#everything is rent

[ashleywool]

but getting older means more awkward situations

Turned 37 yesterday. The 34 guilty convictions were a very nice present. Probably the best present I've ever received, including last year, when my present was a literal Broadway contract (ok, technically we found out on June 22, but tomato/tomahto).

A less nice present was the letter from my building management informing me that if I renew my lease (which I won't), my rent will be raised to what would have been 33% of my net income if HTDIO was still running. It was about 29% before, which is still a lot, but worth it for the ability to have no roommates in a decent apartment.

And when I say "decent," I mean decent in that it checks most of the basic boxes amenable to a reasonable quality of life. That is, if you don't mind having a walkup with a perpetually dysfunctional kitchen ceiling light, a radiator that you can't turn on, water damage on the ceiling due to other people's radiator dysfunction, construction outside your window during the day, aggressively loud pedicabs in the evening, and squeaky garbage trucks at 1am. So basically, a decent quality of life for heavy sleepers (which I am not) with fully functional body temperature regulation (again, not me) and no mobility issues whatsoever (I do check that box, at least for now).

The plus sides are: it's right in Hell's Kitchen, and within walking distance to most of the places I regularly go, it's a reasonably sturdy and non-fire-hazardy building for its age (which means I feel comfortable leaving my cats there) with functional plumbing and electricity (except the kitchen ceiling light), never had a pest problem, the refrigerator and microwave are brand new and excellent quality, the oven is younger than me, although it's small, and only one of the burners doesn't work.

I'm no stranger to the horror stories of NYC apartment living. I know I'm still more privileged than most to live in a place that's decent.

But it's not "you need a six-figure income and perfect credit just to APPLY to live here" decent.

It's not "you owe $9K in deposits and broker fees before you even move in" decent.

It's not "you must have either consistent exorbitant wealth or significant supplementary generational wealth in order to stay here" decent.

"So just get a job. Just get a roommate. Just put up with more problems. Suck it up. Or move back in with one of your parents again."

Sure. Okay. I'd love to. But.

When the minimum wage is $16 an hour, this isn't a "just get a job" problem.

When you're a highly trained professional at the highest level of your field and you're unemployed because corporate landlords were mad that your show wasn't selling $800 tickets in the middle of January like your neighbors at Merrily, this isn't a "just leave the industry" problem.

When finding a new career that would pay anything near what you need to live in this city would require taking out a small fortune in student loans to get another degree just to qualify for entry-level jobs that still won't pay your bills until you significantly advance, this isn't a "you majored in theatre, what did you expect" problem.

When you're autistic and chronically fatigued, fastidious about cleanliness and clutter, and religiously adhere to schedules and routines and predictability in your own space, this isn't a "just get a roommate" problem.

When you are a more-famous-than-average individual whose autism is directly tied to the things you're best known for, and Reddit is full of nightmare stories about what it means to have an autistic roommate, and Reddit is also rife with lies and rumors about you specifically, this isn't a "just get a roommate" problem.

And while I love my parents and have great relationships with both of them and they are doing everything they can to support me...for complicated logistical and personal reasons that are none of the Internet's business, "just move back in with your parents" is not a super helpful solution either.

But if I don't find a miracle between now and the end of August, that's probably what I'll end up doing.

And the crazy thing is, the fact that that's even an option for me STILL makes me more privileged than MOST people.

Nobody should have to face the situation I'm facing, and yet millions of people--especially disabled people--face this and worse, with far less support than I have. A cornerstone of my advocacy has been pointing out this inequity as often as I can, and trying to use my privilege and platform to help and amplify people who don't have those resources.

At this point in my career, I am supposed to be throwing down the ladder. Instead, and in spite of everything, I'm clinging to the ladder for dear life while the rungs crack beneath my feet.

And it all comes down to the landlords.

Legislation that limits the acquisition power and earning power of property owners, and enacts strict rent caps for residential AND business buildings, would solve 98% of my problems and approximately 75% of everyone else's problems in this city. (Please don't quote me on these statistics, they are sourced directly from my ass and are for idealistic illustrative purposes only.)

Anyway. Um.

34 felony convictions is still a beautiful thing.

[imperatorium]

Shout(ish)out to that one kind of too much Rent BNF who came into my former Hot Topic in like 2007 and was like, "Oh, 'Just Here To The Left Of You' is about a blowjob!", revealing a layer of the song I - a person who immediately took it all as an emotional reaction to a weird relationship between Roger & Mark - had never considered but now can't unhear, lmao.

