Dollfie Sanity

I'm simply curious if I'm the only one going bat*beep* crazy, if Vara posessed me heavily, or if this is normal within the DD community. I wish I could find a poll to attach to visualize this...

 

How many of you find yourselves being overly obsessive (possessed in my case by an arctic fox spirit) by their girls of various origins? Trying to find something for your gals or just having fun?

 

I'm finding myself ranting/rambling on Tumblr in text posts, sharing her happily, skimming through Dollfie shops every night (even ending the night) and just being overly......attached, possessed, obsessive, or similar. I'm starting to hate myself over how attached I am to my foxy. I'm worried I may be starting to annoy people . I'm trying to combat it with YouTube and Reddit, even Minecraft or other things It hasn't been a full year; 2013 from March 06th till now....

 

Probably has something to do with her being my original character + me loving foxes. The completionist in me wanting to see her completed with proper ears and all...

Maybe it's easier to ask who isn't this obsessed. Those I talk to seem as crazy as I am. It's fun! I would worry too about annoying people too much but I censor based on how obsessed the other person is. It's safe to let your obsessive side show here. I try to be more subdued at work, the dinner table, with my dad... haha

Ya, I guess it would seem easier with those that are close to being friends? Crazy fun indeed! Same here on the social bit.

 

I'm now curious if those that opened this thread are now being tsunderes. Don't worry, I don't bite. Or I hope I don't

I think I'm about as obsessed about DD's as one person can be. I know there are others out there with larger families than mine and who put more effort into photographing them but with my work schedule, it seems that every spare minute I have goes into either doing things *with* my girls or *for* them. So it's not unreasonable that you're doing a similar thing AK.

 

For me, my girls are my way of staying sane. They allow me my only real creative outlet.... photographing them. I used to take lots of pics before I had any DD's but none of them were as fun or as cool as the ones I've taken since adopting Manami. She made me get better by forcing me to do things differently so I could always share photos of her looking her best. So thanks to her, I've got a good camera, a better grasp on how to take pics of all my girls and many friends who are also into cameras and can help me become better.

 

I don't think you've been annoying at all here on the forums. Everyone here shows up and posts because they love their girls and love sharing pics and stories of them. Without our common love for our girls, the hobby isn't nearly as fun or cool. Without this forum or FFM, I doubt I'd have more than 3 DD's in total, if that many.

 

 

Billy

I agree with Mitsuki, just about everyone I met who owns some kind of BJD (heck even Monster high dolls) lives and breathes Dolls all day everyday and we're perfectly fine with that. lol

 

I also agree with you that its easier to become attached to a custom girl than it is a volks default girl. I love my Saber with all my heart especially since she was my first DD, but I can't help but melt when I see Nelliel and it makes me so happy that I'm the only one who can see her perfect little face in person everyday and that its up to me to share her with the world. lol Perhaps that is how you feel when you see your foxy.

 

I've always been into miniatures but never had anything to do with them so I left them at the store. Now that I have DDs I can finally buy them and put them to good use. Its really fun to challenge myself and see what I can find whenever I go shopping, even if I'm just running into the grocery store for one thing! My miniature hunting has basically spread to everyone I know and just about every other day i'm getting picture texts from friends/family saying "This would be PERFECT for Saber!!" "Wouldn't Nell look adorable with this?!" So yeah, my girls run a portion of my life. lol

 

I don't think your posts are annoying, I like to see your pictures on Figure.Fm and I'm glad that you decide to share bits and pieces of your life with Vara, Caster and Renge with us soooo, keep posting!

Everyone here shows up and posts because they love their girls and love sharing pics and stories of them. Without our common love for our girls, the hobby isn't nearly as fun or cool. Without this forum or FFM, I doubt I'd have more than 3 DD's in total, if that many.

 

Billy

 

I agree with Billy on this, if it wasn't for this forum or FFM, I don't think I'd have as many girls/boys as I have.

