The different peoples of Middle-Earth have their own ways of farewelling the old year and greeting the new. Each race has its own rich customs and traditions to mark the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. Each is as distinct and unique as snow is to fire.
Post-holiday doldrums getting you down? Your family driving you crazy this holiday season? Or did you just have a lovely holiday, and are looking for the perfect treat to top it all off? Don’t care about the holiday season one way or another? Well, we at Sansûkh Productions have the perfect thing to send in the new year.
In short, we are thrilled to announce that this year, @determamfidd did us the honor of writing four holiday themed vignettes and allowing us to release them to you, our beautiful audience, at the same time the text version is posted (those of you who would rather read the fics first, we have a link to the text below). We are so grateful to both her and the cast members who were able to set aside their time this holiday to record lines on (very) short notice. We are so incredibly thankful for all of you, and wish you all the best in this upcoming year.
So, without further ado, you may find the podfic of Midwinter in the following places:
Click here for streaming/download link for the MP3 file.
Click here for streaming/download link for M4b file.
See below the cut for the cast list and full attribution.
Note: I had to go home for the holiday, and I recorded the credits at the last second before I left (while sporting a 100 degree fever). Consequently, I was obliged to re-record some sections on my phone (since I couldn’t bring my mic with me), so you’ll notice some sound discrepancies in the quality during the credits. My sincerest apologies for this, particularly to those folks whose names I failed to pronounce initially. >.< I’ll fix the file when I get back to my apartment, but in the meantime we thought it best to release the chapter in a timely manner. -HD
HERE IT IS HERE IT IS OH MY GOD THIS IS IT AND I AM NOT CALM
(reaction and a lot of flailing under the cut!)
okay – first off, that music is beautiful.
I love your voice, Ricky, your voice is like a salted caramel coffee poured into each ear ❤ As always, your delivery is so nuanced and intelligent and sensitive and clear. Oh whoa, ilu.
OH MY GOODNESS HD, HD AS LAEROPHEN BE STILL MY HEART, HOW MUCH PERFECTION??? HOW? Sardonic and long-suffering, and yet so so so LOVING.
Tiny Legolas! oh my god, OH WOW – you are amazing, @apalatablevastness, so incredibly versatile!!! ALSO ADORABLE OH WOW. “is this how it is?” = my heart exploded.
and you are the perfect mismatched siblings, so sweet and loving despite all that time and dissimilarity and oh my goodness th e dance the d ance HD you have slain me deaded
I would like to apologise for the line, “even the doughtiest Dwarves could not undo such devastation overnight” – that had to be a bit of a tongue-twister, SORRY RICKY YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU
oooooh sound effect for fire, OOOOH
Oh Dis, @grimminsanity your amazing mithril voice. Oh, you only have to speak a few words as Dis, and I am sniffling. You are a wonder.
FRERIN YOU ARE A JOY AND A TREASURE. SUNSHINE DWARF FOREVER ❤
Cully, once again you reduce me to a quivering freaking mess. YOUR GIMLI IS THE BEST, BEST, BEST, AND i LOVE YOU AND HIM. SO VERY MUCH. (also, so much sibling snark, help, i love the pair of you together faaaaar too much, there must be MORE)
GIMRISSSSSSSSSS ❤ Nota, bless you forever, your voice is delicious, and you sibling-bicker like a genius. So much fire and sass!
AUGH @the-dragongirl, your Mizim!!!!! That is one in-charge Dwarrowdam! And you, STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE LIKE A PRO, YOU FAB FAB PERSON!
Ohhhhhhh, gdi, Oin and Gloin together – @balinisballin and @gremlinloquacious, you are delightful and dwarvish perfection itself, I laughed aloud at your opening lines!!! (ALSO the ‘Elves charge like maddened pigs’ line – HALP TOO FUNNY)
FLUUUUUUKE, YOUR BALIN ❤ You have tripled my need to hug you until you squeak. You’re amazing!
