things you can come back to (or, ~twenty podfics I've listened to more than five times)

[leish]

Basically this is just a list of my favourites, the things I will come back to even when there's so much shiny new podfic to listen to. These are the things I know I will love, things I know will drag me in and not let me go until they're over, and I love them all for different reasons but I love them all so much and you should seriously download all of them. ALL OF THEM. There are more which should be on here but I probably would've collapsed from feelings if I tried to write about them and also twitter advised me that twenty was a reasonable limit and I'm inclined to listen to twitter. They give good advice. <3

Send My Love to the Playground / I'll Write it All Across the Wall (In Crayon) by 1st_eggokage
Bandom, Gabe/William, pre Panic! 2.0 GSF, 22:16

This is genuinely one of the most adorable things ever. It's kidfic (kidpodfic?) and the tone of both the narrative and the dialogue is pitch-perfect, 1st_eggokage has the sort of whiny petulant thing down pat, especially for Bill. There are so many great lines, but the delivery of these in particular will never not make me die laughing:

ADORABLE. The characterisation of all of them is great, though, and it's basically guaranteed to get a laugh out of me whatever mood I'm in because it's so endearingly precious.

we were once cinema gods in the night by aphelant
Inception, Arthur/Eames, 1:56:16

In complete contrast to the previous podfic (yeah, this list really isn't in any sensible order) this is sharp and hurty and so incredibly powerful. It drags you in and immerses you in the story so completely that when you eventually emerge two hours later, it's almost... cathartic, I think, that's the best word for it. I listened to this for the first time last year when I wasn't feeling particularly great for reasons and I think I'll always associate it with that, because I tend to turn to this podfic when I need to get out of my head for a while and get over myself. It's really, really good for that, because it's so easy to get lost in. In a good way! Like, the narrative jumps around a lot, the timeline isn't chronological, but it never gets confusing in a way podfics of this style sometimes do, it flows really well. aphelant's pretty consistently great, and the characterisation is so good, and oh my god all the feelings, like, this is such an emotional story. I tend to feel things so much more with podfic and there are parts of this which actually feel like a punch to the gut, and parts which make me want to hug the lot of them and smush their stupid faces together. But that's pretty much par for the course with me. >.>

(if you knew what i know) by bessyboo
The Sarah Jane Adventures, Clyde/Luke, 39:35

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. My feelings about this range from incoherent noises of joy and/or pain and wanting to clutch the both of them and wail IT'S OKAY, HE STILL LOVES YOU and wanting to, um, smush their stupid faces together. But yeah. It's a really adorable story and bessyboo's delivery is pretty much perfect; there are so many great lines in this, both funny and hurty, and she does both ends of the spectrum so well.

Also, I will be forever haunted by her voice saying Mr Smith is kind of a gossipy bitch. BEST LINE. BEST DELIVERY. If you doubt me, here:

Basically it is hilarious but also deeply, deeply precious and sort of an instant (okay, half hour long) pick me up. IT IS GREAT.

A Troubling of Hummingbirds by bohemeyourself
Bandom, Brendon/Spencer, 1:06:26

This podfic is so comfortable, I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's really easy to just settle into and lose yourself in for an hour; it's one of the first things I turn to when I'm having trouble sleeping or I need to calm down. bohemeyourself has a really soft, sweet voice and she captures the easiness between Brendon and Spencer here so, so well, but also the playfulness and the affection and, well, the comfortableness. It's really heartwarming, and this bit in particular is so great:

Girls and Horses by cantarina
Merlin, Elena/Mithian, 3:40

This is what made me fall in love with these two. I liked them individually before, but their dynamic here is perfect. It's pretty much a story about first love, finding the first person who cares about you and not who you could be, and cantarina's performance has all the giddiness and awe of that, and also Elena's unquestioning loyalty and submission to Mithian, and there are parts of it that give me shivers to listen to, like this bit:

It's so, so gorgeous, and sometimes I'll put it on loop because it's an incredible thing to live in for a few minutes.

