Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana), also referred to as devil’s darning needle, is a native Clematis that just loves to climb and climb and climb. In fact, this woody perennial vine will climb over and through just about any damn thing fixed to the earth. But I absolutely adore it. And those spindly seed heads? They speak “summer” to me. 

"The doublet is a magical item, so it can fit and mould to Raphael’s body no matter his form or temper." Now I'm just picturing Raphael transforming in anger while wearing the doublet and his rage is momentarily stopped when he realizes that it transformed with him and wasn't even singed.

Like, I could be incredibly angry with someone, but if I suddenly realized that my dress had pockets in it I know darn well that I'd need to at least stop and take a moment to marvel at that discovery before even thinking about continuing on with my anger. 😅

I was literally working on something similar when you sent your message! I've attached the ask below I was initially responding to. Thank you for your message anon and hope you enjoy! x

"Also, the idea of Raphael showing off his new clothes is just- It just tickles me! I can see him preening and flaunting like a peacock because of Tav's gift. I'd honestly read a sequel piece about that, if you want to write it. I've kinda already fallen in love with the whole idea of a luxury magic tailor Tav that the initial prompt fill and response has created as well as that Tav's potential dynamic with Raphael (and other characters *looking at Gale and his sewing needle quip*) and would absolutely be down to read more of that from you! 👀"

Summary: Raphael is caught off guard by his recent gift from Tav, so he decides to pay his little mouse a visit.

Notes: Read A Perfect Fit, which inspired this continuation.

Link to my other work in the Devil's Archive.

Dressed to Kill 

Raphael stomped through the halls of the House of Hope, shedding his mortal skin. The doublet didn’t set fire when Raphael transformed, instead, it morphed with his growing size. The silk fabric soothed his ridged body, feeling like a warm embrace. Raphael suppressed a scream. Wretched mortal! The debtors scurried out of his path like rats, seeking the shadows for an ounce of solace from the blistering rage. 

He passed an open window and jolted to a halt. The blood-red light of Avernus caught the designs of his doublet, causing it to glimmer like diamonds. During his shift, the colour of his clothing changed. It now had a dark golden shimmer, the infernal embroidery a deep blue. He extended his arm, admiring the sleeve as he twisted it only slightly, and watched as the adornment reflected tiny devilish patterns onto the marble floors. The decorations moved, as if dancing. Another interesting, subtle detail.

Staring at these animations, Raphael’s breath calmed, his mind cleared. He stood taller, his head never held so high. Abruptly he spotted one of the debtors staring at him from his peripheral and lowered his hand, slowly turning to face them. Fire burned in Raphael’s eyes as he hissed, barring his sharp teeth. The debtor screeched before scurrying off to continue their meaningless eternal task. 

“If I catch just one more incompetent lackey idling about, I will impale your sorry souls on trees and leave you to rot. You are all interchangeable. Do not forget that.”

Raphael watched as the last debtor fled from his sight. He will not be caught off guard again. No. In fact… he will pay that creature a visit. 

–

Raphael materialised at the creature's camp in a swirl of flames and sparks, returning to his mortal disguise. 

The camp was quiet at this hour, the creatures asleep, separated into their individual makeshift tents. And what a ghastly camp it was, third-rate, at best. Miscellaneous equipment littered every corner, books lay discarded, shoddy clothes hung drying on trees, and the animals… When did these mortals domesticate owlbears? Savages.  

He slowly approached Tav’s tent, nestled towards the lake's shoreline. He parted the flap with an index finger and peeked inside. The creature was fast asleep, sharing her tent with that monstrosity Karlach. 

He watched them sleeping, so defenceless. He perked up at the thought. If he was so inclined, he could have easily ended their lives, consumed their souls before the tadpoles defiled them; all it would take is a snap of his fingers…

“Rise and shine, little mouse.” Raphael purred. 

Tav sprang up from her bed roll, clumsily readying a dagger from her sleeve. She held it out towards Raphael, one eye still closed, as she fought off the interrupted slumber. 

Karlach simply turned over in her bedding, yawning and stretching like a cat. She slowly opened her eyes, sitting upright when she spotted Raphael standing at the entrance.

He smirked in response, placing a hand on his hip.

“What the hell is this creep doing here?”

“Good evening to you too, Karlach. I am simply checking in on my prospective clients.”

