More Toy Rambles

I haven't ordered any yet, but I am researching prices for the other figures in the Strange Tales slash Black Heart BAF slash Fuck Yeah Bloodstorm line. Right now Daimon, Brother Voodoo, and Lilith are perfectly reasonable; Dracula and Weapon of Vengeance (who is technically not part of the BAF, but I still want him) are a little too expensive; and for some ungodly reason Moon Knight is $60.

Other than those, I think my next Marvel action figure will be . . . oh snap, I honestly don't know! Um. I have countless examples saved in more than one Amazon list. But, whomst am I most likely to spend money on NEXT? Hmmm, maybe Comic Book Beast or another Storm or ? from 97. 

If I had to rank my current Dream Besties from favorite to least favorite, it would go: Ken, Skater Brooklyn, Festival Looks Malibu, Renee, Teresa. 
Yes, Ken is my favorite Dream Bestie. He always will be, unless they eventually release another Ken and I somehow like him even more.
When Teresa gets her new outfit, she will probably take Renee's spot. 
Skater Malibu still has not shipped, but when she arrives I might like her even more than Festival Looks? Although obviously they are the same character, meaning they will share clothes and everything else, so it really comes down to a question of whose hair do I like better - in which case, yeah, obviously Skater!
When Zia arrives, she will be firmly tied with Skater Brooklyn for my second favorite doll in the entire life (so far). Yes, I love Skater Brooklyn THAT much. She is tied with Zia.

Typing that out made me want to ramble about the dolls more, and also kind of actually start thinking about their characters beyond "they're all teenage witches and none of them are straight." 
So that's two more Dream Besties posts, one of which I'm somewhat tempted to start right away . . .

Hex Yes

I just pre-ordered all four Dream Besties beach dolls from Entertainment Earth!

The set of four cost $68 (way more reasonable than $35 for just Brooklyn; Walmart can suck it!), and you have to spend at least $79 to unlock free shipping, so I also added one GLOW IN THE DARK Yellow Ranger Funko Pop to my cart!

(Specifically, from the 1995 movie. That one brief scene where her helmet’s eyes turn into big flashlights. I have always loved that bit, so I am *quite* excited about this toy I didn’t know existed half an hour ago.)

The dolls are “Estimated to Arrive in JANUARY 2026,” but considering the gigantic winter storm and my anxiety about my dumb debit card that expires next month, I am trying to have a rather “Well, I guess we’ll just fucking see what happens” attitude about this order.

If they do ship without issue, I will totally order more: Entertainment Earth has so much cool stuff that I added five things to my wish list and then made myself stop browsing.

My Saturday

Oh yes, once again, Friday is My Saturday . . . but this one has been especially pleasant. I woke up around 9:00, which was approximately five and a half hours ago. I have spent almost all of that time organizing and cleaning. And it feels pretty damn great! Seriously, this is the cleanest & most organized my room has been since I moved in. The only project I'm not going to bother with right now is opening the rest of my Christmas presents. I would like to get that done, but until I get more furniture I am running out of toy space, and I'm not getting more furniture today.

Hang on, gotta go get my laundry out of the dryer.

In about an hour I'm supposed to go on a hike with Andy. After that I guess I'll go to the EDR and slash or general store for dinner. Then come home, take a shower, eat a little weed, and watch something. 

If every day was this pleasant, I would like life a lot more.

Dream Besties: The Actual Dolls

The following is an official record of my thoughts about the Dream Besties Barbie Dolls --- the dolls themselves, not the characters I'm slowly creating in my head.

I suppose I'll start with the five I already have, in the order they were unboxed:

KEN:
My absolute favorite. I would wear his outfit. The entire thing, head to toe including all accessories. Okay, I might not choose that particular skateboard, and definitely would not choose that phone case. But everything else! I would wear that!  And the strawberry ice cream cone is excellent. 
So yeah, I love him forever.
As of this writing Friday, January 23rd, 2026, 7:56 pm - Zia and Skater Brooklyn are tied for second favorite. I shall certainly gush about both of them individually, but seriously, I cannot stress this enough: Nobody else comes close to Ken. He is my absolute favorite and always will be, unless Mattel eventually makes the choice to release a ~second~ Dream Besties Ken (yes plz) and I actually like him more than this one (doubtful) (but possible).

RENEE:
Well, hello, obviously I am going to love any doll who clearly loves food this much. Seriously. This girl's accessories are: some sort of beverage with a dome lid and a straw; bag of chips; slice of pizza; pretzel; phone with pretzel background (!); phone case in the shape of a popsicle (!); fried egg purse (!); and laptop with a fried egg background (!) 
- I love all of this so goshdang much, for real!
Especially her purse.
The doll herself is totally gorgeous, of course. 
Naturally I would like her hair even better if it was shorter (maybe as short as OG season one Musa?), and it is very disappointing that it needs some salon time, because other dolls in this line totally don't!
So far I have not actually done anything to it, but eventually at the very least I need to let it soak in warm water and then drip dry.

SKATER BROOKLYN:
As previously mentioned, this particular doll is one of my two second favorites in the entire Dream Besties line. If I didn't love Ken so much that he's basically in his own category, Zia would be the most obvious choice for Ryan's' Favorite 
- and Skater Brooklyn is tied with her.
She's sooo pretty! I love every single thing she is wearing, head to toe, from her pink headphones to her pink roller skates. Some of her accessories are cuter than others, but I always love it when these dolls get ice cream cones and cute bags, and she got both of those!
Basically as soon as I got her, I realized I love her so much I will eventually need to get a second one for re-dressing.

FESTIVAL LOOKS MALIBU: 
OH MY HOLY WHAT NOW, I LOVE HER SO MUCH.
For serious, I do. I always enjoy it when a doll has several clothing pieces for mix & match outfit potential and several accessories.
Just looking at her product page (and seeing my doll on my nightstand, next to her girlfriend Skater Brooklyn) makes my inner child excited to lay out all of her clothes and style a new outfit. 
And, as usual, the doll herself is freaking adorable! Something about her reminds me of Rachel the Animorph or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (if they ever had the opportunity to attend a music festival without needing to go save the world again) or Elle Woods, or I might even say she's a little bit Alexis . . .

TERESA:
I need to stop saying "the doll herself is gorgeous" - it is always true; it is a given; it is a fact of the universe: Barbie Dream Besties Dolls are gorgeous. Full stop.
But it is especially important to mention one more time, because Teresa really IS gorgeous, and I feel like I have so much hate for her clothes that it can get overshadowed, but honestly, I love this doll. A lot.
Each doll has a finite number of clothes, shoes, and accessories to introduce the character --- and Teresa's accessories tell us that she loves video games AND teddy bears. I love this more than words can say. Every single one of her accessories is fucking hexcellent. 
As for what she's wearing . . . well, let's start at the top and work our way down, yes?
Okay! She has a pair of gaming headphones with teddy bear ears (!), and her hair - which is not in dire need of salon time - has two small braids with multiple small (plastic) bows. Love that!
Then she has a simple gold necklace, which is cute. Her long-sleeved see-through shirt is also cute! 
But the big chest bow external bra thing is maybe the tiniest bit questionable, and her shorts look like a diaper, and while I might not call her shoes ugly, I just don't like them.
I honestly feel bad, because I really do hate her clothes so much that it can overshadow the equally very true fact that I love this doll very much.
I will just love her even more when she gets a better outfit.

Coming Soon: My Thoughts on Dream Besties I Don't Have YET