though it’s more of a question than a statement.

“This deck has a really good vibe,” she tells you. “Ezra picked it out.”

Hearing her say his name, you’re like a cat with its hair standing on end. 

“He’s got the same name as your cat. Isn’t that funny,” she notes.

“I see how you look at him,” you say. It’s not meant to come out as an accusation but there’s a bite to your words you weren’t expecting. You’re being ridiculous so you decide to prove to yourself once and for all that your feelings are strictly platonic. The faster you see Ezra with someone, the quicker this little crush will die. 

Luckily, Zoe doesn’t notice it. “That obvious, huh?”

“You should take him for a drink. He’d like that,” you say. Something like relief comes over you. Obviously you’re not jealous. If you were, you wouldn’t have tried to set him up.

“You think so?” she asks, glancing back towards the stairs. “I tried to give him my number but he told me he doesn’t have a phone.”

You try to keep yourself from laughing at what a devastating rejection that would be if it weren't true.

“He actually doesn’t,” you say.

“Really?” 

You shrug.

She nods. “That’s smart. The EMF really messes with your brainwaves.”

“Hm,” you say with a noncommittal nod. “Well, I’ll have him send you a letter or something.”

–

Ezra used to trot down the stairs of the bookstore. Now he has to duck to keep his head from smacking into the shelf that hangs over the doorframe. 

It’s taken some time to get used to his body again but after these few weeks, he’s navigating the world with ease. Ezra hasn’t felt this happy in hundreds of years. He’s doing magic for the first time in a long time and he spends his days working in the bookstore. It’s oddly enjoyable even despite the fact that it’s dull and full of silly mortals. Best of all, there’s you. 

He still can’t comprehend how lucky he is to be given this gift. To be yours. Even if he isn’t anymore, not beholden by the fetters of a familiar, he’ll never stop thinking of himself as belonging to you. 

You’re smiling at him as he comes to the counter and he has to resist the urge to nuzzle his head into your shoulder as he used to greet you. If there’s one thing he misses about being a cat, it’s your scratching behind his ears.

“I got you a date with her,” you say.

“The vegan?” Ezra asks.

“Yeah,” you say with a laugh. “The vegan that you shamelessly flirt with.”

Ezra furrows his brow. He was once quite the charmer but he hasn’t intended to do anything more than amuse himself. Over and over, this woman batted her eyelashes at him and Ezra carefully demurred each time. She was pretty. Perhaps some time ago he would have liked to bed her but he has no designs on her now, not when he falls asleep swimming in the scent of your skin each night.

”You shouldn’t have done that,“ he says.

”Why not? She’s so into you,” you reply.

Ezra says nothing because his answer would give it all away. Instead he grabs a handful of bookmarks decorated with pressed flowers and busies himself putting them on a table on the other side of the room. 

“You’ve been celibate for how long?” you go on, following behind.

“No need for reminders.” 

“We need to get you laid!” you say so helpfully. ”Are you blushing?”

If Ezra’s red in the face, it’s only because he’s realizing what a fool he’s being. You’re ready to send him off to another while he’s madly in love with you. He shouldn’t be surprised. He couldn’t expect that you were going to suddenly leap into his arms with any of the enthusiasm Zoe’s shown him. Maybe he thought there was some chance, some faint hope that you could belong just as much to him. 

But this makes your feelings so clear. You’re not interested. You’re ready to pawn him off on some ridiculous mortal.

”What’s wrong? She too young for you or something?” you tease. 

Zoe is, no doubt, attractive and she’d made it clear that she’s ready to take him to bed, both facts that should have elated him. The problem was, she wasn’t you. And you were someone he’d never have. 

“I can manage my own matchmaking,“ he grumbles. He moves on to a stack of books, straightening their spines though they’re hardly askew. Anything to keep himself from looking at you, being reminded that you’re off limits.

“Ez, she’s been throwing herself at you.“ 

”I suppose in my time I’ve learned to savor the hunt.“ 

“Oh please. You used to eat out of my hand. You should be thanking me,” you say. 

Thanking you for pushing him into the arms of another. His despair calcifies into a rotten resentment. You don’t want him, you never will. 

“I’d much prefer it if you didn’t involve yourself,” he says. It’s nearly impossible to keep the venom out of his voice.

You scoff. In the corner of his eye, you’re frowning. ”Okay. If I’d known you were going to be such a dick about it, I wouldn’t have bothered,” you say, and then you turn around shaking your head and walk away.

He watches you stomp into the next room, regret flooding him. He shouldn’t be so mean, not to you, but the damage has been done. There’s hardly time to think about it because Margot is breezing in from the back door with Percy riding high on her shoulder, the sound of her bracelets filling the store with their music. Ezra sets his features in as neutral an expression he can manage.

“Oh, Ezra, dear. Just who I was looking for,” she says. “Come here a minute.”

She sets a wide box that’s tied with a grosgrain ribbon on the counter.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Open it.” 

He looks from her to her familiar before he pulls the dark ribbon and lifts the lid. Inside is something he hasn’t seen in a dog’s age. The memories it brings back makes his lips tick up in an absent smile. 

“Robes,” he says. “How did you—?”

“We found a description in Goody Cartwright’s diary in the basement,” Margot said. “Dusted off the old sewing machine.”

Percival scampers down her arm to climb into the box. He crawls beneath a sleeve and lifts the hem in his paws, standing on his hind legs.

“I hope they turned out,” Margot says.  

“Mine were nearly identical,” Ezra says as he wistfully inspects the fabric.

He still remembers the feel of the homespun linen against his skin. His robes always smelled of woodsmoke from the moon revels. They had been stained with wine and goat’s milk, the bottom edge besotted with moss and rainwater.

“It was Percy’s idea,” she says.

The mouse ducks his head bashfully when Ezra looks up at him. 

Ezra swallows down the lump in his throat. He’s moved, jaw gripped as he tries to stop from shedding tears. Another gift he’s not worthy of, compounded by the fact that he’s just upset you again. You were doing for him what you’ve always done– taking care of him, showing him that you loved him. If only he could accept it’s not the way he wants it.

He sets his hand out on the countertop. 

“Percival,” he says. 

After some hesitation, Percy steps into Ezra’s palm. Ezra brings the mouse up so that he sits at eye level. 

“I deserve a much starker retribution from you, friend,” Ezra says. “I hope you’ll forgive my misdeeds.”

Percy cocks his head to the side. 

“He says he’ll think about it,” Margot tells him. 

Ezra grins. He offers a finger which Percy takes in his paw and they shake hands. 

“You can wear them this weekend. Sunday’s your first full moon since you turned,” Margot says. 

Ezra had forgotten all about the phases of the moon. How could he be expected to keep track of such things when there were so many new things to experience?

”We’ll celebrate,” Margot insists.

He wants to protest. Right now he doesn't feel much like frivolity, can’t imagine you’ll want to join in with any festivities when he’s been such a complete and total ass. But he knows he ought to learn his lesson and accept.

“I look forward to it,” he says.

Percy squeaks happily and Margot claps her hands together.

“Come on, Percy! There’s much to be done!” she says before disappearing into the back room.

-

The rest of the day is tense between you and Ezra, with few words exchanged. He’s lived with you long enough that it’s not your very first squabble but, in the past, it was much easier to stay out from underfoot. The apartment feels so much smaller now that he’s human, its walls crushing when there’s silence between you. It’s at its worst when you announce you’re going to bed. It feels cold, lacking an invitation, and so Ezra waits in the kitchen for a long while wondering if you want him beside you at all. 

Some time after you’ve turned off the light, he slinks in nervously. He might as well be sneaking into the bed, though for all intents and purposes, it’s become just as much his as it is yours. He’s shared it with you from that very first night. Neither of you raised the notion of his sleeping elsewhere so it became a habit. He wonders now, more strongly than ever, if he’s overstayed his welcome. 

You lay facing the window but he knows your breathing well enough to see you’re not yet sleeping. He lays on the cold sheets hating himself for loving you, for taking advantage of you, for disappointing you.  

“I shouldn’t have accused you of meddling,” he says quietly.

Ezra has accepted the fact that he’ll have to take this mortal out despite having no interest in her. There’s no good reason not to, as you so aptly showed him, and if he doesn’t you’ll want to know why.

At some point in the late afternoon he decided that he would make the best of it. He would stop kidding himself and accept that you had no romantic feelings for him and try to keep an open mind with Zoe. At the very worst, he’d finally get a long overdue fuck. How could a man mope over that? 

But seeing the slope of your shoulder in the moonlight, your eyelashes fluttering as you turn your face up to the ceiling, makes him realize just how impossible is the task that lies ahead of him. 

You sigh and turn over, sheets rustling with your movement. There’s just enough light in the room to shine in your sweet eyes as you look at him and tuck a hand under your pillow. 

“Ez, it’s okay. I know why you got upset,” you say. 

His heart skips a beat. Of course you know. He’s been so obvious, how could you not see it? He swallows hard, unsure of what he’ll say when you call him out. It feels like an age passes as he waits for you to say the words. 

“You haven’t been with anybody for a long time. If you’re not ready, I get it,” you say and you put a gentle hand over his. 

A little laugh escapes him. How absurdly wrong he’d been. He sinks deeper into his self pity. How could he ever imagine a creature as kind and beautiful as you would want him? A reprobate, hundreds of years old. A fucking cat.

“Yes, well, I suppose if she’s as smitten as you believe I’ve nothing to worry about,” he says. 

A smile cracks across your lips and your gaze melts over his face. You brush your palm across his cheek and Ezra can’t help but close his eyes and lean into the touch of your warm skin. 

“How could she not be?” you say.

Your gaze lingers on him, your expression difficult to read. There’s nothing but the sound of your soft breaths and the whisper of dry leaves outside the window. His heart aches, wishing he could curl himself around you and say the words that live on the tip of his tongue. But the moment passes as you pull your hand back to your side of the mattress and the gulf between you feels wider than ever. He lays awake for what feels like hours wishing he was still a cat so he could sleep in your embrace.

-

You lay on the couch with a book spread open on your lap but you haven’t been able to read a single page. Ezra’s out with Zoe which is fine. Totally fine. You made it happen after all, even gave him some cash for drinks and coaching on the dating scene. 

“I’m newly human but I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m well acquainted with the customs and mores of modern courtship,” he protested. 

“Do you even hear yourself right now?” you asked. 

For a moment, you almost fooled yourself into thinking he wasn’t interested in her. He’d been so prickly when you brought it up. There have been times when you wonder. You’ll catch him looking at you in a way that makes your heart flutter. Or his touch will remain just a moment longer than it needs to, days when you wake up and question if his morning wood is actually for you and not just a fact of human biology. But of course not. And that’s fine.

It’s been a while since you’ve had the apartment to yourself— certainly not in the weeks since Ezra became human— and you’ve had little down time. There’s always some new adventure to take him on. Not that you’re complaining. It’s been the most thrilling time of your life. 

This whole date situation is good, actually, because you could really use a night alone. At least that’s what you’ve been telling yourself. 

You poured yourself a glass of wine and lit some incense, cracked open the book. A good start. That’s about all you managed. You keep thinking about how it’s going with Ezra. What could they be talking about? Is he having fun? Maybe he’ll actually like her. Wouldn’t that be….something?

Things could never get romantic between the two of you anyway. You wouldn’t risk your friendship, so many years of trust and affection. It’s too precious to you. Besides, there must be something unethical about dating someone that’s been sworn to serve and protect you.

Not that you want to do that.

You snap the book shut and toss it on the coffee table, sitting up. You need to stop being weirdly obsessed with this date. Ezra is your friend, you remind yourself, and you’re excited for him. You just need something more engrossing. 

You put on a period piece. Nothing like a night in with ballgowns and wine. You put your feet up on the table and try to lose yourself in the movie. Ezra is such a pedant when it comes to historical dramas, always pointing out the inaccuracies, complaining about the costumes.

You wish he were here now groaning over the cut of a coat. You wish he was here instead of–

This isn’t working. You know what always clears your mind? A bath. 

The clawfoot tub is filled with oils and herbs, the little bathroom flickers in candle light. You slide deeper into the warm water, focus on the way your muscles unwind. You hadn’t even noticed you were so tense. This was a good call. There’s a knot in your shoulder you massage with your hand. Finally feeling serene, your wet fingers coming to slide across your chest. The water drips peacefully out of the faucet and your cheeks bloom with the alcohol and heat. Maybe Ezra should go on more dates, get the place to yourself more often.

You know what would really make you feel relaxed? Your fingers drift below the water, and skate down your belly and your eyes come to close. It’s been over a month since you got off– Connor (though most of the credit should really go to your passion elixir). It’s been impossible to rub one out with someone else in your bed. At least when Ezra was a cat, he spent a lot of time prowling the woods and being moody. Maybe he’d heard you back then, a thought that somehow equally horrifies and thrills you. 

You touch yourself with a slow, delicate hand and you’re lost in the idea of him watching you now. His chocolate eyes hungry but his body still, the only movement he allows is the rise and fall of his chest. How many times had he seen you, all of you, and not looked away? 

You shiver imagining him, urging you to show him how you take yourself apart. Studying, appreciating. Savoring. Throbbing at each twitch in your brow as you crest and your breath hitches. Even in the water you can feel yourself growing slick, a coil of need winding, and you bite down on your bottom lip. Your mind swirls, your body taught.

He’d be calling you dirty and pretty and good in his flowery prose, stroking your cheek with his knuckles and you unfurl a moan so loud because you don’t have to stay quiet, you’ve got the place to yourself.

Before you’ve even come down from your high, you're flooded with the sting of reality.

No matter how wrong or immoral or risky it is, there’s no denying it– your feelings for Ezra are anything but platonic. And he’s on a date with another woman.

You press the heels of your hands into your eyes with a groan. 

The thought of facing Ezra after this revelation makes your stomach turn. You can almost see him sauntering in, hair mussed, body slack from his sexual conquest. It burns a hole in your chest, a scream practically rising in your throat. And you’ll, what, go on living with him, smelling his musk on your sheets and not go completely insane?

You pull the plug from the drain. So much for the bath. It’s early yet but the only thing you can do to help yourself now is be unconscious. There’s no way you’re going to fall asleep with your thoughts racing so you brew up a sleeping draught in the kitchen. With any luck, you won’t have any dreams either.

-

Ezra’s side of the bed is empty and cold. Mid-morning sun glows on the walls of your bedroom and you’re just waking up, the effects of the potion still making your head groggy. But eventually it dawns on you. He’s not there. 

It shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. Your eyes sting with tears, your gut sinking with the weight of it. You imagine Ezra curled up in bed with her. Morning sex. Breakfast. You want to puke. 

After a long while pulling yourself together, you realize it’s better this way. The last thing you need is to wake up next to Ezra smelling like sex and the patchouli notes of Zoe’s perfume. 

You can’t sulk. You need to get up, get over it.

When you step out of your bedroom, you stop short at the discovery that Ezra’s asleep on the couch. So he didn’t spend the night. It does little to soothe your aching heart. In fact, it somehow feels worse. He looks so perfect, long legs bare and brow smooth, mouth turned down in a pout. It’s not fair you have to survive around a man so perfect.

You go into the bathroom and close the door a little too loud a little on purpose. 

Maybe there’s a potion for falling out of love.

-

Ezra’s dragged himself up by the time you step back into the living room, woken by the slam of the door. He had the damndest time sleeping on that couch. Never realized how lucky he’s been to share the bed. 

You stop outside the bathroom door, arms akimbo, and your oversized sleep shirt rides up your thighs. 

“Well?” you ask. 

Ezra can’t help but smirk at your down to business attitude.

Well indeed. 

Zoe had been fine company. Not hard to look at even if the conversation left a little to be desired. His favorite part of the evening came when Zoe brought up the shop and, in turn, you. It was difficult not to let his words run away from him.

