Bonding and YOU.

Right. My apologies for starting two topics in a day, but I've got about fifteen billion questions. (I've got another one for y'all tomorrow, too.) ops:
I've searched, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for here. I'd like your stories on bonding. I'd like to hear about the dolls you did or did not bond with, why, who they were, how much they cost, how you got them, etc. Tell me everything about how you bonded (or didn't) with any - or, better yet, all - of your dolls.
You see, I'd like to start some sort of mini directory of sorts on doll & human bonding. If possible, it'd basically be a compliation of people's doll bonding stories. (With pictures, if I can.)
I decided I needed a pet project. People have covered headmold owners lists (Shan), where to find MSD stuff (Shan, again), all of the modern BJD made (Gigglegeek), international unions (Cacau comes to mind) BJD FAQS (Aimee), and Dollfie Dreams FAQs (Zevchan), and I've decided I'd like to contribute, too.
So, I'll reiterate, because I've probably lost you: I would like your stories on doll/human bonding. Please tell me what works and does not work; tell me about your doll - is s/he based on a pre-existing character? Were there any hassels ordering him/her? How long did you have to save - or was s/he a gift? Tell me everything.
Thank you.

 

I think this is a neat idea!! ^^ I'll write something~ (after I get me doll ^^

 

Oh, gee, this could be long... well, I guess I'll go in order.

Kaya (SD13 Megu) was my first, and she differs from the rest in that she was--mostly--a gift. I'd fallen hard for BJDs after seeing Cassiel's gorgeous Zafkiel, but as I browsed through the regular SD listings, nothing really jumped out at me. Then I saw Megu, and she was perfect. To make a long story short, I ordered her. The wait was prolonged by having to ship payment by EMS... and then waiting for sanding and coating... and then waiting for the package to arrive... and then she arrived, finally. I didn't have a problem bonding. I still have the photos of my awed half-gasp-half-smile as I opened the box--she was perfect, beautiful, more than I could have ever hoped for. And I perhaps bonded with her more because she was a gift from my family. She reminds me of them, and how much they love me, and it cheers me up even now to think of it. There aren't many dolls who still make me weak in the knees when I look at them, but SD13 Megu does it every time. She's a dark goddess.

Raizel (new makeup SD Nono) was second. I bonded to her persona, but not to her body. I adored Raizel from the get-go--she was always so spunky and full of vitality--but her face and her body never perfectly synched with that aspect. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but it was almost like she didn't really match up with her body. With Kaya, she always had a very vivid and lively expression, and her face always looked alive, and her form suited her to a tee, but Raizel had a tendency to look very vacant. Like... a doll. I knew Nono wasn't the right body for her, so I parted with her. Her head went to a girl on the old DoA, but she was later resold on eBay. I don't know where she is now, but I like to think that whoever bought her loves her very much. In any case, I'm planning to give Raizel a new body when I have the cash (after all, her brother must be wondering about her!), but her form will remain a secret for now.

Alexiel (FCS F-28) was next. My first true doll love was Lucas, but every release of Lucas slipped through my fingers due to lack of funds, and the secondhand market was always unpredictable and pretty expensive. I decided to go for an F-28 instead, so I got one off of Yahoo Japan for a small sum. He was very pretty, and I really liked him. But every time I looked at him, in my head, I was unconsciously comparing him to Lucas. I didn't think it was fair to him to keep him around if it was going to be like that, so he was sold, too, again in two pieces. His body is somewhere, and his head is with a friend who loves him very dearly, so that ended well. She even kept Alexiel as his middle name. ^.~

Severine (U-Noa Sist). Getting her was difficult. Bonding with her was easy. I'd stared and lusted and pined away over Sist photos for months before one ever landed in my hands... I missed two preorders and I was about in tears when, suddenly, Doll & Hobby got four U-Noa, including a pair of Sists. I snapped one up and she landed on my doorstep in two days. I have photos of my reaction to her, too (you can see me grinning even though my hands are clasped over my mouth ). I couldn't believe how tiny and perfect she was... she quite literally took my breath away. I haven't ever bought another doll in the mini scale because I don't know of any that could measure up to her... she is just so amazingly crafted, beautiful, and ethereal. The anime look is very cute... but she almost looks like she's ready to breathe. I adore her.

Kamui (CP Chiwoo). Another long dolly ordeal. Months before Chiwoo was released, I had what I guess you'd call a precognitive dream where I saw three dolls... Kaya, a Lucas, and a Chiwoo. So Chiwoo was released, and I knew he had to be mine. There were lots of setbacks, but Liria and CP were extremely, extremely sweet and patient with me, and though he arrived bald and unpainted, I was smitten as soon as I saw him. We bonded VERY tightly... very quickly. He is, quite literally, my dream boy. I guess that's got something to do with it. I rather feel like we were destined. ^^; He seems really possessive, too... I can't think of any other doll who has grabbed at my clothing to get my attention. XD Kamui gets dragged around a lot, but I don't think that aided the bonding. It was pretty much just instantaneous, and the rest is just a result of that.

