#i remember my first bratz doll

[areyouwho-ithinkyouare]

it’s taking every ounce of financial responsibility i have to not buy the bratz alwayz dolls like i haven’t OWNED a doll of any variety since i was like 9 but they are calling to the nine year old bratz-obsessed version of me who still lives in my head

[evansbby]

You guys I’m posting so many polls to get my engagement up but it’s not like how it used to be before 😂😭😂😂 ever since even before March when i took that month long break for Ramadan, my notifs were so dry n dead and it’s just not how it was before and i wish i could go back in time when everything was lit and fun but i just don’t know what happened it’s like everyone tuned out and then when i took that break, even more people tuned out and no one came back 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[grave-st0ned]

scrolling on the dollblr tag (mostly bratz rn bc i just bought some) and looking back at how i had dolls as a kid it makes a lot of sense that i collect

[luvsfootball]

not much of a girlfriend - jamal musiala.

requested by - anon.

request - holaa again hehehe could you write one for jamal like enemys to lovers??

your brother and jamal were childhood friends, so you were rather familiar with the young german boy.

when you first met, you were twelve and they were fourteen. you still played with barbies and bratz dolls and they made fun of you for it.

you remembered crying to your mother about how mean they were and she told you that ‘boys will be boys’.

growing up, you tried to avoid jamal but it was quite hard to when he was constantly sleeping over at your house and even being invited to family meals.

something inside of you desperately wanted jamal to just treat you with respect, and you didn’t know that’s what he felt too.

he was at your house tonight, eating in the kitchen when you went in to get your dinner. your brother was laughing at your makeup and you ignored him, something that took all of your might.

“will you both move?” you hissed, pushing past them to open the oven and take out your food. when you moved past to go upstairs, your brother stopped you.

“you can’t take that up to your room.”

“i’ll do what i want,” you replied, sticking your finger up and slamming the door shut.

hours went by and you headed downstairs to go for your date with one of your classmates when jamal came into the hallway.

“where are you going dressed like that?”

“like what?”

he didn’t say anything but when he raked his eyes up and down your body, you suddenly felt very self-conscious.

you knew deep down that jamal would never judge you but you couldn’t be so sure of that.

“nothing.”

your brother came out of the living room at the sound of your voice and furrowed his eyebrows. “where are you going?”

“out for a bit with kenzie.”

he seemed to buy the lie but before you could sneak out the front door and get to your date, e stopped you. “wait, jamal can give you a lift.”

immediately, you shouted, “no!” but your brother didn’t like the word no. “she literally lives down the road from jamal, he won’t mind.”

jamal shook his head, a silent agreement that he’d take you but you had to try and get out of it. sittinng in a car with him was the last thing you wanted, and you weren’t even going to kenzie’s.

“we’re actually going out for dinner, hence my outfit.”

“well where is it? i don’t mind, honestly.”

something inside of you was suspicious. why was jamal offering to drive you somewhere? you hated each other. or was it just you who hated him?

+

“it’s the next left.”

he hummed in response, using his indicator to turn around the corner. “this is a bit fancy for you and kenzie.”

for some reason, your throat went dry. why were you so nervous?

you chose not to respond and when he pulled up, you nearly ducked when you saw your date already waiting outside the restaurant. you knew for a fact jamal wasn’t going to leave until he saw you get inside.

“just around the back will be fine.”

“but there’s a parking spot here.”

“park around the back!”

he rolled his eyes at your little outburst but listened and drove around the side, turning his engine off. “could at least say thanks,” he murmured.

“thanks,” you whispered, shutting the car door and looking back a couple of times before walking up to your date as if nothing happened.

your date, ben, smiled when you showed up and he sideways hugged you rather awkwardly before saying, “i thought you weren’t going to come.”

“sorry, traffic was bad. do you want to go inside?”

his eyebrows furrowed at how hurried you were being but he trailed after you nether the less. you turned your head to see if his car was gone.

then you saw it.

jamal was driving past extremely slow, jaw visibly clenched at the sight of you and ben. you were scared he was going to tell your brother because he’d ask a million questions.

but you didn’t want the date to go wrong so you went inside and played everything cool.

+

‘nice date?’

the text message came as a shock and you werw busy drying your hair after a shower when it came through.

‘my love life has nothing to do with you.’

as you awaited a response, drying your hair became the least of your worries. jamal was with your brother downstairs right now.

honestly, you were shocked that he hadn’t already told him.

‘i wouldn’t call it love after one date.’

‘you probably can’t even get a date, jamal.’

downstairs, jamal didn’t understand why his heart fluttered at you using his actual name. it was always ‘musiala’ or ‘idiot’.

he didn’t respond after that and you resumed drying your hair whilst thinking back to the date. ben was really nice but you weren’t sure whether anything was going to happen.

a knock on your door made you finally move from your desk and you nearly slammed it shut when you saw jamal on the other side.

“what?”

“your brother’s gone to get some food.”

“so?”

he smiled a little before handing you a controller. “i need someone to play with while he’s gone.”

“and why should i?”

“you’ll get to rub it in his face when you beat his score. and you might even get to beat me.”

it sounded like a good deal, so you put your slippers on and trailed downstairs, flopping down onto the couch. “you’re so getting destroyed,” you snickered.

jamal rolled his eyes as he unpaused the game.

it ended with you both drawing and you were already demanding a replay.

“how was your date?”

you frowned at how he said the last word. “it was good. not sure about him though.”

“i think you need someone that matches you.”

scoffing, you turned to face him. “you think you’re such an expert on love.”

“i’m better than you at it!”

“when was the last time you even went on a date?”

his cheeks flushed red as he thought back and suddenly became very embarrassed. jamal hadn’t been on a date with anyone in about a year.

“when was the last time you had a boyfriend?”

“probably after you had a-”

you were cut off by his lips connecting with your own and your eyes widened in surprise. at first you didn’t kiss back, but you thought ‘fuck it’.

it was now a heated makeout and before it could go any further, you could both hear the key in the lock turn and you both pulled apart, moving far away from each other to not make it obvious.

“what are you doing down here?”

you discreetly wiped your lips before turning to your brother. “beating your top score.”

jumping off the couch, you passed him the controller and took the food to the kitchen to plate out.

you didn’t notice jamal’s eyes following your body and when you turned, he was facing the screen.

almost as if nothing happened.

[allureasdiary]

Hi darlings,

I'm @msallurea this is my secondary blog, I'm aiming to have my primary one strictly focused on manifestation. This blog I'm dedicating to all things girly and femininity. This is meant to help me be more organized since I don't want 1000+ things all in one blog it makes it a little fonfysing for me. The main things this blog will cover are:

🎀Beauty

🎀Femininity

🎀Womanhood/Sisterhood

🎀Girly content/My girly side

🎀Mood boards

🎀Fashion

🎀Makeup

🎀Self-Care

🎀Bimbo content

🎀Girly manifesting (mostly scripts)

🎀My personal femininity/dream girl journey

Though this blog is mainly for the girlies, in the near future I'm hoping guys can also feel attracted to my blog as well to learn ways to care for themselves as well. Anyways that's all I hope you all love this just as much as I do.

🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸

🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸💋🌸

Allurea's Profile

💋Zodiac: Virgo 🌞, Cancer ⬆️, Aries 🌙

💋Likes: pink & purple, astrology, manifesting, soft sweets like Donuts, pinterest, decorating, creative writing/journaling, baking, dolls, poetry, love letters, makeup, fashion, music, princess tiaras, dolls, early 2000s-2010s, strawberry poundcake, gourmand scents/sweet notes, cherry blossoms/Sakurai, Magnolias, cheetah and leopard print, fur coats, hello kitty, mocha sanrio, bunnies, butterflies, Chinese food, Lipgloss>>Lipstick

💋Fav movies: Twilight movies, Bratz(all of them), Jennifer's Body, Mean girls, cheetah girls, Cinderella(all the movies), Princess and the frog, Bambi, Dreamgirls, Care-bears "The sugar plum fairy and the nutcracker", Mr. And Mrs. Smith

💋Fav shows: Bratz, Winx fairies, Care-bears, Strawberry Shortcake, barbie (technically they movies but yall know)

💋 My fav blogs that inspired me to even wanna make this separate blog in the first place are people like @dreamgrlarchive @kittysdiary @sugarybisous @pinksugardollz @prettyvixenavenue @blackmalibubarbie @babyphat05 @bootobeneficiary @2pretty @thevirgodoll and many more!! All these blogs are literally so sweet and so special in there own unique way and they are all very helpful to become your best dolly dream girl, despite me knowing loa I still want to feel at my best self and these blogs are the epitome of feeling absolutely surreal literally just for existing 😭 so shout out to them.

