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amplificathonWith many, MANY thanks to aphelant who took the time to help a total stranger when I just couldn't get this to post correctly and didn't mock me even a little bit.
I’ve been a devotee of podfic for a number of years now and have gone from being an alarmingly arrogant dismissive of this fandom medium to being one of its most ardent supporters, even if it’s not as vocally or as confidently as I would like. I know that podficcers are marginalised and dismissed by some areas of fandom for being little better than parasites and leeching other people’s work thanks to some feeds I follow on Twitter, but I’ve never been confident enough to offer my opinion in an on-going debate the way I would with a debate on traditional fan fiction simply because I don’t have even a basic understanding of the technicalities of podficcing and I live in fear of a) making an arse of myself & b) more realistically making an already inflammatory situation worse.
The fact of the matter is that podficcing is hard people. Like, seriously for realzzzz. I’ve wanted nothing more these past couple of years to start recording my own works but have been stymied by a combination of factors, not least that I can record stuff but I have no idea how to edit/add effects/add or create cover art/add music ect ect. Basically how to get it to the standard of works that is consistently produced by the podficcers that post works. And that’s not even taking into consideration the responsibility of taking the original work and translating it into a new medium for people to appreciate in a new way. For the technically challenged, of which I am one and genuinely find it hard to learn and assimilate new information, it is consistently a wonder and a source of endless jealousy and frustration when I download new podfic and listen to the fruits of someone else’s hard work and dedication.
There is also the comfort factor of having the familiarity of your favourite performers on hand at any time, day or night. Like quite a few people who are active within fandom I have my own peculiarities or anxieties and have found that podfic is an excellent stress management aid and comfort if anxiety attacks occur or I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with events in my day or suffering through bouts of insomnia. I am more likely to suffer anxiety attacks away from home or in unfamiliar environments and never, ever travel without my iPod & docking station which is always the first thing I unpack in a hotel room and switch on. I don’t ever use new works or authors for this, but automatically go to well-loved favourites such as reena_jenkins, fayjay, the muse calliope, dodificus, aphelant, rhea314, knight_tracer and practically recite along with them as they talk me down from my meltdown and get me to a place where I can contemplate standing up and at least brushing my teeth if not quite attempting a shower yet.
Podfic is my gateway to fandom these days and I very rarely read fan fiction now as I find it restrictive and too confining to sit for hours at a screen as I used to. I have a Kindle which occasionally is utilised to download fic, but mainly I rely on podfic to bring me to new authors, works & fandoms. ::scowls:: I’m looking at you here Hockey RPF!
I couldn’t decide how to focus this post this time around after participating in a couple of these things before, so I eventually decided on a combination of comfort podficcers and readers I have relied on for a long time to alleviate stress but have never got up the courage to leave feedback for or connect with outside of my own head. I’m not confident with what I should be commenting on with readers of podfic so if I get this woefully wrong then I apologise, but I will be honest about what draws me to the reader and keeps me clinging on time after time to them.
First off is reena_jenkins. I’ve been a mad fan for years and have an entire playlist devoted wholly to her work, fandom not important. The quality of her work is second to none and she is pitch perfect in everything she does. It’s incredibly hard to narrow down her list of recordings to a handful that I can call my favourites because it seems that pretty much everything she’s produced falls under that category but I eventually managed to get a top three. Ish. In no particular order they are as follows – Ready, Fire, Aim, Situation Normal, All Fucked Up & Momentum Ready, Fire, Aim ‘Verse (shut up, that totally counts as one fic, it’s a series!!) I literally only have to hear the reader say the line ‘Captain America is a dick!’ and I’m grinning in anticipation of what’s to come. I’m pretty sure that there’s no one in the podfic fandom that won’t have heard at least one of reena’s performances over the years, if only because she’s so prolific in so many fandoms, but just in case there is someone reading this that hasn’t then I recommend starting with this series. It doesn’t really matter if you aren’t familiar with the Avengers fandom from the source material because the writing itself is that tight from the always reliable gyzym, but the performance reena turns in will carry you the rest of the way and you find yourself so caught up that you’ll be desperate to squeeze an extra five minutes listening time wherever you can just so you can continue this wonderful recording. From Countess To Cabin Boy is another outstanding performance that proves you don’t need any familiarity at all with the source fandom or material – reena does drama and comedy so well and the transition is seamless between the two and is highlighted so well in this romantic piece. My last recommendation (seriously, I don’t want to do this, I want to rec all the podfic!!) is The League of Fairly Unusual Gentlemen because I wanted to include a BtVS recording but I also wanted to include as many fandoms as possible for this reader and this was the only way I could reasonably do so (although The Intangible Residuum: A Collection of Stories is awesome) and I wanted to highlight her ability to tell a story, even with she has a fairly limited source here to work with. It’s just a little over twenty minutes of sheer perfection – Cam’s bewilderment at his new ‘posting’ is delightful and reena gives voice to each individual character amazingly well, managing to bring through little quirks and individual idiosyncrasies that make this performance really come alive.
You’re The Frosting On My Cupcake written by sunsetmog & read by fire-juggler. This is just delightful. Its one of those fics that packs a lot into a short space of time and seems a lot longer than it is. Its a Bandom Au based off a Harlequin prompt and is as lovely and fluffy as the title would suggest. The reading is pitch perfect for the tone of the story and really nails the whole rom-com feel of the whole thing as well as doing a superb job of giving each character an individual voice. Satisfying in all the best ways.
My next comfort recording is by an author and a reader I’m not really familiar with outside this fic. Starting From Zero It’s written by sweet_lyri & read by froggyfun365 and is an RPS set within the Kane fandom. I originally downloaded this because there is such a shortage of long fic in this fandom and was working on the premise of something was better than nothing and that I could forgive a lot if I found I was disappointed when I listened. To say I was happy beyond belief to find this recording surpassed all expectations both in the tightness of the source material and in the execution of the performance would be an understatement. Froggyfun365 delivers a measured, controlled performance that keeps you listening on tenterhooks right the way through the three hours or so length of the recording and you find yourself really rooting for the characters to get their act together and find their happy ending already. This is one of those fics you want to race through just to get to the dénouement and simultaneously want to last forever because you’re enjoying yourself just that much.
The Heart In The Whole is a mammoth recording of a BBC Sherlock fic written & read by verityburns and this sat languishing on my laptop for months before I remembered it was there and transferred it over to my iPod to drift off to and found myself profoundly regretting this decision just over two hours later as I lay staring through the dark at my ceiling, desperate to get to sleep but completely unable to switch off enough to do so because I had become so immersed in what was drifting out of my docking station. It’s even more impressive that this is the author/reader’s first foray into the world of podficcing. What hooked me on this reading in particular is, I believe, the reader’s familiarity with the source material as she is also the author and so obviously reads and writes to her own particular rhythm and this shines through in every single word and managed pause. She knows how to pace, emphasise and lead the listener through the narrative so that you get the very most out of this performance and the story on every level available to you. Verityburns is obviously a very talented performer in her own right as she is delightful in her other readings of other people’s works as well, but this is the stand out performance to me and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who has even a passing interest in the Sherlock fandom.
Martha Wilson & svmadelyn, Retrograde ‘verse – this made me happy on so many levels you’d need Sam Carter and Rodney McKay to count them! I can remember when the original fic and first in the series was released back in the day and it was an immediate favourite even back then so I was hysterical with joy when I discovered that there was a podfic of Retrograde and its sequel. I literally shrieked with surprise and excitement when I clicked on to see new releases in amplificathon recently and found that not only had a combined podbook been released but the entire damn series had been recorded by various artists and had been beautifully put together and uploaded. I don’t actually have the vocabulary to tell you why this is an essential listen on your iPod. Martha’s (and svmadelyn’s) writing? The impassioned and professional performances? The flawless transitions between different recordings and readers? The fact that some of these were recorded years apart and without official collaboration between the readers and this whopper of a podbook is STILL flawless? There are no words. This is an amazing, in character, entertaining and, above all, outstanding compliment to the source material that everyone involved should be incredibly proud of.
The Giraffe Notes, Social Network, written by jeyhawk – this fandom, much like any of the Sporting RPF fandoms, is a source of bewilderment and incredulity to me as I still haven’t seen the film and literally cannot tell you who plays who in it but I still have quite the little collection of podfic going on, mainly thanks to Rhea314, lunchee & knighttracer. This absolute gem of a performance from an RPF source is beautifully put together, from the seamless transitions between notes (which are included in the audiobook for your visual as well as audio gratification!) to lunchee’s always melodic tones and the polished and confident delivery she gives. I’ve listened to this recording easily going into the dozens now and there is always something new I catch that pulls me in that much deeper again. Lunchee is such an accomplished reader – from pathos to comedy to every emotion in between and I have yet to find a recording of hers I don’t immediately add to my permanent file on my iPod.
