I've been away for a while...

     So it's update time! I think everything's going to go ahead and get its own paragraph, and I'll throw in some pictures to make up for the lack of activity around here. It's partly because moving and family stuff and part laziness.

     Anyway, news time. First off, I'm STILL waiting for my Littlefee. People are all saying "waiting three months is normal for Fairyland" and stuff like that, but I don't think they get that orders that were put in after mine are being shipped and I'm here with no idea where mine is. Fairyland supposedly said they'd ship out the Littlefees that are long overdue sometime this week (my order is one of those) but there's been nothing. No update for me, and no updates for anyone else. As far as Littlefee orders, that is. They're shooting out F60s and MNFs like nobody's business, but the smaller dolls are just sitting there in doll purgatory. I wonder if the other people who ordered in late August/early September are getting irritated that the end-of-September orders seem to be taking priority. Me complaining about it probably even irritates the people who've been waiting longer for dolls, who've also been put on hold for later people's orders...

     I traded my DL Thea for a Luts Delf Lu-Wen girl. I was really bothered by how she came to me (literally just thrown in a box with the head bouncing around, to be sent across the country) but I cleaned up and restored her default faceup. It was really kind of a disaster... black smudges and chips everywhere. Nothing was permanently broken, though, so whatever. I was able to restore and add onto the faceup like I wanted. I've decided to keep the doll anyway and try to make her into the character Nana Osaki. This is a blurry phone picture, but I've even got her red dress in-progress. She's waiting on her actual wig, so until that comes in it's a ratty fur wig. I promise to work harder on pictures of her when she's more properly "Nana". I even gave her the ren flower tattoo before it got too cold to spray outside.

                         

                         

      Also, I've been taking more pictures of Faust (Ringdoll Frankenstein) than of my other dolls. I don't normally bother to edit photos, but it's fun to play with greyscale and lighting when you can do shoots that faintly resemble old black and white horror movies. My other dolls don't look so nice or natural in greyscale, though maybe that's because they're not grey. I also like to play with shadows and contrast, and since he's a baldy his face isn't covered in hair. Here's some pic-spam because words.

      And here's one of him trying out what it'd be like to live like a bat.

               

     Also, tomorrow marks one year of having my little green Kiwi kid around. I don't know if I'll do anything special because trying to get her to pose is impossible, but might as well mention it I guess. That's probably not everything, but it's enough for now. I'll probably try to write again tomorrow, because I feel bad about letting this blog basically die.

~~Aronzo

Random red stains all over my DD...

     So, after having my DD for two weeks, she's randomly got these awful red stains all over her. And I've been extra careful to make sure she doesn't touch anything colored... I don't know what to do. These pictures are of where she was sitting, how, where the stains are, and the dress she was wearing. 

     I have no idea how they could've even shown up underneath her clothes, too....

Days 23 and 24 are combined

     So. I slipped up. Well actually, I was busy. I missed the 23rd day of this challenge, and only just realized about 50 minutes after that day was over. So I'm combining the two together today. Luckily, the two things go together like a nice little pros/cons list. Today's themes are: least favorite part of the hobby, and favorite aspects of it.

     There are a couple things I don't like about the hobby, but they basically stem from a few collectors. Generally that would be people who tell others what to do, and people who are too self-important to just answer somebody's damn simple questions. That last one seriously frustrates me. There's a better-known (you could say infamous) hobbyist who actually has, in their FAQ, this exact question with this exact answer: where do you get dolls like yours?Click Here 

     As if they expect everyone else in the entire world to be such fucking dumbasses that they can't use Google. And the rest of their "FAQ" is basically just them telling everyone to fuck off because they're just too important to give an actual answer to anything (or because they have "specific protocols" for everything) Then again, this is the same person who sold a doll with a faceup and when the buyer sent the head to a different artist to get something that was only faintly similar, she threw a big shitfit about it on the artist's pictures and acted like an entitled bitch because it was "her" design. If you know who you are and you're reading this, you are fucking ridiculous if you think you own the rights to giving a doll eyeliner, and even more so for trying to scrutinize it down to "similar" freckle placement that only you could see. Then again, she did deem me a "fake" collector before kicking me out of her precious little DA group, so it's unlikely that she'd be reading this. But just in case, fuck you.

