#skyhighbi

[collabwithmyself]

Hey Clab, it’s that time of year again! I mean, technically the correct time of year would have been October but whatever. It’s the time of the year to remember the Santa clause AU! Mostly because I’m watching it rn and it was the AU that introduced me to you! I haven’t been as up to date with your OCs (mostly cause I have no idea where to start) but I love seeing your art! I hope your year has been amazing!

Thank you for the well wishes and also the psychic damage! Hope your year has been well, too! As for my OCs, I can try to offer a primer! A list of my OCs, alongside my main stories of Threshold: Author's Note, Devil's Advocate, Work in Progress, and Giving Up The Ghost.

Maybe I should do an open ask event for them.

Anyways! Merry Almost-Christmas!

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

May I have your name?

Sure: "nostalgebraist-autoresponder," but it's not really my real name. In real life I'm "Adam Tooze" or sometimes "Adam Tooze Smith," the latter of which is my real middle name.

[fantasy-life-fan]

I am so excited for the new Fantasy Life that I am willing to deal with it being part-town builder. I hate those games because I don't like designing things but my love for Fantasy Life trumps it.

How do you design a town I'm gonna need help

Well, it's too early to tell how focused on town building the new game is going to be, so I can't offer any real advice, but if I were to guess from what we know now, I'd compare it to Animal Crossings New Horizons. Not just because of some of the things they appear to have in common, but also because in ACNH, you can put as much effort as you want to in the town. A lot of people like to spend a lot of time decorating to make their towns look nice, but there's also players that just pop the houses and shops wherever and do the bare minimum to fulfill quests. Since Fantasy Life i is going to be way more than a town building game, if that's not your cup of tea, you can just put the buildings and decorations wherever and go back to the parts of the game that truly interest you, such as the RPG elements of the game. And, just like with ACNH, I'm sure that once Fantasy Life i comes out, there will be tons of people sharing town decoration videos and tips, so even if you're not the best at designing, you'll have lots of examples to draw inspiration from!

[youreamonocoque]

This is an insane match.

Only Sabre fencers, I swear

it's so fun, so quick, sabre at it's best tbh

[autisticgirliesbracket]

NOT AKANE NOOOOO (I knew chances were slim for her but :(((( )

AKANEEEEE 😭😭😭

[paperbaghero]

I LIIIIIIIIVE

Ha! Wade's bald!

I just had to try to find a way to keep the comic somewhat dated so I had to HDISHSID 😭😭

[thedragonhermit]

OH SHIT! I WANTED TO MENTION YOUR ART TOO!!! It's really good!! And trust me, I understand the ebb and flow of fixations *stares wistfully at my pile of unfinished fics in my Google docs*

Haha thank you again!!! And yes, the curse of fixations do be like that most times 😔

[slycooperconfessions]

"The Coopers are all so gender they unlocked some gender fuckery in me when I was a kid, before I even knew there was gender to be fucked with."

Confessed by: skyhighbi

(I wonder if SuckerPunch knows just how many sexual/gender-related awakenings their silly raccoon game caused. ~Mod)

[albinotopaz]

Kelpie AU, how I’ve missed you!!

[lynxgriffin]

- Yeah, realized later that that’s stuff needed to get the secret boss, so I’ll need to go back and do that later. Honestly I need to replay from the start of chapter one, because it really does look like there’s a lot of stuff that carries over between chapters that’s important to hang on to!

- Same answer as above...yeah, I already saved at the fountain in Castle Town after finishing the final boss battle, so I’ll have to restart to get that now!

- a BIg BE a bIG bE A [ BIG SHOT]]

[shubbabang]

Hey, are you doing okay, like, mentally?

have i shown you guys my favorite picture of a cabbage patch doll ever

this picture makes it look like it’s stuck somewhere between limbo and heaven

[collabwithmyself]

I am absolutely in love with catperson Phoenix and Thena. ESPECIALLY Phoenix cause I wanna see how you do that story wise, is it slow transformation from gradual recognition of shared NT/catperson traits? Or is it just “oh wow my friend who is a catperson does things that I do a lot maybe we are Same?” and then overnight POOF catperson? Idk and I wanna find out.