(ahdglajshdgfalsjdhfgaksjhda FRERIN THE WORLD LOVES YOU TOO, YOU UTTER STAR)
Excuse me, Battlepig. EXCUSE ME. YOU. ARE. AMAZING. How dare you. How DARE you be such utter spot-on incredibleness. I am gasping at hearing you as Dain. GASPING. You’re stupendous, just in that first line. Holy hannah, I am floored.
Riza, your voice is so warm and friendly and gorgeous and BOFUR. SO BOFUR, the MOST BOFURISH. It’s like getting an aural hug!
AVIIIIIIIII! Avi, you are the most wonderful Stonehelm! THERE YOU ARE, BUTTERKNIFE, IT IS WONDERFUL TO HEAR YOU AT LAST!
ohhhhh the humming, ohhhhh the humming, shivers, shivers everywhere, my spine is all a-quiver
AUGH GULLS, GULLS IN MINAS TIRITH AUGH – how amazing is this soundscaping???? EEEEEE
@cagethesongbird – your Boromir!!! I am now UNCONTROLLABLY excited to hear you read his older self – you are completely tone-perfect, brave and proud and oh, it is AMAZING, you are so so brilliant! And you capture his wounded youthful pride and his complete devotion so utterly well, I am bowled over and in awe of you. the description of the Yestare celebrations!!! oh my GOD *bows down to you* Captain of the White Tower, I am so SO happy to hear you at last!
KEN KEN KEN MY KING! *wibbles all over you* AUGH AUGH YOUR ARAGORN, HELP, I HAVE A PROBLEM, IT IS TOO AMAZING, my heart is trying its damndest to BREAK over all that noble weariness, all that conflicted sorrow and longing to belong, all that heaviness and wisdom… AUGH AUGH AUGH also you should always speak in Elvish bc hot damn
folding. paper. folding. paper. The attention to detail in the sound design, the creasing paper and the soft whoosh of the wind around the tower – I just need to love on that for a few seconds <33333
Oh my goodness Ricky, you can hear how much FUN you are having with the Hobbity exposition!!! SO PRIM, SO TWEE, OH HOBBITS ❤
asldjgfsjaldhfgalsjdfga FROOD! My dear Antipodean Hobbit, how I adore you (and your beautiful accent!!!) you are absotively, posilutely GORGEOUS. And oh, your understatement is SO PERFECTLY FRODO – his unassuming bravery, his cheekiness, his unspoken baggage when it comes to being packed off in Brandy Hall, and his unconscious defence of Rorimac, and aargh, my heart, you are a gem beyond compare. (Also I snickered far,far too loudly at ‘you’re not serious.’ bwaaahahahahahaha, THE MOST STRAYAN OF DELIVERIES, my dearest Frood!) ❤
And itty bitty teeny MERRY! oh my god, you’re completely PRECIOUS I AM GONNA SQUEAL, you will destroy me with pure concentrated ADORABLE! I actually let out a squeak at ‘SHOVE OVER!’ and oh help me @ “I’m invited to the Party, but not the adventure. D’you think Mr. Bilbo might take me to see Dwarves and that?” YOU ARE ILLEGALLY CUTE. I ARREST YOU IN THE NAME OF MY SANITY. ‘Aooowwwww but MUM!’ = I EXPLODED.
Once again, @themadmanwithablog, you make me lightheaded with how wonderful you are – your humour, your warmth, your exasperation and intelligence and briskness and beautiful voice! I was smiling like a loon at every single one of Bilb’s lines, they were all utterly wonderful. Special mention HAS to go to ‘Yes, of course you do, I remember you advising against it quite well indeed.’ *Standing ovation* Bravo!
