Episodes
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Weāre back for the end of this wild ass saga about elk men, bear men, bad men, and dead men! We had a great time with this one, to the point we finally suggest doing what I never thought we would: ranking the sagas, at the end of the season! Then, Em talks about their favorite episode of Utena so far watching it, and some of the things it brought up for them that they donāt feel other people would probably speak to.
This is our final episode for the year, as weāre taking next week off, so I hope you enjoy! There will be more oversharing in 2025, god willing.
Content warning: during the Utena and Persona 3 section, there's some not explicit but open talk about grooming and sexualization of minors. If you'd like to skip that, the rest of the podcast continues at 1:30:15.
Things discussed: what we've been up to, Revolutionary Girl Utena (spoilers up through episode 18), Persona 3 Portable, Pondering Pootan, the podcasting year
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Fae posts on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode (in two weeks!): Egils saga, ch. 1-28, trans. Bernard Scudder, published in The Sagas of Icelanders (Penguin Classics)
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We read the first half of the first new-to-Niamh saga this week, and have a great time with awful men, questionable gender politics, and high drama. Also, some violence is done to a bearman, donāt really like that but so it goes sometimes. Our chat about everything else continues as usual, as Niamh overtakes Em in Metaphor, we watch and read some stuff, and a conversation started last week gets finished as Em finally gets to their point about some stuff.
Things This Episode: The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, Even Though We're Adults, Infinity Nikki, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, gender and queerness talk, Metaphor: ReFantazio
Note: we meant to circle around to the discussion of Lapland and the Sami people but didnāt actually remember to do that. Weāll try to bring it up when it recurs next time but note that the region referred to in Sweden as Lapland is home to an indigenous people called the Sami people, and āLappā while common in the sagas is considered an offensive term to refer to these peoples. in my (Em) research, even Lapland itself seems like a disputed term depending on who you ask. Thatās the short version of it, highly recommend people do research on their own!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Fae posts on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: HrĆ³lfs saga kraka, ch. 21-34; from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, trans. Jesse L. Byock (Penguin Classics)
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Episodes manquant?
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Weāre both a little run down and we just read the intro to a book, so very short saga this week as we just kind of have a small chat and take it easy. Some days are just harder than others. Hope you enjoy nonetheless. Things discussed this episode: Thanksgiving, Trivia Games, being a student, Look Back (the film), Multiple Maniacs, Even Though We're Adults, Nana, Ranma 1/2, Ravencroft news, Ceres Fauna graduating
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Fae posts on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: HrĆ³lfs saga kraka, ch. 1-20; from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, trans. Jesse L. Byock (Penguin Classics)
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We talk about Ref, a man who is pretty chill until you call him gay so much his family begins asking questions. Then heās going to end your whole bloodline. We have a good time with this relatively light saga, and then talk about our usual manga and vtuber spread, including some extra time with Nerissa for her birthday stream. Things in this episode include: Ref's Saga, Even Though We're Adults, Look Back (the manga), Ranma 1/2, Christmas Carol, PokĆ©mon Cards, Nerissa birthday stream, vtuber merch, a little bit of Metaphor (not much)
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Fae posts on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Introduction to the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki; from The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, trans. Jesse L. Byock (Penguin Classics)
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We finish Arrow-Oddās Saga, and then Em has a few more Icelandic things to talk about that end up taking up a good portion of the episode. Things in this episode include: Arrow-Odd's Saga, Independent People, Godland, Even Though We're Adults, Holocure, Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders, Shirahimeshou: Snow Goddess Tales
Check out the Ghost Divers on Independent People!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: KrĆ³ka-Refs Saga; The Saga of Ref the Sly, trans. George Clark, published in The Sagas of Icelanders (Penguin Classics)
