#so hello juno steel!

[the-pest1lence]

Now that the penumbra podcast finale has happened, it’s time for me to start it

[currenthyperf1xat1ons]

hello penumbra podcast/juno steel fandom this is your reminder that the song unknown/nth by hozier exists and these lines exist within it:

“that id walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you”

“and there are some people, love, who are better unknown”

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[sisyphusj]

JUNO STEEL AND THE CASE CLOSED PT 2 SPOILERS AHEAD

"hey you, it's been awhile" as a DIRECT PARALLEL TO "hello juno, its been awhile" at the end of s2 is SO GOOD!!!! JUNO STEEL YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS TO ME RAHHHHHHH!

[doctorloup]

Audiodrama Sunday!

What has Lou been listening to! Well, Lou has been on annual leave and either at the London Podcast Festival seeing the homies or at LARP seeing the other homies and p.s. all my friends are dead wow that was a harsh battle on Sunday..... anyway... The Serpent Under My Skin - Juicy fantasy drama in a compact package! All of that familial, religious and war trauma angst in a complex philosophical setting. Characters you want to yell "Nooo please could you not" at. Penumbra Podcast finale - STUPID JUNO STEEL AND HIS STUPID HEALTHY ROMANTIC BOUNDARIES. The Black Tapes - Every now and again I listen to things from the Middle Ages of Modern Online Audiodrama (you know, like ten years ago) and am blasted back into the days when hosts would intersperse dramatic moments with casper mattresses and bombas socks. It is interesting to listen to this and try and work out who it influenced among the shows I have enjoyed, hear the familiar musical stingers and so on. ALSO: CROWDFUNDING! The wonderful Lumi and team are crowdfunding for the next season of Wanderer's Journal which is a cosy and wholesome tale of two beans communicating by a magical journal in a fantasy world. I am "additional voices" (aka sekrits) in S2. Please do yeet them a [Local Currency] or share the crowdfunder if you can!

[ceaseless-watchers-special-girl]

oh look, nyx did another essay post. it's about peter nureyev. surprise, surprise.

hi okay. hello. i'm about to sob about peter nureyev for the 1538495th time

re: the next right thing from frozen 2

at the start of thief's honour part two, nureyev is fucking done. slip is gone, juno is gone, he has no way to contact rita, he is completely and utterly alone with people who share none of the priorities he has. the people of vivopolis vote to leave juno and slip behind, and nureyev is past hope and in the dark badlands beyond.

his life has somehow, impossibly, gotten even worse. he had slip, he lost slip. and perhaps slip would always be lost, perhaps he would never get slip back. but at least he had juno, no matter how many times he tried to push him away.

now, he has no one. no one at all.

ok, going waaaaaay back to brahma now, about thirty years ago. whoever had that headcanon about slip being a bit older than nureyev. yeah. that. nureyev was fascinated by slip, how he lived and operated in a way which seemed so reckless to nureyev and yet, he was smart enough to never get hurt because of it.

nureyev followed slip all the way to saraswati because slip was his only ticket of brahma — but more than that, slip was the only person nureyev could trust at all. and on those lonely nights, when nureyev could barely leave the homesick district they'd settled in and slip would go out for work all day, slip was the only thing nureyev had.

and then, slip dies. and it's nureyev's own fault. he's gone somewhere nureyev cannot follow, and the grief is so overwhelming he thinks it might consume him. he can barely think straight, all he knows is in that moment, he will do anything to get his slip back. and so, when the executives offer him that deal, he takes it. because all he can think about is making sure this doesn't happen again, righting his wrongs, doing the next right thing, and everything else can be filed away under For Future Consideration.

and then, he meets juno. and he follows juno around, trying to keep him safe, trying to make juno's life better.

and juno leaves.

and nureyev thinks, well, that's it for me. so long, happiness. he's been churning out payments for dokana for almost twenty years, he's spent so long fighting for slip that he's worried he'll never get him back so he wants to stop, but he can't let it all be for nothing so he refuses to stop.

the only reprieve he had, the only joy he allowed himself, was juno steel. but juno's left. and nureyev doesn't know how to keep on living anymore. he doesn't even know who he's living for, at this point. so he takes a step, and another, and another. and he does the next right thing.