Vampires In Manhattan, Avengers – I blame kalakirya entirely for my tripping into the Avengers fandom after I downloaded Tomorrow Belongs To Me and her recording got me through an immense day long panic attack as I drove for the first time in eight years on the mainland last year and from there on I associated Tony Stark & Steve Rogers with being soothed and my own little bubble of calm in a mad, crazy world. I don’t actually read in the fandom at all, I’m pretty much podfic exclusive here and as such I’m a pairing whore and will listen to whatever takes my fancy. What took my fancy recently was Vampires In Manhattan and…WOW. I think I may have a kink about accents as I was ridiculously pleased to find the reader, jenna_corinth was a Scot and thus spoke to me in the tones of my adopted homeland. This was my first introduction to this reader and I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled across her before. This girl is great. She’s confident, emotive, has superb timing and pacing and I literally cannot say enough good things about her. I thought when I listened for the first couple of minutes that it was kyizi who recorded the first in the Retrograde series and was really happy to have discovered more of her work as, to my knowledge, she delivered one delightful recording and then didn’t record anything else, but it was not to be. Jenna Corinth is a girl who likes to give a lot of bang for your buck – the shortest fic she has recorded is about twenty eight minutes and then ranges, wonderfully, all the way up to just under nine hours and she’s not precious about confining herself to one fandom either. I haven’t had a chance to listen to her other works yet aside from a couple of the shorter Glee! ones as I’m still wallowing in the perfection that is Vampires In Manhattan and am listening to it on repeat pretty much daily, but I have every intention of making my way through her list as soon as I can as I have every expectation that I’m going to love the rest as much as I loved my introductory podfic.
exmanhater is someone that I have no one to blame but myself for missing out on for so long because I thought I wouldn’t connect with femslash the way I would with the boy slash and…yeah, not so much. I staggered into this wonderful reader’s work earlier in the year when I downloaded some St. Trinian’s works (Brains, Beauty & Zombies & The Bodyguard) and was completely captivated when I listened to the recordings. The crisp, confident delivery and the wonderfully assured way this reader has with timing and differentiating between the characters without actually seeming to do anything is brilliant. When she posted A Statue Strong Enough For Two couldn’t click on download fast enough and this was the recording that has convinced me I need to download her entire back catalogue and devote a playlist to her on my iPod. This is a BBC Merlin AU with Elena & Mithian taking centre stage as superheroes & although the source material written by lady_ragnell is superb I probably wouldn’t have read it just as a piece of fan fiction. The story is lively, engaging and, as in all Lady_Ragnell’s work, beautifully paced and laid out but exmanhater’s delivery of the piece is what takes it to the next level for me. An Assembly Such As This read by lady_ragnell & A Very Magical Kidnapping written by Deastar by exmanhater. The latter two stories are also lovely examples of her versatility (although I will admit to gnashing my teeth over her pronunciation of Antonia until I forced myself to chill out and let it the fuck go) and she does AU’s SO well and with such effortless panache that you almost forget that you’re listening to fandom works and not original ones.
A Farm In Iowa read bylibrarychick94 & written by sheafrotherdon. You’ve probably noticed by now that I have something of a penchant for AU’s rather than canon compliant works and this is just an amazing addition to the AU genre. It’s based in the SGA fandom, John/Rodney of course, and is just wonderful. It’s a lovely, slow paced story and is performed to perfection by library chick and her gentle, unhurried delivery is a perfect compliment to the source material and has you smiling and drifting away into the picture she paints with her narration and wrapping yourself in it like a well-loved blanket.
Small Primes & Square Roots read by cookiemom6067 & read by liviapenn. This is an old favourite from the SGA days and is an alternately hilarious and angsty story of how John & Rodney don’t meet and fall in love, but nonetheless manage to share parentage of a child, communicate through a long posting and end up living together. This is a lively, nuanced and, above all, obviously enjoyed performance of the original material that I come back to time and time again. I can quite happily sit down plug in and listen to this over and over and I have done a LOT over the years. This is a lovely recording and one that you don’t need to know anything about the fandom to appreciate as, you’ve guessed it, it’s another AU!
Last Night’s Dress, Tiptoe Out From This Mess read by dodificus & written by hito. This is HILARIOUS – I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve listened to this fic. Dodificus does a fantastic job of performing this and I always get a lovely jolt when I start this off because I always seem to forget its nearly two hours long and somehow have it lodged in my head that it’s a little twenty minute snapshot of Beacon Hills life. It’s Derek/Stiles and is a good, solid story with a brilliant appreciation of the source material by the reader and lovely, lovely, lovely characterisation that has you helplessly giggling every time you read. Dodificus’ mournful reading of the Sheriff’s apology to his son if he’s done anything to screw him up enough to make him think that he only deserves Derek Hale as his boyfriend when he mistakenly assumes they are sleeping together has me laughing every single time.
Things To Do On The Dates You Aren’t Having by Rhea314 & written by lielabelle - again, HILARIOUS. It always comes as a surprise to me how many Rhea314 recordings I have and just how much I enjoy them. I can honestly say that I could recommend pretty much anything of hers and you wouldn’t be disappointed. I chose this one to headline because, although it’s relatively short for Rhea314, it is a prime example of how to achieve excellence in every way in a recording of podfic. You can picture each character as they appear in your head and you end up with a lovely glow at the end every single time.
The Alexandrian Solution read by hananobira & written by bexless. This is so funny. I loved the rhythm of this and the flustered manner of Stiles’ reaction to Derek’s surprising, uh, surprise and Derek’s disgruntled and baffled reaction to his own body. A lovely wee reading that has me chuckling every time.
Flight Risk With A Fear Of Falling by fireeverything. I adored this recording from the word go, not least because it’s written and read by the same person but she also sings on the recording and the girl’s got some pipes, baby! Basically Derek is cursed to communicate by song. The hilarity of this cannot be stressed enough but the word choices and descriptive phrases used by the author make this particularly delicious and I frequently relisten to this just because I can and it never fails to raise a smile.
The One Where Derek Is Courting (and Stiles Fears The Zombie/Werewolf Apocalypse) written by i_am_not_a_lizard & read by araline. Basically I like to be amused in my listening of podfic. I’ve tried the angst and the drama and the straight out freaky over the years but I keep coming back to what’s going to make me laugh. This podfic achieved this in spades. Anything that opens with Stiles landing butt first in the gooey remnants of his first ‘courting’ gift from his admirer and then getting hosed off by his bemused father is alright by me. The reading is lively, engaging and is obviously being enjoyed by the performer. Just brilliant!
Can’t Be Hateful Gotta Be Grateful read by isweedan & written by HalfFizzbin. Yes, yes, I know – more humour. This is funny, okay? Stiles’ bewilderment at his father’s inability to stand up to his grandmother, his bewilderment at Derek tagging along, his grandmother - I love this fic. I especially adore the Sheriff’s portrayal here and the reader does an admirable job at taking a stab at Stiles’ ‘real name’.
Mission: Dinosaur Adventures by pollyrepeat. Even though I’ve been lucky enough to be podficced a couple of times and can appreciate the new levels and different nuances a performer can bring out in someone else’s work I’ve also come to see that someone performing their own work brings a lot to the table too. They don’t have to work at finding the rhythm and pacing of a story and, as such, can give a beautifully relaxed and natural performance that is an absolute delight to listen too. This is one such example. The story in itself is a little gem (The Losers/Jurassic Park xover. Don’t question it, just go with it. It works.) and I love the laidback manner of the reading, especially the way the humour is allowed to ebb and flow naturally as the story unfolds and all the characters are given such distinctive voices. This is a regular in lulling me to sleep because wherever I drift off in the story I know I’m going to be drifting off with a smile on my face.
A Shot In The Dark Aimed Right At My Throat written by gyzym & read by Sarshi & KDHeart. Not going to lie, this took me a couple of listens to get into I think mainly because I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett for over twenty years and I read in a very specific rhythm to myself and it was really odd to hear someone else alter that. I tend to stick to visual fandoms rather than literary ones. However, I am so glad I did come back to it. This is a little gem of a fic, especially well handled by the two readers and one of my favourite scenes in the whole fic is the one describing Lady Ramkin and Vetinari’s first meeting. Plus, I really do think I have a kink for accents.
Or As We Say In Ancient Egyptian: Kanip Kanip written by jadestarlight read by sly-hostetter. An oldie, but a goodie. This is a short, sharp SPN gen fic with Sam getting possessed by a Go’auld and…well, seriously, what more do you need. The outraged symbiote comes across especially well as both Sam and Dean are persistently underwhelmed by the threat it presents and I take especial delight in the fact that Sam seems to be most bothered that he’s been possessed by a girl. Again. The reading just snaps along and will definitely make you smile.
A Grand Sneer read by tinypinkmouse & written by MoragMacPherson. I tend to approach long fics in SPN fandom with deep suspicion as they all seem to tend towards the dark and tragic rather than the chuckle inducing I tend to prefer, but this one strikes a nice balance. Yes, Dean is lost in the Discworld and separated from his beloved brother but this doesn’t distract you from the fact that Dean is trapped on the Discworld and it’s also bloody hilarious! All the major characters are here and the reading of them is just divine. Vimes comes across especially well and I was absolutely entranced through the whole reading which was basically greedily sucked up in one afternoon. Outstanding work and a beautifully clean recording. And, again, accent. Seriously, it’s a thing.
Convenient Husbands read by eridanie & written by dachinchilla. This is a Dean/Castiel fic which isn’t normally my bag in SPN but I fancied a little something different and I am so glad I did! At first I found the pacing a little fast but after ten minutes or so got into the reading and then was happily swept away by the performer’s voice and obvious enjoyment of what she’s doing. It’s an excellent story, with a solid well thought out plot, but I really think that the reason I ended up enjoying it so much is because I chose the podfic rather than the written version of the story.
Sacramentum read by smallcaps & Accidents Will Happen written by holli both read by juice817. The reader here was basically my introduction to podfic in the first place and is amazingly versatile in what she do with her voice and her range of chosen material but these two remain my favourites of hers and the ones I come back to time and time again. The reading of Sacramentum is just hot, there’s no other way to describe it. Well, alright, you can also use funny, but primarily hot and I just love the way the story unfolds and her vocalisation of Dean’s inner thoughts as it does. SPN Wincest but an excellent example of it all round and I can’t recommend it enough. The second story is a gen one that I’ve rec’d before but just in case there is an SPN fan out there that somehow has missed this little gem then please go listen! All you need to know is that some teenaged girls accidently raise Papa Winchester from the dead and everyone is very confused how they’ve managed this. The reader is hilarious as a breathless, panicked teenaged girl, a disorientated John and a bemused and mostly pissed Dean and this still sounds as fresh today as it did when I first downloaded it three or so years ago.
Oo-de-lally written by skoosiepants & read by via-ostiense. First of all you can’t go wrong with anything by skoosie and if it’s been podficced then you know you’ve really struck gold. I love how the reader nails Rodney’s gloom and misery at being trapped with John Sheppard’s ‘Merry Men’ in this Robin Hood SGA AU and Sheppard’s lacksidasical attempt at being an outlaw and, quite frankly, piss poor attempt at wooing our intrepid McKay, here filling loosely the role of Friar Tuck. This is a great performance that perfectly suits the relaxed tone of the fic and keeps you smiling all the way through. Show You What All That Howl Is For by drfumblesmcstupid oh, so very, very funny. This performance is markedly different from Oo-de-lally as the reading is a lot more animated and snappy but is still perfectly suited to the source material. It’s a Teen Wolf/SGA xover and Stiles is just perfect in his exasperation and bewilderment as to why the ‘feral’ alien Derek Hale (here fulfilling the role of Ronon, sort of) has been so universally accepted by the Atlantis base as a whole and his team in particular. And no one cares that Derek keeps sniffing him or throwing him up against walls. Very, very funny.
