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sleepytoycollection · 4 months ago

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Barbie Dream Besties "Brooklyn": A review

Barbie Dream Besties is a newly released doll line by Mattel, and is a spin off of their main Barbie line. Looks wise, they seem to be a spiritual successor to My Scene, Ever After high, and the more recent Barbie Extra/Barbie Extra Minis. Also trying desperately to compete with LOL and Rainbow High.

They are $20 USD each retail.

I was interested in these for three reasons: 1) I liked Ever After High and My Scene. 2) They have much more quality outfits than I tend to see from modern Barbie. 3) @queenofsquids enjoyment of them made me hopeful I'd like them too.

So do I? Let's find out.

I choose the character Brooklyn as I like her face up the best.

Her packaging is the standard plastic clam shell that seems to be all over the doll aisle anymore. I can't say I love it. I miss the cardboard boxes, so much easier to open and so much less plastic.

This box isn't super great aesthetically either. There's a lot going on in the service of nothing.

Which is a shame, because I do really like the actual character art on the box. It's super cute and matches the dolls really well. It would pop even better if the rest of the box was a smidge simpler. Sometimes less is more.

The back of the box.

We get more of this delightful artwork, showing of the full set of characters available at the moment.

We also get a short character bio for Brooklyn. She wants to be a choreographer, loves making dance routines, video editing, and creative writing. Despite her favorite color being listed as pink, she has no pink in her outfit and only one pink accessory.

Here is the box without the cover. This is what I meant when I said the box design was doing a lot for nothing. Over packaging isn't just a problem with Mattel dolls of course, MGA is arguably worse, but it's still frustrating.

Brooklyn herself is very pretty though. I tried very hard to pick one without a wonky face, but the way she's posed makes it very hard to tell.

I think one of her eyes is slightly bigger than the other. It's not enough to bother me at least. That said, so many of these were VERY wonky at the store. I would not buy these online unless you can see the specific doll you're getting. The QC is all over the place.

Here are all the accessories she comes with.

I do appreciate that all her accessories tie into her interests and character. That said, these are hit and miss.

The purse is nice, and does open.

The dog is okay, but I don't really care for these types of doll pets. It looks more like an in-universe toy than what's supposed to be an animal.

I initially liked that the phone and case were separate, until I tried to put the phone in the case and it didn't fit. It will not go in there. If I force it in, it just pops right back out.

It's a shame because I liked the 80's Barbie logo case, but without the phone in it, it looks weird when the doll is holding it.

At least the phone fits into the ring light stand.

May I also say some of these accessories feel really flimsy? The phone and Ipad are VERY thin plastic.

The boom box in hollow and unpainted.

I wish instead of having seven mid accessories we could've had two or three really good ones. Or nixed all of them and given her a stand. The doll herself is nice enough to deserve a stand I think.

Let's look at Brooklyn. She's pretty darn cute. She stands at the standard 11", and has saran hair with tinsel.

Her outfit isn't my favorite though. Mattel stop giving your dolls ugly fur sleeved varsity jackets challenge. This could've been so cute as just a regular varsity jacket.

Despite being ugly, the jacket is made pretty well. Though a button was already falling off mine. That poor QC strikes again.

Though I suppose it's moot as I doubt I'll ever put this jacket back on her ever again.

Now that she's free of that ugly thing, you can see how nice the rest of her outfit is. I didn't realize how much I missed dolls getting to wear neutrals until I saw her plain denim skirt and white tank top.

It's simple, but she's dressed like a real person. Plus, I can easily pair these pieces with a lot of other outfits. Doll wardrobes need pieces like this for mixing and matching.

Body wise she's a bit smaller than Barbie, and her feet are a little bit larger. This body reminds me a lot of the current bodies for the Disney Princess line now that Mattel has it back, though those have larger feet. If I can find the one I have, I'll do a body comparison to those later.

Her sculpt in three views. The Ever After High comparisons are very apt, though the screening itself is more reminiscent of My Scene mixed with a little bit of G3 Monster High.

For comparison, here's an actual EAH doll next to her. Brooklyn's head is just a smidge larger, but balanced out better with larger eyes, thicker brows, and bigger lips.

After this, I got Brooklyn redressed with just a few changes...

I replaced her jacket with this vintage Barbie and the Rockers one, added a necklace, and hey! Now she gets to wear her favorite color.

Final thoughts?

It's a good doll, but the quality control issues, on top of the same BS Mattel throws on all of it's dolls anymore, is dragging it down.

The fact you have to look through every single one of the shelf to make sure you're not getting a crappy one is exhausting. Plus, kids don't do that. They're going to get home with their new doll and then realize as they open it something's wrong. Kids don't deserve that.

The accessories are mostly cheap and not special enough to justify their existence. The purse, phone with case, and ring light would've been enough if they were made a bit better.

