#monster high fashion parallels

[ca-cupid]

the absolute grip that these Moschino boots have on the doll community-

[dollsinvogue]

Haunt Couture Clawdeen’s purse

[toychest321]

Clawdeen Wolf 2024 Core Doll {🌙} Gucci Pre-Fall 2016

[dollyprescriptions]

•Draculaura is Queen

-Her gown is a mixture between of Alice Auaa s/s 2013

-Christian LaCroix F/w 1996 & Spring Couture 1998 & F/w Couture 2007 & Spring Couture 2009

[swordsmans]

Wait come back, may I please ask for your thoughts on perona/law, you can't drop that in the tags and NOT elaborate when it's now in my mind

ohoho, right this way... allow me to pull back the beaded curtain as we walk together into my beautiful mind palace. is perona/law a joke? even i don't know anymore. all i do know is that the aesthetic potential is absolutely unparalleled. and their devil fruit abilities compliment each other (mental evisceration vs. physical evisceration). and their personalities both clash and parallel each other in a way that would make for the most delightfully-antagonistic romance dynamic. now, let's take a look...

(edit: oh my god this is like 2k words maybe this isn't a joke anymore. is this what you asked for? probably not. but if i can get at least one other person on this train i can die happy.)

aesthetics

let's begin with their styles, the most obvious reason to throw these two characters into a locked room (or a hot topic) together. it is well-documented in canon (and canon-adjacent, if we're including one piece party in this) that both law and perona care deeply about fashion and aesthetics. half of perona's entire "schtick" is the never-ending pursuit of cuteness, and law has customized every single element of his own clothing/his crew's clothing to coordinate with the heart pirates'/surgeon of death theme (this is unspoken but "obvious" in canon, and explicitly mentioned in one piece party lmao).

although they don't have exactly the same aesthetic styles, both law and perona sit on the goth/goth-adjacent scale--so their styles to compliment one another. law adheres to a modern/nu-grunge aesthetic (not to be confused with classic/90s grunge); jeans/dark jeans, black jackets, tattoos, piercings, statement hats and/or single "statement piece" accessories (don't think that stupid feather collar gets a pass here). modern/nu-grunge also involves layering as a style choice and uhh look at him. that guy layers. alternatively, perona embodies a beautiful combination of pastel goth/gurokawa (not to be confused with gothic lolita, which she is often incorrectly categorized as, much to my continued dismay).

i feel like i don't have to defend my classifications for perona quite so hard because pastel goth+gurokawa is more well known to the non-goth community, but for reference pastel goth involves modern or modern-style clothing with heavy emphasis on pastel pinks, purples, greens, and blues as accent colors. pastel goths often gravitate toward skirt + top combos and dresses with large, chunky shoes and patterned or styled high socks/stockings. gurokawa is literally the sub-sub-aesthetic "creepy cute" which is literally perona. (but for broader goth reference "gurokawa" can be applied to any larger goth aesthetic, although it is most commonly associated with lolita/gothic lolita, pastel goth, scene, and cyber/cybergrunge).

perona's gurokawa leanings are particularly complimentary to law's entire surgeon of death motif. part of what defines gurokawa is blood, injury, and medical horror (stitches, syringes, surgery) and law is literally Medical Horror: The Guy if you think about the really dark, awesome implications of the ope-ope no mi (i encourage you to take a look at this absolutely amazing piece of dark law fanart by feriowind, but do be warned that there is some body horror at play here). frankenstein's monster-type "things" are a fairly common style motif in gurokawa circles (in one piece, kumashi is literally the example of this), and we know from punk hazard that this is also a possible application of the ope-ope no mi.

returning to pure style for a moment, think of the potential for domestic aesthete moments here--it's unreal. picture it with me--the makeup. the sewing. the accessories. the fashion debates. the relentless pursuit of the coolly uncaring (while caring deeply) vs. the relentless pursuit of cuteness (with that "cuteness" leaning heavily on the coolly grotesque). utterly delicious.

powers

from a power standpoint, while perona might not be on the same level as the monster captains/warlords, we cannot forget that she was one of the four generals for a warlord (moria) before the timeskip. law only became a warlord post-timeskip, and we can infer that perona honed her own abilities significantly on kuraigana by taking a look at the differences in the few pre-/post-timeskip scenes we have of her. while i am a little sad that the perona-warlord theory never panned out (perona fans may remember... we were robbed...) there's still at least one good mini-analysis of perona's power scaling floating (heh) around from ask-perona (now archived as ask-perona-blog1). i encourage you to take a look!!! it still holds up even though it's from 2016-ish, and if anything i think perona's recent appearance in the manga proves she can stand on the same level with the now-defunct warlord power scale. (she's strong enough to break into an emperor's stronghold--and not just any emperor, either! blackbeard, who just absolutely annihilated law!! coincidence?? i think not!!)

plus she held back a hoard of marines so that the straw hats could escape on saobody. what a powerhouse. plus! literally right now in canon she's running around the new world on her own. literally--she made it from kuraigana to hachinosu on her own, at least until canon retroactively says otherwise re: mihawk (and we're unlikely to get confirmation either way). if that's not a sign of crazy power and (justified) confidence, i don't know what is.

thinking about the horo-horo no mi/ope-ope no mi combat potential is a no-brainer for me, too. perona's key power involves utterly demolishing her opponents psychologically, and law's power involves pulling his opponents apart physically (plus the inherent horror of living through the disassembly of their bodies, which--i know it's played off as a joke, but this is my house. think of the horror, babes!! think of the terror!!). i feel like i don't need to go too deep into this one because it just feels so obvious to me, but the two of them could absolutely dominate on the battlefield--just one example would be perona incapacitating enemies with a wave of hollows and law taking the opportunity provided to capture and dismember everyone while they're down. and that's not even touching the fact that they can both canonically float/fly. literally an unstoppable team.

