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delightfully-deranged-dagur · 2 years

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Okay. I talked a bit of the live action Monster High designs, and now we have our first looks at the new animated series looks. Let's go in to them.

And I'm gonna be more positive about these ones. Mostly because they look better then the live action designs. And I'm tired of being negative about everything.

Gabrielle Nevaeh Green (That Girl Lay Lay) as Clawdeen Wolf – Half-human and half-werewolf, Clawdeen is thrilled to join Monster High, despite the challenge of being a half-monster in a school of full-monster students.

Okay. Let's start with Clawdeen. Half human, Half werewolf. So 75% human and 25% wolf. Yet this is the most Wolf like Clawdeen has ever looked. Changes to her character aside, I do love her nose and ears. If only she had a tail and the design would be almost perfect. But the changes to her personality still keep her down.

Overall, I'm giving this a 7/10. There's really nothing wrong with it. I'm just not a fan of the new personality. And the dumb half human thing. That doesn't make sense.

Courtney Lin (Crash: The Animated Series) as Draculaura – The daughter of Dracula, vampire Draculaura seems like the perfect dictionary definition of a monster. But she hides a deep desire to become a witch, which is strictly forbidden in the monster world.

Farewell to Debi Derryberry's iconic performance as Draculaura. You will be missed.

Still not the biggest fan of the two-tone hair. But this does look better then the live action. I also love her hat. It keeps her protected from the sun as a vampire, and the spider web pattern? Love it. Still iffy on the Witch thing. Maybe if it was just a taboo for vampires specifically to become witches, because of some sort of feud maybe, it would work better.

6.5/10. Could use more black in her color scheme.

Iris Menas (West Side Story) as Frankie Stein – Brought to life just 15 days ago by their scientist parents, Frankie is figuring out who they are and who they want to be.

Frankie is still the best part of this entire reboot. They're just, so much better then their original counterpart. Yeah i said it. OG Frankie was bland. Her personality trait was that she kept getting a new boyfriend every 5 minutes.

Design wise they look pretty good. But their color scheme is a bit of a mess. Bright blues, that yellowy green, neon pink. It's a lot but at the same time it does fit Frankie. Of course the person that's still figuring themselves out has an uncoordinated color scheme.

8/10.

Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Deuce Gorgon – The son of Medusa and Lyra, Deuce is often influenced by the snakes that live on his head and get him into trouble.

I'm gonna say it. Deuce looks the best out of all of them. Take notes live action. Scales! Scales on his clothes. Not camo. And actual sunglasses! And he has snakes! Actual snakes! And they're so expressive! I can see them getting Deuce in trouble. Also I need Deuce to have a bad hair day that's just the snakes fighting each other.

But who is Lyra? I don't know enough about Greek mythology to know who that is. Until I know, I'm just imagining Lyra Heartstrings from MLP.

9/10. It would be 10/10 if he didn't have sleeves.

Kausar Mohammed (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous) as Cleo De Nile – Cleo is a mummy monster who knows she is destined for greatness--if only everyone else would just admit it and get out of her way.

She actually has dark skin. Wow. Didn't know they had it in them. And wrappings. She's an actual mummy. Not just an Egyptian girl.

Though there's something off. That blue. It is her blue. But in the original it was more of an accent. Here it dominates her design. And there's barely any gold in her hair. I'm not so sure about this design.

5/10.

Alexander Polinsky (Blaze and the Monster Machines) as Heath Burns – Temperamental and passionate as the son of Hades would be, Heath is quite literally a hot head who can get worked up over anything and is prone to fiery outbursts.

If you don't have anything nice to say. Don't say anything at all. So let's keep this short.

No.

Let's make it longer.

Why?! What did they do to him?!

Okay, there's a simple fix. Either make his hair more red or, (can't believe I'm saying this) lighten his skin to be more pale yellow. Make a better separation between his head and his hair. That way it looks more like Heath, and less like Bart Simpson on fire.

And Hades?! What? Did they didn't do their research? Did they only watch the Disney version? Fire isn't Hades' element! It's earth! (If I remember correctly) and if he's the son of Hades, where did his last name come from?

And the Hothead personality. Really? That wasn't the pun with Heath's original personality. He was a Wannabe Hotshot! Not Hothead! If they wanna give Deuce a best friend, connect him to Greek mythology and have him be a Hothead, Manny Tuar would be a much better choice!

-5/10.

Valeria Rodriguez (To Your Eternity) as Lagoona Blue – Having grown up in an ancient underwater Mayan Castillo with her ocean nymph mother and sea monster father, sweet yet ferocious Lagoona doesn't know much about life on land.

General consensus about Lagoona is that the design is good, and the personality is fun. But it's not Lagoona Blue. She's not even blue! From here on out, we will not be referring to her as Lagoona. This, is Lulu.

So Lulu looks fun. Her design is pretty good for a sea monster. And it's interesting that of all the things to keep from the original is her status as Hybrid between a Nymph and a Sea Monster.

So Lulu gets a 6/10. Lagoona gets a 1/10.

Alexa Kahn (Madagascar: A Little Wild) as Toralei Stripe – hailing from an elite monster family, Toralei is a werecat and the "bad girl" at Monster High. Old fashioned and brave, Toralei is committed to her cause of preserving monster society.

So Toralei is back. Nice surprise. Especially since she got spared from the Live Action treatment.

I don't hate this design. But there's some ways to improve her. First, change the purple to black. Second, her orange seems to lean towards yellow instead of red. Just slide her orange hue just a bit to red and she'd be great.

8/10.

Debra Wilson (Baby Shark's Big Show!) as Headmistress Bloodgood – The headless overseer of the school, Headmistress Bloodgood has a proclivity for wandering around at night to keep an eye on the students.

Was the picture of Debra Wilson staring into my soul necessary? They couldn't pick a different picture? This doesn't flatter her.

Anyway, Bloodgood. Well she's certainly not Bloodbad. She looks great. Still wish her color scheme was a bit darker though. And was so hard for the live action to have the same belt as this one? Why did go with a boring ribbon? This looks way better!

9/10.

And that's it. That's all we know. Seems Abbey and Ghoulia are sidelined once again. Clawd and Howleen still don't exist. At least, not as Clawdeen's siblings. And there was a leak of what dolls are coming and Twyla was on it. So we can expect to see her.

I'm cautiously optimistic about all this. It looks better then the movie, though thats not a high bar to reach.

We'll just have to see what happens.

#monster high #monster high 2022 #clawdeen wolf #draculaura #frankie stein #deuce gorgon #cleo de nile #heath burns #lagoona blue #toralei stripe #headmistress bloodgood

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strangestcase · 2 years

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ok it was about time I give you guys my honest opinions on the G3 designs (the cartoon ones) because it's such a mixed bag I really can't just say "it's good" or "it's bad"

CLAWDEEN- the design is super cute but it doesn't say "Clawdeen Wolf" to me. G1 and G2 Clawdeen was a fashionista and I don't like how it seems like G3 Clawdeen isn't. It takes away a lot of her personality, which was very watered down for the movie, so I hope her character arc in the show involves her gaining the confidence the OG Clawdeen was known for. Also the hair should be darker- that much purple feels distracting. Some touches of green wouldn't be bad, also. I love that she's Afrolatina, but hate that her skin is getting lightened left and right. All in all, I can say "good, but not good enough".

DRACULAURA- she's flawless. Ok, not really, but I like her. The new clothes are rather underwhelming compared to the G1 and G2 looks but they're still good. I love the addition of the hat, the split dye, and her being Filipino and plus size, but I miss the pigtails. I also feel like her personality, too, should be explored more in the show. The movie had her go from aloof to friendly and sweet as she opened up to Clawdeen and Frankie, and that was AMAZING. Final verdict: G1 and G2 Draculaura looked great but were a little grating; G3 Draculaura is more likable (to me) but her outfit doesn't go nearly as hard.

FRANKIE- personality and design wise? Frankie is the saving grace of the reboot. Making them a secondary protagonist allows the burden of being relatable to be lifted from their shoulders, and that's how Frankie really starts to shine. The same had happened in G2. Making Frankie a more "dorky nerd" type of character is a great choice. Also: trans! But dear god, I want to kick the Universal execs on the ribs- Frankie isn't the same without green skin, neck bolts, and a big ole square Frankenstein head. That's just... wrong. Still, the design is cute and the clothes are great, but the neons throw me off. Personally, I think Frankie works best with dark colors and goth fashions. So yay to the overall character, nay to the new outfit. It's not too bad, but it isn't something I'd make Frankie wear, at least... not all the time? I think some elements of the G3 outfit can easily be blended in with the G1 outfit, but they're so different, it just clashes.

DEUCE- I miss the red accents and the lack of sleeves, but other than that, Deuce's design really has come around. He's way more snakelike and has a more defined signature color. Plus the glasses not being opaque, while taking away some mystery to his eyes, really make him more expressive. And that jacket? Amazing. As for his personality- I think the movie was trying to develop Deuce as something more than Cleo's boyfriend, but somewhat failed. He's nowhere as punk as G1 Deuce, and a lot of things about him felt like the writers fumbling to make him "cute". I don't know; I hope the cartoon doesn't go that direction and instead allows him to develop in a more natural way.

CLEO- this is the one design that is all in all an improvement. Darker skin? Great. Lots of blue? Great. Golden accents? Great. The makeup? Great. The jewelry? Great. It's all great. My one gripe is that they've made her skin look weirdly metallic which.......... makes me a little scared, ngl. Please tell me it's body glitter. Dark skin Cleo but at what cost... Now as for her personality: I really do hope they don't take her down the same route as the movie in which she was just a mean girl with nothing much to her other than being snooty and eventually befriending Clawdeen. The OG Cleo had MEAT and BACKSTORY to her meanness. They better not leave that out in the cartoon.

HEATH- the design looks terrible, overall, but I'll say that 1) putting his skin on the orange side is a change for the better and 2) having his color palette have cooler tones is innovative. I certainly would not out it on his sweatshirt though. At least movie!Heath had a cohesive design, with mostly warm colors and his varsity jacket acting as balance. I can't say much about movie Heath's personality because, to make a story short, he didn't do much. He was implied to be a troublemaker, but he just showed up for a couple of scenes and that was it. I like that they will lean into exploring his temper but that would have fit Holt more... the same way Clawdeen's arc in the movie would have fit Holt more. Also I want to see how they spin the "son of Hades" thing, because I get the feeling it will be C.A. Cupid 2.0.

LAGOONA- it's been said before and I will say it again: the design is amazing, but it doesn't feel much like Lagoona. Which is strange, since from what little we saw of Lagoona's personality in the movie, she is going to be very much G1 Lagoona with a new coat of paint. Speaking of strange things, they made her be Colombian, as a nod to the original Creature of the Black Lagoon (her dad)- but her new design is more mermaid-ish? As for her clothes, they're great, though I would have gone for a different color, probably darker (the whole of G3 is in dire need of dark colors). Though the main change I'd make is making her skin aqua blue again. Or another shade of pink. This pink color is just wrong. Why not fuchsia? What's wrong with fuchsia?

TORALEI- I'm honestly wondering how they're going to make Toralei being a "conservative" monster work... but from her design, I deduce she'll just be the regular mean Toralei, just now with a hatred of humans sprinkled in. As for her family though? A mystery. Her design isn't bad, and I think it's the best one of them all along with Cleo's, with her new hair being cooler than G1's, but the outfit, while good, is still a downgrade. Purple and white don't work with her. She needs black and orange. And pants. For the love of god give her pants.

HEADLESS HEADMISTRESS- G3 headmistress was a step down from G1. Or a couple hundred steps down. Personality-wise. But design wise, this one is better. That's all I have to say. Love the axe earrings.

OVERALL OPINION: G3 designs aren't bad but they aren't good. Most of them are, while iconic, not THE iconic designs that made Monster High what it is. I don't hate them, but I don't really like them a lot. They need darker colors and edgier fashion. Some changes I consider improvements, but most of them are meh at best. In short: I don't like the reboot, in general, but I like enough things about it to be interested in seeing where it goes, particularly story-wise. There is still room for improvement and I think it would be a disservice to older fans to not listen to them.

#monster high #mh #monster high g3 #monster high threeboot

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magnificent-monsters · 2 years

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My thoughts and opinions on the recently released Monster High: The Movie pictures

Starting off with our main wolf, Clawdeen, I wanna say that her look is really great and stays true to the vibes that Clawdeen had in the original animations.

It feels like something she would have designed and wore in the og show and I really think it suits Miia Harris!

She has a confidence and sass that is perfect for someone playing a character like this.

The only thing that really bothers me is that I’m not a big fan of the purple hair, it makes the whole thing feel very disconnected from how Clawdeen typically is portrayed.

Other than that, I think she is perfect for what I feel like the movie is going to be!

Next in this lineup is Frankie Stein, who looks amazing from head to toe! The entire costume is exactly what I imagined her looking like in a live format.

From the pops of color in her various accessories to her getting to have her trademark stitches, this is the perfect outfit for the daughter of Frankenstein.

Ceci Balagot seems to be able to pull off the super sweet personality of Frankie in the perfect way while still bringing a fresh new take to her story.

Ceci has a very charming feel to their portrayal and while I don’t normally like Frankie all that much, I truly believe they will rock as Frankie and perhaps change my mind about the character..

The one thing I don’t like for Movie Frankie is that she doesn’t appear to have the signature bolts in her neck but other than that, I’m very excited to see what she is like in the film!

The next ghoul we have Is our favorite vampiress, Draculaura! She looks very cute and modern in her outfit while still having the flair of cartoon Draculaura.

The various shades of pink used throughout her costume are so pretty and the earrings with her initial are iconic

Nayah Damasen has the potential to be an amazing version of Draculaura that has a lot more seriousness to her character than we’ve been able to see in the cartoons.

I do, however have a few more nitpicks about Draculaura than I did with the first two ghouls.

