That Doll Meme

[kiyakotari]

Gakked from greenjudy, who gakked it from someone else, and so on.


1. How many dolls do you have?

Twenty-four. Also (not included in that total) six floating heads with identities, two headless bodies destined to become specific characters, multiple floating heads without identities, one "project doll" on which I've decided to act out my "random body parts" obsession (she has enough parts right now to make two or three dolls with no difficulty) but which I am unlikely to ever consider complete, and two full dolls that are paid for but which have not shipped.

2. What are their names?
I have sub-divided these into several distinct groups, according to which storyline they belong to and which other dolls they interact with/exist beside.

✖ Darryl Albin
✖ Talon Lewys/Blake Owens/Phoenix
✖ Abigail Fletcher/Madison Turner
✖ Wren Llawcae
✖ Ming Jian Yuan/Ming Ch'ien Yüan
✖ (Child) Aiko Tian-Shi Ming-Llawcae
✖ Tekla Else Ahlstrom
✖ Jackson Ward
✖ Laith al-Mehri ibn Mahdi
✖ Rafe Pacelli

✖ Aiko Tian-Shi Ming-Llawcae
✖ Miss Marcheline
✖ Hideo
✖ Masashiro Hiiroshi ("Hiiro")
✖ Choi Ha-Neul

✖ Heero Yuy
✖ Chang Wufei
✖ Duo Maxwell

✖ Davlin
✖ Zsuzsa
✖ Lugh
✖ Ghyn
✖ Mini-Davlin (Just because I could.)
✖ Super-tiny Pocket Davlin (I gave in to the PukiPuki craze.)

Partially Complete Dolls:
✖ Daiichi (Floating Head)
✖ Luke Alan Albin (Floating Head)
✖ Quatre Raberba Winner (Floating Head)
✖ Trowa Barton (Floating Head)
✖ Katje Lichvaresik (Floating Head)
✖ Takeda Jiro (Floating Head)
✖ Tlaloc (Headless Body)
✖ Adrasteia/Nemesis/Lynn Shepard/Project Doll (Currently has two heads, three sets of
legs, two sets of arms...a literal "project doll.")

3. What are their molds?

✖ Volks "Kohya"/Dollstown 15Boy Body Old WS w/ Soom WS Jointed Hands (Previously on Volks
SD13 Boy body.)
✖ Volks "F-16" NS/SD16 Boy Body (Previously on a Souldoll "old school" boy body.)
✖ Elfdoll LE "Kio Carolei" Ruru
✖ Volks "Tohya"/Dollstown 15Girl Body Orientalskin (Previously on Volks SD13 Girl body,
twigLiMBS v 1 girl body.
✖ Aeon of Dive "Seimei" Head NS/Lost Angel Boy Body w/ Senior Delf Boy Hands (Previously
on Elfdoll "old version" 58cm boy body, Latidoll Red line boy body.)
✖ Musedoll "App" Pink Skin Head/NS Urethane Narsha Girl Body
✖ Iplehouse EID "Jessica Pierrot"
✖ Twigling Tan TL2/twigLiMBS v 2 "Ylisande" (Will probably be switching "Ylisande" head
for "Nkiru" head, when it arrives.)
✖ Spirit Doll Tan "Echium"
✖ Senior Delf "Abadon" NS

✖ Ego Project (MyDolls) "Yeon" Head NS/Rocket Corgi Girl Torso & Arms/twigLiMBS v.1
Legs/Lovelyhouse Hands
✖ Dollmore Elf Elly "Banji" Girl
✖ MigiDoll "Miho" Head NS/DreamingDoll 19Boy Body [Boy-to-Girl Mod, Six Arms Mod]
✖ Volks YoSD Sweet Dreams "Rengemaru" [Eye-opening Mod]
✖ Fairyland LittleFee "Pipi" NS

✖ ElfDoll "Wu" on Old 58cm Body
✖ Oceanmoon "Hwa-Lan" Head NS/Latidoll Red Boy Body
✖ MigiDoll "Yujin" Head/Feeple Boy Torso w/ Delf v. 3 Limbs