💋That's all for now, please enjoy remember to be nice being mean is ugly and we don't do uglies over here

[theebubblegumbitch]

i have been thirsting, extremely dehydrated beyond repair for the past three days now bc of Chad Meeks Martin. i beg of you, i need more content, he’s just.. so pretty.

hi hi so if it’s not too much to ask, perhaps could i request a fic where the reader is more so friends with Tara and Mindy since she’s a bit more shy and they invite reader over for the movie night and that’s when she meets Chad?? and he’s being his usual beautiful and charming self and she’s just overwhelmed and flustered

xtra brownie points if they give off bratz doll gf x himbo jock bf pls 🥺🫶🏽💞 i love your fics, your writing is inspiring tbh ahsjwjd

Girl's Night Interruptions~

Chad Meeks Martin x fem!reader

Request: ahhhhh you’re a GENIUS bunny!! I love this idea!! also i’m so happy to hear that my writing inspires you! ngl that almost made me cry- anyway I hope you love it gorg <333

Synopsis: At first you were reluctant, but when your two closest (and only) friends Tara and Mindy convince you to come to a movie night, you realize sometimes meeting new people is a good thing…

Warnings: none really since this is basically just fluff, use of profanity, Chad being an absolute himbo, reader being a flustered mess!

Series: Pt.1 , Pt.2

You weren't really sure why you agreed to this. You had told Mindy and Tara time and time again that you didn't really like the idea of parties, or gatherings, or anything of the such. It's not that you were super anti-social, you just- had problems starting conversation is all. Which is why the only friends you had made all of freshman year were Mindy and Tara, who were really good at easing you out of your tiny little comfort zone. Today that came in the form of convincing you to join them for a movie night. They promised it would be super chill and fun, the perfect girl's night to end the year off! So of course, you accepted.

You were now all about halfway through the first movie on the list, Legally Blonde, which was one of your favorites. All three of you quickly ran out of popcorn to share, prompting Mindy to get up to refill the bowl. "I'll be right back guys, pause it please!" Mindy had called out on her way to the kitchen. You were now left with just Tara, who quickly filled the silence by asking you questions. "Soooo how's your college love life been going so far? Had any steamy hookups?" She asked with a laugh as she nudged your arm. You felt your face get warm quick. "Cmon Tara, you know I don't like talking about that stuff." You said casually, not really mad at her for asking. "I know, I know, I was just curious." Just as Tara said that you heard Mindy walking back into the living room, and it sounded like she was talking to someone. "NO Chad, I already told you it's a girl's night. That means you can't join." Mindy had now taken her place sitting next to Tara again, leaving who you assumed was Chad standing in front of the couch.

Did Mindy have a brother? You didn't remember her ever mentioning him. "Cmon please, you know I'm not gonna bother y'all I just wanna watch the movie!" He was looking directly at Mindy as he gestured to the still paused TV, his request being promptly ignored. "You want to watch Legally Blonde? Really Chad?" Tara was questioning him, not fully believing his motive for joining the three of you. "Yes okay? It's one of my favorites I have like half of it memorized." Mindy scoffed at that, but from the look on her and Chad's faces you could tell it was probably true. "It's still a no Chad." He didn't seem to like that answer, continuing to practically plead Mindy to join in. "Ya know what fuck this, I'm watching it." And just like that he plopped down on the couch, right next to you. It was a fairly small couch and even just the three of you had barely any wiggle room, but with the addition of Chad you were definitely squeezed together. Chad didn't seem to mind though, quickly settling in and draping his arm over the back of the couch. Mindy, feeling defeated, grabbed the remote with a sigh as she accepted the crashing of girl's night.

"Fine, I guess you're staying..." She rolled her eyes at him, and he only grinned back. "Thanks, sis!" It was only now that he realized he was sitting next to a completely random girl as he raised his eyebrows at you. "OH I'm sorry, have we met before?" He asked, hoping the answer was no so he didn't have to be embarrassed. "Oh right, no you haven't. Chad this is our friend Y/N; Y/N, this is my idiot brother Chad!" Mindy quickly answered Chad's question, being sure to emphasize the word idiot. "Well thank you Mindy for that, charming- introduction, but I was asking Y/N, not you." He gestured to you as he said your name, now making direct eye contact with you. He was probably waiting for you to say something, considering you had been silent thus far. "O-oh yea I'm Y/N and uh Mindy never mentioned she had a brother." You stuttered out, hoping you didn't offend him in the process.

"Oh she didn't huh? Well now you know!" He said as he shot Mindy a glare and then you a grin. "Anyway it's lovely to meet you, and don't listen to Mindy about me being dumb okay? What I lack in brains, I make up for with Hobbs and Shaw here." Chad flexed each of his arms as he said that, and you now realized how attractive he was. Your felt your face get warm again, now hyper aware of how close the two of you were sitting. "Ah yes classic Chad, flex your muscles within the first five minutes of meeting a girl." Tara had said snarkily, perhaps hoping to annoy him into leaving the three of you be. "Hey they're my greatest accomplishment okay! Plus I'm sure she doesn't mind, do you?" Oh you definitely didn't mind. "N-No it's fine I don't mind." You were sure your voice sounded shaky as hell as you spoke. The longer this gorgeous man was next to you, the more flustered you got. So much for a peaceful girl's night...

Some time had passed as the four of you watched the movie in what was mostly silence, besides the occasional comment Chad had made on Elle Woods being a "girlboss" and Mindy having something snide to say in return. Their dynamic made you glad you were an only child. You had now reached the scene where Elle Woods figured out that it was actually the daughter who had killed her dad. You loved this scene, and you had the monologue memorized since you were a little girl. You quickly went to match Elle word for word. You didn't even notice that Chad had gotten excited about the scene too. "...at the risk of deactivating the amonium thyglocilate!" You had both said, or rather yelled it, at the TV in perfect unison. You saw Mindy and Tara's heads snap to the both of you in shock. "I guess he really does like the movie..." Tara said as she grabbed another handful of popcorn. "I told you it's one of my favorites!" Chad said before turning his eyes back to the screen. The shared moment between you two made you feel more at ease, so you went to agree with him.

"Yea it's mine too." You were still pretty soft spoken, but at least you had found some more confidence. You had also found hunger. "Hey Tara, can you pass me the popcorn." She swiftly handed it to you and you set in your lap, going to grab a handful. Just as your hand reached the inside of the bowl, you felt Chad's hand bump against yours as he also went to grab popcorn. It was brief, but his hands were so pretty and soft that you felt like you would remember those two seconds for the rest of your life. You were basically gawking down at the popcorn bowl now, hand still in it. "Oh, sorry." Chad said, muffled through his mouthful of popcorn. God he was so cute."Oh it's fine, don't worry about it." You said as quickly as possible, avoiding looking directly at him. He only shrugged as his attention went back to the movie. It was only silent for maybe ten minutes before Chad spoke again.

"Okay it is literally so hot in here. Is the AC broken or something?" Chad asked as he looked towards Mindy. "Yea it stopped working like two days ago, I have to call and have it fixed." Mindy replied, still not taking her eyes off of the movie. "Well it's like unbearable, I don't know how y'all are wearing jeans." He gestured towards you and Tara as he said that. You didn't realize it was hot, you probably thought it was just him. But to be fair you were wearing your favorite bell bottoms and your thin pink tank-top with a black star in the middle. So it wasn't a very warm outfit to begin with. While you were busy reflecting on your clothing choices Chad had found time to stand up in front of the couch. And now he was taking his shirt off...

You thought you were going to pass out. "Cmon seriously Chad! Do you have to find every excuse to take your shirt off?" Mindy yelled out at him. "What I'm hot okay! Leave me be." He sure was hot. Way too hot... You almost wished it was just you and him so- "Hey! You okay there? You were kinda staring off." Chad said as he waved his hands in front of your face. Oh shit. You were staring, and everyone had definitely noticed now... "Oh my god Y/N! Were you staring at Chad's abs?" Tara asked in an almost squeely voice. You wanted the ground to swallow you, mainly because she was right. "What no! I was staring at the movie!"

