Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"You've got hearts where you should have had the brains." The adolescent child says to Allan, checking that she didn't smudge any of the crimson nail polish on her fingers. Unsure how to reply he just averts his gaze from Growing Up Skipper. Her words are always cruel but honest; a habit that'll worsen if she hangs around Raquelle. He needs to tell the woman to mind her manners around the child. "Seriously, what a bitch."

"Watch your language." He scolded, giving her a stare he would do to his three-year-old when he acted up. Although, Allan did agree that Midge's recent outburst was uncalled for but he wouldn't dare call her a name. He probably shouldn't be venting his marital issues to a child, he should change the subject, to something she likes. "That colour suits you."

The young girl grinned and flaunted her nails, "Yeah, Earring Magic Ken got it for me. Doesn't look groovy?"

Allan nodded, he finds her slang amusing, depending on when they were released, they all spoke differently. Her pretty nails reminded him that he had to redo his, the nail polish had faded off his and he would have to ask Earring Magic Ken to paint them again since he's the best at painting nails in the group. His thoughts shifted as Skipper chatted about her new clothes, Allan rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a thin present neatly wrapped up.

"For you. Sorry, I forgot to give it to you when I arrived."

Underneath the paper revealed a ruby-coloured hand band made out of crochet with a bow plastered on the top. It was a simple gift, really, one that Allan practised for as it was one of Midge's favourite hobbies. Yet, the young girl jumped in excitement that her height increased and she grew up a few years. That was common for her, any sudden emotion made her age up or down just as her existence intended. She proudly placed it on her head and hugged him, no one gives her gifts not even Barbie - any Barbie at all.

"Thank you."

Allan hugged her back, she reminded him of his daughter, Nikki.

Stereotypical Barbie wasn't the first doll to question her existence. Allan did long before the patriarchy fiasco. Throughout the decades, he accepted that most Barbies and Kens had forgotten about him and since his discontinuation, they rarely acknowledged him. He was disregarded as a 'Discontinuee' among Barbieland.

When he arrived he used to pridefully say, "I'm Ken's buddy, and all of his clothes fit me!', now, it just irks him the wrong way when Kens calls him 'buddy' just to mock him or get him to do something for them. Like stereotypical Ken now, it took a while for Allan to be comfortable as 'just Allan' and to not want to cry when a Ken deliberately ignored him. He's better now that he found friends who actually care about him. He was surprised and flattered when Raquelle wanted to hang out with him, he remembers what he said to her, "Really? You want to hang out with me?"

Raquelle: Barbie's rival who tries to mess up things for her but always ends up failing and receiving the short end of the stick, her snarky comments and rude behaviour push people away. And yet, Allan finds her chaotic attitude amusing. Years of living with perfect Barbies and devoted Kens, life can get pretty boring, Raquelle is full of imperfections and faults which makes her the most realistic thing in Barbieland to Allan. Plus, Raquelle is only outwardly nice to him, she's subtly nice to the other discontinued dolls but favours Allan the most.

The first time he met her was at Stereotypical Barbie's party, after dancing with his wife he had a rest on the outer skirts of the dance floor, he noticed the doll moving around the Dream House, curious, he followed her. They went out the back. She was planning on throwing some substance in the bucket on the wall to ruin the party, honestly, it was a shit plan, but it made Allan laugh.

"You're plan to make Barbie's party a disaster is to put shit on the walls of her Dream House? Wow, she's going to be so distraught."

Raquelle jolted around to face Allan, she placed the bucket on a rickety old ladder. "This doesn't concern you, go away!"

Allan shrugged, "Okay, but that ladder seems unstable, you might accidentally know I it and then you'll be the one covered in shit."

The woman paused. He had a point, even if she was careful, something was bound to go wrong for her because that's the way things are. Barbie wins, but Raquelle doesn't. She let out an irritated sigh, "Well then, Mr. Know it all, what should I do instead?"

Allan was silent, thinking. He didn't know why he was helping her but he didn't care. Though he accepted Ken(s) wouldn't even look at anyone else besides Barbie, deep down, he still felt a tinge of jealousy.

The music stopped as well as the talking and Stereotypical Barbie's voice rang out. "Do you guys ever think about dying?"

Raquelle and Allan shared a confusing look. Well, that never happened before - everything in Barbieland was always perfect and happy.

"I think she just ruined her own party", Allan smirked and Raquelle couldn't help but laugh.

They sat together outside and talked, as the party went back to normal and the dolls dismissed the weird announcement and Raquelle's plan was forgotten. This was when Allan learnt about who Raquelle was and vice versa.

"I'm Barbie's rival, I hate her. Oh, and I have a twin brother named Ryan, he's annoying."

"My son is named Ryan, he is three. Mattel made me to be Ken's buddy, all of his clothes fit me."

"That's cool- wait, son? But how? We're dolls, we don't have..."