For Future Consideration.

and all he can do on the carte blanche is plan his next move, his next steps, taking every hit and happiness as it comes, cherishing the highs, soldiering through the lows, and putting the future off indefinitely because it hurts too much to even thing about.

and when he leaves the carte blanche, it's the worst he's felt in years. maybe ever. because he had a family, he had a love, and he left it all behind for his debts, because he knows that ultimately, he must return to slip. his loyalties lie with slip, and there is no getting out of that fact.

and so he slips into the night, alone, and he stumbles towards a light he doesn't even know exists. but there must be a light, somewhere. they always say there's light at the end of the tunnel, don't they? he doesn't need to know what it is. if he just keeps going, just keeps moving, he'll get there eventually. he has to.

and then, all too soon, the moment arrives. he's at the end of the tunnel. and slip is right there, waiting to come back to life. waiting to see his petya again. slip will come back to him, and everything will never be the same again.

and juno is lost, juno is captured, juno is most likely dead all because of him, and everything will never be the same again.

what, indeed, is the honourable choice for the thief to make?

mr jackson, or mr steel. which will it be?

and then, slip sings to him. and nureyev listens.

and he does the next right thing.

[the-oaken-muse]

Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse

Dannymay Day 24: NASA

Read it on AO3, if you dare.

Of all the places in the Infinite Realms Juno could have sent him for community service, it had to be the fucking Ghost Zone. He never thought he’d miss the Netherworld, but at least there he didn’t have to deal with Warden Pasty Face and the stick up his entire ass.

He banked a hard left, bobbing and weaving through the zero gravity obstacle course provided by the ectoplasmic landscape. Behind him, the thud of armor against rock let him know he was down a pursuer, as one of the guards collided with an island of floating debris.

God, this place was a dump.

He dove through a thick patch of green fog before ducking behind one of the many floating doors littering the not-air; grateful that he didn’t have breath to catch. Walker’s goons zoomed past his hiding place, following his previous trajectory on a trail that didn’t exist.

Ha! Suckers!

He may have evaded them for now, but he would have to keep moving. When they realized that he’d lost them, they would fan out and search, leaving no stone unturned until they eventually found him and dragged him squirming back to that hell hole of a prison to be crushed under Walker’s boot once more. He needed to put as much distance between himself and this part of the Zone as possible. Or better yet, find a way to the human realm.

He looked to his left, green. He looked to his right, green. He looked down, an endless abyss of green stared back at him.

Looks like he was going to have to ask for directions. Great.

The next door he came across was a deep shade of plum with intricate panels of solid mahogany and a crystal knob. He yanked it open.

“Hey! Anybody home? Hello? I’m lookin’ for—”

A sopping wet sponge splashed against his face. It lingered there for a moment before slowly sliding down, down, down and falling into the chasm below, leaving his face dripping suds. “…the ...nearest portal to Earth.”

The door slammed shut.

“Ugh, soap.” He wiped his face with his sleeve, smearing it with fresh grime.

He floated over to another door, this one a dark weathered indigo with a heavy iron latch. He pulled it open with a loud creak, “Wazzup!”

A burly, tattooed arm emerged from the dark interior and slapped him across the face with a dead fish before slamming the door shut.

Jesus, the ghosts here were rude. At least it wasn’t soap this time.

Next, he spun the wheel on a silvery lavender hatch until it popped up with a hiss.

“Hullo down there!” his voice echoed back. “I’m lookin’ for a human portal! Can ya help a brother out?”

