#seriously though i REALLY liked ken. barbie had an interesting story but i found ken a bit more relatable which is interesting | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

luminouslumity · 9 months

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THOUGHTS ON: BARBENHEIMER

Finally got the chance to see both (specifically, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and then Barbie again) and I'm glad I did! Watching them back-to-back was certainly an experience and I'm not even joking when I say they really made me think about life and all that it entails.

As someone who grew up on the old animated Barbie movies, I had a lot of fun watching the new film, especially when it came to all the doll jokes and references had me laughing more than once (Magic Earring Ken, anyone?). Kinda mad they didn't have any references to the animated movies though, or at least none that I'd noticed.

Speaking of Ken, wasn't sure about him being the villain at first, but I can see what they were trying to do and I thought it worked pretty well all things considered, that Kens have just as much of a right to live alongside the Barbies as the Barbies do them and not just in the shadows of each other. If this film is anti anything, I'd say it's anti-Patriarchy as well as anti-Matriarchy. Preachy, sure, but understandable. Really, I'm more annoyed with how this apparently went over so many people's heads even with how blatant it was; seriously, President Barbie even says the message of the film after the Kens fail, so how anyone could've misinterpreted it is beyond me! The only thing that comes to mind is when the Narrator says that the Kens will be treated just as well as women are treated in the real world, and to be fair, that statement alone can be interpreted in a lot of ways depending on certain factors, but I don't know, I feel like that should be a wake-up call more than anything.

Barbie herself was also really interesting, though throughout the film, I found myself wondering if she was meant to be the Original Barbie with an upgraded look or just a random Barbie who's basically just an amalgamation of all the others (like she says, she's what everyone else thinks of when they think of the doll). Either way, this certainly adds a whole new layer to the relationship between her and Ken because keep in mind, when the film says that Ken was created for Barbie, they mean it literally.

Going into a bit of history here, Ken Carson was created in response to the backlash Barbie was facing two years after her own creation for the horrific crime of... *checks notes* being single. Since then, Ken has had a few jobs of his own, but it's still nothing compared to Barbie's—this even becomes a joke in the Life in the Dreamhouse series, where the Ken in that series worships the ground Barbie walks on. Probably literally. This man didn't even get his own car until 2012! Then there was the whole seven-year break-up incident because Ken apparently didn't want to put a ring on it (yeah, Barbie has in-universe lore and it goes hard!) so keeping all this in mind, it's no wonder Ken seems to be as attached to Barbie as he is in the film, all while also struggling with his own identity as an individual.

Yes, I probably am looking too deep into a children's film about dolls coming into the real world. This is my life now.

The Mattel scenes were definitely one of my favorite things about the film, especially with how dedicated the CEO is when it comes to his job and how he genuinely wants what he believes is best for everyone, but my favorite part are definitely the scenes with Ruth, which absolutely had me crying! And hey, glad to see I was at least partially right! She made an appearance, just not in the scene I thought it was going to be (also, apparently the sweet old lady on the bench isn't even Barbara, it's costume designer Ann Roth).

Narrators also tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but I thought it worked really well in this film! I especially loved how self-aware the story is and how if you're going to try and make Barbie look ugly, Margot Robbie isn't the way to go. And the cutaway to Depressed Barbie? Hilarious, but now I low-key want that to be a thing lol! And just the world in general was super fun!

Honestly, if I had any complaints about the film, it would absolutely be the pacing. Sasha in particular seemed largely unnecessary and her turnaround to at least tolerating Barbie happened way too quickly, even if she did only want to help for her mom's sake. It would've been nice if the film had had at least one or two scenes where she realizes that while the Barbie brand has its issues that deserve to be addressed, it's also not as bad as what she'd originally thought it to be. And also, it would've been great to just see more of this world in general; after all, Barbie and Ken only spend time in LA for less than a day, and even then, it's only for a few hours at most.

Basically, I wish the film had been longer, but what we got was still great.

As for Oppenheimer, I never really have much to say about biopics, but I love history in general and am always fascinated when it comes to warfare and all of the ethical questions that come with it. This is also the first Nolan film I've actually watched, so I knew this was going to be an interesting time, at least. Let me start by saying that the special effects with the bomb dropping and tense silence afterwards were beautifully done and I thought the use of black-and-white for some scenes and color for others was a really nice touch too, as well as the fact that the film went beyond just WWII and that we get to see Oppenheimer deal with the guilt he'd faced afterwards. I also always forget that Einstein would've still been alive during the time most of the film takes place, so his appearance was certainly a surprise, but a pleasant one nonetheless. I was also wondering in what context the "I am become Death" line would come up, so the fact that the film actually addresses that it comes from Sanskrit rather than suggesting it originated from Oppenheimer himself was such a great detail! Overall, a great film about a very complicated man!

#barbie #oppenheimer #barbenheimer #my thoughts

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wordswithkittywitch · 5 years

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Barbie: A Fairy Secret

Well, it’s finally happening. I’ve lowered my standards enough to start posting my thoughts on Barbie movies. Well, my in-depth analysis so I can give all 37 (I’m counting both Barbie and the Rockers half-hour shorts as one movie. It was a continuing plot.) Barbie movies a rank based on my own arbitrary standards. And because it’s arbitrary, they are being scored out of 110 and I starting more or less randomly with the one I watched earlier this afternoon.

Barbie A Fairy Secret: Overall Score: 54/110 Why is it a score out of 110 instead of 100? Because Barbie gives 110%. Also because there are twelve categories, and only one of them is negative. Why is this score so low? Simply put, I’ve seen all the Barbie films and this isn’t the best one. I still enjoy it, and let’s find out why that is...

High points: 6/10 This is a genuinely funny movie, even if sometimes the jokes are so stupid you’re a little ashamed of laughing at them. Even if you’re watching as an adult, you have to accept this is fundamentally a kids’ movie and it’s going to be silly. Now, of course there are some kids’ movies that don’t have this problem, and some of them are even in the Barbie series. But this is a film where Ken Matrix-dodges a puff of glitter.

The architecture of Gloss Angeles and in particular the palace really steals the show; even if a lot of the floating platforms look like gold chocolate kisses hovering upside down. Beyond the gleaming gold and jewel-bright colours, we see a streaked pastel sky extending forever in all directions. Really. All directions. Raquelle asks how far away the ground is, and is quickly informed there is no ground.

Low points: -4/-10 The animation style wasn’t as polished as some of the later Barbie movies, and usually I can just ignore that, but it also lacked the pastel charm of some of the earlier ones. It was kind of in an awkward middle ground. The faces are a little stiffer than other films, and a lot of the emoting needs to be done with the body language.

And on a far more petty note, I don’t think that the name “Zane” sounds as much like a fairy as “Graciellla”. Or “Graylen”. Or even “Crystal”. “Taylor” is on about the same level of sounding like a fairy as “Zane” though.

