#legend quest: masters of myth

[blade-liger-4ever]

I GOTTA WATCH THIS NOW!!!!!

Legend Quest: Masters of Myth Review

So recently I’ve really gotten into this new show on Netflix, and for a while, I’ve been wanting to write down my thoughts about it.

The series I’m referring to is called Legend Quest: Masters of Myth. For those who aren’t familiar with the name, Legend Quest is a soft reboot of a Latino American animated series franchise known as Las Legendas, a collection of horror-fantasy films staring a young Mexican boy named Leo San Juan and his adventures with his supernatural companions. It’s sort of like Scooby-Do mixed in with Mexican Folklore. To my knowledge, there are already five to six films in the series as of now, with Legend Quest and later Masters of Myth being the latest installments in the franchise.

The first series, Legend Quest, stars Leo, the same protagonist from the films who was originally a twelve-year-old boy but is portrayed as a teenager in the series, from a small village in the 1800s who can see ghosts and other supernatural creatures. Aided by his band of supernatural companions; Don Andres, the ghost of an old conquistador, a mystical creature known as Alebrije, and a supposed ghost girl from the 21st century named Teodora who time travels in order to help her friends defeat the evil Quetzalcoatl from taking over the world. They are also aided by a secret organization known as the Brotherhood and Marcella, a young witch from Leo’s hometown and his love interest. I didn’t watch the series when it originally came out in 2017 and I only watched it I think a few months back, or maybe last year, I really don’t remember. I haven’t watched the series in a while so my memory of certain details is pretty hazy.

Legend Quest: Masters of Myth is the latest installment in the series and was originally supposed to be a continuation of the first season. But, according to one of the art directors, Netflix came to the crew and instead wanted a new original story because they didn’t want newcomers watching the old series in order to catch up... I know, right?

So, basically, Masters of Myth is a reboot of the reboot. At first, I was worried I would be turned off by this change, but those worries were short-lived for despite the confusion I had about whether or not this was a continuation or a reboot I found myself enjoying the series more than I expected. I’ve watched it four times now.

Before I can get into the parts I liked it’s only fair I get out of the way the element I disliked the most. That being...

Negatives: The Confusing Continuity.

As I said, this is a reboot of the reboot, and learning why this happened does explain a lot of the choices that were made. Leo’s ability to see ghosts, how Teodora time travels, the Brotherhood, the Sugar Skulls, and Marcella’s backstory are still present, but elements such as Quetzalcoatl, Catrina, and the “Chosen One” storyline either aren’t mentioned, slightly referenced or at the very least hinted at. When I began watching the first episode I was under the impression that this was season 2 because a lot of the cannon elements were still there, but as it progressed the changes started to pop up. Leo becoming a much more active protagonist than a reluctant one, and his relationship with Marcella was very different from what I remembered. So if you watch the series and everything feels like we’re just jumping into the story like it’s the beginning all over again don’t assume you’re going crazy. Maybe the best way to describe this would be an Alternate Universe version of Legend Quest.

I could be wrong, but I believe the reason why Masters of Myth contains hints and Easter eggs from the first Legend Quest was that the artists and writers were hoping to expand upon them in this new story if the series got renewed for a second season, which I really hope it does. In spite of how this new continuity happened and it may leave older fans a little bit confused at first, for what it's worth the writers and animators worked with what they had and I found myself enjoying the series a lot more than I expected. I even liked a lot of the added changes. I’m already working on a list of potential season 2 ideas, but that’s for a different post.

That’s... really the only main negative complaint I have. I do have a few other nitpicks but they’re relatively small. Onto the parts I loved.

The New Art Style:

Yes, I know changing from one art style to another can be jarring, but for me, I’d say this was a definite improvement. I know people liked the previous art type but for me, I found both the designs and character movements very flat and unappealing.

In Masters of Myth, the artists went for a slightly more stylized and line-less art-style that reminded me of a bit of the technique used in the Tangled series. A good chunk of the characters are still very much recognizable with some subtle changes like smoother edges and switching around some colors. Don Andres is now wearing blue puffy pants and blue sleeves with brown gloves underneath his armor and Teodora’s purple jacket is now blue with her earrings now being white. Out of all the characters, Leo and Marcella went through the most physical changes, but not too much that I couldn’t recognize them and I personally find their new designs to be a lot nicer to look at, especially Marcella who looks absolutely beautiful in my honest opinion.

Animation wise, the movements are a lot more fluid and flexible, giving the characters the ability to move either really fast or at an even pace depending on the scene and their faces are a lot more expressive.

Because Masters of Myth focuses a lot more on the adventure aspect rather than the fright factor, the color pallets are much more vibrant in contrast with Legend Quest’s more blueish and green tint.

If I had to mention one small flaw it would be that the shadows on some of the characters looked a little bit off, mostly on the cheeks. If this show does get renewed for a second season let’s hope they resolve that little glitch and add a little more variety to some backgrounds. Thankfully, it’s not too distracting.

The Characters:

Aside from Teodora, I can’t say the rest of the cast left a very big impression on me when I watched Legend Quest. I remember their names and roles, but I barely remember finding myself enjoying them as much, well maybe with the exception of Alebrije and Teodora.

The same cast of characters returns for Masters of Myth and right away I found myself liking these characters a lot better than before.

Leo San Juan:

The main protagonist of Masters of Myth. A young boy from a small village in Mexico who was recruited to join the elite Brotherhood as a worldwide monster hunter with his own team of supernatural companions. When I saw Leo again I noticed that he was... different, and not just because they updated his character model. I don’t care what anyone says, new Leo looks downright adorable!

From what I can remember, Legend Quest Leo was more of a reluctant protagonist, having gone on several adventures in the past and now wanting to live life as a normal kid. He was very reluctant to rejoin his group of friends again and, from what I can remember, I found him to be kind of whiny and irritable at times.

Meanwhile, this incarnation of Leo starts out as a bored kid living in his small town, waiting for something to happen (I can relate), so when he was asked to join the Brotherhood Leo jumped at the chance. At first, I wasn’t too sure how to feel about this change because it wasn’t at all what I expected, yet I wasn't at all bothered by it.

Masters of Myth Leo is a lot more adventurous, idealistic, productive and determined, a bit reckless but not to the point of being irritating or annoying. He still retains his honorable and snarky characteristics and shows an irrepressible enthusiasm towards his job as a monster hunter. He’s still a bit clumsy but is a bit more athletic by comparison to his Legend Quest counterpart.

Unlike his predecessor, this Leo isn’t the Chosen One this time so a lot of his motivations stem from personal connections and revelations rather than an outside force. He willingly chose this career and it’s one he takes very seriously, showcasing that despite his overconfidence Leo still holds a strong sense of responsibility and commitment. He has the same powers as he did in Legend Quest, being able to see supernatural entities when others can’t, but rather than just being a power he just so happens to have, they serve a crucial purpose in the final climax.

Because of his confidence, Leo may not always think things through, but he is still very resourceful and more than once has shown moments of cleverness and empathy for his teammates. He feels like a character who, despite believing he’s found a calling as a monster hunter, is still trying to do the right thing, regardless of what he gets out of it when things begin to take a turn for the worse. When he makes a mistake he owns up to it and when he puts his own arrogance aside he shows a lot of promise as a leader. Leo is far more proactive in this series which is a quality I really like in a protagonist.

Also, he’s just downright funny! I’m still not entirely sure why or how they did it, but I found myself both laughing at Leo’s more comedic moments as well as rooting for him to win and learn and grow as a character.

Teodora:

I mentioned before how Teodora was one of the few characters which left a lasting impact on me, and Masters of Myth not only kept her as she was, but made me love her even more by further expanding her character.

Okay, fair warning, I can’t talk I about Teodora without bringing up some spoilers from the first series which isn’t really a spoiler in this new series since they mention it in the first episode. If you haven’t watched Legend Quest, so be warned.

SPOILERS: Teodora is actually the astral projection of a 21t century girl who was hit by a truck and placed in a coma, recruited by a benevolent goddess to travel back in time to help Leo in the past to save the world. This was the premise of the first series, in this series they outright say Teodora is capable of transferring her consciousness into the past at will in order to partake on missions as a projection while her physical body remains in the present day. They did mention her coma during a dream sequence but it’s not explored further, so unless you have some knowledge about the first series chances are the coma thing might confuse you a bit.

Aside from that hiccup, Teodora is still as fiery, headstrong and sarcastic as ever, using her smartphone to look up information for the team when needed and, of course, tell Leo when he’s being an idiot. While many of her original characteristics are still present she's also given a few added traits. She's far more receptive and quick-witted and, despite her attitude, takes on a much more active role as a semi co-leader alongside Leo. Seriously, the reason why these guys haven't fallen into a volcano yet is because of her.

Another thing this series did that I am so grateful for is that at one point when Leo and the gang time travel to the twenty-first century they meet Teodora in person and for the rest of the show she joins the team in her human form. This, of course, served as a challenge for Teodora; she can no longer float, her phone eventually dies on her so she can’t look up information for the team (and even if she could the past has terrible WiFi), and of course, seeing as she’s not the most athletic person, she begins to “really hate cardio days”.

Teodora becomes understandably irritated and frustrated with everything that's happening around her, but later we see that despite her lack of powers Teodora still sustains her bravery and productiveness. There were moments in which she forgot her own fears and took immediate action, being creative and using her surroundings to her advantage, which almost got her killed more than once much to Leo’s horror. This all leads to Teodora having to face something probably even harder than being flesh and blood: Her vulnerability.

Teodora isn’t someone who lets her deepest feelings show, often hiding behind a rude and aggressive attitude, but the more the dangers of the past begins to take its toll on her she fears that because of her lack of powers she’s nothing more than dead weight to the team. Of course, she does eventually regain her confidence even while remaining a human girl during the remainder of the season thanks to Leo’s unconditional faith in her.

