#wizened

[yamdraws]

Chrysalis forms for a delver changeling I play at an RP site. I wanted the bigger beast form to be an amalgam of a possum, a rat, a badger, a wild boar, and of course a star-nosed mole.

[variantofnick]

Art of the main cast of characters for my 1998 Mystic Changeling: The Lost game I'm running for 2 friends. From left to right: Chloe Dalton (Vampire, Gangrel, embraced in 1908, childr of the Raven Queen, and great aunt to Caitlyn), Caitlyn Destrange (PC, Beast Kith), Norville Rogers (PC, Wizened), Josephine Dawson (Beast), Tammy-Lynn Hayes (Elemental), and in the back row is Royce Clayton (AKA Darling, Ogre). The group is trying to stop the Gentry known as Lex Talionis, Aggie-o-keys, The Silent Death, She-Who-Hunts, Heart,-eater and The Bird Woman. They managed to destroy her title "The Silent Death", and now must contend with "Heart-eater". Can they stop her from abducting the next group of "key bearers"?

[cubiedraws]

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

My changeling Joona again, he is so fun to draw

[whats-in-a-sentence]

He raised his long wizened face toward the oak beams, his white hair trailing over his collar, and began to sing in a strong, clear nasal voice:

Three brave lads went walking when the sun it was high,

Swore they'd find Harry Moony and poke in his eye.

Go down Harry Moony, harry us no more,

We've flowers to please you, to leave at your door.

Three brave lads went walking, went into the wood.

They found Harry Moony while the light it was good . .

Go down Harry Moony . . .

"The Hungry Moon" - Ramsey Campbell

[tenth-sentence]

To my astonishment it was none other than my strange old book-collector, his sharp, wizened face peering out from a frame of white hair, and his precious volumes, a dozen of them at least, wedged under his right arm.

"The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury" - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[briliantlyfreakish]

I am old. Ancient. Wizened. Born of another era. I am wise and fearsome.

Wait, you were actually born in the 1900's? Thats so cool

i am going to eat my own entire skin

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Pill Scarab Beetles: these beetles are covered in plates that perfectly interlock when the beetle folds its limbs, lowers its head, and curls itself into a ball

Above: Eusphaeropeltis sp. (top/bottom left) and Ceratocanthus aeneus (bottom right), two different species of pill scarab beetle

Beetles of the Ceratocanthinae subfamily (also known as pill scarab beetles) rely on a unique form of conglobation to conceal themselves. As the beetle tucks its head down and folds its legs up against its belly, the plates on its head, thorax, abdomen, and legs all come together to form a solid shield; the plates on its legs even have grooves and corresponding ridges that allow them to neatly interlock.

As this blog post explains:

Adult Ceratocanthinae are best known for their ability to conglobate: rolling into a nearly perfect ball. The elytra, pronotum, head, and all six tibiae interlock with each other by means of grooves and corresponding ridges, forming a tightly connected external surface. Many beetles take the form of a tight compact structure when threatened, however in Ceratocanthinae the tibiae of all six legs participate in forming the external hard surface of the sphere, unlike in other beetles.

Above: Ceratocanthus sp.

The Ceratocanthinae subfamily contains many different genera/species, and they are all collectively known as pill scarabs. Many of them have a colorful, metallic appearance; they may be green, red, blue, brown, black, or multicolor.

Above: Germarostes globosus

Sources & More Info:

Gil Wizen: Transformers (Ceratocanthinae Beetles)

Communications Biology: The Evolution of Conglobation in Ceratocanthinae

Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny: Rolling into a Ball: phylogeny of the Ceratocanthinae

ZooKeys: The Ceratocanthinae of Ulu Gombak

Pavel Krásenský Photography: Scarabaeidae (this site is written in Czech)

[los-plantalones]

[harlepinyo]

ALNST changed my life. true story.

[detrimonious]

step it up, old man

[egophiliac]

on the JP server, when does groovy art come out? cuz like ive been checking wiki gg to see if the rapunzel groovies have been released yet and idk it might just be the wiki holding off until the events over (but i haven't seen groovy art of it at all but it might just be me since im trying to avoid spoilers for riddles card specifically). but since EN is like a year behind JP all the cards and stuff have already been released so theres no wait time so idk if on JP you can only groovy new cards until like the event ends or smth

the schedule says the Lanterns groovies/personal stories will come out on the 5th, which is when the event ends! usually they release them along with the last part of the event (sometimes the SSRs afterwards), but this time they're waiting til after on all of them for some reason. 🤷

not too much longer to go though! the aesthetic of this one is sooooo pretty, I know already that they're going to absolutely ♪ murder meeee ♫ ( ᐛ )

[ariadne-mouse]