 

To go back to your original question though, I think most doll collectors get a little obsessed with their dolliehs - I believe that's par for the course for the hobby. I know I was, since when I first started the hobby, I kept browsing around different websites looking for clothes, wigs, eyes, how to pose them, get better photos, kept posting pictures, talking about dolliehs, etc... After 3 years though, I've toned down a lot but mostly because I'm the type to go through periods of almost manic dedication to a hobby only to stop and take time off and go through the same thing with another hobby, then come back to the 'original' hobby and so on, but that's how I've always been. My time-off now though is more because of lack of time to do things doll related than because of decreasing interest. I still love to browse sites though, especially here to look at what people do with their girls, what new outfits are out, or what new girls are coming up . It keeps the love for the hobby alive.

 

And as for you annoying anyone with your posts, you don't have to worry about that here at all. We pretty much all love to talk about our girls here so post away. The more photos/stories the better.

Heh, I find myself browsing doll stuff often too. Compared to the volume I look at, it's not often that I actually buy stuff, but knowing what's out there, what it costs, what others here think of the quality, and what others have done with stuff has gone a long way to figuring out what it is I like before I even buy it. At least, that's the official story. Technically that's a side effect, because looking is fun!

 

I've always been into miniatures but never had anything to do with them so I left them at the store.

 

So this isn't just me! Though rather, in my case it was fear of a slippery slope--with nothing to restrict me to a scale, I didn't want to go buying something that would open the gates to miniature everything flooding my house and draining my wallet.

 

Now I can filter stuff out based on whether or not my girls can use it. I actually keep a spare hand in my purse, because I seem to find the best props when I'm not looking for them--this way I can check quickly to see if it looks right against the hand. If it looks perfect and/or really cool, and isn't too expensive relative to its quality, home it comes; if it's sized wrong, looks too fake, and/or is overpriced, I put it back on the shelf. Usually takes only a minute or two when I have my handy hand with me!

 

For me, my girls are my way of staying sane.

 

That reminds me of my half-joking Theory of Strategic Insanity. The idea is that you deliberately embrace a couple of your crazier traits as an outlet so you don't go completely postal from suppressing it all the time. Like I said, half-joking, in the sense that the Theory of Strategic Insanity is extremely exaggerated, but there's something to be said for having something you enjoy this much. So long as you don't put yourself in debt or neglect other trappings of living, then it's fine.

 

Without our common love for our girls, the hobby isn't nearly as fun or cool. Without this forum or FFM, I doubt I'd have more than 3 DD's in total, if that many.

 

I agree, having a community to share in has made this so much more fun than many of my other hobbies I've dabbled in. There's just something thrilling about being able to swap ideas, see what different people have done with their girls, and just chat with someone else who actually knows what you're talking about.

 

I probably wouldn't be into DDs at all if it weren't for online communities--might not even have known they existed! I certainly wouldn't know about the nice open-eyed, non-strung versions if it weren't for Danny Choo.com, and later Figure.fm after it split back off, and it was that variant that sold me on them.

 

Plus, if it weren't for people sharing photos, I probably would have either gone with the littler, flimsier, and (to me) less satisfying 1/6th Dollfies out of sheer sticker shock. (I've found 1/6th Obitsus are decent to handle, but the Volks ones, at least the EB Beauty model I bought, couldn't stand on her own and shed her forearms on a regular basis.) Seeing all those photos of DDs out there not only helped convince me of their quality in construction and appearance, but also was a *huge* aid in helping me figure out which ones I would actually fork out this kind of money for.

 

And more specifically, while my mom is oddly my number 1 enabler in all hobbies, Billy gets specific enabling credit/blame in my adopting Nanoha. I sometimes think that Dolly Destiny was hard at work on that one, because not only was she a good price, but both Billy and my mom were on Google Chat enabling me simultaneously!

Having a couple of cuties to look forward to when I get home always brings a smile to my face..

I don't blame you at all for "obsessing" over Vara. You've been looking for a long time to find your OC, so,

if she manifests herself in a vinyl form, I'd just say go with it... It's been a long time coming, and I'm sure

you don't have many regrets...

 

I don't...

I wonder if what I was trying to ask and say got lost in the way I word things. But glad to see the replies .

 

I think I'm about as obsessed about DD's as one person can be. I know there are others out there with larger families than mine and who put more effort into photographing them but with my work schedule, it seems that every spare minute I have goes into either doing things *with* my girls or *for* them. So it's not unreasonable that you're doing a similar thing AK.