      Anyway. That got kinda ranty. I'm probably going to sound hypocritical in a second, but let me try to be clear: what I'm about to say is about what people do publicly in Facebook groups. I have no problem with people getting ranty in their own little corners on Tumblr or even their personal blogs like this. That's their business. If I don't want to see it, I just use Tumblr Savior or just take note not to get into something with them in the future. My rant actually made me remember another thing I don't like: People who start drama rants in public discussion threads and rather than keeping it on-subject and making everyone else feel really uncomfortable. Seriously, what is this--the Youtube comments section? I go to answer somebody's question about wig size, and notice some really malicious comments at the tail-end. I go to see what could have started it, and it's something as simple as wig sizes turned into racial slurs and lame attempts to insult each other's grammar. 

      Just the other day, I was looking to help someone who's friend's ex-boyfriend had snapped all the fingers off some poor girl's doll. I noticed one little comment that just hinted at questioning why the girl wouldn't stop the boy (to be fair, the situation wasn't made very clear on this, so it may have been legitimate) and that spiraled into paragraphs-long comments that were longer than my wordiest blog posts, and these comments were just nitpicking grammar and trying to criminalize one simple question that could have easily been ignored. If you're going to say "you're not worth my time, you victim-blaming whore," the first thing you should do is really think about whether you want to post that publicly. Something like that in a group that's supposed to be lighthearted, and in a situation where the question could have been perfectly innocent, doesn't do anyone any good. You aren't helping the person with a problem, and you aren't doing anybody any favors by examining every letter and trying to read between lines that aren't even there. Those words are just to hurt somebody else, in front of other people. Second, if you say you aren't going to give anyone your time, leave it at that. Walk away. Don't rant about their "lack of morals" or their sentence structure, or try to make them out to be a victim-blamer. Don't continue to throw out horrible names, even long after they've tried to explain themselves and apologize.

      I hate seeing people fight publicly, because even though other people can see it going on, most won't hold back when they're on the offensive. Sometimes it even seems like a person will start drama just so others can join in and take their side to gang up on somebody else. Nobody goes to a BJD group to see other people call each other child molesters and rich bitches. Either keep it to yourself, or try to be rational and understand that other people have different views on things.

       Then there are people who blatantly tell others what to do with their dolls. I'm not talking about a situation where an owner buys a doll and asks people what wig would be the cutest, but a situation where it's unsolicited and where somebody who doesn't own the doll and doesn't know the owner is trying to push their own ideas into what goes into a doll. Or when they try to shame people based on the general idea of what their doll is. The most common example I see is people who don't like fem-boys. I'll say right now that I'm not the kind of collector who collects male dolls to make them into traps or just simply give them elaborate makeup, but you can't just generalize dolls into one group. There are some really over-the-top fem-boys out there that some people could see as done in "bad taste" but at the same time there are several well-done feminine male dolls that seem to be ignored or lumped into the whole "I hate fem-boys, there need to be less of them in this hobby".

       The thing is, you have to think about the general makeup of people in the BJD hobby. There are males around, but what seems to be the majority is female collectors. Many of them found out about BJDs via anime conventions or sites or even stumbling across a character doll while they were looking up said character (or their respective franchise). I'm definitely not going to say this is the only way that people learn about BJDs, and not that all female anime fans are into yaoi, but there is a significant enough group of them that you've got to understand that it's likely there are a few of those fans who are in this hobby as well. I don't see why they shouldn't see fit to combine their interests if they want to. I mean, it's their dolls, and many people's dolls reflect their own interests or other hobbies. Why should they be told their concepts and characters are overdone and ugly, just because you don't personally like the theme? 

     I'm no hardcore yaoi fan, but I've learned to appreciate a lovely bishie boy. 

     Even if it's not fem-boy related, I don't think people should tell each other what to do with their dolls unless the owner has given them permission to input on their dolls in general.

       Well. That was enough for its own post (guess it was supposed to be anyway) but if you've lasted this long, it's time to talk about what really drew me in and what continues to keep me here today. Possibilities. In this hobby, with literally hundreds of companies with so many sculpts of their own, the number of sculpts available not just from the popular companies, but from total unknowns as well, are virtually endless. You could go through a list of known BJD companies and go through every sculpt, and to look at each one carefully would take quite some time. Just finding the sculpt that's right for you could take a really long time, but, when that feeling when you do find the perfect sculpt that you've been looking for is great. The next part, trying to rationalize to yourself about why you can't/need to buy that doll is kind of like an inner monologue of "I shouldn't get it" and "does this dealer offer cheap enough shipping? Do I like the body it's coming with, or should I look at others? Resing matches--UGHHH" Back and forth until you finally decide to either get the doll now or save your money until that beautiful day when you do have everything together for that doll. 

