#never thought a barbie movie song will be this relatable

[elisabeth-carrion]

I wanna know what it's like to love To be the real thing. Is it a crime?

[the1864thregression]

Would the ORV characters go to watch the Barbie movie with you?

Characters : Yoo Joonghyuk, Yoo Sangah, Han Sooyoung, Uriel, Kim Dokja (derogatory)

Warning : contains spoilers for Barbie movie

Yoo Joonghyuk

YES. He'll take along Yoo Mia and Lee Jihye too. The funniest part is he'll also wear a pale pink shirt due to his sister's and lee jihye's insistence. He'll draw gazes EVERYWHERE.

But overall he would like the movie and it's underlying themes. He would also be impressed by how much effort it went into props. Definitely the kind of dude who would listen to you ramble about the movie and would put his own thoughts into your analysis in between.

Would really like the "I'm just Ken" song but will soon grow tired of it because Han Sooyoung kept singing it at every minor problem.

"Why don't you like Ken, Joonghyuk? I thought he would be relatable to you. "

"He brought misogyny to Barbieland. I would never do that."

Yoo Sangah

She would absolutely go with you. I just know she'll rock the barbie-coded outfit

Han Sooyoung

She might also tear up at the Barbie scene at the end, where she sees all the human memories (girl same). Her favorite character would be Barbie. You two will then go to a food court after the movie where you'll spend an hour or so discussing the movie and the layers at which it mirrors the real world.

"Do you think that Barbie was bound to become attracted to the concept of being human the moment she got named after her creator's daughter? I think that —"

She'll say smth like, "Im an Oppenheimer person " to annoy you at first but would go along with you in the end

The type of person who ends up talking too loudly during a movie accidentally, so you'll recieve some disapproving glances.

She'll. Get. Obsessed with the Ken song. She would hum or sometimes outright break into a song after the movie after some minor inconvenience happens.

Hsy : Where's my lemon candy stash??

Yjh : I threw it out. Your brain will rot even more along with that cheap sugar

Hsy : .. Doesn't seem to matter what I do, I'm always number 2, noone knows how hard I tried.. Oh—

Yjh : (tired)

Uriel

She would be the one to ask you out to the movie. Her excitement would rub off on you and y'all will be positively vibrating with anticipation when the movie starts.

Would also get asked out for photos with some people because she looked absolutely "angelic" with her long golden hair and pink outfit.

You know how some people started to ship Allan with Ken after the movie? Uriel accidentally saw a fan art and immediately jumped on board with the ship.

"All of Ken's clothes fit him!— is such a boyfriend statement tbh, don't you agree (y/n)? "

"... Actually, you're not wrong about that"

Kim Dokja

He wouldn't at first get the hype. He'll just assume it's one of those pop movies that are being popular with their mass marketing and aesthetic.

He was pleasantly surprised.

Would LOVE the underlying satirical themes and the songs. He'll watch the end credits too with you.

Is the type to sometimes look at their partner during the movie and observe their reactions to a particular scene.

Would click instantly with Alan for some reason. (You're not even surprised)

"I like Alan. He's just...there yknow. I hope he leaves Barbieland someday"

[witchofthesouls]

Hello, I don't usually ask questions on social networks, but I wanted to know what you think of a story where our human friend suffers an accident aboard the lost light in the Brainstrom laboratory and now the bots are able to see his thoughts. Bonus points if it's weird stuff (most of our minds are very weird), (sorry if something is poorly translated, I'm writing this with the translator) ^^)

One, I absolutely adore this concept.

Two, did you know there are people that think in pictures rather than use an internal voice?

And to top it off, people go around referencing pop culture, iconic scenes, memes, and their favorite media as well as the weird, intrusive thoughts and extreme, nonsensical daydreams...

I like to think there would be a media war between the Cybertronians that never went to Earth and only know beloved cartoons and shows and memes from the weird reenactment from the resident human's mind but with the Lost Light crew getting morphed into it versus the Cybertronians that actually had direct experience and personally downloaded those shows and movies.

As the "I Ship It" song goes, canon ground versus crack ship space.

Does anyone else remember those Naruto animation videos where the Akatsuki are drawn drunk or doing hilarious dances? The human looked up the Decepticon Justice Division, cross referenced on what they do, and immediately thought of a full sequence of the D.J.D. doing the Gang Torture Dance from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

The human thinks of sequences, including but not limited to:

Ultra Magnus as Steve Harvey from Family Feud with Rodimus with the "Nekkid Grandma!" bit

Rodimus doing "Goofy Goober Rock" because Roddy would love to be suspended in the air and dressed in wizard swag with a killer rip on a peanut-themed guitar. Drift has the legs to fulfill Patrick's fishnet-and-heels dance.

Megatron and Ratchet in The Office because he would stare deep into the camera at whatever new trouble has plagued the ship

Getaway and Rodimus doing the "Tony and Ezekiel" bit

So many fire-related memes: Elmo and the "This is fine." Dog.

The overlap of Rodimus in Gurren Lagen and Bang Brave Bang Bravern

The continuously weirder and weirder thoughts on how Cybertronian strip club would look like based on Futurama, Cyberpunk, and Night runner's Magnum Bullets. "Snu-snu" bit included. It's both highly ridiculous, strangely erotic, and absolutely terrifying at the same time to the Lost Light crew.

Whenever a mech does something stupid, the human immediately reimagines the mech in Wheel of Fortune fails, or a shoving potatoes in the exhaust

Nightbeat in a noir setting or as Sherlock Holmes

Rung is "Mister Cellophane" from Chicago

Assigned character theme songs

The last bullet causes so much drama because mechs want to have really cool or badass themes, but no! The human assigns them sex or porn songs like "Life is a Highway" and "Shut Up and Drive" and "Two Trucks," or something silly like "Barbie Girl" or the opening theme to Mega XLR or the sad song on the world's smallest violin to the poor bastard that gets stuck with the engex bill at the end of the night.

[alianarepasa]

Little Toy Prince: Chapter Prologue

Summary: After bringing in a wooden Christmas toy Nutcracker, which for some reason, looks like his ex-rival, SMG3 woke up from a noise in the upper floor of his cafe. Little did he know, he will be experiencing the classic Christmas story, without any knowledge of its story.

Tags: Inspired by Barbie in the Nutcracker, Nutcracker Story

Note: Thanks to Olive/lullabycreations for being my proof-reader for the Prologue and Chapter 1, even if they have no knowledge on SMG4

“HUH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE NUTCRACKER?! IT’S ONE OF THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS STORY SMG3!” said in shocked expression by a dude in a blue sweater with white overall, to his purple sweater with black overall doppelganger ex-rival now friend, SMG3.

SMG3 groans. “SMG4, almost 2 years ago, you said to your friends that I didn’t celebrate Christmas with anyone in my entire life. How in the hell are you shocked that I didn't hear that story before?” He said with an irritated look.

SMG3 never really celebrated Christmas in his whole life during his time as a villain. Yea sure, he knows what the holiday is all about due to seeing a lot of ads, and kept hearing those Christmas songs everywhere, but he never cared and/or had time to celebrate it for all those years. But ever since SMG4 invited him to celebrate it with his friends, he at least had a good time with it. Even if his first Christmas from 2021 causes him too much trouble for being destructive in the Blooperville, while his last year's second Christmas was almost destroyed, while also being saved with the help of everyone in that Christmas dinner by his and SMG4’s avatar, Mario, by accidentally hurting Melony’s axolotl, it is at least a fun time. 

However, he never really has interested, to look up at some Christmas related content, especially those Christmas stories, like “A Christmas Carol”, “The Little Match Girl”, “The Polar Express” or any of those kinds of story, with of course what SMG4 mentioned to SMG3, “The Nutcracker”.

SMG4 then concernedly explained, but not a very loud kind of response to SMG3’s question. “Well, I know that you DON’T celebrate Christmas in the past, but I always thought that you may have heard about the Nutcracker, or any kind of Christmas stories!” “Well surprise! I may know what Christmas is, but it does not mean I know what kind of Christmas story that I read, heard, or heck! Seen before!” SMG3 responds back in a harsh tone, but not in an insulting kind of harsh.

“Even the Barbie version?!” SMG4 exclaimed, questioning SMG3, which caused him to feel even more annoyed at the blue idiot. 

“Yes. Even the Barbie version.” SMG3 then sighed annoyingly. “Look, I don’t know what your obsession is with this kind of question from you right now, but if you keep asking me about these things, I would literally gonna shove a bag of sugar cookies through your mouth!” SMG3 said it as if it was a threat to SMG4, in which it wasn’t.

“Aww man, you literally never celebrated Christmas at all! You may as well get visited soon by the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future if you keep that up~~!” SMG4 teased

“Is that a Christmas story that I will never get a reference from?” SMG3 said in a displeased look

“It is.” SMG4 answered in a smug look. SMG3 responded to him with even more annoyed, yet tired groans, SMG4 chuckled at the reaction of his ex-rival. But then, SMG4 has an idea.

