#then some disney some stranger things some avatar inspired

[angelhummel]

Tell us your Spotify please!

CMG! I have like 115 playlists but only 6 are on my profile and idk how many I have private vs public but like. Feel free to follow lol

[44gamez]

Disney plans a $1.5B ‘universe’ with Fortnite maker Epic Games

The Walt Disney Firm is investing $1.5 billion in Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker Epic Video games, the two companies announced Wednesday. Collectively, they’ll construct “an all-new video games and leisure universe that may additional increase the attain of beloved Disney tales and experiences,” in keeping with the information launch. The partnership is awaiting regulatory approval, however one thing is anticipated “soon-ish,” according to an Epic Games video. “The Walt Disney Firm and Epic Video games will collaborate on an all-new video games and leisure universe that may additional increase the attain of beloved Disney tales and experiences,” a Disney consultant wrote in an announcement. “Disney may also make investments $1.5 billion to accumulate an fairness stake in Epic Video games alongside the multiyear venture.” Particulars on Disney and Epic Video games’ “persistent universe,” which is described as being “a world-class video games expertise and interoperating with Fortnite,” are scarce, besides that it’ll be a spot devoted to all issues Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar. The announcement additionally famous it might be a spot the place individuals can “play, watch, store and have interaction with content material, characters, and tales” from these Disney franchises. It seems like Disney is trying to create a metaverse-like product that’s a one-stop store for the corporate, without having to go anyplace else. A picture revealed alongside the information launch exhibits a minimum of 4 separate worlds dotted with totally different Disney franchises and corporations. There’s one island the place Marvel and Lucasfilm dwell in concord, whereas Wreck-It Ralph has a excessive rise instantly throughout from a Nightmare Earlier than Christmas park. It’s not in contrast to the maps Disney makes of its real-life theme parks. “This marks Disney’s largest entry ever into the world of video games and presents vital alternatives for progress and enlargement,” Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned in an announcement. “We will’t anticipate followers to expertise the Disney tales and worlds they love in groundbreaking new methods.”

Picture: Epic Video games, The Walt Disney Firm Disney characters are already no stranger to Epic Video games: You may make Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and Jack Skellington struggle in Fortnite. That’s on high of Fortnite’s Marvel Nexus Struggle occasion from 2020, which spanned an entire season. It was additionally introduced on Wednesday that Rocket League, developed by Epic Video games-owned Psyonix, will get a The Mandalorian update and occasion, which runs from Feb. 7 to 21. Equally, Lego and Sony made an enormous funding into Epic Video games in 2022, every doling out $1 million to the Fortnite maker. The fruits of that partnership have been revealed this 12 months with Lego Fortnite, a Minecraft-like open-world constructing recreation. It smashed participant data at launch, reaching 2.45 million concurrent gamers, and it continues to be widespread. That, plus the discharge of Fortnite’s Rocket Racing and Fortnite Competition video games, drew 7.6 million concurrent gamers at launch. With this success, it’s no shock Epic Games is valued at $31.5 billion as of 2022. Fortnite alone brings in billions of {dollars} in income and solely continues to develop. All these successes, nevertheless, are in stark distinction to the truth of Epic Video games’ enterprise; the corporate is spending greater than it earns, in keeping with CEO Tim Sweeney. Epic Video games additionally laid off 16% of its workforce, or about 830 individuals, in late September. “For some time now, we’ve been spending far more cash than we earn, investing within the subsequent evolution of Epic and rising Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators,” Sweeney wrote in an electronic mail to workers in September. “I had lengthy been optimistic that we may energy by way of this transition with out layoffs, however looking back I see that this was unrealistic.” Whereas companies like Meta, Microsoft, and even Disney itself have pulled again on metaverse initiatives, Sweeney has saved Epic Video games heading in the right direction, even when it meant huge investments and shedding workers. His imaginative and prescient for the Fortnite metaverse is the one factor that’s remained constant through the years. This Disney partnership could also be a technique that really comes into focus. Source link Read the full article

[randomfandomimagine]

It took me a while, but I’m finally here with my celebration for reaching the incredible milestone that is 9k followers, I’m celebrating with a special event: drabble prompts for underrated characters! 🎉✨ 

They are basically drabbles and prompts put together, since they’re formatted like a drabble but requested with a prompt provided, in this case them being tropes we all love. There is an additional twist, it being that this celebration will be focusing on underrated characters, being it a combination of characters that deserve more love as well as some characters that haven’t been requested much and that I’m inspired for.

While this celebration is happening, THE OTHER REQUESTS WILL BE CLOSED so I can focus on writing these without getting overwhelmed.

REQUEST A DRABBLE PROMPT:

Choose up to three prompts from the tropes list below

Choose one character from the list (include full name and fandom!)

Include the relationship with reader (platonic, romantic, familial...)

Please include the trope(s) as well as the number(s) chosen

I'll accept up to 2 requests per person, but send each one in different asks!!

Request example: Ron Weasley (HP) with trope 2, ‘bed sharing’ + romantic

Ask me any questions you may have before requesting, please!!

THIS EVENT WILL BE OPEN FROM THE 29TH OF AUGUST TO THE 5TH OF SEPTEMBER.

Under the cut are the tropes and characters you can choose from.

TROPES

Fake dating

Bed sharing

Hurt / comfort

Emotional hurt / comfort

Angst

Tooth rotting fluff

Sickfic

Whump

Domestic

Found family

I hate everyone but you

Love at first sight

Friends to lovers

Hand holding

Enemies to lovers

Secret dating

Mutual pining

Idiots in love

Battle couple

Forbidden love

Sharing clothes

Height difference

Accidental marriage

Accidental confession

Childhood friends to lovers

Catching them singing

Walking in on them changing

Kissing to blend in

Bodyguard dynamics

Strangers to lovers

CHARACTERS

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Zuko

Sokka

Katara

Aang

Toph

Suki

Detroit: Become Human

Connor

Markus

Kara

Luther

Disney

Nani Pelekai

Hercules

Mulan

Li Shang

Tarzan

Rapunzel

Flynn Rider

Doctor Who

Ninth Doctor

Rose Tyler

Martha Jones

Donna Noble

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris Bueller

Sloane Peterson

Final Fantasy VII

Zack Fair

Barret Wallace

Final Fantasy XV

Cindy Aurum

Nyx Ulric

Friends

Chandler Bing

Monica Geller

Phoebe Buffay

Ghost of Tsushima

Jin Sakai

Yuna

Harry Potter 

Hagrid

Neville Longbottom

Nymphadora Tonks

Ron Weasley

Remus Lupin (specify younger or older)

Viktor Krum

Cedric Diggory

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl Pendragon

Sophie Hatter

John Wick

John Wick

Kingsman

Eggsy Unwin

Merlin

Harry Hart

Roxy Morton

Lord of the Rings

Faramir

(Young) Bilbo Baggins

Marvel

Wade Wilson

Miles Morales

Johnny Storm

Gwen Stacey

MCU

Shuri

Clint Barton

Lady Sif

Bruce Banner

Peggy Carter

Happy Hogan

Pietro Maximoff

Thor Odinson

Carol Danvers

Peter Quill

Scott Lang

Everett Ross

Merlin

Guinevere

Lady Mithian

Lancelot

Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice

I honestly don’t know if people even remember I write for this fandom, but I miss writing for it

Gavin

Kiro

Victor

Lucien

New Girl

Nick Miller

Cece Parikh

Winston Bishop

Pirates of the Caribbean

Elizabeth Swann

James Norrington

Henry Turner

Sherlock

John Watson

Star Wars

I know these are popular characters, but I hardly ever get Star Wars requests

Anakin Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Han Solo

Leia Organa

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Finn

Poe Dameron

Rey

Stranger Things

Nancy Wheeler

The Hunger Games

Peeta Mellark

The Last of Us

Joel Miller

The Legend of Zelda

Link

The Mummy

Rick O’Connell

Evelyn Carnahan

The Witcher

Renfri

Triss

To All The Boys

John Ambrose McClaren

Uncharted

Nathan Drake

Sam Drake

Tagging some mutuals 😊: @swanimagines @lotsoffandomimagines @lotsoffandomstoimagine @jammesbarnnes @moonlit-imagines @hannaswritingblog @lxncelot @musicallisto @locke-writes @emcon-imagines @imaginesbyella @imaginesbymk @cactiem @wittybrity @thereagles @sheimagineddragons

[aurora-daily]

AURORA’s Reddit Q&A (July 13th 2021)

Kmilalv: Hello aurora we love you, I'm @ aurora.s_love on instagram ✨✨🥰🥰🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️ Aurora: oh hellooo!!!! Exportmusic: Meep Aurora: meep < 3 Lisxnne: WELL HELLO AND THANKS FOR YOUR NEW SONG! 🙏🌟💕 Aurora: HELLO!! and thank you for being open to it 24681357900: Thank u for making music Aurora: thank you for inviting it into your heart Emergency-Club-7529: This is have some upper case , it's the real Aurora Aurora: yes!!! Helloooooo brunamombach: hello ✨🃏🧚🏻‍♂️🤘🍇🍄🧚🏻‍♀️ when are you coming do Brazil? so glad to see you here!!! Aurora: I think I will be coming to Brazil next year  I love being in Brazil because I feel like it awakens my heart and soul to be there !! Brunamombach: if you were going to an souless island, what book would you bring with you? 🧚🏻‍♂️🍇🍄🧚🏻‍♀️🤘🃏 kisses from Brazil Aurora: I would either take: "The name of the wind" and "a Wise mans fear" or the LOTR trilogy. Or the "Mistborn" trilogy. or "warbreaker" or "the good omens" or "the ocean at the end of the lane" or "Anne of Green gables" or "The alchemist" or just all the books in the world oh no I cant decide

all DanParis: Hey have some karma you cool bean 🤌🏼 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Aurora: thank you < 3 Ok-Estimate8468: Tell us something you can tell us about the second track on the Cure For Me vinyl, “Potion For Love”. I'm very curious...

Aurora: its the song I decided for the B-side of the vinyl, and I will probably release it digitally one day too. Its the sister song to "exist for love" but from the other perspective. where love does not fill you up, but love has left a big hole within you < / 3 Ok-Estimate8468: Did you get a lot of unfollows and hate from bad people due to Cure For Me? Aurora: I got a little hate from homophobes, and also abelist, and racist comments from people claiming there was nothing wrong with their mindset. BUT it does not bother me. and I will never stop speaking up about the things I find important. because.. what else would our meaning on this earth be? if that makes sense. Some people have attacked me personally, but sadly mostly its people defending their own hateful ways of being. I cant even imagine how it really is to be a victim of racism or violent homophobia, so I feel like the least I can do is to try the best I can to show support. and speak up. and be an ally.

So a bit more short - yes, and I really dont mind!!!! unfollow me if you find speaking about equality and the right to live, and love and be loved unsettling <3 thank you for this question! Ok-Estimate8468: How was the process of creating the studio version of Cure For Me? I heard your first acoustic performance and saw that it's much smoother than the studio, so I was curious to see how you managed to create another even more amazing version. Aurora: Me and Magnus just played around, and we really tried to go with our emotions, and to be playful and to not think too much about what was "AURORA" or what was even...pretty! we just laughed! and danced! and did what felt lovely to us.

I think this is why the making of this song is one of my favourite memories, and also I think that is why it sounds so playful! because it is!! it was like playing a game. and I did also play alot around with symbolics in both the lyrics and the way this song is produced. it all has a meaning you see... but of course I will let you figure that out yourself!!