Had the first Legend Quest continued as originally planned then this is definitely where Teodora’s character arc should have been heading. I’m really happy the writers were able to at least bring this story arc into this new series. Teodora is my new baby, alongside Leo. Must protect them at all costs.

Alebrije:

Out of the main cast, Alebrije is the one with the least amount of changes, even by comparison to Teodora. He still retains his goofy and lovable personality, sometimes coming off as oblivious and innocent but isn't ignorant to what is happening around him. He's a guy who likes to look on the bright side and when his friends are in danger he is always quick to jump in and help. Not much else to say except he's just adorable as ever.

Don Andres:

One thing I do recall about Don Andres was that he was the cowardly lion. The ghost of a conquistador who lied about being a great hero and vanquisher of evil monsters, but ran away when things got rough. Like before, this Don Andres faces the consequences of his mistakes in life, but what I really liked about this version of Don Andres was that he did a lot less running and hiding and a lot more fighting. When faced with a mistake he made in life that affects his modern-day descendants, Don Andres, without hesitation, chose to stay and take responsibility for his past misdeeds in order to help his family.

Don Andres had at least two episodes where his bravery and dedication to the team played a vital role in their mission, which included his knowledge of manners and etiquette, Parisian culture and language, as well as a good chunk of some folklores and legends. Like Leo, he too takes his role as a monster hunter seriously, maybe a bit too seriously at times, but no one can say the man isn’t dedicated.

I also found it funny how, even though he’s technically dead, Don Andres is still an old-timer, so he’s forgetful and slow at times and he has a terrible sense of direction which, amazingly enough, was actually helpful in later episodes if you can believe it.

Marcella:

In the first series, Marcella was a young witch girl from Leo’s hometown as well as his love interest. I want to make it perfectly clear that I wasn’t shipping anyone in the first show, so it’s not that I wasn’t willing to accept LeoxMarcella. However, just because I was accepting of it didn’t mean I enjoyed it. Half the time it felt as though Marcella was just there to fill in the love interest quota. While they did try to flesh her out with a backstory about her mother winding up comatose after trying to defend her daughter from a group of evil witches, it didn’t feel connected with the rest of her personality which was that of the typical nice girl-next-door-crush who was brave and righteous and as close to the embodiment of a dream girl for Leo as one could get. She felt like a poorly written first-time fanfiction OC, not necessarily a bad one just one that was underutilized and flat.

Her romance with Leo didn’t really help either. I kept saying, “come on the show, give me more of a reason to ship these two. I’m waiting”. But it never came. They could have talked about their respected supernatural abilities and grown together first as friends before becoming a couple but they just threw us the romance in the first episode. Leo’s crush on Marcella is the basic school-boy crush and didn’t expand much beyond that.

Thankfully, Masters of Myth fixed a lot of these problems by giving Marcella a personality that made sense in the context of her original backstory, which remains unchanged. This Marcella is just as brave and confident as her predecessor but also no-nonsense, level-headed, and a tad competitive. She isn’t just nice and happy to match with Leo, she’s her own character who isn’t defined by her relationship with the main lead. She starts off in Masters of Myth as an established Brotherhood member with her own monster hunting group of friends and we actually see her use her magical powers more. She’s extremely loyal to the Brotherhood because they took her in when no one else did. She serves as a bit of a foil for Leo, and possibly even Teodora, but she’s never outright malicious or evil, only very dedicated to the point that she could come off as a bit of a perfectionist and doesn't take failure likely. She appears to have a deep-seated desire to prove herself, which is hinted to have come from her past of being ostracized for being a witch.

Another aspect I believe worked better for her and Leo’s dynamic was instead of making them a couple right away, here they start off as bitter rivals from their Brotherhood training class days. They often buttheads with one another, with Marcella always flaunting how she’s higher in the ranks than him and Leo still holding a grudge against her for using magic to cheat during a training exam. Despite this, they’re not entirely antagonistic towards one another. Leo isn’t too bitter that he is incapable of caring about Marcella’s safety or helping her when they have the chance, and is even willing to be friends with her again if she allowed him. Marcella is a bit more hard to read at times, but she too is capable of putting aside a rivalry for them to work together for a common goal.

Their interactions vary from competitive rivals to loyal comrades with some flirtatious teasing here and there. For any LeoxMarcella shippers out there, yes there is a fair amount of ship teasing, but overall romantic or no there is no denying that this Marcella is a massive improvement.

The Story:

The overarching plot of this series shares shades of the first one. There is the “save the world plot”, a villain influenced by Aztec legend, the team traveling to various locations around the world and encountering many different types of monsters. But while the first half of Legend Quest felt rather episodic, Masters of Myth is much more connected. Every episode picks up right after the last one, playing a part in the main storyline while squeezing in a good chunk of comedy and character development, even for Marcella though it’s done more subtly. Alebrije doesn't change all that much, but he does get one episode to shine and save the day alongside his cousin Evaristo, a character from the original Legendas series.

The main villains this time are a bit more predictable, in that you can see them coming from a mile away but thankfully the main characters don’t take too long in figuring that out either, especially Teodora. Near the beginning of the second half of the two-parter, we do get some insight into the antagonist’s endgame which was, I will admit, pretty surprising. And by surprising I mean downright HORRIFYING AND INSANE!!

My friend @pc-the-unicorn mentioned how the monsters in this series have a lot more personality than the monsters from Legend Quest, and I agree. Monsters like the Parisian Gargouille, the pompous Efrit, and the mysterious Anansi all have very distinct personalities and powers which makes them both memorable and likable. Also, this was the first time I’ve seen Anansi (the spider Demi-god from African mythology) and an Efrit (a fire jinn) portrayed in animation as well as other lesser is known creatures like the Caipora from Brazilian mythology. Not only that, but they also play an active role in the final climax.

One monster from Legend Quest also makes a return, the evil dummy which turned people into dolls was utilized here once again, and even later in the last episode.

Unlike in Legend Quest, there is no prophesy or higher power pulling the strings for the main cast to come together and fight an ancient evil. Instead, they learn of a possible conspiracy when one of their friends goes missing and a lot of the series is about them learning who is working against them, why and how to stop them, all leading up to an epic battle for the fate of the world. While the show can get goofy, there are some pretty dark moments here and there, especially when the heroes learn more about the conspiracy and what it means for the world, including Teodora’s timeline.

Sadly, we don’t learn much about how or when they all met and decided to become a team, so if there is a second season perhaps they could do something similar to the 2003 Teen Titans, where they present an entire flashback episode that focuses on how they all met.

The comedy itself can be hit and miss. There is a fair amount of slapstick but the comedy isn’t too reliant on it, mainly coming from the dialog and perfectly timed jokes, especially when the Sugar Skulls and Alebrije are involved, and Leo himself gets a decent amount of funny moments aided by his own moments of snark and sarcasm. I personally enjoyed it but, again, it’s going to depend on one’s personal taste.

Romance:

While Marcella was Leo’s love interest in the first series, this time that role falls upon Teodora. That’s right, congratulations Leodora shippers! You have been blessed!

Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to like Leo and Marcella but the writing just didn’t sell it for me. That doesn’t mean I was shipping Leo with Teodora either. Still, from what I remember seeing I could definitely understand why a majority of fans preferred shipping these two instead.

Leo and Teodora’s relationship is very reminiscent of Ash and Misty from Pokémon, where they bicker but will always have each other’s backs when it matters. Heck, if it weren’t for the show insisting Marcella was Leo’s one and only girlfriend I would have been shipping those two myself, but I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment. Their same dynamic is carried out into Masters of Myth, but is given an extra layer of depth to flesh out the characters and their relationship.

Like in Legend Quest, Masters of Myth does establish a potential romance between the two very early on, but unlike in Legend Quest where the romance was thrown right at our faces, this one takes it's time to build up naturally from the roots of Leo and Teodora’s established friendship, making the payoff far more natural and believable. Hence, why I found myself more invested in this romance and not because they switched one girl out with the other.

Teodora continues to criticize a lot of Leo’s decisions in the first half of the season but it’s not without good reason. When Leo begins to care more about keeping score on how many monsters they catch, Teodora outright says she doesn’t want Leo getting a big ego and forgetting why they hunt monsters to begin with. This establishes Teodora’s role in the team as the voice of reason who keeps Leo and everyone else grounded. Teodora is also a lot more empathetic towards Leo’s feelings this time around, taking the time to comfort him when he's at his lowest and always looking out for his well being. When Teodora becomes human she slowly starts to show more of her softer and playful side, especially when it's just her and Leo.

While Leo does get annoyed with Teodora’s bluntness he comes to really appreciate this about her, realizing her tough love is her way of snowing she cares and knows he is capable of being better, which makes him grow as a character, becoming more aware of his own mistakes and working to set things right. He’s also not above apologizing if he unfairly insulted her and the two are far more forgiving towards one another in this series.

Leo, in turn, becomes incredibly supportive and sweet with Teodora, especially when she joins the team as a human. When she begins to doubt herself Leo is always there reminding her just how capable she is regardless of what form she's in and reassures her it's okay to ask for help. Leo also takes the time to comfort Teodora when she's upset. As for the very romantic moments, it's hard not to have your heartstrings tugged at the sheer amount of love and devotion these two have for one another.

It’s no question that, despite their differences, or maybe because of them, Leo and Teodora continue to bring out the best in each other every step of the way.

Seriously, if the writers had put in this much effort with Leo and Marcella in the last series I’d be singing a very different tune right now. These people are clearly capable of writing a cute romantic side plot so why didn't they just do this the last time? Maybe, like the fan base, they just liked Teodora more... Or maybe this is an alternate reality and maybe next season we will see them both clash and the connecting of the two worlds could lead to the destruction of all reality as we know it!!!.....................*cricket*.

