Raven's Story (Silken Flame Barbie reproduction, brunette)

The fear of being replaced is something that is unique to dolls. Humans don't really understand it. Treesa read those two sentences over my shoulder and said that that's not entirely true. The friend she gave Wedding Bells and Wedward to was replaced when her job was outsourced overseas. Treesa's friend has a new job now, but she went through some difficult times to get there. Treesa also said that there are plenty of stories in popular culture about men who replace their wives with younger, prettier women when they're going through a midlife crisis. She said there's even a term for the younger women - trophy wives.

I still believe that the fear of being replaced is more common in dolls than in humans, because dolls lives are mostly controlled by their owners. Humans have more opportunities to choose their own fate and make their own decisions. Now Treesa's saying that that's not entirely accurate either. She says that sadly for some humans it's almost impossible to change their circumstances, mostly due to lack of money or social status.

I managed to get Treesa out of the room by telling her that if she wants me to get anything posted, she needs to stop interrupting me. Only now I think I've lost my train of thought. I know where I want to go, but I forget what route I was going to take to get there. I suppose I'll have to go back to the beginning and start over.

My story started the way every other mass produced doll's story has started, in a factory. I'm the type of doll that's commonly known as a 'reproduction'. Sometimes the abbreviation 'repro' is used, mostly in online auction listings. What these terms mean is that I was designed to look like a doll that was manufactured in the past, and that I was mostly marketed to adult collectors. Although in my case, I was also marketed to adults who wanted that special little girl in their family to have a doll like the one they played with as children.

My first owner was one of these little girls. I was purchased for her as a gift when she was just an infant, so in the beginning I was kept in my box on a shelf. Eventually the day came when my first owner's parents decided she was 'responsible' enough to handle me. On that day I was taken out of my box and placed in my first owner's hands. She was very proud of the fact that her parents thought she was mature enough to be trusted with me. Then she added me to her assortment of playline dolls. When she became 'too old for dolls' we were passed down to her younger sister, our second owner. And when our second owner outgrew us we were all put in a cardboard box, along with a few other dolls that had only ever belonged to our second owner, and were then put in storage. After a few years in storage we were taken to a flea market.

If you've read Dandelion's first post, then you know what happened after that. Treesa and her sister were at the flea market. Treesa's sister saw the box first and brought Treesa over. Treesa pulled me out of the box, looked over the other dolls inside, and asked for a price. After she was told we were fifty cents each Treesa picked up a few other dolls along with me, including Dandelion.

When Dandelion said in her post that I was 'an attention getter' I think she was referring to the number of comments I attracted from the adults in my first, and second, owners' lives. Any relative or family friend who was old enough to recognize my vintage style head mold would, when they saw me, share stories of the dolls they had owned as children. Even younger adults who weren't familiar with Barbie history could see that I didn't look like the other dolls in the collection and would ask about me.

I'm sorry to say that all this attention went to my head. I began to think that being a reproduction doll made me better than the more 'common' playline dolls in my first and second owners' collections. The reality of course is that every doll is unique and special in her, or his own way. After all, every vintage doll that is now considered a collector's item started out as a playline doll.

My high opinion of myself remained even after Treesa bought me. In fact, it had been bolstered by the knowledge that Treesa had chosen me out of the box first. Though she hadn't said so out loud, it was clear to me that if we dolls had been more expensive then Treesa would've bought only me. And Treesa's then current practice of separating her reproduction dolls from her playline dolls also supported my inflated sense of importance.

Treesa's other reproduction dolls tolerated my ego. Francie (a 30th Anniversary Francie reproduction) has always been shy, so she never contradicted anything I said about the superiority of being a reproduction doll.

Francie

And Vesper Holly (a Cool Collecting Barbie made with the vintage style head mold) was still disappointed over Treesa's decision to separate her reproduction dolls from her then small collection of vintage dolls.

Vesper Holly

Vesper had been good friends with an older Mod era doll named Summer Sand, and had been helping look after Summer's baby boy KC. The three of them, Vesper and Summer and KC, had become a family of sorts. Vesper thought of Summer like a sister, and KC like a nephew. After Treesa separated them, Vesper missed her surrogate family terribly.

Summer Sand and KC

I'm sorry to say that I did little to comfort Vesper during this time. I don't think I truly understood her feelings, having never really had a doll family of my own.

For years I stubbornly held on to my own narrow view of the world. Then Treesa bought Sable at the thrift store.

Sable

Sable was what I could only pretend to be, a vintage brunette 'bubblecut' Barbie. That's when the fear of being replaced hit me in force. Over the years Treesa had acquired a number of second-hand reproduction dolls, but many of them had later been let go. Two of them had been given away to Treesa's mother. One had been given to the mother of the friend that Treesa later gave Wedding Bells and Wedward to. And then there was the blond 35th Anniversary Barbie that had been handed over to Treesa's sister to sell at a family yard sale.

