The Investigation: Part One

 

Bertie: In today's news, the quest continues in Barbieville to find the murderer of a local woman.  The remains of Charlie Lake were found near Shore Thing Cafe yesterday morning.  The family of the victim and police chief Rebecca Lynch held a press conference this morning.

Lynch: This appears to be an isolated incident and we do not have any strong suspects at this point.  We're still waiting for lab results from the autopsy, but it appears Ms Lake was struck by a large vehicle in a grassy area. (She waits while questions are shouted to her.)  I'm not going to give details of the investigation, in part because the victim's family is right behind me and most of them are children.  Suffice to say, we have no reason to believe it was an accident.

James: I'm James Potter. (gestures toward the family) My sons, stepdaughters, and current wife. (blinks back tears)  Charlie is... was my ex-wife.  She had recently returned to town after working out west.  We beg anyone who knows anything about what happened to contact the police.  If not for her sake, then for the sake of three boys who no longer have their mother. (Questions from the crowd) We're cooperating completely with the police.  Last time I saw Charlie, she was dropping off the boys after her weekend with them.  Everything was normal.  

*****

Doll County Nature Preserve

Lynch: You're a hard man to track down. 

Hagrid: Sorry about that.  I got a deer out here, hurt, and I'm trying to catch him so... (starts crying) Well, they done killed my wild animal doctor, so... 

Lynch: Did she have any enemies you know of? 

Hagrid: Only everyone in the area that ever mistreated an animal.  Charlie'd just as soon string them up by their... you know what? She did tell me she was getting close to finding who dumped the baby horses.  

Lynch: What about in her personal life?

Hagrid (shakes his head): Never talked about that. But I bet she did.  She could be mean, really mean. That's probably why her and James split up, ya know.  He's way better at understanding sometimes folks just don't know better.  I guess I'll have to get him to check this deer out once I catch it. 

Lynch: I'll let you get back to work, but come down to the station soon for a formal interview.  If I'm not there, one of my officers can handle it.  I have to get down to Shore Thing before their dinner rush, talk to the little girl. 

Hagrid: The little one? She seen something?

Lynch: No.  Mei didn't let her, but she was there when the initial 911 call was made. 

****

Shore Thing Cafe, back corner

Mei: Cho, we'll need you to handle things.  Since Fei is a child, she needs a parent with her while she talks to the police.  Your father is in the kitchen.  If anyone wants to see the manager, you'll have to translate for him. 

Cho: Got it.  I'll bring y'all drinks.  Coffee, chief? 

Lynch: Yes, please. 

Mei: I'll just sit quietly unless I'm needed. 

Lynch: Thank you.  (to Fei) I'm recording this on my laptop camera, but pretend it's not there.  Just talk to me, okay? 

Fei: Okay.  I know Mommy gave you the security tape, but there's no sound, so I guess you need to know what we said.  (Thinks for a moment.) I was wrapping silverware and the man busted in yelling about somebody's dead out there. He needed a phone to call 911, so I offered him mine.  He got mad and said he has a cell phone but he needs a land line. Called me a stupid little... umm... girl dog? Except he said the bad word. 

Lynch: He swore at you?

Fei: Yeah, but I ignored it and got him the land line. He called 911 and I ran in the back to get Mommy. She made me stay in the kitchen with Daddy and the cooks after that. 

Lynch: What did the man act like? 

Fei: He was pretty freaked out.  Scared, I think.  Not really mad even though he cussed at me.  He's usually very nice.  He eats here a lot.  He don't like that one lady who works at Sunburst.  (Mei clears her throat.) I'm sorry, that's gossip. We don't gossip. 

Lynch: He didn't say anything else?

Fei (shakes her head no):  Where it happened, we walk right through there to go home.  I run home now because I'm afraid the bad man will get me. We all do. 

Lynch: It is scary.  (Looks at Mei, who nods.) We think he was just after her, so you're probably safe to walk home as usual.  Now I need to talk with your Mom. 

Fei: I'll tell Mommy if I think of anything , and she will call you, okay?

