About Aiden Forrester

Click on the "About" Label for more of my characters and info about the dolls that portray them!

 Aiden Forrester
of the Court of Dun Elisedd

Company and sculpt: Volks Yukinojo 2012 head/ Granado 63cm body with jointed hands.
Height: about 63cm
Resin colour: Granado's old Yellow NS, and Volks NS
Modifications: Hybrid.
Faceup: Volks, altered a bit by me.
Eyes: Default Volks Yukinojo
Wig: 8 inch fiber, unknown brand

Name (and nicknames): Aiden Forrester, formerly Lord Aiden Colric.
Age: 28
Birthday: in Autumn

Family and/or relationships: He adored his younger sister, and tried to protect her from the machinations of their ambitious father. Aiden is angry with himself because he couldn't keep his sister from being sold into a marriage to a dangerous man just to gain their father some power and money. He has a twin brother who sided with their father Baron Colric in every argument, and is therefore their father's heir. Aiden betrayed his family to the Royal forces during the Winter War his father started, and has thus been declared to be disowned utterly. Now he lives at Dun Elisedd.

Occupation: Hunting in the mountains behind the castle of Dun Elisedd, to keep the place supplied with wild game as a supplement to the domestic fowls and herd beasts normally eaten.

Pets: None. He wants to train a competent hunting hound for flushing birds. He uses a pack pony sometimes to bring in a kill, but a working animal is not a pet to him.

Personality: Proud as to his personal honor, stubborn, taciturn, cynical about human nature, dedicated when he feels he has a good reason to be or a cause to work for, bold, hardworking even at menial tasks, brave in defense of people he loves, overall rather emotional/passionate. If he does some task, he'll work all day 'til he gets it done right.

Hobbies: He spends his time mostly at his work, hunting. Whittling, sharpening knives, fletching arrows, trout fishing...

Likes: Time to himself, a good take when he's out hunting, getting respect from those he admires, getting recognition for his hard work, being out in the forest, quiet without someone trying to fill it with chatter. He's a Dog Person, considering cats useless freeloaders if they can't catch mice.

Dislikes: Being looked down on, being at the bottom of the social order, being underestimated, chattery people, dancing, Verdani people, dim-witted servants, pompous nobles, people whose only ambition is for power and riches.

Other/misc: People of Dun Elisedd are glad he betrayed his family in the Winter War because it meant a way to win, but they will never really forgive him for being a blood traitor. He's a person who was useful to them, but not a person they will trust, or be seen to be friendly with.

Colrics are known to be hot-tempered and troublesome, and while he might be disowned, he's definitely still one of them in those regards.

He was married once, but his young wife and he didn't know each other very well when they wed. They were off to a promising start on a sort of relationship when she and their first baby died in childbirth. She was only 19, he was 23. Aiden has not sought love or marriage since.

Jenny Marx's Survey II

This quiz thingy dates from the 1860s and was written by Jenny Marx, Karl Marx's daughter. She sent it to her exciting Communist pals to fill out, apparently for the sheer fun of it. Here's the answers of a few of my Doll characters from Dun Elisedd, if we assume/pretend we could get them to answer these.

Answers for Aiden Forrester, Volks Yukinojo/ Granado hybrid.

The quality you like best in a man:
Honesty.

The quality you like best in a woman:
Boldness.

Your chief characteristic:
People say I'm hot-tempered; it runs in our family.

Your idea of happiness:
Being out in the woods, in the fog as the sun rises and the light comes between the branches.

Your idea of misery:
Being caught in the web of lies and power games at home.

The vice you detest the most:
Greed.

The vice you excuse the most:
Giving in to temptations.

Your chief aversion:
Public appearances. I show up if I am summoned, and then get the h*ll out of it.

Your favourite literary or historical character:
I used to think my family's ancestors were great men. If they were like my father, I doubt it.

Your favourite occupation:
These days I prefer hunting.

Your favourite writer:
( He doesn't read much.)

Your favourite flower:
wood-roses

Your favourite colour:
Green.

Your favourite dish:
Fresh caught trout, roasted on an open fire, eaten by the stream side. You can catch trout without a line or net, if you have fast hands.

Your favourite motto:
I'll do Whatever I Must.


Answers for Aneirin, a fae creature, bond-slave to Tiarnach, Prince of the Wildwood (Dollshe Saint Hybrid/Mod)

The quality you like best in a man:
Sense to stay out of my woods.

The quality you like best in a woman:
A nice singing voice.

Your chief characteristic:
I am quite bloodthirsty, usually literally.

Your idea of happiness:
Being free, walking in the woods by moonlight, when the night flowers bloom and the moths dance...

Your idea of misery:
Being stuck on a leash, doing Tiarnach's dirty work.

The vice you detest the most:
Disrespect.

The vice you excuse the most:
Hunger.

Your chief aversion:
Daylight is glaring and blinding. Hiss.

Your favourite literary or historical character:
*shrug*

Your favourite occupation:
Tending my gardens- I have a few small patches of wildflowers I watch over when my Lord doesn't need me around. I like my flowers.

Your favourite writer:
( He doesn't read much.)

Your favourite flower:
Oh, wood rose, night lily, Young Maid's Fancy, thistle, pond lilies, crocuses, bluebells, Lady's Slipper, primrose, snowdrops, daffodils.. (he goes on... and on... )

Your favourite colour:
White, like the Moon.

