Soot

Face-up artist(s):

Unknown (Sadly, they need redoing)

Date of acquisition:

December 2023

Provenance:

Purchased from B-Doll / Bibliovorous BJD. Came with Halloween Monster Chibi box. (Unoas don't have CoAs)

Reason for choice:

Cute, fun to pose, many face options, colour

Best Points:

* Simple, solid posability
* Expressiveness and flexibility due to option parts
* Size and weight

Worst Points:

* I don't have two of them. >:(
* Faceplates / ears can be fiddly to change. In particular, the ears don't like to stay on well, even with putty.

At the first meetup I ever attended, someone traded me a Roron with default makeup for a doll I had for sale. At the time there weren't as many proxy services, and the only way to purchase Unoa States-side was through the Noppin store, so it was a big offer. Unfortunately I only ever agreed with the intent to resell her, as she didn't fit my tastes at the time. But after handling her for a bit I came to appreciate the Unoa engineering, and even though I parted with her as planned, I decided that I wanted a Chibi of my own one day, with faces I could paint to my liking.

At this same meetup I saw PakouChan's Roar-faced Chibi and fell in love with her. While UnoaAlchemy was running, I tried several times to catch both normal and tan skin Chibi, but always missed them. Then, once the Halloween Chibis were announced, it was over. I knew that they were 'the ones'. But of course they sold even faster than normal or tan, and finding them secondhand was difficult and expensive.

I'd purchased from B-Doll before, and happened to see this girl in a groupshot of dolls they had taken to a con to sell a while back. I messaged them to see if she had sold... and the rest is history.

Eyes:

(Temp) 10mm Star Sister resin

Wig:

7-8 blue yarn by PezziesPixels (It's too big for her)

Favourite colours:

ALL OF THEM (Either bright, candy / pastel shades or nature tones, depending on where she is)

Fashion style(s):

Modern casual, clubware, mall goth, high fantasy, some Victorian / steampunk

Key fashion accessory:

Her sense of sass

Soot(sprites) is loosely based on my Kaldorei mage of the same name. The Warcraft avatar is pink, and tends to wear either leather-looking outfits or outfits with as many bright colours as possible, preferably with some cleavage. High fantasy and steampunk are the primary aesthetics in WoW.

But Soot the doll is built differently, so I'm much looser with her style. She's perfect for a lot of the bright, patterned modern clothes I've accumulated over the years, and she also looks good in plaid and stripes. Eventually I hope to get her some high fantasy garb so she can fit with the rest of the 1/4th Warcraft group, but due to her unique size, it will take time.

Name story:

I was out of ideas, and called the avatar 'Sootsprite' on Epsilon. Shockingly, 'Sootsprites / Sootspritez' wasn't taken on retail either. She was named for the creatures in Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, inspired by the contrast of the colourful star sprinkles they eat with the dirty nature of their bodies.

Character age:

Ambiguous Adult (ancient)

Character gender:

Female

Offsite roleplay:

This doll's character is available for offsite roleplay.

Soot is old. Like, old, old. You'd never guess it looking at her, but she was there during the War of the Ancients. She saw the demons pouring out of Zin-Azshari. She survived the sundering of Kalimdor. And she'll keep surviving. No lingering Old Gods or Legion invasions are going to foist her out; she's here for life, baby. Just don't tell her to put down roots. Domestic routine is boring.

Soot remembers because she's not allowed to forget; she was once a ranking mage of the Queen's extended cadre. The Shen'dralar were formed from her contemporaries. She apprenticed to study the Well of Eternity- the fount of all arcane magic that Highborne elves so zealously guarded. Had she stuck with it, she could have become one of the first naga or satyrs. Instead she threw her lot in at the last moment with a rebellion movement led by a fed-up magistrate, a scruffy priestess, and... a Stormrage. Never trust a Stormrage. They'll always get you in over your head. It was rocky, but eventually the Kaldorei did close the giant demon portal Queen Azshara created with the Well's power, and slowly pushed the Legion's forces back, at unspeakable cost.

For many Highborne sorcerers, the story continued with ongoing social tensions, a big feud over magic... but not for Soot. Since some arcane knowledge had to be preserved for the sake of the new Well one of those blasted Stormrages created using water from the old one, she was sent north with the Sentinel forces, eventually settling atop Mount Hyjal as one of the many protectors. They are the first line of defense for Nordrassil, the great World Tree, and the Well from which its roots sprang.

As a personality, Soot is playful and rambunctious on the surface, constantly desiring attention and affection, easily bored and prone to whimsy. But her fluffy exterior hides a selfish and bitter mind. It was never her desire to sign up for life-long tree-sitting; agreeing to help that Stormrage- no, not the fel one, the druid one- with whatever he assigned her was the only sure way to avoid imprisonment or potential banishment for her past involvement with the court of Azshara. And as far as she's concerned, he got the better end of the bargain. Granted she never had any real contact with Malfurion or Illidan, but the resentment has stuck. Here she sits, wasting her days over a big vegetable while they're out there saving the world. Or dooming it. Whatever. The point is that they have lives. And Soot wants that for herself. She wants to live.

Consequently, despite not filling the stereotype of the sinister Highborne sorcerer, she can be quite petty, and frequently puts her desires before duty when there's no 'real' work to be done. In a pinch she will help you, but she is known for ditching her Sentinel compatriots and the Mount entirely when she can, to spend a few precious hours or a couple of days in scattered villages and seaports, harassing sailors and drinking, dancing, and brawling to her heart's delight.