also--perona literally threatened to crush usopp's heart during their fight. law has a whole thing about cutting out people's hearts and threatening to crush them. this analysis is practically writing itself.

personalities

here's where things get really fun (and subjective--i can admit that. but hey! one piece fans have made more work with less). law is extremely externally emotionally repressed (because of that sweet, sweet trauma) with a sensitive inner world (this needs no sourcing; i think we can all agree on that). perona's personality runs parallel--she is externally aggressive, but also has a softer side (1. repeatedly helping zoro on kuraigana physically [wounds] and emotionally [the newspaper]; 2. taking care of zoro post-timeskip re: saobody; 3. her interactions with mihawk post-warlord disbandment; 4. how deeply she cares for moria and her former crew).

while we don't know a lot about her backstory, we do know that perona was orphaned and adopted/raised by moria after he found her. this was after moria's entire crew was killed by kaido, so he raised her while he, hogback, and absalom set about resurrecting his crew from the dead (as zombies) and supplementing the original crew with other powerful zombies. personally, i think there's some wiggle room for a little bit of tragedy there. law and perona are both technically orphans raised by adoptive fathers in criminal organizations, and while moria does survive to perona's adulthood he's got his own baggage re: vengeance against kaido and the loss of his crew. i could go into some headcanons or w/e here, but let's stick to what we know for now.

personally, i think there's lots of room to explore a dynamic between two people who have a caring side but are too stubborn (for one reason or another) to admit it. this is a very common trope in romance stories, and i love the idea of them just like... aggressively yelling affectionate things across the room at each other in the tones of an argument. priceless comedic potential. if you want to really put them into (reductive) boxes, you could call this a tsundere4tsundere romance. they'd both be too stubborn to admit their feelings and then when they finally did get together not much about their dynamic would fundamentally change. think of the passion! the comedy! the cuteness! the drama! please, i'm begging you--work with me here.

additionally, law is a huge fucking nerd--not just in his obsession with sora. we saw how he reacted to the idea of ninjas--and i'm 99% sure there's at least one panel where he says something about franky/franky's robots being cool. he's got the nerd mentality, and i posit that perona also has the fangirl/nerd mentality. i dont think it's a stretch to call her obsession with fashion and aesthetics a nerd-dom in and of itself, because clearly i'm kind of a geek about goth culture/fashion. fandom is fandom, no matter what form it takes. plus, perona spent two years with two of the biggest sword nerds of all time (not counting tashigi--sorry babe) and canonically mihawk is into wine. you know she's developed a tolerance for monologues, infodumping, and general hobby nonsense.

(oh god this is getting so out of hand)

final misc. thoughts

there's no crew conflict. (at this point in time, at least) perona is a free agent. she's affiliated with the thriller bark pirates, the straw hats, and cross guild, but she's not part of any single crew right now. i don't think she would ever join the heart pirates, but i like the idea of her remaining a free agent while in a relationship with law. it keeps the power balanced between them, because i dont think this could ever conceivably work in the context of a captain/subordinate dynamic. they'd have to be on semi-equal footing, which (right now, at least) they sort of are.

also--hey, i'm gonna put this out there because i'm an adult--bottom law agenda still works wonderfully here. just sayin'. perona's a top and we all know it. no notes.

[shirtlesssammy]

The Winchesters 1x11: Bullet Point Rambles

Dean: What we do at the crossroads………..is make a prequel!

John shows up in dramatic fashion (Boris: idonotfeelbadforjohnwinchester idonotfeelbadforjohnwinchester) and announces his predicament

We learn that Maggie had a bracelet that makes people tell the truth. Also Maggie was MYSTERIOUS about it. At this point, we’ve mentioned Maggie so often I have to stroke my beard and contemplate what she means to the show

Today is written and directed by women! Nice.

Carlos and Lata investigate Maggie’s room and contemplate the Akrida’s master plan. They continue to be adorable besties and I love them

John and Mary pack up in DAYLIGHT BABIES PLEASE. They’re confronted by Betty who “has been following them for weeks.” Boris: Creeper

John gives himself up dramatically. Betty is probably pretty sad that she can’t haul in Mary Campbell as well. 

Lata finds the bracelet in a hidden snack hiding place. She reaches towards the bracelet and it flies up and attaches itself around her wrist. Not good! Even more NOT GOOD is when the mysterious shadows fly up and blow out the lights

Lata and Carlos try to figure out if the ghosty thing was a lurking monster or bracelet-generated

Back at the Clubhouse, Millie and Mary try to break open John’s case. Mary drowns in guilt. Wherps.

Millie wants to trust Betty with Monster Club. Boris and I both think this is a TERRIBLE IDEA. (But it would make some fun soapy drama, I suppose)

At the precinct, John gets interrogated by a chuckling cop. I tell him to get an attorney but my advice goes unheard. Chuckles the Cop reveals that he’s the Akrida WHO KILLED KYLE. *mustache twirl mustache twirl*

Mr. Akrida sets out a photo of DEAN WINCHESTER (we flail silently) and demands info in exchange for his freedom. Boris: Every time this photo shows up, my brain vibrates at a high level

(Info update: John was a PoW???)

Lata digs into the bracelet further - the shadows will consume anyone who wears the bracelet and has a dark secret. Carlos is like YOU???? just before he’s taken by the monsters! ‘FESS UP GIRL!!!