Or I could just be exaggerating. So yeah, this series officially made me a Leodora shipper. I didn’t think it was possible.

Conclusion:

Even though I wasn’t all that attached to the first Legend Quest I was curious to know where it would go from season 1. Masters of Myth may not be the continuity fans were hoping for, but despite its flaws, it does have some good elements.

If you’re curious about whether or not this series has something worth watching, especially if you’re more into character-driven storylines and lighthearted adventures with a good dose of high stakes and action with fun characters, then I highly recommend it. Also, if you’re a Leodora shipper you’ve basically hit the jackpot.

If it gets enough exposure then hopefully it won’t wind up like its predecessor with an incomplete story and forced to start again from scratch. A second season would be the perfect opportunity to expand on the elements the writers wanted to incorporate. They could reintroduce villains from the first series into a new story, maybe have Leo experiment with new levels of his ghost-seeing powers, have Teodora learn how to adapt in the past with her human body, heck maybe even an episode focusing on Marcella and her teammates who already seemed like a very interesting bunch. There are a lot of possibilities this series could go, I would hate to see those ideas get thrown out the window again because of Netflix’s greedy ways. It was because of them that the first Legend Quest never got a second season, so I hope the same fate does not fall on Masters of Myth before it can be given a chance.

Legend Quest: Masters of Myth season 1 is already out on Netflix, give it a watch if you haven’t, share your thoughts and let’s hope this isn’t the last time we’ll see of Leo and his friends. Seriously, we don’t want history repeating itself.

[foxchainships]

Request for Gio

If you want me to draw your favorite ship, send over a DM :)

[omi-papus]

El hecho de que estos dos son generalmente presentados como si fueran de la misma altura es uno de los mayores desperdicios de la franquicia.

[hanzajesthanza]

my attempts to avoid thoughts of geralt's hanza continue to fail, as sapkowski talks about them in front of my face.

(from manuscript, on the subject of the hero and the quest):

On this expedition, the Hero (Simple or King) is accompanied by others who are stereotypical-canonical fantasy characters, in other words - clichés:

Wizard-Mentor (the aforementioned MERLIN, Obi-wan Kenobi, Gandalf, Allanon, Belgarath, Sephrenia or Moiraine, who supports the hero with advice and help); Faithful Servant (in the case of the King, literally, in the case of the Simple, rather a childhood friend, Sam Gamgee. He serves the plot to recite wise folk maxims and prove that the simple people are the most morally healthy; or to save the ass of his master/friend where magic and a sharp sword will not help, and common sense and a strong, faithful arm will suffice). Good Knight (charismatic LANCELOT, always loyal and ready to fight, sometimes with some dark secret in his life); Worse Knight (always with some dark secret in his life, ambitious like Boromir, in the clutches of Evil, secretly collaborates with Evil, regrets betrayal, undergoes catharsis, perishes); Trickster - Conniver (see LOKI in "Materia Magiczna"**), cheerful, but can cause trouble, which attracts like a magnet; Damsel in Distress, who is saved from danger on the way and included in the team. Usually a princess in disguise. For several volumes of the cycle she does not like the Hero, in the last she becomes his wife.

* Type A = Percival, a hero who does not have power and is searching it, and Type B = King Arthur, a hero who has lost his power and wants to regain it. in other words, Type A = Reynevan and Type B = Geralt :)

** another chapter of the book, "Materia magica, or the Little Magical Alphabetical Lexicon," it's a glossary of various myth and legend. in loki's entry, he recounts some myths of loki and equivalates him with other figures across various traditions: Odysseus, Pryderi, Bricriu, Mordred, Alyosha Popovich, Coyote, Anansi, Maui). then he lists a few fantasy/spec fic characters he categorizes as trickers: Cugel (Dying Earth), Kickaha (World of Tiers), Coyote (Coyote Blue), Peter Lake (Winter's Tale), Moonglum (Elric of Melniboné), Nifft and Haldar (Nifft the Lean), Random (Chronicles of Amber), Saruman (Lord of the Rings), Shimrod (Lyonesse), Silk (The Belgariad and The Malloreon), Gray Mouser (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser), Talen (The Elenium).

my thoughts:

pretty obvious assignments here, for the most part.

regis is the Wizard-Mentor, but, as he soon loses his mystique, his intellectual, philosophizing manner becomes mundane and irritating than providing magical provenance. he advises incessantly, answering questions before they're asked, giving guidance when no one asked. he only appears to be omniscient, and the others may think he's so smart because he's hundreds of years older than them, but is really just a guy, a middle aged man with a troubled youth which he learned from. his advice is not magically guided and for this reason is fallable, mortal, human. maybe the cliché is also played with in that he's a vampire, not a wizard, sorcerer, or priest, "‘I see.’ The poet sighed. ‘Is Regis a sorcerer?’ ‘No. No, not a sorcerer.’" ... as vampires are typically evil and regis is decidedly a force of good. (on this topic, @wampirzielarz once compared-contrasted gandalf and regis and it was super interesting :))

dandelion is a combination of the Faithful Servant and the Trickster. he's geralt's best friend, and doesn't fight alongside him with sword but his presence is necessary to our hero for moral support, that all makes the first part an obvious assignment... and... sapkowski lists a wide variety of tricksters of various moral alignments, but amongst them are some heroes and some best friends of heroes (and anti-heroes). and asides from being geralt's closest friend, dandelion is, after all, a rascal, who uses words and good looks to get what he wants from people. "a cynic, a lecher, a womanizer and a liar." (also, because i think szarlej also fits this double-definition as well, i won't hesitate to give them to dandelion, as they serve pretty similar functions alongside their respective heroes).

milva is the Good Knight, "always loyal and ready to fight" describes her perfectly, and her 'dark secret' was her pregnancy and plans for abortion. (though, the attribution of lancelot... well, maybe this is why some keen eyes saw a potential in yenva). anyhow, the playfulness with the cliché comes from the fact that she's a woman, which is supposed to be surprising that the hero's strongest ally is a woman. i think the "charismatic" attribute is also supposed to be played with here, as milva is simple and not too well-spoken, only so in her cursing. in other words, she's a peasant woman, and not a born-and-bred nobleman. also, for her gender, she is a play on another trope sapkowski mentions a couple of pages later, but i can't go into it now because it's too funny.

cahir is the Worse Knight, though perhaps in reverse, for all of his associations with Evil was in the past and shed like sports colors when he changed teams. he has no betrayal, "I will never betray you, witcher," all of his ‘betrayal’ was before he was even allied with the hero. but of course, for these sins, he "undergoes catharsis, perishes".

the Damsel in Distress is evidentially angouleme, being "saved from danger on the way and included in the team." the rebuking of the cliché, of course, is that geralt is "genuinely angry, genuinely confused, genuinely embarrassed" when she offers her "gratitude" to him. also, that she is no princess in disguise, just an ordinary girl, though she is confused for the princess they're after (who also happens to be another play on the damsel in distress cliché). and again, like milva, i think angouleme is related to another specifically female character cliché sapkowski calls out; but i'll save it for another post.

[romanticjunk]

Legend Quest was amazing. Masters of Myth - quite the opposite.

[mask131]

Ségurant, the Knight of the Dragon (1/4)

In order to do my posts about Ségurant, I will basically blatantly plagiarize the documentary I recently saw - especially since it will be removed at the end of next January. If you don't remember from my previous post, it is an Arte documentary that you can watch in French here. There's also a German version somewhere.

The documentary is organized very simply, by a superposition of research-exploration-explanation segments with semi-animated retellings of extracts of the lost roman.

0: The origin of it all

The documentary is led by and focused on the man behind the rediscovery of Ségurant, the Knight of the Dragon – Emanuele Arioli, presented simply as a researcher in the medieval domain, expert of the Arthurian romances, and deeply passionate by the Arthurian legend and chivalry. If you want to be more precise, a quick glimpse at his Wikipedia pages reveals that he is actually a Franco-Italian an archivist-paleographer, a doctor in medieval studies, and a master of conferences in the domain of medieval language and medieval literature.

It all began when Arioli was visiting the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, at Paris. There he checked a yet unstudied 15th century manuscript of “Les prophéties de Merlin”. Everybody knows Monmouth’s Prophetiae Merlini, but it is not this one – rather it is one of those many “Merlin’s Prophecies” that were written throughout the Middle-Ages, collecting various “political prophecies” interwoven with stories taken out of the legends of king Arthur and the Round Table. And while consulting this specific 15th century “Prophéties de Merlin”, Arioli stumbled upon a beautiful enluminure (I think English folks say “illumination”) of a knight facing a dragon. Interested, he read the story that went with it… And discovered the tale of Ségurant, a knight he had never heard about during the entirety of his studies.

Here we have the first fragment of Ségurant’s story: “Ségurant le Brun” (Ségurant the Brown, as in Brown-haired, you could call him Ségurant the Dark-haired, Ségurant the Brunet), a “most excellent and brave knight”, sent a servant to Camelot, court of king Arthur, and in front of the king the servant said – “A knight from a foreign land sends me there, and asks you to go in three days onto the plain of Winchester, with your knights of the Round Table, to joust. You will see there the greatest marvel you ever saw.”

Checking the rest of the manuscript, Arioli found several other episodes detailing Ségurant’s adventures, all beginning with illuminations of a knight facing a dragon. And this was the beginning of Arioli’s quest to reconstruct a roman that had been forgotten and ignored by everybody – a quest that took him ten years (and in the documentary he doesn’t hide that he ended up feeling himself a lot within Ségurant’s character who is also locked in an impossible quest).

I: Birth of king, birth of myth

The first quarter of the documentary or so is focused on Arioli’s first step in his quest for Ségurant: Great-Britain of course! However, slight spoiler alert, Arioli didn’t find anything there – and so the documentary spends a bit more time speaking about king Arthur than Ségurant, though it does fill in with various other extracts of Ségurant’s story.