Creatable World Review

WARNING NUDE DOLLS

FLEE FOR THE HILLS

Thanks to eBay, I finally got one of the Creatable World dolls.  There is a lot of controversy over these dolls, mainly because people misunderstand Mattel's intent.  (I do have a more in-depth discussion of this on my other blog, Adventures In Freeloading.) They are devoid of what social scientists call gender coding. Most dolls are sexless because giving dolls genitals is frowned upon, but these are also devoid of things like make-up and secondary sex characteristics (breasts, body hair).  

Here we see CW with Stacie and Kevin. Stacie is pre-puberty and Kevin is either after or during, depending on who you ask. CW works well in the 1:6 scale universe as a child approaching puberty.  My plan is to make any CW dolls that move to Barbieville be boys, since boy children are hard to find.  Anakin has no feet and is badly discolored by age, so I'm eyeing a CW recast for that role.  

The big selling point to me, though, is the articulation.  CW not only has working knees and elbows, but wrists and ankles.  Y'all know how I am about knees and elbows. Stacie and Kevin have the standard five points (neck, shoulders, hips) and Stacie has click knees. The feet were showing when I took this photo, I swear! If I somehow end up with body donors (aka doubles), Stacie will gain some height and Kevin regress developmentally.

Kevin: Wait. What?!

The CW dolls come with a wardrobe (size depends on what kit you buy). Many of the items are unisex, but some are gender coded. Here Stacie models black shorts under what some people have called a dress. Those side slits go awfully high for a child's dress!  CW dolls have a larger head and feet, so the hat is big on her. The shoes fell right back off. 

Some of the clothes will fit dolls as big as a classic Barbie. It just depends on the body mold and the fashion's design.

CW dolls come with a long hair wig. It pops on over the rooted hair. Most reviewers haven't cared for the wigs because the wig cap is visible.  I didn't even take mine out of the baggie the seller shipped it in.  (This doll is gently used.  In fact, it looks to me like they bought the big kit and only kept certain clothing items.)

Nice denims. The pockets and cuffs on the jeans are real.

I'm so happy I got the shark shirt! (One of the others comes with a monkey shirt.) The black shirt and shorts are what the doll is wearing in the box. The tote bag is functional. You saw Stacie in the long shirt. The skirt in front center looks like coral. 

CORAL! Sorry, I was possessed by Rick Grimes for a second there. 

Anyway, I'm very happy with Creatable World. The doll is well articulated. The clothes and accessories are well made. I found a pair of aviator glasses while typing this. I suspect they belong in this review, but I could be wrong. I'm not the tidiest, ya know.

Getting Answers

 Barbieville Police Station

Lynch: You found the body, ran into Shore Thing, and had them call 911. I need a little bit more than that to go on.  Why were you there? What did you see specifically? 

Hank: That's all you're getting until my man from Witness Protection shows up. 

Lynch: Hank, you stumbled upon a crime scene. Giving me a statement about that is not going to have any impact on your status with the feds. You don't need to bother them with this. 

Hank: I don't care if I'm bothering them. (Stands up) Unless you call them in, or arrest me, I'm going back to my office.  I'm a busy man, Chief Lynch. 

Lynch: Fine, I'll call them. We'll make an appointment to get your statement.

Hank completely misses her sarcasm and leaves. Lynch goes back to her paperwork, what little she has at this point, and is startled by the abrupt appearance of Midge Sherwood, county coroner.

Midge: I've brought over copies of all my documents. The autopsy supports the obvious cause of death, unless something really weird shows up in the lab report. 

Lynch: Is it casual day at the morgue? 

Midge (laughs): No, I shower there and put on my civvies before heading home. 

Lynch: Not a bad idea. Sometimes I feel like I never take this uniform off. 

Midge: We might have a problem with Mr. Higgins. He tried to stop the CSI team from taking photos. 

Lynch: You have no idea. I'll handle him. How's Kamala settling in? 

Midge: She hasn't left my house. But it's not like I've had time to show her around town. 

*****

Windu Acres

Tanner: More dogs? 

Mace: I wondered when you were going to ask about that.  They came with the horse, and I know a few people who might adopt them.  Your girlfriend for one. She was disappointed when your folks decided to keep Cujo and Yeti.