For the first time in my life, any feelings I'd had of being special deserted me. I was worried, and frightened, about my future. Worse than that, I felt that there was no one I could really talk to about my insecurities. I realized that my non-inclusive attitude had effectively isolated me from everyone. Even among 'my own kind', as I'd then thought of the other reproduction dolls, I hadn't formed any close friendships. It was as if I'd thought my status meant that I was above needing friends. The reality of course is that everyone needs friends in their lives, someone to share the good times and offer support in bad times.

Treesa just poked her head around the door frame and asked if she can check her emails, so I'm going to have to finish my story later. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

Quote The Raven

(This sign off was Treesa's idea.)

Alice's Story: Part 6 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

(Note From Treesa: This is a continuation of the previous post. Alice's draft was way too long, so I broke it up.
Signed, Treesa)

The next time I went to see Joy she talked a little about her past life. I found out Treesa is Joy's second owner, and that Joy didn't always have such an easy time going with the flow. She told me it wasn't until after Treesa bought her that she'd realized she'd be a lot happier if she focused on all the good things about her life, instead of carrying around grudges for things that happened in the past.

Then Joy asked me to tell her more about my life. I'd already told her, when we first met, that Treesa bought me at the thrift store. And she knew I'd been friends with Wedding Bells and Wedward. So I told her a little about my old family. I told her how much I missed everybody. I told her how Esme had been like a mom to most of us. That's how she got the nickname Esmom. I even told her a little about Jazzy Jazz, how he was always goofing around and trying to make the rest of us laugh. I didn't mention that I'd been in love with Jazzy Jazz. I didn't really want to talk about it, and I thought Joy must've already heard about it from Jasper. I did tell Joy how Jane and Victoria had actually been really nice, even though their characters are villains in the Twilight series.

"What's Twilight about anyway?" Joy asked. "I know it has vampires in it, but that's about all I know." I was a little surprised Jasper hadn't already filled Joy in on the storyline, but I didn't say that out loud. I thought maybe Jasper had a reason for not sharing more about Twilight with Joy. Maybe he was like Lois and wanted his own identity. Maybe he wanted other dolls to see him as himself, and not the character he was made to look like. Though if you ask me Jasper is a lot more like the Jasper in the books/movies than Jazzy Jazz was.

I knew it would take a while to go over the whole Twilight saga with Joy, so I warned her, "It's kind of a long story." Then I started summing up the plot of the first book. I left out the part about my character and Jasper's character being a couple. I didn't really want to talk about that either, and it was easy to skip that part because the book mostly focuses on Bella and Edward's relationship. I did mention Alice's power to see the future, and Jasper's empathic 'gift', when I told Joy about Edward's mind reading skills. When I finished I told Joy, "And that's just the first book."

At first Joy didn't say anything. She looked like she was thinking something over. Then she said, "I guess I just don't get it."

"What don't you get?" I asked. I thought there must've been something in the plot she didn't understand and needed me to explain better. "I don't get why this was such a big thing," Joy said. "Maybe if I actually read it I would. Or maybe it's a human thing."

That's when Jasper came around the corner. "Joy, I was wondering if...", but he didn't finish the sentence. He sort of froze when he saw me. Then he got this look on his face like he was going to turn around and leave again. I felt bad knowing that me being there was driving him away. After all he hadn't known I was there. He probably just wanted to spend some time with his sister. I wanted him to know he didn't have to leave just because I was hanging out with Joy. So before he could disappear I asked, "What do you think of Twilight, Jasper?"

Jasper didn't answer right away. When he did he said, "To be honest I don't know that much about it, only what was printed on my box." Then he gave this short, dramatic monologue about a 'modern day vampire love story'. I was a little confused, until I realized he must be quoting whatever was printed on his box.

When he finished Joy tapped her fingers against her palm and said "Bravo" in a snooty voice. I guess she was trying to imitate the applause of a cultured theater goer. Jasper bowed, but it looked like he was trying not to laugh. So he did have a sense of humor after all.

I was sort of stunned that Jasper could remember a whole paragraph word for word like that. "You memorized all that?" I asked. Jasper shrugged. "I was in the back row at the toy store," he said. "I spent weeks staring at the back of the box of the Jasper doll in front of me."

"Couldn't you talk to any of the dolls next to you?" I asked. Jasper looked sort of embarrassed and said, "I was never much of a conversationalist. I never know how to begin." For a minute I didn't know what to say. I knew for a fact I wouldn't have been able to take that kind of isolation. Just thinking about going through what Jasper had at the store made me upset. "That sounds awful!" I told him. "I was in the second row, but the Alice dolls were selling so fast that I moved to the front pretty quick. I can't even imagine being stuck all the way in the back for weeks!" I didn't realize how upset I sounded until Jasper tried to calm me down. "It's alright Alice," he said. "It was a long time ago."