Your favourite dish:
Fresh blood of a young rabbit, with perhaps some of the liver and heart... *slurp*

Your favourite motto:
Alone Is Best.

About Tiarnach

Tiarnach
Click on the "About" Label for more of my characters and info about the dolls that portray them!

Tiarnach is one of my Court of Dun Elisedd group, but he's an unfinished doll currently in need of a better version of his faceup.

Company and sculpt: SOOM Chrom head/ Granado Nuevo NS body
Height: 65 cm?
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: Hybrid.
Faceup: Me
Eyes: Custom by Shelley
Wig: Mohair shown, made by me.

Name (and nicknames): Tiarnach, Prince of the Wildwood, Lord of Shadows, The Blood-Drinker.
Age: ancient.
Birthday: unknown
Family and/or relationships: He is madly, obsessively in love with Siofra. He only wants her, she wants whoever she fancies today. This causes him no end of angst and frustration.

Occupation: Dark ruler of the night? Harassing these upstart Men and their petty Kings and Lords who think to tame the land, etc.
Pets: A young monster he keeps collared by magic.

Personality: Vindictive, jealous, clever, possessive, malicious, passionate, poetic, observant.
Hobbies: Frightening Men, drinking blood, working dark magic, lurking through the night looking for fools who don't have the sense to stay by a fire and bar their doors.

Likes:  Other people's fear, old forests, dark places, windy nights, etc.
Dislikes: Cold iron and steel, whoever Siofra is flirting with, people who show him no respect, the New Religions brought here by men that teach them not to be afraid and not to pay worship to the dark.

Other/misc. Tiarnach is one of the fae, Prince of the Wildwood, and means to make sure these mortals know it. He wants a return to the days of fear in the dark.

Meme- Jenny Marx's Survey

This thingy dates from the 1860s and was written by Jenny Marx, Karl Marx's daughter. She sent it to her exciting communist pals to fill out, apparently for the sheer fun of it.Here's the answers of a few of my Doll characters from Dun Elisedd, if we assume/pretend we could get them to answer these.

Answers for Kevya, my IH Barron hybrid.

The quality you like best in a man:
Integrity. Honesty, character and keeping his word.

The quality you like best in a woman:
Kindness.

Your chief characteristic:
People say I'm dangerous.

Your idea of happiness:
A hillside by the sea, a flock to watch after, and no wolves coming. Either that, or a windy afternoon out in the forest with Lir, hunting.

Your idea of misery:
The cell on the island of Rilvomar where I spent so many years chained and treated like an animal.

The vice you detest the most:
Sadism.

The vice you excuse the most:
Cowardice. Some things are too much to ask anyone to face.

Your chief aversion:
I don't like chains, or being tied up.

Your favourite literary or historical character:
Athero made the peace with Elisedd, the first King.

Your favourite occupation:
Being Lir's Guard.

Your favourite writer:
Ian has been writing down some old Verdani stories.

Your favourite flower:
Crocus. It blooms in the snow.

Your favourite colour:
Blue

Your favourite dish:
Lamb stew and Verdani flat bread

Your favourite motto:
Serve

Answers for Prince Lir, my Soom Lupin

The quality you like best in a man:
Honesty. The air is so thick with ulterior motives around here I could cut it with a knife.

The quality you like best in a woman:
Patience, and a tolerance for my idiosyncracies.

Your chief characteristic:
I like to hope I am thoughtful.

Your idea of happiness:
An evening by the fire with a good book or a fine story, good music, and close friends around.

Your idea of misery:
I felt rather sorry for myself when I came home to find my family gone and our homeland so ravaged, but I've also seen the state of things further south, like on Rilvomar, and the condition of rampant crime and slavery there was horrifying.

The vice you detest the most:
A hunger for power over other men. The man who wants power is the man who least deserves to have it. Heh, I guess that bodes well for my own reign.

The vice you excuse the most:
Cowardice. I agree with Kevya- Some things are just horrible, and you can't fault a man for simply not being able to face them.

Your chief aversion:
Seeing others in pain or in trouble. I have to help as much as I can, I can't leave them like that.

Your favourite literary or historical character:
Elisedd, my famous ancestor and the founder of my Royal Lineage. He built this castle I call home.

Your favourite occupation:
Learning. I love to read.

Your favourite writer:
Cadogan the Chronicler wrote some of our better histories.

Your favourite flower:
My mother had a rose garden, and even after she was gone the servants kept it up. It made Father happy to see her roses bloom every year.

Your favourite colour:
Green

Your favourite dish:
Almond pudding

Your favourite motto:
Knowledge is the key to the world. 


Answers for Davan, My Iplehouse Taregan

The quality you like best in a man:
Strength, and the sense to obey

The quality you like best in a woman:
A buxom figure and a certain something when seduced.

Your chief characteristic:
I am rather clever, I do admit. I enjoy thinking.

Your idea of happiness:
My little empire expanding, my servants carrying out my orders, fine parties, a woman on my arm and in my bed, and a good vintage of wine.

Your idea of misery:
Being a penniless filthy peasant.

The vice you detest the most:
Incompetence. I have no use for useless people.

The vice you excuse the most:
Hedonism is merely what the repressed envy and the honest enjoy.

Your chief aversion:
I do not enjoy being dirty. I prefer to be well groomed and clean.

Your favourite literary or historical character:
Me. I am making history.