You rushed to defend yourself, hoping it was believable enough of an excuse. Chad wasn't buying it though. "It's okay if you were I totally get it, I would stare at me too." You were definitely blushing now. Mindy once again rolled her eyes at Chad's comment, causing them to exchange another death glare, which gave you time to change the topic. "Anyway, we should probably keep watching the movie." Chad jumped a little as you said that, realizing he was missing it and going to sit back down next to you. You now realized what Chad meant by it being hot. You only hoped you weren't sweating from the intense shared proximity.

The rest of the movie went well, although there was one moment where Chad went to adjust next to you, spreading his legs open just a little wider so that he was touching yours. You swore you almost passed out. Finally the credits rolled and Chad stood up to start clapping, it was kinda cute. "Wooooo great movie! Gets better every time!" Chad yelled as he turned to face the three of you. "Yea whatever Chad, you done bothering us now?" Mindy asked as she also stood up with now once again empty popcorn bowl in hand. "Yes in fact I am, I will leave you ladies to the rest of your girl's night." Chad said as he grabbed his shirt off of the coffee table. He went to walk back to his room before stopping to lock eyes with you. "And hopefully I'll see you again later Y/N." He said with a wink that hopefully Mindy and Tara didn't catch.

Oh yeah. You would definitely be seeing him again.

A/N: ahhhhhhh I love this one so much! i hope i did the prompt justice even though i struggled with the Bratz vibes thing. also i feel like i could totally turn this into a series if y'all wanted, just say the word! Happy reading my gorgeous babes!

-With love, Miss Grace<33

[secretagentsloveblogs]

all i do is think about my honey oc 25/8 so have some aimless rambling about my favorite OC listener: Mara, aka Honey!

IMPORTANT: I will not apologize for having flawed characters. Mara is a purposefully flawed character who has made mistakes and will continue to do so. Firstly, for the purposes of the disclaimer: just because I write my character this way doesn't mean I condone or support their behavior. Secondly, it's a fictional setting, with fictional people. None of the events actually happened, it's just supposed to make you go "oooo. hmm. 🤔" and "ahhh. i see. 😲"

cw: [mentions of transphobia][cheating][cancer mention][chronic illness]

Mara is a 28 year old trans woman from Missouri. Her familial relationships are strained since coming out, but she keeps up with her mom, Heather, and brother, Zachary. She's still waiting to hear back from Richard, her father.

She's an astronomer, and she met Guy during a group project meetup when they ordered Max's Rustic Pizza delivery. She paid for the pizza and tipped the Pizza GuyTM $9.03, because this nerd wanted to remember the day she met her future lover. (They met 9/03/20 - #fanon) Oh, she also wrote her number on the back of the receipt, with her name signed with two stars for A's).

Speaking of stars, she has covered every room and place she's ever lived in with glow in the dark stars. It doesn't matter that she's an adult now, she will forever be the little astronaut with her head in the clouds.

Though her love of stars may be extraordinary, she also loves to collect animal bones. If Mara wasn't an astronomer, she would probably be a taxidermist.

In 2018, Mara was diagnosed with HIV. *this is crucial to her backstory and requires a deep dive*

One of her coworkers, Pamela, gifted her a 14 year old plant, a monstera albo, who's been named Big Boss. She 'inherited' the plant when Pamela was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

If Mara hadn't transitioned, she is convinced she would have been recruited into the US military. (smth internalized transphobia and being recruited to feel needed in an unwelcoming society)

Tucked deep in the back of Mara's closet exists a closed storage bin, and inside it are the barbies, bratz dolls, littlest pet shops, and all the other small girls' toys she had stolen as a child. She wants to donate them to another little girl like her one day, but is still trying to process the love and guilt she has for the toys she had to take in order to experience 'girlhood.'

Based on Guy's first audio on the channel, Mara calls Guy 'stupid boy', but it's in a lighthearted, affectionate way. (it's fine because he's HER stupidest boy<3)

She created an art piece that reads "dream big, eat well, & fuck loud" and its one of her favorite pieces ever.

Mara doesn't let anyone but herself or Guy cut her hair. this is an autism related thing AND a trans related thing. don't look at me like that, go ask her about it.

Her and Guy get stoned on the weekends and play dress to impress. i will not elaborate how that goes. (jk i will, one day)

Mara is close friends with Geordi, and they helped each other both at the height of their relationship issues. She listened to Geordi talk extensively about his privacy issues (which is ironic all things considered but anyways) with Cutie, and he served as a listener/yapper when she opened up to him about-

Oops! This level of knowledge is locked. The information behind this door requires The Key of Interest to enter. [translation: i need to finish writing the extensive lore for these characters but i also need people to understand nuance and flawed characters before i share the backstory].

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

Jesus fucking Christ I fucking hate "The Doll Community" especially Monster High and g3 monster high, I really do...

I was just watching a video of this big name doll youtuber reporting on doll news, as they do, and they were covering the new Beetlejuice Skullector Two Pack, but what got me is they how said some pretty Anti leaning shit that was just unnecessary?

Like they literally said: "Obviously NO ONE ships Beetlejuice and Lydia so NO ONE would promote this as a romantic thing.. But if it's a wedding set that's set to release Valentines day then la de dah blah blah!"

And like? I honestly didn't know if this person was just saying this to just like, cover their own ass so THEY didn't get harassed by other tenderqueers because they were young, or if *they* genuinely believed what they were saying? Because from what I've watched from their channel, they're young and don't seem to know or care a lot about horror as genre in general? Like I don't mean to gate keep, but they're one one those obnoxious Monster High fans I made of fun of in my one post where it's like, "knows nothing about horror, just learned who Elvira is, only got into mh as a kid as the 'alternative' to their conservative ass parents who already believe pokemon is The Devil letting them experience Actual Horror and just never stopped consuming the dolls and Skullectors regardless if they're even familiar with the source material" kinda people? And yeah, that gets really annoying?

But I obviously didn't want this to be my cutting off point for watching their channel because ... Doll news?

So, I just wrote up the most, civil. neutral comment I could possibly articulate explaining how the Beetlejuice fandom's been practically built off of nothing but shipping for 36 years and how people can think whatever they want but Winona Ryder does ship it and it was quite frankly unprofessional of them to alienate Beetlebabes who might want to grab the two pack by implying there's a right way and a wrong way of interpreting the movie and the relationship between these iconic characters and they should respect the older fanbase and all the history that came before the musical?

And I was about to post it, but then I got nervous when I remembered, that I once purchased a doll from this person, which meant that they had my address at one point, which meant if they didn't like what I was saying, they could like, maybe dig it up and dox me? Or at least threaten to and I'd have cause to panic over it being like, legit or not? And I tried to brush it from my mind like nuh nuh they're cool they're cool... They're not on *that* level of Anti...

So then I just tried to check and refresh the comments to see any more overt ship bashing was taking place and of course, I just immediately find this:

So then I do this little blackout thingy for the usernames so that none of this can get back to youtube, and I go to screencap my comment so I can at least post it here in a vent, but I lost my comment trying to get the screen cap thingy to work and accidently clicking the youtube refresh button... 😔

... I just...I hate having such a lil' ghost face moment right now, but just like... I hate you legit fake horror fan Monster High collectors who can't appreciate horror having romantic subtext when that's the entire point yet you keep hoarding all the dolls anyway, I hate you little faggity boys with broccoli haircuts and split dyes who pressure girls into sending you nudes and the retired Mommy Vloggers who enable you, I find you extremely annoying XCanadensis, I hate you for your extremely annoying editing and intros zombiexcorn, I like you Lookin' Bratz but I hate your bratzline podcast cohost for fully admitting to doing a binge watch of all the Harry Potter movies in the franchise for "the first time ever" in fuckin' 2024 with absolutely no disclaimers or acknowledgment of the elephant in the room there and thinking that was a good idea to disclose something as quite frankly as disgusting as that and ruining what could've been a nice gothic doll chat for me and putting sour taste in my mouth about listening to the rest of your podcast...

And I especially hate that one dude with the ugly live action beauty and the beast dolls with the pink hair and the bowl cut and the glasses who for some reason keeps insisting every time she's brought up that Ghoulia Yelps can't be disabled/autistic because she's supposed to have some type of racial coding...

They're HEADCANONS!

They're PIECES OF PLASTIC!