Pingouiin_: What's your favourite mountain around bergen ? Aurora: mine is Løvstakken!! and Magnus loves Ullrikken!! but important to NEVER stop a Norwegian person walking on the mountain. just say. a quick hello and wander off your own mind. become at one with nature Whoamiandallthat: Thank you for existing, I love your art and you inspire me so much 💙 You are one of my favorite artists 😊 And just the other day I found out that you are just two years older than me, and so successful... I'm wondering how it was for you to become so popular, did you feel like people thought you needed a cure? I'm also in the sphere of arts - filmmaking; but I feel like my films are not good enough... I have a YouTube channel with some videos - if you ever see this comment I would like for you to check it out 😊 Aurora: Ive felt through my life like something was a little off, ive never resonated that much with the people or the "system" around me! it didn't bother me so much even though I. was teased a lot for it ( so again I was very lucky) but I never felt like I understood the world and my place in it. or how I. could fit in, in this worlds society and with other people ! and becoming "famous" which I dont really feel that I am, but I guess that I am a little "known" (meep) was very strange, and very hard to handle at first. as impressions affect me a lot, and noises and people etc. but with time I got better at handling all these impressions, and avoid getting a.. sensory overload! and I am so happy now, that I can look directly at strangers and actually listen to them, and understand them, and even love them I guess what I am trying to say, that ive now understood that this is the very thing that connected me to all of you. and now I see my place here on this earth. and I see all of you, and you give my life so much meaning!! Lets_Fight_Dragons: Firstly I wanted to say I recently discovered your music and I love everything about it. I have two questions, I hope that’s ok 1. How do you start writing songs because I’m trying to get into songwriting and I’m not sure how you write such amazing songs 2. What’s your favourite song you’ve released? Aurora: 1. well I dont really know. ( I am sorry!!) but I feel like it started really natural for me.. I. kind of just sat down with my piano.. and then I started playing around with the Keyes, and I figured out I could make an endless amount of melodies by simply pressing the keys in a different order!! remember finding this extremely magical (I was around 6 years old then) and after a while I started adding lyrics, and I just spent time looking into myself, trying to figure out. - what do I want to say? what do. I need to hear in a song? what do the world need to hear in a song? and etc. I always think about songwriting as storytelling. and I always start out by figuring out what story I want to tell, what matter I want to dress, or what pleases me, or annoys me with the world, or what emotion I need help dealing with!! and then I write a song!!! and if you feel like its difficult to come up with melodies, I would recommend finding a song you like, and learn the chords of it (or find an instrumental version. online) and then you make your own melodies on top of that! many of the songs of the world share the same chords, and often the melodies on top is the thing separating them. music belongs to all of us, and its clear that every song in the world comes from the same magical source. 2. I think its the seed. or couples creatures!! or infections of a different kind!! tiffnoir: Our dear AURORA, your b-side A Potion For Love is helping me a lot (broken heart since a few days ago). I wanted to ask (if I can haha) if would it be included at the upcoming album, or maybe a relaxing, vintage video for it? Thanks for helping all of us with your music ^_^ Aurora: thank you som much for letting this song into your heart  after writing exist for love, I figured that I should also make a sister-song that could belong for the ones with a broken heart as well  it will not be on the album, but for you I will try to put it on the deluxe version FedahpWithThisWurld: Hello, Aurora! I'm a neurodivergent person and I have always felt a lot of shame over being the way I am, like I'm not good enough. Your music makes me feel better and it makes me feel that being me is okay. Thank you for that.  I want to know how you manage to be so confident? Do you ever get nervous before a show? Aurora: hello!!!! I have had a lot of similar experiences with myself in this world too.. so I am very sad to hear you've lived your life with this feeling I think after a while I understood what makes me different also makes me special. and special is good. and if you think about it, special isn't even that different, because in one way or another we are all... unique. but of course, some people have had to fight their. way through life more than others.. making it less easy to learn how to love yourself. and accept yourself. I guess, now I've surrounded myself with good people who understand my quirks and sensitivities, people who give me time. and space to be me. I have also been lucky, because I have a family that have always encouraged me to be myself. and to love myself. and I guess that is why I am trying to convey to all of you now, because now we are like al little family. where being who you are - is cool. and you're cool. and were all cool. and I get nervous all the time, of all sorts of things! but I just accept that feeling as a part of being human. its uncomfortable yes, but I know at least it won't kill me! 3charmplease: What was it like recording for Frozen? Aurora: it was magical  and also slightly scary. but it felt safe and good calling at the mountains. and I feel warm thinking about it. especially now. cause my father just walked over to me with five little strawberries in his hand. he gave them all to me. and they were so small, and sweet. im currently sitting in my childhood home, right next to the very piano where I wrote "runaway" and so many other songs. Tiny-Sink-2397: Boom shake shake shake the room Aurora: that was actually during the recording process of Cure For Me! Tiny-Sink-2397: I thought it was!! Seemed like an epic party Aurora: YES Joelynxyzs: what's your favorite movie ? Aurora: Practical magic BUT ALSO THESE: The LOTR triology ALL GHIBLI MOVIES avatar once upon a time in Hollywood Hannah the perfume fantastic MR. fox Star Wars: a new hope rouge one isle of dogs the hunchback of Notre dame! the arrival stypop: If you were to get the chance to work on a sequel to another Disney movie, which one would you want it to be? Aurora: since Disney owns Lucas films I would love to be a part of the Star Wars universe  or to play either a magical fairy, witch mermaid, forest nymph, or a scary beast!! WE WO brisot: The masks in CFM remind me of theater plays, do you ever watch any and how much of an influence for you is the art of acting? Aurora: this era of my life is very influenced by the ancient times where theatre was all they had. no CGI or special effects etc. and I really wanted all these videos to feel very authentic, and down to earth! The shell in "exist for love" was handmade by someone, and I painted all the masks in "cure for me" myself! so I like it when it feels... human Clear-Champion-1833: i love you Aurora:

<3

Jicuhrabbitkim: How do you like your fried eggs cook!! I like it when its very crispy!! Aurora: as long as its from a local farm that has free healthy chickens that walk about freely and eat good food I like my eggs crispy too. GhostReaper3: Hi I have a question as well: How do you keep positive? Many people including myself find this difficult sometimes so it would be good to hear your technique or way of keeping upbeat and positive! Also, thank you for sharing your music with us! Aurora: I know what you mean, i've struggled with it myself at times. but I guess I tried separating in my mind what I can do something about, and what I cant? if that makes sense?? we are all just here on this planet. and though we all seem to be going though the same things we still feel so alone, in our thoughts and in our minds. And I've been very aware that with music, and with this fandom we can all finally connect, and see each other, and know that we are not alone! and if there is one thing I love, it is to dance a little after I've cried. I think its important to. shake these emotions out of our body. like animals do! and then I made CURE FOR ME. because I thought about all the warriors out there feeling. a little crazy... after isolation! or after being depressed! and being l rocked in with their families that might not accept them for who they are.. and I thought I needed to make a song for us all, that felt a little uplifting. and uniting. just so we know where not alone, and just so we know that we are worthy.. of everything! and that we are worthy of celebrating ourselves!! ALWAYS! aniri003: Were the dancers freestyling in the last part of the video Aurora: YES! I told them to put their freak game on. And they were amazing. L_pls_use_revive: Hei Aurora! Apart from inspiring me with your music for emotional people, I also dicovered my love for Norway and the Norwegian language through you - now studying it in my second year at university. Tusen, tusen takk! I want to visit soon when traveling is safe - So which place should I not miss out on? Have a great life! Aurora: I think the whole of Norway is worth visiting! there are so many beautiful places. and beautiful people! I would ofc. recommend Bergen! (haha!) but also places like Tromsø, Trondheim, Stavanger, lofted and The Geirangerfjord and the Northwest!!! HAHA KakSetoKaiba: How's the progress of the album that you've been preparing which will be released after your death? Aurora: its going well, I take one song for every chapter and I put it on my death album instead of the album I'm making  its going well. and im excited about it! maria_fernandez_: This is not a question but I just wanted to tell you that discovering you and your music has been the best thing that ever happened to me. What your music makes me feel cannot be described in words. I love you so much. Greetings from Spain!! Aurora: thank you!!! applepieaurora: Whats your favorite pie? 🐉 Aurora: apple pie  and blueberry pie!! Ok-Potato7244: Thanks for sharing your time ... a warrior here to welcome you...Have some tea...And i don't need a cure for disliking keeping animals in cages...Especially birds...💚... Aurora: thank you pekaraseva: what do you feel when you perform Ioadk or Adkoh for people? Aurora: I feel so full of emotion and love and despair I could almost explode  and its wonderful. I also feel insanely connected to the audience when I sing these songs.. I. think. its because they are such important pieces of my soul targaryenblood02: omg what do you think cure for me would smell like? 🐛 Aurora: like something Brazilian! like Asai! or caipirinha! or Brigadeiro!

sproutingephemeral: Hello Aurora, Thanks for your new song, I've gotten quite addicted to it😊 I have a question that might be a bit difficult to answer. I am a Warrior from the U.S. currently without a clue of where I should be and what I should be doing. I'm done with school, and in the process of moving to a new town with my parents. I'm applying for jobs, but I feel like I can't find my reason for being in a smaller area with not many people my age. I feel like my parents are trying to mold me into a certain person, which doesn't feel authentic to me. I probably should be making more of my own decisions at my age, but I'm a bit scared and confused, if what I think is deemed too unrealistic or out of line with their expectations for me (like a childhood dream?). I tried talking to them about it, to little success. Is there something inherently wrong with me? Or am I just being spoiled or lazy? I read about how you were initially opposed to starting your career until your mother convinced you to change your mind. How do you know whether or not to trust in your parents' plans for you? On a lighter note, do you prefer cookies that are more soft (chewy) or hard (crumbly)? I don't need a cure for...my autism, and tendency to talk regularly to my deceased cat at his grave (??)😿👼 Looking forward to seeing you in New York! Take care❤❤ Aurora: you should ALWAYS. only do what feels right for you. this world is very absurd, and people tend to think they know what is meaningful and what is important. but we all know, money and success isn't important beyond what you need to simply survive. this one life is yours. and you should be just who you want. and do what feels right for you. because its yours. its only yours. drink tea. work hard. be lazy. dance. be shy. laugh, cry. drink wine and eat good bread. be good. fight for something you care about. and either live for your work, or work a little and then just... live. get a garden, grow tomatoes, get a cat. or a dog. or a parrot. life can be so random, and it can be both so little, and so large at the same time. some days were meant to TAKE chances, and live. and sometimes were just meant to exist. and do nothing. you should never feel guilty for not "being enough" because you are enough. just who you are. just how you are. is enough. good luck on your strange journey my warrior, maybe our paths crosses and maybe they dont. but know, when you walk out of your door, that anything can happen! and the whole world is yours. Hippolyte_gray: is the name of the next album hidden in your previous songs ? Aurora: mayyyyyybeeeeeeeee rashadalt: what do you think about your fans who are racist/homophobic etc.? Aurora: I feel sorry for them. because I know I cant be easy l living a life so full of hate. and even spending your precious. time on this world bringing other people down. and I know how easy it is for people to be driven by fear, and how difficult. it can be to have an original meaning and stand up for what you really mean. so I dont judge them, or hate them,

but I do feel sorry for them. and I am also very disappointed in them. because its such a. waste of human potential to live your life in the paths of hatred.

but as long as we face hate with love, we will eventually win. when we show them. we are not the enemy, just people trying to make a better world, I think, and I hope that eventually we can all agree that being able to live, and being able to love is a human right. Brivera726: I noticed you said you would bring LOTR trilogy with you to an island- I’m reading them for the fourth time right now  I feel like if Galadriel sing songs it would sound like you! Anyway I really like your art so yah just keep doing u- love from PFC Rivera, USMC Aurora: this is then est thing ive ever read thank you Aurora: I am. sorry people, but my time here (for tonight) is up </3 but I will probably be back looking at your questions and thoughts because I did really. enjoy this. and I. love you all so. much.

[link]

[collectorscorner]

CC Blogger - New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : Wednesday 3/31/21

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PUBLISHER/TITLE/PRICE

ABLAZE A Sister GN, $24.99 Cagaster Volume 5 GN, $12.99 Minecraft-Inspired Misadventures Of Frigiel And Fluffy Volume 2 HC, $12.99 Mirka Andolfo’s Un/Sacred Volume 2 #5 (Cover A Mirka Andolfo Eden & Severino Variant), $3.99

AFTERSHOCK COMICS I Breathed A Body #3, $3.99 Nuclear Family #2, $3.99

AHOY COMICS Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter Of Blood #6, $4.99

AVATAR PRESS Cinema Purgatorio Collection TP, $19.99

AWA STUDIOS Byte-Sized #4, $3.99 Mann’s World #3, $3.99

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[ramblingguy54]

26, 29, 30, 36?

*cracks knuckles*Alright, let’s do this.

26: The late Robin Williams & Hayao Miyazaki are two particular people in my life I’ve idolized for what happiness/imagination they’ve brought into others lives. Robin Williams untimely passing still hurts for me to look back on because this man made it his mission to bring so much joy into other peoples lives through his acting on the big screen, whether it was dramatic or comedic. That’s what I found the most impressive about Robin’s range in acting. He could be an over the top funny individual, but Robin’s acting chops were in a league of their own. Whether he was behind the microphone having the time of his life as Genie on Aladdin or giving a powerful dramatic performance on Good Will Hunting as Will’s therapist, I could feel the unconditional kindness. There was something about Robin’s acting power that would usually manage to reel me in. Even if I never knew him in real life, obviously, this man just radiated with so much kindness that I felt from his entire presence on screen. It’s seriously unfortunate what became of Robin Williams in the end with his unexpected death, but his legacy has inspired me to be kinder to others in real life. As for Hayao Miyazaki, this guy is a huge factor in why I got into loving anime related stuff all the more, as his creations in storytelling and the art itself for the movies were beyond unlike anything I still have yet to seen be topped quite frankly. It’s so easy for me to get emotionally lost in his films like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Castle In The Sky, and Spirited Away. This man never ceases to amaze me with how usually impactful and in depth his films are. They’re so full life that it’s easy to lose sight of whats happening in the actual story at times. Mayazaki understood how to breathe a ton of humanity into creating such resonating works of fiction. Have a much greater appreciation for them in my adult years. There’s a reason why they inspired companies, like Pixar, to create immersive stories of their own.

29: Favorite films range from Zootopia, Wreck It Ralph, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, Aladdin (1992), The Secret Of NIMH, The Lion King (1994), The Incredibles, UP, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2, How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy, Toy Story 1-4, The Great Mouse Detective, Lilo & Stitch, The Emperors New Groove, A Goofy Movie, Good Will Hunting, The Fox And The Hound, The Land Before Time, The Brave Little Toaster, Frozen, Shrek 1 & 2, Coraline, Paranorman, Kubo And The Two Strings, The Muppets (2011), Princess Mononoke, Castle In The Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, Summer Wars, Beauty and the Beast (1991), Winnie The Pooh (1977 & 2011 iterations.), The Peanuts Movie, The Princess And The Frog, The Jungle Book (2016), Scooby Doo On Zombie Island, Harry Potters’ 1-7, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Wonder Woman, Sam Raimi’s Spiderman 1 & 2, The Black Panther, Thor & Thor Ragnorok, The Avengers, Avengers Infinity War & Endgame, Spiderman Into the Spiderverse, Captain America Trilogy, Iron Man Trilogy, Star Wars Episodes 4-8, and The Breakfast Club to stop this list from getting any longer. =P

30: Favorite TV shows range from Cowboy Bebop, Avatar The Last Airbender, Yu Yu Hakusho, Digimon Adventure 01 & Tamers, Teen Titans (2003), Batman The Animated Series, Ed, Edd,& Eddy, Samurai Jack, Courage The Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls (Screw that garbage reboot.), Chowder, Bojack Horseman, DuckTales (1987), DuckTales (2017), Gravity Falls, Code Geass (This series has shaky writing in a number of areas, but that ending was beautiful.), Amphibia, Steven Universe, Oban Star Racers, Made In Abyss, Stranger Things, Gargoyles, My Hero Academia, Naruto (I’ve got a soft spot for this series despite my MANY problems with its story later on.), Pokemon (Serious nostalgia overload!), Dragonball Z (My very first anime series I got into through the Toonami block. A real shocker I know. LOL!), Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, The Promised Neverland, Death Note, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers, Sonic SatAM, Talespin, Darkwing Duck, The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, Robot Chicken, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Kim Possible, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and Fullmetal Alchemist (2003).