      And even once you get that doll, even if it's a really common or popular face, the simple choices you make like wig color or eye size distinguish that doll from others in a simple, interchangeable way. Even if your doll shares a similar faceup to another, something simple makes that specific doll in your hands your very own. The very fact that it's your doll makes it special. Even the way you look at that doll is different from how everyone else looks at it. 

     That's before you even really touch on the endless possibilities modding can offer!

     BJDs, in themselves, are realistic and beautiful. The amount of creativity that can be put into them is astounding and the way they work is different from any other doll I've seen. That's basically what I love about them so much >3<

~~Aronzo~~

Your favorite doll prop?

     Well I had some tint-scale toys that I bought soon after Kiwi came home, but right now I actually don't have any props.... But for some reason I think a little violin would be nice. No doll that would really use it, though. I do have an Arale doll I'll be working on when she comes home, so maybe it'd be better to make her a little poo-on-a-stick or something related to the manga.

     Anyway, sorry for the short/later post today >3< I've been concentrated on Cookie Clicker literally all day. I'm at 229,173,367.3 cookies/second. I don't know whether to ask for help or ask if anyone else has been playing.

A doll you love, but probably will never own?

     AKA a grail doll. I've only ever had one, and I already own him. So....

     I guess I'll write about Withdoll Priscilla. She's not an immediate/urgent want, but she's pretty. I like her limited set (the dark knight one) and grey was a really good tone for her sculpt. There's not really any mods I'd want to on her, though, and I'd only want her fullset. Those two stipulations mean I'd do nothing with her at all and she'd be sold soon after she came home. I'd love to see one in person, though!

     Her face reminds me of a soft little kitten.

What is your dream doll?

     My dream doll is actually my Ringdoll Frankenstein >3< I pined after the 2011 edition for over a year, so it was really exciting when they were re-releasing him. I'm not a super-fan of the 2013 head (actually sold mine) but I do really like the new body, especially the robotic leg. I'm also happy that they sent regular arm and leg pieces because I'm not too excited about that mechanical arm. If only I could get the sucker off (s-hooks seem to be stuck in the wrists, and I don't have extra elastic for him)

     He's the kind of doll I've wanted to work on for a long time. He's all broken and beautiful and dark. He's seriously the most beautiful doll I've ever seen. He gets prettier and prettier the more I work on/look at him. He's everything I've dreamed he would be. His posing is wonderful, the detail on his body is intricate, his resin color is perfect, and I even have the face I fell in love with all that time ago! I seriously couldn't have imagined a better doll if I wanted to.

Least favorite company?

     My least favorite company, totally honest, is Bobobie. It's just that after owning and handling a few of their dolls, they aren't up to par. This is probably going to come off as "hate", but I'm being totally honest. After handling several other dolls, I don't think I'll ever buy another Bobobie. Let's talk strictly about their bodies--not the ones that were brought over from Resinsoul, either--just the ones that are exclusive to Bobobie.
 
      They're, for the most part, single-jointed. For some people, this is fine. For others, it's no good. Then there's all the problems with the hips/waist. Half of their bodies can't even sit without modification. The 60cm boy body is double-jointed in the knees and actually has a semblance of a mobility joint, but then the arms are just a joke. They have a floating ball, sure, but there's no way in hell that you'll get those arms to move further than 90 degrees without sueding or wiring or something. And even with that help, it won't look natural. Even my Angel of Dream boy poses miles better, and AOD is not too far from the Bobobie price range. The double-jointed bodies available from Bobobie (that are technically Resinsoul bodies) are a little better, but even they need some serious work.

     I've been looking for new bodies for Kiwi and my RS Li for a while now.

     I think that if they worked more on the bodies and polished up the face sculpts a little more, I'd give them a second chance. As they are now, there's no way. They're affordable dolls, great. They offer a great selection of resin colors, awesome. But there isn't anything they have to offer to me personally. If saying I don't like Bobobie because I genuinely feel like their quality is really low makes me an elitist, then I'm a super elitist. I don't even care. I'm not going around sending people messages that their dolls are crap or anything personal like that. I honestly feel like their quality doesn't hold up compared to other dolls I've handled.

