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I Saw the TV Glow (2024) // The Terror (2018)

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Lately I've been thinking about how amazing it is that ecosystems co-evolve. Every new little critter gets to go out into a brand new unknown world, and find things that are so familiar they feel like they were made for them. Because they were! And yes this includes you too. There is a world out there that was made for you, and that you were made for, a heritage of a long line of lifetimes, joy and connection rediscovered over and over again and always new.

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Like, every possibility implied by that conversation is insane.

Jod offers to give the Harrow, who learned anatomy as an infant, the Talk. Which sure, is 99% a joke, but like is it technically possible that Harrow doesn't know the mechanics of reproduction? It does not involve bones, and Gideon didn't seem to know that medicine was a field of science that existed. Come to that, do we know the mechanics of reproduction in this world? The only conception that we know of at this point involves mass child murder, so, there's def potential differences.

And what does safe sex even mean for Lyctors, Jod? Of course they could potentially get each other pregnant, either of them could be trans, or Ianthe has the flesh magic, motivation and lack of scruples to try to baby trap Harrow (even if the penis she made herself did not stay reattached), but surely it's not possible to accidentally knock up a Lyctor. They can change their own body chemistry. Can they get STDs? What kink could be dangerous to people who don't need to breathe and can regrow limbs? The mind boggles.

My favourite part of Harrow was when God was worried that two teenage girls might accidentally knock each other up.

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She canonically did! It, uh, fell off.

My favourite part of Harrow was when God was worried that two teenage girls might accidentally knock each other up.

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You are so very right.

My favourite part of Harrow was when God was worried that two teenage girls might accidentally knock each other up.

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My favourite part of Harrow was when God was worried that two teenage girls might accidentally knock each other up.

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I have so many feelings about the psychic autism creature from Scavengers Reign.

It's such an interesting idea to have a creature with telepathy but not human level intelligence. Having Kamen in his mind doesn't mean that he now knows everything Kamen knows, but it does change him in really destructive ways. Kamen's complicated feelings about the Demeter filtered through Hollow seem to translate to indiscriminate anger towards all technology - the emotions are there, but not the comprehension.

Another thing I really liked is that mind control is presented as quite bening in its natural context, and also that it's purpose is so simple and so easily achievable by other means. It's so typical of evolution to not only solve the same problem in many different ways, but also to solve it in wildly extravagant ways. Trying to reach food high up? How about claws, flight, mind control, shock waves to shake the branches. Why not. Just irrepressible abundance.

I've been trying to figure out the potential evolutionary function of Hollow's kind absorbing their symbiotic critters. I think this could be super useful if the ecological niches of Hollow and the tripod creatures only partially overlap. And there are times when the tripods are in distress or desperately lack some nutrients or something. Hollow took Kamen in when he was clearly in distress, and after Hollow was completely focused on actions driven by Kamen's feelings, not even feeding. So the critter is kept alive and safe, and through the mental link Hollow knows what it is they're in distress about and can get them to the right place. That is such a neat adaptation! And potentially really flexible, allowing Hollow to create symbiotic relationships with different species. Maybe originally it started as a gestational adaptation. If the environment was unpredictably hostile it could be useful to be able to give birth to young but then, uh, unbirth them I guess, to keep them more safe temporarily.

The problem is, Kamen's needs aren't evolutionarily driven, and Hollow has no way of fully comprehending them or achieving them.

Oh man, the scene where Hollow lies down next to Fiona's body. Kamen doesn't know and Hollow doesn't comprehend, and it's killing them both. It's like Kamen completely abandoned his responsibility to be present in the world and act upon it, but his will is still acting on the world in a blunt and uncomprehending way through Hollow. Which as far as the addiction metaphore goes, yup, that's pretty spot on.

I'm so happy that Hollow got a happy ending. For a moment when he was melting away to reveal Kamen I thought that they were going to treat him as just a container for a human, a violent problem to be solved with violence. I should have trusted the show to be kinder.

Hollow is just a little creature, he shouldn't have been forced to try to understand concepts like self loathing or divorce, and now he never has to ever again.

