#make housing affordable

[usernamesarehard1]

People can't make enough money to survive

[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.

[marzipanandminutiae]

"we bought this Victorian house and opened up the interior, adding lots of overhead lights and pewter walls-"

biting you killing you biting you killing you biting you killing you

[jackawful]

I think as much as free housing for everyone is a good goal, we gotta also fight for the right to not live in a house if you don't want to? Like I am aware that for the vast majority of homeless folks rn it's a non-choice or half-choice under the current system but like. Idk like even if the state provides everyone with an apartment or tiny home, even if most people would take that deal in a heartbeat, it's not okay for the state to force someone into housing they don't want. It's not okay for the state to tow someone's camper van even if they give them an apartment in exchange. I should have the right to travel for months on end and camp anywhere suitable that isn't being used. Freedom of movement and freedom to occupy spaces is really important actually.

[barksbog]

if i could afford it i would get into making ceramics specifically to make hides for my beasts

i'm just tired of shit looking resin rocks you know

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript below the cut:

Atlas: No.

Asher: Atlas, c’mon, at least think about it. Atlas: There’s nothing to think about. It’s too much.

Asher: Well, we’re running out of options, and you know they’d be happy to help. Atlas: That’s not the point.

Asher: [breathless] If this is about your pride or some shit… Atlas: It’s not. I’ve already agreed to move in with them to save money. I’m not asking them for a loan on top of it.

Asher: It’s an interest free loan. Vendor: Can I help you? Asher: Yes, can I get six of these frozen peaches, please?

Atlas: Interest free or not, it’s a loan that we don’t know how, or when, or even IF, we’d be able to repay. Asher: [sighs, defeated] Fuck. No, you’re right, we can’t do that.

...

Atlas: There’s no way our storage unit is going to hold all this furniture. I can probably sell the couch. And maybe the bed too since you already have one there. Asher: You don’t have to. My parents are clearing out a room upstairs for you.

Atlas: Why? Asher: Because I know it’s not going to be easy for you living with so many people. The house will never be empty, so I wanted to make sure you have your own space in case you need time alone.

Atlas: … Asher: What? Is that okay?

Atlas: I love you.

Asher: [laughs] We’re never gonna finish packing if we keep taking breaks. Atlas: You’re the one always telling me it’s important to take breaks. Asher: Hmm. Good point.

[sergle]

yall are about to piss me off by not having any PASSING basic knowledge of the way the u.s. military manipulates its recruits into joining by typing up one of your uninformed, unresearched, unempathetic, individualistic, unbelievably annoying posts about how 100% of the people in the military ended up there because they just Love America So Damn Much! they're extremely mature and informed at time of recruitment, they can totally leave anytime they want, they totally had tons of other avenues in life they could've taken, there was no rush at all to get income as fast as possible, and everyone in the military also totally is part of the combat divisions and personally enjoys being IN the military very much, big believers of violence. everyone in the military is shooting guns all day, that's how that works. they LOVE BLOODSHED. also I love the "amewicans haha" twang to this type of shit because you're actually TOTALLY stealing our Thing, which is turning systemic issues into Individual Issues. Instead of talking about the powers that be, it's so Personal Choice up in here. It's, "well you shouldn't have done it then. I totally wouldn't because I know better." you don't wanna talk about the military industrial complex as a whole, and you don't want to talk about recruiters, you just want to pin the blame on Specific Individual People one-by-one, as if they're responsible for the system that they're being ground up in. someone was in the military? bad person, no matter what. it's easier to believe that, I guess, than to acknowledge that Normal People (with high school educations) are manipulated and incentivized into joining a system that is Bad. at like age 18. but yeah no that 18 year old should have just been smarter lol haha anyway here are some screenshots for no particular reason

side note this reply of someone going "umm just get loans and go into a high paying field it's easy XD" as a direct response to someone trying to explain how most americans joining the military are being funneled in that direction out of a need for money.

and another person who Decided that americans join the military just CLENCHING their teeth thinking of other people, and not thinking completely selfishly about their own selves and their own income/housing/healthcare.

