#eh i'll wait on any potential source if there is one

[variablejabberwocky]

Hi! The thought process behind why people think enby is childish is because it was intended to be the equivalent to girl and boy. Theres nonbinary, or just person, which can be used as equivalent to man and woman, but if you have a group of kids it sounds weird to say boys & girls & nonbinary people. Therefore: enby! It's not infantilizing in the same way as calling someone baby/toddler is, its uncomfortable to some people in the same way that some transmasc people want to be called man and not boy bc they want to be seen as an adult. Doesn't mean the word is bad, it just means it's not for everyone!

...can i get a source on that "it was intended to be the equivalent to girl and boy" bit?

cause this just sounds...incredibly goddamn stupid (not you, just that line of thought). shortening a term is a way to make it easier to use if its too long. and 'nonbinary' hits 4-5 syllables as-is. so making the short form some kind of different term with different connotations is just..."what the fuck were you thinking" levels of stupid

especially since outside of formal situations "girl" and "boy" are usually just ways to refer to "lady-people" and "dude-people" but like chill about it with little to no indication of age status

it also does NOT feel at all equivalent to how trans dudes sometimes dislike being referred to as boy because everything i've seen on that is wrapped up in how its VERY MUCH used by assholes with the age connotations of more formal language as a way of undermining the body autonomy and hm...social status (? not sure how to word what i'm going for here) of trans guys. its basically misogyny playing lip service to their actual gender and yeah, thats offensive as shit.

i do NOT see that with 'enby' and nonbinary people. just being nonbinary AT ALL gets you treated like a kid that doesn't know what they're talking about and is playing make-believe with gender. and i am suspicious as shit about the rise of 'enby' being treated as some kind of offensive equivalent to boy and girl because that shit was starting to spread around in circles right when transmeds/truscum were getting a hate campaign going against nonbinary people (and seemingly everyone was joining the bandwagon). specifically it REEKS of the same kind of "you can't use that term" bullshit that "queer is a slur" rose out of. which is just an attempt to get people to STOP USING THAT TERM AT ALL but hiding it in something 'passably' social-justicy so it doesn't sound like the bigoted bullshit it is.

basically i don't get why everyone else has to blacklist a term from their entire vocabulary forever (regardless of personal relevance) because a small minority of people either 1) are bigoted assholes trying to kill off a group (ideologically if no other way) but trying to be sneaky about it or 2) are unfortunate suckers who bought into the first group's bullshit out of ignorance/inexperience and never learned any different for whatever reason. (yes i am aware some people have trauma. its just not relevant here because the solution is the same:)

(general you here) you don't want to be called something? sure, fine. perfectly understandable. you don't want me to call myself (or my community of same identity people) something? FUCK RIGHT THE HELL OFF

[asbestos4president]

Hamuel Burger Episode 1 Transcript

Episode title: Keep Pushing, Abraham!

[Sound of a UFO landing. Interior spaceship noises] Asbestos … Thanks for the donations. Okay, so we've just touched down in Grace, Idaho, the capital city of the planet Earth, so I'll be stepping out shortly to take my first look. For those of you who are new to the stream, I'm doing this blind, I haven't looked anything up about Earth before coming here, so no spoilers, please. Okay, so, before we leave the shuttle, I want to establish some ground rules. First, like I already said, no spoilers. Seriously. Second, no embarrassing me in front of any of the Earth inhabitants. And third, and this is the most important-

TTS voice If you're going into this blind, how do you know that Grace is the capital city? Cheater.

Asbestos Look, it's just common knowledge. The national animal of earth is the mongoose, the national food of the earth is the deathcap mushroom, and the capital city of the earth is a sweet little place named Grace, Idaho, notable for its Mormons, its potatoes, and its vast intergalactic geopolitical importance. 

TTSYou literally just quoted that straight off the page for Idaho on the Earth fan wiki.

Asbestos Did not! 

TTS Did too!

Asbestos Did not! 

TTS Did too! 