Carlos gets zapped into a creepy crypt bedroom place? Is this like a ghost bedroom? They can hear each other. Is he in a parallel dimension like that witch from the second episode?

MAGGIE APPEARS!

Millie proudly shows Betty the Clubhouse. It’s time for Monster Skool! Millie tries to convince Betty that it’s all real. Come on, don’t you have some handy monsters hanging out? It goes…poorly. Mary shouts after her about the 3 marks on the back of her neck, as Betty storms off

Fake!Maggie and Lata reminisce. Maggie told her everything, and now Fake!Maggie wants Lata to tell her everything. Lata gets zapped to the cold room, and Carlos! WILL we finally learn Lata’s SECRET? Why the family estrangement, etc? Honestly, I’m surprised to learn this so soon, since I assumed Lata’s Dark Secret TM would be part of season 2

Lata lights a lantern as Carlos feels the creeping approach of DOOM. We learn that the dark room was a part of Lata’s old home

Meanwhile, Mary plans a good old fashioned jailbreak. Boris: John’s sons got out of the deepest darkest prison the Feds have to offer so…John can bust out too. Or did they get out because of their mom? Things to contemplate…

Carlos and Lata confront her dark secret. She weeps over it and Carlos begs for her to confess. Lata brings up her backstory. After a family dinner, Lata brought food to share with her family’s housekeeper Sonya. Her dad beat her housekeeper for it and Lata struck him with the lamp. 

Mary rings the Campbell residence for a little Lata/Carlos backup. Sorry, Millie! Nobody here but us shadow creatures!

Lata was shamed by both her parents for sticking up for the housekeeper. She ran away from home. In retaliation, her dad locked the housekeeper in the room and Sonya froze to death. (Boris: Seems like your asshole father’s problem, and not yours, girl.)

Guilt rises from Lata and Carlos and they find themselves back in the kitchen. “I guess the truth really does set you free,” Carlos notes. LOL. Millie runs in and seriously ruins the mood. Uh, go team!

John gets taken away. Mary and Betty confront each other. It’s a punching fight!!! Boris: TAKE HER OUT, MARY, SHE’S HALF YOUR SIZE

The team confronts Betty and Carlos “Drugs Should Be Legalized” Cervantez holds her while Lata chunks on the truth telling slap bracelet

Team Scooby Gang beat up all the cops and John runs. What’s the plan? RUN! That’s…that’s the plan. Betty’s gonna be their source on the inside. Mrow cat fight, etc.

Betty and Mary reconnoiter later. AND THEY HUG. Or…Betty apologizes. John gives Betty the plans for an Akrida-tattoo, and John and Mary head out ONCE AGAIN in broad daylight

In the clubhouse, I am desperate to own Carlo’s coat, and Lata tells Carlos that she wants to be more open with him. Her parents aren’t dead (they are just dead to HER). Aw, Carlos tells her that her parents are dead to him too! Besties! Carlos reassures her that everyone loves her because they DO

Mary and John drive and look disconsolate. They plot revenge, and plan to find DEAN WINCHESTER OUR BEST BOY

[deconstructthesoup]

Was just thinking (again) about how in season 1 and season 2 of The Owl House, there are clear parallels in the premiere, quarter-season, mid-season, three-quarter-season, and finale episodes, so I thought I'd break them down

Premieres: A Lying Witch And A Warden/Separate Tides:

The "do not underestimate me/now eat this, sucka" speech is said at the very beginning, followed by an immediate tone shift (ALWAAW has the scene from the Good Witch Azura that leads into it being Luz doing her book report, ST has Luz facing off against Garlog before it being revealed that he's just a tiny gremlin)

Luz and King go on a dangerous mission together (ALWAAW has them sneak in and steal the crown, ST has them chase after the Selkiedomous)

"Us weirdos have to stick together" is said (you guys know the context)

We meet and fight a member of the Emperor's Coven, who kinda deviate from our expectations (Warden Wrath turns out to have a thing for Eda and is later revealed to be kinda sad, The Golden Guard is shown to have a cocky side and is later revealed to be... well, Hunter)

Quarter-Seasons: Covention/Through The Looking Glass Ruins

Cool lore details are revealed about the academic side of the Isles (Covention shows the Hexside kids working to join covens, TTLGR shows how cutthroat Glandus students are)

The clear flaws in the coven system and how magic is viewed are addressed (Covention shows how high-status the EC is, how the covens seal away your magic, and how Amity's need to succeed is wearing down on her, TTLGR shows the stigma around illusionists and how physical magic is valued over others)

The "show don't tell" rule is applied with a character who's been called strong showing off just how powerful they are (Eda and Lilith show off an incredible amount of skill in Covention, Gus goes full horror movie in TTLGR)

Lumity milestone (Luz and Amity reach an understanding in Covention and see a different side of each other, TTLGR has the cheek kiss)

Mid-Season (Escape of the Palisman/Yesterday's Lie)

Luz has to reckon with a mistake that she made and faces the consequences (EOFP sees her recklessness cause Owlbert to get hurt and she has to jump through hurdles to make it up to him, YL sees her finally tell her mother the truth and see how her leaving really did have consequences)

Very sad lore about a seemingly scary demon is revealed (The Bat Queen is shown to protect the lost Palismen due to having forgotten and lost her last owner, Vee shows a different side of the basilisks and tells Luz how they were made and experimented on)

Three-Quarter-Season (Understanding Willow/Hollow Mind)

A mishap leads to Luz and another character venturing into another character's mind (UW has Luz and Amity go into Willow's so they can fix the fire damage, HM has Luz and Hunter go into Belos's mind by mistake after the CAT plan fails)