Your favourite occupation:
Merchant Lord. It's a lucrative position, and I rule my island like a king.

Your favourite writer:
Teris Shan wrote a beautiful collection of poems, as well as a definitive work on the effects of various methods of torture.

Your favourite flower:
River Lilies, or perhaps jasmine.

Your favourite colour:
Red, or gold.

Your favourite dish:
Young quail in spiced wine and orange sauce.

About Davan

Click on the "About" Label for more of my characters and info about the dolls that portray them!

 Better pics will be forthcoming, but since Blogspot has gone and changed everything around I will need time to get those pics ready anyhow.

Name: Davan
From the Court of Dun Elisedd storyline

Type: Iplehouse Taregan Elemental Guardian Fullset (Split) Superhero Body, Mobility Jointed, Lt Brown skin.

Birthday/arrival: March 2012

Wig: Handspun wool by me, needs replacing with a better one. I need to find some handspun or something like it in thinner form.

Eyes: default Glib acrylic, currently. Also mean to replace these, but every pair I get is too yellow or too orange. I need golden honey colored eyes!

Customization: just blushing and faceup by me.

Location: He's the antagonist of my Dun Elisedd story, the one person Kevya hates more than anything, and the man Lir recused Kevya from.

Likes: women, fine wine, wealth, efficiency, arcane arts and magic, power in any worthy form

Dislikes: foolish people who try to stand up to him or think he is stupid. Being dirty- he's almost comically fastidious about his personal cleanliness.

Personality: Merciless, calm, sadistic, imperturbable, cruel, hedonistic, possessive. A pleasure seeker. He has a driving need to dominate or destroy anyone or anything he decides to own.

Relationships: As to his love life, there are various women he has had his way with and cast aside when they no longer pleased him. He has no family, nor friends per se so much as allies and employees.


Any additional info/backstory: He is the person who enslaved Kevya and made him into a fighter for the arena games. He more or less governs his own small island, a hub of trade and commerce of every kind including slave markets. He dabbles in magic and uses it to mess with people or punish those who he feels deserve it. He knows Kevya better than anyone else alive, having spent many an hour toying with his slave's mind.

Dolly work update- pics coming later!

Now that it's Spring, a lot of the dolls are going to get reblushing, restringing, and more clothes to complete my Court of Dun Elisedd...

So Siofra my Light Tan Resinsoul Yun has a gorgeous new body, courtesy of the color matching skills of the doll company Angell-Studio, and just needs a little more blushing and a finish on her faceup.
She looks amazing! Angell-Studio sanded her seams for free, and sent her strung with silicone kips in the joints. She poses incredibly well with a rib height joint and thigh mobility joints that have locks inside them. This is one of the most beautiful SD female bodies I've ever seen. It's somewhat slender but not skinny- toned and graceful. The resin is of a very high quality, and utterly smooth. Angell-Studio has a new customer for life!

Today I strung my new Unoa-Minifee hybrid as well. Her name is Aithne, and her character will be part of the same story as Hands and Scythe, my other mid-sized dolls. They're in an urban fantasy story I've called "Otherworld". She is a fae blooded witch girl who is a free spirit exploring the world of Men. I had to string her pretty tightly, and it will take some serious blush work to get her Unoa head to match the Fairyland Minifee A-Line body, but she'll be so pretty once she's done.

I am working on re-doing my Littlefee Elf El's faceup. I got that mostly done today. It needs a few more touches and then the eyebrow and lash lines.

On The Worktable- Current Projects

Okay, here's a rundown of what I've been up to the last few months, and what I have planned or am already working on, in between bouts of bedrest. (Don't ask, long story, medications and then a sinus infection)
I would have included pics but Blogger is being weird right now and messing up my uploads, so you get me blathering instead.



Just finished:
-Making Taki the realpuki hybrid, painting him and making his basic outfit. He is now a very smiley warrior fae in spiffy duds.
-Gave Winter, Leeke Romeo hybrid, a new wig, nice and short.
-Gave Elinore a new wig, dark brown instead of sable.
-Made Donovan the EID Akando a full outfit, tunic and shoes and everything.
-Made Kevya some pants that fit, finally.
-Gave Adara's Khorae, a YID Iplehouse girl, a massive mod makeover and blushing.
-Finished faceup and blushing of Farron, my new Littlefee Elf El.
-Gave Stella the LTF Troll a serious hip modification, new blushing and a new faceup, as well as a new sleeping faceplate.
-Re-faceupped Scythe the MSD, got him real clothes, but the shoes don't fit, so I need to sell those and get good ones.

Currently working:
-Working on Kitso, a Puki Madeleine mod, who will be another tiny warrior fae and Taki's former hunting buddy. All that's left is to sand his ears smooth and remove his seams, and then I can paint him up. Made him some clothes tonight.
-Softening the jawline and browline of a Souldoll Killian head to go on a custom ordered muscular woman body- She will be Fiachra.
-Finding Tiarnach a body imposing enough for him- Soom Supergem is nice but too lean. He needs to have more oomph.
-Waiting on a custom colored body for Siofra. I love her face like crazy, but ResinSoul's kicky 58 cm girl body just isn't enough for me as a collector any more- it can't pose nearly well enough to be my Siofra.
-I need to mod Sir Malcolm's head so it will fit on the Iplehouse SID body he is supposed to be able to use.
-I need to blush that body and make it some clothes for Malcolm to wear.
-Waiting on a Dream High Studio Fira, a special limited fairy that I may sell to make room for other purchases.
-Waiting on an Iplehouse Elemental Guardian Taregan, which will be getting a few subtle mods to be my Davan, villain of my Dun Elisedd Story.
-Going to be buying a Minifee Ruth sometime in the coming year to re-shell my character Two Hands.
-Going to be getting a Minifee Girl body for my Unoa faceplates, which I have decided to make into my character Aithne, so she will need a faceup and blush too, once that body gets here.

