Help us get to Portland, OR!

Hello, my name is Jay!

I am Tortle on tumblr, as well as other sites! I currently live in Florida with my girlfriend Blizzy. (Gooddaymonster on tumblr.) We live in a painfully small house with my parents, at the moment.

Last year around May I started to come to terms with my 'gender  issues.' And in september I worked up the courage to go and get my hair cut short. I had been wearing it in a ponytail since I was a kid and I was more than ready for a change. But that, well, that just brought a meltdown through my household.

Since then it has been up and down. And the slightest thing sets it off again. Going back to 'normal' has become pretty impossible. And to be honest, normal wasn't the best, either.

I haven't been allowed to do anything that I really needed to do. I haven't been allowed to learn to drive, get a job, go to school or generally socialize. I am very behind on the skills I need and it has made things incredibly hard. While change keeps getting promised, it never does happen. I'm now approaching 24 and need to start progressing as someone my age should.

I love my family, but Blizzy and I can't be here anymore. And we need help. I wouldn't be asking if we didn't. I feel extremely bad asking at all.

This is where moving comes in. Blizzy's family lives in the lower part of Washington state, and we have been able to find friends of ours who want to rent a house with us near Portland, Oregon. We would find good support there, and independance.

I am actively applying for jobs, and we are both taking commissions. But we need help, we really do. Or I would never ask. We are doing our best to cover as much as we can with commissions, but that is low pay and slow turnout. We need to raise enough to cover our half of the deposit, and the first few months rent. So we have a cushion to get settled, and me to find a job while she gets set up making commissions again.

We really appreciate you taking the time to read this far, and I hope you consider helping us. I've made incentives to try and pay people back who are so generous as to donate.

As far as art references go you can see them here, here, and here.

Thanks again!