Pretty In Pink written by belyste & read by fishpatrol. Dean wakes up to find that someone has given the Impala a makeover. He is not pleased. The recording isn’t as clean as you might be perhaps used to in recent years as this is another oldie but goodie, but if you don’t mind a slight fuzziness this recording is well worth a listen. The reader is great, happily jumping along and does a brilliant job of playing out Dean’s fury and outrage at the indignity his baby has undergone and I’m always left giggling at the description at the beginning where the poor guy wanders by his own car and doesn’t recognise her despite the fact I’ve heard it so often I can actually recite along with the recording. Very, very funny.
Supersaturation read by threedaysout & written by skoosiepants. Yes, alright, so when I find something I like I tend to stick with it. However, this time it’s a Bandom AU…in the SGA ‘verse. What? It works! Crisp, clean recording and I love the dry, confident delivery from the reader that invites you to find your own humour in the story (of which there is plenty!) and keeps you hooked for nearly two hours. Just lovely!
Night At The Museum read by greedy_dancer & written by dvs. Yep, you guessed it, accent! It’s a Doctor Who/SG1 xover and I LOVE this. It’s performed brilliantly and is so engaging and it helps that it has Amy Pond and Vala Mal Doran in the same story. I really like the pacing and instinctive knack the reader seems to have for emphasising words to get the most out of a scene.
Highly Classified & Very Hush Hush & Strictly On A Need To Know Basis read by kalakirya & written by rageprufrock. LOL, once again I find something I like and I stick with it! Pru is always top quality work and these two little gems are just lovely. There’s a slight fuzziness on the recordings but, again, if you don’t let it bother you then you’re in for a treat. It’s basically the tale of what happens when the guys from the SGA ‘verse come to the attention of a certain Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team. The reader is obviously having a whale of a time and you can actually picture Gibbs in your head getting ever more irate and Rodney ever more furious as the two fics unfold. Hilarious work.
Summer House Trilogy read by podficlover. I’ve rec’d this one before as well but it has to be done again just because it is that perfect. This is probably the fic that got me past my instinctive aversion to unusual accents when I first got into podfic and I come back to it time and time again because the reading and characterisation and all over quality is just brilliant. John & Rodney have to relocate to Eureka for a time and, well, there’s mixed reactions. The easy delivery coupled with Pru’s unique skills with dialogue and narrative conspire to make this a listen that will always have a permanent place on my iPod.
Post-Nuptial read by rageprufrock. She doesn’t only write it she reads it too!! This is the story of how Rodney fakes a pregnancy and bewitches an entire village (and John) with tales of John’s prowess as a husband and virile breeder. Has to be heard to be believed. I especially loved her snappy reading of John & Rodney’s vicious argument on what to name their (fake) baby and Sam’s reaction to it and then the way in which they manage to produce an offspring and go on to gain another one. Pru packs a lot into a short story and I fall in love with this fic every time I listen to it.
Early Returns read by tinypinkmouse. I want to rub up against this podfic and shamelessly tweak its nipples. It’s an Inception AU and the reader does a superb job of holding together a story that has a lot going on and a lot of characters to give a voice to. It’s funny, well-paced and, ahem, is read in a really quite seductive accent. Very, very nice Arthur/Eames fic and as it’s an journalist AU you don’t need to know anything about the film. Yay!
Asunder read by 2naonh3. Oh, this is good. I like Pru’s lighter work but when she does full on drama and plot, no one does it better. This is a SPN AU where Dean is an overworked social worker, Castiel is a widowed doctor and Sam is the ex-junkie brother who Dean hasn’t seen for years who is marrying Ruby who is also a recovering addict and who Dean blames for Sam’s descent into addiction. This is fantastic stuff. The reader delivers a crisp, clear recording that enhances in every way the already outstanding source material and keeps you glued for the just over two hours it takes for this story to unfold. She has you rooting so hard for Cas & Dean to get together and I love how Ellen & Jo are performed.
The walrus & The Guy Who Carpents read by darkdreymer & written by plainapple. If nothing else the fact that it’s a honest to goodness man reading this is a reason to highlight this recording, but the fact that it is so, so good means I can do it with a clear conscience. I really like the delivery here. Its unhurried and relaxed and such a pleasure to listen to, even if you don’t really have a familiarity with the source fandom and were attracted by the cover art. I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to listening to more of the reader’s other works when I’ve cleared some space on my iPod.
One AM written by seperis & It Is, It Is A Glorious Thing written by astolat, both read by Paraka. It just about killed me parsing this down to just two fics to highlight by this reader but I managed it in the end. I love everything about Paraka’s style and I think I’m a little bit in love with what I think is one of the sexiest voices in fandom. She’s just a natural performer and I adore the way she reads Adam in all her works, but especially in One AM as he watches with faint horror when Kris remains happily oblivious to the fact he’s being treated as a domestic abuse victim during an early morning trip to the ER. Much funnier than it sounds, I promise. Glorious Thing has Adam as a pirate and Kris as a captured missionary, I don’t think I need to say anymore.
The Plan & Fairie Touched written by Blind_Author and read by the muse calliope. This reader is far and away the one most often played on a day to day basis. She’s also the only one I will download WIP’s from regardless of whether or not they are likely to get finished if they’re still WIP’s with the author because I love the way she performs so damn much. The two examples above are both from the Sherlock fandom and both are finished and they usually get played at least once a week because I LOVE going to sleep listening to John exclaim in startled bemusement ‘Since when do I have virtue?!’ and equally love him laughing helplessly at Moriaty’s arch villain in Fairie Touched when the latter thinks he has him trapped, helpless and thinks he’s about to kill him. This reader hits the right note every time (The ensemble recording of 26 Pieces is amazing too, btw!) and if I was really forced to choose just one reader to take with me to a desert island then it would be this girl. It doesn’t hurt that she recorded one of my fav Hawaii 5-0 fics by one of my fav authors too!
Apocalypse! Alien Asteroids written by dodger sister & read by baylor. This is a Neil deGrasse Tyson, X-Men & Avengers xover RPF and they’re all out to save the world. No, seriously, they are. I didn’t quite know what to make of this one, especially as I only downloaded it out of curiosity and wasn’t all that invested in making it through to the end. It’s a wee bit echo-y but is put together really nicely other than that and I really, really like this reader. I had zero background knowledge of anyone outside of the Avengers in this fic, aside from a hazy recollection from the nineties of a group of three characters, but this doesn’t matter. The performance turned in is confident, articulate and keeps the same pacing all through the recording letting you absorb everything you need to get everything out of it you can and assimilate all the information required to keep up with what’s happening. Funny and dramatic by turns I can’t recommend this enough if you fancy a little something outside of the ordinary.
Luck Be A Lady (With A Motherfucking Gun) read by helens78 & written by lady_krysis. I have absolutely NO idea who anyone referenced in this fic is or anything about the fandom it’s from (Death Proof 2007) but the deadpan way this performance is delivered and the disgruntled exasperation of the main character (Kim) as she makes her way through the fic and tries to stay alive and keep everyone else that way is sublime and, providing you’re not anywhere near small children, is an awesome short pick-me-up if you want something full of action and black humour.
Odd Jobs Series read by aphelant & written by brownbetty & emeraldwoman & Everything’s Magic written by foxxcub. The Odd Jobs series (Leverage fandom) is my longest serving and most beloved comfort fic. I’ve rec’d it before, actually every time I’ve taken part in one of these things, but I’m genuinely concerned that there is someone out there that doesn’t appreciate just how wonderful and amazing this recording is. The first two fics are told from Eliot’s POV and is just hilarious. Parker needs some help making Hardison aware that she likes him and so, naturally, turns to Eliot for dating advice. There’s lesbians, vomit and kittens and the reader is just outstanding in her performance here and conveying Eliot’s horror and bewilderment as the story progresses. Everything’s Magic is a Inception AU involving virgins and woodland creatures and Eames as a unicorn and, good god, why am I still talking? Just go listen to it! There’s no opportunity wasted to wring every last bit of humour out of this fic and I ended up in a layby for half an hour one day driving home just so I could time it to finish before I finished my journey and thus not have to wait until bedtime and I’d gotten all my returning home chores out of the way to finish it. I really, really like this confident, consistent reader and enjoy pretty much everything she produces.
That Old Black Magic read by 2naonh3-cl2 & Brand New Shoes by Jerakeen. I really like the author of both these stories, although I am mainly just familiar with her AI8 work, and the reader here just nails the rhythm and pacing of these fics and these recordings are my go-to happy rom-coms when I need a little reassurance that life all works out in the end and everyone gets the guy.
Your Brains Are No Match For My Tractor Beam by Juice817 & Man’s Best Friend. ‘Your Brains…’ is an J2 RPF based off ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and is straight up hilarious from beginning to end. I only really discovered ‘The Big Bang Theory’ this last year and had no knowledge of it at all when I first downloaded this and its now SO much funnier when I listen to it. The performance is filled with Juice817;s typical dry, restrained wit and the story is told so well you literally smile the whole way through. ‘Man’s Best Friend’ has Jensen being turned into a dog by a disgruntled animal handler and Jared pining and then Jensen discovering the pining when the puppy he is turned into is taken in by Jared until his real owner can be found. Its reasonably short and unreasonably funny. Just great.
All Is Violent All Is Bright written by lezzerlee read by kansouame. I have broken away from my usual happy theme to rec this because it is just fantastic. Its apocalypse time in AU land and Arthur and Eames are trying to survive it together. The reading is restrained and subdued and perfectly fitting to the subject matter, but the reader somehow manages to infuse both main characters with personality and makes you care so much about them as you follow their journey. An outstanding story and performance and ideal for curling up under a blanket on a rainy afternoon and losing yourself in a good bit of drama for a few hours.