“Oh I know! What if tomorrow’s Christmas Eve Dinner, we should watch Barbie in the Nutcracker with the others!” SMG4 exclaimed

“Are you for real?” SMG3 rebuked.

“Yes, I am for real here!” SMG4 responded excitedly. “This will be fun! Hell, it may as well be your first time getting an exposure to that Christmas story! Yea sure, I could’ve picked a better movie adaption of the Nutcracker, than the one that I suggested, but honestly, I just think watching the Barbie version is more fun to watch!” SMG4 excitedly explained it even more to SMG3

“So… will this be fine enough for you to get into the Christmas story spirit?” He insisted at SMG3.

“Yea, yea, sure! Whatever! I’m only agreeing with this because it’s the only way that will make you stop questioning me about my past choices on not being interested in Christmas shit” SMG3 accepted the offer, annoyingly enough.

“Then that settles it then! I will try and tell everyone if they’re up for it as well. I may also start setting things up for tomorrow. Wanna help out on this one 3?” He asked, which SMG3 just gave him a thumbs up with an annoyed look. SMG4 then smiled. “Alrighty then! Just gonna get some essential stuff for tomorrow’s Christmas Movie Night!”

“Can you set up some rugs in the main lobby?” SMG4 requested. “Sure.” SMG3 responded.

After a few hours of setting things up, the Meme Guardians were finally done with it. SMG4 then explained that he’s going to tell everyone about the Christmas Movie night, and other than that, he let SMG3 go home as there is nothing else he can do now. They said their goodbyes, and SMG3 left the castle. As he is going back into his cafe shop, he is already feeling… conflicted. On one hand, he regrets accepting the offer. I mean, Christmas Movie Night is not a bad idea, but him, SMG4, and the others watching a Barbie movie adaptation of a Christmas classic story about a girl and her nutcracker? That’s just an embarrassment! Knowing that Mario and Bob will be disgusted by it. But on the other hand, if he is being honest to himself here, he wouldn’t even mind watching an animated movie that is adapted by a girl’s doll, even if not everyone joined, he wouldn’t even mind just watching it with SMG4, he just doesn’t want to admit it.

When he’s going through his own thoughts, it gets instantly cut-off. As he was about to reach his cafe, he noticed the box in front of the cafe’s door.

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Level 1: Let's-a-go easy with some illuminated Mario!

What I want to explore at least partly over the course of Nintendo-vember is the fact, that Dobson was biased with a capital b when it came to videogames and Nintendo. To be more specific, Dobson not only hated people who played anything but Nintendo, acting like PS3 users are the scum of the earth (which we can see examples of a lot near the end of the month), but he was also very opinionated what counts as “the true and honest” depictions of his favorite Nintendo characters.

Again, something more explored down the line soon, but to give at least one example for how even the slightest “deviation” from Dobson’s own interpretation can result in him getting pissed, only for things to backfire on him in some sense (partly a cosmic one) let me turn back time a bit to the November of 2017.

Almost 6 years ago, it was announced that Illumination, the studio behind the Despicable Me movies and some really shitty Dr. Seuss based works, would head the animation work on Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros movie. And people were pissed.

Many of them believing that the studio would ruin their favorite videogame character and produce something that was of great disservice to him. And that was something people claimed, before even the voice cast was announced and everyone had a mental breakdown over Chris Pratt voicing Mario.

For your sanity though, don't click on the vidoe of that fat slob from Boston who is more of a disservice to animation than Live Action Disney is currently

Now to be fair, I am myself aware of the quality of Illumination up until the Mario movie came out. The Despicable Me and Minions movies, plus Secret Life of Pets, having been the most successful endeavors of the company, while also creating some rather annoying, though in my opinion funny cartoon slapstick characters. But honestly, I never thought that Illumination doing the Mario movie, could possibly be the worst thing to ever happen. At the very least, even if the company had fucked up royally with Dr. Seuss related content, they actually have some understanding of cartoon slapstick in their work and can in my opinion create some very colorful movies. And let us be real here, Super Mario has never been the most “adult” or deep franchise on the planet. So as long as Nintendo would keep them on the leash (which they did in the end) I doubted the movie would be utter shit. I at least did not expect it to be the Teen Titans Go of Nintendo, dumb like Boss Baby or unfocused and insulting like Wonder Park.

And lo and behold, the movie came out and minor things aside (like using Take on me as a pop song in the background at one moment) it captured the essence of Mario, was very colorful and a smash hit. To the point it was up until Barbie came along still the most successful movie of 2023 and is the third highest crossing animated movie of all time. With the place actually being the second, if the Lion King remake from 2019 wouldn’t be technically considered animated. Heck, you could actually call it the most succesful animated movie of all time currently, if you also decide to look at the list in such a way, that "sequels"/continuations ofalready established IPs don't count.

What I am trying to say is, in hindsight, many people should have just simply tried to be calm and see where things were heading.Give Illumination the benefit of the doubt. Particularly if they decided to first think about what was likely going to happen and analyze the pro and cons of Illumination doing the movie.

But fuck using your brain when your name is Andrew Dobson.

Dobson took genuine offense to the idea of Illumination doing the movie and as such made a “mock art” of what Mario would likely look in their art style.

There was just a tinsy winsy problem with it. The artwork in itself….

Turned out to be better looking, than most things Dobson did at the time.

No, seriously. Considering the lack of a decent art output at the time aside of shitting on nerds via SYAC strips, this, for what is obviously meant to take the piss out on Illumination’s art style reserved for the Minions, actually looks rather decent. Sure, Mario looks like a tic tac, but for a “quick” sketch, it looks nice. Mario looks -unlike Dobbear in 95% of the strips- actually happy by the way he smiles as well as very cartoonish. And considering that the blood and soul of Mario is kinda in the cartoonish nature of the game series -as evident by how ridiculously Mario Wonder is currently- Dobson in my opinion captured here the soul of Mario better than he did in other pics he did way back in the earlier 2000s.

Though to be fair, these pics look decent enough and at least Dobson was experimenting with different styles back then. Perhaps his cartoonish style would have worked best with Nintendo, if he refined it just right.

Which you know, kinda defeats the “purpose” of the picture if you ask me. I mean, it is obvious Dobson just did it to vent and piss on the fact that a company he considered “inferior” to other animation studios, would bring his favorite videogame character on the big screen for the first time since that Bob Hoskins movie. But if he wanted to mock the idea, he failed. Simply because in his sketch he doesn’t really “highlight” why Illumination being behind Mario would be bad. Not helped by the fact Dobson lacked giving more context why in his opinion that was a bad idea. And the few posts he did, painted him just as hating Charles Martinet and believing Charles would be the main voice of the characters in the movie

An as stated earlier, in hindsight, any “criticism” or fear Dobson might have had, proved in my opinion invalid in the end. The movie was not only a success, but it also paid tribute to his “precious” Mario is from Brooklyn background.

Frankly, the only thing I can see in the pic I would criticize is that Dobson a) gave Mario four fingers despite the fact he should know by now he has five (though that may be a cartoony jab at the Minions. Though even that jab is half assed, cause if he wanted to emulate their design, he should have given Mario three instead of four digits) and b) Mario being likely completely bald under that cap. The later just doesn’t fit entirely. Which, considering the Minions are mostly bald, may have been the intention by Dobson, to create an uncanny effect. Unfortunately, the rest of the artwork balances it out mostly, so on average the sketch ends up being visually more pleasing than anything.

Honestly though, the picture’s existence does highlight one thing more than anything: That Dobson would rather create something out of spite and hatred, rather than a genuine sense of enjoyment. That and if Ilumination being announced as a company to animate the movie, I wonder how he reacted in light of the casting or other Mario related news. Like can you imagine how livid he must have been when Mario+Rabbids by Ubisoft was announced and became popular?

[manofthepipis]

Here are my own Addison/Spamton headcannons to add on! :]

(buckle up cause I got a lot)

If Spamton tries to talk about personal memories that he tried very hard to bury, (like his puppitfication), he physically cant. If he talks about a memory that overwhelms him his body would spaz out in glitches and error signs. (kinda like a system crash)

I feel like if the Adds were to get the grasp of healing magic, the first one to perfect it would be Clicks. (bc he already makes tea that heals you!)

Sponsor owns a motorcycle! (because they thought it made them look cool) And regularly takes it out for a spin when he's done with work for the day.

Survey is a secret horror fan, and when having movie nights with the other adds, they would always recommend horror movies that they personally like.

I feel like Banner really focused on clothing after Spamton went missing, (he only really did this as a side hustle/hobby beforehand) as it was a good distraction and a way to cope, and he found out he was really good at it! And made it his primary business.

