#False Sphinx

[fr-familiar-bracket]

[mossrotts]

Zifra for @mitzuliina! what a neat design, and it was a pleasure figuring out how to draw them in a heraldry style.

[frtools]

New Flash Sale: False Sphinx

A new flash sale has been discovered for False Sphinx

Incapable of riddles. Don't pet its tummy. 6.5/10

Game database: click here Marketplace link: click here

Treasure: 15000 12000

[clumsypuppy]

(guy who has never played cotl) haha au time

[macaron-n-cheese]

I LOVE ABIGAIL

"[That's fake as hell bro]" - Abigail Adams

Epic ladies against fake news since 1785

[bisexuals-agenda]

I love this so dang much! ❤️

hear me out.....

Sander Bugs...... it's them but it's bugs..............

does anyone share my vision-

im not the best at drawing insects, so in case it's hard to tell: Virgil is a spider, Roman is a butterfly, Remus is a moth, Logan is an ant, Janus is a wasp and Patton is a bee.

(click the thingy if you'd like to indulge me in more details lmao)

Virgil, the spider: he already has spiders motifs. Also, spider webs can work as a metaphor for falling down an anxiety spiral (one step down a slippery slope and you're unable to get out).

Roman, the butterfly: the (mostly agreed upon) prettiest bug, for the prettiest boy in the party™. They're not overly romanticized in media for nothing lol. And of course, he's a "monarch butterfly".

Remus, the moth: "like moths to a flame" that represents self-destructive behaviour (unable to go against a desire that ultimately harms you, and could be your doom). Also, he shares the buttlerfly similarity with Roman. Plus he's a nuisance to your wardrobe

Janus, the wasp: they can sting without dying, having more of a defense purpose. Acting as Thomas' self-preservation, he acts like a last line of defense. And the yellow and black color scheme suits him nicely.

Logan, the ant: they're hard-working, resourceful and persevering. Those are pretty much words that easily describe Logan as well. And if anyone would be able to carry two times his own weight, it would be him (?)

Design fun fact: his extra set of arms are retractable! He uses them when he needs and extra pair of hands (lmao). Patton can do this too

Patton, the bee: hard-working too, but more centered in providing for others: he provides the others with affection and dinner (lol). He's sweet as honey. Their existence is helpful to the environment, and Patton's existence is helpful to my mental health /hj

i'd love to hear your own interpretations or even assign them different bugs !!! dont be shy

[itsoctopuses]

Week 15 Observations

4.9.25

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Observed several days, including today, at Galveston Island State Park. They are native to the Texas Gulf Coast which is also a primary breeding ground for them.

They can form flocks of 1000 birds! With their numbers increasing, they are on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern.

They lack sexual dimorphism and will form long term pairs, similar to swans and geese.

They nest on the ground in grassy areas, nest boxes or cavities in trees. Some females will dump their eggs in another female’s nest like wood ducks.

They are most recognizable by their soft, wheezy whistles. Unlike other waterfowl, they will rest on power lines, signs, posts, and more giving them the former name of “tree ducks”.

#blackbelliedwhistlingduck#Dendrocygnaautumnalis #citizenscience #ducks #waterfowl #native #birds #nature #outdoors #april #april9 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day99

4.10.25

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Observed in the tree off my balcony in Galveston 4.8.25. They are not native to this area but migrate between Canada, and northeast/central US and Central America, Mexico and southeast US. They show up in this area from October-April.

They create little sap wells in trees with their beaks and use their tongue to absorb sap or insects but they also eat berries. I watched this one grab berries off the tree, place it in a notch and then eat them. Their sap wells also benefit bats, some squirrels and hummingbirds.

They will protect their sap wells and nests, returning to the same nest several seasons in a row. They prefer softer wood that has been taken over fungus to build their nests.

#yellowbelliedsapsucker #Sphyrapicusvarius #citizenscience #nonnative #migration #birds #nature #outdoors #april #april10 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day100

4.11.25

Summer Tanager

Piranga rubra

Observed in the tree out back at home on Galveston 4.9.25. They are native to this area, especially in summer to breed.

They are in the cardinal family and are the only completely red bird in North America.

They usually feed on insects, specifically bees and wasps. They are quite fierce because they will rip the stinger out and use their beak to bash the insect on a tree limb, killing it. They will also eat fruit during winter and migration. They do not form their own flocks but are known to join mixed species of birds that eat fruit.