That's when things got weird. I started feeling sort of guilty. I'd asked Jasper three questions at the most, but somehow I'd managed to dredge up what were probably some of his most painful memories. I hadn't meant to, but that wasn't the point. Because of me Jasper had had to relive his time at the store. I felt like he should've been mad at me for bringing it up, but he wasn't. Instead he was trying to comfort me. I felt like I didn't deserve it. I felt like I should be comforting him, not the other way around.

I realized I was about two seconds away from putting my hand on Jasper's arm and telling him it would be ok. He probably would've taken that the wrong way. Luckily I managed to get a hold of myself before I did anything stupid. "I have to go," I said. Then I turned to Joy and said, "It was nice talking to you again."

"Stop by any time," Joy said. Maybe next time you can tell me what happens in the second book." I nodded, told Joy, "I'll see you later," and left. For the next few days I sort of kept to myself, trying to figure things out. I couldn't understand why I'd reacted the way I had. It was one thing to feel sorry for Jasper, but it was something completely different to actually want to do something about it and make it all better. Thinking over what had happened I realized that in that moment I'd finally started to see who Jasper really was. Before then, when I'd thought about Jasper, I'd always compared him to either Jazzy Jazz or the character from the books/movies. I realized now that that wasn't really fair to Jasper. It wasn't fair to compare Jasper to a made-up character or to another doll I'd known who looked like him because Jasper would never be either of those things. All he could be was himself, and I was finally starting to see that. What I saw was a doll who could be funny in his own way, a doll who was quiet not because he didn't want to share but because he didn't know how.

I can't really explain why I went back to see Joy again. Maybe I just wanted someone to talk to. Or maybe I wanted to hang out with Joy because I thought she already knew how I'd felt about Jazzy Jazz, but was tactful enough not to bring it up. Like I said before, back then I thought Jasper must've already told Joy about my past. It'd be a few more months before I found out he hadn't.

I went over the plots of the other Twilight books with Joy, and we talked about them a little. Jasper was around for some of these discussions. When he wasn't Joy would fill him in on anything he'd missed. Joy joked that it was like being in a book club where only one person had read the book.
Jasper really seemed interested in the story though, like he wanted to find out as much about Twilight as he could. I know Jasper's a Twilight doll, but still he seemed more obsessive about the details of the books than I ever was. I actually said something about it at one of our 'book club meetings', as Joy called them. I tried to make it sound like a joke so Jasper wouldn't get offended. Then Jasper told me, "You have to know where you came from before you can know where you're going." I'm still not sure what Jasper meant, but it did make me think.

So I guess that's about it. I thought this post would be a little rambling, but I didn't know it would turn out this long. And I still feel just as mixed-up as I did when I started. Maybe I need to take a break and stop thinking so much. That might help.

Alice

Alice's Story: Part 5 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

I should probably warn you ahead of time, this post might not make much sense. There's some stuff I'm trying to figure out right now, and I thought if I wrote everything down it'd help me sort out my thoughts. I'm not really sure where to start though. I guess I should pick up where I left off. When I last posted I wasn't really sure where my life was headed. So I was sort of on cruise control, waiting for something to happen. I know now waiting for something to happen isn't always the best idea. For one thing it gives you too much time to think, and I kept thinking about the last thing Jasper said to me.

After I told Jasper about Jazzy Jazz, the first doll I ever loved, Jasper thought I'd be happier if I didn't have to see him at all. I tried to tell Jasper I didn't blame him for me and Jazzy Jazz getting separated, but Jasper still must've thought having to be around him day after day would torture me. So he just kept avoiding me, and he was really good at it. It was early January when I told Jasper about Jazzy Jazz, and I barely got a glimpse of Jasper for the rest of the month.

At first I was sort of relieved. Telling Jasper about my first love had made me really uncomfortable. I'd never told anyone how I felt about Jazzy Jazz, not even Treesa when she'd asked if I'd left someone special behind. I'd never even told my old family, though I think some of them might've figured it out anyway. Jazzy Jazz couldn't have known, because if he had things would've been a lot more awkward between us. Things probably would've been a lot more awkward for the whole family if word got around that I was in love with Jazzy Jazz. It was sort of embarrassing and uncomfortable, being in love with someone who thought of me as a sister. So I just never told anyone.

But I had to tell Jasper. I realized pretty quick that Jasper liked me, and it wasn't fair to let him get his hopes up. The sooner I told him I couldn't love him the sooner he'd move on. So I told Jasper how I felt about Jazzy Jazz. Those feelings I'd hid and guarded for so long were finally out in the open. I didn't realize it then, but I was trusting Jasper with my biggest secret. Jasper knew though, and he wouldn't break that trust. That's why he didn't tell anyone, not even his sister Joy. I hate to say it but I was really surprised when I found out Jasper hadn't told her. I mean, I never thought Jasper would tell everyone, but I thought he'd at least tell his sister. It wasn't until a couple months after I started hanging out with Joy that I found out she didn't know.