Get Out Of My Dreams Get Into My Car read by crinklysolution & written by eleveninches High, High Very High read by crinkly solution written by siriaeve. This is one of my favourite Inception podfics and I love, love, love the performance here. Eames is read so well and I love Arthur being all Arthur and exasperated at events and Eames and just about everything. It’s fairly short but packs a lot in and is a brilliant addition to any Inception playlist. 'High, High...' is another Hawaii 5-0 fic and is hilarious from start to finish. Danny's day goes to hell from the minute he allows Kono and Steve to choose his lunch for him and continues to descend to hellish depths from there. The reader nails Danny's exasperation with his life in general and Steve in particular and I especially like how Kono is portrayed here and really comes to life as she gleefully steps into Steve's shoes when he is injured in the line of duty. Really, really good.
Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea read by flyingthesky & written by jaguarcaine. This is an Hawaii 5-0 AU where Danny is a Mer who has followed his daughter to Hawaii and then accidently bonds with Steve. This recording is filled with humour and cracks along at a breakneck pace that really captures the essence of the show itself and Danny is particularly well presented throughout. It’s not the tidiest finished product, there’s more than one occasion where the editing isn’t quite as clean as you’d wish, but you really just don’t care by the time you get to the end of it. I’m not really familiar with the reader outside of this one recording but I will definitely be looking out for more of her work. She’s got great natural talent for recording and a lovely light voice that lends itself well to a large range of emotion.
Curving Like The Ocean Towards You read by Princess2000204 & written by gyzym. Again, slightly echo-y but, OMG, this is SO funny. It took me a while to get used to the reader’s voice and I really couldn’t tell you why but by the time Danny is helping Steve shop for couches I’m all settled into the flow of the recording and bouncing merrily along with the characters as they do up Steve’s house and fall in love along the way. Really well handled by the performer and is one of my go-to’s whenever I feel like a longish, humour story.
Sting read by diane mckay & written by Camden. This is a Glee Karofsky/Kurt fic and I don’t even know how I managed to download this because I am a strict Puck/Kurt girl the whole way in general but this is awesome. It’s an AU where Karofsky joined the FBI and Kurt isn’t an art thief/forger and is read beautifully. It does take you while to get into it because, for me anyway, the pacing is just a little slow but I’ve come to appreciate diane mckay’s style as it makes you really appreciate every word being read to you and absorb more of the fic. This is very well written and extremely well performed and has a permanent place on my (admittedly small) Glee playlist.
That Time Dean Was Sam’s Girlfriend & Jess Entered The Winchester Family Business read by sad_cypress & written by fleshflutter. Again, rec’d this before, but…Jess has a lucky cock! You don’t really need anything more than that, do you? The recording itself is very clear but I have to turn the volume way up to hear it so if, like me, you’re in the habit of playing your fic on a docking station as you go to sleep there’s a fair to middling chance you’ll get blasted out of slumber land when the next fic cues up and the volume returns to normal. It’s a lively, funny performance and the reader does a brilliant job of switching between Dean and Jess’ POV. And she has a lucky cock!!
Old Country written by astolat astolat, The Case of the Unwelcome Owl written & read by fayjay, Fools of Us All written by adelagia & The Incestuous Courtship of the Anti-Christ’s Bride written by fleshflutter all read by fayjay. I know everyone and his dog rec’s fayjay but it just wouldn’t feel like a proper rec post if I didn’t. Since I last did one of these things she’s branched out into the Sherlock fandom and is as delightfully proficient in reading Sherlock & John as she is in everything else. The sultry, measured tone of her voice is a natural for Sherlock and, as always, she can make the transition between humour and drama just effortless. I picked a few of my favourites but basically anything of hers is gold. She’s also a very talented author in her own right, damn her.
Gun, With Occasional Kangeroo: A Love Story written by punk read by myriad69. Again, rec’d it before, but this is one of my all-time favourite Due South recordings. Everyone from Frannie to Fraser to Dief is jumping through the speakers at you and the reader just nails the lively, insane spirit of the show that I’ve rarely, if ever, found elsewhere.
Dyin’ Is East written by poisontaster & ready by dodificus. I really like the Die Hard films but I forgot to keep watching after number 3 so I’m a bit hazy on the characters mentioned here but the tightness of the story and dodificus’ performance make it not matter. The slow progression of the relationship and adjustment of what John thinks he knows is great and I like the way the story is handled the whole way through.
Sockpuppet written by shadowcast & read by via-ostiense. This is amazing. Even though BtVS was my first fandom, and kept me monofannish for years, I have surprisingly little of the recordings available downloaded. Again, can’t remember what prompted me to get this mammoth recording, but I am so glad I did. The reader is just sublime and lets the story unfold at its own pace so you get every nuance of this tightly plotted and well-paced story. Its Xander/Spike eventually and be prepared to get your heart broken regularly throughout the recording but it is so, so worth it.
Needing Is One Thing read by crinklysolution & written by ladyflowdi & mirrorskippy. This is a Sherlock fic set just after the season 1 finale and I love the zip & zing of the two main character’s interactions and the way the reader presents Sherlock. The sound is crisp & clear, although the natural volume is set a little low, but the reader makes everything seems so effortless as she presents the story so you just don’t care. It’s a good length but is one of those that seems much shorter than it is as you’re enjoying it so much and it’s over much, much too soon.
The Progress of Sherlock Holmes read by cellardoor & written by tweedisgood. Oh this is good. I really wasn’t sure about this at all, especially with the overall stream of consciousness style of writing and reading, but this literally had me hypnotised by about ten minutes in and I love this recording. The reader keeps almost a monotone the whole way through and basically imparts knowledge from Sherlock’s POV as he watches John deteriorate away from him in a new relationship and then slowly and inevitably draw him back just by allowing John to be himself and to give him what he needs not what he thinks he wants. It’s a commitment to listen to due to length but so worth it.
Back Up Copies by lunchee & written by etothepii This is a Sherlock/Dollhouse xover and John is dead, but Mycroft has a way to fix it. Lunchee’s readers notes at the end had me nodding so hard because, yeah, this fic had me squirming and fidgeting and thinking ‘No, no, no, so wrong!!’ even as I’m relieved that my boys are going on and not leaving each other. Lunchee does a superb job with the whole performance despite the squick factor and I love how everyone is characterised and just springs to life right from the first word.
Lucky Graveyard Boots (And A Song To Sing) read by isweedan & written by inlovewithnight. This is one of those recordings that even though I know, sort of, who the characters are I’m not familiar enough with the fandom to actually know who they are properly so I’ve mentally filed it as original fic in my head. It’s a Bandom AU and features Alicia Simmons as a retired demon hunter who gets sucked into helping Mikey Way with a little problem he’s having. It’s funny, doesn’t take itself too seriously and I love the reader’s slow, precise way of presenting the story that seems to mesh perfectly with the characterisation of the main character.
Somethings Shouldn’t Be A Chore read by darlingsweet & Ordinary Workplace Hazards (Or SHIELD & OSHA Aren’t On Speaking Terms) & Four (Or Five) Reasons For Kidnapping Tony Stark by hananobira the first three recordings of the In Which Tony Stark Builds Himself Some Friends (But His Family Was Assigned By Nick Fury series. I’ve included both readers here because, although hananobira has recorded all three stories, I felt darlingsweet deserved a mention as she turned in an outstanding recording that got me hooked on this series in the first place and she does a brilliant job of introducing everyone in this ‘verse and presenting the first story. I do like scifigrl47’s writing, she’s got a deft hand with humour and writes action brilliantly, but she does get a little bogged down in the descriptive narrative in her enthusiasm on occasion. Hananobira does an awesome job of working with this and somehow turning it to her advantage so that these long fics fairly zip along and it seems like you’re laughing out loud every other line. She handles characterisation brilliantly throughout and the editing and presentation is flawless.
Shadow In The Stream read by liannabob & written by azulbleu. I’m a sucker for Tony is underappreciated and overlooked fics and this one takes it just that little bit further when he upsets the rest of the Avengers and they wish him gone and then, suddenly, he is. It’s a world without Tony Stark and, boy howdy, was that a mistake. The reader had me hooked from the first word. You can feel the frustration, worry, regret just dripping from every character as the recording progresses and your heart breaks a little for Clint every time when you get to a certain point in the fic…then you’re cheering him on like crazy when he totally kicks ass and fixes it. This is without doubt one of my fav Avenger fics because, although its AU, I find it very well characterised and the combination of tight plotting and a confident performance make it one you don’t forget in a hurry.
A Beautiful Lifetime Event read by anatsuno & written by astolat. This is a John/Rodney fic where they accidently procreate (no mpreg required!) and then go ass backwards about raising a family, creating a life for themselves and falling in love. It’s a lovely, long slow build that anatsuno does a delightful job with, absolutely nailing Rodney’s voice and doing a brilliant job with John’s characterisations as he goes from initial horror to resigned acceptance to stunned fatherhood and everything that entails. It’s as realistic as the fic will allow with its source material and is brilliant in its execution.
City of A Thousand Wonders by 2naonh3-cl2. Yep, rec’d it before, but it’s so, so, so good that we’re slipping it in again, regardless! It’s an A18 AU wherein Adam is his normal self and Kris is actually a sword wielding member of a warrior religious order sworn to save the world from a small number of super powerful demons. No, really. I love this performance. It’s funny, hot and the action scenes are read with a real sense of urgency and excitement that really highlight how flexible and talented this reader is. And she has a hella sexy voice. Her aroused Adam is something else.
Darling It Is No Joke read by knight tracer & written by the hoyden. I left knight_tracer till last because she is awesome and amazing and I worship at her feet but I don’t know why. The above fic was both my introduction to her and the Teen Wolf fandom and, thanks to her, I’m only just about surfacing now some twelve months later. Her recordings are always crisp and clear, superbly edited and extremely professionally produced but I just couldn’t gell with her performance at all on first listen…but I couldn’t switch off either. My initial impression was that the performance was a little flat and the rhythm slightly off but that’s not it at all. I’ve listened to a ton of her recordings since and, without fail, have been impressed every single time and enjoy the hell out of whatever she produces. I think the problem is that out of everyone I listen to on a regular basis knight_tracer has an accent that is closest to my own and I’m deflecting my own performance issues onto her. I basically skip merrily after her from fandom to fandom now, adoring from a distance and going back on a regular basis to listen to my first Teen Wolf love and make wriggly suggestive eyebrows at Deputy Derek.
So that’s it – a ridiculously long list of what makes me happy to listen to. Thank you to all of the artists and writers that make podfic possible and for putting in so much effort for so little reward.