Tanner: Yeah, but then Santa brought Anakin a cat. 

Mace: I know some other people, too.  Nakoma just gets first dibs. 

Tanner: I bet Four and Tris will take one, now that they're in their own place. She really misses her parents' dogs. 

 

Mace: Now you're thinking. (changes the subject) We buy the young rejects and breed them. There's less money in it, short term, but that's how we get the strong work horses Windu Acres is famous for.  People will reject a foal for all kinds of reasons.  

Tanner: Yeah, this one's got socks on the left legs but not on the right legs.  Big deal.

Mace: Don't be a snob. Some jobs require a certain look for the horse.  (Mace eyes Tanner for a moment.) You know, I'm really glad you decided to work with me. I retired because neither of Rosie's girls cared to follow in my footsteps.  Then y'all came along, and those foals turned up in the Nature Preserve, and I figured someone up there was telling me something.

Tanner: Did they ever catch the jerk who dumped those three? (Mace shakes his head.) Hagrid needs more trail cams. 

*****

WDOL studios

William: Good Afternoon, ladies. Is there a problem? 

Bertie: Yes. A major one. Have you seen the garbage they expect us to say on the air?

William: I can't say I have.  I trust my people to do their jobs largely unsupervised.

Becky: Good journalism should not be biased, Mr. Darling. I learned that on the high school newspaper.

Bertie: One of the reasons I took the pay cut to take this job was so I didn't have to cater to partisan interests. You promised our coverage would be balanced. 

William: Ladies, you are my anchors. You're the boss down there. 

Becky: So you've got our back when we tell them off? 

William (chuckles): Yes, Miss Weasley, I've got your back. 

Lunch at Sunburst

 Note: COVID masks in Barbieville are invisible to readers. Charlotte's children live on the Facebook Page "Our Toy Story", album "Nearly Famous".

Batgirl: It's nice to have some time away from the kids.  I love them, but... 

Joe: I'm glad to be away from your sister. The kids we signed on for! 

Batgirl: I was including her as one of the kids. I really don't understand how she can be so immature. 

Joe: Takes after your folks? 

Charlotte: There you are! Why aren't you answering your phone? 

Batgirl (annoyed): I'm trying to enjoy a quiet lunch with my husband. Free of drama. 

Charlotte: They've brought Chris in on the case! First Uncle Grizzly Adams and now Chris! 

Batgirl: What did your lawyer say?

Charlotte: Same thing as always. Let the boys have my kids, just lock up the money. But I won't do it! They are mine and belong with me! Would you let your children go live with Joe's people?

Joe (jumps to his feet): There is no Joe's People.  My people became hers, and - God help me - hers became mine. That's what marriage is! And yes, if it was best for the kid, we'd let them live with relatives who loved them.

Batgirl: Joe...

Joe:  No, sweetheart, this needs to be said. (to Charlotte) If they've hated you from the start, it's your own fault. Billy considered Chris his son from the moment he married you, he even adopted the boy, and you never gave them a reason to like you.  Why would you? They didn't have the bankbook!

Charlotte stares at Joe for a moment, stunned, and looks at Batgirl. Batgirl has her face buried in her hands, either crying or laughing. Charlotte storms out.

Finnick: Oh, it's just Gabriella's aunt. Should have known. 

Tanner: Come on, man, I'm trying to talk to you about something important. 

Frodo: As if he could hear you. 

Tanner: Well, she's gone now. Can we get back to this?

Finnick: You're way off base. I'm not planning my future around "a girl". She just happens to love Witch's Cove as much as I do, and we'll have that in common even if we do break up. 

Tanner: So you're with the girl for the place? That's even more messed up. (laughs) Okay, then, good for you. Seriously. But I'm not happy with the plan. I think I'm gonna work with Grandpa Mace. He's got those three colts and talking about coming out of retirement.

Finnick: That's cool, man. I know we've done everything together, but we're grown men now. 

Frodo: Twins doing everything together crosses into the creepy zone once you hit puberty, anyway. (to Whitney as she walks up) How's that army of new cooks that replaced me doing?

Whitney: The Rhees replaced Pern and Tris, too. They're servers now.  You just abandoned us. 