36: My three dream scenarios I’d like to fulfill? 

1: Become A Voice Actor

Been interested in voice acting since I was a young teen, but have been in a conflicted state over these recent passing years in my life on whether or not I’d like to approach that route. There’s a lot of commitment I’d have to put into auditioning my butt off for roles I may or not get. Then comes the consistent practicing to keep my vocal chords in shape, so I don’t get rusty whatsoever. The industry for this kind of job can be hard to get recognized in too by how many other notable well known VA’s there are already. Not to mention, from what I’ve researched up on being a voice actor doesn’t bring in the money naturally, as it’s more of a passion job which that’s terrific and all, but if I want to partake in this profession I’ll have to juggle a job along with that which putting all those factors in my head honestly makes me intimidated. Ahhh well, it’s just something I’ll have to wait and see on if I can make that idea into a reality or not. No need to rush myself, of course.

2: Taking Up The Mantle Of Reviewing Shows & Films For A Living

Fiction, just like for many people, has been a great deal of helping me in my life moments of stress, solitude, depression, and anger. I’d love nothing more than to further express that to anyone out there in reviewing in great detail certain films or shows that I’ve come to love over these years in my life so far. Mostly for animation though, as its been a gateway for finding many gems of quality films or series. It never ceases to surprise me on how creative and powerful animation can be with its inventive ways of getting me to become an emotional mess. While I do enjoy live action series and films they pale in comparison to the beauty animation has brought into my life, since my early childhood of watching shows on Cartoon Network, Toon Disney, and Nickelodeon to a smaller degree. I’d like to think I’m good enough with how I present my reasons on why I feel so strongly connected to these stories showcasing characters trying to find hope in their own hard times. I try my hardest to take moments of my own life and find ways to connect it with whatever story I’m getting into next, so it can be all the more a special experience for myself. It’s important to put whatever character resonates with you most in their shoes for why you feel their emotional journey connecting with your own life on every conceivable level possible. That will make it when you write these kinds of reviews a very empowering read for others to feel either heard in their own feelings or simply giving others a new perspective to consider on this piece of fiction you’re discussing. Seeing some of my own particular analytical posts in the past here on Tumblr garner some attention from people gives me a boost of feeling better about potentially making this choice.

3: Starting A Family Of My Own…?

I can’t begin to tell ya how many times I’ve gone back and forth for getting married in the distant future to become a father has sped through my mind. On one hand, it scares the crap out of me to be taking up that big of a responsibility. However, on the other hand its deeply fascinated me emotionally of creating life through love for your significant other in starting your own family tree. I’d love to be able to raise kids of my own to pass on the lessons I’ve learned in life to make them become better people in the distant future, while showering them with unconditional love and affection. That would fill me up with such an indescribable joyous feeling to hear their own dreams and desires on what they want to accomplish in life. While I’d be a strict parent, I wouldn’t be a hard headed one quick to dismiss their own complaints if they had problems with how I handled things, once they start to get older. The kind of parent I’d want to be is an understanding open minded one who doesn’t judge their son or daughter for when they have an issue with me. Just because I’m a parent in that scenario doesn’t put me on a pedestal of immunity from criticism. Granted, I certainly don’t want to be a doormat for them to try taking advantage of either, but it’s also important to not let your parental role go to your head, too.

Although, I don’t plan on even trying to make this last dream of mine happen anytime soon. This is something that is MUCH later down the road that I wish to have happen. However, I won’t lie and say that I haven’t considered just staying content as a single guy for the rest of my life relying on close friends to bring me joy equivalent to this dream. While I adore the concept of creating life through love and being a father, there’s a shit ton of responsibility that comes with it. The life of a parent is not just putting your all into it. You gotta give more than just 100% when wanting to be a parent. It’s a serious test of your spiritual endurance, which I’m not sure is something I’ll ever have the courage to do, but then again things can change in life on the flip of a dime, so I’ll see how this all plays out for myself. Maybe I’ll stay happily single or I’ll happily be raising kids.

Gee, I wonder why this dream of being a parent resurfaced in my head recently this year? Oh yeah, it was thanks to this character here.

Seriously, Della Duck holds a real special place in my heart for making me feel these kind of feelings yet again. Darn you space mom! LOL.

Thanks for the ask, man.

[sterek-bingo]

New year, new themes, we hope you lovely senpais out there will notice us!

That's right folks, the official Sterek Bingo 2019 themes are here!! A little delayed, as this year, we decided to release the descriptions and themes at the same time, so without further ado, click "Readmore" for our list of themes- we hope to see you in May!

The Raven- Quoth the raven, nevermore! According to Teen Wolf, there are three kinds of tricksters, a fox, a coyote, and a raven, in the series the raven bit fell a little short, but now with this theme you have the chance to fix that- if you want to! Otherwise, using a normal raven is just fine, perhaps a witch's familiar or even taking inspiration from the famous poem, anything you want, as long as it involves a raven of some kind, is accepted! You could even take a note from Teen Titans and use The Raven as a superhero name, sounds a little like Stiles if you ask me

Masquerade- Historically, masquerades have always been a great device used in literature, plays, film, and just about any other art form you can think of, a great way to move stories along or develop them from the ground up, with beautifull costumes and elaborate masks, now is your time to play with the creativity that the beauty and mystery of a masquerade will bring

Opening a door- Often times when people call out to spirits- through oujia boards, EMFs, and even ghost hunting- it's said that they're opening a door to the other side, letting evil in.... your job with this theme is to decide what door opens, what opens it, and what crosses over- or lies within- once it's ajar, it could be paranoia that says opening a door always invites evil spirits.... or it could just be the truth in plain sight

Astrology- According to the official Teen Wolf calander released with season 3A, Stiles is an Aries, and Derek is a Capricorn- the ram and the seagoat, what a cute combination! ... Ofcourse, other sources say that Stiles may be a Gemini and Derek might be a Scorpio, in the end though, you don't even have to use official sources, what matters is that astrology comes to play into your peice in some form, it could be real, or fake, or ambigous- it might not even apply in terms of birth dates at all, as long as astrology plays a role, this is the theme for you!

Revenge- Perhaps it's a dish best served cold, or perhaps the best kind is living well, however you take revenge, it's appropriate for this theme, use the theme however you wish- Stiles or Derek getting revenge for eachother, or for a loved one, or perhaps someone getting revenge on them, maybe revenge doesn't actually even take place, but is persuaded against, all that matters is that the subject of revenge pops up somewhere in your peice

Flower Language- Red roses mean true love, blue violets mean love between women, and those are just two of the most promising, despite it's name, flower language doesn't stop at just flowers, all plants have some sort of symbolism- grass represents homosexuality, Witch Hazel means magic, and there are thousands more where those come from! You can feature any plant, any meaning, as long as flower language is featured in some way, you're coming up roses for this theme

Music- Music is the language of love... and heart-break... and just about every other emotion, music can communicate what's often too hard to say in conversation or to express to people directly, music can make us feel, it can inspire us, and that's what you need to do for this theme- get inspired by music, or feature it smewhere in your peice, unlike other themes, music doesn't have to be directly featured, it can serve merely as inspiration if that's preferred

Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things- A popular tag on AO3, and an even more popular sentiment amongst Teen Wolf fans, Derek Hale has been long deserving of some nice things in his life, a break, a vacation, even a nap, your job for this theme is to give him some of those much desired good things, or atleast one of them, make up for all of the wrongs Teen Wolf did by giving this sweet boy something nice!

Foxes- Ever since the nogitsune, fox!Stiles has been a staple of the fandom, and now you have the choice to join the trend... or throw a curveball and do something else! Fox!Stiles, fox!Derek, or perhaps somebody else, hell it doesn't even have to be a werefox or fox-shifter at all, it can be a normal fix or even a toy fox- any fox will do, as long as it's featured in your peice

Vampires- From Buffy to True Blood, The Vampire Diaries to Twilight, vampire-centric media has often been apt to feature werewolves, but the opposite isn't necessarily true, one promise Jeff Davis came through on was that vampires would never exist in Teen Wolf, but now it's your chance to change that! Canonverse, AU, crossover, it doesn't matter, choose your opportunity to bring vampires to the world of Sterek

Disney- When you wish upon a star.... the dream of Sterek may come true, depending on who you ask, Disney could represent a great number of things, childhood innocence, dreams coming true, cooporate monopoly and the sustaining of puritanism... hopefully that last part won't play into your peice too much, be it a crossover with an existing Disney property, Disney-fying your art or writing style, or simply using Disneyland, Disney Studios, or some other real-world example of Disney as a part of your work, this theme offers as many different choices as there are stars in the sky

Chocolate- Mmmmm ... chocolate!! Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate cake, and just plain ol' chocolate candy, it's hard to come across a sweet treat that doesn't have an association with chocolate of some kind, all you have to do is choose your favorite flavor and design a peice around that, what a treat this theme is!

Murder Husbands- Though the phrase was popularized when Freddie Lounds proposed it in Hannibal, the theme of "Murder Husbands"- a couple, be it romantic or platonic, who kill together- has been around since atleast the 40s, with Alfred Hitchcock's "The Rope", and has even existed in real life, the cat-and-mouse aspect also can't be ignored, from Hannibal it's self to the more recent Killing Eve, there's definitely something to be said for the thrill of the chase, described by Rachel Roth of "Fansided" as "a modern day Hades searching for his Persephone; an innocent's descent into Hellfire", there are plenty of ways to go for a killer theme like this- partners in crime, vampire boyfreinds, a cop-and-killer chase, the only thing that can be truly certain is that this theme is recomended for those who like their Sterek with a darker twist

Games- From the intellectually stirring challenge of chess, to the athletic trial of lacrosse, to even the magical feilds of Quidditch or the strategy-straining Duel Monsters, games can be anything from a fun pass-time to a freindly competition, or, as seen with examples such as the Triwizard Tournament, Shadow Games, and even game-based horrors like SAW and Escape Room, trials of life and death, even these themes are a game when you think about it, all you have to do now is decide how to play this one

Dragons- Here be dragons! One of the world's longest standing magical creatures, dragons can be found all over the globe, and in every form of media too, from the dangers of Harry Potter and The Hobbit, to the excitement of How To Train Your Dragon and Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's hard to find fantasy media that doesn't atleast mention dragons... and yet, there's Teen Wolf, wich sadly, only ever came as close as kanimas, but now is your chance to fix that! Take to the skies and use any kind of dragon you like to make the world of Teen Wolf better, brighter, and more fire-breathing than ever!

The Lake- Depending on your personal veiws, lakes can represent all sorts of things, from a fun family vacation, to a romantic summer date, to a spooky atmosphere with something lurking just beneath the surface... your peice can be any tone or atmosphere that you like, as long as a lake is featured in some way, perhaps Sties is a merman living in the local lake, or the pack takes a vacation to Lydia's lakehouse, or maybe whatever is living in the lake in Beacon Hills finally makes it's self known, however you want to spin it, time to dive in with this aquatic theme!

Puppy Pile- Aww, puppy piles! What's cuter than a puppy? An entire pile of them, and what's cuter than a werewolf? Well, you get the picture, the fun thing about this theme is that you can use humans, werewolves, normal wolves, or even actual puppies! The choices for who piles up for a nap- or a night of sleep- in this theme is all up to you!

Triskelion- The sun, the moon, the truth; Alpha, beta, omega; past, present, future.... triskelions can represent alot of things, and that's just what they signify on Teen Wolf, in real life, there are even more things for triskelions to symbolize, this theme can be used in just about any way- Derek's tattoo, the mantra-disc he tried to use as a teenager, a rune, or even just what the triskelion means (IE: a peice about the past, the present, and the future) however you twist and turn it, all that matters is that a triskelion is somehow featured in your peice

Faeries- One thing I really wish had been better explained in Teen Wolf is the fact that banshees are technically a type of faery, meaning that faeries are canonically part of Teen Wolf- and everything they bring with them as well, from faery!Stiles, to "Faeries made them do it", fae folk are a common theme to be brought up in fanfiction, as well as in folklore, throughout history fae have been presented as everything from good to evil to morally ambigous, weather they have wings or magic or telepathic abilities, living in their own realms, communicating with nature, or controlling their size, there are a million different ways you can go with the faery theme, now's your time to take off and fly with it

Strangers On A Train- In 1951, Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers On A Train" was released, featuring two strangers making a murder pact after meeting on a train, wile this theme is certainly one that you can use- it's been used ever since in both media and in real life, after all- it doesn't *have* to be, the theme can be much more fun and fluffy, or mysterious and strange, or dark and twisted, the idea of meeting someone on a train who ultimately changes your life hasn't dimmed with time, even if trains are significantly less common of a transporation system these days, they still make a splash in media, from the iconic Hogwarts Express to the setting of 2017's "The Commuter", it's time to get on board with this peculiar theme

Other Realms- One of the things that was touched on, yet not nearly explained enough, was that there are in fact other realms in Teen Wolf, The Wild Hunt made that more than clear, but what extent exactly does this go to? Faery realms? Atlantis? Afterlives? It's up to you to decide, you can use as few or as many different realms as you'd wish, and are as always, free to make it an AU, just as long as you feature atleast one alterante realm in some way in your peice

Cosplay- One of the greatest forms of expression in fandom, cosplay has turned "Dressing up" into an Olympic sport, be it a simple store-bought costume, a pain-stakingly hand-made costume, one that's affordable or one that takes your life savings, cosplay isn't about looking theatrical or professional, it's about having fun! Be it for Halloween, a convention, or a party, let the fan flag fly with this theme

Cabin In The Woods- Peacefull life of flannel and fireplaces.... or horror movie setting of death? The Cabin In The Woods, much like The Lake, has two very conflicting atmospheres to them, the peacefull, content relaxation of being away from society, in the woods or the mountains, surrounded by nature and without the stresses of every day life.... and being in the middle of nowhere, without the use of electronics, where anything can happen and no one can hear you scream... it's your choice for wich version of the theme you'll use- or perhaps you could even use a different one, alot can happen when your theme is only the setting after all!

