kalakirya

Fandom: Hockey RPF
Characters/Pairing: Eric Staal/Jeff Skinner
Rating: explicit
Content Notes: no archive warnings apply
Length: 9:02:57
Performer Links: isweedan
Author: doctor_denmark
Cover Artist:
Summary: When Canadian figure skater Jeff Skinner wrecked his knee, he never could have imagined that he'd end up helping pay his way through college as a live-in babysitter for Eric Staal's three-year-old son, Joey.



Reccer Notes: This is one of myt favorite podfics for long car or airplane rides. The story is lovely, but more importantly, isweedan has excellent pacing and diction, and you (ok, *I*) fall in love with Jeff instantly, and then in love with Eric and Joey right along with Jeff. isweedan's affection for the characters really shines through the whole thing and it's really lovely to listen to <3

Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Rivers of London & Good Omens
Characters/Pairing: Peter & Nightingale, Aziraphale/Crowley
Rating: teen and up
Content Notes: none
Length: 00:34:26
Performer Links: SisterofWar
Author: miztorge
Summary: In which Inspector Thomas Nightingale pursues stolen books on magic, Aziraphale presides over a book sale, Constable Peter Grant tries to do his job, and Crowley values his domestic tranquillity.

Reccer Notes: SisterOfWar does such an amazing job with the voices here! Aziraphale slight santimonious edge when he talks about helping the police during "some murders in Whitechapel," Peter being both fascinated by magic and so very tired with the minutiae of policework, Crowley intimidating Peter and doing quite a good job, actually, it's just all really, really well done, and one of my favorite small-fandom podfics <333

Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Star Wars (Prequels Trilogy)
Characters/Pairing: Qui-Gon[&|/]Obi-Wan (reccer note: the story and series are marked Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, but this story occupies, imo, the gray space between gen and slash best described as pre-slash, and if you go in expecting slash, you may be disappointed in that regard. hopefully not others! but that regard, at least)
Rating: Teen and Up
Content Notes: none
Length: 5:41:27
Performer Links: rippleeffect aka chibi_tenshi08
Author: flamethrower
Cover Artist: (flamethrower?)
Summary: A simple injury during what should have been a routine mission brings shocking changes to the lives of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and may alter the future of the Jedi Order.



Reccer Notes: I really like this podfic you guys. Rippleeffect has excellent diction and pacing, does a really good job differentiating the many voices, and their narration fits very well with the tone of the story. The story is quite long but they did an excellent job throughout, and it's one of my favorite stories for very long trips. 

note: this is the first part in a VERY EPIC series, but in my opinion it ends on a very satisfactory note and stands alone well, so I'm comfortable reccing it as its own podfic. 

Fanwork Link(s): at the AO3

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Characters/Pairing: Maria/Natasha
Rating: teen and up
Content Notes: graphic depictions of violence
Length: 1:53:25
Performer Links: exmanhater | exmanhater
Author: false_alexis
Cover Artist: exmanhater
Summary: Soulbond AU: When Maria is sent to intercept the Black Widow, there are certain things she wasn't expecting- certain very inconvenient things. Now they're stuck trying to distinguish the desirable from the inevitable.



Reccer Notes: Exmanhater's performance is, as always, entirely amazing :D Exmanhater adds a layer of humor and mild frustration to Maria's voice that feels perfectly in character - an impressive feat, given how little Maria appears in canon. Maria's strong attraction to Natasha and simultaneous reluctance to get involved in Nat's already very complicated situation are audible, and that tension keeps the action grounded in Maria's point of view, which is a lovely way to experience the story, and makes it all the more satisfying when both of them finally get over themselves and into each other's pants :D

Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Avengers
Characters/Pairing: Darcy Lewis & Steve Rogers
Rating: general audiences
Content Notes: no warnings apply
Length: 26:00
Performer Links: dapatty
Author: samalander
Cover Artist: davincis_girl
Summary: SHIELD tasks Darcy Lewis with educating Steve Rogers about the pop culture of the last three decades. Probably this was a bad idea.