Raphael bowed deeply, making sure to be as flamboyant as possible in his gesture.

“In the middle of the bloody night? Fuck off, devil.” 

Raphael slowly straightened himself, adjusting his sleeves. He aimed his cuffs towards the campfire, taking care to make sure the lighting was just right to highlight the devilish decorations. 

“Tut, tut, Karlach, language. If I wanted to hear such hideous sounds I’d speak with a lemure.”

Karlach leapt to her feet, the rickety infernal engine in her chest glowing brighter as she stared daggers at him.

“Karlach, please…” 

Tav raised a hand at Karlach, putting away her weapon. She rubbed away the rest of the sleep and focused on Raphael. Her face instantly lit up when she caught sight of his doublet. 

“You’re… wearing it?” Tav whispered. She brought her hands to her mouth, attempting to hide her flushed cheeks. 

“But of course! How could I resist such a delicious gift? It’s not often a devil like myself comes across a mortal with such curious tastes. Your attention to detail is…”

Raphael dramatically clasped his hands together, as if in a prayer. Yes, indeed. Thank the Gods up above for damning these poor creatures and sending them straight into his claws. 

“Superb!” 

“Hells, what have you done?” Karlach groaned, rolling her eyes. “I told you it was a bad idea.”

Tav gave Karlach a sidelong glance, narrowing her eyes. Raphael’s smile grew, devouring the creature’s disapproval and embarrassment. Almost as scrumptious as a soul.

“You are quite the seamstress. What else have you been creating on your adventures, hmm? I wonder, what would be the price for another item such as this? Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement?” 

Tav’s mouth hung open at his words.

“I-I-uh, didn’t think that far ahead. Let me sleep on it.”

“Don’t keep me waiting, little mouse. You had my curiosity, but now… you have my full attention.”

Raphael raised his arms out wide, like a peacock strutting their finest feathers. He laughed as he surrounded himself in infernal flames. He had truly stumbled upon his greatest prize, his secret weapon to uniting the Nine Hells. Raphael would reach his target soon, that was for certain, but oh, oh yes... he would look hellishly chic in his pursuits. He would turn heads, devils and mortals alike.

couldn't sleep, burning

I saw beauty through your eyes, and

is it electric?

hidden in devil's darning needles,

can't sleep, making it to the dawn.

I see beauty through your eyes,

when you show me mythomania,

egomania, and driven knowledge lust,

it's tortoise as it's the missing Manuela,

it's turquoise as your eyes look at me down

in the college hall.

you show me,

when the walkingstick isn't there,

suddenly, here it is,

Phasmatodea,

you show me what you see

'cause you are going to see

everything that there is.

I see through your eyes,

it doesn't make me jump or scream,

squirm and wash it off until the skin bleeds,

because I look at what you see,

and inside turquoise eyes,

beauty heals.

So is there, like, a limit to what *kind* of stitches you can take out with a seam ripper? When I try to mend something, usually one of two things happens--either I try to yank a big snarl through the fabric, tear it, and have a new place to fix, which I usually do by just sewing the edges of the hole *to* the snarl since it's already there; OR if I'm being especially painstaking I will manage to catch the huge snarls *before* pulling them through, and then I pass the next few stitches through the snarl to hold it together and down and keep all the loops from unraveling. In either case, while I can usually manage to keep the outside of the garment looking reasonably clean the inside doesn't so much have seams as it has keloids--basically a big running knot of stitches looped back on each other, that I just keep doubling back on and stabbing until the needle won't go through it anymore because that's the only way I know to secure it.

Am I just stuck with them? Or if I ever learned to sew properly, would I be able to unpick those mends and redo them? (Or, more likely, get an actual seamstress to redo them?)

(If it matters--most of the garments I've tried to mend by actually sewing are jersey knit; woven fabrics I usually just use those iron-on patches on the inside.)

Oh boy JERSEY. It's a lovely spoilt brat devil of a fabric. I love it so but it's very prone to problems. I myself have absolutely done the overlapping row-on-row of raddled fabric bunched into a seam. I'm going to go backwards, starting with the assumption that holes will happen, before talking about unpicking methods that might prevent the formation of holes to begin with.