Mechanic- Finding a good mechanic is every non-car-person's deepest desire, and that's probably even more so for Stiles- who drives what I'm generously calling a "fixer upper", and Derek, who's Camarao is probably worth more than my life value, now's the time to give them the car help they need- or perhaps allow one of them to be a mechanic himself! Fixing cars is no easy task, but hopefully finding a way to plug a mechanic into your theme won't be nearly so daunting

Unicorns- This theme is a very special unicorn.... literally! Much to my surprise and delight, unicorns are a pretty common theme in this fandom, and now is your time to make it your own, from unicorns who follow virgin "maidens", to those who are attached to folks with good hearts, or maybe they aren't necessarily attached to anyone at all, perhaps they're just minding their own business when Stiles or Derek stumbles upon them, maybe one of them is a unicorn herder, or possibly something else that I've yet to describe, the magic of this theme is that you can get as creative as you want

Urban Legends- From Diet Coke and Pop Rocks to organ harvesting in a bath of ice, urban legends have a tendency to be odd, macabre, and ... questionably realistic, after all, it wouldn't be an urban legend if there didn't atleast sound like a crumb of truth was contained inside, your job is to use any existing urban legend- or to create your own!- in your Bingo peice, it can be a rumor gone wrong, a legend disproved, or perhaps even that grain of truth inside the urban legends, whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be legendary

Past lives- Reincarnation is definitely one of the most fascinating themes I can think of, it has the potential for everything from mystery to angst to even fluff, so when one starts exploring Stiles and Derek's past lives, you know you'll be in for a treat, or, perhaps, Stiles and Derek *are* the past lives being explored, it's perfectly possible that your peice focus on future incarnations of their souls as well, as long as we can tell that it's these two idiots in love, any incarnation is applicable

Pack parents- Pack Mom, Pack Dad, whatever you call them, it's clear that Stiles and Derek are the "parents" of the pack, even without either being the Alpha (though if you want to Alpha-nize either of them that's definitely fine by us) Stiles and Derek have, since the beginning, treated their packmates like children, and with good reason, now is your time to capitalize on that! Be they literal parents or just using that as a figure of speech- maybe even a sarcastic one- it's time to have a sit down with the pack parents and feel young again

Alpha & Emissary Gathering- Werewolf symposiums, supernatural conventions, Alpha & Emissary gatherings... they're all essentially the same thing, an opportunity to show off the fun of a convention with the stress of a supernatural hot spot, be it Alpha!Derek and Emissary!Stiles, Alpha!Stiles and Emissary!Derek, or some other combination to surprise us with, it's time to gather your ideas and ready one of them for this fun theme

Wild Card- This is the obligatory bingo square in the very middle where you can do absolutely anything you want! That’s right. There’s no restriction, no guideline, no THEME! It’s your freebie to do anything you may have been wanting to do, but haven’t really had the time or inspiration to do until now- here’s your chance. Now go forth and create Sterek!

[itslmdee]

Fic: When Fans Collide

Mira meets a fellow female fan with a secret at a convention.For the allbingo meet-ugly prompt "we have been chatting online for three years and today I learned your profile picture isn't you"

Mira loved going to conventions and meeting other fans, buying merchandise, attending the celebrity panels, and joining in with the amazing cosplay; those who liked to dress up as a favourite character could get very inventive with their costumes.

Mira had chosen to dress as Domino from "Deadpool 2" this year, having previously cosplayed as characters including Wonder Woman, Zoë from "Firefly" and, last year, Valkyrie from "Thor: Ragnarok". She hadn't gone so far as to add a contact lens as another Dominio cosplayer she'd met at the registration desk had, but she'd carefully applied the white makeup around one eye and fluffed up her hair.

She'd hoped to meet her online friend of three years, and fellow fan, Erica, but at the last minute Erica had said she wouldn't be able to make it this time, adding a sad emoji to her instant message. Erica hadn't been to a fan convention before and was anxious about it, so Mira wondered if it was nerves that led her to back out.

"I'll take lots of photos for you," Mira had promised. She already had several of the building and a couple with some fans, including the other Dominio, who had gushed over Mira's elbow-length fingerless leather gloves as more authentic than her own.

Mira browsed some of the stalls full of comics, signed photos, Funko Pops and other figurines, Blu-Ray box sets, and more. She'd got some money saved up especially to splurge on merchandise.

"Sorry," someone said as they bumped into her. Mira looked up at the woman who was wearing a "Burr shot first" T-shirt and a beautiful dragon necklace.

"No problem. I love the shirt," Mira said. "Both "Hamilton" and "Star Wars", what's not to love? My friend Erica has the same one." Erica had proudly photographed the shirt laid out on her bed being admired by a plush Pikachu.

The woman paled a little. "Thanks," she mumbled and walked away.

Mira was surprised by the reaction but didn't take offence. People could get nervous around strangers, especially if they felt intimidated by the crowded halls. She continued browsing.

Several stalls later Mira had only purchased a couple of keyrings though she'd seen a lot of things she'd like. She'd probably buy more things tomorrow once she'd seen everything on offer, and had her eye on a "Stargate: Atlantis" print and a colour-changing "Supernatural" mug.

Stopping for a coffee, Mira spotted the Hamilton fan again, huddled in one corner and glancing at the convention leaflet and then at the room as if lost. She wandered over slowly, giving a wide smile.

"Hi," Mira said. "This your first time here? It's a bit overwhelming when you first get here but most people are really friendly and you'll have a great time."

The woman nodded, one hand moving to fondle her necklace.

"That's a great piece," Mira said, "I'm Mira."

The woman nodded again. "I know."

That was unexpected. Mira glanced down at her ID badge; it was readable close-up but the woman must have good eyesight to have seen it from this distance.

"I'm sorry," the woman said and launched into a ramble. "I'm so ashamed. I kind of hoped I'd see you here, but I said I couldn't come because then you'd know what a liar I am, and so I said I wouldn't come and then I got here, and it's so crowded and you know I don't like crowds, and I regret everything right now and I'm sorry."

Mira blinked a few times, taking all this in. "Erica?" she asked when the woman finally stopped for a much needed breath. It was the only thing that made sense except the woman didn't look like Erica's profile picture. She leaned in and peered at the woman's badge. Erica Staywell. Her friend.

"Yes. You look amazing," Erica said. "Just like the pictures you showed me when you were preparing your costume. And I look…" She gestured vaguely.

"You look a little different to your profile picture," Mira agreed. Her own pic showed her dressed as Princess Tiana from when she and some of her friends had all dressed as Disney Prince and Princesses for a Halloween party.

"That's because that's not me," Erica said miserably. "It's a picture I found on a stock photo website. I was making a vision board to inspire me and I chose her because she's younger, thinner, prettier than me. I put her as my avatar because that's what I wanted to look like, that's how I wanted to feel, happy like she looks in that picture. It makes me feel good to look at her when I post online."

That was understandable, but Erica wasn't finished. Before Mira could ask why she'd never mentioned the photo was inspirational rather than based in reality, Erica explained. "We'd only been talking for a while when you said something nice about me and I didn't want to admit I didn't look like that; I'd just lost my job and was feeling miserable enough without having to show you how I really looked."

Mira stared at her, aghast. They'd still been getting to know each other then but she remembered Erica getting made redundant and how it had in fact brought them closer with Mira sending her gifs to cheer her up when she was low, letting Erica vent about the struggle of hunting for a job, and being thrilled when Erica got her new job which turned out to be better in every respect than her old one. They'd even talked a bit about the vision board which had at first seemed to fail Erica by letting redundancy occur before delivering the better pay and flexible hours she'd been asking the Universe for.

Now she understood why none of the photos Erica had shared in the last three years had shown her face.

"Oh, Erica," Mira said with sympathy. She was still reconciling this woman with her friend – and since they'd only ever communicated via text, no doubt Erica was getting used to hearing Mira's voice too. Meeting someone in person was always an interesting experience. "I would have understood."

Erica shook her head. "The longer it went on it just seemed like this huge thing that I'd have to tell you and I was embarrassed."

"Enough that you'd come to the convention alone?" Mira had already planned her trip and booked a single room since it was a longer distance for her to travel and she wanted to attend both days, Erica only initially agreeing to come for one day because she could get the train from her hometown to the hotel where she could meet up with Mira.

"I almost didn't come but I'd paid for the ticket," Erica said, blinking away tears. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes," Mira said because they'd become close enough for her to tease. "You're an idiot for thinking I'd care what you looked like. Which is amazing by the way."

Erica shook her head again and Mira pulled her into a hug.

"Look, of all the people here we found each other," Mira said, releasing Erica. "We have the rest of the day to enjoy the convention together. It's going to be so much fun."

"Okay," Erica said, summoning up a smile and wiping her eyes. "I'd like that."

"And I got you something so this will save me mailing it," Mira said, rummaging in her bag. She held out one of the keyrings.

Erica took the Lego Loki keyring, eyes wide with surprise. "Oh, thank you!"

"I've got Lego Wonder Woman," Mira said with a grin. "So, do you fancy the "Lord of the Rings" panel? It starts in ten minutes."

Erica clipped Loki to her handbag. "I'd love that."

They walked, arm in arm, to find a seat.

[fictionalcharactermbti]

ENFP Fictional Tropes

Most ENFP characters fall under at least one trope. There are many cross overs in tropes and some ENFPs may not fit the categories presented. However, these tropes do loosely address the roles ENFP characters play in narratives. 

The Idealist

These ENFPs see the very best in everyone they meet. They are often the person who will forgive and help the most villainous of characters. They often bring out the best in others by just being themselves. They don’t even need to actively help others, but inspire others with their dreams and ideals. Their enthusiasm brought on by their Ne is often enough. Combined with their Fi caring towards individuals makes the caring on top of it. The idealist ENFPs are usually the most optimistic characters you will find. 

Examples: Kenneth Parnell (30 Rock), Antoine Triplett (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Mad Hatter (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland), Tara Maclay (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer), Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who), Buddy the Elf (Elf), Nemo (Finding Nemo), Barry Allen (The Flash), Olaf (Frozen), Kiki (Kiki’s Delivery Service), Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Moana (Moana), Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto Shippuden), Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Capheus (Sense8), Joyce Byers (Stranger Things), Rapunzel (Tangled), Jessie (Toy Story), Kimmy Schmidt (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Ottoki Otoya (Uta No Prince Sama), and Tara Chambler (The Walking Dead).

The Activist

The Activist ENFP is often first struck with Ne curiosity in the world and the ideas within it and then as they shape their Fi they rally behind a certain cause. The ENFP Activist is passionate about their cause. They may break the rules of society and systems, but they will never turn against their individual cause. Just like the Idealist, the ENFP activist often inspires others, however, they inspire those to follow them. ENFP activists can be very persuasive, living their life in line with their beliefs. 

Examples: Hayley Smith (American Dad), Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Karen Page (Netflix’s Daredevil), Marshall Eriksen (How I met Your Mother), Cindy Lou Who (Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Helen Parr (The Incredibles), Ray Palmer/Atom (DCTVU), Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Marvel Comics and X-MenCU), Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things), Sir Thomas More (The Tudors), Sam Seaborn (The West Wing), and Judy Hopps (Zootopia).

The Salesman

This ENFP character can convince you of anything and sell you on their vision. Whether they are healthy or not, their Ne makes them idea people that inspire, their Fi helps them appeal to people and their individual sense of self. They make you think that they can help make all your dreams come true. Healthy or unhealthy, their Te can help them make you think their idea is your priority, like they have your interests at heart (combined with Fi). This can help them actually help you or help them completely swindle you. No matter what they will make you for at least a moment feel special as they take you on a romantic journey of your dreams. 

Examples: Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries), Genie (Aladdin), Walt Disney (Saving Mr. Banks), Randy Marsh (South Park), Tom Haverford (Parks & Recreation), Erlich (Silicon Valley), Taco (The League), Tiffany Doggett (Orange is the New Black), Michael Scott (NBC’s The Office), Christian (Moulin Rouge!), John Hammond (Jurassic Park), Thomas Jefferson (Hamilton: An American Musical), Bumi (Avatar: The Legend of Korra), Gob Bluth (Arrested Development), and Malcolm Merlyn (Arrow).

The Prince

This is the darker side of the ENFP. They are probably the most self-involved trope. They believe their their wants are the needs of others. They demand others to serve their personal priorities. They often don’t see their work as selfish, but part of a greater cause or purpose. However, they are usually looping ENFPs. Many Prince ENFPs find themselves in leadership positions because they are over using their tertiary Te that they think is morally just because of their minimal use of their secondary Fi function. They use Te objectivity as a shield against their own subjective motives of Fi-Si. These types often have potential to be more positive tropes, but have faltered in their quest to satisfy their inferior function fears and desires. 

Examples: Ice King (Adventure Time), Malcolm Merlyn (Arrow), Cheryl Tunt (Archer), The Master (Doctor Who-10th Doctor Era), King Richard, Jaime Lannister (Game of Thrones), Ronald Weasley (Harry Potter Series), Sean McGinnes (Hell on Wheels), Willis ‘Diamondback’ Stryker (Luke Cage), Julia (Syfy’s The Magicians), Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Marvel Comics/X-Men Cinematic Universe), Obito Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden), Peter Pan (Once Upon a Time), Marshal D. Teach “Blackbeard” (One Piece), Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries/The Originals), and Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights). 

