Salvage [Podfic]

by Tuktuk

Summary:

Mid-Season-One Zuko is held ransom by Chief Hakoda. Ozai's replies to the Water Tribe's demands are A+ Parenting. Hakoda is… deeply concerned, for this son that isn't his, and who might be safer among enemies than with his own father.

Chapter 12-END of Salvage by MuffinLance. A continuation of the Chapters 1 to 11 podfic read by ariaelwen.

Notes:

• For MuffinLance.
• Inspired by Salvage by MuffinLance.

Chapters 1 to 11 read by ariaelwen
 
This is a continuation of the podfic made by the wonderful ariaelwen. I hope I can do them justice. I binged all of ariaelwen’s fantastic audios for Salvage and noticed it hadn't been updated in a while, so I started recording and hit up MuffinLance for a go-ahead. I finished recording chapters 11 and 12 RIGHT when ariaelwen posted an update. Definitely listen to ariaelwen’s version of these chapters when they come out (seriously, ariaelwen's acting is amazing and I am in love), but if you’re impatient like me, let this rendition tide you over.

You may notice that the pronunciation of some names and words are different from the TV show or ariaelwen. See Chapter 1 notes section for a long-winded explanation and mini language lesson.

Chapter 12 is a little scratchy, but the audio is much clearer in future chapters. If it's too slow or fast, you can go the audio listing on archive.org, click on the timer icon, and adjust the speed.

Chapter 1: 12: Zuko Does Not Catch the Avatar (His Dad Doesn't Care)

Notes:

This is the first time I’ve posted or recorded anything. Please let me know what you think. This chapter's audio quality is pretty scratchy, but it improves in future chapters I promise :')

Listen on archive.org

tuktuk · Salvage [Podfic]: Chapter 12: Zuko Does Not Catch the Avatar (His Dad Doesn't Care)

Notes:

Pronunciation notes:
1) For important character names, like Zuko, I continued to use the legacy pronunciation from the TV series.
2) For less important legacy words and non-legacy words, I tried to track down pronunciations online. For example, Pai Sho (牌數) is based on Cantonese and Nergui is based on Mongolian. I realize now that I’ve finished recording the final chapter that the tone on “sho” should be a rising one. It’s all the same written character 數, but when it’s spoken with a 3 tone it means number and with a 2 tone it means counting. I was (trying and failing at) pronouncing it paai4 sou3 (meaning “tile numbers”) and it should be paai4 sou2 (“counting tiles”). If anyone can point me towards resources for pronouncing terms like "Akhlut" please send them my way!
3) For now, for words I couldn’t track down, I used the pronunciation established by ariaelwen (with some US-accented spice sprinkled in).
4) I'm bilingual in Mandarin Chinese, so Mandarin words, even legacy words, are pronounced based on the Mandarin.
Yuè (月): Moon. Pronounced like "üè."
Wànyī (萬一): One in ten thousand, Perchance. I realize now that MuffinLance got the name Wani for Zuko’s ship from the author Vathara and it means "alligator" in another language. But when I was reading Salvage, I always imagined it was "wànyī," which literally means "one in ten thousand" and is used grammatically to mean "what if" or "just in case." I think a ship called "The Perchance" is perfect for a boy clinging to false hope.
Dāo (刀): Blanket term for knife/blade/sword. (PSA: Calling Zuko's weapons "dao swords" is sort of like saying "sword swords." What makes his weapons special is that he has two of them. Double broadswords or dual swords.
Tuī (推): Push.
Lā (拉): Pull.
Zhào (趙): Family name that means "to surpass." Suits a character that'll sacrifice everything to get ahead.
Sūn (孫): Family name that means "grandchild" or "descendant." Fitting for an Earth Kingdom Madam partly descended from the Fire Nation.