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ausetkmt · 2 years ago

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Mattel Inc. announced a new Barbie doll with Down syndrome. It was created to give more children an opportunity to see themselves in Barbie, the company said.

Mattel

The first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome was released by Mattel "to allow even more children to see themselves in Barbie," the company said.

"We are proud to introduce a Barbie doll with Down syndrome to better reflect the world around us and further our commitment to celebrating inclusion through play," Lisa McKnight, the executive vice president and global head of Barbie & dolls at Mattel, said in a statement.

In the past, Mattel's Barbie has been criticized for spreading unrealistic beauty standards for the children who play with the doll. In recent years, the company has moved to deviate from that reputation by offering more diverse dolls. It started making Barbie and Ken dolls with wheelchairs, vitiligo, hearing aids, and prosthetic limbs. The company unveiled its "most diverse doll line" in its 2023 Fashionistas lineup, which includes the doll with Down syndrome.

"Our goal is to enable all children to see themselves in Barbie, while also encouraging children to play with dolls who do not look like themselves. Doll play outside of a child's own lived experience can teach understanding and build a greater sense of empathy, leading to a more accepting world," McKnight said.

Barbie worked with the National Down Syndrome Society in order to accurately represent a person with Down syndrome. That included shaping the doll's body to include a shorter frame and longer torso and a round face that features smaller earsand almond-shaped, slanted eyes, the NDSS said in their announcement.

The doll wears a yellow and blue dress with butterflies, all symbols associated with Down syndrome awareness, according to NDSS.

Even the doll's pink necklace has special meaning. Its three upward chevrons are meant to represent "the three copies of the 21st chromosome, which is the genetic material that causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome," according to the organization.

NDSS President and CEO Kandi Pickard said in the group's statement, "This Barbie serves as a reminder that we should never underestimate the power of representation. It is a huge step forward for inclusion and a moment that we are celebrating."

Ellie Goldstein, a British model with Down Syndrome, took to Instagram in a partnership with Mattel to share how important seeing the doll was to her.

"When I saw the doll I felt so emotional, and proud. It means a lot to me that children will be able to play with the doll and learn that everyone is different. I am proud that Barbie chose me to show the dolls to the world," she wrote on Instagram. "Diversity is important as people need to see more people like me out there in the world and not be hidden away, Barbie will help make this happen."

The Barbie doll with Down syndrome will be available at major retailers this summer and fall for $10.99.

#Mattel unveils a Barbie with Down syndrome #mattel #Barbie #Downs syndrome #Ellie Goldstein #Dolls #Inclusive Dolls #NDSS

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fallingprophetically · 2 years ago

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Brahms X Gn!Nanny!Reader Ficlet

MINORS DNI

Warnings:Implied/Referenced Sexual Content, Brahms Gets His Own Warning, Nanny As A Catchall Term

Pairing:Brahms x Reader

Tags:Stalking, Perving, Obsessions, Possessiveness, Controlling, Jealousy, Being Watched, Following Rules, Creepy Doll

Word Count:1,822

Summary:You are Brahms' new nanny and are unaware of the man obsessing over you from inside the walls.

A/N:Fairly certain that this fic is mostly inclusive. I tried to keep the description of the reader as vague as possible, hopefully it worked.

Also, if there is any mistakes please let me know. This is pretty much the first fic or fic adjacent thing I have written and I wrote this when I definitely should have been sleeping. I also put this through Google Docs for spell checking, but that does not really help with wording and such.

~Thanks and enjoy~

You were everything that Brahms could have wanted. You were everything he needed.

You took care of the doll and followed all of the rules to the best of your abilities. There were days where you couldn't be bothered to check the rat traps, but who could blame you, it was a dreary task after all.

That aside, you did everything daily. You'd wake up at roughly the same time every day, then you'd get ready for the day in almost 20 minutes (which included a quick shower, some face care and teeth brushing and getting dressed). After getting yourself presentable for the day, you would go to Brahms' room and ever so gently wake him.