I’ve been a devotee of podfic for a number of years now and have gone from being an alarmingly arrogant dismissive of this fandom medium to being one of its most ardent supporters, even if it’s not as vocally or as confidently as I would like. I know that podficcers are marginalised and dismissed by some areas of fandom for being little better than parasites and leeching other people’s work thanks to some feeds I follow on Twitter, but I’ve never been confident enough to offer my opinion in an on-going debate the way I would with a debate on traditional fan fiction simply because I don’t have even a basic understanding of the technicalities of podficcing and I live in fear of a) making an arse of myself & b) more realistically making an already inflammatory situation worse.
The fact of the matter is that podficcing is hard people. Like, seriously for realzzzz. I’ve wanted nothing more these past couple of years to start recording my own works but have been stymied by a combination of factors, not least that I can record stuff but I have no idea how to edit/add effects/add or create cover art/add music ect ect. Basically how to get it to the standard of works that is consistently produced by the podficcers that post works. And that’s not even taking into consideration the responsibility of taking the original work and translating it into a new medium for people to appreciate in a new way. For the technically challenged, of which I am one and genuinely find it hard to learn and assimilate new information, it is consistently a wonder and a source of endless jealousy and frustration when I download new podfic and listen to the fruits of someone else’s hard work and dedication.
There is also the comfort factor of having the familiarity of your favourite performers on hand at any time, day or night. Like quite a few people who are active within fandom I have my own peculiarities or anxieties and have found that podfic is an excellent stress management aid and comfort if anxiety attacks occur or I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with events in my day or suffering through bouts of insomnia. I am more likely to suffer anxiety attacks away from home or in unfamiliar environments and never, ever travel without my iPod & docking station which is always the first thing I unpack in a hotel room and switch on. I don’t ever use new works or authors for this, but automatically go to well-loved favourites such as reena_jenkins, fayjay, the muse calliope, dodificus, aphelant, rhea314, knight_tracer and practically recite along with them as they talk me down from my meltdown and get me to a place where I can contemplate standing up and at least brushing my teeth if not quite attempting a shower yet.
Podfic is my gateway to fandom these days and I very rarely read fan fiction now as I find it restrictive and too confining to sit for hours at a screen as I used to. I have a Kindle which occasionally is utilised to download fic, but mainly I rely on podfic to bring me to new authors, works & fandoms. ::scowls:: I’m looking at you here Hockey RPF!
I couldn’t decide how to focus this post this time around after participating in a couple of these things before, so I eventually decided on a combination of comfort podficcers and readers I have relied on for a long time to alleviate stress but have never got up the courage to leave feedback for or connect with outside of my own head. I’m not confident with what I should be commenting on with readers of podfic so if I get this woefully wrong then I apologise, but I will be honest about what draws me to the reader and keeps me clinging on time after time to them.
First off is reena_jenkins. I’ve been a mad fan for years and have an entire playlist devoted wholly to her work, fandom not important. The quality of her work is second to none and she is pitch perfect in everything she does. It’s incredibly hard to narrow down her list of recordings to a handful that I can call my favourites because it seems that pretty much everything she’s produced falls under that category but I eventually managed to get a top three. Ish. In no particular order they are as follows – Ready, Fire, Aim, Situation Normal, All Fucked Up & Momentum Ready, Fire, Aim ‘Verse (shut up, that totally counts as one fic, it’s a series!!) I literally only have to hear the reader say the line ‘Captain America is a dick!’ and I’m grinning in anticipation of what’s to come. I’m pretty sure that there’s no one in the podfic fandom that won’t have heard at least one of reena’s performances over the years, if only because she’s so prolific in so many fandoms, but just in case there is someone reading this that hasn’t then I recommend starting with this series. It doesn’t really matter if you aren’t familiar with the Avengers fandom from the source material because the writing itself is that tight from the always reliable gyzym, but the performance reena turns in will carry you the rest of the way and you find yourself so caught up that you’ll be desperate to squeeze an extra five minutes listening time wherever you can just so you can continue this wonderful recording. From Countess To Cabin Boy is another outstanding performance that proves you don’t need any familiarity at all with the source fandom or material – reena does drama and comedy so well and the transition is seamless between the two and is highlighted so well in this romantic piece. My last recommendation (seriously, I don’t want to do this, I want to rec all the podfic!!) is The League of Fairly Unusual Gentlemen because I wanted to include a BtVS recording but I also wanted to include as many fandoms as possible for this reader and this was the only way I could reasonably do so (although The Intangible Residuum: A Collection of Stories is awesome) and I wanted to highlight her ability to tell a story, even with she has a fairly limited source here to work with. It’s just a little over twenty minutes of sheer perfection – Cam’s bewilderment at his new ‘posting’ is delightful and reena gives voice to each individual character amazingly well, managing to bring through little quirks and individual idiosyncrasies that make this performance really come alive.
You’re The Frosting On My Cupcake written by sunsetmog & read by fire-juggler. This is just delightful. Its one of those fics that packs a lot into a short space of time and seems a lot longer than it is. Its a Bandom Au based off a Harlequin prompt and is as lovely and fluffy as the title would suggest. The reading is pitch perfect for the tone of the story and really nails the whole rom-com feel of the whole thing as well as doing a superb job of giving each character an individual voice. Satisfying in all the best ways.
My next comfort recording is by an author and a reader I’m not really familiar with outside this fic. Starting From Zero It’s written by sweet_lyri & read by froggyfun365 and is an RPS set within the Kane fandom. I originally downloaded this because there is such a shortage of long fic in this fandom and was working on the premise of something was better than nothing and that I could forgive a lot if I found I was disappointed when I listened. To say I was happy beyond belief to find this recording surpassed all expectations both in the tightness of the source material and in the execution of the performance would be an understatement. Froggyfun365 delivers a measured, controlled performance that keeps you listening on tenterhooks right the way through the three hours or so length of the recording and you find yourself really rooting for the characters to get their act together and find their happy ending already. This is one of those fics you want to race through just to get to the dénouement and simultaneously want to last forever because you’re enjoying yourself just that much.
The Heart In The Whole is a mammoth recording of a BBC Sherlock fic written & read by verityburns and this sat languishing on my laptop for months before I remembered it was there and transferred it over to my iPod to drift off to and found myself profoundly regretting this decision just over two hours later as I lay staring through the dark at my ceiling, desperate to get to sleep but completely unable to switch off enough to do so because I had become so immersed in what was drifting out of my docking station. It’s even more impressive that this is the author/reader’s first foray into the world of podficcing. What hooked me on this reading in particular is, I believe, the reader’s familiarity with the source material as she is also the author and so obviously reads and writes to her own particular rhythm and this shines through in every single word and managed pause. She knows how to pace, emphasise and lead the listener through the narrative so that you get the very most out of this performance and the story on every level available to you. Verityburns is obviously a very talented performer in her own right as she is delightful in her other readings of other people’s works as well, but this is the stand out performance to me and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who has even a passing interest in the Sherlock fandom.
Martha Wilson & svmadelyn, Retrograde ‘verse – this made me happy on so many levels you’d need Sam Carter and Rodney McKay to count them! I can remember when the original fic and first in the series was released back in the day and it was an immediate favourite even back then so I was hysterical with joy when I discovered that there was a podfic of Retrograde and its sequel. I literally shrieked with surprise and excitement when I clicked on to see new releases in amplificathon recently and found that not only had a combined podbook been released but the entire damn series had been recorded by various artists and had been beautifully put together and uploaded. I don’t actually have the vocabulary to tell you why this is an essential listen on your iPod. Martha’s (and svmadelyn’s) writing? The impassioned and professional performances? The flawless transitions between different recordings and readers? The fact that some of these were recorded years apart and without official collaboration between the readers and this whopper of a podbook is STILL flawless? There are no words. This is an amazing, in character, entertaining and, above all, outstanding compliment to the source material that everyone involved should be incredibly proud of.
The Giraffe Notes, Social Network, written by jeyhawk – this fandom, much like any of the Sporting RPF fandoms, is a source of bewilderment and incredulity to me as I still haven’t seen the film and literally cannot tell you who plays who in it but I still have quite the little collection of podfic going on, mainly thanks to Rhea314, lunchee & knighttracer. This absolute gem of a performance from an RPF source is beautifully put together, from the seamless transitions between notes (which are included in the audiobook for your visual as well as audio gratification!) to lunchee’s always melodic tones and the polished and confident delivery she gives. I’ve listened to this recording easily going into the dozens now and there is always something new I catch that pulls me in that much deeper again. Lunchee is such an accomplished reader – from pathos to comedy to every emotion in between and I have yet to find a recording of hers I don’t immediately add to my permanent file on my iPod.
Vampires In Manhattan, Avengers – I blame kalakirya entirely for my tripping into the Avengers fandom after I downloaded Tomorrow Belongs To Me and her recording got me through an immense day long panic attack as I drove for the first time in eight years on the mainland last year and from there on I associated Tony Stark & Steve Rogers with being soothed and my own little bubble of calm in a mad, crazy world. I don’t actually read in the fandom at all, I’m pretty much podfic exclusive here and as such I’m a pairing whore and will listen to whatever takes my fancy. What took my fancy recently was Vampires In Manhattan and…WOW. I think I may have a kink about accents as I was ridiculously pleased to find the reader, jenna_corinth was a Scot and thus spoke to me in the tones of my adopted homeland. This was my first introduction to this reader and I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled across her before. This girl is great. She’s confident, emotive, has superb timing and pacing and I literally cannot say enough good things about her. I thought when I listened for the first couple of minutes that it was kyizi who recorded the first in the Retrograde series and was really happy to have discovered more of her work as, to my knowledge, she delivered one delightful recording and then didn’t record anything else, but it was not to be. Jenna Corinth is a girl who likes to give a lot of bang for your buck – the shortest fic she has recorded is about twenty eight minutes and then ranges, wonderfully, all the way up to just under nine hours and she’s not precious about confining herself to one fandom either. I haven’t had a chance to listen to her other works yet aside from a couple of the shorter Glee! ones as I’m still wallowing in the perfection that is Vampires In Manhattan and am listening to it on repeat pretty much daily, but I have every intention of making my way through her list as soon as I can as I have every expectation that I’m going to love the rest as much as I loved my introductory podfic.
exmanhater is someone that I have no one to blame but myself for missing out on for so long because I thought I wouldn’t connect with femslash the way I would with the boy slash and…yeah, not so much. I staggered into this wonderful reader’s work earlier in the year when I downloaded some St. Trinian’s works (Brains, Beauty & Zombies & The Bodyguard) and was completely captivated when I listened to the recordings. The crisp, confident delivery and the wonderfully assured way this reader has with timing and differentiating between the characters without actually seeming to do anything is brilliant. When she posted A Statue Strong Enough For Two couldn’t click on download fast enough and this was the recording that has convinced me I need to download her entire back catalogue and devote a playlist to her on my iPod. This is a BBC Merlin AU with Elena & Mithian taking centre stage as superheroes & although the source material written by lady_ragnell is superb I probably wouldn’t have read it just as a piece of fan fiction. The story is lively, engaging and, as in all Lady_Ragnell’s work, beautifully paced and laid out but exmanhater’s delivery of the piece is what takes it to the next level for me. An Assembly Such As This read by lady_ragnell & A Very Magical Kidnapping written by Deastar by exmanhater. The latter two stories are also lovely examples of her versatility (although I will admit to gnashing my teeth over her pronunciation of Antonia until I forced myself to chill out and let it the fuck go) and she does AU’s SO well and with such effortless panache that you almost forget that you’re listening to fandom works and not original ones.