The person's Inner Self initially manifests as something else (Willow's Inner Self is a fire monster at first before being revealed to just be overtaken by anger, Belos's inner self pretends to be a lost child before... yeah)

HUGE character-specific lore is revealed that completely changes the game (Amity shows us just how bad her home life is and how her parents pressured her into ditching Willow, Hunter finds out that he's a Grimwalker and Luz finds out that Belos is Philip and he's working with The Collector)

Finales (Young Blood, Old Souls/King's Tide)

The "with this spell declared" motif comes back (Lilith splits the curse in YBOS, Eda uses it to tell her she'll be all right in KT)

Eda nearly dies and loses a part of herself (petrification and loss of magic in YBOS, draining spell and loss of arm in KT)

Luz and Belos fight and Luz not only gets a hit in but thinks her way out of a situation (YBOS has Luz hitting Belos in the eye and cracking his mask, as well as double-crossing him with the portal, KT has her insult his fashion sense and brand him with the seal)

The portal is destroyed (you know how that shakes down)

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

rewatching the idiot's lantern

visuals: this episode's direction is amazing, ya'll. really underrated. the use of slanted angles gives what could be a standard period YA story stand out, and it gives it a kind of... splashy, noir-but-colorful vibe. it also fits really well with the whole "telly gone wrong" thing the story is going for. the faceless ones effect is simple but effective, the telly lady is iconic, and don't get me started on rose and ten's iconic rockabilly outfits... colonialism / hegemony: some interesting lines: "we may have lost the empire, but we can still be proud" / "only an idiot hangs the union flag upside down". there's a line from ten that's really funny about "this is the queen's england! not being men in black or stalinist russia",,, stealth anti-communist propaganda is always hilarious but specially hilarious in november 2023 when sunak is pushing the "anti-terrorism" card to jail palestine marches (and starmer would rather be die than call for a ceasefire). this ep is interesting also in that it's a good example of brittish pop culture trying to re-build a sense of identity after being "beaten" as an empire. so in the story, the coronation itself must retain its importance, the monarchy can't be questioned... but it seeks to reframe its importance in "the domestic" and entertainment sphere ("this is history right here"). make no mistake tho, it is still very patriotic. the dad gets called out not for being a Proper briton and not hanging The Flag Correctly... overall tho it's fun to see a conservative ass get his own rhetoric used against him (by the doctor, by rose, by tommy, and by the mother). And i think this episode makes the correct analysis in showing how the "patriotic veterans" ideology is fueling the neo-facists of today's uk (See: the "poppies sellers are afraid to leaver heir home" circus last week). themes: i used to think s2 didnt have much of a cohesive theme compared to s1 or s3 but now i think im starting to notice one emerging: the resistance against modernity and the passage of time. this episode is a good partner to rise of the cybermen/Army of steel with one talking about "phone updates and blootooth but they can mind control" and "what if tv melts ur brain"... in both the evil bug eyed monsters make those fears literal... but the real moral crutch is, pherhaps more than "phone bad"... that people become complicit and compliant to everything happening on the world around them. and that those who rebel against this apathy are virtuous in doing so (see The Preachers, tommy, etc). I also think this theme fits really well with School Reunion (sarah jane coming to terms with her ageing, rose coming to terms with her eventual death / the death of her relationship with the doctor, the "disco" aspect of k-9 being ridiculed but then showing to have value) and then with GiTf, with the clockwork robots being a probable (unintentional?) metaphor for monarchy and "obsolete" technologies that linger on.

Character of the day highlight: The telly-lady is such a good one off villain. Every time she says "IM HUNGRY" "FEEEDMEEE" it was hilarious and great. The whole family is also all get a moment to shine. "I did what I thought was right" and "That's my mother" were really arresting. On a negative point though, I would have cut the inspector guy, his death did not hit hard enough because he just didn't have enough screentime in this one. The Timeless Child bonus: Ten's bonding with the kid serves really well as parallel to himself. Tecteum would have a lot in common with the dad this episode so it's kind of cool that in that way, The Doctor gets to stand up for themeselves.

Companion watch: Ten and rose are very clever in this one.not in a wow million years of techbobabble clever or high functioning psychopath clever way but like, good ol fashion connecting cues, knowing how to push ppl's button and who to talk to get information. I would say these are about apathy, and [falling in line]. there's also an interesting character point of her being more invested in things working out for his family which as i said in another post, honestly takes off some of the sensationalism i've seen around her telling the kid to talk to his dad.

Misc: Missed a trick by not having ten say NOTHING IN THE WOKR DCAN STOP ME NOWW in That Scene. this ep also vibes well with s1 in that tommy is Inspired to save the day (i wish he had more time to bond w/ 10/rose so this Hit more, but as it is, it's perfectly fine. it's more of a "this person was already great and they didn*t *need* the doctor and co, but it's nice that they helped anyway").

[thisdayinwwi]

Richmond Times-Dispatch - Jun 17 1917

How a Converted Battleship Would Appear "Squatting" on the Trenches and Dealing Death and Destruction for Miles with Its Great Guns and High Explosives.

On the Left Is a Cross Section Diagram Showing the Arrangement of the Wheel Axles and the Braces Inside the Hull of the Converted Ship.

THE EDITOR of the Electrical Experimenter, a leading scientific publication in that field, advances the unusual idea of converting our old battleships into supertanks for use in trench warfare abroad. The battleships are to be placed on wheels and run under their own power over the trenches.

