Fresh Fierce Collection Okoye

 Look who showed up on my doorstep! 

OKOYE! 

Okoye is the the general of the Dora Milaje and leader of Wakanda's armies.  In the interest of honesty, I will confess I have not seen her every appearance in the Marvel Universe.  I've only seen Black Panther in its entirety, and clips from the other movies. 

I have been watching this doll since I knew she existed because I freakin' love Okoye.  Full disclosure: I generally have no interest in superhero stuff.  The only Marvel movies I own are Thor Ragnarok (because Sam Neill) and Black Panther.  Black Panther caught my attention because of the rave reviews, so I watched it out of curiosity.  It blew me away.

Some folks will tell you Danai Gurira is the only reason I watched that movie or wanted this doll.  They're about 50% right, at least about the doll.  When I saw the doll for the first time, I said "She looks just like Danai."  World of EPI did a fantastic job on all three of the dolls in this set.  They all look very like the actresses.  I honestly think they are the best celebrity likenesses I've ever seen.

World of EPI is a black-owned company, focused on making black dolls that are not merely Caucasians in chocolate brown.  The fashion doll line is called Fresh Dolls, not easily found in my area, and a tad pricey.  The Fresh Squad (male fashion dolls) had my eye almost from the moment I heard of Fresh Dolls.  I eventually managed to get my mitts on two EPI dolls, both on sale.  

But I digress.  Okoye was very easy to remove from the box.  The insert has a Black Panther emblem in shades of blue and white.  Very cool.  Since the box didn't have to be destroyed, this gives me the option of keeping her items in it in case I ever decide I want to display her.

Okoye with my other dolls from World of IPA.  Fresh Doll "Lexi" and Fresh Squad "Kalil".  She's a bit shorter than Lex, but her shoulders are higher.  Lex got a big ole noggin.  

WARNING NEKKID PLASTIC PEOPLE AHEAD

RUN FOR THE HILLS

DON'T LOOK, ETHEL

While taking off her armor, I discovered that her skirt/wrap can be a cape.  

The clothes under her armor could be regular Barbieville clothes, but in the interest of keeping the set complete, they will be put away with the spear and armor.  I couldn't do this with my other movie characters because the boxes were destroyed.

Okoye has better hinges at the knee and elbow.  She's more muscular, as befits a warrior, and her wrists are articulated. Lex has smaller feet, so on the rare occasion that my dolls wear shoes, Okoye will have to share with the wrestler ladies and McG.   

With elbows at waist level, Okoye can almost touch her face.  She also sits in a more ladylike manner than Lex.

I haven't figured out yet what Okoye is gonna be doing in Barbieville.  

I now have two mini Danai Guriras in my house.  You are jealous. 

Let's Get Our Story Straight

It's no secret that the Barbie line has fallen in popularity.  Mattel has been accused of turning girls into an army of anorexic narcissists, of being detrimental to the self esteem and potential of our female youth by focusing on hair, make-up, and wardrobe.

Not only is that not what Mattel has done, it actually flies in the face of Ruth Handler's vision.  Barbie, to her, was all about possibilities.  Barbie went to outer space before any flesh and blood woman did.  The current campaign is "You can be anything" which echoes back to the previous "We girls can do anything, right, Barbie?" Barbie, for all the garbling her message got, has always been about empowerment.

But that's not why I'm up on my hot pink soapbox today.  Today, I saw a Kickstarter for one line of dolls and a review of another.  One I can get behind, the other, not so much.

The kickstarter is for a line of "Curvy" dolls, riding the wave of body positivity.  What sold me on the idea, though, isn't the shape of the dolls.  The thing I like about this new line, and a lot of the new lines I've seen, is working elbows and knees at a reasonable price.  (Their eyeballs don't take up half their face, either, but I digress.)  I understand the desire for us larger gals to be represented, but to my mind, it's less important than our brains and our hearts. Articulation is the key, you see, to playing out those brain-and-heart possibilities. 