✖ Dollshe MSJD Paleskin "Saint" w/ Custom Antlers/Soom Super Gem Boy Body/Heliot
Hocks/Amber Hooves/Amber Tail
✖ Crobidoll "Yeon-ho"/Twigling "Ylisande" Body [mods in progress]
✖ Iplehouse EID "Luo Strongman" [mods in progress]
✖ Iplehouse EID "Akando Special Edition" (Superhero Version) [mods in progress]
✖ Fairyland Littlefee El Sleeping WS w/ Daisydayes' Littlefee Hooves [Eye-opening Mod]
✖ Fairyland PukiPuki WS w/ Daisydayes' Puki Hooves

Partially Complete Dolls:
✖ Soom "Namu" Head NS/Planned SoulDoll Double Boy Body
✖ Esthy "Peroth" Head NS/Planned Esthy Distant Memory 65cm Boy Body
✖ Leeke "Koji"/Undecided Boy Body
✖ Leeke "Romeo"/Undecided Boy Body
✖ Dollstown "Mui" NS/Undecided Girl Body
✖ Elysium "Hugo-N" NS/Undecided Boy Body
✖ Super Senior Delf Body/Dreamingdoll 19Boy Thighs/Euclase Hawk Feet/Planned Angelheim
"Venetio" NS Head
✖ Heisejinyao Ziyulinglong "Hui Ka" WS Head/So Nyeon Gi "Milhwa" WS Head/Soom
Super Gem Girl Torso & Arms/Soom Amber "Fauna" Hooves & Waist/Soom Heliot "God
Master" Hands/Soom Cass "Ocean Elf" Hands & Arms/Soom Galena Wings/Soom Super
Gem Girl Legs/ETC

4. How long have you been in the BJD hobby?

I became aware of the hobby around late 2001 or early 2002, but did not purchase my first dolls (AngelRegion Dana, Volks DD body w/ SD13 Kira Head) until summer of 2003. I have since sold those dolls and replaced them with molds more appropriate to their characters, though I do still own the Kira head - it sits on my floating heads shelf. I purchased Volks Kohya in January 2004, and though I no longer own the body, the head (on a new body) is still one of my active characters, and a treasured part of my collection.

5. Do you RP? If so, who is/was your favorite person to RP with?

I RP with a close local friend, verbally, without any guidelines other than what we feel like doing - when we get bored, we stop with a given story and start up a new one (sometimes we kill everyone first, sometimes we don't bother). We've been doing this since before we hit our teens, and certainly since before I started collecting dolls, and I suspect we'll continue doing it for years to come. In relation to the doll hobby, I work on/have worked on collaborative storytelling projects (using doll photography and text) with a couple different people, but mostly with greenjudy.

6. Who is/was your favorite character to RP with?

I do not have one. My interest in using a character or preference for a character is entirely dependent on my mood and current area of interest (obsession) in any given moment.

7. How many dolls have you ever sold?

Several. Three of these (Dollshe Hound, Unoa B-El, Elfdoll Soah) I sold because I realized I no longer wished to work with their characters in resin form, but most of my doll sales have come about because a new mold (usually a body - I tend to keep heads and find new bodies for them) has been released that suits a character better than their original mold. My characters exist in text first, and in resin second. As such, their resin "bodies" are less tightly tied to their identities than their written forms, and far more mutable.

8. Out of all of those, who do you miss the most?

I don't miss any of them. By the time I sell a doll, I am long past the point at which I no longer wish to own it, and in most cases, I simply "upgraded" characters to new bodies, so I feel no sense of loss. This does not mean I sell dolls lightly, or that it is something I do easily or often, but I am willing to sell or trade them (or give them away - I have gifted a couple of dolls to friends rather than selling them) when I feel that there is a better alternative for me and for the character.

9. What is your favorite thing in this hobby?

Because of this hobby, I have met - and worked with, and become friends with - people that I am unlikely to have ever encountered if I did not collect ABJD. They are all incredible people, and I love them dearly, and am so glad they are a part of my life. I started collecting ABJD when I was still in my teens, and as such the people I have met and the friendships that I have formed have had a significant influence on my formative years, and an impact on who I am today.

10. Who is the first BJD that ever entered your house/that you ever saw in real life?

My (now sold) AngelRegion Dana was the first complete doll I ever saw in person. I did own a Volks SD13 Kira head before Dana arrived, but she had no body until several months after I got Dana.

11. Who is the first BJD you ever fell in love with?

I'm not sure there was a single specific doll, but I was initially very fond of the old Volks FCS F-29 (now F-17) head, particularly those belonging to Avvelenato, Robin's Egg, and Caress of Venus. I have never owned one, however.