WLW appeal: 6/10

I’m not saying that two women admitting that they both wanted to be closer but thought that the other one didn’t like them, hugging and then a rainbow of light transforms into fairies, shattering the cage they were in is necessarily lesbian subtext, but it’s really easy to read it that way. Especially since right after it happens Taylor says love is more powerful than a Passion Fairy’s anger.

However, Barbie and Raquelle’s moment of understanding each other pales in comparison to Taylor and Carrie’s relationship. The two are unquestionably close, never out of the other’s sight. However, the thing that made them read as most romantically involved to me wasn’t anything they did on screen: it was Princess Gracellia’s past history with them. When three people are close friends and two of them become so close they cut the third person out without realising they’ve upset them at all, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re dating, but any time I personally can say that I really lost a friend, it was a variation on that story. I’ve seen it in other people, and much to my disgust almost any time someone brings up that this is a problem, the blame falls on the “third wheel” for not realising that romantic love is obviously more important than any of their previous friendships, and suggesting that if they were emotionally mature they would just go off and fine someone to snog themselves, thus becoming a fully realised romantic being.

Okay, none of the romantic part of the last paragraph was textual, and I am definitely projecting at least a little bit; but this is a recurring theme across media, and it sucks, and I enjoy the fact I can avoid it. Yet another reason I have watched all the Barbie movies.

Ace Appeal: 4/10 I suppose this needs to be said at least once, and since this one is getting posted first, it’s a natural choice to get this disclaimer out of the way. No, I don’t think that anyone in Mattel offices ever stops and says, “Hang on. Does the plot of this children’s movie appeal to the sensibilities of adult asexuals?” However, I’m pretty sure there is some variation on “Not all kids like romance, and most parents want to keep the romance their kids see in media to be on the tame side, so we’ll have to pay attention to how much romance we put in and how it’s handled.” However, as an adult asexual, it is always freaking refreshing to have characters interested in something besides The Sex™, and the best place I have found to seek that is in children’s media.

In a movie aimed at adults, one would usually establish the main romantic couple with kissing, steamy stares, and other things that make your friends not want your partner hang out with the rest of the group. Or, in the case of The Airzone Solution, goosing your partner while she’s having a conversation with someone else, making her voice go up so high I finally recognise Nicola Bryant without her fake American accent. (by the way, if you’re looking for movies with asexual appeal, The Airzone Solution is not one of them.)

This is the face of a man who cannot unwatch The Airzone Solution.

Also, in a movie aimed at adults, no one can end in the same romantic relationship that they started in, which Barbie can avoid because the character of Ken cannot exist in a vacuum: Ken is Barbie’s boyfriend (the Barbie Vlogs/Dreamhouse Adventures timeline notwithstanding; especially given that there really is no question that in that particular timeline “Karbie is endgame” as the kids say.), all personality traits are related to this. If Ken appears in a Barbie movie, we know he already is Barbie’s boyfriend because Barbie is a wish fulfilment fantasy for young girls: As many rewarding careers as they like, a steady relationship with someone who adores them, a large group of friends, pretty much any material goods they can think of at their fingertips, and of course, magical powers. This, quite frankly, is why Barbie works as a woman somewhere in her twenties or thirties and why she doesn’t make as much sense when people try to age her down into a teenager. Seriously. That’s what Skipper is for. How can Barbie have a sixteen-year-old little sister if she herself is sixteen? It doesn’t make sense. But I’m getting off-topic.

This is a kids’ movie, so we establish that Ken and Barbie are dating by having them being adorable duelling with spoons over ice cream sundaes. And that’s why I’ve watched every Barbie movie ever made.

As I mentioned before, the subplot with Gracellia feeling cut out of Taylor and Carrie’s relationship feels very familiar to anyone whose friends distanced themselves for their all-important romance. And while this could happen to anyone, being dropped out of your alloromantic/allosexual friends’ lives when they discover dating is one of the most recognisable and most terrible parts of the asexual/aromantic experience. Does this mean that any of the characters present as asexual or aromantic? As usual, not necessarily. Gracellia clearly isn’t aromantic. But, also as usual, “I’ve been there! It sucks!” is a common step in headcanoning a character as ace. And even if they aren’t, it’s still relatable. We also see a happily married middle-aged couple, Reena and Graylen. Narratively, they exist to show that a marriage between a fairy and a human can work, but I could have seen way more of them being cute. But I like cute old married couples. Which may be weird for someone desperately looking for characters in any form of media who actually like their love interests and stay with them through the entire story instead of breaking up to add more drama. Anyone who has had their friends start dating knows that couples do not need to be breaking up to cause drama.

Graylen’s character design is almost exactly like the advisor in the Fairytopia series. You might not expect “older black fairy with gray muttonchops and friendly advice” to be a stock character in Barbie films, but there he is. Often, Barbie movies do not have a full mouth kiss in them. If there is, that is often because there’s a wedding ceremony. This is an example of the latter. The couple who isn’t married at the end, however, express their love by trying not to be married against their will. Still, no matter how relatable all of this is to an asexual, it does end in a very Midsummer Night’s Dream everyone paired off sort of way.

Entourage: 6/10

Raquelle- Those familiar with Life in the Dreamhouse already know Raquelle as Barbie’s self-proclaimed rival and a twisty bitch who lives for drama, making her one of the most enjoyable characters to watch. She has a different voice actress here, which can throw you a little. Especially if you’re trying to remember which My Little Pony voice actress has replaced her Life in the Dreamhouse voice actress.

Taylor- Ginger shoe fairy with a pink dress and a posh accent. Mostly responsible for the “tell Barbie the truth, go to Gloss Angeles, and rescue Ken” plan.

Carrie- Brunette purse fairy with a purple dress. Probably the slower of the two. That said, even though she supplies much of the comic relief, it doesn’t stem from her being stupid, it stems from her never-emptying purse of visual gags. By the end, Carrie’s jokes have started to grate on Raquelle:

“I think this time I’ve got a home run!”

“Enough! It’s going to be a baseball bat, right?”

Art Style: 5/10 I’ll admit this isn’t my favourite era of Barbie movies as far as animation is concerned. The faces aren’t as emotive as some of the other styles of animation. Raquelle for one makes up for this with full-body sarcasm. The architecture in Gloss Angeles is really the highlight of the film’s visuals: with large amounts of sparkling crystal and gold curlicues putting one in mind of a jewellery box with it’s contents spilling out. Particularly in the fight scene between Ken and Zane, where they recreate the “Duel” bit from that 90s Gladiators show where the contenders sand on an elevated platform and hit each other with what appear to be large fancy cotton buds. The only difference is that the contenders have wings. The architecture is shown off nicely in the “welcome to Gloss Angeles” montage. Unlike films like a Mermaid Tale, they did not feel the need to put dozens of puns in this sequence, they just put wings on everything they could think of—dogs, cats, handbags, coffee cups, shopping bags…

Plot: 7/10 The plot takes place within the “Life in the Dreamhouse” continuity: Barbara Roberts is a highly successful celebrity who lives in Malibu with her three younger sisters, is dating her longtime boyfriend Kenneth Carson, and has a close group of friends, including Rochelle who openly hates all of them (barring Ken) but remains part of the social circle.