That's right, I'm sort of friends with Joy now. When Wedding Bells and Wedward left I knew I'd have to make new friends eventually. You can't take two steps in Treesa's room without bumping into another doll, so it's not like I could avoid having any contact with the rest of the collection. And honestly I didn't want to be a loner. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life thinking about the past and wishing things hadn't changed. I wanted to be able to move on. But moving on is tough, and I'll admit I really didn't try that hard to make friends at first. I was polite to everybody, but close friendships are something you have to work at, and I knew I wasn't putting in as much effort as I should've.

I can't really explain why I started hanging out with Joy. I'd met a lot of Treesa's other dolls by then, so I could've tried making friends with someone else. But when I tried to think of dolls I'd have something in common with nobody seemed like the right fit. Halle and me both had some grudges against Treesa, but Halle's a lot more...hostile to humans than I am. Lois is a character doll from a movie, like me. But Lois has more of an independent streak than I do. Dandelion, and her friends Shade and Rampion, are fun-loving dolls who like to have a good time. The way they act around each other reminds me of my old family. But I didn't think I was lively enough to fit in with them.

When I thought about Joy, I remembered her go with the flow, take things as they come attitude. I wondered if she could teach me to be like that. And I'll admit I was also curious about Jasper. I couldn't forget the last thing he'd said to me the day I told him about Jazzy Jazz. Jasper told me he'd like to be my friend, but only if it wasn't too painful for me. For some reason that really stuck with me. Here was a doll who cared about me so much he'd put what I wanted first, even if it wasn't what he wanted. The more I thought about it the more I wondered how he could be so selfless. I mean, when I lived with my old family I was close enough to all of them that I would've gone out of my way to help them if they needed me. But Jasper had already proved he'd do anything in his power to make me happy, and he barely knew me! It made me wonder if Jasper really could've fallen in love with me at first sight. Or maybe he only thought he was in love with me. Maybe he'd fallen in love with his first impression of me, and not the real me. Or maybe, because he was a Jasper doll, there was something molded into his plastic that made him fall in love with the first Alice doll he saw. Would he still have fallen in love if it'd been another Alice doll he met, and not me? But if it was something in his plastic, if all Jasper dolls automatically fell in love with the first Alice doll they saw, then why had Jazzy Jazz only ever loved me like a sister?

I wasn't sure if I'd ever have the answers to all these questions, but for some reason I wanted to at least try and find out. I can't really explain why. Maybe it was just the timing. It was mid-February by then. Valentine's Day was coming, and without Wedding Bells and Wedward and the rest of my family around me there was no one to take my mind off it. I was in a new house, surrounded by new dolls, and even though I'd been here for a while those dolls still felt like strangers. I felt completely alone.

The first time I went to visit Joy I was a little nervous, because I hadn't come up with a good excuse for why I was dropping by. But Joy was just as friendly as she'd been when Treesa first introduced us. I don't remember exactly what I said when she asked if there was a reason I'd stopped by. I think I told her I felt overwhelmed. Trying to decide which dolls would make the best friends by weighing the pros and cons was sort of stressing me out, but I didn't say that out loud. Whatever I said probably didn't make much sense to Joy, but she didn't ask me to explain. She just started talking about the weather. Then whenever the conversation started to drag she switched to another safe, small-talk topic.

Valentine's Day came up, of course. Joy told me it's not a very popular holiday in Treesa's collection. Most of Treesa's dolls don't even celebrate it. For the most part it's an excuse for the married couples to get one of their friends to watch the kids so they can spend some quality time together. I guess it makes sense if you really think about it. Toy companies always make a lot more female dolls than male dolls, since most dolls are bought for little girls and little girls like dressing their dolls up and playing with their hair. So unless you have a really small doll collection it's almost impossible for every female doll to find the love of her life. Luckily some dolls like staying single. Dandelion and Lois don't seem like they're in a hurry to find dates.

(Note From Treesa: The post that Alice drafted is way too long, so I'm breaking it up. I'll post the rest later.

Signed, Treesa)

Joy's Story: 2 (unidentified blond Barbie)

Remember how in my last post, I said I'd noticed something a little...off about my brother Jasper, something I couldn't really put my finger on? Well, I did eventually find out what was going on. When Alice started hanging out with me, the way Jasper looked at her was kind of hard to miss. Jasper still didn't talk to me about it though, even when I started dropping hints that I knew how he felt about Alice. It wasn't until later that Alice told me the whole story.

When she first started hanging out with me in mid-February, I remember it was mid-February because it was around Valentine's Day, Alice really seemed to need a friend. She said something about feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. I knew her friends Wedding Bells and Wedward had left to live with Treesa's friend, so I thought she meant she felt overwhelmed by the number of dolls in Treesa's collection and didn't know where to start making new friends. But when Alice told me her whole back-story a couple months later, I started to wonder if the size of Treesa's doll collection was the only thing she felt overwhelmed about.

