Ship Olympics: Event 4: Team NewOldSkool

[taraljc]

Title: Private Myths
Canon: TOS
Author/Reader: LJC
Audio File: Embedded MP3, available as a zipped download, length of approximately 25 minutes.
Rating: PG-13 (however, due to sexually explicit SFX, audio content is most likely NSFW.)
Synopsis: Six hours into their captivity-more than twelve hours since Pike's abduction and almost twenty hours

Comments

[taraljc]

Thank you so much for the kind feedback! I was petrified about doing podfic because, erm... well, as you can tell, my normal speaking voice has a weird mid-Atlantic unplaceable accent and I sometimes get made fun of by people who assume I am putting on airs or whatever when really, it's just that my folks moved to the states in 1969 and my accent is just plain WEIRD. So I am, well.. SUPER sensitive about it, but at thesame time, when I saw the challenge I knew I had at least two TOS stories which I could podfic which would totally work for the challenge. I actually did podfic the other one (No Small Dreams) but that one is just a straight reading--no SFX involved. And also, it's SOULCRUSHINGLY DEPRESSING, and at least this story has a tiny tiny spark of hope still left in it :)

I just had WAY TOO MUCH FUN playing with my audio software's effects to create the Talosians, mix in the background sex noises of embarrassment, and distinguish Number One's inner thoughts from her spoken dialogue. I may have tortured my team with multiple drafts, to get their opinions on whether or not the sound mix was too distracting, overpowered the spoken word tracks, etc. But in the end I was really really happy with the final mix. And now I want to learn my software better, so I can see what else it can do. I was so impressed with Team Tartan's amazing entry, cos they mixed in all the awesome sound effects and music! SO COOL!

[taraljc]

Well, there is the above link--and I think somewhere I podfic'd a Gosford Park story but I can't remember where it's linked...

But thank you SO MUCH for the notes about the audio editing. I kept drafting and redrafting those sections, to try and make sure they were balanced.

And, yeah... I had that moment when I realised that the story itself is totes PG-13... right up until you actually add the audio of people having sex where suddenly it's like ZOMG YOU GUYS. SO NSFW. HEADPHONES HEADPHONES HEADPHONES!

[darkcuriosity]

I like your accent as well. I live in Atlanta, but I'm originally from Charleston which gives me a strange British/Southern/general American accent. So your accent actually sounds very similar to several other Charleston-Atlanta transplants I know. Only a few words were pronounced differently than I would say them, but I didn't give it much thought. The most important fact about your reading though is that your voice is clear and very well paced. Some fics I've listened too have been either way too slow or way too fast. I also liked that you gave the text of the fic along with the sound clip. I can never follow just the sound. I get lost, frustrated, and then uninterested. I liked the sound effects too. Except I couldn't stop giggling since I was embarrassed for both myself, Pike, and Number One. Weird reaction I guess. Most people cringe while I giggle. *shakes head* Who knows?
I loved the fic as well. To have and/or get what you want only for it to be an illusion or lie is heart-wrenching. Hopefully Pike and Number One will get some sense and jump each other!

[taraljc]

*blush* Thank you so much!

Poor Number One. She is forever projecting things onto Pike to protect herself, and I genuinely DO believe that the Talosians read that particular fantasy from his mind. But because she cannot see herself that way, and cannot believe based on his quantifiable actions that he sees her that way, she flat out denies herself the luxury of hope. Which is what makes me want to hug her the most, in this story. Because her despair is of her own making.