Mariko: They're fine. And I do mean fine. 

Frodo: Girl, you are jail bait.  

Whitney: I've got your usual orders in already.  Should I go back and cancel Nakoma's? 

Finnick: No, we'll take it to go.  She talked Pocahontas into replacing that Jeep. And getting a car of her own. She's so tired of sharing the park's golf cart with Albus, and now that she's working and going to college... 

Tanner: Not to mention they've added four members to the family. Five if you count Pern. 

Whitney heads back to get their drinks.

Sulu: Can I get a refill? Little Miss has a bottomless stomach.

Lynch: As if. Diana would explode if she drank all that. 

Whitney: Diana? You did decide to change her name? 

Sulu: Sort of. We're calling her by her middle name. 

Lynch: Couldn't bring myself to take away the honorific to my grandmother. At least this way, my daughter won't be branded a racist the second she introduces herself.  

Lynch gets a call on her radio. 

Lynch: Go ahead, dispatch.  (listens) Possible homicide? I'm on the way! 

What's Barbieville Been Up To?

 Since I'm back in the ranks of laptop owners, I can catch y'all up on our shenanigans. 

I finally worked up the nerve to tattoo Django. He's a tattoo artist and it seemed silly for him to have no ink. After quizzing a few of my fellow Barbie people about how they did it... here we go! This was the second chest tattoo.  First one was an epic fail!

Big ole tiger face on his back. Anyone who wants to look close enough at Django's tats to see my mistakes can kiss his plastic butt. And my not-plastic butt, for that matter.

Susan B. Anthony will be, in keeping with the historical figure, a civil rights lawyer. 

Severus Snape, high school chemistry teacher. (AKA potions) I thought about making him a pharmacist but teaching means more interactions with other dolls.

Midge Sherwood already lived in Barbieville, but she has a little sister now. Meet Kamala!

I recast Rallee's daughter (and Gwen's niece) with Luna. I even changed her name, because said daughter has yet to appear in any stories. 

More changes will be shared in the course of the stories I'm cooking up. Gonna be fun! 

Update

 I know hordes are waiting for the next bit of life in my dolly world, but this blog will be on hiatus at least u til January. My computer died and I'm saving my pennies for a new one. I'm writing this on a borrowed tablet! Since my other blog is largely picture free, I will get on the soapbox, but the doll stuff uses lots of photos and I'm not comfortable putting so much on another person's device, even if they say I can!

I'm plotting along, so expect to be deluged when I get my pennies saved... A murder mystery is coming.... 

The Eaton-Prior Wedding

 

Four:  See, I told you it would be fine.  Not real fancy, but everyone's having fun and at the end of the day, you will be Beatrice Eaton.  Finally. 

Tris: You say that like we've been waiting twenty years. (fondly) We haven't even been alive twenty years.  You're so weird. 

Hagrid: You don't have to sit with me.  I'm not here as a guest, but it's my nature preserve and I gotta make sure everything goes right. 

Lynch: I'm not really a guest, either.  I'm security.  (laughs at his confusion) They asked me to wear the uniform in case her folks show up and start something. I doubt anything will happen - they've disowned her and that was the end of it for them.

Hagrid: Why'd they disown such a sweet gal? 

Lynch (sighs heavily):  Racism.  Esmeralda's not exactly WASP, therefore her sons are tainted.

Albus: I definitely have the best looking dates here.  

Midna: We aren't your dates, Albus.  

Zenobia: Speak for yourself.  I always have Albus as my date for weddings because I know he's not going to expect anything later.  At least not anything I'm not into. 

Midna (laughing): He is good for that, isn't he? No pressure.

Violet: I thought Tris specified no children under ten? 

Pern: She made an exception for me, so Anakin could be my date.  Where's your date?

Violet: Dean's working on COVID precautions at the high school.  

Anakin: I could have two dates.  Albus does.

Pern: My son doesn't date married women.

Marcus: Not exactly what I had in mind for my boy's wedding, but I like it.  

Esmeralda: She's exactly what I had in mind.  Oh, you're talking about the party?  We were going for Old-fashioned Church Picnic.  Potluck dinner and all. 