EEE PARTY MUSIC PARTY HOBBITS
holy heck, @strongenhelm – I am now convinced you are either Sir Ian McKellen himself, or you’re holding him hostage. YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOICE, GOOD GRAVY. From the first word, I can SEE GANDALF in that moment, the millennia weighing on him, all his weary humour and care. And I adore the little laugh on ‘approve’ awww. Your timing is stupendous, whoaaaa, I am flattened in awe. SERIOUSLY.
oh noooo no that can’t be the end already NO AARGH I LOVED IT I LOVE YOU ALL THANK YOU SO MUCH. I have ascended and am now a being 100% composed of sheer admiration for all of you. You astound me. Thank you.
The different peoples of Middle-Earth have their own ways of farewelling the old year and greeting the new. Each race has its own rich customs and traditions to mark the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. Each is as distinct and unique as snow is to fire.
Okay once again: don’t wanna see me babble about colors just block “Colors of Sansukh”! (To the people who did not previously know I am weird: surprise! I am weird.)
I made a post specifically to squee over Will Shaw’s Bilbo and I am squeeing again. Bilbo’s got a weird name? “Bilbo” and “Baggins” and “Bilbo Baggins” are all different. Bilbo is polished wood, Baggins is kind of brown dirt and green grass, and Bilbo Baggins is almost polished firelight orange. Voices are almost never polished, that’s purely an unnatural color thing, but…the first thing I saw when Bilbo spoke in this chapter was Anders from Dragon Age II, because I associate his character (not voice) with a specific shade of orange-tan that’s the lighting in DAII’s Lowtown and that is what I saw for Bilbo. I am gonna be crying come later chapters dammit.
Gandalf is a foggy-pine forest that’s mostly grey word (even when he’s the White, unless it is specifically “Gandalf the White” in which case…it’s white). Matthew Spark’s voice was a bit more rough and fur-like but ugh actual perfect Gandalf okay.
Bofur in the last chapter I described as calico colored heavy on the orange (which is weird but words are weird)? Theriza’s a nice brown that really suits Bofur and it’s really kind of close to James Nesbitt! Only he’s got some glassy green in there as well and is a tiny bit more medium coffee, but yes. Theriza: only person who can make me tolerate chocolate brown. This is a legit miracle.
Ori, name wise, is…tea-stained paper, almost, only smoother and more uniform and faded. Karo, from what I could pick up, might have been more parchment-fur colored? But there was only one line I could attribute to Ori and it was short so later chapters might prove differently.
Gloin like I said last chapter is golden-shiny smooth copper and Hakira’s Gloin is a bit more…gemstoney? (Google brought up carnelian when I googled “orange gemstones” and that works really well, though not so brown as the unpolished ones can be.) Most voices aren’t metal, I think I’ve said that before, but I like polished carnelian so go casting! (Also it may be an accent thing, since Cully’s Gimli’s a gingery color and they both manage similar accents.)
Nori is a color I call “red wine” but idk what other people call it because there’s a tiny little bit of purple in there. Maybe cranberry. Again, one short line isn’t usually enough to say for sure? But the line was an Outshine grape popsicle (oddly specific but it’s not quite simply “grape juice”) color so I am calling it a point for casting! And possibly humor, that color’s gonna be fun to see pop up.
…look okay Bombur as a name is a pumpkin. Straight up pumpkin, and I can’t tell if the green is supposed to be there or if my brain just sees that orange and sticks a green in there because he’s a freaking pumpkin. Liliumconcolor is…I’d call it “rustic” but that’s not a color. Maybe faded fence-post? Kind of grey-brown dusty? Look it’s an in-between color, I like it, and literally no voice could ever be freaking pumpkin. (And yes I processed this name over and over again to make sure it was right. It is.)
(Bifur for the curious…black and then aged dark wood, blended.)
Oin is a little lavender-y with silver? Very shiny for a name. Gremlinloquacious was very…bright white. Like, it’s white. Sunshine on snow white with just the tiniest hint of pale bright blue. Very different and man is it gonna be fun to hear this voice drunk and cursing Gimli XD
Nali! The name’s kinda Balin’s clothing red but. But! Inkbot’s voice is a color I call McGonagall because damn if it isn’t Dame Maggie Smith’s McGonagall tinted. It’s a bit like that yellowish brick you see in some places, only without the porousness? But I approve of this so much because Nali and McGonagall are forever linked in my brain.