Arioli’s first step was of course the National Library of Wales, where the most ancient resources about king Arthur are kept, and where old Celtic languages and traditions are still very much alive, or at least perfectly preserved. The documentary has Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan presenting the audience with the oldest record of the name Arthur in Welsh literature – if not in European literature as a whole. The “Y Gododdin”, where one of the characters described is explicitly compared to Arthur in negative, “even though he was not Arthur”. The Y Gododdin is extremely hard to date, though it is very likely it was written in the 7th century – and all in all, it proves that Arthur was known of Welsh folks at the time, probably throughout oral poems sung by bards, and already existed as a “good warrior” or “ideal leader” figure.

From there, we jump to a brief history lesson. Great-Britain used to be the province of the Roman Empire known as Britannia – and when the Romans left, it became the land of the Britons (in French we call them “Bretons” which is quite ironic because “Breton” is also the name of the inhabitants of the Britany region of France – Bretagne. This is why Great-Britain is called Great-Britain, the Britany of France was the “Little-Britain”, and this is also why the Britain-myth of Arthur spreads itself across both England and France – but anyway). However, ever since the 5th century, Great-Britain had fallen into social and political instability, as two Germanic tribes had invaded the lands: the Angles and the Saxons. In the year 600, the Angles and the Saxons were occupying two-thirds of Great-Britain, while the Britons had been pushed towards the most hostile lands – Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. This era was a harsh, cruel and dark world, something that the Y Gododdin perfectly translates – and thus it makes sense that the figure of Arthur would appear in such situation, as the mythical hero of the Briton resistance against the Anglo-Saxons.

However we had to wait until a Latin work of the 12th century for Arthur’s fate to finally be tied to the history of the kings of England: Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh bishop, wrote for the king of England of the time the “Historia Regum Britanniae”, “History of the Kings of Britain”, in which we find the first complete biography of Arthur as a king – twenty pages or so about “the most noble king of the Britons”. Geoffrey’s record was a mix of real and imagination, weaving together fictional tales with historical resources – it seems Geoffrey tried to make Arthur “more real” by including him into the actual History with a big H, and it is thanks to him that we have the legend of Arthur as we know it today ; even though his Arthur was a “proto-Arthur”, without any knight or Round Table. The tale begins in Cornwall, at Tintagel, where Arthur was conceived: one night, Uther Pendragon, with the help of Merlin, took the shape of the Duke of Cornwall to enter in his castle and sleep with his wife Igraine. This was how Arthur was born.

The documentary then has some presentations of the archeological work on Tintagel – filled with enigmatic and mysterious ruins. The current archeological research, and a scientific project in 2018, allowed for the discovery of proof that the area was occupied as early as 410, and then all the way to the 9th and 10th century, maybe even the years 1000. There are many elements indicating that Tintagel was inhabited during the post-Roman times when Arthur was supposed to have lived: post-Roman glass, and various fragments of pottery coming from Greece or Turkey and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea – overall the area clearly was heavily influenced by Mediterranean commerce and cultures. Couple that with the fact that we have the ruins of more than a hundred buildings built solidly with the stone of the island – that is to say more buildings than what London used to have during the same era – and with the fact that there are scribe-performed inscriptions for various families and third parties (meaning people were important or rich enough to buy a scribe to write things for them)… All of this proves that Tintagel was important, wealthy and connected, and so while it does not prove Arthur did exist, it proves that a royal court might have existed at Tintagel – and that Geoffrey of Monmouth probably selected Tintagel as the place of birth of Arthur because he precisely knew of how ancient and famous the area was, through a long oral tradition.

2: After birth, death

The next area visited by the documentary is Glastonbury. “On a Somerset hill formerly surrounded by swamps and bogs”, medieval tradition used to localize the fabulous island of Avalon – where Arthur, mortally wounded by his son Mordred, was taken by fairies. Healed there, he ever since rests under the hill, and will, the story says, return in the future to save the Britons when they need it the most… More interestingly fifty years after Monmouth’s writings, the actual grave of king Arthur was supposedly discovered in the cemetery of the abbey of Glastonbury, and can still be visited today. It is said that in 1191, the monks of the abbey were digging a large pit in their cemetery, 12 feet deep, when they find a rough wooden coffin with a great lead cross on which were written “Here lies king Arthur, on the island of Avalon”. Now, you might wonder, why were monks digging a pit in their cemetery? Sounds suspicious… Well it is said that Henry II was the one who told the monks that, if they dug in their cemetery, they might find “something interesting”… Why would Henry II order a research for the grave of king Arthur? Very simple – a political move. Henry II was a Plantagenet king, aka part of a Norman bloodline, from Normandy, and the House of Plantagenet had gained control of their territory through wars. The Plantagenet was a dynasty that won large chunks of territory through battles (or through marriage – Henri II married Aliénor d’Aquitaine in 1152, which allowed him to extend his empire so that it ended up covering not just all of Great-Britain but also three quarters of France). But as a result, the Plantagenet House had to actually “justify” themselves, prove their legitimacy – prove that they were not just ruling because they were conquerers that had beaten or seduced everybody. They needed to tie themselves to Briton traditions, to link themselves to the legends of Britain – and the “discovery” of king Arthur’s tomb was part of this political plan. And it was a huge success – Glastonbury became famous, and so did king Arthur, who went from a mere Briton war-chief that maybe existed, to a true legend and symbol of English royalty.

However, so far, there are no traces of Ségurant in the Welsh tradition, and here we get our second extract of Ségurant’s roman, which actually seems to be the beginning of his adventures.

Ségurant comes from a fictional island (or at least going by a fictional name): l’île Non-Sachante. There Ségurant le Brun was knighted on the day of the Pentecost by his own grandfather. There was great merriment and great joy, and after the party, Ségurant openly declared he wanted to see the court of king Arthur and all the great wonders in it that everybody kept talking about. He claimed he would go to Winchester – and thus it leads to the invitation mentioned above. Yep, he decided that the best way to go see king Arthur’s court and his wonders was to basically challenge the king and his knights…

3: No place at the Round Table

Of course, the next step of the documentary is Winchester, former capital of Saxon England. Some traditions claim that it was at Winchester that Camelot was located, king Arthur’s castle and the capital of his Royaume de Logres, Kingdom of Logres. Logres itself being actually clearly the dream of a land rebuilt and given back to the Britons, once all the Germanic invaders are kicked out.

The documentary goes to Winchester Castle, built by William the Conqueror, and takes a look at the famous “Round Table” kept within its Great Hall – a table on which are written the name of 24 Arthurian knights, with a painting of king Arthur at the center… Above the rose of the Tudors. Because, that’s the thing everybody knows – while the Round Table itself was built in the 13th century and presented as an “Arthurian relic”, it was repainted in the shape it is today during the 16th century, by Henry the Eight (you know, the wife-killer), who used it as yet another political tool to impose and legitimize the rule of the Tudor line – and he wasn’t subtle about it, since he had Arthur’s face painted to look like his… On this table you find the names of many of the famous Arthurian knights: Galahad, Lancelot of the Lake, Gawain, Perceval, Lionel, Mordred, Tristan, the Knight with the Ill-Fitting Coat… They were organized according to a hierarchy (despite the very principle of the table being there was no hierarchy): at the top are the most famous and well-known knights, with their own stories and quests, such as Galahad, Lancelot of Gawain. At the bottom are the less famous ones: Lucan, Palamedes, Lamorak, Bors de Ganis…

And Ségurant is, of course, absent. Which can be baffling when you consider what the story about Ségurant actually says…

NEW EXTRACT! We are on the field of Winchester. All the tents are prepared for the greatest tournament Logres ever knew. The tent of Ségurant is very easy to spot, because there is a precious stone at the top, that shines day and knight, constantly emitting light as if it was a flaming torch. In front of king Arthur, all the bravest and most courageous knights of the Round Table appear and joust between them: Lancelot and Gawain are explicitly named. Suddenly, Ségurant appears and defies them all in combat! One by one, the knights of the Round Table battle with Ségurant – but all their spears break themselves onto his shield, and in the end, no knight wants to defy him, realizing they could not possibly defeat him. And in the audience, a rumor start spreading… “For sure, it will be him, the knight who will find the Holy Grail!”

So we have a knight who managed to defeat all the knights of the Round Table, in front of king Arthur, and yet nobody talks about him? But as the documentary reminds the audience – the Winchester Round Table only contains knights that the British tradition is familiar with. There many Arthurian knights with their own story and quests, such as Erec or Yvain the Knight of the Lion, who are absent from it… Because they are part of the French tradition, and thus less popular if not frankly ignored by England (a specific mention goes to Erec who was only translated very recently into English apparently, and for centuries and centuries stayed unknown in the English-speaking world).

Anyway – the conclusion of this first part of the documentary is simple. Ségurant is not from Great-Britain, he is not British nor Welsh, and so his origins lie somewhere else.

ADDENDUM

In the first part of this documentary, they stay quite vague and allusive about the story of Ségurant (because the documentary is obviously about the quest and research behind the reconstruction of the roman, not about what the roman contains in every little details). So to flesh out a bit the various extracts above I will use some information from the very summary Wikipedia page about this recently rediscovered knight (I didn’t had the time to get my hands on the book yet).