When she first started hanging out with me Alice told me a little about her past. She'd mentioned how her first owner's collection had been like a big family, and how much she missed her old friends. She even mentioned Jazzy Jazz, and the way he always clowned around and made everybody laugh. It wasn't until a few months later that she told me she'd been in love with Jazzy Jazz, and that Jazzy Jazz was a Twilight Jasper doll. She also told me that in the Twilight series her character and Jasper's character are a couple.

Well, like I told Alice at the time I had no idea things were so complicated. Alice was surprised that Jasper hadn't already told me. When I asked him later why he hadn't told me Jasper said, "Alice told me that in confidence. It wasn't my place to tell you. I thought if she wanted you to know, she would tell you herself."

So Alice assumed that Jasper had already told me, and Jasper thought that Alice either didn't want me to know or would tell me herself when she was ready. Talk about getting left out of the loop. But I'm trying not to dwell on it. It's not like Alice and Jasper kept me in the dark on purpose.

From: Joy

To: The World

Alice's Story: Part 4 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

 

Christmas means a lot of things to a lot of people, but 'peace on earth' seems like one of the more popular phrases around Christmas time. And I figured out pretty quick that I wasn't going to feel 'at peace' until I told Jasper the truth. So I did. But I decided to wait until after Christmas. I didn't want to risk ruining the holiday for Jasper.

 

The day I came clean I found Jasper over by the window, staring out at the sky. I wasn't sure if he knew I was there at first. But then he said, "Hello Alice," just like he did when we first met. He turned to me and smiled, just a little. It was like he wanted me to know he was happy to see me, but he didn't want to risk making me uncomfortable by showing me with a full on smile just HOW happy he was to see me.

 

"Jasper," I said, plunging right in, "there's something we need to talk about." Jasper's smile disappeared and his expression turned more serious. I kept going. "Listen, you've probably noticed I'm a little uncomfortable around you," I said.  Jasper nodded.

 

"The thing is," I told him, "I already knew a Jasper doll before, at my old house. We were part of a collection, all Twilight dolls. It was like having a big family. Jasper loved me like a little sister but me...I just loved him." I was sort of stumbling over my words, but I knew I had to keep going. "We all got donated to the thrift store but Treesa didn't buy Jasper,"

 

"Because she already had me," Jasper said, putting the pieces together. His facial expression didn't change but I saw so much feeling in his eyes. He looked...crushed. I'd expected him to be disappointed when I told him but this, this went beyond just being disappointed.

 

Jasper turned away, hunching his shoulders like there was a heavy weight pushing down on him. Then he said, "I'm so sorry Alice." The words came out sort of hoarse, and I realized then the feeling that was weighing him down so much was guilt. He felt like it was his fault that I was unhappy, and that I wasn't with the doll I loved. He must've thought if he hadn't been here first, Treesa would've bought my Jasper.

 

"It's not your fault Jasper," I said, and I meant it. "You didn't know. That's why I'm telling you."

 

Jasper's posture didn't change. I wondered if he'd even heard what I said. What Jasper said next made me realize just how deep his feelings went. "I never meant to hurt you Alice," Jasper said. "You have to believe that." It took a minute before I got the full meaning of what he was saying. The real reason Jasper was hurting so much was because he thought that he was hurting me, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. Jasper thought that, just by being here, he was constantly reminding me of what I'd lost.

 

I'd thought that telling Jasper the truth would make me feel better. Instead, I just felt horrible. Because of me, Jasper was blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault. All I could think was how badly I'd screwed things up, and how much I wanted to fix them. But how could I convince Jasper that none of this was his fault. An idea popped into my head and I acted on it without thinking. First I touched Jasper's arm, to get his attention. It worked. Jasper turned back to look at me. "We're dolls Jasper," I said. "We can't control what our humans do. And as far as I know neither one of us can see the future. There's no way you could've known that me and the doll I was in love with would get donated at the same time, and that Treesa would only buy me because the other doll looked just like you. And even if you had known all that there's nothing you could've done about it. Besides, even if Treesa had bought the other Jasper doll, that doesn't mean he ever would've loved me THAT way. I told you he just treated me like a little sister."

 

I stopped talking for a minute, trying to think of something else to say. Then Jasper looked me in the eye. He didn't say anything at first. It was like he was trying to figure out if I really believed what I was saying. Anyway, Jasper must've made up his mind that I was being honest, and that I really didn't blame him for anything. "Thank you Alice," he said. He said it like he really meant it, like I had taken the weight of the world off his shoulders. Then I felt the crisp fabric of Jasper's shirt sleeve under my fingers and realized I was still touching his arm. That's when I started to feel uncomfortable, and embarrassed. I pulled my hand away.

 

"No problem," I said. "What are friends for?" I felt like I was babbling. Since when were me and Jasper friends?

