Seven MUST-RECS that didn't fit my theme last time

[argentumlupine]

Seven podfics I adore that didn’t fit into my theme earlier, in five fandoms, by eight fantastic readers.



[Bandom] Catholic!Frank and Artist!Gerard not!fic, two versions: one read by knight_tracer (~2.5 hours) and one read by podcath (~2 hours) | Frank/Gerard | Mature
Summary: Frank really has faith in God and is struggling to be the kind of person the church would approve of, staying celibate and focusing his life on faith, family, and friends. And then he meets his mom’s neighbor Gerard.

I adore both of these podfics. I have listened to each of them multiple times and they are so great and different. I really enjoy podcath’s humor and warmth and how she brings out the wistfulness and uncertainty so well. And I really enjoy knight_tracer’s reading cadence and emotion and how she makes me pay close attention to every word and how her reading always makes me cry. Both readers are favorites of mine and they did phenomenal work on these podfics.

I recommend that after you've downloaded both, you set aside a long afternoon, flip a coin over which to listen to first, and listen to both of them back to back... because that's how I listen to these. They are great and you will feel great after you listen. :)


[Bandom] Gerard Way, For Skeleton Crew Fashions, read by croissantkatie | Frank/Gerard | Teen & Up Audiences | ~30 minutes
Summary: Fashion designer Gerard gets his big break when he's hired to create a new collection for Frank Iero's Skeleton Crew Fashions, just in time for fashion week.

This is one of my comfort podfics. I listen to it all the time and almost have it memorized by now but it is SO GOOD. The story is sweet and funny, but is made so much better in the podfic because croissantkatie’s reading is made of joy and rainbows and love and magic. She has a wonderful reading style and man, I really can’t say enough lovely things about it. You need this in your life. It makes me so happy, every time I listen. *cuddles podfic*


[Due South] Untune the Sky, read by podfic_lover & dodificus | Fraser/Kowalski | Explicit | ~3 hours (including the really cool audio trailer) (direct download from the audiofic archive)
Summary: (Post-apocalyptic AU) Ray's a scrounger, a pack-rat, a jack-of-all-trades and he meets Benton Fraser, exiled Canadian and former RCMP officer. They form a strong partnership which grows into something more as they explore the wild landscape of Chicagoland for bits and pieces of the old world which will help them forge a sustainable life in their new world.

This isn’t one of my fandoms, but was STRONGLY RECCED to me by andeincascade, who gave me a quick crash-course in Due South just so I could listen to this podfic. I am SO GLAD she did. This is amazing. Two readers to voice the different points of view works so well, and both podfic_lover & dodificus are AMAZING, giving the podfic such LIFE and ENERGY. I’d planned to listen while I cooked dinner and had to pause until the cooking was done because I didn’t want to miss any words. The podfic grabbed me immediately, flowed seamlessly from one reader to the other, and was just… magic in my ears.

Also, definitely listen to the audio trailer. IT IS SO COOL.


[Final Fantasy VII] The Fifth Act, read by lunchee | Gen | Teen & Up | ~18 hours (AND SO, SO WORTH IT)
Summary: Cloud has an accident with a Time materia. If he wants to save the world, there's a person who has to die.

lunchee’s reading is entrancing. I gave up trying to do anything other than just sit and listen because her reading drew me in every time, and I’d find myself in the middle of the room with cleaning supplies in my hands, just standing there absorbing the podfic. lunchee’s performance is phenomenal. Her Genesis and Zack were my favorites, but she pulled out every emotion and used music and sound effects really well and the whole thing is exciting and fun and dramatic and GREAT.


[Snow White (fairy tale)] The Spring Bride. read by reena_jenkins | Gen | Teen & Up | ~20 minutes
Summary: When she came to the palace, the king had a wife. It's important to remember that. (Re-imagining of Snow White, from the stepmother’s POV.)

It’s a beautiful story transformed by an excellent reading. reena_jenkins has wonderful pacing and acting, and her reading just feels so effortless and easy that listening to this makes me feel like I’m sitting at the feet of a master story-teller spinning a tale.


[Star Trek (2009)] Lunch and Other Obscenities, read by sophinisba | Uhura & Gaila gen | General Audiences | ~1 hour
Summary: Nyota liked her roommate just fine until she met her.

sophinisba’s performance of the characters is really fantastic -- she captures Uhura and Gaila (and Spock) SO WELL. Dramatic, clear reading, perfect pacing, great acting, and a lovely voice make this friendship/culture clash podfic absolutely wonderful. This one is on frequent repeat. So good.

