poplitealqueen:

Because even I can be serious. It hurts, but I can do it.

And to prove my point, have Michael Knight NOT doing a thumbs up.

See? It’s for real now.

Anyway, here’s some tips and tricks from a fellow auditionee on how to keep yourself from get too damn worked up over this thing.

1. Listen to podfics.

I’ve actually done this a couple times, and it’s really fun. Just hop on over to AO3, type in ‘podfic’, and drown in them. Or just look them up here on Tumblr. The whole point of this– at least for me– is just to hear how these things actually sound. It lessons the whole ‘big scary mysterious podfic’ feeling, plus you get to listen to fanfic! WIN-WIN.

2. Talk to the Cast. 

Despite what my earlier joke posts may say, I have never met a kinder group of people so eager to help out others on this site. Don’t feel threatened by them–seriously, they’re just big dorks like everyone else. And they WANT TO HELP. DO YOU THINK I INVITED ANY OF THEM TO PRACTICE? NAH BRAH, THEY ASKED ME. THEY’LL LISTEN TO YOUR AUDITIONS IF YOU JUST ASK THEM TO. LIKE, JUST GO FIND THEM. THEY’RE NICE. They won’t mock or belittle you, and the idea that simply being in a freakin’ podfic makes them unapproachable is so stupid I can feel my IQ lowering just thinking about it. Go say ‘Hi’. Never hurts. Go bomb their asks.

3. DON’T Pester the Mods

Those beautiful bananas took it upon themselves to make this damn thing. Do you know how long Sansukh is?! Most Dedicated Fan Awards right there. I know how it is to hate waiting, I do, but bothering them won’t make it go any faster. Let them work, and be nice. You’ll feel good if your’re good to others.

4. Talk to Determamfidd

Ever heard that saying ‘straight from the horse’s mouth?’ That applies here. Much like the cast, Dets is another gigantic dork that people tend to elevate to unapproachable deity status, and stuff like that is volatile at best. What I’m trying to say is, she is just as excited about this podfic as the rest of us, probably more so. While she may not have a hand in its creation and audition process, she sure as hell knows the characters inside and out. Her input is priceless when it comes to how a character may react or sound, and not taking the opportunity to pick her brains is silly. Plus, she’s sweet to anons– even dickwad ones! AND YOU SHOULD SEND HER DAIN IRONFOOT/BRUCE BANNER FANART OR SOMETHING WHILE YOU’RE AT IT BECAUSE SHE’D PROBS EXPLODE & LEAVE AUSTRALIA A GIANT CRATER AND CMON IT’D BE FUNNY TO SEE HER FANGIRL.

4. Realize Your Feelings Are Valid…But Don’t Push Them on Everyone Else

You can be bitter about how Round one went and how Round two goes down , you can be salty that someone sounds better then you, you can be sad about whatever the hell you want that has to do with the podfic, but don’t go thinking everyone else has to feel exactly like you do. Be upset, write whiny posts at 4am that you delete the next morning, listen to sad songs, lament how unexceptional you see yourself as, but don’t take your hurt out on the cast, the mods, or anybody. If anything, find someone that has nothing to do with it and just spill your heart out, or, if that fails, you can always…

5. GET OFF TUMBLR FOR A FEW DAYS, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

People are funny. We can get sad over the most trivial of things. We also have a terrible habit of wanting to make ourselves feel even worse when we’re sad already. On Tumblr, this is easy as breathing to do. And things like ‘sansukh podfic’ are only a few clicks away. All I can say is, don’t dwell. Take a break from Tumblr if you have to, go on any other website. Read a book, watch a movie, eat a sandwich, I don’t care. Nothing will change in one or two days. If seeing stuff about the podfic upsets or stresses you so much, do yourself a favor and get the fuck off Tumblr. It’s not going anywhere.

And lastly…

6. Be Kind To Yourself

The truth is, you can be your biggest supporter or your biggest enemy. I can say personally that I hate my voice with every bit of me I have: I think it’s boring, too high pitched for a woman my age, and just altogether not how I should sound. I’ll probably think that way even if I do get a part one day. Despite how making stupid joke posts may make me seem overconfident to some, I’m honestly so convinced I won’t get a part this round I’m already planning what characters I’ll audition for in Round Three! (God I hope they have Eowyn or Arwen, or Tuac the Raven. Bomfris, too, I like her. She’s the babe.) 

But forgetting my own troublesome self-worth for a mo, what I’m trying to show is that nobody’s perfect. All of us have something that holds us down–that loud little voice in our ear that judges us, or that gut reaction that nothing we do is any good. Being kind to yourself isn’t ignoring these feelings; it’s looking them right in the face and saying, “LOL so what?”and doing stuff anyway. It’s being proud of you, even if you don’t like you. So be kind to yourselves, peeps, and make a joke post or two. They’re really fun.

**None of you realize how tough some of this was to write. Jokes are easy; being serious is like running down Broadway Blvd. in the nude. But I still hope these helped a bit. HAPPY WAITING!**