A thick tentacle, in a green so dark it was almost black, snaked out of the hole. In a blink, the tentacle lashed itself around his neck, crushing his useless windpipe.

“Look, I’m a hugger as much as the next guy, but this is a little forward, don’tcha think?” he wheezed.

In response, it whipped him back and flung him into the infinite green like a pitcher throwing a fastball.

He soared, eyes watering, hair whipping, and jowls flapping, for what felt like an eternity, but the five watches on his arm all agreed was only a few minutes.

His flight ended abruptly when he splatted against a strange metal structure. Its surface hummed with energy, vibrating his entire being. He peeled himself off, smoothing out the dents its rivets left in his skin, and took a look. A swirling vortex brighter than the surrounding ectoplasm filled its patchwork steel frame. Unlike the other doors, it remained fixed in place rather than floating up and down gently in a sea of green; it was anchored to something, to another dimension.

Bingo.

He stood on the edge of the portal, plugged his nose, and dove into the pool of light.

The portal spat him out in a large room made of the same patchwork metal as the doorway. Though the scent of death was strong here, in the glowing green of the machinery and in the air, it was mixed through with the unmistakable vitality of the living.

Perfect. Now he just needed to… find a way to get his powers back again…

He slumped forward and groaned.

Living people with The Sight were one in a million, and of those, the ones that were dumb teenagers were even fewer. There was no way Lydia was going to help him out again after the whole fiasco with their wedding either. He needed a new plan, a new pawn… well, there was no time like the present to start looking.

He floated up, poking his head through the ceiling into a modest kitchen. There was a table for four in the middle of the room, but only one chair was occupied. A pair of faded blue jeans and beat up red sneakers bounced impatiently and he could hear the scratch of pencil on paper. Sounded like homework. Bo-ring!

Like a shark fin cutting through the waves, the top half of his head glided across the floor to the fridge. Maybe they had beer.

A small pile of brown crumbs just under the door caught his attention. He sniffed at them, chocolatey. He floated a little higher so that his mouth breached the tile and licked up the remains of someone else’s fridge raid.

“Mmm, fudge.”

The kid at the table startled and looked over in his direction. He could almost believe they were making eye contact right now.

It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“Who the heck are you?”

Looks like it could. He cracked a rotten grin and rose fully out of the floor.

“I’m the Ghost with the Most, pleasure to meet ya, kid.”

He held out a hand to shake, a centipede skittered down his arm and around his dirt-crusted knuckles before heading back into his sleeve. The boy just stared at the proffered digit in disgust.

“The most what? Grease stains on your shirt?”

“That and so much more! You name it, I’ve got it. Charm, good looks, STDs—”

“Modesty.” The boy deadpanned.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I wear pants at least…” he began counting the fingers on one hand, “thirty percent of the time!”

“That’s not what I— You know what? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t soup you right now.” The boy snatched a thermos off the table and waved it threateningly.

Jeez, tough crowd.

He wasn’t sure what kind of soup was in there, but something told him he didn’t want to find out.

“Beeecauuuuse…” His eyes darted around for something he could use to turn the situation to his favor. Math worksheet? No. Half eaten sandwich? Maybe later. NASA t-shirt? Perfect. “I’m a star, kid.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of star?” The boy narrowed his eyes skeptically.

“Red supergiant, Orion constellation… I’m sure you’ve heard of me…”

He crossed his fingers behind his back. Please work, please work.

“Betelgeuse?”

“Got it in one, kid.” He swallowed his relief and winked. “You’re even quicker on the uptake than Lydia!”

“Who?”

“Uhh, no one! Hey, what’s that?”

Betelgeuse darted over to a group of photos on a shelf and picked one up.

“Who’s the chick in the tight blue suit?” He whistled, letting the back of the frame fall open and the picture to unfold. “Really doesn’t leave much to the imagination does it?”

“Um, ew! That’s my mom!” The kid snatched the photo out of his hands and inspected the back of it. “How did you even do that?”