"To be honest, I'm not sure myself." Allan said, "Midge is my wife."

"Oh, she's one of Barbie's friends, I don't like her."

Allan nodded, that's okay, Raquelle wasn’t required to like everyone. It was actually refreshing to hear that someone didn't like everyone, no one resented each other here, well, at least not speaking out loud they didn't.

Raquelle moved her black hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, Allan thought she looked like Barbie with a few differences. "Your Ken's buddy? Which one? I've never seen you before."

"Oh," Allan suddenly felt self-conscious and glanced at the grass, "I suppose I'm all of the Kens buddies but I've never hung out with them... they've never invited me anywhere or spoken to me..."

"What dicks." Raquelle commented, "I can't believe I'm supposed to like them."

"I know right? How do I love them?"

Raquelle turned to Allan and scooted closer to whisper. "You- You like Ken? You're gay?"

Allan averted her gaze and sucked in a breath. He hasn't told anyone yet.

"It's okay, I'm a lesbian. I won't tell anyone."

He let out a sigh of relief, this was the first time she genuinely looked concerned and caring.

"Thank you." He replied and they sat in silence for a minute before a cold breeze rushed past and Allan shivered.

"Here." Raquelle placed her red leather jacket around his shoulders. Allan cried. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No." Allan sobbed, "No one has ever shared clothes with me before, Ken was meant to. I've waited 58 years..."

Raquelle hugged him, he knew it was out of place even for her to do so, but he enjoyed the comfort. "It's okay, Al. From now on you're my 베프 (bepeu)."

Allan knew that the Kens had it down bad for the Barbies and most of the Barbies wouldn't even reciprocate their feelings. Kens were in a continuous state of desperation for their unrequited love. Allan knew exactly how that felt. He would have felt compassion for them if they didn't create a massive shit show. Allan agreed with the Kens that they (the Kens - not necessarily Allan) should feel closure on feeling like they are enough, important on their own and worthy.

But he was disgusted by their actions to brainwash the Barbies into sexualised servants in maid outfits to be ordered around. It infuriated him, really. He was discarded just like the Kens have been and yet, he never once acted on his anger towards them, even his jealousy towards the Barbies wasn't acted upon. He's been to the Real World multiple times and even that wasn't as patronising as what the Kens created. They did this on their own with full intention.

"How did I ever love him?"

Poor Midge, she too was brainwashed, but thankfully not into a submissive maid. If she was, he would've snapped and the Kens wouldn't know what hit them. It repulsed him to sit on the leather couch, it was breaking his spirit and that stupid fucking song playing repeatedly was doing his head in. He managed to find an excuse to get away with the Kens, getting up from the leather couch, he placed his beer bottle on the coffee table, only for Physics Barbie to come over and gather the bottles.

"Oh, sorry Barbie, here" he took the bottles from her and took them to the sink to clean up. It hurt him that it was the only way he could help them. "It's okay, you take a break."

"You don't have to do that Allan," Ken with the bright red cowboy hat said, "it's what the Barbies are for."

He squeezed his fist and held a breath to restrain his anger. Just focus on Midge and your kids, Allan. He walked out of the Drea- 'Mojo Dojo Casa House', uttering, "Pick up after your own mess, fucking slobs."

The first thing he did when he arrived home was to see Midge, he hugged her and asked her how she was, she was frail and moving slowly, their daughter Charlotte had just been born three days ago. It amazed him how she could recover so quickly. Allan warned her not to go outside.

"Alright, A ghrá, I won't"

A sense of uncomfortableness came over him when Midge used her overly sweet tone, she does that to him in public when she wants to pretend he's not gay. He shifted his thoughts to their daughter.

"Why aren't you in bed? You should be resting, Charlotte is only three days old."

"I was just getting a glass of water." She took the glass and made her way back to her room to rest, their oldest child standing beside the doorway. "Ryan has been doing such a good job looking after the house while you're away."

Allan ruffled his three-year-old son's hair making him giggle. "Good job, lil buddy. Make sure you look after your Mammy and sister, yeah?"

"Oh, Allan," Midge said in a serious tone. "Could you please be a dear and take Baby Char to the hospital, she has a terrible fever. I tried to help her the best I could but I fear she needs the help of a Doctor. I would take her but I'm in no good shape to right now."

"Of course, love." He kissed Midge on the cheek, and Ryan on his forehead and picked up their youngest in his arms from the cradle. "I'll be back soon."

His fear grew every minute as his daughter's heavy breathing filled his ears, Allan wished he hadn't felt her head, it was burning. He didn't want to go back to Stereotypical Ken's 'Mojo Dojo Casa House' but for the sake of the baby, he would do anything. When he sighted Doctor Barbie, he rushed to her, stopping her from giving the Kens foot massages much to their annoyance.

"Barbie, please!" Allan begged, "My daughter, she's sick, like terribly sick. You need to help her."

