Pictures that look
like a polite
Charlie Brown cartoon

They just have that vibe y'know?

Barbie

So after watching the Barbie 2023 movie, I wanted to get nostalgic over Barbies I had as a little girl. There's this neat site to look up the Barbie lines by year!

Bubbling Mermaid Barbie (1996)

My 1st Barbie was the Bubbling Mermaid Barbie! Bath time wasn't my favorite because I was afraid of getting shampoo in my eyes. Someone must've thought this would entice me to actually want to take a bath. It worked! Still hated shampoo (The L'Oréal Kids shampoo commercials that said it doesn't hurt if it gets in your eyes but those were LIES I tells ya!) Anyways, this Barbie was really pretty and it made me want bangs and it was SO COOL that her mermaid tail changed colors in water!! She was my favorite bath toy until she got mold inside... She had to be thrown out. :'( I still remember asking, "Can't you wash her?" but Dad explained that it was hard to clean inside her head and that mold makes us sick. I had a few Barbies after her, but they just didn't compare!

Giggles 'n' Swing Barbie & Kelly (1998)

I don't think I had the swing set for long? I remember playing with the blue Barbie dream house with them living in it. This Barbie took care of her little sister Kelly while the parents were no where to be found. She was often exasperated because Goku and Vegeta would fight just outside the house and wreck everything, so Barbie called her good friend Ken over to fix the roof. They never dated.

Coca Cola Splash Barbie (1999)

This one I liked a lot! I put her hair into a ponytail (since they are superior to twin tails) and she had a great time drinking Coca Cola in her inflatable donut for the pool! I don't remember if it actually floated... I think I did try it out the the bathroom sink, but she'd sink sitting in it? So she had a pretend pool outside the blue dream house. I liked her white tank top with the cola bottle on it more than her red spaghetti strap top. Even Ken tried on her tank top and shorts (it didn't fit of course)! ... I brought her to school for Show-and-Tell and my friends had a great time chanting, "Coca Cola Barbie!🎵" It would've been a great jingle tbh!

Sugarplum Princess Nutcracker Barbie (2001)

What can I say about this one? I already loved "The Nutcracker Prince" a 1990 Canadian movie that like no one else I know of irl has heard of. So I really loved the concept of the Nutcracker in general and it's on my bucket list to go see the actual ballet at least ONCE in my life! So of course, a Clara Barbie and a Nutcracker Ken were absolute must haves! I can't even believe my parents got me both the Barbie and Ken dolls! Anyways, she was the most articulate Barbie I had at the time: she had a little pink stage you could put a plastic thing on it to hold her waist. So you could move her arms and legs freely to pose her to make her look like a real ballerina! On top of that, you could slide the pink stage across the floor to make her spin! It was a great way to put her away while I wasn't using her. But my goodness, her hair wasn't really the greatest; it kept getting tangled easily, so I ended up putting it in a ponytail I think.

Nutcracker Ken (2001)

The star of the show (IMO don't kill me). Or he should've been. The mask was really ugly (though I know that's what a nutcracker is supposed to look like), and while his hair was slick and clean at first (it should've been a ponytail) it quickly turned into an atrociously horrible style that I had no idea how to fix! Yeah, 20 years later now I know all I had to do was put his head in boiling water and hair conditioner to change it... 20 years too late... He had a dashing outfit, a sparkly cape, and a cool golden sword! I think he was my only Ken, so me might've been the one to fix the blue dream house and try on Coca Cola Barbie's clothes? ... It turns out me liking the Nutcracker was akin to liking a Beauty and the Beast scenario: guy transforms into handsome prince but should've stayed a beast? I think what I'm trying to say is the Nutcracker would be better if he were a werewolf instead? Give him a big ol' werewolf mask instead! And a beard in his human form!