Common Circuitry Problems by coriande
Bandom, Brendon/Ryan, Jon/Spencer, 22:49

I was torn between this and another of coriande's podfics I've played a ridiculous number of times, Ryan Ross, Wedding Planner (Or, What We Do Is Love) because I love both of them to bits but I didn't want to rec two by the same podficcer, so I eventually settled on this because it's about robots and omg there isn't enough robot podfic. This features robot!Ryan, who is possibly one of my favourite robots ever. coriande's Ryan voice is delightfully monotone and makes him even more precious than he already is. Like so:

It's so lovely to listen to, the build up is so well-paced that even though I know how it's going to end, it takes me a little bit by surprise every time.

Always Looking Up by croissantkatie
Bandom, Mike/William, Gabe/William, 1:24:58

This podfic always renders me incoherent, because it's the kind of beautiful there aren't words to describe. It's such a powerful story, it physically aches to listen to sometimes, and there are parts of it which make me want to cry, not sad tears, though, because it isn't sad, not as such. It just hits so hard, especially this bit:

This just makes me shake, it's so powerful. croissantkatie has quite a soft voice, very measured and careful and wary and she does this William so well, but the parts of it that are angry and fierce are actually chilling. It's just, gah, it's so good.

Hardhearted, Don't Worry (I'm Ready for a Fight) by fire_juggler
Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles, 15:05

This is kind of probably my favourite podfic fire_juggler's ever made, definitely one of my favourites ever. I love introspection something stupid and this is a fascinating look at Derek (and Stiles). It's so careful, and the soft, tired kind of way fire_juggler reads gets Derek so well it almost hurts, this raw kind of ache that settles under your skin and stays there.

Ugh, my heart.

SAD LOVE POEMS FOR PARTY POISON (BY KORSE) by flyingthesky
Killjoys, Korse/Party Poison, Fun Ghoul/Party Poison, Korse/Kobra Kid, 5:11

This converted my RPF-phobic best friend to podfic. IT IS THAT AWESOME. It's terrible, awful poetry based on Korse in this fic and as such contains references to non-con, but nothing explicit, and it is PRICELESS. flyingthesky's delivery is the perfect combination of srs bsns and deeply, deeply emo.

[I hate fun ghoul's face]

Seriously, it never fails to make me laugh myself sick. ALSO HE'S SHORT. ALSO I BET HE HAS HERPES. It's genius.

Sing Ourselves to Sleep by inkjunket
Bandom, Gerard/Patrick, 23:37

So this is kind of probably maybe my favourite podfic ever. It was one of the first podfics I ever listened to, way back in 2010 when there wasn't that much bandom podfic floating around, and I'm fairly certain it was the one that made me fall in love with podfic for good. I love it so much. It's a beautiful story, sweet and gentle and kind of quietly sad at times and inkjunket gets all of that and more, brings this story and this Gerard to life in a way that resonates so strongly with me. It's incredibly uplifting and it never, ever fails to make me feel better about, well, everything. Just the first section is enough to make me smile and go, oh, Gerard:

And, yeah, I'm kind of a little bit in love with inkjunket's voice (she imprinted on me early, I didn't stand a chance). ♥

I Will Follow You Into the Dark by ivesia19
Bandom, Brendon/Ryan, 5:02

This is gorgeous, the way only apocalyptic magical realism-y things can be. The pace of this, the progression of it is really, really well done, considering it's so short but covers a relatively large timeline. It's a slow burn, and by the end it does feel like it's fully ignited, as pretentious an analogy that probably is. ivesia19's reading is so achey and longing and bittersweet, all the things that go unsaid, all the things that never have a chance to happen.

Outside the Rules by klb and shiningartifact
American Idol/Bandom, Adam&Gerard, 10:54

I love the way klb and shiningartifact play off each other here; it works so so well as a multivoice podfic. The characterisations are consistently great, which is pretty impressive since they both share all of them, and the delivery is also perfectly on point. There are so many great lines, so many great scenes, and the performance is generally sweet and adorable and ridiculously high-school-y.