No war has been richer in the invention of extraordinary and terrifying machinery or in fantastic, death-dealing appliances than the present world war. Extraordinary as this proposition of running ships over the land is, the strength of a man's latent desire to kill man is over-stepping, even now, all bounds of the imagination.

At once, of course, several objections to Dr. Gernsback's plan present themselves. First, there is the tremendous weight of the battleship-from 10,000 to 30,000 tons. It is difficult to conceive how any wheels could be constructed which would prevent this mighty mass from crushing down into the earth and becoming as immovable as a fort. There is, second, the fact that a ship is built for stresses in the water, and not for the gravitational pull on land.

And there is, third, the fact that the battleships are armored only down to a certain part of the hull, and that the unarmored part would be vulnerable as a land boat. These objections Doctor Oernsback answers in his article in the Electrical Experimenter, but whether convincingly or not the reader must decide.

It would seem that our old battleships could be so used, but their effectiveness would not be in pursuit of armies or where any speed at all is concerned. They might take the place, however, with tremendous effectiveness, of the "tanks," as the armored tractors are known abroad. These tractors, while effective, are nevertheless vulnerable to three-inch guns and over. The land battleship could withstand, no doubt, as heavy shells on land as at sea. and, loaded with high explosives and great guns, could crawl out to the trenches, squat upon them and proceed to deal out death and destruction for many square miles.

Doctor Gernsback in his article says: "I do not claim to be the originator of the idea to run battleships or other ships over land. That idea is old. Twenty-five years ago there was published in a German weekly an idea to run a powerful car, moving over a dozen closely-spaced paralleling tracks, under a ship. This car, after the ship was made fast to it in a suitable manner, was then to be drawn overland-over the present Panama Canal route-by powerful locomotives.

"A battleship weighs anywhere from 10,000 tons upward-quite a respectable weight. How, then, can we run such a monster on land? How can it be propelled! "The United States Navy has a number of battleships of the pre-dreadnought type, good ships as vet, but obsolete as first-line ships. I refer to ships of the Oregon, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky. Massachusetts, Indiana class. These ships are fully equipped now, have good crews and good guns. But the chances are that ten years from now they will be used as targets or otherwise will be relegated to the scrap-heap. So why not send these ships to the front? Briefly, the idea is this: "Let us send these ships, men, guns and all to France. In the holds of the vessels we pack channel irons and "T" as well as 'I' steel beams, cut to the right length before sailing. These pieces are fashioned much after the structural toy steel pieces-you can make almost anything out of them.

"When our battleship arrives in France it is immediately put in drydock, and the crew at once proceeds to make the wheels from the channel steel. These huge wheels, measuring over fifty to sixty feet in height, are made on the plan of a Ferris wheel, light but strong. Of course, to sustain a weight of 10,000 tons or more, a set of single wheels won't do. Rather each wheel is fashioned of a number of wheels, from five upward, paralleling each other, as shown by the accompanying illustration. These separate wheels are bolted or riveted together by means of steel "I" beams running over the circumference, of the separate wheels. The latter are strengthened by additional crosstruss work, as seen in the illustration. Thus a very light, as well as powerful wide wheel, is formed. With a little previous drilling the crew should be able to construct the necessary six wheels in less than one week-yes, it can be done, providing the pieces are cut to the right dimensions at home. "Next the 13-inch hollow steel shaft is considered. 'This, of course, has been brought from America, too. The hollow shaft is advised, first, because it weighs less, and second, because such shafts are equally as strong as solid ones, within a reasonable proportion. "The two wheels at the stern are 'idlers,' the same as the front wheels on an automobile. No power is applied to them; they simply rotate on the shaft, extending from one wheel to the other, clear through tho ship. The two small centre wheels are also idlers. They serve to take up undue shocks, which might break the ship in two, when negotiating difficult terrain.

"The two front (bow) wheels are the 'drivers.' They are bolted solid to the shafts, two of the latter being used, as will become apparent at once. Our illustration shows that the two shafts revolve in a common bearing (which might be an old reconstructed gunbarrel). Each shaft in turn is directly coupled to a slow-running electric motor armature. as clearly shown. And this, by the way. is the much discussed electrical drive, adopted in our latest monster battle cruisers now being constructed. From this it becomes apparent how the land battleship is propelled overland in a simple and practical manner. The steering is equally simple and efficient. By running one molor at a slightly higher or lower speed the ship must either turn to the right or to the left, as desired by its commander.

"A huge wheel, such as the ones here described, will easily ride over the widest trenches. Ordinary shell holes will be negotiated as easily as a cartwheel runs over a hole in the street due to a missing cobblestone. Rivers will be forded easily, if there is a fair approach. Even steep banks will be negotiated by running the craft diagonally through the stream. Low hills will prove no obstacle at all, while steeper ones can be climbed by running the ship in a zig-zag line. "It goes without saying that in order to carry the enormous strain the ship must be strengthened by a good deal of cross-truss steel work, as indicated in our illustration. Otherwise the shaft would rip clear through the decks. The reader has already guessed that no new power plant is required. The old one is of course utilized, the ship burning coal the same as if it were on the ocean.

"After finding the range of the enemy guns, the ten-inch guns of the 'Oregon on wheels' can either silence them or crush the German battery by simply running over it. There is no escape for them, for we have the advantage of quick mobility (the ship from fifteen to eighteen miles per hour) against the slow mobility of the enemy guns, which cannot be moved quickly.

