Your Doll Universe

I kind of have....I guess three separate "worlds"? Two of them get roleplay with @Christina_Xx, the third does not.

My main world is the human world, which is basically our own world but happier, safer and just all around better. Like the real world, but leaving out the majority of politics, social issues, violence, war and such. There's a little bit for some realism, but most is just totally left out, as my roleplay is my escape from reality. All of these dolls know each other in some way, whether it's being as close as siblings or romantic partners, or just casual friend-of-a-friend acquaintances, but mostly, they're one big extended friend group, along with Christina's crew. This world includes all of my 1/3 human bjds except Twyla, as well as a few realistic animal dolls (mostly off topic) as their pets.

My fantasy world is based around Twyla as my main character, and a few of my others, such as my 1/4 conjoined twins and my aliens.

And my last "world" isn't really a world with any sort of story at all, but just kind of "other" as display dolls mostly, and that includes all of my bugs, anthros and Hollow Knight OCs. They don't have written stories, and their characters don't go much deeper than a name, basic personality, or maybe a paragraph backstory at most.

I love having more than one world because it gives me an excuse to just get whatever doll that appeals to me without worrying about if they'll fit in any particular story. They'll fit somewhere in there!

 

I have several worlds.
The World of Tolkien-based characters: characters mainly from the Silmarillion.
Generic Elves/Fairies who exist perhaps with the Tolkien cast, perhaps not.
My own Fantasy Story: A human boy enters a fairy world and encounters a cast of characters who will help or hinder him (in hindsight, reminds me a lot of Labyrinth but without the need to rescue a baby)
FF9 Characters - might sell them.
Revolutionary Girl Utena characters - might sell them.
Elf-Quest characters: 2 dolls based off of one my favorite comic series who fit my fantasy aesthetic as well!

 

My BJDs are a group of OCs (original characters) in one story and world - the dolls inspired the OCs and I developed their story around them. They're all connected by being a single ensemble cast - three romantic couples, one sibling pair, and friendships/rivalries to various levels.

At this stage I'm pretty engrossed in these OCs and I'm trying to tell their story through doll photography. Any new doll I buy has to fit in with the existing dolls and the story, and I have no desire to start a second story and/or a separate BJD collection. It means I don't get to buy many dolls that I'd otherwise be tempted to buy...but it's fine, I really love this crew, and it keeps my wallet sort-of safe...

 

Like several others here, my BJDs all exist in one world. It's mainly a reflection of our own, but a bit kinder and safer. Really, it all revolves around 4 of them, the Doyle kids - triplet brothers and their younger sister. Everyone else is somehow connected to the 4, be it as a romantic partner, close friend, or their one cousin. Doing it this way keeps me on track, because unless they fit well into the group, what's the point in buying a new kiddo?

 

I don't have super established worlds, but I tend to buy/keep my dolls in pairs of similar style and height, with each pair being separate from the others- it would feel weird to me if they interacted across sizes and styles. However, the two always have some kind of relationship, from friendship to family to enemies, together with their own story. I find it's much easier to showcase the doll's personalities and take better photos if there's more of them, but since I like so many different dolls, I don't have space for a third in their groups

 

When I first got into the hobby, I had three different stories and it felt a bit overwhelming. Now I’ve narrowed it down to just one, and I’m really happy with that decision. I like having all my dolls exist “in one place at the same time,” so they can interact naturally with each other. Focusing on a single story also brings clearer rules and boundaries, which I like.

 

Ah... it's complicated. My dolls mostly have their own seperate stories. Some of them are connected (my Migidolls are from the same story). Some of them I based off existing characters that I was already writing about. Most of them I just got because I liked the dolls, and the dolls then inspired characters that I wrote about after.

However, when I'm playing with them as dolls, I imagine them all being in the same world. They're all around about 16-18 in age so I imagine them being at the same school together.

I guess a good example is my Iplehouse Tatiana. In her story she lives in a futuristic world where her only family is a robot. None of my other dolls feature in that story. As a doll, she lives in the real world, and I see my Iplehouse Tania as being her sister because they look so alike.

 

Hmmm, although some of the BJD's I have were based on OC's I used to RP based on famous anime, their stories and origins eventually evolved and at times can intertwined with each other seamlessly. Makes me want to continue creating photostories again when I finally get the chance (and lots of time ) .

 

I really want to write some lore one day, but at the moment, I do not have much other than aesthetics. I only have two BJDs at the moment and one is an established character, so it'll be a work in progress!