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I'm not a fan of soulmate aus, or the concept of soulmates in general, but for Crozier it's kind of neat to imagine that he had heaps of really specific information about his soulmate - called James, the most handsome man in the Navy, they were going to go to the very end of the world together. Hell, that he was going to wear a dress to the party at the end of the world. And it's not like Crozier needed the confirmation, of course it was James Ross, it had always been James Ross for him. And when James got married and the possibility of a future with the love of his life was lost to him he still hoped to make a life, a good if lesser life, with Sophia. And when that didn't work out either, it was like all possibility of romantic love was gone for him.

And only much later, after he decided to live, after they walked out, while looking after a Fitzjames weak with scurvy, did it slowly began to dawn on him that oh. Oh.

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For both:

Gender is stored in the eyebrows. Shaping eyebrows is the quickest and easiest way to feminise/ masculinise your face.

Guy stuff:

If you want to use mascara on your facial hair, eyebrow gel comes in a more natural range of colours.

A women's short haircut and a barber cut are very different things.

Ask for squared sideburns if you don't have facial hair to blend the haircut into

Girl stuff:

How to tell if a skirt is too short (in a practical sense not a shamey way): stand up, legs apart, bend over and look through between your legs. If you can see the hem in the back you're good and won't be accidentally flashing people.

Mascara is only meant to be used for three months. Other things expire too, but that one I'm more strict about cause eye infections.

Along the same lines, if I had to choose I would get more quality stuff for eye makeup and cheapo stuff for other things.

For face and lips consider not just colour but whether it's matt or gloss, sheer or full cover. Sheer and slightly glossy can look more natural, and wear off in a less noticeable way.

Trading random boy knowledge! In my (cis) experience masculinity is more body language/ behavior than anything else and I don't know much about clothes anyway. Tried to stick to more general stuff, but some of it is probably also specific to my region.

1. Upwards nod for people you know, downwards nod for people you don't.

2. If you're holding a door for someone but don't want it to seem overly formal/ like a big deal, use the back of your fist or your foot to prop it. Nobody cares if you walk through before holding it, if it's a push door.

3. Master the frat boy hug, which is appropriate for any situation where a handshake isn't. Clasped hands in front, one side leaned in, and two pats on the back. If you carry, this is also a tactful way to avoid people awkwardly feeling your weapon when they press up against you.

4. Assume anyone wearing a hijab does not want to be touched by you, if at all possible. Don't offer a handshake- right hand over the heart with a small bow. Very small.

5. You can put a phone in your back pocket but don't sit on top of a thick wallet, it will fuck up your spine. Most people have card wallets now anyway.

6. Most guys bond over shared interests and are reluctant to open up too much before a relationship has been established. It's okay not to be into cars/sports/guns/whatever, but if someone asks and you were to say only “I don't watch football,” and nothing else, it'll be heard as “I'm not interested in bonding with you over this.” Consider instead something like “I don't watch much football, but I went to a game once and it seemed pretty cool.” Treat it like you're rescheduling something- give them a way back into the topic or pivot it to something else if they want.

7. Queer spaces have their own rules and they're usually highly localized. If you're in a new area and don't have an “in,” attend a live Rocky Horror performance or a social drag event. They're basically professionals at adopting new queer people. It can be a little intimidating, though!

Hell yeah!!!! Thank you so much!!! A bunch of these I hasn't heard before esp socializing and etiquette

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All of this, absolutely, but also it's really funny to describe Ianthe and Corona as borderline incestuous, but even more funny to call Cam & Pal semi-normal.

the love triangle in TLT is so funny because it's not even a true love triangle. it's like a shape that hasn't even been invented yet. first you've got Ianthe, who thinks Harrow is totally into her but isn't. and Harrow is into Gideon but also this really sexy corpse. the sexy corpse was maybe probably in a relationship with Gideon's dad who's also the leader of the solar system. he hooks up with his officers sometimes and has hooked up with his best friends over the last 10,000 years because they were bored. Ianthe also has this weirdly borderline incestuous relationship with Coronabeth but Coronabeth is in love with Judith who had a crush on her now-dead cavalier. the only ones who've got a semi-normal relationship are Camilla and Palamedes and even then they had a weird poly thing with Dulcinea even though they never met her in person. and they have another weird poly thing with Pyrrha but by that point they're sharing a body. then they decide to do a mutual suicide/soul binding ritual and become a whole new person in Camilla's body. also they're second cousins. oh Pyrrha also had a weird poly thing with her necro and Gideon's biomom/the leader of the rebellion who's fighting against Gideon's biodad. I don't even have time to unpack all that and that doesn't even cover half of the shit happening here. there's also the whole Cytherea thing