Foremost, while I do like the split-dye of her hair, I do wish that they had put it into her famous pigtails, even if they were lower down on her head or turned into Wednesday Addams-esque braids.

I also think making the choice to make Drac interested in witchcraft makes her feel like a new character rather than a- forgive the pun- revamped version of a character we know and love.

But digressing from all that, Nayah is looking to be a wonderful actress for our best vampire girl!

Next, We have the one and only Cleo De Nile! Wearing clothes that look very reminiscent of her “Boo York, Boo York” clothes, I think she looks very pretty and semi-regal.

I actually think she looks like a mix of Evie from Descendants and Nefera than herself, but I actually like it and don’t think that it’s necessarily so much of a bad thing for a live movie.

The champagne colored jewelry and strappy details make up for that by adding a very Cleo-like feel to the outfit.

Jy Prishkulnik definitely seems like she has the attitude to be a very good adaptation of Cleo, adding a bit more of a grown up sensability to the character than we’ve had before.

I don’t like that she doesn’t have a lot of bandage wrap imagery but that is a very minor thing to not have.

I can’t wait to finally see more of Jy as Cleo when the movie comes out!

And finally the last of the Ghoulfriends for the moment, Lagoona Blue. I’m just gonna come out of the gate and say that this looks nothing like Lagoona should.

Besides the fins on her legs and the fish scale print on the shorts, this does NOT resemble Lagoona in any way, shape or form, and it makes me sad to see (even though I don’t like Lagoona at all.)

I was really hoping that the live Lagoona would be as sporty and energetic as cartoon Lagoona is and possibly get me to like her.

Seeing as we have yet to see anything of Lagoona in the teaser trailers so far, I’m hoping that Lina Lecompte’s performance of her makes up for the crummy costume design.

For the first of the other characters revealed, we have the Manster himself, Deuce Gorgon! He looks super cool and trendy.

While I am a little disappointed that he doesn’t have any true gorgon details to his costume besides his eyes and a few little flesh colored scales, I think the entire look is actually very well suited to Deuce’s personality.

We haven’t really seen much of Case Walker as Movie Deuce, but from the snippet we got in the teaser, I think he will be just as laid back and chill as his animation counter part.

The next Manster we have is our fiery friend, Heath Burns! He looks very similar to the animated Heath but still different enough to look new and stylish.

The way Heath looks in this picture makes me think that he will be framed as more of an antagonist rather than the goofball we’re used to which would be an unexpected but not terrible idea, per se.

This is the only teaser we have of him so far, but I think Justin Derickson could be a really neat Heath under the right circumstances.

We now move on to the first of the Monster High Faculty, Headless Headmistress Bloodgood! This look is perfect for a live adaption of Bloodgood, from her hairstyle all the way down to her boots!

She truly looks like the horse-riding principal we all love and it’s so refreshing to see.

I believe Traci T. House will be so good as the Headmistress and will be sort of the wise woman in the Ghoulfriends’ lifes.

Last but not least, we have the all new character, Mr. Komos! I like the typical, teacher-y sweater-vest and the fun checkerboard socks that he wears.

Komos kind of reminds me of Dracula in the 2016 reboot series and it honestly works for this adaptation of Monster High.

He could have done with a couple more monstrous features than just the horns, but other than that, I think he’ll fit into the MH universe very well.

Kyle Selig and Mr. Komos could turn out to be a good addition to the overall lore and feel of Monster High.

And with that, so ends my thoughts on the first bit of teaser images for Monster High: The Movie! Despite some of the flaws it has with costuming and characterization, I think that the film will be fun to watch and think that it could become really popular!

#monster high #monster high the movie #monster high live action #long post #EDIT: 6/30/22 i made this before we found out frankie uses they/them so pls don't come after me #for posterity sake i'll keep it the way it is but i am aware of that development

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leoprosy · 2 years

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Monster High Live Action THOTS

welcome to thots :)

im ur host leonidas thotticus and today we are talking Monster High: The Movie (2022) with some spoilers ! it is all OPINION and only on the viewing of the movie versus my own MH opinions. Mostly on character portrayal and designs! and i had fun writing this lol

tbhh honestly i am not a good critic because a movie that entertains me is a good movie.

I think the best viewing experience is thinking of it as separate from the original because they aren't the same, and comparing them is kind of pointless, and i'll try to not do that but it is hard.

I'm only giving opinions here cause I haven't done any research besides like scrolling the tag on tumblr lol.

My fave was Frankie, obviously. Nonbinary, neurodivergent representation!! I felt very seen, and represented!! I wish i was that cool in high school! They're full of knowledge, don't really know social rules (and even comment on the fact that there seems to be this rule book that everyone but them has read) and man MOOD. I love their outfits, they are the right amount of ugly that i personally love to sport and yeah <3 big love for Frankie.

Draculaura made me kinda :/ initially because she's kinda a bitch at the beginning. but! she isnt meant to be G1 Draculaura! I wish she was kinder but she comes around. I really related to having parents that have insane expectations of you (the whole 'a 92% is failing' thing was like. wow mood.) and not wanting to let them down so you aren't your full self around them? heart breaking. love u draculaura. also loved that Dracula was a little pink lol.

Clawdeen was alright. Her actress was very um.... Disney in the 2000s acting wise. But like it wasn't bad! I think the half human half werewolf thing has the potential to be cool but they were really fast to be like 'hey we actually are cool with humans!' and outed Clawdeen which is weird like? i feel like the other students weren't just gonna be accepting immediately. Like, idk way to put a target on her. Her outfits were definitely not the most fashionable but i did like some of them! Also the ears were really cool :3 she also has a pretty singing voice ngl she killed it

Cleo was boring. i miss her being a mean girl who also supported her ghouls and loved them. like. she only comes around cause Clawdeen saved her? also dont understand Deuce's reasons for leaving her? were they bullies together and he didn't want to be anymore? i think that's what i got from that? wack.

Ghoulia also wasn't given very much screentime, and they took away the whole zombie genius thing!! which sucks cause i really liked that she was so smart even though people couldn't understand her all the time. But!! Cleo and the ghouls could and always trusted her!! she was such a side character in this movie. I get that maybe they didnt have the budget for the other characters to have bigger storylines or whatever and thats cool. I hope they do more with everyone in the animated show, cause it seems like it follows the same lore as the movie thus far.

Deuce actually still very swaggy even though he looks like Jughead. I miss his sunglasses cause how tf do normal glasses protect people !?!?! maybe they explained it and i missed it

Heath :( my poor flamey boy. :( the cgi was so bad. and he barely did anything. but again, not enough budget and time whatever. pls more heath in the show <3

I loved Bloodgood but her jacket was like. so cheap looking. the lining stuff on the collar was so weird? like they didn't completely cover it? and the buttons were weird? idk it didnt vibe with me.

Mr. Komos did look like Jackson and then wound up being Hyde's son which is cool! fun twist! easy to see coming but still interesting i think. His full monster design was kinda funny though. like not super scary. the power to take other monster's powers?? pretty sick ngl.

Some of the outfits were boring, some of them were alright and fun even! Frankie's were my favorite obvs. I think they gave Draculaura a darker aesthetic which is cool and witchy but i also hope they bring back some of the more like dainty victorian looks to kinda idk? balance it? clash a little in a good way? they were more modern designs for sure and i get that, and that it wasn't ever going to be as alternative and gothic as the original and thats okay! i think they could've done more but hey. budget i guess.

OVERALL

it was as cheesy and goofy and plot-hole ridden as any other MH movie I've seen. Was it a Cinematic Masterpiece? No. Was it pretty okay? yeah! fun, silly, definitely a kids movie I would've enjoyed as a kid. I'd say if you're gonna watch it- pirate it! and maybe don't go in thinking you're gonna hate it cause then i mean, yeah you're gonna hate it. it isnt G1, don't expect it to be.

thank u for coming to my thots, i might do this more often because its fun :) there are lots of movies i've never seen that everyone ever has seen so maybe? i'll do that! idk like and subcscribes

#leo thots #leonidas thotticus #monster high live action #monster high spoilers

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stonexcxld-archived · 2 years

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"Hey Deuce! Could you come here a stitch?", Frankie asked with her usual cheer but with a flavor of nerves. "I wanted you to try something." She holds out a plate with some kind of ....cheese and noodle? but it moved and even seemed to pop up in Ghostface type bubbles that disappear when they pop. "It is my take on Mac and Cheese. It is a normie dish Jackson told me about. Mac and Scream! Please be stone cold honest with me."

Random Asks || @onevoltageousghoul || [ Main Verse ]

Deuce moved away from where he was trying to help Cleo from his cooking project for Miss Kintergrubber's Home Ick class today. He absolutely LOVED this class but wasn't took keen for showing off his cooking skills just yet. Not when dudes like Manny and Heath were waiting for the tiniest excuse to rib.

Not one for being shy away from cooking, and knowing how much Frankie was enthusiastic about experimenting, the gorgon grabbed a fork full of the popping dish and ignored it screaming before biting into it. He gave a thoughtful hum before swallowing and offered some to his nest before responded.

❝ Not bad. You got the blending down. Though don't be afraid try a few dashes of papscreecha. That always gives it a kick. ❞

#ic #stone solid #onevoltageousghoul #[ main verse ]#[ ship: stoned perfection ]#//a 1000 years have passed #//but i'm still gonna answer this cause i love it #//sorry i took so long!! DX

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xeo-kunsatan · 3 years

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MonsterOlympics One Shot +13 (Part 2)

This One shot is divided in parts because is long as hell XD, as well this contains many racy jokes, black humor and swearing, if youre sensitive with this humor i recommend you to not read this shit, as well this One shot is just for fun. (Sorry this time i have no illustrations, im Lazy, use your imagination XD)

Nobody have expected it, Farley and Toralei run quickly to hug eachother, they

were really happy to see eachother again.

The Students from Monster High were surprised because their most problematic and devilish Classmate was acting completely lovely with surprisely a Dog, something unusual in her especially for her pals Purrsephone and Meowlody who didn't understand their friend's behavior.

Cleo The Nile

Daughter of the Momy

Age: 5843 (or more)

Gender: Female

Species: Momy

Cleo: I cant Believe what my Beautiful eyes are watching...

Pinky: Me too Sis... Me too..

Farid: here we go again...

Claw: Mew?

P&M: Meww~

The Twin Cats went close to Them catching their attention.

Purrsephone and Meowlody

Daughters of Werecats.

Age: 16

Gender: Females

Species: Werecats

Purrsephone: You most be her Frrriend's brotherrrs~?

Farren: didn't you know that she was a friend of a Dog?

Meowlody: she told us something similarrr before, but we thought it was a joke knowing her.

Farid: well for more surprising it seems, it's true.

Purrsephone: do you know since when they meet eachother?

Farren: since we used to be pups living in the streets, one day we found her escaping from a store-man, prepare yourself because this part will make this part long.

Flashback.

The street of Monsteropolis was chill, a group of 3 Poodle puppies where looking for something to eat.

Farren: Agh I'm Hungry, and you?

Farid: *sob* i think i have a hole inside my stomach...

Farley: Calm down brothers, maybe we can go to Madame Ghoulasha's shop to ask for food. you know the trick, We Knock the door, we will use the puppy eyes effect against her and she will give us food.

Farren: i still don't understand why that trick works that well.

Farid: isn't obvious? We are pretty adorable but More me~.

Farren: *chuckles* aren't supposed to have a "hole inside your stomach?".

Farid: Hey! I'm Hungry but I'm still fabulous.

Farley: Guys look!

Suddenly the puppers found a shop man ogre chasing a kitten with a bottle.

Mr Ogre: Come back here you stupid mutt!!

Toralei: as you wish!

Mr Ogre followed the kitten to a dark alley

Farley: we can't leave them like that

Farren: Are you Serious!? It's a Cat!!

Farid: Eww yeah, what if they has fleas?

Farley: We have fleas too..*shows them a flea walking through his paw furr* and she needs our help, remember Stray animals always can help other stray animals.

Farren: but what if they doesn't thanks us?

Farley: We can throw them to the sewers

:3.

Farren: okay let's go.

The 3 puppies followed the Ogre to the Alley.

Mr Ogre: *manages to catch her*

Gotcha!

Toralei: No!!

Mr Ogre: Hah did you thought that you would escape from me?.

Toralei: Hssss!!! Let me go you bastard!!

Mr Ogre:*takes a razor* or what?

Toralei:..*gulp*...

Mr Ogre: heh your journey ends here kitty- agh!?

The Ogre was about to end with the kitten life but he suddenly was stopped by the tackle of the triplet Poodles, making him faint and drop the kitten.

Toralei: Mew!!

Farley:*catches her* Gotcha! Are you okay?

Toralei: T-thanks, *sniffs him* wait.. are you a Dog!? *Jumps off*

Farid: "your welcome" hmp!

Farley: Yes we are dogs, but i didn't wanted to leave you alone and less with that man about to make Cat-Hash with you.

Toralei: Well.. i usually can escape by myself but.. still, thank you.

Farley: at your service miss.. uhh

Toralei: Toralei Stripe, and you arrre?

Farley: My name is Farley, and this are my brothers, The sour one is Farren.

Farren: Hey!

Farley: and the Narcissist pup who is looking his reflection with the Ogre's razor is Farid.

Farid: who is a pretty puppy? I am! ÙwÚ.

Farley: and i am Farley, together we are the Fluffy Gang.

Toralei: Wow you are all a team, nice to meet ya, I wish I could have my own mates, my older siblings were all adopted except me...

Farley: don't worry, you can come with us and be part of the Gang!

Toralei: Yay! :D

Farid/Farren: What!? D:<

Farley: you can come with us the Time you want until you found out your own mates.

Toralei: Oki Doki! :D

Farren: Farley what the fluff!?

Farid: Whyyyy?~...

Farley: Aww c'mon guys it would be fun.

Farren: i don't think she would like to come with us.."we have fleas"

Toralei: I have Fleas too :D.

Farren: Ok Fair enough.