GROW UP! 💀

(I love you weirdo OOAK Doll Artists, you're the only Real Ones left! ❤🫶)

[suzieloveships]

Marauders era's girls x girl childhood

Lily - Strawberry Shortcake girl first, human second, collected greeting cards and watched the cartoon religiously. Loves Barbie, had few dolls and watched every movie with Petunia, her favorite ones are Magic of Pegasus and Princess Charm School. Watched Winx, her favorite was Bloom. Favorite Disney Princesses are Belle and Cinderella, Twilight is her favorite out of Mane6 from MLP. One of 10 people on the planet that read Star Darlings.

Marlene - Polly Pocket girl, had a dozen of those tiny boxes. Adores Monster High, got atleast 2 dolls for every birthday, seen every movie. Watched og He-man and She-ra with her brothers and was super hype once the reboot came out. Made James and Peter watch Barbie movies and W.I.T.C.H., they made her watch TMNT and Transformers. Her favorite Barbie movies are Mermaid Tale and Diamond Castle, favorite pony is Rainbow Dash and favorite Disney Princesses are Mulan and Merida

Mary - dances ballet since she was 10, watched Angelina Ballerina almost every day and read as many Angelina books as she could. Collected LPS since she was 6, has two shelfs in her room just for the figurines. Favorite Barbie movie is Nutcracker and Swan Lake, mostly because of the real ballet dances in those movies. Her favorite Disney Princesses are Tiana and Rapunzel and Rarity is her favorite pony. Elle Woods and Cher Horowitz are her heroes

Dorcas - she is Tiana and Tiana is she, she owns colour green, as a kid definitly tried to kiss a frog atleast once and she and Pandora dressed up as Tiana and Lottie for Halloween 2 years in a row. Adored My scene, had many dolls, watched all movies and cartoon episodes and played all of the flash games. Also watched Winx and listened to Winx's albums so often I started to drive her family insine. Was also obsessed with PowerPuff Girls. Watches Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor with her younger sister. Mariposa duology are her favorite Barbie movies, Applejack is her favorite pony

Pandora - W.I.T.C.H. girl, collected comics as they were coming out, still has a box with accessories that came with each issue, rewatched the whole show every year, probably forced Regulus watch with her. Watched all of Disney Fairies movies and read all of the books, forever mad that Rani was not in the movies. Fairytopia trilogy stan, had a Bibble plushie. Pinkie Pie is her favorite pony and Aurora and Ariel are her favorite Disney Princesses. Watches Enchanted atleast 3 time per year

Sybill - One of 5 people that remembers Bratzillaz, but never really got into a Bratz. She just really likes a cartoon where a main character is a seer. She also likes Barbie, Rapunzel is her favorite. Religiously watched Addams family cartoon and Laika's movie. Had all 3 MLP G3 movies on DVD and later got obsessed with Friendship is Magic, her favorite is Fluttershy. Her favorite Disney Princesses are Snow White and Aurora. Practical magic is her comfort movie

Emma - Bratz girl, bought many dolls, watched all of the movies, even the live action one and listen to every album. Was also obsessed with Totally spies and Kim Possible, wanted to be a spy until she was 10. Despite being Bratz girl she did seen few Barbie movies, 3 musketeers is probably her favorite. Will unironically say that Kuzco is her favorite Disney Princess, it's actually Jasmine. Also a big fan of Jem and the holograms. Can quote Mean Girls so well it's actually scary

Amelia - one of those Barbie scholars. Not only has she see all of the movies she also knows deep lore of the toy. Don't ask her which movie is her favorite, she cannot choose. Adores Legally Blonde, movie and the musical. Hello Kitty aesthetic. Favorite Disney Princess is Rapunzel. Read Princess Diaries serie and hates to movie for completly ruining the story

Emmeline - MLP stan, can sing every song on Rainbow Rocks soundtrack, her favorite is Twilight, og LyraBon shipper. Also loves Care Bears, definetly annoys everyone by yelling Care Bear Stare while throwing thing at people. Had a massive crush on David Bowie and watch Labyrinth over and over again. Favorite Disney Princess are Ariel and Mulan and favorite Barbie movie is Princess and the Pauper

Lucinda - Evar After High girl, watch the whole show, bought many dolls and had a diary with a key. Thought Somebody to Love was written for Ella Enchanted. Favorite Barbie movie is Thumbelina. Got really into Buffy as she grew older. Grew up with DreamWorks rather than Disney, but Jasmin is probably her favorite princess

Hestia - lived near sea and had a mermaid phase. Watched H2O and Aquamarine almost every day. Marmaid Tale duology stan. Favorite Disney Princess is obviously Ariel and favorite pony is Pinkie Pie. Had a small Sylvanian Families collection. Was also a big Sailor Moon fan. Adores studio ghiblie movies, especially Ponyo. Actually owned the 13th year on DVD, that's how big her obsession with mermaid was

[earthtoharlow]

Teach Me

Here’s the first fic that’s part of my one year anniversary celebration, where there's a new fic every tuesday!

January

MASTERLIST

“Daddy, you made my bun lopsided!”

All Jack could do was sigh and redo his daughter’s hair again. They were going to be late if they kept this up. It was January, and it was the first day of school from winter break.

“Ok, Jayla, is this better?” Jack watched as she turned in her seat on top of the bathroom counter. He couldn’t help but smile at the expression on her face as she tapped her pointer finger to her chin as she inspected her hair. “A LOT BETTER!”

“Thank god!” Jack said as he lifted her off the counter. If they didn’t leave in the next 5 minutes, she was going to be late. “Ok, soldier, I need you to go put on your shoes and wait for daddy at the door.”

Jayla stood at attention “Sir, yes sir!” She saluted him before taking off down the hall and towards her room. Moments later Jack hears her feet running back towards him, Jayla popped her head back into the bathroom “Thank you for doing my hair, daddy!”

“You’re welcome, mamas.”

The drive to school was pretty quiet other than the sounds of Jayla playing with her Bratz dolls in the backseat. Jack heard the little girl let out a deep dramatic sigh as he pulled into the school parking lot. He ignored the sigh as he got out the car to open her door, knowing what was coming next.

As he opened the door, Jayla sighed again but louder.

“Daddy…” Jayla said in almost a whine

“Yes, mamas.” Jack said while still unbuckling her out of her seat.

“Can I miss one day of school please?!” Jack had to give it to her, the puppy dog eyes were top notch. But he knew better than to give in. “You can’t, Jay. We’ve talked about this.”

Out of the car now, Jayla stomped her foot on the pavement and crossed her arms. “Why do you get to stay home all day and I can’t?!” She exclaimed looking up at him with her hands now on her hips. Jack bent down to her eye level.

“I’m at home working—“

“I can work from home too!”

All Jack could do was drop his head in a sigh, wishing her mother was here for moments like this.

“There’s things teachers can teach you that daddy can’t. It’s only for a couple hours.” Jack watched as Jayla continued to pout in front of him.

“And remember how excited you were when you found out you were getting a new teacher!” Jayla’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Yeah! Because Miss Brown had a baby!” She exclaimed

“Exactly, so if you don’t go you’ll miss out on the chance to meet her!”

Jayla starts bouncing on her toes before grabbing Jack’s hand and starts dragging him towards the entrance of the school.

“C’mon, slow poke!”

Jack couldn’t help but laugh at that as he followed behind her.

JACKHARLOW

liked by brysontiller, champagnepapi, urbanwyatt, neelamthadhani, thomaschristmas, yungskylark, cozane and 786,456 others

jackharlow: I think I’m getting better at this hair thing…

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urbanwyatt: took you long enough

user: Jack come out of retirement

user: does anyone know why he doesn’t make music anymore

user: ok you ate

user: sooo cute

user: this nice and all but dude we haven’t heard new music from you in years

“Jack, you sure you don’t want to hold on to this track, it's fire!” His long-time engineer, Nickie Jon asked him.

Jack just shook his head. He was happy with being a ghostwriter. Less pressure.

“But, Jack—“ the sound of Jack’s phone ringing interrupted whatever Nickie was going to say next. Jack breathed a sigh of relief before pulling his phone out his pocket.

Bloom Elementary School

Jack immediately answered the phone.

“Hello?” Jack said as he started grabbing his things. The school has never called him. Not even once.

“Hello. Mr. Harlow. I’m Miss Love, Jayla’s first grade teacher.”

Jack knew who she was, well kinda. The school was always sending daily emails. Reminders on how Jayla was doing, upcoming PTA meetings etc. So he remembers the email about Jayla’s class getting a new teacher after winter break. Back when Jack was in the public eye, he was more involved with the school since he was an alumni. The last few years Jack didn’t do many public appearances at the school, but would still anonymously donate money. He couldn’t stand the stares and whispers and people feeling sorry for him.

