As Much As I Love The Doctors Pacifism (which He Sort Of Sticks To At Least Most Of The Time Except When

As much as I love the Doctor’s pacifism (which he sort of sticks to at least most of the time except when he later shoves cyanide in a dude’s face but ya know... he has bad days I guess), I also love how Jamie straight up stabs a Sontaran in the leg. Like yeah, you’re one of the most fearsome warrior species in the universe? Well I’m Scottish and Imma stab you. 

But yeah, I went back on another of my erratic sprees of Classic Who-watching tonight and I happened upon the Two Doctors. I’m starting to quite like Jamie as a companion. (Even though this is his last appearance as a companion in terms of episode order, it’s only the second full serial I’ve watched with him in it because my approach to watching Classic Who can be summed up as wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.)

This serial also very much made me think of that 12th Doctor quote, “hardly anything is evil, but most things are hungry”. Obviously the Sontarans are more about battle-glory than hunger, but that Androgen chef, on the other hand... 

“Sontaran might is invincible!”

The Two Doctors - season 22 - 1985

Shoot I don't even have time to let this one steep in my drafts. I have to reblog it right away like a wild person.

My mom asked me to knock a spiderweb down for her the other day (she's very afraid of spiders and I kinda like them so I'm the household spider deal-wither) and I was like, "but mom! Free Halloween decorations!"

It's still up. For now, at least.

the spiders in my house watching me put up spider webs as halloween decorations

Hogwarts kills it with their holiday aesthetics, though. It feels like just yesterday that I was praising their Halloween décor, and now I see these great Christmas gifs going around again. Maybe not everyone at Hogwarts knows what they’re doing, but the decorator sure does! 

(Okay, so like half of these are just snow, but still.)

“One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.”

Hogwarts still wins all of the Halloween decorating contests. 

“A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.”

Picton Castle also has a ship cat! I got to meet her at the Green Bay Tall Ships Fest this summer. Her name is Fiji and when I found her she was chilling at the pet booth in the ‘Maritime Marketplace’–the lady working at the booth said Fiji just waltzed right up and started nuzzling in her catnip toys, haha. 

Very friendly, very smart, allowed me to pet her–10/10 would run away to sea for her :)

Hi! I have a bunch of sailing questions if you don't mind. What's the usual minimum time commitment for someone with no experience? What if you get a job on a ship but can't take it? You recommended the sail training international website - was that to find a paid job or just to take part in the training voyages? I'd swear I've seen someone on tumblr talk about working on cargo tall ships, but I can't for the life of me remember who, do you have any info? Also, are ships cats a thing? Thanks!!

Hi!

Usually the minimum is two or three months - just the maintenance period, or summer break while in university, or because you’re working on a boat that has a three-month contract, or because you’re only free the first half of the season, discussed it in advance, and the company is willing to half you for just half.

It’s not uncommon for at least one crew member to head out unexpectedly over the course of the seasom. Sometimes it’s because sailing’s not their jam after all; sometimes it’s disputes within the other crew, or because something in their personal lives demands immediate attendance. My first season only myself and the first mate made it through the entire season; conversely this year out of about 16 crew only two people quit that I can remember. Obviously if you’re able to give the captain some warning to find a new deckhand that’s best, but people do leave. (Also why it’s worth checking in with captains even in the summer - someone might have a position just opened up).

If I remember right, I mentioned sail training international mostly as a list of ships that operate internationally, and a resource for finding the names and whereabouts of more tall ships, since I’m best informed on New England and only shakily beyond that. At least some of the ships on there will offer paid positions, so it’s worth contacting interesting vessels to ask (might be limited to crew who already have experience/certain certifications/nationality of the vessel, but I couldn’t say for certain).

I’m afraid I have no idea about cargo tall ships; I know of Tres Hombres, which is frankly The Dream (at least one shipmate of mine would kill to work on her!) but off the top of my head, no others.

Ship’s cats are a thing! I believe it’s the Adventuress out west that has one, and I know the Mary Day had one for several years before she passed away of old age. Not as common as I personally wish, but they’re around!