 

"I'd like to be your friend Alice," Jasper said quietly. "And I'm sure Joy would too. But if it makes you too uncomfortable, I understand." I can't remember what I said after that. I'm not sure I want to. It was probably something stupid, or something that hurt Jasper's feelings. All I know is I've been thinking about Jasper a lot lately. I mean, I was thinking about him a lot before, trying to figure out how to tell him about Jazzy Jazz, my Jasper. The thing is, I don't really think of him as my Jasper anymore. It's like telling this Jasper the truth helped me finally let go.

 

There's this quote from Lewis Carroll that says, 'It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.' When Treesa first got me, I sometimes wished that I'd at least told Jazzy Jazz I was in love with him. But now, if I could somehow go back in time and do it, I don't think I'd want to anymore. Jazzy Jazz might only have loved me like a sister, but if he'd known I loved him he still would've worried about me after we got separated. He would've worried about whether or not I'd be able to move on. Since I never told him he should have a much easier time adjusting to wherever he is now.

 

As for me, I'm still trying to figure out what to do next. I've sort of been keeping to myself since Wedding Bells and Wedward left, so I'm not really close to any of the other dolls yet. Treesa was obviously hoping that Jasper could mend my broken heart or she wouldn't have introduced me to Joy. So what happens next? I guess I'll just have to 'go with the flow,' as Joy would say.

 

Alice



Alice's Story: Part 3 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

So, now I know what Treesa was hiding. She didn't buy my Jasper because she already HAD a Jasper doll. But she couldn't just come clean and tell me that. She waited until Wedding Bells and Wedward were gone, then she introduced me to Joy.

I have nothing against Joy. I don't think Treesa told HER anything either, and when Treesa introduced us Joy seemed really friendly. Then Treesa left us alone. She probably didn't want to be there when I met Jasper because she knew I'd be upset.

Anyway, Joy and me were talking when Jasper showed up. I was so surprised at first all I could do was stare at him. Joy noticed where I was looking and said, "That's my brother Jasper. Don't mind him. He doesn't talk much. Jasper, this is Alice."

My head was spinning. Was this MY Jasper? Would Treesa have bought him and not told me, wanting to keep it a surprise? Then I noticed this Jasper was staring at me, staring at me in a way my Jasper never had. "Hello Alice," Jasper said quietly. That's when I knew he had to be a different Jasper doll. He didn't call me Allie, and his voice didn't have that playful, teasing tone my Jasper always had.

Part of me wanted to track Treesa down and give her a piece of my mind, and part of me wanted to burst into tears. I made some excuse and got out of there as fast as I could. It was probably really rude of me, but I knew I needed to calm down before I said anything I'd regret to Joy, or Jasper.

I have nothing against Jasper either. It's not his fault he looks just like the doll I fell in love with. And if he likes me as much as I think he does, well, that's not his fault either. He's tried to talk to me again once or twice. I want to be polite, but I don't want to encourage him, so it's easier to just avoid him. The thing is, I think Jasper realized I'm uncomfortable around him. If he sees me across the room he'll wave, but he doesn't walk over to me anymore. He lets me have my space.  Sooner or later though, I'll probably have to tell him about my Jasper. I just hope he'll understand.

Alice

Alice's Story: Part 2 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

(A Note From Alice: I'm going to pick up right where I left off. Be sure to read Part 1 before you read Part 2. That should help cut down on confusion.)

I was really happy to see Wedding Bells again, but I was really confused too. "How'd you get here?" I asked. "I found her in the toy department for $2.90," Treesa said. "I guess whoever bagged her didn't realize she was Twilight." Wedding Bells grabbed my hand to get my attention. "Did you see Wedward?" she asked. "Was he alright? I mean, I know he probably got sold already, but did you see him before that?"

For a while, all I could do was stare at her. Thoughts zoomed through my head one after another. Had Wedding Bells mentioned Wedward (Breaking Dawn-Part 1 Edward) to Treesa? Was HE what Treesa was looking for back at the store? If he was, why had she bought ME instead? Was it just because I was rare and valuable? I could see Wedding Bells' emotions on her face. Based on what she'd said, she must've thought someone had already bought Wedward and taken him away. She looked unhappy about it, but she also looked like she was trying to accept it. How could I tell her Wedward had still been at the store, but Treesa had passed him up to get me instead? I just knew that would break Wedding Bells' heart. But I didn't feel right lying to her either.

"He misses you," I said, which was the truth, just not all of it. Then I turned to Treesa. "Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?" I asked. Well actually I was demanding more than asking and I think Treesa knew it. But I tried to act casual so Wedding Bells wouldn't get suspicious. "Sure," Treesa said. She reached over to pick me up. Then I saw the look on Wedding Bells' face. I can't really explain it. It was like she was worried she wouldn't see me again. "I'll be right back," I promised before I let Treesa pick me up and carry me out of the room.