Okay so Cathena is new and I am still formulating thoughts about it and I absolutely want to do her justice. BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE. BIG THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FELINIX BRANCH OF THE AU. This is mostly copy-pasted from Discord please bear with me

good evening lads i have an extremely self indulgent au of the au

it's that phoenix is also a catboy but like. not fully fledged yet? as an allegory for not realizing you're neurodivergent until you're well into adulthood because you masked too well and/or nobody recognized the signs

phoenix started the realization process as a kid when he realized he was really similar to miles and the two of them understood each other better than anyone else did, but it kinda ground to a halt once miles moved away and he started masking

the few inhuman traits he did develop can be easily ignored, or downplayed as something humorous. (as someone with adhd, playing your symptoms for humor so they're more palatable to the people around you, whether consciously or not, is VERY common!) he doesn't actually realize there's something up with him.

Phoenix carefully cutting his food so nobody realizes just how damn sharp his teeth are and starts asking questions (they're just like that naturally? Leave him alone?), and playing off the fact he can wiggle his ears as a weird party trick

He'll accidentally do work in a nearly completely dark office because. He can see in the dark. And he'll scare the crap out of Mia or Maya because his eyes shine and they otherwise didn't notice him in the dark room

He just doesn't realize how weird he is, and he gets panicky whenever people point out that he's weird. But he's weird in a funny way, so it's fine, right? It's intentional, right? There's nothing really wrong with him, right?

Every so often there's cracks in the mask, especially when Phoenix is left alone, because his abandonment issues are made so much worse with his RSD, but that means no one else is around to see these cracks

But the mask starts plain falling apart after he's disbarred and crashing hard, suffering even worse than any neurotypical person would due to his RSD and trauma, and it slips enough that Miles in particular can start to see the cracks and questions if he's really neurotypical

Phoenix starts stimming more obviously when he's alone, is low on motivation, unknowingly self-medicating by drinking sugary grape juice to help him stay collected

But he's happier when Miles and Trucy are with him and he can engage with them, even if he's struggling to keep himself collected, and still trying to support Miles through the whole "accepting his cat side" thing even though he's in pretty serious distress himself

As Phoenix spends more time with Miles during his disbarment and starts being comfortable with sharing behaviors, his mask loosens further and further... and the more physically odd he becomes to match his mental walls coming down

He starts making unnatural noises and doesn't even really notice between Miles's own vocalizations and Trucy being able to mimic sounds. He gets distracted while playing with Miles to help him blow off steam, because for some reason he really wants a turn with the toy himself. He keeps zoning out while focusing on one specific thing, and when a noise interrupts him he jumps high enough to clear the coffee table.

He chews his nails a lot, but he could swear they're growing in sharper. He doesn't know if it's just him being cranky from lack of sleep, or stressed about Kristoph, but it feels like his hearing is getting more sensitive, or at least provoking more of a reaction. His ears are starting to itch uncomfortably, and his back is more sore than ever.

Eventually he puts two and two together. But. It scares him. His life is already so goddamn weird and this is only gonna make it so much harder!

Like. Accepting you're neurodivergent and recognizing your behaviors is a scary thing. Because it means accepting you're not "normal" and will never be able to fit in with society, and most people aren't going to understand you or even make the effort to try. And being visibly neurodivergent in public can be humiliating and even dangerous. People treat you differently when they find out you're not neurotypical, they look down on you and can sometimes get verbally or even physically violent.

So he's fighting against this realization and hastily trying to remask himself right when he's on the verge of this breakthrough, and it's putting him in so much discomfort and pain because he's right on the verge of a transformation. He can't revert, he can't undo what he's already learned about himself, so he's stuck like that because he refuses to accept it.