When an addison gives a gift with no underlying intention/price tag attached, it is seen as a sign of a genuine friendship, familial, or courtship relations, (like when they all gifted Spamton the new phone) as all addisons are selfish in nature

Clicks 1000000000% cried at the Barbie movie and has a poster of her in his room lololol

Sponsor absolutely LOVES those shitpost videos on TikTok, like that smurf-cat that's been trending recently? his feed is FULL of videos like that

Its hard for Spamton to open up for a variety of reasons, because he HATES it when people give him pity, he's been dealing with that his whole life, and knows that bigshot's don't get those looks.

Along with fashion, Banner is CRAZY good at makeup, and that's when he and Clicks have most of their gossip sessions when doing Clicks makeup when they're hanging out together

Survey has a soft spot for holiday seasons (not just because of shopping sales and spike and sales, cause all addisons are scrambling when october hits,) but also because it's a time they feel all warm and fuzy with their family :]

To add on to the motorcycle thing, Banner was very against Sponsor getting one, as he heard about horror stories on those "death traps" (his words)

to add on to the one above, Sponsor didn't wear a helmet once, (cause he only needed to go like, a street down to grab something,) and Banner gave him HELL. bro went on a whole rant about Bike saftey and Sponsor always wore a helmet after that incident (a mad banner is very scary! cause i hc that he always keeps his chill) (Banner is not beating mom friend allegations)

Jevil LOVES messing with Clicks the most, as he's the drama queen, and his reactions are hilarious cause he HATES the clown. Jevil will do things like change his wallpaper, take secret selfies, or just flat out jumpscare him because it never gets old...

Sponsor is a BEAST at Just Dance, like, bro is doing breakdancing for every single song, and he WILL make EVERYONE do the dances correctly, (as clicks likes to half-ass it by just moving the controller correctly)

Banner is the strongest physically out of all the addisons. Y'know like, that punching bag game in arcades where the harder you punch the bag the more points you get? Banner DEMOLISHED that, and has one of the highest scores still.

Clicks secretly plays dating sim games as a guilty pleasure

also have you seen eviction day yet? If not, I HIGHLY reccomend! I will add a warning for flashing lights and disturbing imagry though, https://youtu.be/fzzGtz4v3YU?si=6-AD5j8qrGARbdM3

but yea! here are my silly lil headcannons for the silly lil guys :]

i'm incredibly happy with the energy we've created in the studio today

also known as omg i love these headcanons like this is great food hfjdksjdjdks

the first one i also share! and it's a bit of why i headcanon swatch feels distant from spamton out of everybody he talks to. Like they were rlly close at one point and talked a lot, and swatch was his shoulder at high stress points in his job. However when the Horrors happened, he physically couldn't explain anything, leaving swatch to wonder what exactly happened to him and then build up resentment for keeping them in the dark. They even tried to help at first, but help turned to hate real fast when neo got involved.

i love the idea over clicks and spamton maybe bonding over some healing magic, like i had something similar in mind for a future chapter but this rlly has me smiling at the possibilities. spamton would maybe give him some tips- for a price. He IS thinking about trying to capitalize the whole healing gig after all since he's good at it.

banner going into clothing after spamton disappeared makes sense, especially with keeping busy trying to forget about him (it's awful hard to with the mannequins looking the way they do, but maybe that's a good thing in the long run) also i adore the mom friend vibe these headcanons have about him. i'd love to add on to the helmet thing, as I feel Clicks would join him on this (he's protective) but sponsor (and maybe even survey) claims it's fine if it was just once.

i completely agree with surv and the holidays. honestly i feel like they're the most ambitious with holiday sales and are unmatched, kind of peaking during seasonal sales in general (seeing how many survey ads are in place when customer shopping is at an all time high). spamton was indifferent to the holiday craze (cuz even when addisons were at their busiest, he wasn't) but liked when everything settled down after they weren't as busy to talk with him again. I have a picture in mind of survey chilling with spamton and realizing this, how happy he is when they're not busy (and feeling as if he was supposed to be), and being happy in return, if not sympathetic to him.

jevil pranking the adds and being a general nuisance is just so funny to me. gosh i can just imagine the absolute chaos he'd bring to a tea shop, mixing up the names and flavors, upon the other things (especially the wallpaper that has me cracking up with ideas). spamton, at the request (and payment) of clicks, gets jevil to stop (maybe. it's unclear if hes actually stopped completely or if there's smaller pranks here and there) but he secretly finds it hilarious.

overall these headcanons are great and i'm so happy to see them shared

[starleska]

Beach Ken as a mint-condition boxed doll: a heartbreaking Kencanon 💔

Barbie is the kind of movie that’s going to inspire a thousand interpretations, and i wanted to play around with some of the ideas within!! don’t take this too seriously - i do think the Barbies and Kens are more like physical representations of ideas, but it’s still fun to think of them as characters 😉 spoilers for the Barbie movie below!!

so the brilliant @avatarmerida/Allisa came up with this fascinating bit of lore for Ken...that Stereotypical Barbie is not really ‘his’ Barbie, and that Beach Ken really ought to have a Beach Barbie has his counterpart. Allisa posits that Weird Barbie may well be Ken’s original Barbie, prior to her weirdification 👀 check out this behind-the-scenes picture from an apparent deleted scene:

i think this is a marvellous theory that ties up some very interesting things about Ken’s behaviour in comparison to the other Kens, and especially why the other Barbies and Kens seem to be quite comfortable with one another (even if the other Kens also felt rejected enough to follow Beach Ken on his patriarchal bender). we get a lot of Ken’s inner workings and self-loathing in a cover of a song he sings to Barbie, ‘Push’ by Matchbox 20:

'Said, I don't know if I've ever been good enough I'm a little bit rusty, and I think my head is caving in And I don't know if I've ever been really loved By a hand that's touched me, and I feel like something's got to give'

here we can see that Ken’s deep-seated insecurity isn’t a recent development: he isn’t sure that he has ever been good enough. he makes references to never feeling like he’s been loved ‘by a hand that’s touched me’...this supports Allisa’s idea that Ken has never been played with, or was/is neglected in some way compared to the other Barbies and Kens in Barbieland. i wonder if the ‘rustiness’ he’s referring to is actually his capacity for intimacy. 

if we run with Allisa’s idea of Weird Barbie being Beach Ken’s Barbie, we have to ask: is Ken intellectually cognizant of ‘his’ Barbie being missing, or does he experience this void in a traumatic kind of way - a deep, sinking, emptiness in his gut? the way Ken’s jealousy manifests makes me lean towards the latter, especially with the way that the Barbies and Kens are largely ignorant of how they relate to the dolls that humans play with. here’s a related thought: isn’t it curious how Weird Barbie, the Barbie who has arguably been played with the most, is the one who knows about the human world? this connection seems consistent: the more Stereotypical Barbie was thought about/’played with’ by Gloria as an adult, the more aware she became of the human world. if we take that bit of canon and work backwards, we have to ask...what would happen to a doll who has been played with the least - or was outright neglected? let’s take a look at some more lyrics from ‘Push’:

‘Said I don't know why you ever would lie to me Cause I'm a little untrusting when I think that truth is gonna hurt you And I don't know why you couldn't just stay with me You couldn't stand to be near me When my face don't seem to wanna shine Cause I'm a little bit dirty, oh, well Don't just stand there, say nice things to me' it’s possible that not only is Ken only vaguely aware of why he’s in so much pain: he could be less aware than another Ken with a missing Barbie would be, because he has been played with the least. although the other Kens are about as insecure and dumb as you’d expect from dolls designed to be accessories, our Ken specifically seems to believe there’s something wrong with him: that Barbie hates him and that it’s down to the way he behaves or just is as a Ken. he moves from describing himself as ‘a little bit dirty’ to begging Barbie to do something, say anything that would make him feel good about himself. everything Ken does from his scary jealous-dancing to his upending of Barbieland shows off how badly he wants to be noticed. Ken isn’t just touch-starved: he’s intimacy-starved.

i don’t think this damage is interchangeable with the other Kens; as of the time of writing, it seems that Ken is unique in Barbieland for not having a Barbie as his counterpart. whether or not the other Barbies and Kens were designed to be together, or were paired together during play, it appears that our Ken is the only one without a Barbie who reciprocates his affections in some manner, or understands they are ‘supposed’ to be together. we see this in his song ‘I’m Just Ken’:

'I have feelings that I can't explain Drivin' me insane All my life been so polite But I'll sleep alone tonight Cause I'm just Ken, anywhere else I'd be a ten Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?' those feelings that are driving him insane may not be unique to Beach Ken, but i think either the size of those feelings, or Ken’s capacity for dealing with them, is. the other Kens (notably Simu Liu’s Ken, or ‘Ken 2′) seem relatively well-adjusted (for Kens) until Ken returns with knowledge of the patriarchy. perhaps it’s because we are supposed to focus on Beach Ken’s emotions, but it does seem like our Ken has a disproportionate amount of self-loathing, anxiety, arrogance, and a desire to be loved. why is he like this compared to the other Kens? well, i think that our Ken has the wrong end of the stick. he believes that there is something wrong with him - that he is dirty, defective, or broken in some way - but it’s actually the exact opposite. i think that while his counterpart Barbie - Weird Barbie - was played with and loved a great deal, that our Ken was kept in the box, and has never been played with once. 

