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Why make up stories for your dolls?, it's just a doll, right?

Sep 10, 2009

    1. Because its fun to have a physical embodiment of a character you made up. Its alot more fun to have a character for your doll. I wouldnt make a character for a procilien doll since Im not going to play with that.. (id actually stuff it in my closet -shudders-)

      Yeah they are just dolls, but Id rather have a doll with a character and name, rather then one that is namless and a nobody to me. Or has a name but is nothing. My imagination wont allow it anyhow. :)
       
    2. I don't have mine yet, but she will probably end up with one the same way my Guitar Hero character, Charles did. I just made him and he started telling the story in my head on his own!

      I think when Yuki gets here she will do that same!

      It's sort of fun because it gives them personalities.
       
    3. Why not? I personally find the stories to be fascinating - a doll without a story just isn't alive, to me. And the stories seem to build themselves, each doll fits itself right in. It's not hard for me to give them characters, they seem to "tell" me who they are and where they belong, often even before I've bought them, and always as soon as they have a faceup I can tell who they are. I personally would never spend the amount of money I've spent on even the least expensive of my dolls if he or she did not have a personality and character. I thought I didn't like dolls. And I still don't like most dolls, but I LOVE most BJDs. The only reason I would ever consider buying a doll that didn't have a character is to swipe its clothing for one of my dolls that does have a character.

      There's nothing wrong with NOT having a story, of course, we all collect differently. But for me personally, the characters are what make this hobby attractive. If the doll didn't have a character and was just pretty, it wouldn't need the poseability and customizability of a BJD. I could just look at photos of it and enjoy it that way (and there are plenty of dolls I think are beautiful and enjoy seeing photos of, but do not want to own myself).

      The plus side of having a doll just be a doll, is that you could choose to dress it however you want and put it in whatever hair you want, and change it as often as you want. I absolutely can't do that with my dolls. They have a certain style and it just feels WRONG to put them in hair they would not have or clothes they would not wear. I've got a couple who are pretty flexible about what they'll wear, but I can still tell when something isn't right!
       
    4. I originally had a story long before I had my dolls.
      The dolls will represent the characters in my story and to actually see them IRL is the best thing EVER. It feels as though you had brought your characters to live through the dolls. They will portray the characters exactly how they are in the story. And so, no, I don't think they are just dolls. To me, they are my real-life OCs. ^^ It just makes you love your dolls even more.
       
    5. i read a lot and it's getting to the point where the pickings are getting slim, for the genre of books i read.

      so it's nice to have made up my own fanfiction based off of my doll(s). i didn't have a story long in place like other, but rather, came up with a story knowing i wanted a doll and then found the doll that matched the character in the story i made up.

      so why make a story? it's more fun that way to me. its not just a doll that sits there. that doll has a history, a name, a personality, etc. however, i hope when he arrives, that he doesn't dump my story for him and change everything! :)
       
    6. I had the story since I was twelve. And got my first BJD related to it when I was 21.

      Some dolls i see, they look too much like what I imagined for my characters, so I go after them.

      Now, I have two with a story (Zero and Akemi), and they're from the same one.

      I have one (and another on the way), that totally lack any story. All they really have are names and what I'd like them to look like.
       
    7. If you have a character personality, and create a story around that character, you can almost say you are bringing that character to life by creating a story. It makes the dolls alot more interesting than just saying it's just a doll.
      Also stories behind scars, injuries, or even tattoos on your doll can make your doll very interesting and something to talk about. :)
       
    8. Despite the fact that my dolls are designed after characters from my art and stories, I view them more like big action/display figures than I do as characters themselves. I love toys, and I being able to shape these dolls out of an image in my head, but the dolls themselves are just dolls. I don't really see the doll having its own personality, it's more just me enjoying my own works in different medium. I have a few small official figures from comics I enjoy and my dolls are a lot like that.

      I think this helps me not stress too much as to whether or not the doll I chose to match the character fits perfectly because foremost when choosing a doll I want something nice to look at. I'd love to one day have figures really based off of my works but since that's a pretty far off dream I've got a pretty good substitute already.
       