I'm getting tired of writing, and I still have two dolls to go. *laughs* If you'd like those stories, I can add them later. Sorry that this is so long... but I hope it helps somehow! ^^;;;;


~Kalmia

 

Yes very interesting indeed....okay a report on bonding...well I'll try as good as I can ops:

Okay...Let me begin at the beginning:

About 2 1/2 3 years ago I first saw a wallpaper with a SD on it, I was interested but I had no idea on what it was...now I know it was a Volks F-08 doll...but okay the first doll website I saw was that of Custom House...I fell in love as soon as I saw them...but CH is very expensive with the limited editions so I just drooled over them.

When I became a little more involved in the SD world (see Yahoo groups) I found out that CH wasn't the only Doll company...so after almost 2 years of drooling and dehydrating I finally decided that I needed a Dollfie myself, I choose LUTS Chiwoo Special.

I asked Sienna if she could order him for me together with lots and LOTS of stuff with him (Paint, clothes, etc...)...so after a torment of waiting (I think 3 a 4 weeks) he finally arrived...I was in love with him instantly, I named him Madjo (the name would have been mine if I was born a boy) This I did because I wanted him to be part of me...you know my second half. We did bond but I still had the Doll feeling, he didn't feel "real" to me.

But some time after him I also ordered LUTS El Special, LUTS Lishe Special and CH Saint Mina. So they arrived...but they just didn't gave me the same feeling as Madjo did. They felt empty...dead...so I sold them...hoping they would be happier with someone who did feel something for them.

I had Madjo for almost 6-7 months, but I decided again that he wasn't the doll I really wanted, I also sold him to a great owner (who I still have contact with)...but I did miss him a lot.

Then came Volks Isao and Volks SDC Kaede...I waited for 3 months to finally get them (they were pre-ordered)...all by Sienna (yep I owe her a great THANK YOU!!), but when they came I was dissapointed...I had thought more of them, Kaede was cute but to dollish I think. And well I'm not a real fan of Volks. So again they were sold.

I was doll-less for a while...and I was itching for a doll I really REALLY wanted...then came my saviour: Anu with the Bermanns...so I jumped at the chance and I ordered a SA Bermann Shinsengumi. And after 1 1/2- 2 months he finally came....I finally knew what love at first sight was!! Man was I far gone...and I still am.

I named my SA Bermann Kaoru...some might have seen his pictures here ^_^...but I'm still falling for him everytime I see him, or take pictures of him, or what ever I do with him....he really is the Doll I always wanted...I'm planning to buy a DO Bermann as well to keep him company and to be his lover...I know he needs him for he sometimes feels lonely, or that is the feeling I'm getting from him..

So my quest to find the perfect Doll has ended for me, and I'm not dissapointed at all or feel sad...I know 6 dolls and 2 heads to finally realize it, but I'm glad I did it all.
-------------

Okay to sum this all up...I don't think it has anything to do with the price or the wait for Isao was much more expensive than Kaoru.

But I do think it's the presence the Doll gives...Kaoru has a great presence, and he is with me almost all the time. A doll can be as pretty or as expensive, but when he hasn't got a "Presence" you won't bind with him...he'll just be forgotten...which is a sad thing, because I do believe all dolls can "come" alive with the right owner.

Huggles
Sabriell & Kaoru

 

Many new doll owners worry about bonding, this sounds like a great idea!

Anyhow, here are my "bonding stories".

The Good:

Gwena -- my first SD, a Nono. I traded for her head and built her body from optional parts. I loved her at first site, though I loved her even more when I redid her face. Nono is still my favorite headmold to this day. I did have problems bonding with her because of her floppiness, though I got her new body and solved the problem.

Chloe -- my first MSD, Nasia, a Christmas gift. Her face bugged me at first, though after sanding her nose, painting her face, and the process of stringing her, we were pretty well bonded.

Filia -- my second MSD, a LE Hisui, also a Christmas gift. I liked her face mold when I first saw her, and when I got her I thought she was pretty . . . but it wasn't love at first sight. So I repainted her face and gave her new eyes, and she still seemed a little strange so I just "hung out" with her around the house for awhile and now I love her to bits.

The Bad:

Volks BW F-08 -- I assembled her from optional parts and did all the esthetic and painting, and I thought she was just gorgeous. But she seemed too docile and lacking personality, so I sold her.

SD13 Jun -- I loved Volks' promo pics, but she looked much different in real life and I just didn't like her head mold enough to justify keeping her. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew she wasn't the doll for me. Also, she looked very strange with my Nono, who will always be my #1 doll. Sold her.