Because I mean, sometimes it is all such a pain in the ass that I just sew a new seam further into the fabric and cut the old seam off with scissors, if that won't mess up the thing I'm repairing. Alas, it often will mess it up, and then getting fancy is required.

The simplest answer is to get a stretchy fusible interfacing that will work like an iron-on patch. Your search terms here are "knit fusible interfacing" and "weft fusible interfacing"; you can buy it off the bolt at fabric stores. I use it when my t-shirts get random little holes in the fabric and I want to prevent them from getting any larger--I just cut a little circle of interfacing and iron it onto the back of the fabric. You could cut pieces big enough to cover your keloid areas, iron them down, and then sew through the interfacing with more confidence.

It is possible to darn knit garments, using thread to catch the loops that have been dropped and create a bridge of new stitches that hold it all together. People absolutely do darn T-shirts and fine fabrics like jersey; I personally only do it for knitted items that are extremely precious to me and have large yarn and a big gauge, because I find it a pain in the ass. There's traditional darning where you catch the loops at the perimeter of the hole, then create a woven web of threads over the gap, and Swiss darning, where you duplicate the knitted structure.

A lot of the problems with knit fabric originate with the needles used to sew them. Ordinary sharp needles have the unfortunate habit of piercing and breaking the threads of the fabric they're sewing, and those broken threads can begin to unravel and create holes. If the thing you're unpicking was originally sewn with sharp needles, you might be SOL and have to accept the holes as inevitable. Avoiding this problem requires ball point needles, whose tips have been carefully blunted so they merely push threads aside as they move through fabric. This is way more likely to be a problem with sewing machines, since they punch down with more force than handsewists generally use to push the needle through the fabric, but, you might benefit by doing your hand-mending with ballpoints.

So, with unpicking, one major secret is serger or overlock stitches. These are made by machines that use three or four threads all at once to completely encase the seam in thread. They're used a lot in modern sewing because they're quick, easy, and make garments machine-washable. Hoowever, if you want to unpick the seam, you might find yourself thinking, "Where do I start?"

There is a secret to it. Here's a tutorial on the process, and here's another. Once you know which threads to focus on, the whole process gets much easier.

Which finally brings us around to unpicking seams, full stop.

The biggest problem with unpicking seams in knit fabrics is the extreme likelihood that you will not just catch the thread of the seam, but the thread of the fabric itself. In that case, your best bet is actually to turn the item out to its "good" or "right" side, pull the seam gently apart until the stitches are visible, and carefully pick them out from there. Here's a tutorial. This works with seams made by serger, sewing machine, or by hand. You just have to be wary of cutting the fabric itself when you're coming in to cut the stitch.

Whew! I don't know about you, but now I don't feel like sewing again for a week. (Lies. I will sew again after lunch.) This is as much as I think is useful. If you have more specific questions, I think I'd need to see photographs of the thing to give any more helpful answers.

Weirdly specific request alert

Could we get Jack horner with an S/O who is obsessed with bugs, like entomologist. As a bug person Jack strikes me at the type of guy to like beetles and stick bugs. I have no reason behind this

Ooooo makin me do some research for this one anon!

Just gonna start with the fact Jack seems okay with bugs at least of the magical variety. Ex: Gemini he even held the lil guy before he knew he was more then a 'normal' bug

Plus if you collect em (dead or alive doesn't mattet) he'll be so supportive cause he collects stuff to!!!!! It's just another thing to bond over!

Loves to sit in silence with you doing his own thing while your tending to your bugs/reading a book about bugs/anything at all bug related

He'll even give you gifts to help your hobby grow! Not to mention listen to anything you have to say about them AND even do some research of his own! So then you two can talk about bugs more together!!!!

Now with all this support there is a single bug Jack has to hard stop at. No owning it, talking about it, and if it gets in the house it's to be killed on sight. No catch and release, or adding to your collection in anyway, nah it's on sight!