"I can't do anything, I'm Barbie." Although brainwashed, a sense of guilty helplessness flickered in her eyes. "Ken could do it, he's smart!"

'What do you mean you can't do anything? You're Barbie. You can be anything, you're amazing!' Allan thought and in spite of the fact that he'd hate to ask the Kens for anything, he was at a loss. He glanced around at them, they just shrugged, not knowing how to help.

"I'll ask Weird Barbie!" Allan ran out and instinctively held the infant up to his chest, "She's great with advice, she'll know what to do!"

It was only halfway up the staircase to the house when Allan checked on his daughter. He wish he hadn't. He didn't notice on the way running there that breath ceased and her fever had vanished replaced by a cold and hollow sensation. His heart stopped for a second. He made the regrettable mistake of placing his ear to her chest: nothing but silence.

His legs almost gave in but stood still, hugging her into his chest, bowing his head over hers. His heart was hurting, physically. Was this a cruel child's game? Or was this actually happening? He almost lost his balance when Magic Earring Ken placed a hand on his shoulder and asked if he was alright. He stared at the sight in front of him, at the house where Weird Barbie and the discontinued dolls were trying (but failing) to deprogram one of the Barbies, he spotted Stereotypical Barbie lying flat on the ground. She looked dead.

"Can dolls die?" He pointed at Stereotypical Barbie. "Is she dead?"

"Uh, I'm not sure, not that I know of. Stereotypical Barbie isn't dead, she's just having an existential crisis. Are you okay?"

"I'm going to the Real World," Allan stated and took one last look at his daughter before wrapping up one of the blankets gently around her head. He gazed at the flowerbed beside him and placed her on it. He turned to Ken. "Don't lift up the blanket. She's dead."

Before Ken could reply, Allan took off to go to the Real World, probably to ask Mattel for help and beg that they revive his daughter. The only easiest way was to hide in the back of the car as the humans drove back, only to be caught by the humans and the Kenstruction workers. Allan knew he shouldn't, but the rage built up had boiled over, years of neglect, brainwashing and sexualising innocent people, brainwashing his wife and the snowball of events that caused the death of his youngest child. Plus, if he didn't intervene, exactly what would they do to that mother and daughter?

A life for a life, that's what he told President Barbie when the Kenstruction workers wanted to press charges. The introduction of the Patriarchy ended a month ago. It broke him when he had to explain what happened to Charlotte to Midge, Raquelle looked after Mini Ryan for a bit to let them grieve the loss together and Weird Barbie set up a small grave where Charlotte was laid to rest on the flowerbed. If he ever went to Mattel, he would ask why they were so cruel.

***

"You've got hearts where you should have had the brains." - Leave Luanne, 35MM

베프 (bepeu) = Best Friend in Korean

Chapter Text

"What does it mean to be you, Allan?" Author Barbie asked, notebook and pen in hand, ready to dot down the answer.

Allan fidgeted with his fingers, he had prepared answers in his head all morning for all sorts of questions but wasn't expecting this. It was a deep question and one he didn't want to answer, he averted her gaze to the corner of the room and could only let out a strained, "Umm". The atmosphere made the office more like a therapy session than an interview about the involvement of the discontinued dolls in Kendom's patriarchy.

"Sorry, that was a difficult question right off the bat," Barbie said in her calming and sweet tone that Allan had always found endearing. Out of all the Barbies, Author Barbie was his second favourite (Weird Barbie held the title of 1st favourite), she was actually interested in Allan before and after the patriarchal period, she asked about Midge, his kids, how he has been, just overall a nice person to talk to. Allan wouldn't mind hanging out with her but he didn't want to push her into it. "What about: Socially, how were you treated before the patriarchy was introduced to Barbieland?"

"Sorry, but why does it matter? I'm not a Barbie or a Ken, I thought the book would be on the perspectives of Barbies and Kens and how that caused and affected the patriarchy?"

"Yes, you're right, most of my book is centred around the Barbies and Kens perspective but I wanted to include the perspectives of the discontinued dolls for a more diverse interpretation."

"Ah, okay, that makes sense. Um, well, the Kens didn't include me in anything or speak to me but the Barbies sometimes spoke to me and invited me to their parties."

"Were you treated more like a Barbie or a Ken before the patriarchy?"

"Neither." Allan felt an unfamiliar sense of himself, didn't Barbie represent women and Ken represent men - then who was he? "I'm not masculine enough to be seen as a Ken but I'm not feminine enough to be seen as a Barbie."

Allan couldn't pinpoint if her expression showed guilt or pity. "Okay, thank you. How does everyone treat you now?"

"Okay, I guess." Allan stammered, not sure if he wanted to pour his heart out into a book Barbies and Kens would read. 'Just give a vague answer, Allan. Just a simple answer'. "Everyone treats me a lot nicer now, I'm not sure why, I didn't change. The Kens talk to me now, when I'm at the beach Ken gives me an ice cream, and sometimes they invite me over to boys' night. The Barbies also talk to me now, they let me hang out with them and they seem interested in what I have to say."