School Head B Girl -- I just adored this face mold, but when I actually got one, and even painted it myself, I just didn't feel anything for her, she seemed blank to me. She wasn't as spirited and mischevious looking as I like dolls to be, so I sold her too.

And that's about it. Not the best track record, but I love the dolls that I did keep. :grin: And I now have a better idea of what kind of head molds I like, which are more impish and mischevious than pouty and angelic.

 

This definitely echos my feelings.....
The day a doll arrives, I am ALWAYS in love.....the excitement, the smell of the resin, the overall rush of it carries me through a period lasting from a few days to a few weeks.

I have failed to bond with some total stunners....and I think it's because they just aren't "right" for me.

My first bjd, Anais......
I had never seen a bjd in the "flesh" so to speak, and when I opened her box, the first thought I had is "ohhhh, she's sooo pretty!" Then, the first night, out came those goldenrod eyes! She just spoke to me.....told me her story, asked for some clothes, and basically was here to stay. I still melt every time I see her.

I have so many "non-bonding" stories, I could be here for days!
Most infamous is probably my F08 head that was painted by Sairin. I wanted her, won a head and sent it off to be painted. Sairin did a fabulous job, exactly what I wanted, but when the head came home, it was just a pretty face. Empty. She evoked no feelings in me whatsoever, apart from the admiration I felt for the talent of the artist. So, off she went, to be adored by someone that she "fit" better.

I don't think price/size/expectations have anything to do with it.....
Either the doll touches something inside you, or it doesn't.....no rhyme or reason, and impossible to predict.


Michelle

 

The gorgeous boys on the LanternLost journal on LJ sparked my interest in BJDs. (Yes I blame Kiriko Moth. :grin: ) I began surfing every which way for information and sites on BJDs. Fell in love with Isao Nanjou at first sight but ended up with Michele.

How? Because a few Michele pictures on Yahoo JP auctions showed me what he really looked like. Volks' photos don't do Michele any justice. Michele has a deep, soulful look that speaks of secret adventures and lost dreams. I realized I needed him!

He did not seem like a popular SD. Only two were being auctioned at the time and one was a head only. I had to raise my maximum bid limit twice but I was not unhappy with the final winning price. Despite the premium I had to pay, I knew he's worth every cent.

Waiting for my deputy to ship him to me was a time of great anxiety and anticipation.

I gave him the name G Skye. (I wanted "Skye" and he said to call him "G". He won't tell me what G stands for though!) We've only been together a week so we haven't completely bonded, but I spend as much time as I can with him. (And when I'm not, I'm constantly thinking of him.) G's a quiet one, with a really laidback (or perhaps a more suitable word would be unflappable) attitude. If the end of the world happened, I suspect he'd watch the drama unfold with a cup of hot coffee in his hand and that odd ghost of a smile on his lips.

G likes to have a lot of space to himself, so I don't hug him too much. He's okay with sitting in my lap to watch anime with me though. He likes the more serious kind of anime like Monster. I think he enjoys crack a la Hachimitsu to Clover but I know he will never admit it. LOL.

We're still getting to know each other. Sometimes I get the distinct feeling that he's looking for someone he knew before but he won't tell me who. Maybe one day, when he feels he can trust me completely.

Since his arrival, I've been seized with an inexplicably fierce urge to take lots of pictures of G. (He's incredibly photogenic.) I think these photo sessions will help us bond. He seems very open to my suggestions and ideas, and I'm completely mesmerized by his handsomeness. (I come across like some kind of ditzy star-struck fan, don't I? ops: )

Just yesterday I gave G a change of wig for the Bad Boy Look. (For G, I made myself learn how to sew a fur wig in 3 hours. I still can't believe I did it. LOL.) He really seemed more amused than flattered with the change of image but he posed beautifully for me. And made me wonder if he has done this sort of thing before.

G Skye makes me feel like I have something very precious to protect. He's definitely more than what he seems, with a depth of mystery and worldly-wiseness to his manner and disposition that is surprising. I want to know everything there is to know about G and I want him to know I'll always be there for him. But bonding is something that can't be rushed or demanded, so I'll follow his example and take it one day at a time, and see where that leads us.

 

Great idea meep!

My one dear - so far - is Lilianna. I could hardly breathe when I got her from the postman, raced the 25 meters back to my house and slowly opened up the box. When I saw her lying there between the pillows, even with the bubble wrap around her face I started crying because she was so beautiful, so meticulously crafted, so lovingly made. I unwrapped her, held her in my arms with my hand on hers and asked if I could name her Lilianna and be her mother and love and guard her. She said yes and we're very happy together. Hopefully none of this sounds dumb ops:

 

lol.. me too~

 

Hmm...I don't have any complete dolls yet, but I know who I want...

