F*R*I*E*N*D*S: The Next Generation

 This one's been rattling around in my brain for quite a while.  I will thank anyone who disapproves of sequels/spinoffs/reboots to just go sit over there and hush.  I already heard everything you're gonna complain about.  

I do not own any copyrights to the characters, the dolls portraying the characters, etc, etc.... this is just for fun.  Please do not sue me if you are one of the copyright holders.  Also, please have a passing knowledge of the show before reading... I don't wanna have to do a giant info dump!

The cast

Tris (Erika Bing), Polly (Tedra Hannigan), Ben (Ben Geller)

Finnick (Jack Bing), PJ (Emma Geller-Green)

Jack: Meat's on the grill.  I hope Ben gets here soon.

Emma: He left the lawyer's office a while ago.  He should be here any minute. 

Ben (joining them): Guess what?  I inherited a house from my grandmother.  No idea what kind of shape it's in or even how big it is, but it's actual real estate.  I have to meet with the executor of the estate Tuesday for the keys.

Jack:  Is it in the city?  You can rent it to me and Erika.  The commute is killing us. Not to mention still living with the parents.  They're great, but they're still parents. 

   

Ben: Has Emma told you her news yet?  She claims she's going to wait until it's official, but we all know that's not going to happen.  Dad will blab if she doesn't.

Emma: Thanks a lot, big mouth.  I don't want everyone getting excited for me until -- 

Ben: Ross Jr over here is going to be a doctor of paleontology.  

Emma (glaring at Ben):  I submitted my dissertation and I have not heard anything yet.  

Tedra: We've known that since we were kids.  Broke Rachel's heart when you didn't get into fashion.

Emma:  I just felt a calling to follow in Dad's footsteps.  Mom should understand that, with her history. At least I didn't climb out a church window and run to the Village in a wedding gown.

Erika: I think she does.  She's just... dramatic.  

****

Tuesday

Executor: Nice to meet you Mr. Geller. I have all the information on the house including a floor plan.   

Ben (looking at the floor plan):  This place is huge. 

Executor: You stand to make quite a bit of money if you sell. If you were to rent, I'd recommend dividing it into apartments.  Most people who can afford a home this size just buy one. 

Ben: I've got a few potential housemates in mind.  

****

Also Tuesday 

Mystery Man: Oh, I got some DNA matches.  Tribbiani?    

Doll Dramatics: Shirley Jackson's "Charles"

 This story is the property of the Shirley Jackson estate.  I am doing this as a homage to one of my favorite writers and making no money from it. 

Charles was first published in 1948.  I've updated certain details and altered it to fit this format.  

Mother: Do you think kindergarten is upsetting Laurie?  All this tough act, bad grammar, and this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence.

Father:  He does.  Cussing, hitting the teacher, bouncing a seesaw off someone's head, disrupting lessons, and throwing chalk.  But it will be all right.  Bound to be people like Charles in the world.    Might as well meet them now as later.

Laurie: Charles yelled.  The teacher from first grade sent a boy to tell the teacher to keep quiet and Charles had to stay in at recess.  

Laurie:  Teacher had a friend come to see her at school today.  It was a man who came and he made us do exercises, we had to touch our toes.  Charles didn't even do exercises.

Father (coming in): Didn't Charles want to do exercises?

Laurie: Hi Pop, ya ole dust mop.  Charles wasn't allowed to do exercises because he kicked the teacher's friend. 

Mother: I want to go to the PTA meeting but the baby and I are sick.  I wonder what they're going to do about Charles. 

Laurie: Throw him out of school, I guess.

Father: What else has Charles gotten up to? 

Laurie: He yelled during story time and hit another boy in the stomach.  

Laurie: Charles was so good today the teacher gave him an apple.  

Mother: Really?  Charles?

Laurie: He gave out the crayons and collected the books and Teacher said he was a helper.  

Laurie: Yesterday, Charles told a girl to say a bad word and she said it! Charles told her to say it twice and she did. She had to sit in Time Out.  

Father: What about Charles?  

Laurie: Nothing.  He was passing out crayons.  Then, today he said it a few times and threw chalk.  

Mother:  I'm definitely going to the PTA meeting, cold or no cold.  