 

From the very beginning I wanted to build my collection on diversity, so I created a single fantasy world to encompass any character my mind could create. I was fascinated by different fashion styles, and I love creating my own patterns and sewing, so coming up with a fascinating character to wear whatever style was paramount. Thus a broad based fantasy world (think something like a Tim Burton’s “Alice”) was necessary. Then I made various displays here and there throughout my home for small groupings of dolls, treating them like art instillations as part of my overall decor. This made it possible, at any given time, to move dolls from display to display for interactions. It’s given me tremendous freedom in character creation and storytelling, costume design, and in collecting all sorts of dolls that interest me.

 

Most of my larger complete dolls (not floating heads), belong to the same universe. They are OCs based on a story my bff wrote while we were both in high school. Most of my floating heads and two of my tinier humanoid dolls are fan-art character dolls, that belong to their own universe and are supposed to be the characters they represent. Not cosplayers.

When I was younger, a million years ago, I did intended for those OC dolls to interact with each other and I took photos of them together. Then I got lazier, and never got into it after. It felt like a chore, because I keep all my resin in the closet, nude and wig-less inside their boxes. Dressing and undressing, then posing more than one giant and heavy doll at the same time, just wasn't for me. I love taking (crappy) photos of my dolls, but not in groups. I don't really care if any of my dolls look like they belong together now. Although, it was something I considered when I was younger and newer in this hobby.

It is fun to see the awesome group and full scaled diorama scene photos, others take. It's just that I'm a lazy, weak old fart. (;

 

The main gang of SD sized and a few smaller (younger relatives) ones are all children in the same, large Victorian/edwardianish extended family - cousins, siblings, and half-siblings. I have a couple of pairs of sisters based-on-or-inspired-by characters from books. The rest form little groups (mostly of friends, occasional siblings) according to size/scale, or are stand alones who do still interact with others because in the "real" world they all live in my house, and are displayed wherever there's space, so aren't necessarily together in those groups when not being played with so interact between the groups simply by dint of proximity (two from different time periods have formed a friendship as they usually sit together when on display ion my livingroom, for example).

Teddy

 

My dolls come from several different continuties, like my novel, an RPG I played in for a couple of years, some video games, etc. Their continuties still exist, but they also exist in a common world as I have no desire to create separate dioramas and keep dolls from different continuties separate from each other when I play with them.

 

Pretty early on I created a story that all my dolls can fit into. It's called the Safe House, and it started because my first boy was adopted and had had multiple owners and came to me with damage and my bleeding heart just wanted him to feel safe and loved. So basically I was just calling my house a safe house, but it ended up building up into this bigger story that's quite involved now. Who falls under the Safe House story umbrella are listed in my profile as residents or Guardians, but even those in other categories can and have interacted with this story. For example, dolls who's characters are from something else specifically (like a shelled DnD character) can interact with the normal residents or ask one of the Guardians for help, etc, but usually will not. I use the Guardians as a way to help control the chaos and keep everyone in check and getting along. They have their own story as well and honestly, its by far my favorite.

That all said, each of my dolls has their own individual character and story. Some connect with each other, and some absolutely do not. But they all live under the same roof so for some it's home, a dorm, a flop house, or even an alternate dimensional space. Nothing is too strict around here, as it's all just fun and drama games.

 

I have a few worlds that my dolls are sorted into in my profile. 4 worlds is a fantasy universe about people with wings, who live in multiple realms, and a war between gods. The children of Auratus are all the kids of one god, and the shrike are the hired assassins belonging to his arch enemy.

Hell, Strahd and DnD are all one universe—they’re all the characters I have that fit in the dungeons and dragons settings I DM and play in. Not all of these characters ever meet—Liriel, for instance, is dead in most Hell timelines.

then comes my paradise lost/vampire setting—they’re all one universe. The originals are the OG denizens of hell, and then there are horsemen of the apocalypse, and then there’s the main series canon vampires, like Addi and Val. These are characters either canon to Milton’s Paradise Lost, or created for my vampire setting.

There are also a handful of outliers—I have some fan characters—I made Spike and Dru from Buffy, the way I see them. I made Rose and Holly from a friend’s monster of the week campaign, I’m making Neferet and Lynette from house of night (which, as an English major, I don’t love that I can’t get away from!) and then a little animal doll of one of my late pets—a panther chameleon named Loki. Those characters don’t belong to any particular universe, but most of them hang out with my vampires

 

So far both of my dolls are shelling OCs for a Chinese fantasy-inspired universe that I roleplay in with my friend. They also have a few dolls of OCs from the same universe, but aren't on DOA. I'm trying to stick to shelling characters for future purposes, but one of my dolls I did buy before having a concrete character because I fell so in love with the head, and just turned him into one later...

