SHHG! Episode 19: The Sugar Cube Gambit
Added 2023-11-17 15:00:10 +0000 UTCCatching Fire chapters 14-15
Life threw Liz some work-related lemons this past week, but we're here and discussing how best to turn them into bonus lemonade! We chat about future plans for discussing future plans, give an update on what's going on in strings world, and get attacked by Earl--and that's all before we get into our crazy chapters! We learn all about sugar, Hunger Games hacks, and Dr. Seuss ass map design. There's also some juicy critical stuff to discuss re: character work and the overall metaphor of the Games. Sugar cube?
Comments
I think the videogame level vibe you are getting (especially if you watch the movies) is intentional, not just because of aesthetic sci-fi reasons, but as a further commentary on how the Global North commodifies imperialist warfare. I think the reality show comparison in that interview was rather meant to make the point about how differently we can feel about the individual's suffering, not as an overarching theme. I'm not American and not a big FPS fan, but from my impression it seems like every war the US military engages in has become a source of inspiration for countless pieces of media, some propaganda and some not. Imperial capitalism has gamified conflict to the point where the yellow filter etc indicates a kind of underwater level in the Global South.
Paris
2023-11-26 17:31:07 +0000 UTCPlease do not wish Homestuck on these lovely people
A sudden absence of bees
2023-11-24 10:57:25 +0000 UTCDitto, I'd also love an Umineko super deep dive from them
Bunny
2023-11-24 04:02:04 +0000 UTCI think they should discover that Haymitch was actually going sicko mode in that Hunger Game and that he's been drinking to suppress his serial killer personality. And then look at each other like "Uh-oh, we sobered this guy up."
Cutey! Candy!! Cataclysm!!!
2023-11-22 09:36:53 +0000 UTCWhat is Haymitch even drinking about when he's clearly God's chosen
Cutey! Candy!! Cataclysm!!!
2023-11-22 09:22:57 +0000 UTCre the bonus episodes: I am once again urging you to continue with maximum ride
PenguinTim
2023-11-21 15:57:37 +0000 UTCi tried to think of any Survivor strats that come close to clipping out of bounds and the closest I can think of is Dead Grandma Strat, since it was the first tactic to use your outside life to affect in-game results. or maybe the guy who glitched his brain into not feeling pain during a challenge by forcing everyone to listen to him infodump for five hours. don't think anyone's fallen through the floor yet tho. give it time.
Sarah Anderson
2023-11-21 11:31:03 +0000 UTCSolidarity!!! Good luck on your mystery solving!
Eloise
2023-11-21 04:25:39 +0000 UTCI'm stuffing the ballot box for Eragon re:common room stuff, I just got through Eldest and there is some very funny content in those books
Bearplane
2023-11-21 04:08:33 +0000 UTCI'm also in the middle of an Umineko read with some friends on account of Shriekcast haha
Bearplane
2023-11-21 04:06:00 +0000 UTCWhen you described the ridiculous mankini I just started picturing that guy as Zardoz Also Mario RPG remake is great and the reason I hadn't gotten around to this episode yet. I was a little upset when previews seemed to indicate that Geno was gonna look kinda dorky and weird but then it turned out the angle they were going for was making him the most autistic video game character of all time so I am fully on board
Kzinssie
2023-11-20 17:41:46 +0000 UTCI'm just greedy and want more hahaha 😅 those episodes are so good
Eloise
2023-11-20 00:31:59 +0000 UTCmusic discussion reminded me of how much i love the misericorde ost, it's really good i loved the umineko common room episodes, so maybe sticking to a structure like that would be good for bonus content? you have normal 14th district stuff and then at the end there's half an hour where you discuss 2 episodes of a show or a movie or a chunk of a separate book to the main pod and it's decided in advance so you both discuss it? idk
Cromalin
2023-11-20 00:17:05 +0000 UTCthey did cover all of umineko in the past! they did a series of bonus episodes back in 2020 iirc where they discussed each episode for like half an hour
Cromalin
2023-11-20 00:13:16 +0000 UTCre bonus material i am so keen to hear a full umineko discussion episode from you guys, my sister and i are reading it together for the first time (nearly finished!) and I'd love to hear you dive into it fully. to rip out the guts if you will.
Eloise
2023-11-19 06:21:31 +0000 UTCwaiting with bated breath for the shriek cast to re-enter the confessional to hear about hunger games fandom sins
cml
2023-11-18 23:57:43 +0000 UTCWe demand a full earl cam for the episodes! Would he accept a go pro being put on him?
Genesis
2023-11-18 10:30:29 +0000 UTCOh, itd be epic if you crack open HP Methods of Rationality sometime. iirc there'd be a lot to genuinely enjoy, a lot to mock, and a whole lot to unpack.
lemon cupcake
2023-11-18 07:59:04 +0000 UTCMy favorite bonus stuff has been, let's see... the quiz games you make each other, stuff with fanfics, clowning on goodreads reviews, reading especially insane stuff like After or especially iconic works with lots of baggage like the John Greens
lemon cupcake
2023-11-18 07:54:34 +0000 UTCTBF, Crying strat can only work once, so she needed to create a new one. Though if tributes were really stupid enough for it to work at all, they might be stupid enough again.