Farley: Well lets go >:3!

Suddenly the Ogre started to wake up

Mr Ogre: You Little-..

The Cubs: No D:<! *pulls out his cords*

Mr Ogre: What the-!!!... AAAARGHH!!

The Ogre fell from the stairs of another Alley, by then break his neck in the last step, dying in that moment. The Fluffy gang and Toralei didnt believed that they really killed someone.

Farid: *Panic Attack* Oh no! Oh no! we killed him! What we will do!? im too younger and beautiful to go to Jail!! D,:>!!

Toralei: Me Too! D,:<

Farren: *Slaps Farid* Farid Calm Down! this is not the moment for your whines!

Toralei: What we will do Farley?...

Farley:...Uhhhh... look! there is a tip to the sewers, we can throw the body there :D!.

Toralei: Good Idea >:D!.

Farren: Are we Literally ignore that we killed a man?..

Farid: *Sighs* at least we will not go to Jail ;w;

Farren: Ok lets do this!..

Then The Fluffy gang and Toralei with effort, they managed to threw the body of the Ogre to the sewers so anyone will not notice their crime.

Farren: Well, the Job is finished... what now?

Farid: Oww im Still hungry ....

Toralei: Guys, that man had a shop with full of food, thats where i taked the Bottle with milk wich is not in the ground...

Farley: Ok lets go for some snacks! :D

The Fluffly Gang and Toralei: Yay :D

Flashback Ends.

Farren: And thats How we meet Toralei

Farid: Cute isn't?

Meowlody: a little...

Purrsephone: we literrrally thought it was a joke.

Meowlody: And i cant believe that you killed a man..

Farid: We were just babies, we didnt know what we are doing heheh~

Claw: hm?

Meowlody: and this little one?

Farren: Its Claw, His Dying mother gave him to us to save him from the hunters, so he lives with us as a younger sibling, The Principal Stratos usually overprotects him.

P&M: Thats so cute from you part mew~

Claw: *sniffs them* mew

P&M: *sniff him* ...

Claw: *purrrs*

P&M: Awww

Farley: I cant believe we are finally together

Toralei: Me too! ;w; *Purring* I missed you so much!

Farley: *Waving tail* I missed you too!

Frankie: Its so Cute to see this...

Meanwhile..

Manny Taur

A Fucking Minotaur Bully

Age: 17

Species: Minotaur

Gender: Male

Manny: Aww look at this, what are you supossed to be Rabbit?

Bradley: a Vampire/Jackalope Hybrid

Manny: Hah! Vampire!? but youre so tiny

Bradley: well at least the size your dick compensates the size of your brain and intelligence..

Manny: *blushes* How dare you!?

Bradley: well.. its part of your biology..

Manny: Thats it you are Death!

Frankie: Manny No!

Manny was about to Hit Bradley (wich didnt seem scared) but suddenly he was attacked by Skeebo before he would hurt his beloved bunny.

Skeebo: Dont you dare to hurt my boyfriend!

Manny: Your Boyfriend? *chuckles* dont play dumb, you are a fox and Foxes eats rabbits like him!

Skeebo: *Whispers* Shh shh please dont expose what i do with him everynight~

Bradley: im an Arctic Hare not a rabbit...wait*blushes* Skeebo!

Skeebo: Sorry Dear~

Manny: you guys are gross...

Frankie: Thats Enough Manny, do you want me to tell Minnie about your Behavior?

Manny: Oh no! Please dont tell my sister!...

Skeebo: Heh... he is afraid of his sister~

Manny: At least i have a sister

Skeebo: !!!......

Bradley: You son of a Bitch! how dare you!? just because you heard the most of us are orphans doesnt give you the rights of making fun of Us!

Frankie: Wait.. are you Orphans?..

Skeebo: Thats it!...

A Fight Started between Manny and Skeebo, but it was stopped by Miss Bloodgood and Stratos.

Bloodgood: You 2 Stop!

Stratos: You both will go to detention!..

Manny: Thats why Maze High is a bad copy of Monster High, the Students here are all Awfull!!

All: *Gasps*

Claw: *Cries*

Farley/Toralei: What did you said!?

Farren/Farid: You will pay for this!

Betrayus: calm down.. not here!

Skeebo: You said that because at least all of you have their own families...

Bloodgood: Manny Taur...you will be grounded by the rest of the event, the meeting is over..

Stratos: Mistress Bloodgood...I am so sorry for this..

Bloodgood: No no... its not your fault, *sighs* i will correct my student.. Good luck in the event..

Stratos: Good luck for you too...

Manny: *gulp*...

Stratos: Me too...

Frankie: Oh gosh.. i am so sorry..

Skeebo: Its Okay.. we are all used to be seeing like this..*Leaves* Bradley: Skeebs...*sighs*.... its true... While me as some less of my classmates.. mostly of them are all orphan.. for it they basically live here..

Frankie: Ou... i have no idea..

Bradley: Its okay.. as my boyfriend said.. we are used to be judged by other schools... and... Mostly of that students from other schools have their own families...*follows Skeebo*...

Frankie: *Sighs*

The meeting ended and the Monster High Students returned to their homes, while the students from Maze high returned to their dorms, an exception to Farley and Toralei wich where in the school garden trying to calm down Claw.

Farley: Awww Claw dont cry, he will not hurt you.

Toralei: when i see him, i will scratch his ugly bull face so nobody will recognize him not even with the passaport.

Claw: *sob* *sob*

Toralei: Dont Cry little Fella, that awfull bull will not hurt you anymore *pets Claw*

Claw: *Purrs*

Farley: Thank you Toralei, maybe im tired of the boring boomer of Stratos but he still needs a rest.

Toralei: You dont have to thank me, this fella needed it.

Farley: thats right...*Blushes* Its so nice to have you here..

Toralei: *Blushes* Ahh.. yeah i feel the same, heh

Farley: You want me to accompany to your home?

Toralei: Nah, i can go by myself, cats loves nocturnal walks.

Farley: W-w-well see you tomorrow..

Toralei: S-see you T-tomorrow...

Toralei left the gardens to return to her home, while Farley was watching her leave still blushed.

Farley: *sighs*

Claw:*giggles*

Farley: what?..

To be Continued..

#monster maze high #monstermaze high #pmatga au #pmatga #pacman and the ghostly adventures

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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Boo York, Boo York – Gala Ghoulfriends Luna Mothews Diary

My Boo York Adventure-logue

9/30 08:23:52

There were butterflies tickling my belly when I watched the bus pull into the terminal, but now that I’m on my way, I’m flittery with excitement! I think Pops was more nervous than I was. But that’s my Pops for ya: thinking I’m his little caterpillar while totes understanding that I have to spread my wings! Mom kept him from chewing on his collar by reminding him that it’s not like it’s on the other side of the moon - it’s an easy flight for them from my hometown in Boo Jersey. If I didn’t have my luggage weighed down with all my dance shoes and theatre makeup, I’d have flapped over myself. But I’m strangely looking forward to seeing the frights through this grimy bus window the way a wingless monster would; speeding down the Tombpike, going through the Lurkin’ Tunnel, and then hopping a subway train to Times Scare... that’s a real adventure!

Boo York, Boo York! I can hardly believe it! I’m on my way! The lights of Bloodway are luring me. I’m gonna be a star!

9/30 10:37:13

Road travel takes some getting used to - for one thing, it takes for-EVER! Not literally, but I’m still on this bus and I could have flown to the city and back many times by now. And for a second thing, the monsters on this bus are way booring! I think they think they should just sit in their seats and keep to themselves and be polite and stuff. Some of them actually scowled at me when I started convos with them, so I pulled out my guitar and started playing. That really horrified them. It was like they didn’t even want to sing along when I started giving them their assignments! The ogre in the front punctuated his lyrics with growls, but he wasn’t half bad; however, the werecat across the aisle from him was surprisingly high-pitched and breathy. I had to pull her out of her fur, but I got her harmonizing pretty well after a few verses. And once I got half-a-dozen singing, a few others joined in. Plus, a few other monsters pulled out their own instruments. Before long, I had a whole chorus going and everyone started enjoying themselves. Well, everyone except that one ghost, but he was just mad because everyone was treating him like he was invisible.

9/30 11:56:33

I made it to the city and I’m not in the subway waiting for the train. Almost there! Just a few more trains and buses to go. I’m thriller-ed by how many of my bus-mates followed me to my train platform just so we could keep jammin’, but some of them freaked when they realized they were missing their own trains and ran off/flew off/slithered off/evaporated. But that’s ok, because there are already a lot of performers down here singing and dancing and making balloon monsters. It’s spooktacular, and I haven’t even made it up to street level yet!

9/30 15:12:12

Oh, my Pod! 42nd Screech is everything I ever dreamed of! The marquees of all the shows make my antennae tingle with excitement. When I’m a singer on Bloodway, I will go from moth-ghoul to moth-greatness! I’m already having so much fun. As soon as I got off the last bus, I met some fangtastic monsters from Monster High: Draculaura, Frankie, Cleo, Deuce, Clawdeen and Operetta. Oh, and also, Nefera and Toralei. I’m very good at remembering names - I’m sure that’s a sign I’ll be good at remembering my lines too - and I love making new friends wherever I go. I think it’s called networking. Now, to find a job or three.

9/30 17:26:47

Nailed my first audition! So what if it was for a pizza place? Pizza is very popular in Boo York, and a ghoul’s gotta start somewhere. I’ve got a costume and everything - just call me Luna Motheroni. Hah! No, don’t. It pays me in *dough*! Get it? That cracked Pops up when I called him on my iCoffin to tell him his little gypsy moth is settling in nicely. I think I’ll try out some of these lines as I pass out the flyers for the Comet-special combo. Maybe if I get some laughs, I’ll try my wing at stand up too. It’s not Bloodway, but it’d still be on a stage, right?

9/30 20:14:33

Lovin’ all this “cometness.” Monsters are shooting by me like zany stars in a sparkling universe! All the food joints have crazy, comet-fied specials going on. Being a moth, I’m a huge cotton candy fan. Make it wormhole-themed, and it’s like a flame that I can’t resist. I’m also diggin’ the street music. There’s a clawesine DJ across the way. I can only catch glimpses through the crowd, but I think she’s a robot with some kind of holographic keyboard or whatever. However, I can hear her load and clear, and she’s certainly making passing out flyers more of a toe-tapper than an energy-zapper. Although, no one’s ever accused me of lacking ene......

(oh, zap! got totes distracted by a laser light beaming off the DJ ghoul)

lacking energy. Now that it’s getting dark, all of the lights are getting kinda intense. They’re so bootiful, I’m attracted to all of them. I’m fearly going to have to concentrate and maintain focus. It’s good pract..... practice for when I’m in the spotlight on Bloodway.

10/1 14:42:59

Day of the Comet, Beasties! Got a gig selling boovineers. I project my lines to the frightseers passing by and try to gain an audience, then my co-seller does the rest and rings up their order. I’ve tried singing my lines, making up rhymes, doing a little improv with the customers. I think I have a knack for this. And later I’m going to be working the fancy Comet Gala at the Museum of Unnatural History! I’ll be passing out gore d’oeuvres to some of the city’s most powerful monsters. Maybe I’ll even make some connections to theatre producers, but, if not, i’m sure I’ll have a good time. Just seeing all the different characters who have been invited will be fangtastic. Pops called to check in and when I told him everything I’ve done already and that I’ll be catering tonight, he laughed and said he thinks there must have been a mix-up at the hospital because, instead of a moth-ghoul, he seems to have raised a busy-bee. He’s kind of a moth-ball, but I love him.

10/1 19:02:40

This gala is “ah-maze-ing”! That Mouscedes’ fave word. She’s a rat-ghoul I met here. She’s some kind of princess and she’s way Upper Beast Side, but she’s so nice. I never knew there was so much to learn about cheese! I had a variety of die-lish cheese puffs on my loaded down tray - gore-gonzola, aged ghoulda, fetid - I tried them all before my shift started and they were yum! But when I offered them to Mouscedes, she asked me if they were cheeseless cheese puffs, and I told her they weren’t even puffless cheese puffs, so then we started chatting and I learned she doesn’t do cheese. I told her to stay away from my Pops then, because his sense of humor was pretty cheesy! That’s when she told me her Pops was the Rat King of Boo York! I’m not sure what that means but it sounds impressive! I had to get back to work, but Mouscedes said maybe we could get a coffincino some time. I told her I already bounce off the walls without drinking those, but I’d love to just fang out and she agreed.

10/2 00:13:17

I guess you could say things took an otherworldly turn tonight! The lights of Bloodway drew me to exactly where I needed to be, just in time to help my new friends... AND I got to be on stage with Catty Noir, one of my fave singers! It doesn’t get more fangtastic than that! I think it’s ok to say my future of stardom shows promise! Speaking of promise, we all made it back to the Museum of Unnatural History in time for the comet to arrive in Boo York, and that brought some surprises of its own. Well, one surprise anyway. And she was stellar! I’m not saying I won’t ever get homesick, but I think coming to Boo York was a bright move. I’ve only been here for 2 days and I’ve already had a few fun jobs, performed on stage, and, beast of all, made new friends. Look out world, I’m ready to fly!

#monster high #monster high diary #boo york boo york #gala ghoulfriends #luna mothews

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hipsterfishboi · 4 years

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JUDGING RANDOMISED MONSTER HIGH/EVER AFTER HIGH SHIPS

Last night I had no internet, so I put the names of 16 MH characters and 16 EAH characters in a hat, shook it around a little and then produced all the names into 16 ships. I will then be ranking them (and maybe adding a couple of headcanons and such because this is mY POST).

Put under the cut because of how long it is.

1. Raven Queen x Hopper Croakington

Not one I expected for this and honestly, I can’t think of anything for them. They seem like the kind of ones to have gone on one date before Raven decided she doesn’t have time to deal with his inability to talk to her and constant simping over Briar.

