Lukas
I am a disabled Air Force veteran with spent 4.5 years in medical administration. That was not the beginning of my life with the military. I also grew up as an Army brat. The military gave me the opportunity to spend 10 years in Germany and 3 years in England, so I’ve spent lots of time outside of the United States and have traveled all around Europe.
I’ve been gaming since 1991, on the NES! My favorite games are RPGs, Puzzlers, and Simulations. My all-time favorite franchise is Zelda.
They originally labeled me as disabled in 2009. I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and chronic migraines in the military, and in 2009 was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and shortly after, also chronic insomnia. This year we added ulnar neuropathy, bilateral muscle spasms (likely in the trapezius muscles), and a partial rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder.
Before the Coronavirus outbreak, we were also trying to get my hearing tested to find out where my hearing loss is, and they also want to send me for a sleep study to help with my insomnia.
I started in content creation on YouTube in July 2013! Since then I’ve been on Mixer (then it was called Beam) and an affiliate on Twitch.tv. Although I’m not streaming anymore, I’m still helping to run an LGBTQIA+ stream team called The Rainbow Collective.
Owly
I am a deaf non-binary person with Asperger’s who loves to draw fantasy creatures. As a freelance artist, I work from home most of the time with small commissions. Most of my commissions come from Twitch, which is where I’ve called home since Feb 2013.
Owly had an infection as an infant and the antibiotics caused them to go deaf before their first birthday. ASL was their first language. Although Owly never really “fit in” and struggled to understand social cues growing up, they weren’t diagnosed with Asperger’s until late into high school, as they prepared to go to college.
My desire to create art started when I was young, but I didn’t start posting it online until I joined Deviantart in 2006, where I still maintain a semi-active presence. Most of my art can now be found on Artstation, since 2018.
Owly’s first console was the Playstation 1 that they shared with their siblings. Their favorite franchise on that platform was Sypro and they played through all three games. Owly’s Gameboy Advance threw them into the Pokemon franchise (Ruby/Saphire), and that started a lifelong passion for the games. They are still playing Pokemon on the Switch!
In 2006, games were still coming out with trials on CD, and that’s where Owly found World of Warcraft and learned to play co-operatively with other players. They can still be found floating around Azeroth, but play most often with Lukas, horde side on Aggramar.
Our Relationship
We originally met at TwitchCon 2019. At that time, Owly was in a relationship with somebody else so we were just friends hanging out. After we went home, we kept in contact with Discord. Owly’s relationship quickly fizzled.
When Owly was single, Lukas used this as an opportunity to express his feelings, and it was soon that we realized that feelings were mutual. On December 11th, 2019, Lukas ventured back to Owly’s home town and made things official.
The Coronavirus outbreak has made it so all trips are on hold. There are plans to get Owly to Lukas’ current home town permanently, but that will have to wait until savings are done and the outbreak is over. Until then, we are maintaining our relationship through gaming together and video calls.
Together we work toward improved accessibility for deaf and other disabled people on Twitch and throughout the gaming community.
Future Plans
Owly and I both love camping and travel. Once we are settled in our new home together, we hope to get back to Europe and travel into the Middle East and Far East Asia (specifically Japan and Vietnam).
Travel for the deaf (Owly) and the disabled (Lukas) can be complicated and difficult. We will have to do lots of planning, much of which I’m sure you’ll see on this blog.
Camping was on the plan for this summer but it looks like that will most likely be put on hold. The campground Lukas most often likes to go to is inaccessible during the snowy months, so that will be on the itinerary for 2021. We also plan on traveling to SoCal and Arizona for more camping opportunities.
Lukas and Owly both have plans to go back to school. Lukas wants to go back for business administration with a focus on non-profits. Owly wants to go back to school for game design. Lukas hopes soon to use his experience and knowledge to start a coaching business helping new streamers get started!