Reccer Notes: this podfic is a delight from beginning to end :D dapatty reads Darcy wonderfully, perched on some multi-sided edge of laughter, sarcasm and genuineness, and I just want the podfic to go on and on, with Darcy telling Steve all about the crazy shit kids got up to in the 80s and 90s. check out this clip from the very beginning, which involves furbies:

this podfic never fails to make me smile, and I listen to it at least once a week. check it out, you won't regret it :D


Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Sleepy Hollow
Characters/Pairing: Abbie Mills & Ichabod Crane, gen
Rating: general audiences
Content Notes: none
Length: 12:15
Performer Links: nickelmountain | nickelmountain 
Author: samyazaz 
Cover Artist: nickelmountain
Summary: It doesn't take more than a moment's thought for Abbie to realize that she's going to have to bring Ichabod home. The man can't even figure out how to unlock a car door, a hotel is absolutely out of the question. He'd probably lock himself inside and then starve to death.



Reccer Notes: The way nickelmountain reads Abbie's pov fits really nicely with both the character we've come to know her on the show, and the author's interpretation of her. Nickelmountain's reading manages to be simultaneously full of affection for Ichabod, and also so, so done with the day and so, so tired; I just want to wrap her up and cook for her and make everything not her problem. Happily, Ichabod does one of the three, and the whole thing is just a really sweet slice-of-life that is really true to everyone's voices, both literally and metaphorically :D

Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Teen Wolf
Characters/Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Rating: Explicit/NC-17
Content Notes: hurt/comfort, angst, knotting, past-dub(/non)-con
Length: 45:24
Performer Links: heardtheowl 
Author: herlovewasajoke 
Cover Artist: heardtheowl 
Summary: "Stiles always tries to protect the ones he loves, but sometimes he's the one who needs protection. (Or, in which Stiles is a werewolf and Derek didn't make him that way.)"



Reccer Notes: heardtheowl has a great way of taking really intense (and sometimes frightening) stories and making them not less frightening or intense, but less stressful. I don't mean that her clear and articulate reading diminishes the story in any way, but makes it less isolating - I'm not alone in the experience of the story, the way I am when reading the written version. I can trust that her voice will take me through the angst and hurt and into the (excellent!) comfort. All of which says that you should go listen to other podfic by this reader pronto.
You should listen to this one specifically because, quite frankly, she did a really great job. It's a tricky story - there are a number of flashbacks, some really intense dialogue, a lot of really heavy (and intense!) emotions flying around, and heardtheowl handled it all very deftly. She reads clearly and well, uses affect without overdoing it, and carries the listener through the story very well. Also the sex scene was really hot <3

Fanwork Link(s): on AO3

Fandom: Avatar: the Legend of Korra
Characters/Pairing: Korra/Asami Sato
Rating: PG-13/Teen and up
Content Notes: none
Length: 1:06:41
Performer Links: exmanhater | intransitive  |  exmanhater 
Author: tofsla 
Summary: Republic City to Ba Sing Se, with a number of lessons learnt in the process. Korra and Asami take a road trip.

Reccer Notes:

ok, here's the thing: I am a COMPLETE SUCKER for podfics in which the reader's enthusiasm for the story they're telling comes through. There are a lot of reasons to podfic, and a lot of styles of podficcing, and not all of them lend themselves well to that enthusiasm coming through in the reading, and that's ok, but when it's there, it's AWESOME. I was already well pre-disposed to this podfic - exmanhater, Avatar-verse, FEMMESLASH - but there's a moment about 45 minutes in when exmanhater reads Korra asking a group of travellers if they know the "secret tunnel song" and I broke out in grins and pulled up DW to write this insta-rec because YES LOLING FOREVER because Korra's enthusiasm comes through but the reader's enthusiasm and love for both A:tLA and Korra comes through and it's all these layers and love and enthusiasm and in the next line the traveller says "everyone asks that" and it's so fond :). Actually, let's be real, exmanhater is an amazing reader, so there are a lot of little moments in this podfic that give me ALL THE FEELS: there's a moment about 30 minutes in when Asami has just reassured Korra (sort of awkwardly, because they're teenagers, and therefore SO AWKWARD *pets them*) and Korra says "thanks Asami" and it's two little words but you get this whole "I'm awkward and don't know what to do with this moment we're having" and then you remember it's Korra/Asami and then you re-listen and then there's this whole other level of awkwardness there too of this teenage girl (who's not the pov character!) trying to figure out what these tingly feelings are you can tell in her voice that she's trying to figure that out and you can tell that from two words and aoifhaqnfa,mfbkahg *dies of feels*