A jealous fairy named Crystal feeds Princess Graciella, ruler of the fairies, a love potion which makes he fall in love with Ken. Graciella kidnaps Ken and declares she will marry him that very day. Zane, Graciella’s previous boyfriend and also a fairy, challenges Ken to three successive duels as Ken tries to back out of this. Barbie and Rochelle, rival film stars, come to Ken’s rescue, aided by two fairies who have been living in the human world disguised as humans and working as Barbie’s personal stylists.

The whole thing feels a lot like Barbie does Comedia del Arte, which I love. A love square that is resolved with two couples at the end, a love potion, over the top comedic figures, a lovesick woman declaring she will marry someone she just met, the upper class characters being saved by the complex planning of their clever servants; if you accept personal stylists as the modern equivalent of a tiring maid.

Zane is probably the main reason I keep thinking Comedia del Arte when I’m watching this. And it’s not just that he has the same accent as el Captaino (a stock figure in Comedia del Arte. The foreign captain who is usually a comedic rival for the young lover). In his first scene, he challenges Ken to three successive duels: “So, you think I am not bold enough for two duels? For that, I challenge you to a third duel!” “Why not? I wasn’t doing anything after the second one anyway.”

I can’t help but think about how the plot would have been different if princess Graciella had drunk the love potion three seconds earlier and fallen in love with Rochelle instead of Ken. “I have to save my frienemy who has just graduated from pain in the ass to total bitch.” would have been a very different story to “I need to save my boyfriend.”

The whole thing is a mess of consent and lack thereof. Crystal puts a spell on Graciella so she becomes obsessed with Ken, Graciella puts a spell on Ken so that a marriage proposal comes out of his mouth, much to his horror. And, if the whole “Comedia del Arte” thing hadn’t been running through my head the entire time, the fact that it pretty much starts and ends like A Midsummer Night’s Dream would have done it: Someone gives the queen of the fairies a love potion. She falls in love with the worst possible option. Humans get involved. The two romantic couples are sorted back into their ideal combination, the fairies convince the humans it was all really a dream. Even Carrie and Taylor reminding the audience of the secret at the end puts me in mind of Puck’s final speech.

The plot would have gotten a higher score if it hadn’t been for one plothole that seems to grow and shrink the more I examine it: Crystal was in love with Zane, but he was in love with Graciella. So she gets her hands on a love potion and uses it on… not Zane. I guess thought if he wasn’t in a relationship he would pick her on his own. Perhaps she wanted “real love” and was prepared to give her princess a chemically assisted version. We will never know.

Character design: 6/10

It’s not unusual for the cast to be wearing their best costumes in the final act of a Barbie film, but in this case this was achieved by putting most of them in fairly ugly outfits for most of the action.

The costuming was quite up to standards in the last fifteen minutes, but that leaves us with fifty seven minutes of unnecessary peplum to account for.

Raquelle and Barbie appear in formal gowns for the red carpet premiere:

Raquelle wears a one-shoulder purple and blue gown with a lettuce edged wrap skirt with a high-low hem, simple blue teardrop earrings, and some excellent shoes.

As usual, Raquelle is quickly upstaged by Barbie, who wears a ruby pink bodice with a peplum hem over a bright violet mermaid skirt. These are accessorised with rhinestone rose jewellery and silver pumps, although the shoes are only revealed when Raquelle rips the back of her dress up to her thighs.

While these gowns only show up in the first scene, they are easily the best looks they wear in the film, which is understandable as they are the dresses worn by the dolls. The doll look sort of reappears at the start of the final act, where Barbie and Raquelle transform into their winged form from the dolls, which is the tops from their red carpet gowns on cocktail dresses.

Barbie’s rose peplum top melts much more pleasingly into the three flounces of her miniskirt, while Raquelle has a flounced A-line miniskirt with the slightest edge of silver and pink petticoats peeking out the bottom. A silver ruffle accents her neckline and compliments her wide silver belt. The looks are finished in both cases with those curling vine heels that Mattel was putting on all the fairy dolls in the early aughts. This is such a breath of good taste after their “normal” outfits from the main part of the film.

After the premiere, the human characters really get the short end of the stick as far as costumes are concerned, and while I can see how it was important to make the humans visually distinct from the fairies, even when everyone is wearing “clip on” wings.

Raquelle spends most the movie in cobalt blue knee-length trumpet dress and a pink polka dot mini sweatshirt; which frankly should never have happened. The effect is completed with strappy silver heels which barely do not reach the end of leatherette black leggings. Sadly, the effect is “I dressed Barbie first and these are all the doll clothes I have left over”.

Barbie’s main look seems to be doing everything it can to keep a knee-length jean trumpet skirt with pink stitching from ruining the rest of the outfit. This is done with a pink and white striped tee and a half-sleeve black jacket. I don’t want to be too hard on this look, I’ll admit, because I can see my sister wearing something like that, but hopefully a more flattering cut of skirt.

But then again, I’ve always hated trumpet miniskirts; I hated them when they were in style, I hate them now that they aren’t, and I hate the fact I owned two because that’s what was for sale at Walmart in the mid 2000s and I hadn’t taken to making most of my own clothing yet. I called them “crotch ruffle skirts”. I was a bitch in high school.

Miss Roxelle appears very briefly in a tasteful white and gold two piece pencil skirt suit. As a fashion designer and the older fairy who they come to for help, it makes sense that she has a classy, mature vibe.

For the wedding, Ken gets a fashion upgrade from “we put him in a plaid shirt to make him look more heterosexual” (which was kind of ruined by the teal and metallic gold palette) to “one of those really tacky heterosexual wedding toppers” for the wedding scene. The horror of someone tied up and being forced to marry someone they barely know is somewhat diminished by the image of groomsmen elbowing each other and chuckling, “As usual, am I right, men?” That said, matching the pattern on his lapels to the pattern on his wings was a nice touch.

Crystal takes the purple/green slightly alternative route in villain costume design: fingerless gloves, cropped vest, stripy skirt, asymmetrical bob, purple leggings and black ankle boots.

And interestingly, she is the only fairy who presents as a girl who has dragonfly wings. I’m not going to say that this means Crystal is transgender, but I am definitely going to be thinking about that for a while. Part of me thinks, “Sure, why not, that’s probably going to happen in fairy society as much as human”, and part of me thinks, “Usually it’s the heroes or sidekicks in Barbie movies that get queercoded.” So let’s just move past Crystal’s boyish wings.