What's the bug you may be asking? Rolly pollys. Why? Who knows but he and that bug type? Mortal enemies. Doesn't matter if you try another name like pill bug, armadillidiidae, or some other nickname besides roli poli. He aaaaallways knows and always nopes out

Now those two bugs you mentioned him liking? Beetles I can definitely agree to! All those types that are so big and diffrent types having different advantages? Definitely enjoys em

Stick bugs tho? Honestly I'm not gonna say he doesn't but I'm not seein much for why he would either soooo your hc? Cannon. Plus apperantly stick bugs can be called 'Devil's darning needles' so do that with what you will 🤷‍♂️

Clematis 2

Meaning: Clematis. Intelligence, ingenuity, a bit of artifice, a traveller, a persistent flower that is always climbing towards the sun

Description:

Clematis is a flower genus with many different varieties, but mostly it's associated with flowering vines. There are several names, but relevantly, it is Queen of the Vines and Traveller's Joy, both of which very well fit a character who is both leader of a group of misfits, rebels, and monsters, and for someone with a healthy spirit of adventure and wanderlust (she spent time travelling with a circus!

It's also got some hellish symbolism - one variant is "Devil's Darning Needle" - due to it's sometimes pointy and very vine-typical potential as being invasive and crowding out other plants. And, well, she's heir to a bloody and tyrannical destiny, and even if she's definitely the hero, she's still got that deadly potential looming beneath the surface.

In Victorian Flower Language, Clematis' tendency to thrive in difficult circumstances and climb high led to it being associated with cleverness and intelligence, and was a gift to symbolize wit. A fitting flower to someone who's best and sharpest weapon is her mind, and who is always fast with a good idea even in incredibly dire circumstances. If there's a single trait I'd use to define her, it's definitely genius and invention. But Clematis was also associated with poverty, and, well, she grew up the daughter of a blacksmith, and while she's diplomatic and educated, she's not exactly posh, often found in working clothes and covered in oil stains.

In modern settings they're more generally associated with good luck for travelers, and ambition and aspiration. And, well, ambition is something she has in spades - she's on the path to literally ascend to godhood!

(The picture was taken from this site!)

Is there a reason you chose the bugs you did or was it like a pick what was pleasing to the design

answering this before i clock into work but YES there is !!!! this is going to be pretty long since i have genuine thought out reasons so Bare With Me

there’s not specifics for species but for the specific bugs as a whole i rely a lot on symbolism for each individual character. you’ll find a lot of intentional symbolism in my art with insects and flowers and things just mostly because i find it fun.

moon’s choice for a ladybug came pretty easy to me just considering she already has red incorporated into her design with her marking and i thought it was neat. ladybugs very frequently symbolize protection and good luck. thought it was fitting.

pebbles i knew i wanted to be a pill bug. pill bugs are isopods and not insects which is why it’s called the arthropoda au and NOT the insecta au like originally planned. i wanted this and because him being able to curl up like that seemed fitting and also because hes just like me for real and so has the horrid hpd-bpd combo for days . anyways.

pill bugs are for new beginnings, hope, and change. the arthropoda au is set shortly after the end of the rivulet campaign and thus after pebbles collapses and though it WILL end happy i do want to say that pebbles has. Issues. and needs to get over himself to a degree . he’s gonna be a bit screwed up for a bit though. its fine itll be fine hooray for nsh

speaking of nsh… ouuu he was hard. i genuinely had trouble with him and in the end i had to go steadfast with beetle imagery. i briefly considered a deathwatch beetle due to its ties in folklore which you can read about here if you want ? but ultimately i ended up with a figeater beetle because Green. thematically i think if i’d gone with a deathwatch beetle at all it would’ve been given to sliver of straw. beetles in general however (unless they have other symbolic ties that disregard this) are typically for change and life’s essence, which i felt was fitting for nsh’s role in thw arthropoda au.

butterflies are a mixed bag due to their ties with both death and life as well as change and growth. there’s a lot of different meanings so i ended up cherry picking with seven red suns on this? but i went with the themes of hope, freedom and love. choosing a mourning cloak butterfly was actually a Process because initially it’d been a peacock butterfly. then i switched to a blue morpho because i find their intentional by design flight patterns incredibly interesting (and the underlining theme of difference and isolation that all the iterators seem to face) but mourning cloak was more fitting, considering how srs seems to be.

a dragonfly for unparalleled innocence seemed the most fitting. especially a butterfly dragonfly considering the previously mentioned mixed bag of butterfly meanings in relation to death (death of the relationships around her in her case) . part of the reason i chose dragonflies is because of the “devil’s darning needles” thing, which is derived from the superstition that dragonflies may sew up the eyes, ears or mouth of a sleeping child, usually one that has misbehaved. and i just …………… hough, you know? i also like the irony of the general symbolism of dragonflies being adaptability because of her respective role in the arthropoda au.

i know sos was lined up before grey wind but i want to do them first because there’s a bit more to say about sos.

anyways. moths are ALSO a mixed bag and similarly to butterflies they frequently have ties to life and death and change due to their life cycles. moths are usually associated with death more often than butterflies are (which was always odd to me, since butterflies are known to be attracted to dead organisms to drink the fluid from them) , but i didn’t touch on these with grey wind. instead i went for a less conventional theme from moths which is wisdom and self-knowledge. again a play into their role in this au.