Just - this whole podfic just feels like a warm hug to a character that got a lot of hate and it's just really, really lovely :DDD

Fanwork Link(s): amplificathon | AO3

Violent Amoral Unicorn of Justice Gets Knocked Up (read by podcath, chemm80, rhea314 and aphelant) (actually three stories - Taken by astolat, the Look you get by lazulisong, and Bun in the Oven by judgebunnie) (mpreg ahoy. also alpha/beta. and crack.)
I love this series of cracklets for a lot of the same reasons that I love repods, and podfic in general: it's really, really fun to hear how someone else interpreted a story. These little things, though, work in sequence rather than in parallel, and it's just really cool because each reader or set of readers is perfectly matched to the story they're doing - podcath is quietly calm with Taken and it's great because all through the sex scene you entirely forget the cracky premise because her reading is really hot and then rhea314 and chemm80 start in on the Look You Get and the two of them read it straight but with these little bits of insight into the sheer crackitude of the premise and you clue in a little more because John cares about sheets and then there's aphelant with Bun in the Oven and I love her reading of the degree to which no one wants to have the conversation with John about him scaling back his "dangerous proclivities" or discuss Finch's sexual prowess and out of context it would be kinda weird but with the buildup it works because the weird has been creeping up on them and they didn't realize it until now and you're in the same boat and I just :DDD

Ring read by lunate8, from a story written by speranza (16min)
This is a very different story than the previous bunch - it's more in keeping with the tone of the show, and lunate8's reading is appropriate to the setting. This sounds odd to say (to write?) but I buy her readings of John and Harold in this story, though they didn't make sense to me when I read the written story. A large part of both the mythos of the show and of this story revolves around John and Harold each not knowing or quite understanding what the other is up to, and there's one part specifically of the story that's told from John's point of view where John knows what's happening and is keeping it from Harold and from the reader, and as written that frustrated me to no end. Lunate8's reading, though, has an immediacy and a sort of urgent-first-person-self-absorption-(despite-being-told-in-the-third-person) such that I understood why it made sense that John was so caught up in the moment that he didn't need to explain to himself (and therefore the reader) what was going on. Her use of sound effects is sparse but very effective, and it feeds right back into that nearly-first-person-pov thing that is just so cool to listen to :D

Self-Defense (and Detritus and the Silenus Club) read by podcath (35min)
This podfic I can see being an episode of the show, and while part of that is podcath's brilliant choice of story, I think most of it is her reading. Something about her pacing is very visual, if that makes sense; she takes her time with each word and phrase, and sometimes lingers a bit on descriptors when it makes sense to in the story, and I'm not explaining this well so we'll go with the example of a such that a sex scene that I read as happening fairly quickly in her reading is spun out so that both the pov character and I were focusing on tiny little details of skin and sound and suction and sibilance and there's another bit farther on when Harold is discovering details and putting together a picture of what John's doing and the way podcath takes you through it you're with him every step of the way because he's taking in every detail and the reading is so rich that you almost don't want the story to keep moving because you're sure there are all these bits that you're not getting because there's just so much there and it's just all really, really lovely and really, really well done and I love every bit of everything in it (I also rec the other two podfics she's done in this fandom, Detritus and the Silenus Club)

Flock Together (read by greeniron) (from a story written by galaxysoup) (9:30min)
We've come nearly full circle, from crack to not-too-serious-an-episode-like to serious-episode to not-quite-crack, because Bear has found a cat version of Harold and has brought it home and it is the cutest thing and yet quite believable because, after all, Harold canonically once panicked and stole a baby. This is a cute little bit of fluff that doesn't seem like it should make sense, but actually it kinda really does, and greeniron's reading brings out all the little bits of Finch's horror that Bear found him a kitten and John's dismay at being left with a class of preschoolers and Carter's disbelief that this is her life and then she reads a line about how John's efforts at aiding the preschoolers with their fingerpainting had gone terribly awry and it's just adorable :D


Jeeves and Wooster