Asbestos Yeah, well, you literally just paid me five American dollars to be able to send that message, and if my information is up to date, that is enough to purchase at least one American hot dog. You know, the national hound of the planet Earth? Which I will ride into battle against my enemies and laugh as it mauls them to death. 

TTS Did too! 

Asbestos

 Okay, chat, you have officially lost text to speech privileges for the next Earth minute, which reliable sources inform me is a really long time. Now, it's important to make a good first impression, so I'm just going to make sure my hair looks okay and my belly button looks convincingly real before I- 

[Knocking on metal]

[Short silence]

Asbestos Sorry, I thought I heard something. Probably just the potatoes snoring. It's actually quite late in earth time, and potatoes like to get to bed early because- 

[Knocking again]

Asbestos (whisper) Chat. Chat, I think there's something at the door. Should I-

TTS Hello potentially violent stranger, please come in and strangle me to death!

[Spaceship door opening noise]

Asbestos (whisper, directed to chat) I'm going to actually kill you.

Ham Please don't kill me! I'm left-handed and I have asthma and my Mum says I can't go around getting killed or the neighbours will think we're uncivilised! 

Asbestos Oh my god, this is not a drill. Are you guys seeing this? I didn't think I was going to be nervous, but I'm actually super nervous. What should I say?  Um, hi, Mr. President! Wow, you're way shorter without the hat. 

Ham What? 

Asbestos Do you take constructive criticism? Because honestly, I think you should have kept the beard. The clean shaven look does not suit you.

Ham What???

Asbestos Well, I guess it doesn't matter because I'm going to kill you in a few seconds anyway. Any last words?

Ham This is a sentence I never expected to say, but I think you've mistaken me for Abraham Lincoln, and I'm not sure whether to find that gender-affirming.

Asbestos See, I just don't think that's gonna sell any tabloids. Do you want to pick something catchier? Something with a bit more oomf, maybe? Like, "I've Abrahad it with this life!" 

Eh, we can workshop it.

[Beat of silence]

Wait, what? 

Ham Abraham Lincoln died, like, at least 3 years ago. If you're looking for the president,  it's definitely not him, and it's definitely not me either, and you're definitely not going to find him in a potato field in Idaho. Please put the gun down.

Asbestos Oh! My mistake. I know this one. It's, uh… It's Ben Jammin' Franklin now, right?

Ham Uh, not particularly, no. Look, I just came to tell you to get off our farm or at least turn those big blinking lights off because it's 9PM and some of us are trying to sleep. You really need to leave before my mum finds out you're a UFO.  

Asbestos Man, this is embarrassing. Okay. Okay! Just point me in the direction of the president's house and I'll be on my way. 

Ham I think Washington is, like, South, sort of? Somewhere near Florida? Actually, let me look it up.

[Low pitched noise like a foghorn. This is Ham's mum's voice]

Ham Gee willikers. It's okay mum, the tractor is just leaving!

[Ham's mum]

Ham Not everything is an alien, okay? Sheesh.

[Ham's mum]

We've actually had five spaceships landing here in the past week, but she doesn't need to know that. I've managed to convince her that they're just genetically modified cows. Now go!

Asbestos I'm going, I'm going. I thought Earth would be more welcoming than this. 

Ham You tried to kill me!

Asbestos Earthlings love dying, they do it all the time. Ugh. Now then. Which of these is the go button?

[SFX of a sound a spaceship should not make. Kind of a noise like you would hear for a death animation in a retro video game.] 

Asbestos Not that one. Okay, how about-

[Another disturbing sound effect. Like a balloon deflating but electronic.] 

LINE 36. Asbestos Alright, third time's the charm.

[Fire alarm SFX. An automated voice with a New Zealand accent says "evacuate the building using the nearest fire exit" before a siren blares.]

Ham What the goshdarn heck are you doing? Go!

Asbestos I don't know, and it won't start, and it does not like me!

Ham Well, you can't stay here!  

LINE 40. Asbestos Well then help me! 

[Ham's mum sfx again] 

Ham Mum, the tractor broke down so I'm gonna help push it, okay?