The Champion Leader

ENFP leaders become so in their hope to help others. They are concerned with the forgotten because of their Introverted Feeling. They are a champion of a cause like the activist, but find themselves leading others in order to accomplish their goals. Their leadership style isn’t one of intense organization, but of individuality and independence. They are often because of Ne-Fi on the ground doing tasks with their followers in order to accomplish group goals. They have a hard time delegating, standing back and letting only others enjoy the fun of the action. This is due to their Ne being more present oriented and Fi being a function that can’t be used conceptually, but perceptually. The ENFP leader is far more comfortable helping others in the situation rather than apart from it. 

Examples: Clark Kent/Superman (DC), Renly Baratheon (Game of Thrones), Chris (Bravest Warriors), Peter Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy), King Arthur (Mists of Avalon), Moana (Moana), Hashirama Senju (Naruto Shippuden), Peter Pan (Disney’s Peter Pan), Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece), Dr. Alexander Sweet (Penny Dreadful), Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Marvel/X-Men Cinematic Universe), and Captain Kirk (Star Trek).

The Goof

This is the most under-estimated ENFP character. They come off is aloof, odd, and carefree on the surface. But this is often a misread. The ENFP goof is often wandering the unbeaten Ne dominance path, seeing things differently in ways that other types can’t accept or don’t understand. Their sense of genius is mistaken for oddity. They usually surprise others with their intelligence and success, because it is never how others would go about completing a given task or goal. Their genius word play is often seen as simply humorous rather than an indicator of a deeper intelligence. 

Examples: Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls), Second Doctor & Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who), Troy Barnes (Community), Fez (That ‘70s Show), Gregory (Over the Garden Wall), Spongebob Squarepants (Spondgebob Squarepants), Bing Bong (Inside Out), Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes (LOST), Bert (Morry Poppins), Mei (My Neighbor Totoro), Winston Bishop (New Girl), Erin Hannon (NBC’s The Office), Russell (Up), Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone), Gene Belcher (Bob’s Burgers), Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?), Peter Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Bolin (Avatar: The Legend of Korra).

[newstechreviews]

A child opens a box. He starts jumping and screaming with joy—not an unusual sound in the halls of Mattel’s headquarters where researchers test new toys. But this particular toy is a doll, and it’s rare for parents to bring boys into these research groups to play with dolls. It’s rarer still for a boy to immediately attach himself to one the way Shi’a just did.

An 8-year-old who considers himself gender fluid and whose favorite color is black one week, pink the next, Shi’a sometimes plays with his younger sister’s dolls at home, but they’re “girly, princess stuff,” he says dismissively. This doll, with its prepubescent body and childish features, looks more like him, right down to the wave of bleached blond bangs. “The hair is just like mine,” Shi’a says, swinging his head in tandem with the doll’s. Then he turns to the playmate in the toy-testing room, a 7-year-old girl named Jhase, and asks, “Should I put on the girl hair?” Shi’a fits a long, blond wig on the doll’s head, and suddenly it is no longer an avatar for him, but for his sister.

The doll can be a boy, a girl, neither or both, and Mattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch on Sept. 25 redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids. Carefully manicured features betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. There are no Barbie-like breasts or broad, Ken-like shoulders. Each doll in the Creatable World series looks like a slender 7-year-old with short hair, but each comes with a wig of long, lustrous locks and a wardrobe befitting any fashion-conscious kid: hoodies, sneakers, graphic T-shirts in soothing greens and yellows, along with tutus and camo pants.

Mattel’s first promotional spot for the $29.99 product features a series of kids who go by various pronouns—him, her, them, xem—and the slogan “A doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in.” With this overt nod to trans and nonbinary identities, the company is betting on where it thinks the country is going, even if it means alienating a substantial portion of the population. A Pew Research survey conducted in 2017 showed that while 76% of the public supports parents’ steering girls to toys and activities traditionally associated with boys, only 64% endorse steering boys toward toys and activities associated with girls.

For years, millennial parents have pushed back against “pink aisles” and “blue aisles” in toy stores in favor of gender-neutral sections, often in the name of exposing girls to the building blocks and chemistry kits that foster interest in science and math but are usually categorized as boys’ toys. Major toy sellers have listened, thanks to the millennial generation’s unrivaled size, trend-setting ability and buying power. Target eliminated gender-specific sections in 2015. The same year, Disney banished “boys” and “girls” labels from its children’s costumes, inviting girls to dress as Captain America and boys as Belle. Last year, Mattel did away with “boys” and “girls” toy divisions in favor of nongendered sections: dolls or cars, for instance.

But the Creatable World doll is something else entirely. Unlike model airplanes or volcano kits, dolls have faces like ours, upon which we can project our own self-image and anxieties. Mattel tested the doll with 250 families across seven states, including 15 children who identify as trans, gender-nonbinary or gender-fluid and rarely see themselves reflected in the media, let alone their playthings. “There were a couple of gender-creative kids who told us that they dreaded Christmas Day because they knew whatever they got under the Christmas tree, it wasn’t made for them,” says Monica Dreger, head of consumer insights at Mattel. “This is the first doll that you can find under the tree and see is for them because it can be for anyone.”

The population of young people who identify as gender-nonbinary is growing. Though no large surveys have been done of kids younger than 10, a recent study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that 27% of California teens identify as gender-nonconforming. And a 2018 Pew study found 35% of Gen Z-ers (born 1995 to 2015) say they personally know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns like they and them, compared with just 16% of Gen X-ers (born 1965 to 1980). The patterns are projected to continue with Generation Alpha, who were born in 2010 and later. Those kids, along with boys who want to play with dolls and girls who identify as “tomboys” and don’t gravitate toward fashion doll play, are an untapped demographic. Mattel currently has 19% market share in the $8 billion doll industry; gaining just one more point could translate to $80 million in revenue for the company.

Mattel sees an even broader potential for Creatable World beyond gender-creative kids. In testing, the company found that Generation Alpha children chafed at labels and mandates no matter their gender identity: They didn’t want to be told whom a toy was designed for or how to play with it. They were delighted with a doll that had no name and could transform and adapt according to their whims.

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIME. Shi’a, left, and Jhase play with Mattel’s gender-neutral doll

But it’s parents who are making the purchasing decisions, and no adult is going to have a neutral reaction to this doll. In testing groups, several parents felt the “gender-neutral” branding of the toy pushed a political agenda, and some adults objected to the notion of their sons ever playing with dolls. Mattel’s President Richard Dickson insists the doll isn’t intended as a statement. “We’re not in the business of politics,” he says, “and we respect the decision any parent makes around how they raise their kids. Our job is to stimulate imaginations. Our toys are ultimately canvases for cultural conversation, but it’s your conversation, not ours; your opinion, not ours.”

Yet even offering customers that blank canvas will be seen as political in a country where gender-neutral bathrooms still stir protests. Mattel joins a cohort of other companies that have chosen a side in a divisive political climate. Just in the past two years, Nike launched a campaign starring Colin Kaepernick after the NFL dropped him from the league for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism. Airbnb offered free housing to people displaced in the face of President Trump’s travel ban. Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style weapons after the Parkland shooting. All these companies have reported eventual sales bumps after staking their claim in the culture wars.

When pressed with these examples, Dickson admits that staying neutral is not an option if you want to be perceived as an innovator. “I think being a company today, you have to have a combination of social justice along with commerce, and that balance can be tricky,” Dickson says. “Not everyone will appreciate you or agree with you.”

In fact, dissent among boomers, Gen X-ers and even millennials may be a positive sign, according to Mattel’s own researchers. “If all the parents who saw the dolls said, ‘This is what we’ve been waiting for,’ we wouldn’t be doing our jobs,” says Dreger. “That would mean this should have already been in the market. So we’re maybe a little behind where kids are, ahead of where parents are, and that’s exactly where we need to be.”

***

Walking into Mattel’s headquarters, it’s difficult to imagine a gender-neutral world of play. A huge mural depicts some of the company’s most recognizable toys. A classic bouffanted version of Barbie in a black-and-white bathing suit and heels squints down at visitors. In another picture close by, a little boy puffs out his chest and rips open his shirt, Superman style, to reveal a red Mattel logo that reads “Strength and Excellence.” Even a toddler would be able to discern the messaging on how a woman and a man are expected to look from these images.

But the evolution within Mattel is obvious once visitors make their way past the entryway and into the designers’ cubicles. Inspiration boards are covered with pictures of boys in skirts and girls in athletic gear. The most striking images are mashups of popular teen stars: the features of Camila Mendes and Cole Sprouse, who play Veronica and Jughead on Riverdale, combine to create one androgynous face, and Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who play the main characters on Stranger Things, blend into a single floppy-haired, genderless person with sharp cheekbones.

In the past decade, toy companies have begun to tear down gender barriers. Smaller businesses like GoldieBlox, which launched in 2012 and builds engineering toys targeting girls, and large companies like Lego, which created the female-focused Lego Friends line the same year, have made STEM toys for girls more mainstream. Small independent toymakers have pushed things further with dollhouses painted green and yellow instead of purple and pink, or cooking kits that are entirely white instead of decorated with flowers or butterflies.

Perhaps it’s surprising, then, that nobody has beaten Mattel to creating a gender-neutral doll. A deep Google search for such a toy turns up baby dolls or strange-looking plush creatures that don’t resemble any human who ever walked this earth. Nothing comes close to the Creatable World doll that Mattel has conjured up over the past two years.

Scientists have debunked the idea that boys are simply born wanting to play with trucks and girls wanting to nurture dolls. A study by psychologists Lisa Dinella and Erica Weisgram, co-editors of Gender Typing of Children’s Toys: How Early Play Experiences Impact Development, found that when wheeled toys were painted white — and thus deprived of all color signaling whether they were “boys’ toys” or “girls’ toys” — girls and boys chose to play with the wheeled toys equally as often. Dinella points out that removing gendered cues from toys facilitates play between boys and girls, crucial practice for when men and women must interact in the workplace and home as adults. She adds that millennials (born 1981 to 1996) have pushed to share child-care responsibilities, and that battle ought to begin in the playroom. “If boys, like girls, are encouraged to learn parental skills with doll play at a young age, you wind up with more nurturing and empathetic fathers,” she says.

And yet creating a doll to appeal to all kids, regardless of gender, remains risky. “There are children who are willing to cross those gender boundaries that society places on toys, but there’s often a cost that comes with crossing those boundaries,” Dinella says. “That cost seems to be bigger for boys than it is for girls.” Some of those social repercussions no doubt can be traced to parental attitudes. In Los Angeles, the majority of the seven parents in an early testing group for Creatable World complained the doll “feels political,” as one mom put it.

“I don’t think my son should be playing with dolls,” she continued. “There’s a difference between a girl with a truck and a boy with a Barbie, and a boy with a Barbie is a no-no.”

The only dad in the group shrugged: “I don’t know. My daughter is friends with a boy who wears dresses. I used to be against that type of thing, but now I’m O.K. with it.”

In videos of those testing groups, many parents fumbled with the language to describe the dolls, confusing gender (how a person identifies) with sexuality (whom a person is attracted to), mixing up gender-neutral (without gender) and trans (a person who has transitioned from one gender to another) and fretting about the mere idea of a boy playing with a doll. A second mom in Los Angeles asked before seeing the doll, “Is it transgender? How am I supposed to have a conversation with my kid about that?” After examining the toy and discussing gender-fluidity with the other parents, she declared, “It’s just too much. Can’t we go back to 1970?”

After the session, Dreger analyzed the parental response. “Adults get so tied up in the descriptions and definitions,” she said. “They jump to this idea of sexuality. They make themselves more anxious about it. For kids it’s much more intuitive.”

Why, exactly, a new generation is rejecting categorizations that society has been using for millennia is up for debate. Eighty-one percent of Gen Z-ers believe that a person shouldn’t be defined by gender, according to a poll by the J. Walter Thompson marketing group. But it’s not just about gender — it’s about authenticity, whether real or perceived. Macho male actors and glam, ultra-feminine actresses have less cultural cache than they used to. Gen Z, with its well-honed radar for anything overly polished or fake-seeming, prefers YouTube confessionals about battling everything from zits to depression. When the New York Times recently asked Generation Z to pick a name for itself, the most-liked response was “Don’t call us anything.”

Perhaps their ideas of gender have expanded under the influence of parents who are beginning to reject practices like gender-reveal parties that box kids in even before they are born. Jenna Karvunidis, who popularized the gender-reveal party, recently revealed on Facebook that her now 10-year-old child is gender-nonconforming and that she regrets holding the party. “She’s telling me ‘Mom, there are many genders. Mom, there’s many different sexualities and all different types,’ and I take her lead on that,” Karvunidis said in an interview with NPR.

Perhaps it’s that a generation of kids raised on video games where they could create their own avatars, with whatever styling and gender they please has helped open up the way kids think about identity. Perhaps the simple fact that more celebrities like Amandla Stenberg and Sam Smith are coming out as gender-nonbinary has made it easier for other young people to do the same. Generation Alpha, the most diverse generation in America in all senses of the term, is likely to grow up with even more liberal views on gender.

“This is a rallying cry of this generation,” says Jess Weiner, a cultural consultant for large companies looking to tap into modern-day markets and navigate issues of gender. “Companies in this day and age have to evolve or else they die, they go away … And part of that evolving is trying to understand things they didn’t prior.”

Photograph by JUCO for TIMEMattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids.

Mattel isn’t the first company to notice the trend among young shoppers moving away from gender-specific products. Rob Smith—the founder of the Phluid Project, a gender-free clothing store that caters to the LGBTQ+ community in New York City—says several large corporations, including Mattel, have approached him for advice on how to market to the young masses. “I work with a lot of companies who are figuring out that the separation between male and female is less important to young consumers who don’t want to be boxed into anything,” he says. “There’s men’s shampoo and women’s shampoo, but it’s just all shampoo. Companies are starting to investigate that in-between space in order to win over Gen Z.”

Still, Mattel enters a politically charged debate at a precarious moment for corporations in America, where companies that want to gain customer loyalty are being pushed to one aisle or the other. A study from the PR agency Weber Shandwick found 47% of millennials think CEOs should take stances on social issues. Some 51% of millennials surveyed said they are more likely to buy products from companies run by activist CEOs. Now, if you walk into a Patagonia store, you’ll see a sign that reads, “The President stole your land. Take action now.”