Despite his best efforts, knowing that he should give over and accept this, his mind kept slipping back to his little mage. What you would look like in the little frock Zoe had chosen, the jokes that only you would understand. You’d helped him pick out clothes for the evening, a soft woolen sweater you swore wasn't too tight. All night, he kept remembering the drag of your eyes over his arms before you said, “You look really good.” He wants you to look at him like that all the time.

”She’s not intolerable for a mortal,“ he says. 

“‘Not intolerable.’ Sounds like Ezra for bangable,” you say. “So?”

Perhaps in another universe, Ezra would have had a splendid time, would have debauched himself. He’d left after only two drinks, a look of disappointment on Zoe’s face that he wouldn’t soon forget. Had he been a better man, he would’ve felt worse about it but he couldn’t care about anything but you. As he walked briskly from the bar, he resolved to tell you everything, that he couldn’t stand even the suggestion that he sleep with someone else when you consume him. Good sense be damned. What was the point of being human if he had to live like this?

But he came home to find the apartment dark, your bedroom door shut. He listened there before opening it ajar to see you sleeping peacefully. Reality sunk in, fast and hard. A confession could ruin everything. His home, the only family he knew, the people he loved. He couldn’t risk losing you. 

If he woke you, he’d have you face the question you’d just asked so he’d curled up under the throw blanket on the couch, as he had so many times before.

“I won't make a braggart of myself,” he says, sidestepping the question.

You roll your eyes and head back to your bedroom in a hurry. 

Ezra’s shoulders sag with a deep sigh.

-

Sunday morning in the shop is slower than usual. It’s maddening, leaving you with too much time to meditate on your sorrows as you hide behind the cash register. Every time your eyes land on Ezra, you’re treated to fresh torment. For some reason you can’t stop picturing him fucking her doggy style with wild thrusts of his hips.

“Tea, dear?” Margot asks. Her rings tink against a spoon as she stirs honey into her tea cup. Mint and ginger fills your nostrils. 

You merely grunt in reply but hear her setting another cup out for you. There’s a clink of porcelain and Margot clicks her tongue.

“Your bad mood is sullying the energy in here,” she tuts.

You turn to find her wicking spilled tea off of her hand.

“I’m not in a bad mood,” you say too quickly. 

What kind of mood are you supposed to be in when you realize you’re in love with your best friend who was, until recently, a cat, and said friend spent the night with another woman? When there’s a chance that this was all for naught when the Elders find out and turn you into a newt?

Margot scoffs and lights a stick of palo santo, wafting its smoke in your direction. 

“You’d better not bring that energy into the full moon,” she says. “I don’t need to feel all mopey for the next fortnight.”

You cross your arms. 

“Are you still mad at me?” you ask. Margot’s been welcoming to Ezra but you still feel her ambivalence towards you. It hangs in the air the same as your sour aura. 

“Mad at you,” she repeats, pouring another cup of tea. “Why? Because you implicated me and Percy in a crime that I’m concealing from the Elders? I should be, shouldn’t I?” 

You sink deeper into your frown. Margot hands you the teacup. 

“But I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time. Besides whatever bee is in your bonnet today,” she adds with an arched brow. “And that’s made me very happy.”

You look at her, your lip quivering. Margot’s been there for you longer than Ezra, taught you everything you know about magic and given you an unconditional love you can hardly fathom even in adulthood. You nearly spill your tea again, setting it aside so you can throw your arms around her.

She stumbles backwards with an “Oof” and chuckles into your ear. Her open palm warms your back.

“It’s all in the stars,” she says.

And, right now, you have to believe she’s right.

-

Through the long sleeves of your velvet dress, you feel the chill in the air. It’s much colder than the last time you were in these woods for the solstice. Of course, this is a much different kind of celebration. The fire is smaller, there’s less paraphernalia involved. It’s just the four of you— you and Ezra, Margot and Percy— but it feels more joyful. 

Margot leads you in a ritual to draw down the moon, then sets out an ornate jar of water to charge in its light. You and Ezra help her cast some spells. She swears the ones done under a full moon have the strongest effect. 

But mostly the night is for merry making. There’s wine and incense and apple cider caramels. Margot perches on a tree stump and plays a few songs on her concertina and Ezra insists that you dance with him.

You do, putting your hands into his and letting him spin you in circles. Margot’s words ring in your ears. You can be happy that he’s happy even if it makes your heart ache. At least now, safe from the rest of the world, hands clasped together, you can pretend. 

Ezra looks so handsome in his new robes, you almost wonder if there’s an enchantment on them. The white patch in his hair glows as if the moon came down and kissed him on the forehead. His cheeks are pink and he’s as breathless as you. 

You’re both laughing when the music ends and you let your hand stay in Ezra’s for a while, wanting the fantasy to last just a little bit longer. 

“Now I must insist on a dance with you,” he says to Margot. He holds out a hand to her but doesn’t let go of yours yet. 

“I’m playing the music!” she says. 

“There must be an incantation that will make that squeezebox play itself,” he says and he slips from your grip to pull her to her feet. 

Percy scrambles off of her lap and hops onto your knee as you flop down on the ground. 

“I’ll sing!” you say.

“Goodness no!” Margot says. 

You all laugh and Ezra releases her after a few twirls.

Since it’s his party, Ezra takes the liberty of sharing his favorite stories. He sits beside you on the ground, animatedly narrating his wildest adventures. You’re pretty sure half of them are pure fabrication but he’s having so much fun recounting them, you don’t question even the most outlandish of details. The fire warms your face. Though, considering how it’s dying down, it could just be his glow. Ezra loves being at the center of attention and you wonder the last time he had the chance to command so much of it. He hasn’t stopped smiling since the sun set, that gorgeous dimple growing deeper with each hour. You love seeing him like this, full of excitement and life. 

Eventually, the moon hangs full overhead and Percy curls up to sleep on Margot’s shoulder. The crackle of the fire slows and you throw your head back to look at the sky dotted with so many twinkling stars. For the first time since Ezra left for his date, you feel peaceful. He’s quiet now and you try to catch another glimpse of him in the dark only to find his dark eyes shining at you. He smiles tenderly, and your whole body warms with affection. You can almost believe it’s a look of longing.

Margot slaps her hands against her thighs and stands, breaking your gaze. 

“Well, I’d better go before I turn into a pumpkin,” she says. 

“Oh, come on. It’s early,” you say. 

“We’ll brew you something to wake you in the morning,” Ezra offers. 

“That’s alright. Enjoy,” she says. Before she heads back into the trees, she takes Ezra’s hand and gives it a squeeze and pats you on the shoulder. 

You’re quiet for a long time, watching the fire die down. It comes back to you, slowly at first, then a flood of emotion, the uncertainty of your future. This night has been a gift but, one way or another, you’re destined to lose Ezra. There’s a melancholy look on his face that hints he might be thinking about the same things. 

“Should we retire then?” he asks after a sigh. 

“Wait. I want to give you something,” you say. Margot arranged this whole evening and you feel like you’ve shown up to a party empty handed.

“You’ve given more than enough.”

“Well, apparently I’ve been putting off really bad vibes. So a protection spell.” You rise to your feet.

Ezra pulls himself up with your help and this time you don’t allow him to let go. You take both of his hands in yours, his rough fingers entwined in your own, and he watches you, with a fond curiosity on his face. He flusters you. His gaze is so intense, you have a hard time meeting his eye.

“Okay,” you say, shaking out your limbs. 

Magic tingles where your palms meet and you notice that his thumb traces yours gently. Having spent the night before without him seems to double the intimacy of the moment. He looks downright beautiful like this, the angles of his face outlined in fire and moonlight. It’s almost unbearable. 

“Ezra,” you start.

His lips part at the sound of his name.

“I protect you with my magic and my spirit,” you say.

He can surely feel it surrounding him like an embrace. It’s so intense, you can barely fill your lungs. His eyes are so soft, round and sweet. They glisten in the darkness. 

“And my heart,” you add, your voice breaking.

You put your palm against his cheek, the pad of your thumb tracing the hairline scar there, to seal the spell and he takes in a sharp little gasp at your touch. There’s a look in his eye, beseeching, and you feel the tug of his magic, drawing you in closer like a knot tightening between you. It’s a whisper, so faint you’re probably imagining it, but you follow it to him, to his lips. 

Before you even realize it, you’re kissing him. Tender and aching and it feels like relief to have his mouth on yours, to taste the wine on his tongue. His lips are soft and hesitant. Your body molds against him, it always does. You’ve been in his arms so many times before and yet it’s never felt more right than this very moment. 

Except that it’s wrong. There are all of those reasons why this can’t be, how awkward it will be when he stops you, when he goes back to sleeping on the couch. Suddenly you’re pulling away despite your body screaming for you to do anything else.

“I’m sorry,” you breathe. “I shouldn’t have– Shit!” You swallow down a lump in your throat.

Ezra holds you firm by your elbows, pulling your hand away from your lips and shaking his head.

“Little mage, I have wanted nothing more for longer than you can know,” he says, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

You stare at him, wide eyed, mouth agape, trying to make sense of his words. Your heart flips and you let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

And then he kisses you again and again and again.

🐈‍⬛

Comments and reblogs appreciated! Asks always open! I'd love to hear from you!

[maybefae]

Messages From Your Guides

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

Pile 1

Tarot Cards: Queen of Wands (Justice and Nine of Wands), The Sun (Four of Wands), Six of Pentacles (Six of Swords), Seven of Cups (Two of Cups)

Bottom of the Deck: Two of Swords, Strength, The High Priestess, Ace of Swords

This guide can be a more motherly figure or a very ancient deity that appears more feminine. It almost has a “Crone” energy.

It’s okay to be happy after you have had to put walls up against a certain person, people, or your family. It’s okay that you are happier after establishing boundaries, my love. Compared to what they have done to you, no matter how minimal it could seem, your act of standing your ground and standing up for yourself is justified. It’s okay to be happy. The scales of justice have tipped in your favor. You’ve always questioned why you had to suffer, that the ones who have wronged you seem to always be able to get away with things. But now that you get to be happy once, you feel guilty when you should feel like the weight is lifted off your chest. The shackles they had put on you, the thoughts they put in your head to make you stay small, are a far greater harm than you standing up for yourself.

It’s okay to walk away. You may regret staying as long as you did, taking care of people wishing to receive it back but never getting it in return. But don’t. Your heart and your love is a great power. It is something that makes you strong. You loved yourself enough to finally walk away. And there will be another that shares the love you have, all you had to do is walk away from the people who didn’t. 

Pile 2

Tarot Cards: King of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles, Ace of Cups, Five of Pentacles, Three of Swords, Ten of Wands, Six of Cups, Eight of Wands 

Bottom of the Deck: The Hanged Man 

This is a very masculine feeling guide. “Great Oak” energy, strong and warm. This could honestly resonate with people who picked pile 2 from my recent week ahead reading. This is a very father-like energy, built like a brick house and someone who does everything with love. A full heart and very, very protective. You could have seen him as a kid? Maybe in a dream or you actually saw his spirit. He could come around as a certain animal you see whenever you are going through something, or it’s like you are the only one that sees this animal and no one else sees them around. He gives off the energy of a bear, coyote, fox, tortoise. Orange daylilies. 

This guide isn’t really one for words but for actions, so I will do my best to describe what he’s showing and making me feel. He didn’t like that he had to keep his hands out of a situation that left you defeated and heartbroken, because his instinct is to keep you behind him and deal with your problems so you can keep living your life with as much peace and happiness as possible. However, he is showing me that he was told not to intervene. 

But just know, he walks beside you on your new journey. He is very adamant on making me tell you that he’s extremely proud and you’re doing a great job. He just nodded and gave a few claps. Don’t let the fire in your heart die and keep your “childlike wonder.” “Everything you thought as a child is true…you are just looking in the wrong places/looking too hard.” The journey ahead is great and filled with merriment despite the lack of coins in your pocket. There will be another great shift that will happen in your favor but keep on trucking. All that work will pay off and you have friends to enjoy the journey with. 

Pile 3

Tarot Cards: Seven of Wands, Ten of Pentacles, The Spirit Plane, Ace of Pentacles, King of Pentacles

Before I pull any cards, you have a guide or guides that come off as very ambiguous. They come off as very angelic or air/light fae, sylphs. I just see light creatures/beings and hear giggling. They are very lovely and they can be tricksters, but don’t cause much harm. They are light-hearted and like to keep the energy of fun around. Now I see them dancing with each other. I also see an expanse of field.

Another note: Since you probably believe in them if you picked this pile, I have a gnome friend who also wants to say something. 

I just have the top row of cards out and they all want to talk. They already have a flurry of messages. They want to say that, yes, you did see/hear from them and you aren’t crazy despite what others have said. They see you as one of them and as a good friend. You probably don’t feel human most days and become very confused/distressed from the way life is in this realm. You operate more in their realm of living. They are also telling you that you are far more rich because of that. 

They just wanna tell you that you aren’t crazy, they keep repeating that. Your view of the world is most likely correct. Nothing makes sense, what you believe should be makes sense though. And there is also a warning here that all beings of this category aren’t happy. In fact, they are actually really angry. “Something’s coming.” They won’t expand on that but they want you to know. You will be protected from your guides! And it will seemingly feel like everyone around you is effected but you. And throughout your life, you may have felt very lucky because things may have felt like were dropped in your lap or life has been pretty easy and it’s because of them. They don’t know if they want thanks or not, but they will take your gratitude in the form of gifts/offerings!

Decks Used: Ophida Rosa Tarot by Leila and Olive, The Dungeons and Dragons Tarot Deck by Adam Lee and Fred Gissubel, Cosma Visions Oracle by James R. Eads

Dividers: @inklore

[beautyofaphrodite]

A Message from Lady Aphrodite

Happy 4th of the month- Lady Aphrodite’s monthly birthday! As today is a day to celebrate Her, I like to do a reading where I ask Her some questions that relate to not just me, but Her worshippers in general.

Note: I do not use tarot often and am still learning, so the reading may not be entirely accurate. It also may not apply to everyone, as it’s a reading for Aphrodite worshippers in general.

What messages do you have for your devotees and worshippers?

Cards Drawn: VI of Cups Reversed, VII of Pentacles, II of Wands

Interpretation: You may be starting to realize that you cannot stay where you are forever, and are making a choice to move forward and forge your own path. You will need to work hard, harder than you may ever have worked before, but you will persevere. You may question why you’re even doing it, why you’re working so hard, but you need to remember that no matter how slow, progress is happening. The decision to even go on this journey will weigh on you a lot, whether it’s even worth it, but you need to give yourself permission to dream big, and to follow those dreams.

Where can we see you in the next month?

Card Drawn: The Hanged Man

Interpretation: Aphrodite will be there when we make sacrifices for our future, there while we deal with consequences and difficult situations. She knows that patience is important, and your suffering will not be wasted, as good things will come soon.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Card Drawn: III of Wands

Interpretation: You have finally begun to look ahead and plan your journey forward! Everything is beginning to come together and you are inspired and focused on what will come next. Your future is bright.

Notes from Aspyn

I don’t have much to say about this, besides that I am very proud of whoever this resonates with, choosing to step out of your comfort zone in order to move forward is a very big and challenging step. Know that Lady Aphrodite will be there with you every step of the way, supporting you and celebrating as you reach your goals.

❤️ you all!

[castingspellsanddaisies]

Jude Bellingham's bad habits + red flags | Tarot Reading

DISCLAIMER: This reading is done for entertainment purposes so take everything in here with a grain of salt and have fun!

Besides being a man, what are Jude's main bad habits?

garden + clover + man + cross + bear + fox

7 of cups + 3 of pentacles reversed + king of swords + 8 of swords reversed + 3 of wands reversed + the world

Jude sometimes acts irresponsably, specially when he's with his ''friends'' (yes, in quotation marks because half of people he hangs out with are not trustworthy). He's easily bented by someone who's (or appears to be) stronger in his/her beliefs, principles, religion...You name it! omg there are people around him who know this as well. He needs to be careful. He just goes with the flow when he's in groups.