FINALLY we get to sliver of straw and … ho boy.

first off cicadas represent resurrection, immortality, and spiritual realization. pretty sure there’s also spiritual ecstasy in there too. this is very much something tied to sos in this au. i’d argue that it ends up as a theme with a lot of fix-its involving sliver but considering the fact i’m not horrifically far into the world of rain world fix-its i couldnt tell you for absolute certain. i Will say that that is certainly a theme here though! more in a philosophical, metaphorical way than anything literal, but i think if you look at it the right way it’d be literal. there’s a reason its slugcat colony has lived and prospered the way it has.

you might have to bear with me because i don’t know how many people are into chinese mythology or enjoy religious symbolism in the same way i do but part of the cicada choice was influenced by the golden cicada. my mythos knowledge is a little rough because my hyperfixation has came and went and i’ve still been combing through fengshen yanyi instead of anything else for the past half year so pardon if my information given is rough and PLEASE correct me if im flat out wrong but.

if you know the journey to the west you’re most likely at least vaguely familiar with it. the golden cicada is considered an “antagonist” as it showed disrespect towards the buddha-fa. as such it ended up banished to the mortal world as punishment and had to suffer 10 incarnations in a row. one of these such incarnations was the monk tang sanzang, or tripitaka, who was the monk that travelled in the journey to the west. y’know, with sun wukong. jttw is arguably one of the most influential pieces of media i’d say considering its long standing effect on modern media even to this day and considering my adoration for religious symbolism and insects also i really Don’t think it’s a surprise that this ended up being my reason for the robot regarded as a messiah for Literally Dying in canon is a cicada.

if you got this far thank you for listening to my autism rant . i have literally 3 minutes until work but i appreciate that . heart. if asked to elaborate on anything here i WILL as long as it isnt arthropoda lore. if it is will simply grin and say something silly and be intentionally obtuse

Materia medica #1: Devil's Darning Needle

Scientific name: Clematis virginiana; Clematis terniflora

Family: Ranunculaceae

Common name: Devil's darning needle; Old Man's Beard; Virgin's Bower; Woodbine; Traveller's Joy

Description: A vigorous vine bearing flowers with four petals. After flowering in late summer or early fall, the fruit develops into a clump long fluffy strings. Several species can easily be confused, C. virginiana can be identified by having trifoliate leaves. Found near edges: fence rows, stream banks, hedges. When cultivated, may be trained onto trellises, but otherwise will overtake other plants.

Toxicity notes: Poisonous. Do not eat. Sap may cause blisters on skin.

Magical notes: No planetary associations, though one source connects it to Venus/Freyja. UPG: I would call this a saturnine plant due to its choking tendencies, poisonous qualities, and association with the "Old Man."

Folklore notes: A similar Clematis species found in Europe is said to have shaded the Virgin Mary while she traveled, and this lore may have been transferred to the North American species. Others associate it with witchcraft and the devil, though I can't find an explanation for this beyond its habit of smothering other plants. The downy fruit is said to look like a beard, perhaps inspiring the devil connection.

Craft uses: I haven't found anyone else's magical uses, so the following is all UPG. I see binding as the primary use for this plant, especially in baneful workings. For instance, a "stop gossip" spell may include the creation of a poppet that is tied up or the mouth sewn shut using the vine. It may be an asset in workings dealing with the more malevolent side of a love goddess, as it brings together the juxtaposed views of this plant.

[I hope you enjoyed my first materia medica entry. I'm hoping to show not just information on individual plants, but also how you can build your herbal knowledge. If you have any suggestions for what I should add to these entries, let me know!]