     Writing this actually makes me feel anxious because I know people will take this as fuel for their "people just hate on Bobobie because they're cheap" fire, and this isn't just me "hating" on them because I've got some made-up bias in my head. I think it's silly to just label each other as "cheap" and "elitist" just because we have different tastes (and even legitimate reasons we don't like certain companies). So please, before you go and call me an elitist, actually think about what I'm trying to say, and think about the fact that these are just my experiences and feelings. You have different experiences and different feelings, so it's perfectly fine for you to disagree.

~~Aronzo~~

Favorite doll company?

     It's Day 18, so that means it's time to start talking about companies--starting with my favorite.

     Ringdoll.

What is your favorite item of doll clothing?

     My favorite item of doll clothing... Uhh... I guess I'd say the fullset my Frankenstein came with because I didn't have to search everywhere for something that would look nice on him. Seriously, trying to find something I like that would fit him is terrible. None of it works.

     Though it's still kind of stainy. I've been rinsing and soaking it a bunch, and more and more dye just keeps coming out. Apparently there's a dye-setter that you can get at fabric stores that actually works (vinegar and salt NEVER work for me) but there aren't any fabric stores close enough for me to go to. They're all on the other side of town. I'll have to see if I can get a lingerie bag thingy to put the outfit in so I can put it through the wash.

     Regardless of the staining, it's a very cool shorts...tailcoat...butt-cape thing. It's close to the original, which is what I was looking for. I'm hoping I can get all that excess dye out.

~~Aronzo~~

It actually cleared up today

     I got a chance to work on Frankenstein! First I gave him a faceup, and then it was starting to look like the weather was going to change. I waited a bit, and it never rained. So his body blushing/painting is getting done, too! The bigger parts like the exposed muscle and metal compartment on his chest aren't so bad. Surprisingly, it's the stitches that are taking forever! 

Can any of your dolls stand on their heads?

     Nope, not a one. I don't wanna bust any of them trying to get a picture, either. I just know they can't.

So I didn't mention this yesterday when it happened

     I got boxes! I got two big boxes!

     During the day there was a slip left for a package, and we figured it was my DD. Then when I went to pick up the slip at my mom's house, there was already a box! That was my DD. So then what was the slip? I didn't recognize the tracking number, but nobody else had ordered anything from China. So I took it down to the post office and when the lady brought it up to the counter my eyes got really big.
 
    Really, really big.

    It was a box with a big ol' "Ringdoll" printed on the side in fancy font. I would've gotten all giddy and done a dance in the post office, but seeing as the couple waiting in line behind me just came from a funeral, I found a way to restrain myself. The post lady asked what it was and I was like "Oh, I collect expensive dolls" I bet she was thinking some big antique porcelain lady-doll in period dress. Imagine what the look would be on her face if she saw what was really inside >3< After that, I giddily made my way across the parking lot (while trying to be careful--have you ever tried to be careful when you're giddy? It's a little weird) and gosh, it was like Christmas but better.

     Imagine if you didn't get everything on your wishlist, but instead something that was better than all those things combined and that you didn't see coming. I mean, I never got an email to say whether he'd shipped, so that slip was completely out of the blue.

     It was a good day.

 My DD already has her faceup sorted out and I stain-proofed her dress for now. Frankie needs some work done before I can paint him, though. I actually started on some of it just after getting him out of the box and throwing away all the extra bubble wrap (don't worry, I got all the fancy pieces out first)

     What I've started on him is eye-opening. Because I'm not used to taking mods as I do them, I only got a pic after I started work. I'd gotten most of the left eye done (though it still needed some light sanding) and started on the right eye when I took these pictures:

   

     Those eyes in the second picture are Kiwi's eyes. Her tiny little 10mm eyes. He was sent with something like 14mm or 16mm. Waaaaaay too big, even on the 2013 head (which I won't be using, so it's already sold) The thing that gets me is that the pupil size is perfect....but the sides are gappy. I have some 12mm eyes, but they look big and doey. I don't want big and doey. So I'll have to find a way to make my own or something (or just live with gappyness)

     It's been rainy this week, though, so his faceup is gonna have to wait a while...

     My DD got a faceup last night because it was clear out (for once) and wasn't too cold, but I waited on his face to do the mods. I'll find something else to work on in the meantime, I guess. This is my DD, by the way. Her eyes don't fit all the way in that head...even though that's the size Volks recommended. I'll have to figure it out once I can get that head open again.