[moonmoonthecrabking]

pete has to constantly hide ted from grace so she doesn’t kill him. he has had to physically restrain her on several occasions

[mayasaura]

I think the best possible time travel fic would be to slingshot Harrow from the end of Harrow the Ninth back to the beginning of Gideon the Ninth. Highest hilarity potential, highest angst potential, highest pining potential

Things Harrow knows now that she didn't before:

Who Alecto was

The names of God and his lyctors

The secret of lyctorhood

That the lyctor trials are a death trap

Gideon could be easily persuaded to die for her

Gideon dying for her is the worst thing possible

She would do almost anything to prevent Gideon from dying

Gideon's sword is haunted by a very angry and oddly familiar-looking woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to Gideon

Things Harrow still doesn't know:

What Alecto is

Gideon's parentage

Jackshit about BOE

Mercy and Augustine are both traitors

Things Harrow knew then and still knows now:

Gideon—this Gideon here and now—hates her

She owes a debt of two hundred lives and a future to the Ninth

The survival of the Ninth depends on her becoming a lyctor

[here-comes-the-moose]

When I’m writing my Modern AU but then try to figure out and calculate how the life I gave the Batch is financially possible:

[unforth]

Just fyi, unfortunately Peach Flowers House seems to be closing https://www.peachflowerhouse.com/closing

Damn. Thank you for letting me know.

They'd gotten so quiet this year that I'll own I had concerns but it's still a bummer to see those concerns are justified.

I just visited their webpage. Print books are 30% off and they're taking orders through November 30th (discontinuing outside the US shipping on the 15th). Ebooks will be on sale through the 15th.

I'm gonna grab a copy of University of the Underworld (ebook only), as it's their only danmei title I don't already own.

They have published in print editions:

Little Mushroom

Golden Stage

The Imperial Uncle

Peach Blossom Debt

In the Dark

I have read their translations of all of these and they're all solidly translated, decently edited, and excellent books. I honestly can't pick a favorite, they're all great in different ways. Little Mushroom is incredible, and I think everyone who likes spec fic should read it. The Imperial Uncle was delightful. If you like Modu and/or Poyun you'll almost certainly also enjoy In the Dark. Golden Stage I like so much I bought it even though I'd already read the fantranslation. It looks like at least some print titles are sold out; it's worth grabbing the ebooks if the print aren't available anymore.

It's depressing to know that if all the people I know who've said they want to or plan to read these books had actually gotten them, maybe they wouldn't be closing (but maybe they would, sales might not be the problem, idk). Regardless, you've got 2 weeks to a month left to buy them depending where you are in the world. Don't miss out, they're all great in their own ways.

If anyone outside the US wants me to play danmei mule and ship stuff forward lemme know, I can try to help.

[usernamesarehard1]

Boomer: “Millennials and Gen Z REFUSE To Make Sacrifices.”

[inkskinned]

it is totally okay to be hurt and tired and fed up with the american schooling system but i need you to understand that we need to be better about loudly and routinely defending public education.

yes, many teachers suck, many schools utterly suck. i also got bullied and was absolutely not given the right support for my needs. i am not defending public education because it was kind to me. i am defending it because it needs to exist.

right-wing republicans do not want an educated population. they want kids to be homeschooled or in private school. there is a huge religious undertone to this.

the most common argument is that despite high costs, the "result" is not "good" enough. they point to failing schools as proof that public education is just never going to work out. there will be arguments made here that you actually agree with: that teachers can be bullies, that we taught online for 2 years and still charged the same amount of tuition, that we have no recourse for students to actually have agency or a voice, and that schools are now unsafe for kids due to risk of illness and gun violence.

these are all placing the blame in a fraudulent way, one intended to get your parents to homeschool you. the less kids in a school, the less federally-awarded funding for that school, the less any school succeeds. they will not mention the fact it is their legislation that takes away important funding opportunities, that teachers are living at or below the poverty line, that buildings are not kept up to code, that administration is overpaid and forces specific curriculums, that corporations like (my personal enemy) Pearson Education control certain classroom goals because teachers can't afford other options. they pretend to be ignorant of the gun violence and say "oh just get a gun" - but these are the same people who will be sending their child to a private school with a bulletproof backpack. they don't care if your kid dies, though. they "don't believe" in covid, but they did get their kid vaccinated, because of course they did.

it is a closed loop. conservative parents hear the fearmongering and remove children from the system. frequently these parents are also deeply religious. the kids are raised without access to other media & learn to parrot their parents. you have now created a new generation of conservatives. additionally, one of the parents/caregivers must stay home and homeschool the children, usually for free. i will give you 1 guess which parent tends to stay home to homeschool the children. these parents are encouraged to have many, many children. those children are most likely not getting access to safe sex ed.