 

I've only needed to shell the two main characters of my contemporary romance / drama story which takes place in cosmopolitan NYC. But if money and space were no object to me, shelling more of my OCs would still be challenging—namely that black doll sculpts are disappointingly too few, and the glaring lack of body diversity. I would love for Iplehouse to bring back Ashanti and their ebony resin for example.

 

Ashanti, I totally agree on—I’d buy her in a heartbeat, but ebony resin is available every second month through doll choice, so that is still available!!

 

They live in a double world?

Behind the scenes:

They are like my little actors and some of them have more then one role. But this gives me personality the behind the scenes interactions that don't show up in my posted doll story. It's like a layer behind the story. It's based more off of poses that they naturally fall into when sitting for the pictures to go into the story, or how they sit on the shelves next to on and another when not being photographed. Weather they constantly slap at each other behind the scenes, (hands pushing each other away) or hugging with each other (always falling together).

Behind the scenes, some of them sit in indifference next to each other, while other glare, and others appear in engaging conversations. I don't pose them like this, they just do this naturally, and it's funny because the same things usually happens to the same dolls over and over. I somehow ended up with a few couples behind the scenes that I don't see coming to light in the main story. At least not anytime soon, and some of my couples in the story don't feel it at all behind the scenes.

In the posted story:

It's pretty consistent. It's a modern urban fantasy drama series. They all live in the same city. The students all attend the same high school, some of them work at the same place. They go to the same places as each other. They might go together, or run into each other randomly in the park, on the street, at the library, where ever. Some of them know very dark secrets about the world that they live in, while others are oblivious to the real stuff going on and live in a carefree world. They have their set romances, and their break ups. Good relationships with parents and not so great relationships with parents, the usual drama stuff.

The story has slowly taken a darker turn. It used to be more carefree and light, but horror elements are slowly creeping in. I enjoy the supernatural elements, vampires, faeries, fox spirits, psychics, and the such. I don't know why I didn't start the story off that way, but having it slowly move into the story as some of the characters discover the hidden world around them. Or, that some knew all along and kept it all a secret because they are a part of the supernatural world is kind of fun. The noble vampires being the main focus of the story, while other lives continue around them.

For a third layer, some of the dolls play actors in the main posted story. I am planning on them doing a version of 'Dracula' for fun where the doll actors, playing actors in the main story, are characters in the 'Dracula' story.

... and I rambled on about my doll story.

 

All my dolls are characters from the novels I write. I currently have dolls from 3 different worlds and those worlds don't interact with each other although they potentially could depending on when it is in the timeline. I'm also currently at 87 full dolls and the sizes range from 5cm to 72cm. I also only collect males and only one character is fully human. Many of my dolls are human in appearance but I've also got a LOT that are very definitely not human in appearance.

I have a wide range of sizes as I buy what best suits the character not what best fits within the world for all the characters to interact. The only rule I have regards size is that the partners must be within the sizing I've given them in their stories in relation to each other. So, while Akash (72cm) is father to Rensairue (50cm) and they are close in height to each other in-story, it doesn't matter to me that as dolls, they're not even close. However, their husbands, Enjie (72cm) and Caja (50cm) respectively, are of the proper height to be with their husbands. This does mean if I ever wanted to do a photoshoot with various related members, it would look out-of-scale for a good number of them. I don't care as it's the sculpt that matters most to me over the aesthetic of them all measuring out to be as I've written them.

Big Mystic Smoke World is set in modern day southern Ontario. Paranormal creatures exist in this world but they hide in plain sight and most people have no idea that the creatures/beings from myth and legend are real. I only have 7 characters (but 8 dolls) from this world in my collection. Size here ranges from 21cm to 60cm.

The Dream Time World is set in the far future in a galaxy/universe I created. 99.9% of the species in this world are ones I created (the 0.1% I didn't are humans). I have a much larger number of dolls in this world compared to BMS and most of my early collection dolls are part of this world. My first (and still favourite) doll, Moswen, is from this world. Size here ranges from 30cm to 57cm.

Divine Worship World is set in the very ancient past when gods still freely walked the world and all manner of fantasy creatures mingled openly. All the characters are some type of fantasy being with many of them being species I created. I never specifically state that it is Earth the stories take place on and leave that up to the reader to decide. The largest part of my collection inhabits this World (most of my writing in the last 7-8 years has been in this world). Size ranges from 5cm to 72cm.