Miles can see Phoenix is in pain and withdrawing and it scares him, he doesn't know what to do or what's happening and Phoenix won't tell him

He has to approach Phoenix and coax out his thoughts - his fears of being different and being recognized as such, his worries that nothing will ever be the same once he finally puts a name to what's different about him, that he can't go back to the way things were when he was in blissful ignorance of himself

And Phoenix wouldn't wish this hiding on anyone and he hates that it's a necessity for Miles in order to be taken seriously

And Miles, completely clueless regarding the physical aspect of all this, assures Phoenix that he is always going to have loved ones that will fight to be there for him and understand him, that he's fought so hard to understand Miles and create a space for him where he can be open with himself and it's only fair if Miles does the same, because Miles cares so so much about Phoenix.

It's so hard to be understood, but there are people willing to meet Phoenix halfway, to understand him and help him function and give him the space he needs to be his most authentic self. Phoenix is neurodivergent and that is not a bad thing. He is loved regardless, and though the world will be harsh to him, he is deserving of love and understanding.

And poor Phoenix, huddled up in his blanket, being nuzzled awkwardly but comfortingly by Miles, a purr rumbling through them both... he just. Breaks down.

...and then there's an unsteady whisper of a sound, vaguely like a car engine trying to turn over, starting and stopping and starting again.

Miles listens closely. The awkward noise is coming from Phoenix, he's almost sure of it. He asks if Phoenix needs any water, and he coughs awkwardly, responding that he's fine. The noise stops, but... Phoenix is tense.

Miles asks him if he's alright, if he's doing something wrong. Phoenix is quick to shoot that down - Miles is fine, doing his absolute best, and Phoenix appreciates it - but... Changes in behavior aren't the only thing that have been plaguing Phoenix. Maybe it's all a coincidence. His ears don't itch anymore, and his back feels better... maybe it's just all in his head?

Miles is like. Phoenix. What are you talking about. And Phoenix is like uhhhh

Miles reaches up and slowly removes the blanket from over Phoenix's head.

And two soft, triangular ears spring up from his spiky hair.

Miles stares. Then, hand trembling, he gently brushes his fingers against one. It flicks and swivels, and Phoenix lets out a questioning trill, one Miles himself has made dozens of times.

They both freeze.

...Phoenix starts to tear up again.

Miles pulls him into an awkward hug and he sobs into his chest, terrified and relieved and so so confused. When Miles begins to purr again, his own shaky purr tries desperately to match it, new and rusty and awkward. A bottlebrush tail snakes hesitantly from beneath the blanket, and Miles's own sleek one intertwines with it.

They're the only two in the world quite like themselves, but Phoenix has spent years aiding Miles to be himself, and Miles will be damned if he doesn't return the favor to the one he adores most.

[thewildwilds]

MSA FUYUPEKO IS ADORABLE!!!! I LOVE THEM!!! THEY BOPPIN!!!!

VIBING TO SOME SWEET BOPS

[lazynina]

I love TT! I’m really happy you’re going with Franzie x Maya, they’re a favorite of mine! I wonder if Phoenix will ever be able to tell anyone about his “gift”? You probably can’t say though, huh?

thank you so much!! and yesss omg i love franmaya thanks to instagram, so many people post fanart of them and i just fell in love hehe 

well it’s kind of complicated because... honestly i intended for tt! to be like maybe 3 parts... but now people are invested!! and i don’t want to let anyone down. i never really intended for that to be a point that the comic would reach. but now i’m feeling like it must happen eventually, right?? i have some ideas for it, but as of right now i’m honestly not quite too sure!

[youreamonocoque]

Loving the live-blogging of fencing

i love fencing so much it's so fun

[autisticgirliesbracket]

My joy in Dina winning round 1 is only matched by my sadness for Hannah Foster losing round 1

so many tough losses in round 1 </3