we might laugh at fox news suggesting teachers are forcing children to use kitty litter but: first of all, there is kitty litter in the classroom. it's part of an emergency kit in case children are locked in due to a shooter. so that's fucking dystopian, and the fact they've completely reimagined the scenario to somehow make the teachers look bad when it's instead a fucking huge symbol of our failure as a country to protect our children.... it feels a little intentional.

secondly: don't just dismiss the situation. because, yeah, obviously, no teacher is encouraging kids to be a catboy. but the actual undertone that fox news is trying to sew is an outright distrust of teachers and of public education. they rely on the dehumanization of trans people as a common touchstone to hide the fact they're pushing two agendas at once. (which is ironic. because the thing they accuse teachers of. is pushing. an agenda.)

whenever someone tells you they want you to read less, you should be suspicious of that. when someone tries to separate you and your education, you should be suspicious of that. i don't even like incel rhetoric nor would i want my kids exposed to it - but i would not take away my child's (age-appropriate) access to the internet. i would just provide more educational materials, not less. the difference here is that i believe we can resolve ignorance with knowledge; whereas conservatives believe that ignorance is bliss.

they misappropriate funding and demonize teachers. they pull the same trick each time - the same thing we are seeing with anti-trans rhetoric. they do not want you to have access to safe sex ed, so they act horrified, claim sex ed teaches you how to thrust deep, claim that we have no idea what "age-appropriate" means. since the mid-nineties, the united states has spent at least 2 billion dollars on abstinence-only education, even though to quote the above link: "a preponderance of studies has found no effect of abstinence education at reducing adolescent pregnancy". conservatives want you to think less of any person struggling with addiction so they can continue their racist "war on drugs", so they spend up to $750 million dollars a year on the DARE program which has absolutely no effect. acting like teachers "must" be "grooming" children is just the same thing - so they can demand that funding either goes to their causes or the funding doesn't "exist" ("i'm not paying for our kids to learn that thing!")

and they want you to feel uncaring about this. they are aware that you will hate some parts of your school experience. pretty much everyone does. they want to lean into the parts that you hate so that you don't put up a fight about it when they take it away for not being "good enough."

i know i maybe sound like a conspiracy theorist. but truly. truly. it is beneficial for conservatives to reduce your faith in the american public schooling system.

one of the explicitly stated campaign promises of the conservative party: to axe the Department of Education in 2024.

i know we are all tired and burnt out and there is so much else wrong with their entire platform. but maybe just - pay attention to this one.

[ano-po]

Naalala mo yung tito o kapitbahay mo'ng asa sa nanay kase hindi ganon kalaki yung sweldo n'ya para magkaroon sya ng sariling bahay? Sabihin pa ng ibang magulang na batugan s'ya kase andali lang naman sana magkabahay. Ikaw na bata, may pangarap magka mansyon tapos feeling mo kaya mo kase masipag at matalino ka naman. Tapos pagtanda natin wala satin kaya maka-afford ng bahay at 25 even though 4-7 years na tayo nagta trabaho 😆. At hindi lang 'to problema ng kapitbahay mong batugan, kase ikaw manager or tl na, pero nakatira parin sa nanay mo. Okay lang, kase napauso naman yung 'take your time, 30s is the new 25', hindi beh, by the time na 30 na ako, 6million na ang basic unit. 'take your time, 40s is he new 30s'. Just tell me nalang beh that I will never afford a house ever. You're just making me surrender my right. Kase kahit ma promote pa ako, the ratio of house prices to sweldo will never change, worse, lalaki pa. Ewan ko kung may sense tong sinasabi ko pero... Mabuhay ang rebolusyon.

[malrie]

ok this post is very boring to everyone but me idc though. adult annabeth going into architecture I think like many archs she’d love the work but hate the politics and bc she’s specifically going into building development (mt. olympus rebuilds) it MEANS. annoying and insane godly ownership clients..

cuz in building development typically developers hire architectural firms (in this case whatever firm ms chase works for) and the architects then hire consultants to work with like structural civil mechanical electrical plumping etc (and occasionally landscape archs yippeeeee!)

licensed annabeth chase in her mid to late twenties to early thirties might be part of a firm (MAYBE just maybe with a firm of her own) would be a killer project manager and thrive in a management position but since the end all be all word is always ownership (the developers) she’d have the most beef w them but has to follow everything they want bc they’re literally the ones funding everything. I’m just saying tht she’s coming out of the olympus rebuilding simmering w dislike for every minor and major god who wanted their high rises rebuilt LMAO

[alongtidesoflight]

i swear my stepdad is so illogical AND stubborn it hurts