The outfit is well made, and a huge improvement over what I see in the main Barbie line, even if I don't like all the design choices, but again, that's if you get one without QC issues.

The doll herself is super cute though, and screw it, I like the tinsel. Fight me.

Overall I really love this doll, I just wish picking one out wasn't a hassle. Hell, I even bought a second one already.

I got inspired enough I wanted to repaint one, so I purposely bought this wonky Renee because she had the worst face up out of everyone at the store.

So I think there's definitely potential here. If this line continues, I hope they can improve the way G3 Monster High has improved from it's first wave.

I hope this can be the start of Mattel revitalizing it's Barbie line as well. It needs it. See ya next time.

#barbie dream besties #barbie brooklyn #dolls #doll review #barbie fandom

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r0seb100d · 2 months ago

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Dallas Winston x reader hiding at the abandoned church ⛪️🤍

Fem reader

Warnings: slight mention of abuse.

When Ponyboy and Johnny carefully nudged the creaky, splintered door of the abandoned church on Jay Mountain, where Dally had instructed them to hide, the last thing either of them could have expected to find was a delicate, feminine body, huddled like a small bunny on one of the pews.

Her lightly curled raven tresses had tumbled past her creamy right shoulder, which poked out from the farm sack she had wrapped around herself, desperately seeking warmth.

The boys' eyes widened as they both took a step back in shock.

"Is she dead?"

Pony asked as both boys backed away in uncertainty. Pony accidentally bashed into the wall, causing a loud thud to echo through the church's almost empty halls. Johnny's head snapped towards his, narrowing his eyes slightly, but soon both of their gazes were averted back to the girl, who was now shifting in her place, clearly waking up.

As she sat up slowly and let out a quiet yawn, the sack had slid off her shoulders, revealing the silky, white lace-trimmed dress she had on, slightly stained with mud and dust. Upon noticing the boys, she scrambled off the bench in haste, panic clearly written upon her flushed face.

"I'm sorry, l'lI be goin', just please leave me alone."

Johnny swiftly interrupted her.

"I-It's okay; we ain't going to hurt ya. I'm Johnny, Johnny Cade and this is Ponyboy Curtis."

Johnny figured there was no danger in telling her their names; there was no way anyone here would have heard of the news yet, especially not alone in this church.

She stopped in her tracks and stared intensely at them both, digging the heels of her mary janes into the blanket of dust and rubble.

Realising that they really weren't going to cause her any harm, she let out a gentle smile framed by the dimples in her cheeks.

Both boys smiled back at her, and the three of them stood somewhat uncomfortably in the decaying church, unsure of what to do next.

"What are you doin' here if you don't mind me asking?" Pony asked, chewing on his bottom lip.

The girl stood still for a few seconds, almost as if she were unsure of what to say, then cleared her throat.

"Um, well, I'm actually hiding. Or just looking for a place to sleep really. It's a long story. Oh, and my name is y/n" She peered down at her shoes.

Johnny smiled warmly at her.

"S'okay y/n. We sort of are too; it's also a long story.

"Well, I suppose we've got hours to kill if you guys are stayin' here."

The boys filled her in on all the chaos that had ensued in the past 24 hours, and though her sweet face twisted into concern for them, she was also slightly grateful that she had found some company that also had some troubles. It made her feel less alone, and maybe, maybe they could even become friends.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

As the evening chill settled in, y/n rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself up, feeling the strawberry skin beneath her fingers. Pony noticed her slight shiver and, deciding to be gentlemanly, pulled off Dallas' brown leather jacket from around his waist and held it out to her.

"Here. You must be pretty cold in just that dress."

"Oh, thank you."

She was touched by the kind act and quickly took shelter in the comfort of the jacket that smelt faintly of tobacco and cologne.

"S'alright, it belongs to a friend of mine; he gave it to me right before we ran away. His name is Dallas; he kinda scares me a little, but he's a cool guy really. Tough too. You should meet him."

She smiled meekly at him and nodded.

"Yeah maybe. Then I can thank him for this."

She let out a slight laugh, fiddling with the worn ends of the sleeves that her arms drowned in.

"So what led you here?" Johnny enquired.

That was a good question. The events that had led here were more than ugly, but if Johnny and Pony could trust her and share what happened to them, she could trust them too. A shaky breath rattled from her chest, and her eyes glazed over slightly.

"My father, he's- he's, um, a pretty shitty person, and he only got worse after my mom died two years ago, beating me around and all that. And about 3 days ago, he just lost it."

Her voice trembled, and she fixated her eyes on the broken window, the jagged glass a painful reminder.

"He threatened to kill me; he had me in one hand and a shard of glass in the other. I escaped obviously, but I had no where to go, and god I'm just so screwed up."

By now, her voice and completely broken and hot tears were streaming down her face. She struggled to swallow the sobs that wracked through her body, and Johnny gently reached for her shoulder.

