SushiGryphon's avatar

SushiGryphon

Monster Princess, Cryptid King
554 Watchers316 Deviations
29.6K
Pageviews

So the last time I posted anything here was... yikes, September 2020 was the last art I posted. Time really flies when you're sick and also just have a general difficult time with extrapolating the progression of time haha


For several years, my health had been up and down pretty nonstop, making my life pretty difficult to live in a lot of ways. Didn't help that the doctors could only give me a big ol' shrug emoji while trying to figure out where all my random symptoms where coming from, but they finally figured out that the reason I've been so messed up is because I have a thing that pretty much amounts to inflammation around the nerves in my brain. The specific condition doesn't have a cure, but it's not fatal and I do have treatment options, which have been helping little by little. Still a weak little baby who needs to sleep a lot, but otherwise doing much better!


A lot has happened these last few years other than me just being ill, and a lot of great stuff! Truth be told, I'm probably in one of the best places I've been in my life, and other than bouts of depression relating to me not being able to do as many creative projects as I want, everything else has been pretty good. A positive for being relatively offline these last few years is that I've had a lot of time to rediscover myself, what's important to me, work through traumas and other unprocessed emotions, and really develop my personal relationships and my relationships within my community. My partners and I now live in an actual house instead of an apartment complex or someplace shared by many people, and our backyard is pretty big with landlords that are super chill about what we do with it. We have a garden area set up, a firepit, peach and apple trees, and we're hoping next year or in the coming years we'll be able to get a chicken coop built! That or, if I can be convincing enough, maybe even be able to get an environment set up so that I can take care of some of the critters from the wildlife rescue I work at. I'd love to be able to help take care of some foxes or even take care of some birds. Kind of doubt we'll be able to do that, but maybe after a few years of being here. They let us get away with more than they usually would allow since they like us, so maybe someday XD


Also it makes me so happy that we live less than five minutes from the mountains. During the warmer weather we go out there where no one else has really explored, set up for a picnic and spend the afternoon identifying and documenting plants and animals. We have a ton of camping gear for this spring and summer, and a lot of plans to kidnap our friends (both in and out of state) and have adventures with them, which has me jazzed. Being so close to nature really brings me a lot of peace, and everyone in our area is so sweet and the community is just great. I'm surprised because we live in a better off little town, and I was worried that we might run into bigots who would give us the side eye every time we went for our walks (lots of religious folks), but it turns out that everyone we've interacted with has been super sweet and understanding. Our neighbors are going to be teaching us more about plants and gardening when the weather allows, and everyone is just so helpful and we bought some jam from this nice woman who makes it herself and I just can't gush enough


I know this is all very sappy, but I can't help myself! I've just been very connected with a lot of great people and great communities, and despite my poor health, things have just been really wonderful. Well, the world hasn't been very wonderful. A lot of garbage going on, a lot of things to get really angry about, but seeing and being involved with so many people trying to make positive changes and actively fighting those things has really helped me see just how strong and good people are and can be. We were involved with a few protests, especially after the supreme court steamrolled women's rights, and it's amazing just how many people turned out and despite the intense rage toward the injustices, the vibe everyone had was still so loving and there was something strangely wholesome about it


Anyway, I have a lot to say, but I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to be on my computer at almost 5am because most of this is pretty much pointless fluff, but I felt it was important for me to write out because I know a lot of people have been worried. My health stuff has been pretty serious. I've lost a few people in my family these last few years. I'm deeply worried about some of my family members and friends, as well as a lot of things that might happen in the future because the planet is falling apart. But I've always been someone who has tried to push forward through adversity with strength, determination, and optimism, so I tend to focus more on the good that can be done than how bad things have been for me in the past. It's difficult not to sink into depression knowing all the time I've lost to my illness, but hey, it is what it is and we're all just kind of doing our best


Which is why I'm doing a semi-fresh start on a new account! Because I don't want to feel bad about all the wasted time and the crappy things that are out of my control, so I think this will be a good move for me. There's a lot of new things about me these last few years, so I think it's appropriate haha


You wonderful beans can find me at AshenOwl Feel free to reach out to me if you want to catch up, introduce yourself, or even if you just want to tell me what your new favorite Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet is! There's a lot of great designs so I'm interested to know what's clicking with people :3


Hope you're all well, or at least hanging in there the best you can!