Asbestos Push it where? This is a valuable craft, and if anything happens to it-

[Ham's mum] 

LINE 43. Ham Mum, it's fine, okay? We've almost got it. One, two, three, push… One, two, three, puuush… Help me out here!

Asbestos Absolutely not. Such work is beneath me! Keep pushing, Abraham! My sensors indicate you've shifted it exactly one fiftieth of a millimetre!

[Ham's mum] 

Ham (with a sigh)Okay. Mum says you can stay in our field tonight. You'd better be gone by morning, though, because if she sees you in the daylight she's going to realise that tractors aren't supposed to float.

Asbestos Well, that is extremely nice of your mother to say. Tell her I said thank you. And can you tell her my antennae are very shapely and I have a sparkling personality and I'm free this weekend by the way, just in case she's wondering?

Ham I'm going to bed.

Asbestos (slight chuckle) Goodnight, Abe! Sweet dreams.

[Rooster crowing. It's morning.]

Asbestos What's up, chat? Welcome to the second day of my becoming the president of the United States any percent speedrun. Yesterday we got off to a rough start with some technical difficulties, but today I'm determined to make up for lost time. Now, eagle-eyed viewers will have already noticed that I have drawn a strange and terrifying shape on the side of my craft in strawberry jam. This is in fact the English word "tractor" transcribed (get this) using the Latin alphabet. Ee, that's right! For today's stream, I'm going stealth mode, disguising myself as a humble farmhand in order to infiltrate-

Ham (laughing slightly) You spelt it wrong.

Asbestos What?

Ham Um, you spelt tractor wrong? It doesn't have a K in it.

Asbestos Chat, this is the enemy of the stream Hamuel Burger. I know all about you, young man. Your mother says you never pick up your socks.

Ham That's not true! Hi chat, um, my name's Ham, my pronouns are he/him, and you can find me on YouTube where I do banjo covers of-

Asbestos She also said that I was the most organised and well-disciplined young person she'd ever met, because she wasn't expecting the new farmhand to show up until the afternoon! 

Ham That's right! What are you going to do when he arrives and starts telling the whole town that an alien took his job?

Asbestos Well, he isn't going to get the chance to do that, because I'm gonna kill him! 

Ham (justifiably upset) What?

Asbestos Chat, you're about to see me employ a useful hack called "black mail". Hamuel here is going to help me fix my spaceship because if he doesn't I'm going to dispose of one of his fellow earthlings. You're a farm boy, you can fix a simple spacecraft, right? 

Ham No?

Asbestos Get to work.

Ham I can, like, change a lightbulb, maybe? This thing, though, I don't think the best mechanic in the world could save it. It doesn't even look like a machine. Like, I'm pretty sure it's made out of meat? How does that work?

Asbestos Hey! That's my son you're talking about!

Ham Your son looks less like a spaceship and like a modern art piece representing the alienation of workers under capitalism. I'm feeling exploited just looking at it. Actually, that's exactly the kind of thing my best friend Stanley would make. He's, like, this really cool artist who specialises in mixed media sculpture? His pieces are super thought-provoking. Like, this one time, he stuck a radish to a-

Asbestos Is this Stanley guy going to help me fix my spaceship? No? Then I don't care. 

Ham Actually…

[Ham's mum]

Ham That was mum, she wants you to feed the chickens if you have time. Okay, you stay here and milk the potatoes while I run and get Stanley. And keep out of trouble!

Asbestos I've never even been to Trouble! I don't know where that is! 

[Ham leaves]

Alright. I don't think milking a potato can be that hard. You just sort of have to- 

[Thump]

Ow! It fucking bit me!

TTS Hello Asbestos. Longtime fan, first time caller. I think you're holding it upside down.

Asbestos I don't tell you how to live your life. TTS (different voice) Just last week you encouraged your entire viewership to quit their jobs and invest in your shitty cryptocurrency, Sawcoin. My Grandma had to sell her house because of you.

Asbestos Sawcoin? I've never even heard of-

TTS (same voice as previous) Sawcoin deez nuts! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. ha.

