Through The Wind Door

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Part 1 (Tiger’s Eye)

"It's a truism that everyone responds to media differently. Maybe I would get more out of certain works if I was able to focus better. But speaking for myself... I have never had a problem focusing on New Century. That's why I said yes when asked about doing a podcast. Text or audio, it draws me in. I do appreciate how much the audiodrama offers over the text, and as Toby and I have kept saying, Tiger's Eye is one of the best examples of that. The work of Maureen, and Alex, and all the rest make this world come alive and demands our attention."

It is Today. We are digging into Chapters 6-10 of Tiger's Eye, and are immediately back on our bullshit, making cat puns. Yay?

We start off with some meta. Instead of talking about the events of these chapters, we instead discuss larger concepts: talking about how names of creatures in Rama were chosen by the author, and how our understanding of events and communication are different depending on whether you read or listen to the story. We start talking about what role humans might have actually played in the history of the cats of Rama, and what role they might yet play, given that Miguel has clearly come from a world of humans... humans they may encounter in Hrao's quest to return Miguel to his home.

And to round us out, a further discussion on mythology, magic... and more cat puns. 

 

To learn about the internal narrator:

The Artist is Absent by Innuendo Studios: https://youtu.be/4N6y6LEwsKc?t=1000 (clip begins at the relevant part, stop at 20:10 to avoid spoilers for 'The Beginners Guide'.)

also,

Americapox: The Missing Plague: https://youtu.be/JEYh5WACqEk

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Legend of El Dorado" by Derek and Brandon Feitcher

Midroll Music - "Bridge over Troubled Water" (Instrumental) - Simon and Garfunkel

Outro is "Shadowman" by Afrocelt Soundsystem

 

Brave New World - Part 2 (Tiger’s Eye)

"...at this point both long term fans and recent readers of Secret Rooms might be remembering that strange tale from the old coot Malloy about a White Tiger, and realizing that that tall tale might have been real after all..."

The second half of our coverage of Tiger's Eye, chapters 1-5.

Here we talk about mythologies, the components of them, and what they have to do with boxes. We discuss the character of Hakka, what his potential motivations are, and how they conflict and contrast with Hrao's own. We delve a little into The Silent One as a shaman, and her different voices.

But most importantly, listen to the out takes, in which Toby sings 'Snake Eater' for us. 

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Legend of El Dorado" by Derek and Brandon Feitcher

Outro is "Spirit Voices" by Paul Simon, ft. Milton Nacimiento

Brave New World - Part 1 (Tiger’s Eye)

"The inner voice is something that has such an effect on people when they go through this book, and it's because of moments like that where it feels as if you are experiencing a character's thoughts and their vulnerabilities in a way that you don't often experience in media, of any kind."

It's time to visit a new world. A brave new world, with such people in it.

This episode, we are going to start with chapters 1-5 of Tiger's Eye. Unlike before, we are moving far beyond our known world, so we will begin by discussing a lot of the elements that make up this new world. The peoples, the words, the change to first person narrative, and how all of that affects our interaction with this story.

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Legend of El Dorado" by Derek and Brandon Feitcher

Outro is "Life Begin Again" by Afrocelt Soundsystem ft. Robert Plant

The Darkness - or, I Believe in a Thing Called Lovecraft (Secret Rooms)

"Lucy isn't shallow. She isn't just an extention of other characters and their development. She really does come across as having her own identity. She is that mix of emotional optimism and reasoned out introspection we see in her chapters, and to be honest, I think that her presence brings into focus the darker elements of this gothic text. Because, with her loss, the darkness comes creeping in..."

----

Part 2 of our final look at Secret Rooms. Here, we dive deep into the gothic analysis, going a bit down the rabbit hole to explore the various kinds of gothic genre and subgenre as established both in Europe and the Americas.

We talk about the subverted tropes, the plethora of added female energy to the story, if Krieger is like Dracula, Abigail as a Byronic hero, the modern trope of the Lancer, and an exploration of what Lovecraftian elements this story does use as components.

And next week.... Cats.

EDIT: After the official news of today, I modified the episode. There were only a few downloads, but if you listened to the original already, you can download the new one, and the changes start at timestamp 58:41.

 

If you want to understand the joke above: https://youtu.be/tKjZuykKY1I

Trope Talk - The Lancer: https://youtu.be/fgmT_Q2R2ww

Trope Talk - Five Man Band: https://youtu.be/lmmNuic_4tQ

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Midroll Music - Instrumental version of "Vincent" by Don McLean.

Outro - "Kajiit Like To Sneak" by Miracle of Sound

Mysterious Words from the Past (Secret Rooms)

"At the very least, James and Abigail themselves had never been close. The notion of a shared kiss between them is thematic, though. It was the thing that connected James to Lucy, and later Lucy to Abigail. That is itself enough to communicate the importance of what happened here, without the complication of anything more prurient."