#summertanager #Pirangarubra #citizenscience #native #bird #nature #outdoors #april #april11 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day101

4.12.25

Tersa Sphinx Moth

Xylophanes tersa

Observed at Galveston Island State Park on 4.12.25. It is a common (though a first for me) and widespread species found from northern US all the way to parts of South America.

They are attracted to honeysuckle for its nectar. They can mimic bees and hummingbirds and can be active both at night or during the day.

The caterpillar of this species has a horn on its tail but is completely harmless.

#tersasphinxmoth #Xylophanestersa #citizenscience #moth #native #insect #nature #outdoors #april #april12 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day102

4.13.25

Indigo Bunting

Passerina cyanea

Observed at home 4.11.25 and GISP 4.12.25. Pretty cool because I’ve never seen one before. They don’t breed or winter here but will pass through during migration. They can travel 1200 miles each way going from South America where they winter to Eastern North America where they breed! When migrating by night they have an internal clock that helps them following stars as they move in the sky.

The solid blue one is an adult breeding male and the one with brown and blue is a first year male.

My brain doesn’t understand this but they actually lack blue pigment in their feathers unlike other blue birds. Instead there are tiny, microscopic structures on the feathers that refract and reflect blue light 🤯

They mainly eating insects or seeds but are known to eat berries as well.

#indigobunting #Passerinacyanea #citizenscience #nonnative #bird #nature #outdoors #april #april13 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day103

4.14.25

Largeflower Pink-sorrel

Oxalis debilis

Observed at a friend’s 3.31.25 on Galveston Island. It is nonnative to the area and was introduced to all parts of the world except Antarctica from South America. It’s not usually considered invasive like yellow wood-sorrel but can be in some regions. Best to extract the rhizomes from moist soil.

It is a popular plant for pollinators providing nectar. It has a high concentration of vitamin C. The whole plant is edible though you’ll want to watch the amount due to the oxalic acid that gives it a tart, lemony flavor. Too much, over time, can cause a calcium deficiency.

The large, clover like leaves fold up at night. The plant is also seen as good luck in some cultures, like the shamrock.

#largeflowerpinksorrel #Oxalisdebilis #citizenscience #nonnative #cosmopolitan #edible #goodluck #flora #april #april14 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day104

4.15.25

Western Atlantic Striped False Limpet

Siphonaria naufragum

Observed at the west end of the seawall on Galveston 4.15.25. It is found on hard substrates along Florida and the Gulf of Mexico’s intertidal coastline.

They are air-breathing marine snails that are not related to true limpets that breathe through gills. They are known to trap air under their shells for respiration.

They are hermaphrodites, reproducing by laying their eggs in gelatinous strands. The larvae, once hatched, will settle and start to grow.

They feed on algae and other organisms that grow on the rocks.

#westernatlanticstripedfalselimpet #Siphonarianaufragum #citizenscience #marinesnail #mollusk #native #nature #outdoors #april #april15 #2025 #picoftheday #project365 #day105

[aeneakarts]

Hermit a Day May | Day 5 - False

Sphinx false is such a fun concept, yet another excuse to draw wings and creaturify someone <3

[blueiscoool]

Egyptologists Clash Over ‘Underground City’ Beneath Pyramids

Claims that an “underground city” exists beneath ancient Egyptian pyramids have caused a row among experts.

Researchers from Italy say they have uncovered giant vertical shafts wrapped in “spiral staircases” under the Khafre pyramid.

They said on Sunday that they found a limestone platform with two chambers and channels that resemble pipelines for a water system more than 2,100 feet below the pyramid, with underground pathways leading even deeper into the earth.

But the claims – which have not been published or independently peer-reviewed – were labelled “false” and “exaggerated” by fellow Egyptologists.

Researchers claim they have discovered eight cylinder-shaped structures below the Khafre - Khafre Project.

Prof Corrado Malanga and his team from the University of Pisa used radar pulses to create high-resolution images deep into the ground, similar to how sonar radar maps the ocean.

In a statement, he said: “When we magnify the images [in the future], we will reveal that beneath it lies what can only be described as a true underground city.”

The scientists have also said there is “an entire hidden world of many structures’’ and that “the Pyramid of Khafre might conceal undiscovered secrets, notably the fabled Hall of Records”.

The Hall of Records, a concept popularised in ancient Egyptian lore, is believed to be an ancient library beneath the Great Pyramid or the Sphinx, with vast amounts of information about the ancient civilisation.

Prof Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver who focuses on archaeology, told the Daily Mail it was not possible for the technology to penetrate that deeply into the ground.

He said the idea that it proves an underground city existed is “a huge exaggeration”.