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

I feel like I give one of these updates every couple of months and they're probably exactly the same hhhhhh


Been having a lot of problems with seizures (brain seizures, not full body spasm seizures) which has been pretty difficult to cope with. I'm in a haze a lot, and when I have them I'm pretty much incapable of doing much for like... pretty much a full day.


The good news is that they're starting to get under control (fingers crossed that it gets manageable) and fortunately I'm in a really good living situation with my partners so that we are able to live in relative comfort while I recover. So it's a low stress environment save for the illness.


I have been doing some really good things lately, which has kept me sane. I started working with rehabilitating and tending to birds so that they can be returned to the wild, or to take care of the ones who can't survive on their own. Being able to help them is so fulfilling. My favorites are Virgil the vulture, because he's very affectionate and playful, and he often comes up to me and lets me pet/play with him. He loves tug-of-war especially. Then there's Vincent Von Crow, who is just a sweet, spoiled little birb who says, "Hello, who's that?" whenever I walk by the cage. He also likes playing with my keys and catches treats out of the air. Noelle our snowy owl has a soft spot in my heart as well. She's very shy and has a hard time trusting people, and she won't eat on her own so you have to hand feed her. She doesn't let a lot of people do that, so I was really excited when she ate for me right away, and I've been able to sit with her and pet her/do my best to bond with her. She needs someone to work with her more, so I've sort of taken charge of that.


It's just really wonderful and I'm working on getting my own license so that when I get healthier, and when I'm in a better position to do so, I can start learning how to take care of and rehabilitate my own birds. It's more of a long term goal, but it's something to work toward.


A lot of other things have happened, good and bad, but mostly things have been really blurry. I'm going to try to be more active and I do have some art to post, but obviously I haven't been able to do much. Just doing my best to get a little stronger every day

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Hello my lovelies, I hope you're all being safe and taking care of yourselves during these difficult times


Life has been keeping me pretty busy. Mostly just trying to reconnect with myself and my artwork, involving myself in nature as much as possible and trying to build a good future for myself. All of that has somewhat come to a screeching halt because of coronavirus stuff, and it's hard not to let it get me down, but I'm hanging in there


Like right when I was supposed to start working with rehabilitating and tending to wild birds, shit hit the fan and I had to put it off until it becomes a bit safer to go out. I'm really excited to get involved, but we all have to be careful


Before that, Charlie, Marco and I were involved in a volunteer program to document and rescue amphibians during their migration season. It was an amazing experience, and we got to save a lot of frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts before helping them along. We want to participate in more volunteer programs like that, and we're already making plans for it once everything opens up again


Other than that, I've just been working on the front lines and trying to help as many people as possible during the quarantine. My job isn't that significant or glamorous, but it is important. Scary as it is, it can be fulfilling, even if it's hard work, and some days it's just really difficult to not want to throw in the towel. I've been really close to quitting some days, but my team depends on me, and I want to do my part however I can. That and I'm just fortunate that I'm able to work, because I know a lot of people aren't so fortunate and they're struggling to get by. I honestly do wish that I could just self-quarantine, and it'd be a lot safer for me and my partners, but I just can't bring myself to do that. So just been really obsessive about hygiene and doing my best to stay strong


I hope you're all doing your best and doing your part as well, even if doing your part is protecting yourselves and the people around you. Stay safe everyone <3

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Hello Hello

2 min read
I was very sick again for like a year, whoops. I don't have a ton of art to post because I was very weak, and I'm still just sort of coming out of it (my doctor is pretty sure I've been having seizures, which have been really impacting my ability to do Things, but I can't do more testing until April because I changed jobs and need to wait until benefits kick in) but I do have some stuff that I'll be posting over the next few days. Don't want to spam like I did last time I disappeared

So how's everyone been doing? Aside from the physical and psychological pain due to my illnesses, I've been doing well. Moved states to live with my partners, I got married in October, been rewatching Bleach and gushing over Aizen and other various villains (Charlie and Marco have never seen it, and I know it's not technically a great anime, but I still enjoy it), been reconnecting with nature and getting really involved in Vulture Culture (which it's been fun to collect and clean my own animals, even if it can get smelly), all that good stuff.

I don't know how active people are on here anymore or who remembers me, but I'm going to try to chat people up when I can. I'm still very weak and my energy is really bad, but going to do my best
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

Hello Hello by SushiGryphon, journal