Pop Sensation Barbie (2002)

I'm not sure... but maybe in my head I wanted to sing? I got a karaoke machine too one of these years... but I was always too shy to sing in front of other people. My time to shine was when I was all alone at home while my parents were out grocery shopping. So it strikes me as odd that I would even ask for a singing Barbie... Maybe it's because she was all blue and it was my favorite color? She was more articulate than a regular Barbie because she had a stand you could stick her feet into and it would move her around and make it look like she was dancing, which was cool. My favorite thing was probably the boom box that was also a button to turn on the music!

Aaand... that's it! I was getting to the point where I wanted to be taken more seriously (and thought girls stopped playing with Barbies by... 9? ⚠️TMI: I started my period at age 9 and that did NOT help with the whole "growing up" thing going on. I wanted to be taken seriously, I tried to act mature, I was quite shy and moody. I think at one point I must've felt guilty for getting my parents to get me the Nutcracker and Pop Sensation sets... or something along those lines. I looked back on my younger years with such shame... by age 9/10 I already hated myself (which now I realize was a symptom of trauma, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms). So my departure from Barbie as a little girl wasn't a happy one.

The 2023 Barbie Movie was a LOT to take in. I'm glad I went into it as blind as I could... I loved that it celebrated Barbie but could also take jabs at it. ⚠️SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE: Barbie having a supposedly "perfect" life then having an existential crisis reminded me of my departure from little girl to growing preteen. I could relate more to Gloria's daughter, Sasha, as someone that grew up kind of liking Barbie... but disliking the expectations placed on women as I grew into a teen. I'm not even sure if "hate" is the right word; it just didn't apply to me. I fumed during gym class when the boys would cajole, "Girls can't play hockey!" or when I got asked rudely, "Why do you like Pokemon so much?". I liked video games, anime, pink wasn't really my fav color (though certain pencil crayons like Magenta I loved while I hated Pepto Bismol pink)... So in the end, I have to ask: "Did Barbie allow me to use my imagination? Did Barbie tell me I could be whoever I wanted to be?" I'd have to say "No" in the end. I liked Barbie, but not the younger dolls like Kelly or Stacie... probably because in such a way my Barbie didn't have that freedom to be who she wanted to be: the expectation of taking care of a child was still there. I've walked through the Barbie aisle as an adult to see what kind of new dolls they had... and there was a video game creator Barbie?! I loved the ones with the cool neon outfits. I think if I could've walked down an aisle as a kid instead of looking through the Sears Wishlist I could've probably found a Barbie that was more for me? If there was the option to see more clothing sets then maybe I really could've thought my one Barbie could be who she wanted to be, instead of what she was in the box. That, and I think I was more of a "setting up a scene" kind of kid. I didn't make my Barbies talk while I was playing by my lonesome self. I just made them sit, stand, and play the scenario in my head. I think I liked setting up scene and felt satisfied when I was done. In my mind, Barbie wasn't me, and I wasn't Barbie. Which... I dunno? I can't articulate it well.

Thanks to the Barbie movie, what I'd like to do is sort of... take care of my inner child through taking care of one of my old Barbie dolls. I've recently watched videos about re-rooting hair in different colors, sewing new outfits, using watercolor pencils to draw new faces... I've never met someone irl with that particular creative hobby with dolls. And as a kid I couldn't fix the broken neck (that was a bummer even if you were careful with your Barbie like I was) but there are multiple how-tos online!
Part of the reason I didn't really save my Barbies from the dreaded musty basement was because of the tendency for the house to have mice in it. So at one point I did find a doll... with bite marks on her face. Of course I'm not gonna touch it after that! My germaphobe tendencies made me afraid. :')
It'd be a nice little hands-on project. I'd love to at least try it! And... my gosh, I'd love to turn a Ken doll into the perfect boyfriend with a beard LMAO WHY AREN'T Y'ALL MAKING BEARDS ON KEN IT'S SO GOOD! MAKE A BARA KEN Y'ALL!! I'd like search online and see if someone made any custom anime dolls like Broly or Goku or- You know what, why not Camilla from Fire Emblem or Kagura from Inuyasha- Basically any of my favorite characters lol

Chrono Cross

Chrono Cross was the first one I played in the 2-game series (sorry Trigger fans), and the majority of my personal site is based on the text font and backgrounds from the game.

