pullips: cheaper than children!

...and prettier too, imho. Mom, this is for you because you asked for it.

Click pictures to zoom! Stock names are linked to PullipStyle for comparison.
No fair clicking ahead. First, a review of the dolls you've already met:

Sako (Rida) and of course Haru (Horizon):
Haru and Sako were high school buds together. She actually appears in my original story, but isn't fully fleshed out. Once she arrived, I learned she wants to be a manga artist. Despite her bold style, she's somewhat shy and reclusive because she thinks she's more awkward than she actually is. Like Haru, she's an orphan. Haru also has yet another new wig which came to me by chance (more on that later) and is my very favorite of all his hairdos. I also love their matchy-matchy shirts!

Jenna Celeste (Celsiy) and Bijou (Angelique):
Jenna, an eccentric and artsy engineering major, is college buds with Haru, and Bijou is her cousin, a French model. They are very close. Lookit the inverse hair/eyelids! That's all stock; I didn't plan it! :D


Now, I know I told you when I went to the dolly meetup they had discounts? So I HAD to buy one right, because, discount, no shipping, peer pressure, zomg.

So I bought Youtsuzu. Her name is Midori. But she lives a double life.

This doll is to die for. Her kimono has four separate layers and feels like silk, and her hair is super elaborate. Unlike some of the pricier dolls, she's worth the money. Plus, I just adore her face. Her lipliner is unique among Pullips. And those eyes!
BUT, how can this traditional Japanese beauty fit in with my gang of crazy kids? Simple. She's Sako's older half-sister (yes she knows they look nothing alike, and she doesn't care). She works at a trendy Tokyo establishment as a neo-geisha. It's fairly good money and all she has to do is be pretty and put up with inappropriate comments from male patrons. Perhaps it's not the most respectable thing to do, but it put food on the table while Sako was finishing high school. In her real life, she has a totally different style from her professional elegance. She goes by Dori, and she prefers girls.
ARGH, A BUNNY! Dori has been experimenting with her at-home hair. First it was natural black. Then she discovered blond does wonders for her complexion:
The blond phase lasted awhile. But this week, perhaps because she heard a rumor another blonde might be arriving, she changed it to dark auburn, which suits her wonderfully. She's one of my very favorites to photograph in all her styles!
Thennnn someone else came along. I had been waiting for Haru's boyfriend since September and he still wasn't due out for another few weeks. I NEEDED another boy and I'd been looking at pictures of re-wigged, re-dressed Butler. I came to the conclusion he was the prettiest Taeyang. Then one practically fell into my lap from the boards.

When Eli arrived, he came with a red and black wig, which did not fit his personality, but Haru wanted it. Until the wig I'd ordered arrived, I kept him in it backward:
All the straight girls are flirting with him, lol. Well, Jenna and Bijou are. Sako is trying but it's more just like ...*erm erm awkward*

Finally his coffee-brown wig arrived from Hong Kong! Much better. That's a pretty boy.
As much as I adore his face, Eli as a character is still sort of unformed in my mind. He keeps aligning himself with Ichigo, Avonne's roleplay character (also Haru's made up younger brother), and it occurred to me I should change his eyes to gold and make him into Ichi to give to Avonne for her birthday in March. I still haven't decided yet though. He's so pretty.

At last at last, my Richt arrived around Thanksgiving. He also had a bit of an identity crisis. First he was London, an invented character who is Haru's rival in streetfighting and seduction. This worked well for their introduction, which was hot.


I swear, that outift is the gayest Taeyang stock outfit ever. There were some non-Pg-13 moments which I won't post here.Instead you get a nice picture of them being lovely!
Once he had changed clothes, it became obvious that with his eyes and hair he looked a lot like Zero, Haru's boyfriend in our RP (not in the original story though). So Zero he became. Look, matchy-matchy!:
He's very handsome and I love his hair.
My three boys! Haru stole his boyfriend's gaytastic stock outfit. It suits him much more than Zero. Zero is an interesting sort; he comes from another anime and we adopted him into our RP. He's very quiet, quite the opposite of Haru. He's a student. He's also a vampire, and a vampire hunter. It's complicated. But I promise you it's far more intelligent than Twilight.

EEEEE, he's singing to himmmm!

