#based on past mh lore

[wickerfox]

HELLO YES ITS ME IM COPY PASTING THE THING HERE:

YOU JUST MADE THE CHILD IN ME BLOOM. THE QUESTION LIST (THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IM SEEING THIS AU BUT GOD FORBID):

× Who's Hoodie

× Is it in the same time setting as MH

× Who PLAYS AS ALEX

× Did it start the same way as a dumb school film project?

× From what I understood Scar takes the role of Tim, is bro a chainsmoker too LMFAO.

× Is Grian canonically gay too

× Would it be a wild correct guess that Amy is Lizzie and Alex is Joel since yk based from obvious plot points?

(before I start, placing this disclaimer here at the top since I have friends who don't frequent mcyt and might get confused, but when I talk abt this au I'm specifically talking abt the characters, not the content creators themselves. Anyway)

SO IM GONNA GO AHEAD AND SHARE WHOSE WHO FIRST

Jay- Grian, it made the most sense in my head, but I actually flip flopped on this so many times bc he also works so well as Tim or Alex, but at some point I went "wait it's an au, we can see how the story changes with Grian as the protag" so Grian's the protag now

Tim/Masky- Scar, I'm a transparent desert duo enjoyer and had a similar flip flop with him as I did Grian bc he'd also work as Jay but I was halfway through that drawing and had a similar thought process to the one i had abt Grian

Brian/Hoodie- Jimmy, I wanted to keep the cast focused to life series and evo members and he made the most sense to me lore wise, especially with the idea that in this au he was one of the ones with the earliest exposure to The Watcher (bc I love Canary Curse symbolism)

Alex- This one was the toughest choice bc no matter what a fav is going to loose it. Good thing this based on the Life Series! As much as I Love the idea of Joel and Lizzie as Alex and Amy, I actually went with Martyn. Again, the character is pretty involved with the Watcher Lore so it made the most sense as the character that is arguably most effected by it. (Although for a brief moment I considered Mumbo Jumbo bc,,, how fucking funny would that be)

Jessica- Jessica's gotta be Pearl right? It makes the most sense for it to be Pearl, I don't even need reasoning for this it makes sense

Amy- So who's Amy then? Scott actually! He's not Martyn's boyfriend in this, he's just a really good friend of his who was super involved in the production. Also like in mh, he's Pearl's roommate.

Sarah- Ren. Can't have a life series au featuring desert duo and not have some renchanting. Who else would be one of the leading actors in Martyn's short film?

Seth- Big B, again Evo connection made sense to me, and depending on your own personal theory on who the third person running the totheark account is, both Big B and Ren have interesting implications, even if both their rolls are p minor in this au

With the cast out of the way other questions !!!

It's set in a kind of nebulous time frame that's probably a little closer to present day, but it does still start with a student film project. When asked Why Martyn chose to use tapes he says something about wanting a more authentic feel to the film but in reality he just thought using tapes was a cool idea and doesn't want to admit that it's kind of impractical now.

In this au Scar doesn't smoke, but instead I like the headcannon that he just has boxes of candy/bubblegum cigarettes on him at all times. He'll pull one out, pause, and offer one to someone and when they say no he's just like "Okay, your loss" and watch as they get all confused when he starts unwrapping it asdfghkgkdjhfjsh

Is Grian gay in this au? Whose to say. (Real answer tho, I'm a notorious Jam shipper and while I'm not an active shipper when it comes to hermitcraft or the life series, I don't really mind it so the relationship is left kind of ambiguous)

But yes THANK YOU DO MUCH FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE TO TALK ABT THIS IVE BEEN RAMBLING TO MY FRIEND WHO DOESNT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING IVE BEEN SAYING FOR DAYS

[that-was-a-bit-stupid-of-you]

Saw a swiftie talking about how she reconnected with mh in 2020 before lockdown and how they wonder whether folklore also has some songs about him. Been wondering the same thing myself and now I can't listen to it without thinking about this.

damn I saw something like that in some ts-mh timeline, I didn't think it was true tho (to be fair I didn't read the whole thing).

While I was never into taylor and joe or any of her relationships tbh (evermore swiftie here), it is really sweet hearing about a singer you like writing songs with her partner and stuff. And honestly, I couldn't care less about what she chooses to do in her life, I genuinely don't give a shit if she's cheating on someone, cuz that's not my business.

But being in this fandom is that swifties are connected to Taylor's life rather than her songwriting or her music. They care more about a goddamn scarf, or a 27 sec breakup over the phone or wtv that shit was, than her work and that's just the truth. Every album is "oooh we're gonna get so much tea. "Random Taylor's ex" get ready for it hahah" and I'm just...???

But when you get connected to the songs, and EVERYONE around you is speculating and bringing up random "lore" from her past and you get bombarded with it... you cannot escape it. You will catch yourself wondering what song is about whom, what does this reference mean. And then you find out something shit, and boom- the experience is over.

And I do blame swifties for a majority of this, but Taylor's at fault too. Ofc she doesn't control her fandom's reaction, but she controls her marketing. She just CANNOT let things go. Her marketing is based (atleast some of it, if one gives her the benefit of the doubt) on her past, and the whole point of making music is not because the whole world can "find out the truth about your ex" but so that you can pass on these things you faced to the world, show them that these feelings exist, show them your art, your talent, and do what you love.

I didn't really believe that she did this as marketing up until the apple playlists, and this is just encouragement to that specific brand of swifties who can't let it go either. And I'm just... tired of all this tbh. I couldn't care less, but it is not fair that now everytime I listen to folklore (one of my fav albums) the image of one of my fav singers dating (cheating with) a racist, antisemitic, sexist pos, or atleast the possibility of that happening, will crop up.

How are you supposed to separate the art from the artist, when neither the fandom or the artist allows you to do that?

Damn it.

[blueflower-sprite]

Monster High - G1's Continuities Summary

Only for G1, even if again, this can be murky at the very best (G3 is my baby, too, and G2 may be deserving better).

There is many who thinks that Monster High is a straight line, think that the new YA content is a sequel... I want to clarify just for the continuities inside the G1. And judging by the growing of this Gen, I think we will receive other continuities to introduce all ages.