“I’d let her be my mommy any time.”

“…I will literally do anything for you to never talk about my mom ever again.”

“Anything?”

“Like, within reason. I’m not gonna, you know, kill anybody or anything.”

“Would you… be willing to… maybe… say my name three times in a row?” He bit his lip in anticipation.

The kid considered him suspiciously. “Is this like a kink thing?”

“What? No! Pshhh! No! Well maybe sometimes… Absolutely not, no. Cross my heart! See!” He drew an X on the right side of his chest.

“Yeah, no. Still don’t trust you.”

“C’mon kid!” He skidded to his knees in front of the boy. “Please, please, please! I’ll owe you one! I’m good for it! Promise!”

He clutched at the NASA shirt desperately. He couldn’t let this kid slip through his fingers, it might be another hundred years before he found another living person who could see him. He’d tasted the blood of freedom and he wanted more.

The boy grimaced and tried to pull away, Betelgeuse scrabbled after him. “I’ll get out of your hair, promise! Just three little words! Just three!”

“Okay, jeez, fine. If it’ll get you leave,” the boy groaned.

“YES! I mean!” He cleared his throat, “Yes.”

“Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse. Now get out of my house.”

Power surged then fizzled within him.

“Wow. That was anticlimactic.” He deflated. “Ah well, a deal’s a deal! See ya kid!”

He flew up through the ceiling with a sloppy salute.

What a chump! That was almost too easy.

 -later-

 That was definitely too easy.

Betelgeuse scowled as yet another hand reached through his head to grab a jug of milk.

His powers had been on the fritz ever since he got them back. One minute he was turning the floor into a writhing mass of roaches, the next, poof, they were gone! The unsuspecting sap he’d been about to scar for life left… unscarred.

He could tap someone on the shoulder, but when they turned around, they just looked straight through his carefully crafted horror show of a face; he’d hidden in dumpsters to jumpscare people taking out their trash, but they didn’t even see him; and his fruit fly cream pies went right through their targets.

Figures, it was just his luck that the one fucking human in this whole damn city who could see him was fucking defective.

Betelgeuse opened the glass door and stepped out of the grocery store refrigerator, he needed to find that kid.

[qpr-competition]

alright, so i dont have the energy to make Information Posts for every contestant right now (i will try to draft several but its gonna take a while), but i do want to give you the list

in alphabetical order (including the "the"s) of the media theyre from:

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey

Hideki Hinata and Yui from Angel Beats

Achilles and Patroclus from Aristos the Musical (i have been asked to emphasize that this is specifically the musical portrayal)

Chalco Yong and Ikora Rey from Destiny 2

Senku Ishigami and Gen Asagiri from Dr Stone

Hawke and Varric from Dragon Age

Edgin Darvis and Holga Kilgore from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes from Elementary

Peri Dubois and Abel Moreau from Entropic Float

Zagreus and Dusa from Hades

Polly and Yaretzi from Hello From The Hallowoods

Nepeta Leijon and Equius Zahhak from Homestuck

Serene-Heart-In-The-Chaos-Of-Battle and Luke Sunborn from In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Jay Ferin, Gillion Tidestrider, and Chip from Just Roll With It

Sakuko Kodama and Satoru Takahashi from Koisenu Futari

John Doe and Arthur Lester from Malevolent

Venus McFlytrap, Rochelle Goyle, and Robecca Steam from Monster High (the ghoulfriends book series)