Heart Wrapped in Clover by knight_tracer
Bandom, Frank/Mikey, 2:30:06

There literally are not words for how much I love this. It's gorgeous, the performance is flawless, and I could curl up with it for days and not be satisfied because I never ever ever want it to end. It's oddly comforting for something that hits so hard, for something that physically hurts to hear at points, but it is honestly gorgeous, and a fascinating portrayal of gender identity. Also, the fact that it is a podfic of a fic that was inspired by a podfic makes my heart so happy. &meta;

Honourable Intentions by lunchee
Merlin, Gwaine/Merlin, 17:44

This is so wonderful. Not only is it a delightful take on Gwaine and Merlin's dynamic, but as a podfic from Arthur's POV (and lunchee is pretty consistently great but she's so, so great at Arthur) it also captures Arthur and Merlin's relationship and Arthur's reluctant affection for Merlin so well. This podfic reminds me why I love these characters, even (okay, especially) Arthur and it's so, so lovely to listen to.

I Will Destroy Ryan Ross & All That He Loves; A Cautionary Tale by pennyplainknits
Bandom, Jon/Ryan, Pete/Sisky, Ryan/Sisky, Sisky/William, 41:10

This podfic just about makes me die laughing every time. IT IS PERFECTION. There's a group version which is also great and you should totally listen to it as well, but this, this is pure unadulterated joy. It is delightfully over the top, and pennyplainknits's William is the kind of dramatic that simultaneously makes you cry with laughter and want to sit him down and tell him to look at his life, look at his choices. I literally cannot pick a favourite part except all of it but this, this is a pretty fantastic scene:

Cliche #5 by reena_jenkins
Harry Potter, Remus/Sirius, 20:52

This is so funny. reena_jenkins is basically awesome but she does humour so well, and there are tons of great lines in this but this scene actually makes me collapse into fits of hysterical giggles:

SO GREAT. It is exactly the kind of thing to make you laugh pretty much whenever, but even though it's mostly light-hearted the touches of bitterness and jealousy from Sirius give it such heart, and the ending is understated enough to be quietly perfect.

Conclusions by rose_kolodny
Bandom, Frank/Gerard, 4:13:41

I debated reccing this since it's kind of the classic of all classics, and basically everyone has listened to this, even people who aren't in bandom, even people who wouldn't touch bandom with a ten foot pole, so it seems kind of redundant to be all OH HI THERE'S THIS GREAT PODFIC YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO but in all honesty there's kind of a reason this podfic is so beloved. (Also as cantarina pointed out, there's always a newbie, so.) This is wonderful. It has banter and pining and plotty things and rose_kolodny performs all of them so well, it is a delight to get lost in for a few hours. I've listened to it so many times it's just like settling into an old, favourite blanket. With porn. This is one of my favourite parts, and sometimes I'll listen to just it and get all happy and content because themmmmm:

Gwen/Merlin & Gwen/Morgana giftpack by sophinisba
Merlin, Gwen/Morgana, Gwen/Merlin, Gwen/Arthur, Gwen/Vivian, Gwen/Lancelot, 1:10:34

I tried to pick an individual podfic by sophinisba, I honestly tried, but this anthology has the highest plays and is also unquestionably my favourite thing she's ever made, so. I am very, very fond of both these pairings and all the fics sophinisba chose to perform, especially especially Birds of Passage oh my god, and they all bring something different to the anthology. The untitled Merlin-with-breasts is a perfect example of sophinisba's excellent command of humour; Bird of Passage is more serious and a really intriguing, really sensitive look at polyamory. The entire thing is so lovely to listen to, but this is one of my favourite bits:

Tie Your Handlebars to the Stars (And Through Away the Map) by wayfarersgirl
Bandom/Disney, Kevin/Mike, 1:33:18

This is so sweet and adorable, but it progresses quite slowly so the sweetness and adorableness just builds up and up until you get to the end and you're attacked with feelings. wayfarersgirl does their dynamic so well, gets the tentativeness from both sides and the differences in perspective when the narrative changes and it's so compelling, so easy to get lost in.