They are all three characters of mine, from various stories over the past several years, so they have very distinct personalities, histories, the like. I know what they look like, right down to the littlest detail. I love dolls, and BJDs are the epitome of everything I love about my favorite dolls. So I knew I needed at least one.

Rei was the first I knew I wanted as a BJD, because I've known him the longest. I looked at Volks, considered, thought...Tohya came somewhere near, but he wasn't quite it...Link came out and was totally wrong for Rei...I put Rei on the FCS backburner at that point.

Link continued to pester me..."why do I keep looking at you?" I asked again and again. Finally I knew why...he was Christian, my little male "mini-me." He moves up as a priority...I will have this one, who looked at me so knowingly.

Then there is Isao...the very first time I saw him, I felt something...he was Erik, lovely, misbehaving Erik. "I'll never be able to get an Isao...even if he's the perfect Erik..." I started to look at other dolls, hoping to find one close to being Erik. "El? Not quite, but he'll have to do." Then I chanced upon an Isao head, and was able to get him...he IS Erik, flirting one minute, brooding the next, and perfect beyond my wildest dreams.

So we are back to Rei..."I wish I could find you, my love..." Then Luts put up a new picture of El with black hair...it was REI!!! Then the new pictures of El Special...there was my dear love, in all his glory. It was like seeing an old, dear friend...I knew him the minute I saw him.

So now we are in the agony of saving...Erik will be getting his body first, then it's a matter of who is in stock when I have enough money. I will be so happy to actually be able to spend time with them all...it will be like they are coming home. I just want them to be with me, whole and perfect.

I still have to find Rei's true love, the daughter of my heart, but that's an ongoing saga.

 

I discovered BJD's when I found crysania.com looking up J-Rock. I was absolutely captivated and began to browse, finding Volks and then a beautiful boy, Dark Prince Michael. I was absolutely in love, though unsure if it was a boy or a girl (I was set on a boy ops: ). It was probably two years before I finally got him on Yahoo! Japan with the help of the wonderful Okita Kakyuu. I was thrilled, even though I choked a little on his end cost ($1,800 Canadian ). However, he didn't have the wig I wanted and after a while I found I simply wasn't bonding with him and it absolutely crushed me because I'd been in love with him forever. If you're wondering where I got the money, my bastard father gave me some money . Then everyone was going nuts over Prode of Jocker Kai on angelregion and after some browsing I found my Prode of Jocker REN, who was ABSOLUTELY perfect to me! And on a daring whim I got him! It was a very, very long wait (about two months -_-; ) because of some issues with angelregion, but then he arrived. He has this default blonde wig that didn't look anything like the wig on the site, but they'd also sent me this copper brown wig that was stunning! I wound up selling my Michael and it makes me happy knowing he's got an owner now who loves him more than I could have, and I still have my Ren and have very much bonded with him!

Michael wasn't based on anyone and neither is Ren. :3

 

I love all my boys and could rant on and on about the aquiring and loving of them all, and how 'alive' they feel to me, but in the intrest of time and space I'll focus on my 'miracle baby'.

Kika: Souldoll Paris Head (customized), Luts boy body

The first SD I ever saw was a beautiful Volks sculpt customized into Mana of Malice Mizer. It took my breath away to see his beauty and style transformed and replicated into doll form, and I started to dream of being able to do the same with the first performer who ever stunned me with his talent, style and beauty, Kikasa of Due le Quartz. It was always a pipe dream, because when I got into BJD no companies moulded a style even close to what I wanted for him, his particular androgenyous, shy beauty... and I didn't think I'd ever own a 60cm bjd.
Even when Souldoll released their limited Paris, and I realized how PERFECT the sculpt would be for Kika - Paris's head on a slender bishounen Luts body - I didn't think it would ever happen... $1400 was a bit much for my budget for just a head.
When I got word that there was going to be a general release for Paris... I knew I couldn't turn it down. I started stalking the Souldoll site, I couldn't put it out of my mind. ^^; My order for Paris went through 7 minutes after he was made availble.... 13 minutes _before_ Souldoll had even sent out the release announcement e-mail. And I waited with baited breath for him to arrive.

When people heard my plans... they told me I was absolutely insane, that I couldn't _POSSIBLY_ make Manly Paris into a femmy goth bishounen, that he'd just look like a boy in bad drag. But I never lost site of what I knew I could customize him into. ^^ When he arrived, I gave him a very simple temporary faceup to last until I could afford to buy him his Luts body, and he was just as sweet and shy as I'd always imagined him to be. Something that endeared him to me even more was that his hand got broken in shipping... it felt like he was very hurt and traumatized, so I got to bandage it up for a week and plead his cause to Souldoll for a new hand. (they sent one right away, in a box 50 times it's size, verrrry carefully packaged. ^_~ )

Some time and body swapping later, he was together as he was meant to be. The Paris head had to be "blushed" lighter -extensively- in order to get it pale enough to match Luts Beauty-White. He got his simple elegant visual makeup. And he started to feel more beautiful and elegant and confident in himself, instead of the shy little boy with the broken hand who'd arrived at my door.