Barbie wrote down his response and looked over the page of questions, her nails digging into her notebook. "Um," she hesitated, "You don't have to answer this one, it seems kinda upfront. What is your position in the hierarchy in Barbieland now that the Kendom is over?"

Hierarchy? So the Barbies did notice there was a social imbalance throughout the land and didn't care to act upon it. "Almost the same. Everyone is a lot nicer to me now, especially ever since Weird Barbie got a government role, the discontinued dolls aren't seen as social outcasts anymore. I think Kens and Barbies are still getting used to interacting with dolls who aren't them, who aren't Barbies or Kens, and the dolls who don't meet their standards and expectations."

"How were you treated during the patriarchy?"

"Not much more than a Barbie, I mean, I was considered greater than a Barbie because I'm... a man but I also wasn't seen as a Ken and I didn't want to risk my chances on what little power I had if I disagreed with them so I kept quiet. I think, if I spoke out against the Kens, they would treat me similarly to the Barbies."

Barbie nodded, trying to avoid the pity rising in her chest, she hated feeling pity for him - they were basically equals. "Um... What were your interactions with the brainwashed Barbies? My memory is too hazy, I can't remember anything during Kendom."

Allan opened his mouth to speak but paused, he was going to talk about Charlotte and Doctor Barbie but decided against it. It wouldn't be fair on Midge or Doctor Barbie. So he pushed that depressing memory aside and thought of other ones.

"I-I understood why the Kens were doing it but not to the extent they did, I mean they desensitised the Barbies' worth and rights. I couldn't do anything to help and I hated talking to them because their response was just so distorted. The only thing I could do was to do the tasks the Kens assigned them, in a way, it made me feel better if I did it so they didn't have to. Yet again, Physics Barbie was confused and asked why I wasn't sitting with other Kens and I just said 'Because I'm not a Ken, I'm Allan'. She- she said, 'I'm lucky that you're here, thank you'. It broke me, it broke my spirit."

Allan left out the part where when all the Barbies were deprogrammed and the Kens were going to fight each other on the Malibu beach, he noticed Supreme Court Justice Barbie handing over a beer to 'rival' (as Stereotypical Ken called him) Ken as he relaxed on the couch. He drummed his fingers on her thigh and she moved away telling him not to do that, her tone frightful but sweet as they still kept up the act of being brainwashed. Ken invited her to sit down but she walked away, he yelled her name in anger causing her to jump, and Allan stepped in.

"She said no." Allan gave him a black eye. He walked with Supreme Court Justice Barbie to where she had to go and left when she was safe. Again, if he wanted to tell Author Barbie about it, he would need to ask Supreme Court Justice Barbie if it's okay. And, he probably shouldn't talk about the multiple acts of violence he committed.

"Alright, that is everything I needed. Thank you for your time, Allan." Author Barbie stood up and stretched.

"Anytime, Barbie." He made his way to the door, "Have a good day, Barbie."

"Oh, Allan! The next time I see you on the beach, can I hang out with you? I like talking to you."

An unsuspecting feeling of happiness washed over him, now he has another friend. "Of course!"

(A/N: When I refer to Barbie or Ken here, I don't mean anyone in particular, just Barbie and Ken as a concept.)

Allan never understood why Ken fawned over Barbie. To him, she was okay. Sure, she was immensely pretty and considered 'hot' by real-world standards but she was too perfect for Allan. And just wasn't right. He couldn't imagine what being a Ken was like, if Barbie was so perfect, what did she need Ken for? It wasn't until his second day of existence in Barbieland that he found Barbie's best friend, Midge, changing her makeup to match Barbies.

She said she didn't like the way she looked, no one looked at her the way Barbie was looked at, and she wanted to feel pretty. Her words almost made Allan tear up.

"Fuck what anyone thinks, fuck being 'pretty as Barbie'!" His vulgar remark surprised Midge, she was now pulled out of her trance from the mirror of imperfections and looking at the man. "You're gorgeous! Your curtain bangs make you look cute, your hazel eyes and freckles catch everyone's eyes and that dress looks stunning on you!"

He hated seeing her compare herself to Barbie because, call him weird if you want, he too has compared himself to Barbie's beauty. The wave of compliments hit her and with an overwhelming sensation of admiration, she sobbed and flung her arms around Allan. He held her tight, 'No one is going to make her doubt herself!'.

Allan thought Barbie was lucky to have a friend like Midge, she was nice and proper. Allan soon learnt, like Barbie, that Midge finds joy in expressing herself through a diverse set of clothes, so on his fifth day in Barbieland, he found himself waiting outside the dress shop as Midge searched for a variety of clothing. He would have gone in too, perhaps examine the dresses and even try them on, if it wasn't for the Barbies eyeing him for his already out-of-place style for not being (like) a Ken.