Such activism is often born of self-interest: companies want to appeal to liberal customers and retain young employees and their allies. They face little risk by speaking up, but major consequences by sitting on the sidelines. In August, customers boycotted Equinox and SoulCycle—two companies that have aggressively courted the LGBTQ+ community—when reports emerged that their key investor was holding a fundraiser for Trump with ticket prices as high as $250,000. According to data analyses by Second Measure, a month later, SoulCycle attendance is down almost 13%.

Weiner says SoulCycle’s experience should serve as a cautionary tale. “I think businesses of any size now recognize that their consumer base values transparency over any other attribute. They want to know that your board is reflective of your choices, and that’s caught a lot of businesses off guard,” Weiner says. “You can’t talk about gender equity in your commercial and then have no women on your board. They have to be savvy.”

Now, a toy company has chosen to make a product specifically to appeal to the progressive part of the country. Lisa McKnight, the senior vice president of the global doll portfolio at Mattel, says major retailers have been enthusiastic about Creatable World. “They’re excited about the message of inclusivity,” she says. “The world is becoming a more diverse and inclusive place, and some people want to do more to support that.” When pressed on the risks, she lays out the alternative. “Candidly, we ask ourselves if another company were to launch a product line like this, how would we feel? And after that gut check, we are proceeding.”

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIMEThe dolls faces betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. Here, the dolls faces are painted at Mattel’s headquarters on September 5.

Mattel will launch Creatable World exclusively online first, in part to better control the message. That includes giving sneak previews to select influencers and leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. Selling the doll in retail stores will be more complicated. For one thing, there’s the question of where to place it in stores to attract the attention of shoppers who might not venture into a doll section. Store clerks will have to be trained in what pronouns to use when talking about the doll and how to handle anxious parents’ questions about it. And then there are practical concerns. Dickson admits the company is ready for the possibility that protests against Creatable World dolls could hurt other Mattel brands, namely Barbie.

Mattel has taken risks before. Most recently, in 2016, it added three new body types to the Barbie doll: tall, petite and, most radically, curvy. It was the first time the company had made a major change to one of the most recognizable brands—and bodies—in the world in the doll’s almost-60-year history. The change helped propel Barbie from a retrograde doll lambasted by feminists for her impossible shape to a modern toy. She is now on the rise. Her sales have been up for the last eight quarters, and she saw a 14% sales bump in the last year alone, according to Mattel.

But Mattel felt late to the game when it changed Barbie’s body: For years the Mindy Kalings and Ashley Grahams of the world had been championing fuller body types. Parents had been demanding change with boycotts and letter campaigns. By contrast, Creatable World feels like uncharted territory. Consider children’s media: Disney hasn’t introduced a major gay character in any of its movies, let alone a gender-nonconforming one. There are no trans superheroes. Even characters whose creators say they are queer—like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series—haven’t actually come out on the page or the screen. In that pop-culture space, a gender-neutral doll seems radical.

Even though there is no scientific evidence to prove that this is the case, there will be customers who say that even exposing their children to a gender-nonbinary doll through commercials or in a play group would threaten to change their child’s identity. This debate will spin out into sociopolitical questions about whether the types of toys children play with affect their sense of identity and gender.

That conversation, if it comes, is worth it, according to Dickson. “I think if we could have a hand in creating the idea that a boy can play with a perceived girl toy and a girl can play with a perceived boy toy, we would have contributed to a better, more sensitive place of perception in the world today,” he says. “And even more so for the kids that find themselves in that challenging place, if we can make that moment in their life a bit more comfortable, and knowing we created something that makes them feel recognized, that’s a beautiful thing.”

[itsfinancethings]

September 25, 2019 at 12:01AM

A child opens a box. He starts jumping and screaming with joy—not an unusual sound in the halls of Mattel’s headquarters where researchers test new toys. But this particular toy is a doll, and it’s rare for parents to bring boys into these research groups to play with dolls. It’s rarer still for a boy to immediately attach himself to one the way Shi’a just did.

An 8-year-old who considers himself gender fluid and whose favorite color is black one week, pink the next, Shi’a sometimes plays with his younger sister’s dolls at home, but they’re “girly, princess stuff,” he says dismissively. This doll, with its prepubescent body and childish features, looks more like him, right down to the wave of bleached blond bangs. “The hair is just like mine,” Shi’a says, swinging his head in tandem with the doll’s. Then he turns to the playmate in the toy-testing room, a 7-year-old girl named Jhase, and asks, “Should I put on the girl hair?” Shi’a fits a long, blond wig on the doll’s head, and suddenly it is no longer an avatar for him, but for his sister.

The doll can be a boy, a girl, neither or both, and Mattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch on Sept. 25 redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids. Carefully manicured features betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. There are no Barbie-like breasts or broad, Ken-like shoulders. Each doll in the Creatable World series looks like a slender 7-year-old with short hair, but each comes with a wig of long, lustrous locks and a wardrobe befitting any fashion-conscious kid: hoodies, sneakers, graphic T-shirts in soothing greens and yellows, along with tutus and camo pants.

Mattel’s first promotional spot for the $29.99 product features a series of kids who go by various pronouns—him, her, them, xem—and the slogan “A doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in.” With this overt nod to trans and nonbinary identities, the company is betting on where it thinks the country is going, even if it means alienating a substantial portion of the population. A Pew Research survey conducted in 2017 showed that while 76% of the public supports parents’ steering girls to toys and activities traditionally associated with boys, only 64% endorse steering boys toward toys and activities associated with girls.

For years, millennial parents have pushed back against “pink aisles” and “blue aisles” in toy stores in favor of gender-neutral sections, often in the name of exposing girls to the building blocks and chemistry kits that foster interest in science and math but are usually categorized as boys’ toys. Major toy sellers have listened, thanks to the millennial generation’s unrivaled size, trend-setting ability and buying power. Target eliminated gender-specific sections in 2015. The same year, Disney banished “boys” and “girls” labels from its children’s costumes, inviting girls to dress as Captain America and boys as Belle. Last year, Mattel did away with “boys” and “girls” toy divisions in favor of nongendered sections: dolls or cars, for instance.

But the Creatable World doll is something else entirely. Unlike model airplanes or volcano kits, dolls have faces like ours, upon which we can project our own self-image and anxieties. Mattel tested the doll with 250 families across seven states, including 15 children who identify as trans, gender-nonbinary or gender-fluid and rarely see themselves reflected in the media, let alone their playthings. “There were a couple of gender-creative kids who told us that they dreaded Christmas Day because they knew whatever they got under the Christmas tree, it wasn’t made for them,” says Monica Dreger, head of consumer insights at Mattel. “This is the first doll that you can find under the tree and see is for them because it can be for anyone.”

The population of young people who identify as gender-nonbinary is growing. Though no large surveys have been done of kids younger than 10, a recent study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that 27% of California teens identify as gender-nonconforming. And a 2018 Pew study found 35% of Gen Z-ers (born 1995 to 2015) say they personally know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns like they and them, compared with just 16% of Gen X-ers (born 1965 to 1980). The patterns are projected to continue with Generation Alpha, who were born in 2010 and later. Those kids, along with boys who want to play with dolls and girls who identify as “tomboys” and don’t gravitate toward fashion doll play, are an untapped demographic. Mattel currently has 19% market share in the $8 billion doll industry; gaining just one more point could translate to $80 million in revenue for the company.

Mattel sees an even broader potential for Creatable World beyond gender-creative kids. In testing, the company found that Generation Alpha children chafed at labels and mandates no matter their gender identity: They didn’t want to be told whom a toy was designed for or how to play with it. They were delighted with a doll that had no name and could transform and adapt according to their whims.

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIME. Shi’a, left, and Jhase play with Mattel’s gender-neutral doll

But it’s parents who are making the purchasing decisions, and no adult is going to have a neutral reaction to this doll. In testing groups, several parents felt the “gender-neutral” branding of the toy pushed a political agenda, and some adults objected to the notion of their sons ever playing with dolls. Mattel’s President Richard Dickson insists the doll isn’t intended as a statement. “We’re not in the business of politics,” he says, “and we respect the decision any parent makes around how they raise their kids. Our job is to stimulate imaginations. Our toys are ultimately canvases for cultural conversation, but it’s your conversation, not ours; your opinion, not ours.”

Yet even offering customers that blank canvas will be seen as political in a country where gender-neutral bathrooms still stir protests. Mattel joins a cohort of other companies that have chosen a side in a divisive political climate. Just in the past two years, Nike launched a campaign starring Colin Kaepernick after the NFL dropped him from the league for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism. Airbnb offered free housing to people displaced in the face of President Trump’s travel ban. Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style weapons after the Parkland shooting. All these companies have reported eventual sales bumps after staking their claim in the culture wars.

When pressed with these examples, Dickson admits that staying neutral is not an option if you want to be perceived as an innovator. “I think being a company today, you have to have a combination of social justice along with commerce, and that balance can be tricky,” Dickson says. “Not everyone will appreciate you or agree with you.”

In fact, dissent among boomers, Gen X-ers and even millennials may be a positive sign, according to Mattel’s own researchers. “If all the parents who saw the dolls said, ‘This is what we’ve been waiting for,’ we wouldn’t be doing our jobs,” says Dreger. “That would mean this should have already been in the market. So we’re maybe a little behind where kids are, ahead of where parents are, and that’s exactly where we need to be.”

***

Walking into Mattel’s headquarters, it’s difficult to imagine a gender-neutral world of play. A huge mural depicts some of the company’s most recognizable toys. A classic bouffanted version of Barbie in a black-and-white bathing suit and heels squints down at visitors. In another picture close by, a little boy puffs out his chest and rips open his shirt, Superman style, to reveal a red Mattel logo that reads “Strength and Excellence.” Even a toddler would be able to discern the messaging on how a woman and a man are expected to look from these images.

But the evolution within Mattel is obvious once visitors make their way past the entryway and into the designers’ cubicles. Inspiration boards are covered with pictures of boys in skirts and girls in athletic gear. The most striking images are mashups of popular teen stars: the features of Camila Mendes and Cole Sprouse, who play Veronica and Jughead on Riverdale, combine to create one androgynous face, and Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who play the main characters on Stranger Things, blend into a single floppy-haired, genderless person with sharp cheekbones.

In the past decade, toy companies have begun to tear down gender barriers. Smaller businesses like GoldieBlox, which launched in 2012 and builds engineering toys targeting girls, and large companies like Lego, which created the female-focused Lego Friends line the same year, have made STEM toys for girls more mainstream. Small independent toymakers have pushed things further with dollhouses painted green and yellow instead of purple and pink, or cooking kits that are entirely white instead of decorated with flowers or butterflies.

Perhaps it’s surprising, then, that nobody has beaten Mattel to creating a gender-neutral doll. A deep Google search for such a toy turns up baby dolls or strange-looking plush creatures that don’t resemble any human who ever walked this earth. Nothing comes close to the Creatable World doll that Mattel has conjured up over the past two years.

Scientists have debunked the idea that boys are simply born wanting to play with trucks and girls wanting to nurture dolls. A study by psychologists Lisa Dinella and Erica Weisgram, co-editors of Gender Typing of Children’s Toys: How Early Play Experiences Impact Development, found that when wheeled toys were painted white — and thus deprived of all color signaling whether they were “boys’ toys” or “girls’ toys” — girls and boys chose to play with the wheeled toys equally as often. Dinella points out that removing gendered cues from toys facilitates play between boys and girls, crucial practice for when men and women must interact in the workplace and home as adults. She adds that millennials (born 1981 to 1996) have pushed to share child-care responsibilities, and that battle ought to begin in the playroom. “If boys, like girls, are encouraged to learn parental skills with doll play at a young age, you wind up with more nurturing and empathetic fathers,” she says.

And yet creating a doll to appeal to all kids, regardless of gender, remains risky. “There are children who are willing to cross those gender boundaries that society places on toys, but there’s often a cost that comes with crossing those boundaries,” Dinella says. “That cost seems to be bigger for boys than it is for girls.” Some of those social repercussions no doubt can be traced to parental attitudes. In Los Angeles, the majority of the seven parents in an early testing group for Creatable World complained the doll “feels political,” as one mom put it.

“I don’t think my son should be playing with dolls,” she continued. “There’s a difference between a girl with a truck and a boy with a Barbie, and a boy with a Barbie is a no-no.”

The only dad in the group shrugged: “I don’t know. My daughter is friends with a boy who wears dresses. I used to be against that type of thing, but now I’m O.K. with it.”

In videos of those testing groups, many parents fumbled with the language to describe the dolls, confusing gender (how a person identifies) with sexuality (whom a person is attracted to), mixing up gender-neutral (without gender) and trans (a person who has transitioned from one gender to another) and fretting about the mere idea of a boy playing with a doll. A second mom in Los Angeles asked before seeing the doll, “Is it transgender? How am I supposed to have a conversation with my kid about that?” After examining the toy and discussing gender-fluidity with the other parents, she declared, “It’s just too much. Can’t we go back to 1970?”

After the session, Dreger analyzed the parental response. “Adults get so tied up in the descriptions and definitions,” she said. “They jump to this idea of sexuality. They make themselves more anxious about it. For kids it’s much more intuitive.”

Why, exactly, a new generation is rejecting categorizations that society has been using for millennia is up for debate. Eighty-one percent of Gen Z-ers believe that a person shouldn’t be defined by gender, according to a poll by the J. Walter Thompson marketing group. But it’s not just about gender — it’s about authenticity, whether real or perceived. Macho male actors and glam, ultra-feminine actresses have less cultural cache than they used to. Gen Z, with its well-honed radar for anything overly polished or fake-seeming, prefers YouTube confessionals about battling everything from zits to depression. When the New York Times recently asked Generation Z to pick a name for itself, the most-liked response was “Don’t call us anything.”