what would happen to a doll in Barbieland whose self-esteem and understanding of relationships hinges on the way, or how much, they’re played with? when i say i think Ken is a boxed doll, i don’t mean a collector’s item; i’m inclined to believe if he was, he would be able to feel that love the way Barbie could feel how she was played with. i think it’s more likely he’s still boxed, and was forgotten about and never opened. doesn’t it make sense that Ken has so much rage and self-hatred whilst looking physically ‘perfect’, whilst Weird Barbie is more than content despite her body being so physically altered? there’s nothing to suggest that a boxed doll couldn’t exist in Barbieland, but i wonder what that would do to a doll’s psyche...we’re having a real Toy Story moment 😭 hell, we could take this a step further! the emotionally volatile, restrictive, stunted aspects of Ken’s personality could be down to his never having been played with. this could be why our Ken is so insistent that he isn’t allowed to be on a certain part of the beach. this could be why he considers himself ‘fragile’. this could be why Beach Ken wears his emotions on his sleeve and looks visibly more upset than any of the other Kens. self-actualisation was achieved for both Stereotypical Barbie and Weird Barbie because they were thought about, played with, acknowledged...and above all else, Ken craves acknowledgement from Barbie. he ‘only has a good day if Barbie looks at him’. when Ken tells Barbie, ‘I only exist within the warmth of your gaze’...he means it 💔

that’s the idea!! i hope i’m making sense with my ramblings 🙈 fanfic authors, fanartists and theory-makers, feel free to go nuts with this silly little notion...as much as i adore how terrible and arrogant and sexy Patriarchy!Ken is, i would love to see some stuff exploring this angst and him finally getting all the love and attention he deserves 😖💖

[lynnmatthewswrites]

The New Girl at Hogwarts: Chapter One- The Move

Authors Note: Hiya! I started writing this because I couldn’t see myself in so many fanfiction protagonists! I love the Harry Potter series and really relate to Hermione and Luna, who were so proudly not submitting to stupid things like pink and girly stuff! This fic is a love letter to the quirky girls and the girls who love Hogwarts! I also thought id include a gay character for gay rights! Sorry if there r any typos I tried my best.(LMK if you want a Y/N ver)

Sarah Lynn Clampitt wasn’t like a lot of girls she knew. Sarah Lynn didn’t like Taylor Swift or Lana Del Rey. Her favorite band was Panic! at The Disco, or maybe Paramore, though they were so underground most of her friends had never heard of them. Sarah Lynn didn’t care about short skirts and being girly, and much preferred hanging with the boys and getting dirty over lip gloss and glitter. She was also a witch, and went to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course, that was until her rich father died tragically, and she had to move in with her mom’s sister in England. (her mom died when she was a baby in a tragic accident and it was really sad)

Sarah Lynn would miss Ilvermony, even though she was sort of unpopular- all the other girls liked Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour and the Barbie movie, while Sarah Lynn hung out with boys- and the boys liked her, but still! Sarah Lynn sighed, looked out of the airplane window, and shed a single tear, missing her dad and her friends from New York. But they didn’t matter anymore. She was going to Hogwarts, and things were gonna be different! She put in her wired earbuds (airpods are stupid) and started playing one of her favorite songs- “House of Memories” by Panic! at the Disco. (AN: most people have never heard of this song but def check it out! it’s super good) She really liked P!ATD, even though Brandon Urine had collabed with stupid taylor swift. 

Sarah Lynn realized she had fallen asleep on the plane, and they were now landing in London. She pulled her golden blonde hair into a messy bun and pulled down her baggy t-shirt and walked off the plane with her backpack. Her aunt had texted her that she would pick her up at the airport, but Sarah Lynn had just now realized her aunt’s appearance was a total mystery to her. She walked off the plane and into the airport, where she began to read the names on signs- John, Craig, Angie, Bob, Robert, Bobby, Bob, until she saw a sign that made her freeze. It was a pink, glittery sign, with hello kitty and my little ponies on it. Even more terrifying was what it read. Sarah Lynn. THIS was her aunt? Sarah Lynn looked up to see a bleach blonde, lip-gloss wearing, stanley-cup-having woman. “Hi sweetie! I’m your aunt Jessica!” Sarah Lynn was terrified. Who was this woman? How was she even related to Sarah Lynn’s beautiful mother(who died when she was a baby)

“Hi Aunt Jessica?” Sarah Lynn grimaced. 

“C’mon sweetie! Let’s get to Kings Cross!”

So the pair climbed in to Aunt Jessica’s cramped and cluttered mini, which Aunt Jessica wasn’t an adept driver of, and drove to King’s Cross, where Sarah Lynn climbed out of the car, thanked Aunt Jessica, and walked off to platform 9 and ¾. When Lynn got on the train an old man with black hair stopped her. 

“Are you Sarah Lynn Clampitt?” he asked. 

“Yes” I said.

“Well, you’re new, so you have to go to the transfer student cabin!” he yelled, pulling Sarah Lynn by her arm to the back of the train into a cell-like chamber filled with moldy bread. 

“No! Help!” Sarah Lynn screamed, banging on the door, but to no avail. Eventually she fell asleep in the cold cell, and when she woke up… she was at Hogwarts!

She was ushered inside, where she was led up to the sorting ceremony with the first years. Wow she thought. Cool. When she was pushed up onto the stage, everyone looked at her confused- she was fifteen, not eleven! Sarah Lynn blushed, before going “Erm- awko taco!” and then everyone laughed and clapped. Dumbedore put the hat on Sarah Lynn’s hat and it didnt even hesitate, just yelled GRIFFYNDOR!! so Sarah Lynn went to sit at the Gryffindor table. 

She sat next to a girl with curly hair, a ginger boy, and a boy with glasses. “Hi! I’m Sarah Lynn Clampitt. Can I sit here?”

“Of course!” The curly haired girl said. “My name is Hermione Grager, and these are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.”

“Nice to meet you” Harry said “Where are you from?”

“Im from Ilvermony in New York. But then my dad died, and my mom died when I was a baby.”

“Im so sorry” Ron said. 

“It's ok. I’m just happy to be here!” Sarah responded

“You seem really cool for a girl. Girls are so much drama.” Hemione vocated.

“Oh my god you too! I hate Taylor Swift.”

“I hate her too. I hate her I hate her I hate her. What type of music do you like?” 

“I love Panic! at the Disco and Paramore- you’ve probably never heard of them.”

“I’ve never heard of them ever!” Ron said gingerly

“They’re super good. I love Brandon Urine, even though he made a song with stupid taylor.”

The group all ewwed in unison. Just then a boy in a Charli XCX shirt sat down by Harry. Harry exclaimed “Hi Neville!”

“Hey ddady!” Neville remarked svltrily. “Snatch my wig and i oop lets roide lavender lamborgini roll up in a blue bikini- whos the new girl??”

“That’s Lynn. She’s cool.” Harry dictated. “She’s from America.”

“Oh America the land of Beyonce werk slay queen girlboss!!” Neville announced. “That’s so mother of you.”

“I hate Beyonce. She’s basic.” Sarah Lynn remarked. “You seem cool though.”

“Oh Em Gee, how can you sin upon mother girlboss? That’s so not cool I T G I R L U know I am that girl of you!” Neville sobbed.

“He’s a little sensitive.” Hermoine remarked as Neville ran of sobbing. “But he’s cool sometimes.”

“Huh.” Sarah intoned, before Dumbledore started talking. “Welcome students? My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of this school. This year, we’ve welcomed dementors and also fortune-telling because Voldemort is on the rise. Anyway, enjoy the feast!” dumbledore exclaimed as delicious food appeared before everyone- it looked like everyone got to eat their favorite food! Sarah gasped as chicken nuggets magically appeared before her. Sarah Lynn loved chicken nuggets.

“Oh my god I love chicken nuggets. Oh my god.” Sarah Lynn cried.

“Me too girl!” Hermine attributed.

“I’d be late to my wedding and just run in like SORRY I WAS GETTING CHICKIE NUGGIES!” Sarah quipped.

Sarah Lynn and Herione cheersed each other with their chicken nuggets, looking out on the other girls eating their salads and protein shakes, rolling their eyes. Stupid iceberg lettuce and croutons. Sarah Lynn felt very happy, like she’d finally found her place. A girl who was also not like other girls. Two new boys she could be one of. She was excited to learn the in and out of Hogwarts- and then she saw him. 