Loni…the name is actually hard to place. Kinda dark blond, kinda smooth polished maple…I dunno, s’a weird one. Rare Parrot has a cider-y voice, like Starbucks caramel apple cider. I like it! …granted I do love hot cider so that many influence me a bit but who cares.
As a name, Mizim is…rough? Z’s do that, and it kind of breaks the word up for me. It’s mostly…chocolate oranges have a specifically colored wrapper and it’s like that, only not shiny. T’Erina’s voice is…another color I can’t really place, there’s a brush of black like someone painted against the grain and it’s sticking up? But I can’t really place the proper color itself. It’s not black, it’s not brown, it’s…not even dark roast coffee or brandy, which are things I associate with that color! Congratulations, you legit stumped me on a color name here.
Gimris! She’s got a nice dark green at the very end of her name that mostly covers up the rest, like I know there’s another color there but I’m not quite sure what, almost like Gimli’s but not quite. Nota’s voice is…grape-blackberry? (I have had to put names to so many colors thanks you guys.) It’s interesting and I haven’t heard a voice with that shade before! It’s almost reminding me of Grimm’s voice and how badly she keeps breaking us with Dis sooooo I imagine the same is gonna happen when poor Gimris gets her moment to cry.
It is here at long last: Chapter Three of Sansûkh, for your listening pleasure. We would like to thank you all for your support and patience. We’d like to extend a special thank you to our cast for their forbearance as we move forward with this immense and time-consuming project. We love you all.
Click here for streaming/download link for the MP3 file.
Click here for streaming/download link for M4b file.
I LOVE THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT MOST ESPECIALLY THE SANSUKH CAST AND CREW YOU ARE ALL STUPENDOUS
okay proper reaction now that the screaming is mostly (mostly!) over and I have regained the ability to type…
(bit of a liveblog, under the cut)
OH my Wowzaaaaaaas I love that music. HELLO THROR, SEE YOU LATER THROR lol. Fab job, @renioferebor!
Ricky’s voice is like listening to liquid silk. Hot damn. HOT DAMN. Sorry sorry sorry about the huge opening monologue! *sheepish smile*
OH THE MUSIC FOR THE FUNERAL OH MY HEART NOOOO
I love that WHOOSH sound-effect for the pool of Gimlin-zaram!
Brothers Ri feels, Brothers Ri feels errywhere augh
BILBO BILBO BILBO BILBO OH BILBOOOOOOO ❤ @themadmanwithablog, all respect and props to you! YOU ARE AMAZING, YOU WONDERFUL BRAVE SAD CRANKY LITTLE HOBBIT.
(also twittering birdies awww)
Ori awwwww BALIN AWWW, AW AW AWWWWWW @nukkelapsi and @flukeoffate you are wonderful, your voices are wonderful!
BOFUR my sweet! You made me all sniffly-smile, @theriza! And @jessamygriffin oh you are PERFECT.
HOLY CRAP @strongenhelm, WHY DID YOU NOT TELL THAT YOU WERE REALLY IAN MCKELLEN
@balinisballin – you are the most perfect Gloin to ever Gloin, Hakira! I just wanted to HUG you!
OH OIN, OH BOMBUR – I just loved your farewells! So very much! I laughed very soggily, jsyk. And NORRIIIIII AUGH – poor poor Nori, you were so spot-on, all that unhappiness, so very poorly hidden, amazing work.
Jade, my queen. I have no words for how much I love your voice, your amazing delivery, how you breathe life and truth into Thorin. You are a marvel.
FEEEEE. My wonderful Aussie Fili, you are just STUPENDOUS. I am forever in awe of you: how much emotion you were able to give these lines.
(Also – lol @ Kili’s ‘I can’t call a Dwarrow thirty years younger than me uncle!!!’ hahahaha).