Perhaps their ideas of gender have expanded under the influence of parents who are beginning to reject practices like gender-reveal parties that box kids in even before they are born. Jenna Karvunidis, who popularized the gender-reveal party, recently revealed on Facebook that her now 10-year-old child is gender-nonconforming and that she regrets holding the party. “She’s telling me ‘Mom, there are many genders. Mom, there’s many different sexualities and all different types,’ and I take her lead on that,” Karvunidis said in an interview with NPR.

Perhaps it’s that a generation of kids raised on video games where they could create their own avatars, with whatever styling and gender they please has helped open up the way kids think about identity. Perhaps the simple fact that more celebrities like Amandla Stenberg and Sam Smith are coming out as gender-nonbinary has made it easier for other young people to do the same. Generation Alpha, the most diverse generation in America in all senses of the term, is likely to grow up with even more liberal views on gender.

“This is a rallying cry of this generation,” says Jess Weiner, a cultural consultant for large companies looking to tap into modern-day markets and navigate issues of gender. “Companies in this day and age have to evolve or else they die, they go away … And part of that evolving is trying to understand things they didn’t prior.”

Photograph by JUCO for TIMEMattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids.

Mattel isn’t the first company to notice the trend among young shoppers moving away from gender-specific products. Rob Smith—the founder of the Phluid Project, a gender-free clothing store that caters to the LGBTQ+ community in New York City—says several large corporations, including Mattel, have approached him for advice on how to market to the young masses. “I work with a lot of companies who are figuring out that the separation between male and female is less important to young consumers who don’t want to be boxed into anything,” he says. “There’s men’s shampoo and women’s shampoo, but it’s just all shampoo. Companies are starting to investigate that in-between space in order to win over Gen Z.”

Still, Mattel enters a politically charged debate at a precarious moment for corporations in America, where companies that want to gain customer loyalty are being pushed to one aisle or the other. A study from the PR agency Weber Shandwick found 47% of millennials think CEOs should take stances on social issues. Some 51% of millennials surveyed said they are more likely to buy products from companies run by activist CEOs. Now, if you walk into a Patagonia store, you’ll see a sign that reads, “The President stole your land. Take action now.”

Such activism is often born of self-interest: companies want to appeal to liberal customers and retain young employees and their allies. They face little risk by speaking up, but major consequences by sitting on the sidelines. In August, customers boycotted Equinox and SoulCycle—two companies that have aggressively courted the LGBTQ+ community—when reports emerged that their key investor was holding a fundraiser for Trump with ticket prices as high as $250,000. According to data analyses by Second Measure, a month later, SoulCycle attendance is down almost 13%.

Weiner says SoulCycle’s experience should serve as a cautionary tale. “I think businesses of any size now recognize that their consumer base values transparency over any other attribute. They want to know that your board is reflective of your choices, and that’s caught a lot of businesses off guard,” Weiner says. “You can’t talk about gender equity in your commercial and then have no women on your board. They have to be savvy.”

Now, a toy company has chosen to make a product specifically to appeal to the progressive part of the country. Lisa McKnight, the senior vice president of the global doll portfolio at Mattel, says major retailers have been enthusiastic about Creatable World. “They’re excited about the message of inclusivity,” she says. “The world is becoming a more diverse and inclusive place, and some people want to do more to support that.” When pressed on the risks, she lays out the alternative. “Candidly, we ask ourselves if another company were to launch a product line like this, how would we feel? And after that gut check, we are proceeding.”

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIMEThe dolls faces betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. Here, the dolls faces are painted at Mattel’s headquarters on September 5.

Mattel will launch Creatable World exclusively online first, in part to better control the message. That includes giving sneak previews to select influencers and leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. Selling the doll in retail stores will be more complicated. For one thing, there’s the question of where to place it in stores to attract the attention of shoppers who might not venture into a doll section. Store clerks will have to be trained in what pronouns to use when talking about the doll and how to handle anxious parents’ questions about it. And then there are practical concerns. Dickson admits the company is ready for the possibility that protests against Creatable World dolls could hurt other Mattel brands, namely Barbie.

Mattel has taken risks before. Most recently, in 2016, it added three new body types to the Barbie doll: tall, petite and, most radically, curvy. It was the first time the company had made a major change to one of the most recognizable brands—and bodies—in the world in the doll’s almost-60-year history. The change helped propel Barbie from a retrograde doll lambasted by feminists for her impossible shape to a modern toy. She is now on the rise. Her sales have been up for the last eight quarters, and she saw a 14% sales bump in the last year alone, according to Mattel.

But Mattel felt late to the game when it changed Barbie’s body: For years the Mindy Kalings and Ashley Grahams of the world had been championing fuller body types. Parents had been demanding change with boycotts and letter campaigns. By contrast, Creatable World feels like uncharted territory. Consider children’s media: Disney hasn’t introduced a major gay character in any of its movies, let alone a gender-nonconforming one. There are no trans superheroes. Even characters whose creators say they are queer—like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series—haven’t actually come out on the page or the screen. In that pop-culture space, a gender-neutral doll seems radical.

Even though there is no scientific evidence to prove that this is the case, there will be customers who say that even exposing their children to a gender-nonbinary doll through commercials or in a play group would threaten to change their child’s identity. This debate will spin out into sociopolitical questions about whether the types of toys children play with affect their sense of identity and gender.

That conversation, if it comes, is worth it, according to Dickson. “I think if we could have a hand in creating the idea that a boy can play with a perceived girl toy and a girl can play with a perceived boy toy, we would have contributed to a better, more sensitive place of perception in the world today,” he says. “And even more so for the kids that find themselves in that challenging place, if we can make that moment in their life a bit more comfortable, and knowing we created something that makes them feel recognized, that’s a beautiful thing.”

[grinning-tiger]

Interview with Azra Alkan (VFX Compositor)

Let's do an interview!

Here we have a great person, great artist, and a friend of mine who I met back when I was a student at Academy of Art University and who I have the pleasure working with currently at Ingenuity Studios.

I hope you enjoy and if you'd like to see more, her demo reel is down belong along with being able to find her on IMDB and her personal website www.azralkan.com

-Tell me a little bit about yourself. My name is Azra Alkan, I’m a 26 year old compositor working on films, TV shows, and commercials.  I grew up in the capital of Turkey, Ankara. I graduated from Academy of Art University in December 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in Animation and Visual Effects, majoring in compositing.  I’ve been working in the VFX industry for the last 5 years in Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

-You mentioned that you are from Turkey. What is VFX like back home? When I left Turkey, there was no visual effects houses back then. All of the VFX were being outsourced to different countries. To be quite honest there was no market for it either. It’s only blooming over the past few years with the newly founded VFX studios. They mostly work on commercials because film industry still has a hard time trusting local shops.

-Tell me of your journey that got you to where you are today. I was always infatuated with arts, particularly with storytelling, so I tried to learn that ever since I was a kid. At the same time I was very good at sciences and I was drawn to both sides. I started programming at a very early age as well as painting and writing stories. I got accepted to a visual programming major back at home and I was loving it. However I felt that the visual side of me wanted more freedom, so I applied to a school in U.S.A, convinced my parents with the scholarship they offered me, packed my stuff and moved across the world for the best art education I could get. Visual Effects was a rare industry that kept both my artistic skills and my scientific background in check. I fell in love with it ever since.

-What brought you to VFX? When I was studying cinematography I felt the need to have more creative freedom. I wanted to capture the stuff that a regular camera cannot see. Live action art was not enough to convey my insane imagination. I wanted to create worlds that only I knew how they looked. I was fascinated by the movie Avatar at the time. Seeing Avatar, I said “this is it, this is what I have got to do!”

-What inspires you? Humans, psychics, outer space, our existence, how big the universe is and nature itself are the topics I think about constantly. I really wonder about our place in the entire universe and it drives me to create futuristic effects, worlds, cities, planets in my work.

-What are some of the things that you have worked on? I was lucky enough to work on many amazing TV shows, movies and commercials for my age. I got to work on my favorite TV shows such as Gotham, Agents of Shield, Stranger Things (oh I am obsessed with that show!), Westworld, Last Man On Earth. The latest blockbuster movie I worked on was Disney's Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

-What is something that you love about your job? I love the problem solving aspect of it. It is quite like a puzzle. As a compositor, I am at the end of the post production pipeline. I am given all the elements such as FX, CGI, image, etc., and I have to figure out a way to fit them all together to make them belong and look real. At the end of each scene I work on I still get surprised on how real it looks. I almost fool myself into thinking this is a real live action footage.

-What are some of the challenges that you have experienced? Art is very subjective and sometimes what you think is great might not be what the client wants. Unless you are working solely on your own projects (which is why I love collaborating on indie movies) you have to keep your crazy imagination in check with what the clients think will bring in more viewers. Get ready for some very personal criticism on your art work!

-What are some notable experiences that you have gained? When I was working at Studio 400A, which is a non-profit indie studio made of talented artists and their mentors, I got to lead Advantageous, which has been nominated in Sundance and many other film festivals. When I got hired to work at CoSA VFX, I got to work on Emmy nominated shows by Disney, Marvel, and Fox. Now at my current studio, Ingenuity Studios, I work as a senior artist leading a team of other talented artist for the show Fresh Off The Boat. It’s great because it is a show about immigrants and who is better than I to supervise it :)

-What do you see as the future of the VFX industry? I believe the film industry started to realize how important visual effects artists really are to the whole process. I know there are many people out there that constantly point out that we get the worst treatment out of everyone in Hollywood, and to some degree I can understand that. However, we need to trust our talent and not let negativity or speculations affect our decisions. We are the backbones of this industry and we will continue to rise with the upcoming technology.

How do you want to contribute to this future of VFX? I would like to continue working hard and continue having many irons in the fire to shine a light upon every fellow artist who are good at what they do and needs a platform/leadership to show their artwork to the world.

-What are your dreams and aspirations? I eventually want to open up my own studio, where talented fellow artist are treated right, compensated the way they deserve, and where our only limitation would be our imagination.

-The VFX industry has a history of being a “boy’s club”. What has your experience been like? Is it still an issue and has it changed? How do you think you can be a positive influence? For the most part, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who respected me for the skills I bring on the table, but yes, there have been situations. Some people have referred to me as the “best woman compositor” they have met or, in the past, clients have told me "Why are you behind the camera because the way you look, you should be in front of the camera”. I have been shamed for the way I dress up in studio by other women. I have been shamed for thinking about asking for the raise I sure deserve, because according to most women I should have been happy that I even have a job. Some clients chose to speak directly to the men in the room as if the women in there were just the help. It’s a sore subject for many women in the industry. Not too long ago women weren’t even allowed to become animators, we could just be corrective artists, not creative. The tradition is surely still there but people are more sneaky about it. Or sometimes they don’t even know they are engaging in sexism. How I deal with it is by setting up an example to all fellow women and men that it can be done differently. That if you are good, you should ask for your worth. You call it out as it is and do not let the opportunities get away because people think you should just be happy you are even allowed in the industry. Women can and will be in the creative, critical parts of the industry and not just in an office aiding the production.

-Time for a lighter question. Here's a favorite back from TeaTime Animation (shout out woop woop!) What’s the worst and/or funniest mistake you have made when starting out? I think the funniest thing we all think as artists when we start out is that we know everything. That we are so so good. Oh boy, was I wrong about knowing anything! It’s insane how much the industry progresses each and everyday. Now I know you are a senior artist, a veteran, if you accept you know nearly nothing and there is so much to learn still!

-What are some words of wisdom that you can share for all those young blossoming artists? Please don’t disregard the connections you make at school. I am talking about the guy who sits next to you that you never thought you would be friends with. They end up being your coworkers, the people who decide to hire you, fire you, recommend you. Also get yourself into many collaborative projects. Don’t worry about the money. Worry about making it look great. Don’t let your projects look good enough for your homework. Make it good enough to be in a feature film.

[itsfinancethings]

A child opens a box. He starts jumping and screaming with joy—not an unusual sound in the halls of Mattel’s headquarters where researchers test new toys. But this particular toy is a doll, and it’s rare for parents to bring boys into these research groups to play with dolls. It’s rarer still for a boy to immediately attach himself to one the way Shi’a just did.

An 8-year-old who considers himself gender fluid and whose favorite color is black one week, pink the next, Shi’a sometimes plays with his younger sister’s dolls at home, but they’re “girly, princess stuff,” he says dismissively. This doll, with its prepubescent body and childish features, looks more like him, right down to the wave of bleached blond bangs. “The hair is just like mine,” Shi’a says, swinging his head in tandem with the doll’s. Then he turns to the playmate in the toy-testing room, a 7-year-old girl named Jhase, and asks, “Should I put on the girl hair?” Shi’a fits a long, blond wig on the doll’s head, and suddenly it is no longer an avatar for him, but for his sister.

The doll can be a boy, a girl, neither or both, and Mattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch on Sept. 25 redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids. Carefully manicured features betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. There are no Barbie-like breasts or broad, Ken-like shoulders. Each doll in the Creatable World series looks like a slender 7-year-old with short hair, but each comes with a wig of long, lustrous locks and a wardrobe befitting any fashion-conscious kid: hoodies, sneakers, graphic T-shirts in soothing greens and yellows, along with tutus and camo pants.

Mattel’s first promotional spot for the $29.99 product features a series of kids who go by various pronouns—him, her, them, xem—and the slogan “A doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in.” With this overt nod to trans and nonbinary identities, the company is betting on where it thinks the country is going, even if it means alienating a substantial portion of the population. A Pew Research survey conducted in 2017 showed that while 76% of the public supports parents’ steering girls to toys and activities traditionally associated with boys, only 64% endorse steering boys toward toys and activities associated with girls.