He didn't know who they were but they eyed him and snickered to one another as they walked past him, "Where is his abs? Does he not have any? That's so weird!"

"Why does he dress like that? I thought he wore Ken's clothes or something. He looks ugly."

"Why doesn't he act like a Ken? What's wrong with him? Is he broken?"

The only thing Allan could do was shift uncomfortably in his place, fidgeting his fingers and averting their harsh stares. He felt so ashamed, he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. He wished a Ken would notice him so they could change clothes and, hopefully, pick up on some of Ken's mannerisms. They only smiled and said hi, then went back to their tasks. At least, they acknowledged him.

But that only lasted two weeks before every interaction he had with Ken was shut down when their Barbie gave them a displeasing look, from then on, Ken fully ignored Allan's existence, not even giving a second to glance at him as he waved hello.

It was such a long time ago, yet, he remembers it so vividly. After a month of neglect and subtle bullying, his mind was in a loop of self-consciousness but he tried his best to go forward with his life when he received a lovely handmade gift of an orange jumper from Midge. He came to the realisation that moping about wouldn't do any good and he should be thankful for Midge being there for him, so he hung out with her more and more and soon his happiness returned.

He was surprised when Midge sewed a light blue bracelet with a 'K' extending on the end of it for him, had she not noticed his purpose was meaningless? Either she was too naive or Barbie had her wrapped around her finger and never said anything terrible about Allan in front of her, probably the second one. He wore it for her sake, it made him happy when he caught sight of her smile when she noticed he was wearing her gifts. Allan was glad that Barbie never once bullied or disrespected Midge in any way.

His second purpose of being Midge's boyfriend and attending double dates with Barbie and Ken was daunting for Allan for a number of reasons: One, he couldn't stop checking out Ken and most of his attention was on him. Two, Barbie's mockingly sweet tone irked him along with her stupid callous looks. Three, he loved Midge but not romantically but she couldn't see that, too wrapped up in her expectations of Mattel.

He pushed his lustful thoughts of Ken away and buried his feelings for his friend, he kept his thoughts on Midge, even if he wasn't interested in her romantically, he enjoyed just him and her going out on dates and hanging out with her. After, he'd always dropped her off at her house and pecked her on the cheek before bidding her goodnight. One night, he was thrown off by Midge asking him if she could kiss him, on the lips. Flustered and unsure, he nodded anyway and ignored his feelings, after all, this is what he was supposed to do.

No matter how the Barbies or 'real world people' perceived him, Midge never once mentioned the absurd rumours of Allan being gay, he advanced in a romantic relationship than the Kens ever did but she never said that out loud. Not until 1966, News Reporter/Journalist Barbie report that Mattel was officially discontinuing him to rid of the controversy. Midge began panicking, too many things through her mind: Was Allan actually gay? Is he a discontinued doll now? What will become of her?

She went to his house, a newly built cabin that he was renovating to depict it more like a house than a nice-looking shed, he didn't answer the door until he heard her call out. He didn't want to see anyone that day. Honestly, Allan's memories of that day are quite hazy, all he remembered was how scared Midge was as she rambled on about what they were going to do and how to fix it. To calm her nerves, he offered to travel to the real world and straighten (no pun intended) things out with Mattel, to his surprise, she said she'll tag along.

They didn't end up fixing anything. In fact, their journey was lined up with disaster after disaster. They returned unsuccessful but an odd sense of acceptance washed over them. Too exhausted from their journey, they went back to Allan's house to rest. Sitting on the couch together, Allan squeezed Midge's hand, his own way of asking if she was okay, she replied by kissing him on the cheek.

Both Allan and Midge soon learnt that evening that dolls who crossover into the real world and return, come back with genitalia...

From how his discontinuation went, Allan was amazed to find Midge completely calm and accepting of her discontinuation, not only that, but her growing belly didn't faze her at all. Of course, due to societal expectations, the moment Midge told Allan she was pregnant, they planned on getting married. Mattel liked that idea, they could profit off of it. He was so surprised at how calm and collected she was, this wasn't at all like the girlfriend who fretted over cleaning every surface of the house until it was literally spotless and who took precautions about every little thing. But, he was pleased that she was happy.

As much as they were good friends, Allan didn't think they'd managed to raise a child together. But they did - Allan was just super self-conscious about fatherhood. When Ryan was born, all his fears went away and he cried at the sight of his newborn son smiling at him for the first time in his mother's arms. Thankfully, Ryan was a simple kid and the pair took turns dealing with the crying child. Allan can't remember how many times he fell asleep singing to Ryan in his arms, the baby too fell asleep soon afterwards. Ryan loved snuggling into Allan's wool jumper, the jumper that Midge made for him when they first started dating. He was also easy to appease, when Ryan was restless, Allan just dangled his light blue wristband in front of him and Ryan played with the 'K' like a cat playing with its toy.