A Farm In Iowa read bylibrarychick94 & written by sheafrotherdon. You’ve probably noticed by now that I have something of a penchant for AU’s rather than canon compliant works and this is just an amazing addition to the AU genre. It’s based in the SGA fandom, John/Rodney of course, and is just wonderful. It’s a lovely, slow paced story and is performed to perfection by library chick and her gentle, unhurried delivery is a perfect compliment to the source material and has you smiling and drifting away into the picture she paints with her narration and wrapping yourself in it like a well-loved blanket.
Small Primes & Square Roots read by cookiemom6067 & read by liviapenn. This is an old favourite from the SGA days and is an alternately hilarious and angsty story of how John & Rodney don’t meet and fall in love, but nonetheless manage to share parentage of a child, communicate through a long posting and end up living together. This is a lively, nuanced and, above all, obviously enjoyed performance of the original material that I come back to time and time again. I can quite happily sit down plug in and listen to this over and over and I have done a LOT over the years. This is a lovely recording and one that you don’t need to know anything about the fandom to appreciate as, you’ve guessed it, it’s another AU!
Last Night’s Dress, Tiptoe Out From This Mess read by dodificus & written by hito. This is HILARIOUS – I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve listened to this fic. Dodificus does a fantastic job of performing this and I always get a lovely jolt when I start this off because I always seem to forget its nearly two hours long and somehow have it lodged in my head that it’s a little twenty minute snapshot of Beacon Hills life. It’s Derek/Stiles and is a good, solid story with a brilliant appreciation of the source material by the reader and lovely, lovely, lovely characterisation that has you helplessly giggling every time you read. Dodificus’ mournful reading of the Sheriff’s apology to his son if he’s done anything to screw him up enough to make him think that he only deserves Derek Hale as his boyfriend when he mistakenly assumes they are sleeping together has me laughing every single time.
Things To Do On The Dates You Aren’t Having by Rhea314 & written by lielabelle - again, HILARIOUS. It always comes as a surprise to me how many Rhea314 recordings I have and just how much I enjoy them. I can honestly say that I could recommend pretty much anything of hers and you wouldn’t be disappointed. I chose this one to headline because, although it’s relatively short for Rhea314, it is a prime example of how to achieve excellence in every way in a recording of podfic. You can picture each character as they appear in your head and you end up with a lovely glow at the end every single time.
The Alexandrian Solution read by hananobira & written by bexless. This is so funny. I loved the rhythm of this and the flustered manner of Stiles’ reaction to Derek’s surprising, uh, surprise and Derek’s disgruntled and baffled reaction to his own body. A lovely wee reading that has me chuckling every time.
Flight Risk With A Fear Of Falling by fireeverything. I adored this recording from the word go, not least because it’s written and read by the same person but she also sings on the recording and the girl’s got some pipes, baby! Basically Derek is cursed to communicate by song. The hilarity of this cannot be stressed enough but the word choices and descriptive phrases used by the author make this particularly delicious and I frequently relisten to this just because I can and it never fails to raise a smile.
The One Where Derek Is Courting (and Stiles Fears The Zombie/Werewolf Apocalypse) written by i_am_not_a_lizard & read by araline. Basically I like to be amused in my listening of podfic. I’ve tried the angst and the drama and the straight out freaky over the years but I keep coming back to what’s going to make me laugh. This podfic achieved this in spades. Anything that opens with Stiles landing butt first in the gooey remnants of his first ‘courting’ gift from his admirer and then getting hosed off by his bemused father is alright by me. The reading is lively, engaging and is obviously being enjoyed by the performer. Just brilliant!
Can’t Be Hateful Gotta Be Grateful read by isweedan & written by HalfFizzbin. Yes, yes, I know – more humour. This is funny, okay? Stiles’ bewilderment at his father’s inability to stand up to his grandmother, his bewilderment at Derek tagging along, his grandmother - I love this fic. I especially adore the Sheriff’s portrayal here and the reader does an admirable job at taking a stab at Stiles’ ‘real name’.
Mission: Dinosaur Adventures by pollyrepeat. Even though I’ve been lucky enough to be podficced a couple of times and can appreciate the new levels and different nuances a performer can bring out in someone else’s work I’ve also come to see that someone performing their own work brings a lot to the table too. They don’t have to work at finding the rhythm and pacing of a story and, as such, can give a beautifully relaxed and natural performance that is an absolute delight to listen too. This is one such example. The story in itself is a little gem (The Losers/Jurassic Park xover. Don’t question it, just go with it. It works.) and I love the laidback manner of the reading, especially the way the humour is allowed to ebb and flow naturally as the story unfolds and all the characters are given such distinctive voices. This is a regular in lulling me to sleep because wherever I drift off in the story I know I’m going to be drifting off with a smile on my face.
A Shot In The Dark Aimed Right At My Throat written by gyzym & read by Sarshi & KDHeart. Not going to lie, this took me a couple of listens to get into I think mainly because I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett for over twenty years and I read in a very specific rhythm to myself and it was really odd to hear someone else alter that. I tend to stick to visual fandoms rather than literary ones. However, I am so glad I did come back to it. This is a little gem of a fic, especially well handled by the two readers and one of my favourite scenes in the whole fic is the one describing Lady Ramkin and Vetinari’s first meeting. Plus, I really do think I have a kink for accents.
Or As We Say In Ancient Egyptian: Kanip Kanip written by jadestarlight read by sly-hostetter. An oldie, but a goodie. This is a short, sharp SPN gen fic with Sam getting possessed by a Go’auld and…well, seriously, what more do you need. The outraged symbiote comes across especially well as both Sam and Dean are persistently underwhelmed by the threat it presents and I take especial delight in the fact that Sam seems to be most bothered that he’s been possessed by a girl. Again. The reading just snaps along and will definitely make you smile.
A Grand Sneer read by tinypinkmouse & written by MoragMacPherson. I tend to approach long fics in SPN fandom with deep suspicion as they all seem to tend towards the dark and tragic rather than the chuckle inducing I tend to prefer, but this one strikes a nice balance. Yes, Dean is lost in the Discworld and separated from his beloved brother but this doesn’t distract you from the fact that Dean is trapped on the Discworld and it’s also bloody hilarious! All the major characters are here and the reading of them is just divine. Vimes comes across especially well and I was absolutely entranced through the whole reading which was basically greedily sucked up in one afternoon. Outstanding work and a beautifully clean recording. And, again, accent. Seriously, it’s a thing.
Convenient Husbands read by eridanie & written by dachinchilla. This is a Dean/Castiel fic which isn’t normally my bag in SPN but I fancied a little something different and I am so glad I did! At first I found the pacing a little fast but after ten minutes or so got into the reading and then was happily swept away by the performer’s voice and obvious enjoyment of what she’s doing. It’s an excellent story, with a solid well thought out plot, but I really think that the reason I ended up enjoying it so much is because I chose the podfic rather than the written version of the story.
Sacramentum read by smallcaps & Accidents Will Happen written by holli both read by juice817. The reader here was basically my introduction to podfic in the first place and is amazingly versatile in what she do with her voice and her range of chosen material but these two remain my favourites of hers and the ones I come back to time and time again. The reading of Sacramentum is just hot, there’s no other way to describe it. Well, alright, you can also use funny, but primarily hot and I just love the way the story unfolds and her vocalisation of Dean’s inner thoughts as it does. SPN Wincest but an excellent example of it all round and I can’t recommend it enough. The second story is a gen one that I’ve rec’d before but just in case there is an SPN fan out there that somehow has missed this little gem then please go listen! All you need to know is that some teenaged girls accidently raise Papa Winchester from the dead and everyone is very confused how they’ve managed this. The reader is hilarious as a breathless, panicked teenaged girl, a disorientated John and a bemused and mostly pissed Dean and this still sounds as fresh today as it did when I first downloaded it three or so years ago.
Oo-de-lally written by skoosiepants & read by via-ostiense. First of all you can’t go wrong with anything by skoosie and if it’s been podficced then you know you’ve really struck gold. I love how the reader nails Rodney’s gloom and misery at being trapped with John Sheppard’s ‘Merry Men’ in this Robin Hood SGA AU and Sheppard’s lacksidasical attempt at being an outlaw and, quite frankly, piss poor attempt at wooing our intrepid McKay, here filling loosely the role of Friar Tuck. This is a great performance that perfectly suits the relaxed tone of the fic and keeps you smiling all the way through. Show You What All That Howl Is For by drfumblesmcstupid oh, so very, very funny. This performance is markedly different from Oo-de-lally as the reading is a lot more animated and snappy but is still perfectly suited to the source material. It’s a Teen Wolf/SGA xover and Stiles is just perfect in his exasperation and bewilderment as to why the ‘feral’ alien Derek Hale (here fulfilling the role of Ronon, sort of) has been so universally accepted by the Atlantis base as a whole and his team in particular. And no one cares that Derek keeps sniffing him or throwing him up against walls. Very, very funny.
