#i've got mail?

[salamispots]

a rug hook commission for @stickynotebirds! :O (who also drew the original sketch/design and I tweaked it a little bit)

[kirby-the-gorb]

[queermasculine]

Maybe a stupid question but one I've asked myself, what's the difference in between a butch and a masc for you ? Is there one ?

not a stupid question! "butch" is an older word with more meanings across time. to straight people it's been a military style haircut, a male name (still a few old guys named butch in the US), and a fairly uncomplicated synonym for masculine. to lesbians, bisexuals and gay men, it's been all of the above, but it's also had a whole host of other connotations specific to us and our own ways of loving/performing masculinity. a lot of the different meanings of butch have faded or fallen out of fashion over the years, but the word has more or less kept its purpose among lesbians, giving it the lesbian tint it has today.

"masc" is a much newer term, and unlike butch, i don't believe it's ever been widely used by the straight mainstream. (not a lot of grandpas named masc out there.) it's my impression that masc first spread out from gay guys on grindr, or at least that played a big part in popularizing it, and it's been used pretty much exclusively in an lgbt context ever since. in that sense it's the word with the more explicitly queer origin, despite having a much shorter history. having risen to popularity in the age of social media, masc carries none of the historical baggage of butch, and as such it's a more open-ended term, implying very little about a person beyond their masculinity. you can see this difference exemplified in google search results: while looking up butch will primarily yield information about the word's significance to lesbians, masc will net you more neutral descriptions, like "a person whose gender identity is masculine, but who is not necessarily a man."

despite all that, masc and butch usually serve the same function (to express the masculinity of the subject) and are used pretty much interchangeably in many contexts. also worth noting is that the lesbian association of butch is not a rule, just an observation i've made about modern perceptions. bisexual women have always used butch (and femme) alongside lesbians, and to this day you'll still encounter gay men – usually older – who identify as butch. so in conclusion, if you're trying to pick what label to use for yourself, i wouldn't worry about it too much. both terms have room enough for you in them.

[hoofpeet]

CHRIST I keep legit forgetting my deadname somehow... Got a bit of mail today with it on there and was like ? This must have been intended for a neighbor. for a solid 20 seconds

[marzipanandminutiae]

[wakes up in a cold sweat] late 1870s mantle embroidered with the Abhorsen surcoat design is that anything

[thirdeyeblue]

“Nine would have treated Martha better than Ten did”

I need to talk about this argument that never seems to stop circulating.

Note: Not a venomous/anti post. There’s more than enough of that across fandom spaces as is, and this is supposed to be a place for ✨sweet, blissful escapism✨

When making this argument, people seem to envision a scenario in which Nine never met Rose.

While I can appreciate a good hypothetical, recognizing Rose's significance to the Doctor (Nine and Ten) is essential to understanding why things with Martha played out the way they did in the first place.

In the third series, the Doctor is grieving. This grief is deliberately threaded into nearly every script, whether spoken aloud or not (and these are just a few examples):

He's burning in Rose’s wake the entire time Martha travels with him, which is why it’s so frequently called upon: It’s 100% deliberate in framing his grief. He grieved as Nine too, of course— having been fresh on the heels of the Time War — but then he met Rose, which changed everything.

Back then, he was still a rude, traumatized pain in the ass, but we watch Rose soften more of those jagged edges with every episode as they grow closer; as he lets his guard down and forms a deep connection with her.

He falls in love (against his better judgment) and it's game over.

And yes: provided S1E1 had been titled 'Martha', one can realistically assume things might have unfolded similarly to how they did with Rose. However, it wouldn’t have been that way just because the Doctor was Nine and “Nine was different” — it would be because he wasn’t already in love with someone else. The same can't be said for the start of S3.

Think of it like this: if Rose AND Martha had been in that cellar — if Nine had taken both of them along with him in S1 — we’d eventually be looking at the most melodramatic love triangle ever, what with him living in close quarters with two brilliant, gorgeous, compassionate young women... But Doctor Who is plenty “soap opera” as is with just one woman in the TARDIS.

(I certainly wouldn’t object to reading that fic, though)

Now, regarding the unrequited elephant in the room…

His inability to be romantic with Martha isn’t because he thinks her lesser, nor is it for lack of compatibility. It isn't because Rose is any better than her. It certainly isn’t just because he’s Ten.

It’s really only for one reason, which can't be denied — and now I’m a broken record:

He is still in love with Rose.