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We begin Arrow-Oddās saga, and talk about being back in the land of prose and strange Giantess fanfic on this weekās episode. Bonus talk includes: Independent People, I Am A Cat, Tokyo Babylon, But Weāre Both Adults, and the usual Metaphor talk. I probably missed a few things, but Iām editing against a deadline today so thatāll have to do. Please enjoy!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Ćrvar-Odds saga, ch. 19-32, from Arrow-Odd, trans. Hermann PĆ”lsson and Paul Edwards, published in Seven Viking Romances (Penguin Classics)
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[taking a very deep breath]
On this enormous episode of Around the Long Fire, we finally finish the Poetic Edda! It ends really well, but with a surprising difference between our two versions. The cartoon Em mentions is Zack Snyder's "Twilight of the Gods", for the record. After an extra long Saga segment, we briefly talk about the election (please read Em's friend Madiha's blog about waking up the day after carrying on as we always do), Em talks about the first third of the book Independent People, Em is reading Clamp manga Tokyo Babylon, Niamh talks about travelling to get hololive merch with faer kid, we compare our Culvers orders as Jailbirds must, we have a vtuber corner (featuring Mint's 3.0 karaoke), we both talk about wrapping up How Do We Relationship? so far (up through Volume 11) and talk about how the girls continue to speak directly to our memories, Niamh talks a bit about Still Sick, and then we have a very extended Metaphor segment where we might not actually play very much (up to reaching the third city) but also talk about Personas 3, 4 and 5 and go on at length about what we like about the storytelling of Atlus games at large. Also mentioned are Evangelion and Pastoral: To Die in the Country. Peppered throughout with talk about life and trauma, as we always do. Truly we're cooking on our bullshit so much in this episode, it's great.
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Ćrvar-Odds saga, ch. 1-18, from Arrow-Odd, trans. Hermann PĆ”lsson and Paul Edwards, published in Seven Viking Romances (Penguin Classics)
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We continue with Gudrunās vengeance against her family, for better or worse, as we begin to wind down the Poetic Edda. On top of that, we have the usual vtuber corner, a big talk about How Do We Relationship?, a health update ā¦ and then decide to spill our next season an entire week early because we both finished some prep work weād done for it!
Then, in our Metaphor Game Club, we wrap up the second major story dungeon, get our bat friend Heismay, and talk about how weāve been spending our free time around that event.
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 30-The End of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics); The Jƶrmunrekkr Lays ā GuĆ°rĆŗnarhvƶt and HamĆ°ismĆ”l & Other mythological poems ā Baldrs draumar, RĆgsĆ¾ula, HyndluljĆ³Ć°, and GrĆ³ttasƶngr
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We have an absolutely jam packed episode this week as not only do we talk about the return of Gudrun and her sorrows, but we also talk a bit about vtubers, we both watch some movies (some classic, some not), Niamh continues to read How Do We Relationship?, and we continue to talk about Metaphor: ReFantazio through the next two hours or so of game (up until you get the 4th party member, which Niamh hadnāt done as of recording this week). Just so many things!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 27-29 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics); The Niflung Cycle ā OddrĆŗnargrĆ”tr, AtlakviĆ°a, and AtlamĆ”l hin groenlenzku
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We revisit some of the first stories we read on this podcast, this time in verse form! Theyāre pretty pleasant, even if theyāre a bit disjointed. We take care of some odds and ends before getting into our main event: our Metaphor game club begins in earnest, which contains a few surprises including a new challenger, some mechanical decisions that surprise, and putting the Persona fandom on notice.
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you which versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 20-26 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics); The Niflung Cycle ā Brot af SigurĆ°arkviĆ°u, GuĆ°rĆŗnarkviĆ°a I, SigurĆ°arkviĆ°a hin skamma, HelreiĆ° Brynhildar, DrĆ”p Niflunga, GuĆ°rĆŗnarkviĆ°a II, and GuĆ°rĆŗnarkviĆ°a III
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The sagas finally begin to cook as we talk about tragic love and reincarnation and what exactly is a Valkyrie. Also, speaking of tragic love, Niamh watched Twilight movies and Labyrinth, so we have plenty of misplaced sexual angst to pick over. Finally, Em celebrates Kiaraās big day as she had her fourth anniversary live this past week.