"After annihilating these, the land monster runs amuck, destroying ammunition dumps, and raising general havoc bclilnd the lines. Small guns and machines guns prove of little use against our armored battleships, and even if, as is to be expected, enemy shells find their mark, they cannot 'sink' us or stop us. For the engines as well as all other vital parts are protected by heavy armor. The wheels themselves will not be put out, of running order easily, because they are not solid. The shells, even if they do hit, will hardly destroy the entire wheel. Beyond ripping out a few steel beams, no great, damage will be done. "If several battleships are simultaneously in a grand attack, there is no question that the enemy must fall back over a wide area. "And it will be impossible for the enemy to board the swiftly moving vessel. Even if forced to stand still, its machine guns and other guns would ward off all close attacks. "There remains the aeroplanes dropping bombs into the ship. The answer here would be-anti-aeroplane guns, installed already now on every modern ship. Besides, our own aeroplanes would protect the ship by beating of? tho enemy flyers."

[hopepunk-priest]

Okay since everyone's doing it, I'm gonna do it too

My version takes place in the 70's, the gang is college-aged, dodging the draft by solving mysteries with a background of the rise of grindhouse horror films, second wave feminism, student strikes, "the silent majority," environmentalism, Watergate, Queer liberation, and groovy rock music. As a more adult take, the monsters of the week and overarching villains will reflect, criticize, and celebrate the cultural movements of being in your early 20's during the 70's. That means villains ranging from nerds in star wars costumes to paranoid political scandals to actual real aliens. Stakes range from being inconvenienced to being in mortal peril.

Fred Jones: Mom friend with first aid training (that he learned from med students during a campus protest), the moral compass of the show in that he reminds the gang that laws exist and they are very much on the run, fucking HATES Nixon dude like HATES Nixon. Heart's always in the right place, even if things don't always work out. Knowledgeable in traps and whatever level of engineering is needed to solve the episode, also acts as the primary face. Also just loves mysteries.

Norville "Shaggy" Roberts: former track star, dropped out of culinary school, collects cool belt buckles a la original series, straight man in the horror movie "maybe we don't go in the haunted house" way, brave considering zombies and witch's ghosts are straight up real and he will still never leave his friends to face danger alone. Anxiety disorder he treats with weed, super knowledgable in pop culture which also gives him a variety of random trivia needed to fill gaps when needed. I think he really likes Lord of the Rings and Pink Floyd. Good at riddles.

Daphne Blake: inferiority complex because of her many successful siblings, wants to be a journalist like Gloria Steinem. Has taken a few self defense classes, but overall acts as the second face for the group. Still into make-up and fashion, and can use her skills (and a little high school theatre experience) to make believable disguises. She can pick up when someone's lying and can pick locks.

Velma Dinkley: Jewish. Loves mysteries and paranormal fiction, believes in conspiracy theories and urban legends. Her intelligence specializes in puzzles, historical, and chemical knowledge. She can be reckless, but only because she becomes very single-minded when she's onto something. Snarky, lesbian, and headstrong.

Scooby: Mischievous, food motivated, and gentle. Protective of the group, Scooby is just a big, goofy great dane who doesn't understand he isn't a lapdog anymore. He can talk, no one inside the group questions it, and only a select few outside the group even notice (part of the mystery). Intergalactic being but doesn't know it, he's much more dog than other iterations.

Scrappy: Just appears one episode, everyone acts like he's always been there. Revealed at the end that he's actually a trickster deity, comes in and causes chaos every now and then mostly just to fuck with Scooby.

The Hex Girls: a psychedelic witch-rock group with a heavy emphasis on environmental protection and new age metaphors, actual witches, a sound somewhere between Cream, Hendrix, and Stevie Nicks. Genuinely just friends with the gang.

Scooby is Shaggy's emotional support dog.

Daphne and Fred are together, healthy, and often end up hyping each other up to the point where other members have to step in and go "you're getting carried away, can we focus."

Daphne and Velma met at a feminist rally, and often have nuanced discussions about different feminist theories. Honestly, most likely to commit very real crimes to get to the bottom of a mystery.

Fred and Velma met in elementary school at a Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew book club (or whatever the 50's equivalent of this was) where they were the only two members. Their friendship is like an anti-macho brotherhood, paralleling the overly masculine friendships of the era.

Daphne met Shaggy in High School and she immediately adopted him the way extroverts adopt introverts. She is very dedicated to helping him build confidence, and Shaggy helps her with her inferiority complex and keeps her true to herself.

Fred and Shaggy are very physically affectionate, share a brain cell, most likely to get into shenanigans if left alone together. Second most likely to get into shenanigans if left alone together are Fred and Daphne.

Shaggy and Velma have a shared interest in music and films, and love talking conspiracy theories.

Shaggy and Scooby are inseparable. Real boy and his dog vibes.

They all smoke weed on screen, are constantly broke, they all are capable of being equally intelligent and dumb as rocks, they're all snarky in their own way, and they all say things like jinkies and Ruh Roh to like... Murders and cryptid kidnapings and issues of national security.

[taybatwo2]

Playing around with G3’s Clawdeen to try and get used to her new design and character. Personal opinions under the cut, but TLDR: I like a lot of her new details, I don’t mind her glasses, her new design/character reminds me A TON of Howleen (like those cute freckles), they should have kept her siblings, and I’m not enjoying the idea of Clawdeen being “half human” when she is a werewolf, and I don’t mind Clawdeen being the main character (she was my original favorite, followed by Ghoulia and Cleo, and only usurped by Abbey). :)

I have only seen parts of the leaked live-action movie, but it is giving me Descendants/Lisi Harrison’s MH book series vibes, and neither were up my alley. Although, the songs are very catchy and it looks like the cast was having fun. :) I will miss her Brooklyn accent, but I am also curious to see how her new voice actress takes her character. :D

Starting out with things I like about her design, I like all of her gold earrings (and the several necklaces in the animated picture). I like her wolf nose, more detailed ears, and (hopefully) more textured hair (yes please), although I would have liked more of her dark brown hair instead of all purple/pink. I assume they’re keeping her claws and I hope they’ll keep G2’s molded fur. I hope they keep her doing several sports (the skateboarding is an interesting addition, but it also feels like something Howleen would also LOVE), love of fashion design (taking some art classes), and her drive (taking some business classes and already posting/gaining clout on social media for her fashion illustrations).