Treesa took me into the bathroom with her and shut the door. I glared at her, launching questions one after another. "Did you know about Wedward?" I asked. "Did you know how special he is to Wedding Bells?" Treesa nodded, looking uncomfortable. "Then why didn't you get him?" I asked.

"I'm a little short on doll funds right now," Treesa said. "I couldn't afford to buy all of you even if I wanted to."

"Then why didn't you just get Wedward?" I asked "Why did you get ME instead?" I was getting pretty emotional, so I didn't stop to think how Treesa would react to being interrogated by a doll. Most humans aren't in on the secret that dolls are alive. But even the ones that are don't always see dolls as equals. Humans seem to think, because they're bigger than us, that they know what's best for us. To be fair, humans treat their children that way to. The point is, Treesa ended up getting really annoyed. "It was a calculated risk," Treesa snapped. "There's a good chance Wedward will still be there if I go back later. You wouldn't be. You're too rare."

"Is that why you bought me," I asked, "because I'm rare and valuable?"

"I bought you because I like your character," Treesa said. "I've actually wanted an Alice doll for a while. But my Dad has a big mouth and I don't want my sisters to find out I'm buying Twilight dolls for myself. They'd just make fun of me." Treesa took a deep breath to calm herself down. Then she looked at me. "Is there maybe another reason you're so upset?" she asked. "Did you leave someone behind too?" If dolls could blush I would've. "Jasper never loved me that way," I said. "I was just his little sister." Treesa looked sort of relieved. I guess she didn't realize that just because Jasper didn't love me back, didn't mean I wasn't heartbroken. It was sort of nice of her to ask though.

"So, you're a Twihard huh?" I said, not really sure what else to say. Treesa looked sort of embarrassed. "Full disclosure," she said, "never read the books, never saw the movies. I did read the official illustrated guide, well, parts of it anyway. I have a friend who's a big Twilight fan, and I wanted to know what she was going on about."

Now I was really confused. If Treesa wasn't really a Twilight fan, why did she buy TWO Twilight dolls? "Did you buy Wedding Bells because you 'like her character'?" I asked, using the same words Treesa had. Treesa looked uncomfortable again. "Alice," she said quietly, "I bought Wedding Bells as a birthday present for my friend. I just thought you two could hang out 'til it was time for her to leave. She's been really lonely..." Treesa sort of trailed off, but the damage was done. Her words hit me like a wrecking ball, knocking my world apart. Wedding Bells was the only family I had left, and now Treesa was going to separate us to. I felt like crying. "Does Wedding Bells know she's not staying?" I asked. "Yes," Treesa said, "but she probably doesn't realize you are staying." Treesa turned towards the door. "I'll take you back now," she said. "You and Wedding Bells have a lot to talk about."

That's when I realized Treesa expected ME to tell Wedding Bells I was staying. "Oh no," I said. "YOU'RE telling Wedding Bells I have to stay. I'm not doing it for you." Treesa looked unhappy, but she nodded and brought me back to the bedroom. Treesa explained things to Wedding Bells, who took the news even worse than I did. After that Treesa pretty much left us alone. That was fine with us. We really didn't feel like talking to Treesa anyway.

The next Monday morning, Treesa left the house early. Me and Wedding Bells were talking in a corner when she came back later that day. "Ladies, sorry to interrupt," Treesa said. She didn't look sorry. In fact, she looked pretty pleased with herself. She pulled a doll from behind her back and put him down in front of us. It was an Edward doll in a wedding suit. He looked a little dazed, and when he saw Wedding Bells in front of him he froze. "Wedding Bells?" he asked. He said it sort of half-heartedly, like he didn't really believe it was Wedding Bells, like he was afraid to get his hopes up.

Wedding Bells got this sort of teary-eyed look on her face. "Wedward?" she asked. Her voice was so soft you could barely hear her, but Wedward heard her loud and clear. He knew then he'd found his Wedding Bells. Only dolls in our family knew that nickname. The next thing I knew they were holding each other, laughing and crying at the same time. Then they both looked at Treesa, and Wedding Bells asked the question that was on all our minds. "How?" Treesa smiled. "The showcase is one third off on Mondays," she said.

I was happy for Wedding Bells and Wedward, of course. But the flicker of hope I felt had nothing to do with them. "Did you get anybody else?" I asked Treesa a little too eagerly. Treesa frowned. "You said..." but she trailed off when she saw the look on my face. Yes, I'd said Jasper never loved me back. He probably never even knew I was in love with him. But that didn't mean he never would have fallen in love with me to. Maybe someday he could have loved me that way, and not like a sister.

Things have sort of settled into a routine here at Treesa's house. I spend most of my time with Wedding Bells and Wedward. I give them some alone time as a couple, but I want to have as much time as possible with my old family before they go live with Treesa's friend.