Criss and Cross from Roleslaying With Roman

Anzu, Kazuki, and Junta from Romantic Killer

Zolf Smith and Oscar Wilde from Rusty Quill Gaming

Jas Emari and Sinjir Rath Velus from Star Wars Aftermath Trilogy

Blind and Sphynx from The Gray House

Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus from The Locked Tomb

Tim Stoker and Sasha James from The Magnus Archives

Jet Siquiliak and Buddy Aurinko from The Penumbra Podcast - Juno Steel

Moraine Damordred and Lan Mandragoran from The Wheel Of Time

Chongi-Re, Numeri, and Butler from Tropical Rouge Pretty Cure

Chance and Shadow from Woe.begone

Alana Maxwell and Daniel Jacobi from Wolf 359

Joe and Sasha from Wonderlab

Dairine Callahan and Roshaun ke Nelaied from Young Wizards book series

Joe Tazuna and Sara Chidouin from Your Turn To Die

i dont have any dates for you regarding either the introduction posts or the polling starts; i hope to be able to do the latter within the next week, but unfortunately for all of us i have adhd

[unmechanism]

Dude ive been meaning to listen to more podcasts. What are some good ones to listen to.... ive only listened to wtnv, tma and camp here and there </33

hello !! I'm gonna give you a bunch of my absolute favorite shows I believe everyone should listen to :

the Juno Steel series from The Penumbra Podcast, a masterpiece, truly worth it and nearly finished

Wooden Overcoats - I feel like I've been taking about this show so much atm but yeah, 10/10, wish I could listen to it for the first time again

Malevolent - a classic despite how relatively recently it came out, absolutely incredible work

The Vanishing Act - can't describe it, you have to listen to it it's wonderful and insanely underrated

Startripper - lovely, heartwarming, and quite funny

[v0idwraith]

Hello hello i’m requesting podcast recommendations

podcasts I have already listened to:

The Magnus Archives: My beloved. Absolute favorite. Currently going feral over Protocol

Malevolent: 2nd favorite. Pathetic wet cat of a man experiencing The Horrors (and interpersonal conflicts) is always fun. Also I love kayne so much <3

Welcome to Night Vale: the OG!! I love this but it doesn’t make me go quite as insane as most media I consume. I am, surprisingly, genuinely mostly normal about it.

The Edge of Sleep: It’s been a while since I listened to this, but I remember really liking it!

Other things:

I’ve listened to the first 1 1/2 episodes of The Penumbra Podcast (specifically Juno Steel), but it didn’t really grab me.

I love horror (obviously) but not because I like being scared, I like it because I think the concepts are really cool! Eldritch horror and psychological horror are the best types of horror.

If you recommend something, please gimme a little something to sell me on it. The summaries you can find on google n shit are Not helpful.

If the writing/voice acting/audio quality is a bit off at first but gets better over time, let me know! I’m willing to push through if I know it improves eventually.

And of course, the more queer the better.

[soph-the-podcast-nerd]

Hello!

i’m sophia 🏳️‍🌈 (she/they) and I’ll mostly be posting podcast content… my goal is to listen to as many fiction podcasts as humanly possible so if you have any recommendations or want to talk about shows feel free to DM me :)

currently i have finished or am listening to:

Welcome To Night Vale

The Magnus Archives/Protocol

Wolf 359

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Camp Here and There

The Penumbra Podcast (Juno Steel)

Spirit Box Radio

Malevolent

Death By Dying

How i Died

Desert Skies

How to Win Friends and Disappear People

WitherBurn After School News

Do You Copy?

Jar of Rebuke

What Happened in Skinner

The Left Right Game

Leaving Corvat

A Voice From Darkness

The Deca Tapes

Neighbourly

Among the Stacks

(Currently listening BUT im pausing because i decided to relisten to TMA for some reason) Hello from the Hallowoods

i post my art when I can :)

i do podcast recommendations occasionally, if ive recommended one its linked on the list

DMs are open to talk about podcasts or just to talk (I am a minor) as long as ur nice and not a creep (no nsfw or being an asshole)

Also, i use #soph’s art for my art and #soph-recommends for podcast recs, as well as #Soph’s night vale doodles and #pins just for buttons ive made

I have a side blog @twilight-zone-as-tma-fears where I’m re-watching the twilight zone and assigning each episode to one of the 15 fears, I personally think its cool you should go check it out :P

[lorientours]

What are some other podcasts that you've listened to? As in, I know that you've listened to Eskew, Night Vale and Death by Dying, but I was curious about any others.