I spend a lot of time Graciellla is on screen trying to figure out how her hair is accomplished. Like most Barbie characters, it looks physically possible so that it can be recreated on a doll. It looks as if two French braids were started on her head, then the loose hair was tucked under itself, a little bit like a rolled chingon.

It probably is related to the fact her standard outfit is pretty basic: a petal pink strapless cocktail dress with a rose pink sash. It’s accessorised with a mess of pink rhinestone jewellery to set off her tiara.

Zane starts off in a fantasy style purple vest and striped jeans in a desaturated purple palette: The gold trim and collar pushes it towards the high fantasy fairies were meant to be, but it appears that halfway down the design they realised that they wanted it to be reflective of modern fashion and gave him pinstriped jeans. Don’t get me wrong, I love purple pinstriped jeans, I own purple pinstripe jeans, but they don’t go with his top. High fantasy and mid-2000s fashion are hard looks to marry, and I’m objecting to this example. Now, I could have forgiven him for wearing knee-high boots and cuffing his trousers to show them off, if they weren’t striped jeans and black combat boots. He’s half pirate and a half “I just came from a Green Day concert”. And he tries so hard to make it work. Wearing the exact same outfit in white and gold to his wedding was a choice. Once of several stupid choices made by Zane over the course of this movie.

Zane goes full Star Trek Next Gen for his combat jumpsuit: And honestly, I kind of love it. The gold and cobalt blue set each other off beautifully, the wide gold stripes down Zane’s legs, the elegantly tooled golden breastplate, the spirals of gold coming up his boots to the wide gold edging.

We actually see the slits the back of Zane’s jacket when he gets on his knees to propose to Graciella, and all of the feminine fairies (except for Crystal, as mentioned before) are wearing tube tops and off-the shoulder dresses so that they can dress without damaging their wings. But it appears that his wings are emerging from narrow slits in the back of his vest. Which might account for why the masculine fairies have smaller, narrower wings; more like a dragonfly than a butterfly. And it might also account for why Crystal has dragonfly wings and a cropped vest.

Finally, we have Taylor and Carrie, who ride the line between fantasy fashion and human fashion by wearing some fairly simple, “this looks like a doll” dresses. They also look far more like a “set” than any other characters because while their outfits look different, they are comprised out of the same basic elements: A dress with a fitted satin bodice, capped sleeves, and a flounced circle skirt accessorised with a short bead necklace, simple earrings, a headband and a side ponytail. The only real difference between them is their magical focuses:

Carrie, being a purse fairy, has a glittery doctor-style handbag; so called because the frame opens out like an old doctor’s visiting bag, not because like the Tardis it is bigger on the inside. Though both are true. Taylor has magenta glitter peek-toe platforms with knee-high laces with wings on the heel and rosettes on the toe. Raquelle admits, “If I had to trust my life to one pair of shoes, it would be those.” as Taylor chirps: “The more fabulous my shoes, the stronger my magic!” Me too, buddy, me too.

Music: 3/10

There is really only the main theme, Can You Keep a Secret? which plays over the opening and closing credits. It’s peppy, it’s happy, it’s not so stupid you’re grating your teeth, but ultimately it’s pretty forgettable. It serves its purpose and allows the story to move on. It plays again during the “welcome to Gloss Angeles” montage.

Animal companion: 4/10 Halfway through the movie, Pegaponies show up and help the humans with their difficulty in flying with clip-on wings. The pegaponies show up, transport the main characters to the palace, and are never heard from again. They do not talk or exhibit greater than animal intelligence, but however they do greatly advance the Rochelle and Barbie friendship plot by allowing the two of them to discuss how their relationship, and their animosity, formed. All pegaponies are recolours of the same mesh: a stocky, small horse with a striped mane and sparkly lace-like wings. The heroes all ride sidesaddle, partially because they’re all in dresses and partially because they all have wings themselves. While I usually subscribe to the less-is-more approach to pets in Barbie movies, in this case more might have been more.

Antagonists: 7/10 Zane- Since Barbie has Raquelle, it only makes sense that Ken gets someone who declares himself his rival as Ken protests that they aren’t actually pursuing the same goal. And like Raquelle, Zane is over the top and hilarious. He’s probably my favourite part of the movie. Graciellla – Crown Princess of Gloss Angeles, because “queen” sounds evil unless you’ve got a kid. While she isn’t exactly a bad person, she spends most of the film trying to force someone who isn’t in love with her to marry her. Actually, that is in fact pretty bad, but it is slightly mitigated by the fact she’s under a love spell. Remember kids, love spells aren’t consent! She spreads the awful cycle of “fairies don’t need no consent” by magicing a proposal out of Ken’s mouth inbetween his protestations to let him go. So, even though she changes her plan as soon as she’s not under a spell, she still has the whole “I’m an immoral fairy who really doesn’t care how much I mess up human lives” thing going on, which I also enjoy. Kids have to learn to fear the fey sooner or later. Crystal- From her arm-warmers to her stripes, here’s the soft grunge girl here to punish the preps for existing. Well, to punish everyone around her for the sorry state of her love life. Unrequited love stinks. Of course, what makes her a villain instead a tragic hero is that she is perfect content to ruin as many lives as it takes to get what she wants. Again, fairies tend to be amoral. Raquelle- Only an antagonist in that she remains Barbie’s self-proclaimed rival, and pain in the rear, even as she joins her quest to save Ken. To be fair, at no point does Raquelle stop thinking of herself as Ken’s friend. Partnering with a rival to save a mutual friend is probably Raquelle’s most antihero moment across all media she appears in. So while there’s a lot of antagonists, ranging from rivals to villains to “manic force of nature” I would have a difficult time saying, “You know what movie has some great antagonists? A Fairy Secret.” Although it definitely gets points for variety.

Doll Tie-in: 4/10

Comparing the doll commercial to the movie, I get the feeling that the people making the commercial hadn’t been given the plot to the movie before writing the script for the advertisement.

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Personally, as someone who just genuinely likes dolls, I don’t like the moulded on bodices, since they limit the number of dresses you can put over them. I get the idea that the moulded on swimsuits are to give the dolls some vestige of dignity when the girls are leaving them undressed.

As for “transforming dresses”, the Fairy Secret dolls all have variations on the “skirt folds out into wings” gimmick.

This was also the period where the doll designers decided that plastic moulded curlicue laces going all up a doll’s shins said “fairy fashion”, and that, I’ll admit, I like.

At least the faces have better moulds than the characters in the films.

#Kittywitch has watched every Barbie film #Barbie #reviews #meta #Barbie: a Fairy Secret

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 5 years

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Barbie may not be out of the closet yet, but her fans sure are

Has there ever really been a gay doll?

