Ep 0020 - Iron Widow (2021) Pt 2

4/30/2024

Cover art by Ashley Mackenzie

This time around we’re discussing how throuples that slay together, stay together... well, mostly: Iron Widow, part two.

Pick this Book Up!

You can pick the book up from Xiran Jay Zhao's website, or using our bookstore link here.

Content warnings for this episode: Discussions of violence, misogyny, child soldiers, grooming, blood, racism, implied rape, assault, and PTSD.

Our theme is “She Loves Your Fusion” by PartyFactor on Pixabay. Other sound effects also sourced from Pixabay. Any and all clips of copyrighted media are included for transformative use or commentary, and On the Shoulders of Giants makes no claim of ownership on the sampled audio.

Mechs Discussed

Cool Factor(tm) Score

Alice	Brian	Niko
10	10	10

Other Images of Things Discussed

We highly reccomend you check out Xiran Jay Zhao'swebsite which contains official art, memes, and a lot of great supplemental MECHA STUFF!

wu zetian, empress

gao yizhi, lord of the storm

li shimin, the murderer

STRONGEST SHAPE

GAME TIME!

In our last Iron Widow episode, the host quizzed us on the interactions between the five traditional Chinese elements, Wuxing. Throughout the book you’ve read descriptions of hunduns, Chrysalises, and qi-type interactions. It’s time to put all of that to the test! We’ve sent out scouting drones into Zhou Province and are tracking hunduns scattered from the big battle. You’re two junior strategists getting a live feed, and we need you to identify the qi type of each– and for a bonus type, tell me the dominant qi-type we should look for in a Chrysalis to send after it.

To repeat plainly: I’m going to describe a hundun to you. You tell me what qi type you think it is. If you get it right, for a bonus point you can tell me which qi-type will be effective against it.

The Hundun on your screen is... hard to make out because it blends into its surroundings well. It’s been attacked a few times but has proven very resilient!	Click to Reveal Answer! It's a WOOD TYPE Hundun, deply a METAL TYPE Chrysalis.
The Hundun on your screen is... hard to make out because the camera drone is a little too close. It’s much larger than the others around it, and its eyes glow with a yellow-ish light.	Click to Reveal Answer! It's a EARTH TYPE Hundun, deply a WOOD TYPE Chrysalis.
The Hundun on your screen is… smaller than others around it but also moving faster than them. It’s darkly colored and seems to be emitting some sort of aura.	Click to Reveal Answer! It's a WATER TYPE Hundun, deply a EARTH TYPE Chrysalis.
The Hundun on your screen is… causing problems with a Chrysalis already in the field, the White Tiger. They seem like a poor match for it, especially as it launches powerful qi blasts at them.	Click to Reveal Answer! It's a FIRE TYPE Hundun, deply a WATER TYPE Chrysalis.

Uh-oh! Our good pilots are on rest rotation. For this challenge round, we’ve identified the Hundun qi type, but the best qi type Chrysalis will be unavailable, so you’ll need to pick a viable SECOND BEST qi type to send after the Hundun from three supplied.

The hundun on your screen is a white-shelled and very pointy METAL type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been FIRE, but you have to choose from: WATER, WOOD, or EARTH	Click to Reveal Answer! Deploy a WATER or WOOD Chrysallis.
The hundun on your screen is another fast and chilly water type. Your best pick to go against it would be an EARTH type, but you have to choose from: FIRE, METAL, or WOOD	Click to Reveal Answer! Deploy a WOOD or METAL Chrysallis
The hundun on your screen is another bulky and slow-moving EARTH type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been WOOD, but you have to choose from: WATER, FIRE, or METAL	Click to Reveal Answer! Deploy a WATER or METAL Chrysallis
The hundun on your screen is a volatile FIRE type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been WATER, but you have to choose from: METAL, WOOD, or EARTH	Click to Reveal Answer! Deploy an EARTH or METAL Chrysallis

Ep 0020 - Iron Widow (2021) Pt 2

4/30/2024

Pick this Book Up!

Mechs Discussed

Nine-Tailed Fox

Vermillion Bird

White Tiger

Black Tortoise

Yellow Dragon

Cool Factor(tm) Score

Alice

Brian

Niko

10

10

10

Other Images of Things Discussed

GAME TIME!

The Hundun on your screen is... hard to make out because it blends into its surroundings well. It’s been attacked a few times but has proven very resilient!

It's a WOOD TYPE Hundun, deply a METAL TYPE Chrysalis.

The Hundun on your screen is... hard to make out because the camera drone is a little too close. It’s much larger than the others around it, and its eyes glow with a yellow-ish light.

It's a EARTH TYPE Hundun, deply a WOOD TYPE Chrysalis.

The Hundun on your screen is… smaller than others around it but also moving faster than them. It’s darkly colored and seems to be emitting some sort of aura.

It's a WATER TYPE Hundun, deply a EARTH TYPE Chrysalis.

The Hundun on your screen is… causing problems with a Chrysalis already in the field, the White Tiger. They seem like a poor match for it, especially as it launches powerful qi blasts at them.

It's a FIRE TYPE Hundun, deply a WATER TYPE Chrysalis.

The hundun on your screen is a white-shelled and very pointy METAL type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been FIRE, but you have to choose from: WATER, WOOD, or EARTH

Deploy a WATER or WOOD Chrysallis.

The hundun on your screen is another fast and chilly water type. Your best pick to go against it would be an EARTH type, but you have to choose from: FIRE, METAL, or WOOD

Deploy a WOOD or METAL Chrysallis

The hundun on your screen is another bulky and slow-moving EARTH type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been WOOD, but you have to choose from: WATER, FIRE, or METAL

Deploy a WATER or METAL Chrysallis

The hundun on your screen is a volatile FIRE type. Your best pick to go against it would’ve been WATER, but you have to choose from: METAL, WOOD, or EARTH

Deploy an EARTH or METAL Chrysallis