When looking at her leaked prototype, it almost looks like she might have some human ears tucked under her hair….I REALLY hope I’m just imagining that though (although, they would help keep her glasses up, haha). 

When it comes to her glasses, I did think it was an odd choice at first, but then again, her older sister has them, and Howleen was released with a pair (in G2….?). My gripe with her glasses are that they are too plain and don’t scream Clawdeen; I feel they needed to be a different lens shape, or in an animal print or a metallic gold. I feel like she would have saved up her money to buy several pairs to go with different outfits and she is meticulous in picking out their designs. It would also be a fun detail if they curved upwards to hook behind her wolf ears to keep them in place. 

I think G2 over did it when it came to her thousand and one younger brother siblings (in the animation), but they overcorrected for G3 by getting rid of all her siblings (Clawd and Howleen especially).

I don’t really like a werewolf being half human. I like Monster High’s werewolves are always in between both forms, and that get more wolf-like on the full moon- like with Clawdeen’s extra speed, strength, and fur/hair growth.  Maybe they could have used this idea to make her (and all werewolves) pass for normies during the New Moon?? I think that would be an interesting conundrum as it feels like she doesn’t fully belong to the monster or human world?? Maybe she can go full wolf mode on the full moon (like how they kinda did in G2). I mean, this would give Mattel the chance to release two/three different versions of Clawdeen.

Also on the topic of Monster vs Human world, I think they should have most of the Monster and Human world act like parallel dimensions -like Paris/Scaris, Hollywood/Hauntlywood- with some parts of the world overlapping/merging- such as New Salem/Salem. These merging points would be perfect for a school -such as Monster High- because they can more easily include some monsters that are usually only found in the “human” world, and monsters that are considered “too human”/used to be human -Hyde’s family, witches, mummies, some zombies and ghosts- to live in the Monster World??? This would make Monster High a school that attracts a ton of different monsters from around the world (lots of different dolls for Mattel to make), conflict with the human world and monster world “purists,” and a reason for it be a more unique school compared to the other schools in the monster high universe. 

Her outfit (what I’ve seen of the animated version), doesn’t look bad, but also looks more like pieces Howleen would wear (like they were a hand-me down from Clawdeen, but personalized with patches and fashionable rips). Honestly a lot of her personality (from what little I have seen) seems a lot closer to Howleen’s too (being new to a school, not knowing where she fits in, finding herself). Maybe Monster High should have had G3 follow Howleen, Twyla, and an aged up Alivia, Lagoona’s sister, and Fangelica…?

I know that this version is not for late twenty something me, but it feels like they are trying to attract REALLY young children (5-10) with this style of animation. It is giving me some Disney Jr. stylization with very bright colors and rounded shapes, instead of being its own thing. I feel like G1 attracted more of a pre-teen/teenager audience (it hooked me and my friends when we were in high school and none of us had been doll collectors previously). 

I mean I liked G1, but all of the different cannons were a mess (I actually prefer Ever After High’s animated series/movie/books a lot more than Monster High’s for this reason), the animation for the animated series and movies was meh, nothing ground breaking (honestly, the only great animation was used in the doll tv ads). However, it was stylized that you knew it was Monster High. It looked like it had its own style, not like it was trying hard to blend in with what was popular. 

G1 seemed to take clothing from the era and “monster-fy” it and heavily personalize it to that character (who all seemed to have their own color pallets and taste in fashion). So far G3 seems to have done a bit of this (Clawdeen’s moons/gold/animal print/fur/purple), but have not “monsterfied” it yet. It looks…too clean…or polished….or bright without any dark colors to offset it….I dunno it’s hard to explain the word for it…like they are all shopping on the same clothing rack at the same store…? Sort of too monogamous…?

I’m not against reboots/retooling, as it can greatly improve things (2017’s Ducktails), and explore different avenues for characters (like TMNT 2012/ROTTMNT, or any of the Batman series - Batman the Animated series/Batman the Brave and the Bold/Lego Batman). 

However, as long as their dolls are articulated, have killer shoes, have plenty of monster details on their bodies (I’m hoping that that Deuce has a few scale details on his body like his cousin Viperine), and their clothes (which I hope are a step up from what Mattel has been giving their current lines of dolls), I think I’ll be alright and will definitely get the core dolls.

Also, Mattel should canonize Clawdeen being a lesbian. She could date a few mansters, but not feel that spark, and find it with a lovely ghoul; bring in that representation!!

Sorry that was a bit ramble-y but I have no one else to talk to about this. Ha!

[ca-cupid]

Bride of Frankenstein Skullector // Irregular Choice ballerina diorama

[dollsinvogue]

Monster High ghostly tea party Ari Hauntington heels » Guo Pei spring 2019 couture

[toychest321]

Anabelle Skullector Doll {🥀} Crystal Chair Bag from Area Fall 2020 Ready-To-Wear Collection

[dollyprescriptions]

- @zombaesforever taking over. Here’s what I see on these drop dead ghouls🧟‍♂️

Insta & TikTok: DollyPrescriptions

[fourth-quartet]

For the ask game (gonna do a little bit of everything):

Personal: 1, 11, 13, 26, 30, 39, 63, 69 (cuz why not?)

