Moving On

You may have noticed that there hasn’t been much activity here recently, which is in part due to my crazy life being…well crazy.  However, I have also decided to move my content on to another site.  I like this blog, but as my collection and post-topics have changed, I realize a bjd blog just isn’t what this is anymore.  As such I’ve started a new blog over at BlogSpot which you can find here.  It will include posts about my whole collection (without me feeling OT) as well as other art projects I may be working on.  Some of the content here has been moved over, but not everything.  New posts will be made there from now on, so come on over and take a look!

Just one more?

I sold Daemon’s old grey body to fund a new Pullip, and she’s actually a Pullip this time (as opposed to a TaeYang or Dal).  After reading through ReqiumArt’s “All My Pullips” and realizing that the main doll Ash is actually stock, I went out and splurged.  Nero (the sculpt) is beautiful and quite different than other pullips.  She still has that pretty face, but her light make up and monochromatic color scheme is very enticing.  I’m positively in love with her lips.   And so Arte is coming home!  Now I just need to get Butler (Tae Butler) and Marguerite (Pullip ?) and my photo story group will be complete!

Photostory: Kaleb Shows Off

It is disgustingly hot here…I think I’m actually melting.  95+ degrees with humidity.  Antarctica anyone?

Just snagged the TaeYang Nosferatu stock for Kaleb.  Nos is an interesting doll, but I think I’m good with just one TaeYang around here for now.  His stock however is really cool, and will fit Kaleb perfectly.

My boyfriend and I also started a neat new project that will be his first foray into having anything to do with the dolls.  I wanted to make a case for Kaleb shaped like a coffin, and he jumped on the chance to help me build it.  We went and picked out all the materials today, and more detailed plans will be drawn up this evening.  It’s exciting because I think it’s going to turn out great, and if there’s a market for them, we might even make a little extra money too.

And not I’m off to finish some laundry and hopefully get a photostory done with Kaleb.  I would have earlier but forgot the camera battery!

Interview with a vampire part II.

Me: So tell me about your sire.

Kaleb: Ah yes, good old Micah. *laugh*  He was a European vampire, and a complete court-bound fop.

Me: That’s not very nice.

Kaleb: Perhaps, but it’s also true.  If I may, let me start by explaining something about vampire culture.

Me: By all means, you are the expert here.

Kaleb: Thank you.  If you look back at the living habits of the earliest vampires, you’d find that unlike those of today they lived and moved in relative solitude.  One or two vampires might be able to feed on a town unnoticed, but any more would surely bring the wrath of angry people down upon them.  As such, at that time you’d see maybe two or three at the most living together.

Me: That makes sense I suppose.

Kaleb: Then an Italian vampire named Pietro di Angelo reorganized his own “children” into a communal group that became known as a coven.  When anyone was added to his bloodline they were expected to swear allegiance to him and his court.  Pietro was a very powerful and old vampire, and was considered a “founding father” of sorts for our species.  So when he created this new system, it spread quickly through all the powerful vampire groups.

At the time I was turned, this coven-culture was well established and revered.  Few vampires could or would exist outside of it, and my sire was no exception.  Micah was a blood-descendant of Pietro, and that was really his only saving grace.  He was a weak and foolish man, but very powerful blood ran through those veins.

I stumbled upon his court after I was enticed by one of his many female “lures,” and made my proposition.  Micah liked me, though if it was for my power or my face I’m not sure.  However, either way he turned me and held the traditional covening ceremony.

Me: I wouldn’t expect you to be the kind of person to submit to that.

Kaleb: And you’d be right.  When it came time for me to swear the sacred oaths, I refused.  Micah was livid, he tried to force me using what little power he had, but I was much too strong.  I would not submit to anyone, especially not one as weak as he.  So I left and never returned.  Later Micah swore he had banned me, but the truth was plain for all those that knew me.

Me: So that’s why you two don’t get along?  Do you ever run across one another?

Kaleb: Yes, and infrequently.  We both try to avoid each other as much as possible.  In private he continues to invite me back, but I have always refused.  I am my own man, and nothing else.

Kaleb, the overnight sensation.

Well I posted Kaleb’s introductory photostory on DollyMarket the other day, and since then he’s helped spawn a new Non-Sparkly vampire club with t-shirts!  He also seems to be winning over people everywhere, because no matter where I take him he gets rave reviews.

More pictures of him and his new outfits are to follow (leather pants!), as well as some more interview questions with him.  Also, there’s an exciting new contest coming up where you could win a chance at some great doll items!  More info on the way.