Comments

[podcath]

I'm tracking everything at the moment, bc i'm compiling the global post with ALL THE REC POSTS for tomorrow but...i am so glad you said what you did up there. I was so upset when i was almost dome recording and knight_tracer posted her version. But then everyone always says we should have different ones and so...I finished and posted and just figured people could pick what they liked. I never really thought of both of them offering different things (like intellectually I know that, but gut level is a different story :), so your description of both her and my styles next to one another is really fascinating. I just coread something with her, and upon editing I feared it'd clash, but then it didn't, and that felt really good!anyway, sign that i need to go to bed is when I ramble incessantly...thank you!!!

(And I've had 5th Act on my HD but wasn't sure, bc...FF is so beyond not my fandom. Is it comprehensible sans ANY canon knowledge?)

[lunchee]

I am going to hijack this right here to say REPODS ARE GREATTTT. I actually think it's beneficial to post another version a month or so after a previous version, because people who enjoyed the story get to listen to it again and enjoy it from your POV, and people who passed over it the first time will be reminded and perhaps, even be likelier to listen? I understand completely where argent is coming from with this back to back listening experience, because it's true! Sometimes a story is just that good you do want to listen to it again immediately. Also, YAY COLLABS! Man, all the cool kids are doing cool stuff without me...

Also, when I posted the fifth act, I seriously didn't think people who didn't know FF7 would listen to it or be able to understand it if they did, but to my surprise, I got a few who did! And aphelant even said so many nice things about it, and she went in to the pod without knowing anything about it too :') So I guess, I hope you give it a try!

[podcath]

I'll listen to pretty much anything if it's long enough, but I do have that weird non-Western fandom barrier. Nevertheless I d'loaded it, so it is sitting on my hard drive just waiting for me to get over my weird hesitations. Seeing these recs (and from folks not knowing the canon) is definitely making me want to listen!

I love collabs to pieces. i actually really like editing all the pieces together, plus, you record an hour and get a 2 or 4 or 7 hour podfic back. What's not to love :)

I've been a latecomer to repods. I usually pick one or the other reading as my favorite and tend to stick to that, which is why I loved the way argentumlupine was equally (though differently :) reccing both...

[lunchee]

I started in anime and gaming, and actually levelled up into western fandoms pretty late, so I don't really know how to deal with non-Western fandom barriers, sorry! If it helps, the world of Fifth Act is a fantasy anyway, and grounded in the military to boot. There's no honorific use in it, and it pretty much models itself on a Western society (they actually have an Southeast Asian country equivalent in there called Wutai, in fact!) The FF7 world in particular is so rich and fun, and though the gaming company who made it keeps beating the dead horse for money (which I will keep giving them), it still holds a really special place in my heart. Plus, if you ever want a laugh? Check out the spoof subs for the Final Fantasy: Advent Children movie. The whole movie makes so much more sense when it is about taffy, crocheting and bees!

I love collabs...but I hate editing! I would participate in as many as people would let me as long as someone else was putting it together XD Although I am doing the editing on a collab with cantarina because she has sexy french and I do not.

I'm glad you think kindlier of repods now ♥ It would be hard to repod all the things, but I love that the option is there and the stigma of stepping on someone else's toes is not ♥

[argentumlupine]

I have a few pairs of repods in my collection and I love them because sometimes I'm in the mood for one voice/interpretation and sometimes I'm in the mood for the other. With yours and knight-tracer's, though, if I'm in the mood for that particular story (which is often), I want to listen to both of your podfics. FAVORITES. ♥

I think you can listen to Fifth Act without canon knowledge. I mean, I started reading FFVII fanfic without any canon knowledge beyond knowing what the characters looked like. I picked up the canon along the way (and although I've seen & played some of the supplementary material, I've still never played the original game). So... give the podfic a shot and if you start getting confused e-mail me and I'll give you a FFVII crash course. :)

[akamine_chan]

\o/!

Podfic_lover and Dodi did an amazing job with untune the sky - I still remember the first time I heard the trailer and the goosebumps I got. *twirls you*

[argentumlupine]

\o/

My thought process after listening to the trailer: OKAY I AM TOTALLY IN AWE AND ALSO SOLD ON THIS PODFIC LET'S DO THIS THING. *fistpump*

*_*

[lunchee]

I am so incredibly touched to see the Fifth Act recommended. So. Incredibly. I remember getting that comment from you and tearing up because ugh, comments on the fifth act mean so, so much to me. Thank you so much ♥

I really enjoyed your commentary about each podfic! I am going to check out quite a few of them based on your enthusiasm ;)

Re: *_*

[argentumlupine]

I think it took 4 cases of me standing there in a trance before I got smart and just sat down to listen. XD

Thanks! I'm glad to have managed some coherency in the commentary and I hope you enjoy some of them!

[setra]

The Fifth Act!! One of the many fics that I meat to rec and somehow failed to do so. /Such/ an amazing story, and Lunchee did such a fantastic job with the reading and the background music and everything. ^_^
I'll be picking up some of these other stories too. Thanks for an excellent rec post!

[argentumlupine]

:) Hope you enjoy the new ones!