#bonus juno

[theultimateclare]

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

No detailed graphics because I am both sick and busy. Idea came from tags by @dokidyke. Sorry if anyone finds the concept of this poll gross, I've only listened to half of one of these, and none of the other, and don't know what "semi-sentient" fully entails in either case. In general I operate by the Harkness Test for polls about how sexy a character is, and if someone makes an argument that one of these characters doesn't pass the test I'll delete the poll.

[novelconcepts]

Another year, another absurd amount of books read (296, because if I wasn't reading or writing this year, my brain was on fire). I was asked again for my top books of the year, so here we go: 2023's top 10, in no particular order.

This was the first book I read of the year--literally, vacated the hangout with my wife and sibling-in-laws to sit on their couch upstairs and eat through it. Do you love The Fall of the House of Usher, but wish for a nonbinary protagonist and a lot more mushrooms? This is the book for you! (T. Kingfisher is fucking rad, I made a concerted effort to only list ONE of her books on here, but honorable mention goes to The Twisted Ones for fucking me upppp.)

A gay, post-apocolyptic Pinocchio retelling involving copious robots, found family elements, and a cool-ass treehouse. Klune always hits for me with his unrepentant queer family dynamics and sense of humor. Honorable mention to the first two in the Green Creek series (although that's got a lot more...adult elements in among the werewolves, you've been warned).

I thiiiink I found this through The Homo Schedule podcast (PSA: if you missed out on Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson doing a podcast together, now you know better), and it wrecked my shit. Tons of trigger warnings, as this is a memoir about abuse within a queer relationship, but it's so beautifully written. I personally suggest listening to the audiobook first, then standing anxiously behind someone at a book warehouse sale, hoping they'll set down the only paperback copy so you can swipe it.

A fantastical-historical reimagining in which the KKK is filled with literal monsters, and Black women are resistance fighters armed to take them out. Visceral and intense, and truly an excellent horror story.

Just. Such a soft time travel story about a daughter and her father and cherishing the time you get with loved ones. I was thoroughly unprepared for how lovely I found this one. It's very kind.

Spooky house, take-no-shit redhead, protective sibling elements, bisexual recluse with a sword who really just needs a nap. I haven't found a Harrow book yet I haven't slapped five stars on. She's so good at character and atmosphere, and I'm always surprised at how fast her stories race by.

The whole Daevabad trilogy (of which this is the first book) is just magical. A girl from the mortal world finds herself embroiled with the centuries-long prejudices and wars of djinn in a fantastical city. It's one of the rare stories of its kind that does have a love triangle, but doesn't feel like a love triangle; it's far less interested in the insufferable "who gets picked" than it is in the actual horrors these people are both perpetrating and coping with. It's an intoxicating ride.

Fuck You, TERFS: the book. Given that fact, there's obviously quite a lot of transphobia to deal with, but it's very clear that those people are wrong, and it's a super-engaging (and super-oh-god-what-comes-next) witchy time populated with queer, protective, interesting characters I'm excited to see again in the follow-up.

Have you ever wanted a haunted house story with visceral imagery and a rather lovely twist? Gailey has you covered. As much as I enjoyed The Echo Wife, I think I actually loved this one more, and it makes me so excited to see what else they've got up their sleeve.

One of my final reads for the year, when I was just churning through hardcovers at the speed of sound. I love this book. I recognize it won't be for everyone, but it takes so much of what I love about IT (one of my all-time favorite books, despite its flaws) and twists it through the lens of an author who escaped the Mormon church. It's horrific, it's fantastically abstract in places, it explores childhood and memory, imagination and abuse, and almost every character is queer. It's a great "I simply cannot sleep until I've finished" read.