In the version that is the “main” one reconstructed by Arioli and that is the basis for the documentary’s retelling, soon before being knighted, Ségurant had proved his worth by performing a successful “lion hunt” onto the Ile Non-Sachante. Said island is actually said to have originally been a wild and deserted island onto which his grand-father, Galehaut le Brun, and his grand-father’s brother, Hector le Brun, had arrived after a shipwreck – they had taken the sea to flee an usurper on the throne of Logres named Vertiger (it seems to be a variation of Vortigern?). Galehaut le Brun had a son, Hector le Jeune (Hector the Young), Ségurant’s father. However, unlike the documentary which presents Ségurant as immediately wishing to see Camelot and defy its knights as soon as he is knighted, the Wikipedia page explains there is apparently a missing episode between the two events: in the roman, Ségurant originally leave the Ile Non-Sachante to defeat his uncle (also named Galehaut, like his grandfather) on the mainland. After beating his uncle at jousting, rumors of his various feats and exploits reached Camelot, and it was king Arthur himself who decided to organize a tournament in Ségurant’s honor at Winchester, so that the Knights of the Round Table could admire Ségurant’s exploits.

The fact that the documentary presents a version of the story when the Knights of the Round Table are already in search for the Holy Grail when Ségurant arrives at Winchester is quite interesting because according to the Wikipedia article, Ségurant’s name is mentioned in a separate text (a late 15th century armorial) as one of the knights of the Round Table who was present “when they took the vow of undergoing the quest of the Holy Grail, on Pentecost Day”. The same armorial then goes on to add more elements about Ségurant’s character. Here, instead of being the son of “Hector the Young”, he is son of “Hector le Brun” (so the whole family is “Brown” then), and this title is explained by the color of his hair, which is actually of a brown so dark it is almost black. Ségurant is described here as a very tall man, “almost a giant”, and to answer this enormous height, he has an incredible and powerful strength, coupled with a great appetite making him eat like ten people. But he is actually a peaceful, gentle soul, as well as a lone wolf not very social. He also is said to have a beautiful face, and to be “well-proportioned” in body. A final element of this armorial, which is the most interesting when compared to the main story given by the documentary (where the dragon comes afterward) – in this armorial, Ségurant is actually said to have killed a dragon BEFORE being knighted, a “hideous and terrible” dragon, and this is why his coast of arms depict a black dragon with a green tongue over a gold background.

Again, this all comes from an armorial kept at the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal – which has a small biography and drawing of Ségurant over one page (used to illustrate the French Wikipedia article). It is apparently not in the “roman” that Arioli reconstructed – especially since in the comic book adaptation, and the children-illustrated-novel adaptations, not only is Ségurant depicted as of regular size, but he is also BLOND out of all things…

As for the name of the island Ségurant comes from, “l’île Non-Sachante”, it is quite a strange name that means “The Island Not-Knowing”, “The Unknowing island”, “The island that does not know”. This is quite interesting because, on one side it seems to evoke how this is an island not known by regular folks – this wild, uncharted, unmapped island on which Ségurant’s family ended up, and from which this mysterious all-powerful knight comes from (and you’ll see that the fact nobody knows Ségurant’s island is very important). But there is also the fact that the adjective “Sachante” is clearly at the female form, to match the female word “île”, “island”, meaning it is the island that does not “know”. And given it is supposed to be this wild place without civilization, it seems to evoke how the island doesn’t know of the rest of the world, or doesn’t know of humanity. (Again I am not sure, I haven’t got the book yet, I am just making basic theories and hypothetic reading based on the info I found)

[adventure-showdown]

What is the Best Doctor Who Story Ever Told?

Hello everybody and welcome to this, frankly ridiculously sized, tournament between not only every televised Doctor Who story, not only the spinoffs, not only a large number of minisodes, but over a 100 audios and dozens of other stories from other corners of the EU.

Now we will have to whittle over 600 stories down to jusst one, that is a lot of matches, a lot of rounds, just a lot, until very late in the game, rounds will be posted across several days. Right now the goal is to post (up to) new matches daily from Sunday to Thursday, with Friday's a day off for my own sake, which in my current plan places the final on the 18th of December (thats right, this'll be out of date before its even over, during round 2 in fact)

You can use this form to submit propaganda for your favourite stories (or anti propaganda for ones you hate). there is a more checkable list of nominations here if you want to know what you can submit propaganda for

without further ado

ROUND 1 (Group Stage)

earlier in the year I ran some polls between televised Doctor Who stories, the top 50% for each Doctor have automatically advanced to Round 2, which is why (a) there are stories missing, and (b) the groups between the remaing stories are a lot deadlier

Every day will have groups from across the Doctor Who Universe, from Classic Who, New Who, TV Spinoffs, and the EU

Day 6

Group 1

The Twin Dilemma

Attack of the Cybermen

The Two Doctors

Timelash

Mindwarp

The Ultimate Foe

Group 2

Time and the Rani

Paradise Towers

Delta and the Bannermen

Dragonfire

Silver Nemesis

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Group 3

The Tsuranga Conundrum

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Praxeus

Can You Hear Me?

Flux

Legend of the Sea Devils

Group 4

The Ghost Monument

Arachnids in the UK

Kerblam!

Orphan 55

Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children

Revolution of the Daleks

Once, Upon Time

Survivors of the Flux

The Vanquishers

Group 5

Mutant Copper

The Custodians

Taphony of the Time Loop

Robot Gladiators

Mind Snap/Angel of the North/The Last Precinct/Hound of the Korven/The Eclipse of the Korven

Group 6

For Tonight We Might Die

The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo

Nightvisiting

Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart/Brave-ish Heart

Detained

The Metaphysical Engine or What Quill Did

The Lost

Group 7

The Last Beacon

Serenity

Rhys and Ianto's Excellent Barbecue

A Spoonful of Mayhem

The Lumiat

Too Many Masters

Group 8

Expiry Dating

Ghosts

The Cars that Ate London!

A Photograph to Remember

Psychodrome

Iterations of I

Group 9

Living Legend

The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50

The Bekdel Test

Oh No It Isn't

The Eleven Day Empire/The Shadow Play

Smoke and Mirrors

Group 10

Dooms Day hour 1

An Adventure in Space and Time

Shada (1992) version with linking narration from Tom Baker

Shada animated reconstruction

Return to Shada webcast with 8

Group 11

Dreamland

Real Time

Scream of the Shalka

The Infinite Quest

Ronald Rat continuity announcement

The Man from M.I.5

Group 12

Dr Who and the Daleks

Dalek's Invasion of Earth 2150AD

Doctor in Distress

Doctorin' the TARDIS

I'm gonna Spend my Christmas with a Dalek

previous days under the cut

Day 1

Group 1

The Sensorites

Planet of Giants

The Web Planet

The Crusade

Mission to the Unknown

The Massacre

The Celestial Toymaker

The Savages

Group 2

Marco Polo

Galaxy 4

The Myth Makers

The Ark

The Gunfighters

The Smugglers

Group 3

The Underwater Menace

The Ice Warriors

The Dominators

The Krotons

The Seeds of Death

Group 4

The End of the World

The Unquiet Dead

Aliens of London/World War Three

The Long Game

Boom Town

Group 5

The Christmas Invasion

Love and Monsters

Gridlock

Voyage of the Damned

Planet of the Dead

Group 6

Invasion of the Bane

Revenge of the Slitheen

Eye of the Gorgon

Warriors of Kudlak

Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane

The Lost Boy

Group 7

The Last Sontaran

The Day of the Clown

Secrets of the Stars

The Mark of the Berserker

The Temptation of the Sarah-Jane Smith

Enemy of the Bane

Group 8

Prisoner of the Judoon

The Mad Woman in the Attic

The Wedding of Sarah-Jane Smith

The Eternity Trap

Mona Lisa's Revenge

Group 9

The Marian Conspiracy

The Apocalyspe Element

The Shadow of the Scourge

The Holy Terror

Storm Warning

Group 10

Minuet in Hell

Loups-Garoux

The Chimes of Midnight

Seasons of Fear

The Time of the Daleks

Group 11

Jubilee

Neverland

Spare Parts

Creatures of Beauty

Doctor Who and the Pirates

Group 12

Omega

Master

Zagreus

Scherzo

The Natural History of Fear

Group 13

The Room With All the Doors

Grey Matter

Lepidoptery for Beginners

Something Borrowed

Nothing at the End of the Lane

Group 14

Divided Loyalties

Fear of the Dark

Fear Itself

12 Doctors, 12 Stories

Scratchman

The Stranger

Group 15

Vampire Science

Alien Bodies

Seeing I

The Scarlet Empress

Unnatural History

Interference

Group 16

The Blue Angel

The Burning

The Turing Test

The Year of Intelligent Tigers

The City of the Dead

The Adventuress of Henrietta Street

Day 2

Group 1

The Highlanders

The Faceless Ones

The Abominable Snowmen

The Wheel in Space

The Space Pirates

Group 2

Ambassadors of Death

Colony in Space

Day of the Daleks

The Time Monster

Frontier in Space

Death to the Daleks

Group 3

Doctor Who and the Silurians

The Claws of Axos

The Mutants

Planet of the Daleks

The Monster of Peladon

Planet of Spiders

Group 4

New Earth

Tooth and Claw

The Girl in the Fireplace

Fear Her

The Shakespeare Code

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks

The Lazarus Experiment

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky

Group 5

Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel

The Idiot's Lantern

42

The Doctor's Daughter

The Next Doctor

Group 6

The Gift

The Nightmare Man

The Vault of Secrets

Death of the Doctor

The Empty Planet

Group 7

Lost in Time

Goodbye, Sarah-Jane Smith

Sky

The Curse of Clyde Langer

The Man Who Never Was

Group 8

Everything Changes

Day One

Ghost Machine

Cyberwoman

Small Worlds

Group 9

Arrangements for War

The Harvest

Faith Stealer

Caerdroia

Terror Firma

Group 10

Singularity

Other Lives

The Kingmaker

The Girl Who Never Was

The Condemned

The Doomwood Curse

Group 11

The Magic Mousetrap TIE

The Company of Friends: Benny's Story

The Company of Friends: Fitz's Story

The Company of Friends: Izzy's Story

The Company of Friends: Mary's Story TIE

A Death in the Family

Group 12

Robophobia

The Silver Turk

1963: The Assassination Games

The Widow's Assassin

Dalek Soul

The Grey Man of the Mountain

Group 13

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Anachrophobia

The Book of the Still

The Crooked World

Camera Obscura

The Gallifrey Chronicles

Group 14

The Left-Handed Hummingbird

Human Nature

Lungbarrow

The Blood Cell

Engines of War

Group 15

The Book of War

This Town Will Never Let Us Go

Of the City of the Saved

Doctor Who and Shada (fan novelisation)

