Wanted To Draw Alfyn Like He Just Got Out Of Bed.

Wanted to draw Alfyn like he just got out of bed. 

Boston Post, Massachusetts, April 28, 1895

Wanted to revisit this concept so here’s two one-winged thiefy boys

AU where wings are the norm- but Therion and Gareth each only have one because Darius is a bastard. Tried experimenting with single colors for them.

This is the most accurate I’ve drawn Gareth’s outfit. References: they are USEFUL.

The common opossum is not the only North American marsupial!

That's right! People are racist and don't include Mexico as part of the North American ecosystem, so a lot of species are left out. But let's meet these mammals!

Water opossum! As the name implies, it's adept to a more aquatic lifestyle. Look at its webbed feet!

Woolly opossum! An arboreal nocturnal guy, it likes the dark so much it doesn't go out on moonlit nights!

Mouse opossum! The tiniest, eyeballiest possum out there, they are solitary by nature, but if they happen to be in a group, they will form a social hierarchy! The smelliest rules!

Hope I've added something to your day!

What’s Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS), and why do so many autistic people have it?

I learned about this the other day, when I posted about palinopsia (visual trailing/afterimages) being common in autistic people, and a couple of our followers told me about their VSS. I did some more research, and discovered that I also have it.

Visual Snow Syndrome is a neurological condition that interferes with visual processing. It’s caused by hyperactivity and hyper-excitability of nerves in certain areas of the brain that process visual information.

The core feature of VSS is constantly seeing tiny, fuzzy “feedback” in the environment. It’s kind of like seeing the world through a staticky TV screen. Some people’s visual static is larger than others. Mine is relatively fine-grained, but it gets bigger and more obvious in low lighting.

Some of the other symptoms of VSS include:

Palinopsia (visual trailing/afterimages)

Photophobia (sensitivity to light)

Increased and enhanced ectopic phenomenon, such as floaters, phosphenes, and Scheerer’s phenomenon

Seeing glare, starbursts, and halos around lights

Difficulty seeing at night/in the dark

Seeing random flashes of light and/or color, without cause from the environment

It’s common for people with VSS to experience comorbid migraines, but VSS is not the same thing as migraine aura.

So, why do autistic people often have VSS?

It comes down to the fact that VSS is caused by the hyper-excitability of neurons in areas of the brain that process visual information. A core feature of autism is hyper-excitable neurons, especially in areas of the brain that have to do with sensory processing. So it makes sense that autism would often inadvertently cause VSS.

Here are some illustrations of visual phenomenon that VSS causes, in case you want a better understanding of what the world looks like for me and many other autistic people.

Visual snow/static:

Palinopsia/image trailing:

Scheerer’s Phenomenon (tiny bright moving dots):

Starbursts around lights:

Floaters:

I hope y’all have learned something :)

I’ve found it very intriguing to realize that the way I see the world is more unique than I once knew!

~Eden🐢