Mother looks for Charles's mother at the meeting, but no one looks haggard enough.  No one stands up to apologize for the way her son was acting.  No one mentions Charles.  After the meeting, she seeks out the kindergarten teacher.

Mother:  I've been so anxious to meet you.  I'm Laurie's mother.

Teacher: We're all so interested in Laurie.

Mother: He certainly likes kindergarten.  He talks about it all the time. 

Teacher: We had a little trouble adjusting, the first week or so, but now he's a fine little helper.  With occasional lapses, of course. 

Mother: Laurie usually adjusts very quickly.  I suppose this time it's Charles's influence.  You must have your hands full in this kindergarten, with Charles.

Teacher: Charles?  We don't have any Charles in the kindergarten. 

You're Not Forgotten

 I know I promised y'all some stories when I shut down the soap opera.  I've been cogitating on a few, mostly doll versions of books I've liked.  One of those books is Amanda/Miranda by Richard Peck.  The problem is that casting requires twin adult actresses and my dolly twins are all the wrong age, the wrong sex, or both.  Another issue is wardrobe - the book is a period piece!  

Also contenders: Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley - beyond my capabilities.  Postapocalyptic is hard in a one bedroom apartment, even if you ignore the need for three Landmasters.  (picture from the sucky movie) 

Also been playing with an idea I call FRIENDS: The Next Generation.  Honestly, nothing original has come to mind (except my third novel, which isn't conducive to doll play, either)  but I've not forgotten my rabid horde of readers. 

*****

I have been putting up dioramas for holiday decor.  

The only dolls currently on my wish list are Madame Morrible and the Grumpy Bear Cutie Reveal.  I don't care much for the Wizard of Oz universe, but I like to see older folks represented.  The Cutie Reveals lost me after the first couple waves (Girls dressed as frogs dressed as bears?) but c'mon, it's Grumpy Bear!  

I just can't get excited over the giant-noggin dolls.  Rainbow High and Monster High in particular have some amazing fashions and furniture.  Bratz is back on store shelves and I did pick up an egg chair for my doll house.  Yule Ball Ron Weasley is sitting in it at the moment.  

Also, there's life in the real world.  My health (physical and mental).  Bills and housework.  Bleh.  

The Date

 Based on a true story. 

Him: You should have ordered a salad, dear.  You could stand to lose a few pounds.

Her: I had salad for lunch. 

Him: I suggest you color your hair.  Maybe the auburn of the young lady sitting behind you?  It's a vibrant and youthful look.  Between that and the age spots, you look like a grandma.

Her: Well, I do have five grandchildren.  

Him: Don't wear anything low-cut when you aren't with me.  

After, he sees her to the door.

Him:  I've had a wonderful time tonight.  When can we have our second date? 

Her: Thank you for a lovely evening, but I don't think this is going to work.  

Pikes' Addition - Conclusion

WARNING NUDE DOLL CARNAGE AHEAD

LEAVE NOW IF YOU'RE A GIANT PRUDE

With the dollhouse done except for touches like wall art, the next step was reorganizing the bins.  This one even reached the closet where I keep things like wrapping paper and holiday window clings!

This set of drawers came out of the holiday closet.  It previously held flat wrap, scraps for padding, and to/from tags.  They've all moved to new homes to make room for (top to bottom): Beach, Sunburst, and Playground.  I had room in the bedroom closet for it because of all the free parking created elsewhere!

Bins for Shoes, Day Care, Food, and Work are smushing the Weapons!

Bins for Barn, Sports equipment, Cutie Reveal heads/hands, and one for Hats Bags Glasses Belts.  Beside them are a few empties.

Only that one wheelchair is really out of place, believe it or not. 

The Mother of The Boy gave me this nice sorting case for the shoes.  The Shoe bin is now the Boot bin.  This is great because, since my dolls rarely wear shoes, they tend to just get tossed in the bin and it takes me forever to find an actual pair.  (I pose the photos so y'all can't see their feet.)  This way, I can find pairs when needed and avoid having a surplus by sending extras to my dolly friends. 

The Mother of The Boy also gave me a doll.  Since I got some orphan heads for Christmas, it was time to sort through the donor bodies.  One of the donor bodies was a Rainbow High - which doesn't work with Barbie type noggins - and Carol Danvers stole the hands.  They're a little small, but she prefers them to the gloved fists she came with.