[jewishbarbies]

So I’m one of the girls super excited for the Barbie movie. I love barbie. I love pink. I love girl power. I’m here for it. But I keep seeing Swifties posting about ts having recorded a song for the soundtrack and that she’s one of the “TBA” songs not yet released on the track list. The soundtrack (excluding Dua) is already a flop IMO. But if I have to sit through a whole new ts song for a movie that does not need it I think I’ll implode. I know it’s probably just Swifties being Swifties. But the meer thought of it enrages me. I hope she’s not on the soundtrack. And I hope she keeps her grubby capitalist bigoted hands away from anything barbie related.

it really wouldn't surprise me, but some people were theorizing Dolly Parton, and i would be so much happier with that. because Dolly has only ever uplifted women and never pretended to be a feminist she wasn't. i could see her playing barbie's mom. whereas taylor would be the stuck up villain character that learns a valuable lesson through the power of friendship or whatever.

[soufre-de-paris]

i was tagged by @lowgardn for a getting-to-know-you meme! and now i have the spoons/energy/time to finalize! :>

last song: last song i myself chose to listen to was still taca a xereca pra mim by mc kaique but A was loudly playing lady gaga's telephone yesterday as some sort of homage to their feelings of being freed of the necessity of having a cell phone by having had it stolen

favorite color: in which i am true to my brand™. i genuinely love soft pastels pink (up until i remember they have been so inextricably linked to gender, and then i remember gender exists, and then i'm sad) yay! pink!! keep in mind i have chosen pink bc i don't think "oil slick plastic" counts as a color.

currently watching: A and i are watching the original star trek series, because they have never seen it, and it's been excellent but also Does Not Hold Up Well when it comes to gender relations. amazing that they could conceive of aliens and humans living side by side (with some issues, of course) and deep space exploration in a post-fucking-capitalist society, but not that Women Are People. but it's also some of the best television i've ever seen, so like, wtf. i am considering watching good omens by myself during my sabbatical but we will see.

last movie/tv show: barbie. too many thoughts. before that, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... probably shin ultraman???? which was so fucking great, god, hideaki anno!!

sweet/spicy/savory: what about… all of them… at once… yes, yes, this is Ideal

relationship status: i have a partner and a girlfriend and other untitled attachments. i routinely forget i am poly bc i am not actively looking to date anyone new. lately i've been really enjoying thinking about my polycule as a series of underground wires, and the connections between people who have never met and never will have chance to meet, but who are inextricably linked through the connections they form. my partner's girlfriend and my girlfriend's boyfriend have a zero possibility of ever meeting, but who can claim their lives and choices don't influence each other? furthermore, (picture me being dragged offstage by a sheep hook as i start to rant about compersion, arete, and social responsibility)

current obsessions: bg3/DROW FACTS (obviously) and the canon time-travel d.a.i fic i'm still spinning around in my head to nintendo wii sounds. and now that i'm home and our apartment is almost ready, i can start thinking about working on my own writing again… and 「glass」 is due a draft revision…

last thing you googled: colorpicker (for the image of pink above) and dumb phone with gps (for A)

tagging @maeaneke (i don't know your favorite color????) @k0gaball @the-local-gremlin @gomjabbars @thesandsofelsweyr and @birenza, no pressure!

[nyctophile-moi]

intro post:

(dividers by the incredible @saradika)

★nyc ★(she/her) ★19 ★bookworm ★love enthusiast

✰got lovesick all over my bed✰

hello hello hello! welcome to my little corner of the internet on this hell site (said with all the love i swear <33). this blog is essentially a dumping ground for all my scattered thoughts and rambles, along with things I find relatable. well, it's mostly about things i find relatable tbh. i'm very sentimental and a little bit mentally unstable so.. okay who am i kidding? very mentally unstable so some breakdowns might be in order. also f**k jkr!!

➟ basic info :

•asian •19 •bilingual •funny (please let me have this) •scorpio (still skeptical with my belief) •"love" lover •adhd haver(?) •anxious always •oversharer •flirt •coffee addict •eldest daughter •gifted kid burnout •trying to be a woman in STEM •overthinker (just give me a degree in that atp) •sarcastic af •you'll be surprised to know how much stuff i have not watched •will read anything except non-fiction •queer •cannot deal with confrontation •may oftentimes make inappropriate jokes •procrastinator (another degree right there) •easy to please •gets obsessed with things pretty easily •will shit talk with you all you want •overanalyser •pinch of grammar nazi sometimes •pathological people pleaser who doesn't want anyone to see her •may get over shit quite fast •has a new crush everyday •23 wives and counting •if we're mutuals we're besties already

➟ interests :

•people •music •books •playing guitar •making people listen to songs i like •ranting about anything and everything •making my own theories about stuff •character analysis •poetry •classics especially •rewatching the same four shows over and over again •keysmashing •eating food •making playlists •scrolling on pinterest/tumblr •sleeping •researching random shit on the internet •maths •computer science •hating physics (i'm sorry it sucks) •plotting revenge (which i'll never be following through with) •spending a tonne of my time looking at expensive aesthetic clothes that i can never afford •looking at pictures of renee rapp and asking them (read: her) to marry me over and over •collecting wives (okay i'm sorry wifeys that sounds very objectifying ilysm) •going over conversations that have already happened in my head and making myself sound better •yearning

➟stuff i love :

»music

•taylor swift •maisie peters •lana del rey •gracie abrams •niall horan •julien baker •phoebe bridgers •lucy dacus •boygenius •the 1975 •olivia rodrigo •renee rapp •arctic monkeys •lizzy mcalpine •hozier •chappell roan •ed sheeran •the neighbourhood •cigarettes after sex •billie eilish •the national •bon iver •sabrina carpenter •girl in red •lorde •ariana grande •5 seconds of summer •conan gray •ricky montgomery •the lumineers •bleachers •shreya ghoshal •arijit singh •ar rahman •shankar-ehsaan-loy •mohit chauhan •sanam •md rafi •kishore kumar •lata mangeshkar •asha bhosle •mukesh •pankaj udhas •jagjit singh •pritam

»books

•book lovers •beach read •happy place •people we meet on vacation •the picture of dorian gray •pride and prejudice •emma •sense and sensibility •wuthering heights •the diary of a young girl •the murder of roger ackroyd •and then there were none •the fault in our stars •i fell in love with hope •the harry potter series •the seven husbands of evelyn hugo •heartstopper •boyfriend material •murder on the orient express •the mysterious affair at styles •the kiss quotient etc. etc.

(can you tell i have a versatile taste? also, emily henry is my auto-buy author and agatha christie is the queen of crime. hercule poirot is the better detective. argue with the wall pls.)

»movies/shows

•brooklyn nine-nine •friends •never have i ever •love, victor •fleabag •dead poets society •the theory of everything •bridgerton •poor things •derry girls •barbie •la la land •harry potter movies •red, white and royal blue •enola holmes •mean girls •legally blonde •the princess diaries •emma •pride and prejudice •heartstopper •little women •k3g •any srk movie basically •badhai do •shubh mangal zyada savdhan etc. etc.

➟DNI - racists, ableists, ED-promoting blogs, pedophiles, people younger than 13, empty/untitled blogs (y'all might be bots idk), jkr supporters/anyone affiliated with jkr, haters, zoophiles, anti-palestinians, misogynists/misandrists, fatphobes, homophobic people, transphobes, xenophobes etc. and anyone else who fits into that majority!!

(thankyou for reading all of that, can't believe i wrote it <33)

[mesaylormoon]

Howl's Moving Castle: 20 Years Later

Howl's Moving Castle is Hayao Miyazaki's adaptation of the novel by the same name. I have always been curious to read the book, but have just never bothered... Regardless, this is a cinematic outing more than worthy of being judged on its own merits. It is perhaps one of Studio Ghibli's most popular and visually stunning movies, and I have only ever seen one review in which the critic in question was not a big fan of the film. (If you are a subscriber of the Nostalgia Critic's, you may know who I'm referencing). In fact, I make it a point to address his thoughts on the movie, as I (unfortunately) agree with some of his observations. If it's any consolation, I would like to balance out my own review with an acknowledgement of some of the qualities that make Howl's Moving Castle a beloved piece of pop culture.

Pros:

Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Josh Hutcherson -- honestly, the entire cast -- submit fantastic performances in the English dub. In fact, Howl's Moving Castle may be the only Studio Ghibli picture where I prefer the dub version over the sub

This is Hayao Miyazaki's most exquisite feature to date. Literally every frame of the film offers the audience meticulously animated footage that makes this movie one of Studio Ghibli's most recognizable and celebrated releases

The romance between Howl and Sophie is absolutely precious

The chemistry between all the characters in this movie is unbelievable. Despite being figments of fiction, the performances and relationship-building between the cast are so strong it feels as if everyone on screen is a true family

The main theme of this movie is definitely one of Studio Ghibli's most iconic. I will never not think of my mom and aunt when I hear it

Hot take: I personally like Howl's Moving Castle more than some of Studio Ghibli's most popular movies (especially Spirited Away)

The closing song is absolutely beautiful

Howl is unreasonably handsome considering he is a literal drawing, and the design of his castle is creepy and creative

Cons:

Character motivations are often unclear. Even Sophie's desire to return to her youth is a plot element that doesn't serve as a driving force in the story

Most Studio Ghibli movies feature relatable protagonists whose conflicts keep the narrative focused. This is not the case in Howl's Moving Castle. Sophie is a very likable protagonist with a well-defined personality, but she is mostly depicted as a passive player in her own movie and her actions do not help the plot progress

It's clear that the visuals in this film motivate the ideas, rather than the ideas motivating the visuals. This creates a sort of stagnant viewing experience and makes it difficult to appreciate the movie as a flowing narrative

Verdict: Like Barbie, the flaws in Howl's Moving Castle are notable enough to affect the quality of the film. But in my opinion, this picture is so remarkable in every regard that I can overlook its shortcomings and appreciate the wonder it provides its fanbase. There are so many reasons this movie has left a strong impression in the anime community and, hopefully, I was able to articulate all of them in this review.