3/10. Barely any vibes, let alone good or bad vibes :/

2. Frankie Stein x Sirena Von Boo

This one could be cute, Frankie tutoring Sirena in Mad Science and both of them slowly getting crushes on each other, though Sirena not wanting to break the bro code of not dating your friend’s ex. Both have such drastically different dumbass energies and I love it.

6/10. I can see this being a cute little relationship.

3. Johnny Spirit x Cerise Hood

Oh damn. Needless to say, Cerise would not take any of Johnny’s shit, perceived bad boy or not. I feel like they are both drastically different when they get into relationships, with Johnny being the type to make big romantic gestures, whereas Cerise is all about the small details. They would probably be p good for each other.

8/10. This is honestly really cute tbh.

4. Briar Beauty x Andy Beast

This could be funny, an opposites attract sort of situation. Briar being the extroverted thrill seeker she is, whereas Andy being a more socially awkward technologically-behind guy. I can see Briar sitting with Andy and showing him how to use various different types of teach, and Andy talking to Briar about Skull Shores and carrying her to bed when she inevitably falls asleep around him.

9/10. The Vibes are toit.

5. Daring Charming x Gigi Grant

First of all, Gigi deserves better so let’s jot that the fuck down. And I can’t really see her getting along with Daring, who would 100% try and use her for selfish wishes.

0/10. The vibes are rancid.

6. Faybelle Thorn x Clawd Wolf

Clawd does not deserve this. Faybelle would use his trusting nature and loyalty to her benefit and then dump him when his usefulness had stopped, smh. She needs to be called out on her shit.

-5/10. No.

7. Cedar Wood x Porter Geiss

YEEEEEEEES. The vibes on this are so fucking good. Just- the duo meeting because Porter’s doing some stupid shit and accidentally knocks her art supplies down and then they get started talking on art. They would 100% have dates which is just the both of them painting each other and talking and being wholesome. Porter has her back whenever she may need help and will knock anybody out who insults his beautiful girlfriend. He is the personification of that one Will Smith picture where he’s showing off his wife.

10000000000/10. Chef Kiss.

8. C.A. Cupid x Deuce Gorgon

Probably happens in a verse where he and Cleo aren’t a thing. Just talking about Greek shit™ together. The softest fucking dates. Both of them would be so fucking devoted in a relationship. I see them more as friends, but even that potential was wasted.

4/10. I can’t see them as a couple too much, but 10/10 friends.

9. Draculaura x Chase Redford.

Okay these two would be adorable, even if just aesthetically. Chase being a soft dumbass who is constantly in awe of his tiny vamp gf. She doesn’t always understand all the rules that are put in place, but she thinks it’s cute he’s so passionate about them.

7/10. Adorable

10. Alistair Wonderland x Vandala Doubloons.

Adventure buddies to lovers. Alistair showing Vandala around Wonderland and generally helping her trust solids, let alone humans more. They would probably develop a lot of inside jokes nobody else would get. Vandala teaching Alistair to swordfight for that romantic tension. Dumbasses who just love adventure and accidentally fell in love along the way.

9/10. Pretty hecking sweet.

11. Hunter Huntsman x Duchess Swan

Unless it’s some sort of Rivals to friends to lovers it wouldn’t happen. They might be interesting with the dichotomy of hunter / animal that can often be hunted. Hunter would probably have his work cut out making Duchess a semi-decent person.

6/10. Sweet concept but I can’t see it from where they are in the series.

12. Operetta x Darling Charming

Strong independent lady musician x Strong independent lady knight. I LOVE IT. They would be such an iconic power couple and honestly, we stan. Operetta taking no shite from the Charming family about what a woman should or shouldn’t be and setting them in their places. I adooooore this.

10/10. It’s amazing.

13. Maddie Hatter x Venus McFlytrap

Venus would be dumbfounded by most of the shit Maddie says, but probably would appreciate the help that Maddie could and likely would provide for the cause of preserving the flora of the planet. She’d likely love to hear about Wonderland and the plants there.

7/10. Good vibes.

14. Heath Burns x Dexter Charming

Awkward nerd x extroverted dumbass is an amazing trope. Heath and Dexter becoming flustered dumbasses around one another, but not realising as all their friends try and explain that they like each other. Heath would 100% be the one to confess first because it’s Heath™. Just… soft, stupid dumbasses.

8/10. Good bois. I’m lov.

15. Cleo deNile x Lizzie Hearts.

UTTER POWER COUPLE. The energy these girls have together is wonderful. Two powerful princesses who would utterly rule wherever they saw fit. Someone tries to insult Lizzie, they get roasted to filth by Cleo and if they try anything with Lizzie? Off with their head. They are both so sweet towards each other, with Lizzie making outfits for Cleo whenever she asks for it and Cleo being down to model for her girlfriend whenever she asks. They’re both so in love and soft for each other, though may have a couple of fights because they both have such strong personalities, though would always make it out the other end stronger for it

100/10

16. Sparrow Hood x Hoodood Voodoo

I can’t really see this one, I can see them maybe being friends but… anything beyond that isn’t really.

1/10

#monster high #ever after high #idc #i am not tagging all the characters #fuck you

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hollyoaksloversx · 5 years

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Suspicious Minds...

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (8th-12th July 2019)

James and Harry’s relationship hit a serious rough patch this week as James continued to struggle with his own jealousy. Keen to keep Harry out of prison, and knowing that Sadie held the key, Ste tricked her into returning to the village, telling her that Harry was dying. Although annoyed at being lied to, it looked like Sadie might just agree to act as Harry’s alibi, until Liam found out that she was back and threatened her safety if she didn’t scarper. James soon worked out what was happening and confronted Liam over his involvement with Sadie in front of Jesse, Courtney and Grace. Deducing that Liam must have been involved in the hit and run, James demanded that Liam explain himself, but Liam simply admitted that, whilst he had bribed Sadie, he had only done it to ensure Harry was sent down. With Liam’s story sounding convincing, doubt over Harry’s innocence continued to creep into James’ mind. After an argument about the situation, Harry announced that their relationship was over, telling James he couldn’t be with someone who didn’t trust him.

Meanwhile, Jonny and Stuart set Ste up on a date with Jed, a fellow member of their far right group. However, Ste and Jed struggled to find any common ground and Ste soon made his excuses to leave when he received a text from Harry. To complicate matters even further, Harry told Ste that he still had feelings for him and the pair almost kissed. Sadly for ‘Starry’ fans, a reunion was not to be, and Harry decided he wanted to be with James, and even told him about the kiss so that they could completely start a fresh. James agreed to put the past behind them, and Harry’s day got even better when Sadie finally agreed to act as an alibi. However, James got a touch of the green eyed monster when Harry insisted on meeting with Sadie alone, and spiked his drink to prevent him leaving the flat...

The following morning, Harry was in a terrible state, and whilst James tried to brush it off as him simply having too much to drink, Marnie wasn’t so sure. After searching through the bin, Marnie discovered a discarded packet of tablets, and confronted James over his actions. It turns out that this isn’t the first time James has taken to drugging people...

Elsewhere, Peri and Yasmine were down in the dumps over not being able to afford a holiday abroad. Luckily for them, Tom was on hand to help, and invited the pair, along with Prince and Romeo to meet with him to discuss an idea he’d had for a new business. The foursome were intrigued as they headed off for the meeting, but they were quickly left dismayed when they discovered that Tom’s business idea was a kids Summer camp! As if his mates’ lack of enthusiasm wasn’t bad enough, Tom had to contend with Prince and Romeo snipping at each other, with each refusing to be involved if the other was. The following day, a fight broke out between the lads outside Price Slice, resulting in the Summer displays being broken. As inflatables burst and sunglasses fell to the floor, Walter and Martine surveyed the damage to their tat stock and suggested that Prince and Romeo work in the shop over the Summer in order to pay for the damages. However, the lads soon discovered that they couldn’t hack Walter’s authoritarian ways and decided that ‘Tom’s Turtles’ maybe wasn’t such a bad way to earn a crust after all!

In other news this week, Mercedes and Liam continued their affair but were horrified to realise that someone was onto them - Grace! Goldie tried to get closer to Joel by offering to help prepare for the ‘Hollyoaks in bloom’ competition and finally, Maxine turned into the ultimate bridezilla as she prepared for her wedding.

5 Things We Learned This Week:

1. Actor on holiday? Need an excuse for their character’s absence? How about sending them to Bible camp? Breda seemed to have a whale of a time there this week!

2. James likes to live life on edge. What sort of person makes pancakes in a business suit?

3. A 4 poster bed can fix everything. And it’s definitely going to prove Sylver’s love for Mercedes and ensure she never cheats again. Erm...

4. Some people just cannot be taken seriously. Poor Tom. Not one of his mates seemed interested in his kids Summer camp idea and he soon demonstrated that he had absolutely no authority over his new employees. To be fair, I struggle to take Tom seriously as a grown up, too. He’ll always be that little boy who played with his Max Mission doll...

5. Hollyoaks residents have finally worked out that lurking in the alleyway of doom is dangerous. Now, they lurk behind a newspaper to eavesdrop. See Liam Donovan and Tom Cunningham.

This Week’s Cast:

Bobby, Breda, Brody, Cleo, Courtney, Damon, Goldie, Grace, Harry, Jack, James, Jesse, Joel, Jonny, Liam, Marnie, Martine, Maxine, Mercedes, Mitchell, Peri, Prince, Romeo, Sadie, Sienna, Ste, Stuart, Sylver, Tom, Tony, Walter and Yasmine.

Blasts From The Past:

Amy Barnes, Lily Drinkwell, Harley Frater, Mac Nightingale, Frankie Osbourne.

#Hollyoaks #Highlight #James Nightingale #Harry Thompson #Ste Hay #Marnie Nightingale #Tom Cunningham #Peri Lomax #Prince McQueen #Romeo Quinn #Yasmine Maalik #Martine Deveraux #Walter Deveraux

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ficdirectory · 6 years

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Somewhere Inside (Disuphere series #4) Chapter 63

(To listen, click here) - 13:13

Francesca’s super bummed because it’s already 7:00. Her bedtime is 8:00 on weekdays. Even though it’s not a weekday, they’ll have to be up way early tomorrow. Like, when it’s still dark out, in order to get to the airport in enough time to make their flight. So Mariana said in private that it was a good idea for them all to really try to get sleep tonight, and for Francesca to go by school-day bedtime.

Even though it makes sense, it also kinda makes Francesca want to cry. Being there for Levi and helping him clean his room after Peanut Butter Cookie came and messed it all up was important, and Francesca knows that. But she also wishes the time could stretch out, the way it does at school, where the minutes take forever during gym or math or science, or some other class she hates.

Right now, they’re going by too fast, like it’s recess.

It means they only have one hour of Feelings Time, not the usual two.

“What’s up, buddy?” Jesus asks, and Francesca’s glad he’s back to calling her his buddy again.

“I only have an hour until bedtime. So less Feelings Time…” Francesca confides, stopping short at the Avoidance table outside their cabin. Jesus joins her. Then Levi. Then Pearl, Dominique and Mari on the other side.

“Well, so we prioritize. What’s the most important thing you want us to know?” Pearl asks.

“I don’t know!” Francesca shrugs. “It’s too much pressure…”

“Okay. Is there something anyone else wants to share?” Pearl wonders. “Or that we agree we wanna have happen in Feelings Time tonight?”

“A picture,” Francesca offers. “I know I can’t really ask this and have it be fair because we’re not all comfortable with pictures...but I really want one of all of us together. All of us Avoiders.”

“I think it’s worth having a conversation about,” Jesus offers.

Francesca feels her sadness lift a little. Conversations are good. “Okay. About how whichever of us feels the most awkward about pictures can have the most say over them?”

“Something like that…” Jesus allows.

“So, I remember this conversation, I think. Or a similar one. Right?” Pearl asks Jesus. “From before you left last time?”

“Yeah,” Jesus offers. “So, what if, we all get the chance to offer a suggestion about picture-taking. Like, if it’s a full on accommodation, that’s cool and if it’s a suggestion or a lowkey wish. But if everybody could offer something that’d help so those of us who don’t feel okay could feel supported asking for what we need.”

“I need nobody to tell me to smile nice…” Francesca offers. “Sometimes, when I’m my most happy, Moms are like ‘Tone it down, Fran. Less mouth. Put your chin down.’”

“Oh, babe. That’s your CP, making your smile that big!” Dominique shares, matter of fact, proud. “It’s muscle movement stuff. We’d never critique your smile. We love your smile.”

“Really?” Francesca asks, shy. Dominique knows so much. She must really see a lot of kids with CP at the hospital. They must all have big smiles like her.

Mariana raises her hand. “Kinda along the same lines… I don’t really like my smile. It changed when… Last year… Whenever… My face changed. I need you guys to know I don’t love how it looks. Just...maybe don’t comment on me?”

“Okay. We won’t,” Francesca promises. “I know what it’s like to not want anybody to notice mine.”

“I know this isn’t...exactly what you meant, maybe, Jesus?” Dominique starts. “But would y’all be okay if I took the picture?”

Dominique takes the best pictures. She’s definitely the best out of all of them at it, even though Francesca takes pretty good ones, too.

Francesca looks at Dominique, looking at Jesus. She knows to wait for consent from the ones who are least comfortable before saying yes. Because it might make the ones like Jesus with picture-trauma feel pressure to agree.

“Could I see it after you take it?” he asks.

“Absolutely. And I’d be real obvious about taking it.” Dominique promises.

“None of that feature that takes the pics really quick all in a row?” Jesus asks.

“No.” Dominique promises.

“Can you...not say to smile? Say cheese or whatever?’ Levi asks.

“I won’t police your emotion,” Dominique promises.

“And can we not share it on social media?” Jesus asks.

He waits til everybody says they agree. Then Levi and Jesus say Dominique can be the photographer.

“Wait, what about Pearl?” Francesca asks. “She didn’t get to say a thing about pictures.”