Sometimes Allan had to deal with Midge's bitterness as Ryan favoured his father more, one example being that his first words were 'Dada' when Midge was teaching him to say 'Mama' and the second example being Ryan's first steps were to walk over to his father and wrap his arms around his leg.

Allan gave him the nickname 'little duckling' not only because he trailed everywhere he went but he also joined in the chores Allan was doing, if he was washing the dishes, Ryan was in charge of drying them. When they were grocery shopping and Ryan was seated in the baby seat of the trolley, at the checkout, Ryan would bend down to pick up anything in the cart and place it on the checkout counter.

(Bonus:)
Raquelle and Mini Ryan:

Raquelle sat cross-legged on the mat in her lounge room facing the three-year-old, the two sat in silence, staring at one another intently. Raquelle's twin brother entered the room confused, eating a bag of chips. He kneeled down next to his older sister.

"Why is there a baby in the living room?"

"I'm not a baby" the toddler crossed his arms. "I'm three."

"He's Allan's son, I'm watching him for a while," Raquelle answered, as she gestured to his brother. "Ryan meet Mini Ryan, Mini Ryan meet Big Ryan."

"Hello." 'Big' Ryan said in an overly sweet tone that the child didn't like. He turned to Raquelle.

"Where's Daddy and Mummy?"

"Don't know but they'll pick up in a bit."

"Why am I here?"

"Their busy."

"Who are you?"

"Your Daddy's friends."

"Oh," the child titled his head. "Do you like like Daddy?"

"That depends, do you mean do I like like your Daddy like how Ken likes Barbie? If so, then no. I don't like like your Daddy."

"Oh, okay." The kid dropped the conversation but Raquelle was intrigued.

"Why did you think that I liked liked your Daddy?"

"A lot of Barbies talk to Daddy on the street. But he just calls them friends and then they seem sad."

Raquelle smiled in amusement, trying to grab some chips from the bag. "I've got to talk to Allan about this."

Her brother pulled the bag away, causing some chips to crumble on the floor. "I never took him for a coquet- OW!"

Raquelle hit him in the shoulder for the insult and for making a mess, she pointed at the crumbs on the floor, "Look what you did! You idiot!"

The toddler stood up and shook his head, he left the room unnoticed as the siblings began to argue. He returned pulling along a small vacuum cleaner, he placed his hands on his hips. "You need to clean up after yourselves, you silly gooses!"

"You sound like Midge." 'Big' Ryan said. Raquelle just laughing at the fact that this three-year-old called them a silly goose, a habit he must've picked up from Allan.

Chapter Text

(Teen Talks Barbie's relationship with Allan)

The day starts like the rest we've seen, another carbon copy of an old routine. Looking around, seeing the same things.

"Hi, Barbie!"

"Hi, Barbie!"

"Hi, Barbie!"

Some things never change.

Barbie sighs and forces a smile.

With thoughts like these, we can only do the best we can. Until we do it all again.

Remember, like we're programmed to, we must embody:

- Perfectism, feminity, positivity and beauty.

"I want to cry."

"Why?" Allan replied, walking over to Teen Talk Barbie. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"That's okay, you can cry. I cry sometimes too."

The sixteen-year-old rested her head on the man's shoulder for awhile, the pair sat on the stairs in front of Weird Barbies house, watching the view of the city from afar. Minutes passed and Allan's thoughts were interrupted by the teenager relieving a deep sigh and standing up on her heels.

"Want to go shopping?"

"Are you sure?" His way of asking if she's alright. She - Barbie, tended to distract herself from feelings she didn't like. She nodded and faked a smile like normal.

They walked around the city (it's uncomfortable to wear heels when walking down/up the stairs to Weird Barbie's house so Teen Talk Barbie happily accepted a piggyback ride from Allan), stopping at a fabric shop to get some Makrame and sewing materials for Midge, a shoe shop because Teen Talk Barbie saw a deal on some hella cool heels! As she tried a bunch on, Allan searched for heels for Raquelle.

"These! I got to get these!" The blonde beamed, tripping down the aisle. Allan couldn't help but notice how red and painful her feet looked when he helped her off the floor.

"Are sure you want those? They look good on you but they also look uncomfortable."

"I'll make it work. I have too, it's pretty."

"But... It looks painful."

The doll ignored the man, fixing her balance. "Even pain can be beautiful and it gets rid of all the negativity. I'll get used to it. Then I'll smile because it makes me look pretty for a while."

She sounds like Midge when he first met her. "But you are pretty. Even without the heels."

"I can wear it!" She stumbled over and over, she was anything but perfect. "Never mind the pain!"

The words grinded in Barbie's mind: The pain is just a reminder of my perfection! It will help me distract myself from my thoughts, and focus on my prettiness. Fräu Lili, Ich lerne dies aus du.