An interview with a vampire. Part I

Kaleb enjoyed his pictorial interview yesterday enough that he wanted to come back and do another today, though more on the serious side.  So I sat down with him this evening and let him talk.

Me: So you mentioned rather bluntly yesterday that you are a vampire, and were born in the late 1600′s.  How old are you?

Kaleb: Three hundred and thirty-one years old.  I was born in 1679 and turned in 1698, two days after my nineteen birthday.

Me: Was this an intentional transition or…?

Kaleb: Completely.  I witnessed the Salem witch trials when I was thirteen, and this awoke in me a great fascination with the darkness.  I spent the next several years seeking a way to possess such power, and when I turned nineteen I found my sire.

Me: Do you practice magic then, speaking of the witch trials?

Kaleb: Yes, though I should mention that those persecuted during the trials were not witches.  That aside, I spent many years after my transformation studying the dark arts.  Much of my practice falls under the purview of necromancy, but I’m not a one trick pony.

Me: Do you have any special powers that came with becoming a vampire?  Any limitations?

Kaleb: My vampirism helps with my practice of necromancy as it brings me closer to that which I call up, but there are a few other intrinsic benefits.  I’m strong and fast, and heal rather quickly.  I can also shift my shape to that of a wolf.  As for limitations…  Garlic is mostly an annoyance due to the heightened sense of smell that comes with being a vampire.  Holy weapons like crosses and holy water are more detrimental to younger vampires, but are also somewhat belief-influenced.  If you world is ruled by a Judeo-Christian god, then such weapons would seem more frightening.  Sunlight is also more detrimental the younger you are, and while I would still die if sent out into direct sun I can survive overcast days.

Me: Do you ever regret your decision?

Kaleb: No, never.

Me: Speaking of which, how do you feel about your blood appetite.?

Kaleb: It’s never bothered me, I was not a squeamish person to begin with and I’ve always seen it as a survival of the fittest situation.

Me: So no moral qualms?  What of the “vegetarian” vampires out there?

Kaleb: Everyone is obviously welcome to make their own choices, but I think if you’re going to claim to be more moral you should think about that for a moment.  Those vampires see vegetarianism as more reasonable as they don’t eat their own kind.  They don’t cause the kind of despair and pain that comes with human deaths.  However I have spent time among several wolf packs due to my abilities, and I’ve seen the kind of pain that can be caused by the death of a member.  It’s all about perspective.

Me: What do you think of the recent vampire craze and the resulting media frenzy?

Kaleb: It’s annoying, especially when you’re being type-cast if you will as one kind of vampire or another.  You’re either an Edward or a Lestat, and Angelus or someone from True Blood.  When in reality we are all different.  It makes the feat of staying hidden more difficult, and causes a lot of head-shaking.

More to come!

Photostory: Introducing Kaleb

I have a sparkly, naked Edward Cullen in my car…

And Ronin looks like the love child of Edward and Japser Cullen.  Yes folks, it has happened.

I went out today and bought the Edward Barbie doll to steal his clothes, and they look fantastic on Ronin.  Perfect fit, even better than other Ken clothes, and he looks great.  Although he does resemble some sort of male Twilight Mary Sue character, but we can deal with that until his wig comes in which should be soon.

Speaking of vampires…it looks like Ronin might go through some more character changes having to do with the aforementioned creature.  It’s all up in the air right now, but some bits came to me when I was free writing today and just seemed to fit.

Maggie also has some new clothes from the “Only Hearts Club” doll series, and they fit great.  Pictures of her and Ronin forthcoming.

Yeesh, what a day.

But it’s all okay because Maggie poses like a dream.

I left this morning to get the necessary doll supplies, but when I returned to my car after shopping I found that it wouldn’t start.  I called my boyfriend to give me a jump, and sat down to wait.  Not wanting to waste any time I started cutting out some foam pieces (went with foam not earplugs) for Maggie.  Unfortunately I wasn’t really paying attention and managed to slit open my finger pretty good.  So now I’m nearly melting in a dead car with a finger that’s bleeding everywhere.  And no first aid kit.

I managed to stop the bleeding with a napkin and my boyfriend upon arrival was able to provide me with band-aids and a jump.  I make it to work only a half hour late to discover that someone’s stolen my debit card number and tried to buy phone cards in NJ.  :0

Thankfully it went up from there, and I am currently sitting with a perfectly posing Magpie enjoying a nice fan.  What a day!