As always, props need making for my dollies- I mean to make Elinore a healer's kit, a pack and survival tools for Kitso, and this big white Battat horse I have is going to get spruced up for the Minifees to use.

Also, I am sculpting my own BJDs! First project is a tiny doll, using Super Sculpey Firm, and he is meant to be a Feegle, as in Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books. A six inch tall warrior faery with a tendency to fight everything.
The other sculpt is a Paperclay experiment I have dubbed Mighty Aphrodite, and she is a plus sized 61 cm female body with plenty of curve. So far she is just a rough torso, but I like what I've got and intend to keep going.

Character Flaws

Almost all of my human/human-like characters have "flaws" of some kind, it's what makes them relatable.
Out of the Court of Dun Elisedd storyline, several of them have problems from mild to debilitating.

Lir and Elinore's issues are mostly situational- the understandable trauma of losing your family, then having to run a kingdom.

Rowena is a bit claustrophobic- a common problem but it makes her a little stir crazy when she can't leave the castle.

Kevya, now, poor Kevya- Here's a list! Poor guy has no memory of a youth or childhood, severe trauma physical and mental from being enslaved and tormented for six years, including extensive scarring and branding on his shoulders and hands. He doesn't trust people, doesn't like being touched, has a fear of crowds, being locked up, has acute senses (which can be a painful flaw, trust me) and has serious social difficulties from years of being treated like an animal. Add to this insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks, and for the first several months an inability to remember how to speak... Yeah.

Winter gets dark painful bruises if he's too close to iron or steel for very long- it's why he doesn't carry a knife. He also has an uncanny ability to tell sometimes what people's intentions are- sounds fun until you imagine if no one could lie to you. Ever. Not even when they need to. Think about it.
As a partial result, he's a terrible cynical jerk. He knows who fears him, who is smiling at him but doesn't like him, who wants to manipulate him for his influence so close to the King, and who thinks he's a coward because he did not fight in the War.

Sir Donovan had a childhood stammer in his speech that returns when he gets embarrassed, or around a pretty woman. He hates it.

Sir Malcolm was badly injured during the war. He has a marked limp in one leg and can barely do anything with his left hand anymore- nerve damage from a stab wound.
He's got bad survivor's guilt after his king and all his friends died in the war.

Mathonwy is nearsighted, so he has glasses. He was also born very pale-skinned, but that's just how he is. All he can do is avoid the harshest daylight.

Fiachra, a character coming soon, has a serious chip on her shoulder about having to play both the lovely noblewoman and the fierce warrior, and how people don't seem to want her to be anything but one or the other. She's got a bit of a lost identity.

Tiarnach, whose doll form awaits a body, has his own weirdness but that's because he's Fae. Mostly, he has angst over the fact that the woman he loves can't keep herself to herself.

Davan, also on his way, is simply freakin' sadistic. He's cruel, but not petty, and logical like a steel vise. He will dominate, possess or destroy anything of power that he comes across, no holds barred, no remorse, and no mercy.

Wardrobe Updates

So Halloween has come and gone, and the month of October is over. It has promptly begun to snow, and sealant-spraying-friendly weather will now be extremely hard to come by. It's times like this I wish fervently that I had a fume hood like in my high school chem lab.
However, I can sew, which means I can keep adding to my dolls' expanding wardrobes. I want to get each of them into a basic outfit with shoes by New Year or so. Here's Donovan's new outfit. [Donovan is an EID Akando from Iplehouse.]



In my Dun Elisedd story, Don's people are northern Clansmen heavily inspired by the historical Scots, Picts and Irish, so his clothing has influences from them, including a large penannular style brooch for his brat, or shoulder wrap, and a knee length tunic with a keyhole neckline, as well as several pieces of almost gaudy jewelry.



The outfit without the shoulder wrap. Even his belt buckle was chosen for its similarity to La Tene' period Celtic metal finds.



Here's a shot of his shoes- Not entirely historically accurate in type or construction, but plausible.


Siofra the Fae Lady got some new clothes earlier this year but I hadn't taken pics yet, so here is her new outfit.



It has a heavy Roman influence because I wanted her outfits to hearken back to an earlier style, and early British clothing was influenced by the Roman occupation. Siofra needed a Pre-Medieval look. She also needs a new faceup, but that can wait for Spring, I guess.


I never thought I'd have a doll who could get away with wearing orange, but she wears it rather well. Her coloring is so different from any of my other dolls.
[Siofra is a Resinsoul Yun cast in Light Tan.]

QuasiMiddleAges, or What year is this Court thing supposed to be?

In case you're a new guest to my little corner of the blogosphere, I should mention that I have this medieval sort of fantasy story I've been working on for years, and a majority of my dolls are characters belonging to that story. Specifically they belong to the Court of Dun Elisedd, the group of people who are the movers and shakers of a castle in a small northern kingdom.

