Through The Wind Door

Whitescarves Team-Up! #6, Pt. 1 - Spencer Leeb

"With all loss, almost all grief, all pain... this isn't a question of if you can. It's whether you really think it's worth doing it. Because you will keep going. Almost whether you like it or not." - Spencer, talking about coping in the aftermath of tragedy and trauma.

This is the day you've waited for, where we finally interview the noteworthiest of Nags, Spencer Leeb.

As with all our other New Century voice actors, we grill him on his origins, and discover he has a performative past. We get in deep discussing his longest running character, Frank Butler, and discuss Spencer's tendencies towards playing various kinds of soldiers. Comparing and contrasting them all, especially those new audiences are most familiar with, Rafe and Butler.

We also get into the antagonistic Baltus, and have some deep, serious conversations about running themes within his characters. There's laughs and sobering seriousness. And that's only the beginning, with even more conversation hot on it's heels.

 

The New Century Multiverse books and audio dramas can be found on:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

 

Intro is "The Avengers" by Alan Sylvestri

Outro is "Center Stage" by Indigo Girls

 

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.

 

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 "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

 

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 "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.

 

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 "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

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