Jude also tends to try to use logic in situations where he only needs to feel it. But he does that because he thinks he will move on faster if he rationalizes everything instead of just allowing his feelings to overflow him, but then he gets stuck in it and it feels like forever. He's not as smart as he sometimes thinks he is - not yet, at least. He overthinks everything soooo much.

Jude stays in situations where he's not being recognized longer than he should. He always feels like he can somehow fix those problems by staying, when in reality he ends up being disrespected in it.

And when he gets hurt, he overindulges. And how does he do that? In many ways, in all the ways (think Pisces energy). His escapism tendencies worry me a little bit. He falls for illusions, oh, so easily it's almost cute if he wasn't an adult man.

Does Jude have Red Flags in romantic relationships? If yes, what are they?

mountain + man + cross + fox + rider + sun | back of the deck: fish

page of swords + 3 of cups + 9 of cups + 8 of pentacles + 10 of pentacles reversed + the high priestess reversed | back of the deck: knight of swords reversed

Overall, I don't see anything too much worrying.

In his romantic relationships, Jude's pretty much focused in making his partner happy, in building an amazing (dare I say? He wants it to be ''perfect'' even) relationship. He wants to have fun with his partner, he wants to be the reason his partner's always happy. He's very active with his her and always coming up with new ideas to improve the relationship and both of them. fantastic.

But Jude sometimes withdrawls into his own world, and there's nothing you can do except wait until he comes back. He also tends to act a bit selfish, like doing something and telling his partner later instead of right away. In a long-term relationship, he tends to have abandonment issues, his insecurities start to show after a while, and it can be heavy for his partner. Jude may start victimizing himself to his partner, and this can be a problem.

Does Jude have any Red Flags in his friendships? If yes, what are they?

fox + rider + scynthe + child + whip + crossroads

ace of wands + 7 of pentacles + the tower reversed + temperance + king of cups reversed + 2 of cups

Overall, Jude's a good friend, a commited one. I see he coming up with a lot of ideas on how to have fun, always active, always a joy to be around. He's sweet with his friends, very touchy too. This man just loves touching a lot hahaha BUT he really needs to stop being a pushover, especially with these ''friends'' of his. He just do what he's told... Jude!

And he does anything in his power to keep things peaceful among the friend group, because I see that sometimes things catch fire. Do you remember in another reading when I said that he's very emotionally mature concerning ackowledging his own emotions and expressing them? (I also said tha he still has a lot to learn) Well, yes, he is like that, but as a friend, Jude needs to learn how to step up for himself, because he ends up being too ''childlike'', unable to assert himself among his ''friends''. He's... soft, you know?

That's all for now, folks!!

I hope you enjoyes the reading. Take care <33

[ladypiscesmoon]

Update Armie Hammer/Timothée Chalamet

I had a lot of asks about Armie unfollowing Timmy on social media. I came back from visiting friends and felt really restless, so I took my cards as soon as I got home. The reading is done on 9 December (circa 18.00, my local time)

To get a general feeling for where they stood when I was doing the reading I pulled cards from the angel number oracle deck:

Armie: 999: Release

balance

finances

success wealth

cycles

what goes around comes around

Both: 0505: Unexpected shift

divine intervention

sudden challenges

love

pleasant surprises

gut feeling

Timmy: 2222: Feminine Forces

relationships

balance

prosperity

efficiency

patience

humility

It's clear to me that by doing something like this Armie wanted to force Timmy to take a stand. To choose Armie, to not being a coward and hiding behind work or other bullshit. In other aspects of Armie's life but love, he feels in control. He wants a new start with Timmy too, but if Timmy is leaving him hanging he wants to let him go.

Timmy has to listen to what Armie tells him with this message, because Armie means it. Together they would be really strong and it would learn Timmy to find a better balance between (personal) relationships and work. He tends to emerge himself in his work, trying to forget things he find difficult to deal with. He feels humiliated and very, very hurt at the moment.

This is the universe trying again to nudge them together, because that's what should happen, but Timmy is the one delaying it. This is like a wake-up call for Tim.

Why did Armie unfollow Tim?

The wellness oracle:

the runner

ascending

healthy choices

the sword and rose

(this card fell out) not today

This was a sign Armie is done waiting, because he thinks he has given Timmy enough time to get rid of the pr and Kylie. He thinks that Timmy doesn't prioritize him, that he chooses a lot of other things instead of focusing on the relationship they try to build. He's sad and still angry. Probably seeing Timmy everywhere is also too much for him at the moment. he wants to make healthy choices for himself and thinks this could be one

How does Timmy feel about Armie unfollowing him?

abundance

casette

heartbroken

addiction

love call

love

Timmy thought that Armie understood that he didn't have time at the moment to do much about the Karjenners, he has done as much as he could to resist (like not giving in with Thanksgiving and refusing her at the Gotham awards), he thought Armie saw that as a good thing. So he didn't pick up it wasn't enough. Besides he did what he always does: work way too hard and doing it back to back, like filming and doing promo for ACU. So I guess Armie feels like Tim is not giving the attention he wants to have.

Timmy feels really anxious, he's scared he has lost Armie for real this time. he's sad and feeling alone. I heard a few times Why now? What have I done this time? What did I do wrong? So I think Armie's action has taken him completely by surprise. He has to take action, not moping around or overindulge himself. He's also feeling really tired, so he's too much in his head, dwelling in the past, where he should jump up and go get his man...

Light and shadow Tarot:

Armie: 4 of cups/king of cups/ the emperor

Armie feels it will be easier for him to let Timmy go, but it's not easy at all for him, because at the same time his heart wants to reach out to Timmy and begin their life together

Timmy: the magician/the world/8 of swords

It's not the first time Timmy is manifesting Armie in his life, and I think he just had to have this wake-up call.

Blocks to love:

Armie:

feeling incomplete

low self esteem

control issues

I think that Armie is insecure and feeling as if Timmy thinks he's not worth it. Armie likes to have control over things, probably because it took him a long time to get there, because other people took over many aspects in his life. He's impatient, he doesn't want to wait anymore. He wants love and be loved.

Timmy:

insecurities

dwelling in the past

codependency

Timmy is trying to please everyone, he feels insecure about what to do in relationships, doesn't listen to his heart. If he would, and if he did communicate better, this issue of the unfollowing wouldn't have come up.

Hermit tarot:

Armie:

I am addicted to you

i am absolute in love with you

i am obsessed with your body

i am terrified

This sums up how complicated Armie's feelings are. He wants to build something with Timmy, he's absolute in love with him, but he draws a line in the sand. Actually it's one big message to Tim: Please, choose me.

Timmy:

you make my heart full

let me hold you

you know already

yes

I hope you'll wait for me

Again, it's not the love/ being in love part that is the issue here. He just didn't think about the effect the waiting part had on Armie.

That concludes this reading. They were heading in the right direction and Tim should really take this seriously. But, yeah these two have a hard time staying away from each other. I don't think we will see together this year, though.

*As ever: this reading is alleged/for entertainment purposes only. *

[windypuddle]

Based entirely on the two Mikoto MVs, I'm convinced Mikoto is the personality that killed all the people and John was the one doing the cleanup afterwards. John says "I learned how to clean a crime scene for you. Please jsut say thank you once please"

See I , when I found out that John could attack Es but Mikoto can't, also thought that Mikoto is the one who did the actual murders. Because if MILGRAM can differentiate between the two, you'd think it can differentiate correctly. Unless they just had to encode Mikoto in there somehow before they knew about John... but I can't think of how something like that would be able to tell the difference. Maybe brainwave patterns? the whole "prisoners can't attack the warden" and the 09 situation is really interesting too. MILGRAM is either supernatural (...they do have a telepathic rabbit) or extremely futuristically high-tech ("any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - arthur c clarke). And if it was that level... you'd hope its accurate.

Sorry. long winded way of saying I agree that Mikoto is the one who actually did the murder.

This was definitely what I thought before Double came out, and i only listened to the 09 t2 voice drama recently. I don't remember much of it besides John being scared that if he's fronting too often, Mikoto will disappear, and he doesn't want that to happen because he did all this to protect him, so he (John) should be the one to disappear. But I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) but when a system forms due to some traumatic event, usually the system forms after the event itself, so it would make sense if Mikoto did that, then John formed and cleaned it up, and Mikoto simply blocked out the memories. But Mikoto on his own repressing the memories seems more complicated than him simply not remembering it because he didn't do it, since amnesia is one of the diagnostic symptoms of DID; at least, it would make more sense as per Occam's razor.

[dramatic pause while i go rewatch MeMe and Double. putting this under the cut because it got super long]

MeMe

"I'd play dead even though I'm alive" (subtitle translation, bear with me) is a really interesting line. It could be referencing this facade that Mikoto is putting up about not knowing anything, or possibly his attitude during the murder detaching himself ("playing dead") even though he's the one actually doing it, leading to repressing the memory/pretending it was just a dream.

"'I' will save 'me'" as a line coming *after* the actual murder is interesting. I do think the general view of MeMe is that the more angry/harsher voice is John, while the milder one is Mikoto, but maybe it's not that simple. Nothing is ever that simple with MILGRAM...

"I won't forgive you if this is happening to me even though I'm right" is also interesting in that he turns the forgiven/unforgiven thing back on Es. But what is he "right" about? That he didn't do anything? The phrasing and use of "if" implies that he isn't certain.

The second murder/verse shows Mikoto in the Hanged Man t-shirt (the hanged man signifies sacrifice or indecision/waiting), which is also what he wears in the chorus where his voice is softer, supposed to be Mikoto and not John... earlier at the line of "I will save me" he takes the shirt off and puts on a plain white shirt and talks about shaking it up/switch up that brain, which only John seems to be aware of being a system, so if the plain shirt/shirtless is John and the tarot shirt is Mikoto... then that would indeed be Mikoto murdering someone.

In the mirror scene after the shower, when it sort of zooms out, the Mikoto closer to the camera is wearing his jacket (you can see it on his arm at 1:44) ... interesting. and then the "Take a good look at me until you find me, the truth will come to reveal itself" in the chorus... right after the mirror thing.... very interesting. veeerrrry interesting.

And then he gets the Devil card. Meaning (according to various sources) obsession, addiction, powerlessness, excess; violence and fatality; your "inner demons"/"shadow self"; and in the Fool's Journey, economic materialism. Hmm. like a job. That connects to how John says the stress of his job is what drove them to murder people as stress relief. Another observation: Most iterations of the Devil card have the Devil perched on some kind of pedestal which has two people chained to it, a man and a woman; Mikoto's version of the deck has neither of those people, but some strange objects instead, and the Devil's body is a mannequin, like the ones on the train in Double.

...

And then we see both of them in the same outfit, so maybe just ignore what I said about the shirts...

The security footage after the line "I'm already the fake one" implies that Mikoto doesn't remember those moments directly, but maybe is aware of them due to evidence/the actual security footage

In the very last chorus he flips the Fool card at the viewer, signifying that he's the one that the Fool's Journey is applying to here... and then does a whole tarot spread that i do NOT know enough to interpret. and then the last card he flips over is Death. Meaning transformation, release, change. Essentially, letting go of the past to embrace the future. Hmm. That makes me think John could entirely replace Mikoto by the end of MILGRAM. But who knows...

Double

Right off the bat we get John talking about all these recurring themes, that Mikoto is overstressed and work and too much of a people pleaser, but he needs to stop taking on so much, and John will help him deal with all the pressure and protect him from the consequences.

All this language about John "saving" Mikoto definitely could be implying that he cleans up the scene afterwards. While he does acknowledge that the murder was for stress relief, I don't think he'd go so far as to say randomly killing people is "saving" Mikoto; but if Mikoto was killing people, and John was cleaning up the evidence, that could definitely be it.

Based on the cues to tell the difference between John and Mikoto, the bridge of Double seems to be Mikoto on the phone with his mom, and John killing indiscriminate people... But tbh every single person in this series in as unreliable narrator. just to keep that in mind.

The ending frames of Double go so hard. I think it is Mikoto saying "I'm so sorry" which could be him apologizing for the trouble he's caused with all this damn murder! or just like.... everything. in general. Idk.

TLDR I'm not certain on the specifics of Mikoto and John's whole situation, but I can absolutely believe that Mikoto is the one who committed the murders, and the structure of Milgram itself supports this. The MVs complicate things but people are complicated. I 🩵 unreliable narrators

[go-go-gojo]

Hanged Man - Hiromi Higuruma

Higuruma x f!CullingGamesReader

Summary: Every time you see him, he’s doing weird shit.

Content: culling games drabble, pensive lawyer, kinda angsty, kinda fluffy

WC: 800

“Hiro…what the hell are you doing?”

————————

A large cloud begins to glide across the afternoon sun, casting a shadow over you as you approach the entrance to the theatre hall. You place a hand on the door and turn around, scanning the area for anyone who could be hiding. Eyes still on alert, you slowly open push the large door open, and slip inside.

You gather your racing thoughts as you walk down the empty hallway. A typical Saturday would normally have this building packed. But luxuries like art, music, things to enjoy - those were always the first to be sacrificed in the face of an apocalypse.

You frown. Is it an apocalypse if people are choosing to kill each other? Were you any different from playing the game?

As you enter the large, dark auditorium, you suspend the inevitable conflict in your psyche for a moment longer. You draw a deep, loud sigh as you turned your attention to the stage.

Every time you see him, he’s doing weird shit.

This time, Higuruma is lying flat on the floor, in the orchestra pit, legs popped up against the wall of the stage. As you draw closer you notice his shoulders pulled back, arms folded behind him. His hands were resting in the space beneath the small of his back.

It was pretty impressive how still he kept.

“Hiro,” you say, “What the hell are you doing?”

He opens his eyes, turning his head towards you. He carries the same nonchalant look on his face that existed way before the culling games, along with those deep brown eyes that love to study you from head to toe.

He looks back up the ceiling.

“You ever considered viewing life from a different perspective?”

You shake your head. “I prefer chairs.”

He chuckles. “Do you still have those tarot cards?”

You scoff as your hand slips into your jacket pocket, trailing a finger over the glossy cover of the deck. Back in the day you had fun pretending to know the future. You don’t see much value in it nowadays. But you have very few items anymore that connect you to your past, and you aren’t quite ready to give this up just yet.

“The hanged man.” Higuruma continues, “typically represents enlightenment. A new perspective. Is that right?”

You raise a brow. “Do you consider yourself enlightened?”

“Perhaps...If I stay here long enough.”

He trails off, staring straight ahead at the ceiling. This is the pensive Higuruma that drew you towards him back then. You love his brilliance, his ability to see the bigger picture of the world. It feels good to see the old parts of him return since the beginning of this disaster.

Perhaps his brilliance hadn’t quite yet descended into madness.

“I’m pondering the future of the culling game,” says Higuruma, “and what it means for Japan the longer it plays out. Perhaps I’ll be enlightened as to to what justice will look like in this new world.”

You walk away, climbing to the stage and stopping near the end, looking at Higuruma below you. You reach into your pocket for your deck of tarot cards. Shuffling them between your hands, you pull out the hanged man.

You hold it out below him. He stares at the card, and though he’s silent you can see his mind at work.

“From this perspective,” you say, flipping the card upside down, “I see a whole new meaning.”

He raises a brow.

“And what’s that?”

Struggle.

“It means...” You stop yourself.

It means you cannot shake the struggle that lives inside of you.

No matter how much you try to lie to yourself, Hiro.

You toss the card on the ground, watching it spin on the way down  before it lands beside him.

“Does it even matter anymore?”

He turns his head, staring at the card.

You jump off the stage and hold a hand out. He accepts, picking up the card with his free hand. He pulls you into an embrace, and you can feel the struggle he’s fighting as he holds you tight.

“Hiro,” you whisper, your hands slip inside his blazer, your hands slide across his waist as you return the embrace.