Now every time I look at him, I can't believe how perfect he is, how he's exactly as I wanted him to be.

Strangely, of my four boys, Kika's the only one who's kept his default eyes....

Feel free to use the above linked pics, and I'll add a couple later tonight of him fully dressed as his namesake. ^_~ (but I can't guarentee how long they'll be on my server....)

 

I felt like I had bonded with Kelyn before he even arrived. But he was a personality in my head months (at least 4) before his body arrived.
I bugged kittybox into helping me order him ...Then waited two months...And then waited for USPS to get a clue and ship him to the right state. :P
Soon as the box was in my arms I hugged the freakin' box... ops: Flew to my dorm and opened him in the empty common room; ever so carefully. I nearly cried. Really. :P I put his jeans on him, and his shirt, and stood him up. And he bowed to me. It was his first pose, honest! I've hugged and loved on him ever since. :3

...It's like having a pet that you don't have to feed... (just dress...*cough*) : )

 

I only have one boy, and that's probably because of the way I've bonded with him. Jaede is my "first and only."

I had been introduced to BJDs by my friend Kalmia. I spent spring break at her house and met her dolls for the first time. I was amazed at them and their beauty! And when I left, I found myself missing her dolls too! How strange, I thought. That was when I knew I was falling for BJDs... I researched buying a Soo Special from Luts, because there were no boy BJDs that fit my tastes. Then the promo pictures of El were released and I knew I just had to have him. Love at first sight, if you believe in that. I was in my junior year of high school, having moved across the country that same year. I was lonely and sad, needing something to keep me company and inspire me. Jaede was just the solution!

I'd been saving money for nearly a year beforehand (before I knew I wanted a doll), but I took all that and then some, sending it over to Liria.. It was hard to let it all go (I'd never bought anything that expensive in my life), but I trusted Liria and CP. I waited for Jaede to come home.. And when he did, I was practically in shock. He was so perfect and beautiful. I took pictures of him and posted them on the old DoA group... Sometimes I would catch myself staring at the pictures on the computer, still amazed that I had the real thing sitting just a few feet away!

Jaede is more like my companion than anything. I've bonded with him in a way that I don't think will happen with any other doll. Whenever I'm feeling down, I'll put him in my lap or sit in bed with him. I've made a habit out of doing that, so my parents tend to ask me if I'm okay whenever I have him in my lap at the computer. ^^; I know it might sound a little silly to some to love one single doll so much, but that's just the way I am.

Edit: A picture...

 

Well, I guess I'll talk about the hair-raising experience of getting Haika, since I bonded with Suki before he even got here (and burst into tears when I opened the box ops: ) and 'hiko and I also got along really well right away.

Ever since I got into BJDs, I wanted Mana doll. I searched high and low, decided on a headmold I wanted, then changed my mind later. When I saw Madoka for the first time, I thought: wow, if that was a boy, he'd be perfect! (not thinking, of course, that I could just get a boy body).
Then I stared to wonder if I'd rather have an original character instead of a doll of an actual person so that he could develop more as his own character....it's difficult to explain. Anyway, I had a character who was loosely based on Mana named Haika and he had appeared in one incarnation or another in almost every piece of writing I'd done since I made him up, I couldn't stop thinking about him! So I decided he would take the place of Mana.

I tried so, so hard to get ahold of a Madoka head but I just didn't have the money. Then I thought Cecil would be the perfect head for him, but I failed to win one of those either, they were just beyond my price range. Then I thought perhaps Tohya....so I bid and bid and finally I won! I was so ecstatic but terrified at the same time. I'd never paid so much for a doll on one hand, and on the other hand he was such a specific character in my mind, what if he wasn't right?

I agonized while I waited for him to arrive, sure that when he got to me, he wouldn't be right and I'd be crushed. But when I pulled him out of the box, I was a little hesitant, but it seemed like Haika. I set right to work painting his face and making him clothes and suddenly I was so bonded to him that I couldn't let him go!