Asbestos Okay guys-

LINE 70. TTS (different voice, overlapping slightly) Hi Asbestos, your stream has already taught me so much about the United States. I have started learning English so that I can better appreciate this beautiful culture. So far, I have learned many useful phrases such as "can I get ketchup with that?", and [a bunch of censorship beeps]

Asbestos That's-

TTS (different voice, overlapping slightly) Asbestos Le Guin, are you aware that two out of three of your fellow competitors are already inside the White House at this very moment, one of them holding a knife to the president's throat? And here you are arguing with your chat over the right way to milk a vegetable.

Asbestos Okay, shut the fuck up. You think my ten-year unopposed reign of the speedrunning charts for most civilisations toppled in a day was by accident? You think I've lost my edge just because these new competitors are younger than me and faster than me and have spaceships that work and know how to milk a potato? Well, you've forgotten your places. I'm the best, and I will always be the best. I don't even need my ship. Y'know, I'm going to steal a tractor right now and I won't stop until I've ridden it full speed into the president's office, hung him from the rafters with an American flag and taken his fun little hat for myself.

Ham Uh, what was that about stealing our tractor?

Asbestos Um. Nothing.

Ham I thought so. Stanley, this is-

Asbestos I am Asbestos Le Guin, an ambassador from the planet Strawberry, here to spread love and friendship throughout the cosmos. 

Ham Yeah, this is Asbestos, she's some kind of low-level Twitch streamer and she's here to kill the president. Asbestos, this is Stanley. Stanley is an artist with a poetic soul who has taken a vow of silence because he is a feminist and is dedicating his life to listening to women. He only communicates in harmonica, which I understand fluently due to our warrior's bond. 

[Jaunty harmonica]

Ham And he wants to know what kind of a name Asbestos is supposed to be. 

Asbestos It's a Spanish word meaning "fireproof", and it represents my resilient nature.

Ham … Right. Now stand back. Stanley is going to use his artistic vision and knowledge of steak preparation to make your spaceship beautiful.

[Hammering, drill, creepy opera, clown honk, mooing. Fades out.]

Ham Behold, Stanley's latest creation! A perfectly tender and juicy filet mignon seasoned with glitter and pencil shavings, served with a side of deep melancholy, yet with a subtle aftertaste of hope for humanity. This one of a kind artwork represents the cycle of life and death and rebirth while critiquing the artificial estrangement of man from his fellow organisms that our society has created.

Asbestos You cooked my spaceship! It's medium rare! 

Ham And it smells delicious! Do you mind if I-

Asbestos No! I've had enough! I should burn your pathetic planet to the ground with you still on it. Tell Stanley to stop eating the oxygen tank!

[Unfazed harmonica]

Ham Stanley says [muffled, as though chewing] but I didn't have breakfast this morning and it tastes really good!

Asbestos This is terrible! I'm already the laughing stock of the streaming world, I don't need- Hey, look at this! My views have doubled! Is it too late to change the title from "World Domination" to "Chill Cooking Stream"? Who knew this was what the people wanted? Maybe it's time to turn my life around. Maybe instead of mindlessly slaughtering galaxies, I should become a food influencer! I'll teach the people how to prepare easy, nutritious meals at home! 

Farmhand Hello? Ah, howdy. I'm the new farmhand you hired. Now, I know you weren't expecting me until the afternoon, but I just wanted to come early to get a headstart on my duties.

[Crickets.] Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?

Ham No, no, it's fine, we were just having some… technical difficulties with this tractor…?

Farmhand Oh, this'n? It smells delicious, you've seasoned it perfectly. So the issue is that it just won't start?

Ham Um. Pretty much, yeah?

Farmhand Oh, not to worry, my uncle has one just like this. You can get it started with a good kick to the side. 

[Thunk. The sound of an engine starting up.]

Asbestos What the fuck? Never mind, cooking stream cancelled, we're gonna go kill the president. Stanley and Ham, you really drive viewer engagement, so you're coming with me. Farmboy, to express my sincere gratitude for your services in getting my ship started, I'm going to refrain from vaporising you on the spot for daring to kick my baby. Now run before I change my mind. Okay. Tally ho!