 Wedward, Wedding Bells and Alice

Treesa promised to introduce me to some of her other dolls when Wedding Bells and Wedward leave. She tried to act casual when she said it but, do you ever get the feeling someone's hiding something, but you can't figure out what it is. I'm not sure why, but that's how I feel. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Too bad I can't see the future.

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice



Alice's Story: Part 1 (Mattel The Twilight Saga Eclipse Alice)

(A Note From Alice: My post ended up being longer than anyone else's, a lot longer. So I'm breaking it up into two posts, to make things easier for you readers.)

I come from a big family. Mattel made a LOT of Twilight dolls, and my first owner had every single one of them. There were three different Bellas, three different Edwards, Carlisle and Esme, Emmett and Rosalie, Jacob, me...and Jasper...even Jane and Victoria. And being a certified Twihard, my first owner had some very strong ideas about who we were supposed to be. As far as she was concerned we WERE the characters from the books/movies. It never even crossed her mind that dolls don't always have the same personalities as the characters they're made to look like. We're more like actors. Actors don't always have the same personalities as the characters they play either. But my first owner wasn't really a doll person at all, which is probably why she donated all of us to the thrift store when Twilight stopped being fashionable.

When we were all getting bagged and priced at the store, Breaking Dawn-Part 1 Bella (the one in the wedding dress) somehow got separated from the rest of us. When we got put behind the glass showcase at the front of the store, wedding Bella wasn't there. Our first owner displayed us all together, so we were a pretty close knit group, sort of like a big extended family. So we were all sad when wedding Bella went missing.

Breaking Dawn-Part 1 Edward (the one in the wedding suit) was devastated. I know I said before how dolls are different from their characters, but he and wedding Bella had really hit it off. I couldn't even imagine how he felt then, knowing he might never see the doll he loved ever again. We were all trying to hold out hope that she'd turn up in the back room and get put behind the showcase with the rest of us. I think deep down we knew all of us were going to get separated soon. The chances of someone buying the whole collection were pretty slim, especially since we were priced at $9.90 each. Multiplied by that many dolls, $9.90 adds up fast. Even if we were all bought by the same person, that person would probably turn out to be a professional doll dealer planning to resell us.

So there we were, individually bagged in plastic and hanging on a rack next to the designer purses. When Treesa came in, she almost walked right past us. I found out later Treesa usually doesn't bother checking the showcase. She thinks the stuff is overpriced. Treesa has a good eye though. She can spot a doll a mile away. When she saw us, she stopped in her tracks and came over for a closer look. One of the store clerks took us off the wall so Treesa could sort through us.

Treesa didn't spend a whole lot of time checking the condition of each doll. She acted more like she was looking for something. So I thought she was a collector, looking for that one doll to complete her collection. When Treesa saw me, she grabbed me and didn't let go. Her dad was at the store to, and he came over and asked who I was. Treesa told him I was a Mattel Twilight Alice doll. Then she started talking about how rare I was and how much money I was worth online. My heart sank when I heard that. Getting bought by someone who was only interested in how valuable I was, someone who was probably already planning to resell me, made getting separated from my family seem so much worse.

When I got to Treesa's house I expected her to start typing up an auction listing right away, maybe even snap some photos. So I was really surprised when she started talking to me. Think about it, professional dealers are more...detached I guess from what they sell. They see dolls as profits, not people. Even if the dealer is someone who knows dolls are alive, wouldn't they still try to keep their distance? After all, they wouldn't want to risk bonding with the dolls they're trying to sell. They'd be too tempted to keep them then. So why talk to the merchandise?

"I hope you like it here," Treesa said as she carried me upstairs to her bedroom. "There's someone here I want you to meet. I think you might know each other already." Treesa put me down on her bed. Then she went over to the bookcase and grabbed something off the top. Because of the angle I was at I couldn't see what Treesa had until she brought it over and put it on the bed. Right in front of me was a stunned looking Bella doll in a white wedding dress. For a few seconds we just stared at each other, and then...

"Allie?" the Bella doll asked. Treesa was still standing there, but I was too stunned myself to worry about whether or not we should be talking in front of a human. "Wedding Bells?" I asked. The room was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop, then...

"Oh Allie, it IS you!" Wedding Bells said, laughing with relief. The next thing I knew we were hugging each other.

The nicknames had been Jasper's idea. It started out as just an easier way to tell all the Bellas and Edwards apart. Breaking Dawn-Part 1 Bella in her wedding dress was Wedding Bells. Breaking Dawn-Part 2 Bella, with her vampire eyes and skin tone, was Vampirbella. You get the idea. But then Jasper started giving everybody nicknames. That's just how Jasper is. If anyone needed proof that dolls aren't always the same as their characters they just have to look at Jasper, or Jazzy Jazz, to use the nickname he gave himself. My Jasper...OUR Jasper was always goofing around, always trying to make us laugh. No matter how I was feeling, Jasper could always make me smile.

(This seems like a good place to stop. We're a little less than halfway through my original post. I'll try to post the rest soon. Alice)