I managed two matches.  The Belle doll will be Paige, for the cartoon's voice actress. The other needs a name.  I keep trying to call her Gabrielle for some reason, but we have Gabriella Montez! One of these ladies will be an eye doctor, since I got appropriate equipment in the box from Goodwill. 

Not bad for a mere fortnight's work, if I do say so myself.

 

Doll Envy

One of the bloggers I follow shared a picture of the dolls she'd bought in 2018 - it was more than Barbieville's entire population!   I can't do that.  I'm on a very limited income, and so have to be very choosy.  That said, I do have some plans for Barbieville.    

Lots of my fellow Internet Doll People are reviewing the Team Stacie dolls right now.  I've even posted about the boy in the line, mistakenly thinking he had the exact same head as the Babysitter Inc boy.  Of this line, I'm eyeballing the scientist, the gamer, and the artist.  I plan to call them Janet, Layla, and Todd - after past friends of Stacie.  But they aren't a priority because they aren't very well articulated.  Just the standard five points.

The ones I'm prioritizing are the new Harry Potter line.  Articulation, check.  Kids, check.  Elderly folks, check.  Well, one elderly folk - I'm not charmed by Dumbledore's beard.  It's hard plastic.  If you look up under it, it's not touching the chin at all.  It's like they molded it separately and glued it to his top lip.  I'll only get him if he's ridiculously marked down and then likely use him as a donor body.  I planned to start slowly buying this set in January.  But then I saw...

  

...these two on eBay.  The seven inch, fully articulated Harry Potter dolls from the 1990s.  Got them both for less than one of the new dolls is priced at and both are in excellent shape!  I'm saving the names Hermione and Harry for the new line, though, so these two are Emma and Dan after the actors who played the roles in the movies.  There is a Ron, also, but he seems to be rare and therefore expensive.  I doubt Rupert will ever live in Barbieville.  

Since the Grangers in the books were dentists, I've decided PJ is Dr Granger, mother of Hermione and Emma.  Dan and Harry will be siblings. Ron and Ginny will remain the siblings they already are.  The family make-up of the Potters and Weasleys in Barbieville is undetermined at this point.

Another one I want is Fashionista 110.  I just love her face and that green and black hair!  She isn't a priority because of articulation.  I do have donor bodies, though, so she's ahead of Team Stacie.  

Of course, there's always room for a bargain, but as it stands right now, these are my only planned purchases.  If Publisher's Clearing House shows up at my door, though, I'm gonna be the one giving Doll Envy! 

PS: None of these photos are mine.  They're mostly from Amazon.  Emma and Dan are the pictures from the actual eBay listings where I bought them.

Building Families

When I decided to do a Barbie blog and thus spare people on the rest of my social media, I knew I wanted to do stories.  Most of my favorite Barbie blogs do that, with great variety!  Some are silly, some downright adult in content, and I wanted to join in on the fun.  

  I've not figured out how to divide this blog into sections like most of them.  They generally have an area for story lines, for character lists, and the like.  I found the idea of building Barbieville all at once intimidating.  Stephen King once said "The story is the boss", so I decided to simply let Barbieville evolve as the stories demanded.  

 At first, the only family I had developed was the Pike family.  Main characters, if you will.  A few of the family members I decided on had official names and I tend to stick to those.   Pike could be the dad's first name, so I had to decide if he'd stay Christopher and answer to his last name.  My other options were O'Dair (the twins), McKessie (Taylor), Roberts (Stacie), and Flintstone (Fred).  

I decided to make them a blended family since there are clearly two races represented.  It's been my experience that mixed-race humans do not remain so clearly one or the other.  I toyed with the idea of ex-wife drama, but that's been done to death.  Candy, Pike, and Rose-Grace love the kids and will not put them through the wringer. 

So Barbieville began with one big happy family.

The Smiths happened to give us a peek into Rose-Grace's life between husbands.  Since John was a widower, I found a couple of brats who looked like him.  I used the Dad's surname, as I had with the Pikes.  Roxy is technically a Stacie, so both she and Kelly should be Roberts.  There's some history between him and Pocahontas Nedakh to be explored.  Will she be the new Mrs. Smith?