You’d always say something along the lines of "it's time to wake up, Brahmsy" or "time for breakfast little one".

And once you had said that you'd gently pull the covers from the doll and sit it up, then you would place the softest kiss on its forehead before going to the dresser and choosing an outfit for the day. You would make the bed (moving the doll to sit on a nearby chair and placing it back on the bed once it's made) wash the doll's face with a soft cloth and lukewarm water, then you'd dress the doll, brush its hair and take it downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast was Brahms' favourite.

You always made it so fun. You'd choose something healthy and put a sweet spin on it, even if it was something a bit boring like peaches and cream or pancakes and whipping. You'd add a little bit of granola to it or oats, sometimes fresh berries and a very little bit of sugar or cinnamon. You always spoiled Brahms when it came to breakfast, always gave him some kind of sweetness.

He'd begun to imagine that the saccharine things you fed him were little pieces of yourself you were giving to him, little pieces of sugar and candied love with a little bit of a roughness to it. He loved your breakfasts.

When you were done with your breakfast you'd leave the doll's plate in front of it and clean whatever dishes were in the sink, then you'd clean up the breakfast and put it in the fridge and do whatever dishes were left. Then you'd grab the doll and move to the library to start his lessons.

Sometimes you'd start with a poem, sometimes you'd sing him a song.

He preferred the latter.

Your voice sounded as though it were liquid sunlight dripping onto his skin, warm and soft with a small amount of sticky to it, almost like freshly scraped honey. He could listen to you for hours, but you'd stick to the schedule his mother gave you and eventually stop, much to his chagrin.

His least favourite lesson was history. It was repetitive and it annoyed him, but your sap-like voice trapped him into listening. Kept him struggling and yearning for more. Eventually, however, the lessons had to lead into lunch and you’d take the doll back to the kitchen.

The thing that had Brahms smitten by you the most was the fact that you were always talking to the doll, telling it even the tiniest details of stuff, no matter how miniscule most would deem the information. To you it was always important enough to share with Brahms, to talk with him even though you never got a response back.

Brahms was always listening, and watching, from the walls. Everything you did and said imprinted into his brain, tattooed upon his veins and heart. Your words like a life preserver in the black ocean of emptiness that was his soul.

So by lunch, he was dizzy with every essence that was you. Dizzy with need and want, hungering for the feel of your soft delicate skin. Craving to caress every little part of your body, to smooth every pore and imperfection until it was full of him. Until there was no end to him and no start to you.

So by lunch, on most days, he would please himself behind the comfort of his mask and his walls as he watched you fuss over the doll and its lunch. He was always over eager, however, and couldn't last for long. So, instead, he'd continue watching you and listening, sometimes going for another round, most times just appreciating the artistry that was your figure until lunch was over.

After lunch, which usually consisted of sandwiches, you would continue with Brahms' studies. However, once a week on the same day, Malcolm would drop off groceries.

Brahms despised the grocer.

Malcolm always flirted with his nannies, and it pissed Brahms off. Especially since the man always had a way of making the nannies forget their duties and neglect him.

You, however, were different. Unlike with the other nannies, Brahms never had to remind you of your duties, you kept your contact with Malcolm very low and never invited him to stay in the house longer than necessary.

Only on very rare occasions did you entertain Malcolm's flirting, but you never broke any rules when you did. You'd sit on the porch, a tea in your hand and the doll at your side, and you'd just listen to Malcolm. Brahms knew it was because you craved human interaction, but it still made him envious.

The first time you'd gone outside to talk with Malcolm, Brahms threw a tantrum. It was also the first time you were made aware of his presence. You had your suspicions, of course, especially since so many of your things disappeared a bit too frequently.

But actually having your suspicions become true was quite terrifying to you, it even took you a while to recover from that terror. For nearly a full week you stopped talking to the doll, it took you quite some time to actually speak to him once more.

When you did start speaking outside of the lessons once more, you explained to him that you merely craved human interaction. You did understand that he was frightened of being abandoned, so you promised you wouldn’t talk for too long.

So, Brahms agreed.