It draws inspiration from many, many sources, not the least of which are things like The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Prydain, Beowulf, the Arthurian mythos, and histories of many actual kingdoms. It is a fantasy story, but like Tolkien and other authors, I have something of a passion for world-building and cultural anthropology, so I have done a lot of thinking about the cultures in this world and how they interact, and what their clashing or melding means for their society.

I have trouble sometimes with keeping my historical & locational influences to one period or place. I am madly in love with the Arthurian era of war-torn, Saxon-invaded Britain, with kings and chieftains and warriors, and the simpler architecture and gorgeous celtic artistic forms they had. I also like the "Ivanhoe" period of Post-Hastings England with the Saxons and Normans uncomfortably mixing, and all the cultural awkwardness there. There are lots of things in fashion and clothing, however, that I like from as late as the High Middle Ages, 1300 or so. I try to keep my main influences in fashion, art and architecture somewhere between the Roman British era and theNorman Invasion, just for the sake of clarity and some vague unity in the whole mess.

It is well worth pointing out that I have only barely begun a dabbling study of British and European history compared to many authors and illustrators, and there's a lot more to study. It's one of the things that makes this story a work in progress.

Why base a fantasy novel on history, you might ask? Because I've seen what happens when you don't, and it looks like Dungeons and Dragons. *twitch* Not that I have anything against High Fantasy, as it's known, but it doesn't feel as real to me. The appeal of Fantasy is that you can imagine somewhere, somehow, once upon a time, it was real. My story is about real people, even if there is a bit of magic involved and they use swords and horses instead of iPhones and Toyotas. These people live and love and bleed and die, and I can't cheapen that by making everything up and having it not make sense. Their world needs to be solid, and have real weather, real troubles and real life in it.
My fantasy world cannot have everyone on the continent under just one king, they can't all speak a Common Speech with no good reason for it, and they can't have an economy based on unrealistic amounts of gold pieces everyone has and everyone values exactly the same, and they can't all have conveniently enlightened modern views on property, citizenship, women, and slavery. That's how it is in many Fantasy settings, but not in mine.

The King's Wolf

from the Court of Dun Elisedd storyline...

His Royal Majesty Lir and Kevya the Wolf, his servant.

Character Interview: Kevya

From a Character Interview thingy on "Den of Angels", a BJD forum.
Kevya is a character of mine from a Novel-In-Perpetual-Progress that I've been working on for years.
Being able to make a BJD that looks pretty much like him has been a goal of mine since I got into this hobby. I think I've almost got the doll how I want it.

-------------------------
Kevya
Doll Mold: Iplehouse Barron Mod
Face up: me
Eyes: Bright blue
Hair: Black
Age: Unknown

He's from a medieval world, and he's... a rather strange person. I'll let him answer but I may add comments.

If you were to describe yourself with one word, what would it be?
Wolf. That's one of my names.

What is most important to you in the world?
Right now, Lir. He saved my life, and probably my soul too.

Would you help someone who needed it while passing?
I... suppose so.

Are you very observant?
Very.

How innocent/naive can you be?
I was once. I'm not anymore, except maybe where court social life is concerned, but I'm under no illusions.

Can you entertain yourself easily?
I suppose. I can always spend time watching what's happening around me.

How well do you get along with others?
I don't... really like people. Especially not crowds.

What was the longest time you had a friend?
Before I was a slave, back in the north, I had friends I knew for years and years...

Do you have someone who knows you inside out?
Yes, and I pray never to meet him again.

How short is your temper?
That depends on what is bothering me. I am normally patient.

Can you let go of grudges easily?
I don't form them easily, but I doubt I ever let go of them. Some things I cannot forgive.

Do you read?
When I can.

How long do you stay interested in something?
As long as is needful.

Do you know your parents/creator?
No. I was found on the tideline after a storm, half drowned.

What is your birthday?
I don't know.

Do you have any siblings?
None that I know of.

Ever have to fight for what you believe in?
I've had to fight for my life. I believe in surviving. Now I fight to guard Lir. I believe in him.

When did you move out on your own?
A year or so after I was found, I left the house of the people who took me in and built my own small home.

When did you REALLY mature?
I've always looked this same age, somewhat. I feel so much older and more worn having been a slave. Years were taken from me.

Did you have many friends?
I did, before being made a slave.

Any action you regret?
Every murder I was forced to commit in the fighting arena.

What is a memory you treasure?
Everything from before the arena is vague and faint, but I remember being married to my wife. I remember loving her.

Do you have a dream partner?
I haven't dreamt like that in a long time.

Do you believe you seek someone like your parents(or creator)?
I wouldn't know.

Do you have one night stands?
Do I what?

What feature is most attention grabbing for you?
In a woman? Her temperament. If she is unpleasant, her face hardly matters.

What MUST someone have for you to consider them?
Kindness.

Older, younger, same age as you?
I don't know my own age- Who am I to say?

How do you feel about settling down?
If I could, I think I would.

How many dates before you go to bed with someone?
Beg pardon? ... I would want to be married to a woman before I gave myself to her.

How do you handle rejection?
I'm not sure.

How many times did you stop something before it developed?
...I don't understand the question.

Have you settled down and if so for how long?
I was married once for fourteen years. She died.

Any Children?
No. I could not give her children. She had born a child of a previous marriage who had died in infancy, so she could have carried a child...