Favorites: 72, 83, 85

Family, childhood and places: 101, 102, 105

Friends: 108, 109, 111

Relationships: 127, 129, 149, 153

Music, movies and books: 181, 182, 188, 190

Situations and crazy things: 195, 208, 213

Opinions and beliefs: 219

Feelings and Others: 230, 234, 264, 265

Go nuts!!

Answers below!

1 - How are you? Altogether, I'm doing alright. Today was a very stressful and exhausting day, but I made it through and now I get some time to just relax. 11 - Have you ever dyed your hair? Oh my god, yeah. Until very recently my hair had been consistently dyed since I was about twelve years old. The last time I shaved my head, I decided to let it grow in the way it naturally is (auburn in color) 13 - If you could change your eye color, would you? I wouldn't! I have green eyes and it's one of my favorite things about myself. 26 - Something you are working on right now: Honestly? Taking time for myself and just existing in my body in the present. 30 - What do you think you’re really good at? Writing ^^ 39 - Do you sleep with a stuffed toy? I do! He's a stuffed tiger from Build-A-Bear. 63 - A quote you try to live by: Be Kind. Do good. 69 - Leave me a compliment: I don't want to sound shallow but you're??? really freaking pretty Sass. No kidding, I always get excited when you post a pic because you've got killer makeup and fashion.

72 - What’s your favorite band/singer? Right now, I've been really revisiting my love for Steven Suptic's voice via his music under the SUGR? name. 83 - What is your favorite flower? Daisies~ 85 - What is your favorite season? Autumn!

101 - Where would you like to live? I would honestly love to either be back in the northeast (Boston I miss u) or in the PNW. I have family in Idaho so Washington state would be great (relatively close by but not in Idaho) 102 - What would your dream house be like? This always confuses people, but I actually don't ever want to own a house! I'll be content to rent for the rest of my life. There's something so reassuring to me about the possibility of picking up roots and moving when I want to. 105 - Top three places to visit: I have no idea. I'm so used to road trips with my family that I don't have a list of places I'd love to visit, nor do I have a list that I enjoyed visiting all that much. Always museums though.

108 - Who is someone you never tire of? My darling best friend Kay. 109 - Do you have someone you can be your complete self around? Nope o.o 111 - Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to? Kay, for sure.

127 - What is the first thing you noticed in someone? Fashion sense. 129 - What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for? Hand size 149 - Say five ways to win your heart: parallel play, watching shows with me, check-ins, respecting boundaries, words of encouragement for literally anything 153 - What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you? A guy I knew my senior year of high school realized I never had any food and started bringing me lunch every day because he liked cooking and cooked meals for his family every night.

181 - How often do you listen to music? More than I don't listen to music. 182 - What kind of music you like? It's all over the place. I listen to a lot of kpop (2nd-4th gen), I listen to stuff from the emo/pop punk 00s vibes, I listen to some general indie singer-songwriter stuff, I listen to Broadway. 188 - Put your music player on shuffle and write the first ten songs that play: Shake It Up - Super Junior, U - Super Junior, Gold Dust - Changmin, Beautiful Monster - STAYC, Fallin' Down - DinDin, These Drugs - Sugar Pine 7, Outlaws of Love - Adam Lambert, If the World Only Knew- Joshua Colley, Don't Let Me Know - Smash Cast, Eat Your Young - Hozier 190 - Describe your dream library: Natural lighting, not overwhelming in its presence, little nooks to curl up in and read, options for paper, audio or kindle

195 - If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? There's this book I read when I was a kid called the Westing Game. Turtle has always had a soft spot in my heart. 208 - 5 things within touching distance: My pillow (zebra-striped pillowcase), my switch (lite, salmon colored), my stuffed animal (tiger, Hobi, he/him), my Kugrash plush in my window, my phone 213 - If you met me what would you do? ask for permission to give you a hug!

219 - Do you consider yourself lucky? What’s your good luck charm? I don't! I actually consider myself to be unlucky most of the time ehehehe

230 - Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early? It depends on what the thing is, but I'm actually generally a 'get things done early' type. 234 - Something that you’re proud of: I'm published!! 264 - One thing you’re excited for: My brother and I just got approved for an apartment together and I'm excited to move in with him. 265 - Describe the most terrifying/strangest/beautiful dream you’ve ever had: We had to keep dream journals in one of my fiction classes, so I can actually copy directly from when I had it the first time- "

I’m aware it’s a dream, and that my actions have control over everything else. In some ways, this godly power gives me anxiety; what if I fuck up? What if I hurt someone in my dreams? Will I hurt them in real life? Will they know? 

I stand in a theater, an auditorium, and I look out at the rising seats. Red in color, dark red, bathed in darkness. Outside, somewhere, sirens wail, ascending and descending, growing closer and further, as though the concept of distance doesn’t truly exist. Like they’re driving in circles. Or rather, like the sirens are moving in circles without them; I don’t hear engines. 

I hear birds chirping and whales singing and I can feel their loneliness in my bones, itching, crawling on my skin, and rolling around in my skull, bouncing like a DVD logo. Their loneliness echoes my own isolation in this theater, putting on a show for patrons I cannot see, with a script I do not know. The papers in my hand, appearing as I look, are blank; I need to write my own show on the spot, but if I do not entertain then it will be my own downfall, embarrassment and shame, that are the entertainment for the cruel patrons playing the game."