It was quite an accident how I ended up playing CC. It was my brother's Christmas gift while I was around 7 years old. I think my parents didn't know what game to get him, so they asked a worker and he recommended this one. I think the green strip on the case cover with "Greatest Hits" meant it was a cheaper option at the time. I can still remember the aroma of a Febreze Hawaiian scent wafting through the air that Christmas morning after we opened up presents and were enjoying what we got. I watched him name the female protagonist Kid after his girlfriend at the time. Although I was young, I liked the anime visuals, and the music was gorgeous (and still is today!), and playing JRPGs helped me with my reading. In all honesty, playing through JRPG games in general made me have a distaste for regular chapter books. It made me extremely picky; it was much easier to have the visuals and music along with the script rather than slogging through a chapter book as if I was watching a movie in my mind's eye.

Chrono Cross became home for me. Much like Pallet Town in Pokemon, Arni Village was a tranquil yet brightly colorful place to start out a new adventure. Nooks and crannies had to be found, talking to the townspeople made Serge seem like a likeable character, face portraits showed up for important people and you didn't know at the time if the character with a face portrait would eventually join your party or not.

Everything was pretty okay, until y'know... the dreaded Miguel fight. He was impossible to beat. So I'd just restart the game over and over and get stuck at that part. Eventually I hopped on over to my bro's save file and beat the boss that made him quit the game: the one right after Miguel. With the help of rpgshrines.com I was well on my way to the end of the game by the end of middle school.

By the time I actually beat the game, it was during summertime (a fitting time)... and I wanted to know so badly what happened to everyone after the end. I read fanfics, searched fanart... I was going to write my own fanfic as well but that fell through.

Unlike my younger self, my last playthrough was during a summer where I figured out how to hack my Wii so it could play old games, including some PS1 games. I think I got to the Green Dragon before the SD card screwed up, erasing my save file. Getting to the point, I grew to appreciate Leena as a character more than Kid, and I especially enjoyed Glenn. I could also see the faults within the game. The 45 playable characters made it so anyone playing could have a pick of favorites, but also left me with wanting my absolute favs to have a bigger role in the end... The info dumping really needed to be in a extra act. Despite these faults I still love the game! It's still gorgeous by PS1 standards and I still listen to the OST to this day, even going to sleep while listening to Jellyfish Sea and other tracks.

The most awe-inspiring dreams ended up taking place in distorted dream-versions of Opassa Beach and Fort Dragonia and just the El Nido islands in general. That's how much it means to me, that my respite from real life could take place on an island.

OHH WAIT I HAVE MORE TO SAY: Riddel x Steena is so cute you guys! Just think: they're both 24 and one is the daughter of the General Viper of the mainland of humans while Steena is the Chief of Guldove where humans and demi-humans live peacefully together. They'd have so many plans about how to put Guldove and the mainland on amicable terms. Besides, one uses rods and the other uses swords!? They're both white innates!

Final Fantasy X

Instead of telling you how nostalgic this game is for me and how I got into it because it was my 1st Final Fantasy...
(Because I was stupid and forgot to save while doing this section and had paragraphs rips in pieces)
Why don't I tell you about all the drama in the world of Blitzball?

Warning: contains spoilers for end game.

Tidus had been taking his role as Yuna's guardian seriously and only dabbled in the underwater sport Blitzball after the initial tournament in Luca. However, as soon as Sin decided to sit his fat ass in Bevelle and wait to be killed like a good boy that deserves treats and belly scratches... it was Tidus' BRILLIANT idea to suddenly get into Blitzball for reals. Because of the rumors that sometimes a Sigil was awarded as a prize. A Sigil needed to possibly improve Wakka's Celestial weapon: a ball with a lot of spikes on it for whatever reason. It seemed like a more reasonable activity compared to dodging 200 lightning bolts to get a Sigil for Lulu...