"It's okay now. We're safe here. Dal said so. And if it makes ya feel any better, my parents are pretty shitty too, and Pony lost his last year; you're not screwed up, just unfortunate. Dally should be up here soon, and if you'd like, I'm sure he'd know what to do."

"Thanks." She sniffled "I'm really lucky it was you guys who came in here and not some psycho. Guess I'm not too unfortunate."

Y/n leaned in and hugged them both, feeling a little bit safer with her newfound friends.

The three of them soon dozed off, all exhausted.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

When Dallas carefully nudged the creaky, splintered door of the abandoned church on Jay Mountain, where he had instructed Pony and Johnny to hide, the last thing he could have expected to find was the both of his friends laying next to a delicate, feminine body, huddled like a small bunny on one of the pews.

"What the-" He muttered quietly to himself before silently treading over to the trio, wanting to get a closer look while being wary not to wake them up. Where on earth had she come from? Who was she? Why was she here?

Glancing down at her sleeping face, Dallas could have sworn that his heart stopped. She was beautiful, angelic even. With her dark hair and pale skin with a twinge of pink on her cheeks, he couldn't help but stare. He then noticed that she was wrapped up in his jacket, and god did the sight do something to him.

Shaking those thoughts away, Dallas gently smacked the boys on their heads to wake them up.

"Man, you know, I must've really underestimated you guys. You've been here for what? Around 24 hours, and you've already managed to pick yourselves up a broad. Maybe runnin' away was all you needed." He teased with a wide grin plastered on his face. Better to focus on teasing them, or else his mind would surely stray to the third figure on the bench.

"Oh, shut it Dal. She's hidin' here too; we found her here when we first arrived. Her old man is a real asshole, threatened to kill her and everything. We figured you'd know what to do." Johnny rambled, looking to Pony for assurance.

"You guys have got to be shittin' me." Dallas took a deep puff from his cigarette, his brows tightly knit together. Though the thought of her being hurt that way made his stomach twist in a way he didn't want to admit, Dallas wasn't sure if he was willing to help a total stranger.

But god, just one glance back at her peaceful sleeping face already had him whipped. He was just a man after all, and she was a pretty girl.

With the boys deep in discussion, they hadn't noticed that she was now wide awake looking at them. She had realised that there was another guy with them. Another guy who was much taller, older, and rougher looking. He was gorgeous, and she felt nervous just sitting there in an old, soiled dress. When he turned to face her, both of their eyes widened and their hearts raced.

"Hi." The word sounded so silly, spilling out from her mouth. Why was she so nervous? She had only just met him.

"Hey doll." He had a faint New York accent with a husky voice, and the nickname made her head spin.

"Are you Dallas?"

"Yeah, Dallas, Dallas Winston, but call me Dally; Dallas reminds me of what the fuzz calls me."

"Nice to meet you, Dally; I'm y/n. Oh, and thanks for the jacket; Pony lent it to me." She shrugged it off and went to hand it to him, but he waved his ring-clad hand at her.

"Nah, keep it. It looks better on you." Her cheeks flushed at his comment, and he couldn't help but find her flustered state cute.

"So I heard you need a place to stay." He took another drag of his cigarette.

"Yeah, something like that."

Sure, she was shy normally and had never been anything close to a social butterfly, but a two-minute interaction with Dallas had made her feel dizzy.

"I got a place you can stay; nothin fancy, but it's a place."

"I'd appreciate anything; thanks, Dally." His stomach twisted when she said his name.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

After hugging Johnny and Ponyboy goodbye and wishing them good luck, she followed Dallas out to a cherry-red T-bird parked outside of the church.

"Belongs to a friend of mine." Dallas told her and opened the passenger door to let her in.

“It’s nice.” He hummed in agreement.

The car was soon making its way back to Tulsa, and Dallas would be lying if he said he wasn’t being unusually careful with his driving, mindful of the girl in the passenger seat, not wanting to startle her.

God only knows why he was acting this way—so strangely soft and careful around someone he had just met—it felt so painfully unfamiliar yet natural all at once. It scared him.

She was absentmindedly tapping her fingers on the window sill, matching the tempo of the rock songs that played on the radio, her bare legs tucked underneath her on the leather seats.

What Dallas didn’t know, however, is that she was thinking of him too. Thinking of the way his hands gripped the steering wheel with recklessness yet also calculated precision. The way his hair was blowing with the wind that snuck through the crack of the open window, only a few strands framing his face, which had a gold hue to it from the early morning sun. He was rough. He had sharp edges, and it was obvious he had seen things that most could only dream of ever seeing, but in this moment, in the crimson car, he looked nothing short of angelic.

Wherever he ended up taking her, she hoped to see him again, talk to him, get to know him with all his roughness, and for him to know her with all her gentleness and cruel past. For them to know each other.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

౨ৎ 1.8k words. Might do a part 2! ౨ৎ

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