Welcome to our final overview of Secret Rooms: Definitive Edition. We begin by starting to look at some of the changes from the original published edition to the newest one, and what those changes mean overall for character and story elements. We also start getting into a more detailed discussion on the gothic elements of Secret Rooms, which we will continue in part 2!

 

Unskippable: Metal Gear Solid 4, Part 1: https://youtu.be/_qkvfd6wJzM

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Better Days" by The Goo Goo Dolls.

A Strange Place - Part 3 (Secret Rooms)

...these questions and more, we leave as an exercise to the listener.

Part 2 of our analysis of the final four chapters. We talk some more about how the transition from third person to first person narrative works for our audience, and the importance of sounds... diagetic and non. We begin the discussion on how this story worked as a whole, something that we will revisit in the final episode. Most significantly, we talk a lot more about the mysterious trio of Krieger, Greta, and Charlotte. Trying to unpack why they all did what they did, in times both long ago and recent.

Some things we try to answer. Some things we do not.

Spoilers for a plot element of Logan (2017).

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Kid Fears" by Indigo Girls

A Strange Place - Part 2 (Secret Rooms)

James is just there at the D&D table going "Goddamn it, are you aiming for a total party wipe?!"

---

Holy shit, we get punchy in this episode. (As in goofy, not Abigail style punchy).

Part one of our penultimate Secret Rooms episode ahead, discussing chapters 21 through 24. We talk about ghosts, James and Abigail's dynamic when there is no one else around, the usefulness of the Vox Tube both in-universe and narratively, and how Secret Rooms is essentially bookended by two heartfelt recordings.

It's interesting talking about where James and Abigail began, even as we are in the process of recording our interviews with Alex and Sharon Shaw in regards to the culmination of the Uncivil Outlaw Audiodrama. Obviously almost everyone that follows us also follow the New Century feed, but we will make links available in our show notes when those interviews come online as well.

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine

A Strange Place - Part 1 (Secret Rooms)

[Krieger] believes in the value of hope in the face of adversity, the balance between the two extremes of overwhelming madness and supreme bliss and harmony. Perhaps to him, Edelweiss are symbolic of the importance of the opposing force, the thing that exists to counteract and go against its opposite, ensuring that the world isn’t lost to the abyss that it would fall into if the scales were tipped too far.

It's an October miracle: an entire episode done in a week!

This is the final stretch, folks. Today we cover chapters 18-20 of the Definitive Edition. We discover our mysterious abode and their equally quizzical inhabitants. We talk about the intersection of philosophy, science, and myth. We look into the meanings of names and flowers, and we also return some much needed goofiness to the proceedings.

---

Edelweiss from The Sound of Music: https://youtu.be/8bL2BCiFkTk

Edelweiss is Not a Nazi Song: https://arcdigital.media/edelweiss-is-not-a-nazi-song-ca5e066136c7

(Editor's Note: I suspect I know why someone made that assertion as to Edelweiss being a Nazi song - a version of that song is the opening to the alternate history Amazon TV show, The Man in the High Castle.)

Curiosity is Sacred: https://areomagazine.com/2019/03/29/curiosity-is-sacred/

On Pandora's Box and Human Curiosity https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201604/pandora-s-box-is-human-curiosity-blessing-or-curse

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan

Past Days - Part 2 (Secret Rooms)

"One of the truisms about parenting is that we can't always accept the advice of our parents due to the emotional hang-ups we have about them. One of my favorite quotes is that parents push buttons like a peyote dealer working straight commission. And absent their real parents, that's basically what Katherine is to them. If new wisdom and guidance is to come, perhaps it has to be someone else to give it."

The second half of Episode 11, and it's all Katherine, all the time.

We spend a lot of time praising Alex, so we shouldn't also be afraid to put his heroes under scrutiny. But maybe that's what he wants us to do? (Yes.) So we do a deep dive on how Katherine Holloway's actions or inactions can be interpreted. Is she right about James and Abigail? Has she fallen down on her job, or was it inevitable due to everything she was carrying on her shoulders? Also, some more poetry analysis.

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Ghost" by Indigo Girls.

Past Days - Part 1 (Secret Rooms)

"All three of those things are lost to the adult James. They are all things that were associated with pleasant memories... but they are gone. It's a sweet smell to him because - like all fresh things - it is ephemeral. Momentary. Dissipating before being lost. Yet those fleeting moments stay, lingering... and haunting him forever."

Yeah, this episode is coming out early. Because I couldn't hold it back. I finished early, and I was just too proud of it. But y'all have a lot more content coming out over the next week, so there will be plenty.

This (half) episode covers chapters 14-17. That means discussion of the N-word (yaaaaay) in fiction, more racial content, how New Century starts to address alternate sexuality, the formative tragedy of James and Abigail... and finally, a little bit on how the brain works, and the metaphor implicit in the events of these chapters.

You Are Two by CGP Grey: https://youtu.be/wfYbgdo8e-8

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 

Intro is "The Talons of Adventure, The Antlers of Romance" by Doctor Turtle of the Free Music Archive

Outro is "Least Complicated" by Indigo Girls.