ZiggyWSB .
2023-11-18 07:26:34 +0000 UTC*straight woman voice*: i know what'll really shake katniss. i'm going to show her my boobs and vagina so she'll think about that if we fight
Shift
2023-11-18 04:49:18 +0000 UTCIf you're looking for suggestions for third segment stuff to do, there are plenty of Hunger Games simulators out there. You can set a full roster of custom participants, so you could fill it with Shack all-stars like Lockhart, Snape, Dobby, Bella Swan, Maximum Ride, Jordan B. Peterson, Harry Styles... And while they have default events pulled from the first Hunger Games (SO many 'climbs a tall tree and dies' events), they also allow you to enter your own custom events, so you could have [Player1] spends all day explaining the rules of Quiddich to [Player2]. https://brantsteele.net/hungergames/personal.php is the one that I've seen get the most use, but there are several more out there!
Kurt Sanders
2023-11-18 01:10:33 +0000 UTCRe bonus material: would love for you guys to read the original battle royale after mockingjay. Good people doing horrible things, and the protag spends the whole time trying to escape instead of win, no cheap ways out (except for this wack brain injury makes you evil thing lol) But i cant remember if you guys have played zero escape / 999 but I think it’s in line with higurashi anime antics but also death game stuff going on 😂 would love yalls reactions
Julie Lerche
2023-11-18 00:59:40 +0000 UTCoh my god Finnick and Johanna are finally here... we've made it 🏭🎆🏭🎆
Commander Freddy
2023-11-18 00:11:43 +0000 UTCI really liked the introductions to Johanna and Finnick. I love the contrast between Finnick (and Johanna) and Katniss and Peeta. With the latter being portrayed (by stylists/reality TV storytelling) as the "good" couple next door while Finnick is a deadly stud that people just want to have sex with who is basically naked all the time. Plus I never realised until this episode that Haymith has the same deus ex machina so he doesn't have to kill someone we like. I love Effie and the stylists reaction to the All Stars as it's all their favourites. Oh btw chapter 18 is the end of this section of the book (guessing you will do 2 not 3 chapters).
Joshua Smith
2023-11-18 00:10:38 +0000 UTCI dont know how I got this in my head, maybe it comes up in an old ass episode, but I'm under the impression that neither of you have read homestuck, and I would truly kill for a broadly-unaware investigation into homestuck nearly ten years past it having any sort of relevance.
Austin Brooks
2023-11-17 23:07:00 +0000 UTChahahaha don't worry, I'm sure we'll be discussing the Strats--I definitely caught the transition from "pretended to be a weakling" to "stripping in the elevator" and wrote "???" in my notes
The Shrieking Shack
2023-11-17 23:02:01 +0000 UTCThere's a reveal later on (I believe) about what it means to be a Hunger Games Victor living in the Capitol and how Katniss is 'pure' in that sense. Also Catching Fire is a lot of peoples favourite but if your feelings continue about the characters and world then I think you'll really enjoy Mockingjay
cem
2023-11-17 21:00:08 +0000 UTCIf you're looking for a book to do as bonus content, all my coworkers are obsessed with Fourth Wing and have described it as a mix between Harry Potter and Hunger Games
Maggie Carver
2023-11-17 17:37:24 +0000 UTCWhat bothers me the most about Haymitch's tape is that I completely forgot that the quarter quell had twice the tributes because the other two district 12 tributes are never named, which is really dumb??? District 12 isn't that big, there's no reason that the 4 tributes wouldn't know each other to some degree. I legit had to google the 50th hunger games gimmick while listening to the pod because i convinced myself that the 2x tributes was for the 1st quarter quell. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO EASY TO JUST GIVE TWO RANDOM NAMES
Nat Harris
2023-11-17 16:42:02 +0000 UTCSuper disappointed, that you didn't catch Crying Strat Girl becoming Naked Strat Girl now? I was looking forward to that as much as to your reaction to the werewolves. You said, that you don't think she'd kill characters off and that's why Finnick and Crying Naked Strat Girl are safe and I know that Rue wasn't as much a character as like Haymitch, but was she really less of a char as Finnick and CNSG? When I came to this part of the book I was also like "Finally there are some guys in this Hunger Game" though.
ZiggyWSB .
2023-11-17 16:33:13 +0000 UTCI actually met Tom Felton very briefly once. I didn't get anything about his personality from the encounter HOWEVER he was one of three HP actors working with an organization, and I did get to interact with the other two in a more substantial way. I actually think the work they did might be some decent Shriekcast content, I can send a message through Patreon with details if you're interested. I'm being vague because I'm not sure how much of this I should be talking about in a public forum, lol
Lambda
2023-11-17 15:47:35 +0000 UTCLet Earl pod!!
Marisa
2023-11-17 15:14:24 +0000 UTC
