“What’s the first question you ask a runner? ....You ask, ‘Are you running from or towards?’"
So, this was supposed to go up a little more than a month ago, on 
pprfaith's actual birthday....but between one thing and another (angst, school, other angst, podficular non-inspiration) I just wasn't in the right mood to be putting up happy celebratory gift-ish podfics. However, there was a clear moment in my schedule tonight, and it seemed the perfect time to break out the belated birthday gifts!
So, since I'm feeling less likely to despair of everything ever today, may I present, for your auditory entertainment and pprfaith's birthday delight:The Art Of Running and Fearless On My Breath.
The Art Of Running, written by
pprfaith (because of course the best birthday gifts are podfics of stories you've written yourself, right? And nothing at all to do with the fact that I might have forgotten to ask if you wanted someone else's fic to be recorded....nope, nothing to see here....*whistles*), is a genderbending AU of The Fast And The Furious. Dom is still Dom, Mia is still Mia, and Brian is still Brian - even though her birth certificate says Brianna.
Fearless On My Breath is the sequel to The Art Of Running, and continues on in the same girl!Brian universe to show us just how 2 Fast 2 Furious would have gone down.
Now, genderswap stories in general aren't always my cup of tea - if done poorly, they tend more towards caricature rather than serious character examination - but one of my favorite aspects of well-done genderbending AUs is the way you get to see changes in a character's, well, character. The way that the personality you already know shines through in this new permutation, and the way that (since I tend to read boys-are-now-girls genderbenders) having a female life-perspective on a certain situation may change the outcome of an event.
And in these two stories,
pprfaith does amazing things. Brian is still Brian, even though she's had a different perspective growing up: she's still indomitable, and loyal, and an adrenaline junkie. She still gets under Dom's skin, makes him pay attention and captures his interests - but this time, Dom can't just lock horns and bowl over Brian, because of the way he's been raised. His reactions to a woman shaking up his world are just that much off from how he'd interact with a man doing the same thing. FAtF is definitely one of those 'verses where a woman and a man will elicit vastly different reactions from their compatriots for doing the same thing - for example, how seriously do her competitors take Letty as a racer? And how do those same competitors view Dom?
And, well, aside from the whole intriguing 'reflection of society/social commentary' aspect of these two stories, I also got a bit of a kick seeing how all the 'No Heterosexual Explanation' moments from the first film panned out (my brain definitely enjoyed the change in perspective, when there was only be a Heterosexual Explanation).
Plus, all analysis of character development aside, these two stories are both just plain excellent to read. The AU that
pprfaith has created here veers off-canon by the end of The Art Of Running, and then she takes those changes and runs with them even further in Fearless On My Breath. I just... I really like these stories. They're full of vivid imagery, and the backstory
pprfaith gives everyone is rich with detail. We get to see Rome a bit earlier than in canon, too (I have a huge soft spot for Roman Pierce - he makes me smile like whoa, and the way he interacts with both Brian and Dom in this 'verse is full of squee), and the dialogue is full of the color and vivacity of the racing culture captured by the films. It's all just generally fantastic, seriously.
So, I tried to do something a little bit think-y with the Intro/Outro music for these two podfics. The Art Of Running is told from Brian's point of view, and Fearless On My Breath is seen from Dom's perspective. But both stories are so very much about the two of them together, and I wanted to find a way to showcase that togetherness. So....since the main voice of The Art Of Running was female, I wanted to make the musical interludes for the story male. And vice versa for Fearless On My Breath - a male voice telling the story, and a female musical interlude. Thus, the Intro/Outro music for The Art Of Running ended up being "Ride With Me", as performed by Armstrong Jr; the Intro/Outro music for Fearless On My Breath was "Shut Up And Drive", as performed by Rihanna. Take a listen to the lyrics - hopefully, they'll resonate with you, and expand your enjoyment of these stories.
You can find the direct-download folder of mp3 files for The Art Of Running HERE.
You can find the direct-download folder mp3 files for Fearless On My Breath HERE.