“Is everything alright?” Jack asked in a slight panic. His hand was already on the doorknob ready to leave. He was getting flashbacks to four years ago when his life changed drastically.

“She’s fine, I promise.”

Jack felt like a weight had been lifted as he released the breath he was holding. “Fuck, you scared the shit outta me.”

“Mr. Harlow.” She practically scolded him over the phone.

“Sorry, sorry! You just scared me, that's all.” Jack ran his hand through his already curls. Jack leaned against the door of his home studio. He felt like he needed to pick his heart up from the ground.

“No I’m sorry, I really should’ve opened with something better.” Miss Love said, sounding apologetic.

“It’s okay, how can I help you, Miss Love?”

“I was wondering if I could have a meeting with you after school? Jayla got into an altercation at school during recess.”

“Uh what? Jayla got in a fight?” Jack questioned. That did not sound like his child.

He listened as Miss Love cleared her throat before speaking again which made Jack stand up straighter. Yeah, Jayla was a tad bit sassy, and could be a chatter box but she had never gotten into any sort of trouble at school. She was very kind and was always nice to everyone around her. He couldn’t imagine her getting into a fight.

“She pushed another classmate at the playground, and while it wasn’t unwarranted I want to try to avoid this happening again in the future.”

Jack took a hand and rubbed his temples. “Yeah, of course. Can we talk today, after school?”

“Sounds good, see you soon Mr. Harlow.”

“Thanks for calling, Miss Love.”

When Jack was younger he always dreamed of settling down In Louisville and having kids with the person he loved. 

Jack met Jayla’s mother, Alyssa backstage at one of his concerts and it was love at first sight. They dated for a couple years before she ended up pregnant. They were only 22 years old, one of his first hits WHATS POPPIN was topping the charts. They say the best moments in life are completely unexpected. While they were scared of bringing a baby into the world when they were both so busy, they couldn’t be happier. 

The first couple months after Jayla was born were tough. With Jack’s schedule getting busier and busier and her Alyssa going through postpartum, the two spent many nights staying awake and crying together.

Jack’s parents tried to help out the best she could but while Jack and Alyssa were grateful for all the help they didn’t want to be so dependent on them. 

Thankfully, things did get easier for them and they were on track to raising a beautiful and wonderful baby girl. If you had told Jack back then that years later he would unexpectedly become a single father, he would have laughed in your face.

------------------------------------------------------------

Being a teacher wasn’t always on Ariel Love’s vision board. She had dreams of becoming a writer. It wasn’t until she was offered a student teacher position in college that she fell in love with teaching. That's where she found out that working with kids was the most fun and rewarding job ever. 

Ariel was born in Kentucky but moved to DC when she was only a little girl. It wasn’t till her principal at her old school presented her with a job opportunity to teach first grade back in Kentucky that she decided to move. During her interview with Bloom Elementary, they loved her background in writing and her work experience that they decided to hire her. 

She has never taught her own class before, having always been a teacher’s assistant. That being said, she was very excited for her first day. 

She had no idea that she was going to have to call home to one of her kids on her very first day. Miss Brown, the class's former teacher, had left notes on her kids so that she knew what she was working with. Ariel was shocked when she had to stop Jayla Harlow from hurting another child, Miss Brown only had positive things to say about her. 

Even now it was hard to believe that the little girl who was sitting at her desk coloring had almost got in a fight today. 

After the situation at recess, Ariel had heard whispers about Jayla’s father. Apparently, he used to be some super hot big time rapper before he suddenly retired and fell off the face of the earth. None of the whispers could prepare her for when he walked into her classroom. Walking in wearing a gray new balance tracksuit with new balance to match. A gold KY chain dangled around his neck and it looked identical to the one Jayla was wearing today. He had a beautiful set of bright blue eyes, with a scruffy beard and a head full of messy curls that looked like he was constantly running his fingers through. 

Their eyes met for a second before he walked over to Jayla’s desk to greet her. Ariel watched as he pulled Jayla into his chest for an embrace and placed a kiss on her forehead. She couldn’t hear what he whispered in her ear but she could hear Jayla’s silent reply “okay, daddy.” Before quietly plopping back down in her seat. 

Ariel stood from her seat as Mr. Harlow walked towards her. “Thank you for stopping by, Mr Harlow.” She said as she extended her hand for him to shake, and immediately noticed there was no ring on his finger. She felt her face get warm as his large hand grabbed hers. 

“Uh, please call me Jack. I’m not even thirty yet so Mr. Harlow makes me feel old.”

“Ok, Jack. And since we’re going to be on a first name basis, you can call me Ariel.”

“Ariel,” he said slowly. “Like the mermaid?”

She could help but laugh at that. “Yes, exactly like the mermaid.”

She then motioned towards the seat in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat.”

“First, I just wanted to apologize for this morning. Definitely didn’t mean to scare you with the call.” Ariel began to ramble. 

Jack just shook his head and waved away her apology. “It’s alright, I promise.”

“You said on the phone that she pushed someone?”

Ariel sat up straighter at her desk. “Yes. While I’ve only been Jayla’s teacher for about…” she looked down at her watch “five hours now, I can already tell she’s a wonderful student. Miss Brown only had the best things to say about her. One of our classmates was bothering a little girl from the kindergarten class, she did use her words before pushing the child. I’ve spoken to both of their parents about the situation as well."

“It won’t happen again, I’ve always taught her to keep her hands to herself. Right, Jayla?” Jack said before turning around and giving his daughter a stern look. 

Jayla lifted her head up at the call of her name. “Right, but daddy they were being mean to Nova…so I’m not that sorry! ” Jayla exclaimed 

Jack immediately turned back towards Ariel. “The student was Nova Wyatt?” 

While she wasn’t supposed to give out this information, she figured that there was no point in lying to him. 

“Yes, I assume you know her?”

“Yeah, I’m her godfather, and Nova’s dad is Jayla’s”

Jack sighed and placed his head in hands for a moment. He then lifted his head to speak again. “Shit, I’m sorry. Is there going to be any disciplinary actions for Jayla?” He asked before taking a look at Jayla before looking at Ariel once more.

Ariel narrowed her eyes at him for cursing again before shaking her head no. “Between me and you, Jayla was really upset about the situation. She immediately understood what she did was wrong. She’s not a bad kid, just protective over the people she loves.”

She watched as Jack nodded and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I really appreciate it, is that all?” He asked as he went to stand. 

Ariel nodded and grabbed a purple sticky note and wrote her number down. “As you know, I of course have your number because it’s in Jayla’s file but I wanted to give you mine.” She handed Jack her number and tried to ignore the small spark she felt when his fingers grazed hers as he took the slip 

“My line is always open. You can ask me anything pertaining Jayla or about school events coming up. I can even send you little updates about her throughout the day.”

Jack smiled while looking at the note, loving the way she dotted her i’s with hearts. “Thanks, I’ll definitely reach out about school related things. I would love updates about Jayla, I miss her during the day.”

“You can even text me even if it’s not about school events.” Ariel blurted out, jesus first day of teaching and she’s already making a fool out of herself in front of a parent. At least this one is cute.

Jack could tell she was embarrassed but there was no reason too because he was planning on doing that anyway. “Hm, I think I will.” He told her with a smirk on his face. 

Ariel’s face warmed at that. “I think that’s all. You and Jayla are free to go.”

She watched as Jack grabbed Jayla’s Bratz backpack and swung it over his shoulders as they walked towards the door. 

“BYE, Miss, Love! See you tomorrow. I won’t push anyone tomorrow, I promise!” Jayla told her with a wave

She tried to hold in her laughter. “Bye, Jayla! We’ll have a better day tomorrow, I’m sure.” She gave the two one last wave before tending to the paperwork on her desk. 

Ariel could help but smile huge at the exchange she heard outside her door. 

“Daddy, were you flirting with Miss Love?”

“Will you quiet down?”

there was a beat of silence. 

“well…were you?”

------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Tried to leave this as open ended as possible so if enough people enjoy this I'll continue writing :) tell me your thoughtssss!

Tag List:

(message me if you'd like to be added or removed)

@heavyhitterheaux @hoodharlow @neon-lights-and-glitter @babiefries @toocriticalharlow @mace23477 @jackmans-poison @dstark-0706 @harlowsbby @itsyagirljaz @leftapricotprofessorlover @laylasbunbunny @ilyangelsxo @comehomeimissyou @minkookie95 @harlowcomehome @jackharloww

[jenni2bameerah]

You always know best what to do. I count on your for guidance, compassion, support, playfulness, and creative dominance.