For the last... 7 years or so all dolls that have come home have been part of the Divine Worship World. I'm totally fine with that but also wouldn't mind if someone popped up that was from one of my other worlds.

 

A couple of different stories here because... storytelling is just about my favourite thing.

My dollfie dreams belong in a sci-fi, cyberpunk-but-not-really semi-apocalyptic story that takes place on the planet of Aitrom. Other than normal humans, on Aitrom there are people with a degree of psychic powers called seers that have to be used to maintain a shield around the world lest cosmic forces literally tear it apart. Also, androids called 'MS' play a crucial role in how the story is told and develops.

Luneth is the protagonist of my fairy story and I'm hoping one day I can get more dolls in scale with him to embody more characters from that tale. This is a story about actual faeries: tiny, vicious, noble and unknowable. They live and die by their own rules, their actions are often inhuman and horrifying by human morals and standards, and while some fae like Luneth are generally kind and well meaning that many more are the kinds you are warned about in old folk tales and should never interact with.

Lemon, Spectre, Fern and Skein are a small group from Florimoria, a fantasy story about the son of the God of Death who rules as Florimoria's boy princess and guides children's souls into the afterlife. Spectre is a devil, his adversary, devourer of the souls. The story is based around a game of wagers the two of them play. Spectre brings Lemon the souls of sinners and he judges them. If he might find a reason to pardon their deeds they are allowed to be set free, but if he cannot then Spectre will eat them.

The rest of the MSDs are all from the same story, Trash, this time actually set so far in the post apocalypse that the world barely even remembers an apocalypse ever happened but is of course shaped amd informed by the world that came before. With the human race all but wiped off the face of the planet they are succeeded by jiwhari whose mutable genes allow them to take on varied abilities. The story starts with Ado, a wanderer in search of 'humans', meeting Owane who claims to be the King of Trash and dragging him off with him and revolves around several parties as they try to uncover the truth of this world while vying for freedom (which comes in many forms).

The SDs are from Parαdise, a contemporary/urban fantasy piece part court/journalist drama about discrimination, scapegoats, the power of megacorporations, the chokehold of corrupt pharmaceutical companies, how media can distort the truth or bring it to light, and the lengths people with money and power will go to control others (but also the indomitable spirit of collective good people will sometimes display in the face of impossible odds.)

And last but not least... the Star Rail dolls are just the little Astral Express fam from HSR and they are canon to their world because they make me happy!

 

Everybody has such interesting stories, very impressive.

Mine aren't from stories so much as.... settings? Only a few are based on pre-existing characters, and rest have sort of... coagulated into little groups with different backdrops. The main goal of collecting for me though is Doll Pretty, they more develop characters because I Can't Not make characters for pretty much anything. So I'll mix up who's posed with who and who's interacting on any given day.

 

Almost all of my dolls are from across seven different storylines. Some storylines have just the MC represented in doll form, and a few have multiple supporting characters.

I suppose they could interact in this 'dolly universe', but there isn't any actual crossover except in two of the storylines, since those two exist in the same universe and have some of the same supporting characters. I have one grouping of dolls that are all Fairyland dolls with elf ears that don't fit in with any of the other groups. I got them because I liked the dolls themselves, but they've evolved to be their own sort of proto-storyline. I've designated them as the 'Time Keepers', and they keep track of my storylines -- the characters and the events. I had a doll start off as a supporting character in one storyline, and then she got shuffled around to be a different supporting character in another. Then I re-shelled that character and brought the doll back to her original storyline as the character she originally was. I like to imagine my Time Keepers weren't pleased with that and it took lots of paperwork on their end, lol. And I'm sure they take issue with the rewriting that has occurred in a couple of the storylines!

 

Some of my dolls are part of the same story, some have separate stories but they occasionally intertwine. All my fairyland (brand) dolls belong to the same world, though in different periods of time. All my fairy themed dolls live in the same magical world, cuz in my fairy world, fairies come in a variety of sizes.

And then I have one doll on her own, though I did preorder her some potential friends!

 

Ohh...I have one too based on Elfquest! Her name is Starfall and she is a MNF DES. I do wanna mod her hands and feet. She has a life mate, Nightwing, who is a MNF Elf Yder.