Harvest of Time

Group 16

The Star Beast

Voyager

The World Shapers

Ground Zero

The Flood

Day 3

Group 1

Robot

Revenge of the Cybermen

The Android Invasion

The Sunmakers

Meglos

Group 2

The Brain of Morbius

Image of the Fendahl

The Power of Kroll

The Creature from the Pit

Nightmare of Eden

Group 3

Victory of the Daleks

The Curse of the Black Spot

Closing Time

Asylum of the Daleks

The Bells of Saint John

Name of the Doctor

Group 4

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood

Night Terrors

The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

A Town Called Mercy

Hide

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

The Crimson Horror

Group 5

Countrycide

Greeks Bearing Gifts

They Keep Killing Suzie

Random Shoes

Out of Time

Group 6

Combat

Captain Jack Harkness

End of Days

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Sleeper

To the Last Man

Group 7

Meat

Adam

Reset

Dead Man Walking

A Day in the Death

Something Borrowed

Group 8

The Blood of the Daleks

Horror of Glam Rock

Immortal Beloved

Phobos

No More Lies

Group 9

Human Resources

To the Death

The Eleven

The Red Lady

The Galileo Trap

Group 10

The Gift

The Sonomancer

Absent Friends

The Eighth Piece

The Doomsday Chronometer

Group 11

The Crucible of Souls

Ship in a Bottle

Songs of Love

The Side of the Angels

Stop the Clock

Group 12

The Fallen

The Land of Happy Endings

Old Friends

Space in Dimension Relative and Time

Time in Reverse

Group 13

The Zero Imperative

The Devil of Winterborne

Unnatural Selection

Ghosts of Winterborne

When to Die

Group 14

Summoned by Shadows

More Than a Messiah

In Memory Alone

The Terror game

Breach of the Peace

Eye of the Beholder

Day 4

Group 1

Planet of Evil

The Invisible Enemy

The Invasion of Time

The Armageddon Factor

Destiny of the Daleks

Group 2

The Sontaran Experiment

The Masque of Mandragora

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Underworld

The Leisure Hive

Full Circle

Group 3

The Lodger

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

Let's Kill Hitler

Cold War

Nightmare in Silver

Group 4

Into the Dalek

Robot of Sherwood

Kill the Moon

The Pyramid at the End of the World

The Eaters of light

Group 5

From Out of the Rain

Adrift

Fragments

Exit WOunds

Children of Earth

Miracle Day

Group 6

K9 and Company

Regeneration/Liberation/The Korven

The Bounty Hunter

Sirens of Ceres

Fear Itself

The Fall of the House of Gryffen

Group 7

Escape from Kaldor

Better Watch Out/Fairytale in Salzburg

Companion Piece

Day of the Master

Paradox of the Daleks

Inside Every Warrior

Group 8

Stranded

UNIT Dating

Here Lies Drax

The Love Vampires

Albie's Angels

Group 9

Solitaire

Peri and the Piscon Paradox TIE

The Cold Equations TIE

The Last Post

The Scorchies

Nightshade

Group 10

Death and the Queen

The Sword of the Chevalier

No Place

The Creeping Death

Out of Time (individual story)

Wink

Group 11

Wartime

Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough

Downtime

Sil and the Seeds of Andor

Group 12

Wall's Sky Ray lollies advert

Merry Christmas Doctor Who

Step into the 80s/On Through the 80s

A Fix With Sontarans

Dalek Weetabix advert

Famin Appeal 1985

Group 13

The Shrink

Search Out Space

Dimensions in Time

Emperor of the Daleks

The Curse of Fatal Death

Day 5

Group 1

Four to Doomsday

Terminus

Warriors of the Deep

The Awakening

Resurrection of the Daleks

Group 2

The Visitation

Black Orchid

Time-Flight

Arc of Infinity

The King's Demons

Group 3

Listen

The Girl Who Died

Sleep No More

Knock Knock

The Lie of the Land

The Empress of Mars

Group 4

The Caretaker

In the Forest of the Night

Last Christmas

The Woman Who Lived

The Return of Doctor Mysterio

Twice Upon a Time

Group 5

The Jaws of Orthrus

Dream-Eaters

Curse of Anubis

Oroborus

Alien Avatar

Group 6

The Aeolian

The Last Oak Tree

Black Hunger

The Cambridge Spy

Lost Library of Ukko

Group 7

Square One

First Days of Phaidon

Gallifrey IV

Warfare

Unity

Group 8

The Queen of Time

Paradise 5

The Elite

I am the Master

Forever Fallen

A Full Life

Group 9

The Fifth Citadel

The Forgotten Villafe

Peshka

The Concrete Cage TIE

Troubled Waters TIE

The Hollow King

Group 10

Born Again

Tardisodes

Time Crash

Space/Time

The Naked Truth

Night and the Doctor

Group 11

Pond Life

P.S.

The Great Detective

The Bells of Saint John: A prequel

The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later

Clara and the TARDIS

Group 12

Rain Gods

Night of the Doctor

The Last Day

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot

The Doctor's Meditation

Farewell Sarah-Jane

[realm-sweet-realm]

Do you have any immortal Bolo headcanons?

Thanks for the ask! I'll do my best with this.

-After the events of the game, Volo hastily traveled to Hoenn because he was worried that, now that his evil actions had been revealed, he would be ostracized by everyone he knew. He wanted to leave before anyone found out about his crimes, as he didn't want to have to face the people who had once respected him, especially Cogita.

-It was well over a decade later that Volo realized that he was no longer aging. He wasn't sure why this was. Eventually, his curiosity outdid his fears and he wrote to Cogita, asking if it was a rare genetic quirk in their lineage as well as explaining his current situation (he'd set up a life for himself as a merchant in Hoenn, had learned to craft many different tools under a master craftsman, and had calmed down significantly) and asking for forgiveness. Cogita was overjoyed to hear from him again, forgave him, and said that no, she was the only one of the Celestica people who had ever been immortal. This was something else entirely.

-Volo concluded that someone, perhaps Arceus, had great plans for him. He returned to Hisui and made amends with many people, including Cogita, the Ginko Guild, and Giratina, who would show up to help him or spend time with him often over the coming centuries. After some soul-searching, he decided that he was meant to learn about the entire pantheon of legendaries and thus answer the philosophical questions that had led him to evil.

-During his studies in Hisui, he fell in love with a woman from the Diamond Clan and fathered a child with her. He was away often after his daughter's early childhood. However, he did return to visit her periodically. His daughter is long-lived as well, though not immortal or even so long-lived as Cogita. She eventually takes Cogita's place as a keeper of knowledge about myth and legend. She is alive in the present day (Cynthia's "grandma"- perhaps actually her great or great-great grandma), and though the trait grows weaker with each generation, her descendants are long-lived as well.

-As transportation technology advanced, Volo was able to travel and gather information quicker and visit Celestic Town more frequently. He adores Cynthia and encouraged her to become a great champion so that she could protect the region. He even gave her the best gible he'd ever bred so that she could use it as a starter Pokemon.

-The more knowledge Volo gains, the older he begins to look and feel. In the current day, he looks to be in his early fifties. He feels as though he knows now what has happened: Arceus decided that he would be the one to find the philosophical truths that would lead the world to peace, such that no one would be driven to the extremes he was. That, along with the ways in which he's encouraged his descendants to protect the region, is his penance for what he's done, and it’s brought him a lot of peace. His family knows about all of this, and Cynthia wonders if he will finish his quest during her lifetime. It's even crossed her mind to join him one day, or that gathering the last of what he needs might be up to her once his body grows too old. Regardless, she loves her uncle Volo.

[beevean]

Rank your top 5 Belmonts And if you have the energy/desire to do more: Rank your top 5 Castlevania games Rank your top 5 Castlevania tracks

5) Richter. I don't think much of the guy, but undeniably he is a very important figure, the symbol of the cracking of the Belmont legacy. At first, he's a hotblooded shonen young warrior, full of energy and life and will to fight... and then we learn that the will to fight is actually an issue, because after he defeated Dracula at age 19, he found no other reason to live.

4) Simon. Got higher up to the list in recent times <3 he's the Belmont, without any drama or obvious flaw. But I've come to like that about him, and admire his feats in Simon's Quest that show that he's not just a formidable badass, but a very noble man too, willing to even bury his foe out of respect.

3) Leon. He deserved none of that :( Leon is another Belmont mainly defined by his noble nature, perhaps to a fault (my good man why are you storming a vampire castle without a sword). His shining moment is, of course, him rejecting Mathias' absurd proposal: he may be full of anger against his former friend, to the point of swearing vengeance and dooming his descendants to a lifetime of fighting, but he also refuses to fall into the pit Mathias won't escape from, and has the perfect rebuttal for his inane logic and indirectly Dracula as a whole: "But defeating him... No, preventing others from suffering the same cursed fate... That was Sara's dying wish... Granting my beloved's wish. That is all I can do to prove my love to Sara. Eternity without her would be nothing but emptiness."