I remember that wonderful day when you sat me down and said, "Jennifer, my pretty little gumdrop. I want you to experience all the girly and feminine milestones that you missed out on because you came out after some of the most precious ones passed you by. Until I say differently, even though you are chronologically older, you will now live as my 15 year old daughter." You expected me to commit to my age-regression.

And, OMG, I was in seventh heaven when you took me shopping as your daughter at forever 21, LuLu's, and Steve Madden's for all my wonderful Bratz platform sparkly heels (thanks mom!). Having Mother/daughter conversations with you melts my heart. Having you tell me what to put in my Insta was so helpful. I did set up a Finsta account that you don't know about but it is soooo much fun. I so ate that perfect look!

I know that with the high dose hormones you put me on I sometimes get all moody but I truly I like it when you listen to me so well even when I tell you how hard school is. I still don't get math. Math IS hard. Arrrgh! But I am making friends, even making a bestie and becoming part of a squad and I am so looking forward to the prom.

But the sweetest thing you ever did for me was to give me my own girly room that just makes me feel so pretty, pink, and girly when I am in there. When I first saw how pink everything was and how it was everything in a room that I wished I had when I was younger, I started to cry. Thanks for holding me. My favorite stuffies and dolls are there. My bed is so soft and accented with so many adorbs ruffles. My favorite wall hanging is a poster that I got after you took me to hear that K-Pop band, Q- Pop and that dreamy Akio personally autographed it to me. Then he kissed me on the cheek and told me I had Rizz. TBH he is soooooooo lit!

I even love those moments when you come in and we do each other's hair and nails. Even when you tell me stuff that I think would be so cringe like periods and which boys I like. it all has made us closer. I know you may want me to get back to being your personal maid soon enough and I will.

But right now I just love going into my room by myself and feeling that I finally get to have many of the experiences I didn't get to have. You are the best mother a daughter could ever want. Thank you.

(This story where everyone involved is over 18 was for all the wonderful trans women out there who did not get a chance to experience girlhood until later in life. It is also for all the other gender playful folk who also deserved a very girly childhood and adolescence.)

[scary-friend]

30 Days of Moodboards, List made by me 💕

Day 27 - Favorite fashion doll. Can be from Barbie, bratz, monster high, etc.

Frankie Stein (G1)

⚡️ - 💚🖤💚 - 🖤💚🖤 - 💚🖤💚 - ⚡️

She’ll always be my favorite, I can still remember the day when I got her all those years ago. She was my first doll, my others were hand-me-downs from my sister. She was just for me and in that moment I felt a true connection. I’d watch every movie, every episode, and take her everywhere. She made me feel understood. She was everything to me. It’s just unfortunate that my mom threw her away without telling me. I really miss her and I hope one day I’ll be able to hold her in my arms again.💚

[mysticsparklewings]

Karla Choupette, but make her Winx!

----------

It’s been so long since I posted art, I kinda forgot how to caption it 😅

So I’ll stick with facts: Exactly 1 year ago today, I brought home my very first Rainbow High doll, Karla Choupette. Shortly after, I wanted to draw her, and since I was on a roll with Winx-Club-Style art at the time, this is the result! 🤍

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

----------

This won't be much of surprise to Sparklers that read my most recent Museletter, but to those that didn't: Hi! Longtime no art; How've you been? 👋 😅 If you're curious about how & where I've been, I'm going to direct you to that Museletter for the full details.

Also as you'll see in the Museletter, I had actually started on and mostly finished this piece right before my accidental half-year hiatus actually began (in December). There are many reasons (discussed at length in the Museletter) as to why I've held onto this piece for so long, but chief among them are 1. A lack of motivation to type this description and 2. Even months later, I was still not 100% sure about the background I originally picked out.

We'll talk more about the background in a bit. Firstly, especially for those that didn't read the Museletter, I should probably tell you who/what exactly this is and why you're staring at it. 😆

This lady, dear Sparklers, is one Karla Choupette of Shadow High, which is a...sub-line? I guess is the best way to put it? of the Rainbow High doll line. Except, per my usual art shenanigans, she's been drawn in the Winx Club art style. 😅

Karla is also known as: The Doll that Broke My (also unintentional) 5-6 year Doll Buying Hiatus. And in fact, that was the final key to me dusting off my typing fingers to finally bring this art to you Sparklers today.

I'll try and keep this story brief, but...Well, loyal Sparklers know how me and "brief" usually go, so I'll just apologize in advance for how very not-brief this actually will be...

In a way, this story starts in 2016 with the second generation of Monster High.

The first generation of Monster High was, pretty indisputably, my "true doll love" even though until it's beginning in 2010 I'd been raised on mostly Barbie and some Bratz. But the second generation was almost completely canned by the fan base, including me.

By 2018, most Monster High merchandise had disappeared from stores entirely. It all happened so fast for a franchise that had been such a lightning-in-a-bottle success before; It was depressing. (It's still depressing, to be completely honest, even with G3 now alive and well.)

And after that, for years the was really nothing for me in the doll space. With Monster High and Ever After High gone, Barbie's quality having taken a nosedive, Bratz's presence be wildly inconsistent...Whatever options were left either didn't appeal to me personally or didn't stick around long enough for that to matter.

So for the next few years, my attention in the toy aisle was pretty squarely on Shopkins, Num Noms, and the occassional other surprise toys that tempted me enough to try at least once. 🤷‍♀️

In 2020 (so I've been told by the internet—I couldn't have remembered the date if my life depended on it because that's how little attention I was paying to them at the time), Rainbow High dolls started appearing in store. And I do believe I remember seeing them in-store, possibly even an enclosed display. And I remember really not liking them at the time!

And I didn't like what I saw of Rainbow High for a considerably amount of time after that. But somehow, someway, I did very slowly start to come around to them. I think the biggest factor was when I started to understand that despite what sounded like a cutesy name to me, Rainbow High was not effectively a line of CareBears dressed as teenage girls.

Though, at this stage, when I say "come around to," I really mean I stopped viewing the line with active disdain. It would take a while longer of random images popping up on my Instagram and Pinterest feeds (mostly Instagram) before I started to think, "Oh well maybe I'd buy one if xyz..."

But I don't think it was too much longer after the "if xyz" phase that I was browsing around on Pinterest

And there, that was the moment—*Gasp*, Who is she? She looks like Ivy if Ivy were pink! She's so pretty!!

Karla Choupette had appeared.

And for the record, yes—I did and still do think Karla looks a lot like what I envision for my Winx OC Ivy aside from the pink coloring. So if in the future you see me draw Ivy and her outfit looks suspiciously familiar, now you'll know why!

But, to be fair, that's not the only thing about Karla's design that appeals to me. The stark contrast of colors is one for sure, as well as the slight contrast of the punk-ish boots with the more formal/business-like dress/top situation. And after I did (spoiler alert) bring Karla home, I realized she bears some resemblance to one of my favorite Monster High dolls of all-time, Zomby Gaga, so there was almost definitely some subconscious influence coming from that.

Anyway. It was a little bit of a slow burn, but eventually the desire to actually get a Karla doll was rattling around in my head so loudly it was was very nearly literally keeping me up at night.

I completely lucked out in the timeline that Karla had already been out for a while at that point and last year's Amazon Prime Day wasn't too far around the corner. Sure, I could have just bought her at any time, but considering I'd been out of the doll-buying game a while and my "first doll back" was going to be one completely unlike the rest of my collection [..and I use that term kind of loosely here], so I didn't want to put too much money on the line when it was fully possible I'd get her home and unboxed and decide I didn't actually like her all that much.

The funny thing is, the story could've even there. Or at least taken a significant detour. Because, sure enough, Amazon did mark Karla down for Prime Day at the time, but before I could go through with the purchase, she sold out. 🙃

On a whim though, I decided to check Walmart a little later in the day, and lo and behold—Apparently they really wanted to compete with Amazon for sales that week, so they'd dropped their price on Karla to match and actually still had her in stock!

I ordered her for local pickup to avoiding paying for shipping, and the next day—Exactly one year ago today!—Karla came home with me. [And you can see a picture of my exact Karla in that Museletter I mentioned before, for those curious!]