Even to this day, I haven't perfected his faceup, I haven't gotten him the right color eyes, I haven't gotten a wig I'm satisfied with, I haven't built up the kind of wardrobe that I would have liked, but he is so precious to me that none of that matters now. It's hard to believe that I ever doubted that he would be absolutely perfect. He was really worth all the trouble I went through to get him

 

This is an interesting topic ;...My english isn't perfect so I hope I make sense here~ops: and VERY sorry for the LONG LONG post...This post got me thinking and remembering my dolls' history

:Amelie:
When I started to look around for BJDs, I was more of a CH fan... I was choosing between Sia and Choa (When Sia was posted in DOA marketplace, I had to have her~ However, I had problems with the seller as she took ages to mail Amelie out and she disappear for a few periods that made me worried A LOT (tot I was scammed but she came through). When Amelie came, she needed a place to be loved and I am here to love her wholeheartedly too. My Amelie is my precious. She is like my constant support. I sent her to get her face up done and sew clothes for her. I bonded with her instantly even when she arrived without a faceup. Some people asked why I don’t post pics of her as frequent as I used to… Simple, Amelie is missing an eyebrow and I don’t like people to tease my baby about it :P… Now I sent her to Pookie to get her face up re done, expect to see MORE of her when she comes back~

ean:
I always like El from the luts website and know that Amelie will like to have a friend. I knew I couldn't afford him since I got Amelie but it was more of a luck thing when I won a sum of money. Hence I ordered him for Amelie as Amelie seem abit lonely. I didn't expect to get the elf-el but he arrived unexpectedly. His face up was what I envisioned Amelie’s partner to be. When I put them together, I sense "chemistry" between them and I am so glad that Amelie has someone to really be there for her~ I feel very calm looking at them together too~:3 I officially got him after a lot of ruckus and sorting things out. I am very glad that he got to stay as I felt that he stolen Amelie’s heart when she first set eyes on him. All the mushy feelings come to me when I placed them together :3

:Mirki:
Mirki was the only MSD who caught my breath when he was in the yahoo Jp auction. I went wild for him and got him. His auction came at a very bad time as I had sick pets and I was in the verge of breaking down. But everything became alright and I dealt with my finances. I bought the little bugger and brought him to my Shang Hai trip. We bonded even since~ One thing that makes me go crazy is whenever I tried to sew something for Mirki, it ends up being suitable for my bigger dolls. So I got wonderful DOA members to do commissions for Mirki~

arryn “Memory”:
My family asked me what I really want for Christmas. I didn't tell them until my mum saw my written one-year plan to save up for the sch head.. She told me not to be silly to pine for something for so long, she told me to go ahead and get the head for my Christmas present. I refuse to let my family bear the full cost and so I went ahead to get the body using my own money :P. Getting Darryn was a PAIN in the *BEEP* coz I lost countless auctions in yahoo jp… some blank sch heads and some with wonderful face ups. I remembered I cried when I lost one wonderful custom sch head A (I tot I had a great chance in winning him as my max bid was USD1000 BUT I lost ;_; ) I decided to try for one last try and Darryn was the result of a successful bid (and my final try in yahoo jp)~ I adore him deeply coz Darryn was a gift from my family and myself. ~ Wonderful Djinn of Tangled Web did Darryn's face up coz I wasn't happy with my own work. Djinn is very patient with me and I adore her work~ Oh yah~ Darryn's name was lucky picked from alot of suggested names by DOA members


:Mini May: to :Éclair:
I was tempted to get a mini may or petite ai~ I ordered a mini may but when she arrived....she was too SMALL. I sold her coz I really couldn't bond...I did everything from getting her wigs/clothes etc (I sold the WHOLE lot of clothes/carrier etc) .My bf then decided to pay for my petite ai when I was sighing on the CH site. He laughed and said that I look very "maternal" and my b-day was coming (he didn’t know what to get for me ops. I went ahead to get her and sent her to get her face up by Pookie.

:Eliliane:
Ando has been one of my secret cravings since I saw one in ebay last yr. But I dismissed it as just too rare/difficult to get. When a member on DOA posted that she had an Ando head, I pmed her immediately and I had the vibes running through me throughout the whole transaction that Ando will be a sassy girl and definitely not a boy. I got a sd13 Yori and sold off her head coz I was determined to see my Ando girl dream come true. I named my Ando girl, Eliliane after a close friend of mine who is also in the BJD hobby.

:Xiao Bai:
I got her as I envisioned a bikini/lingerie model in my family~ When Gloria posted her head up for sale. I went for it. No regrets there. I am still in the process of bonding with her and I have been busy with school etc. She is my sexy chick in my family and I am hopeful that we will bond for the months to come~

Have I missed out anyone in my family? I hope not…  The ones that I most are attached to are Amelie and Darryn (Guess it is pretty obvious~ ops I love all my dolls in my BJD family and they each hold a certain sentimental value to my heart.