    9. like many others i have a story which comes with a lot of characters i would like to have in, you know .. 3D. that's what really got me into wanting a BJD. and that's also why i'm so super picky right now when it comes to ordering my first one because i don't just want it as a lifeless doll, but i want it as a kind of vessel for one of my original characters that kept me busy in the creativity department for so long :)
       
    10. I just realised...I don't think I've ever actually made up a story with my dolls....unless you're counting the occassional photo story to go with a box opening or gift swap. Which is VERY strange since I'm a published writer. I think if I started actually making up detailed stories about them, maybe it would feel too much like work...? I'm not sure lol

      What DO do is develop their personalities, but then only after they arrive. I like letting it unfold as I paint them, style them etc. So I have a very clear idea of 'who' they are, but have never written stories about them.

      I suppose I'm an example of one of those creative brains who doesn't do much in the way of doll-related story telling
       
    11. I have had a long-running fantasy story in my head and on paper since I was thirteen, and trust me, that was a long time ago! I've also got another one I'm trying to write now. My wish list is full of dolls for those characters and searching them out gives me hours of enjoyment. But I have yet to actually own one of them. My current dolls are their own characters and there really isn't anything thematically unifying about my collection. Because I like to write, I can't have a doll without creating a character and backstory for it. I let them speak to me when they arrive. My newest girl has required a fair bit of modding/repair and it's not done yet. She hasn't told me her name or story, though a few things are percolating in my back brain. I think she might be my first little Goth girl, which is intriguing, because I really don't go for that as a rule.
       
    12. I believe, along with many of the other posters here, that dolls are a creative outlet. Whether you're making up accessories or stories for them, it's engaging your mind and you're thinking differently. I think it's what makes them so enjoyable. :)

      I enjoy reading and writing and occasionally my mind wanders, imagining what my dolls would get up to if they were alive. I think certain molds seem to give off a clear "personality vibe" and I adore that. Seeing a grumpy doll and wondering how they'd have gotten to that facial expression... curious! so, though I don't have any characters per say or existing backstories, they stir my imagination daily and it's enough for me :aheartbea
       
    13. At present, I find it to be a fun way of letting my hobby interests evolve. I do not have a pre-existing back-story for them as such, at the moment I see dolls I like and see if I can fit 'em in somehow ;) If I cannot find a "personality" or a reason for them to interact with my existing dolls, I will call it quits on a new doll... I do this because it keeps my purchases in check ;)

      I am expecting my hobby to evolve further over the years, and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops. I can see a possibility that one day I might scrap the stories and just collect the dolls, but who knows ^_^

      There are very many ways of enjoying the hobby :)
       
    14. I'm a writer, so I love being able to have three-dimensional forms of my characters. It's one of my ways of enjoying the hobby, and it even inspires me to write more often: when I look at my dolls, it just makes me want to work on the stories they come from! In my case, I didn't create the stories for the dolls, I created the dolls for the story because I think it's a fun, unusual, and creative way to explore my characters. :)
       
    15. I think its a way for us to explore our creative side, its like how a writer creates a story or how scriptwriter makes a script. And basically its fun to make stories about a doll. :)
       
    16. well, I think it seems interesting, It gives your doll background, personality, reason for why she/he is like that (style). I mean, I'm using my doll as a character in a novel I'm writing XD I think it's fun!
       
    17. I don't so much make up stories for my dolls as make up dolls for my stories.
       
    18. I believe it gives dolls more realism its all apart of their personality, people who see them as just dolls I think aren't getting the true joy out of them. Dolls have personalities and stories just as a humans but they are just in a different form.
       
    19. Well it's because my stories came first... these dolls are characters from those stories brought to a 3 dimensional view... now they aren't just descriptions or pictures... they are 'real'!

      So I'm not 'making up stories about my dolls'... quite the opposite, I'm getting dolls that represent my stories.

      That's me though... it's the whole 'chicken or egg' thing... lots of people buy dolls then make up stories later.

      I assure you that when all I had was barbies, I never really had names or consistent stories about them at all (not to say bjds are anything like barbies ;P)
       
    20. I agree that it has nothing to do with the level of creativity that the owner possesses. There are as many ways of expressing creativity as there are owners, so lets all be respectful of that.

      Like many people here I have an existing 'universe' and characters within that universe. My dolls fit into that but also develop it I find. Something about actually completing a character within the shell of a physical object is both satisfying and enlightening.

      This post really says it best.