kombuchaclock

[kombuchaclock]

Nonbinary, disabled, need help

I'm a disabled queer person in the US. I can't work, and even leaving the house is difficult. My partner's job pays most of our combined expenses, but I have my own bills that she can't pay. I've been trying to get on US disability for years now, and as of the most recent update I've gotten, it's not exactly looking great for me.

Regardless, I need about $250 a month to both pay my bills and for incidental purchases. Please help me out or reblog this, if you can.

paypal

venmo: PeridotRose

[kombuchaclock]

Wrote a short story in @mmoxie's campaign setting earlier this month. Idk if it's a good read for most people because it's got both D&D-isms and stuff that literally only people in the campaign would get, but I'll post it anyway.

Mechanus: The Plane of Order

Miles and miles of gleaming, untarnished metals. Rows of identical buildings intermittently broken by roads, the intersections of these roads and the corners of these buildings forming completely precise right angles. Incomprehensibly complex machines made of parts ranging in size from smaller than your fingertip to bigger than cities. Server farms performing billions of calculations a second, all cooled to exactly 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Warehouses stocked with perfect cubes of every element on the periodic table. A twelve-hour day. A twelve-hour night.

There were no plants on Mechanus, save for the occasional trimmed patch of grass or hedges. There were creatures, but most of them were… not fully organic.

The primary inhabitants of Mechanus were the modrons. The modrons went back and forth, always busy, but never so hasty as to run into one another. They moved as the well-lubricated machinery that surrounded them, always arriving exactly where they needed to at exactly the right time. Every one of them carried out a task given to them by another modron directly above them in their hierarchal ranking: monodrones followed duodrones, duodrones followed tridrones, and so on, up the chain of command, all the way to Primus, the inscrutable and omniscient master of Mechanus whose grand design kept the plane running like literal clockwork.

Then came The Verdant Typhoon. Mechanus was no more, replaced by Antikythera, the Feywilds Reborn. Fields and rolling hills and forests filled with all manner of flora and fauna. Beautiful. Vibrant. Mercurial. The modrons lived on, however. On the surface, they became the rockdrons. They scarcely resembled their forebears at all. Though their bodies were largely inorganic and they still spoke the language of mathematics, “true” modrons would consider them misshapen and lacking the hustle that comes with an obsession with efficiency.

But below… deep below… the remnants of Mechanus survived.

Among the newer inhabitants of Antikythera were that of refugees from the Yonder, Primus’ recycling bin, and their descendants. Dwarves, goblins, elves, arcillans. And perhaps most peculiar of all, humans.

Humans have a funny way of caring too much about certain things, Artie thought. Things like names or what’s between your legs. And the irony wasn’t lost on him, he thought it ultimately didn’t matter how small and slight he was or how high his voice was, even though he still cared about those things. But he cared about those things because of other humans. Sometimes he wished he was a dwarf: stouter, hairier. Hell, even an elf would be better. At least then his peers would also be twinks.

Artie wanted to get away from the pastoral Antikythera, which held nothing but heartbreak for him. And because it stretched far, far away in all cardinal directions, his only real choice was to go down.

Down is where he met the modrons. A group of them were excavating parts of Mechanus that The Verdant Typhoon buried under earth. Whether it was to reclaim some lost legacy or simply to find usable parts was unclear. Maybe it was both. Unexpectedly, for beings of pure order, the modrons were oddly egalitarian. Perhaps in a different timeline Artie might’ve been their enemy, but not here and now. Their concepts of gender, of stature, of fitness, were completely different from the humanoids above. They only cared if Artie could work.

And, by the Gods, did he. Sometimes they had him dig. Artie wasn’t very good at that. He was weak and needed frequent breaks. Through some experimentation, the modrons found that a certain diet of subterranean mushrooms and insects helped Artie perform better in this role, if temporarily.

But Artie’s main role was fixing things. Both the machines unearthed by the modrons and the modrons themselves. He had a knack for it. The modrons, which no longer had the support of Primus’ perfect system to keep them running, would get injured or simply degrade faster than they expected. Some of the higher-ranking modrons had the knowledge of how to fix themselves or others, but the lower-ranking modrons were only equipped to follow simple tasks. There was a bit of a problem in that the modrons saw nothing wrong with Artie, even the obvious signs of fatigue. They didn’t need to eat or sleep, why should he?