It would be another couple of days before I actually opened her; Both in the store when we picked her up and while I was opening her, I was honestly a little scared that physically being able to hold her would somehow break whatever magic hold this doll had had over me up until either point.

But as you can probably guess by the way I'm telling this story and the fact that this art exists—Nope! And even a year and 20 (...soon to be 21...) more Rainbow/Shadow High dolls later, Karla is still my favorite. She is, in fact, the only one I currently have 2 of, as I found an incomplete-but-in-great-shape Karla for cheap on eBay about a month later.

To be fair, I should back up a bit and clarify: If you're familiar with the doll space, you may be wondering why/how Karla was the buying-hiatus-breaker for me even though Monster High G3 started releasing new dolls in 2022.

Technically I suppose she wasn't because I did get some of the MH G3 dolls and Howliday Draculaura for Christmas 2022, but for space/storage related reasons, it would be much longer before I actually opened any of my new MH dolls, and there were various aspects that made G3 still feel kind of rocky and uncertain at the time.

Karla was the one that really sparked my excitement for dolls in general again, though the excitement manifested as a rolling snowball instead of a roaring fire—I started out, as many doll fans across all brands have, insisting Karla would be the "only" Rainbow High doll I wanted/needed.

And if you'll remember I quoted a collection of 20 Rainbow High dolls a few paragraphs ago, then you'll already know exactly how that well-intended insistence turned out. 😆 [And this isn't even touching on the fact that, as also mentioned in the Museletter, that Karla and the Rainbow High girls also ignited a "make things for the dolls from scratch" spark in me that I have felt in...Mm, probably not since the earliest days of Monster High, sometime before 2013.]

Some of you are also now probably doing the math on how we arrived at the concept for this artwork—This is very much not the first (or even second or third) time that I've used the Winx Club art style as a vessel to express my love for some other thing.

It's been a while since the idea began by now, but I remember I had inklings of wanting to draw Karla for a while—I think in particular I wanted to play with Karla's white eyelashes in illustrated form since it's both something I've never seen on a doll before and also white eyelashes in general are just a unique and interesting concept to me—And since I was sorta on a roll with the Winx Club stuff/style, it wasn't too long or too far of a leap in logic to decide this is the way it would be done.

Likewise, if you've seen any of my most-recent Winx art, you'll already be fairly familiar with my process for how the art comes together in the most literal senses. So because of that and because it has been long enough that I don't remember finer details like areas that were particularly tricky so well, I'm going to skip over a lot of that here.

However, I do remember and can tell you a few things that make Karla here a little different from some of those other attempts of mine, so I will now start rambling about that in whatever order things come to mind.

Firstly and possibly the most obvious, Karla you could say Karla's wasn't "Winx-fied" as intensely as Helena or The Nanny, which was a very purposeful choice. I love Karla's original design so much that I really didn't want to touch it too much, and so while a fairy form like those other two artworks can often be more fun, I opted to keep Karla "casual."

To that end, I followed what patterns and "rules" I've observed for the Winx's Season 2-3 "casual outfits" as best I could without making any serious alterations. [The linked screenshot isn't the best example of said patterns/rules—You kinda have to take in multiple screenshots to get the best feel for that—but it's a decent enough point of reference for which outfits I'm talking about.]

So the main thing you'll notice are the things I took away or simplified because I think thy pushed Winx Club's style "limits" a bit too far—Karla has her fan but it's missing the word "Shadow" across the front, the zippers on her shoes aren't well-defined, the charm/pin from her tie is missing, you can't see the pinstripes on her dress (though if this were meant to be the Seasons 2-3 promo art style and not true-to-show style, I would've left those in)...things like that.

I did make small exceptions for things I felt would take away too much if I left them out like the details on her belt, the buckles on her boots, giving her eyeshadow, etc. But I tried to balance it all out. The belt is probably still pushing it, but I genuinely wasn't sure how else to handle it and I think everything else worked out well enough.

Now, I did make the decision to approach the line work more so how Season 4 would do it—There are more colored lines here than is really typical for Season 3, especially when you count Karla's hair. This was mostly done to try and preserve some of Karla's own "feel" when you look at her, but also a little for contrast of the different elements/textures at play. [For example, I thought lining her hair in black would look too harsh.]

...I should also probably mention that while I still stand by Karla looking a lot like what I want for Ivy, I really was focused on trying to capture Karla as herself here—I can't say Ivy never entered my mind during the drawing process because that's kind of impossible given that she lives and dies entirely in my imagination, but I did not consciously at any point use Ivy as reason or justification for any changes made to Karla's design.

Oh, and if this pose feels a little familiar, much like with Fran, I opted to re-use a pose I'd already been working with around the time I started this project. It's hard to tell from my sketches in the linked image, but in this case I did decide to re-draw the arms to nearly the opposite position because it made figuring out what to do with her fan so much easier.

Ironically, this pose is not at all the best way to get a good look at her white eyelashes, but I worked with what I had to make something nice without it taking 2-3 (or more) times as long, so I'm not actually too upset about that.

You could say that's sorta what happened with the background—I can't say this is my most favorite background I've ever put together, but I really did not have any better ideas, so...🤷‍♀️

Maybe it's obvious, maybe it's not, but I decided to try combining a design formula that's been used in a lot of the Rainbow High boxes as a background (and sometimes in other promotional material) with some general ideas from promotional images/profiles you may have seen of the Winx before.

So if you thought you were seeing Alfea castle edited into a rainbow gradient back there, you would be absolutely right. 😉

This is also why Karla's name is just kinda randomly hanging out over there on a "true to show style"—It's a little more consistent with the Winx profiles/images and added a little extra something I felt was missing from the full package.

And while not my primary motivation, I did kind of like the idea that with a background situation like this, if I decide I ever want to draw more Winxify-ed Rainbow High girls, I can re-use it and have them all a little more visually united as a series.

I have no current plans to do that, but I like being able to leave the door open for it, y'know?

...I think those are all the main things I wanted to mention. This is the real trouble with not writing these descriptions as soon as I'm able—I forget too much! But there's not much to be done about it now, so oh well I guess.

In such case, the important thing really is that I'm still happy with how the art turned out. Or at least Karla and some of the other details. Even at this very moment I still have my quibbles and doubts with the image of Alfea hanging out back there, but at this point I really don't want to put off uploading this any longer solely because of that, of all things.

Since I did find it in me to scramble what was left of this description together though, coupled with things I mentioned in that last Museletter, I really hope this means I've finally turned some kind of internal corner and and that it won't be another block of months before you Sparklers see more art from me.

At the very least, I can now say I've tried this new submission portal from dA and...It's not my beloved Sta.sh, but...eh, it's okay I guess. I still miss my editing/formatting tools being more available like in a proper text editor, but in some ways I do think I like this better than the previous submission portal, if I'm going to be forced to type out my descriptions in here from now on.

I think at least knowing that—that I'm marginally more familiar with this new portal now—will be a step in the right direction.

One last thing before I leave you Sparklers for today—I plan to give this description a once-over before I submit, but I've written most of it late at night after a busy shopping day and may or may not have caught myself almost dozing off a couple of times, so on top of my faulty memory, if you notice any exceptionally weird mistakes, that's probably where those came from and I missed them on my second read-through. 😅

In any case, Sparklers, I thank you for still being here and being patient with me—Like I said before, I sincerely hope this is just the beginning of me finally being "back," at least for a while, but ultimately only time will tell if it is or not.

But if it is, then I expect to see you all again much sooner rather than later...😉

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Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings

Karla Choupette/Rainbow High © MgA Entertainment

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[creaturefeaturecommando]

Why I want to collect dolls-

The first time I lost my dolls, which was about 30 or 40 something dolls, a gigantic dollhouse, and a Barbie RV camper, my parents made me put them in a storage unit because my mom and dad split up and they put everything in there until they could figure out their divorce and we could find somewhere to live, why they wouldn’t let me at least take my dolls, I don’t know, but my dad was in charge of paying that storage unit and I don’t know why my mom foolishly let that man do it because we eventually lost the storage unit a year later because he didn’t pay it, instead deciding to use all his money to support his girlfriend and her kids and we lost everything. All of me and my siblings baby photos, our furniture, everything and I lost all of my dolls and we can’t ever get anything we lost back and his dumbass refused to tell my mom the storage unit place which I don’t know why my mom didn’t go with him to see where all our stuff went and why she didn’t take the baby pictures and stuff, but I was more crushed to have lost my dolls because there were dolls that weren’t even made anymore like LIV dolls, the dolls that had interchangeable wigs and a collector’s Angel Barbie that was never supposed to leave the box. My mom promised to get me replacements but Bratz dolls were out of stock, LIV dolls were discontinued and I was never getting that Angel Barbie back. So I had to settle for dollar store Barbie’s that didn’t feel the same.