Uhhh oh god I have spent so many man - hours listening to podcasts but :

The Magnus Archives

The Magnus Protocol

SAYER

The Penumbra Podcast (Juno steel arc only)

Re :Dracula (not technically a podcast but not not a podcast? Basically Dracula Daily but read aloud)

Hello From The Hallowoods : I stopped listening to this around ep 80?

The Dead Letter Office of Somewhere Ohio : stopped listening after the first season.

The Mistholm museum of mystery morbidity and mortality

The first season of neon inkwell (a short story / anthology podcast)

If Books Could Kill

You’re Wrong About

The Adventure Zone : Balance

Not Another DND Podcast

[northisnotup]

oooh many tempting choices but I'm going with night moves 👀

[Blows dust off]

I'm in a Position with Night Moves, cause i should probably finish S4&5 of Juno Steel but also I like the canon divergence semi-au I've made here and I want to shelter it. The struggle I have with Night Moves is that it wants to be long, which preemptively exhausts me. But i love it and it does haunt me.

The monitor at the front desk chimed just as Rita, who’d been unusually quiet piped up, “Oh! Mista Steel! Company is coming!” "Take your coat off, stay a while," Juno murmured, flicking his eye to the monitor on the desk. "I'm good," Alessandra's lip curled in distaste and Juno fought down the instinctive need to come to the crappy motel's defense. Sure it was faded and out of style and dim and dingy, but it was his, damn it. It was clean, and it was the last safe place left in the whole fucking galaxy as far as he was concerned. "If I wanted -" "Take your god damned coat off and throw it over your arm," he barked, standing up to his full height and putting his hands on his hips. The bell over the door sounded like a storm warning. Juno didn’t look. "Look, do I want to leave? Of course I do. But I don't. Because we don't have the coverage! You didn't clear your time off with me, Missy, now get your ass back in that kitchen and sweat in the jello for all I care, or good luck finding yourself another job." "Go to hell," Alessandra spat, never one to be slow on the uptake. She swept past him into the back, and for his sake, Juno hoped he could get rid of the potential new customer before she had time to start poking around and find something she shouldn't. Projecting as much Hyperion ‘what do you want and make it snappy,’ as he could into his voice, Juno didn’t bother to look up as he slipped back behind the front desk and prattled off the usual spiel. “Hello traveler, welcome to the Penumbra, the finest hotel/motel this side of nowhere. Show me your token, set your price limit and we’ll start talking rooms.” Key. Key. Key. Damn it all, where did R- “Prices? I’m terribly sorry, I know this is my first time patroning the establishment, but I’ve already purchased the token.” Said token was pushed across the front desk til it was just about under his nose. J-17, huh? “Purchased?” Juno whistled low, a grin beginning to creep onto his face even through the haze of annoyance that someone ‘tidying’ his space always inspired. “Damn, who’d you piss off, Buddy or Vespa?” He could have told the guy that token’s weren’t required to be handed in until checkout, but he was already annoyed this morning and had no qualms taking it out on whatever poor sod the captain sent his way. So, he pocketed the chip and hazarded a glance up. “Excuse me?” Oh! Wow. It wasn’t professional to whistle at guests. Not even ones as good looking as this guy. He was…sharp. It was the first word that came to Juno’s mind and lingered there. Sharp jaw, sharp smile, sharp suit. “The token,” he said slowly, tongue feeling thick in his mouth, “only means you’re able to rent a room here. If they made you pay for the token too, you must have pissed them off. My money’s on Vespa.” “Ah.” The man nodded, almost to himself. “That would be why the smile. And the laughter.” “Cackle, you can call it what it is.” Juno shrugged. “I would never.” The man held out his hand to shake. “Rex Glass.” “Juno Steel."