     I hope everyone has a good week, and if it's rainy for you it's perfect weather for a cup of hot cocoa at least. I'm having some. If you're waiting to work on your doll because of the weather, why not pull up a mug and join me?

~~Aronzo~~

What does your family think?

     Day 15 is about your family's reaction to your dolls.

     I've said a bajillion times that my older brother collects BJDs, so for once I'm actually going to leave him out and focus on everyone else.

    My younger brother doesn't really care for them. He'll find any excuse to change the subject to Magic cards or D&D, and then get upset if I want to even mention dolls. He's kind of over-reactively intolerant of them.

     My mom thinks they're creepy and a waste of money. She thinks I'm digging into my savings and spending copious amounts of money on dolls, even after I explain to her about how I save and budget so that I'm not going hungry, and that none of the money from them has come from my "real job". She has "joked" about breaking them or selling them or just tossing them out, but often her "jokes" are more than a little serious.

     My grandma on my mom's side likes them. She thinks they're cute and she likes talking to me about sewing for and painting them. She collected dolls years back, and is very understanding about them.

     I am not on speaking terms with anyone on my dad's side of the family, other than my Uncle John, who is a really fun guy and thinks they're great. He works for Micron and likes anime, and when dolls come up he's mentioned making some to look like anime characters because he thinks it's really neat how far you can customize them.

    And the rest of my family, I don't see very often. If my grandpa (on mom's side again) were still alive, I'd love to show him my dolls and how I work with them. He taught me how to use tools and I got a lot of my interest for tinkering and customizing things from him. He passed away 4 years ago, and I only started collecting last year. I really wish I could have shown him.

~~Aronzo~~

Floating heads and headless horsedolls on day 14

     I have had one floating body before. It was an Angel of Dream MSD boy body that I got in a partial trade, and it was old, dirty and yellowed. I'd only had one BJD before at that point, which was a girl, so this was very different for me. Being a silly girl, I waited a couple days after the body showed up before I bought the head, so it was sitting around for about a month, headless. 

     And what did I do with it? 

   

Combining everything I want into one post today

     So as far as that 30-day challenge goes, Day 13 is shoes. I don't buy doll shoes. I have 4 1/2 pairs of shoes, 2 1/2 of them being SD sized. I technically have a pair of split-toed sandals for my RS Li, but those have been long lost. So, yeah. Here's a picture of my doll shoes. It was taken on my 3DS because my camera chose to run away and I've been stalling this all day. I just don't do doll shoes.

     Anyway, with that sad little bundle of lines out of the way, I'm going to change the subject to something I'm really excited about. My DD! She's on her way to my town! Last she was scanned, she was on the truck and on her way from a Salt Lake City, which is six hours away. This was three hours ago! So she'll be in my city around 10pm, I reckon. Though the way UPS works, it won't be until 7:00 or 7:30 until she's delivered. They're supposed to be done with deliveries at 7pm, but hey, as long as I get my doll tomorrow I might not mind as much. It depends on how often I call my brother.

     I'm having her sent to my mom's house because of the ridiculous amount of difficulty it takes to get something sent to my apartment. Literally, it took three weeks, two visits to the post office where postal workers told me that either the address my landlord gave me didn't exist, or that they just couldn't help me. In the end, I called the post office to wind up put on hold and eventually the call was dropped, so I wound up just rescheduling the delivery. It turns out they were trying to deliver my package in southern Utah. 

     I live in Idaho.

     I did get the book eventually, but it took forever.

    That's not the kind of frustration I want to go through again, especially with a doll that cost 300 dollars (and especially not the next one to be sent, which is my RD Frankenstein) 

     Anyway. Back to dolls. I've been spending time getting her wig ready this week. A couple days ago, I braided and then boiled my pink heat-resistant wig, and then today I trimmed layers into and and shaped the back from blunt into a nice, more-manageable taper. 

     I've never done a faceup on a squishy vinyl head before, and I'm really excited to do a cute, big-eyed anime look! I also have to get her clothes ready. I have some clothes from my SD girl, but I've also started some simple bikinis and lingerie tops (easiest things to sew without measurements or a pattern on-hand) Just thinking about that cute little smile is making me all giddy!