Bonding with my dolls consist of dressing them up and taking pictures/ watching tv together. I also bring my dolls for car rides in my little toyota echo and just drive away without a care to the world, on the way, I would also have planned solitary picnics out in the countryside (LOL...I am in the countryside-2 hr drive away from the city) and I feel like Alice in Wonderland (tea party with my whole BJD family). These are the only times where I don't like to invite other people as this is my cherished time alone with dolls. I would have my dolls, my own little basket of lunch (smoked salmon/bread/tea/soup/sweets/chocolates etc) and wonderful Australian greenery all around me...Now that it's winter..it's pretty difficult to have those anymore...But my exploration of Australian countryside would definitely include my dolls and soon I will be going back to Singapore for good after I finish up my degree~ Can't bear to leave this place but also can't wait to see the wonderful Singapore BJD owners and friends I befriended during my summer break in Singapore.

 

Takeo:
Well, I had been going through a BJD phase about two or three years ago. I saw a few, I liked them, but I was 12 or 13.. so there was no way in hell I could afford one. Also, there wasn't a doll that screamed out to me to work my ass off to get him.
So I forgot about them temporarily, untill my girlfriend (Tasu) and one of my good friends ( Minako Labelle) got me back into them again somehow.
So blah blah blah, I was back into BJD but again, nothing I really wanted.
I had found the DoD website a year or two before, but there had been nothing I really wanted. So I was prompted by another dollfan I knew to go look at it again, since there were four new boys up.
I saw Hoo. I promptly died. Then I woke up and began plotting ways to get him.
Not only did he fill my want for a 'mature looking, boy-looking boy' he also was perfect for a favourite character from a book I had been reading.
Takeo Otori, messed up and misunderstood Ninja boy with a penchant for attracting trouble.
So my father began pestering me about what I want for christmas and as per usual, I just kinda shrugged and gave him the 'dunno' face. So he checked the histories of the websites I had been looking through and found D.O.D
Long story short, I've had Takeo about..three months now?
I got him and he turned out to be alot more of an a$$hole then I expected. But that grew on me, and I love him even more.


Yamato:
Saw him, was amazed. Saw him again, NEEDED HIM.
Asked father if he could help in lending the money. Father just bought it instead.
This whole thing happened in about a week.
It is my goal to make the most quirky,bitchy and highly amusing Sakaki on the face of the planet. Wings and chainsmoking = Yamato.

 

Ok!
I'll love to tell it and read the posts, but I'll tell it first then I'll read.
I first saw BJDs looking for another things - Phantasmagoria, a lil program on tv that was sweet, sad and cute. I found a site called Phantasmagoria that had that dolls... I loved them, I wanted one but i couldn't find any info that could help me.
Then I met Arashi666, she teached me everything she knew about bjds! I asked loads of questions and, after meeting Leviathan, I realized how big and pretty they were!
I saw the DOD website and loved Yen! But... Yen wasn't a girl, so he was not what I was looking for. I wanted a girl.. a girl to make me company... even if the boys were gorgeous... I wanted a lil girl to make me company! So... I looked down and saw Mir! Love at fist look!
I started to work for her. I would spend just 16 dollars with me by month. Nothing more.
I couldn't find any pics of her, just one at a chinese union of dod dolls. The chinese union made me realize that we needed a international one... that it'd be so much help. So, I started doing the union at the same time I started getting money to Chocolate.

Then I saw cyworld dod club. I couldn't understand how to join but after 3 days trying I could make account to me, to Yela and, by mistake, another account for me that I share with people that want DOD dolls and don't see very much of them around... (glad that they are careful ^^)
I just looked at every single pic of mir. Yeah, all the pages. Some had lovely face ups, some had wierd looks... but I loved her.
Chocolate started to show me her personality... she was sweet.. she was a candy. Her name? "Give me mommy, don't you give names for the kids? Neee... they are too lil to pick one! I want mommy to give my name tooo!"
"As the daugther of Cocoa (Cocoa = Cacau) you'll be the Chocolate"
The vacations came... I wanted to spend time with my best friend that was on another school but... I had to work hard!!! So, I worked only at mornings when Tsukino could come to see me and worked the whole day when she couldn't.
At the end of vacations i could buy her.
I e-mailed DOD asking for the peach make-up make her "Sweet and cheerful, like an angel"
After weeks of waiting she was shipped.
Everyday I'd run to my house from school (yeah, I go walking...) to see if she arrived...
Then, suddenly, I was at home with my sister and her friend, Akemi (funny thing: both of us are more atached to japanise friends since lil! Same with my mother at our age o.o'), when the door ringed it was the mailman! Oh! I went crazzy but...
"You have to pay..."
WHAT?? How much was that?? OMG! 70% of her price!!! My family is on a bad situation of money... i can't... i shouldn't!! dear... - I started crying... and called mommy... she asked to send her to the office, so she would pay. A few time latter my cousin came bringing her.
I opened her calmly. Funny, I've aways been calm on dolls arrivals... She was there, with me, no need to hurry.
I was very afraid. I wanted her to have blue eyes....
Then I oppened and saw black eyes! But you know what? Fitted her PERFECTLY!
She was the cutest thing ever! And I couldn't stop telling her how pretty she was!!!
Everyone was impressed by her beauty and my cousin impressed that I was acting like I was back to my child years...
I hugged her, changed her clothes... she was great! I wanted to take pics... but so did my sister.
At the first 2 days I was a lil bit uncertain if I loved her or if I should sell her since I was feeling bad by making my family pay taxs...
Then, I decided being with her forever! She was my lil baby!!
I talked with her, told my stories, my problems. Kissed her at night... at my mind she answered me... now my 3 minds were 4: the good me, the evil me, the normal me and CHOCOLATE ^^
Well... I worked 6 months for free to pay the taxs... It remembers me a bible storie XD