“Aw,” Pearl says. “Thanks, Francesca. Let’s see...are dogs welcome? Mom always tried to find ways to exclude Gracie from pictures...” she confides.

Gracie was the prettiest dog. And the best. It’s her face Frankie remembers from after falling down all the stairs at the cabin. Her softness. Her gentleness.

“In the Avoiders official picture?” Dominique asks. “Of course. Dudley and Cleo should be in on it. That makes me miss my cat, though…” Dominique makes a sad face.

Francesca doesn’t really miss Roberta, but she doesn’t tell Dominique that because it would hurt her feelings.

Finally, it’s time to take the picture. Dominique asks how comfortable they feel climbing on the picnic table, sitting on it, bunched up behind Dominique so she can get a good angle.

People don’t think so, but Francesca’s a great climber. And Levi makes sure to guard her, to make sure she keeps her balance. Then, Dominique raises her phone.

“One last consent check. Everybody still on board with this?” Dominique checks.

Francesca holds her breath. She hopes nobody says no even though they are all humans and have the right to. She really wants this picture of all of them together. Luckily they all nod.

“Nobody needs an out?”

Heads shake no.

“Everybody feeling present?” Dominique wonders, camera still down.

Francesca’s confused. Until she sees Levi shake his head a little.

“You’re not?” she asks, quiet. Francesca calls a pause so she’s sure Dominique notices.

Dominique puts her phone down on the table, screen side down.

“Sometimes it helps to hold on tight to people around you. You can hold on tight to me. So I don’t lose my balance,” Francesca offers, soft.

Levi puts an arm around Francesca. She squeezes his hands tight after he says it’s okay. Then he looks like he’s more here. Not hiding from bad memories. She sees him give a thumbs up to Dominique.

“All right. One, two, three, Avoiders!” Dominique cues.

“Avoiders!” They all say it at the same time. Jesus and Levi each take a long time looking at the picture. Levi still has his arm around Francesca for balance.

“I think this is the best picture,” Francesca decides.

They go inside after that, because it’s starting to get dark a little. And also they don’t have snacks out here. They get some grape soda, and Levi offers some pizza Pringles. Jesus gets the Hostess cupcakes and Junior Mints. Even though Francesca really wants some of both of Jesus’s snacks, she doesn’t ask, because they’re his specific ones.

She tries to be okay with that. It’s easier when Mariana breaks out her secret stash of dark chocolate raspberry ice cream. With the chips and the soda it tastes like the greatest thing ever. Francesca doesn’t even miss Mountain Dew.

“So, Feelings Time should have some feelings in it. What do you guys think?” Pearl begins.

“I feel sad Peanut Butter Cookie wrote you that mean note, Levi. And tried to make it seem like you threw away pictures of Gracie when it was really her.” Francesca tells him.

“How do you feel about it?” Pearl asks Levi.

“Scared,” he confesses, not really eating any of the snacks, not even the ones he brought. “Because she was in my space.”

Francesca shivers a little. It reminds her of the time Moms came in their room at home and yelled at Mariana for making a huge mess in it. For swearing at Francesca. It was back when Francesca thought she was Other Mariana. But she was really herself the whole time. Just needing accommodations. And also love and understanding.

She remembers how Moms went through with garbage bags and threw out a bunch of their stuff that got broken and some that didn’t. How Mariana started crying. And they said she should feel bad.

They left the bags behind because there was a lot of them and went to bed, and it was quiet for a long time, so Francesca thought Mariana was asleep, but she was moving around, walking to Fran’s bed, whispering (because they have an intercom in their room which is like having Moms in it all the time and zero privacy ever since Mari got back).

She was whispering “Please… Please…”

When Francesca rolled over and looked and saw Mari trying to move the bags outside the door without making any noise.

Francesca had gotten up and helped her. Not saying anything. Closing the door after, not leaving it open like Moms said to. Mariana was scared of those bags.

It was the first time Francesca thought Moms might be wrong about Mari being gone. But it was March. Months after Jesus left. And before they met the Avoiders.

“I don’t like it when Moms are in our space either,” Francesca says, looking at Mariana.

She can tell by Mariana’s eyes and that shadow in them that she’s thinking about the same thing Francesca is. Jesus doesn’t know about that happening. Or the mean comments Moms made when they cleaned. That was the day when they said the thing about that they couldn’t believe that had two kids with brain damage. It’s been over a year, and Francesca still can’t forget. She knows Mari can’t either, because sometimes she says it:

“Two kids with brain damage…” like she’s thinking about it and saying it at the same time. It doesn’t bother Francesca. It bothers her that Moms said it and the words got trapped in Mari’s head. Like they are in her own.

“I’m not going to kick Levi out,” Pearl offers. “Just so there’s no doubt with anyone. I know my mother did those things with Gracie’s pictures, not Levi.” Pearl turns to Levi: “You will always have a home with me.”

Levi nods. But he doesn’t say anything.

Strong feelings move inside Francesca. Like she wants to hurt something. Usually, that’s not a thing, it’s herself. So, she stands up and goes to Dominique. Trying to think about using her hands for balance, not for hurting.

“I need backup for The Thing,” Francesca whispers. “I’m remembering stuff. Trying to do positive coping.”

“Want to sit with me?” Dominique wonders.

Francesca nods, and climbs into Dominique’s lap.

She gives Francesca her phone to hold. “Look up some sloth videos, babe.”

“Sloths won’t help…” Francesca says, feeling like she’s definitely gonna do The Thing.

“Do you need to share with the group?” she asks. “It is Feelings Time…” Dominique reminds.

“I feel angry,” Francesca admits, quiet.

“Hey, Avoiders? Fran’s doing some tough work, coping right now. Can we tune into her?”

Francesca keeps her head down, finding sloth pictures anyway to look at. So she won’t have to feel all the Avoiders looking at her.

“I’m angry…” Francesca repeats. It doesn’t make the strength of The Thing any less. She flips through lots of sloth pictures. But right now there’s not enough sloths in the world.

Dominique offers her hands. Francesca sets her phone on the table, face down. Squeezes Dominique’s hands hard.

“What are you angry about, buddy?” Jesus asks. “Can you take a deep breath?”

Francesca tries but her throat is too clogged with sadness. She tries to smash it back inside where it goes. But that doesn’t work.

“Moms…” she whispers. “How they were in our room one time?” she glances at Mariana. “Really mad, and saying they had two brain damaged kids now…”

“That makes you angry? At them?” Jesus asks. She can’t see his face. It’s better that she can’t see it.

Francesca nods.

“How does it make you feel about you?” Dominique wonders, gentle.

“Like I shouldn’t be in the family. And they’d be happier then.” Francesca sighs.

#fic: somewhere inside

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leavemebetosleep · 7 years

Text

Lisi Harrison’s Monster High, A Book review.

Warning: this review contains major spoilers.

Where do I begin.

Monster High the book came out in 2010 with the franchise, but despite that I haven’t seen a review of it that was that much more in depth than whether it was appropriate for children, so why not I’ll do it. I might as well get something out of this experience.

The book series is interesting to me because it says a lot about Monster High’s early days; a lot of character concepts that wouldn’t show up in the main franchise until much later are here, as well as working names and early version of each character’s concept. After all Harrison had to get it from somewhere.

It also says a lot about how Mattel had NO idea what age bracket to whom to market this. Sure, obviously they wanted kids, hence a tie in cartoon, but I think they were afraid younger ones wouldn’t be interested and wanted to make sure they had something for the young teen audience as well. The result is a book that doesn’t have a good appeal for any audience except curious, hard core MH fans.

The book follows the stories of Melody Carver and Frankie Stein, each chapter changing point of view as the story progresses. If you’re interested enough in MH to read this, you know who Frankie is, but to describe Melody, she’s basically every self insert character you’ve ever come across in a fanfic. Except unlike with fanfic, which is just a fun hobby, Harrison is supposed to be a professional author and got paid to do this.

Melody’s story follows how she’s about to be a new student at Merston High, moving from California to New Salem, Oregon. She talks about how she doesn’t look like her parents, and when she was younger she used to be an excellent singer. Along with that we learn how prior to moving, she had had a rather large, ‘beak like’ nose she had her plastic surgeon father fix for her. However it didn’t fix her insecurities and she can’t seem to enjoy her new appearance; constantly second guessing if anyone who suddenly took interest in her was only there for her new appearance.

The way I’m writing about that fact right now makes it sound way more logical than the book does. In the book it sounds like when her wealthy surgeon dad gave her the new nose she wanted, and she didn’t have a reason to be a loner special snowflake anymore she had to find a new reason to distance herself from people.

She also gave up singing, the book claiming her asthma problems got so bad it became difficult, but she’s so whiny about it, it almost comes off like she gave up when it got too hard. Later in the book her sister even accuses her as having just given up on it because it would’ve actually made her a little interesting to have a hobby.

…Okay I might have paraphrased that. My point is, this plot point doesn’t really become relevant till book three to my understanding anyway so it’s whatever.

As earlier referenced, she has a sister named Candace, who is supposed to be more confident, popular, fun, and having more personalty than Melody. She also serves as something of a voice of reason for Melody when she’s not being annoying or cringy. But she’s mostly annoying. Speaking of her, we’re told Melody’s never had any friends but…her sister doesn’t count? I know a sister isn’t exactly the same, but it should lay some frame work for how these things work.

We find the two settling into their rooms when they spy their next door neighbor, and Melody sees a shirtless Jackson Jekyll out of her window watering the plants.

Melody and her sister thoroughly oggle him as he does this, Candace only writing him off when he turns and she decides he’s a bit too ‘nerdy’ for her tastes. It is at this point I REALLY felt like I was reading a fanfic because this is so on the nose for many self-insert stories I’ve read.

I’m not kidding when I say some parts of this book made me wonder if the author was a little attracted to him herself and living through her creation. There’s just such a subtle …skeeviness to the scene.

Later in the day the two sisters decide to walk around the neighborhood; Candace yelling things at hot guys she sees.

Finally they get near the park where they run into Jackson, who for his part comes off like he wanted to be alone, as he was trying to draw when he as interrupted by the girls. Despite this, and despite Candace’s awful attempt to make ‘curdy’ (supposed to be a combo of cute/nerdy but mostly making me think of spoiled milk) a word; he seems to warm up to an awkward Melody during the conversation and they exchange numbers.

At school we find out he never called her however, and despite her looking can’t seem to find him in the cafeteria. Of course with the way she makes fun of the kids with allergies, and refers to one kid ‘horse-face’; I’d say not calling her was dodging a bullet. For someone who claims to have been bullied so much you’d think she’d be a little less prone to doing the same to others.

Alas, Jackson does meet up with her long enough to explain he was sick.

Their time together doesn’t last long however, as Melody and Cleo DeNile knock into each other soon after. Cleo’s grapes fall off her tray, and she demands Melody give up hers, but she refuses. In revenge, Cleo kisses Jackson, which turns him into Holt, or should I say ‘DJ’, and causes him to leave with her.

…I had to take a moment at the image of Cleo kissing Jackson. It felt so wrong. The whole scene feels so surreal and is paced really badly.

It does however make a good opening to talk about how my favorite characters are handled in this.

Now, I do appreciate Jackson getting to be a main character in something, but he’s pretty much regulated to love interest.

He’s not too different from the Jackson of the other continuities to be fair, aside from him being described as artistic as I’ve mentioned, which is usually reserved for Holt. On the subject of Holt, he’s only here in spirit as instead we get ‘DJ’, who, while admittedly having a similar personality to Holt, is not a blue fire elemental. In fact he looks exactly like Jackson sans glasses, and….why is he a monster again?

Now, I don’t know, maybe this was the working concept Lisi was given and she had to run with it. Though I have trouble believing that, I mean the name sure, but Holt’s doll came out around 6 months, a year at most after this book, and these ghouls spend years in development, that says to me they would’ve known they wanted them to be two dolls with two different looks far enough in advance to let Lisi Harrison know.

However, it does open a very big shortcut for the author, so I’m suspicious this was her invention. Thing is, aside from not following the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, it takes away what makes him a monster.

The way he’s written here just makes him seem like a young man with DID who’s personality shifts are triggered when he gets too hot, and implying people with DID are monsters is not a good thing to say the very least.

The worst bit is, if she didn’t want Holt to be visibly monstrous he could’ve, like the original novel, looked human still, but with his own features. It would’ve been a fair compromise.

Anyway, Melody’s dislike of Cleo. It is this dislike that leads her to become friends with a girl named Bekka and her minion Haylee. Bekka is…an odd one. She’s that character who’s so obviously gonna be the villain you’re surprised she doesn’t have devil horns and a twirly mustache. She’s obsessed with her boyfriend Brent to the point it’s unhealthy. She makes it the biggest rule of the friendship contact she makes Melody sign.

Oh yes, there’s a contract in this. What is it with bad books an contracts, first 50 Shades now this. Wait, or did this come first? Whatever the case, we’re supposed to believe Melody is so inexperienced with people she doesn’t find this weird. This is where my comment about her sister comes up; who’s stated to have had lots of friends. Does Melody think her sister makes people sign contracts? Does she think Candace signs contracts?

It’s such a bizarre thing. I had to stop reading for a moment to ponder what I was doing with my life. I can’t even make fun of it because it’s already such a joke. Haylee even notarizes it, does Bekka expect this to be legally binding?

Sigh.

The first week of their friendship goes decently enough however, and we discover ‘Jackson’s’ fling with Cleo had ended now that Deuce Gorgon has returned. Cleo mocks Melody that she can ‘have the nerd back now’ as Melody sees Jackson coming down the hall, and to get back at both in one go kisses Deuce in front of everyone.

Cleo, though obviously hurt with tears in her eyes as Deuce kisses back semi eagerly, manages to not react too much, but Jackson, not knowing what was going on, destroys what what he was carrying. It turns out to be a gift for Melody, who now feels terrible.