For a moment, the two of you forget everything. You take in the fleeting moment of peace, letting about a sigh as he runs his fingers through your hair and presses his lips against your temple.

Reality hits you like a sledgehammer as you remember what you meant to tell him.

No, not yet.

You change the subject.

“Speaking of justice,” you say, “Amai’s in trouble again.”

“I told you,” he says with his lips to your ear. “I’m tired of saving that idiot.”

You pull away slightly, look up at him and pout. You say in the sweetest voice imaginable, dragging out the word.

“Please?”

He let out a sigh. “Fine.”

As you pull yourself out of his arms, regrettably, Higuruma looks at the card in his hand.

The hanged man is in reverse.

He slips it in his blazer pocket, removing his gavel.

[anodymalion]

Oh man oh man I just saw an Outer Wilds fanart done in the style of a tarot card and I had to immediately drop everything I was doing to think through what an all-Outer-Wilds version of the major arcana would be. I think I have it, it's under the read more because it's long and also there are major major spoilers (unsurprisingly).

0. The Fool: The Hatchling This one is easy. The hatchling is at the beginning of their journey, stepping into the unknown.

1. The Magician: Pye Bringing intention and direction, choosing a path, and channeling cosmic power - yeah I think Pye of “science compels us to explode the sun” fame fits this pretty perfectly.

2. The High Priestess: The Nomai Statues Ok, I kinda struggled with this one, but I think it works. Hidden knowledge, dealing with the mind, the subsconscious vs conscious, veils between worlds. The statues are mysterious and they transmit your knowledge to your previous selves. That fits decently well and also I don’t have a better idea.

3. The Empress: Timber Hearth Ok, I really struggled with this one. I’m going for the themes of creation, life, nature, and nurturing by choosing Timber Hearth since it is literally where life in the solar system grew. I'm not happy with this but whatever.

4. The Emperor: The Vault Authority, establishment, control to the point of domination. They sealed the Prisoner in the vault for defying the system. Plus the Vault looks cool and imposing so we have that going for us.

5. The Hierophant: Solanum Connecting to the past, passing on wisdom, initiation into a spiritual practice (aka reaching the QM). Yeah this is Solanum.

6. The Lovers: Nomai Graveyard (Emotional damage pt 1) I’m so so sorry but it works so well. What says love besides holding your friends close as you all asphyxiate to death?

7. The Chariot: Your Ship Maybe this one is a little too literal but I still think it fits. Determination and drive, knowing where you want to go, overcoming obstacles. Also it's literally your ship. It works.

8. Strength: Chert I’m going to be honest.... Chert is here because they were the only traveler that didn’t have a card that clearly fit, and I couldn’t leave only them out when I gave all the other travelers cards, and I didn’t have another idea for what Strength should be. Hand-wavy explanation: view Strength as getting to the core of confronting your fear and anger and pain and coming out the other side, and, well, Chert having a existential breakdown and then coming to a place of calm acceptance about the inevitability of death sort of… fits…. look just pretend this one makes sense and let’s move along quickly -

9. The Hermit: Feldspar Self-explanatory. The literal solitude, yeah, but also Feldspar is this mentor figure who guides you on your journey, and is apparently happy to just sit and chill in the nightmare hell that is Dark Bramble. It works.

10. The Wheel of Fortune: The Advanced Warp Core in the ATP Change, fate, turning points, cycles - and the breaking of cycles. This is another easy one.

11. Justice: The Prisoner There are a lot of ways you can interpret this. You have the Prisoner defying their society’s rules in an attempt to do what is right, and the strangers believing they were dispensing justice by imprisoning them but actually causing harm. The more I think about this one the more I like it.

12. The Hanged Man: Gabbro Another easy one. Taking a pause to rest, passivity, acceptance, independence, seeing things differently. Plus you even get the literal imagery of them hanging on the hammock, floating in zero-g. This is a slam dunk.

13. Death: The skull + flower from the Strangers’ visions of the Eye Letting go to allow the world to change and let new things grow is literally what this vision is about. Plus it’s a skull! I mean it’s right there.

14. Temperance: Riebeck Steadiness, moderation, plus the duality of Riebeck being terrified of space but still choosing to go out into it.

15. The Devil: The Eye Signal Blocker Destruction, complicity in oppression, avoiding accountability, confronting fear (or avoiding doing so). Oh yeah I’m so on board with this being the Eye Signal Blocker.

16. The Tower: The Interloper (Emotional damage part 2). The destruction of the status quo, disaster, tragedy, upheaval. There is no question here.

17. The Star: The Eye Searching for purpose, navigating a path, themes of renewal. Plus it even kinda has a star-like shape. It’s the Eye.

18. The Moon: The Quantum Moon Look, sometimes the literal choice works. Mystery, secrets, illusions? Yeah, that’s QM alright.

19. The Sun: The Sun Who could have seen this one coming??? ….The thing is… the meaning of the tarot Sun card absolutely doesn’t match the purpose the sun plays in Outer Wilds. But there is nothing else that could be the sun. It’s the sun!

20. Judgement: The Campfire in the Starry Forest Facing yourself, facing the truth, acceptance, ultimately letting go so that you can reach the end. Yeah.

21. The World: The Big Bang The end, and the beginning.

[alyjojo]

Yearly Tarot Reading 2025 🎏 - Virgo Sun/Rising

Meditation: A beautiful maiden in a long, boho flowy white dress is beside a river, with one hand in the water, feeling very peaceful. A beautiful fish, I’m seeing a Rainbow Fish…is that a book - I’m hearing “book” - swam by your hand and went to nibble on your fingers like fish do. You were overjoyed and bent over…I can’t tell if you want to eat the fish or kiss it, but it bit your finger HARD, and drops of blood 🩸 fell onto your white dress as it swam away. Virgo/Pisces nodes showing with the maiden & the fish - the nodes change at the end of January.

General: Death 💀

Work: The Devil

Love: The Hanged Man

Sounds like my kind of party 😏 Welcome to the Tortured Bitches Club, where the South Node hangs over your Virgo placements like an ugh - consistently revealing necessary shadow work and your inner/outer demons that need tackling so that you may release that shit. Being that’s your sign, you can’t not be you that’s silly, but you’re needing to “Death” aspects of your life in order to embrace this Pisces North Node that’s pulling you towards spiritual growth & emotional depth in your closest relationships. Nodes last two years I think, and we’re all dealing with this in different areas of our lives, but you & Pisces are front and center for this transformative spiritual growth - with the goal being balance and a realignment with your path, which includes everything; career, love, friends, money, perspective, you name it. You as a whole, and others around you, and balancing those energies in a healthier way. Health being especially important because 1) It’s Virgo and 2) Pluto is moving through your 6th House. Next year will probably be more about bringing people in - genuine people 💯 - while this year seems more about getting people OUT ✌️

You probably already know who around you isn’t all that great, or you’ve had a suspicion - but this year it’s feeling more like an obsession - heavy stalking energy coming from you, not others, but switch it however. You’re in search of Truth, because you’re worried and confused about certain things you’ve had to heal from and it’s like…you don’t have the necessary information to do so, you feel, you need confirmation in a tangible form because this “I have a feeling” shit is for the birds 😆 But you DO. You just haven’t done anything about it. The same thing applies to health, you worry and fear the worst, but haven’t gone to the doctor for the confirmation on you being OK. Maybe yes, maybe no, gotta go.

Definitely do that at some point plz, and this energy is highlighting Stuck rev, Taurus rev, and Taurus upright - it’s a whole challenge for you this year. When Stuck came out, it did a whole circle on the table, and Taurus is about the senses - hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch. Unhealthy food, habits, sleep patterns, get your eyes checked, work out more, shake off the lazy bones when it strikes - something about your habits needs work. Taurus upright helps unstick ya, nurturing and “mothering” yourself in the right ways - healthy green foods, vitamins, exercise, I’m hearing psoriasis for someone as an issue, or focus more on Venus qualities; your appearance, clothing, hair for someone, if it’s sloppy it’s no bueno. It’s showing up as general but especially applies to work. Or work could cause you to have unhealthy habits in the first place, someone could be a night shifter or it’s just working and sleeping - no healthing. More healthing 🥬 It’s a word now idc. Vitamin D 🍆 Whatever it is, it’s like you know this already but you’re in a habit of having those lazy couple of hours in between busy life or you’re just tired all of the time & don’t wanna, it’s a rut you let yourself stay stuck in, or you may later on. Having more plants in your environment could help, some of you may take up gardening 🪴 Or nurturing something else helps you also nurture yourself. Some of you could be getting a new pet 🦎 and it could be something weird, wild or rare with Aqua Pluto in the 6th, but doesn’t have to be.

Back to the stalker energy, I’m seeing a ferret and hearing “ferreting information” like you’re trying to dig up Secrets on someone. Could be romantic, doesn’t have to be, and…it looks like you’re finding what you need so, do you. The possibilities with this are limitless, and range from best to worst case scenario. You could find someone has been unfaithful, is hiding money, has some sex work thing or you do. Or it could be your perspective shifting with these things in a healthy way, you could be a quiet freak and it’s something you’ve kept secret and you’re self-actualizing yourself into acceptance. Going after that. Loving that about yourself. It’s different for all, for some there could be an lgbt person coming out, maybe that’s you. Go you 👏 Someone could feel used for money or clout, like being with that person/you is going boost their/your status/money in some way - be careful because it’s attached to Truth. You could have a side hustle that’s on the down low, like OF or some kind of…you get it. It’s attached to Abundance, that’s positive, do you boo 💋 If not you, someone else could trigger a forced perspective shift on that person or this thing that you never considered before. You could background check potential dating partners 😆 and I don’t even blame you fr, people can be crazy.

Love is different for everyone, but for singles there’s been a down period, bad luck, bad karma or a pattern of that. A “bad picker” perhaps, you feel, or you’ve dated the same personality time after time - figuring out why you’re doing that. Could be astrology, trauma, karma, or you just simp for a particular type that maybe isn’t good for you. Or you’re physically attracted to incompatible people and then try to “fix” them whereas Pisces NN is about unconditional love and intimacy on a deeper level…that could develop this year or next for many of you, but you’ll have to put your fixer in check - different isn’t bad or broken. It’s your perspective of it. You could feel like you need to move away from certain things that are actually positive and stick with things that are proven to be not good for you. You’re comfortable with a not great thing, whatever that is for you.

Those in relationships have some kind of issues that…it’s up to you. Is it worth defending or should you move on? There’s nothing more than that, Queen of Pentacles shows you being solid no matter what, you’ve got this & don’t need anyone - so it’s up to you where to draw your lines. What is acceptable, forgivable, tolerable idk, and what isn’t? And then be prepared to possibly change your mind, because Spirit is out to test what you think you know about yourself 🤭 Some may decide to breakup with partners that are just not right for them. Some may date a person that’s nothing like anything you’ve ever dated and it’s putting you in your head. You didn’t even like jazz/sushi before them. But is it a bad thing or are you/your perception of it the issue?

Work is rough, this Stuck energy is showing up again with The Devil. Maybe you hate it. Maybe you hate everyone in it. Or maybe you hate that you’re stuck in a cubicle and there is no social interaction whatsoever. You feel caged in something you don’t want but don’t have a choice, but feel like you can’t do something else or are afraid to end it and move on to other things. This doesn’t feel new. A big part of the “shady people” I’m seeing involves your work and a group, could be the whole place that just…isn’t for you. Maybe you’re part of a group you’ve grown out of, maybe they’re lacking ethics or morals in some way, there could be shady practices going on that makes you take some steps back and reconsider whether this is a good idea or fit for you. I’m seeing a group that likes to party after work or something and you’re not interested, or maybe someone wants to date you and you don’t date people from work, now it’s uncomfortable or you’re feeling some kind of ick, pressure, force or guilt - no.

Stuck is reversed, that’s the goal, and Free Associate shows you are never stuck unless you allow it…but you haven’t tried another lane, another place, you’re afraid to. Maybe you’ve been here a long time and that’s why, you’re almost to 15 years you’re not gonna quit now, but that’s means dealing with someone or something that doesn’t resonate with who you are or what you believe - in a big way. Enough to really bother you. Whatever your Intuition is rattling off about is absolutely right and you should be listening to it. There could be instances where you’ll need to make a split second decision, going out with them or something, and you need to listen to YOU and not pressure, guilt, feeling like you have to. You could grow more comfortable saying no, or you need to make it clear who you are and how you roll - and it ain’t like however they do it - within reason of course. The Devil can keep you in a really narrow frame of mind as well, if you’re supposed to be typing it up and you’re handwriting it - you could be forced to change and confront an issue of control in yourself. You could feel like others are against you when they’re pushing you to change “the old way,” or some controlling thing you’re insistent about and you’re extremely resistant to the shift. Or switch it.

Your job could switch owners or direction somehow, everything changes, and you’re not on board…it’s a process. Some may decide to leave. Some will decide to adapt. Some don’t have a choice and just stay irritated but it’s necessary to confront The Devil wherever it’s appearing for you, and end it however you can. Death. If you can, not everyone can, then it’s just making the best of a situation you can’t change. Until you can, or want to make a move - most won’t or won’t want to for some part of the year. I’m seeing the Uranus shift into Gemini on July 7th, in your career house, that could be the wake up call you need to really motivate yourself to turn things around or head in another direction. Opens the mind. Shows you what you need to see. Could be a particular event that makes up your mind for you, your boundaries could be pressed beyond anything you’re willing to deal with, and then the decision becomes much easier for you. OR switch all of that, maybe you’re an antisocial hermity person that never talks to people and you realize over time that, maybe you should. Maybe you’re the problem. Like you feel everyone is against you but it’s because you sit back and judge them & don’t engage - when they’re actually really cool and you should give them a chance. Either/or.

Blame is a big topic this year, what you project onto others (fair or not) and what belongs on your own plate (fair or not), and what to do about it. The heavy Aries energy with a Venus/Mercury retrograde and Neptune changing signs in March could trigger some deep issues in yourself - warranted or not idk it’s different for everyone. Why does xyz trigger you so much? Is it you? 8th House highlights dark things - but they’re deeply personal to you. The triggers exist for a reason, Spirit is testing you a lot this year, pushing your boundaries on purpose. In some way, you’re stuck in a box - but is that necessary, and is it literal or in your mind/judgments that you’re projecting on others or based on past issues or what’s current? Ronnie was an asshole day 1 but maybe he’s cool now and you could be nicer, or maybe he was cool and now he’s kind of a dick and obsessively stalks you, could go either way. Someone could have a harassment issue. Be careful of being part of the group - have a mind of your own and don’t allow yourself to be led unless you allow it, you know? Some of you could be put into uncomfortable situations but you want to be nice - no. Good day y’all. Make up a reason, lie, you’re tired, fuck that. By facing these issues, triggers, shady people or confronting Devil energy in yourself you find growth and release - Death is welcoming and positive here, with The Butterfly showing transformation especially, even if it’s just a perception of something. Free yourself! Even if it’s just a fist bump to Ronnie and now you care, it’s one step closer to a deeper connection and release of control, it’s freeing. Or ridding yourself of a toxic ass work environment finally, that’s freeing too. Changing your entire health regime. By the end of the year, you’ll be much wiser in your perspective, have gained truth & clarity about your life as a whole, and the people you want to be in it, hopefully have some better daily habits and routines, and are more open to relationships that hit on a deeper level than you may have experienced before. Or that’s what’s coming next year & by then, you’ll be ready ❤️

Zodiac Signs: Heavy Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus, Scorpio & Gemini

Numbers: 71, 12, 20, 23 & 57

33333 is here showing that the Truth will be revealed on who is your friend and who is not, much of this with work. You’ve been worrying about this for some time and you’re going to get the answers you need. The Hanged Man upright & reversed shows perspective shifts with that on either side, someone you thought was a rat 🐀 maybe isn’t after all, and someone you really liked isn’t clapping for you. Five 3’s have got to be a record, it can also show contention in group settings - maybe you’re more of a one-on-one person, or it’s a whole group you’re having issues with. Some of you are breaking free of a “herd mentality,” in some way & bravo 👏

[silent-sanctum]

✧ Polaris ✧ - Jotaro x Reader

PART 7: LOVERS

— The previous parts of the fic can be found in the pinned post of my profile. Hope you enjoy! —

Exams are over! Which means I have more time for myself and writing! ^^ So imma drop this first before doing some more miscellaneous fics ^^ But quick disclaimer: This part delves into non-con elements so please proceed with caution. If you're fine with that, then I hope you enjoy ♡

word count: 6.3k

tw: sexual harassment

An unconventional road trip led to yet another inconvenient Stand encounter because life has a way of introducing the most sudden circumstances in this already bizarre trip.