Also, I'm not a ultime fan or something - so take in consideration the date of this post - 20 / 08 / 2024.

Because Monster High can evolve, and I'm only a fan who attempt to show another part of the fandom and the brand's possible takes, basing myself on the official Wiki and my own experience.

I'm also a fanfic writer myself. So... Yeah. I'm reading fanfics and give them a chance. Even ''licensed one''... I can like it or pass, like everyone.

This post, even attempting to explain, is subjective. You can correct me.

TO START - CANON IS NOT CONTINUITY, CONTINUITY IS CANON.

Canon = What is approved by Mattel in term of products.

Continuity = The different ''universes'' of G1. Yes, that exist. And nobody should impose you his own canon, but his own is canon, because the content used is canon.

CARTOONVERSE / MOVIEVERSE

Particularities - The main G1 universe if you like visual medias, and if you base yourself on the movies and cartoons. Well... The Volume 1 is even a different continuity than the rest, but I digress. There is 6 volumes, and ''specials too'', that take place in different volumes, apparently.

The movie are also a kind of logical continuation, pairing with them. They are kinda the ''must'' of Monster High G1, but when the G1 was cancelled, the cross-over with EAH, her ''twin universe'', was cancelled too. And yes, for me, this is the main continuity too... Why ? Because you have EAH connections in the whole MH universe, even in G2 with the Legend of Shadow High Book. Gigi Grant also was helped by the Giles Grimm... A EAH's character. And Cupid is a former student of Monster High.... And the Boo York's movies cameo ?

Well, it's canon.

DIARYVERSE

Particularities - The main G1 universe, if you base yourself on the dolls, because MH being a Doll Brand and all. Diaries are a must for character lore, and are mostly considered a deep insight into each. The past of Draculaura, for example, is revealed there. But keep in mind that this is his own continuity - there is references to the movies, and as such, but it's only my opinion, I put them together naturally - but even, it's supposed to have a individual continuity by Wiki's word. G1-like lines were continued on the basis of G2, and as such, many were confused between them. So, just in case, I'm here to tell you that diaries follow until 2016, if I remember, then stop the diary G1 continuity.

BOOKVERSES (with a S, please).

Particularities - Some may be sad that books and comics impose a new thing - but hey, Monster High DON'T have a linear book / comic continuity - it's the more AU things you can't ever see in the whole canon. More a different playground. You can choose you're own elements based on you're reads, and every books series is virtually is own continuity inside Monster High. The main fun of Monster High is that everyone can say ''ho, fuck that book it's not part of MH story, but this one is the best canone ever I adopt him''. I'm like that since childhood. I adopted the two last if you want to know my take, Lisi Harrison is just a crack, but a funny one.

Lisi Harrison's Monster High Series (2010) - Yes, before Once Bitten Twice Dead screw you're G1, there was Lisi Harrison. And strangely, we were more receptive of a content that was also very different ? I don't remember being a fan of Lisi Harrison - I was just fascinated. It's actually do a more light co-habitation between monsters and human, introducing like the book AU elements like RAD. Also, it's give Gossip Girl vibes, and american series vibes, too. Not my type, but is kinda sharing the bucket with OBTD in terms of ''weird YA vibes''.

Ghoulfriends (2012) - You're fed up with the main squad ? Well, follow Robecca, Venus, and Rochelle in their own adventures ! Yes, Draculaura and the others are not whole MC, and this book is the canon proof that the ''Normie Bad'' plot is not a surprise, and a recurring thing.

Nessi Monstrata Diaries Series (2014 - 2015) - The closest to G1 lore in my personal opinion. Draculaura gain a new stepmother called Ramoanah, for example - knowing her backstory, I think this was cute and interesting. Also, Deydet, Cleo's mother, return, too. But read the Hexiciah diary, and you will see the beautiful thing of canon continuities...

For me, these two lasts are the G1 canon, but you are free to have you're own opinion.

I'm legitimate to like the G1 ? - Yes, even if you prefer childish content - it's not make you a ''unlegitimate adult'' or ''immature person''. But please, remember that G1 is by nature a whole multiverse by itself. Some hate that, but it's a doll brand, and so, a necessity. I think the true tragedy will be when they will want to impose a canon against all continuities that make people's own canon.

2022 and additional contents (yes, this seems separated from actual G1 for me - if you doubt this, I invite you to remember the first steps of G2 who were also not clear, and the Canon's definition of MH on the Wiki - many conflicts were also resolved in the main G1 continuity, and the authors just put them again).

General Particularities - Follow the webisodes, but seems more a very light reboot of G1 for YA, actually ? I don't know what is that, exactly. The Haunt Coutures Diaries were... fine, but off ? It can have potential, but G1 is technically finished for me.

Webisodes are the only other media included in the promotion, too. So... YA reboot ? YA new continuity or ''parallel dimension'' ? Or something.

Diaryverse - Nothing to say, for now. The Haunt Couture Diaries doesn't even seems canon to the novels and comics for now. Clawd is always with Draculaura, for example, and the themes are more MH-like. Too little content to judge yet, so for now, separated just in case.

IDW-verse

Particularities - The IDW-verse seems to be based on G1, but cherry-pick the lore. Despite the fact that this came very late, and shouldn't technically be G1 as the Gen was cancelled before G2, it's actually an AU or What If by judging the fact that this is not considered as a Sequel in advertisement, but just a canon book (Canon mean ''Mattel accepted and published'', but doesn't mean a linear canon, sequel, or following, of the main G1 continuity and contents). The comics are not finished, so I can't say more, for now - because obviously, it's not finished.

It's a Sequel of G1 ? - No already judging by the book, but it's canon to the MH multiverse and start his own continuity. I invite you to read Ghoulfriends and Hexiciah Steam's SDDC diary in parallel, to have a more clear visual of that ''continuity'' thing, and see why I'm saying that... These two elements are canon too, if you ask.

I'm legitimate to like the IDW-verse ? - Yes. Despite the fact that I'm hating the new YA novel (can't judge the comics for now), I'm not hating you and you're choices. Do what you want, accept other fan's opinons and let them know to respect you're also.

Upcoming YA Movieverse ?

Hypothetical particularities ? Universal and Mattel are producing a Monster High movie right now - not sure this is G1, but I doubt this will be the IDW au (technically, IDW is separated of other continuities). I'm hoping they put another storyline with better vibes personally - reflecting another side of Monster High. The YA novel didn't sound Monster High to me, but as a licencied fanfic (fanfic are not bad, but are not always serious on the lore, vibes, relationships, and all...).

END WORD

Be yourself, be unique.

Don't be scared.

G1 will be more vast for the future. But if you're a G1 of old, you know that continuity is part of Mattel's brand. One continuity never erase another - G1 fans are in their right to accept the new contents as part of their own canon (and canon, like I say, can be the same or a different continuity - it's a taste and fan's specificity), and other are in their right to reject it as part of their own continuities / canons.

But all of this is Canon in general for everyone, because otherwise, everyone would not have the right to have their own continuities and canons. Monster High is for diversity - remember ?

You just choose you're own Continuity - and you can even have different ones, different stories not connected at all, that you will cherish as part of you're favorite childhood and hyper-fixation.

We have the chance to have a doll brand for everyone, for every stories, and every generations or playground, remember ?

[captainsspnanon]

fuck it, I'm salty.

4sd spoilers (removing cross talk or tangential comments. bold is my emphasis)

M - So, Liam and I had a moment in campaign 2 [...] and there was this bowl of Tiamat or some shit that Mark Hulmes's character [...] Calianna wanted [comments about how the m9 was untrusting] M - The demons in [Caleb's] head were his traumatic past and he was trying to take as many powerful items to make himself more powerful for his own gains. So he, without really consulting with anybody, was like 'Yoink' to this item that was MH's crux narrative item! [insert more talk here about how Caleb was always hoarding magical items for himself the entire time] D- In fairness, it wasn't that he was trying to take it for himself. I have to stick up for my boy. [...] in the lore, it was a bowl that they were not sure if it was a good idea to let this stranger, MH's character Calianna, leave with it, because it was an evil bowl used for evil things. [Caleb] wanted to destroy it now. He wanted to destroy it, have it done with. Beau wanted to wait and Identify it. Or it was reversed, I don't remember. [...] D- Caleb just grabbed the bowl and was like 'I'm going to do what I want with it' and M - that's the problem, it's about the communication. [Dani clarifies that she's paraphrasing and it was a long time ago, don't yell at her (this is not me yelling at her, this is me setting the story straight because MAN do they mess it up, ALL of them)] M- So with bowlgate, [Caleb] was like 'I'm gonna take it', which he'd kind of kept repeatedly doing with items, being like 'I'm making an executive decision' without talking to the rest of the party [insert more talk here about how Caleb having identify, and Liam not immediately sharing what items did]. So there was this moment, and Beau is very dextrous, where he's like 'I'm gonna take it' and I just went 'yoink!' and had a keep-away moment [ending talk about bowlgate and the fan base] ---- WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, quoting exactly from Encylopedia Exandra: Nott finds a well-crafted marble bowl with gold inlay of a curious design, bearing five dragon heads with gemstone eyes. She hides it from Calianna. While Caleb is ritual casting Identify on the two vials, Nott shows him the bowl. He instantly casts Identify on both the vials and the bowl. The bowl is magical. It is used as a communion device. When filled with blood and given the proper ritual, it's used to acquire auguries, various bits of divination, and communication across the Divine Gate with the Scaled Tyrant. Caleb tells Nott it's of no use to them, but puts it in his satchel. Meanwhile, Fjord dives through a hole in the bottom of the pool, with the encouragement of the voice of Uk'otoa, through an underwater tunnel into a pool in another chamber with five more merrow. He swims back to the first room where the party awaits. They all agree they need to sleep before another fight, but Calianna says if the bowl isn't here, she needs to be off seeking it.

Caleb asks what Calianna intends to do with it, and she says she wants to destroy it, although she doesn't know how. Caleb calls the group over to him one by one, and pulls the bowl out of his bag. He suggests they spend the night there, and in the morning Jester can cast a truth spell on Calianna to confirm that Cali really wants the bowl only to destroy it. Suddenly, Beau snatches it from his hand. Caleb is flabbergasted, asking why she wouldn't want to wait twelve hours to make sure that Calianna's intentions are true, since the bowl can be used to speak to one of the most evil entities in the history of creation. Beau says that Caleb's caution does not get to control other people's destinies, and he responds that she can keep it all night if she wants, so that in the morning they can use Jester's spell to determine if Calianna's intentions are true and good.

Jester is on Beau's side, saying that you shouldn't stop someone from talking to a god if they want to talk to a god. Caleb casts Suggestion on Calianna and asks her to state her true intentions, and she reiterates that all she wants is to destroy it or hide it from the Cult. Beau hands her the bowl and tells Caleb that he doesn't get to use his past trauma to control other people. He replies, "Beauregard, what if she had been lying to us?" and Beau says they'd just take it as a lesson and move on. Cali intercedes, saying Caleb is the only one who really understands how powerful the bowl is. He was doing the right thing. Caleb just walks away.

Without much hope of success, they try to destroy the bowl. Finally, Yasha pulls out Magician's Judge, using its Dispel Magic, and shatters it. (I'd also argue like hell that Caleb didn't hoard items, even at the beginning, and that this was held over attitudes about Vax having a lot of magical items, Caleb originally keeping the glove of blasting for himself, and saying that it would be dangerous for Jester to have the wand of smiles [ignoring that he then gave it to her just a little bit later in the episode, WITHOUT any prompting] )

well. that's....one way to describe bowlgate.

[the-ghost-of-a-cyber-princess]

thinking about half human clawdeen made me realize that maybe that distinction, albeit clunky, was needed

we never see any of the werewolves, nor werecats, transform into humans over the course of all previous mh gens even though, due to their namesakes, they should in fact also be human instead of solely being wolf and cat people

I wonder if in g3 that is another distinction? like some monsters are literally just wolf people but some monsters are actual werewolves and can change back and forth?

[hecateslefthead]

Saw your reblog with your opinion on the rep in the new MH. Sorry to sound rude, but I have a question about the Asian (who is not Asian-Romanian, she's supposed to be Asian-AMERICAN) Drac (particularly Filipina Drac, assuming G3 Drac is Filipina not Taiwanese in the cartoon since Filipina!Drac came first): While it is possible technically as you said, there's this thing that could be a problem: Something that people would usually be bothered by in media: Dracula is a predator who hunts prey. The Philippines was already dealing with Europeans invading them, with the Spanish, around the same time Dracula was. He'd have to go on a business trip (which probably wouldn't happen due to circumstances), or he'd just go there to get a wife. Basically, he'd either hypnotize/manipulate/seduce Draculaura's mom, or he'd just turn her against her will. What would the others say about that? Probably that he's an invader and kidnapper who stole and assaulted one of their people. Maybe he'd escape, but maybe he'd be killed as a punishment, as Filipinos (like most people) were not welcoming to Europeans. So possibly it could work, but the story would probably not be happy if it even had a happy ending, as Draculaura's mom would either be a victim of abuse essentially, or she'd genuinely like him but have a tricky relationship.

Like I pointed out, usually the mere idea of "European man going to non-European country just to exploit the people or get a girlfriend" would make people uncomfortable.

P.S. Taiwan would have just been "China" back then (I know they're independent now, but I'm speaking purely historically here so I repsect Taiwan's independence), unless this Drac is from the present and not the past. Also, some people have hypothetically suggested her dad meeting her mom on a business trip, which unlike with the Philippines, could happen in 1600s China.

As you said it could happen, what do you think would be the most likely way this would happen? (Preferably answer with possibilities for both Filipino and Taiwanese/Chinese.

Draculaura is canonically adopted by Dracula, and has been since gen 1 (though gen 2 left this a bit ambiguous). I brought up this in my original response; it is very much possible that Draculaura is simply Asian because of her biological parents' heritage, and when she was turned and adopted by Dracula, she adapted to his customs and thus developing an accent because of this (and small note, it is stated that her accent is more Hungarian-based). Also, the movie and the cartoon are separate entities despite still being a part of the same gen. They have different approaches, and the movie is different from the cartoon entirely. And on that, even so in gen3 Dracula and Draculaura don't live in the human world, where they would be from would be different.

As much as MH divulges into cryptids, monsters, the macabre, etc., their main demographic are children. Bringing in human history to a version of Dracula that isn't being depicted like this in the first place is odd at best and, to be curt, disturbing at most. Respectfully, it is disgusting bringing up real, intense, and tragic events in human history when this is a franchise for children that could be as young as three years old. MH has never been historically accurate and never prided itself as such, and when they do bring in history, the lore is usually re-contextualized and fictional. (Ex: the Brothers Grimm) Racism as been a part of MH (Lagoona being a saltwater getting discriminated by Gil's freshwater parents), as well as always having anti-racism messages.

Speaking of Dracula, once again MH is child-appropriate so he wouldn't be interpreted as an enchanting seducer like older depictions. None of those traits would not apply. Being the most famous example of vampires, he has been interpreted and depicted in many ways, and this is simply just one of them. If anything, Dracula would've loved his wife in MH's depiction.

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 36: Purple Gypceros, the Strange Poison Bird

Of course they gave one of the weirdest looking monsters the weirdest sounding color. Seriously, repeat “purple” enough times and--well, okay, that happens with every word, but I digress. Let’s see how Purple Gypceros makes its mark.

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Freedom 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 4)

Appearance: I still think this thing’s ugly, but the colors actually do a lot for it here! Normal Gypceros are so drab, but (in MH4 at least) the purple’s decently vibrant. I also like how the designers made its tail bright green; it’s a color that somehow complements purple well, and it’s much more interesting than the peach coloring on normal Gypceros tails. There’s also a green trim along the underside of the neck (not that you can see it on the MH4 render), which is also a nice touch. This is far from an amazing design, but the colors salvage it from being terrible. 5/10.

Behavior/Lore: It’s literally the same as normal Gypceros’. I’m not even joking, the Ecology page is almost entirely made of information copy-pasted from the Gypceros Ecology page; the rest is also info you can find on that page, but paraphrased. Either the MH team wrote literally nothing new about Purple Gypceros’ habits or whoever wrote for its Ecology page was lazy and/or knew nothing about the monster. Since I can’t confirm either of these, I’ll be generous and give Purple Gypceros a 2/10.

Abilities: As we all expected, it’s a stronger Gypceros, but there are two interesting things to note about it. The first is that Purple Gypceros like to use their crest flash more often than normal Gypceros do, and will even chain attacks into the flash like some sort of combo. The second thing is its poison, which inflicts the Noxious Poison status. Regular Poison does varying damage depending on the monster and attack that inflicted it, but Noxious Poison is stronger than regular Poison can be. Pink Rathian can also inflict this status, which is something I didn’t know about when reviewing it.

So there’s a little more to Purple Gypceros’ abilities than I honestly expected. Fighting it sounds very annoying, though, and I can’t tell whether that’s in its favor or not. I’ll play it safe and give it a 6/10.

Equipment: The main issue I take with the Purple Gypceros weapons is that the purple on most of them is so muted that it looks almost identical to the blue-gray on regular Gypceros weapons, especially in MHO I’m not gonna show this off ‘cause I’d like to avoid repeating weapon classes for these monsters, but just look at the MHO Gunlances of the two Gypceros’ and you’ll see what I mean. Regardless, let’s start off with the Sword and Shield called the Upper Battleaxe:

“The interior of this one-handed weapon is a potent poison factory.” I’m guessing most of the poison comes out of those weird barb things on the axe, though I can’t imagine that those’ll go into a monster’s flesh too often. The shield looks kinda like a buzz-saw, which is cool, though I don’t think that it has the same function. Next is the Purple Gypceros Hunting Horn from MHO:

Well, it’s the first Hunting Horn that actually looks like a horn, though I can’t help but wonder: is the wooden part made of the Purple Gypceros’ beak? Something about that seems disturbing to me, and yes, I know that the weapons are made from parts you carve off of monsters’ bodies, but for some reason, the idea of making its beak such a large part of the weapon seems worse. Well, whatever. On to the armor, I only have the male armor from MHO, but it still looks basically the same as the Gypceros armor. To prove it, here’s the Blademaster set:

Looks as silly as ever, but I prefer the colors here. As for the Gunner set:

Okay, that’s a bit of a change. The helmet is less “executioner jester” and more “bald Karkat,” which is an image I’m struggling to imagine, but it fits. I have to ask, though: what the heck are those things covering the eye holes? Why are there things covering the eye holes? There’s no way that’s practical.

I’m a bit torn on this one. The purple doesn’t look that purple for most of the equipment, but I like the minty green it’s paired with. I’m just gonna give this a 7/10 like the Gypceros equipment.

Final Thoughts and Tally: I’m starting to get tired of how many of these subspecies’ barely have any thought put into making them noticeably different from their base forms, at least behavior-wise. I care about as much about this as I do regular Gypceros, which is to say, not very much. 5/10.

[stormdive]

no i am legit too emotionally stupid to actually write anything new about KH philosophy and my theorycrafting because IRL things have been punching me in the gut for about a week straight BUT i can post this little thing i wrote out in discord a short while back in regards to nobodies and the concept of ‘non-existence’ because it is one of my favorite things to think about .

i am literally just copying and pasting this with some edited formatting and tweaks for clarity . but the garbage sense of humor is sticking around . keep in mind that i am dramatically simplifying a lot of stuff here but anyways . . . enjoy at 2 am when nobody is online :

okay to begin with , i have to briefly summarize something i've talked to chrissy about a bit already , which iiiiiiis hegelianism ! hegel was a sexist racist old ugly white dude as many famous philosophers are , and his ideas have been expanded upon since in more thorough and multisectional ways ( specifically through the manners of class and race , for reasons that will probably become obvious REAL quick ) , but i'm sticking with his base ideas for this for the sake of a simple groundwork to dive into talking about . . . video games . mh . this almost makes those ethics classes in college worth it . anyways , hegelianism focuses a lot on the philosophy of existence and what is ' real ' , and absolute idealism - the theory that self-awareness requires an identity through context . hegel's primary thought experiment for exploring this idea in the most general sense was that of ' the master and slave ' . the thought experiment goes like this : two beings exist and encounter each other for the first time , we will call them um . xemnas and ansem . xemnas recognizes that ansem exists , and ansem recognizes that xemnas exists as well . in turn , because they recognize the existence of another entity , they are now aware of their own existence in turn , where as previously they had nothing to compare themselves to , and thus had no way to conceptualize the concept of ' existing ' . xemnas , however , realizes now that the existence of another being that is not himself means that there is , essentially , a negation of him . something that can exist without him , and can therefor exist and give meaning to the rest of reality by experiencing it , without xemnas entirely . but he also realizes that he can't kill ansem to be rid of this negation , because without ansem being there , he has no way of proving he exists by having another existing thing to perceive and be perceived by anymore . so instead of killing ansem , xemnas subjugates him , and controls him , and holds power over him in an effort to remain in control of his own existence . aka xemnas is the ‘ master ’ and ansem is the ‘ slave ’ . BUT in the end xemnas is enforcing his identity around controlling this other person . xemnas needs ansem to make his identity , not the other way around , so xemnas does not have any actual power or control of anything .

in kingdom hearts lore a human's life is considered a collaboration of three different things : the heart , the body , and the soul (  /spirit/mind ) . the body is . y'know . the shell , the way the heart and soul can interact with the physical world . every body is a vessel with or without xehanort poking his nose into everyone's business , it's just a vessel for its own heart and soul . the soul is considered , according to one of ansem's reports in-game , to be what controls the body to drive it to survive . it is considered the difference between something that is alive or not alive . a further interpretation of this is that the soul is what drives the body to act out the will of the heart . aaand then there's the heart itself . hearts are , of course , complicated and honestly sometimes a fill-in for ' this character is now more stronk because reason ' . hearts are supposed to at least be responsible for a person's emotions of course but also their ambitions and will ( which is , imo , why members of the organization were generally easy for xemnas to manipulate and lie to , because their own ambitions were only the memories of previous ambitions early on and not actually goals that could be shaped by any active sense of desire , until they started regrowing their hearts ) . anyways an important note here is that the soul is specifically said to determine the status of whether something is alive or not , but the heart is said to be the proof something exists . so in KH lore it's at least clearly established that being alive and existing are not the same thing . the heart is also what is able to form connections to others , which is what ties all of this together - hegel's philosophy of existence directly opposes the more popularly accepted ( at least in western culture ) idea of aristotle . aristotle claimed existence to be a static thing . things exist because they exist and need no other influence , while hegel claimed existence in and of itself is defined by context , influence , and contrast . a thing which ' is ', in a state where it has absolutely no influence on anything else that ' is ' does not exist in the manner that he defines existing . so i believe the idea of 'existence' in KH is dependent on being able to connect to other existing entities . that is to say , without a heart , and emotions to form connection to other people's hearts , the nobody's do not ' exist ' because they can feel no emotional influence from other people in which to perceive their own ambitions/wills/etc in comparison . they are alive , because they have a body and a soul , and act in accordance to what is necessary to survive . they also ( in the case of stronger nobodies ) remember previous emotions and ambitions , and can act accordingly , but they cannot experience anything that is a reaction to their new circumstances ( outside of logical adaptation . for instance axel cleaning up castle oblivion to push saix up the ranks ) . they can't connect to anything around them , and therefore do not exist because they are static , and the things that exist are not i have further thoughts on this for specific characters , like how axel and roxas started growing their hearts more rapidly after spending time with xion and how strong sora's heart is supposed to be ( a.k.a. his ability to connect to other people ) , but also saix being able to feel jealousy during that time as well ( i.e. not all connections of the heart are positive ) . how vexen's ambitions were able to change so dramatically between his two instances of being a nobody , and how he was able to retain the strong sense of ' wanting to atone ' to the point of it overpowering a base survival instinct . what i briefly mentioned earlier about xemnas being able to manipulate the organization rather easily , and that he still recognized a connection to the organization after regaining his heart retroactively . . . . .. but i cut myself off here because 1. i don’t write any of those characters so at a certain point i’d just be shoving myself too far into space for other people to make their interpretations and 2 . i don’t need more reasons to be emotional about organization 13 .

[cometcrystal]

monster high questionaire by @cryptoriascollectiblog!

1) Introduce yourself and tell us how long you’ve been collecting Monster High dolls!

im dott and ive been into mh since 2015 or thereabouts

2) How many MH dolls do you have?

roughly 150 something??? idk the exact number FDSJLKFS

3) Is Monster High your favorite doll line? Why or why not?

it absolutely is because i love the characters and the outfits. its the autism

4) Who’s your favorite MH ghoul?

cleo but yall know this

5) Favorite Manster?

deuce but yall also know this 

6) Do you own any dolls of your favorite ghoul and/or manster? How many?

yep i own almost every cleo doll, and every deuce doll! im only missing a few cleos and i have every deuce

7) Do you own any playsets? If so which one(s)? If not, is there a reason?

only one i own is astranova’s floaty one. i just dont have the space for em

8) Of the original main ghouls (including Ghoulia, Spectra and Abbey) which is your favorite? Got any dolls of them?

cleo and see above. but if i have to pick someone different, my fav is lagoona... i love her so much... ive got some dolls of hers but i was never as into her outfits sadly. i just love her character a lot

9) Favorite character with only one doll release?

i love porter and posea both to pieces. AND VANDALA

10) Character with too many dolls (in your opinion?)

draculaura but doesnt everyone think that. also amanita didn’t need a second doll. shes only got 2 dolls and thats still too many NFDSLKFSDDSKL especially if theyre gonna put her in a 2 pack with one of the people she left for dead

11) Any character you would’ve liked to see in a doll line that didn’t make it? (i.e. Lagoona in Sweet Screams or Draculaura in Power Ghouls, etc)

LITERALLY ANYONE in sweet screams. sweet screams is SUCH a good line. but you know what woulda been great? is a power ghouls cleo. or a collector’s edition cleo that’s the same grade as collector’s lala. cause i loooove the one we got but also i think a white linen dress would be awesome too. a 2 pack with collector’s deuce maybe

12) Any ideas you would’ve liked to see in a doll line?

i remember coming up w an idea for a series of couples 2 packs based around decades, like 20s cleuce, 70s twyleen, etc i woulda loved to see that but thats completely wish fulfillment 

13) Is there a “grail” MH doll for you? If so do you own it?

my grail was ihf cleo but i got her so at the moment? i haven’t rly got a grail mh doll. maybe gloom and bloom jina

14) Thoughts on the cancelled Ever After High crossover?

SO FUCKING HAPPY IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!!! it would have been bad. baaaad

15) Thoughts on the 2016 reboot faces?

most of em were pretty cute! i liked cleo’s! though they looked a bit wonky sometimes. and i dont like how they made clawdeen look more “white”

16) Thoughts on the 2016 “Monster Family” line?

horrid idea. horrid execution. the only good thing that came out of it was 1. my headcanon that fangelica is elissabat’s sister, not lala’s and 2. lux and pharrah are cleo’s cousins on her mom’s side. also sandy de nile does not fucking exist

17) How bout the SDCC exclusives? What was your favorite? Do you own any?

i think my fav is the deadfast ghoulia but i dont own her! i do own ghostbusters frankie tho and she’s a peach. OH AND I ALSO WANT HEXICIAH SO BAD

178) How about Amazon exclusives?

no clue what all the amazon exclusives were so im just going with collector’s lala cause i love her a lot anyway

19) Favorite Frankie Stein doll?

sweet screams or home ick. or haunt the casbah

20) Favorite Draculaura doll?

probably i heart shoes.....its so cyoot

21) Favorite Clawdeen Wolf doll?

school’s out, scaris, and haunt the casbah. haunt the casbah is just a good line ok.

22) Favorite Cleo de Nile doll?

DONT DO THIS TO ME!!! but boo york + gloom and bloom. and collector’s. and scaris

23) Favorite Lagoona Blue doll?

ghouls night out DEF

24) Favorite Ghoulia Yelps doll?

deadfast sdcc!! or dotd

25) Favorite Spectra Vondergeist doll?

hmmm honestly you can’t beat her sig look

26) Favorite Abbey Bombinable doll?

art class i love the simplicity

27) Favorite Venus McFlytrapp doll?

i heart fashion...god what a look

28) Favorite Rochelle Goyle doll?

haunted. ethereal bitch

29) Favorite Operetta doll?

i heart accessories cause thats SO rockabilly and i stan the ponytail

30) Favorite Toralei Stripe doll?

her sig look def

31) Favorite Jinafire Long doll?

gloom and bloom :pensive:

32) Favorite Skelita Calaveras doll?

hmmm i’d say art class! i love pink on her and her hair looks great

33) Favorite Howleen Wolf doll?

her sig look obv

34) Favorite Twyla Bogeyman doll?

her haunted doll is SO good

35) What do you do with your dolls? (Display them, take photos of them, etc)

display them...hold them... give em lil kisses on their heads

36) Is Monster High the only doll line you collect? Why or why not?

no but it’s the primary one! again its the autism

37) Do you still collect Monster High dolls? (i.e. scour the internet and/or secondhand stores?)

i dont really buy as many anymore since i got almost all the ones i wanted! but ill still look for them just to know theyre still around

38) There’s a lot of new Monster doll/toy lines out now: thoughts if any?

only one i can think of is super monsters (idk if thats the name) and once upon a zombie. toys are more Blind Bags now and less Monsters so please direct me towards the monsters

39) And finally, what’s your favorite thing about Monster High? Can be past or present!

honestly its the lore?? and the characters? mh would have still been my special interest if it was only a tv show/movie series, the dolls were just a bonus

[marblemartian]

i want to edit the monster high wiki so bad rn. i dont know how to suggest an edit on it, but i want to change frankies pronouns so bad. someone on twitter, when i mentioned this, said "well their pronouns are only they/them in g3. the others are she/her until writers say so" to which i say fuck you? lol. if they were changed on the site to they/them, it would be relevant to the current iteration as well as the past since

A. in my opinion it feels like MH canon is similar to that of Doctor Who rather than something like MLP, in that the doctor's look changes every so often but theyre the same person, but in MLP they make literally brand new ponies lol. like some share the same name but its not even trying really, anymore at least, to change who those ponies were. theyve got entirely different personalities and backstories, which straight up is NOT how MH is lol all of the characters have the same at least Basic lore even if theyve retconned things from the books or the movies or if some of the dolls arent canon, theyre still the same characters through and through.

B. they/them are flat out neutral pronouns. even if g1/g2 frankies were Strictly she/her, there are two of them are they not? in that case, if every MH gen character change is a new person, and they all Share a single wiki page, there are multiple of them.

C. Frankie is LITERALLY made out of multiple different people.

but also when i looked at this persons account and tweets and stuff there was a good chunk of them agreeing w someone who was saying "FRANKIE DOESNT KNOW WHAT A HIGH FIVE IS BUT KNOWS WHAT A *PRONOUN* IS ?!?!" which is such bullshit lol. based on that logic you can conclude one more of these 3 things. (of which the first is Literally canon in a couple of different ways)

1. Frankie can fucking speak fluent English. as soon as 15 days old. In the books, it's said that that's due to their dad uploading new information into their brain daily, I'm sure a basic fucking building block of the English language is included in that. And according to the first person i mentioned, frankie's brain is made up of pieces from multiple different great deceased scientists that fucking know grammar which brings me to point 2

2. as a lot of other people on that tweet were also saying, a lot of those scientists werent alive while the high five was invented (the 70s). thats also not necessary info their dad would upload to their brain for them to be able to integrate smoothly into high school.

3. Frankie hasn't learned a lot of social cues yet in their little time not just being alive but actually Being in society. high fives for young children are common knowledge because of what also? media bro. fucking tv, and i dont think a typical part of frankie's education is from television dude.

4. similar to the last point, maybe if frankie DOES have a part of the brain of someone from the late 70s and on, they just dont understand social cues and they have AUTISM. think about that. stew on that, chew on that. frankie has autism and they Know of high fives but when they see someone idk HITTING someone else they dont know what to think of it. its weird to them and they dont understand and thats not what they thought a high five actually was.

anyways thats my justification for retroactive they/them on Frankie, and that's all even disregarding the fact that if they're the same person theyve always been, as i alluded to in point A, if theyre Now in the canon coming out/changing their pronouns, they should retroactively be referred to by those pronouns. [good people] dont deadname and misgender trans people just because theyre talking about them at a point before their coming out. i dont talk about You in the past tense and refer to your current self as being a baby lmfao.

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

Ah, Monster hunter stories was a strange, magical, and interesting game. Was what got me into the game. I hated playing it the first time around. then i played rise. Then i replayed it and everything clicked and it was super fun/enjoyable.

The 'Gene splicing' in the game is a way of powering up your monsters/changing them around. It was called the 'right of channeling'.

In the first game, while almost no one did it, you were able too completely change your monster's element/skills if you were so inclined. Royal Ludroth is a Fire type now with all Fire skills/elements, kinda thing.

It was removed in the sequel game, but you still could do stuff like make your royal ludroth have a fire attack. Or, any attack. Its just you couldn't outright make him fire elemental, the monster's base elemental skill would eventually take over.

Basically EVERY attack in the game was a gene, and you could apply that gene to any monster. So if you wanted an Astalos with a Congala's farting abilities, you could do that.

officially Riders don't control their monsters at all. They're friends/have some sort of soul bond/are partners, but the monsters basically are free to make their own decisions/choices. (In Stories 2, early on they talk about a Rathalos that was guarding the village. It belonged to the protagonist's grandfather, who is no longer around. So while no one will ride that rathalos again, its still fairly friendly to the people of the village. Early on you also get our mentor's monstie, who wants to join you and she can' exactly say no to her friend's request! )

oh I see, the gene splicing sounds like more of a game mechanic thing, then, interesting! I'm definitely very interested in MH Stories, if only due to all the praise 2 got, and I do enjoy a good monster raising game, pokemon could certainly use the competition at this point!

I've only ever really played the hunt games (3U and on basically), but I think there is some (very minor) lore relating to the MH:stories concept somewhere in some quest description out there, but I wouldn't be able to tell you where. An additional little fun tidbit is that there are apparently diviners that follow the movements of elder dragons so settlements can respond to their movements before they show up, which I always thought was neat.

In the implied lore of the setting (art books, some gear IIRC), there was the implication that monster hunter was using the like, "medieval adjacent society with hidden ruins that imply a much greater level of tech existed in the past" trope, along with a now particularly controversial point called the Equal Dragon Weapon, which I think has been debunked entirely but I'm unsure. Regardless, the equal dragon weapon was supposedly a like, bioweapon sorta thing that was used to fight dragons in the futuristic past, and it also had an odd resemblence to the stock hunter gear in a lot of the games, so that's the sort've thing I was referring to, for the record! Even if it has been disproven, hoho.

I do appreciate the clarification though, thank ya! I do like keeping tabs on the setting as a whole.

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 37: Red Khezu, the Charging Wyvern

TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD

I don’t normally talk about the monster’s qualities in the introduction, but I have to here to make sure that no one’s gonna get hurt because of this. This is a monster that’s veiny and blood red, and combined with Khezu’s design, it’s pretty disturbing. The weapons, however, are probably worse, as they have a cracked, fleshy aesthetic that looks like it could start bleeding at any moment, and I’ll put the trigger warning a second time once we get to talking about them in case it slips someone’s mind. Might seem overkill, but with a situation like this, you can’t be too careful, which is also why I’m gonna put this review under a “Read More” so anyone who doesn’t want to see it doesn’t get an eyeful while trying to scroll past it. Now, let’s talk about Red Khezu proper, shall we?

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Freedom 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 4)

Appearance: See what I mean? This thing’s made to look like it had its skin ripped off, which is not a look you want to have unless your intention is to scar someone or their children for life. The MHF1 render conveys the skinned appearance better than the MH4 one, in my opinion, because it’s a deep red, like the kind you’d see in gore in PlayStation era games. The MH4 render reminds me more of a particularly red worm or lamprey...well, until you get to the body. Then it looks like someone plucked a chicken and painted it red. It probably looks more visceral in-game.

I think I prefer the standard Khezu design, to be honest. The pale complexion combined with everything else gives me Silent Hill vibes, and even though I haven’t played any of the games, I’ve watched videos on them, and I appreciate all they’ve done for the horror genre. Red Khezu, on the other hand, doesn’t give me that same impression, and I don’t know of any horror series’ I’m interested in where such a vibrant red on a fleshy-looking monster is part of the aesthetic. Still, it does its job well. 7/10.

Behavior/Lore: So, here’s something interesting: Red Khezu aren’t a subspecies. They’re what Khezu are supposed to be like; the Khezu everyone views as being “normal” are actually albinos who likely only got more populous than the red ones because they spend most of their time in caves, where anything that would want them dead likely wouldn’t be relying on visual cues to hunt anyways. That said, both types of Khezu leave caves to eat non-cave dwelling monsters and, surprisingly, mushrooms, which Red Khezu have been seen feeding on in the Swamp region. Unfortunately for them, being so fatty means that once they leave their cave, they put themselves at risk, ‘cause a lot of monsters want to eat them, including the Rath pair.

For some reason, Red Khezu are much more aggressive than the albino variety, and they even have increased muscle mass, which allows them to not only visit cold regions (which white Khezu can already do), but even stay in them during the winter months (which white Khezu can’t do). I don’t know why albino Khezu aren’t like this, ‘cause I can’t see how albinism would affect your muscle growth and temperament, but I don’t make the monsters, I just critique them.

I’m really glad that this is more interesting than “Khezu+.” The fact that Red Khezu aren’t a true subspecies is a neat idea, and considering that the Ecology page on the common Khezu doesn’t mention any omnivorous tendencies, it’s likely that Red Khezu even have a different diet than their pale cousins, which is something that I don’t think the previous G monsters had. While making them more aggressive than albino Khezu is to be expected at this point, it doesn’t take away from anything, so I’m not going to gripe about it. When you combine all of this with the qualities they likely share with albino Khezu, you get an interesting counterpart for what was already an interesting monster. 8/10.

Abilities: If you thought that keeping warm was the main benefit of having more muscle mass than a common Khezu, I have to question your educational history; Red Khezu are physically stronger than the albino variety, and their electrical organs are superior as well. Not only are their electric attacks stronger, they can also use electricity to incapacitate prey in ways common Khezu can’t. Also, their skin seems to be very elastic, as Red Khezu can stretch their necks out much farther than their pale brethren can. I think more needs to be stretchier than just the skin, but whatever. As a final note, for some reason they’re immune to fire, but this apparently comes at the cost of being weak to water.

Red Khezu do what I wish more subspecies’ do, which is take the basic abilities of their weaker forms and mix them up, not just make them more powerful. The new ways they can manipulate electricity and the extended reach of their more elastic necks likely make battles with them stand out more than the ones you have with some other G monsters. 7/10.

Equipment: Like I said at the beginning, TRIGGER WARNING FOR BLOOD. These weapons look just plain nasty, which, while potentially being part of their appeal to some people, will likely make others very queasy or worse. I’ll start with the least disgusting one, the Hunting Horn called the Blood Horn:

“Red Hunting Horn made from wrapped Red Khezu hide. Its color is very unsettling...” The color is unsettling? Not the fact that it literally has a mouth? Okay, in all fairness, the color of the wraps makes it more gruesome than the Khezu Horn, which just looks like it’s covered in bandages; these look like bandages that were soaked in something, and they were probably white before they were applied. Make of that little observation what you will. Now, here’s where things start getting nasty--this Long Sword from MHO:

...I can’t say I know what that implement is, but I do know that the Red Khezu skin is wrapped around it in a very unsettling way; until I saw the little bit of metal that was exposed at the sword’s base, I thought that those spikes were independently attached to the flesh instead of being the teeth of a full blade. And speaking of unsettling, the sheathe looks like it’s bleeding. That comparison to cracked flesh I drew earlier makes more sense now, don’t it? I’ve got one more weapon to show you guys, and it’s probably the nastiest one of the bunch: the Red Khezu Sword and Shield from MHO. If you’re already uncomfortable after looking at the above weapons, you might wanna scroll past this:

The reasons I find this the most gruesome of the weapons I’ve shown are A: the “sword” is a surgeon’s saw, which adds to the whole “twisted hospital” vibe that Silent Hill likes to use, and B: the shield literally has the Red Khezu’s “face” stretched over it, and the mouth is...what are those black things holding the mouth shut? They’re not sewing lines, ‘cause they’re way too big. Wait, the way the two on the left are angled, it looks like they’re 3D and not flat--are those things made of metal, like the shield? ‘Cause there are a few implications for that, and they’re all unpleasant. Moving on to the armor, the only renders the wiki had are the men’s sets from MHO. Here’s the Blademaster set:

This isn’t as vibrant of a red as Red Khezu normally are, but it does look like raw meat or exposed flesh, so that’s...cool? The fact that there’s nothing obscuring or darkening the face like in other games with Khezu armor makes it look kind of silly, though; it’s like a fleshy raincoat, which is equally parts disgusting and hard to take seriously. As for the Gunner set, it’s very different from the Khezu R Armor I showed off in the Khezu review:

To be fair, this does look a lot like the normal Khezu Gunner armor, so expecting it to look like the R Gunner armor is silly. There are a couple of neat things here--the arm guard has a spine embedded in it, and the right arm has a glove with claws (or at least long nails)--but for the most part this doesn’t stand out too much to me. It does look like someone cooked the meat for a few minutes, though, so it’s probably not violating any health codes.

Honestly, I prefer the standard Khezu equipment to this, but that’s mostly because there’s much more of it than Red Khezu equipment. Plus, outside of the ones from MHO, the weapons the devs recolored for Red Khezu don’t really look that unnerving. The red’s a bit too vibrant, so it doesn’t really fit the filthy hospital aesthetic that made Khezu weapons so eerie, and the armor looks gross, sure, but that’s all it has. Still, the MHO weapons are their own kind of disturbing, but the fact that the majority of Red Khezu weapons are in a game that most people don’t even consider a real MH game is depressing. 6/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: After sifting through so many monsters that did so little, it’s nice to get something that stands out like this. Don’t get me wrong, I still prefer normal Khezu over red ones, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like Red Khezu at all; I just think that the albino ones have more going for them. 7/10.