[akpinkprincesss]

GOD THE FUCKING PENUMBRA FINALLY FUCKED ME UP I CRIED FOR LIKE 30 GAY MINUTES AND NOW I FEEL SO EMPTY IVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS PODCAST FOR 3 YEARS WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS DONE I NEED MORE OF MY WIFE (Juno steel) AND MORE OF MY MAN (Peter Nureyev) AND MORE RITA AND JET AND EVERYONE ELSE I JUST CANT GOD IM TO EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO THIS PODCAST

Seriously though I loved the ending! (I wasn’t exaggerating about the crying thing) I only wish we had one last “hello Juno” at the very end I know what the writers were going for and I love it I just wish we had that confirmation yk? Loved the podcast though I can’t wait to see what else the creators write!

[podcast-official]

Old Partner In Crime, Chapter 2: These New Walls Are Pretty Hard To Crack

Author's note: find chapter 1 with tags and CWs here

Juno sat on Rita's couch, silent and angry and aching. Rita had gone to bed to give Juno some space. Good. He needed someone who actually knew shit about relationships. He scrolled through his contacts until he landed on one.

"Steel, what the hell do you want? You got another suicide mission for me? Because I've got a wife and kid now and-"

"Hello to you too, Alessandra. And, no, I'm not calling about PI stuff. Kinda wish I was, though." Juno knew he sounded like hell, but hey, Alessandra had seen him worse.

"So, what's up?"

"Um. Marriage... issues?"

"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?"

"Something like that. It's just- for the last few months, things have been... weird. Like we're both on edge all the time. We snap at each other more and apologize less. He goes for longer and longer walks when he gets worried, and, Alessandra, I'm so scared that one day he just... won't come back. And, speaking of unhealthy coping, I've been drinking more and I just don't know what to do because I can't lose him, Alessandra, I can't."

"Okay. So. I think I know what's happening."

"Really?"

"Steel, look. The wife and I dealt with something similar. She was a POW, remember? And I was a PI. And when we were together the first time, there was a war going on. Settling down, calming down, letting ourselves feel safe, was really hard work. You and Peter have had a wild ride from what I can tell. You're both processing a lot of trauma and you don't have the adrenaline high to distract from it."

"So what do we do?"

"First? Talk to him. Explain. Tell him how you feel in a way that isn't just screaming at him."

"Then what?"

"You should try marriage counseling."

"What?"

"Yeah. My wife and I go every other week. Then we do something fun after. Y'know, get dinner. See a show. Whatever."

"Huh."

"You and that man of yours will make it through this just fine. But you have to work for it."

"Thanks, Alessandra."

"Eh. I was up already. The baby was crying."

Juno went to sleep that night feeling, for the first time in months, that maybe things would turn out okay.

[juliuscaesar-txt]

hi if u want to please elaborate on your opinions on juno steel and the embrace of the ice 🥺

YES hello i know i'm about 6 months late but i had literally no time

longpost warning tho, for rather obvious reasons. also spoilers probably somewehere, but i think i can presume most of the current active fandom is familiar with the literal 1st episode of season 4

if that doesn't repell you, feel free to read under the cut

juno origin story??! we were given so many hints throughout the previous seasons, and i guess monster's reflection is kinda an origins episode, but not really? monster's reflection is rather like an origin for juno the person while also being a breaking point for his character development, which is, as i previously said, very much on a personal level. but embrace of ice is an origin story for juno the detective. (on the same note, i think angel of brahma is the origin of nureyev as a person, and stone unturned+next page are origins for nureyev the thief) all the hints to juno's falling out with the hcpd, his friendship with rita, how juno steel private investigator came to be, even the fucking wedding dress mentioned in s2, it's all explained in such a way

the parallelism is just. top notch. i love parallelisms, i love double timelines in a story, how the past and present intertwine, etc etc. i especially like how the stories are in no way the same, not really similar, but they still feel connected