One second you hang with the guys in a small jeepney to a small town, the next your group gets attacked by a vengeful witch user and her fog Stand who bore the same tarot as yours. As soon as she’s incapacitated and the old lady is brought out to an actually-populated town, she dies as tendrils of DIO’s cells wriggle out of every orifice she had with blood leaking from where they surfaced.

And it was all because of this one pretentious asshole.

He didn’t look anything out-of-the-ordinary. Just a guy in his late 20s with the locals’ skin complexion, sweeping black hair, and muted outfit. Though what made him infuriating was the smugness he wore as he sat on a café table as if he hadn’t triggered that hag’s death.

It didn’t help either when his relaxed, cocky smirk reminded of the lingering stranger’s smile invading the peripherals of your sight. You just wanted to step forward and wipe that expression off that man’s face, your knuckles already cracking from where they were at your sides, your Stand ready to strike.

However, Jotaro beat you to it. With one solid punch, he flew back crashing into the glass window of the café.

But he wasn’t the only one that got affected by the hit.

“Mr. Joestar!” You exclaimed, witnessing the old man fly back the opposite direction. The delinquent snapped his head to his grandfather’s direction with surprise. Fabrics shot out of you to catch him mid-air before he could crash onto the ground.

A strained cough prompted all of you to turn back to the still-smug enemy user rising up from the broken window frame. “You’re an utter fool. Just as I was about to explain my skill, you hit me.” He scoffed. “That impatience almost killed your grandfather.”

The man who called himself “Steely Dan” stood, staring at the Crusaders as if he didn’t collide with the glass pane behind him. With a spit of blood, he continued. “You really think I just showed myself just to kill Enyaba?”

“You…,” you turned to Mr. Joestar beside you who’s still in shock though with some level of anger and confusion mixed with it. “You damn bastard. You told us that your Stand is ‘The Lovers’, right?” Dan cocked a brow. “Just tell us what it does!”

“Now what’s the point when the battle’s already begun, Mr. Joestar?”

You focused on him with furrowed brows. Already begun? What’s he saying? You looked at the other guys if they knew, but they were just as clueless as you. “Simpletons. All of you.” He cast his attention on the child sweeping the ground without a care in the world. “Hey half pint, want cash?”

The boy gaped at the tempting bill in Dan’s hand. “It’s all yours if you can hit me in the leg with that broom as hard as you can.” With a simple instruction said, the paper bill flew out of his fingers and onto the eager hands of the boy.

Why would he ask to get hurt? Minutes ago, he made no attempt to shield himself from Star Platinum’s punch. You couldn’t sense his Stand coming out to do something as response even after he crashed. It was as if… he was asking to be hit.

“W-What? But why would he?”’

Putting that together with the mirrored sight of the old man copying the impact of the enemy user-

It clicked and you widened your eyes at the result.

With a fast turn of your head to Steely Dan, the child was more than eager to oblige as he rose his broomstick back, ready to strike a heavy blow. “Hit me!”

Without further thinking, Silent Sanctuary’s cloth zipped out of you and snagged itself around the stick a second before the boy could swing. To his confusion, the kid tried to move the broom despite the invisible force holding him back. Though with the fabric in place, it wouldn’t budge.

Steely Dan scowled at the sight of the interrupting spirit.

“Kid! Over here!” You called out to him, reaching in your skirt pocket to pull out three paper bills for him to see. “I’ll pay you double if you leave the masochistic man alone and head home, alright?”

The boy beamed, letting go of his cleaning tool and happily skipping to your direction. Dan had the idea of grabbing the child’s wrist out of irritation, but with the strip of fabric snapping itself against his wrist, the man gritted his teeth in pain, retracted his hand back, and shared his own glare with yours. “Tch.”

However, by doing so, Mr. Joestar let out a pained grunt wherein, from your peripherals, he held his own wrist as a reflection of what your Stand did to the enemy.

As the child reached you, you spared him a sweet smile and lent him the promised cash and with a ruffle of his hair, you sent him off before he could get further involved in this mess.

Steely Dan forced a smile, albeit with that underlying annoyance present. “Looks like not all of you are as dumb as I thought,” he said. “Since you’re so smart, care to explain my Stand power for me, princess?”

“Any pain you receive will reflect onto Mr. Joestar,” you responded for everyone to hear, to which they reacted clearly with Mr. Joestar held his face with genuine panic, while Jotaro balled his hands into fists. “And don’t call me that, shitbag.”

Dan couldn’t care less as he smirked. “Not only that, the pain will be several times worse for the old geezer because how else would I control my Stand when it goes berserk with every hit in that head of his.”

“Head?” Kakyoin said. “No… your Stand couldn’t be that small for it to enter Mr. Joestar’s ear to reach his-“

The enemy user snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Plus. The Lovers has taken one of lord DIO’s flesh buds into his body, now growing as we speak. Just like it did to that hag, it’ll devour you from the inside out.”

“Say something unfortunate happens, maybe an accident or a simple fall down the stairs, how do you think that would affect you Mr. Joestar?” The old man let in a quivered breath, his head still in his hands. “I might get banged up some but your body would suffer far greater pain than mine.”

“You got 10 minutes old man, then your brain will be eaten through, leaving you a corpse like that hag Enyaba.”

Your lips tightened as you kept a firm stare at him, scanning for something that could be of use. A loophole. There must be some sort of loophole to fight this guy- Your train of thoughts came to an abrupt halt when out of the blue, Steel Dan’s body is on its tiptoes as the delinquent grabbed him by his collar with a fist ready for him.

“No wait!” You threw yourself in between Jotaro and Dan, reaching up to hold his wrist back from swinging. “Think about Mr. Joestar! Are you asking him to get punched too?!”

“Don’t do anything rash!” Kakyoin added, joining you in the attempt to pull him away with an arm splayed against the raven-haired’s chest.

“Sorry but,” he tightened his hold. “I’m gonna kill this damn tool so quick he won’t have enough time to feel the pain.”

“I know you want to. Trust me I do,” you said, firm and sure as you locked eyes with him, knowing his subtle affinity towards his family. You cocked your head, continuing. “But we can’t risk it.”

Jotaro gritted his teeth, unrelenting as he always was, but with a strained choke from the elderly alerting him from behind, he sucked in a sharp breath and eased his hold on the enemy Stand user. You let out a sigh of momentary relief and backed away to give him his space.

And the nerve for Dan to smirk as he fixed his shirt. “Kill me before I feel it huh? Sounds interesting.” He chuckled. “What are you waiting for? Do it then. I’m curious.”

“Where were you planning to strike? My face?” He poked his cheek, trailing it down until he dragged his thumb across his neck. “Or throat?”

Under favorable circumstances, you wanted to ruin his face, wipe that cockiness off of his confident stance with a couple of deep bruising and cuts all over his head. Your Stand writhed within you, itching to fulfill her user’s wishes. You didn’t have to look at your companion to know he had the same idea.

“What? You mad? Here, let me offer you some suggestions.” Steely Dan puffed his chest out. “Why don’t you try busting a hole through here? Or…” He walked over to the nearby rock. “Give up using your Stand and crack my head open with this?”

He lifted it off the ground and gave it one good toss in the air. “Looks big enough for the job-!”

He yelped as Jotaro fisted his collar again, lifting him closer towards him with a fixed icy glare. “You don’t wanna underestimate me, pretty boy. When I say I’m gonna do something…” He growled his next words to prove his brute honesty. “I do it.”

The severity of his statement, along with the shimmer of Star Platinum’s fist manifesting, were sufficient indicators telling you to summon Silent Sanctuary to come out as well to grasp the muscular fist in its resisting fabrics while her user pushed against the solid wall that was the pissed teenager.

“J-Jotaro, stop it! Remember the consequences!” You said midst your struggling. “Calm down!” 

Somewhere in-between, green tendrils overlapped the rose-gold cloths. “Get a grip! Are you trying to kill your grandfather?!” You turned to see the cherry-haired student grab hold of Jotaro’s bicep, pulling him back.

“Uhh… this is Jotaro we’re talking about. He might be?”

“Pol!” You snapped at the Frenchman, shutting him up immediately.

Though in a second, you returned your attention to the steaming teenager still intending to pummel Dan into oblivion. “Hey,” you tried speaking in a softer tone in hopes a soothing tone would ease him even by a bit. “If we can figure something out and get that shitty Stand out of Mr. Joestar, we’ll let you beat him all you want.”

“For now, let him go. For your old man’s sake.”  

The delinquent’s fist trembled in sync with his conflicted expression. He was always so impulsive, more so when it came to ending troubling issues as soon as possible, but he possessed a caring heart deep down for those close to him, even if it was his near-obnoxious grandfather.

With a semblance of rationality returned, Jotaro loosened his hold again and let the enemy down with hesitation.

“You dumb, good-for-nothing punk.” Before you could process the insults, Steely Dan landed a solid punch aimed at the raven-haired student’s abdomen, causing the latter to heave a dry cough, falling to his knees.

“HEY!” You exclaimed, kneeling after him to help him up.

“Don’t toy with me, you bastard.” Dan said, looking down at him with a disgusting curl of his lip. To watch your close friend find his bearings on the dirt while this cocky asshole feign arrogance sent a seething emotion bubbling deep in your guts. This petty act… right after sparing him from a brutal beatdown. And to do it again? The sheer audacity-

This time, your hands balled into fists.    

“After the geezer kicks the bucket,” he rose his hand still holding the large rock. “You’re next!”

With newfound anger, you stood in an instant and let Sanctuary out, using her fabrics to shove Steely Dan back a couple feet with significant force. He staggered back with a look of surprise and tripped, dropping the rock along the way. Behind you, you heard Mr. Joestar fall back as well.

“The fuck!” He exclaimed, getting up in a minute with a familiar look of being pissed. Not that you cared as you took a couple of steps forward until you stood before him. Dan let out a menacing chuckle and pointed a finger at you with disdain. “I’ve heard gossip of a meddling chick making our job more difficult.”

You cocked your head with one brow raised. “Maybe I’d be less meddling if you’d decided to not to hit my friend. Have you thought about that?”

“And you’re as annoying as they say.” He leaned down and muttered into your ear. “You must be desperate for validation for you to hang out with a bunch of men on a dangerous trip.”

A scoff as you fisted his collar, keeping his ear close to you. “Says the person accepting payment from a random man with a stubborn ego, desperate to earn his validation to get some cash.” You whispered, pushing him back with one solid shove and a nonchalant smirk on your face. “I’d shut up if I were you.”

Dan glowered, his teeth bared at you. You pouted back as your returned to stand by Jotaro’s side. “Am I wrong?” 

“We can’t just stand here doing nothing. Polnareff, Kakyoin,” Avdol spoke up, alerting the two. “Let’s bring Mr. Joestar away from here and we’ll figure something out.” No one objected to the offer and with no further need of instructions, the Crusaders left the scene running. “Jotaro! Y/N! Don’t let Steely Dan hurt himself!”

“Got it.”

Leaving only the three of you, Steely Dan chuckled as he watched them run off. “Fools for them to think my Stand could be affected by long distances. No matter how far they go, The Lover’s range makes up for its lack of strength.”

“You know…” He stared at the both of you with ill intent. “I also heard from my friends that you’re the closest companion to the geezer’s grandson. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“So?” The delinquent said, arms crossed.

“So~” Steely Dan reached into his pocket and drew out a small pocket knife. You had the impulse to snatch the blade right away but as he aimed it in front of his chest in a second, you stopped. He cackled. “Remember! One move and the old man’s dead.”

Crap. There’s no point in talking- You glanced at Jotaro, who remained still with closed fists by his sides. -or doing shit against him. Not with that threat posed against us.

A displeasing smugness grew on Dan’s face at your hesitation and knew how to use that to his advantage. “You there,” he crooked his fingers, gesturing you to come. “Or else…”

You eyed the knife poised towards his heart and shivered at the image of Mr. Joestar, dying on the ground with his hands clutching his chest from agony, just because you didn’t listen. With a sigh, you stepped forward.

The second you were within his reach, Steely Dan pulled you close to him and laid an arm around your shoulders. You cringed at the contact but instead of a grimace, you scowled at the guy. Across you, the delinquent couldn’t be more ticked-off than he already was.

“Under this circumstance, I can actually do some progress with you two troublemakers. You don’t have to irritate me anymore,” he said, clipping a strand of hair behind your ear. You flinched from it.

He looked at Jotaro next, his knife still situated on his body. “And I can also use your pretty little friend here as additional leverage for you to do whatever I want.” To play with him, he moved his harm to your waist and tugged you close to him. You recoiled from the touch, stomach twisting by itself as your mind started to fuck with your surfacing memories.

Why do I feel sick? These unwanted touches on me-

“Bastard.” A deep growling voice snapped you from your thoughts and you drew your focus to the raven-haired student glaring at Dan.

“Bark at me all you want punk but as long as I got her here and my Stand in the old man, you can’t do shit,” he said. “Now princess, while most of my deeds will be for your friend, the only rule I got for you is to not use your Stand while I’m doing business.”

No response came out from your mouth but he took the silence as approval.

You looked at Jotaro just to see how he’s adjusting to these conditions, and for a moment, he looked back at you with a flash of genuine concern, cogwheels turning in his head trying to come up with something to get you out of this, before masking his face with scowled stoicism towards your captor. 

Steely Dan got the upper hand for now and you couldn’t wait until you found the opportunity to snag it back.

“This is gonna be fun,” he said, looking at the delinquent. “Let’s start things off by giving me your valuables. I’m gonna need a lot of cash for my shopping spree after all.”

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

He was insufferable. True and through.

Steely Dan never let you out of his grasp not even once as he toured around the town with Jotaro following close behind. Every time, he had his slimy hands on you, often caressing your waist or rubbing your arms and pressing you close to him when you managed to scoot some inch away.

And while the gesture alone was disgusting on a surface level, you didn’t quite understand why you were reacting to his touches with sheer revulsion, that every time he laid a palm on you, your stomach curls in on itself and a wave of tiny goosebumps crawled up your limbs.

You wanted to puke but why? You should be able to tolerate this and ignore his blackmailing act as nothing but a petty threat, but you couldn’t remember way back then that would’ve made you react this way.

You swallowed your moment of pondering and focused on the present where you sat with Steely Dan on a bench while he ordered the delinquent to wipe his shoes clean after telling him to scratch his back and lay across a canal to serve as his glorified bridge to step on.

Out of nowhere, Steely Dan broke into a grin and cackled. “Come on!” As you were about to question him, he abruptly rose his leg to kick Jotaro onto the ground, before crossing it on the other leg. “What are you doing? Shine those shoes right!”

“I’m in such a good mood right now so I need you to shine my shoes until they’re as bright as I feel right now,” he said. “I want the sunny sky to reflect right off of them.”

You watched your friend get on one knee, unwilling to comply to more of Dan’s bullshit when he remained where he was on the dirt. Rightfully so.

“Are you deaf? I said I want my shoes to be shined to its best, and what you did for the past few minutes was shit work.” Still, the delinquent didn’t respond and Steel Dan scoffed. “Still stubborn huh?”