    

     I actually never thought I'd be so interested in DDs until the other day I was just looking and it was like a little bug bit me. The bite makes you go to the Volks site or wherever else you've seen a Dollfie Dream. You look at a couple sculpts and just think about how cute they are, and before you know it you've got a favorite. Then that itch sets in. You think about what you'd want. Do you want a girl in normal skin? White skin? How much would it cost to ship anyway? I'll just put this all in my cart so I can calculate the shipping. Oh, look there's a payment button. Nooo, no, I shouldn't click that yet. Time to justify this. Okay, I got my taxes in recently. Done. Button is clicked. Time to check obsessively every five minutes until she's shipped. Yay!

     And it gets itchier the longer you wait, or if the shipping changes/doesn't change for a certain amount of time. The worst itch occurs during the last two days of waiting--that anticipation is just maddening! Seriously, I know that shipping isn't supposed to move until at least 10pm, and here it is somewhere around 8 and I keep checking in. I KNOW it's not going to move, but that's not going to stop me.

    Anyway, that's a bit of writing from me today. If you read all this, thanks for reading. I'm gonna go check my tracking for the umpteenth time.

~~Aronzo~~

What do your friends think?

     Day 12's challenge is about what your friends think about BJDs. My friends, well, most of them are collectors as well. I don't have many close personal friends offline (I kind of hang back in social situations) but my best friend should actually be getting the body for her second today, and most everyone else I know thinks the dolls are really cool.

     My boyfriend is fine with them, and actually really sweet about it. For my birthday, I got myself a Ringdoll Frankenstein only to find out after paying that they were selling him with a completely different head than what they'd been showing at conventions and in promo pictures! The head they were showing him with was the head I'd fallen in love with--the 2011 version--but luckily Ringdoll offered to let those who bought the 2013 edition buy the 2011 head as well. I really wanted that head, and so my boyfriend offered to buy it for me. Best birthday present ever, I tell ya.

     My older brother collects BJDs too, and actually started about a month before I did. He's mostly got SDs, but recently he got an Iplehouse Boris (MSD). I've been through more dolls, but currently his collection at home is bigger than mine. He thinks I buy too many dolls >3< Usually I save up for a while, though, or I work out a budget so that I'm not spending more than I have and so that I can still live comfortably.

    My grandma (mom's side) collected dolls when she was younger, and she seems to really like them. She understands more that I'm not some grownup person who needs to cling to an object to cope with the real world, and that having a doll isn't a sign of special needs. I have actually had people ask me in public if I have certain special needs, and the answer is always "No...I just collect dolls." (I have actually stopped bringing them out with me because of the kind of comments I got from strangers).

     A couple of my friends from high school are collectors, but I've kind of gotten out of touch with them since we graduated. I think it's kind of funny, but it wasn't until after I'd lost contact with most of them that we all started collecting. We're all usually doing different things and don't really have time to get together. It's kind of a shame, but we're also really different than who we were in high school. I don't really feel like we'd have anything in common other than dolls.

~~Aronzo~~

White vinyl experiment

     Hi, all. I'm trying to gather the supplies and parts for a special experiment. I want to find a sure way to remove stains from a white vinyl doll. That means I'll need broken parts and ideas.

     The kind of parts I'm looking for are any broken or torn pieces of white or very light colored, rubbery vinyl. This can be from Dollfie Dreams, Obitsu, and other types of doll made from the stuff. It's also called "soft PVC" in some cases. I'm willing to compensate for some of these pieces, and I will at least pay shipping for them (unless you're kind enough to simply donate them for a better cause)

    The methods I'm going to try are graffiti remover, CLR, and I've even heard of hairspray working on Barbies. There are definitely more I can try. I want to find a way to remove stains with everyday chemicals and methods that can be found in the average household (or easily picked up at the store)

     If you have any suggested methods or damage pieces, please let me know. I still have to gather the parts, and I'd hate to have to try all this stuff on my new doll. Thank you.

~~Aronzo~~

Spammers be skewin' my viewcounts.

     I complained about Vampirestat when I accidentally clicked "Open link in new tab" instead of  "Copy link address" and wound up flooded with "views" from their site. I've noticed more and more of these fishy sites "referring" people to my blog, but after a quick Google search, I find people complaining about just about every single one. When I post something, suddenly I have 6 "views" from Kallery.net, or suddenly I'm a hot topic on 7secretsearch, apparently. 

    There's even a few "views" from some blog post about pizza-tuna. Who is this Pendomanhidup person anyway, and why does his pizza-tuna recipe written in Malay relate to my dolls in any way? It doesn't. 