And so, one day, after being awake for more than forty-eight hours straight, Artie collapsed. He awoke to someone he didn’t recognize. A very old man with pointy ears.

“Who…” Artie started. Gods, he still felt like shit. The old man turned to him, a smile alighting on his face. “Ah, you’re awake! No, no, don’t get up yet. How are you feeling?” “… Bad. Who the fuck’re you?”

“Oh, just a concerned passerby. Call me Haikan.” The man explained as he began putting various sundries back into a doctor’s bag.

“… Bullshit.”

The old man turned back with a look of surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

“You ain’t no random passerby all the way down ‘ere, so what are ya ‘ere for?”

Haikan sighed. “Well, I’m something of a traveling scholar. I wanted to see more of the ruins of Mechanus under Antikythera. In particular, I was hoping to glean some insight into why and how Primus did what he did to my home plane, information that eluded me for a long time.”

Artie turned away from Haikan. “So you’re like those modrons, right?” Haikan laughed. “Maybe in some ways, but I wouldn’t work a young girl-“ Artie bolted upright, immediately wincing in pain. “Boy. I’m a boy you stupid git.”

Haikan looked back at Artie. “I’m deeply sorry. But, my answer stands, I wouldn’t work a young boy to death either.”

Artie knitted his brow. “I’m fine.”

Haikan narrowed his eyes. He put gloves over his hands and pulled out a small flashlight. He prodded Artie’s middle. “Chronically malnourished, underweight even for your height, which is saying something, since you’re a few inches shorter than me…” He pulled on Artie’s face. “Clear sleep deprivation, and your teeth are considerably degraded.” He put the flashlight back in the bag. “Tell me, how old are you?”

“I’m fourteen. And my name is Artie, fanks for askin’.” “Well, Artie, I hate to say it, but…” Haikan reached over and plucked a hair from Artie’s long, ginger mane and presented it to him. “You’re going gray!”

Artie seemed to despair for a moment before becoming angry again. “You’re one to talk.” Haikan sighed again. “Yes, I am very old. I will tell you, though, I didn’t live this long by spending my whole life working. You need to take breaks now and then.”

There was a pause before Artie spoke again. “You’re an elf, right?”

“Yes,” Haikan answered plainly.

“Is it possible for a human to live as long as an elf?”

Haikan’s eyes went wide. In this context, it was a question coming from a very dire place. He tried to pick his words carefully. “… With the aid of magic, yes, there are ways for a human to live that long. But without magic, unfortunately not.”

Artie remained silent.

Haikan quietly resumed restocking his doctor’s bag. He turned to Artie for the last time before he left. “There is a drink over there for you. It will help you feel better. Next to it are two notes. One is how to make something similar to that drink with what you have available. It is not a substitute for a meal, merely something to help you recover from exhaustion. The other are the Antikytheran coordinates of a hospital founded by a friend of mine, they can treat you better than I can, and they would also be able to help you transition if that’s something you want. I don’t know if we’ll cross paths again but in any case, please, for the love of Aloro, get some sleep.” Artie did sleep. The next day, Artie had barely finished breakfast when he was called upon to repair another modron. It was an injured monodrone. It flapped its wings but could not fly, one of the wings twisted and smashed.

Artie reached for his tools as he always did when a thought occurred to him.

He was good at fixing modrons now. Really good.

Could that be… taken in the other direction?

It would probably be easy. Really, really easy.

______________________________________________________________

In Antikythera’s relatively short existence, there came to be another kind of underground, one many would argue is inevitable: a criminal one.

Haikan shuffled past creatures of various size, most of them shouting, some of them waving wads of bills with the faces of Groalde, Gax, and the gods of Haikan’s home. The air was thick with cigar smoke, but even through that, Haikan detected the unmistakable scent of blood and sweat. He gingerly sat on a less than comfy wooden seat and quietly observed the ring below.

“Innnnn this corner, the challenger,“ the announcer called out. “Weighing in at threeeee hundred pounds, the mean green fighting machine, Beaux Skullbuster!” The crowd’s reaction was tepid. Haikan, too, felt like he had seen many an orc like the hammer-wielder stepping into the ring.