The review I saw was for one of those surprise doll lines - you don't know who you got until you open the package.  The focus of it, and apparently of all the doll lines that seem to be popular right now:  Hair.  Clothes.  Looks.  Some of them are well articulated, but most are not - they have the basic five points if that. 

Now I finally get to my point.  If Barbie is losing sales because she's not empowering girls, if she's declining in popularity because she's vanity personified, WHY are we buying these other toys?  WHY are we buying Hootchie Babies and Camera Hogs and Immobile But Pretty? 

I can't find the Fresh Dolls in my stores.  This new line is using a Kickstarter to get out there.  I usually find maybe a half-dozen better articulated dolls among all the standard-five Fashionistas and Disney Princesses.  Logic dictates it's because they don't sell.  So what is selling?  What are all those parents that claim to be so concerned about body image and empowerment actually buying? 

Hootchie Babies and Camera Hogs and Immobile But Pretty.

Even as we blame a doll with a million careers for anorexia, we're buying toys that are all about vanity.  The hypocrisy has me up on my hot pink soapbox today.  I'm perfectly fine with you buying a Hootchie Baby - it's your money - but do not tell me about how evil Barbie is while you're doing so.

Story 15: Costumes and Current Events

Barbieville Schools incorporate a Costume Day into the week before Homecoming.  It gets everyone in the Halloween spirit (and gives me a head start on my real-life Halloween party preparations) except for a few party-poopers...  Even the Day Care, Elementary, and Middle Schools get in on the fun!

Tanner drops the little ones off at Day Care on his way to school. 

Tanner:  Dad gets off work early today so he'll pick the brats up about noon.  

John: Hey, we're both in Star Trek uniforms! Your dog tags aren't regulation, soldier.

Tanner: Neither one of us has the right pants.  Captain Kirk's gonna bust us down to Ensign.

Jenny:  Look!  I'm a Fred today! 

Fred: I'm a mummy.  Wanna help me eat baby brains?

Jenny:  Mummies eat brains?  I thought that was zombies.

Fred: Oh, yeah...  what do mummies do?

Vivica:  BOO  I'm a ghost rattling my chains at you, mummy boy!

John:  That's whipping chains around madly, not rattling them.  Settle down or I'll put you in the brig.

Vivica:  Ghosts can go through walls!  BOO (But she stops swinging the chains so hard.) 

Wilma:  After school, I get to be on YouTube with my mommy's friend Zenobia.  She gots blue hair.

Kelly: I know her.  I fink she gots a crush on my Daddy.  Look at that silly Bobby!  

Ty: Being a girl for Halloween?  LAY-ZEE!  

Bobby: Fat lot you know.  I'm a graveyard.  See all my headstones?  

Ty: I thought Kelly was a princess and she said she's a Pink Lady from some singing movie.  

*****

At the High School, Frodo is waiting for Tanner when he walks in.

Tanner: Who are you supposed to be?

Frodo: Yo Momma. 

Tanner: Forgot the green and yellow stripes in your hair.  Or are you my Step Momma? 

Frodo: Man, you're dumb.  I'm Yo Momma from the jokes.

Tanner: Did you see Finnick yet? I thought he was Vegas Elvis but it's some couple costume with Nakoma.  Who the hell are Donny and Marie?

Frodo: Brother and sister.  Kinda makes that a bad choice for a couple.

Four:  How'd you manage to get away with a costume?

Tris: I made the skirt in Home Ec.  Wore a black dress today and put the skirt on over it when I got here.  Not sure what I'm going to do with it after school.  (Checks him out) Nice pirate pants.

Four: I had to wear a shirt because of the dress code, so I just matched them.  Real Pirates didn't wear shirts, you know.  Except the captains and I'm just the dude that swabbed the deck.

Tris: Of course.  The captains took all the nice clothes. (laughs)

Four: I'm going to the diner after school.  You know, in case you should happen to want a milkshake and run into me there.