ALSO ALSO – Kee, you are adorable, I wish to keep you. Absolutely brilliant!
ohgoshohgosh, the Chamber music, OH GOSHHHHHHHHH legit shivers wow.
OH DIS. *wibbles*
Eeeee, Nali!!!! I am SO EXCITED to hear you! You are completely awesome, btw, you’d be my favourite teacher ever, I can tell!
LONI! Awwww, my tall sarcastic impatient Dwarf-warrior, hearing your voice at last is just amazing, and you are absolutely SPOT. ON. Awwwww, I wanna hug you, poor young Loni! Hey, you got yourself a bestie out of it!
LOL, Oh my god Cully, the ‘Dwarves will roost in trees’ line, I was giggling like mad, I can wax rhapsodical for whole whole hours about the absolute PERFECTION that is your Gimli. Seriously. Seriously.
Goddamn, everyone’s Khuzdul is incredible WOW.
AHAHAHAHA BORIN’S TAVERN, OH THE TALES THOSE WALLS COULD TELL. The Fee and Kee show in that moment AHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
pfffffffft, Cully, Gimli’s confusion and ‘I’m too young for it though’ and ‘very very DENSE!’ and ‘he thinks you’re his conscience’ and AHAHAHAHA sheer perfection!!!
MIZIMMMMM!!!! GIMRISSSSS!!!! Oh wow, Nota and T’erina, you are GOBSMACKINGLY AMAZING! Mizim, your voice is so beautiful, so smooth and lively and lovely! ANd NOTA my love, HOW are you so stupendously talented???????? HOW
AHAHAHAHA ‘you are both dead!’
Nota and Cully, I am going to have to write even more sibling bickering, because you are completely brilliant at it!!! *flashbacks to family dinners”
Holy guacamole, the editing is seamless and stupendous… the change from the family’s apartment to the corridors of the city, with the footsteps and the echoing and WOW OWOW WOWOWOWOWOWOW
LOL Anchar!!! Awwwwwww, perfect ❤ I love you, Avi, so much character packed into just those few lines!
oh god oh Dis, ohhh god oh goddd
tears
tears everywhere ‘is dead’ oh goddd
is this pity – OH MY GOD AHH DIS, you are carving my heart out, oh my godddd you are incredible
Oh jesus cripes, I am bawling
DIS AND CULLY YOUR OSCARS ARE IN THE MAIL
dIS THAT LAUGH AND ‘KILI’S DAMNED HAIR’ oh my god my heart is slowly crumbling
It is here at long last: Chapter Three of Sansûkh, for your listening pleasure. We would like to thank you all for your support and patience. We’d like to extend a special thank you to our cast for their forbearance as we move forward with this immense and time-consuming project. We love you all.
Click here for streaming/download link for the MP3 file.
Click here for streaming/download link for M4b file.
it’s a testament to all the amazing work you do, jedi! (And also to the incredible talents of our resident podficcers, holy hannah I KNOW RIGHT *flails into the sunset*)
also – *gulp* ohboy, I really really hope your wife likes the way I wrote the Race of Men, ohboy nervous now!!!
Very soon! We’ve obviously been on a bit of a hiatus; a billion things happened all at once that put both myself and HD out of commission, but we are back to work and making good progress on chapter three.
Thank you to everyone who sent concerned messages and well-wishes; they are all appreciated.
Actual real photograph The Big Scandinavian Sansukh cast meet-up at Närcon this summer! Featuring peggaboo (aka yours truly) as the witchking (I know the helmet is wrong shut up), The actually-sweeter-and-purer-than-the-sweet-pure-cinnamon-bun-in-her-mouth theriza as Bofur and the equally precious baby nukkelapsi as Ori!
OH mY GOODNESS ❤
Cute lil witchking with a blushy helmet! ORI W UMBRELLA. Bofur (AND Riza!) = cinnamon bun, I 400000% agree.
This is SO ADORABLE, and I hope you had a wonderful time!
Aw Yiss 