There is so much wrong with all that. I feel so offended on Deuce’s behalf at this portrayal, and this scene is written so unnaturally awkward. And Melody apparently still likes Jackson? Why? As far as she’s knows all he’s been is a jerk to her? Ugh.

Later that night finds Melody moping around as she decides to stay home from a family outing (camping in the backyard) so she can stalk/be a peeping tom to Jackson. No really, he’s her neighbor and her sisters window can see into his room; so she literally grabs a bowl of popcorn with plans to spy all night.

This is….really creepy. Melody’s not the most likable to begin with, and this does not make me want to root for her.

She doesn’t get far with that as Jackson shows up, let in by her parents. They talk, Melody seeming happy she made him jealous kissing Deuce, but calling him out of making out with Cleo all week (a bit hypocritical there). Except he doesn’t remember any of what she’s talking about, and explains he has blackouts. This explanation seems to be enough for her to forgive him, and she questions nothing further.

They flirt a while until her insecurities come back up, and she makes him look at a picture her old nose as a test; except he can’t tell tell much difference and thinks she looks pretty both ways. She decides she wants to kiss him then, but they’re interrupted when Melody’s mom yells that she saw a wolf.

They hang out again later with Bekka and Haylee, and Bekka complains about Frankie supposedly flirting with Brett, who finally shows up with Heath Burns, who is not related to Jackson in this universe.

They’re apparently filming a monster movie, but Jackson gets too hot and leaves to go inside. Melody follows and this leads to their first kiss.

Unfortunately for Melody, this turns him into DJ, who is very confused and mistakes the situation for quick hook up. His strange and rude behavior leads her to kick him out.

It also is what makes her decide to ask Deuce to the dance instead when she hears Cleo isn’t going, to which he agrees. A clueless Jackson later comes by to ask her, but she’s still understandably pretty mad from before. They go back and forth until he turns into DJ again, who finally explains to her who he is and vaguely mentions the whole Jekyll/Hyde thing.

Melody records his transformation on her phone and shows it to Jackson when he comes back, which causes him to rush off.

She manages to find him, and it turns out he went to confront his mother about it. Here we get some exposition about great grandpa Henry’s potion, how the trait got ingrained into his DNA, how the split personality drove Jackson’s father insane (as in the book it comes from his side instead of his mother’s, while she is only a human, hence no fire elemental traits), the fact Jackson’s father is in a mental hospital, and how Jackson’s transformations only started recently.

It’s this last bit I have to admit is probably better than the way the main universe went about things. Sorry, but Jackson not knowing he had a second personality until teenager-hood when it’s been happening from birth makes no sense.

After this is the dance, but I’ll get back to that, now let’s switch to Frankie’s half of this book.

I like Frankie here. Sort of, sometimes she gets a little too into the teen girl stereotypes, but overall she’s not actually written too far off from how Frankie was written it the early days of the show. That’s kind of a problem here tho, because the world she’s been placed in doesn’t match her.

Many of the qualities the show celebrated about her, here mostly come back to bite her, to the point she feels like being herself is a terrible thing. I mostly feel sad for her the whole book as I end up thinking about the show and how happy she is in that world. It gets bad enough that it was all I could remember about her parts after my initial read. I suppose it’s intentional by the author that we’re to feel bad for her, but it gets overdone at times. Maybe I’m just too much of a softie though.

Her story opens up with an admittedly nice prologue from her point of view about how she came to life; it reminds me of her SDCC diary in that way. She’s pretty endearing.

Her part of this story then skips forward to her waiting to recharge while listening to music, while Lisi Harrison tries to fit in as many brand names and celebrities as she can. Seriously, you cut out all the namedropping in the first two pages of this chapter and there’d be nothing there.

Not that the whole book hadn’t already been doing that, but my god is it annoying. Not to mention dates the book terribly.

Her dad comes by her room to have a talk to her, and Frankie at first worries she’s perhaps spent too much in redecorating her room considering all those mentioned brand names, but instead they explain that summer’s coming to a close.

This really doesn’t mean much to Frankie, but they explain they work at a local university and school with be starting again soon. Meaning they won’t be able to stay home with her. After some exposition about what normies are and why she isn’t one, they tell her they’re sending her to a school, which she becomes very excited about when she realizes it means meeting kids her own age.

Of course, it’s not that simple as they present her with the outfit the expect her to wear for her first day: a wool pantsuit and stage makeup. They attempt to explain to her that she’s a RAD, or Regular Attribute Dodger, or a monster as they’re known by normies.

Now the concept of monsters being real and living hidden in modern society is not a bad one. Probably why the reboot decided to use it. It’s just, as this scene goes on we’re we are given some …odd world building.

Like the reason humans hate monsters is….old monster movies. Okay, I understand media is a powerful thing, and it can completely shape people’s opinions about minorities, but usually media is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

Not to mention did this really even need that explanation? You could’ve just went with the usual, human paranoia about vampires killing them for blood, being afraid of monster’s powers, ect; the media thing is a fine shout out to the classic movies, but being the sole cause of human’s turn against them?

Also, how would there be people who don’t believe monsters are real if this happened that recently? The film industry is not that old, people would know monsters exist if they apparently have them on film.

Frankie too finds her questioning this new world, as she’s not particularly thrilled about the idea of hiding her skin or wearing wool, and can’t wrap her head around the idea she needs to hide who she is.

So when the day comes she decides shes going to ignore her parents and wear the outfit of her choosing with no stage make up to hide the green. Of course her parents don’t approve, while Frankie argues that if other people don’t like her for who she is, that’s their problem not hers (which isn’t bad advice).

Still, they must press her to change as it’s dangerous, but she only goes as far as to cover her seams. Finally, her parents seem to relent and take her to school. Going outside for the first time is amazing to Frankie, and she’s very excited; though she admits she doesn’t know where she’s going or what she’s doing.

Of course the inevitable happens, she runs into another teen and they don’t react well to the sight of a girl with green skin. Frankie’s parents suddenly reappear and get her back into the car before any authority can arrive to see them.

Her father admits he was just trying to teach her a lesson that perhaps went too far. Frankie is in tears now, and some what bitterly agrees to wear to the make up and suit.

I have one major issue with this scene, and it’s when it’s revealed this is not her school, and in fact her school hasn’t started yet. This was all planned by her parents. So, her parents, suspecting she wouldn’t understand the danger, decided trying to scar her for life and nearly expose them in the process was better than trying to talk her through it some more? Like the way it’s written makes it seem like they only talked about it the once, and didn’t even go that in depth at how risky things are.

Like if this was a genuine last resort or something I could understand, but it feels more like a cop out on their part. She’s barely two weeks old, of course she’s not going to get it after one conversation when she’s never even been outside! And again, this was a huge risk to take for their whole secret society; I doubt other RADs would have approved.

Frankie now fearfully starts school for real, simply hoping no one notices her. Of course that doesn’t happen, as she quickly gets the attention of DJ Hyde, much to her annoyance. She zaps him by accident and he gives her the nick name ‘Firecracker’.

That’s right about when Draculaura aka ‘Lala’ makes her first appearance with Lagoona or ‘Blue’, who tries to help Lala with her makeup (as she wants to look good in front of DJ, which I admit being reminded of that old plot made me a little nostalgic for early MH) and asks the heavily made up Frankie if she’d be alright with loaning them some eyeliner.

For the rest of class Frankie tries to ignore DJ and focus more on the boy she actually has a crush on, Brett. She likes him because he likes monsters, and seeing as he’s wearing a Frankenstein t-shirt, takes it as a sign he wouldn’t mind that she’s his granddaughter. Not to mention that now she knows there’s a girl who likes DJ, wouldn’t want to take him from her (an attitude you’ll find doesn’t last).

Also during class she becomes worried that Melody is onto her, not realizing the girl is really just another girl who wants to boy currently trying to get her attention.

After class Blue and Lala befriend her and invite her to go to the spa with them that weekend, to which she agrees.

Frankie heads off that weekend, meeting Cleo and Claudine (not ‘Clawdeen’), who don’t seem as keen on her as Blue and Lala after she makes an innocently insensitive comment. We find out Lala was a bit mad at Cleo for making out with DJ, but Cleo assures her it was just to make Melody mad, as DJ knows she’s taken. Speaking of Deuce, Cleo’s very upset over his kiss with Melody, and at this Ula decides to forgive her as she’s not into DJ anymore anyway (rendering that part of the plot completely pointless).

Finally they get there, and Frankie starts to feel more included as the girls explain how to go through the spa to her, and she talks about her crush on Brett. The girls make jokes about how difficult it’s gonna be to steal him from the infinitely jealous Bekka, and no one tells her not to chase a boy who is already taken. Considering Cleo was just recently upset at feeling cheated on, this feels hypocritical.

All the ghouls finally part to get their various treatments, each one hinting at their monster type.

Frankie decides on trying the tanning beds on the advice it reduces the appearance of scars. While there she relaxes, but gets distracted enough by a fantasy she accidentally sparks and blows a fuse.

She absolutely panics, making things worse, until smoke starts emitting form her seams. In all the confusion she manages to get dressed and runs out of there terrified. She’s crushed that she ruined everything, ignores her new friends calls, and walks home full of anxiety over how her parents will react. She finally breaks down crying when a passing car hits her with water.

She makes it home deciding not to tell her parents what happened, and they buy her fake story, getting her dried off.

Early the next morning her and her parents get called to a new emergency meeting of the local underground monster community. Not called for the spa incident (locals blamed it on the storm), but Frankie being sighted earlier.

At the meeting, Frankie learns which members of her town are RADs, and in turn tell the others as well. Along with their real names, monster types, there’s even some history on what parts of town were built by monsters.

Feeling safe to do so, Frankie fesses up to the power outage she caused, and to her relief they seem pretty understanding. All except Claudine, who wasn’t able to get her hair waxed and got tagged by PETA for ‘wearing fur’.

They all talk openly of their monster problems until Mrs. J (or Mrs. Jekyll) arrives to start the meeting sans her son. She warns them to be careful around normies, and Cleo can’t resist a jab in Deuce’s direction over Melody. Deuce apologizes, implying he’s already done this, and Cleo seems to be in the process of forgiving him, or at least content knowing he and Melody don’t actually want each other.

Mrs. J continues the meeting announcing the Merston High has chosen a monster theme for an upcoming school dance. Much of the crowd seems offended at that, but Frankie speaks up to say she finds the idea rather flattering, and maybe even a sign of a change in attitude.

She goes even further as to suggest they all use it as an opportunity to be able to go out in public with out disguises for a change. The other kids seem to like the idea in theory, but when put to a vote only Frankie and Billy Phadin (to Frankie’s gratitude) are in favor.

She’s bummed out at how afraid everyone is to try anything, and doesn’t join in saying the RADs slogan ‘Hide with Pride’.

It’s after this chapter we get a chapter from the point of view of Ghoulia which, while not unwelcome, feels out of nowhere. It’s also much more in line with the show, as she tries to talk her parents into letting her go to NekroCon so she can try and get her Deadfast No. 1.

I love this chapter, but the sudden references to the main-verse are very out of place in everything Harrison’s built up so far. Still, it’s Ghoulia’s first appearance so I can’t complain.

Back at school Frankie is amazed at how well Mrs. J manages to seem impartial, and how the only one who seems to have any visible monster pride is Brett.

Brett brings up monsters, Frankie joining in to the teacher’s dismay, but it’s all interrupted by a ‘monster drill’ (which involves using your chair as a shield in a very silly manor).

Brett shows interest in Frankie as she seems to like monsters as well, which encourages her. This goes even further when school announcements remind everyone about the dance, and Bret tells everyone he’s going as Frankenstein’s monster. Bekka chimes in she’s going as the bride to match, and Frankie wishes she could say they’re both going as her grandparents and the reals bride’s dress is at her house.

Mrs. J however was not amused by all the monster talk, and privately reminds Frankie she has to be discreet. However Frankie feels monster kind are never going to get anywhere if they don’t actually make any attempts to try, and the warning is lost on her.

This becomes very apparent to her parents at home as Frankie gets more and more frustrated, to the point she bitterly asks her parents why they didn’t just make her look human if she has to pretend to be one anyway.

…Which is actually a good point. They go on about how they didn’t because they’re proud of who they are and she should be too. That hiding is just for safety, but seriously if she’s going to have to hide her entire life they could’ve spared her a lot of agony to just make her look more human to begin with. I get what the author was going for but still.

The author could’ve just explained they didn’t have that ability instead, which might’ve been more in line with the metaphor.

The argument leads to them banning her from the dance entirely, and she admits her father might be right not to trust her, as she plans to go anyway.

Now to her credit, she does try to earn their permission by behaving, but it doesn’t sway them so it goes to plan B. She gets the other ghouls to join in with her (they’d been boycotting it originally), and using her bare skin and grandmother’s wedding dress as a costume arrives at the dance.

Meanwhile, Melody is also at the dance, lamenting Jackson has been avoiding her lately. She’s resisted the temptation to talk to anyone else about what she knows, and tried to distract herself with the event.

It doesn’t really work, and she runs into Jackson at the punch bowl, dressed as Igor. ....Then we get this joke:

“What are you doing here?” Melody asked, relived.

“I thought you might wanna hump?” He pointed to the pillow stuffed up under the back of his sweater like a hunchback.

…What the heck did I just read. Did this book really need a bad sex joke? It’s so awkward even Melody starts to just walk away.

Yet, somehow this leads to them talking things out and making up. Then we cut back to the monster side of things:

Frankie runs into the similarly dressed Bekka who tries to insult her, and Billy gets another cameo. She’s thrilled with the positive attention her ‘costume’ is getting, particularly when she gets it from Brett.

Their talking leads to a kiss that ends with Frankie’s head popping off and Brett fainting.

Screams and confusion take over, but Billy helps her escape as the monsters make a run for it to get back home.

Meanwhile at the dance, as all the monsters are escaping, Jackson feels a transformation coming on and tries in vain to get Melody to leave. Melody however is distracted by an angry Bekka who wants vengeance against Frankie for kissing her boyfriend, demanding that Melody help her get it.