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I hope you had a really amazing birthday! Yay for your voice being back and I'm glad you're feeling better. Oh that is kinda a cool idea, to stab the cake..I've never thought of that. I guess it's almost similar to a piñata though haha. Ya I know..cuz some people have accents and stuff which is kinda weird to think about since I don't think of it that much. I think I will think of my resolutions when I get to the end of the year..at least the specifics. I never stick to them though but I really wanna change that ugh.

Yep I think you told me that before but that sucks. I think it came out how many songs were in the movie so people were trying to figure out what was cut. I don't know the songs that well to make a guess honestly but if you have any idea, you can say it here. I think they could get rid of whose house is this but a lot of the songs could possibly feel unnecessary anyway since people already know the movie. There's a few I wouldn't care about them cutting I guess..i could see Cautionary Tale, Sexy and I find more is always better pretty boring lol. I hope the movie is still good though. I know most people still don't know it was based on the musical and it's similar with The Color Purple actually and Wonka. I think Wonka got kinda good reviews but I'm not sure I will go watch it yet.

Yay! I don't like worrying about getting older either so I know exactly what you mean and I don't really enjoy my birthday anymore either but there's also nothing you can do about it so no point worrying. Omg I did think of Dancing with our hands tied too but I guess I forgot it. Also find that 1975 lyric so relatable. I'm glad you enjoyed them! What are some of your favorites so far? Oh thats nice..you can always take your friend's recommendations too since they have so many good songs.

I know! And I also enjoy Snow on the Beach quite a bit. My sister freaked out when the collab was announced haha. It was definitely one of the songs that stood out on a first listen to me and you can definitely hear Lana's influence on it. That's also similar to how Electric Touch sounds like Fall Out Boy too. It kinda sounds like a Lana song. I still prefer the original version compared to more Lana because of the dreamy outro though. Are you also a fan of Lana and do you listen to her? What are your favorite songs?

I am excited to listen to the EP. I assume your url is a lyric and I wonder if it has to do with new years kiss or day or simply just wanting the year to be over. I will listen soon and give you my thoughts..I'm sure I will love it too. That kinda music always makes me happy too. I can't believe Christmas is already this week.

Oh that's so awful! It makes sense why you would dislike it now. When did you see it on tour? Have you just been holding a grudge against CATS for years? At least it wasn't at one of your favorite musicals! Also are you a cat lover? I'm not as much as Taylor but I do like them. I think La La Land just feels like a modern version of a classic old movie musical and I like how many references there are. Also I know people said they couldn't sing, but Emma was in Cabaret on Broadway and now Ryan sang in Barbie. I liked the setup and structure of it. I like the simple story of two people reaching for their dream. It reminds me of the same concept of Dorothea or Midnight Rain too..which we have talked about. I also like comparing it to The Last Five Years and a Star is Born too which have some similarities and differences. I also loved those two films so much and they all revolve around couples who don't work out lol. But you know by now that I just like to compare things, like with books, so maybe that's why.

I actually got a few books yesterday for a quarter each. One of them was Get a Life, Chloe Brown which I have heard I think good reviews of. I wanted to know if you've read it. Another one was by the same author of The Virgin Suicides and I love that movie so much. I also got book by the same author of Big Little Lies and I have another one of her books on my shelf so I thought it might be a good pair. I haven't actually seen Big Little Lies and I'm not a mystery reader lol so I'll have to see. Another thing you should know about me is that I absolutely love sitcoms. That and teen dramas and baking shows are usually the shows I watch. so I also got Mindy Kalings book and Matthew Perry's book...RIP which I thought was a pretty good deal. Also it was announced the other day that Captain Holt from B99 passed away. :( I also have Anna Kendricks and Andrew Rannells books on my shelf too and wanted to possibly read Im Glad my mom died and I was in the middle of Crying in Hmart before too. I honestly don't know why I buy more when so many are already on my list.

Well we have a lot of the same Folklore favorites and less on Evermore I guess. I still like debut..I just never play it anymore. That doesn't mean it's bad..it's just that she's gotten better compared to debut's lyrics which are more simple. plus I don't wanna flash back to being 12 all the time lol and I didn't even play the full album until I was like 20. but my favorite songs on the album are songs I really love a lot. But I definitely have a soft spot for it cuz that's what made me love her in the first place. I would argue Fearless is one of her best albums too for bringing something new to country music. I was never a fan of country but she made me a fan of it anyway and that's important too. All of her albums mean something different to me. I put rep next cuz there isn't a song that I dislike and I connect with the meaning or feeling of the album the most. I know she said the old Taylor was dead on the album, but to me it was like she was coming back to me cuz I didn't connect to 1989. I do wonder if the vault tracks will lean into that more which will make me love it more. I almost feel disconnected to her in a similar way right now but I don't really know why and I'm hoping Rep TV helps. I hope you had the most wonderful birthday and wish many good things for you for the next year! I think you're such a kind person and enjoy talking to you! 🩷

hello, friend!! it was really, really fun! a fun fact about me is that i used to have a blend of a british-australian-irish accent (a product of going to international school and having british, australian and irish teachers) but then i very quickly dropped it after i moved here! i actually sent a childhood friend a voice memo the other day — which was the first time he's heard my voice in like, fifteen years — and he was shocked at how "american" i sound. i am terrible at doing accents just for fun though!

i'm also trying to figure out what will be cut and what will stay — i'm thinking world burn, i see stars, revenge party, apex predator, sexy, someone gets hurt, it roars, fearless and i'd rather be me will be in it? i'm not sure what else — maybe whose house is this, where do we belong/meet the plastics (like a mashup like they did on the tonys)? i don't know if they'll keep stupid with love or more is better, just because i don't think the guy playing aaron can sing? what do you think? i also don't think i'll be going to see wonka (but that's not a surprise, given how terrible i am at watching movies haha)!

i don't listen to lana much! i like a few songs — the ones that most people like, but i have a family friend's daughter who lovesssss lana (she's fifteen) so i do want to give lana another try just so i can ~ seem cool ~ and ~ have something to talk to ~ with the fifteen year old haha. what about you? do you listen to lana? what are your favorites?

my url IS a lyric! it's from the song "is it new year's yet" and it is also just kind of how i feel! i feel like the last like ~ two weeks of the year is kind of a waiting game, so i'm kind of just like! okay! tick tock! i do love winter/christmas music though — fruitcake ep, together this christmas by maisie peters, so much wine by phoebe bridgers, laufey's a very laufey holiday, christmas tree farm, the holiday collection... etc!

i saw it many, many years ago! i think in 2012 or 2013? and yes, i've just been holding a grudge against CATS since then 😭 i do like cats! i am very allergic but i just did a whole thing of allergy shots so hopefully that'll help! i am more of a dog person (just because i've had dogs and while i'm allergic to dogs too, my allergies aren't as bad). and i do agree — i love classic old movie musicals, and they got that vibe perfectly! it also reminds me of once — not as classic old movie musical, but just in the way things end! have you seen once (movie or musical)? i love it; maybe i'll spin the vinyl today while i work!

oh that's such a good deal! i did like the brown sisters series; the second one (dani brown) is my favorite! i hope you enjoy it; you'll have to let me know! i haven't read most of the other ones you mentioned, but i did read crying in h mart (and loved it; have read it two or three times now), and i am also guilty of buying books when i have a huge physical tbr stack! it's one of my 2024 goals actually — just to read the books i already own (and unhaul).

i also have been feeling very disconnected to her — and especially with the swiftie fandom for a while now. which just ... really sucks! because i love her music! i haven't really listened to her much this year, actually (this was the first year in a very long time where she was not my most listened to artist; still in my top five, just not number one). just kind of a :/ feeling! i still haven't watched the movie at home either, but i will eventually!

thank you so much for your well wishes! you are so so sweet and i always love chatting with you 🤍 thank you for being my friend and chatting with me! hope you're having a good wednesday!