The heels are a pale cyan blue with some sparkle and faint glitter, a great way to catch people's attention, a better way to get people to play, at least that's what Barbie thinks. But, hey, better never last forever. *Just a matter of time before she has to do it all again.*

Better never last forever with anything: not shoes, not clothes, not hair, not makeup or even body. Not perfections or plastic.

'Barbie, no. Think about what we must embody: Perfectism, feminity, positivity-'

The tears cascaded down her pretty face, ruining her Makeup. "Every girl we once called beautiful hates how we look."

Why do people hate Barbie for being pretty when everyone is pretty? If children think themselves ugly, it's because society failed them, not a plastic doll. Seriously, does no other human think like that woman human did when she said her big speech?

Too wrapped up in her thoughts, Barbie didn't realise Allan was hugging her. "I know, Teta, I know."

He didn't know. He didn't know why she was crying but could tell she was upset. Stroking her hair repeatedly (a way that always got Ryan to calm down as a baby), listening to her sobbing dying down, guilty that he didn't know how to calm her down.
Once she calmed down, he put the heels back and took her to a cafe. Allan told her not to worry about the prices of the food, to go wild and to order any sweets you wanted.

As they waited for their Espresso and Hot Chocolate, Allan urged her to speak to Therapist Barbie about her problems as it would be better to talk about the issues of being Barbie to (a) Barbie, the girl nodded and agreed. Allan let out a sigh of relief, that's good, that's progress. The sixteen-year-old demeanour completely changed when the food and drinks arrived, the straining depressing atmosphere was replaced with joy. Allan chuckled as the teenager began to chew down on the food like there was no tomorrow.

"Why'd ya' call me 'Tita'?" The blonde curly-haired girl asked, stuffing her face full of pancakes.

"I abbreviated your name, it's a drag to say Teen Talk Barbie all the time and I didn't want to just say Barbie because the majority of the people who live here a Barbies. So, 'Ti' for Teen and 'Ta' for Talk."

"That's clever," she said in between drinking the hot chocolate and scuffing down the food. "I like it!"

After lunch, they decided to head back to Weird Barbie's house (Teen Talk Barbie resides there as she is not old enough to have her own house), as soon as they get to the stairs, Barbie slips off her high heels she had been walking all day in and goes barefoot up the stairs. Allan tracks behind her.

"We should get you some sandals, maybe, from Blaine."

"He doesn't have a good fashion sense." So, no.

"We could ask Stereotypical Barbie to get you some sandals from the real world."

The teenager turned around and gasped, "That would be so cool!"

(Midge contemplating her relationship with Allan a few months after the patriarchy period) 

[TW: Homophobic slur]

With him, she'd had some wonderfully stable times. Greatly romantic times, even. But also terrible times. Midge loves Allan. She has to, she's meant to, isn't she?

She pushed the wondering thoughts to the back of her mind, silenced and ignored. He was a fantastic father. A good husband? He was okay, at least to Midge, which made her feel guilty. By all means, Ken is to Barbie, Allan's exceptional and he has been at times - but, he is no Ken and she will never be Barbie.

She thought that being there for him after his discontinuation, they'd work well together. And they did, but it only went so far. Midge, who is old school, demanded to get married as soon as she found out she was pregnant with Ryan. Allan nervously agreed with her on almost everything, looking back on it now, Midge felt a pit in her stomach, there were no dolls to help them and they were truly alone. She noticed the Barbies and Kens judging them, judging her.

Distance began to grow between the couple as her belly became bigger. She hated what she saw: Allan, her husband, admiring Ken in a way he never did to her. What was so wrong with her that he preferred fawning over Ken to her!? Midge was terrible with expressing her concerns, each time Allan would try to help her with her last trimester, she'd snap at him and he was always confused.

For example, one time when Midge was having pains so she rested on their couch (after marrying, she immediately moved in), Allan made her tea, and he said something about Ken. She threw the cup at him and yelled pointlessly at him. He just thought it was a pregnancy mood swing. When Ryan's first word was 'Da' instead of 'Ma', Midge cried: Wasn't he (Ryan) the point of her existence? Does she even know what she's meant for any more? Allan put the infant in her lap as a means to cheer her up but she screamed at him once again. Ryan began to cry as well.

The two had lots of fights, but this was the fight. Ryan, three years old, ran to his room. Midge and Allan were arguing, no more nodding and going along with what she said, he retaliated. It only fuelled her anger further.

"At least I'm not the faggot." She knew it would hurt him, he was silent with shock. "Yeah, I've seen you practically throwing yourself at Ken."

That argument was a year ago, Midge has never apologised (even though she feels bad about saying it) and Allan only came home to see Ryan until a few months before the Kens discovered patriarchy. After he ignored her for months, she approached him, lost at the words to sat, she just broke down and Allan hugged her, and she shook her head.