Just then, you yelped as he forcefully pulled you over to sit on his lap and he grinned, his one hand stroking the length of your back- up to your nape and down to the garter of your skirt. You froze, your pulse spiking and breathing growing fast. You struggled to get off but his arm kept you from escaping. Too close. Need to get away.

To make everything worse, the familiar music of a piano began playing faintly in the back of your mind as vague imagery surfaced with every stroke. Make it stop. Make it stop!

Instinctively, Sanctuary was a second away from appearing as a response to her user’s sudden distress, but the enemy brought out the knife he carried the entire time and aimed it at the side of his neck. “Don’t forget! I still have Joseph Joestar’s life within my control! You better behave.”

You spat at his face with pure disdain, having to will your Stand away to avoid Mr. Joestar from dying and be pliant for his lowly ass. Dan frowned at what you did, only for him to smirk and tug your hair with considerable force. Making things worse, he leaned forward to press his nose on your throat and placed his hand to creep up your thigh under your skirt.

The sting of your roots being pulled and the invasive touches made you gasp and without conscious thought, you began punching his chest as if that would let you go. The music grew louder in your ears as you felt your guts writhe and adrenaline course a marathon throughout your body.

Mingled with the cursed tune of that damn piano, you could hear the faint chuckles of unfamiliar men accompanying phantom sensations of hands all over your body. You wanted to cry, the tears already forming, but for the love of all things holy, you wouldn’t break down in front of this cuck. You kept yourself together the best you can.

Jotaro wasn’t doing any better either. From your peripherals, he was furious- veins clear from where his fists were at the ground and his whole stance rigid and ready to snap in any moment with Star waiting to be unleashed.

Both of you wanted this man gone but what could you do? When someone else is on the line?

After a few more seconds, Dan pushed you off him and back to your previous seat with a hand still gripping your wrist. Some relief came to you in the form of a gasp, but it wasn’t enough to completely forget what had happened. “Now that you’ve been reminded of who’s in charge, I want to get something expensive.”

He stood and pulled you up. “Come princess, let’s go shopping.”

“Fuck you.”

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Jotaro wanted to make this man suffer with agonizing pain for what he did.

More so when you displayed the complete desperation to get away- Your furrowed brows, a flash of panic in your eyes, your attempted punches against his chest, the miniscule whimpers he could hear in the stream of frustrated grunts. He never released the closed fists he kept in his pockets, instead tightening them due to his current thought. That motherfucker.

If he wasn’t taunted enough with Steely Dan’s harassment towards you, he decided to push it further when his moral code was brought onto the table upon entry in a jewelry shop.

“My my~” He narrowed his eyes at the guy, watching him eye the shining accessories in their glass cases with you still trapped in his grip. “Would you look at these beauties. Don’t you think it would make any girl happy?”

“You’re eyeing me as if I am,” you scowled. “You must be so shallow for you to think I’d buy into vanity.”

But Dan paid no attention to your statement as he focused on one specific necklace that’s so happen to be in front of Jotaro. “Say… how about you steal that expensive-looking jewelry there for me using that Stand of yours?”

He didn’t look at him nor did he move to do what he said. He’s very much aware of who he is and that he’s a rebellious teenager who couldn’t care about strict adherence to rules and pleasantries, but he knew better than to be too indulgent with his self-given freedom.

He wasn’t a bad person. He wouldn’t take advantage of others and he most certainly wouldn’t steal something so meaningless to him.

“Hey! Did you hear me?!” Steely Dan hissed. “I said get that for me deaf punk!” Jotaro remained still and so the man approached him to whisper, “If you don’t do what I say, then I’ll have to steal it myself. But that would mean I’d have to break the glass with my hands.”

“Plus, they don’t take theft kindly here. They’d pummel me to no ends and it would hurt as hell,” he huffed. “Old man Joseph wouldn’t like to feel those hits, would he?”

Jotaro hated when he’d flaunt his upper hand for favors because it left him with no other choice to- “Hurry up, will you?!” Dan gritted out. “While the store keeper’s not looking!”

To hell with this. With hesitation, he reached forward and let Star’s hand out to slip past the glass and lift the golden accessory through the gap and into his hand.

And Steel Dan grinned. “Hey! That kid’s stealing!”

Both you and Jotaro froze in spot with surprise. Though that didn’t last long when shock got replaced with irritable anger in a second. Of course, he’d do shit like that.

It didn’t take much for the store owner to fetch his guards and bring them out- all massive and threatening with their bats and knuckles. “Where’s this thief we’ve heard about?”

“Is it that Asian kid over there?”

“From where we’re from, we’d break the thief’s fingers as punishment for doing what they did!”

He wanted to speak out that he didn’t want to steal and he was forced to do this by the one who reported the “crime”, and you wanted to reason out as well, but again… you two had to make sure the bastard wouldn’t get hurt.

“By the way,” Dan said from a distance. “You wouldn’t use your Stand against civilians, would you?” Jotaro considered simply knocking them out with one blow, but he didn’t want to get himself into trouble in a foreign country and delay their trip further with his intervention.

You both kept your mouth shut and Jotaro braced himself for what was to come. Just as what’s expected, the first fist landed straight at his cheek, followed by the next in his abdomen, and another at his face, forcing him to crouch on the floor and raise his arms in an attempt to cover his face from the series of hard-hitting kicks that were sent his way.

He can tolerate the pain of the blows he received, it wasn’t his first tango with fist fights like this after all, but what made it hurt in this scenario were not his bruises, but the way you cried out for them to stop assaulting him with the same level of desperation as before. “Remember,” he picked up on Dan’s sickening words. “No Stands in my business, princess.”

“Make them stop then, you asshole! You sick fuck!” Just as the next punch threw the raven-haired student to the ground, you yelped as he caught glimpse of Steely Dan forcing you to face him with his hand under your chin.

“But I don’t want to watch this by myself.”

“Let go!”

Jotaro gritted his teeth and tried to get up and reach you two, rip his hands off of you, but the guards were relentless and he was thrown back to the ground with one kick to the chest. A couple of kicks in and someone lifted him off the floor and next, he landed onto the dirt pavement outside the establishment with a grunt.

He hacked out a spit of blood as he got onto his elbows with slight struggle. At least they’re done with me. “Jotaro!” He lifted his head to see you hurrying over to kneel at his level, soft hands helping him up in an instant. “How bad are you feeling?”

He heaved out a groan from the bruises growing on his torso. “I’ve had worse before,” he said with strain. “I’ll get over it in a minute.”

“What a spectacle! Thanks to you, I managed to snatch myself a more glamorous prize while everyone was distracted.” At the sound of his voice, he kept his sights fixed on the ground, his anger simmering. “What’s this? Why is my pretty friend not with me?”

Beside him, your hold on his shoulders tightened as you glared at him with so much hate. “You can go fuck yourself if you think I’ll join you again.”

“Still got a big mouth for a bit-“

He couldn’t help it. A low laugh left the delinquent’s lips that gradually increased in volume, catching both you and Steely Dan off guard. “Why are you laughing?” The latter asked, nervous. “What’s so funny?!”

What was funny? Was it because of sheer anger that tipped him to laugh similar to a villain cackling into the void with every defeat before revealing their secret weapon? Or maybe it was because- “Nothing. I just can’t wait for you to repay the debt you owe both of us when they’re done dealing with your Stand.”

You didn’t say anything, looking solemn as if you had thoughts running in your head regarding what he said. “You punk ass-“

Another kick was what he expected, but with you out of Dan’s grasp, you gained back some control of the situation as Sanctuary tied itself around his ankle, before lifting it high enough for him to fall back with a loud thud.

Jotaro stared at your Stand’s face that focused on the enemy while its user remained facing the ground, deep in thought.

“That’s it!” He exclaimed, standing abruptly to grab your arm with his knife back in the other hand, pointed at him. You yelped, hands clawing at his wrist. “I’ve had enough of you, you bitch! Always butting into my business when I told you not to!”

Jotaro immediately got onto one knee, ready to charge at him but paused when you turned to spit at him again, though Steely Dan let out a maniacal laugh, pressing you harder against him. “Still bold are we?” He gripped your hair hard. “How about I teach you a lesson?”

“Do your worst you egotistic fuck.”

He could feel his veins popping at the sight, his body aching to run this piece of shit through the ground. To hell with this. He’s had enough of holding back, serving this asshole. The second he begins to touch you in inappropriate places, he will act.

Though before Dan could do his worst, he widened his eyes and staggered back. Loosening his grip, you buckled and fell onto your knees along with the knife he had. In the next second, he cried out with pain as blood gushed out of his forehead.

They did it.

And Dan knew it too because complete fear washed over him in an instant. Jotaro was on him before he could make an escape, grabbing fistful of his hair painfully tight. Steely Dan whimpered and desperately tried to shrug himself out of his hold but the delinquent had other intentions.

Recalling all the abuse he received minutes ago alongside the memory of him gripping your hair, he maintained a firm hold on him as he delivered Dan a harsh kick on the back with Star Platinum’s power, resulting in the man cowering on the ground with his head bleeding from where the scalp nearly got ripped off.

“P-Please Jotaro! Spare me! I’ll do whatever you want me to do!” He recoiled at the full sight of the purple Stand hovering before him with violent intent. “Please! I’ll clean your shoes with my tongue! I’ll pay you and your friend all the money he gave me!” Dan bowed with his head planted on the dirt.

In different circumstances, Jotaro would taunt him a bit and play into humiliating him further. However, all his mind thought of at the moment was of him treating you as his plaything. You being afraid of his gestures underneath that brave face.

He sexually harassed you and Jotaro found that disgusting. Evil.

He deserved to get punished with brutal judgement.

No words were said in return and Steely Dan wouldn’t be able to either as Star Platinum lifted him off the ground and sent arrays of barrages onto the adult. He continued to watch his body get beaten and broken by the countless punches landed on him, never satisfied with the amount of hits.

He could hear the break of his bones and the blood that gurgled out of him, but he felt compelled to continue. Jotaro tightened his fists as he willed Star to send more punches, more pain. For his cocky attitude, the slavery, the mistreatment-

Dan grinned. Jotaro caught it midst the blitz and he furrowed his brows with brief confusion. What is he- His Stand. Aside from the gushing of his head, no further damage was dealt by the other Crusaders, implying that tiny bastard fled.

It was on its way to its user… or to someone near him.

The delinquent widened his eyes and snapped his attention to you, still on the ground reeling from what happened. Star abandoned its violence on Steely Dan and turned to you. Though as one syllable left him, a flash of rose-gold appeared in front of your ear, its edge curled around an object the size of a bug.

The Lovers.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You said as you got up, expression blank and shaded except for the wicked curl of your lips. “Even after you get beaten up, still… STILL…” You gritted out, approaching the enemy user. “You continued being a cocky motherfucker and tried to get that thing in my head.”

The fabric holding the miniscule Stand closed in on itself, eliciting a loud scream from Steely Dan as his joints continued to dislocate. “Stubborn until the end.” Jotaro stood by and watched you walk past him and towards the crying adult with apathy.

You tilted your head as you said with a eerily calm voice. “Do you know how much I loathed what you did to me?” Without letting go of Lovers, Sanctuary wrapped another set of fabrics around Steely Dan and lifted him of the ground.

“Do you know how much bullshit I remembered when you fucking touched me?!”

In an instant, the delinquent gaped at the velocity Silent Sanctuary whipped the adult onto the nearby building to the point of nearly breaking the wall. “I told you to let go and you wouldn’t!” He was whipped onto another building, this time with the wall crumbling upon impact.

“You know how insufferable it was to be your toy?!” Another whip, destroying the pavement.

“To remain compliant while you watch everyone you care get beaten in front of your eyes?!” And another.

“And now you still think you got the upper hand and tried to take advantage of me again?! AGAIN?!” The fabrics smashed the adult’s body onto the road. Again and again with each word. “How fucking dare you?!”

Jotaro couldn’t do anything but watch how the scene unraveled before him. He knew your Stand had immense durability and that you had an air of assertion, but what he saw before him was just… pure unbridled rage out in the open.

How you yelled at Avdol and Polnareff was merely a sliver of what you were capable of in terms of expressing anger. Before all this, he never would have thought you could have the same amount, if not more, violent intent as Star Platinum had.

Back in school, the most you showed to him was passive-aggression, but nothing more. All he saw were your smiles and awe casted to him and the other Crusaders. Not an inkling of complete malice.

Until now.

Silent Sanctuary tossed a barely conscious Dan onto the road one more time and you walked up to him with Jotaro cautiously following a few steps behind.

“You know…” You said, calm. “You remind me of him.”

A shot of fabric zipped past you and wrapped themselves around the enemy’s throat, making him gag further as you raised a foot to step on the broken adult's chest. “Maybe that’s why I hate you so much.”

He should intervene. At this rate, you won’t be satisfied with Dan’s total beat down. You’d want something worse.

The cloth tightened and the adult spurted out more blood from his lips, though you remained unbothered as you cocked your head with an empty gaze and snarl. Jotaro drew closer as you muttered:

“Don’t you fucking dare harm me and Jotaro again you worthless cuck-“

The delinquent reached to touch your shoulder. “You’re going to kill him Y/N… that’s enou-“ At the slight touch, a loud snap could be heard and his cheek burned out of nowhere, followed by something wet trailing down it.

It was then did Jotaro process that Sanctuary slapped him, hard enough for a cut to form on his cheek where it bled a thin line of red, and fast enough that Star couldn’t react.

You turned around, fury still present as you did, but the second you saw him holding his injured cheek, you blinked back to reality and gasped, tears already forming as you cupped your mouth. “Oh my god…”

All your anger dissipated and it was only when it disappeared you quivered. You rose a shaky hand to him, only for it to pull back to your chest. You also realized what you had done to the other man with one glance. “Oh god… w-what…”

Despite the hit that caused him to bleed, Jotaro wasn’t mad at you. If anything, he grew concerned and confused on what was happening to you. “Y/N…?”

You whimpered, tears trailing down your cheeks. “I-I’m sorry… Oh god I’m so sorry…”

Before he could say anything more, you ran past him with your head ducked and your mouth still hidden behind your hands.

Jotaro didn’t chase after you. It was useless since he wouldn’t know what to do nor what to say if he did. Instead, he remained where he was in the aftermath of your chaos, brows furrowed trying to figure out what exactly happened to you that caused you to behave like this.

“Y/N…”

He gave his surroundings one last scan- the wrecked walls and streets and an unconscious Steely Dan on the dirt- before shoving his hands into his pockets and turning away, hopefully he’d at least see you with the others.

Though he heavily doubted you’d return to your usual state after this. And to that, Jotaro hoped you would recover even by a bit.

He could only hope.

[blazerwyvernmaster]

So uhh

I like In Stars and Time. You should play it if you haven't already. It's extremely good. And I will be subtly spoiling a lot of it during this analysis.

Recently I have thought of thr trend if assigning tarot cards to characters in media, or my on characters. So I thought...what if I did that to ISAT?

...so yeah. I'll be doing that. Please tell me if I mess it up, or give me your opinions.

Again, spoilers under the cut.

Siffrin(Fool of Hanged Man)

Fool: The Fool is generally seen as the start of a journey. Even though he is at the end, the time loops and the fact that they have a lot of things to worry about/trauma means that they have a long journey ahead of them.

Hanged Man: A reversed Hanged Man, to be precise. Siffrin is INTENSLY afraid of change. To be more specific, he's stuck in this time lopp because he doesn't want to forget or leave his friends behind. His family behind, his country, his memory. The hanged man is about sacrifice and moving forward, and they do NOT want to do either. But they must.

I would also like to add that they may also be linked to The Devil card. Mostly because it's about desire and stuff and Siffrin desires amny things and can do a lot of selfish and cruel things to his family members.

Mirabelle:Lovers or Chariot.