it's simultaneously a downfall story and an uprise story, which is sort of poetic and also something i personally really like. another thing i really like is characters at rock bottom, with literally nothing to lose and everything to gain and because of that, sort of ruthless and determined to do whatever might get them to what they're aiming for. and that's juno, whose world has shattered to pieces, both when he found out how corrupt are not only the hcpd, but also the people closest to him since his brother was killed and is hellbent on exposing the corruption, and when his newfound family is also shattered to pieces, literally taken away from him (not to mention nureyev disappearing, again) and now is determined to get them back even with no resources and the whole world against him. both of the parallel stories are an ending and beginning of a chapter of juno's life.

diamond is so incredibly humanised. when she was mentioned earlier, the general consensus within the fandom was that she was an abusive monster of an ex. but that's not at all what she was, and however clearly we can see why her and juno's relationship fell apart, we can also see how much he loved her, and why he loved her. (she's also a bit similar to nureyev, in the same way juno and slip share some characteristics, therefore, both juno and nureyev have a type)

it has a banger of a soundtrack. it just sounds so good. the opening music? so funky so cool i love it. puck's theme? diamond's theme? actually the whole soundtrack?? it makes this episode so nice to listen to.

season 4 isn't the strongest season of tpp. i think it has like, five actually really good episodes (embrace of ice, stone unturned, the prison arc, and next page, with the haunting of the terrible trio as a runner-up) but when they're good, man do they deliver. and season 4, even if it's not that good in it's entirety, has an incredibly strong opening. embrace of ice is just. a good introduction to the new status quo. the strong emotions from the unfolding of s3 have subsided (but are still to some extent relevant) and now we can fully focus on what's next.

it introduces the new characters so well!! puck, captain hijikata, diamond, they all stand out and are really compelling characters

just. puck. and on the same note juno. i like how they both seem like slightly different people in the parallel stories, but it still makes sense how they have went from the point in the flashbacks to the people they are in the present. and also puck is such a character i love them. (and rita doesn't really change ever, that's so true of her) i might also mention the ruby7, because ye

as honourable mentions: younger juno's mannerisms, the way (present) juno talks about nureyev, puck and juno's siblings dynamic, i really like hijikata's voice idk why but i do, rita deserved so much better, the entire last scene, the settings (i missed hyperion, also, io just vibes with me)

bloody hell this post got so long. but. i think that's it?? thanks for reading (and i admire your attention span, because damn, this got long)

[unmechanism]

Podcast recs?? From someone with a peter nureyev url? Count me in

Ok, my favorite podcasts are: Victoriocity, The Penumbra (juno steel), Wooden Overcoats, and I Am In Eskew

I've also listened to & enjoyed: fawkes & stallion, the first two seasons of the amelia project, a few seasons of hello from the hallowoods, welcome to night vale in its entirety up until the university of what it is arc, the magnus archives, most of the magnus protocol so far, and wolf 359.

I could not for the life of me get into second citadel or the show malevolent.

If you can't tell I'm a big fan of british humor and detective fiction.

Any recs? (Sorry this is so long!)

hello friend!! I understand the difficulty of getting into second citadel, tho I really should try again someday... here are a few shows I think you'll enjoy :

Rex Rivetter : Private Eye - a show for people who enjoy the classic noir detective vibe, one (if not the) best one in this genre

The Theater of Tomorrow - very very well made, a bunch a different stories

The Beef and Dairy Network Podcast - this one is hit or miss, definitely a hit for me, absolutely hilarious

The Vanishing Act - they moved it from Spotify, you can only find it on Podchaser but it's so so worth it!! you'll love it

Two Flat Earthers Kidnap a Freemason - this one is really funny as well, well paced + the story is original and very fun

Stellar Firma - very very funny, captivating 10/10

hope you'll enjoy these !! ♡ have fun