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he/him pronouns aren't enough i need to nut inside another man

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I am UNBELIEVABLY excited to share this with you all!!! Hozier x TLT x Reinaeiry !?!?! And I got to make art for it!?!?!?!!?

I put so much tlt love into the artwork and Eiry's cover is absolutely stunning!! Truly a dream project.

Here's the spotify link also!

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So in TLT there is tons of Jesus imagery and parallels associated with Gideon, but thematically Nona is Jesus. Sort of.

Jesus was God made human, temporarily cut off from his Godhood to truly experience humanity. Through dying as a human and returning to Godhood he created a link between the two states that humans could then follow. This link is not something that could have been made by either God or by humans, only God-as-human.

In TLT Alecto is the Earth made human shaped, but Nona was Alecto made truly human, cut off from Alecto's full nature. Alecto integrating Nona creates a path between the human and something that would otherwise be too vast to be able to understand humanity.

Nona is also Harrow without trauma, Harrow loved. Integrating Nona for her is one potential path to healing. Through the shared experience of Nona, Harrow and Alecto are connected. Does this mean this connection is a path to resurrection for the rest of humanity? Are Harrow, Nona and Alecto the TLT trinity? Tbh I'm sure it's going to be far more weird than that.

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I think you and your esteemed followers will be happy to know that the Jesus/Judas is explicit and an important plot point in the Swedish version of Jesus Christ Superstar. I can't link it, but if you search 'jesus christ superstar swedish kiss' on youtube, the kiss at around 59:30 isn't playing

Thank you Sweden!!!!!

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I got into software dev six years ago, because working freelance in the arts while chronically ill was becoming untenable. Did a bunch of independent learning and then a three month bootcamp, and got a junior dev job. I'm a senior now. The market has changed a lot since then, hiring is very slow atm. Also I'm not in the US, so I can only give pretty generic advice. There are tons of free resources to learn coding, and a lot of friendly and helpful communities. The focus is on skills over qualifications, but I did find bootcamp very helpful, I don't think I would have got there just on independent learning. I'd suggest starting with looking through some job ads, seeing who is hiring juniors and what kinds of languages they're looking for. A lot of places are partially/ fully remote so who you can work for isn't that restricted. Javascript will always be a good language to know, the internet is built on it and that's not going to change. Python is useful for AI, so there would probably be interest in that now. And then try a couple of tutorials, see whether you enjoy coding. There are endless resources, but here are a couple to start with that I think are still free: https://www.freecodecamp.org/ https://www.w3schools.com/ https://exercism.org/ And each language will have resources, community links, tutorials, etc on their page as well, eg: https://www.python.org/ I used to go to Meetups a lot, which was great for finding out what people's experience was like at different companies, there's talks, etc. I think there's less of that now since covid, but might be worth checking out, they had them by language, or area of specialisation, back end, front end, AI, web dev etc. There's also forums, there are often free workshops, most conference talks are up on YouTube. There used to be a couple of getting paid to learn programs run by the bigger companies, but the ones I knew are outside the US and some have shut down. The first thing I would research though is what opportunities there are for people just getting into the industry, what companies are hiring juniors and what skills are they looking for. A lot of places I know are only hiring seniors and up at the moment. So that's a lot (and there is so much more), but that's where I would start. Feel free to message me if you have questions!

so the stereotype is trans people in tech jobs, yeah? and if there's any truth in that, I'd maybe want to get in on it, but people never really specify. how do you locate this vaguely-referenced, nonspecific, possibly mythical tech job? do i need to seek out a wizard?

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No tozer don’t think with your strap you’re gonna mutiny

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Praying that the bears let me get past the mods