Tris: I'm still grounded for cutting my hair.  

Four: Your parents are going to keel over once you're out of their house.  

Tris: Tell me about it.  I'll do horrible things like date. 

Mariko: I love team costumes!  Donny and Marie is kind of a weird choice for a couple, but whatever.  Whitney wouldn't team costume with me.

Whitney: We couldn't agree on one. 

Finnick:  You can have these for next year.  If one more person calls me Elvis...

Nakoma: Don't be giving away my mom's stuff!  

Mariko: Okay, I got the shot.  Now put your stupid shoes that don't match back on. 

Nakoma: Mine matched.

Mariko: Another team costume!  Jurassic Park for the win! 

Peeta: It looks better with my scarf and hat, and his shades.  They could relax the dress code just for today, don't you think? 

Ken: I'm not complaining.  We've got one of the most relaxed dress codes in the county.  Maybe even the state.

Raven:  Hey, guys!  I want to apologize for my mom being such a hag to your sisters.  

Tanner: She's the one who should apologize.  You're cool.

Finnick: Is she like that at home?  

Raven: She'll probably disown me if I don't make valedictorian.  

****

At the Middle School

Guinness: Please gather over there for a photo, class.  Even those of you who aren't in costume.  

Student:Who are you supposed to be?

Guinness: The name is Bond.  James Bond.

Wendy: Skipper, why didn't you wear a costume?  

Skipper: I did.  I'm a Disney Fangirl.

Nikki: So you came as yourself? (Giggles)  I'm Aphrodite, goddess of love. 

Claudia: I'm a spiderweb on a pumpkin.  We had to get creative - Ben's still catching up the bills from when Violet fired him. 

Ricky: How do girls keep these kind of dresses up? 

Courtney: It helps to have, you know, boobs. Or elastic tops.  Or both.

Gabriella: Kevin's a party pooper.

Kevin: Halloween's for babies.  

*****

Pocahontas makes Anakin pose with his new friends before school.  She wants to show his mother how well he's doing. 

Pocahontas: Lumberjack, Marty McFly, and Power Ranger.

Roxy: No, I'm the paper towel guy. 

Stacie: I think the paper towel guy is a lumberjack.  

Anakin: She's gonna send a copy to my mom.  She's gotta get it right.

Stacie: Well, it that case...  I'm Kimberly, the Pink Ranger.  Before she got a boyfriend and her brain fell out.  

Pocahontas: A lot of girls have that problem, don't they? 

**** 

After school, the theme continues...

Zenobia: Welcome to the October edition of Zenobia's Vlog - the only news source in town that openly admits to being biased.  Today, I'm here at Mayor Pike's home to discuss the upcoming election.  The things everyone is talking about are Keep Barbieville Virtuous, Eminent Domain, and two school levies.

Rose-Grace: Keep Barbieville Virtuous, I have to admit I underestimated.  Since Becky and Clara came forward, a lot of people admitted to letting their propaganda sway their thinking.  Which was, of course, the entire point of the project, and those girls should get the highest possible grades for it.  

Zenobia: I am officially endorsing you for Mayor.  And not just because I'm friends with your kids, either.  I've got nothing against Brent Spiner, but you are doing a great job and should therefore get to keep the position.

Rose-Grace: His campaign is based on the issue of Eminent Domain.  Because I used that power to remove unsafe buildings from the Beach Highway, a lot of folks think I plan to continue that pattern.  I didn't like doing it.  The property owners left me no choice if I wanted to keep structures from collapsing into the sidewalk and roads.  

Pocahontas: There's also the ludicrous rumor that we're going to use that to expand the park.  Not true.  Mom never meant for it to be huge.  For what a visit to one of those parks costs,  you could come to ours a few times.  Their parking lots are as big as our entire property. 

Zenobia: You are making some changes, and expanding a bit, though. 