Aiiight, so we've covered Dori, Eli/Ichigo, and Zero. Here's another one. This is my first Dal, a Monomono. (Dal:Pullip::Skipper:Barbie.) I bought her for a ridiculously good price at an auction I accidentally won, but now I'm delighted to have her. I removed her lipstick because she's undergoing some gender reassignment...

I didn't use to like Dals; I thought they looked weird. But now I love them! It's just a matter of getting used to it. And for my supersecret plan, I neede a second one. So I ordered Coco because my friend Haji wanted the outfit for her doll. Coco's wig went to Dori; now Coco is temporarily wearing Haru's black wig and panda suit while the two of them await their special wigs from HongKong. Once those wigs arrive, their identities will be obvious and their names revealed. For now they're kind of unfinished. So they don't count. Yet.
Aw, my two little ones, don't pout! You'll have clothes and hair all in good time. ;)

We're almost through the whole gang. This next girl was something of a sympathy purchase. I call her an eBay rescue. She was used and ludicrously cheap- I bid a very low bid just to boost her numbers and ended up being the highest bidder without even meeting the reserve price. Then I got a second chance deal and took it because I felt so bad! She really should be worth more than that. She's a Latte, an older doll that never took off the way some of the '05s did because she's quite plain. I've always had a soft spot for her, maybe because of her name, or because her hair color matches my natural one:

And she came with lots of extra clothing too, such a good deal. I named her Kona. Get it? HA. Her hair was super crunchy and nasty at the ends, so I trimmed it and it looks much better! Still though, the best thing about her is her hat:
Kona is kind of a modern hippie. She's from Seattle. I don't know how she got tan like that.
But she's so plain next to my other girls. I might try to give her some custom eye makeup or something.

Then finally, the newest one, Lenore. She's a Papin, a doll I've wanted for awhile but only wanted to buy nude/bald/<$60. And I got my wish! Unlike Kona, I have no reservations about owning her; she's perfect. She's on an Obitsu body, not the one she came with, so she's SUPER POSEABLE and loads of fun: The wig I put her in for now is Monomono's stock wig. It's adorable on her. I might not change it. Lenore is very outgoing and spunky. She's becoming good friends with Jenna already, and she and Dori might get a little romance going before too long.
I cannot express how wonderful the Obitsu body is. I'm totally getting one for Haru now that he's destroyed his own body. I'm going to wait though, because I've bought enough, and I'm nervous because switching the boys is a little tricky.

Here's a picture of all my girls:

Kona, Jenna, Dori, Sako, Bijou, Lenore.

Aaaand here's the whole cast! The little Dals are sitting on the sidelines.

Last and currently physically least is my custom. Here's her faceup:

I'm aware that the eyebrows are crooked, but since it's impossible to make them even without a stencil (which I might resort to if I do them again), might as well make them in a cute expression. Quizzical, perhaps.
I must say I'm quite proud of the eyes and satisfied enough with the lips not to risk messing them up again. Lips are way harder than eyes, if you believe it.

That is that. So if you count the three in-progress customs, Kona whom I might customize or re-sell, and Eli whom I might customize and give to Avonne, I have twelve dolls. If you don't count the customs (I don't!) I only have nine. And if you consider Eli and Kona are merely passing through, I have seven. Either way, it's a big number and I'm SORRY! It could have been tattoos, and you can't re-home those if you get tired of them!

Anyway, Margot will have a full house to manage when she arrives. Silly kids.

how i spent my saturday afternoon

Animadness Pullip Party~

The Wall of Doll:
My dolls are on the third shelf down on the left.

There are some non-Pullips down at the bottom. Haru was one of just a handful of boys, much to his disappointment.

The Black Butler dolls. Grell is in disguise.
Requiem's custom Dal versions of Rovam and Horizon...
and her custom Pullip Leprotto and Dal Leprottina! (Leprotto normally costs $800)

I think this was Hina Ichigo's doll, Haute NY, in an AMAZING wig.

Fanatica! My grail doll. Though actually...in person I was underwhelmed.

Last month's Pullip, Peter Pan, is actually way cuter than any of us thought at first (different outfit of course).

Mir's dress! I like her a lot but I'd never take that dress off. XD

My candy-haired girls: Jenna (Celsiy) and Bijou (Angelique), the latest addition.
The punk un-couple, Haru and Sako. Last time you saw Sako she had short black hair, huh? XD

The bakery set-up was adorable but I kept knocking that vase over.

Haru is in heaven.