[natsu-tte-noodle]

Barbie-themed Yume Drabble (Platonic, ~2k words)

I warned you that I would not be normal about this ever

(This is incredibly self indulgent and incredibly thrown together but here we are lolol)

-

“I’m telling you, just start with the live action.  I can’t see any of us actively disliking it.”

Ran stopped spinning the desk chair she was sitting in to level Yuki with a stern glare—far too stern for the sort of conversation they were having.  “And I’m telling you, it’s too standalone.  If we start with the live action they’ll never agree to see anything else.”

Yuki let his head fall back with a groan.  “We’ve been through the other options.”

It had been a solid 20 minutes since this debate had started.  The debate being: in the case that the dorm is finally worn out by Ran’s pestering and agrees to watch one (1) Barbie movie, which would be the best to show to get them to want to watch another?  The “Barbie gateway drug,” as Kazunari had put it.

Speaking of Kazunari, he was sprawled out in one arm chair with his feet in the other, playing idly with chatsnap filters.  “Maybe there’s an angle we’re missing?  Omg, this one makes me a fish.  It’s giving Mermaid Tale.”

Yuki opened his mouth, but Ran held up a hand before he could say anything.  “You wanna subject Masumi to that song?”

“Ugh.”

They had gone through several rounds of elimination already.  The beginning was easy enough.  “No sequels” was just a given (though it tragically cut Mermaidia).  Movies that starred Barbie as herself were fine, but they didn’t fit the vibe that they were trying to go for.  That didn’t rule out movies where her name just happened to be Barbie, but unfortunately Ran was adamant about eliminating Spy Squad, and Kazunari had made the reasonable argument that, while aesthetically gorgeous, Starlight Adventure was too polarizing to rely on.

“You wanna tell me what other angle there is, Friendly McExtrovert?  Wanna put your money where your mouth is?”

Kazunari pouted.  “No fair, I’m totes contributing!”  Still, he locked his phone and sat up a bit.  “Remind me why we ruled out PatP again?  Frooch’d love that shit; it’s about paying off a debt.”

“Believe it or not, the money-grubbing yakuza isn’t one of our main concerns.” In fact, Sakyo would probably be fine with any of the 42 movies they could throw his way.  An enjoyer of bad movies, he was, and while Ran took offense to the idea that the Barbie cinematic universe had bad movies (it did, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take offense to it), it did mean he’d be willing to watch almost anything. “Didn’t we agree that it might feel a little too close to home for a certain someone?  Royal duties and all.”

“Hmm, right… not to mention idk if Tsuzuroon would find it ‘omg relatable!’ or ‘yikes, relatable.’”

Ran gave her chair another spin.  “Which sucks, because it’s one of our best bets.  They don’t even hold hands until after they’re engaged I’m pretty sure.”

Kazunari stretched his arms over his head, cracking his spine (impressive, considering he was still laying down.)  “Which reminds me, we gotta ix-nay on considering any movies with an iss-kay. Else Azamin'll bolt.”

Ran pursed her lips in thought.  “That’s what, Barbie Diaries, A Fashion Fairytale, A Fairy Secret… do they kiss in Nutcracker?”

“Doesn’t matter, those dance scenes are definitely too long for some of us.”  Yuki let out a sigh that would sound sarcastic to the untrained ear, but his companymates knew better.  “But there go my chances to watch Fashion Fairytale.  Again.”

“I keep offering to watch it with you, but you’re always busy.”

“I have entrance exams to get ready for.”

“Laaaaaame.”

Yuki ignored Ran’s whiny “owww” when he threw the stuffed hamster he was basing Kazunari’s costume off of at her.

“Come on, y’all, don’t be mean to Hamucchi!” Kazunari chided.  “Look, it’s my fault 12 Dancing Princesses is off the table; I can ignore the color palette if you think the others would like it.”

“The Hyodos would get a kick out of it for sure,” Yuki mused.  “Muku too.”

There were plenty of people who would like that one, with its focus on family and making a difference.  Plus, there were dance scenes and the music “slaps,” according to Ran. As much as Mendelssohn's Allegro Vivace from Symphony #4 Op.90 “Italian" could slap. (Again, Ran would argue that it could slap a lot. Yuki wasn't sure the rest of the dorm would agree.)

“We can probably put Princess and the Pauper back on the table too, in that case,” Ran suggested, getting up from the chair.  “Just because it’s a little relatable doesn’t mean they’d hate it.  Plus, Anneliese gets to do what she wants and Erika does pay off the debt and chase her dreams.”

The other two hummed in agreement.  Honestly, they could probably just ask Citron, since he was already in support of watching this sort of thing.

Ran clapped her hands once.  “Ok, we’ve thrown around and shot down a lot of ideas, so!”  She wheeled out a whiteboard with all the Barbie movies written out on it, which made Yuki snap his head up from his embroidery with a start.  “Let’s recap.”

“I’m sorry, what?  Where the hell did that come from?”

“It’s totally normal to have a whiteboard ready for settling debates, Yukki,” Kazunari pointed out.

“I get that, but we’re in my room?  Since when did we have that??”

Ran ignored him.  “We’re cutting out sequels, movies with kisses, and movies with Barbie as herself.”  She carefully crossed out each movie that missed the cut, with a note for why on each one.  “Thumbelina is… oh yeah, Thumbelina.  I forgot that one existed.”

“Boring,” Yuki supplied, still frowning at the whiteboard that seemingly materialized out of thin air in his dorm room.

Ran nodded and marked it off.  “True.  Not bad, but boring.  Nutcracker is similarly slow.  Mermaid Tale and—wait, fuck, they kiss in Rapunzel.  But it’s like, at the wedding.  Does that count?  Is that a problem??”

“Honestly?” Kazunari offered.  “I have no clue.”

“It’s not his thing, but I don’t think he’d be completely against watching a Barbie movie, so we can probably just ask him,” said Yuki.

“I’ll LIME him now!”

Ran continued sorting out the list in the meanwhile.  Island Princess, while a certified banger of a film, had the whole long lost parents plot point, which for some members of the company could make it their favorite or could make it too hard to watch.  They had too much self respect for Princess and the Popstar to be on the table.  And while a lot of fun, Diamond Castle had a few too many plot holes for some of the more quality-driven members like Banri and Tasuku.  (There was no real way of framing this to be for acting, they had already reluctantly conceded.)

“Ok, honestly, I think we’re being too nice.  If we’re not watching something pre-2011 we’re not doing it right.”

“You think, Yukki?”

“Yeah, just cross those out now.  Why is Princess Power still on the table?”

“Valid!  Plus it’s kinda ironic, but I’d put money on Itaroon hating Video Game Hero.”

Ran obliged by the new decision and crossed out everything remaining after Three Musketeers.  She wasn’t a big fan of the “everything after that era sucks” mindset, but she had to agree that the original, fairytale-inspired movies were for the most part the best movies.  Consider herself old-fashioned, but case in point: Yuki grew up in the modern Barbie era and he preferred the OGs too.  “That narrows it down to seven we haven’t ruled out, plus two maybes.”

“Oh, Azamin answered me!” Kazunari exclaimed.  “He said, ‘what why.’  No punctuation all lowercase.  Sounds like a good sign to me!”

“Make that six still up and three maybes.”

The three self-proclaimed (unchallenged) Barbie connoisseurs continued to discuss the movies left on the board.  There were reasons to watch each of them, but every time the answer seemed clear, something would come to mind that put a wrench in their plans.  And then, someone would provide a counter argument that managed to write off the problem and leave the movie on the board.  The very important, very academically sound debate was, once again, going nowhere.

A knock on the door startled them out of their Magic of Pegasus argument.  They turned their heads to see an unexpected face pop in.  “Hey, Izumi’s wondering if you’re planning on coming down for dinner sometime this year.”

“Oh, Itaroon!”  Kazunari flashed a greeting peace sign.  “Sorry, guess we lost track of time.  This is a majorly important topic.”

Itaru stuck his head in further to see what could possibly be so important that they were already thirty minutes late to Omi’s slow-cooked brisket.  “Operation: Get the Dorm to Watch a Barbie Movie and then Preferably More After That?  First of all, kind of a shitty operation name.  Second, you haven’t just settled for Princess and the Pauper yet?  I’m pretty sure it’s the best one.”

Yuki gave him a surprised glance.  “You’ve seen it?”

“I grew up with an older sister in the aughts.  I’ve seen most of the OGs.  Personally, I’m a Fairytopia kind of guy, but I think PatP is like the universal right answer?”

“Fairytopia’s a good one too,” Ran mumbled, glancing back at the list again.

“You're not wrong, Itaroon, but,” Kazunari frowned.  “All of these ones are good, but we wanna choose the best one, y’know?  If we ever get to this totally hypothetical situation where we carry out this plan we probably only get one chance.”

Itaru sat down on the seat previously occupied by Ran.  He laced his fingers together, studying the list intently.  “Ngl, you can probably cross out Mariposa.  Great movie, but if you don’t watch Fairytopia first, the beginning’s gonna make no sense.”

