Through The Wind Door

The Wise Man and the Fool - Part 3 (Tiger’s Eye)

"... okay, well, [Hakka and Hrao] are very much not aligned with one another. And yet, there is a familiarity there. And that just kind of gets the gears turning. But then, once the fight in the ruins happens, everything about the way Hakka speaks towards Hrao just feels exactly like an ex who still does care about you, but] is just so fundamentally not 'getting it'. The conversation on the surface is him trying to convey his goodwill towards her... it is very much a reminder of 'this is why we broke up'. It's kind of the energy of that fight scene."

Hope you love Hakka talk. Cause we gonna talk-a about Hakka.

This episode focuses of the revelation of Hrao and Hakka as mates. Both during their time together, and what it is for them now that they are apart with all of the baggage in play. How Hakka's insecurity and view of how the world should work spells doom for that relationship, and in the process, coming back to a serious discussion of how we relate to these stories and the people involved in their creation.

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

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

Outro is "All Time Low" by Jon Bellion

The Wise Man and the Fool - Part 2 (Tiger’s Eye)

"...if we don't tell Hakka's story, then it fundamentally changes the story itself. Treating him only an an antagonist would be anathema to the nature of what Tiger's Eye is trying to do. And it needs to be here not just for those larger themes, but because his journey helps bring resolution to both Miguel's journey and Hrao's journey. And their journey's resolution to his."

Here, we start getting into the meat of our final chapters. What it means to go all the way back to the beginning with Hakka, what it means to suddenly flip the script and talk about Tiger's Eye's secret protagonist.

And we also start making our way through these defining moments of the young red tiger that would one day become a shaman. About learning the wrong lessons, or just finding your mentor lacking. 

 

To those of you that have not heard it: the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 speech referenced in the podcast: https://youtu.be/4U_2Qq-oLwk

Why No One Likes Ares: https://youtu.be/kfnc-iARu48

The Underworld/Death: https://youtu.be/Z4dAMMkqPoY

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

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

Outro is "Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick

The Wise Man and the Fool - Part 1 (Tiger’s Eye)

"So much of New Century's fiction is the confrontation of big, frightening concepts. Things that will drive people into existencial depression.  But the author - and by extention, Hrao - looks at that and finds something that you can hold onto. Leon may well be a country with a lack of compassion. But there are still people within it that are willing to nurture hope."

And here is the beginning of the end. Part 1 of our look at chapters 21-25, though this one really only focuses on the first of these chapters. We make further commentary on what is going on inside Captain Queensbury's head as well as speculation on her future. We also dive deep into the dashing Quincy Matthews and the final communion between Hrao and Doctor Shera. Tying off the major events of the last several chapters... and gearing up for a Tomorrow... born of all of Hakka's Yesterdays.

 

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

Outro is "16th Century Man" from The Road to Eldorado, by Elton John and Time Rice.

Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores - Part 3 (Tiger’s Eye)

"[Mohawk] has defined himself by his cruelty. And once his cruelty has been forcibly stopped and [the totems] he has stolen have been stripped away from him and given back to who it belongs to... what is Mohawk? In the end, we never know him by his true name. So, by the end of this, it's decided: 'We will not communicate with you. We are not going to suffer your presence any more, and we are denying you the spiritual close and the idea that you may come back in whatever form is next. Just go'. it is a complete disintegration of what Mohawk is and what he has done. In the end... Mohawk is nobody."

Part 3 of our look at... what was it? Chapters 16-20? Yes, those. Man, that was a lot of talking. looks ahead to the amount of talking on the final chapters 

...well.... shit. There's nothing for it, I suppose.

But in the meantime, enjoy our conversations on the fate of Mohawk, Captain Beatrix, Doctor Shera and our aboriginal cats. Our thoughts on the look into the hearts and minds of secondary characters, and how we feel about growth and second chances.

And prepare yourselves for what is coming next.

 

The New Century Multiverse Website:

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

Outro is "Colossus" by Afrocelt Soundsystem

Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores- Part 2 (Tiger’s Eye)

...Mohawk took [Hrao's] agency... and this is the first concrete step to fucking taking it back. She will not let his actions define her.

 

Part of our discussion of Chapters 16-20, as we finally move away from the events of Chapter 16, and back to Miguel's narration. We discuss the difference in the capacity of for understanding the passage of time, because Miguel is used to thinking in discrete time units even if he cannot record them. And then we discuss the other weighty topic of these chapters: Miguel killing a lion in cold blood, and all the stuff that entails. How he reaches his lowest point, but has to come out the other side without time to properly come to terms with what he has done.

We also finally start to discuss one of the most heartwarming moments of the book, how it resonates even more in respect to the events a few chapters ago, and the unification of One Tribe accepting Miguel as one of them.

 

For those that make it to the outtakes: a picture of Toby and his hamster, Apple.

 

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

Outro is "Together We Stand" by Scott Holmes of freemusicarchive.org

Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores - Part 1 (Tiger’s Eye)

The parts of Tiger’s Eye that the story focuses on and we tend to remember and value are the feelings of freedom and the vibrancy of this other world, and the uplifting connections between people who were previously disconnected and have every reason to be at odds with one another. This moment [Hrao's rape] is the antithesis of that, framing it as the darkest point of opposition against all that is valued and celebrated within this narrative.