“Annnnnd in this corner,” the announcer continued. “A machine of a different color, but no less mean, weighing in at a compact ninety pounds of death in can, your champion, the God of War himself, Aries!” The crowd cheered. Haikan stayed quiet.

From opposite Beaux entered another figure, one not even five feet tall, a full two feet shorter than his opponent. He appeared to be a construct. Or, perhaps, a humanoid completely clad in armor. Armor that Haikan recognized for what it had been, at least in part. On the figure’s back were cylinders with swirling colorful fluid in them. On the figure’s face there appeared to be some sort of breathing apparatus, hinting at his biological nature. “This will be a three minute fight, during which both participants must remain in the ring. They will receive no outside assistance during the fight or they will be disqualified. Other than that, there are no rules!” The announcer said proudly to more cheers. “Performance enhancers are allowed, weapons are encouraged, and, yes, someone might die!”

The two fighters stepped apart until nearly the whole length of the ring was between them. They turned to face each other. The bell rung. Beaux charged forward. Aries swung his hands in front of himself and lightning leapt out of them towards Beaux. Beaux took the hit and grimaced but kept charging. He swung his hammer. Aries dodged narrowly. Beaux swung again. The hammer connected with the side of Aries’ head and sent him sprawling.

Haikan thought for a moment to intervene. Ultimately, though, he didn’t.

Beaux smirked as he slowly walked towards Aries. Aries scrambled up from prone, clutching the side of his helm. A few parts had been knocked loose from it. Aries breathed heavily. He quickly turned a dial on his chest. One of the cylinders on his back began to empty.

Beaux swung his hammer again. Aries caught it. Beaux found himself struggling to pull it back as Aries began to surge in size, doubling in height and developing a build to match his opponent. The metal plates making up Aries’ armor multiplied as he grew, keeping the illusion of a construct, but if one looked closely they could see gaps forming, through which pale flesh was visible.

By the time Beaux thought to abandon his weapon it was too late. Aries used his other hand to grab Beaux by the neck and lift him off the ground.

There was no flashy finish. The people who came got what they paid for, no more.

Aries snapped Beaux’s neck and it was over.

The crowd cheered again. Haikan did not. When the morning glow began filtering onto the surface of Antikythera, and the riffraff had filtered out, Artie stepped out of the building, his face bruised and bandaged. He counted his pay for the night, yawned, and hailed a taxi. He entered the vehicle without looking.

“Hello, Artie,” Haikan said from the seat next to him.

Artie’s eyes shot open. He threw a punch. Haikan deflected it.

“I’m not here to fight,” Haikan said curtly.

“The fuck do you want?” Artie demanded. Haikan smiled. “Just checking in. You look… well, still not great, but better than the last time I saw you.”

Artie began to simmer down. “… Fanks, I guess.” “So where did you get that armor?”

“Made it meself.”

“Out of modron parts?”

Artie was silent for a moment. “… Yeah. What of it?”

“Well…” Haikan looked out the window of the car. “I knew people once who did something like that. They did it with arcillans, not modrons, but in either case, it’s… grisly.”

Artie didn’t respond.

Haikan sighed. “Artie, I know we’ve only met twice now, and I don’t want to tell you how to live your life-“ “Then don’t!”

Haikan was shocked, but did not protest. He nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll leave you be.” Haikan motioned to the driver to pull over. “Just… be kind. To yourself and others.” Haikan stepped out of the car and closed the door. He walked in one direction, the car pulled away in the other.

[kombuchaclock]

I posted something in a Discord server I'm in earlier this month and I was worried it would be considered a bad take but it seemed to go over well so I think I can post it here. I'm going to put it under a readmore though.

Online, the majority of posts I see about transfems with facial hair are saying something like "It doesn't matter what you look like! You're valid! Love yourself ~"

That's all well and good, but… when I've brought it up to my therapists that my facial hair makes me dysphoric, they have also said that, and I know it comes from good intent, but it honestly feels dismissive.

Trans people should be accepted regardless of appearance, but also, gender-affirming care should be readily available to trans people, including hair removal.

Like, the fact that it's easier to get surgery, including genital reassignment surgery, covered by state insurance is fucking wild to me. Not because people shouldn't be able to get surgery, but because hair removal is, for whatever reason, deemed purely cosmetic and therefore should not be covered.

