Ways to bond with your DD?

So I've been having a lot of contemplation of selling Hatsune Miku and Naomi Nakashima(Sakura Shinguji). It seems like Kagamine Rin and Mariko are the favorites now and get the most attention. I've been trying everything. From buying new clothes for them, to changing up their styles completely. But they just don't seem to stay with me anymore.

I've even tried to put away Kagamine Rin and Mariko to make them feel like they are absent but I just think of them again and put them back with the other girls.

 

It's getting so bad that I think I'm starting to see dust form on Miku.

I would consider them giving them a new home but Miku was a gift I don't want to sell, and I went through so much trouble on getting Naomi.

 

Anyone have any sort of tips on rebonding with a DD?

 

A side note: Miku has been with me for nearly a whole year now and the bond wasn't great from the beginning.

One thing that always helps me bond with a new doll is doing some photoshoots, and going out of my way to try different poses to bring out their personality. And if you've got more than one doll, it helps me a lot to try doing photos with the new doll and one of my others together, interacting.

 

For instance, my Miku I didn't 100% click with till I did a shoot of her and Homura together, where the poses were Miku teasing and absolutely TROLLING Homura, Homura's death threats be damned.

 

Though in that case, I now have a different dilemna, where the Miku in my head doesn't quite match the Miku other people see in the default faceup. The cognitive dissonance seriously bothers me, so once I finally finish getting my craft room in order, I'll be giving her a new, more smug and flirty faceup.

 

So, that's another option: new faceup. It sounds like your girls are all currently default/factory faceups, and let's be honest, those can sometimes be a little blah. If a good photoshoot doesn't help you bond in and of itself, it likely will at least give you some ideas for a faceup direction for them.

 

And lastly, you could instead go the route that Scripple goes with when he writes a girl out of his story: Put them in a fancy outfit, and they're now display/shelf babies.

 

So, that's another option: new faceup. It sounds like your girls are all currently default/factory faceups, and let's be honest, those can sometimes be a little blah. If a good photoshoot doesn't help you bond in and of itself, it likely will at least give you some ideas for a faceup direction for them.

 

I have always been afraid to wipe the factory faceup from them, but you know what, hearing about this is now giving me thoughts of freshening up Miku and Naomi with a new faceup!

Hm...for me, the first sorts of things I do when I get a new doll to start my bonding process is just including them in whatever I'm doing during leisure time for the first week or so. But this sort of method doesn't really work for those who are more into display only, of course. I'll just sit them next to me while I'm on my laptop or watching TV or whatever. It gives me a better feel for their "personality" to think like..."what would this character think of this show or this game?" And whatnot. I find it sort of builds from there.

 

I also find that crafting something for them can help. Though I'm usually pretty bonded after I've done their faceup/modding. So it may help to maybe non-default faceup them? Though I'm not sure if it'll help if changing their looks already hasn't done anything for you might be worth a try with Miku first since you don't want to sell her.

I drag my girls around the house with me too. They'll sit on the desk when I'm watching anime online, or sit on the floor next to me when I play video games or balance my checkbook. I'll even put one or two in my lap when I'm reading a book.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble bonding with Miku and Naomi-- that can be really distressing and honestly I feel like worrying about it kind of gets in the way of any dedicated attempts to bond after you figure out you're having a problem. Kind of like when you show a friend your favorite movie (or other piece of media) and you're constantly watching them for a good response to see if they like it as much as you do-- you're so intent on seeing some sort of spark that you can't enjoy the activity in and of itself.

 

For some reason a lot of my bonding with my girls takes place while i'm brushing out and styling their wigs. I usually sit them down in my lap and just slowly comb everything out. Maybe it's just because it's sort of mindless and calming? My friends mention over and over how I have this really motherly personality, so maybe that's just something that works for me.

 

I agree with Noxxbunny and Poofiemus in regards to new faceups helping bonding as well-- so far all of my girls (with the exception of the most recent to arrive; Eiko and Fuyumi) have custom faceups that were done by me. It's really interesting to see some of the personality take shape as you go along and I think it can bring you closer to them. Making clothes or props for my girls also helps, too.

 

If you want to keep a factory or default faceup, the one thing I've found so far that helps for me is changing eyes. When Eiko (DD Escalayer) came home, I almost wanted nothing to do with her after seeing her face in person. Her expression looked so blank and lifeless and way too "doll-like" (sounds kind of silly, huh?). I think a big part of the problem was her eyes. The Escalayer eyes don't have any real gleam to them or anything that makes them shine and have personality. Once I swapped them out, I felt myself warm up to her a lot, even though I don't intend to keep her faceup the way it is right now.

I've had this problem several times and almost every time it happens, one of two things makes me finally "click" with the girl in question.

 

1) I take loads and loads of pics of them in different setups.... meaning lots of different wig and eye combinations. It literally took me over a year to figure out the right combo for Mai Shiranui. And it happened in stages. I found "the wig" first and then tried tons of eyes. Nothing was really working until I adopted Saber Extra and the extra set of eyes she came with were THE eyes for Mai. Once in, I was ALL ABOUT her.

 

This process takes time but when you find the right combo for her, you'll know it immediately.

 

2) I get her face up redone. The latest one for me was Chizuru, one of my 03 girls. I liked her initial look I received her with but we never really clicked and I didn't do much with her. But once Ebl saw her up close at a doll meet, she said she HAD to redo her to better match the rest of my girls. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of it before but once I gave Chizuru to Ebl, the change was so drastic and different, it's like she was reborn into the perfect girl for me.

 

Don't fear wiping a factory face up. I know it seems like blasphemy but if it makes the girl you originally wanted into a girl you DEFINITELY want and love, then it's all worth it. Just tell your face up artist who the girl is, what she likes, how she acts and they'll get your girl looking like you never thought she could.

 

Good luck and let us know what you do and how it goes!

 

 

 

Billy