Marcus: No slicing the cake, no toasts or dances.  It seems off to me, but the important thing is that it's legal and they're happy.  

Esmeralda: I blame the Priors for all that.  We can't have a bride's dance with her father, so having the rest just seems... cruel isn't the right word.  Distracting, I guess.  Today isn't about her stupid parents.

Kevin: Got your speech all ready? 

Django: I don't know why they want one - they're the ones who have to make public promises.  And welcoming her into the family now, after she's been a part of it so long, seems pointless.  

Kevin: I think accepting your formal welcome is part of it.  Four ain't the only one she's making promises to. 

Jessie: I start work with Joe Montez next week.  I think you know his daughters?

Cedric: Courtney is in my grade.  Gabriella's in Kevin's.  

Jessie: They seem like nice girls.  

Cedric: Oh, no, you don't.  Do not go playing matchmaker! 

Frodo: Look at them with real girlfriends and I'm stuck back here with you.

Mariko: Gee, thanks.  (Points toward Jeremiah and Nova)  I was stuck with those two.  Their brains are still on the honeymoon. 

Frodo: Yeah, at least the twins know other people exist besides Nakoma and Whitney.  

Finnick: We hear you back there, talking about us. Pull your blanket up here, losers. 

        

Four and Tris call to get everyone's attention.  The tables have been set up inside the small shelter, and decorations posted. 

Four: Thank you, everyone, for being here today.  I'm here to promise this woman, Beatrice Prior, that for the rest of my life I will love her and do everything within my power to make her happy.  I'll take care of her and stay with her no matter what fate throws at us.  

Tris (nervously): I stand before you to affirm my love and respect for Tobias Eaton, under any circumstances.  I vow to never waver as we grow old together.  We are young but we're ready and willing to take on marriage (takes his hand) and the world with it. 

At a nod from the groom, Django joins them and addresses Tris. 

Django:  I've been appointed  to stand up here and speak for the family.  My grandson hasn't followed many of the traditional ways, for my people or his father's people, but I am proud of the man he's become.  I'm also proud of the choices he's made for himself, and that includes you.  You are everything he deserves- a capable, kind woman with no room in her heart for anyone but him.  Pretty, too.  (Chuckles)  Tris, we welcome you to the family whole-heartedly.  As of this moment, you are officially one of us. 

Rose-Grace doesn't speak.  There is no need for words.  She points to where the signatures belong and hands Four a pen.  Heedless of his white suit, he kneels and signs with a flourish.  Tris leans carefully, remembering her strapless dress, while she does the same.  

Rose-Grace: For the first time anywhere, I present Tobias and Beatrice Eaton.  (Applause)  And I know it's not part of the legal stuff, but... you may kiss the bride. 

The party begins after a chaste kiss. 

Lynch: I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you.  Sulu and I are having a bit of a dilemma and I was hoping you could give me some insight. 

Rose-Grace: Me?  As a mom or as a wife? 

Lynch:  As a mom and as a black woman, to be frank.  Bobby and Viv are bringing stories home from school that their little sister has a "black-people-hating" name. 

Rose-Grace: What's her name again? 

Lynch: Dixie.  After my grandmother.

Rose-Grace (thoughtful): I can see the problem, especially with you being a cop.  Dixie is the Old South, slavery, Scarlett O'Hara, all those things.  And with so many people thinking that all cops are racist bastards... 

Lynch: We did joke about it sounding like a stripper name, but the race thing escaped us. 

Rose-Grace:  Come by my office tomorrow.   We'll have lunch and talk about this.  I need some time to process what I want to advise you.

Albus and Anakin confess the real reason they accepted their dates' invitation.

Zenobia: Seriously, dude?  You can't shame me with that.  I'll be single forever and a day!

Frodo: It's not my fault I got white boy rhythm from the Dean side of the family!

Zenobia: Seriously, Albus?  You know we're both gonna be single til the grave.

Albus pretends not to notice, even though both the other men laugh.  He'll be wasted later... but not here and now, out of respect for the newlyweds.

Totally staged.  These four ain't fooling anyone.  Well, maybe themselves.

The end.  I mean, the beginning.