[sheikfangirl]

Aryll's gift: A Pre-Calamity short story.

Note: For the best reading experience, please click on the first panel and scroll from image to image. ♥️

... Link forgot.

Hope you enjoy this one.

Cheers!

[senseandaccountability]

Sorry, but I accidentally checked what Solas has been saying about spirits and demons and broke my heart.

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

[blueskiesandstarrynights]

"oh i'm excited for titans curse so we can see nico!!" NO I'm excited for s5 the last olympian so we can see the curse of achilles, our first instance(s!) of dark percy, the nonstop battles, silenas death, percy saying pay your fuckin child support, 'family, luke. you promised.' the underwater kiss

[juniemunie]

"The sky was lonely, and you were the tail that I wanted."

[howlsnteeth]

💢💢💢

[liesmultixxx]

Mr. Perseus “I talk about the love of my life in my sleep” Jackson is something that is so personal to me

Also: “Oh, uh. A friend.”

FRIENDS MY ASS

[agendratum]

something is bugging seungmin

[gotchibam]

I'm sorry for asking help once again but I've been finding it hard to keep up w/ my expenses lately and it's taking a toll on me. I can't accept new commissions rn since I'm still going through my backlog so I don't have any source of income atm.

If you'd like to help out, I still have a couple of adoptables and a couple of pokemon doodle compilations in my ko-fi shop for sale. If those are too much, you can also just leave tips on my ko-fi page!

After losing my mom last March, things have been way more difficult for me so I couldn't finish the work I've accumulated right away. I'm very thankful tho bc everyone's been kind & patient w/ me so far ;; Thank you sm for the support even thru the difficult times, I really appreciate it ;_; 🙏🙏🙏

[ghoulspaw]

"how can we solve this"

MC: well, actually, haku-

[yuwuta]

roommate katsuki lore time: 

your job isn’t as physically demanding as that of a pro-hero, but it is equally, if not more time intensive. your friends often comment you seem dead on your feet way more often than they do, and you have to agree. so when you decide to scrounge up some extra money and hire a private chef, you think it’s the best decision you’ve made in a while. 

your friends would seem to agree—and some tease that maybe you should ask your guy if he can cater to izuku, too. except for katsuki, who seems appalled, betrayed, and disgruntled. it takes all but one week about you gushing over the meals your chef has prepped for you for katsuki to show up to your apartment in the middle of the day, while you’re at work, and the chef is in your kitchen, kindly ask him to leave forever, and get to work himself. when you come home, you’re confused and pissed when you realize katsuki has fired your saving grace, but the anger falls flat on your tongue when you’re interrupted by the blonde spoon-feeding you the most delicious bite of steak that you’ve ever had in your entire life. he’s way too smug watching you physically melt about the food, and ordering you to sit down and have a proper meal. 

he tries not to be endeared by your stuffed cheeks, but there’s a satisfaction brewing in him that he can’t quite place. all he knows is it won’t be taken away from him again; that’s why he flicks your forehead, throws a dish towel over his shoulder, and says, “make room for my shit here by the end of the week. and don’t complain when i put all your spoons together in one drawer,” before heading over to the sink to wash up. 

you don’t even get until the end of the week before katsuki is barreling into your apartment with boxes and clothes and, “this is what we call a stainless steel pan in the wild. ever seen one before?” prompting you to reach up and pinch his ear even as he cackles all the way to the kitchen. you suppose, in the end you can’t complain. you get to live with your best friend, you get free catering, free cleaning, and it takes you two months of living together to find out katsuki’s paid off your rent for the rest of the year, too. you know, what friends are for. 

[mobius-m-mobius]

If it’s all the same to you… I’ll have that drink now.

[arcane-gold]

hi darlings i hate asking for help but i’m in a pickle this month trying to balance paying rent and prepping for a hurricane, all while going out of town next week. if you could share this i would really appreciate it 😭

i had a check coming in from a publisher that fell through, and now i have to come up with that $500 before next thursday, all while i will be in wyoming. stress

anyway thank you for your time, i appreciate you so much

thank you!! here is da link

[peachfruitcake]

hi Sorry haven’t updated in so long lol life has been busy and a load of big changes took place

here’s low effort scribbles n doodles (in order from oldest to newest) all from the past several months