Anyways, Wakka knew the Besaid Aurochs were in good hands under Tidus' tactics. They could try their best once again (and maybe win?) That was until Rikku spoke up: "My brother is a good Blitzball player, actually!"

That was the beginning of the end of the Besaid Aurochs as Wakka knew them.

Rikku's brother, named Brother (yes, that's his name) turned out to be a better player than most of the Aurochs! He was even on par with Tidus when it came to shooting a goal in the net. Was there anything he couldn't do? Yes. One thing.

Brother couldn't block a shot as a goalie worth shit.

A few exhibition games later... Tidus walked around Luca, taking in the sights. He heard quips and remarks of people and the rumors on what Sin was doing staying in a single place for so long. A familiar voice of a mature woman caught his attention.

"Shaami here with the news: the Besaid Aurochs' lack of defence still seems to be a low blow, even with upcoming rookie Brother- H-hey!"

Tidus had snuck up on the newscaster while her attention was to her cameraman, content to listen in.

"I'm trying to work here." Shaami seethed through gritted teeth. It wasn't the first time Tidus had interupted her newscasting, and she'd be damned if the punk ruined yet another sphere for broadcasting. These round and blue translucent resources were hard to find in the wild as is and you could only record on it once.

"Do you play Blitzball?" Tidus asked.

His eyes stared, never blinking.

"Wh-What?" Shaami was taken aback from the sudden question.

"Do. You. Play. Blitzball?" Tidus asked again, pausing between words.

"I played, when I was younger," Shaami replied, her lips taut and eyes squinting with suspicion. "Why?"

The boy's eyes did not blink even once.

"Do you wanna play Blitzball?"

...

That was how the changes began. One after another, Tidus traveled around to scout for players. Not on foot, mind you. He had help with Rikku and Brother's dad Cid flying an airship all around the continent of Spira. Rumors of potentially good players led Tidus from the Mi'hen Highroad to the Calm Lands back to Luca and probably a few laps around Sin, too.

Rin, an Al-Bhed merchant franchise owner that helped the group out plenty of times joined for a bit. He was quite decent. Even a hit with the ladies in the stadium due to his husky Sulu-esque voice. ("Who's Sulu?" Rikku had asked.) Next was Wakka, as he was slowly convinced Sin wouldn't go anywhere anytime soon. His salary of 1 gil was out of the goodness of his own heart and his love for the game and the team he left behind to go on a journey to defeat Sin with Yuna. There was only one problem...

"You can't have more than 8 players on a team, ya?" Wakka said, "Them's the rules."

Wakka was let go.

Unlike what Wakka thought was an easy choice, Tidus also made an easy choice. Several easy choices. Like BANG BANG BANG one after another.

"Sorry, bud," Tidus put his hands on the player's shoulder, trying to let him down easy. "I guess ya didn't make the cut."

Datto cried, as everyone thought Botta would be the first to go. Botta wiped the sweat from his brow and praised Yevon in a squeak.

It wasn't long after that more cuts had to be made. Sweet and kind Keepa was swapped for asshole-ish Jumal.

"I still don't think you guys will beat Sin," Jumal said plainly, "But I guess you can still try."

"And I still don't think I can shove a ball up your ass," Tidus leaned in to whisper, "But I guess I can still try."

Asshole Jumal kept his mouth shut after that until he was swapped in for Miyu. She was a cute Al Bhed girl from what Tidus could tell, even with her goggles covering her eyes. She turned out to be a super goalie with a grip as hard as-

Well, whatever you could compare to gripping a ball underwater.