 

For me, my girls are my way of staying sane. They allow me my only real creative outlet.... photographing them. I used to take lots of pics before I had any DD's but none of them were as fun or as cool as the ones I've taken since adopting Manami. She made me get better by forcing me to do things differently so I could always share photos of her looking her best. So thanks to her, I've got a good camera, a better grasp on how to take pics of all my girls and many friends who are also into cameras and can help me become better.

 

I don't think you've been annoying at all here on the forums. Everyone here shows up and posts because they love their girls and love sharing pics and stories of them. Without our common love for our girls, the hobby isn't nearly as fun or cool. Without this forum or FFM, I doubt I'd have more than 3 DD's in total, if that many.

 

 

Billy

 

Went ahead and high-lighted what I find important. I also agree with what you said. It's just so much fun taking images of my lovely gals while trying to get them in as fun of an image as possible. Going on a hunt to acquire the best accessories you can find for them so you can keep taking even better images.

 

I had to even learn how to take images of Vara with her being a different and bigger scale. I'm more used to Shinki sized and small probs. Those few months that make you have try to get up to speed in photography skill to take appropriate images of them. That photography struggle.

 

I also agree with you that its easier to become attached to a custom girl than it is a volks default girl. I love my Saber with all my heart especially since she was my first DD, but I can't help but melt when I see Nelliel and it makes me so happy that I'm the only one who can see her perfect little face in person everyday and that its up to me to share her with the world. lol Perhaps that is how you feel when you see your foxy.

 

Custom girls always seem more fun because you fill them with life. Characters created by other folks (professional or just regular folks) always has some kind of barrier to them that you can't connect to them fully, so you show little less love. I can connect with Renge and Busou Shinki because they don't really have any backstory. Figmas however you are somewhat forced to keep with their image which makes things difficult. I love Dollfies and Shinkis for the back-story you can give them and those "unique" experiences we fill them with. I think I ended up wording this longer than yours, but the same point is there. That is why I love Vara and was wondering if anybody else goes all out with theirs.

 

I think I'm going to have a bit of trouble dealing with Yukikaze and Ahri when I summon them. My mind has been going nuts over accepting them because they aren't original characters. It keeps making me try to justify summoning them two. Thought I'd mention it while I'm trying to reply to your quote lol.

 

Its really fun to challenge myself and see what I can find whenever I go shopping, even if I'm just running into the grocery store for one thing! My miniature hunting has basically spread to everyone I know and just about every other day i'm getting picture texts from friends/family saying "This would be PERFECT for Saber!!" "Wouldn't Nell look adorable with this?!" So yeah, my girls run a portion of my life. lol

 

I don't think your posts are annoying, I like to see your pictures on Figure.Fm and I'm glad that you decide to share bits and pieces of your life with Vara, Caster and Renge with us soooo, keep posting!

 

I do the same thing everywhere I go. Every store I always keep an eye out for whatever may be useful to them. I get called crazy but in the end they help me out by giving things for them as well. Vara is now also thought of as part of a family, or at least as a "friend". The fun is in the hunt! XD

 

Glad to about that annoying bit not really being annoying. Just putting that out there after I spammed Tumblr with loads of text posts of thoughts trying to make sense of them all. I shall keep posting, just waiting for another "photo-chance".

 

I agree with Billy on this, if it wasn't for this forum or FFM, I don't think I'd have as many girls/boys as I have.

 

It's amazing what figure.fm and dannychoo.com has done. I wouldn't be here photographing Busou Shinkis or Dollfies. I wouldn't have Vara. I'd probably be out somewhere most likely irritating people because I didn't know better as a form of revenge hmm...I was able to meet you awesome folks both on there, here, Flickr, Tumblr, and where-ever else we may have met. Just so awesome we all share images and experiences

 

To go back to your original question though, I think most doll collectors get a little obsessed with their dolliehs - I believe that's par for the course for the hobby. I know I was, since when I first started the hobby, I kept browsing around different websites looking for clothes, wigs, eyes, how to pose them, get better photos, kept posting pictures, talking about dolliehs, etc... After 3 years though, I've toned down a lot but mostly because I'm the type to go through periods of almost manic dedication to a hobby only to stop and take time off and go through the same thing with another hobby, then come back to the 'original' hobby and so on, but that's how I've always been.