Pretty In Pink written by belyste & read by fishpatrol. Dean wakes up to find that someone has given the Impala a makeover. He is not pleased. The recording isn’t as clean as you might be perhaps used to in recent years as this is another oldie but goodie, but if you don’t mind a slight fuzziness this recording is well worth a listen. The reader is great, happily jumping along and does a brilliant job of playing out Dean’s fury and outrage at the indignity his baby has undergone and I’m always left giggling at the description at the beginning where the poor guy wanders by his own car and doesn’t recognise her despite the fact I’ve heard it so often I can actually recite along with the recording. Very, very funny.
Supersaturation read by threedaysout & written by skoosiepants. Yes, alright, so when I find something I like I tend to stick with it. However, this time it’s a Bandom AU…in the SGA ‘verse. What? It works! Crisp, clean recording and I love the dry, confident delivery from the reader that invites you to find your own humour in the story (of which there is plenty!) and keeps you hooked for nearly two hours. Just lovely!
Night At The Museum read by greedy_dancer & written by dvs. Yep, you guessed it, accent! It’s a Doctor Who/SG1 xover and I LOVE this. It’s performed brilliantly and is so engaging and it helps that it has Amy Pond and Vala Mal Doran in the same story. I really like the pacing and instinctive knack the reader seems to have for emphasising words to get the most out of a scene.
Highly Classified & Very Hush Hush & Strictly On A Need To Know Basis read by kalakirya & written by rageprufrock. LOL, once again I find something I like and I stick with it! Pru is always top quality work and these two little gems are just lovely. There’s a slight fuzziness on the recordings but, again, if you don’t let it bother you then you’re in for a treat. It’s basically the tale of what happens when the guys from the SGA ‘verse come to the attention of a certain Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team. The reader is obviously having a whale of a time and you can actually picture Gibbs in your head getting ever more irate and Rodney ever more furious as the two fics unfold. Hilarious work.
Summer House Trilogy read by podficlover. I’ve rec’d this one before as well but it has to be done again just because it is that perfect. This is probably the fic that got me past my instinctive aversion to unusual accents when I first got into podfic and I come back to it time and time again because the reading and characterisation and all over quality is just brilliant. John & Rodney have to relocate to Eureka for a time and, well, there’s mixed reactions. The easy delivery coupled with Pru’s unique skills with dialogue and narrative conspire to make this a listen that will always have a permanent place on my iPod.
Post-Nuptial read by rageprufrock. She doesn’t only write it she reads it too!! This is the story of how Rodney fakes a pregnancy and bewitches an entire village (and John) with tales of John’s prowess as a husband and virile breeder. Has to be heard to be believed. I especially loved her snappy reading of John & Rodney’s vicious argument on what to name their (fake) baby and Sam’s reaction to it and then the way in which they manage to produce an offspring and go on to gain another one. Pru packs a lot into a short story and I fall in love with this fic every time I listen to it.
Early Returns read by tinypinkmouse. I want to rub up against this podfic and shamelessly tweak its nipples. It’s an Inception AU and the reader does a superb job of holding together a story that has a lot going on and a lot of characters to give a voice to. It’s funny, well-paced and, ahem, is read in a really quite seductive accent. Very, very nice Arthur/Eames fic and as it’s an journalist AU you don’t need to know anything about the film. Yay!
Asunder read by 2naonh3. Oh, this is good. I like Pru’s lighter work but when she does full on drama and plot, no one does it better. This is a SPN AU where Dean is an overworked social worker, Castiel is a widowed doctor and Sam is the ex-junkie brother who Dean hasn’t seen for years who is marrying Ruby who is also a recovering addict and who Dean blames for Sam’s descent into addiction. This is fantastic stuff. The reader delivers a crisp, clear recording that enhances in every way the already outstanding source material and keeps you glued for the just over two hours it takes for this story to unfold. She has you rooting so hard for Cas & Dean to get together and I love how Ellen & Jo are performed.
The walrus & The Guy Who Carpents read by darkdreymer & written by plainapple. If nothing else the fact that it’s a honest to goodness man reading this is a reason to highlight this recording, but the fact that it is so, so good means I can do it with a clear conscience. I really like the delivery here. Its unhurried and relaxed and such a pleasure to listen to, even if you don’t really have a familiarity with the source fandom and were attracted by the cover art. I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to listening to more of the reader’s other works when I’ve cleared some space on my iPod.
One AM written by seperis & It Is, It Is A Glorious Thing written by astolat, both read by Paraka. It just about killed me parsing this down to just two fics to highlight by this reader but I managed it in the end. I love everything about Paraka’s style and I think I’m a little bit in love with what I think is one of the sexiest voices in fandom. She’s just a natural performer and I adore the way she reads Adam in all her works, but especially in One AM as he watches with faint horror when Kris remains happily oblivious to the fact he’s being treated as a domestic abuse victim during an early morning trip to the ER. Much funnier than it sounds, I promise. Glorious Thing has Adam as a pirate and Kris as a captured missionary, I don’t think I need to say anymore.
The Plan & Fairie Touched written by Blind_Author and read by the muse calliope. This reader is far and away the one most often played on a day to day basis. She’s also the only one I will download WIP’s from regardless of whether or not they are likely to get finished if they’re still WIP’s with the author because I love the way she performs so damn much. The two examples above are both from the Sherlock fandom and both are finished and they usually get played at least once a week because I LOVE going to sleep listening to John exclaim in startled bemusement ‘Since when do I have virtue?!’ and equally love him laughing helplessly at Moriaty’s arch villain in Fairie Touched when the latter thinks he has him trapped, helpless and thinks he’s about to kill him. This reader hits the right note every time (The ensemble recording of 26 Pieces is amazing too, btw!) and if I was really forced to choose just one reader to take with me to a desert island then it would be this girl. It doesn’t hurt that she recorded one of my fav Hawaii 5-0 fics by one of my fav authors too!
Apocalypse! Alien Asteroids written by dodger sister & read by baylor. This is a Neil deGrasse Tyson, X-Men & Avengers xover RPF and they’re all out to save the world. No, seriously, they are. I didn’t quite know what to make of this one, especially as I only downloaded it out of curiosity and wasn’t all that invested in making it through to the end. It’s a wee bit echo-y but is put together really nicely other than that and I really, really like this reader. I had zero background knowledge of anyone outside of the Avengers in this fic, aside from a hazy recollection from the nineties of a group of three characters, but this doesn’t matter. The performance turned in is confident, articulate and keeps the same pacing all through the recording letting you absorb everything you need to get everything out of it you can and assimilate all the information required to keep up with what’s happening. Funny and dramatic by turns I can’t recommend this enough if you fancy a little something outside of the ordinary.
Luck Be A Lady (With A Motherfucking Gun) read by helens78 & written by lady_krysis. I have absolutely NO idea who anyone referenced in this fic is or anything about the fandom it’s from (Death Proof 2007) but the deadpan way this performance is delivered and the disgruntled exasperation of the main character (Kim) as she makes her way through the fic and tries to stay alive and keep everyone else that way is sublime and, providing you’re not anywhere near small children, is an awesome short pick-me-up if you want something full of action and black humour.
Odd Jobs Series read by aphelant & written by brownbetty & emeraldwoman & Everything’s Magic written by foxxcub. The Odd Jobs series (Leverage fandom) is my longest serving and most beloved comfort fic. I’ve rec’d it before, actually every time I’ve taken part in one of these things, but I’m genuinely concerned that there is someone out there that doesn’t appreciate just how wonderful and amazing this recording is. The first two fics are told from Eliot’s POV and is just hilarious. Parker needs some help making Hardison aware that she likes him and so, naturally, turns to Eliot for dating advice. There’s lesbians, vomit and kittens and the reader is just outstanding in her performance here and conveying Eliot’s horror and bewilderment as the story progresses. Everything’s Magic is a Inception AU involving virgins and woodland creatures and Eames as a unicorn and, good god, why am I still talking? Just go listen to it! There’s no opportunity wasted to wring every last bit of humour out of this fic and I ended up in a layby for half an hour one day driving home just so I could time it to finish before I finished my journey and thus not have to wait until bedtime and I’d gotten all my returning home chores out of the way to finish it. I really, really like this confident, consistent reader and enjoy pretty much everything she produces.
That Old Black Magic read by 2naonh3-cl2 & Brand New Shoes by Jerakeen. I really like the author of both these stories, although I am mainly just familiar with her AI8 work, and the reader here just nails the rhythm and pacing of these fics and these recordings are my go-to happy rom-coms when I need a little reassurance that life all works out in the end and everyone gets the guy.
Your Brains Are No Match For My Tractor Beam by Juice817 & Man’s Best Friend. ‘Your Brains…’ is an J2 RPF based off ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and is straight up hilarious from beginning to end. I only really discovered ‘The Big Bang Theory’ this last year and had no knowledge of it at all when I first downloaded this and its now SO much funnier when I listen to it. The performance is filled with Juice817;s typical dry, restrained wit and the story is told so well you literally smile the whole way through. ‘Man’s Best Friend’ has Jensen being turned into a dog by a disgruntled animal handler and Jared pining and then Jensen discovering the pining when the puppy he is turned into is taken in by Jared until his real owner can be found. Its reasonably short and unreasonably funny. Just great.
All Is Violent All Is Bright written by lezzerlee read by kansouame. I have broken away from my usual happy theme to rec this because it is just fantastic. Its apocalypse time in AU land and Arthur and Eames are trying to survive it together. The reading is restrained and subdued and perfectly fitting to the subject matter, but the reader somehow manages to infuse both main characters with personality and makes you care so much about them as you follow their journey. An outstanding story and performance and ideal for curling up under a blanket on a rainy afternoon and losing yourself in a good bit of drama for a few hours.