But he said it was conceivable small structures, such as shafts and chambers, may be present from before the pyramids were built.

He highlighted how “the Mayans and other peoples in ancient Mesoamerica often built pyramids on top of the entrances to caves or caverns that had ceremonial significance to them”.

The work by Prof Malanga and fellow researchers Filippo Biondi and Armando Mei was previously discussed during a briefing in Italy last week.

The project’s spokesman, Nicole Ciccolo, shared a video on Saturday of the trio discussing the findings that are yet to be published in a scientific journal.

Tomographic images could indicate internal artificial structures under the pyramid - Khafre Project.

The team focused on the Khafre pyramid, which, along with Khufu and Menkaure pyramids, make up the three in the Giza complex.

The pyramids are thought to have been built some 4,500 years ago and sit on the west bank of the Nile river in northern Egypt.

The vertical shafts identified below the ground were about 33 to 39 feet in diameter, located at a depth of at least 2,130 feet, the researchers said, adding that they may support the pyramid, which needs “a strong foundation, otherwise it may sink”.

The team showed an image created by using the pulses which they claim includes “a complex, luminous structure with distinct vibrations” they believe is “an actual underground city”.

“The existence of vast chambers beneath the earth’s surface, comparable in size to the pyramids themselves, have a remarkably strong correlation between the legendary Halls of Amenti,” Ms Ciccolo said.

A 3D model displays the structures inside the central part of the Pyramid of Khafre - Khafre Project.

Prof Malanga and Mr Biondi published a separate peer-reviewed paper in October 2022 in the scientific journal Remote Sensing, which found hidden rooms and ramps inside Khafre, along with evidence of a thermal anomaly near the pyramid’s base.

The new study used similar technology but with extra help from satellites orbiting Earth.

Radar signals from two satellites about 420 miles above Earth were directed into the Khafre pyramid.

The experts then monitor how they bounce back and convert the signals into sound waves, which allows them to “see” through the solid stone and map out underground structures in 3D.

Prof Malanga claimed the results had been “completely consistent” and using two satellites ruled out the chance of “misinterpretation”.

By Michael Searles.

View of the ancient crypt inside the Great step pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara. Cairo.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Abbott's Sphinx Moth: this caterpillar has a false eye on its rump; it mimics the features of a vertebrate's eye, and even includes a white reflection spot

The formal name for this species is Sphecodina abbottii.

From Minnesota Seasons:

The caterpillar is up to 3″ (7.5 cm) long. Middle stage (instar) caterpillars are whitish to bluish-green. In place of the horn found on other sphinx caterpillars, there is a raised orange knob on the eighth abdominal segment (A8). Final instar caterpillars come in two color forms. The brown color form has longitudinal streaks of light and dark brown mimicking the color of a woody vine. The green form has on each abdominal segment a large, pale green, saddle-shaped spot on the upper side and a similar smaller spot on each side. The pattern is said to mimic a bunch of unripe grapes. Both forms have a black, raised, eye-like knob on A8 complete with a small white spot mimicking reflected light.

When the caterpillar is pinched or poked, it often squeaks and bites at the attacker.

The fully-developed moth also has a unique appearance -- it has an ash-grey/blue coloration with streaks of pink and black.

Sources & More Info:

Encyclopedia of Life: Sphecodina abbottii

Insect Identification: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Saukeville Field Station

Minnesota Seasons: Abbott's Sphinx Moth

University of Minnesota Garden Extension: Abbott's Sphinx

[inaris-mage-of-storms]

Court Me, Love, And Make It Count (The Codfather's Court AU) Masterpost

}{ main ships: fwhimmy, jimpix, flower husbands, scwhip, whatever fwhip/pix is called, scosage

}{ side ships: gempearl, jizzie, shadowrot, actually the whole entire mess that is the fairy fort group, falseren, whatever lizzie/false and lizzie/avid are called, one-sided jornoth

}{ warnings: threats, violence, imprisonment, implied consensual non-consent, blood, unhealthy relationship dynamics, power imbalance, more to be added later.

Every ruler knows about the Ocean Empire. It's ancient, powerful, mysterious, and...well, that's about all they know, really. The Ocean Queen rarely shows herself outside her empire, and the King makes an appearance even less often. It's a dangerous and vengeful empire too, or so Mythland and the other kingdoms have heard from the salmon-led mer who sometimes seek supplies and shelter from inland kingdoms.