Well, yes and no. In 1977, "Gay Bob," marketed as the world's first gay doll, was sold through mail-order ads in gay magazines. And I'm sure that Mattel still thinks about the "Earring Magic Ken" fiasco of 1993, and his "necklace."

But there's nothing inherently gay about dolls themselves – they're toys, pieces of plastic after all. In the same vein, there's nothing inherently gay about doll collecting as a hobby, as a passion, as an art form.

Dolls are cultural reflections of the times, for better or worse. But doll brands like Barbie that are symbols of hyper-heteronormative, old-school femininity are being reclaimed and reinterpreted by adult LGBTQ collectors in a new way. And don't think the toy companies are unaware — they’re not, and they are absolutely involved.

More recently the main way collectors are expressing this kind of love and solidarity, and where community can be found, is through the internet and social media. This is a space where the toys' brand narrative has usually been out of corporate hands. But companies like Mattel are in it now, noticing these LGBTQ fan communities, and vying for their digital eyes.

Now THIS is what the Dreamhouse should look like.

Image: THE SIMPSONS/ Fox

Coming out of the (doll) closet

Many adult collectors choose dolls because of the nostalgia associated with collecting toys from their childhood. Younger LGBTQ collectors aren’t connecting as much over the nostalgic dolls themselves, as much as they are using social media to connect with other gay fans.

Tumblr user @dolljunk, who used to collect Barbies as a young boy, got into it again as a young adult through online fandoms. “Internet groups were a great way of connecting to other collectors. I had never even heard of [doll-related social media], let alone other collectors and when I went to my local library, I found a multitude of forums and fan sites that detailed how people collected dolls such as customizing, photography, and numerous guides for doll releases. It really opened my eyes to another side of playing with and seeing dolls.”

LGBTQ collectors are also identifying with the messages of newer doll franchises, and the potential for what the dolls can represent. Monster High collectors in particular are mostly Millennials who never grew up playing with the dolls themselves, but with whom the brand's identity has resonated.

Dott, a doll collector active on social media, introduced her collection, saying “I mostly collect Monster High, but there's some Barbies, Ever After Highs, and Descendants strewn in there." For reference, all of these brands were created after 2009. "Monster High's my main focus because...well, I think I connect with the lore the most. Unlike a lot of doll collectors, I love the lore aspect as much as, if not more, than the actual dolls. And there's something about the MH media that I just adored.”

In an article from the University of Connecticut titled "Valuing queer identity in Monster High doll fandom," author Sara Mariel Austin wrote that "Monster High's recent ad campaign claims, 'We are monsters. We are proud.' Race, ethnicity, and disability are coded into the dolls as selling points. The allure of Monster High is, in part, that political identity and the celebration of difference..."

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The #Goochella monsters couldn’t get enough of the #FierceRocker’s freaky-fab cover of @LadyGaga’s song, Born This Way! 🙌💁🙌 Thanks for showing us that any dream is possible if you are brave enough to put yourself out there! 💪❤️ #KindMonsters #MonsterHigh

A post shared by Monster High (@monsterhigh) on Apr 21, 2016 at 8:05am PDT

If the messages intrinsic to these brand identities are like this, it's no wonder that LGBTQ doll collectors connect with these dolls on an emotional level. Social media doll communities like "Dollblr" and "Dollstagram" have also inspired other ways for a group that's traditionally marginalized to express themselves.

A passion for fashion: doll artistry and expression

Doll collecting is, inherently, at least somewhat escapist. There’s something that feels revolutionary about being constantly bombarded with the idolized bodies and lives of cisgender heterosexuals on social media, and then going “screw that! I’m gonna take this toy, make it a representation of me, and imagine a new world with it.”

Utilizing dolls as an art form – through mediums like photography, clothes-making, customization/modification, and fanart – allow for LGBTQ collectors to envision a world free of toxic masculinity. Creating doll art in and for an online world allows a safe space for folks to literally “play” with their own femininity and subvert gender roles as they see fit.

“It's something that's a nice escape from real life? We aren't worrying about gay stuff if we're rerooting a doll head, cause we keep pricking our fingers on accident, and our wrists and palms are sore from using pliers. In all seriousness, I think it's a form of self-expression,” Dott told Mashable about the physical art of doll modification and customization.

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A post shared by Barbination™ (@barbination) on Mar 10, 2019 at 3:31am PDT

The way that @dolljunk connects to his collection emotionally through art is similar. “Dolls and toy collecting [are] a great creative outlet...and can encompass fashion design, hair styling and face painting/makeup while also offering a way of creating new items,” he said.

"It resulted in me becoming more secure in my identity and interests because Barbie, for better or for worse, is a symbol of hyper femininity that doesn't allow any room for toxic masculinity in her world. Being able to get in touch with my feminine side and interests was a big contributor to accepting my sexuality as being an intrinsic aspect of myself that didn't need to be changed,” @dolljunk said.

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A post shared by Barbievette (@barbieboyvette) on Dec 31, 2018 at 1:52pm PST

And for many LGBTQ folks, especially gay boys and trans girls, that's incredibly important. Even Carlyle Nuera, who is now the lead designer for Barbie Signature at Mattel, sees the growth in these social media communities as being rooted in collective childhood experiences.

“I think for a lot of us, in different ways, for different reasons, we feel repressed growing up," Nuera said. "Depending on our homes, our family situation, we might not feel safe expressing ourselves. I think a lot of people when they start to have expendable income, they kinda create this fantasy world, this beauty that they never really had access to as a kid. They can see it — and I think they can sort of create it with their own dolls, by customizing their own dolls, or with photography. And then also to share with other people, cause you can connect with other people [on social media].”

Dolls are humanoid, so it’s easy to project our wants, desires, and dreams onto them. And if we alter their resemblance enough, they can mirror us back in ways we hope society will someday.

Does life in the Dreamhouse have to be so straight?

Toy companies, though, are already creating their own miniature worlds with their own identities for the dolls through tie-in media. With various outlets and extensions of their brand, they impose their own meanings onto the products. Mattel and Hasbro, for example, have their own TV shows and movies. Barbie has the Netflix series Life in the Dreamhouse; Monster High and Ever After High had their own movies and webisodes, and Hasbro has the massively successful My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series.

They also have flashy social media accounts with good fashion photography and witty interactions. Barbie is now an Instagram influencer, as well as a vlogger with her own popular YouTube series. Mattel once ran an entire in-universe Monster High school newspaper through their Tumblr account.

The presence of toy companies on social media is intriguing though, given that the minimum age for Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook is 13. So who really is the audience for these branded doll accounts?

While these companies likely don’t want to risk alienating the parents who buy dolls as toys for their kids, it's also seems fair to say they want to capture this LGBTQ adult interest in their products. There have been brand partnerships like with Crayola, meant to solely market towards kids. But when you have Mattel partnering with Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Foundation for Monster High, it’s obvious that they spend at least some time thinking about their messaging that can be subtly aimed at the LGBTQ community.