Part 1 of our discussion on Tiger's Eye, chapters 16-20 (or 16-21 in the audiodrama). And this one is a doozy, discussing one of the hardest hitting moments in the New Century ouvre.

This episode focuses mostly on the events in chapter 16 itself. We talk about some of the elements of the chapter that hearkened back to other pieces of media like the 1977 miniseries "Roots" (remade more recently in 2016). And we also discuss how the central theme of communication is finally brought to focus now, during this dark hour. About how Hrao rises above despair and uses the knowlege that she has gained in order to rally the aboriginal cats, to the goal of One Tribe. But this conversation is bracketed by a discussion of rape in media, as this is one of the distinguishing events of this chapter.

Trigger Warning: For those to whom any discussion of rape might be triggering in any way, the timestamps to avoid such conversation is 24:24 to 1:05:55. (This means a bulk of the episode is verboten, but everyone needs to make their own call.)

We hope we have done our best to address such a serious subject, and that you are also able to come with us on this journey. But if not, less fraught fare will be available next week.

 

Roots - The Golden Cannon: https://youtu.be/fZWiEi1XBv8

Levar Burton's speech about the Roots remake: https://youtu.be/43F7BFETmyg

Anansi Tells A Story: https://youtu.be/BgOH-3vcWro

Why is it we made a joke about different versions of Tiger's Eye having different faces: https://tinyurl.com/y88m8ngf

 

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

Outro is "Secure Yourself" by Indigo Girls

 

To Thine Own Self be True - Part 3 (Tiger’s Eye)

"...at the end of the day, the effect of his decision is not as important as what it means to Miguel. And what it means for Hrao, that he came back for her. He may or may not have saved her life. But the significance is that he tried."

Our final episode covering chapters 11-15 of Tiger's Eye! This one is choc full of discussion on a number of different topics:

• A further analysis of all our three new lion characters, and positing comparisons between ego, superego, and id.
• Miguel's decisions and imagination, and how his culture plays into understanding the world of Rama.
• A digression into Miguel correctly gendering Hrao, and the role of gendered language.
• Further analysis of Miguel and Hrao's developing relationship, muddied by imperfect communication.

All this and more, and we're only half way done with the book. The second half? Will only get denser.

 

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

Outro is "December" by Sara Bareilles

To Thine Own Self be True - Part 2 (Tiger’s Eye)

And that's what negative space is when it comes to narration. It's your understanding that what you're being told isn't an omnicient third person narrator whose job is to insure you are given every detail. It's a character *telling* you this. And that character will have their own biases and thing that will inform what they choose to tell and not tell you. That is just as much a part of the characterization as the events of the plot that you see in it.

 

Digging deeper into our topic list for chapters 11-15, we get back into discussing Miguel's story. I end up learning some more about my cohost above and beyond our recorded conversations, and how they influence both his reading of the media he likes and the difficulties he has expressing his thoughts sometimes. We also talk about the metaphor of the lions of Albion and what it means for them to be the overarching threat to our aboriginal cats instead of humanity as was implied in previous chapters.

 

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 "The Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon

To Thine Own Self be True - Part 1 (Tiger’s Eye)

"The power of [The fight between Hrao and Hakka] is unprecedented in New Century, both in terms of the raw clashing of immense forces from these beast warriors, and emotionall in terms of the personal investment that you can understand and feel coming from the two characters involved... it's frantic but clearly conveyed by the narrative taking you through each movement. And by the end of it, you feel exhauted right along Hrao."

 

Here is part 1 of nearly 4 hours of discussion on Chapters 11-15 of Tiger's Eye. Dig in, folks. Heavy topics incoming, including death of a child and an abusive, gaslighting father.

We start with a comprehensive discussion of several of the elements of Chapter 11. From confrontation, to fight scene dynamics, to musical contributions to this part of the audiodrama and New Century in general. But eventually, we have to have the larger discussion on the revelations of Hrao's past tragedy, and how it reflects and explains everything that has happened thus far. Toby also shows some insights into how Alex uses music and leitmotifs in Tiger's Eye, abe to identify certain instruments or musical bits as belonging to Miguel or the Gagaku.

And then we get into Miguel. Our young hero and the journey that he has been on both before and after going Through The Wind Door(tm). Dissecting his emotional journey, and the dark influence of his father on it.

Spoilers for character elements of Adventure Time

 

Iguazu by Gustavo Santacialla - https://youtu.be/WfusxHokCDg

 

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 "When You're Falling" by Afrocelt Soundsystem, ft. Peter Gabriel

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Part 2 (Tiger’s Eye)

"..as we have been saying, Tiger's Eye has its own unique feel in that Hrao does the lions share - or tiger's share - of making that world come alive for us. And we will never get that again, due to the fact that Maureen has had throat issues that would prevent her from working on future installments of Rama that center Hrao. That makes Tiger's Eye a gem that stands out, and further affects how much this one story means to us."

Part two of our discussing of chapters 6-10. We now get into the meat of the events. Discussing text and subtext, communication, cultural differences, and how the audiodrama adds layers of subtlety to the written words of the story. Magic, and the spirits, the ongoing discussion on how killing is handled... and the growing, complicated relationship between tiger and boy.

This is just us ramping up. Next time, it's going to get even heavier.

 

Trope Talk: Grimdark: https://youtu.be/PQAWBeFnkg8

 

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 "Persistence of Memory" by Afrocelt Soundsystem