     Adsensewatchdog isn't associated with Google, and Zombiestat isn't an informative site about zombies and their roaming habits with lots and lots of pie charts (though if I had that domain, that's totally what I'd do with it). 

     I get it, okay? These sites try to get your attention so you'll visit. They get you to visit so they can remotely-access your computer, or install other viruses, f*** up your computer, and leave you there. But I don't care what they want anymore. I want this crap to stop. I want to be able to remove their data from my stats so I can see how many people actually view my blog, and who is actually interested in it. I care about writing for people, not spammers. If my stuff isn't worth reading, then I don't want to be led into some false idea that what I'm writing is great and that people are paying attention. I want to know if I suck so that I can work harder and get better. I'm writing this blog to occupy my time while I'm at home, to try to connect with other collectors, and to hopefully inform at least one person about something I really care about.

     It's silly, but I really am passionate about dolls. I'm passionate about working on them, and I want that to be accessible to others. I want people to be safe and smart with their decision-making. Dolls are expensive, and working on them is a risk. Sometimes people don't have access to the info on Den of Angels, or they find it hard to dig up what they're looking for. I search up resin matches for my friends, or I scout out eyes and wig shops to see if they're reputable. I want the hobby to be available to those who want to join, and who feel ready to jump in. I want newbies to be informed and I want them to feel confident in what they do. 

     I'm here hoping that at least someday, something I type will help someone in some way--even if I give up the blog and forget it ever happened. I'm not here to be popular or grow a fanbase. I just want to be someone who can answer people's questions. So, actual readers (if you exist) if you ever have any questions, I'm going to put it out right now that I will do my best to answer either personally or I'll try to muster up a big, long post about the subject that everyone can refer to. For the time being, I have lots of time on my hands. 

~~Aronzo~~

There's no Day 11?

     On the 30 Day Challenge list I found, there's no Day 11... so I guess today's another free-write day? Let's just pretend that "Collect any other dolls?" is today's topic. 

     Generally, no. I don't collect Monster High, Pullips, Blythe, Barbie, Raggedy Anne, or any other type of doll. I've only really been interested in BJDs, and most recently Dollfie Dreams (the two are similar enough, at least for me). I used to have two of the 1/6 scale Volks dolls, but once I moved on to BJDs that went out the window (one is sold, other one is just sort of lying around at my mom's house). 

     The reason I don't collect very many dolls is because, even among BJDs, many of them just don't appeal to me stylistically. I've seen many wonderful customs of other dolls, but they just aren't what I'd personally go for. There are some gorgeous Monster High repaints, but what would I do with them? I don't like the factory faceups, but that doesn't mean I'd want to redo them myself. And if I did get a custom, she would just be on display. For some people that's fine, but I'm not really one to display things like that. When I'm not taking pictures of my dolls, they're just kind of lying around, often in various stages of wigged/dressed. I don't want/need/have room for a doll I won't customize, and I'm picky about how I want my dolls to look. 

     The reason I prefer BJDs is because there's such a wide variety of combinations to choose from and because of how lifelike they can be. They aren't *quite* as hollow as some of their vinyl counterparts, so there's more room to work with for modding. They come in a very wide range of sizes and shapes from different companies. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they feel very unique. Even if you get a popular sculpt, it can look very different from somebody else's. That level of "one of a kind" is what really draws me in. The idea that the dolls can come pre-packaged with a faceup or you can choose to do it yourself, or that you can just buy parts and hybridize, or the mere fact that you can get the doll you want in various colors is kind of rare from what I've seen of the doll world. For me, BJDs have a special spark to them. 

     I'm really trying not to come off as bashing other dolls, because I do feel like they are beautiful, but what I'm trying to say is that most other dolls just aren't what I'm looking for. There are probably people who don't like BJDs and much prefer other dolls, and that's perfectly fine--in fact, it's great. The world would be really boring if we all liked the same things.

~~Aronzo~~

Breaking the rules on Day 10

     So I get that Day 10 is supposed to be a picture of one of your dolls with an animal. But where I live lacks animals. I don't have any pets, and even though the apartment complex is pet-friendly, it looks like all the cats that like to greet me on their daily walk (or just get belly rubs) are in hiding. I can't find a single animal that won't scurry away at the sight of a person, or even the sight of a doll.

     I'm going to break the rules of the challenge today, but I plan to stick to the rest of them for the rest of the 30 days. Instead, I'm going to write about my first near-BJD experience.