due South Recs Redux

Continuing on with day four of the Fandom Appreciation Challenge, here are some of my top podfic recs.

Title: Five Times Ray Kowalski Tried to Make Someone Feel At Home (even if it didn't always work)
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: leafy22
Reader: vsee
Pairing: F/K
Rating: PG
Length: 14:50min
Why I'm reccing this ficpodfic:

vsee is a relatively new podficcer, but she's already amassed a pretty impressive body of work. Her readings are faithful translations of the original story, and she has a lovely and soothing voice that fits perfectly with the sweet and engaging and sometimes slightly sad stories she's chosen to read. Leafy's charming tale, which recounts Ray's attempts to make people feel comfortable, makes for a great audiofic. I adore this story a whole lot, and it was wonderful to see vsee tackle it with so much skill and professionalism. On a technical level it's clean, clear and very well-paced, and I truly hope Vsee will continue to record podfic for the dS fandom. You can find more of V's recordings here at general_jinjur's indispensable and highly comprehensive podfic archive.

Title: Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: slidellra
Reader: malnpudl
Fandom: For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down (gasp!)
Rating: PG
Length: 11:30min
Why I'm reccing this ficpodfic:

I'm breaking a a cardinal rule here at ds_recsredux and reccing C6D fandom media, but luckly I have some pull with the mods, so you'll just have to bear with me. During the recent amplificathon, malnpudl kicked ass and recorded a (vast) number of short and medium-length podfics, one of which was this beautiful, sensitive, and achingly perfect recording of slidellra's equally-perfect Jerry Bines story. (Which was written for me. *preens* And yes - this whole thing is pretty damn incestuous). Nevertheless, it's an amazing reading: Mal's voice is so lovely and gentle, and she evokes the perfect mix of bemusement and confusion and peace that Jerry experiences as he lingers at his lonely hunting camp. It's a wonderfully performative reading, as well as a pleasure to listen to on a technical level, and I kind of just want to hang out at Mal's and beg her to read me stories. Even if you're not familiar with For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down, please check this one out. It's pretty damn amazing.

Title: How Ray Got His Groove Back
Link to Podfic Here [right-click, "save as"]
Author: Bone and Aristide
Reader: zabira
Fandom: due South
Rating: NC-17
Length: 3hrs 35min
Why I'm reccing this ficpodfic:

God, trying to pick my favourite zabira recording is like trying to decide between chocolate and...some other form of chocolate. It's all so delicious! And there is so much good stuff to choose from: Z has created a huge number of podfics, and they are all uniformly excellent. She always brings so much enthusiasm and care to her recordings, and it's always obvious that she loves the stories as much (or perhaps more) than the original authors. And Z has a deft touch for conveying the emotions behind very different stories: she's done humour (Juggling Act) and angst (Heavy Bag and Passion) and even, um, whimsical wingfic (Wings of Desire). In the end, though, this is the one I keep coming back to. "Groove" is a terrific story to begin with: it's one of the sexiest fics in dS, and while this fandom isn't exactly a slouch in the NC-17 department, the story always manages to offer new insight into the characters as the relationship between Ray and Fraser evolves, changes, and deepens. But I think the podfic adds an extra dimension to the story. Z has impeccable comic timing in the funny bits, and she does an extraordinarily good job of differentiating between the Fraser-POV sections and the Ray-POV sections. They sound like different characters here and that, as you might know if you've tried it, can be one of the biggest challenges in a podfic recording. I put this on when I'm looking for some writerly inspiration, when I'm doing housework, when I'm commuting between my jobs, and it always manages to improve my mood. And occasionally blush at some inopportune moments. *g*

These recs barely scratch the surface of the vast amount of funny, sweet, warm and heartbreaking stories available for your listening pleasure. If you're interested in downloading and listening to a podfic, I'd recommend you start with general_jinjur's aforementioned podfic archive. Isis (who did a lot of influential work early on and succeeded in getting a lot of people interested in recording stories), Keerawa, Slidellra and Lamentables have all turned in fabulous recordings of dS fics. I hope you'll check them out, and please drop them a line to let the podficcers know you liked their readings.