All gender-affirming care is cosmetic! That's the fucking point! It doesn't make it unimportant! Why is the line drawn at hair removal then if all it takes is a letter to get a doctor to cut you open and remove your body parts?

I don't get it. I don't get it and it sucks.

[kombuchaclock]

Consider supporting me on ko-fi! If you want, leave a simple monster prompt and I'll dooble it.

To keep myself from getting burned out from prompts that are out of my scope here are a few things to consider:

Things I like to draw are pokemonish monsters, gross weird monsters, body horror, odd humanoids like clowns, witches and angels etc... All in all, looser prompts are my favorite.

Things I don't like drawing are monsters based on super specific plants or animals, machines, armor, inanimate objects, normal humans, and complicated things (lots of body parts, etc). I don't like super specific prompts.

Fakemon are okay, but I won't do fusions or fanart (of any franchise).

You can go through my archive and see the sort of stuff I usually do, or just ask!

Also if you're bored you can poke my askhole.

[kombuchaclock]

reap ripe fruit from fertile fields,

fat, abounding, ceaseless yields

[kombuchaclock]

The full lineups for GENREPHONE, the art telephone game I just wrapped up running. The concept is that, in addition to redrawing the image, each artist also changes the genre!

The full sized, uncropped artwork with everyone's links is all graciously hosted by @bowelfly on his website.

Click here to look at everyone's hard work in all its glory!

[kombuchaclock]

My aunt and uncle sent some, as did my partner!

$1240/$2000

In other news, as of last Friday, I have my degree finally! My sister also had an interview today! I'm hopeful that things are looking up, but still, we're a bit away from our goal, so if you can share/donate/commission, please do so. Thank you!

I may need some help!

This isn't urgent; it may not be until November. However, come that month, I may be in trouble. I have done a little financial planning today and I don't think I'll have enough for my rent and bills that month. I moved recently out of my mom's house and into an apartment with my sister, this isn't our first time paying rent but it is our first time paying as much for rent as we are now, it's a pretty penny. My job doesn't pay very much, either. I do receive food benefits and student aid but that only covers so much. If you would like to donate, you can the following ways:

Venmo - @Erika-Warne-Coles

Cashapp -$ErikaWarneColes

If you would prefer to receive something in exchange for money, I'm also available for commission! I'm an illustrator, so you could have me draw most anything. And if you can't afford to do either, sharing this post still helps. Thank you!

[kombuchaclock]

[kombuchaclock]

hey be careful,,,,,, there's a Friday the 13th this week........

[kombuchaclock]

I reblogged an earlier version of this post so I apologize to anybody who saw that. In any case, the short version of what I said last time is Moxie is a very good friend of mine, she's also an excellent writer, please share or donate if you can!

Seeking help urgently- just trying to live.

(This is an updated version of my original post- I've made CashApp and PayPal accounts on the advice of someone who saw the post and added them as links.)

Hey there, it's Moxie- trans woman, lesbian, and your favorite mutual's fourth favorite mutual. I recently lost my job and have been seeking employment ever since. In the intervening weeks, I've burned through my savings paying for necessities like food, have gone completely off of HRT due to losing my insurance, and my phone bill recently chewed through over half of what I had left.

These are hard posts to make because I'm a stubborn old goat and feel like I'm creating a terrible burden just by asking. But I can't ignore the financial strain any longer, and I need to support my household and uphold my financial responsibilities. That's a pretty serious challenge with no income.

While I continue to file applications and distribute my resume, I need to be able to help with utilities and if possible cover my half of the house. We live in Kansas now, so thankfully the charges aren't as extravagant as they might've been if we still lived in Washington, but they're still impossible to pay with pocket change.

If you're able and it wouldn't be too much trouble for you, I'd be grateful for any help I can get.

https://account.venmo.com/u/robotmoxie https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/moxiegarner https://cash.app/$robotmoxie I'm setting a goal of $500, which accounts for half of utilities and half of the payment on the house for this month. I'll update regularly.

$75/$500

Thank you to those who have already reached out, your help means the world to me.

[kombuchaclock]

Ko-fi Dooble

[kombuchaclock]

Dragon Commissions Open!

I need some scratch to make a dent in my debt, so I'm offering 150$ dragon lineart commissions to anyone who's interested! I'm finally beginning to acclimate to my hand tremors and I'm feeling fit again.