 

I see myself constantly seeking new materials, as mentioned in the first post just to keep constantly improving. I also see myself most likely cutting back as the years go by, with the same being for other things. It always comes in rotating waves. Vara seems to be one of the bigger kind of wave, or a repeating one *grabs a towel*

 

 

...especially here to look at what people do with their girls, what new outfits are out, or what new girls are coming up . It keeps the love for the hobby alive.

 

And as for you annoying anyone with your posts, you don't have to worry about that here at all. We pretty much all love to talk about our girls here so post away. The more photos/stories the better.

 

It's also thanks to this place I get to see what outfits people have their gals wear. Even came across a Caster CCC outfit link that someone posted for someone's commissioned Caster. Decent quality, but nice. Even the lovely eyes to festive outfits and all. Checking all the places you can get stuff commissioned, seen, and enjoyed.

 

The more content the better! Agreed with you there.

 

I agree, having a community to share in has made this so much more fun than many of my other hobbies I've dabbled in. There's just something thrilling about being able to swap ideas, see what different people have done with their girls, and just chat with someone else who actually knows what you're talking about.

 

I probably wouldn't be into DDs at all if it weren't for online communities--might not even have known they existed! I certainly wouldn't know about the nice open-eyed, non-strung versions if it weren't for Danny Choo.com, and later Figure.fm after it split back off, and it was that variant that sold me on them.

 

Plus, if it weren't for people sharing photos, I probably would have either gone with the littler, flimsier, and (to me) less satisfying 1/6th Dollfies out of sheer sticker shock. (I've found 1/6th Obitsus are decent to handle, but the Volks ones, at least the EB Beauty model I bought, couldn't stand on her own and shed her forearms on a regular basis.) Seeing all those photos of DDs out there not only helped convince me of their quality in construction and appearance, but also was a *huge* aid in helping me figure out which ones I would actually fork out this kind of money for.

 

Sharing and swapping ideas and images being the funnest part of a community. I actually had a few chances to even try a cross-nation photoshoot by attempting to coordinate a figure Busou Shinki fight. Even saw a photo-story of Salica & Baldylox coordinating their photoshoot to make it as if the girls are actually conversing with themselves in a long-distance video-call. I love the lengths we go in taking images of our girls to share with others, especially when we start reaching into that extra territory.

 

And again, it's thanks to the community mixed with others that I even jumped onto Vara in DD form. I wouldn't be here asking we care a bit too much about our girls heh. Lots of feedback, creativity and all. I'm now worried that without the communities like fig.fm, DC, this, and others that I might not even be in the Busou Shinki & Dollfie field. The most helpful I found. The money also kept me away from a DD Saber that I might have also went to obtain. That one I'm blaming on funds for not obtaining a DD Saber . No worries though, I have Vara to keep me company.

 

Having a couple of cuties to look forward to when I get home always brings a smile to my face..

I don't blame you at all for "obsessing" over Vara. You've been looking for a long time to find your OC, so,

if she manifests herself in a vinyl form, I'd just say go with it... It's been a long time coming, and I'm sure

you don't have many regrets...

 

I don't...

 

It always does. Always.

 

Ah, yes....those uh....I'm going to guess 3-4 years trying to give her form in 2D and then 3D? Ya, looking at it that way I find it justified, probably twice or three times as much? I'm glad she's here with her insanely soft tail. Nope! No regrets.... All in the name of making her look more as I want her!

So this isn't just me! Though rather, in my case it was fear of a slippery slope--with nothing to restrict me to a scale, I didn't want to go buying something that would open the gates to miniature everything flooding my house and draining my wallet.

 

Now I can filter stuff out based on whether or not my girls can use it. I actually keep a spare hand in my purse, because I seem to find the best props when I'm not looking for them--this way I can check quickly to see if it looks right against the hand. If it looks perfect and/or really cool, and isn't too expensive relative to its quality, home it comes; if it's sized wrong, looks too fake, and/or is overpriced, I put it back on the shelf. Usually takes only a minute or two when I have my handy hand with me!