[Synth music]

CREDITS

AsbestosI'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone who subscribed today and read out some of their messages. Spikes says, "hi Asbestos, I wrote the script and I play Hamuel Burger, and I'm failing university because of this podcast". Weird message, but okay. Thanks for the sub. Um, I also have one here from username "Bulk" who says, “Hey chat, I play Asbestos Le Guin and illustrated the cover art for the pod-” What is this? No fucking promoting your stuff on my own damn show, username Bulk! Ugh. Okay, last one and then I'm ending for today. Uh, this one is from Sarah, who says, “ Hiiii Asbestos, huge fan! I loved editing your voice and the whole show”. God, you guys are a real riot with this bit stuff. You just love the bit. Okay, that one was a little weird, so let's just end on another one. There's one from Freya who says, "howdy pardner, I played a charming Southern gentleman". Hey! That's the fucker who kicked my spaceship! Get back here, you varmint! 

[Scuffling]

[theblueskyofthedawn]

A little gift for @vistaryl ;3.

Rosaria was just returning from one of her self-imposed patrols – no Treasure Hoarders will take root in Mondstadt on her watch – when familiar voices made her pause.

– You're sure you don't need any help, Albedo? I have people to spare.

A chuckle.

– It's fine, Eula. I am just returning to my camp… – trees slightly obscured the view, but Rosaria still could see how he checked his pouch from time to time. – I'm afraid, my current experiment is better conducted with no potential victims.

– If you say so, – clearly dubious, she frowned. – I'll visit you myself later, then.

– As you wish, – he inclined his head. – May the wind guide you.

Dangerous experiment, huh?

Rosaria's eyes trailed the alchemist's figure to the edge of the woods.

She may join Eula's visit herself, then.

///

And that would've been the end of it if later that day she didn't stumble upon a different scene.

– Brother Albedo, you really-really have to go? – Klee, dejected, clung to his side, and Sucrose mirrored a pleading expression behind her.

– I'll return sooner than you notice, – Albedo conversationally smirked at the young elf. – Don't get into too much trouble in the meantime, okay?

– Klee will be good! – she quickly nodded, letting him go only to catch Sucrose's hand.

– Mister Albedo… – who, far too worried than usual, mumbled a little before blurting out:

– Be safe there!

– You too, Sucrose, – he laughed. – See you soon!

And disappeared down the stairs, leaving both of them before the Headquarters.

Neither of them noticed frowning Rosaria looking on from the plaza's edge, which was just as well.

Something didn't add up, and she would be damned if she didn't check what.

Trek to Dragonspine it was.

///

For researchers, curiosity substituted sleep, food, and sometimes health.

Albedo carefully placed rifthounds’ claws, one by one, on the table.

Traveller left two, passing by – the second would be perfect for the control group, but he already could guess that any Abyss traces were null and void there. Their purification ability was uncanny.

The only one to rival them – Albedo shook his head, exasperated, remembering the bard’s cheeky grin when he gave it – was Venti, his power still clinging to the claw in the subtle teal threads. Alchemist supposed that he could look into the source of that later, and not necessarily in the lab.

The one that Razor brought still slightly crackled with Electro, snapping at the snowflakes from time to time, and Albedo couldn���t wait to learn if it was rifthound’s or Razor’s own. He leaned to the latter, but it genuinely was anyone’s guess.

And last, there was the one that he acquired himself, and he was proud to state that he didn’t bring any elemental changes to the claw, relying solely on his sword.

Then his eyes stumbled on the sixth claw.

Albedo frowned and picked it up, looking over. On the first or even second, equipped, glance there was nothing unusual in it.

But since he didn’t know where it arrived from…

Albedo shuffled to the center of the camp to shuffle a bit of Khemia in it. What secretes this one would unravel, living?..

Bam!

“Experiment – complete failure,” the last thought barely found its way to his failing consciousness.

///

She didn't jump to action immediately only because sister Grace, resignedly annoyed, pulled her attention back to the evening prayer.