 

I have multiple groupings... the main one is my avatar, and her brother and sister, with their various friends - boy and girl friends plus from college. I had the dolls first but ended up writing a short story and starting a longer work, where they interact with the victorian/edwardian family who lived in their house originally. That family is my second grouping - the ancestor who time travelled to the 21st century in my story plus her brother and sister, plus their various cousins and friends. These are all SD sized and mostly Volks dolls, with assorted others.

I have another group I call the Chibi Companions Nursery. They are mainly tinies - YoSD and Littlefees - but there are a couple of older children plus the playleaders are Minifees and Unoas, so young adults. Then thing about them is that they all have the names of Doctor Who companions, hence the name. Yet another grouping is a selection of Volks MSDs who are victorian children, but with no connection to the main storyline, and I also have a few other groups - some Custom House/CP Luts as modern young adults, some Dollstown kids who are modern and interact with the real world, and three special Volks girls who are my Three Muses...Sasha, Masha and an old F28 called Marishka.

As my doll collection has exploded over the past few years, it's been much easier to slot in other groupings as the mood takes me...for example some Elfdoll tinies that live in a dolls house shelf...but they don't join the main story. Mind you, it's food for thought to make them all fit in the same universe...

 

My dolls are all kind of in the same universe, but they don't all have stories that intersect with one another if that makes any sense.

If I were to try to keep all of my dolls in scale with one another or have the same style, it would take away a lot of enjoyment that I get out of this hobby. Instead I try to find ways to account for their differences and work those into their characters/stories.

 

My first 3 resin dolls are a pair of twins and their older sister. So, yes. But not all of them.

 

Mine are all different sizes and looks. But, I like the idea that they all exist in a Never Ending Story scenario. So many people in so many different sizes and shapes and it’s impossible to categorize all of them.

I like the idea of a world of endless discoveries and history always having to be rewritten.

 

Hmmm, yes and no? It's gotten complicated over the years XD

When I got into the hobby way back when Yukio, Thyme and Evie had A Serious Backstory (Let's say this is Universe A), with some ongoing exploration of existence as both a doll in this world and a "real" person in their own world (and no explanation about how this situation came about in the first place). So they're from Universe A but currently residing in Our World.

Then I bought Laken without a pre-established character, and those three still don't fully believe He's Just Like That and remain convinced he's an amnesiac from Some Place. That said, he only exists in OW and is perfectly fine with being a doll here.

Kiku also arrived without a pre-established character, but when I got around to making her a being she got backstory in Universe A, so she's there and of course also in OW.

Sui was going to be a homebrewn Suigintou from Rozen Maiden, but very quickly became their own thing. Technically the same situation as Laken, but they feel like they do have a backstory, but still as a doll. Hello Universe B origin, OW residence.

Then I took a long break from the hobby, gained full-time employment, and went a little bit off the rails and gained a lot of dolls that are in the Laken Situation; they know they're dolls and that's okay. Karmijn, Lilium, Momoko, Scharlaken, Kaito, Hikemo, Mariko, Isao and Beli are all OW residents without backstory baggage.
2B and 9S have do Nier Automata as their backstory, but exist in OW basically as copied data, and I haven't really bothered to explore the implications of that.

Elvan, meanwhile, is very much one of my Vampire the Masquerade characters given tiny physical shape. Universe C origin, OW residence.

Beatrice, Durante and A-ko weren't intended to have backstories, but they somehow swung the whole situation back around by having A (semi-)Serious Backstory that's completely separate from the Yukio/Thyme/Evie situation, but could still take place in Universe A, and has thus been filed there so I don't confuse myself too much.

Basically my house is like a crossover event.

 

I've decided that my dolls all reside in a place called The Unconscious Kingdom.

The Unconscious Kingdom is a sort of wonderland-esque place that is almost constantly experiencing tears in the space/time continuum. These rips deposit people places and things from many parallel worlds all over the Kingdom, hence its strange and patchwork nature. These fallers are then left with the choice to either try and find their way back to their original dimension or start anew and make a home in the Kingdom.

I mostly use this as an excuse to have dolls with wildly different scales and concepts all interacting with each other in the same universe ex: 1/12th scale tinies existing and becoming friends with SD folks. a cyberpunk android builder befriending a rococo elf princess ect ect. I dont have a lot of storylines built out for it yet but I'm hoping to play around with it more in future ^^

 

My Barbies all live in the same universe that I call "The Gingerverse" because one of my Barbies I named Ginger. This universe doesn't follow a lot of the official Barbie lore except for Barbie has her younger sisters and she's dating Ken.