(cut from a tenrosedaily gif)

Nine is Ten, and Ten is only such a mess in S3 because he’s just lost the love of his life. Martha merely got caught in the crosshairs of a volatile Time Lord in mourning, and yes — it sucks. Absolutely.

But it also feels dismissive to chalk Ten and Martha’s relationship up to little more than some sort of mindless dance of pining, jealousy, and toxicity.

Ten trusted Martha with his life over and over again — and hers, with him. He constantly praised her brilliance, happily carting her around time and space with no intention of letting her go. In the BBC’s extended universe of novels/comics/cartoons/etc, there’s so much depth to their relationship: love and trust and trauma and sacrifice. They had their own special bond as mates, their own complexities — so it’s a bummer that it's forever overshadowed by the other things.

I’m not denying that there was a lot of stuff that sucked/was for sure toxic about Ten's S3 behavior, but so many of the things I've seen him catching flak for can be directly attributed to being A Clueless Fucking Alien Idiot (not a trait that’s unique to Ten) — as well as his flat-out obliviousness to Martha’s feelings.

So yes, I agree: if Rose never existed, he would have treated Martha differently as Nine. He also would have treated her differently as Ten. Certainly.

But Rose did exist, and when discussing canon, it matters.

“He tells me that he absolutely, 100% loves Rose... He tells me how my daughter; my wonderful, beautiful, clever little girl saved him from himself before… And he says that’s all because of me! I made her into the Rose Tyler that saved him.”

-Jackie Tyler, Flight Into Hull!

Martha got the short end of the stick in S3. She came round at the wrong place and time, but that doesn't mean it was all bad. It doesn't mean the Doctor didn’t adore her. It certainly doesn't mean the time they spent together was wasted or worthless. They were brilliant!

Sure, he could be a twat, but let it be known that he was a twat with Rose as well, both as Nine and Ten. I’m sure Tentoo can be plenty infuriating, too. So while I'll defend Ten (and Tentoo) into the ground forever and ever and ever, I'll concede that he's fucked up.

The Doctor is a certified Pain In The Ass. It’s one of the things I love so much about this character — dynamics.

But never forget that Martha was goddamn tough as nails and overcame every bit of it. She moved on with her life, and the Doctor moved on with his. One can only pray that, when they inevitably drag her back onto the show (which feels inevitable if I'm honest), we see at once that she's been living her best life for all these years.

[jokerlennon]

who would win in a batlle yoko ono or the joker

my suggestion: join forces and become jorker ono

[threshasketch]

Matt with Near's toy dinosaur from my fanfic In Charge. The dinosaur represents Matt's and Near's friendship.

[bigfootsmom]

He’s having Tommy’s baby 👀

“Mhmm. You look very up.” Evan laughs, the sound of it delightful and making Tommy feel like he drank down the sun. Evan shifts, squirming slightly. “Hey— that tickles.” But he makes no move to stop the movement of Tommy’s hand.  Tommy huffs a breath of laughter through his nose. “Some of us aren’t spring chickens anymore. Gimme a minute to wake up.” Tommy pauses, then unburies his face from the pillows and Evan’s hip. “Why are you up? Everything okay?”  Evan looks down at Tommy, the morning sun streaming through his hair and framing his face with a halo of curls. His soft lips stretch into an even softer smile and not for the first time Tommy is struck breathless with how beautiful Evan is.  “I’m okay, babe,” Evan reassures, loosening the thread of anxiety that had begun to wind itself around Tommy’s lungs. “Pretty sure peanut was throwing a rager in there last night,” Evan prods at the swell of his belly with an oil shiny finger, “Woke up to her break dancing on my bladder.”  Tommy barks out a laugh, finally pushing himself up onto one elbow. “Well, of course. She’s gotta practice for being the cool kid— can’t come out with no moves.”  “I’ve seen you dance, I don’t think any amount of practice will save her from your genetics.”  “Your two left feet aren’t going to do her any favors either,” Tommy fires back, grinning as Evan rolls his eyes.

<3 <3 <3 <3

[jazzstarrlight]

Finally! Received some mail today!

I'm happy.

You can find the Shrödinger's Axolotl mug on my Redbubble! (Linktree in bio.)

[kirby-the-gorb]

[salvadorbonaparte]

Got a postcard from an Egyptologist. you wish you were me.

[tribow]

Sorry to join the tumblr americans that are posting about elections, but I'm tired of seeing people acting like it's the end of the world or some shit because orange man is elected.