- The second time I lost my dolls was when I was really into Monster High and all I wanted was Monster High dolls for Christmas, like they were all I wanted for like 3 christmases straight and I even printed out photos of which specific ones I wanted. I had Frankie, Clawdeen, Ghoulia, Jackson, Gil, Clawd, Deuce, Draculara, Cleo, Operetta and maybe more but I don’t remember all who I had but I just don’t remember having a Lagoona. So my aunts and cousins moved into my grandmas house and my cousins who were like 4 or 5 wanted to play with my dolls and I always told them not to touch them because I was very protective of my dolls since I had lost my previous ones. My aunts and my grandma yelled at me that I needed to share and that if I didn’t share that they were going to throw the dolls, MY DOLLS that my mom got me, away so no one could play with them and I was forced to share. Shortly after that, my dolls arms and legs were broken off and their hair was cut short and their clothes were missing and it upset me to the point of tears but I got blamed for it because “They’re little kids ! What did you expect ! You shouldn’t have let them do that !” when I was threatened with my dolls getting thrown away if I didn’t share. After that, I wasn’t allowed to get Monster High dolls anymore because I was “too old” yet my cousins got every new monster high doll for every occasion after that. Again, my mom promised to replace those dolls but she couldnt find any of the male ones since they sold out quick, and she couldn’t find anymore of the original design ones I had. They also destroyed my collection of 2011 Thundercats toys that my dad got me to try to make amends for what he did and Thundercats was the few things we bonded over and those can’t ever be replaced. A lot of things of mine got destroyed in that house.

So yeah if I start collecting dolls and it spirals out of control then like… I don’t know. I’d let let it spiral because I’d finally have dolls that I know I can keep safe.

[duckprintspress]

Meet Aether Beyond the Binary Contributor ilgaksu

Wondering what Aether Beyond the Binary is and why you should care? It’s Duck Prints Press’s latest anthology, currently crowdfunding: 17 stories, modern aetherpunk settings, outside-the-binary main characters! Help us reach our funding goals by checking out the campaign now!

About ilgaksu: Full-time fandom cryptid, Furby enthusiast, and the human embodiment of that one gif of Elmo on fire, ilgaksu was born and raised in an  undisclosed location, living in several others, and now currently residing in [REDACTED]. Their interests include collecting haunted toys, using their artistic practice as an excuse to forget to do their laundry, and playing with fictional men like Bratz dolls. They have not unclenched their jaw yet today, but they do remember to drink lots of water. 

Link: personal webpage

This is ilgaksu’s first publication with Duck Prints Press.

An Interview with ilgaksu

What is your “dream project” – the thing you’d see as the culmination of your work as a creator?

I have a list of dream projects – a big queer space opera trilogy, a series of detective serials, I want to pastiche all of the genres I adored growing up – but I think I’m never going to find the culmination of my work. I’m going to have to make do with whatever I do while I’m alive, and other people can argue about that for me or something. The work is the work. It has to speak for itself without me defending it.

When you look at your “career” as a creator, what  achievement would you most like to reach – what, if it happened or has  already happened, would/did make you go “now – now I’m a success!”?

Does any writer actually get to the point where they fully believe they’re a success, and the feeling lasts forever? This is a genuine question. Where are they hiding? I want their advice.

What are your favorite snacks and/or drinks to consume while creating?

I have to have at least three emotional support beverages, and one of those will always be a form of iced coffee, then usually bubble tea, and then usually water. These are because I clearly run on three separate hydration systems. Snack-wise, I don’t tend to eat while I’m actually making things, but I like churros and loaded fries and ramen and salmon on bagels and, listen, I just really love food.

Describe your ideal creation space.

I like writing somewhere near a window, ideally when it’s raining outside, with three emotional support beverages and my favourite headphones and the very specific song that works as white noise in that moment on repeat. Possibly for the next five hours.

Do you like having background noise when you create? What do you listen to? Does it vary depending on the project, and if so, how?

I have to have background noise or I can’t focus to write, and it’s usually music with lyrics. I tend to have a mix of current songs I’m fixated on in a huge Everything playlist, and then I often have a smaller playlist for the project itself. Like I said before, I can also easily listen to the same song on repeat for as long as it takes to finish the necessary section, even if it that takes hours, because after a while I stop hearing the music itself – it functions as white noise.

Share five of your favorite books. (You can include why, if you want!)

Wolf Hall Trilogy (Hilary Mantel, technically 3 but)

The Dream Thieves (Maggie Stiefvater) 

Evensong’s Heir (L. S. Baird)  

Daughter of Fortune (Isabel Allende)  

The Magpie Lord (KJ Charles)

Share five of your favorite (blanks). 

Five favourite current bubble tea flavours: Earl Grey, Snow White, Rose, Lavender, Honeydew

If you could give one piece of advice to a new creator who came to you for help, what would that advice be?

You don’t want to write like me. 

That probably sounds incredibly arrogant, but let me explain: the most common thing I’ve had said to me by a new creator, or a fan of my work, is “I want to write like you.” And I get where people are coming from, and I get it’s from a place of admiration – which is very very flattering, of course – because early on in my writing career that used to be a desire that consumed me to. But my point is this. I realised that it was futile to want something like that, because I would never be that creator, with their experiences in life and reading that had informed how they view the world and filter it into their own work. Even if I tried to mimic it, and maybe if I managed it on a superficial level, it wouldn’t be animated by the same mind moving through it, and so I’d be doing us both a disservice. So, I no longer want to write like other people. I want to write more and more like myself. And because of that, I try and advise people to redirect how they’re verbalising that desire. What is it about my work, or anyone’s work, that speaks to you? What parts of it don’t work for you? What is it you want that’s similar – the assurance of their authorial voice, their breadth of lexis or grammar, the themes they focus, how they make you feel as a reader in that relationship with them through the text? Identify those things. Start from there, and think about who you are and take these little ingredients from everyone you’ve read and loved, and everything you love in the world outside writing. Do that instead. Not only will it help you identify more concretely the goals you’re working towards in your craft, but you deserve a voice as a writer that’s solely your own.

What would you say to a demoralized creator to inspire them?

The same thing I said earlier but reappropriated: nobody can write like you.

ilgaksu’s Contribution to Aether Beyond the Binary

Title: chameleon trick

Tags: be gay do crimes, be gay solve crimes, established relationship, heist, manchester, non-binary, past tense, present tense, suicidal ideation (mentions of), united kingdom, third person limited pov, trans man

Excerpt:

Sasha turns on him; gleeful, sparking with it. It’s less a dropping of a mask and more of a perfect, total illumination as they ask, “How did I do?”

You would think they were an amateur at this, looking at their borderline puppyish excitement. They even tilt their face up, less in expectation of a kiss and more in certainty of one. But they are both working. Martha has read the codes of conduct at this factory: no fraternisation during work hours. And so:

“I don’t have time for your praise kink right now,” Martha says, and sidesteps them.

End-of-post reminder: check out our campaign on Kickstarter! It ends January 25th – we’re about half-way done.

[olderthannetfic]

I really wish people could learn not to take it as an attack when someone doesn't like what they like. To me, Captive Prince is mid. Not terrible, not worth the hate antis give it, but not great. Also not the greatest thing in the history of yaoi and not worth the "if you don't like it you're an anti" nonsense.

Taste isn't universal. There is nothing out there that every single person on Earth loves. That's okay. I collect dolls and in that fandom, we all get this. I can say to a Bratz fan that the feet being detachable freaks me out so I'm not into them and they'll say, "Oh I totally get that, it's not for everybody." Someone can say to me that they dislike Rainbow High's eye designs/the glass eyechips and my first thought is, "Valid. It's a love-it or hate-it thing." Never would I go, "That must mean this person is an anti clutching their pearls at the scandalous content!"

In the same vein as Your Kink Is Not My Kink (And That's Okay), we need to remember Your Fave Is Not My Fave (and That's Okay). Not everyone will love what you love. So long as they're not an asshole about it, who cares? My life isn't negatively impacted by people disliking Rainbow High. I can still have them and enjoy them. Same thing for Captive Prince and whatever else is the hot queer thing of the month.

--

I have certainly read far worse, yes.