Rosaria looked at the statue's face instead, lazily contemplating its likeness, but the disappointed glances of other sisters didn't bother her any more than usual.

She disappeared into shadows at the first opportunity.

Fir needles crunched her heels as Rosaria allowed her contemplation to return to her target instead.

She could never deny that Albedo intrigued her, as private and ingenious as he was. Mystery clung to him like a second skin, as thrilling as it was dangerous.

Better for her alone than for the city, eh?

The closer she walked, the colder it got, and soon pine and snow mixed under her step.

Rosaria avoided criminal and monster camps alike with practiced ease, pausing only to raise her brow at Snowbearer's Tree growth, red butterflies almost taking to the sky from its branches. Traveller surely poured their soul into reviving it…

And yet, her destination met her with eerie silence.

Alchemist's camp looked empty for the longest time, until…

///

Albedo groaned, blurs and spots refusing to fade under insistent blinking, and slowly sat up, offending claw innocuously hiding under the table where it clattered from his grip. He had a guess now where it came from, at least.

Although checking on that would have to wait. The left shoulder itched from what felt like fairly deep gashes, and as much as his Vision didn't heal, per se, it was hell-bent on burning out Abyss poison from his system.

Albedo suspected that was one of, if not the only, reasons for Visions' existence in the first place, a weak weapon trusted in the correspondingly feeble mortal hands (exceptions existed, but not that many) made useful by sheer quantity. Not like he could ask any deity about it, though...a pity.

A detached voice pulled him out of his pained musings.

– Do you need help getting to the healer or you're fine?

He slowly blinked.

– I don't need a healer.

Her gray figure blurred a little between pine trees.

She turned to the road, scoffing:

– Bleeding like that?

– Wait!.. – Albedo coughed not-blood out, on the camp's frozen floor. Huh. The claw nicked his lung, then.

Nothing his regeneration couldn't fight, but that hurt like a storm. Master knew how to recreate sensations perfectly.

– I...kh-a...don't want to disturb anyone else, sister, – he paused for a second, recollection hazy, – Rosaria?

She paused, half-turning to him:

– You do know that healing is not my line of work.

– Let me just, – Albedo shook his head, gradually standing up by crawling up the table's leg. Or, at least, tried to as Rosaria came over to straighten him in one rough tug with an irritated sigh, – find my first-aid kit. It should be right… – his eyes scanned the shelves. Was air always this syrupy? – here.

He made a grabbing motion toward the lowest, most protected one and almost toppled over again.

– Stay where you are, – she caught him, firmly propping him up with the table's help, and went to retrieve the kit herself. He could swear she muttered something under her breath.

Albedo obeyed, more out of sheer exhaustion than anything else. If he took the next chain of experiments a day later, it would be no one's business but his, and in the meantime, he could arrange a proper protective barrier – probably even two, for himself and the surroundings – on the nearby ley-line…

Jostling of the table made him hiss at the pain spike, but no new coughing emerged. Good.

Rosaria looked the camp over:

– Is there a bed all of this, – she vaguely gestured at his wounded mess, – could be taken to?

He winced. Explaining that he did not need to sleep and, as such, foregone bedding altogether was out of the question. That's why he preferred traveling alone, after all.

– Here will suffice, – he shrugged with a healthy shoulder.

She warily eyed him but picked up a cleansing vial and a cloth from the kit:

– I'll take your word on it.

The next few minutes were spent in relative silence, interspersed only with hisses and rustling of cloth – he would need to patch this batch of clothes soon… - until Rosaria commented out of the blue:

– I didn't think you would return to chat with little sparkle after your talk with Eula.

It was a miracle – and a well-timed stab of pain, letting him grimace instead – that Albedo didn't gape at her.

Well, she accidentally confirmed his theory, at least.

– Klee deserves all the love, – he didn't need to fake fondness or hide his smile, – so it was a split-second decision.

Rosaria non-committally hummed and reached for bandages.

– You should find Barbara soon, – she muttered, critically eyeing her handiwork. – This looks pretty terrible.