12. What is the most you've spent on a doll (the actual doll itself)?

I believe that would be Darryl. His Kohya head with body ran me $1,400 USD before shipping, and though I sold his body for $600, the one I replaced it with cost me $800 after shipping. I also purchased a set of Soom jointed hands for him, which clocked in at $172 before shipping, which puts his current total cost, for just the bare resin without eyes or wig or anything, at around $1,772 USD.

13. What is your favorite photoshoot/photo you ever took of any of your dolls?

I don't really like this kind of absolute question, because my skills (and luck) are always changing, and also because my preferences change as the mood takes me. However, here are several of the ones that stand out in my memory, arranged in something approaching chronological order. Think of this as an overview of favorites over time, perhaps. Not necessarily technically impressive, but these all speak to me on some level beyond that of my normal photos.







































14. What is your funniest memory with any of your dolls?

One night I returned home from work (was employed at Jack in the Box at the time) after doing a 12+ hour shift, and when I got to my bedroom I found Wren sitting on my bed, headless, and remembered I'd been messing with her before I started my shift. Rather than setting her aside and dealing with her later, I decided to put her head back on. I was tired, not thinking at all clearly, and definitely lacking in the coordination department. Even worse, I didn't bother finding a proper tool, and just used the first pair of needle-nose jewelry pliersthat came to hand. They slipped, of course, as I was pulling on the S-hook. I ended up stabbing myself right in the center of the forehead, directly between my eyes. I still have a scar, like a little bhindi. I also chipped the bone there, and had a bruise for WEEKS.

15. What is your saddest memory with any of your dolls?

I can't think of anything in particular.

16. Have you ever had a dream about your doll? If so, what was it about?

I dream about the characters, but in my dreams they are not dolls. I have had dreams with dolls in them, but the dolls in those dreams are not dolls I own or plan to own. I had one particularly vivid dream a few months ago in which Wren and Jian Yuan were seriously lacking in supplies and making their way across hostile territory in Africa after a mission gone horribly wrong, trying to reach a drop/pick-up point with a communications cache so that they could signal for help, and Jian Yuan ended up having use the barrel off an AK-47, heated over a campfire, to cauterize a bullet wound in Wren's right thigh. It was an interesting dream, very engrossing. I was sad when I woke up, because I wanted to continue it.

17. Which BJD out of your collection would you never sell in a million years?

Again, I'm not a big fan of absolutes of this type. At this point, I cannot imagine selling the dolls in my collection, but then, in the past I could not imagine selling my Hound, Umbrae, and yet he is no longer with me.

18. Name one thing that makes you irked in the BJD hobby.

The fact - and this may seem petty to some, but it truly drives me up the wall - that so many people in the English community seem not to care about whether or not their posts are legible, much less in correct and proper English. I am not talking about people for whom English is a second language, or about occasional typos, I'm talking about people who just don't take the time to run a brief spellchecker application before making a post, and who to all appearances don't even bother to read over what they've just written before hitting the "submit" button to make sure it's vaguely understandable. This especially frustrates me when it's in the TITLE of a thread (the "Conroversial Doll Stories?" and "This going to far?" threads in the debate forum are great examples of this). It's gotten to the point in the last few months that I actually have trouble browsing DoA, because there are so many threads with errors in their titles (and so many users who routinely make illegible or incoherent posts) that I find myself gritting my teeth and wanting to bang my head against the wall. I wish I could go in and correct the titles, at least, since no one else seems to have the time or inclination to do so.

19. Would you ever consider "leaving" the hobby?

I can see myself becoming less involved in the community as a whole, but I cannot see myself giving up my doll collection, and it's likely I would continue to purchase new items for my dolls (and possibly dolls themselves) even if I stopped spending time on forums and the like. I would probably continue photographing them, as well. Here some are dolls I definitely plan to own in the future:

✖ Rupali Emily Davies: Souldoll Tan "Queena" Supia "Tan Rosy"
✖ Hunter Richard Jamieson: Undecided Head/Infiniti Doll SID Boy Body
✖ Jisszhurat: Souldoll "Chiron" Gray Human Head/Spirit Doll Proud Boy Body v.2 (Body purchased, not yet arrived.)
✖ Raam: Iplehouse "Tedros Circus Master" [Model Version] (Purchased, not yet arrived.)

20. Who is the newest character you've thought up?

My most recently created character is not doll-related, and is unlikely to become so.