LIFE CARVER.

# lncanting. independent , SELECTIVE oc . established circa 2015 . mutuals only . 18+ for dark themes , body horror & death . appeased by creecher { 36 , she/her , est. }

a practice in : feminine power . memento mori . rot giving way to life . caring for others , & mending the hurt .

links : carrd // pinterest // playlist // promo

other blogs : @crvptd // @manebloom // @funiculiholiday // @tendercoded

more links under cut .

behind traffic and yelling , beyond the raucous cacophony of boiler city's afternoon .. if one listened very closely , they might hear it .

melody spinning on the afternoon , motes of dust drifting like a warm snow , even now , even here , in the depths under it all . nobody ever knew that she was there . nobody would ever know what she did or why she did it . fingertips brushed rough surface , drawing patterns , and in the glow of sunlight above , in this moment

what tarot card are you ?

The Devil

noel drifted in and out of slumber , curled up beneath several blankets , a book long - forgotten in her lap . every time she closed her eyes , nearly dropped off entirely , she could hear that happiness . the sound of voices she'd almost forgotten . the look of faces , now only blinks of color and smeared features .

it felt like it was so long ago , now .

but an unease tethered her back to the waking world . the night was quiet , even for boiler city . she half wished she was somewhere else right now , having a drink . people - watching . impressing some wide - eyed idiot from out of town with her broomriding skills .

she pulled her glasses off , rubbing at her eyes . a hand pawed at the nightstand , over an incense burner , another stack of books , her crystal necklace , her phone . she lifted the last up , squinting at the time displayed . not yet the wee hours of the morning . the night was young . thumbing through her contacts , she scrolled a long list of numbers . querents , a smattering of family , a series of numbers that were all oddly similar to one another , save for being off by like a single number . what the fuck is that all abou --

n'ehh , nevermind . that sounded like a lot of effort . and for once in her life , she didn't feel like putting that effort in .

she slipped her phone back onto the nightstand and rolled over , pulling a linen closet's worth of blankets up over herself .

her mind veered to mathilda , wondering how the spirit was doing . she was a tough thing , glad to hold her own . and then her mind veered to anton , and annie , and the proposition of drinking and sharing stories , and ..

.. yeah , right .

noel was starting to have the feeling that she was thinking way too much about what the cards had said . maybe she hadn't been sleeping well , lately . maybe her brain was loopy . everything is superficial . there's comfort in the shallows . sometimes , the depths are too deep to climb out of , before it's too late .

a hand reached out of the blanket pile and clicked the beside light off , her room going dark , save for the dim striping of streetlights , beyond the blinds .

@emptyzone called :

[I know the train station thing was an analogy but that doesn't sound so bad as a meeting spot. There's one on the outskirts of Boiler City that I'm about to pass by. You know, the one with the statue of some random guy with graffiti all over it?]

Shockingly calm texts from Anton to her.

[What do you want in return. I guess. It's fair, regardless of what's going on.] Jarring. Again, absolutely jarring stuff from the guy who hollered 'IT'S HAPPY HOUR' on the top of his lungs so damn loud, constantly making noise whenever he moved. [I'll cough up like. Nearly anything.]

she rolls a half - drank glass of red wine in one hand , thumb leisurely tapping along the keyboard of her phone .

[The train station is perfect. As for what I want, I need you to clarify something.]

a moment's pause , before the next message goes through .

@scriptdeviant called :

❝ Miss Noel ... ! ❞ Amy practically squeaked. She'd quietly admired the other from afar, but couldn't think of a perfect excuse to approach ... Until now! Offering a gift bag full of sweets and a handmade, tarot-theme-card she awkwardly looked to the side. ❝ I really admire your work — ! ... I-I'm also a fortune teller. I hope you have a good Heart Day! ❞

that is a tiny pink hedgehog . no , wait -- noel's seen this one , before . she didn't know the little girl's deal , but she also hadn't expected the child to offer her a valentine's day present .

forget the plethora of thirsty love letters and petty curses that had stuffed her mailbox to bursting on this sappiest of holidays . this right here ? this was a truly heartfelt little present .

❛ you sweet thing , ❜ she replied . ❛ i didn't know that boiler city was blessed with another diviner . ❜ and here she was , without a proper present to give in return . but she reached into her bag all the same , pulling out a polished , pink gem . a little rose quartz heart .

a tissue was coolly pulled from the nearby box , offered gently and taken by a quick , trembling hand . with a sob , the ugliest snork on record trumpeted through the immediate vicinity , startling a couple of the other casino - goers . noel was used to it , by now . with money exchanged , she offered a little wiggling of fingers in farewell to her latest querent .

the witch tucked the folded bills into her cleavage like a cheap floozy and peered down at the trio of cards that still lay on the tabletop . the three of swords , the reversed king of pentacles , the tower . no man's money was worth enduring the abuse , she'd told them . get out . before he buys you the nicest coffin in boiler city for your trouble .

sometimes , people needed to hear things that they didn't want to . anyone with enough liquor in them and a chip on their shoulder from their latest poker win thought it a parlor trick . something so novel . maybe the cards would tell their future . tell them that they're going to live a long life , they'll be exceedingly wealthy , they'll live happily ever after . and oh , how the color would drain from their faces when she'd tell them that they were making their workplace environment a living hell for their coworkers . that their husband was going to find out about them cheating , if they didn't stop . that their luck was finite , and so , so prone to running out ..

the ones that cried and the ones that got angry understood it the most .

with a practiced hand , noel scooped up the cards , shuffling them back into her deck , its gilded edges rubbed bare and corners bent from years upon years of use . the crisp sound of them riffled against the chatter and merriment , nearby .

she was so distracted by it , for a moment , that it startled her when one of the cards was flipped out of the deck by her half - conscious shuffling . it flicked into her face , somersaulted and fluttered its way clumsily to the ground . with a click of her tongue , she reached down and

and ..

with careful and slow movement , she picked up the card like it had sharp teeth and threatened to bite . held between index and thumb , she observed it . she acknowledged it . at dawn , at dusk , a lifeless body lay on an empty shoreline . heartlessly driven through their back was a sword , glinting cold against an overcast sky . one , and another , and another .

eight . nine . ten .

it was a card that she'd seen plenty of times , but despite familiarity , every reading that contained it had been ..

.. unpleasant .

mathilda opened an eye from beneath the counter . she couldn't see the witch's face from her current angle , but the cauldron could see how noel idly fidgeted with one of her necklaces , rolling the small , rough crystal that adorned it with trembling fingertips .

was it an afterthought from the previous reading ? it couldn't be . but the cards never tossed something out like that unless they needed to be heard .

a casual glance was given toward all of that caution tape , barring the way to the lower level of the casino .