2) Juste. The golden child in deep denial :D It's a bit unfair that he gets reduced to "Alucard Belmont" and at most praised for his OP powers, but hey, he's not the only one. He has an interesting personality if you read between the lines, from his brashness that contrasts with his angelic looks, to how fervently he forces Maxim to keep Lydie in the dark. Also he's the king of interior decor :P

1) Trevor. He's the Sonic of Castlevania. He invented the Superpower of Teamwork™. He's kind and helpful to those he considers his friends and a terrifying menace if he thinks you're in his way (he won't ask first). He has the Legs of all time. His theme slaps an inordinate amount of ass. He's shaped like a friend and I love him <3

(a close runnerup would be Christopher, because I really like the concept of an older Belmont, who thought that could retire, nyooming to rescue his son from Dracula's influence <3 a prelude of things to come <3)

~

I was sure I had already ranked them, but perhaps I need to remake the list anyway...

5) Adventure ReBirth. Admittedly it's been a while since I replayed it, but I have fond memories of it as far as Classics go. It's simple, it's well designed, it's fun, it has kickass remixes (Aquarius <3) I wish it wasn't so obscure because I think it's the best entry point for those interested in the genre.

4) Portrait of Ruin. Y'all sleep on this title unfairly. Jonathan and Charlotte are very fun to play as, the gimmick of the paintings allows for new locations rarely explored in the series, it has an interesting mission system that makes the game more fun to master, and an OST that seriously deserves more love.

3) Curse of Darkness. Yes, it's noticeably flawed, from the mindnumbing level design to the obtusity of Forging. It's not a game I can pick up whenever I want, the only reason I can't put it in first place. But aside from that, it honestly feels like it was designed just for me and my tastes lmao. The fighting/crafting/raising loop is incredibly addictive and reminds me of the Sonic Adventure games <3 and ofc, as you could tell, I'm in love with the characters and story :P

2) Symphony of the Night. The one, the myth, the legend. Describing it feels like a waste of time. It's a timeless classic for a reason. It may not be perfect, but much like Super Metroid, I think the atmosphere is so well crafted that it pulls you in regardless of any issues you might have. It's an experience to be had.

1) Harmony of Dissonance. Oh yeah. This game is stupid fun to me. I just pick it up and play it to wind down. The ability to dash in both directions makes it a 10/10, then you add the spells that are fun to experiment with, the breakability, the COLORS FEEL SO RIGHT, the eerie music (yes it's good! it's good!!! fight me!!!!), Maxim Mode...

~

I was also sure I had this list... how could I pick only 5 tracks from this giant, beautiful repertoire...? D:

5) Chapel of Dissonance. Unlike many of the tracks in this soundtrack, this one is perfectly hummable and sweet. It fits the beautiful sky like a glove, and it may subtly reference Divine Bloodlines which is a stroke of genius :)

4) Lost Painting. SoTN abunds in jaw-dropping tracks, but this one feels uniquely magical, and it plays just in the right areas of the castle (a chapel, a library, and icy caves). It sounds like a sad lullaby sung to Alucard, and I hear reluctance to venture further and fight.

3) Garibaldi Courtyard. I have no clue why this mundane area in the game has music that brings me to tears. Similar in atmosphere to Lost Painting and Fog-Enshrouded Nightscape, but with CoD's more modern sound. I don't know how to put into words the profound sadness I hear here.

2) Dracula Battle (SCIV). I cannot gush enough about the genius of this track as the final boss theme. It never gets faster, or drop a harder beat: you only get these long strings and this complex arpeggio for an unsettling atmosphere. I said back then: "It sounds like you're quietly resigning yourself to your fate. You will die. But that's alright. He will die too."

1) Leon's Theme. This could pass for a classical piece. It's perfect in every way. You can almost touch Leon's sorrow and anger - you can hear the fingers pressing on the piano! It gets you pumped to reach the end of the game, and you get to grieve with Leon for the terrible night he's going through. Special shoutout for the part at 1:34 for sounding like the aforementioned Dracula theme.

[fl0ral-inkk]

Okay sorry if I dreamed like that what happens is that I thought you hadn't told me the answer of no and as days passed I was staying like Mr. Crab looking for his millionth dollar and the other thing is that I asked some people for a request and there was no update and I thought they didn't want to do it but they didn't tell me that's why I apologize with a big heart. And well if you say that my request was eaten by your Tumblr notifications then I'm going to repeat my request and this time it will reach you. my request is for a fusion between two characters which are Leo San Juan and Teodora Villavicencio from Legend Quest Masters of Myth which are those two characters that you see now and just to say it I want it to look feminine and to really be a combination of both bodies and clothes okay.

[mossy-crow0]

Well if that is the case you could make a fusion of these two characters, their names are Leo San Juan and Teodora Villanvicenco from Legend Quest Masters of Myth, please.

been falling behind in my asks buttttt..

hope ya like it

obviously it’s a spanish show and i know about ten spanish words so idk if i got anything wrong…? i based them off of the pics you gave me eh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[siderealcity]

Does anybody else ever wonder how the Archons connect to the Twelve? Just me? That's fair.

Back before the Praetorium fight, Alphinaud named the plan to take down the Black Wolf, "Operation Archon" on the basis that it required the cooperation of twelve major factions, and the Archons of legend were twelve in number. Which automatically associates them with The Twelve. So... speculation on who's who under the cut, I guess.

1. Louisoix -- Obviously aligns with Thaliak. The symbol for Thaliak is inscribed on Tupsimati.

2. Matoya -- I'm going to say that as the Keeper of the Antitower, she aligns with Nald'thal.

3. Y'shtola -- As the vehemently curious sun-seeker, I'm going to guess she's aligned with Azeyma, goddess of inquiry. And her conflict/connection to Master Matoya mirrors Azeyma and Nald'thal.

4. Urianger -- The student of prophesy seems most likely aligned with Nymeia, the goddess of Fate.

5. Yda (the real one, not Lyse) -- Was probably Rhalgr. I mean. She seems to have majored in punching. That's a no-brainer.

6. G'raha -- The one introduced to us as a happy-go-lucky archer, who still gets all excited about wandering on the eternal winds, and who was notably there for Myths of the Realm is almost definitely aligned with Oschon, tendency to be trapped in towers aside. (This might have also been why they initially thought of making him green instead of red.)

So, with the easy ones out of the way, that leaves us:

7. Rammbroes -- I'm going to throw him over to the Althyk column. I had initially thought maybe Byregot? Just... on the basis of vague tower-related stuff? But it makes more sense for the archaeologist to be associated with the god of time, I think.

8. Papalymo -- I'm guessing Byregot for him, on the basis that he's the counterpoint to Yda's Rhalgr.

9. Moenbryda -- I'm torn on this one. With moon literally being in her name, that makes her a shoe-in for Menphina, she wears blue and white, and being the sweetheart of just about everyone we know she kinda lines up with the goddess of love, but she's... really into axes, and she throws herself at Nabriales, the Convocation seat that governed combat? So she could also be aligned with Halone. And we meet her at the start of the plot that leads us to Ishgard, so...

I dunno. I might put her under Halone, the more I think about it.

10. Thancred -- Another tricky one. Being the guy who throws knives, and also being from Limsa originally, I am tempted to say he's aligned with Lymlaen. But also being the outrageous flirt throughout ARR, he could be the one lined up with Menphina.

11 and 12?? Mikoto and Kagura. Does Kagura still count, if she was stripped of her title? Mikoto is a super-nerd and has precognition. That could make her a good candidate for Althyk. But she's also in the relic weapon quest for Shadowbringers, and she's involved in crafting tools to stop Ultima, so... she could be Byregot? But she's also a twin, and her sister is described as "headstrong" and her colors are all ice-blue and white, so... she could be Menphina while Kagura goes with Halone.

But then again... Nophica and Lymlaen are unaccounted for, and they are also sisters.

It would help if somebody had a dog, is all I'm saying.

[omi-papus]

Compartiendo esto otra vez por si a alguien le interesa. Todos mis animaticos tratan de este universo.

[kumamoto-division]

ALTERNATIVE RAP BATTLE (STRANGE MAGIC.VER)

Bring the beat!

[Aoba:]

In the quiet halls of knowledge where the shadows swell, Guinevere stands guard, in silence, I excel

Feeling lost, adrift in life's complex quest, bearing guilt's heavy armor upon my chest.

Heart encased in ice, a lifeless stance, in the grip of madness, I watch my sanity dance.

Scorn for the fools who knowledge despise, Guinevere's the name, I'm colder than the Arctic's ice!

Mayhem and upheaval, Hypnosis Mic! A rivalry of champions, Alternative Battle!

Throw us some ill beats, DJ Sparks fly off the desperation! We cram into these rhymes!

This is no exhibition, it’s a historic battle! The format is ruthless, this otherworldly magic!

We’re greedy, east, west, south, north! Till we take it all, we’ll throw these insults!

Take or get taken, there’s no time to hold a grudge.

Are you game for more? Do you want more!

[Kunio:]

On life's grand stage, Moriarty's my game, Master of illusions, freedom's my claim to fame

For my kin, Natsume and Aoba, love's no show, life's a dazzling spectacle, in its radiant glow

Contempt for the elite, those arrogant brats, betrayed by kin, but I've clawed my way back

Rebel at heart, with every magical breath, James Moriarty, crafting destiny till death!

Run and gun, Hypnosis Mic! Violently valorous rhyme power, alternative rap!

Connect these dope beats, DJ! Quickly snatching it up for real, and stuffing it full!

One for the treble, two for the bass! Painful brats may die but the flow never will!

This battle of rhymes is karmic retribution! Till we take it all, we’ll throw these insults!

Take or get taken, there’s no time to hold a grudge

Are you game for more? Do you want more?

[Natsume:]

Through ancient lands and stories, Wanderer roams, sketching the world's magic, in every tome

A sovereign of shadows, a witch-queen's might, with my art and enchantments, I command the night

For my loves, Guinevere and Moriarty, the world's a stage, we herald the dawn, the new age's first page

Legends and myths, in my rap, they seethe, Wanderer's the name, in my magic, fool if you don't believe!