Lovers:Mirabelle is aroace and perfectly fine with that. It’s a shame that she lives in a society where being perfectly fine with staying stagnant forever is discouraged.

Mirabelle is very religious. She believes strongly in the word of Change. So strongly that she is willing to ignore her feelings of being happy with who she is. She loves expressing platonic and familial love, but...romance and sex ain't it.

I chose the Lovers because it is about choice. Crossroads in one's life, that decide your fate. She was about to make the wrong one, the one that would make her miserable. Luckily, she didn't.

Chariot: Mirabelle may not be the Fool, but the thing that helps the fool move forward is a trusty chariot. From the beginning she's been trying to move forward and save Vaugarde from the King, and especially in the clocktower and higher levels of the house, she is determined to bring her home to its regular state.

If she doesn't, she will let everyone she cares about down. Also, again, she loves in a society where she feels she has to change, even if it means being in a romantic/sexual relationship and hating it. It's all for change, it's all for moving forward.

Isabeau: Strength.

Before the story, Isabeau may have been a reversed strength Arcana. Or at least that's how would see it. He was weak, and had low self-esteem and self-worth. And he hated it. He hated it so much that he became...well,*he*.

While he doesn't necessarily appreciate being treated as an idiot now, he seems happy to be a stronger, more confident, and upright version of himself, both inside and our. Though...judging by the fact that Siffrin's comments got to him during their uhh..darker moments, there may still be some doubts left in him.

(Sidenote I think Isabeau may be my favorite character besides Sif and Loop)

Boniface: Sun and Magician

Sun: Bonnie is a ray of positive energy wrapped in a small little crab with a potty mouth and I love them for it. And so does the rest of the party. They support the others with their cooking and miniscule damage. And it's good.

The rest of the saviors would do anything to keep that ray of positivity alive. Even if it meant they would die in the process.

Its no wonder that when they die to the king in the end of Act 3...Siffrin considers that the end.

Magician:This is mostly coming from their hangout quest. Bonnie can heal and cook, but they can also fight...barely. The fact that they are technically the only other party member who can use rock attacks at base(without using a spell like Odile or Sif) shows that they have some potential. And they want to use and grow that potential to go on kore adventures and help their friends.

Odile: Hermit

Odile, while serving as the party's mature voice of reason, and probably fitting for roles like The Empress or Hierophant, I personally see her as a Hermit because of how isolated her story is.

The only one who ever knows what she's doing with her research is Siffrin, and only if/when you do her quest. Every other time, she seems to be isolated and actively hiding it. Its not that she doesn't rely on her friends,but...she's simply doing this alone.

It's a very personal journey for her about being more connected to your heritage and reflecting on yourself.

To be honest, Hermit works REALLY well for Siffrin, too.

[blueraspberryflavoredwetcat]

hey i got you a present oracle

They set down Blu’s own deck of tarot cards. All cards look mostly normal, besides the hanged man seemingly replaced by the oracle themself.

do you like it

-@fuckbluspecifically

……very funny.

*Their voice is practically dripping with sarcasm.*

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 23 Day 26

Pick a tarot card for inspiration

I actually had another draft I was planning to continue today but I scratched it and started over because I wasn't satisfied with it. And yeah, I do like this better, I think.

Have some young pre-Dethklok Toki for tarot card day!

“Um…I don’t haves money…” Toki said, but the lady dragged him all the same. 

“Shush.” She waved her hand dismissively, before returning to her cards. “This vision is really strong.” She shuffled her cards intensely before spreading them all face-down on her table. Then, she closed her eyes and her hand began hovering over the cards.

Toki swallowed nervously. It was getting dark and he was walking on the streets when this random old lady told him he needed to get a reading and dragged him inside her stand. What he actually needed was some food because he was starving. He wondered if he could beg for scraps at the bakery again. That one girl was really nice to him…

“Ah!” The old lady opened her eyes and dragged one of the cards, staring at it with a wise smile. “I knew it.” She said, before showing it to him.

In it, there was an illustration of a naked woman and man standing beside each other in what seemed to be a field. At the bottom of the card, there were two words.

“De Lovers?” Toki asked, extremely confused. 

“Yes.” She was still smiling. “Signifies love and harmony. A beautiful connection is upon you, my little…” She stopped, blinking. “What is your name, young one?”

“Uh, Toki.”

“Toki.” She repeated calmly. Suddenly, she clasped his hands tightly. “You’re about to meet your soulmate, Toki. Be very aware of your surroundings today! It’s the most important relationship of your life!”

Startled, Toki looked at the card, hanging at the corner of the table and threatening to fall. While he considered himself a romantic, he was highly skeptical of this whole thing. “Um, ladies, dat ams impossible.” He finally managed.

She let go of him, raising an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Wells…” Toki forced a smile. “Ams just a homeless boy. I don’t has a house, or foods. I don’t even has clothes.” He pointed at his stained shirt. “Ams just mes and my guitars.”

Her expression went from shocked, to horrified, to finally disgusted. He was pretty used to that reaction, to people dehumanizing him the moment they found out about his circumstances. Normal people hated the homeless, after all. 

Clearing her throat, she faked a smile. “Oh, that’s…” She stretched the collar of her shirt awkwardly. “That’s strange, haha…Lady Fortune is never wrong.” She looked at the card, as if it was disgusting too and shoved it on Toki’s hand. “You can keep it, but I’m waiting for some clients so…” She made a gesture with her eyes.

Toki nodded. “Okays.” He said, shoving the card in his pocket. “Um, thanks.” He said, even though he hadn’t asked for any of it in the first place.

As soon as he turned around, he heard her spray perfume on her table. Again, he was used to it, but it still stung a little. 

Back in the streets, he got the card out of his pocket to look at it. The illustration was pretty cool, he wondered if he could sell it somehow. Maybe he could trade it to the nice bakery lady for a couple of breads?

He noticed one edge of the card being split, though, which seriously undermined his chances at being able to trade it for anything valuable. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and he tried to separate the ends, only to realize there was a card stuck under. 

This card had a different illustration, of a lady pouring water into a puddle of sorts with one hand, the other one pouring water on the ground, with a starry sky in the background. The bottom text read “The Star”. 

Well, guess the silver-lining of not having money was that you couldn’t get scammed because, what the hell. Not that he had believed the lady at all but was she really going around trying to convince people they were about to meet the love of their life? That was just…lame.

On the other hand, he now had two different cards he could trade for possibly food now. That was pretty good. Perhaps the forced fortune-reading had been the fortune in itself. If everything went well, he could share some of his dinner with the kitty cats from around the area.

A booming noise from nearby distracted him and he looked up, tucking the cards safely in his front pocket this time. It was coming from a bar, blaring lights accompanying the loud bass noise. A menu board outside read “Free entry! Rock music all night!” with drawings of guitars and thunders around the text.

These days, anything that had the word ‘free’ caught Toki’s attention instinctively. And there was a crowd forming outside, which only intrigued him more. Leather jackets, spider hair, dark make-up, he could only imagine the music being played was good to attract these types.

Swiftly, he pushed and squeezed himself until he got inside, merely avoiding a couple of bulky dudes about to fight at the entrance. Perks of being small and malnutritioned, he supposed. 

The people inside were crowded around the empty stage, booing and cheering simultaneously.

“Who ams playings?” He asked the guy next to him. He was bald but had a piercing on his nose. 

“Dethklok!” He said. “They aren’t all that great but they have a cult forming around them these days. Probably because they have that guy from Snakes n Barrels.” He snorted. “Bunch of-”

Suddenly, the lights went out and the crowd went insane. Toki was a little nervous so he unhooked his guitar from his back and grabbed it. He really couldn’t afford to get it repaired at the moment so he might as well take care of it.

Five figures walked on the stage and, after a short introduction by the vocalist that Toki could hardly understand anyway, they started playing. Their music was loud, powerful, unrefined. The crowd started dancing with the beats, pushing one another with the rhythm of the music. 

Lights went on and off as the five men on stage demonstrated their craft. The vocalist roared against the mic, black hair, muscly and intimidating. The red-haired drummer beat his arms and legs against the instrument with a force that could only be described as violent. The rhythm guitar played soberly, knowingly, as he was looking down on the audience. Oh, and they also had a bassist. 

But the real star of the show for Toki was the all-white dressed lead guitarist, whose blond locks covered his face as he headbanged, fingers sliding against the guitar strings as if he were born for this. 

Toki had listened to a bunch of guitarists in his short life, especially of the metal genre. This guy, however, had a different kind of energy. Like an aura of holiness surrounded him and his mighty-shredding axe. It was both beautiful and entracing and Toki felt like he had to get closer. He wasn’t even scared of getting hit by the moshpit, he just needed to be closer and witness his guitar God in all his glory.

He shoved and elbowed his way in, managing to stand right in front of him. Like a flash, blue eyes gazed at him, but they were gone, the golden curtain covering his face again. It was like a spark for Toki, though, like electricity spreading through his body, rendering him to life. He was alive and awake and he needed to play guitar with this man. 

It was ridiculous, but the cards flashed in his mind for a brief second, and he wondered if the old lady had accidentally predicted his future after all.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

꧁༺ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼 ༻꧂

I promised part 2 and here is me delivering! I’m so in love with this, and it was not supposed to be this long but I suppose I got carried away

*disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about tarot readings so HUGE shout out to @sanguinebats for helping me determine which cards to use for these two

Pairings: Jake Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slash

Warnings and tags: 18+ only please! Not much for this chapter besides just processing of complicated emotions, technically still unrequited love, spiritual shops tarot readings, there was supposed to be another kiss but I didn’t get to it yet so stay tuned

Word count: 5k

When Danny woke up he was slightly confused about where he was. It was still dark in the room, though not because it was still night time, but due to the heavy curtains that hung over the windows making it hard to gauge what time it even was. By the ache in his shoulder from how he slept with one of his arms hanging over the edge, and the fogginess clinging to his brain from being in such a deep sleep, he imagined it was probably late in the morning if not already the afternoon.

Slowly as he came to Danny took in his surroundings again. From the arrangement of instruments scattered across every available surface, to the opened closet overflowing with a collection of cropped t-shirts, button ups, and coats, down to the crisp cotton sheets he laid in. Currently laid in alone for that matter, as Jake had gotten out of bed and slipped away at some point without waking Danny up.

Danny’s cheeks flushed as he pushed through his budding headache to recall the events of last night. The party, Sam and his girlfriend, Jake asking him on a date, the kiss…

He thought about why he did it. Of course he’d had a bit to drink, but it wasn’t like he was black out drunk or anything. He was still more than capable of making decisions for himself. The alcohol had taken an edge off though, and he found himself less scared of what might happen if this thing between them turned bad, and more curious to find out what he did genuinely feel about the enigmatic, Jake Kiszka.

At first, when his lips glided against the other man’s, he felt strange for kissing his friend like that. When Jake applied more pressure to kiss him back, a switch immediately flipped in Danny. Suddenly he wasn’t kissing a friend anymore, but instead the kiss was enveloping him in its warmth and sensitivity. He wanted to chase for more. Wanted to keep discovering how Jake’s kiss made him feel, wondering how Jake’s touch might tingle his skin, how Jake’s more petite but soft rounded frame might feel beneath his hands…

Before he allowed himself to run wild with those thoughts, Danny pulled himself upright in the bed, stretching the sleep from the muscles in his arms and legs as he pushed complicated questions he didn’t want to search deep down for the answers to right at this moment away for future reflection. Now, all he needed was some extra strength Tylenol and the largest mug of coffee Sam had in his cabinets downstairs.

Once he made it to the bottom of the staircase, he could already smell the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and hear the quiet talk paired with light giggles coming from Sam and his girlfriend in the living room. They were sitting on cushions on the floor around the coffee table sharing a bowl of oatmeal and Jake sat in the armchair across from the couch giving them a longing look of esteem shrouded with a disgusted eye roll as he sipped his own cup.

”Well good morning sleeping beauty” Sam regarded his presence first, taking note of the borrowed clothes he wore that were slightly too small for him.

”Hey” Danny replied softly, scratching the back of his head and suddenly feeling self conscious at the state his hair must be in right now. He glanced over to Jake, who just like at the party last night, avoided looking in his direction entirely. “There’s coffee made?”

”Yeah, help yourself you know where everything’s at” Sam answered, going back to picking fruit from the bowl and playfully pretending to hand feed them to Cheyenne before popping them into his mouth instead.

Danny walked around the chair Jake was perched in, feeling the aura of defense he gave off as he made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets for a mug and the fridge for whatever kind of milk substitute Sam had this time. Once he had his coffee mixed just the way he liked it, he brought it right in front of his face and closed his eyes as he breathed in the slow steam until it was cool enough to take a sip. After nearly downing half the thing in one go, he reopened his eyes and suddenly it hit him how clean the kitchen was compared to how he last remembered seeing it.

Danny brought his mug with him as he walked back into the living room, seeing it in a similarly tidied state. “You guys could have woke me up to help clean”.

Sam and Cheyenne shared a look before he looked over at his brother as he spoke. “Jake actually had it all done before we even got up”.

“Oh,” Danny shut himself up by taking another drink as Jake shifted in his chair. So he had been up for a long time then? He felt a pang of selfish guilt for agreeing to sleep in Jake’s room, knowing now it had caused him to lose some sleep himself.

“I don’t mind cleaning up by myself. I like cleaning, makes thinking about difficult things easier when I keep my hands busy”.

Danny shifted his focus back to Sam, trying to gauge if he was concerned at all with Jake’s comment about ‘thinking difficult thoughts’, but Sam didn’t seem phased in the slightest. Why would he be worried about it? It’s not like he knew what he and Jake had discussed yesterday, right? Even if Jake did currently live with him, he did a damn good job at keeping his most inner and personal thoughts to himself. Hell, Danny didn’t even have a clue about Jake’s deeper feelings until very recently.

It made him feel like a bad friend for a moment for not being able to pick up on any hints or clues Jake could have been dropping him, but as he tried to think back on it Jake didn’t really seem like the type of person to subtly flirt with him like that. No, Jake had always been the grand gesture, go big or go home, woo and court like they were in some sort of 1800’s romance novel, type of person. Danny realized then that last night that was Jake trying to ask permission to put those moves on him, and Danny had turned him down.

He tried to consider how Jake must feel now. Heartbroken? Disappointed that he hadn’t even gotten the chance to take him out on one date and show him what being the object of his affection was like? Danny himself felt cheated in a sense, like he had robbed the both of them of the opportunity to build something beautiful on top of the strong foundation their friendship already offered. For what reason? Fear? Not knowing what the others would think, the uncertainty of plunging deeper into uncharted waters knowing the risk of failing to swim.

Cheyenne pulled Danny from his overwhelming torrent of thoughts as she continued to joke around, making it evident that the slight tension he felt in the air was all within himself. “Well, I for one appreciate it Jake. Sam’s place has never been more clean since you’ve come to stay here!”

“You make it sound like I’m a slob or something” Sam pouted, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to get back at her by trying to peck at her cheek.

“Sam, we have to live on a bus with you for most of the year, you are a slob” Danny chuckled, making Jake actually snicker as well.

Sam shot his best friend a hurt look, but was distracted again by Cheyenne going in for the last spoonful of chunky oats.

“So now that you’re up Danny, we were just talking about going to this plaza Sam and I found the other day” Cheyenne began after graciously feeding Sam the bite. “You want to come? It has this cute little metaphysical shop that we wanted to pick up a few things from”.

Danny considered it for a moment, he hadn’t exactly expected to be invited along on a shopping adventure today so he hadn’t packed for that, but he could easily wear the jeans from last night and borrow something of Sam’s, so long as he could get his toothbrush now. “Sure, as long as Jake is coming too”.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Jake finally looked up from his spot to meet Danny’s eyes with a bewildered look on his face.

“Of course! You’re coming too, right Jake?” She beamed, excited to show off their new treasured spot.