She can’t do both, and spends too much time trying to figure out what side to be on. Finally DJ appears and makes her decision for her, as he decides he wants to find where Firecracker is.

Bekka heads out too, leaving Melody with the threat of turning against her if she doesn’t help soon. Going off to stir up monster paranoia as best she can, and wanting to make sure to get an angry mob going so Frankie is found.

Melody still can’t seem to make up her mind on what to do, and asks her sister in vague terms what she thinks. Candace tells her she has to pick the side she thinks is right and not be a coward about it like she usually is.

Frankie wakes up at home and over hears the RAD parents having an angry, scared conversation over what’s going to happen, blaming Frankie’s parents for not controlling her behavior better. More than that, they talk about their fears of what will happen to their own children, laying more blame on Frankie for all that might happen to the point of demanding the Steins leave town. Frankie’s father kicks them out after that, but soon as their gone he and his wife can’t deny their own worries.

Frankie feels crushed under the weight of her guilt and lays on her bed crying. It gets bad enough she begins to wish either that she had never been made, or wouldn’t wake up next time she sleeps.

She does wake up after drifting off however, to find DJ having snuck in her room to her confusion (which is a bit of creeper move on his part). He seems concerned enough however, so she tells him about her problems. Telling him how stupid and reckless she feels, and how she ruined everyone’ lives.

DJ on the other hand thinks she did everyone a favor, and that RAD society needs someone like her around because they weren’t getting anywhere. He tells her he thinks she’s absolutely amazing, that she shouldn’t give up, and that he likes her. Likes the fact she goes for what she wants.

This scene is honestly adorable and so far the best scene out of the book. They way he builds her up, promises to help her and be there for her, and while obvious he has a crush, doesn’t pressure her about returning the feelings and just wants to see her be happy.

They get interrupted however, and by the time it’s safe again DJ has been replaced with Jackson; who doesn’t know who she is or where he is, and is looking for Melody. She upset and confused by his departure.

Melody shows up at the Jekyll residence and tells Mrs. J that she knows, but promises to be their secret keeper. She also plans to help find Jackson.

This is nearly ruined as after leaving she runs into Bekka and Haylee. Bekka reveals she found the recording of Jackson’s transformation on her phone and black mails her with it.

She gives Melody two days to find and hand over Frankie or she’ll show it to the police.

This villainous reveal is so over the top too, she actually makes Melody sign another agreement and pulls an egg timer out of her purse as she threatens her about the time limit. It’s hilarious.

Melody’s left there terrified she’s just messed things up big time when Jackson finds her.

She explains what happened, and he reveals he knows where Frankie is, but refuses to give her up to save himself. Not even for his own sake, but he knows DJ likes her. DJ would want her safe and he can’t betray his other half like that.

Melody thinks it’s very noble, but tricks him so he’ll turn into DJ, who leads her to Frankie.

Frankie is understandably not pleased to see her, and the scene gets a bit meta in the sense DJ and Frankie reflect my own feelings about Melody to an extent.

They do talk it out of course, Melody explains the Jekyll/Hyde thing to Frankie, and convinces Frankie that she’s just here to be an ally. Though I will say Melody saying she can relate to Frankie because she got teased for her big nose; while Frankie has to fear her family and friends getting killed because she’d undead makes Melodork come off very …White.

Then the book just kinda stops after that. I know it was meant to have sequels, but there’s no real resolution to anything. It’s just:

“We need a plan to fix this.” ”I agree”

The End.

Over all thoughts: one of the reason this review got so in depth is because, as I wrote the first draft I realized I couldn’t remember a lot of the book. As I found my self skimming the book, I kept finding whole scenes I had no memory of at all (which I’d end up throwing in). It’s super forgettable once you put it down, and the only things that make it memorable are the things that make it annoying.

Like the name dropping, I’ve talked about it before, but oh god the name dropping. On top of every character’s outfit having to be described in great detail it made me feel like I was reading a clothing catalog.

All the human OCs are poorly written, Bekka’s ridiculous and so over the top it’s hard to take her seriously, Haylee just exists to follow Bekka around, Brett’s a cheater (yeah, I’d rather have Frankie than Bekka too but he could’ve just broken up with her first), Candace is spoiled, and Melody is whiny and annoying.

Worse, this book is such a waste of what was a really cool concept, a more mature version of the MH-verse. There’s so many hints in here too of the better book we could’ve received, like Frankie’s prologue. Would it have been a better book if Lisi had just stuck to the monster characters? That I can’t say, as the ghouls characterization haven’t been safe from bad writing either, but none were as bad as any of the humans.

On the positive side, I can see why some people do like this book...sort of. It does try very hard to build it’s universe, and while some of it fails, some is actually pretty interesting. It can even be entertaining at points, albeit in a ‘so bad it’s good’ way.

I’ve almost hit 6,000 words though, so until I finish the next book this is where I end off. Thank you for making it this far, I hope you enjoyed my first ever book review.

#monster high #strangewritings #man heven't used that tag in ages #book review #I warn ya'll this is really long

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placetobenation · 5 years

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Pinocchio

Release Date: February 7th, 1940 (released nationally February 23rd)

Inspiration: “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi

Budget: $2.3 million

Domestic Gross: $84.2 million

Worldwide Gross: $121.9 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

IMDB Score: 7.4/10

Storyline (per IMDB): Inventor Gepetto creates a wooden marionette called Pinocchio. His wish for Pinocchio to be a real boy is unexpectedly granted by a fairy. The fairy assigns Jiminy Cricket to act as Pinocchio’s “conscience” and keep him out of trouble. Jiminy is not too successful in this endeavor and most of the film is spent with Pinocchio deep in trouble.

Pre-Watching Thoughts: So after watching what ended up being a great movie in Snow White, we move onto the sophomore entry in the Disney film canon and that is Pinocchio. This is another one of the movies that I have seen before, but it has been quite a long time that I have watched it so it will also be looked at with a relatively fresh perspective. This film has often been considered one of the greatest films that Disney has done and critics seemed to agree with the 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. We will see if it can live up to that expectation in my eyes and I will see where it ranks in terms of the rest of the Disney film canon.

Voice Cast: We continue the trend of the voice actors not being credited for their work on the film which again is fine for now, but it will be interesting to see when it starts to turn and the actors do finally get credited. We once again have a few actors involved that were either in the twilight of their careers or in the case of the lead, some that would begin their careers even as a child. Case in point, the voice of Pinocchio was provided by Dickie Jones who at the time was 11 years old and had been acting since he was 7 including a role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It was a wise move by Disney to have a child voice Pinocchio as opposed to an adult as Jones brought the sense of youth and enthusiasm to Pinocchio, and he would also provide the voice of one of the boys turned into a donkey named Alexander. Austrian born actor Christian Rub was the voice of Gepetto and he had quite the wealth of experience going into this film, and he would bring a good fatherly figure voice to Gepetto. Musician and ukulele player Cliff Edwards would be cast as Jiminy Cricket and being a professional singer worked to his favor since he had to sing in the film, and he would become synonymous with the character as he continued to voice him in future appearances including another film down the line. Vaudevillian actor Walter Catlett voiced “Honest” John Foulfellow and having played various conmen throughout his career, he was a good choice to be the voice of the sly-talking fox as he cons Pinocchio twice. In a bit of a fun fact, veteran voice actor Mel Blanc was hired to play Gideon only for the decision to be made to have Gideon be a mute character after the success of Dopey in Snow White. The sole actress of the film Evelyn Venable played the Blue Fairy and she was a good voice for the character despite having very little time on the screen. Another veteran voice actor in Charles Judels provided the voice for both Stromboli and the Coachman, and he brought his experience into bringing two villains to the big screen and made them hated and feared. Finally aside from Stuart Buchanan who was the only returning actor from Snow White to be in this film as the announcer for Pleasure Island, the last voice actor was Frankie Darro who voiced Lampwick and being a fellow child actor provided a good, young voice for the rebellious Lampwick. Overall, the cast did a good job in bringing these characters to life and once again for most of them, it would end up being the absolute peak of their careers.

Hero/Prince: After having a Prince in our last film, we do hit a bit of a roadblock here in that we don’t have a clear, defined hero in Pinocchio. In a way, the closest thing we have here is Pinocchio himself when he saves Gepetto at the end of the film from Monstro and this in turn leads the Blue Fairy to finally declare him worthy of being a real boy. When compared to heroes of the future films, Pinocchio is probably going to rank on the lower end since his only heroic deed comes at the end, and as a result he will end up being one of the weakest heroes in the Disney Film canon.

Princess: N/A

Villain: Similarly after having one defined villain in Snow White with the Evil Queen, here we have a slew of minor villains that share the screen in terms of what they do to Pinocchio. First we have the hired goons of “Honest” John Fowlfellow and his associate Gideon who are paid to do the dirty work of others, and while Gideon is a bit absent-minded John makes up for his with his quick tongue and ability to manipulate Pinocchio twice. One of the men they did business with is the puppeteer Stromboli, who for some reason is the only one from this film that is officially classified as a Disney Villain. He first appears to be a proud showman only to reveal his true intentions to use Pinocchio to make him money before turning him into firewood, and while his time was brief he does make an impact on the film. The next villain to talk about is the first animal to be considered a villain which is Monstro the Whale, and again while his time is brief he was quite a memorable character in terms of providing fear to children when he threatens to kill Pinocchio and Gepetto. Finally, we have the Coachman who runs an extensive underground kidnapping ring where he brings boys to Pleasure Island and they turn to donkeys, and he later sells them to salt mines and the circus as he turns a nice profit for himself when he shows John and Gideon what he is offering. While these villains combined may not reach the same levels as the Evil Queen did, they still provided some good fodder for the film and were fine villains for the film.

Other Characters: Once again, we have a pretty solid supporting cast of characters to help fill out the film and add some different dimensions around Pinocchio and his evolution throughout the film. Obviously, the first one to talk about is Gepetto who creates Pinocchio as a puppet and then wishes for him to be a real boy, and while we don’t see much of him on the screen you could see his caring for Pinocchio when he goes out looking for him, even going as far as to sail out to sea and getting swallowed by Monstro. He is willing to sacrifice his own life to save Pinocchio only for Pinocchio to save him instead, and for that you can’t help but feel happy when Pinocchio is turned into a real boy giving him a son. We must also mention Gepetto’s pets Figaro the cat and Cleo the goldfish who even though they can’t talk like John and Gideon, they provide plenty of emotional support for Gepetto and they are just as important to him as Pinocchio is. We then have the Blue Fairy who decides to grant Gepetto’s wish due to the happiness he has provided for others, but she tells Pinocchio that only he can make Gepetto’s wish fully come true by proving himself worthy to be a real boy. She would only make two appearances on screen with the second being rescuing Pinocchio from Stromboli, and despite being on screen for a very minor bit of time she was a memorable character as well. We then have the boys who are taken to Pleasure Island including Lampwick who Pinocchio befriends, and it is pretty sad knowing that they were turned to donkeys and in essence never got any comeuppance since only Pinocchio escaped the island. Finally, we have Pinocchio’s conscience in Jiminy Cricket who is a bit of a cynic at first, but comes to deeply care about Pinocchio and he would become an enduring character for Disney in the decades to come. While this supporting cast may or may not be as memorable as the Snow White cast, they were still pretty important to the film and as mentioned, Jiminy Cricket would be one of the standout characters that would have a lasting impact in Disney history.

Songs: Once again, we have a film laden with some memorable songs though not quite as many as Snow White had. While one song from this film is up there in terms of status as a classic song, the rest of the songs from the film are unique in their own way. The first song to really talk about is Gepetto’s song about Pinocchio called Little Wooden Head which was a simple, but nice little song about Gepetto’s love for his new puppet. The next song is a more memorable song in Give a Little Whistle as Jiminy sings to Pinocchio about calling for help if he is tempted, and it is a good song to show Cliff Edwards along with another song that we will get to in just a minute. The next song we have is Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee which is sung by Honest John to Pinocchio twice, first when he talks him into being an actor and then again when he brings him to the Coachman. While relatively short both times, it is a fun song even though it is about John leading Pinocchio to two very bad situations. The next song is Pinocchio’s big moment as he sings I’ve Got No Strings during Stromboli’s show, and this leads to a very memorable dance sequence involving numerous puppets and it is one of the more loved scenes in the film. Finally, we have the song that is best remembered from this film and that is the opening song When You Wish Upon a Star, which would make history by becoming the first Disney song to win an Academy Award. This song would become one of the most recognizable songs in Disney’s history and is still as popular today as it was back then, and it is one of the many highlights from this film along with the rest of the songs from the film.

Plot: The plot of Pinocchio is pretty interesting in that Gepetto creates Pinocchio and wishes him for be a real boy, and the Blue Fairy grants the wish to an extent as she says that Pinocchio has to prove himself worthy of being a real boy. What follows is a series of mishaps for Pinocchio as he gets in with a pair of foxes who give him to Stromboli and he looks to profit off of him before making him into firewood, and then they do it again by giving him to the Coachman who takes him and several other boys to Pleasure Island. It is easy to write off these as Pinocchio being naïve considering he just came to life, but that’s why Jiminy Cricket offered to be his conscience though Pinocchio doesn’t listen to him as much as he probably should’ve. Things come to a head as Pinocchio barely escapes turning into a donkey by getting off Pleasure Island only to find that Gepetto had gone out to sea looking for him and was swallowed by Monstro, and Pinocchio finally proves himself worthy by saving Gepetto and thus becomes a real boy in the end. While the plot of Pinocchio is pretty simple in that Pinocchio must prove himself worthy of being a real boy, it is still a good plot as we get a lot of twists and turns to the point that you wonder if he will actually pull it off. It does get you emotionally invested because you want to see Pinocchio succeed and become real, and seeing him save Gepetto in the end is very touching and shows the love he has for him. It ends up being a very satisfying ending to the film and helps make the film one of the most memorable in the history of Disney.

