First, the normal Christmas presents!

When Yasmin picked up Meygan at Sky Harbor after Meygan's holiday trip, she'd kind of expected to be "surprised" with her cousin Ynez, but the presence of Cloe and Shira had her completely gobsmacked.

Meygan is grateful that Yasmin brought her monkey to the airport.

When Meygan whipped out her phone, the first photo she showed was another newbie, Jane Boolittle, who's so shy that she snuck through the airport and took the tram home.

Are you my sister?

So the conversation while my parents were driving me to the train that would take me to the plane went like this.

Mom: Are you going to blog about how we spent the week?

Me: Yes, several posts, and the reason I put these specific gals in my luggage rather than in the box you're shipping to me is that I thought I'd start with the normal presents.

Mom: ...?

Me: Normal presents. Like, it's in wrapping and then the holiday comes, and you take the wrapping off, and there it is, and you're surprised. Totally normal.

Come, let us take a look at the totally normal presents and see how the newcomers take their places in society.

I didn't do fully documented de-boxings because Jane Boolittle was reviewed in detail by Toy Box Philosopher, while Monkfish's Dolly Ramble has repeatedly said what needs to be said about Bratz-maker MGA's packaging, notably that if you still have all your fingers after getting the doll out of the box, you've won.

Okay, there's one de-boxing photo that had to be taken and shared. There is no danger whatever that Action Heroez Yasmin's hair will shift by even a fraction of an inch. None.

When I asked the salon for hair extensions and eyebrow threading, this is NOT what I meant.

But MGA found even that insufficient. There were three tags through her head.

Action Heroez Yasmin -- now to be named Ynez because the first doll in a character gets the name, and I have my Walmart-rescue Express It! Yasmin -- has the most entertaining and complex hairstyle. I will never dare to take it down because how could I put it up in anything equally fabulous?

We call this the Concha Serpentino.

The Action Heroez are "taller" (normal fashion-doll-size) Bratz with articulated elbows and click knees. As well as bursting through the frontiers of hair design, each has a super-power. In Bratz canon, Yasmin's super-power is her "twirl," a statement that is left severely under-explained, though I suppose if one twirls fast enough, the resulting vortex could be useful.

Ynez grew up in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego and earned her bachelor's degree in physics from CalTech, studying vortices (of course). She is fascinated with lucha libre (the "Mexican wrestling" with colorful masks) and has strong opinions on the convoluted rivalry of luchadora sisters Faby and Mari Apache. She will go the extra mile for spiral-shaped kürtőskalács, though in Arizona, she may have to settle for churros.

Immigration is, of course, overseen by a Siamese cat. Isn't that the case everywhere?

Hey there, stranger. Kayla wants your shoes.

Jane Boolittle can be barely seen in the photo above because she was the "little something to unwrap on Christmas Eve" -- while I don't seem to have photos of her unwrapping, we'll spend some more time with her later. But first...

When my mother had warned me, back around Hallowe'en, that I might want to make a point of not buying Action Heroez if I ran across any, I sort of expected that they'd found a Yasmin, as it was Yasmin who'd triggered my first fascination with Bratz.

Meygan thought she was the source of fascination, since she was the first Bratz to come home.

I did not expect Cloe, having not remembered that blue-haired Cloe existed. Cloe's super-power is speed. She was one of Ynez's best friends at Caltech, and her specialty is engines. She collects movies about racing (and nitpicks the science), owns every single episode of Speed Racer ever made, and loved her summer internship with a NASCAR team. Her favorite food is blue moon ice cream.

It's hardly worth getting out of bed if you're not going to break the sound barrier.

I did not expect Shira, whom I'd seen once and almost bought on the theory that there was no way my parents had found her.

Of course you can join your university's sorority for women of color, Jane. Purple is a color.

Shira's super-power is flying. She's the third of the BFFs who met at CalTech, and naturally, her degree is in aerospace engineering. She's a very distant cousin of both Yasmin and Briony, and she grew up in the Central Valley. As a child, she stumbled upon re-runs of Star Trek: Voyager and became fascinated with half-Klingon engineer B'lanna Torres. Her hobby is origami, and her favorite food is baklava.

We need to pause for a moment of silence to admire the Action Heroez' coifs.

How many specialists in non-Euclidean geometry does it take to design a hairstyle?

For the shoes, it's more a pause to gasp with awe.

Why settle for a bare minimum ass-kicking, when your ass can get kicked by these puppies?

Ordinarily, I'm on Team Female Superheroes Shouldn't Always Be Put in Impractical Heels What Are You THINKING Male Cartoonists Never Mind I'd Be Appalled If I Knew. But Bratz exist on their own terms -- with a Bratz, there's really no doubt that she's wearing those shoes because she wants to wear them and she can run about in them as easily as you or I can run in sneakers. Bratz are just that awesome.

The new gals are having no trouble settling in. Cloe interrupts planning for the New Year's float to suggest that she could add a lot more power to Hayden's new-used Chery convertible.

I can put an entire zoo of tigers in that tank if you get off the hood, Julianne.

Ynez is making plans with Skeleta to see a wrestling bout and maybe get street tacos after.

Naah, I don't think the presence of death will freak them out.

Shira hires Alexis, who's a realtor, to find the gals a nice big empty warehouse to use for a workshop.

We want privacy, but not so much privacy that there aren't food trucks.

Meanwhile, shy Jane Boolittle isn't sure she'll be welcome at college-age girls' gathering. (Ambi is providing background music.)

Hi? That's what people say, right?

Jane has such a sweet face and really outstanding accessories. She's not wearing her shoulder spikes because they tend to fall off, but I think the outfit is fine without them. She'll be the envy of her peers with the skull belt.

I like a little bow on my skull for that girly feel.

Her shoes. Look at her shoes. I kind of want somebody to make those shoes in real life at a modest price point.

Totally fancy AND no danger of mistaking which is left and which is right.

She has little graceful claw hands and her very own pet sloth. There's something very cuddly and reassuring about a pet sloth.

Meet Needles, the three-toed tree sloth.

Cleo reassures Jane that while ASU is huge, and it's easy to get lost in the crowd, there are lots of things to do. Jane has the security that she already knows she wants to major in zoology.

The nude-look lips really work on you, Cleo. Would you like to pet my sloth?

Indeed, there was nothing to worry about! Frankie is delighted to have Jane join the party and immediately wants to know all about her trip.

You have a sloth, Jane! OMG, does it ever have babies? It's so cute!

Meanwhile, the Action Heroez are going shopping for fabric for more work-a-day outfits, since spandex really doesn't work for all occasions. They haven't decided what to wear, but it looks like they've got the colors they want.

So many shades of purple, so little time!