What do you love most about your partner?
It's hard to remember- Everything before the arena is so hard to recall- I loved her laugh. I loved her eyes. I loved being held by her.

Any petnames?
What? No.

How many relationships have you been in?
Elrehanna was my wife's name. She died of a fever.
There was a... woman who was employed by my owner, when I was a slave- that doesn't count.

Have you ended any?
I killed that woman. Snapped her neck.

Has your heart been broken?
Yes.

Any loves you cannot have?
My wife is gone, and I have grieved for her.

Do you believe in true love?
I think I had it once.


Have you ever died?
What? No, if I had, we would not be talking. [He has died, he doesn't remember]

Can you even die?
Well, yes.

Have you seen someone die?
Too many.

Have you killed someone?
Too many to count.

Have you had someone killed?
No.

What makes you truly happy?
Now? Being safe. Being with Lir, out in the countryside.

If you could, what is one thing you would spend your life doing?
I intend to spend it serving my King.

Do you have a job, if so what is it?
I am Lir's guard.

Have you ever gone insane?
Wha-? Yes. Yes I have and I'd prefer not to talk about it.

Did you ever feel as if you were the only sane one in the world?
No.

If you had a choice, would you live a calm eternal life, or live a wild short life?
Peace doesn't sound so bad.

About Lir

Prince Lir


Company and sculpt: SOOM Lupin
Height: 63cm
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: Shortened neck
Faceup: Me
Eyes: Masterpiece Afghan 13mm
Wig: wool roving, made by Me

Name (and nicknames): Lir (the doll itself is known occasionally as Mister Scruffy)
Age: 23
Birthday: in the Autumn
Family and/or relationships: Father: Gahaeris (dcs.), Mother: Elaine (dcs.), Brother: Cai (dcs.), Sister: Elinore
Pets: A raven named Scratch
Personality: Calm, curious, mild, compassionate, soft spoken, introspective, capable of being brave
Hobbies: wandering, reading, studying histories and records,
Likes: Time alone or with close friends, long journeys, riddles and mysteries, books, his family
Dislikes: shallowness, rudeness, useless noise, flattery, cruelty
Other/misc. facts: Believer in lost causes, likes the Lady Rowena very much.
The scar on one side of his jaw was not given by some sworn enemy's cursed blade- it's the result of a fledgling Scratch the Raven trying to peck at Lir's eye. That's how Scratch got his name.
He calls his sister Elinore the pet name "Linnet Bird".

Short bio: He left his castle home, going out alone as he often did, but this time he stayed away for two years, chasing rumors of a hidden record, an ancient text. He found it, and followed the advice of a blind poet to sail to an island ruled by a cruel lord, where he rescued a slave who could read the words written in the book. Then he journeyed home, hastened on his way by rumors of war in his father's kingdom. Nothing could have prepared him for what he would find on his arrival.

About the Doll:
Lir is a sculpt called Lupin from a company called Soom, based in South Korea. Like most Ball Jointed Dolls, he was handcast in polyurethane resin from molds taken from an original artist's sculpt.

Lir was the very first BJD I ordered, and I found him by hunting through websites for a masculine yet young and handsome face on a sculpt. I didn't want another anime-faced "bishounen". (That's Japan-Fan talk for Pretty Young Man, usually quite androgynous and effeminate) Stylized Beauty has its appeals, but I prefer a certain amount of realism in faces, and manliness in men. I wanted to make dolls that were a bit different.

He's had that extra long Soom Super Gem neck shortened to give him the proportions I wanted him to have. The Super Gem body that Soom makes for their 63 cm male dolls is lean but muscular, a beautiful sculpt if not the very best at posing. He stands very well, even unsupported. I got him with the exquisite jointed hands Soom makes, and they are incredibly gorgeous in expressiveness and engineering. I can't imagine this doll without them, because they do allow him such a great emotive range, and he's an emotional sort of character.

When he arrived he looked like this:

Those incredible eyes of his are Masterpiece Eyes, in the color "Afghan". The faceup (BJD Hobby Talk for his face painting) is the faceup that I ordered him with, because at the time I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to do faceups myself. It was very nice, admittedly, but I decided I wanted eventually to do my own faceups, so later I repainted his face myself.
His wig I made by building a felt wigcap in the shape of the hairline I wanted, then gluing dabs of wool roving onto it a little bit at a time. Eventually he'll get a custom fiber wig that will be in roughly this same style.


This is how his face looks now. I did this faceup myself. Eventually I may redo it yet again, but this is good for now. He's wearing the same eyes as before, but this shot doesn't catch all their colors as well as that other one. The bird there on his shoulder is supposed to be his pet raven, Scratch. He's dressed in his rough traveling clothes.
I haven't done a shoot with him in a while, and I owe him one as soon as I finish his new courtly clothes.

My Dolls- The Court of Dun Elisedd

(All characters except as noted belong to me and are original creations, please do not use.)

-The Court-
Composed of SD+ sized dolls, (Which is hobby lingo for dolls about 58 cm and larger) the Court is made up of the main characters of a medieval fantasy court in a castle. I do have a storyline of sorts for them, and someday I might get around to writing and publishing their story as a novel of the Medieval fantasy genre. They all have very different, sometimes clashing personalities that keep the function of a court in running the kingdom very interesting.