Yuki shuddered, struck by the unpleasant thought of trying to sit through a 75 minute movie with Tenma’s constant comments of “no go back who the hell is Bibble!?” ringing in his ears.

“Objectively,” Ran put a hand to her chin, “I think the best movie to convert others to the pink side is actually probably Christmas Carol.  But if it’s not around Christmas time Sakyo might see it as a personal attack.”

“I think it’s more like Azamin or Settzer might see the chance to make it a personal attack,” Kazunari corrected. "Frooch'd be chill."

“Maybe you’re thinking too much in terms of just the movie?” Itaru suggested.  “Like, maybe it’s good, but will you want to watch another one after it?”

“I’m the wrong person to answer that,” Ran noted, pushing Kazunari’s legs aside and sinking to the couch in semi-defeat.  It had been almost an hour at this point.  Why couldn’t they just pick a movie and be done with it?  Curse the Mankai Company and their “high standards” and “adult tastes.”

Kazunari patted her shoulder sympathetically, while Yuki, the most unbiased one of them when it came to this sort of thing, took the question into consideration.  “I think the only ones that fit that criteria are Princess and the Pauper, Fairytopia, and Magic of Pegasus.  Christmas Carol too, but like we said, only in the right season.”

“Well damn, Konomi loved all of those,” Itaru said in a serious tone.  “The final boss is upon us.”

—

“So do you think he like died?” Banri finally asked.  “It’s been ten minutes.”

Muku let out a soft gasp.  “Or what if a portal opened up on the way to Tenma and Yuki’s room!?”

“Or he died,” Masumi repeated.

“Nothing of the sort happened,” Sakyo snapped.  “But really, how long does it take to drag some people down for dinner?”

Silence fell over the table as they listened for any sign of their four missing members, but all was quiet.

Taichi swallowed his mouthful of food. “...so anyone wanna watch Life in the Dreamhouse after dinner tonight?”

“Ooh, sure!”  “Why not?”  “Sounds good.”  “Hell yeah.”

[confinedmadness]

My Top 10 Movies

Chosen based completely on personal preferences, emotional attachment, and life impact, listed in no particular order. Spoiler warning for the movies listed.

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The Sound of Music

Almost 3 hours long, but I was completely focused the whole movie even as a child. I used to sing along to every song and practiced Edelweiss on the piano because I thought it was the most beautiful song ever. Granted, I used to turn away from the the TV screen during “Something Good” because apparently my kid self had very little appreciation for romance. But re-watching the movie as an adult really changes your perspective and I have even more appreciation for the different parts of this movie.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The whole Harry Potter film series was such a big part of my childhood that there was absolutely no way I wouldn’t list at least one movie. I decided on the first one not only because it started the whole thing, but also because it is the one Harry Potter movie I can recite all the lines for from memory. I watch all Harry Potter movies every year during Christmas with my sister. By virtue of being first, the first movie just happens to be the one we’ve repeated the most.

You are the Apple of My Eye

那些年，我們一起追的女孩

I first saw this movie when I was in college. I think, perhaps, it was the perfect age to watch this because everything was so relatable and so close to my reality that everything just hit that much harder. The story is beautiful and realistic. I just think this was so, so precious. When I’m feeling emotional, I love re-watching this movie and shedding a few tears here and there.

The Kite Runner

I wasn’t even in high school yet when I first saw this film. I remember the rape scene leaving such a big impact on me that “boys can get raped too” and “children can get raped too” was my biggest take away from this movie for the longest time. It wasn’t until I re-watched the movie in my last year of high school that the movie really left an impression on me as a story/film as a whole instead of just that one scene. The ending still gets me every single time.

Enter the Dragon

龍爭虎鬥

One of my first foreign-language films was Enter the Dragon. My dad is a big Bruce Lee fan and when the age of DVDs came, he bought a bunch of Bruce Lee movie DVDs and we all watched them together as a family. Enter the Dragon was probably the one we watched the most times. It was my first time having to read subtitles. I remember having such a hard time keeping up with the speed as a kid. In fact, watching Bruce Lee movies really helped me learn to read fast because otherwise I couldn’t understand the dialogue.

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

Barbie movies were a big part of my childhood. The Princess and the Pauper was my favorite among all of them and still is to this day. I will never tire of the music from this movie. I still remember all the songs. I even still remember the bloopers scenes they showed at the end of the movie.

Whisper of the Heart

耳をすませば

My favorite Ghibli movie is, without a doubt, Whisper of the Heart. Music and writing, two of my favorite things both in one movie. The lead girl is still one of the most relatable characters in any movie for me and maybe that’s why it is very close to my heart. No matter how great the other Ghibli films are and how much I also love them, Whisper of the Heart is dear to me because of my emotional attachment to it.

Haba-baba-doo! Puti-puti-poo!

A childhood staple, I remember watching this movie so many times as a kid. We have no CDs or DVDs of it, then and now. I only ever saw this when I happened to be watching TV when they showed this movie. But I still saw it enough times for it to stick with me until adulthood. I remember watching this with my siblings, my cousins, and our house helpers. I’ve watched this at our house, my grandma’s house, my aunt’s house, and even at a hotel room. A lot of chaos, comedy, and good feels.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

If I associated the Harry Potter films with Christmas, then New Year was for Narnia. I liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so much that I remember being not so impressed with the second and third movie that followed. As I grow older, I found that I have more and more appreciation for the later movies, but the first one does indeed have a special place in my heart.

Hercules

Another childhood film. To be honest, it wasn’t until after I entered college that I revisited this movie. I knew I enjoyed it as a kid but by then I didn’t even know the story anymore, just the songs that I kept hearing, as you do any other Disney song. I loved it so much on my re-watch that I kept repeating it, until my dad saw me watching it one day and commented how I used to memorize all the lines Hercules said as a kid. I don’t remember, but if dad is to be believed, I guess my taste in movies haven’t changed at all since then.

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Other movies I love, still in no particular order.

Joseph: King of Dreams was shown in my elementary school and I have loved it since.

White Chicks was a favorite to watch with my cousins at their house and good for laughs.

Rurouni Kenshin is, in my opinion, the best manga/anime live-action adaptation ever.

Heneral Luna is a great historical film with perfectly modernized dialogue, to appeal to a younger audience without destroying its essence.

High School Musical was a huge part of my youth and still a great film musical to watch even as an adult.

[iboopedyournose]

Ask Game!

I was tagged by both my fav authors! Thanks lovelies! @faye-tale @colettebronte 🥰🥰

nickname | full name is Emily so ‘Em’ is what most people call me but ‘Emmy’ is my self-appointed nickname lol (+my little Tori when I met her bc she couldn’t pronounce my name yet 🥹)

height | 5’5.5’’

last google search | jobs near where I go to school 😭🙃

song stuck my head | yesterday, ‘Womanizer’ by Brittney Spears, but also ‘Copacabana’ everyday for like 10 years lmao

number of followers | 173 which is higher than I thought tbh 🤣

amount of sleep | my sleep schedule is fucked rn and the weather is depressing me so I’ve been going to bed at like 1 and sleeping til noon soooo like 11 hours?? 😅

dream job | omg idk. I mean ideally NONE but I’m fabulously wealthy and can do whatever I want and not stress lol but since that’s crazysauce until Chris Evans marries me I’m not sure. I’m a fashion design student and part of me really want to make costumes but is terrified I don’t have what it takes. I think designing toys would be fucking awesome!? Designing clothes for Barbie would be awesome I think!

wearing | my beloved sweatpants that I live in, a comfy rib-knit long-sleeve tee, and my giant hideous granny panties from Walmart 🤣 (super comfy)

movie/book that describes you | this is really tough 🤔🤔 one of the most relatable movies I’ve ever seen to this day tho is Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’. Still makes me cry every time

aesthetic | hmmm pumpkins, kitty cats, periwinkle blue, sparkly things, fairies, pastels, witchy, daydreaming, twinkly lights, clicky boots, autumn, woodland creatures, flowers & greenery, romantic, historic fashions, cozy, spooky but soft, sweaters, Keds, berries

favorite author(s) | I already told you! 😆 @fayes-fics & @colettebronte are my favs fr! 🫶🏻🫶🏻seriously I’ve only JUST started reading actual books and it’s still not really my thing tbh and I’m not particularly loyal to any authors. I just read whatever looks interesting (trashy romance mostly 🤷🏼‍♀️)

favorite song | no fucking way I could ever choose! So I’ll just list a bunch of artists whose music I love- Taylor Swift, Dave Edmunds, Cruel Youth, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Panic at the Disco, Harry Styles, Sweet, Don Mclean, The Driver Era, Boston, The Monkees, plus a ton of Broadway shit and soundtracks

random fact | I never sleep under my comforter and sheets?? Idk why I just hate it so I sleep on top with a fleecy blanket or two

No pressure tags | @spookysexy @benedictscanvas @thespaghettighost @kathanisharmaa @waterlilyrose