After a few time I felt Choco was interested about Love an then Mikael apeared at my mind, different from ehr he came before picking up a body... so... his personality has made and remade a few times and his body changed and changed.
After a poll I felt bad when I saw Hoo losing so I decided it was him (he ended up winning the poll).
I started to make plans to get him... I was a lil bit sad 'cause I'd have to give up loads of stuff to pay him. Dollar was on a hight price... So, I asked mommy to help with 22 dollars.
Then... all of sudden... my mother decided he'd be my X-MAS GIFT! I went crazzy! That was amazing!!!!
We ordered him and WOW! I was so happy!
The waiting was hard but I had Choco with me. Both of us were absolutly on angst waiting but keeping each other company!
I was afraid I'd not bond...
There were only a few pics of Hoo and I was afraid I could get the wrong body for Mikael.
Well... I was at my house, sick, hearing the CD my teacher showed me when the door ringed! IT WAS MIKAEL!!!
I oppened him and WOW! Loads of extras by DOD!!!! Then I got him and WOW! Beautiful! But.... no voice talked to me.
I took a few pictures, Choco was happy but... Mikael wasn't talking to me... then I asked... "Mikael... why... aren't you talking to me?" - silence..............
But then " I'm NAKED, BALD and YOU want me to talk with YOU?? COME ON!!!" - well.. a few clothes on and he was talking a lot!

I must confess my love for them is pretty different! I LOVE Chocolate just like a daugther. Mikael I LOVE more on a friend way!
I don't think I love one more than other, just on different ways!

Funny is that the photostories I make are not planned... It happens... when I'm taking pics they talk to me and ask me to do this or that, to move their hand this or that way...
Of course at the moment I'm writing I don't remember very well what they said but I try making it almost exactly how they said.

 

Interesting thread!

Well... I must admit I always found it very hard to immediately bond with every BJD I bought, probably because it has always been very hard for me to get them...
Maybe this is the reason why I still feel in awe with them, and almost am afraid to touch them, sometimes! ops:

Just to make an example, I waited a year and a month before finally finding the courage to re-string my first SD! ops: ops:

 

Absynthe & Rosiel:
(DOD Tender Too & Bee-a)

When I ordered them, I already knew their names. I fell in love with them instantly the moment that I saw their pics on DOD. I had the usual worries about whether or not the make-up would be right, and was nervous about the long wait - but as soon as they arrived my nerves were settled. They were so perfect, and they still are ^_^

I was originally going to have them be a naughty pair & do a series of photostories where even though they "loved" eachother, they were always trying to kill eachother. But as soon as I looked at them in person I knew that wasn't to be their fate. I don't own them, they own me.

I fall more and more in love with my dolls over time - they're constantly showing another side of their personality whenever I change their wigs & clothes.

Kurai:
(Volks SDC Kurenai)

Kurai was a shock to me. I had fallen in love with her when Volks released her pics & info, but I gave up on her when I saw that she was a LE. I usually don't try things like the dolpa after-party because it's too stressful.

But I guess a dollie angel was sitting on my shoulder, because I was probably the last person to get her - the volks site was having problems, and late at night when I checked they had "a little left over". When I checked again after I had ordered her, she was sold out.

She arrived a week later. She makes me smile whenever I look at her. Her expression, face-up, and even her resin is bright & sunny. I don't have any outfits for her yet, but I do have some different wigs that bring out even more of her personality.

I think one of the reasons that I bond so well with my dolls, is because through them I show a bit of my personality as well. A part of me that I can't really show IRL, so it's shown through my dolls.

Dolls I didn't bond with:

I have had some dolls that I didn't bond with so well. I had a Luts Angel Elf Soo that lasted less than a month here before I sold her to another DoA member. My first BJD was a Dollfie Dream, but even though I did bond with her, she was more of a starter doll for me. I didn't attach to her as well once I got my DOD dolls, so I sold her.

After going through the DD & AESoo, I've realized that I just don't bond as well with the 60cm dolls. I like the MSD-sized ones. They are easier to carry around & pose, and don't take up as much room.