Other than that, there were few instances of Brahms needing to remind you of your duties to him. The one other time that he threw a huge tantrum was because you'd fed him what you called Mexican food. According to you it's a quite popular quick style of food for when someone doesn't feel like cooking a huge meal. Brahms felt that you needed a bit of a break, as a thank you, but never again. His poor tongue didn't stop burning until the next day.

You learned your lesson, and didn't cook Mexican again, or at least you didn't tell Brahms when you did you just made sure his portions weren't spicy.

Out of all the new little additions you made to his schedule, his favourites were the books you ordered from online. The first one you read to him was a book called Frankenstein.

Brahms, at first, thought it was ridiculous, but by the ending he was heart broken. For he understood the wanting desire of companionship, for him it too was something he wouldn't be able to live without. Or, that was his interpretation of the story, and yours was quite different. According to you it was a common thing for people to have differing interpretations of the story, he found that very interesting.

The other additions happened slowly. Like you singing to him on occasion, or your little walks out in the cold autumn afternoons. Of course you would take the doll with you, but Brahms wouldn't dare leave the house. Instead he'd watch you from a window, still making sure you weren't trying to relinquish your duties and leave him.

After lunch, on normal days anyways, you'd continue with Brahms' studies, which you would finish early. Or atleast earlier than his mother did when she'd help with his studies. This was when you'd read to him, or sometimes sing to him, or go for your walks.

Then came some chores such as cleaning and dusting. You'd keep the doll in the same room as you, and you'd talk its little ears off. After your chores came supper. On colder days you'd make a soup or stew, on nice days some type of pasta or roast. On warmer days, which were infrequent even in the summer, you'd make something quick, just not Mexican.

Once more, you'd do dishes and put away the doll's untouched food. Pretending to not notice that the food from previous mealtimes was gone. Then you'd sit in the lounge and continue reading to the doll before getting it ready for bed. You'd dress it in clean nightclothes, tuck it in and give it a goodnight kiss. Then you would go to your room and prepare yourself for bed.

Sometimes, if Brahms was lucky, you'd shower before bed.

Your shower before bed was your special time. You didn't clean yourself, but you'd stay in there for a while. Soft noises emitting from your mouth as Brahms watched you please yourself, Brahms would please himself at the same time usually. Sometimes he wouldn't, instead opting to save the images for later so he could be a bit louder, and not in such a confined space.

Then you would get out, dress for bed and lay down. Brahms would wait until your breathing became slow and even before leaving the walls. Then he would watch you sleep, all of his worries and anxieties would drift away as he stared at your peaceful face. At times he would gently stroke your hair, or caress your cheek. When you first began as his nanny he was afraid of waking you, but as time went on he became bolder.

Maybe a bit too bold as he never thought he'd look into your eyes as deeply as a lover might. Nor have you actually take in his giant form leaned over you. He never thought he'd ever have to face any of his anxieties or fears of you leaving him, but now you two were face to face. His wild eyes staring down into your own fear filled ones. His face was so close to yours he could smell the shampoo you showered with only moments ago. Slowly, as though you were on the verge of bolting, he brought his hand up to your face.

Unsure about him nor his intentions you slightly flinch which causes him to pause momentarily, which lasts a mere second as his hand is lightly placed upon your cheek and his thumb begins to softly caressing your lips. He leans in closer to you, enough that you could hear his heavy breaths right next to your ear. In a child's voice, one you've heard only a few times before, he whispers into your ear.

"My pretty songbird"

Quick little author's note: I SWEAR TO GOD IF I HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN AND MALCOLM STEALING BRAHMS' NANNIES ONE MORE DAMN TIME I AM GOING TO COMMIT GRAND LARCENY. TWICE. TWICE. I PRESSED THE BACK BUTTON AND DID NOT SAVE. TWO DAMN TIMES. NEXT TIME I WRITE I AM DOING IT IN GOOGLE DOCS. ONE HOUR WORTH OF WRITING, GONE. FML. (Just a lil fyi, it is because of my own stupidity that I am struggling with Tumblr)

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