As you can probably tell, I am NOT very puritannical when it comes to dragons, and very much believe they can and should look like damn near anything. I have nothing against your typical modern media dragons, but I want you to feel free to suggest weird and wild stuff.

Message me on here for more info and provide whatever reference material you please. I will send invoices out through PayPal.

Thank you, won't you?

[kombuchaclock]

He's just a Little Guy

If you want your very own Little Guy, I'm still doing full-body creature commissions for 150$. Send a DM if you are in the market for Little Guys 🧡

[kombuchaclock]

Vari is also a friend of mine! Please help her if you can! Thank you!

Heyall hate to ask again so soon but as a disabled trans girly I'm really struggling with groceries and gas money, so if anyone can share or help me out here's my links ♡

Paypal.me/Vahllen

Cashapp$KayinJunn

[kombuchaclock]

I know I recently asked for help for myself, but Moxie is a very good friend of mine, and her goal is much more modest, please consider donating to her or sharing this post! Moxie has also GMed multiple linked TTRPG campaigns that I've made characters for, and even outside of being a GM she's a really great writer. This isn't, like, advertising because she does those things as a hobby, but if anybody would be more inclined to support her as a creative, I would give her a strong recommendation, check out her work if you can.

Seeking help urgently- just trying to live.

Hey there, it's Moxie- trans woman, lesbian, and your favorite mutual's fourth favorite mutual. I recently lost my job and have been seeking employment ever since. In the intervening weeks, I've burned through my savings paying for necessities like food, have gone completely off of HRT due to losing my insurance, and my phone bill recently chewed through over half of what I had left.

These are hard posts to make because I'm a stubborn old goat and feel like I'm creating a terrible burden just by asking. But I can't ignore the financial strain any longer, and I need to support my household and uphold my financial responsibilities. That's a pretty serious challenge with no income.

While I continue to file applications and distribute my resume, I need to be able to help with utilities and if possible cover my half of the house. We live in Kansas now, so thankfully the charges aren't as extravagant as they might've been if we still lived in Washington, but they're still impossible to pay with pocket change.

If you're able and it wouldn't be too much trouble for you, I'd be grateful for any help I can get.

https://account.venmo.com/u/robotmoxie

I'm setting a goal of $500, which accounts for half of utilities and half of the payment on the house for this month. I'll update regularly. $0/$500

[kombuchaclock]

A couple people sent some more, including a generous amount from @barabones, check them out if you can, they are a cool artist and recently worked on this fundraiser! $960/$2000 If anyone else who donated to me wants a similar shoutout, let me know, particularly the person who sent $500 at the end of last month; if I had recognized your name in Paypal I would've!

I may need some help!

This isn't urgent; it may not be until November. However, come that month, I may be in trouble. I have done a little financial planning today and I don't think I'll have enough for my rent and bills that month. I moved recently out of my mom's house and into an apartment with my sister, this isn't our first time paying rent but it is our first time paying as much for rent as we are now, it's a pretty penny. My job doesn't pay very much, either. I do receive food benefits and student aid but that only covers so much. If you would like to donate, you can the following ways:

Venmo - @Erika-Warne-Coles

Cashapp -$ErikaWarneColes

If you would prefer to receive something in exchange for money, I'm also available for commission! I'm an illustrator, so you could have me draw most anything. And if you can't afford to do either, sharing this post still helps. Thank you!

[kombuchaclock]

hey everyone, 🌻 as you may know a month ago my ma passed away suddenly due to covid complications and rsv and it was a devastating loss. disabled people living or dead are left behind in ways that i can’t bear some days. I am still grappling with it and while the funereal was covered- thank you 💜one of the biggest asks i’ll ever do on here is this fund created by my very close friend. This fund will go for everything i need to build my life up again and it’s a for a massive across the country move.

Believe me when i say i know everyone’s going through it and there’s priority funds to take care of. So i understand if it’s hard to give. But if you have even a little as 1 dollar, please consider contributing. Please consider reading the gofund me information so you know what your donations will go toward.

Thank you for all the words, care, love and support these months. Genuinely community is what i’m leaning on and while it’s so hard to ask for help, it’s the only way and it truly matters. Thank you for reading. Here is the link below to share and donate. Please always share.

Gofundme