Get Out Of My Dreams Get Into My Car read by crinklysolution & written by eleveninches High, High Very High read by crinkly solution written by siriaeve. This is one of my favourite Inception podfics and I love, love, love the performance here. Eames is read so well and I love Arthur being all Arthur and exasperated at events and Eames and just about everything. It’s fairly short but packs a lot in and is a brilliant addition to any Inception playlist. 'High, High...' is another Hawaii 5-0 fic and is hilarious from start to finish. Danny's day goes to hell from the minute he allows Kono and Steve to choose his lunch for him and continues to descend to hellish depths from there. The reader nails Danny's exasperation with his life in general and Steve in particular and I especially like how Kono is portrayed here and really comes to life as she gleefully steps into Steve's shoes when he is injured in the line of duty. Really, really good.
Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea read by flyingthesky & written by jaguarcaine. This is an Hawaii 5-0 AU where Danny is a Mer who has followed his daughter to Hawaii and then accidently bonds with Steve. This recording is filled with humour and cracks along at a breakneck pace that really captures the essence of the show itself and Danny is particularly well presented throughout. It’s not the tidiest finished product, there’s more than one occasion where the editing isn’t quite as clean as you’d wish, but you really just don’t care by the time you get to the end of it. I’m not really familiar with the reader outside of this one recording but I will definitely be looking out for more of her work. She’s got great natural talent for recording and a lovely light voice that lends itself well to a large range of emotion.
Curving Like The Ocean Towards You read by Princess2000204 & written by gyzym. Again, slightly echo-y but, OMG, this is SO funny. It took me a while to get used to the reader’s voice and I really couldn’t tell you why but by the time Danny is helping Steve shop for couches I’m all settled into the flow of the recording and bouncing merrily along with the characters as they do up Steve’s house and fall in love along the way. Really well handled by the performer and is one of my go-to’s whenever I feel like a longish, humour story.
Sting read by diane mckay & written by Camden. This is a Glee Karofsky/Kurt fic and I don’t even know how I managed to download this because I am a strict Puck/Kurt girl the whole way in general but this is awesome. It’s an AU where Karofsky joined the FBI and Kurt isn’t an art thief/forger and is read beautifully. It does take you while to get into it because, for me anyway, the pacing is just a little slow but I’ve come to appreciate diane mckay’s style as it makes you really appreciate every word being read to you and absorb more of the fic. This is very well written and extremely well performed and has a permanent place on my (admittedly small) Glee playlist.
That Time Dean Was Sam’s Girlfriend & Jess Entered The Winchester Family Business read by sad_cypress & written by fleshflutter. Again, rec’d this before, but…Jess has a lucky cock! You don’t really need anything more than that, do you? The recording itself is very clear but I have to turn the volume way up to hear it so if, like me, you’re in the habit of playing your fic on a docking station as you go to sleep there’s a fair to middling chance you’ll get blasted out of slumber land when the next fic cues up and the volume returns to normal. It’s a lively, funny performance and the reader does a brilliant job of switching between Dean and Jess’ POV. And she has a lucky cock!!
Old Country written by astolat astolat, The Case of the Unwelcome Owl written & read by fayjay, Fools of Us All written by adelagia & The Incestuous Courtship of the Anti-Christ’s Bride written by fleshflutter all read by fayjay. I know everyone and his dog rec’s fayjay but it just wouldn’t feel like a proper rec post if I didn’t. Since I last did one of these things she’s branched out into the Sherlock fandom and is as delightfully proficient in reading Sherlock & John as she is in everything else. The sultry, measured tone of her voice is a natural for Sherlock and, as always, she can make the transition between humour and drama just effortless. I picked a few of my favourites but basically anything of hers is gold. She’s also a very talented author in her own right, damn her.
Gun, With Occasional Kangeroo: A Love Story written by punk read by myriad69. Again, rec’d it before, but this is one of my all-time favourite Due South recordings. Everyone from Frannie to Fraser to Dief is jumping through the speakers at you and the reader just nails the lively, insane spirit of the show that I’ve rarely, if ever, found elsewhere.
Dyin’ Is East written by poisontaster & ready by dodificus. I really like the Die Hard films but I forgot to keep watching after number 3 so I’m a bit hazy on the characters mentioned here but the tightness of the story and dodificus’ performance make it not matter. The slow progression of the relationship and adjustment of what John thinks he knows is great and I like the way the story is handled the whole way through.
Sockpuppet written by shadowcast & read by via-ostiense. This is amazing. Even though BtVS was my first fandom, and kept me monofannish for years, I have surprisingly little of the recordings available downloaded. Again, can’t remember what prompted me to get this mammoth recording, but I am so glad I did. The reader is just sublime and lets the story unfold at its own pace so you get every nuance of this tightly plotted and well-paced story. Its Xander/Spike eventually and be prepared to get your heart broken regularly throughout the recording but it is so, so worth it.
Needing Is One Thing read by crinklysolution & written by ladyflowdi & mirrorskippy. This is a Sherlock fic set just after the season 1 finale and I love the zip & zing of the two main character’s interactions and the way the reader presents Sherlock. The sound is crisp & clear, although the natural volume is set a little low, but the reader makes everything seems so effortless as she presents the story so you just don’t care. It’s a good length but is one of those that seems much shorter than it is as you’re enjoying it so much and it’s over much, much too soon.
The Progress of Sherlock Holmes read by cellardoor & written by tweedisgood. Oh this is good. I really wasn’t sure about this at all, especially with the overall stream of consciousness style of writing and reading, but this literally had me hypnotised by about ten minutes in and I love this recording. The reader keeps almost a monotone the whole way through and basically imparts knowledge from Sherlock’s POV as he watches John deteriorate away from him in a new relationship and then slowly and inevitably draw him back just by allowing John to be himself and to give him what he needs not what he thinks he wants. It’s a commitment to listen to due to length but so worth it.
Back Up Copies by lunchee & written by etothepii This is a Sherlock/Dollhouse xover and John is dead, but Mycroft has a way to fix it. Lunchee’s readers notes at the end had me nodding so hard because, yeah, this fic had me squirming and fidgeting and thinking ‘No, no, no, so wrong!!’ even as I’m relieved that my boys are going on and not leaving each other. Lunchee does a superb job with the whole performance despite the squick factor and I love how everyone is characterised and just springs to life right from the first word.
Lucky Graveyard Boots (And A Song To Sing) read by isweedan & written by inlovewithnight. This is one of those recordings that even though I know, sort of, who the characters are I’m not familiar enough with the fandom to actually know who they are properly so I’ve mentally filed it as original fic in my head. It’s a Bandom AU and features Alicia Simmons as a retired demon hunter who gets sucked into helping Mikey Way with a little problem he’s having. It’s funny, doesn’t take itself too seriously and I love the reader’s slow, precise way of presenting the story that seems to mesh perfectly with the characterisation of the main character.
Somethings Shouldn’t Be A Chore read by darlingsweet & Ordinary Workplace Hazards (Or SHIELD & OSHA Aren’t On Speaking Terms) & Four (Or Five) Reasons For Kidnapping Tony Stark by hananobira the first three recordings of the In Which Tony Stark Builds Himself Some Friends (But His Family Was Assigned By Nick Fury series. I’ve included both readers here because, although hananobira has recorded all three stories, I felt darlingsweet deserved a mention as she turned in an outstanding recording that got me hooked on this series in the first place and she does a brilliant job of introducing everyone in this ‘verse and presenting the first story. I do like scifigrl47’s writing, she’s got a deft hand with humour and writes action brilliantly, but she does get a little bogged down in the descriptive narrative in her enthusiasm on occasion. Hananobira does an awesome job of working with this and somehow turning it to her advantage so that these long fics fairly zip along and it seems like you’re laughing out loud every other line. She handles characterisation brilliantly throughout and the editing and presentation is flawless.
Shadow In The Stream read by liannabob & written by azulbleu. I’m a sucker for Tony is underappreciated and overlooked fics and this one takes it just that little bit further when he upsets the rest of the Avengers and they wish him gone and then, suddenly, he is. It’s a world without Tony Stark and, boy howdy, was that a mistake. The reader had me hooked from the first word. You can feel the frustration, worry, regret just dripping from every character as the recording progresses and your heart breaks a little for Clint every time when you get to a certain point in the fic…then you’re cheering him on like crazy when he totally kicks ass and fixes it. This is without doubt one of my fav Avenger fics because, although its AU, I find it very well characterised and the combination of tight plotting and a confident performance make it one you don’t forget in a hurry.
A Beautiful Lifetime Event read by anatsuno & written by astolat. This is a John/Rodney fic where they accidently procreate (no mpreg required!) and then go ass backwards about raising a family, creating a life for themselves and falling in love. It’s a lovely, long slow build that anatsuno does a delightful job with, absolutely nailing Rodney’s voice and doing a brilliant job with John’s characterisations as he goes from initial horror to resigned acceptance to stunned fatherhood and everything that entails. It’s as realistic as the fic will allow with its source material and is brilliant in its execution.
City of A Thousand Wonders by 2naonh3-cl2. Yep, rec’d it before, but it’s so, so, so good that we’re slipping it in again, regardless! It’s an A18 AU wherein Adam is his normal self and Kris is actually a sword wielding member of a warrior religious order sworn to save the world from a small number of super powerful demons. No, really. I love this performance. It’s funny, hot and the action scenes are read with a real sense of urgency and excitement that really highlight how flexible and talented this reader is. And she has a hella sexy voice. Her aroused Adam is something else.
Darling It Is No Joke read by knight tracer & written by the hoyden. I left knight_tracer till last because she is awesome and amazing and I worship at her feet but I don’t know why. The above fic was both my introduction to her and the Teen Wolf fandom and, thanks to her, I’m only just about surfacing now some twelve months later. Her recordings are always crisp and clear, superbly edited and extremely professionally produced but I just couldn’t gell with her performance at all on first listen…but I couldn’t switch off either. My initial impression was that the performance was a little flat and the rhythm slightly off but that’s not it at all. I’ve listened to a ton of her recordings since and, without fail, have been impressed every single time and enjoy the hell out of whatever she produces. I think the problem is that out of everyone I listen to on a regular basis knight_tracer has an accent that is closest to my own and I’m deflecting my own performance issues onto her. I basically skip merrily after her from fandom to fandom now, adoring from a distance and going back on a regular basis to listen to my first Teen Wolf love and make wriggly suggestive eyebrows at Deputy Derek.
So that’s it – a ridiculously long list of what makes me happy to listen to. Thank you to all of the artists and writers that make podfic possible and for putting in so much effort for so little reward.
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