original character concepts (updated 9/16/17)!

I'll try to keep this mercifully short because I can sometimes be the type to blather on and on about my girls, but i wanted to give some brief character introductions so people wouldn't be too confused when they see that Teke doesn't have any legs... or that Mami has a second mouth on the back of her head... or that two of my (future, hopefully) girls have no real faces to speak of :p

 

All of my dolls are based off of Japanese yokai and urban legends. They're all high-school age and attend class together at Osakabe Academy. Their hobbies and character traits are very much related to the demons/monsters they're based on.

 

Chiruri (Ruri for short) is a yurei (ghost or spirit), and is sort of bound to the school as it was her place of death. She doesn't really remember anything about the cirbleepstances regarding her death and doesn't have an overwhelming desire to find out about it, but since her lack of memory keeps her tethered to the world of the living, she feels it'd be nice to know. Ruri is very shy and kind of an airhead. She is easily swayed by the desires of others and tends to just go along with whatever her friends or classmates would like to do as far as extracurricular activities are concerned. She enjoys cooking for her friends and quiet hobbies like sewing. Ruri is extremely attached to Fuyumi.

 

Mami is a futakuchi onna (woman with two mouths). She's a year above Ruri and Teke and is her class rep. Mami is what Teke would call "the fun police" of the group of girls. She doesn't enjoy joking around and is easily annoyed by the sometimes childish antics of a few members of her friend group. Mami is known for being a junk food junkie and can often be seen at the local konbini picking up some of her favorite snacks before heading home after school. She does try to eat healthy, but much to her dismay, the mouth in the back of her head (the mouth that actually eats) won't have any of it. No matter how she presents or seasons the food, it's refused-- or worse, spat across the room. Mami's hair acts as the arms and hands of her second mouth, and takes pains trying to teach the mouth to be more ladylike and use utensils when it eats instead of just shoveling gobs of food into it's maw. She is a member of the tea club. Mami and Hacchi have an unclear relationship with one another.

 

Teke is based on the rather gruesome urban legend of teke-teke (I would recommend googling this one). She has no legs and gets around on her hands, wearing a pair of special gloves that reduce shock and wear on her palms. She is one of her school's star gymnasts and performs especially well on the aerial rings and balance beam. Teke is very competitive and energetic, which is both a blessing and a curse depending on who she's around. She quite often tries to cajole the group into going out together or into doing less savory things like snooping around the school. Teke is a gossip and has a bad habit of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, and is unfortunately not good enough of a sneak to avoid getting caught. She enjoys shonen manga and online videogames. She gets along with most everybody in the group aside from Mami and Sayuri, whom she finds to be really pretentious.

 

Eiko is a kuchisake-onna (slit-mouthed woman). She is very much into fashion and all things cute and stylish, and can be found frequenting Shibuya and fawning over dresses, jewelry, shoes, and just about anything else she can pretty herself up in. Despite this borderline obsession with style, Eiko is very far from vain. Much of what she does is to detract from the fact that she has somewhat of an unsightly gash for a mouth– a permanent smile that was carved there by a nameless, faceless stranger. She wears a surgical mask or a muffler almost constantly, and will do anything to avoid taking it off. Eiko is kind of boy-crazy and really wants to be in a relationship, but worries about how her smile might terrify prospective suitors. She’s not the smartest person in her class, but she enjoys helping her classmates with different tasks and seems to like attending Fuyumi’s study groups. In her spare time, she makes deco phone cases that she sells online. Eiko is sometimes uneasy around Teke but can never seem to put a finger on why that is.

 

Fuyumi (“Fuumi”) is a tsurara-onna (icicle woman). She is well-mannered, organized, friendly, and polite– ideal for her role as her class president. Fuyumi is very close to being a perfect student, and although many might at first be inclined to call her the teacher’s pet, after being around her for a short time it becomes very clear that Fuyumi didn’t earn her reputation by simply sucking up to authority. She is hard-working and disciplined, and tries to instill that same work ethic in her friends and classmates. She wants to see them succeed in school, and organizes regular study groups in the school library which are very popular when exams draw near. She has somewhat of an “older sister” personality, and can be someone her friends often turn to for comfort and advice– Ruri in particular. In sharp contrast, it’s very difficult for Fuyumi to reach out to anyone for help or to accept their assistance. This makes her feel very closed off and isolated from her classmates, a feeling which she also keeps under very tight wraps. Tsurara-onna are said to feed on lonliness-- and as the saying goes, you are what you eat.