High on a hill sits the castle, Dun Elisedd. It was the ancient king Elisedd himself who first raised a fortress here, and it has been added to and built upon in the years since by his royal descendants.

War has torn the kingdom, bloody and swift. A country's young and hale men have been cut down like wheat in a terrible harvest, leaving the few survivors to try to pull their world together again. The old King Gahaeris, his heir Cai, and almost all the knights are slain. The Princess Elinore rallies the people to rebuild, and sends out another messenger every so often to try to find her wandering brother Lir, now heir to the throne, and bring him home. He returns to find a kingdom and a house in ruins, and all hopes resting upon him.


Prince Lir
Company and sculpt: SOOM Lupin
Height: 63cm
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: Shortened neck
Faceup: Me
Eyes: Masterpiece Afghan 13mm
Wig: wool roving, made by Me

Name (and nicknames): Lir (the doll itself is known occasionally as Mister Scruffy)
Age: 23
Birthday: in the Autumn
Family and/or relationships: Father:Gahaeris (dcs.), Mother:Elaine (dcs.), Brother: Cai (dcs.), Sister: Elinore
Pets: A raven named Scratch
Personality: Calm, curious, mild, compassionate, soft spoken, introspective
Hobbies: wandering, reading, studying histories and records,
Likes: Time alone or with close friends, long journeys, riddles and mysteries, books, his family
Dislikes: shallowness, rudeness, useless noise, flattery, cruelty
Other/misc. facts: Believer in lost causes, likes the Lady Rowena very much

Short bio: He left his castle home, going out alone as he often did, but this time he stayed away for two years, chasing rumors of a hidden record, an ancient text. He found it, and followed the advice of a blind poet to sail to an island ruled by a cruel lord, where he rescued a slave who could read the words written in the book. Then he journeyed home, hastened on his way by rumors of war in his father's kingdom. Nothing could have prepared him for what he would find on his arrival.


Princess Elinore
Company and sculpt: Migidoll Jina/Aoi Tuki body/Elfdoll Hands
Height: 60?cm
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: some sanding on the Aoi Tuki body, hybridzed
Faceup: me
Eyes: ?14mm
Wig: Dollzone wavy black 8"

Name (and nicknames): Elinore, Linnet Bird
Age: 20
Birthday: in Spring
Family and/or relationships: Father: Gahaeris (dcs.), Mother: Elaine (dcs.), Brother: Cai (dcs.), Brother: Lir
Pets: none.
Personality: Observant, clever, feminine, brave, bold
Hobbies: reading, stargazing, singing
Likes: sweets, roses, songbirds, honest men,
Dislikes: liars, panderers, flatterers, over-ambition, battle
Other/misc. facts: Quite capable of taking the Throne.

Short bio: The youngest of the three children of King Gahaeris, Elinore is left by the deaths of her father and brother to act as Regent and rule the Kingdom. It never would have happened but for the war, and the absence of her brother Lir, who will have to accept the Throne and become King.


Lady Rowena
Company and sculpt: Unidoll Suri
Height: 62cm
Resin colour: default
Modifications: Sanded on the body, blushed back to original skintone
Faceup: me
Eyes: Glib acrylics, 14mm (?)
Wig: Happy Camille dark brown wavy.

Name (and nicknames): Lady Rowena
Age: 20
Birthday: In the Spring
Family and/or relationships: Parents
Pets: none
Personality: Lively, smart, inquisitive, daring
Hobbies: riding, hawking, long walks, exploring
Likes: fresh air, sunshine, windy weather, Lir
Dislikes: being shut in, gossip, court intrigue
Other/misc. facts: She and Lir were childhood sweethearts

Short bio: Rowena used to visit the castle with her family when she was young. When the war broke out and their home was captured, they escaped and came to live at the castle.



Kevya the Wolf
Company and sculpt: IH Barron Mod/Lost Angel Thunder body mod/Dikadoll hands, modded
Height:60cm
Resin colour:NS
Modifications: Extensive body mods, facial mods, finger mods, scar mods
Faceup: me
Eyes: Volks metallic Lt Blue 14mm
Wig: Iplehouse wavy black 8", modded by me

Name (and nicknames): Kevya, Wolf
Age: unknown
Birthday:unknown
Family and/or relationships: none
Pets:none
Personality: feral, shy, alert, intelligent, slow to trust but very loyal once trust is gained
Hobbies: following Lir around, eavesdropping, people-watching, sparring with the soldiers
Likes: being outdoors, animals, going barefoot, music
Dislikes: being locked up, being restrained, crowds, being touched, being grabbed
Other/misc. facts: Expert at hand to hand fighting. Growls if cornered. His canine and premolar teeth are slightly pointy.

Short bio: He was a shepherd on the northern island of Sai Verdan. Then he was captured by raiders and spent six years in slavery on the island of Rilvomar. He was forced to fight men and beasts in an arena for the entertainment of a crowd, and he became something feral and terrible before finally being freed by a compassionate stranger called Lir.