Sources

North Carolina Plant Toolbox

Wikipedia

Growsonyou

Virginia Wildflowers

Flowers and Flower Lore

please give me your coolest bugs (no spider pictures please i'm scare, but spid concepts are doable) i deeply respect your opinion on bugs, lunars, and bug lunars

OH BOY OH BOY

might I interest you in

Wasps from the Synoeca genus, often called warrior wasps or drumming wasps. They have one of the most painful stings in nature (as recognized by Justin Schmidt, rest in peace you incredible badass). But even cooler than that, they have this incredible, unsettling threat display that sounds like a marching army.

Or maybe Sphecius speciosus, the Eastern cicada killer! They are enormous, very cool-looking parasitic wasps that only prey on cicadas. Despite their looks, they’re pretty chill. Males are aggressive and might even chase you, but CAN’T STING and are literally just banking on you going “oh god a huge wasp!!!” and being too afraid to fuck with them.

Or maybe fireflies in the Photuris genus?? The females, specifically, because they have a fascinating hunting behavior wherein they imitate the flashes of other female firefly species specifically to lure and hunt the males.

GET STICK BUGGED, IDIOT. Not only are they huge and cool, some stick bugs can change color?? Some have hidden wings with garishly loud colors that they flash at predators like a fucking jumpscare?? Some REFLEXIVELY BLEED ON YOU because their blood tastes and smells so nasty??? Power move.

The White Witch, Thysania agrippina. Look at that beast. I don’t know shit about it other than it has the longest recorded wingspan in Lepidoptera and it already has an Exalted PC name.

Have you considered :) dragonfly :)

Dragonflies are some of the most efficient predators in nature, catching more than 90% of the prey they pursue. (For reference, peregrine falcons, the fastest birds in the whole fucking world, have a success rate of 47%.) They have crazy acrobatic sex and have wicked cool names like “snake doctors” and “eye-snatchers” and “devil’s darning needles.” They are beautiful, terrifying murder machines. And I love them.

INTAGLIO - THE DEVIL'S DARNING NEEDLE

There was a large, amber faceted glass stone that came from a brooch my mum used to have and gave to me to play with when I was younger, and I decided I wanted to try to use it for some larger intaglio. Automatically I went for the image of a wasp, just because it is an insect that is very aggressive and attacks at the slightest prompt, but upon further research the narrative behind it is more related to desire and to take action, which doesn't really apply to anything I'm doing. When doing some research into the mythology and stories around certain bugs, I thought the dragonfly was a good fit not only in terms of physically fitting on to the face of the glass, but also the narrative behind dragonflies. One term for dragonflies among old wive's tales is The Devil's Darning Needle. Within European and English mythologies and stories, it has quite a sinister character, related to pain and evil and the Devil, with some stories saying that they were used by the Devil to weight down people's souls. I love the visuals that the term The Devil's Darning Needle evokes, and I wanted to include the icon of the needle in the way it was set. Originally I intended to make a setting for it, making needles that run along each side of the stone connected by a thread woven round the outside. In the end, though, I didn't feel it was very visually effective and decided to abandon it. Later, I had an idea to solder a bunch of sewing needles together to create a type of nest for the glass to sit inside as a brooch or a pendant. I bought 3 packets of different sizes sewing needles from Daiso, and used a pair of flat nose pliers to carefully bend the needles into curves. Some of them did snap, but I managed not to stab myself at all. I then drew a basic idea of how the needles would connect, and got some silver solder that I was able to use with my soldering torch. This was my first time soldering and it proved to be very fiddly and difficult, with the low melting temperature of the solder meaning I would accidentally remelt some areas and it would fall apart. Eventually I was able to have the nest complete and the glass fit really well. Using my rotary tool as well as some sandpaper, I cleaned the scorch marks from the needles and tidied up the solder points. I then attached a small little loop made from sterling silver and threaded a chain through for a pendant. This piece was made driven by thoughts around medical transitioning, the liberation that comes from it but the violence that comes from prejudice surrounding the physical transitional process. The trauma that comes from medical transitioning never comes from the transitional process itself, but comes from others in the verbal and physical violence, scapegoating, and political abuse. The pursuing of medical transition is never, ever off the cuff or within a short time frame, not only does it take many years for people to come to this conclusion but it also takes years for any movement to happen in a medical system that stonewalls and gatekeeps many of the people who need this service in order to stay alive. For a group of people that are so often seen as in collusion with the Devil, we darn ourselves back together in order to survive.

