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AG babble!
May. 2nd, 2020 11:04 amLet's talk about AG, shall we? There's been some stuff sorta brewing in the AG fandom but I've been too tired or unwilling to not snuggle the Ozma to type it out. While she's off doing whatever (eating, maybe?) I'll see if I can sum things up.
In reverse order, the dolls are back to $110 now. Boo. I was legit considering buying #58 with my rewards and just stashing her until later when I could appreciate her more. Or, based on what we're about to discuss, I was debating Luciana.
AG's being sued over possibly using someone's name/likeness for Luciana. I included that particular article because it's the first one I saw and read, and while I think they chose pictures of the astronomer where she looks very nifty, they don't really sell the claim which is a shame. The tl;dr version is Lucianne Walkowicz is suing because she feels AG yanked her name/look for Luciana. And fandom has united for the first time in forever and said "this bitch, really"- even from the pearl clutching crowd.
Meanwhile I'm over here like uh, guys? It's not as far fetched as the headline would have you believe. If nothing else, Lucianne vs Luciana, and both deal very much with Mars. There are pictures of her with the purple streaks in her hair and the sideswept bangs and the galaxy print dresses and I don't remember if it's this article or another one, but AG knew who she was.
So yeah, I think it's possible that they took inspiration for parts of character!Luci from this Luci. They modeled Joss off someone and didn't exactly mention that from the rooftops, even though I think they've had that girl be pretty involved with the promo for Joss. I only mention this because I took some survey from AG themselves and one of the questions was "Did you know Joss was modeled after a real girl?" So maybe if one paid more attention it would be more obvious but I don't so. Point is, AG's done it. Hell, Tenney is pretty clearly their version of Taylor Swift.
Mostly though, I can't stand everyone pretending this is outside the realm of possibility at all. This happened on the watch of one of AG's shadier presidents. The person who thought permapanties and bad eyes and clothing so tight it wouldn't fit the brand new dolls it was specifically made for. Someone who thought cost cutting on their luxe doll experience (the CYO line) was a good idea.
Pair that disbelief with people adding, "and if AG made a doll in my likeness, I'd be honored! I wouldn't sue!"
You all flip your shit whenever someone names a doll similar to something you named your doll, or a friend named her doll. If AG yoinked your name and part of your shtick and then profited from it without even a brief "hey, if you think THIS Luci's cool, wait til you meet THAT Luci!" mention somewhere, you'd be table flipping with the best of them.
I'm not saying real Lucianne is entitled to millions. I really don't want them to have to take away the Luci books (note to self, buy the physical copies ASAP) or not have her represented in the lineup of GOTY dolls. But I don't think it's absurd to see similarities between the two. If not for the name, I'd think it was a bit of a stretch but also think they saw her look and liked it. With the name? Yeaaaaaaah.
But you point out that, at best, it feels a little hinky, and you'll get ignored for the most part. I did get someone kinda agreeing and a couple of other people saying that the optics weren't great, particularly since Mattel itself has uh, taken inspiration in the past for other lines.
I have a lot of feelings on being the odd duck in this scenario, clearly. And we didn't even touch the people who can't read and think she's just NOW doing something about it. The article I linked to (and every other one I've read) makes it clear that they were in talks with Mattel/AG and the talks stalled/went no where. Hence the lawsuit. Having to remind people to read in AG fandom hurts my soul.
So. Speaking of the pearl-clutchers, they have been having an absolute field day with this list ranking "all 282 historical AG outfits." I bowed out of the conversation pretty early on when the snears of "has this person even seen these in person" because obviously the answer is no for a lot of them. But right off the bat, they say I hope you fight me and each other, I hope this is the most contentious comment section in the history of The Niche. This isn't a definitive ranking of the outfits. It's just fun. I disagree with a LOT but I agree with a lot so really, it's just reminding me how much I enjoyed mentally ranking the various character's outfits.
But guys. GUYS. I need the AG fandom and the BSC fandom to stop pretending their tomboys did not enjoy their big dress-up moment. I don't remember if the list does this or not, but it got brought up in relation to the list and ugh. UGH. Felicity wanted that blue dress. (It is also the single most iconic AG dress and I will fight anyone who says otherwise and you can take up your first few rounds of the fight with the various kids books that used it in illustrations, and this includes the Little Sister series.) It is possible for Lyssie to find pants practical and useful and also still want very much to wear the pretty blue dress. The BSC fandom does the same for Kristy's bridesmaid dress and it annoys me just as much. I'm not saying Kristy ever need want to wear another dress again in her entire life. The fact remains that she did not hate the yellow dress and hate every second of its entire existence. Sigh.