 

Sayuri is a kijo/hannya (woman who has been transformed into a demon/an oni due to jealousy). She is the school’s “ojou-sama” figure– the girl who turns everyone’s heads as she walks down the hall. The boys want her, the girls want to be her; this daughter of a wealthy business owner who has, as her male classmates say “graced the halls of this poor excuse of a school with her presence.” Sayuri was raised in a very sheltered household and resents that immensely. She envies her classmates who can simply be themselves, who don’t have to worry about being the face of a legacy that they aren’t even really a part of at this point. She is expected to be eloquent, poised and composed at all times in front of her classmates and the general public, a feat which has started to wear on her more and more as the years go by. As a result of this jealousy of her fellow students and hatred of the house that she can’t seem to free herself from, Sayuri has taken on a dual lifestyle. After dark she escapes to the crowded, dimly lit streets of Shinjuku and Roppongi, where that “good girl” personality twists itself into something very different.

 

Hachirou (“Hacchi”) is a jorogumo (“entangling bride” or lit. “whore spider”). Formerly a 400-year-old golden orb weaver spider, she has now taken on a half human, half arachnid form since reaching this “magical” age. Prior to her transformation, Hacchi was the pet of an amateur entomologist, who incorrectly gave her a male name due to her small size (male spiders are often smaller than females). She has her classmates call her Hacchi instead of Hachirou because “it sounds cuter.” Hacchi doesn’t (can’t) speak, and is really only able to make soft and indistinct sounds which she often uses to punctuate her language of choice– sign language. Hacchi has 4 arms and 4 legs (being a spider girl), and signs with all four of those hands, sometimes simultaneously. She isn’t one to mince words and her blunt phrasing can often be shocking to those who don’t know her well. Hacchi is a member of the school’s calligraphy club and the captain of the swim team. Some of the girls find her difficult to spend time with because she likes to wander, and often isn't very forthcoming with her thoughts and feelings.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Guest

This sounds very creative and fun. Can't wait to see which sculpts you use, and how the girls look when you're done. You will have a much easier time making Teke from a Dollfie Dream instead of from a strung resin BJD!

 

Linda S.

galatia9

Thank you! I should be able to post some pictures soon -- all the faceups are done, but I sort of want to wait until the major body modifications are finished...

 

You will have a much easier time making Teke from a Dollfie Dream instead of from a strung resin BJD!

 

Thank god for the internal skeletons on DDs. The only thing that's been holding me up is the fact that her lower body keeps slipping down the frame because her legs aren't there to stop that anymore I'm currently trying to modify the skeleton so it'll hold the lower body in place while still allowing normal range of motion.

These are some cool characters! so you've picked out the dolls you will use already I gather? I'm excited to see such creative characters brought into DD form!

so you've picked out the dolls you will use already I gather?

 

I have character concepts and very basic ideas of what each of them might look like, but so far (except for Teke), I haven't seen a sculpt where I think to myself "oh, I HAVE to have her!! she would be perfect for this character!" That day could creep up on me soon, though

 

For the most part, the process has been getting the girl first and spending some time with her to figure out her "personality" so to speak (does that sound weird?) before deciding to shell a character with her. Almost like letting her pick herself.

 

I never really have a concrete idea for my faceups either, now that I think about it... maybe an overall expression, but I just kinda let myself work without thinking when it comes to doing lashes and stuff...

 

Your encouragement means a lot!

Thats so exciting! All your girls sound like they'll turn out beautifully haunting and unique at the same time

Im a big fan of japanese folklore, but i didn't hear about the teke teke before o.O

I love how you made her a gymnast xD its so perfect! Im really curious! I hope i get to see some of your ideas become reality pretty soon

Updated to include girls that made their way into my family within the last year! This thread is missing Hitomi because she isn't really finished yet-- as soon as I have a more complete story for her, I'll add her too

This sounds super interesting! I can't wait to see how they all turn out, and to see more of your stories with them!