Albedo shrugged again, already a bit more at ease.

– I'll handle it, – especially when he'll manage to chug out of a rejuvenation potion stash. – I appreciate your worry, – he inclined his head. A little bit of politeness went long way, he learned.

She huffed, a fleeting smile on her lips:

– My work is done, then, – she raised her brow, challenging. – I hope I won't find you in a lifeless pile next time.

Looking at her figure, disappearing behind the mountain's slope, he allowed himself a small smile.

Being human…was nice.

[citadelspires]

P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)

Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.

First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!

Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.

Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.

An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.

(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).

Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.

I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.

Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.

Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.

She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.

For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really  use something like that).

Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.

What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.

Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.

Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.

A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.

Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the  kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.

For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.

And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.

“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”

“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”

“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”

[your-dar-ling]

Gen:Lock 2.6 Recap/view

Eh. Alright.

G:L

One day we're gonna have to talk about the Chase to therapy pipeline.

Yaz and Val are still nothing. I mean c'mon there's only 3 of Team G:L left, I shouldn't still feel so detached from the ones alive.

Migas is so fun to watch....wait is he dead lol

It's nice to have a reminder that Chase is the only one trapped in his body.

Cammie.....? (that reveal scene was garbage)

Calaban not being able to live in his own body because of his extensive wealth of knowledge and overall importance (which the show refused to capitalize on) is just so...sad.

One day we're gonna have to talk about the Chase to Calaban to therapy pipeline.

Polity

Miranda and Marin's interactions are some of my favorite in this season.

Even if she's pretty irredeemable at this point that doesn't make Marin any less nuanced, and I consider that a positive because in Season 1 I felt no thoughts head empty over her.

Dri's "I'll do what needs doing"....yikes. You can really see the absolutism and desperation beginning to settle over everyone.

Can I just say how happy I am to see that someone responded to the "voices in character's head" moment with something other than "I didn't say anything?" Like YEA obviously, the character is struggling!! Miranda in general this season has just been an absolute joy.

She really ain't give a DAMN bout Jodie tho-

RTASA

Holcroft is an interesting character but he's still a bore to listen to.

I'm glad the show is doing the work of explaining all the things I spent like 30 minutes typing up last week *eye twitches*

This new ooba dooba Holons plot is lime source but it made me realize something:

Nothing has happened. In this whole season nothing has happened. Nothing that mattered anyway. We've changed locations, we've had alot of character development, but nothing has actually moved the plot forward. This is the first thing that has actually happened.

Sinclair is being tortured...honestly thought he'd be a bit more important than that-

I absolutely love Ms. Marketing Lady. I have no clue who she is but her energy....I wanna know more. Like the human race is about to perish but yesss girl get those ratings increase those sales. Her voice acting was infectious.

Union

Omg I have at least TWO separate thoughts on the Union this week...none of them are good lol

A more effective introduction to the Union would have been Dr. Jha switching to his side. We know her, we love her (or at least Weller did). So her switching sides would:

pique our interest for what the Union truly has to offer and

further distance itself from season 1

Alot of my problems with this season is that for some reason it felt the need to justify its own separation from the first. Like just do it. Commit! It's fine!

Who the hell is the spy in the Polity? Are we ever gonna find that out? Does it even matter anymore?

So like...Brother Tate can't seem to decide on whether or not the Flow is good and it'll save everyone or if he needs to ask for forgiveness for it.

I'm more surprised by the fact that I've seen people on the hellsites are reacting genuinely affronted towards the religion everyone has been staking their entire civilization upon having a semblance of genuine merit. Like. Seriously? Do people just believe mass cult suicide is only wrong because their faith for which they were doing it wasn't good enough?? Is there no problem with that outside of them being potentially WRONG about their religion??? Sounds like some are looking for more validation than the Union....

Yea this episode was neat. Fighting was still kinda lame. But whatever.

Final Ranking: 7ish/10

[chubbychummy]

Part 3: The timing

I had been hoping to get my surgery done in July, right after my thesis defense. That would be ideal, considering that I'll be done with everything, unemployed, have no responsibilities, and thus have time to chill and heal in peace. Also, I'll stay in Nantes, potentially with a friend who can help take care of me. So everything is ideal for that.