Cottagecore Ludinus intrigues me because there are too many questions from the grand scale to the hilariously mundane. Does he know the gods are walking among mortals now, or does he think Predathos did a full deity dine-and-dash? Does he keep informed about what's happening post-Descension or is he at peace with whatever because at least he flicked the switch? While we don't know much about his lifestyle as a youth & also what he did during the tail end of Calamity, he is long-accustomed to living in a fine tower, and certainly could have Magnificent Mansion or a permanent demiplane, and yet chooses a "simple homestead" in the physical world. Does he have a door to a demiplane in a closet, or is he going full rustic? How much does the former archmage use magic in his everyday life for his comfort and convenience? Does he know how to chop wood?? Can he fix a leaky roof??? Does he do it badly??? He has ceased whatever was making him unscryable. Is that deliberate as part of "letting go" of his past era or did his new body/means lack the same protections? How comfortable is he with being known? Does he trade for the neighbor's fresh bread and make smalltalk like a Normal Guy? Does he quietly push the neighbor off a cliff when they notice something about him he feels threatens his anonymity? How is he handling the drastic contrast between being the master manipulator orchestrating a centuries-long plan with so many moving parts, to just being by himself in isolation? Has he actually achieved inner peace as he calmly makes tea or is he struggling with post-achievement turmoil and depression? What do you do with a high-octane brain full of metal and wheels and schemes when there is nothing but fog and silence?? Rest may sound good in theory, and even be a relief at first, but he's been who he is for a thousand years.

Anyway my first thought after the reveal was "Does he ever get frustrated and Power Word Kill the teakettle" and I think the answer is yes.

[theabigailthorn]

yesterday I was panicking because the next video seemed way too big and impossible to finish on time, and today I've written five pages of the first draft and I've got that "Ooooh it's cooking!" feeling. Gotta trust that the Little Spirit who comes up with all my creative ideas has my back

[spookysshadow]

Old man yaoi - Izutobi/TobiIzu

A reverse au - where Butsuma and Tajima finally manage to convince their elders to a ceasefire, and later for peace. It, of course, helped that Elder Madara and Elder Hashirama had been friends once upon a time, even if Elder Madara pretends he has no idea who the Tree-man is.

Now, convincing Elder Tobirama and Elder Izuna? That had been a nightmare. Even where the ceasefire negotiations started, both old men spent a majority of the time glaring at each other and throwing insults, until their respective brothers pulled them back.

Now they are forced to live together.

In a village.

It's fine, after all, Tobirama is an accomplished sensor, and Izuna can't walk without a cane since Tobirama gave him that leg injury all those years ago.

He is forced, however, to watch his grandniece waddle around heavily pregnant with some Uchiha brute's spawn.

"Pregnant, again?" He can't help but ask, staring at Himiko's belly.

She laughs, glowing as beautiful as she's always been, perhaps even more so since her marriage to the Uchiha Clan heir, Takeshi Uchiha, elder brother of Tajima Uchiha. "Of course! I want a big family, you know."

Tobirama tsks, which only makes his grandniece laugh.

"Some of us enjoy having sex with our spouses," then she grin, like the little devil she is, "plus, my husband is exceptional at meeting my needs."

"Have some decorum, please." He sighs. Why does not one take him seriously? He was called a White Demon, a monster, heartless back in his prime. And now?

His grandniece gloats about her sex life at his expense.

Fuck getting old.

"You know, Tobi-oji. I know you miss Hana-oba, but you are allowed to move on, you know? Live and love out in the open now."

Tobirama sighs, sitting down before his knee pain could flare up anymore. He loved his wife Hana, but he was never in love with her. It was an arranged marriage - born of need to make an alliance, not unlike his brother's marriage with Mito-nee. But he had loved her, and she had accepted him not being able to be in love her, or hold any carnal desire for her.

"I'm much to old for all that romance nonsense." He mutters, a soft sad sound even to his ears.

"Oh. I meant getting laid, but maybe some romance would do you some good, Tobi-oji. I could see you blushing over some flowers."

That little - "You are as insufferable as your brother."

Himiko grins. "No, Butsu-ni is as insufferable as me! I was born 5 minutes before, remember? Or is time playing tricks with your memory again."

"Haha," he deadpans, "Who would even be interested in an old man such as myself? I refuse to be seen with anyone younger than me."

The smirk his grandniece gives him really should have been his first warning that something big in his life was about to change. "I've heard Elder Izuna has been lamenting over his dry spell. Maybe he can scratch your itch?"

His incomprehensible reprimand and spluttering garners only a wicked cackle.

[photo-dujenoir]

Idan Wizen

[whats-in-a-sentence]

A door suddenly flew open out of what appeared to be solid wall at the end of the corridor, and a little, wizened man darted out of it, like a rabbit out of its burrow.

"The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury" - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle