#Clawdeen gay when!?!

[bubblekidaesthetics]

Clawdeen finally shows off her clawsome stylings💜

Long time no see huh?

I was a bit silent here 'cause I was preparing for a convention so a lot of ideas and very little time. I also had my thoughts running between work, friends, and other things which make me wanna blush and diary like a socially awkward 5th grader that lacks basic communication skills and fumbles with words🙈

(kinda cringe but we deal with it)

Still, Clawdeen was there in the back of my mind tapping me on the shoulder, going like, hey... Don't you wanna start on my design? And I did, I truly did. I just... Got distracted😅

So by the time, I got around to finally gettin' my ass into gear this gorgeous thing came into my life in the form of... A leak? IDK if it was revealed or leaked but the prom line pictures emerged and Clawdeen's design took my breath away💅

I mean just look at her!!!

My eyes are out of my eye sockets and rolling on the floor. It's giving generation 1 Monster High realness. I also love the 80s influences in her blazer design and the glittering tinsel in her hair. Very reminiscent of the Why do ghouls fall in Love Clawdeen. Almost an homage to it really💖

So with my design, I wanted to hit closer to her personality. She is quirky, nerdy, and above all, I feel a bit less into the extra girly frow frow stuff you'd expect from Draculaura and Lagoona.

I gave her the amazingly curly hair she sports in the show which the doll lacks much to my disappointment. As for the outfit, I thought of giving her an elegant vest tucked inside a fitted corset, paired with this gnarly green shirt with shoulder pads meant to be a nod to the crescent moon. No true dad shirt would be complete without a funky print, so lil crescent moons for the win. The shoes were really fun to come up with, pulling inspiration from the design style of one of my favorite shoewear brands "Irregular Choice".

A lot of effort went into this one but I loved every single minute of working on it. I am very proud of how she turned out, as this style better fits her personality, but man do I love the official look for this one!!!!

I am probably gonna snatch it the moment it comes out😏

I will go on holiday for a bit, so I might not be able to draw there, but until then, please don't get your bandages in a twist. She is one ghoul known to make people wait anyway😉

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

[nipchip]

Been re watching winx club and Darcy is one of my fav witches 💜✨

[victini-shipps]

I can hardly believe it, Toralei, you fell and fell first. How can a kitten be so gay for a wolf?

She looks so happy to see Clawdeen again, jumping into her arms when she sees her. For someone who hissed when touched, you got used to it pretty quickly, huh?

And then you feel betrayed because Clawdeen called more monsters? a possessive cat?

Honestly, it's hilarious. Toralei's face when she notices the other monsters and her mood changes like "bitch, I thought I was special to you" omg I love this gay kitten

I would like to watch the full episode, but I'm only finding fragments.

[moralyte]

OHHHHH TORADEEN IS SO GONNA BECOME CANON IN THE UPCOMING SEASONS LIKE. YOU CANNOT WATCH THE FINALE AND TELL ME THAT CLAWDEEN AND TORALEI ARE JUST FRIENDS.

THE WAY TORALEI’S VOICE GOT SO SOFT WHEN CLAWDEEN GAVE HER THE MOONCLAW AND THE WAY CLAWDEEN SAID SHE HAS TO SUPPORT HER NOW, SETTING UP SEASON TWO TO BE ALL GAY AND SHIT AAARGRGRHHRGEHRGRHHHRH

I am so normal about them you guys, im very normal, im 100% okay and normal :3

[dateamonster]

catching up on monster high notes!

spell the beans

looooove clawdeens dad joining the parents association he is involved in his childrens education :3 he is making cookies and making friends :3

momdusa is so milfy i could die the gays stay winning once again

dracula is soooo silly hes winning me over i fear

!! momdusa never moved on from high school and falls over so much and loves her wife wow she is the perfect woman actually

its not my dream dad its YOURS

obsessed w everyone wanting to eat clawdeens dad

THANK YOU for explaining the camera/mirror thing with vampires i was wondering abt that

mr wolf and dracula friendship moment 🥺

EXPELBEAST!! i love when they do something fun and goofy with the mh lore

idk if those were lagoonas parents in the mpa but i wish we got more of them there looked so cute

growing up ghoulia

mothman!!!!!!!!!!!

some of these side characters have such interesting designs the purple dragon girl sitting in front of ghoulia was soo cute

MONSTER GSA LETS GOOO

i loove when mh does some classic monster movie stuff. ghoulia clone zombie attack rules.

not to be a broken record but i feel like ghoulias ep here would be more meaningful if she was still more noticeably zombie-like. like she says she moves slower than other monsters but i dont like. see that. let her lurch!

casketball jinx

im so happy to see howleen!!

kaiju girlie is such a queen we love to see it

tbqh i think howleen was right for this one

clawdeen both being on the team and being a cheerleader seems like soo much take a rest bestie 😭

do u think clawdeen had a wolf fursona before she found out she was a werewolf? i think so.

[samskaterguy]

I have a mighty NEED for Frankie and Cleo to be so embarrassingly gay and in crush with each other

Draculaura and Clawdeen are just so done with their bullshit and longing looks, and flirting, and hand touching, so much. Hand. Touching. Them getting into shenanigans just on the others behalf, and ending up just awkwardly scrambling away from each other when they get too close, or staying close for just a second too long and maybe someone else being like "E-HEM! The task at hand??"

"Right! Sorry!"

So adorable, sweet, and wholesome that they rot bones.

[bluebelleisabelle]

CLANKERS HOW WE FEELING ABT TONIGHTS EPISODE

HOW AM I FEELING?!?!

ECSTATIC, ELATED, GAY (in both the happy and homosexual way), LIVE LAUGH LOVE, AAAAAAAAAAAAA

This episode did not disappoint!!

I was doing some filming for a project I’m a part of from 4:00 to 7:15 ish, so I only watched the episode 20 minutes ago, but I am still shaking. Like, actually shaking, and my hands are sweaty… don’t ask me why.

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!

Allow me to just… be an excited mess for a moment…

CLEO.. WANTING TO ASK FRANKIE TOO

AND DEUCE ASKING FRANKIE WAS SO CUTE

BUT FRANKIE DIDNT WANNA HURT HIS FEELINGS 😭😭🫶

AND TOWARDS THE END,

WHEN FRANKIE TRIPPED AND CLEO WAS ALL LIKE

“My hopefully soon to be partner, are you okay??🥺”

GOD I LOVE GAY PEOPLE

I’M SO GLAD THEYRE CANON

I didn’t doubt it, but it’s so nice that it’s canon.

AND CLAWDEEN AND DRACULAURA’S REACTION TO FINDING OUT THEY LIKE CLEO

SO STINKIN CUTE

I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THAT

Overall, ♾️/10. Thank you Shea Fontana and the rest of the Monster High crew for making my gay dreams come true <33

[jellyfilledeyes]

Your Gwen hcs,including black ones if you have 'em.Neow!!

HEHEH I GOT SO MANY >:3

for black gwen she didn't realize she was mixed until someone else mentioned it to her (totally didn't happen to me)

when she was in middle school she was originally gonna get braces to fix her teeth but she cried so much george just gave up

she's demisexual and aroflux

HUGE fan of paramore and evanescence

she read the guardians of ga'hoole and warrior cats books as a kid (catgender and owlkin moment-)

she also read the pjo series in her freshman year her fave character is piper mclean

she did her eyebrow piercings her

with the help of hobie she would constantly change her hair color

i also imagine she had braids with lil star beads

she def had a webkinz and club penguin account but lost the password T^T

she was always sensitive to loud sounds but it got so much worse after george almost arrested her

always had trouble making friends and the 'friends' she had before were extremely racist to her

had almost no positive black adult role models growing up so thats why she clung onto jess

clawdeen wolf was her trans awakening

she loves watching horror movies with miles and margo

marceline was her gay awakening

[ratstuckinamarble]

All right, time to discuss Spell the Beans, this is your spoiler warning. I've previously talked about how I view Draculaura practicing witchcraft this gen as a gay allegory, and considering this episode's theme, I have thoughts. Buckle up, this analysis of sorts will get long. (Also, homophobia will be mentioned)

What kicks the episode off is Drac losing a potion bottle, which gets found and is the reason for Bloodgood calling everyone's parents in to help search. Once again, Toralei wants her to be found out, and with all the talk of witchcraft making Draculaura feel like herself, it being something she won't consider giving up despite it having the potential to cause so many problems for her (Toralei trying to snitch on her, her parents or other students potentially reacting badly, expulsion), frames it like she has no choice about being a witch. Like it's innate (You know. Like being queer). Which also means Toralei is basically trying to out her which is... not great (I like her but I can't deny that- girlie has issues).

A scene soon after that shows Draculaura freaking about about the fact that her dad will be there, specifically to find the witch. What's interesting is that she clearly doesn't intend to keep this a secret from him. Here's some quotes:

"I should have told dad about my witchcraft last weekend when I planned to! But then he saw my report card, and he was so proud. He kept saying how I was following in his bat steps to become the premier first and foremost top monster."

"That's the vampire way. Once something is decided, they don't change it, no matter how silly, outdated, or pfft-y it sounds. That's why it's so hard to tell him I do witchcraft."

Clawdeen asks if she'll tell him when he gets there, to which she says: "In the middle of a witchhunt? No way. As the Pfft, he has to uphold the rules. He'd expell me!"

So what can we gather from this? She was planning to come out to him, most likely because since she views witchcraft as such a core part of herself, something she has to admit to truly be able to be herself around him. She planned it out and everything (as I'm sure a lot of us have before coming out so someone. I sure did), but backed down because he was proud, dissuading her from ruining his positive view of her in that moment. She knows he won't like her being a witch thanks to his outdated views, and yet all that's kept her from telling him sooner was fear of someone so close to her not accepting her (again, relatable).

Now the only reason she won't tell him is because in a school environment, she'd get punished. This is rather bleek, but there are still many places in the world where you can get expelled for being queer, including several schools in the US from what I've gathered, so it's an easy comparison to make.

Dracula holds a presentation on why witchcraft is forbidden, concluding that it's a danger to monsters, to which Draculaura says to herself: "Fine, some witches are bad, but witchcraft isn't inherently bad". It's reminiscent of queer people getting clumped together as a threat to society, children, the family, all that nonsense. People have always loved to take singular incidents of a queer person doing something abhorrent, and taking that as "proof" that all queer folks are a danger and should be shunned, or worse, not be allowed in certain jobs or be persecuted.

When Dracula asks Draculaura to help him find the witch, she immediately goes from happy to see him to uncomfortable. Like getting stuck in yet another conversation with your parents where they go on about their discomfort with gay or trans people or whatever it is that time, she's stuck with him demonizing witchcraft right before her, not knowing he's making her feel awful the whole time.

(A sillier sidenote, but the "Witch-Detector" made me think of the whole gaydar thing. Not relevant though.)

Draculaura ends up telling him the truth because she doesn't want Toralei to get expelled for something she didn't do. And her dad doesn't want to believe her. He lists down reasons that basically say 'you're too respectable to be a witch', but she leaves no room for doubt. And he's extremely disappointed.

She tries to explain to him that his views are skewed by his preconceived notions, and he shouts at her. "So you're breaking the rules for some frivolous hobby? You must give it up, now! Before it ruins your chance to be Pfft!" She tells him she doesn't want to follow in his footsteps. That she didn't know how to tell him because she knew he'd be upset. And he says, that well, of course he is! He treats it like something she can change, when the show never treats that like an option. Telling her he's worried for her future. When she tries to show him the beauty in what she's doing, he just leaves her standing there.

I do appreciate this scene. Many of us aren't lucky enough to have parents who immediately accept their kid after they come out, and the show built up to a bad reaction from him. This was bound to happen. A lot of parents don't want their kids to be gay because of homophobia, yes, but there's also often an element of fear. Of others thinking the same way as them, mistreating them because of it, having fewer chances for your future. It's all reflected in his reaction.

He ends up talking to Apollo (Clawdeen's dad), going on a whole tangent of what his super "handsome friend" (Why do you want him to see you as handsome so bad?🤨) (Also the friend is Dracula), should do if his daughter isn't quite who he thought she was, liking something he sees as dangerous, when he believed she liked "Respectable things" (there that is again), he worries she won't be happy. What I just said. Apollo explains that his kid's happiness is more important than his own opinions on what she's doing, and that she'll be safer if he supports her.

And queer people are safer when they are supported. Mental health wise.

It's enough for him to reconsider. He ends up talking to Draculaura, and they team up to get Toralei out of trouble without revealing Drac as a witch. He tells her that he'll do his best to change the rules.

So what are my thoughts? This was a fairly well executed episode, in my opinion. From my queer allegory perspective, the topic was handled in a manner very remisncent of common real life experiences. Dracula's initial negative reaction was hard to watch, but was the right choice to include it, and while he was rather quick to change his mind, for my taste, I do understand the show not wantig to leave their younger audience on such a sour note. While him only (reluctantly) changing his mind because the witch happened to be someone he loved was hypocritical, it's realistic. We often fear the things we've been taught to shun until it applies to someone close to us. Until it becomes more personal.

Overall, I'm content enough with how this was done. Most of all, since most of Draculaura's friends still don't appear to know by the end of the episode, and witchcraft is still forbidden, I wonder how that will be handeled. I also wonder if Toralei's outing attempts will ever be mentioned and discussed.

That's all I have to say for now. Thank you if you got this far, and please, tell me your thoughts!

[echobutgirlypop]

idc what you headcanon g1 draculaura’s sexuality as, she DEFINITELY likes women. in Freaky Fusion, her chemistry with robecca was astronomical. “Oh they were just really nice people and blah blah-” NO. If you rewatch it, the incredibly nice thing and awkward and nervous thing only really happens when they interact with each other. Also that doesn’t happen in real life, they’re just gay! Then in Haunted, kiyomi has a clear crush on draculaura. I believe one of the writers or something confirmed kiyomi to be queer, but regardless, it’s obvious. While kiyomi’s feelings weren’t necessarily reciprocated, Draculaura did spend like the entire movie talking to her and complementing her. So there might’ve been a little something there. Now, I could talk about draculaura x Clawdeen for hours. But, im busy. I think this is another situation similar to kiyomi and draculaura, where Clawdeen is in love with draculaura but she doesn’t necessarily like her back. I’m not sure if draculaura likes Clawdeen, but she definitely cares a lot about her.

[s1urpjuic3]

More Scathing hot takes

RANDOM DISCLAIMER I have not watched not a nan lick of g3 Monster High, this is entirely based off of Tumblr post, y'all please inform me of wtf be going on over there.

Tonight, I will be touching on Monster High, because honestly, I don't see enough people talking about my opinions so I'm forcing y'all to see it lmaoo

THE WORLD SHALL KNOW PAIN

Anyways, I feel like this is gonna come out so wrong omgggg but

I DON'T LIKE HOW THEY BROKE OFF ICONIC SHIPS AND MADE EVERYONE LGBT+!!! I don't even care that their gay, it's just the fact that I feel like when shows/media wants to be inclusive when they remake/bring back old shows, they get lazy and just rewrite the existing characters to fit their agenda.

The only time in media it really makes sense (to me) is when a character is going through change, or left a traumatic situation, OR they were always written as a queer character

ie: Harley Quinn. Yeah, I (think) she's always been Bi, but i'd definitely wanna stay the hell away from men after The Joker. I say this as a lifelong Jarley fan. #GoJivey.

And before I go any further, girlllll everybody alr new Clawdeen was lesbian she wasn't fooling nobody💀 it makes SENSE for her character.

Like I know there are now hardcore Cleo x Frankie shippers, and that's fine, I love when people ship characters like that, it's expression of the love for the show, but making it canon??? *Faints*

Maybe i'm just a diehard Cleuce fan idk lmaooo

What I (personally) think they should have done is just introduce new queer/gender neutral/LGBTQ+ characters! I think that would have been so cute and unique cs I feel like no show does that and it's lame.

Like, I just feel like it's such a missed opportunity to make their love interest dynamic, y'know? Like, give them actual depth outside of liking their ghoul.

ie: Deuce. They could've gone into depth about his career and his hopes dreams and aspirations was, and it still ties into Cleo because of her dad and things of that nature.

(Sidenote: Clawd & Jackson/Holt could literally take over the Monster High fandom if they wrote him better in all the gens but y'all not ready for that Convo.)

THERE WAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR JACKSON/HOLT OMG

I WANT NEW QUEER/LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS

Especially the boys ;)

Anyways, that's my hot take for tn, first moderately sized post (Hooray)

Post Script: What is this narrative that G1 Frankie liked too many boys?? Y'all be so frl. She liked 2 people. Jackson and Holt were the same people stop playing in my Tumblr space like that :|

Post Post Script: They had low-key pmo not giving lala some depth we all know she a bad bitch stop acting like she static.

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

hey did u see G3 Clawdeen was confirmed gay

Was it confirmed by Mattel? Because if not: Leaked material on Reddit from an unknown, anonymous &/or unreliable source is not the same as confirmation.

BTW Don’t mistake my skepticism as homophobia. I myself am Bisexual & I WANT canon gay representation in Monster High! I love the direction they’re going with Frankie & Cleo in the Nickelodeon show and I want more of THAT.

But I’ve been burned before believing hearsay, made up BS from former & possibly disgruntled employees, just straight up fabricated nonsense because I’ve noticed A LOT during G3 people make fake leaks on purpose for the lols & everyone is just cool with it(???) like it’s a joke & not intentionally misleading folks.

With so much misinformation flying around I will not budge on this topic until we get information from a source we can name that’s reliable & canonical.

Basically!? Call me when Clawdeen starts crushing on someone who isn’t a boy.

Update: I have been informed that in the new Trivia game that everyone but me is playing that Clawdeen’s crush is Deuce.

She also has an obvious crush on Deuce in the live action movie & they had a song together. Their relationship will probably develop in the sequel that’s coming out this fall.

So like… I’m sorry Lesbians it doesn’t look like a win for y’all but do not despair! We still have Twyla & Venus to look forward too!

It IS a win for all the people who were tired of seeing our one black girl never get a love interest in G1!

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 1A! MATCH 7 OUT OF 8

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Cerise Hood:

She’s the child of the red riding hood and the big bad wolf. Don’t question it to okay. Also she was the first character I thought of when I saw this!

She’s the daughter of red riding hood and the big bad wolf! She’s a werewolf!

Love her design very much. She gets a lot of great outfits. Also, another version of Red Riding Hood that incorporates both the girl and the wolf together.

1: ever after high was iconic and amazing and so well written and i'm really bitter that it was cancelled so i think cerise deserves this win (i do too) 2: her design is really good. like no one else could EVER if you ask me 3: wolf girl. do i NEED to say more. ...honestly, my brain cannot bring out any more words so fingers crossed someone else submits her and she gets some ACTUAL GOOD propaganda (sorry cerise forgive me)

She’s a badass red riding hood with a secret (her dad is the big bad wolf)

She's the daughter of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, so she has wolf ears and is really strong. She's supposed to be the next Red Riding Hood so she should count.

She's the daughter of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf making her a daughter of forbidden love and thus a double representation of Little Red Riding Hood's age-old story of maturity and adolescence.

She's really cool! She was born from a forbidden romance between the wolf (don't worry he turns into a human lmao) and Little Red Riding Hood and has to hide her heritage from other people which I think is really interesting. Also her hood is really pretty.

She's the daughter of red riding hood and is meant to take over that role when it's her time

she slays so hard!! while technically shes not THE little red riding hood, she is her daughter and the FUTURE little red riding hood. shes also half wolf, which is really cool!! and yea. she slays.

idk she’s just cool & definitely gay

She’s meant to be the next Red Riding Hood but her whole bit is that not only is her mom Red Riding Hood, her father is the Big Bad Wolf and she needs to keep it a secret. The best of both worlds. The tween girls went crazy for the wolf thing. Had a pretty doll and cool outfits. Has an older sister who’s meant to be the next Big Bad Wolf (Ramona Badwolf) who she comes into conflict with. Identity crisis! She was everything to eleven year old me

She’s half wolf, she has cool white streaks in her hair, she’s a jock with super speed and I like her a lot.

she turned me lesbian.

Fan favourite, my first lesbian crush on a character

She is a daughter of previous Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf, how cool is that

She’s a furry yeuwu

she’s the daughter of red riding hood and the big bad wolf. she’s a wolf girl. i love her

Little Dead Riding Hood:

gay. Werewolf.

Clawdeen Wolf is a werewolf, and therefore Monster High's "daughter of a werewolf". For the Scarily Ever After doll line, the monster high students were reimagined as famous fairy tale characters. Clawdeen was based on the story of Red Riding Hood, making this werewolf into the main character of the story instead of the villain! It's a cute way to show her as a girl who likes playing dress up and reading fairy tales as well as being freaky and fierce.

[victini-shipps]

Even after all this time I still can't describe how good this scene is and all the steps needed to get to it.

From the beginning of the episode, Toralei was so committed to the new relationship she built with Clawdeen, joking, laughing and studied the whole werewolf/werecat rivalry (how ironic, right?). And then we are shown how prepared Toralei is about defending her friendship with Deen, confronting her mother in a way that has never been shown in the series (shame on you Toralei, a puppy offers you comfort and you adopt it in such a short time).

Another interesting thing is the fact that Catarina forces Toralei to choose between taking the werewolf necklace or siding with her enemy (because you know she doesn't care if they are friends). In my opinion, this was her way of saying “you are choosing between me or wolf girl, because there will be consequences.”

and although Toralei seems distressed by the conversation (she is her mother after all) in the next scene she is completely willing to help Deen. This kitten really entered this friendship with her heart, she believes what she said, Clawdeen is her friend. From the beginning of the episode, this was never a doubt for her. However, on the other side we have Clawdeen who is cautious, mainly because of her friends, but let's be empathetic, they just want to protect her (and it's not like Toralei has never done anything to harm them). She wants to believe it, but it's not that simple when everything around her says it's a bad idea. So she makes the safest decision, leaving Toralei out because it's easier to have things under control when she knows what to expect.

(my poor needy kitten, she just wanted to help)

As we get closer to the end, Clawdeen decides to give the necklace to Toralei instead of Clawd and at that moment we have one of the scenes that melted my heart the most. Toralei is not only surprised that Deen is trusting her, but she also doesn't seem to believe that she deserves that trust, "after all everything she's done” she wouldn't blame Clawdeen for not trusting her. And then we have one of the most powerful lines Toralei could speak:

"Thank you for forgiving me, for believing in me"

Validation is something very important for Toralei, her entire career in the series was in search of validation, whether from her mother, her superiors and even the other students at the school. Toralei needs to be seen constantly because if she catches attention at least someone will see that she exists. But when Clawdeen sees her and believes in her, it validates her feelings and Toralei holds on, holds on tight, because validation means Clawdeen cares.

These two have built a very strong bond and even though the creators don't intend to focus so deeply on their relationship, it's cool to theorize these details because it gives depth to the characters. I'm looking forward to seeing their evolution in the second season, I want more cute and very gay moments to freak out

Sorry for the English, the translator doesn't help much ;)

[mooncalf87]

☆Whats your opinion on people who call clawdeen a lesbian? Sorry if it's a weird question I just think you're cool and I just wanted your opinion ^_^

I STAN QUEER CLAWDEEN 🙏 Imo, I think she would make an amazing lesbian representation character! There was a LOT of opportunity for representation in Monster High, but unfortunately due to the "we are trying to legalize gay marriage but its really difficult" time of when the og movies came out, there wasn't really any rep. Lots of my rep wishes go against cannon, but here are my hcs!!:

Frankie Stein: She/They/He, Pansexual

Draculaura: She/Her, Bisexual

Clawdeen Wolf: She/They, Lesbian

Catty Nuir: She/They, AroAce

Lagoona Blue: She/They, Omnisexual

Cleo de Nile: She/Her, straight (but the #1 ally)

Robecca Steam: They/Them, Lesbian

Operetta: She/They, Lesbian

Gigi: She/Her, Pansexual Aro/Ace

Spectra Vonderghist: They/Them, Bisexual

Twyla Boogie: They/Them, Lesbian

Clawdeia Wolf: She/Her, Lesbian

Elizabat: She/Her, Lesbian

Abby Bomitable: She/They, Straight (but she is questioning)

I have a few more characters that I have hcs for, but I can't remember their names LOL the main zombie girl and the French gargoyle 😭 i seriously can't remember their names at all

I know there are more characters but im only JUST getting back into the movies (I was a young kid when they came out and I had a long hyperfixation on them, so I still remember a lot of stuff. I was like 8 when the Great Scarrier Reef came out) so I dont remember many names yet 😭🙏 I might update this later when I get a better grasp on names and characters