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you whis versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 15-19 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics); The Niflung Cycle ā FrĆ” dauĆ°a Sinfjƶtla, GrĆpisspĆ”, ReginsmĆ”l, FĆ”fnismĆ”l, and SigrdrĆfumĆ”l
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The sagas arenāt exactly setting our world aflame this week, so we instead talk a bunch about Licorice Pizza (building off of Ornate Stairwells), vtubers, and video games. In fact, some night say this is the beginning of our lengthy Metaphor game club, to be performed over the next 6-12 months!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you whis versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 12-14 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics); The Helgi Lays ā HelgakviĆ°a Hundingsbana I, HelgakviĆ°a HjƶrvarĆ°ssonar, and HelgakviĆ°a Hundingsbana II
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Odin gets up to trouble, including being weirdly homophobic to his stupid son Thor, in this wild episode of poetry and would-be plays. After that, Em gets a little too real venting about their current medical situation, but then we recover as Niamh talks about vtubers and movies until everyone has a good time again. Thanks for listening, sorry for the emotional rollercoaster this week!
See the show schedule here! Thisāll tell you whis versions of books and which sections of those books weāre reading each week.
Niamh podcasts on Export Audio with Ghost Divers, Ornate Stairwells, and Pondering Pootan. Posting on twitter @foxmomnia and on bluesky at foxmomnia.bsky.social
Em hosts Abnormal Mapping and Repertory Screenings on abnormalmapping.com and also is the Pokemon Master of Ceremonies on The Great Gundam Project. They post on twitter @em_being and on bluesky at polarbearsummer.online
Next episode: Parts 7-12 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics)
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Season 3 begins as we crack open the Poetic Edda and talk about dwarves, gods, and Odinās magic. More vtuber chat this week, of course, but itās also a sleepy week so a bit on the shorter side. Either way, please enjoy!
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: Parts 3-6 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics)
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This episode is a bit of a mess as we watch a movie thatās just okay, and also suffer through a weird recording setup (that continued into editing, excuse any scuff this week) as Em is forced to flee their recording room. A bit of a shorter episode as weāve both been run ragged, but we do have some talk about The State of Social Media near the end.
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: Pages 3-36 of The Poetic Edda, a new translation by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World's Classics)
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We finally watch the movie whose music weāve been using since we started! Turns out itās pretty good, though I donāt know if Iād go so far as to say the best film of Iceland (which some have claimed). Also, we talk a bunch about movies broadly, as Em preps for a Repertory Screenings that ended up not getting recorded (find out why next week).
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: In the Shadow of the Raven (Ć skugga hrafnsins)
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Arthur is morted and we are finished! We reach the end of the season as things end on a quiet note, and then talk at length about the Hololive English 2nd concert Breaking Dimensions. Other stuff too, but those are the two big ones! Next week we begin our mini-unit of Icelandic films between seasons!
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: When the Raven Flies (Hrafninn flĆ½gur)
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The penultimate episode of Morte Darthur shows Lancelot truly has learned nothing, Arthur is put in a difficult spot, and the glory of the kingdom falls apart in most dramatic fashion. Then we have some medical situation talk, and our usual chat about what weāve been up to.
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, a new Modern English translation based on the Winchester Manuscript by Dorsey Armstrong, chapters 87-END
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We return to the sagas as the grail quest comes to a dramatic conclusion and we lose many of our best heroes. Then, we return to Lancelot, who comes home changed but for how long? On top of that, Niamh finished Chimera Ant in Hunter x Hunter, we talk a bit about movies, and the usual ALF extras.
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, a new Modern English translation based on the Winchester Manuscript by Dorsey Armstrong, chapters 80-86
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Hi, Em here. We recorded another freeform episode where we just talked about what weāve been up to and how weāve been feeling as I recovery from surgery. I watched Niamhās favorite movie, and we talk about it. Thereās some Hunter X Hunter talk, as usual. Spoilers in there through like halfway into Chimera Ant? Anyway, the good news is next week weāre returning to sagas, so please look forward to it!
Niamh can be found haunting Export Audio with Ghost Divers and Ornate Stairwells (and Pondering Pootan, which has never haunted anyone) and on twitter @foxmomnia
Em can be found working themselves into an early grave here at Abnormal Mapping and on twitter @em_being
Next episode: Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, a new Modern English translation based on the Winchester Manuscript by Dorsey Armstrong, chapters 74-79
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