The cat's back so my typing has gone to shit. Whoops.
In reverse order, the dolls are back to $110 now. Boo. I was legit considering buying #58 with my rewards and just stashing her until later when I could appreciate her more. Or, based on what we're about to discuss, I was debating Luciana.
AG's being sued over possibly using someone's name/likeness for Luciana. I included that particular article because it's the first one I saw and read, and while I think they chose pictures of the astronomer where she looks very nifty, they don't really sell the claim which is a shame. The tl;dr version is Lucianne Walkowicz is suing because she feels AG yanked her name/look for Luciana. And fandom has united for the first time in forever and said "this bitch, really"- even from the pearl clutching crowd.
Meanwhile I'm over here like uh, guys? It's not as far fetched as the headline would have you believe. If nothing else, Lucianne vs Luciana, and both deal very much with Mars. There are pictures of her with the purple streaks in her hair and the sideswept bangs and the galaxy print dresses and I don't remember if it's this article or another one, but AG knew who she was.
So yeah, I think it's possible that they took inspiration for parts of character!Luci from this Luci. They modeled Joss off someone and didn't exactly mention that from the rooftops, even though I think they've had that girl be pretty involved with the promo for Joss. I only mention this because I took some survey from AG themselves and one of the questions was "Did you know Joss was modeled after a real girl?" So maybe if one paid more attention it would be more obvious but I don't so. Point is, AG's done it. Hell, Tenney is pretty clearly their version of Taylor Swift.
Mostly though, I can't stand everyone pretending this is outside the realm of possibility at all. This happened on the watch of one of AG's shadier presidents. The person who thought permapanties and bad eyes and clothing so tight it wouldn't fit the brand new dolls it was specifically made for. Someone who thought cost cutting on their luxe doll experience (the CYO line) was a good idea.
Pair that disbelief with people adding, "and if AG made a doll in my likeness, I'd be honored! I wouldn't sue!"
You all flip your shit whenever someone names a doll similar to something you named your doll, or a friend named her doll. If AG yoinked your name and part of your shtick and then profited from it without even a brief "hey, if you think THIS Luci's cool, wait til you meet THAT Luci!" mention somewhere, you'd be table flipping with the best of them.
I'm not saying real Lucianne is entitled to millions. I really don't want them to have to take away the Luci books (note to self, buy the physical copies ASAP) or not have her represented in the lineup of GOTY dolls. But I don't think it's absurd to see similarities between the two. If not for the name, I'd think it was a bit of a stretch but also think they saw her look and liked it. With the name? Yeaaaaaaah.
But you point out that, at best, it feels a little hinky, and you'll get ignored for the most part. I did get someone kinda agreeing and a couple of other people saying that the optics weren't great, particularly since Mattel itself has uh, taken inspiration in the past for other lines.
I have a lot of feelings on being the odd duck in this scenario, clearly. And we didn't even touch the people who can't read and think she's just NOW doing something about it. The article I linked to (and every other one I've read) makes it clear that they were in talks with Mattel/AG and the talks stalled/went no where. Hence the lawsuit. Having to remind people to read in AG fandom hurts my soul.
So. Speaking of the pearl-clutchers, they have been having an absolute field day with this list ranking "all 282 historical AG outfits." I bowed out of the conversation pretty early on when the snears of "has this person even seen these in person" because obviously the answer is no for a lot of them. But right off the bat, they say I hope you fight me and each other, I hope this is the most contentious comment section in the history of The Niche. This isn't a definitive ranking of the outfits. It's just fun. I disagree with a LOT but I agree with a lot so really, it's just reminding me how much I enjoyed mentally ranking the various character's outfits.
But guys. GUYS. I need the AG fandom and the BSC fandom to stop pretending their tomboys did not enjoy their big dress-up moment. I don't remember if the list does this or not, but it got brought up in relation to the list and ugh. UGH. Felicity wanted that blue dress. (It is also the single most iconic AG dress and I will fight anyone who says otherwise and you can take up your first few rounds of the fight with the various kids books that used it in illustrations, and this includes the Little Sister series.) It is possible for Lyssie to find pants practical and useful and also still want very much to wear the pretty blue dress. The BSC fandom does the same for Kristy's bridesmaid dress and it annoys me just as much. I'm not saying Kristy ever need want to wear another dress again in her entire life. The fact remains that she did not hate the yellow dress and hate every second of its entire existence. Sigh.
The cat's back so my typing has gone to shit. Whoops.