The Eatons are named for the eldest son.  The only one with a character surname was Four (Tobias Eaton).  Esmeralda never had one.  Both the younger boys are named for former Mattel dolls that never had one.  Marcus was named for Four's dad in Divergent - but he's a much better person.  They evolved to further the KBV storyline.

The Montez family was almost accidental.  Joe was mentioned in a bit of dialogue and I didn't want another widower.  Gabrielle and Courtney were already sisters, at least in my head.  I noticed Courtney has very dark auburn highlights.  Batgirl has auburn hair!  Maybe her maiden name was Barbara Gordon.  Jenny joined on a whim.  

Violet needed a last name.   Her daughter Raven should make an interesting contrast - I see her as very easy going.  So they are the Baxters.  Raven is very firm in my mind as an only child, but does Violet have a spouse?  (BTW, the doll is the main character of "That's So Raven".)  

These two had a very sisterly vibe in the Disney films and I knew I wanted to bring that to Barbieville. When my Kida Nedakh died of Head Transplant complications, I made them her daughters.  Pocahontas left college to take over her mother's storyline amusement park and take custody of younger sister Nakoma.  Their father has always been absent.

Claudia Kishi is my favorite character in the Babysitters Club books and I named the Babysitter Inc Asian for her.  Ben is raising his little sister.  Why?  That remains to be seen.

These are my characters, short Peeta Mallark, with surnames but no assigned kin.  Midna was originally Sunburst of the Fairytopia line, so I made that her last name.  Brent Spiner had no name when I got him, but reminded me of the actor. Ken's official last name is Carson,  Hikaru Sulu runs a greenhouse - botany was a hobby of Sulu's on the original Star Trek. 

 Tris Prior, Mariko Nakano, Alex Russo, and Skipper Roberts in back.  Charmaine (originally Sharpay) Evans and Wendy Darling flank Wilma Flintstone.  What will become of them?  What will become of the Barbieville citizens without surnames?  Only The Story - The Boss - knows for sure.

**Of course, the disclaimer.  My characters share only faces and names with those of the copyrighted characters.  Well, maybe some personality traits.**

Big Official Disclaimer

My dolls often keep their original names.  As a result, the people in my Barbieville stories will be toting around the same names and faces as copyrighted characters.  Lest I get sued for copyright infringement (because some of these companies are crazier than I am), I officially proclaim that they are NOT the same characters.  I don't make any money off this blog or the stories in it.  It's just for silliness.

My Christopher Pike, for example, has never served in Starfleet.  He manages a grocery store.  He just looks like Bruce Greenwood, I swear!  My Finnick's last name is Pike and he's never participated in a Hunger Game unless you count Thanksgiving.  My Pocahontas and Nakoma are sisters, not besties.  You get the idea.

Welcome to the new blog

I've noticed that my dolls seem to be taking over "Adventures In Freeloading", even with me exercising some restraint.  For anyone who isn't reading that blog, I'll summarize the doll-related posts:  I am not a serious collector of dolls or much of a DIY girl.  I am completely and unashamedly guilty of using the brand name Barbie to refer to fashion dolls.  My "Barbies" include dolls made from several different companies and several hybrids therein.  (Samantha is a Barbie/MC2 and Zenobia is a Barbie/Liv.)  They also include male dolls and younger boys and girls.

I could get into my messed-up childhood to explain myself, but I'll spare everyone that.  The simple fact is that I enjoy playing with dolls, I'm not hurting anyone, and I don't care if it isn't appropriate for a woman in her 50s. I prefer expressive faces.  My favorite body type is jointed at neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees.  Most of the population of my Barbieville came from yard sales, thrift shops, and clearance racks.

My biggest single Barbie expense has been the house.  The most customized thing I have is probably the camper.  I plan to blog about each of them separately, with photos, so I won't get into detail here about either of them.

Population of my Barbieville stands at 34 dolls, 2 horses, and 3 dogs.  I hope you're ready to hear all about them - including some PG13 storytelling!  For my opinions on pretty much anything else, visit "Adventures In Freeloading".

Oh, I forgot...  standard disclaimer goes here so none of the companies that makes these toys sue me.  They own the rights, I'm not making money off this, etc...