But Dr. P's next availability would not be until the end of September. For a second consultation. Not even for the surgery. Idk how much time between the second consultation and the surgery. I already waited 5 months for this first consultation. I'd have to wait another 5 for the second. And another 5 for the surgery? So it won't be until 2022?

I haven't heard back from any of the 3 jobs yet, but if I get any of them, the start date would likely be the beginning of September. So that makes I likely won't be in Nantes anymore. My options then would be to come back to Nantes for the consultation/surgery. Which would mean I'd have to request 5+ weeks off of work for healing, as well as travelling. If the contract is only for 1 year, it might not be good to take off 1.5 months. Alternatively, if I'm in another city, I might as well just.. idk... just wait another year?? for surgery? Which I don't really wanna do but eh. If it's the one in Lyon, there is another doctor who is relatively reputed in Lyon (actually HAS reviews online, unlike this guy). But that'd basically restart the whole process, which just to get this first consultation took 5 months. And if I have to wait another 5 months for consultation 2, and another 5 months for surgery, that's like a year. So basically it resets the timer back a year?? fuck, man.

So I've been weighing this a lot. Trying to figure out what to do, because I really wanted the surgery in this middle time between jobs, so I wouldn't have to request a significant time off of work cuz I'd be unemployed and have no work anyway. It's just not convenient to have a major surgery while working.

Also, if I decided the restart the timer and just get the surgery in another city, I'd have to face the issue of healing by myself again, which seems like a really bad idea. Here, I know people, so I can ask people to help me. But in a brand new city, I know no one. So I'd have to heal by myself. For the first week, I'll be essentially immobile and not be able to lift my arms at all. Won't be able to wash myself for at least 5-7 days. Trying to weigh these things.

I was also doing a lot of research trying to find other people who have done top surgeries in France to see their experiences. I found two different sources who said "If the doctor won't show you any photos, run." Which, now reading the reasoning, makes sense. Why would they not have photos? How many of these surgeries has he really actually performed? All of his examples and things he was talking about were nonspecific examples and NOT top surgeries. I really know nothing of this guy's top surgery experiences. And no one else online has any photos of their results with him, nor anything to say about him. Also performing other surgeries doesn't tell you anything about how the doctor does with top surgery. It's just really a huge leap of faith, and also I feel really shitty about this dude.

In addition, other people who have gotten top surgery in France and made videos about it on youtube went with Secteur 2 doctors, who cost more (private vs public). The comments were like "It cost 2k, but I would do it again. Super happy." And listening to their consultation experience, it was similar to my first consultation with the lady doctor. Warm, transparent, informative. I really felt like she would follow through and be interested in giving me the best result possible. It might end up costing a lot. 2k off the bat and then several hundred for revisions - and there will likely be revisions. But it's also my body for the rest of my life. And she has fewer patients (cuz she costs more), so I can definitely imagine her giving me the time of day, which this male doctor did not. He felt very much like he was trying to rush me out, but I still had so many unanswered questions. He felt like he was friendly, but I absolutely did not get that impression. I felt like if I had the surgery with him, I could not imagine him being too present in the post-op followup. Whereas I could see the female doctor wanting to make sure I was well.

Taking all of that into consideration, I was thinking - why do I want to go with this dude anyway? Every single thing about him is bad EXCEPT that he is free. But do I want that? No, I really don't. Other people have paid 2k for their top surgeries and were very happy. I also deserve to have good care and to feel like I have a doctor who cares. It's better to pay and feel taken care of, than to take a leap of faith for a free surgery with a shitty man.

So this morning, I called the first lady's office to schedule a date for the surgery. They need some administrative work to be done first before they can schedule anything, so idk when that'll be. But I'm hoping it'll be sometime this year, before September.

Had my top surgery consultation after 5-6 months of waiting and....

I FUCKING HATE THIS GUY.

I'm so fucking pissed.