For years, millennial parents have pushed back against “pink aisles” and “blue aisles” in toy stores in favor of gender-neutral sections, often in the name of exposing girls to the building blocks and chemistry kits that foster interest in science and math but are usually categorized as boys’ toys. Major toy sellers have listened, thanks to the millennial generation’s unrivaled size, trend-setting ability and buying power. Target eliminated gender-specific sections in 2015. The same year, Disney banished “boys” and “girls” labels from its children’s costumes, inviting girls to dress as Captain America and boys as Belle. Last year, Mattel did away with “boys” and “girls” toy divisions in favor of nongendered sections: dolls or cars, for instance.

But the Creatable World doll is something else entirely. Unlike model airplanes or volcano kits, dolls have faces like ours, upon which we can project our own self-image and anxieties. Mattel tested the doll with 250 families across seven states, including 15 children who identify as trans, gender-nonbinary or gender-fluid and rarely see themselves reflected in the media, let alone their playthings. “There were a couple of gender-creative kids who told us that they dreaded Christmas Day because they knew whatever they got under the Christmas tree, it wasn’t made for them,” says Monica Dreger, head of consumer insights at Mattel. “This is the first doll that you can find under the tree and see is for them because it can be for anyone.”

The population of young people who identify as gender-nonbinary is growing. Though no large surveys have been done of kids younger than 10, a recent study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that 27% of California teens identify as gender-nonconforming. And a 2018 Pew study found 35% of Gen Z-ers (born 1995 to 2015) say they personally know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns like they and them, compared with just 16% of Gen X-ers (born 1965 to 1980). The patterns are projected to continue with Generation Alpha, who were born in 2010 and later. Those kids, along with boys who want to play with dolls and girls who identify as “tomboys” and don’t gravitate toward fashion doll play, are an untapped demographic. Mattel currently has 19% market share in the $8 billion doll industry; gaining just one more point could translate to $80 million in revenue for the company.

Mattel sees an even broader potential for Creatable World beyond gender-creative kids. In testing, the company found that Generation Alpha children chafed at labels and mandates no matter their gender identity: They didn’t want to be told whom a toy was designed for or how to play with it. They were delighted with a doll that had no name and could transform and adapt according to their whims.

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIME. Shi’a, left, and Jhase play with Mattel’s gender-neutral doll

But it’s parents who are making the purchasing decisions, and no adult is going to have a neutral reaction to this doll. In testing groups, several parents felt the “gender-neutral” branding of the toy pushed a political agenda, and some adults objected to the notion of their sons ever playing with dolls. Mattel’s President Richard Dickson insists the doll isn’t intended as a statement. “We’re not in the business of politics,” he says, “and we respect the decision any parent makes around how they raise their kids. Our job is to stimulate imaginations. Our toys are ultimately canvases for cultural conversation, but it’s your conversation, not ours; your opinion, not ours.”

Yet even offering customers that blank canvas will be seen as political in a country where gender-neutral bathrooms still stir protests. Mattel joins a cohort of other companies that have chosen a side in a divisive political climate. Just in the past two years, Nike launched a campaign starring Colin Kaepernick after the NFL dropped him from the league for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism. Airbnb offered free housing to people displaced in the face of President Trump’s travel ban. Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style weapons after the Parkland shooting. All these companies have reported eventual sales bumps after staking their claim in the culture wars.

When pressed with these examples, Dickson admits that staying neutral is not an option if you want to be perceived as an innovator. “I think being a company today, you have to have a combination of social justice along with commerce, and that balance can be tricky,” Dickson says. “Not everyone will appreciate you or agree with you.”

In fact, dissent among boomers, Gen X-ers and even millennials may be a positive sign, according to Mattel’s own researchers. “If all the parents who saw the dolls said, ‘This is what we’ve been waiting for,’ we wouldn’t be doing our jobs,” says Dreger. “That would mean this should have already been in the market. So we’re maybe a little behind where kids are, ahead of where parents are, and that’s exactly where we need to be.”

***

Walking into Mattel’s headquarters, it’s difficult to imagine a gender-neutral world of play. A huge mural depicts some of the company’s most recognizable toys. A classic bouffanted version of Barbie in a black-and-white bathing suit and heels squints down at visitors. In another picture close by, a little boy puffs out his chest and rips open his shirt, Superman style, to reveal a red Mattel logo that reads “Strength and Excellence.” Even a toddler would be able to discern the messaging on how a woman and a man are expected to look from these images.

But the evolution within Mattel is obvious once visitors make their way past the entryway and into the designers’ cubicles. Inspiration boards are covered with pictures of boys in skirts and girls in athletic gear. The most striking images are mashups of popular teen stars: the features of Camila Mendes and Cole Sprouse, who play Veronica and Jughead on Riverdale, combine to create one androgynous face, and Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who play the main characters on Stranger Things, blend into a single floppy-haired, genderless person with sharp cheekbones.

In the past decade, toy companies have begun to tear down gender barriers. Smaller businesses like GoldieBlox, which launched in 2012 and builds engineering toys targeting girls, and large companies like Lego, which created the female-focused Lego Friends line the same year, have made STEM toys for girls more mainstream. Small independent toymakers have pushed things further with dollhouses painted green and yellow instead of purple and pink, or cooking kits that are entirely white instead of decorated with flowers or butterflies.

Perhaps it’s surprising, then, that nobody has beaten Mattel to creating a gender-neutral doll. A deep Google search for such a toy turns up baby dolls or strange-looking plush creatures that don’t resemble any human who ever walked this earth. Nothing comes close to the Creatable World doll that Mattel has conjured up over the past two years.

Scientists have debunked the idea that boys are simply born wanting to play with trucks and girls wanting to nurture dolls. A study by psychologists Lisa Dinella and Erica Weisgram, co-editors of Gender Typing of Children’s Toys: How Early Play Experiences Impact Development, found that when wheeled toys were painted white — and thus deprived of all color signaling whether they were “boys’ toys” or “girls’ toys” — girls and boys chose to play with the wheeled toys equally as often. Dinella points out that removing gendered cues from toys facilitates play between boys and girls, crucial practice for when men and women must interact in the workplace and home as adults. She adds that millennials (born 1981 to 1996) have pushed to share child-care responsibilities, and that battle ought to begin in the playroom. “If boys, like girls, are encouraged to learn parental skills with doll play at a young age, you wind up with more nurturing and empathetic fathers,” she says.

And yet creating a doll to appeal to all kids, regardless of gender, remains risky. “There are children who are willing to cross those gender boundaries that society places on toys, but there’s often a cost that comes with crossing those boundaries,” Dinella says. “That cost seems to be bigger for boys than it is for girls.” Some of those social repercussions no doubt can be traced to parental attitudes. In Los Angeles, the majority of the seven parents in an early testing group for Creatable World complained the doll “feels political,” as one mom put it.

“I don’t think my son should be playing with dolls,” she continued. “There’s a difference between a girl with a truck and a boy with a Barbie, and a boy with a Barbie is a no-no.”

The only dad in the group shrugged: “I don’t know. My daughter is friends with a boy who wears dresses. I used to be against that type of thing, but now I’m O.K. with it.”

In videos of those testing groups, many parents fumbled with the language to describe the dolls, confusing gender (how a person identifies) with sexuality (whom a person is attracted to), mixing up gender-neutral (without gender) and trans (a person who has transitioned from one gender to another) and fretting about the mere idea of a boy playing with a doll. A second mom in Los Angeles asked before seeing the doll, “Is it transgender? How am I supposed to have a conversation with my kid about that?” After examining the toy and discussing gender-fluidity with the other parents, she declared, “It’s just too much. Can’t we go back to 1970?”

After the session, Dreger analyzed the parental response. “Adults get so tied up in the descriptions and definitions,” she said. “They jump to this idea of sexuality. They make themselves more anxious about it. For kids it’s much more intuitive.”

Why, exactly, a new generation is rejecting categorizations that society has been using for millennia is up for debate. Eighty-one percent of Gen Z-ers believe that a person shouldn’t be defined by gender, according to a poll by the J. Walter Thompson marketing group. But it’s not just about gender — it’s about authenticity, whether real or perceived. Macho male actors and glam, ultra-feminine actresses have less cultural cache than they used to. Gen Z, with its well-honed radar for anything overly polished or fake-seeming, prefers YouTube confessionals about battling everything from zits to depression. When the New York Times recently asked Generation Z to pick a name for itself, the most-liked response was “Don’t call us anything.”

Perhaps their ideas of gender have expanded under the influence of parents who are beginning to reject practices like gender-reveal parties that box kids in even before they are born. Jenna Karvunidis, who popularized the gender-reveal party, recently revealed on Facebook that her now 10-year-old child is gender-nonconforming and that she regrets holding the party. “She’s telling me ‘Mom, there are many genders. Mom, there’s many different sexualities and all different types,’ and I take her lead on that,” Karvunidis said in an interview with NPR.

Perhaps it’s that a generation of kids raised on video games where they could create their own avatars, with whatever styling and gender they please has helped open up the way kids think about identity. Perhaps the simple fact that more celebrities like Amandla Stenberg and Sam Smith are coming out as gender-nonbinary has made it easier for other young people to do the same. Generation Alpha, the most diverse generation in America in all senses of the term, is likely to grow up with even more liberal views on gender.

“This is a rallying cry of this generation,” says Jess Weiner, a cultural consultant for large companies looking to tap into modern-day markets and navigate issues of gender. “Companies in this day and age have to evolve or else they die, they go away … And part of that evolving is trying to understand things they didn’t prior.”

Photograph by JUCO for TIMEMattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids.

Mattel isn’t the first company to notice the trend among young shoppers moving away from gender-specific products. Rob Smith—the founder of the Phluid Project, a gender-free clothing store that caters to the LGBTQ+ community in New York City—says several large corporations, including Mattel, have approached him for advice on how to market to the young masses. “I work with a lot of companies who are figuring out that the separation between male and female is less important to young consumers who don’t want to be boxed into anything,” he says. “There’s men’s shampoo and women’s shampoo, but it’s just all shampoo. Companies are starting to investigate that in-between space in order to win over Gen Z.”

Still, Mattel enters a politically charged debate at a precarious moment for corporations in America, where companies that want to gain customer loyalty are being pushed to one aisle or the other. A study from the PR agency Weber Shandwick found 47% of millennials think CEOs should take stances on social issues. Some 51% of millennials surveyed said they are more likely to buy products from companies run by activist CEOs. Now, if you walk into a Patagonia store, you’ll see a sign that reads, “The President stole your land. Take action now.”

Such activism is often born of self-interest: companies want to appeal to liberal customers and retain young employees and their allies. They face little risk by speaking up, but major consequences by sitting on the sidelines. In August, customers boycotted Equinox and SoulCycle—two companies that have aggressively courted the LGBTQ+ community—when reports emerged that their key investor was holding a fundraiser for Trump with ticket prices as high as $250,000. According to data analyses by Second Measure, a month later, SoulCycle attendance is down almost 13%.

Weiner says SoulCycle��s experience should serve as a cautionary tale. “I think businesses of any size now recognize that their consumer base values transparency over any other attribute. They want to know that your board is reflective of your choices, and that’s caught a lot of businesses off guard,” Weiner says. “You can’t talk about gender equity in your commercial and then have no women on your board. They have to be savvy.”

Now, a toy company has chosen to make a product specifically to appeal to the progressive part of the country. Lisa McKnight, the senior vice president of the global doll portfolio at Mattel, says major retailers have been enthusiastic about Creatable World. “They’re excited about the message of inclusivity,” she says. “The world is becoming a more diverse and inclusive place, and some people want to do more to support that.” When pressed on the risks, she lays out the alternative. “Candidly, we ask ourselves if another company were to launch a product line like this, how would we feel? And after that gut check, we are proceeding.”

Photograph by Angie Smith for TIMEThe dolls faces betray no obvious gender: the lips are not too full, the eyelashes not too long and fluttery, the jaw not too wide. Here, the dolls faces are painted at Mattel’s headquarters on September 5.

Mattel will launch Creatable World exclusively online first, in part to better control the message. That includes giving sneak previews to select influencers and leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. Selling the doll in retail stores will be more complicated. For one thing, there’s the question of where to place it in stores to attract the attention of shoppers who might not venture into a doll section. Store clerks will have to be trained in what pronouns to use when talking about the doll and how to handle anxious parents’ questions about it. And then there are practical concerns. Dickson admits the company is ready for the possibility that protests against Creatable World dolls could hurt other Mattel brands, namely Barbie.

Mattel has taken risks before. Most recently, in 2016, it added three new body types to the Barbie doll: tall, petite and, most radically, curvy. It was the first time the company had made a major change to one of the most recognizable brands—and bodies—in the world in the doll’s almost-60-year history. The change helped propel Barbie from a retrograde doll lambasted by feminists for her impossible shape to a modern toy. She is now on the rise. Her sales have been up for the last eight quarters, and she saw a 14% sales bump in the last year alone, according to Mattel.

But Mattel felt late to the game when it changed Barbie’s body: For years the Mindy Kalings and Ashley Grahams of the world had been championing fuller body types. Parents had been demanding change with boycotts and letter campaigns. By contrast, Creatable World feels like uncharted territory. Consider children’s media: Disney hasn’t introduced a major gay character in any of its movies, let alone a gender-nonconforming one. There are no trans superheroes. Even characters whose creators say they are queer���like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series—haven’t actually come out on the page or the screen. In that pop-culture space, a gender-neutral doll seems radical.

Even though there is no scientific evidence to prove that this is the case, there will be customers who say that even exposing their children to a gender-nonbinary doll through commercials or in a play group would threaten to change their child’s identity. This debate will spin out into sociopolitical questions about whether the types of toys children play with affect their sense of identity and gender.

That conversation, if it comes, is worth it, according to Dickson. “I think if we could have a hand in creating the idea that a boy can play with a perceived girl toy and a girl can play with a perceived boy toy, we would have contributed to a better, more sensitive place of perception in the world today,” he says. “And even more so for the kids that find themselves in that challenging place, if we can make that moment in their life a bit more comfortable, and knowing we created something that makes them feel recognized, that’s a beautiful thing.”