Especially since in a lot of their media franchises, there's a heavy focus on messages about being yourself, accepting others, and celebrating our differences — great lessons for kids of course, but all of which resonate deeply with LGBTQ doll fans.

Milissa C. is a big fan of the Monster High and Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse series, alongside collecting the dolls themselves. She believes that the connection between the brands and the fans is deliberate. "[We] members of the LGBT+ community are oftentimes made to feel like we are not normal because of our feelings and our identities. Monster High encourages people to celebrate what makes them unique, 'freaky flaws' [as the main character Frankie Stein says] and all. LGBT+ doll collecting communities will certainly imagine more of their dolls to represent themselves. Every time I see a post from the official Barbie Instagram accounts where Barbie is obviously having a date night with a lady friend, I think — bi queen!"

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It’s a museum date! Taking in the @mickalenethomas exhibit today at @mocalosangeles. See more from the galleries in Stories. 💙 #MickaleneThomas #barbie #barbiestyle

A post shared by Barbie® (@barbiestyle) on Feb 1, 2017 at 2:26pm PST

Connecting to the storylines as much or more than to the dolls themselves is a celebration of LGBTQ identity, in Dott’s case. “Mostly because Monster High's entire concept is centered around embracing who you are. Plus, it was my special interest when I realized I was a lesbian. Mattel never gave us any canon gay characters in that franchise, but I find it profoundly moving that lots of lesbians/bi girls see themselves in characters like Clawdeen [daughter of the Wolf Man] and Twyla [daughter of the Boogyman]."

Yet, she's right — the representation so far hasn’t been that explicit. There’s a line between using broad metaphors to illustrate big concepts (mainly for kids), and allowing the diversity of the real world to exist and be seen on the small screen.

Despite knowing that he is far outside the target demographic, @dolljunk says that toy brand media “influences or recontextualizes the designs of the dolls I collect. A good piece of toy tie in media often encourages its audience to invest in the universe they have created, and I've seen it result from kids to adult collectors to go on to create their own fanart or fan characters. That being said, in the future I really do hope they are able to innovate and modernize for an ever changing audience in a world with changing attitudes and values.”

From the Ever After High episode, "Dragon Games." This was supposed to be "CPR". Yeah, right.

Image: NETFLIX / MATTEL

Dott says she always hopes for more explicit inclusivity. “Put some canon LGBT characters in your doll and toy franchises. Show kids that it's okay to be gay or bi or trans! It hasn't got to be something big; maybe a boy character has a schoolyard crush on another boy, you know? Just something small like that to get the ball rolling. Companies still have to do better.”

Not having canon LGBTQ representation is not unique to doll media, but because the companies have opened the door by putting these messages front and center, doll collectors engage with the media as a way of reclaiming identity, and then push the representation further than canon allows for. Toy companies arguably owe it to both children and adults, LGBTQ and not, to step up with better depictions of diversity because they're already toeing the line.

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A post shared by Barbie® (@barbiestyle) on Nov 21, 2017 at 2:36pm PST

Progress is being made, slowly but surely. There are new dolls and action figures coming out of prominent IRL figures and fictional characters who are LGBTQ. Last year on Instagram, Barbie wore a shirt that said "Love Wins." Even in doll-related media, companies are beginning to test to waters — in 2016, Mattel's movie series based on the doll line for Ever After High featured an on-screen kiss between two princesses.

For many collectors, it's not enough anymore to simply admire and collect these fashion figures. They want to see themselves in the dolls that they've been projecting onto for decades.

So while we wait for the brands' next move, gay culture will keep claiming dolls because we know in our hearts that they're ours as much as anyone's. Barbie? More like Bar-bi.

WATCH: Lady Gaga hopes award shows will become gender neutral

#_uuid:6483e5b9-5580-350b-8c5b-3ec67d1f17e9 #_category:yct:001000002 #_author:Sage Anderson #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

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06love · 6 years

Text

“Home” | 3.5k

Summary: Jungkook can’t go back “Home” until he has his soulmate with him. OR Arya never felt like she belonged here and only one person could make her feel a connection in this world, a boy that goes by the name of Jungkook and talks to her about stars.

Words: 3,595

Genre: Fluff/Angst | Soulmate!AU

Pairing: Jungkook x O/C

Rooh’s note: I wanted to write a fic like this for quite some time, since I listened to “Home” by Gabrielle Aplin, I hope you enjoy, Thanks for reading, and i had fun writing this piece. Also this is a repost + rewrite.

“I’m a phoenix in the water, a fish that’s learned to fly, and I’ve always been a daughter, but feathers are meant for the sky. And so I’m wishing, wishing further, for the excitement to arrive. It’s just I’d rather be causing the chaos, than laying at the sharp end of this knife.”

Arya remembers her childhood memories always a little confusing, and incomplete, she recalls a day where she was sitting in the sandbox of their neighbourhood, where her parents placed her. They told her “Be nice with the other kids Arya, and you’ll make new friends.” with a smile spread on their faces that she couldn’t yet understand.

Parents usually want their kids to socialize and be accepted by society, and Arya’s parents wanted nothing less, they want their only daughter to have friends, to fit in, even at a young age.

Them moving didn’t help much, Arya was a shy child, she didn’t like having too many people around, for some reason she felt uncomfortable next to other children, at a young age she already knew that she wasn’t like them, didn’t share interest in the same things as them, even though she forced herself to.

She grew up with the need to be accepted into what seemed normal to other peoples eyes. Playing with girl friends, having Ken dolls that met with Barbies, pretending to be drinking tea from an obvious empty cup while talking what seemed grown up conversations never really appealed to her.

Friends would look at her funny when she said that she didn't understand the way they played, or even tell her that she is ruining all fun and leave her.

She wouldn't mind, she wouldn't care if they left her alone, she loved to be alone and listen to what the universe had to say, she loved to appreciate the creations and sense the energy they transmitted, for her that was enough. But her parents thought otherwise, like most parents they wanted their daughter to be happy and for them that seemed to imply that she needed friends, so she faked it. She faked to be like them, enjoy the same things they did, she faked so she could be seen as normal.

“Why are you so quiet?” Julia asked Arya, as they ate lunch on the cafeteria. The latest conversation was about this new boy in school, Jungkook, most girls seemed to think he wasn’t as gross as other boys, they even considered him cute, but reality is that Arya couldn’t care less.

Her thoughts wandered to a bird that was chirping near the open window outside. She found it magestic, so tiny, making such a powerful sound. She was startled when Julia threw a piece of bread as hard as her little arms could to the bird, making it fly away scared.

“What was that for?” Arya asked angry.

“What? That thing was annoying, and it kept distracting me.” Julia shrugged her shoulders.

“That bird was just singing. Why do you gotta be so mean? You’re always mean!” Arya got up from her chair abruptly.