Aeron Winter
Company and sculpt: Leeke Romeo head/SOOM Supergem body
Height: 63cm
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: Slightly shortened neck
Faceup: Me
Eyes: Glib, dark grey/black acrylic 16mm?
Wig: Leeke? and Iplehouse, both long and silver, 9"

Name (and nicknames): Aeron Winter (D***ed Harpist, That Bastard, Devil's Get)
Age: 22
Birthday: Very early spring
Family and/or relationships: Mother: Lady Catrin Pryderi (dcs.)
Pets: none
Personality: Inwardly a poet and a dreamer, outwardly a cynic, acerbic, doubtful, perceptive, snarky.
Hobbies: Music- he is the King's Harpist
Likes: Good wine, fine music, the rare honest person, quality harpstrings, fine weather, a receptive audience
Dislikes: most people, liars and sycophants, Kevya, ungrateful audiences
Other/misc. facts: If he's in a lousy enough mood, when there's feasting he waits until he's not needed for accompaniment and gets himself absolutely smashed, ending up with some willing young lady in his bed.

Short bio: His mother, Lady Catrin, vanished one Midsummer's Eve, only to turn up on a frosty misty morning near Allhallows claiming she'd been been away with the faeries, that she had a faery lord lover who would come to join her shortly, and take her away again to marry him. She did not seem to grasp reality at all anymore, and she sang strange songs to herself. She was deemed quite mad, and kept in the home of her brother. In the early spring as the earth began to thaw, she bore a child. A strange child with dark eyes and silver hair. She claimed the boy looked just like his supposed faery father. Everyone else just made warding signs against evil, and called him Devil's Get. He grew up with a prodigious gift for music and a fair voice, so he turned to harping as his occupation, being unable to claim noble birthright.


Sir Donovan
Company and sculpt: Iplehouse Akando
Height: 70cm
Resin colour: NS
Modifications: Hip mod so he can sit up by himself
Faceup: me
Eyes: Soom single-dome Nile 12-14mm?
Wig: Iplehouse, modded by me

Name (and nicknames): Sir Donovan Callaghan
Age: 25
Birthday: In Winter
Family and/or relationships: Lady Khorae
Occupation: Captain of the Castle Guard, knight
Pets: none
Personality: Honorable, gentle, chivalrous, almost naïve but more competent than he seems
Hobbies: hunting, riding
Likes: beautiful women, chivalry and honor, being polite, tourneys and good times with friends
Dislikes: rude people, cowards and traitors,
Other/misc. facts: A very capable leader of men, but stammers and blushes like a teenager when confronted by a pretty lady.

Short bio: Son of a northern lord, not standing to inherit much, so he came to the court and distinguished himself in the service of the King. He came to his current position by surviving the recent war, though that was not due to him holding back at all on the battlefield.


Mathonwy
Company and sculpt: DIM Torudoll Karon
Height: 61cm
Resin colour: WS
Modifications: None. (gasp!)
Faceup: Mostly me, some default
Eyes: glib sunflower 16mm
Wig: me

Name (and nicknames): Mathonwy
Age: 19
Birthday: in Autumn
Family and/or relationships: ?
Occupation: Scribe and recorder
Pets: none
Personality: inquisitive, meek but occasionally snarky, witty sense of humor
Hobbies: Reading! Eavesdropping
Likes: books, girls, feasts, food, books, maps, stories, books…
Dislikes: mold and mildew, illegible handwriting, mean girls
Other/misc. facts: Uses reading lenses. (Yes, I know they’re not the medieval kind, you try finding those at all let alone in doll scale. Hrmph)

Short bio: A simple scribe. Escaped having to join the battle and a likely death in the war by dint of his occupation as witness and recorder- someone must survive to tell the story.



Sir Malcolm Owen
Company and sculpt: DIM MNM Ian Somerhalder/shared body
Height: 63cm
Resin colour: NS DIM Minimee resin
Modifications: Eyes evened out a bit
Faceup: me
Eyes: Glib? Acrylic, Light Blue, 14mm
Wig: Iplehouse, modified

Name (and nicknames): Sir Malcolm Owen. (Not Mal. Ever.)
Age: 52
Birthday: in Spring
Family and/or relationships: ?
Occupation: Knight, formerly of the King’s personal guard
Pets: none
Personality: A weathered veteran of several battlefields, courageous, dependable, and often the voice of reason or experience. Has courtly flirting down to an art, which makes the ladies blush and the younger men feel like idiots.
Hobbies: hunting, hawking, riding, target archery
Likes: Chivalry, loyalty, duty, the royal family
Dislikes: coward and traitors, anyone who disrespects women or the Crown
Other/misc. facts: Has survivor’s guilt.

Short bio: A knight for most of his adult life, he was one of eight men who protected King Gahaeris at home and on the field of battle. In the war, the entire guard was cut down, the King and the Crown Prince were both slain. Only Sir Malcolm survived, lying wounded in the mud and assumed by the enemy to be already dead. He has yet to fully come to terms with the loss of not only his closest comrades, but his Prince and King, whose defense was his sworn duty.



Siofra
Company and sculpt: Resinsoul Yun,
Height: 58cm
Resin colour: lt. Tan
Modifications: none
Faceup: Me
Eyes: Eyeco?16mm Teak
Wig: by Tannis

Name (and nicknames): Siofra
Age: unknown
Birthday: unknown
Family and/or relationships: ?
Occupation: Faery?
Pets: none
Personality: Capricious, sensual, flirtacious, curious
Hobbies: leading men astray, confusing people, toying with mortals, singing, dancing
Likes: men, mortals in general, jokes and pranks, fine music, light and laughter
Dislikes: cold iron, steel, humorless people, being slighted
Other/misc. facts: She is one of the faery, the Sidhe, the Bright Ones, the Fair People, and don’t you forget it.