Yuna and Rikku cheered anyway, yelling about "Girl power!" whenever Shaami or Miyu made any plays. They awed at Shaami's ability to swim and shoot goals even while wearing a dress underwater. The girls started to think that even Lulu could play Blitzball with her thick dress decorated with fur and dozens of buckles. But they were none the wiser about Shaami's and Miyu's status as MILF and CUTIE WITH A NICE GRIP on the team.

Jassu and Botta were kept for a bit longer, with Jassu being the favorite. That is, until Wedge and Ropp were scouted. ("Not Biggs and Wedge together? Are you crazy?!" Rikku had screeched.)

"Jassu, Jassu, Jassu... My man, my guy, my man!" Tidus wrapped his arm around Jassu's, nodding his head and sighing.

"Tidus, you can't be serious!" Jassu's eyes widen, the realization hitting him. "I'm the last Auroch on the team, ya?! Then the Besaid Aurochs won't be the Besaid Aurochs without any Aurochs from Besaid! Ya!?"

But his plea fell on deaf ears. Not literally, but on ears that heard but willingly ignored.

"That's what falling on deaf ears means," Lulu's voice strains as she facepalms and shakes her head.

This is my story, Lulu. And this might be our last chance.

"Oh my Yevon-"

Yevon was all lies and you know that.

"Oh my... Moogle, God, whatever, whatever god there is out there!"

...

All the changes had to be made, for the greater good. For bragging rights. But mostly for the greater good. Meanwhile, Yuna had to give Kimahri chin scratches each time after the Ronso Fangs lost, calming him with kind but empty words. Like suggesting he could play for the team with his fellow cat-like people if he got over his fear of water. Datto was signed on to play for the Luca Goers for one game with a thirst for revenge. They promptly let him go after yet another crushing defeat from the Aurochs. And who could forget that Tidus inspired the other teams to change around so much that no one from the Guado Glories were even Guados anymore? Or that the team members on the Kilika Beasts weren't from Kilika? Changes made for the greater good indeed. That was when everyone in Spira knew... that even with Sin sitting like a duck that he could still kill everyone's morale.

At long last, after squinting through the water many times just to learn how to spin the ball to kick it in the goal, or poison another player with a seemingly innocuous playful tackle... victory had never been so sweet or delicious. Or salty. (Who knows how many times the water in the Blitzball stadium actually gets cleaned due to the losing teams pissing themselves whenever Tidus used his infamous Jecht Shot to score.) After seasons and seasons of swimming around the edge of the pool to pass the ball to Tidus to score, and playing catch for the rest of the game to pass the time... At least 50 games later with Sin still sitting on his fat ass scaring the bejeebus out of the locals whenever he yawned... The Mercury Sigil was finally awarded to the Besaid Aurochs. The famous victory fanfare playing on the stadium speakers, colorful paper things falling everywhere-

"Confetti," Lulu rolls her eyes.

"Now maybe! Just MAYBE! The rate of concussions will go down SLIGHTLY!" The award giver strained a smile while holding the mic for the whole stadium to hear. Cue laugh track from a music sphere on the speakers. And slow claps from the crowd.
Thus, Wakka's Celestial weapon was upgraded, dubbed the World Champion, and ready to go and defeat Sin. But there was one thing that needed to be done before even that...

"Hey, Tidus, I wanna give you somethin' ya?" Wakka smiled. "Just a little somethin' for making the Besaid Aurochs go big, even if you had no one from Besaid on the team. No hard feelings, ya?"

"Oh, yeah? What is it?" Tidus perked up.

Wakka flung his spiked ball towards the boy's head.

The first time in Blitzball history a player suffered from severe bleeding from a head injury.

Bob's Burgers

It's a comfort show that's nice to eat a burger and relax to. Bob and Linda are relationship goals. I like to think I'm like Bob but really I'm Aunt Gayle without dating experience... Here's a poem she wrote:

Happy Things We Should Send Into Space
A jar of mayo
Magazine clippings of Scott Baio
That song that starts with "Day-O"

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