That's why fWhip doesn't really care when Sausage pesters him for weapons that then get passed on to the salmon. He doesn't really care about much if it's outside the borders of the Grimlands anyway, and Sausage is an ally, so he trusts his decisions. (Besides, he's busy occasionally pestering the skinny little mer who seems to be in charge of running the swamp.) There comes a day, though, when he learns the hard way that neutrality is not always the safe choice: the Ocean Empire has realized that Grimlands tech is at the heart of many salmon weapons, and a furious empress demands the Count be brought directly to her.

The Codfather gives him a choice: he can face the Ocean Queen's wrath and drown, or join his court as a concubine and live. fWhip doesn't know what to make of the mysterious oceanic god, but he knows he wants to live, and so makes a choice that will send unforseen ripples through the fates of the empires.

file: codfather's court au

Spotify playlist

Chapters and more under the cut

{part 1} Jimmy attends his first meeting at House Blossom

{part 1a} Pixlriffs gets to know Jimmy better

{part 2} fWhip steals Jimmy's mask

{part 3} Scott and fWhip discuss business

{part 4} fWhip is arrested and stands trial in the Ocean Empire

{part 5} fWhip learns a little bit more about his expected role, the war, and where Pixlriff's allegiance lies

{part 6} Jimmy summons fWhip for a discussion, and fWhip learns disturbing information that challenges what he thought he knew

{part 7} fWhip and Pix greet Jimmy when he returns home

{part 8} fWhip decides to make a menace of himself, and Jimmy teaches him the consequences that will have.

{part 9} A House Blossom meeting raises some uncomfortable questions for Scott.

{part 10} Pixlriffs loses his temper with fWhip.

{part 11} fWhip learns who the Ocean Queen's consort is.

bonus information on...

{part 12} Jimmy learns fWhip's secret.

sphinx!Pixlriffs

the next person to join the court

vampires, and fWhip specifically

[kate-bridgerton]

Daenerys and Aemon

On Braavos, it had seemed possible that Aemon might recover. Xhondo’s talk of dragons had almost seemed to restore the old man to himself. That night he ate every bite Sam put before him. “No one ever looked for a girl,” he said. “It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought … the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King’s Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.” Just talking of her seemed to make him stronger. “I must go to her. I must. Would that I was even ten years younger.” The old man had been so determined that he had even walked up the plank onto the Cinnamon Wind on his own two legs, after Sam made arrangements for their passage.

~

“No,” the old man said. “It must be you. Tell them. The prophecy … my brother’s dream … Lady Melisandre has misread the signs. Stannis … Stannis has some of the dragon blood in him, yes. His brothers did as well. Rhaelle, Egg’s little girl, she was how they came by it … their father’s mother … she used to call me Uncle Maester when she was a little girl. I remembered that, so I allowed myself to hope … perhaps I wanted to … we all deceive ourselves, when we want to believe. Melisandre most of all, I think. The sword is wrong, she has to know that … light without heat … an empty glamor … the sword is wrong, and the false light can only lead us deeper into darkness, Sam. Daenerys is our hope. Tell them that, at the Citadel. Make them listen. They must send her a maester. Daenerys must be counseled, taught, protected. For all these years I’ve lingered, waiting, watching, and now that the day has dawned I am too old. I am dying, Sam.” Tears ran from his blind white eyes at that admission.

~

That had been one of his last good days. After that the old man spent more time sleeping than awake, curled up beneath a pile of furs in the captain’s cabin. Sometimes he would mutter in his sleep. When he woke he’d call for Sam, insisting that he had to tell him something, but oft as not he would have forgotten what he meant to say by the time that Sam arrived. Even when he did recall, his talk was all a jumble. He spoke of dreams and never named the dreamer, of a glass candle that could not be lit and eggs that would not hatch. He said the sphinx was the riddle, not the riddler, whatever that meant. He asked Sam to read for him from a book by Septon Barth, whose writings had been burned during the reign of Baelor the Blessed. Once he woke up weeping. “The dragon must have three heads,” he wailed, “but I am too old and frail to be one of them. I should be with her, showing her the way, but my body has betrayed me.”

[frtools]

New Flash Sale: False Sphinx

A new flash sale has been discovered for False Sphinx

Incapable of riddles. Don't pet its tummy. 6.5/10

Game database: click here Marketplace link: click here

Treasure: 15000 12000

[clumsypuppy]

meow

[sphinxate]

Been designing a lot of sphinx things lately!

The last three are still available for offers:

False Angel Sphinx ($15+)

Alien Sphinx ($15+)

Sparklesphinx ($20+)