Thanks to paraka's hosting generosity, you can click, download, and enjoy the intrigue, excitement, and sexy car chases of this awesome 'verse! And don't forget to wish pprfaith a happy belated birthday, when you tell her how great these stories were. ^_______________^
pprfaith's actual birthday....but between one thing and another (angst, school, other angst, podficular non-inspiration) I just wasn't in the right mood to be putting up happy celebratory gift-ish podfics. However, there was a clear moment in my schedule tonight, and it seemed the perfect time to break out the belated birthday gifts!
So, since I'm feeling less likely to despair of everything ever today, may I present, for your auditory entertainment and pprfaith's birthday delight:The Art Of Running and Fearless On My Breath.
The Art Of Running, written by
pprfaith (because of course the best birthday gifts are podfics of stories you've written yourself, right? And nothing at all to do with the fact that I might have forgotten to ask if you wanted someone else's fic to be recorded....nope, nothing to see here....*whistles*), is a genderbending AU of The Fast And The Furious. Dom is still Dom, Mia is still Mia, and Brian is still Brian - even though her birth certificate says Brianna.
Fearless On My Breath is the sequel to The Art Of Running, and continues on in the same girl!Brian universe to show us just how 2 Fast 2 Furious would have gone down.
Now, genderswap stories in general aren't always my cup of tea - if done poorly, they tend more towards caricature rather than serious character examination - but one of my favorite aspects of well-done genderbending AUs is the way you get to see changes in a character's, well, character. The way that the personality you already know shines through in this new permutation, and the way that (since I tend to read boys-are-now-girls genderbenders) having a female life-perspective on a certain situation may change the outcome of an event.
And in these two stories,
pprfaith does amazing things. Brian is still Brian, even though she's had a different perspective growing up: she's still indomitable, and loyal, and an adrenaline junkie. She still gets under Dom's skin, makes him pay attention and captures his interests - but this time, Dom can't just lock horns and bowl over Brian, because of the way he's been raised. His reactions to a woman shaking up his world are just that much off from how he'd interact with a man doing the same thing. FAtF is definitely one of those 'verses where a woman and a man will elicit vastly different reactions from their compatriots for doing the same thing - for example, how seriously do her competitors take Letty as a racer? And how do those same competitors view Dom?
And, well, aside from the whole intriguing 'reflection of society/social commentary' aspect of these two stories, I also got a bit of a kick seeing how all the 'No Heterosexual Explanation' moments from the first film panned out (my brain definitely enjoyed the change in perspective, when there was only be a Heterosexual Explanation).
Plus, all analysis of character development aside, these two stories are both just plain excellent to read. The AU that
pprfaith has created here veers off-canon by the end of The Art Of Running, and then she takes those changes and runs with them even further in Fearless On My Breath. I just... I really like these stories. They're full of vivid imagery, and the backstory
pprfaith gives everyone is rich with detail. We get to see Rome a bit earlier than in canon, too (I have a huge soft spot for Roman Pierce - he makes me smile like whoa, and the way he interacts with both Brian and Dom in this 'verse is full of squee), and the dialogue is full of the color and vivacity of the racing culture captured by the films. It's all just generally fantastic, seriously.
So, I tried to do something a little bit think-y with the Intro/Outro music for these two podfics. The Art Of Running is told from Brian's point of view, and Fearless On My Breath is seen from Dom's perspective. But both stories are so very much about the two of them together, and I wanted to find a way to showcase that togetherness. So....since the main voice of The Art Of Running was female, I wanted to make the musical interludes for the story male. And vice versa for Fearless On My Breath - a male voice telling the story, and a female musical interlude. Thus, the Intro/Outro music for The Art Of Running ended up being "Ride With Me", as performed by Armstrong Jr; the Intro/Outro music for Fearless On My Breath was "Shut Up And Drive", as performed by Rihanna. Take a listen to the lyrics - hopefully, they'll resonate with you, and expand your enjoyment of these stories.
You can find the direct-download folder of mp3 files for The Art Of Running HERE.
You can find the direct-download folder mp3 files for Fearless On My Breath HERE.
Thanks to paraka's hosting generosity, you can click, download, and enjoy the intrigue, excitement, and sexy car chases of this awesome 'verse! And don't forget to wish pprfaith a happy belated birthday, when you tell her how great these stories were. ^_______________^