“Arya, what are you-”

“You’re always this awful! I hate being around you, you’re always so mean to other girls and you made Sana and Josy fight that one time. I don’t wanna be your friend anymore!” Arya spurted in Julia’s face.

“It was just a stupid bir-” Julia tried to excuse herself but Arya began walking towards where the bird was, leaving the cafeteria after catching everyone’s attention.

That day she looked for that bird, even after the bell rang, but when a supervisor came to bring her back in she couldn’t fight it. She went back to class and the day passed by slowly, and as all she did was look at the window searching for that bird in hopes to see it again.

By the end of class, as a normal habit her parents came to get her a little late than the other kids, she was often left alone with a supervisor for at least 30 minutes, but that day was different.

A small cute boy, with a blue shirt came around and called for her, she followed him to the playard, and ignored the fact that he knew her name already even though they didn’t formally meet yet.

“What are you doing here?” Arya asked curious.

“I’m waiting for my parents, they are gonna pick me up soon.” Jungkook smiled.

“Why did you call for me?”

“I found what you’re looking for.” He said smiley as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the tree. “There” He pointed at the top.

Arya’s eyes searched for a bit and then they laid on the beautiful blue bird she had seen earlier in lunch. Her eyes shined with hope and a smile spread across her lips as the boy stared at her.

From that day on Arya and Jungkook became friends, she’d rather be friends with him than the rest of the girls. (or anyone for that matter)

Soon Arya learned how to deal with being by herself, she would rather not having people around her, than having someone that could remind her how much she could despise the human race. If what her parents wanted was friends, then Jungkook was there for her, he was her friend.

Jungkook was her best friend, but unlike her, he was a very social person. He was constantly surrounded by people, always making new friends, but she didn’t mind.

Just like in middle school, the same thing happened in high school. Jungkook was popular, playing sports, socializing, the perfect example of a kid parents would like to have, filled with friends and living high school to the max.

Arya was a left out, that lonely kid that sat alone in lunch, that girl that had her head stuffed in books most of the time, that girl that didn’t really care what you thought of her, she just wanted you to leave her alone.

Jungkook tried to help her fit in, inviting her to sit with his friends, but he soon realized that that only created an awkward situation for all of them. He sits with Arya most of the time, not because he feels sorry for her only having him as a friend, but because he enjoys her company. It was easier when they were younger, kids didn’t discriminate as much and everyone was the same at some point.

They hang out most of the times in her place, or his. But everytime she went there, there were other school mates around, making things weird for her.

It’s not that Arya doesn’t like people, she just doesn’t understand them. She tries, God, she really does. Only Jungkook knows how much effort she put into having an actual conversation with one of his friends when he asked Jungkook to introduce him to her.

“How can you do it?” Arya asked as she ate another mouthful of chips. “How do you… fit in like that?” She looked at him in the eyes, as the soft wind blew his hair in that stared night.

“What do you mean?” Jungkook asked again trying to steal the bag of chips from her, almost as if he didn’t take her question seriously.

“Stop, I'm serious you know… fit in, have lots of friends and at the same time…” She looked at him as he smiled. “at the same time be like me.”

He didn’t understand the question at first, so he laughed softly and asked “Why can’t i be like you?” with an arched eyebrow.

“Kook, you’re… you’re the only person in this world i think it’s worth anything. And it’s not just because you’re my only friend, it’s because you get me. Our conversations, our interests, the things you know… I can’t have that with anyone else, and believe me, i’ve tried. You know how much i’ve tried…” Arya said those words looking at the bright night sky, on top of the roof of her house as the cold breeze hit them. “I wish i could be like you, to be able to fit in, to be able to… connect with other people.”

Jungkook looked at her with pity in his eyes, he didn’t mean to, it just happened. Gladly she didn’t notice because he quickly laid back next to her and looked to the dark blue sky admiring the stars.

“What’s your favorite star?” He asked out of the blue.

“You already know what my favorite star is, i won’t tell you for the thousandth time.” she laughed.

“One day, i’ll take you there.” Jungkook turned to face her, and she did the same. “Write my words, one day i’ll take you there. And you’ll love it. It’s all-”

“Pink and bright. And there’s a river that looks like diamonds shining that goes all the way from the begging of the mountains to the very end.” she completed his sentence. “You’ve been saying that since we were kids, i thought your drug would’ve worn off by now.” she laughed and he followed him laying down and looking tot he sky.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Jungkook asked, apprehensive.

“I don’t, i find it to be stories to keep love enthusiasts with hope.” She turns to face him. “But, if i’d say they existed, with no doubt you’d be mine. Cause no one else in the world could complement me like you do.” she smiled.

With those words Jungkook smiled as well, and turned to look back at the sky, with hope on his eyes.

Arya never knew that since that the words she spoke that day, would make things become different.

Graduation will soon happen, and both Jungkook and Arya are glad to leave high school. Arya doesn’t know what she wants to study yet, so she will take a year off, Jungkook on the other hand doesn’t seem to find interest in any of the scholarships he had won through sports. His answer is always “I have other plans.” But he never really reveals the plans.

Arya’s 18th birthday will coincidentally happen on the same day as he graduation day. Jungkook had turned 18 years old months ago, or so he says. He threw a big party for it, Arya was there because he insisted, but she spent most of the time in his room playing video games as he would pop in and out every 30 mins to check if she was ok and bring her snacks.

Jungkook promised Arya a birthday gift, even though she told him numerous time she didn’t want one, he said it was something he had to do, or else.

Lately Jungkook became more protective of Arya than he already was. He went to pick her up before school, and take her home after school, walk her whenever she had to go somewhere. It seemed that he stopped caring about his friends and was focusing on Arya only. She told herself that it’s because he was scared they’d stop being friends when they graduated like some people feared, but she assured him that that wasn’t the case, yet he kept being closer to her, as if he wanted her to know that he’s there, no matter what. And she enjoyed it, every minute of it.

Graduation day finally arrived, and the ceremony occurred like planned. For a lot of surprises, Jungkook’s parents weren’t present, Arya thought she’d at least see them once, but she didn’t. Jungkook himself was MIA. Nothing besides an ‘I'm gonna be late, don’t worry’ text from him was all she got.

They called her name, and she went up there, grabbed what belonged to her, took a picture and walked out. Finally that part of her life was over.

Everyone seemed to celebrate, and all Arya wanted was to know where Jungkook was. She couldn’t find him anywhere. He went missing all day making excuses.

Arya got home to find a text from Jungkook with a location to meet. It wasn’t a odd location, they’ve been there multiple times together to stargaze and pay on old swing sets. So she changed, ate something quick and went to the old amusement park.

As she jumped over the rusty fence, she tried not be caught on by local guards and walked towards the trees near the lake to meet him. She saw him whispering to himself and called for him. “Hey, there you are. I’ve been looking for you all day.” Arya said as she walked towards the bench Jungkook was sitting.