Mayhem and upheaval, Hypnosis Mic! A rivalry of champions, Alternative Battle! Throw us some ill beats, DJ Sparks fly off the desperation!

We cram into these rhymes! This is no exhibition, it’s a historic battle! The format is ruthless, this otherworldly magic!

We’re greedy, east, west, south, north. Till we take it all, we’ll throw these insults. Run and gun, Hypnosis Mic! Violently valorous rhyme power, alternative rap. Connect these dope beats, DJ Quickly snatching it up for real, and stuffing it full!

One for the treble, two for the bass. Painful brats may die but the flow never will.

This battle of rhymes is karmic retribution. Till we take it all, we’ll throw these insults.

Take or get taken, there’s no time to hold a grudge.

Are you game for more? Do you want more?

[lea-andres]

Okay, bitches, I warned you. You better be firmly gripping your butts or long gone, it's Team Chaotix Point and Click rant time.

Now, let's be perfectly clear: I don't actually want Sonic Team to make a point and click adventure game. If one was announced tomorrow I'd be VERY scared. Despite the simplicity of the mechanics in the name this is a complicated genre to master. I'd feel better if Sonic Team reached out to someone with past experience for assistance. Like Double Fine (run by Tim Schafer from LucasArts), or Skunkape (A lot of the early TellTale guys who worked on the Sam and Max games), or even the man, the myth, the legend Ron Gilbert himself (he made Monkey Island, the objectively best point and click ever made.) to give a few examples. I'm not saying Sonic Team's bad at game design, I'm saying making the "gotta go fast" games and making the "rub everything in your pockets on everyone you can talk to until something happens" games are two very different skillsets and I wouldn't expect a company that does one to be able to pick up the other and do it flawlessly.

Alright, we all on the same page? Cool, let's continue.

Now, here's step #1 to making a good Sonic the Hedgehog Point and Click Adventure Game: LEAVE THE SPIKY BLUE RAT THE FUCK OUT OF THIS!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE PLAYING AS HIM, I DON'T WANT TO GO ON A FETCH QUEST FOR HIM, GET HIM THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!

Sonic the Hedgehog characteristically does not work in a point and click. Slowly wandering around an environment examining every detail and talking to everyone about every possible point of discussion is NOT how he rolls. And waiting around for you to do something for him before he'll help you is also not in character AT ALL for him. Luckily, he's easy to get rid of. Just load him and Eggman into a catapult and launch them somewhere else to go fight. Bonus points if what they're up to is a mainline Sonic game you also release, because that's always fun when there's in game hints that two games canonically happened at the same time.

So... Why do Team Chaotix work? The fact that they're detectives makes it make sense they're acting like a point and click protagonist. Examining the surroundings in great detail? They're looking for clues! Speaking to everyone around at great length? Questioning witnesses and suspects! Picking up everything that isn't nailed down? Collecting evidence! The Nancy Drew point and click adventure games exist for a reason: THIS GENRE WORKS REALLY WELL FOR DETECTIVE TYPES.

And I fully insist we play as Team Chaotix. Gimme all three of them! Trust me, having Vector, Espio, AND Charmy playable at any time opens the door to SO MANY fun puzzles! We can do a combined Day of the Tentacle/Sam and Max method of having three protagonists. The two you aren't playing as are roaming around the scene with you, giving you the freedom to talk to them whenever you want (Sam and Max), but you swap between them at any time with buttons in your inventory (Day of the Tentacle).

Why would we want to do this? Vector, Espio, and Charmy have canonically established skillsets that could be utilized for some unique puzzles:

-Vector is quite strong. If you encounter an item you need to get past, but Espio and Charmy cannot move it, Vector can move it.

-Espio can turn invisible. If you need to get in or out without being seen, Espio can do it.

-Charmy can fly, and is quite small. He can reach high areas and fit into small gaps.

Also, if we borrow the dialogue mechanics from TellTale Season 1 and 2 of Sam and Max (where Sam and Max each had their own dialogue choices you could pick from), we can set up mechanics for each detective in dialogue puzzles.

-Vector's a big, intimidating guy. Some of his dialogue might get a bit more threatening, because maybe the suspect'll talk if you scare the pants off of them.

-Espio is a straight shooter. I wouldn't necessarily call him the *nicest* of the three, but he's the most likely to be the direct and blunt one. Some people need to hear it how it is.

-And Charmy's a little kid. He can get irritating, he KNOWS he can get irritating, some of his dialogue options would be him cranking it up to 11 to see if he can get the suspect really mad and confess to something they shouldn't while telling him off.

Now, I'm gonna give you guys what the opening of this hypothetical game might look like. By the time this opening segment would end, we're gonna establish the following:

-How the controls work

-How inventory works

-How swapping between the Chaotix works

-How dialogue works

-The concept that each Chaotix member has a special ability that can be used for puzzle solving.

Ready, whoever stuck around this long? Let's go:

The scene opens on a news broadcast. The news anchor is reporting on whatever latest Sonic vs Eggman fight is occurring, we slowly pan back, and it's being played on a crappy TV set. We slowly turn, we're in the Chaotix's office. We pass Espio meditating in the corner, and come upon Vector, who is snoring away in his desk chair.

The phone rings, startling Vector awake, who loudly knocks a bunch of stuff over retrieving it before the person hangs up.

"Chaotix Detective Agency! Vector speaking! ...Ah, Miss Vanilla, what can I do for you?" We can't hear Vanilla, but Vector looks alarmed by whatever it is she says.

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll be over right away!" He hangs up.

"What's going on?" Charmy asks curiously.

"Miss Vanilla needs us over at her place right away! Where's Espio?"

"He's over there." Charmy points. Espio is still mediating, and he hasn't moved. Vector crosses his arms.

"We can't wait for him to wake up! Charmy, go fetch the pepper grinder!" Charmy salutes.

We are now in control of Charmy. Talking to Vector will just repeat the "Go get the pepper grinder!" instructions. You can interact with Espio if you want, a thorough game would give you a couple different moments of Charmy poking and prodding him before the comment's made that he won't budge when he's in deep meditation like this. There should also be lots of stuff around the office to interact with (including a picture of Mighty and Ray tucked away somewhere for the more detail oriented players to find! Interacting with it will make Charmy comment about it.), but you're supposed to leave the room and head into the kitchen.

There's not much in here. Opening the cabinets will eventually reveal the pepper grinder, which Charmy will automatically grab. It will now be in your inventory. Head back into the office.

"Great! Gimme the pepper grinder!" Charmy hands it over.

"Now step aside!"

The pepper grinder is gone, and there is now a picture of Vector in the inventory. Clicking on it will switch you to being in control of Vector. The picture is now a picture of Charmy, AND the pepper grinder is back in your inventory (this will be the only time an item will need to be passed between the Chaotix like this. They will have a shared inventory from this point further because TRUST ME WE DON'T WANT TO KEEP TRACK OF WHO HAS WHAT THAT GETS ANNOYING AND COULD POTENTIALLY RENDER THE GAME UNWINNABLE IF WE LOSE ACCESS TO SOMEONE AND THE STUFF GOES WITH THEM!)

Drag the pepper grinder onto Espio.

Vector cranks the pepper grinder over Espio's head, black flecks dropping onto his face. Eventually the chameleon sneezes.

"I keep telling you guys to buy an alarm clock!" He complains as he climbs to his feet.

"Miss Vanilla needs us at her place right away! Let's go, boys!"

We are now free to leave the office. Leaving will give us a map of all the areas we will go to during the game. Only Vanilla's house is visible and labelled at this time, but this map would get filled in as we access new locations.

However, the Chaotix get stopped halfway there by the road blocked off by barricades and a guy standing guard at the opening in the barricades.

"Sorry, fellas, I can't let you through. Active construction site!" He announces.

"But this is the only way to our destination!" Vector complains.

"Yeah, let us through!" Charmy demands.

"No dice. Take your little bee there, and buzz off!"

A couple different things should become obvious as you talk to this guy as Vector and/or Charmy:

-He's only going to move if the bell behind him is rung, as that's the signal to go take his break.

-He's not scared of Vector. If he tries to intimidate him, he's gonna calmly remark he's getting paid to stand here and tell people not to enter, so he doesn't care what Vector says or does to him.

-He has kids, so Charmy's antics don't get to him.

-He has not noticed Espio's with them.

Assuming you exhausted all Vector and Charmy dialogue options, you'd end up on Espio's list eventually. It doesn't matter what you pick first, the guy will interrupt you regardless.

"You scared me!" He complains "I didn't notice you were there at all! You're like a ninja!"

The construction worker shoots about a foot into the air the moment Espio speaks up.

"I AM a ninja." Espio crosses his arms in irritation.

None of Espio's dialogue options reveal any new information, but it should be obvious by this point what needs to be done. (If it's not, don't worry, leaving conversation with the construction worker and talking to any of the Chaotix members will prompt to suggest Espio use his ninja skills to sneak over to the bell.)

Once you leave the conversation with the construction worker and regain access to your inventory, there will now be a picture of Espio in it. Click on it to become Espio, and then click on the bell.

Vector and Charmy will huddle up to block the construction worker's view of Espio as he turns invisible. He then hops the barricade, goes over to the bell, and rings it. The construction worker, who definitely has the intelligence of the Boom villagers but leave him alone lmao, tells the Chaotix not to enter the construction site while he's on break.

"We wouldn't dream of it!" Vector promises. The construction worker leaves, Espio reappears, there's a beat...

And then the Chaotix march straight through the construction zone.

They get to Miss Vanilla's house... And I'm gonna stop there. We've learned the bare bones mechanics of how we would get through this game. Everything else would be taking what we understand and making us combine it. If you want an example of a more complicated puzzle, let me know, I could revisit the one I explained AGES ago where we "convince" Knuckles to hand over a Chaos Emerald.