Pocahontas: Yes.  I bought a bit of land off Hadley Drive.  A new roller coaster is going in on that property, at least part of it is.  There's a name change in the works.  (Chuckles) One thing Mom and I never agreed on was the name of the park.  

Zenobia: You're the guardian of two younger siblings, both of which attend Barbieville schools.  How do you feel about the levies?  

Pocahontas: I support both of them.  But I think your other guest has more to say on that subject and she'll make my points very nicely. 

Zenobia: Whitney Darling is a student at Barbieville High and an employee of the Sunburst Diner.  

Whitney: I moved here when I was 13.  I need to tell that story to illustrate my points.  (Heavy sigh)  I passed out in math class and was taken to the hospital, where we discovered I was pregnant.  Yes, at 13.  My school had no Sex Ed at all.  My knowledge of those things was limited to, basically, girls have periods.  My dad ordered me to get an abortion.

Zenobia: But you didn't.  

Whitney: My parents ended up divorcing, actually, over it.  Mom got custody of me and my sister and we moved here.  I didn't think - and still don't think - inconvenience is a good reason for an abortion.  I debated my other options, but eventually we decided to keep Wilma. Say hi, Wilma. 

Wilma: Hi, audience people!  Vote for Freddy's step-mommy!  

Whitney: Mom does most of the parenting, to be perfectly honest, and I love Wilma to pieces, but it's very difficult.  If my old school had a comprehensive Sex Ed program - or even just a basic one - I could have waited a few years.  Issue 1 wants to give us that.  The program proposed would teach it just like any other bodily system.  Things like birth control and STDs would be covered no differently than, say, smoking or diabetes.  

Zenobia: What about the people who say it will put the idea in our kids' heads?

Whitney: Trust me, that idea is already there.  Puberty kicks it into high gear, but it's there from the time we're born.  Maybe even conceived.

Rose-Grace: You also wanted to talk about Issue 2.  I personally feel the existing security is more than enough. How do you feel about the security in our schools? 

Whitney: It's true that the way they do it now is good.  It kept my dad out when he showed up to take Wendy back - he'd given up on me by then.  He was stopped at the entrance and turned away.  But that was an unarmed man.  

Rose-Grace: School shootings get a lot of press, but they're rare. 

Whitney: Yes, they are.  I don't want our schools to be fortresses, but kids can't learn if they're scared.  Issue 2 isn't a whole lot different from me giving Wilma a nightlight.  Sometimes we have to go a little extra to make our kids feel safe.

Zenobia: Well, this Vlog is getting kind of long.  To sum up: Vote for Rose-Grace Pike.  The amusement park isn't going to engulf Barbieville.  Vote yes on Issues 1 and 2.  Unless you agree with our esteemed mayor, then vote no on 2.  

(General laughter.)

Whitney: Oh, and I apologize for my costume destroying the Disney Princess vibe the rest of you have going on here.  I must have missed the memo.  

Zenobia: At least you're a princess.  Little Wilma here, she's the one who killed the vibe.  

Outro music plays over Zenobia tickling Wilma.

*********

Note from the story teller: Some residents of Barbieville didn't make it into the story, but they want to show off their costumes.  Check them out:  

  

  

... the party poopers

 

And, of course, the BOUSes 

Flea Market Bonanza: Part Three

Well, they're done.  Washed, groomed, dressed, and stacked neatly back in the bin to await their fate.  I was asked how exactly I go about doing their hair.  Basically, wash it with conditioning shampoo or fabric softener before brushing gently (starting at the ends, not the scalp) and only cutting what cannot be brushed out.*  I mentioned gum in a previous post - one of these girls had clear nail polish!  I washed her hair a few times before I figured that out!  If the hair is long, say past the small of her back, I give her a single braid.  Shorter hair can be left loose or put in a ponytail.  