“Hey.” Jungkook greeted, then realized that Arya looked more beautiful than usually.

“Mom put some makeup on me, i thought it looked nice, so i decided to not take it off. Do i look weird?” She asked as she seated next to him, while he followed her with his eyes.

“No, not at all. You look good, I like it.” he smiled.

“You’re still with the graduation costume. You didn’t go home?” She asked him.

“Yeah.. uhm, i didn’t. I was here, thinking.” He looked to the void in front of him.

“Thinking about what?” she asked concerned.

“About how can I convince you to come with me.” He said still looking to the horizon.

“What do you mean come with you? Where to?”

“Home” Jungkook turned to face her. “I want you to come home with me Arya.”

With those words Arya felt confused, and began softly laughing. She soon realized that Jungkook was being serious because he had a straight face all along.

“What are you talking about Kook? What do you mean ‘Home’?”

“Arya,” He looked her in the eyes “what if i told you, that this is not where we belong, that this isn’t our home? That there’s a place somewhere, where you and i both belong, somewhere where you’d feel comfortable, where you wouldn’t wish to fit in, because that’s where you belong, and people there are just like me and you.” Jungkook’s hand slowly moved to meet hers. “What if i told you you didn’t need to feel like a phoenix in the water or fish that’s learned to fly? You get to be yourself, with me.”

“How do u know those words? I don’t remember telling you that, ever.” She looked at him with mistrust.

“I know those words, because I know you, that’s something you’ve said to me before.”

Arya felt her stomach tighten at Jungkook’s words. “I’ve never done such thing. What are you saying? How did you know that?” She retrieved her hand from his.

“I know it might sound weird, and i understand that. But please listen to me, that’s all i ask of you, to listen to me and try to comprehend. Listen until the end, and then you can make your own decisions, do whatever you want, ok?” He looked at her with hopes for a positive answer, and she granted him.

Jungkook began talking about their origins, that they weren’t human to start, they belonged to the moon, they were moon folks, and had lived there for as long as he remembers, even though they were both still young according to him. He explained that there was an explosion, a mistake that was yet to be explained, but the explosion caused a lot of malfunctions in their world and one of the consequences was that some of them were sent out of their homes to live in nearby stars until everything was fixed.

Both of them were sent to the star Arya considered her favorite now, they lived there for quite some time and decided not to go back, they met new friends, they made a life there, they liked it there and to top that it was all pink —Arya’s favorite color. Somewhere in life Arya got convinced by a friend of theirs to experience a new life, in a new planet called Earth. Jungkook was against it, because for some reason, Earth was one of the few places in universe where the soulmates logic didn’t seem to work or exist for that matter. There was too many distractions, people didn’t seem to care that they were meant to be with someone, they could simply ignore it and force a relationship with someone else. It was against what was written, what was natural and Jungkook didn’t like that.

Jungkook feared for their relationship, but for Arya he accepted the challenge, she wanted something different, Earth had everything they could imagine, and it was unexplored, so they embarked on this adventure.

But there was a malfunction in the ships with the first batch that was sent there, which they were part of. A lot of people lost their memories once they arrived, others disappeared and lost connections to their soulmate (which meant they probably died), in their case, Jungkook lost Arya.

He searched for her for almost 2 years, to find out that she had incorporated into human a child. Once he saw her he knew, his heart beated and he knew it was her, but to see her that defenseless, and dependent bothered him. He watched the family that adopted her for almost a year, and tried talking to her a couple of times to realize she had no memory at all of her past life.

That’s when he decided that he had to do the same, incorporate himself into a human child and grow next to her, protecting her until she was capable of understanding the truth, and try to bring her back. Which bring them to this point, where he’s telling her the truth.

“So you’re saying, that we used to live in the moon? And you’re my soulmate?” Arya asked still processing information, but before Jungkook could answer she continued. “If that’s true, that would explain why i feel like i don’t belong here, why i always wanted to leave this place, but still.” She looked at Jungkook. “You enjoyed yourself, you loved being here, you made all those friends and you’re telling me you don’t belong here? Tell me Jungkook, how is that possible?”

“I… I lost focus. My goal was to make you trust me again, but you were so closed, I tried to be part of you again, but you wouldn’t let me in, and to know that all we’ve lived, all we went thru together is erased from your memory, it’s something that hurts me inside. I was angry, i was… out of focus.” He turns to look down ashamed. “I tried to forget about you at some point, but I couldn’t. Yes i was always there for you, but i made other friends because unlike you, i didn’t have a family, i was alone. I compelled people to believe i had parents, to give me a house… I lived a fake life for almost 18 years just to reach this point.” He looked back at her, and saw her trying to wipe her tears.

“I lived all this time just to be able to let you know that we’ve had a life together, and i want that back. I want us back.” He reached for her hand, she didn’t hold it back at start. “I want us to go home, to live our lives the way they were…” Jungkook looked at Arya and took a deep breath exhaling tired and anguished while a tear rolled down his cheek. “I want my soulmate back,i want my other half, i want to feel whole again and not broken and empty. And only you can do that. So please, Please Arya” he pleaded. “Please tell me you believe me and you’ll come back with me?” he cries.

Arya’s cries began growing louder, as she pulled Jungkook in for a hug, she cried in his shoulder apologizing, over and over again, sobbing, feeling as guilty as possible.

“I never knew, and I-I’m, I’m so sorry.” She sobs uncontrollably.

“That day when i asked you if you believed in soulmates and you said no, i thought i’d die. For a split of a second I thought I'd end my own life but then, you said that if you did i’d be your soulmate. Until that moment i was almost out of hope, i had almost given up. But you gave me hope,” He backed up. “and i couldn’t hold it in anymore, I prepared myself to tell you.”

She looked at him with tears flooding her eyes and began apologising again. He raised his hands to touch her face, wiping her tears. “Don’t cry my love, it’s not your fault.”

“B-but you were all alone. And I… I didn’t do anything, I had no idea. I’m so, so sorry Kook.” She pouts even harder than she already was, her face red, her eyes puffy and her hair seemed to be everywhere. She looked messy yet Jungkook though she was the most beautiful.

“It’s not your fault, and i don’t really mind anymore, i just want to go home, with you.” His thumb caressed her cheek and she leaned in for comfort while showing a weak smile.

“With you, i’d go anywhere. As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?” She asked with a smile, and he followed leaning in for a soft kiss, pushing his lips against hers.

Jungkook parted with his eyes still closed, foreheads touching, his hand on Arya’s nape and she whispered, “Let’s go Home”.

He complied with a nod, opening his eyes to look into her deep blue eyes, then whispered with a smile on his lips “Home.” ♡

Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this fic, as I'm always curious to read them and they motivate me into writing more. Thank you for reading~

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