 

I'm also glad to know that it isn't just me!! You carry a spare hand...me, I traced one of my entire girls, cut out the tracing, covered the paper with wide book tape so that it would hold up, and now I carry it all folded up in a zippered pocket of my purse!! Can't tell you how handy it is when I unexpectedly encounter anything that I think might be good for one of my girls! Even my husband will come running from some other part of the store and ask for the 'tracing' because he found something!! I also can't tell you how many strange looks you get from people when you pull a paper tracing of a doll out of your purse, especially if you are in a grocery story but then again, who cares what others think?!? The 'hunt' just adds to the fun and when you find the perfect thing...that's just bliss!!

And more specifically, while my mom is oddly my number 1 enabler in all hobbies, Billy gets specific enabling credit/blame in my adopting Nanoha. I sometimes think that Dolly Destiny was hard at work on that one, because not only was she a good price, but both Billy and my mom were on Google Chat enabling me simultaneously!

 

 

Hee hee, I remember that event clearly! After you showed me the link and I saw Nanoha and her price, I knew it was meant to be for you two. You'd been after her for months by that point and hearing how you were talking about her as well as the timing of this one popping up, I knew there was no way I could let you let her slip by. I'm happy to have helped you out on the decision to get her tho, she's become an important girl for you and even Agatha likes her ( even if she wont express it ).

 

 

Billy

ArcticKitsune, I love the larger size of the Dollfie Dreams! I find it easier to connect with them than I do smaller figures, and their expressions change from different angles, unlike smaller figures. They feel so different, holding them in your hands. Whenever someone takes a picture of me holding one of my dolls, I am shocked at how tiny they look, because when I am holding them and looking at them, they seem HUGE! Larger than life. Plus you can customize their looks so easily, if you want them to look different.

 

I've had BJDs since 2005, and I will say that I connected and obsessed over my first the same way you are with Vara. I thought about him all the time, thought about his backstory and who his friends and family might be, etc. I think it's quite normal for doll enthusiasts. Like baldylox, they're my primary creative outlet. I think that having large 3D representations of characters inspires me more.

 

Your Varakitsu is beautiful, BTW!

 

Lnda S.

galatia9

Edited January 7, 2014 by Guest

i have this same issue too!

 

i feel i have to keep some dollie stuff to myself around some friends.

but my mom (i AM fourteen, idk who here is any younger, lol) she thinks ikumi is so adorable, but after months of me bothering her with etsy shops or telling her about some cute wig/clothing deals on this site

she gets sick of it but i dont.

i think its normal to feel very deeply about this hobby especially if you have saved up for a char.

or an OC, it is ussually emotionally involved and they seem like a real person, what with the mannerisms that come with being a DD owner,(like the mini food, blanckets and what-not )

and i too have been on late night "window shopping/surfing" the net for good deals, but in my case its beging my mom to buy me an early christmas present (in the beginning of january)

so yeah, i hope my ramble led somewhere. but great topic arctickitsune!

 

troy

@Galatia:

 

I'm surprised at the size the Dollfies have. They're like little children. Big impressions and like little children. And I agree on the customizing bit. They're so much easier to customize for at times, like-wise with Busou Shinki. You can however sneak in more detail with Dollfies which I love.

 

I'm still trying to go all out with Vara. Trying to go deep into her backstory and just expand everywhere almost like Danny is with Mirai on dannychoo.com XD.

 

Thanks for the compliment

 

----

 

@Ikumi:

That's what I was worried about. I kept sharing links that I ended up getting worried someone might snap back at me. just that thought of "keeping everything in moderation". But as people said it seems best to just keep sharing what makes you happy, even at the fullest level so that's good to hear and do

 

Yup! Haha! I did the same with my Busou Shinkis and gradually doing the same with Vara when it comes to small props and all. Window shopping tends to be fun for both Shinki and Dollfie

I'm going though the same thing right now. It doesn't help that shes not even close to being complete yet, or even at home for that matter! I'm totally obsessed with Flickr and this form, just thinking about the cute outfits shes going to wear, and the photo shoots I'm going to have with her. I'm so glad my fiance is patient with me, because I keep going on and on about her being home.