She still doesn't know why he forgave her but she's thankful. The good outweighs the bad, right? She tries her best to show her love for Allan (which is hard because does she even love him?) but he doesn't reciprocate. The closest they've been in months is when they grieved over Charlotte's death.

Now, Midge thumbs the mail and reads over a letter Stereotypical Barbie wrote. She writes to all her friends, Barbies, and her Ken every month since she's been in the Real World.

Dear Midge,

Everything has been great and bad in the Real World, I love it! Yesterday  Gloria, Sorsha and I went to the beach! A REAL beach! It was so scary but amazing! When I went into the water it wasn't a hard bumpy texture but freezing that sent shivers up my spine! (Figure of speech for humans because they have spines). Gloria and I played volleyball in the sea, she was smiling and she looked so gorgeous. I think I'm in love with her.

- Barbara

Midge reread it, surprised at the last line. Girls can fall in love with girls? Can boys fall in love with boys? Love. What does that feel like? Did she ever love Allan or did she just love the idea of loving him?

She rested a hand over her womb where Charlotte used to reside, only now occupied by another Daughter. Did Allan know Charlotte wasn't his but Rival Ken's?

(Allan helps Sterotypical Ken move on)

As soon as he stepped on the fake pink sand, he felt the tension. All eyes are on him. Not of happiness but of spite. Except for the Kens, they still accepted him. Stereotypical Ken was pleased, despite what the Barbies thought of him, he went over to cheer with the Kens.

It was the first time this week that he had a shower, dressed well and went outside. The few months without Barbie, trying to figure out who he is and fixing the everlasting effects of the patriarchy have been tremendously difficult. He's been cooped up in his Mojo Dojo Casa House, moping about his love life, unless one of the Kens encourages him to join them.

Ken's proud of himself. He went outside today all by himself, no one needed to push him to. He joined in the cheering of the volleyball game and the Barbies gave him a look and then rolled their eyes. Maybe going outside was a mistake...

It's been hard figuring out, what it means to be just Ken, without Barbie. The first couple weeks after the patriarchy fiasco, he hid in his Mojo Dojo Casa House, angry at himself, Stereotypical Barbie and Mattel. But mostly himself. He listened to sad songs on repeat until some neighbouring Barbies complained about the noise and his friends (the other Kens) dragged him out.

He still hasn't read Barbie's letters, he doesn't plan on it. Weird Barbie visits him every couple of days, checking up on him and encouraging him to hang out with other Kens.

Stereotypical Ken cheered on the Barbies. It was his subtle way of regaining their trust and respect. He doesn't expect them to forgive him (when he confronted Barbie, he realised how stupid patriarchy is, honestly it embarrassed him) but he hopes they know that he only did it because he thought that it would help him, not out of hate.

"Great cheer, Ken," Ken. Singular.

He let the compliment sink in, it reminded him of when Barbie complimented him. Always reassuring and sweet.

For the first in a while, a genuine smile formed on his face.

He faced Allan. Allan looks just like how Ken remembered him, yet, he has no memories of him.

"Thanks, Allan," Ken said.

He didn't know what to say to him, this was his first encounter with him despite Allan's purpose. Does Allan rely on his purpose?

The volleyball hit his head, and it hurt. Plastic on plastic will do that. He heard Allan gasp, Ken rubbed his head and the Barbies apologised with a snickering smile on their faces.

Regarding his injury, there were no screams, no Barbies helping him, no ambulances and no one to reassure him it would be okay.

Everyone continued, Artist Ken [Ncuti Gatwa's Ken] brought him over to a bench. Allan followed. Ken asked if he was okay and went back to cheer again. Stereotypical Ken sat alone on the bench, with no one to tell him 'you're okay'.

"Would you like ice cream? I'll buy." Allan asked.

Shit, he forgot he was there. It almost made him jump. Ken is at a loss, every time he gazes into the doll's eyes, he feels yearning. Yearning to what?
He captures his gaze like Barbie used to. Did Mattel intend for this to happen?

"Ken?" Allan asked for the 5th time, starting to get a bit annoyed.

"Huh?"

"Vanilla, strawberry or chocolate?"

His first thought was strawberry because it's pink and Barbie loves pink. And her favourite flavour and his least favourite. "Chocolate, please."

Allan left and Ken, for the first time, thought about Allan. He doesn't know what the feeling is called but it is like, with Allan's presence, he's constantly being hugged. It's comforting, nice and loving. Everything Barbie wasn't it.

'No time to cry, Ken! It's okay to cry but not right now, I'm OK, I'm happy,' he told himself. Ken tried his best not to think about Barbie, every time he caught himself (which was a lot), he redirected his thoughts.

Allan came back and handed him the chocolate ice cream. It was delicious! Allan had vanilla with a chocolate drizzle.

The pair talked and Ken found out that he was married with kids. You can do that? No Barbie and Ken have ever gotten married, let alone had children together. But Allan wasn't Barbie or Ken.

"You didn't know? I have been married to her since 1991."