Richard A. Kirk

"The Devil’s Darning Needle"

Ink on paper, 2007

A Riff on Infatuation

I have fallen in love with dragonflies, vicious predators that make me look a fool. I watch for dragonflies, and feel like a fool, transfixed by their buzzing and spangling. How those devil’s darning needles keep spangling! I love to watch them hover and flicker but summer light will soon begin to flicker, and the riverbank’s vibrant jewels will fade. Will my infatuation begin to fade when…

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Orange lichens, in sun-like clusters, entomb the Rockface wall a sheer ascent from the waterline into glassy viscous green—- the plummet from skyward to lake face passes breathless squadrons of Dragon Flies —devil's Darning Needles threading the air where Wolf Spiders bivouac in web-castles, thin Draculas to their insect host each hairy mantle black with burrow moats at high watermark; yet unforeseen are the funnel lairs for bull snakes each water thrasher gracing the rotund, behemoth Rock lunging like a Spirit Presence up from this watery chalice.

Orange Lichens, by Paul Cameron Brown. As featured in Prussian Blue, 2010 edition.

[ HC V: FC5 ] How Mercy received the 'WRATH' marking by John Seed and lost her sobriety.

  Mercy's heart still pounded just thinking about that night - the one that broke her after three years of sobriety. All it took was one night with the youngest Seed brother, John The Baptist - the Devil incarnate. 

  Mercy could only recall everything from that fateful night when she tried to escape from John's hunters. They caught her, bound her to a chair and left her there in darkness until his arrival. When he finally entered the room, Mercy heard creaking metal doors and faint clicks of his shoes as they hit the concrete floor. But what shook Mercy to her core was hearing John hum one of his twisted melodies...never before had something sent such primal dread through her body as this moment did. Even all those times running scared from Jacob's Judges paled next to facing off against a predator who'd already won before he started chasing you down.

  Each step John took towards her amplified every stroke of terror within Mercy who was left feeling like no more than trapped prey facing an unrelenting predator who had already won long before starting their hunt. Mercy's breaths were coming in short, shallow gasps as she watched John approach the work table. He placed his metal toolbox down and started talking loudly about his family and the abuse he endured from his adoptive guardians, all while she sat there bound to that darn chair. For once, Mercy remained silent beside him - a rare occurrence for someone like her who always had something witty or sarcastic ready to say.

  The moment he mentioned Joseph's name, something changed within John. His dominance shifted into pure malevolence right before her eyes. Suddenly he leaned over her chair, hands planted on either side of her body. Mercy felt like a rabbit caught in a snare...utterly helpless with no chance of escape from the man who held her captive both physically and mentally.

“ I'm going to teach you courage. Teach you how to say yes so you can confront your weaknesses.. You will swim across an ocean of pain and emerge... free. For only then can you truly begin to atone.”

  Mercy tried with all her might to suppress her emotions, knowing that if John sensed her terror or weakness it would be all over. He'd break every bone in her body and devour her alive without another thought. John moved his hands to her chest, slowly unbuttoning each one of the buttons on the shirt she wore. His cold fingers brushed against her skin, causing Mercy's breath to come out in shallow pants as a sense of dizziness took hold. His smirking face and soft humming only served to heighten the pure fear coursing through her veins until she felt like she was sinking into an abyss of darkness. The sudden sound of a tattoo gun jolted Mercy awake from this nightmare. When he leaned closer to whisper in her ear while gently moving his fingers through her hair, it was like nothing else mattered except for the thunderous pounding of Mercy's heart that drowned out everything else around them.

  “ You won't regret this. I promise”

Mercy's body was trembling with fear and adrenaline as she felt John's thumb gently brushing against her bottom lip. It was an odd sensation, one that made her want to both pull away from him...When the needle pierced her skin, sending searing waves of pain throughout every inch of flesh. She wanted to scream - beg for him to stop or do anything at all to make it end. But all she could manage was a tiny sob escaping her throat. John continued working on the tattoo contently while ignoring her cries and pleas for mercy - each jab of the needle causing more agony than the last. And when Mercy finally slipped out of consciousness from it all, the last thing she saw was his wicked grin...filled with nothing but satisfaction at what he'd done to her

  As Mercy slowly regained consciousness, she felt the cold prickly sensation of the ground beneath her and the stench of John all around her in that bunker - it was so awful that she could barely keep from gagging. All she wanted to do was cry and scream out for help, but no tears would come. Her throat was parched and dry...just like her eyes were after those long nights spent dwelling on John's ghostly presence around her.