Here's a secret: Voting doesn't mean shit. Should you vote? Absolutely, but American culture ensures that the average American is severely un-educated about politics. Most Americans are completely loyal to a specific party. They're politically raised to be sheep.

Your vote matters, yes, but it also matters so little to the cultural zeitgeist. Unless something is done about the average American's political awareness, votes will always be dominated by sheep.

Presidential elections never had to be a "pick between two poisons," our culture simply convinced us that there are no other options and trying to change anything is useless. Sheep.

Now all I see are Americans wallowing in their despair. Waaahh there's nothing that can be done woe is me. Y'all really invested all of your hope in a vote that has such miniscule power because you're falling for the sheep mentality politicians want you to have.

Do you know what the common American citizen can do that's more powerful than voting? You can be an active participant in city council/town hall meetings. You can find out when they happen on your town's website. They are recorded so you can listen to one even if you missed it. Can't show up in person? These meetings are streamed. You can participate in the safety of your own home.

Send mail to the mayor. Speak about the problems you face that are local to where you live. If you have the priviledge being able to speak to townsfolk, bring it up in conversation if they seem comfortable. "Did you see the city council meeting?". Even if you never say anything or send mail to city council meetings, simply being aware is better than the average American.

Being aware puts pressure on your city. Being a person that speaks out about problems locally. This is where the common citizen holds the most power. I'm 100% certain my town would never have attempted to make bike lane and sidewalk plans if the townspeople didn't semi-regularly show up and complain about it every single meeting. We have a huge housing crisis and a bunch of homeless people that 10 people at town meetings constantly speak up for. What if there were more?

And another thing, do you call or mail your Senators and Representatives about any issues? Were you one of the many Americans completely silent about things like the Affordable Connectivity Program dying out? While similar to the miniscule power of voting, this does put at least a little bit of social pressure on those in political standing. Yes, many calls and mail are discarded, but they have to receive them. It gets recorded for data.

Again, the average American participates extremely little and it's not even just because they don't want to. It's because they don't even know they can. The Tumblr populace does not represent the average American in the slightest, in fact, I see people encourage calling Senators and Reps on here fairly often, but maybe do the same about city/town meetings. Push against the cultural zeitgeist of sheep mentality or nothing will change. Stop wallowing in your despair and maybe use that strong emotion towards something that matters even more; doing something about it.

[iamacolor]

And the fact that his songs brought her so much comfort even when she didn't know they were about her and now he's so affected by her script even when he doesn't know it's about him, this show and it's parallels *chef's kiss*

oh that's such a good point anon, i hadn't even tought about it!! they both decided to write about their first love and it somehow reached the other without them knowing it was about them and it is what keeps them tethered to each other - i love that their words about each other play such a huge part in their story 💜

[mwagneto]

honestly just imagining being stuck in a pringles can, very slowly suffocating to death, knowing you will die eventually, stuck on your ass because there isn't even room to stand, not even having a decent place to piss in the meantime and you are stuck with 4 of the most insufferable cunts on planet earth. While also being an obnoxious cunt yourself. I know you don't care about these people at all and tbh yeah, but jesus fucking christ I feel like pissingn and shitting an d clawing at the walls just thinking about it.

That they spent so much money to go and gawk at a deep-sea monument to hubris and then ended up like this is just so poetic. Like you could barely have made this up history is rhyming right now

LITERALLY like that's why this speaks to me so hard, because it's genuinely such a horrifying and extremely specific scenario that it all sounds made up. like the fact is you could not fucking pay me 250,000 dollars to do this and these people PAID that amount to go there. and the horror of imagining myself in there contrasted with how i unironically want billionaires to die horrible deaths and i finally get to watch it happen for once. it's all so poetic

[prince-liest]

Bought some live sphagnum moss from a guy's personal land on eBay to liven up THE BOG! I am really, really hoping that I can keep it alive through the coming high-90s temperatures in the full sun. To that end, I've got THE BOG fairly well flooded, which should hopefully go a long way towards the moss surviving.

Sphagnum moss actually is the natural companion of many of these carnivorous plants in the while! Technically this bog is full of it: peat moss is just decomposed sphagnum, and there's a layer of dead and dried long-fibered sphagnum on top of that before the final layer of live moss. I'm really doing my best to create a proper environment for them, and I also just think the stuff looks really nice. I can't wait for it to (hopefully) start growing in properly and look even nicer!