[acespirit]

you don't understand tumblrinas I wasn't joking about juno steel I'm never joking about juno steel once again I lie there for an hour listening to and thinking about juno steel and again I am overtaken it is midnight thirty I put on my fire safe leather jacket I stand forlornly alone on empty bridges I clandestinely avoid cars and human interaction staring into the night sky in a place that should be full of life yet I am always alone and I AM STILL FEELING THINGS ABOUT JUNO MOTHERFUCKING STEEL--

[johnsspacesuittight]

Started listening to The Penumbra Pod, specifically the Juno Steel ones and by god thank the lord I desperately needed some more detective stuff to be obsessed with and this has everything

[bunbunbunni]

transes my current fav character to cope with everything going on in the world

[junowritings]

Going absolutely feral over @gregorsmissingarmor's ocs/insert bc they're all GORGEOUS so ofc I had to doodle em.

Your art is literally scrumptious and has me doing laps round my house every time it crosses my dash thank you for letting me draw them!!! I hope I did them all justice 🧡🧡🧡

[synthshenanigans]

How many of us have chosen names from CJs songs I need to see something

[lostjammer]

all of them........

[beloved-boterbloem]

Currently rerunning Tamayura’s NY event to see if I can manage to get a Mikage rare badge and I’m 33 normal badges in 😭😭

[slasheru]

tate's top 5 favorite bands (in no particular order):

KMFDM

Nine Inch Nails

Alien Sex Fiend

Franz Ferdinand

Bauhaus

[royaipercabeth]

Why are all the Percy Jackson playlists on spotify all like... sad beachcomber and bonfire vibes. Where's all the "I will fight the god of war" and "I will argue with the gods literally every time I go to Olympus" Percy vibes??

[slightoffoot]

Nureyev Spotify playlist I am Unwell <3

[acespirit]

The Arrest of Peter Nureyev

Peter Nureyev in Prison

The Escape of Peter Nureyev

Peter Nureyev Versus Herlock Sholmes Stuno Jeel

How Peter Nureyev Stole Christmas

[br3adtoasty]

Oh shit oc interactions? Uuuuuuuuuuh hands you Melanie and James hope you're having a wonderful day!

You too!! And I hope you don’t mind me chucking Juno at both of them 😭

“Ah, another dear prefect from a faraway land. They've been popping up here and there out of the ground like mushrooms as of late. Strange, is it not? Nevertheless, Melanie seems to be particulary sweet, and a royalty at that.

One who once roamed the hall of a grand castle, now lives in an old, dingy, rundown building. Despite it all, she still smiles. She still has the audacity to lend a hand to others. She even offered me help. Do I look like I need one? Hah. A positive spirit so hard to break... but it will only make her fall all the better."

"About her little companion..... Be glad I do not have any feline ancestry as far as I know or else I'd say he's looking extremely appetizing lately. I'm only saying this because he's a nuisance, of course."

“What’s a fairytale with a princess without a gallant knight to be at the people’s beck and call? A perfect setup for a fantastical story I must say. What will he encounter next on his adventure in this unknown land? A poisoned apple maybe, a curse only breakable by a true love’s kiss perhaps? Or a trap so deadly that he has to sacrifice his beloved? Oh, so many possibilities for his inevitable ruin!

And our champion here would surely be the one to save the day and take the full brunt of it. Such admirable loyalty. One day he’ll realize that what makes him whole will be the very reason for his undoing, fufu~”

[personashowdown]

Uhhhh so i kinda fucked up…

1. This round wasn’t actually the quarter finals, the next round is. I literally looked up what a quarter final is to be sure i got it right, looked at the seven polls i had scheduled and thought “yeah that looks right” and continued with my day. Dunno how I messed up but I cant change the poll name now. Next round (the actual quarter final) will just be called round 5 to avoid further confusion. Semifinals and finals will still be named that though, along with their respective rounds incase i somehow mess up again (I don’t think I will but at this point I shouldn’t be trusted with numbers sooo)

2. I only have 7 persona for the next round and I need 8 for it to work smoothly. I swear im usually pretty decent at math I promise. I tried to find a solution but none seemed fair or fun, except one. Therefore, the easiest way fix this is..

Again, really sorry for the potential confusion!