Most of the clothes came out of the wash in good shape.  The dolls I managed to identify were dressed in what I could salvage of their original clothes.  Arabian Lights lost her gem headband, but I found a red ribbon to match.  Once Upon a Princess Jasmine still had hers.  Both have britches and top.  Oops, the big Jasmine's shoes need to go on her!  She won't be joining my BOUSs after all because that line is meant to be toddlers and a toddler with boobs has too high an ick factor for me. 

Donny and Marie in what's left of their stage costumes.  Note Marie's microphone!  

Dazzling Princess Belle and Enchanted Swirl and Style Cinderella only have their dresses.  Cinderella's bun is now a high, bouncy ponytail.  Belle, like the two Jasmines, has a simple ponytail.  The big Jasmine sings, Belle's rose (chest) lights up and she makes a ding sound.  Cinderella's underskirt changes patterns when you push the button on her back.  I've not dug through my batteries yet to test the smaller Jasmine's light-up gems.  EDIT - Her forehead lights up but not the ear rings. 

I forgot what high heat does to doll hair and ran the soft bodied dolls through the washer and dryer.  Kida's head basically disintegrated after the head swap.  I don't know why and I'm not happy. I guess she just couldn't survive without her embedded chest jewel.  Roxy's face mold I decided was a bit too Uncanny Valley for my Barbieville, so I gave her name to the articulated Stacie.  EDIT - 90s Kevin has been named Ricky after the very first "boy" friend of Skipper!  And that's where it stands until yard sale weekend!  

*For more information, I suggest you watch one of April Lilly's doll makeovers on You Tube.

Lazybones DIY

There are a couple of reasons I don't do a lot of DIY.  I'm not generally crafty and, frankly, things tend to break.  I do have a couple of YouTube channels I enjoy, but I use them more for ideas.

MyFroggyStuff is mostly focused on doll photography and gentle play.  She does a fantastic job and I would tell anyone who displays their dolls to follow her lead.  Since I'm hearing impaired, I also like that she speaks very clearly!  I don't have to rely on the captioning!  The only problem is... my dolls don't do gentle play.

The bleachers are bastardized from Froggy.  She did two projects - a movie theatre and a basketball court with bleachers - and I stole bits from each.  A local store gave me an old Mountain Dew display (thick cardboard) and I used the bottom as a frame.  I used the part I cut away to make the center support and the benches, covered it with Contact Paper, and added stickers for "graffiti".  The bleachers at my brother's little league games had metal seats, so I used gray duct tape for the seats.

The picnic table I've based on the ones at highway rest areas, with concrete posts for leg.  I had the wooden slats but what to use for the supports?  Then I saw this: 

I turned the round lampshades into supports for one bench and the square ones to supports for the other.  Tables became supports for - duh - the table.  I was a slat short for one bench and none of them match the others, but that's okay. That just means my dolls found a mismatched set (at a discount?) and painted the concrete blue in hopes no one would notice! 

Angus didn't have a bridle so I made this out of elastic and an old necklace.  When the connector on his saddle broke, another bit of the elastic and some super glue fixed it.

I don't remember where I saw this craft.  It's a double bed made from a simple storage box.  The headboard is cut from a colorful box and the sheet is a scrap of fabric, both glued on.  The "pedestal frame" can be used for storage.  I made this since double beds for Barbies are hard to find - then I found one!  

I'd like to also mention April Lilly.  Her YouTube videos focus more on the dolls themselves and on customizing the clothes.  It was April who taught me to use lace to hide my clumsy stitching.  Not that her sewing is near as bad as mine...  I do have to use the captioning with her, but that's because sometimes she gets excited and talks too fast!  

If you're into customizing dolls or this kind of DIY, April and Froggy are my recommended starting points on YouTube.  Froggy is also on Instagram and has a written blog (where you can totally steal her patterns and backdrops) but I'm not sure about April.

Next post:  Story Time!  I'll tell you the story of how Pike met Rose-Grace!