Random Watching Thoughts: Ahh, the days when RKO Pictures was a thing; Not common to hear the song that is best remembered from this film at the very beginning of the film during the opening credits; We have another storybook beginning much like Snow White; How old is Jiminy because I never thought that crickets had a very long lifespan; Apparently Jiminy was a cynical cricket before meeting Pinocchio; I wonder if anyone tried to look up where this village was actually located in real life; So is Jiminy an actually cricket because he doesn’t have wings like a normal cricket?; Given how much clutter Gepetto has in his workshop, business must be down for him; Figaro is one of the cutest kittens ever; That doll Jiminy had his hands on had quite a lot of junk in the trunk; Of all the names you could give a puppet, “Pinocchio” is a pretty strange one; That was mean of Gepetto to make Pinocchio kick Figaro and then scare him; All of those clocks going off at the same time and yet Gepetto has to check his watch to get the time; Cleo enjoyed that kiss from Figaro a little too much; Poor Figaro just wants to sleep and Gepetto first keeps talking to him, and then he makes him get up and open the window; Isn’t the rule that if you reveal your wish to someone, it won’t come true?; Gepetto must’ve gotten used to sleeping with all those ticking clocks; Jiminy is clearly smitten with the Blue Fairy; It is a bit of a dick move by the Fairy to only turn Pinocchio into a living puppet and force him to make Gepetto’s wish come true himself; So the Fairy updates Jiminy’s wardrobe and he still wants a badge made of solid gold; So Pinocchio and Jiminy talk for a time and then do a full song though Gepetto doesn’t wake up until Pinocchio falls to the ground; Has Gepetto had previous issues with others that he keeps a gun by his side?; I love how Gepetto was ready for bed not that long ago and now all of a sudden he has plenty of energy to play with Pinocchio; Shouldn’t that fire have spread a little quicker on Pinocchio since he is still made of wood?; Poor Cleo having to swim around in that dirty water after Gepetto put the fire out in her bowl; So Pinocchio has been alive for a good 9-10 hours and Gepetto is confident enough to have him go to school like a normal child, makes sense; Figaro wanted to go to school too which makes him a curious cat; So in a town of humans there are somehow two human-like foxes walking around and no one finds it weird; Gideon must have a strong head if he can take all those blows to the skull and keep going; That must be a tight hat if John’s head got stuck in it after Gideon hit with the mallet; Jiminy tells Pinocchio exactly what to say to John and he pretty much discards it to go with them; I would like to see someone actually translate what Stromboli is saying when he is ranting in Italian; If Stromboli is conducting the orchestra, who is actually working the puppets?; Something you would never see today is people just throwing money onto the stage after a performance; Is it healthy for Cleo to have a big piece of chocolate cake like that?; Poor Figaro looked so tortured having to wait to eat what looked like a tasty fish; What would happen if Stormboli cut the inside of his mouth by using his sword to eat?; Boy, Stromboli went from somewhat likeable to a complete asshole in no time; Since when did Jiminy become a master at breaking locks?; What a cruel tease by having Stromboli and his carriage drive right by Gepetto as he is searching for Pinocchio; Pinocchio must have some great counterbalance if he can handle how long his nose becomes and he doesn’t tip over; Why does he have a fully developed nest with two eggs in it on his nose; They are lucky that the Fairy was kind enough to help them out because she could’ve left them since her job was technically finished; Wouldn’t Stromboli have come back to the village when he realized that Pinocchio was gone?; Only Gideon would take a smoke ring and eat it like a donut; If that’s all Stromboli paid, John and Gideon got royally ripped off especially after the Coachman shows what he’s offering; You would think Pinocchio would not trust John and Gideon again after what happened with Stromboli, but they once again pull a fast one on him; How many of John’s big words were actually real and how many were just made up?; I wonder if John gave any other boys different playing cards since he gave Pinocchio the Ace of Spades; Pinocchio really wants to share his card with Lampwick though he keeps interrupting him; How far away was this island from the mainland?; If you want a fun watch, check out the Youtube series Film Theory and the episode about Pinocchio where MatPat discusses if Pleasure Island is actually profitable for the Coachman; A lot of things you will never see today like kids smoking cigars and the clearly racist Native American statues tossing out cigars to the boys; This really gives off the stereotype that all young boys are unruly ruffians given how much damage they do; I’m also surprised they didn’t catch any flak for saying “Jackass” repeatedly even though they were clearly referring to the donkey; I wonder if the animators made for Jiminy to put his jacket on backwards or if that was an oversight that just happened to work; So what does the Coachman do with the donkeys that still talk?; So we see Lampwick physically transform from a human to a donkey yet he somehow doesn’t realize it until he laughs like one; If Pinocchio is still made of wood, should he technically not be able to change into a donkey since he’s not fully a human?; The island must not have been that far since Pinocchio and Jiminy were able to swim back in a relative short time; So the Blue Fairy said she couldn’t help them again only to send them a letter about Gepetto being in Monstro; So when did we establish that Pinocchio and Jiminy can breathe underwater with no issues?; That fish must have a thing for Jiminy as she follows him for a bit; Funny that they have schools of fish follow them for a bit until they tell them they are looking for Monstro and they bail quickly; How was Gepetto able to afford a ship and why would he assume that Pinocchio went out to sea?; Quite coincidental that Gepetto says they are close to death and a short time later, Monstro opens his mouth and inhales a giant school of tuna fish along with Pinocchio; Gepetto sees that Pinocchio has donkey ears and a tail, but he barely bats an eye about it just because he has him back; Can we even attempt to discuss the physics of being able to start a fire in the belly of a whale?; We also don’t fully see how that tiny raft is somehow able to get past the bottom row of teeth; What happened to Figaro and Cleo when Monstro came out of the water and tipped the boat over?; How lucky was Pinocchio that the cliff wall just happened to have a hole in it so they could get through before Monstro leaped out and hit the wall; So Cleo and Figaro somehow survived on their own because they happened to wash up on shore shortly after Gepetto does, specifically Cleo who is still in her bowl which is completely undamaged; Call me crazy, but it actually looks a bit weird seeing Pinocchio as a real boy after seeing him as a puppet for the whole movie; The Fairy really splurged to give Jiminy an 18-karat gold badge.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, Disney’s sophomore film coming off a very successful debut in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ends up being an even better outing for the Mouse House. While the film itself was not initially successful in terms of money made mainly due to the outbreak of World War II, subsequent re-releases have helped establish its place as one of the classics in Disney’s history. Many even consider it to be the absolute perfect film and the peak of Disney during his lifetime, and while that is certainly up for debate there is no question that Pinocchio is very memorable and about as close to perfect as you could get. It will be interesting to see going forward how the rest of the films stack up since many consider Disney’s peak only two films in, but that’s what makes doing these re-watches fun in trying to compare one era to another. At the end of the day, Pinocchio is a great film and a step up from Snow White as the bar as now been raised once again for Disney to try and top.

Final Grade: 9/10

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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Freaky Fusions Cleolei Diary

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Past One

The most horrifying event in history just happened to me, and I’m still shaking in my wraps! I became fused together with that dreadful werecat, Toralei. We are both inside this same body, and it’s all her fault! Typically, she was sticking her whiskers in where they didn’t belong and got her paws on something... and, zap! Being stuck in this body makes me so clawstrophobic, I’m itching like I have fleas! Oh, how I long for a lovely scented bath, but the furball gets her tail in a bunch at the slightest suggestion of water. Hmmmm... I wonder if I can talk her into a milk bath. CdN

30 mins A.F. (After Fusion) - Today started out to be a purrfectly fun day. There were so many killer things to explore in that mad scientist’s lab, I just had to get my paws on them, you know? How was I supposed to know touching that vortex thingy would cause such a cat-astrophy. I mean, seriously! Of all people to get fused with, I have to get stuck with her royal heinous... that ghoul really strokes my fur the wrong way! TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Two

Unacceptable! Her pointy little ears keep popping out no matter how tightly I wrap them! And everywhere I walk, I hear that horrid tail swishing. It echoes down the halls of MH. I accidentally tripped Deuce with it, and his sunglasses slid down his nose and turned poor Hissette into stone! She was following me - I think she mistook the swishing for hissing and was jealous I might have been hanging out with another cobra. As if I would ever find one as sweet as her. I’ll miss her as long as it takes for her to de-petrify. Luckily, it looks like it’s already wearing off. CdN

75 mins A.F. - This day just keeps getting better and better. Cleo keeps smashing my ears down with her wraps! So I didn’t hear her cobra slithering around us, and when I saw it I jumped in surprise - and I accidently tripped Deuce with my tail! I feel bad poor Hissette had to get caught in the crossfire of his stone-ifying eyes, but at least we know it’s temporary. I wish I could say the same about being fused with her royal pain. Ugh. I feel a furball coming on. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Two

Well, rehearsal for BIte-Centennial truly bit. Ugh, I’m just so desperate to send that kitty back to the pound she came from. I can’t believe my ancestors had a special affinity for felines. This one in particular is nothing but a mangy little pain in my abacus. And I’ve heard more with from headless sphinx statues. Give me a loyal greyhound any day. CdN

110 mins A.F. - Hahaha! That was pawsome! Miss purrfectly proper almost fell off her makeshift horse. And then I made her dance a little jig. If she sticks with me, she might learn to have some real fun. That’ll show her for claiming I’m not a purebred werecat. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Quarter Til Three

For some reason I can’t fathom, Frankie is convinced that the Hybrids can help us learn to be good at this whole fused-together thing. They are the new monsters at MH, and they are the kids of 2 different types of monsters, so I guess they have proper credentials. But the last thing I want to do is get too comfortable in Toralei’s skin, although apparently even I don’t have a choice. I was talking to Ghoulia earlier... well, trying to, anyway. It’s really difficult to have a private conversation with the werecat listening in. But I think Ghoulia has a plan to get me - all of us, I suppose - out of this situation. In the meantime, I guess I’ll see what’s up with the Hybrids. Toralei must be rubbing off on me, because I must admit I’m curious. CdN

125 mins A.F. - I’d trust Ghoulia with all of my 9 lives. She’s the kind of ghoul who doesn’t talk much, but when she does, monster listen. Or at least they should, if they have a brain in their skull. Even Cleo seems to pay attention to Ghoulia. But for some reason, Cleo seems to think Ghoulia is her own personal treasure. I was trying hard to hear what Ghoulia had planned - and I have pretty good hearing if I do say so myself - but Cleo kept trying to shut me out, like she thought she could entomb me in some tiny part of her dark and dusty mind. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Three

Oh, my Ra! Fearleading practice was positively scarab-ulous! For the first time in a millenia, I perfectly formed the very top of the pyramid! I know, that doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment - after all, a pyramid is right in my wheelcasket - but contrary to my usually flawless skill, I tend to be, um, shall we say, less than regal when hoisted on the backs of other ghouls. Although, I always believed that was more them than me, of course, but I digress. Anyway, not only did I fashion the top of the pyramid, from there I performed a triple pirouette, half-spin, reverse flip, over-the-crown split, and I STILL landed gracefully on my feet! My Daddy-Mummy would be so proud! The help from our new friends totes worked! CdN

165 mins A.F. - I’ve never enjoyed Fearleading practice more than I did today. I mean, jumping around and landing on your feet? That’s kitten play. Where’s the challenge in that? But it was nice not to have Cleo getting under my fur for a change. She didn’t boss me around ocne. I don’t really know what got into her. She was practically purring. Looks like we have our new friends to thank for that. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Four Precisely

You know, my ancestors may have had a point about this feline thing. I was feeling a bit cat-nappish after Fearleading practice. It was one thing that Toralei didn’t argue with me about. We found an empty classroom where it was nice and quiet, and stretched out near the window sill in a pool of sunlight. I must confess, it WAS soothing to have the werekitty purring and mumbling in my ear as we dozed. I slept like the un-dead. I won’t tell her, of course. Her head is already so over-inflated, it might pop. Normally, I wouldn’t concern myself with that possibility, but, now that we share the same head... CdN

195 mins A.F. - I’m feeling refreshed from a nap. I can almost deal with the rest of this Bite-Centennial. Is it just me, or has this been a really long day? Cleo doesn’t think so, but then she’s been alive forever, so I suppose one day wouldn’t seem like much to her. To me, it feels like an eternity. But the nap was nice. Cleo doesn’t smell as musty as I expected, just a bit too perfume-y. Made my whiskers twitch. But I’m really surprised by now how much I liked being tangled in her wraps, swaddled like a newborn kitten. I found myself purring out loud, and didn’t even care if she heard me. TS

Bite-Centennial Day, Half Past Four

I’m royally pleased to be back to me! Now that I’ve been de-fused from the werekitty, I am feeling much more my ancient self. I feel like I just rid myself of a furball that has been gagging me all day! Toralei and I decided to each write a grain of sand’s worth here just to finish up OUR diary. In the end, it wasn’t as horrific an experience as I would have imagined, given that she usually ruffles my wrappings. It turns out we CAN get along, when we are forced to under the most dire and unexpected of circumstances, i.e. stuck in the same body. But I could really use another nap. CdN

10 mins A.d.F. (After de-Fusion) - I am so happy I feel like everything is made of catnip! I am back to being my clawsome self, and Miss Queen of deNothing is back in her own wraps. I don’t know why everyone blamed me for getting them into this. I don’t think it turned out to be so cat-astrophic after all. They would never have known how freaky fabulous things could get if I hadn’t tried a few things, right? You have to be a little curious about the world - sniff outside the box - if you want even one purrfect life, much less 9. TS

We my not be fused anymore, but we must work together more than ever! Frankie is in dire need of our help, and she is one ghoul worth crossing a desert... CdN

or getting wet for. There isn’t anything we won’t do to SAVE FRANKIE!! TS

#monster high #monster high diary #freaky fusion #cleolei #cleo de nile #toralei stripe #toralei

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