  No matter how hard she tried to resist or forget everything that had happened, paranoia slowly crept into Mercy's mind more every night. She'd hear his voice whispering behind her in corners or imagine seeing his figure moving towards her out of some darkened hallway.

  It wasn't much longer before Mercy started drinking again after three whole years of being, just to numb herself to the feelings of terror and agony brought on by memories of John's touch - his face, his voice. Anything to ease the pain now lodged deep within her psyche...anything just so she could feel safe again.

Baby's breath VS Clematis 2

First, let's talk about the Baby's breath

Meaning and why this flower was chosen: Baby's breath is used in combination with other flowers and rarely on its own. It's associated with gentleness, which fits this character well. Description: This character is one of the most loyal characters of all time. He is sweet, gentle, and kind. He's dedicated himself to his loved ones and would both kill and die for them. He has an intense curiosity about the world, being from a fae realm himself. He often doesn't understand the way of the world he has found himself in. The thing he understands the least is how humanity does not automatically share their feelings, their love, their devotion. He is unafraid to fight for that which he loves, but he hates meaningless violence. He is canonically nonbinary, polyamorous, and aromantic

Check his post here

Now, let's talk about the Clematis 2

Meaning: Clematis. Intelligence, ingenuity, a bit of artifice, a traveller, a persistent flower that is always climbing towards the sun Description: Clematis is a flower genus with many different varieties, but mostly it's associated with flowering vines. There are several names, but relevantly, it is Queen of the Vines and Traveller's Joy, both of which very well fit a character who is both leader of a group of misfits, rebels, and monsters, and for someone with a healthy spirit of adventure and wanderlust (she spent time travelling with a circus! It's also got some hellish symbolism - one variant is "Devil's Darning Needle" - due to it's sometimes pointy and very vine-typical potential as being invasive and crowding out other plants. And, well, she's heir to a bloody and tyrannical destiny, and even if she's definitely the hero, she's still got that deadly potential looming beneath the surface. In Victorian Flower Language, Clematis' tendency to thrive in difficult circumstances and climb high led to it being associated with cleverness and intelligence, and was a gift to symbolize wit. A fitting flower to someone who's best and sharpest weapon is her mind, and who is always fast with a good idea even in incredibly dire circumstances. If there's a single trait I'd use to define her, it's definitely genius and invention. But Clematis was also associated with poverty, and, well, she grew up the daughter of a blacksmith, and while she's diplomatic and educated, she's not exactly posh, often found in working clothes and covered in oil stains. In modern settings they're more generally associated with good luck for travelers, and ambition and aspiration. And, well, ambition is something she has in spades - she's on the path to literally ascend to godhood!

Check her post here

:The Devil’s Darning Needle:

A dark abyss,

upon which the offering of petals pale,

ripple the mirror

The Devil’s darning needle,

propelled by soulful sighs,

winds boughs,

shaking loose a gravitational spiral,

where He hovers in shallow graves,

unearthing hair and bones with archaeological precision,

soot-tipped wings stirring aging sediment phantoms,

His body lifting earthbound cyclones,

driving debris through psychomanteum stone

Dusted arachnid filament,

long threaded within the cypress eye,

where the darkness bites,

the hell-tongue pull

spinning ghost wires,

unhinging a cabinet of curious perfumes:

a heart of sutured leather hide,

a mandible of corvid cadence,

a vow fashioned from river polished bone

Oh, messenger of afterbreath,

where the water witch conjures

upon the air of moony weather

Her: a death meal praying

a tinny voice of triangular overlapping chimes

His hot breath panting

the reverse of the pane,

the chilled glass etching His baritone howl,

His curse pleading of

fingers, fabric, flesh,

and as He harnesses Death’s patience,

tapping out Her headstone epithet,

syllables of disbelief and spatial frustration,

the ground below Him ignites,

Her candle extinguishing,

Her countenance surrendering a smile,

as the pricking of Her finger draws pomegranate seeds…

{We’re going home}

Juniper Francis Lee, 10.16