Jake looked like he was about to try and come up with a reason to get out of it, but Sam quickly added a reason to convince him to come. “There’s an eclectic jewelry section, I think I might’ve seen an Atocha coin necklace last time we were there”.

Jake narrowed his stare as if to ask ‘why didn’t you get it for me then?’ Ultimately he sighed and nodded his head, and everyone jumped up to start getting ready.

Sam grabbed their now empty bowl and followed Danny into the kitchen as they both cleaned out their dishes in the sink. Now that they were briefly alone, he spoke in a hushed tone. “So, you stayed in Jake’s room last night?”

Danny freezed with his hands under the faucet as he rinsed the leftover ring of caramel colored coffee from the mug until the water was so hot that it burned his skin. “Yeah, he gave me some clothes to change into since mine were in my bag in your room”. Really he didn’t care about the whole thing so he usually wouldn’t have brought it up, but he wanted to get off the subject of him staying in Jake’s room as quickly as possible in case his stiffening posture gave Sam any ideas about what could have happened in there.

“Oh shit,” Sam quickly realized he remembered seeing a bag he didn’t directly recognize sitting on his dresser, but he had been a little one track minded last night. “My bad, you could have banged on the door or something”.

“Yeah no, I’m good” Danny chuckled, “Really I should have known better. You two were a little intense last night”.

“We were?” Sam blinked a few times, like he genuinely didn’t perceive the amount of PDA the two of them showed.

“And this morning” Danny added the fact that their hands had been all over each other just now. Again, it didn’t bother him at all, he just thought that it was kind of curious that they didn’t realize how affectionate they were. Maybe he was just over thinking it because he hadn’t been in a relationship in a while.

Sam thought for a moment, like he was trying to decide how to tell Danny this, but finally a big bashful smile spread across his face. “I think I love her, you know”.

“You think?” Danny snorted, it had been clear to him for a long time now. Having known Sam for as long as they did, he had seen him around previous partners, and Danny could tell almost immediately when he and Cheyenne started to get serious that something about this time was different. They were great together, and Danny couldn’t really ask for a better person for Sam to have around all the time. So long as they kept the face sucking a little more private next time. “She’s such a great soul, if you’re thinking about telling her that then I think you should”.

Sam’s smile pulled even wider, “thanks”.

“Any time Sammy” Danny smiled back before he was promptly pulled into a tight hug.

The walk to the plaza took a good twenty or so minutes, but despite it being November first in Nashville the weather was very mild. Just a jacket was enough to make the trip more than manageable, and Danny trailed behind Sam and his girlfriend as they held hands and wistfully guided the way.

Jake walked even further behind them, his hands in the front pockets of his black jeans with small slanted rips slashed through each knee. His matching black corduroy jacket and black scarf with one end thrown haphazardly over his shoulder, catching some of the ends of his hair underneath it, made him look like a lost black cat following a friendly looking family down the sidewalk.

Danny watched over his shoulder as instead of looking where he was going with his eyes, Jake followed by the sound of Sam’s chattering voice, allowing his attention to wander to the small street shops they passed on the way. Testing his attention, Danny halted his steps right in the line of Jake’s self carrying feet, and without a doubt Jake bumped right into him. Jake’s cheeks burned a bright rosy red as he embarrassedly registered that he had been zoning out.

“Something bothering you?” Danny asked as they continued to walk together so that they wouldn’t get left behind.

“Not really” Jake lied, Danny could tell by the way he nibbled on his bottom lip. It was the same thing he would do in the beginning, when they were first forming the band together and Danny had been added as their drummer. He and Jake would often find themselves the last ones in the garage back at home, too stubborn to call it quits for the night until they got what they’d been working on just right. Danny was nervous about adding his input at first, and Jake picked up on that, so instead of telling him when he thought something Danny was showing him wasn’t actually fitting he’d chew the hell out of his bottom lip. Eventually they learned to talk to each other without hurting the other’s feelings, and Danny wondered exactly when they had lost touch to the point Jake felt like he couldn’t tell him the truth anymore.

“Listen, if you wanted to talk some more about…” Danny trailed off, making sure they were still far enough back that Sam couldn’t be eavesdropping on their conversation. Not like he would be, he and Cheyenne were pretty caught up in their own world at the moment. “About last night, about the ki-”

“There’s nothing to talk about” Jake cut him off immediately. “It was late, you’d been drinking. Didn’t mean anything”.

Again, Danny found himself at a loss for the right words to properly describe how it was feeling. It wasn’t like it didn’t mean anything to him, but he couldn’t discern for certain what it was he had been thinking when he did it. Because he wasn’t really thinking, wasn’t really considering the implications of kissing his friend in his own bed, and how it might have affected Jake worse than it affected him.

“Right…” His words betrayed him once more, not accurately reflecting the conflicting emotions currently brewing inside him.

“I put the idea in your head. It’s my fault” Jake, the one who should rightfully be confused and upset, tried to console Danny.

What? That wasn’t right. Even if Danny probably wouldn’t have done it without Jake having asked him out before the party, he was still the one who initiated the kiss. He opened his mouth to argue his point, but just then they turned a corner and walked through a pair of iron gates covered in overgrown vines and trees so tall their canopies shadowed the entire courtyard underneath them.

“We’re here!” Cheyenne exclaimed, spinning around and animatedly throwing her arms open, the hem of her full skirt making a circle in the air and exposing her knee high boots underneath.

“Wow, this place is pretty cool” Danny commented as he looked around at the little plaza consisting of a small artisanal brewery that looked like it didn’t open until later in the day with a few metal tables and chairs sitting outside its doors, a dog bakery with its doors open and a sign that said all their Halloween treats were on sale now, and the metaphysical shop they had mentioned.

“Yeah we found it when looking for a place we could walk Rose to” she mentioned the bakery next door as Sam held open the door for everyone. A sign hung above the threshold that said ‘palm readings and tarot here’.

Once they all filed inside, Jake bee-lined for the corner that was labeled with a sign that said jewelry in fancy script. Danny couldn’t tell if it was because he was really that excited about scrounging for another one of his favorite pieces to add to his collection, or if it was because he wanted to get away from him.

Being a little out of his area of expertise, Danny stuck to following Sam and Cheyenne around, letting them show him little things here and there and even picking up a few items he found interesting for himself. Before long they left him to gather everything they had purposefully come here for, and Danny ended up walking around aimlessly until he found Jake standing by himself, staring at a pair of curtains and the small table behind them.

“Well aren’t you a pair of handsome young men” A woman suddenly emerged from somewhere behind the curtains, startling Jake. It took him a second to comprehend what she’d said, but when it clicked in his head that she had said pair he looked over his shoulder to see Danny standing at a safe distance behind him. “Do you two want to come in for a reading?”

“I’m alright, thank you” Jake kindly refused her, clutching the tiny brown paper bag containing the necklace he’d already bought in his hand against his chest.

“There you are, did you find it?” Sam asked when he too found Jake.

“Oh, another pretty one, must be my lucky day. How about a reading for you?” the woman from behind the curtain asked Sam next.

“I’ve already had one pretty recently” Sam answered her, but turned back to his brother. “Are you doing it Jake?”

“No I was just looking” Jake shook his head timidly, but Sam quickly decided otherwise.

“You two are definitely doing it!” Sam started to pull out his wallet and fish around for some cash. “Cheyenne and I did it last time we were here, and it’s seriously scary how accurate it is”.

“Come on Sam, you don’t have to pay for us” Danny tried to interject, but before he knew it he and Jake were both being pushed into the small dimly lit room and the woman was taking the bills from Sam with a smile.

“Alright you two have fun, Chey and I are going next door real quick”.

Jake was sat in the chair first, the woman across from him now taking out a large stack of wide cards and placing them onto the table in front of him. “State your full name and pick up the cards” she instructed.

”Jacob Thomas Kiszka” he peeped out, then having to use both hands, he picked up the deck.

“Alright Jacob, shuffle the cards until they feel right to you, and I will read your past, present, and future”. He did just as she said, splitting the cards in half and gingerly sliding them back through each other a few times before placing them back down. “Alright now you will split the deck into three mounts, join them together again, and then fan the cards out on the table”. Jake followed her direction without question, silently using his thumb to find a spot to cut the cards into three separate stacks, joining them back together, then spreading them across the whole width of the table.

“Perfect, go ahead and select three cards”.

With his selections made, she began to flip them over, revealing each intricately painted card one by one and simply reading them off. “Past: two of wands, present: the lovers, and future: the three of swords. Interesting”.

Jake studied the cards himself for a moment, his mind trying to grapple with how these three seemingly harmless pieces of cardstock could describe and determine his entire life.

“So the two of wands represents courage to start a new journey, one that often includes leaving home. Your creative boldness, focus and determination, granted you success in the past with this new journey”.

Jake’s eyes suddenly lit up as she spoke, and he pulled himself forward in the chair as his fingers came up to pinch at his chin in thought.

”The lovers is all about fated love, deep connections, and attraction. You’re faced with a temptation of the heart, Jacob. Considering it's your present card, it's safe to say that it can involve an existing relationship, but one that requires a choice to be made now. This choice may be difficult to make, but it should not be taken lightly because the ramifications of this choice will be long lasting”.

Danny wrapped his arms around his chest and shifted his weight onto his other knee from where he stood behind the table and waited for his turn. He didn’t want to selfishly assume this card could be representing of him, but considering everything that had come to light in the last twenty four hours it did feel eerily like someone was pointing a finger right at him.

“Now your future is a bit contradictory. You’ve got success, the prospect of love, but the three of swords here means sorrow and grief, it’s a deeply emotional card so I’d say with the decision you’re faced with now it’s possible you’ve already made up your mind, and unfortunately it’s going to lead to heartbreak”. She noticed the way Jake’s demeanor shifted again and the glow in his eyes faded. “If you want, I can have you pull an advice card, it may offer some insight in how to help resolve the conflict in your present and improve the results of your future?”

Jake seemed more hesitant now, like he was afraid the more cards she read for him, the drearer his outlook might become, but after careful consideration he decided it couldn’t exactly get much worse than predicted heartbreak so he nodded in acceptance. “Go ahead and shuffle the cards again dear”.

He reached forward and gathered up the cards, struggling with not being accustomed to their size and thickness to get them uniform again so he could attempt a mix. Just as he had them all straightened again and began to split the deck, a random card fell out onto the table with a light clack of the rounded corner hitting the wooden surface. Jake began to retrieve it to add back to the shuffle, but the woman reading slid her hand across and flipped it over to reveal what it said.

“Knight of cups, that’s exactly what you need”.

“What does it mean?” Jake eagerly questioned, impatient to receive her guidance.

“The knight of cups is the bringer of opportunity. You’re being given the chance to change your fate” she smiled, in turn pulling Jake back into her enchanting foretelling. “This is the most feminine of all the knight cards, which means you need to become in touch with your emotions and intuition. It may mean there’s a quest afoot for you, one you will succeed in by following your heart. Don’t be easily discouraged because if you ignore this message, it will mean you’re only avoiding the conflict in your life thus leading to disappointment”.

Jake fell back into the hold of the chair, staring down at all the cards before him in alarm and disbelief. Part of him wanted to take this all lightly, maybe the woman picked up on the looks he’d been giving Danny from across the shop? Who knows how long she had been hidden behind that curtain watching and gauging their body language before she lured them to her table. Another part of him though, perhaps the knight in him, didn’t want to not heed the warnings the mystical cards read about his future.

“Did this help at all?” She questioned as she collected everything together indicating that his session was up.

“Yeah-” Jake’s voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat to thank her before scooting the chair back to get up and allow Danny his turn.

Once Danny took his place, the woman offered him the deck of cards with a confident raise of her brows. “You remember what to do?”

Danny nodded and took the stack to begin his shuffle, noticing in the corner of his eye Jake had stayed to watch as well. “Daniel Robert Wagner”.

He made three nearly identical piles on the table, rejoined them back together, fanned them out, and with his middle finger slid three cards out.

“Past:” she began, flipping over the first card, “the moon. Present:” she flipped the next card over, “the ace of cups. Future: the lovers”.

Danny felt his heart begin the thunder in his chest. He and Jake pulled one of the same cards. Did that mean anything? He wanted to glance behind his shoulder, see if he could read on Jake’s face if he was thinking the same thing, but he stayed still and let her begin to explain.

“The moon symbolizes an illusion, maybe a misunderstanding on your part or a truth that you can not admit to yourself due to uncertainty and confusion. In the past you have allowed inner disturbances and self-deception to get the best of you, complicating your emotions. You’ve been guided down a dark path, one confined by old beliefs or ideas and that has clouded your ability to accept love”.

What the hell… Danny’s palms started to sweat and he tightened them into fists on top of his thighs underneath the table.

“You see here the moon reflects, indicating that there are two paths” she pointed to the ornately decorated picture on the face of the card, then her hand shifted to the one next to it. “Now the ace of cups symbolizes new emotional beginnings, perhaps a budding love. Considering it’s your present if there is an existing relationship that you’ve been questioning, then it’s safe to say that it’s okay to take it to the next level. If you accept this offer to let loose whatever emotional baggage you’ve been carrying, choose your new path” her hand finally came to rest over the last card, “then your soulmate is waiting for you on the other end”.

She felt like there wasn’t much to explain about that card again, judging by the look of pure astonishment on Danny’s face. He had really just been called out like that, right in front of Jake too.

“Any questions for me honey?”

Questions? Well he had a million of them. Did he tell the voices in his head to shut up and follow the advice of a random lady in a spiritual shop Sam brought him to of all places? Or did he try to rationalize how she couldn’t have looked so insightfully into the biggest problem he faced right now without more than a few minutes of hardly getting to know him?

“Umm, no. You’re very through” he sucked in a deep breath, trying to not seem too freaked out right now.

The woman laughed as she put her cards away, and placed her right elbow onto the table top, extending her hand out to ask for something. Danny blinked at her a few times before she clarified she wanted his hand. “Your left, it’s attached to your heart string”.

He cautiously placed his hand in her smaller, slightly older and wrinkled grasp. She examines the back on his hand first, tilting it from side to side to get a good look. “Long and slender, neat, but well worn”. She flipped it over now, exposing his palm to her insightful gaze.

“Here’s your life line, you see how it’s long and unbroken?” Using her pinky finger she traced a crease of his palm next to his thumb. “Means good strong genes, you're a healthy person, but it’s not very curved which means you’re cautious and can benefit in instilling more trust in others. Your fate line and sun lines are really defined” she pointed out two vertical lines next at the base of his palm. “You have endeavored for your success from the beginning and it has paid off. Now up here” she gently grabbed his wrist and repositioned his hand so that fingers were more flexed and exposing more creases. “These aren’t as defined, it looks like your heart line splits which means you have a tendency to put others before yourself and you are easily overshadowed by those around you. It reaches around between your fingers here which means you’re hiding or suppressing your emotions”.

Danny stared at all the little detailed shapes and crosses she pointed out, but honestly it just looked like an empty hand to him. She released her grip and he pulled his arm back to his side as he stood and they both thanked her again.

“You boys come back anytime. I’ll give you a discount on your next reading”.

They walked out of the shop together, both stuck in their heads as they tried to process everything they just heard about their fate.

“Hey! How was it?” Cheyenne called them over to where she and Sam had taken a seat at one of the tables in front of the brewery.

“It was… very insightful” Danny admit, not having expected to be so flustered by his first tarot reading.

“Jake?” Sam turned the question to him next, who had gone back to stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring down at his boots.

“You want to talk about it?” Danny offered softly. He knew at some point they probably should. There was no doubt they were both thinking it was their relationship she had continuously referred to during the readings.

“No” Jake replied, “want to go home”.

“Yeah, we’ve got to get this stuff in the fridge before we go pick Rose up from Josh’s place” Sam mentioned as he grabbed their small treat box and reached for his girlfriend’s hand with his other.

Tags: @kultavalo @scarletvanfleet @jenniferkiszka @freyjalw