CAAAAAKE!


And these are for mom, just some pictures of my new girl and Sako's new hair

Her original wig was very cute but not very good quality and I loved this one.

And this is Angelique, renamed Bijou:


I like her outfit well enough, but it's very anime and I haven't watcher her show. I want her to be my original character (she's Jenna's cousin, a French model).I love her sweet face, it reminds me of Xiao Fan and of My Melody, both of whom I no longer want because of her! So I actually saved money since I don't need those two now! (I LOVE LOGIC.)

She's going to have kind of a gothy-lolita style like Prunella but pieced together from bits of her outfit I've got on the way, and her own things like her stock socks here.

La ti da~

the cat's namesake, and a lottery prize

Instead of just a picture of the original Ryuzaki, I thought I'd post a video. You can skip the intro song if it annoys you as much as it annoys me, having heard it a thousand times. This is when the police are getting introduced to L, the world's greatest detective, who's never revealed his face before. I think you will see my cat in him.

And second, Mom, this is Fanatica, my all-time favorite Pullip. I think she is perfect. Honestly, I do not anyone I know to pay that much for a plastic doll. But I just had to show off what I believe is the pinnacle of Pullips.


SWEETEST FACE OF ALL TIME. In five years they have yet to come up with a prettier smile. Even if she didn't come in a red and black punk-Lolita outfit, I'd be in love. That's all just a plus.

END OF DORKFEST FOR THE NIGHT I PROMISE.

Attn: North Pole

Dear Santa,

Clarity is back in stock at Pullipstyle, and she's even on sale!

Just sayin'.

Best,
Erica

Dear Santa:

I have been a very good girl this year, much better than any recent years. I overcame my extreme fears and went back to school, and am doing very well there so far. I rescued a stray and became a cat mommy. I hope it's not too early for you to receive gift lists. My requests this year are a little unusual, so I thought I'd give your elves ample notice.

The most important thing I want is a new digital camera, since mine has started to fail. Not a large or expensive one, just a basic Canon Elph like before. However, I expect my parents might get this for me, since I've told them about it several times.

This is where you come in. I know it's been awhile since I've asked this of you, but I find myself once again in need of your services.

I want a doll.

My parents will not get me dolls, I'm fairly sure. But you might. You used to.

These Japanese dolls, called Pullips, are about the same price as American Girl dolls, but they're really not for kids. They're delicate things, made for photography and display more than play. They are also customizable and extremely addictive. It's hard to explain unless you immerse yourself in the community.

This one, Clarity, is my favorite. I absolutely want her, so even if I don't get her for Chistmas I'll buy her anyway once I've sold enough old things of mine. She has the most beautiful face, and she's so sophisticated, even my mom might like her. At the main site she's currently restocking, but she is available at this alternate site. I adore her so much. I will name her Margot.

Rida is another of my favorites, Clarity's polar opposite. I would name her Sako, after Haru's high school best friend. I love her style, and she's quite cheap because some problems have been reported (which I know how to fix). But because of the price, I could maybe even save for her myself. There are a couple other dolls (eg. My Melody and Marianne) whose faces I love and for whom I have character ideas, but whose stock outfits aren't really for me. It makes more sense for me to get those ones second hand, where they are often sold cheaper without their original outfits.

I have two dolls now: Haru, who was Horizon, and Jenna Celeste, who was Celsiy. It's Haru's fault I got into this hobby in the first place. He was a gift from friends. Jenna I got second hand for a good price.


They are cute together aren't they? They're college buddies.

Finally, I have also fallen madly in love with the November boy release, Richt, who has the most beautiful face of any of the boys yet. He's going to be Haru's boyfriend Liam. Haru is going to steal his flamboyant outfit, while Liam adopts a more conservative style. ;) Yeah, I preordered him. He'll be arriving in early December. He was my early Christmas present to myself. So even if you don't want to grant my wish for Clarity, or anyone else, a retroactive cash donation to assuage the guilt of buying Richt early would be a nice consolation prize.

Pullips are The Thing I'm into right now. I think about them a lot and talk to other collectors and take pictures and dream. I know it's an expensive obsession, but the online buying/selling/trading market is huge and a major part of the hobby, so it's not like I'll regret having them or won't be able to sell them one day if I need to. If I got gift money from my parents, this is where it would go. But even if I explained that to them, I really don't know if they'd be okay with buying me a doll for Christmas, or that matter, for my 25th birthday. So that's why I'm asking you, Santa Claus. Because Christmas hasn't been the same without you. <3

There's really nothing else I want. I don't need a phone, an iPod, or a laptop. I still have more clothes than I can wear and too little time to read non-school books. I don't buy CDs much these days and listen to everything online. So I don't know what to tell you, Santa. Maybe I'm regressing, but in the words of Sheryl Crow, if it makes you happy it can't be that bad.

Hope the economy's not hitting you too hard up there. If you ask me, you should have gotten the Peace Prize.

Sincerely,
Erica

Haru shows off some more

And now, just because I'm a huge dork and love my Haru-baby, some pictures. Humor me please! I've always been a crazy doll person. Click on pictures for full view if you care about the clothing details. ^_^

First, Haru wants to show off his favorite pants.

From the front they look somewhat respectable...

Not as much from the other side.



Stop trying to seduce us!!! SIGH. Silly Haru.


I pierced his ear!

Just chilling like a normal Ivy League student...


I love these little things so much. All the parts are movable, even the sugar packs and stirrers.
He's supposed to be studying, but I think he's procrastinating again.


A little night series:


Um....
I don't want to know why he looks so...content here. I really don't.

In any case, he's tired now.

For his undercover nocturnal escapades, I made him a dress! :D I'm really proud of this.



The white floof is from the Jordan Almond wrappings from Kristin's wedding favors. He's pretty convincing as a girl.



And because one pair of leather pants is never enough, he has another, more modest pair that he can actually wear at school.

(I don't know what he is doing in this picture. He's goofy.)

Now for some final gratuitous glamor shots.




He really is so pretty. It's not surprising his mommy was a model.

Yaaaaay, I'm eight! And slightly perverted! Whooo.

grad school, take 2

I haven't posted in a long time, except for my doll post. I'm going to change that, and not just as an excuse to post more doll pictures (though I have a ton more of those). I really do need to be better about keeping in touch, and with school coming up again, there should be a lot to say. NAturally I will have to be discreet. One thing I'm not going to do too much is political stuff, because I'm so tired of it and there are people doing a much better job of that than I could ever do. This is going to be archaeology-centric and life-centric. Including dolls. Not, of course, including too much talk of certain ex-roommates or -boyfriends, not to mention professors. Unlike on LiveJournal, I can't friends-lock this post, and unlike certain ex-roommates, I don't like publicly defaming people on the internet.

I've been in good spirits since Wednesday. Thursday I had my first classes, and it felt so surreal to be back in a classroom with a labeled notebook, doodling mangafaces in the margins. I'm so glad this Near East course is being offered, because I've never properly learned this materialand it's actually interesting! Specifically for the layman, "Near East" refers to Mesopotamia (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria...), the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon), and Egypt. As Karl put it: "A Very Tough Neighborhood." Karl, officially known as C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, is kind of a big deal. I never got to know him before, as his specialty lay so far outside my own, but he's quite the character, and looks to be a very entertaining, informative lecturer. Immediately following is Gary's South America class, which should be one of the easier ones for me since much of the information is review. Even so, his course covers material I never learned at Yale, namely studies of the tropical forest areas in the Amazon, rather than just the Andes. So I think it will be extremely helpful.

Wednesday is goig to be my big class block. Oddly, even though Wednesday was the first day of class, it followed a Monday schedule in order to make up for lost Mondays (such as the upcoming Labor Day). Therefore, I haven't had Wednesday class yet. The Proseminar is going to be very difficult. This whole term is going to largely be a retread of Origins of Agriculture, except harder. In a bizarre way, I'm looking forward to it, because I need this stuff pounded into my brain about fifty times so I don't forget it before generals.

Here is my schedule if you're curious:

Tuesday/Thursday: 11:30-1: The Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
1- 2:30: South American Archaeology
Wednesday: 3-6 pm: Archeology Proseminar
7-9:30 pm: Ethnography and Archaeology

It's kind of a weird schedule, very compressed, but pleasantly allowing for very long weekends. I've already finished my reading for next week in everything but ProSem, because we haven't been assigned anything yet. I'm gobbling up these assignments. I have a beautiful office which I will take a picture of once I've finished decorating it.

Haru's photo post is going in a separate entry, just because. ^_^ Wish me luck with school; I'll continue to update, I promise.