A lot has been going on for me the last few weeks. So much so that posting about the most important arrival to the Ends of Fate crew had to take a firm back seat. Today, I finally had some time to sit down and let you all know about the most wondrous event that has taken place this month – the END of Tasia’s Quest for the Ultimate Dollieh Grail!
When I first entered into the BJD hobby I started as an admirer. I was in college at the time and BJD’s, while highly desirable to me, were ultimately not first priority. At the time there were very few companies selling our resin lovelies and the prices were, for the economy of the time, pretty high. So, I gazed longingly and told myself I had plenty of time to acquire one – no rush! Then after graduation things were busy and crazy! When they calmed down I decided I would at least pick which BJD would be my first when I had time to buy one. It came down to a tie between a Luts Cerberus Project El and Shiwoo. Inevitably, the Shiwoo stole my heart the most! El came second and I immediately put him on my then empty wish list, which would eventually grow into the current, large behemoth that it is now.
In 2006 I had begun to save up for my first BJD purchase. However, major family crises kept dipping into my non-essential dollieh funds, wiping it out completely multiple times. The next year I made a major decision – I would get one of the cute 1/4th BJDs I had been eyeing that was less than half the price of the Shiwoo I wanted so I could at least have one on hand to “play” while I worked on the Shiwoo fundz. My brother and sister were teenagers at the time and also interested in BJDs, so I decided we would all share this little one. This is how Kah’zril Lan’feh, our precious DollZone Megi, came to live with us and become more important than we could ever imagine. This year will mark 10 years of Kah’z being part of our family and I will be writing an extended post about him and the meaning of dolls in general in a few months to mark the anniversary of his arrival.
After this my family was hit hard. Acquisition of any more BJDs was a future goal, but that was okay. I’m crazy patient and I told myself I had all the time in the world! A year passed and I saw that a rare, limited, hand-crafted BJD head was available for sale. I had fallen hard in love with him and didn’t want to pass the opportunity up, so bit the bullet and splurged for him. I’ve never regretted that decision. Later, he became mass produced and insanely popular, but my Remiel was home and that’s all that mattered to me. Years passed before anyone else came home. A chance viewing of a second-hand marketplace let me see the moment O’dan was put up for sale and I had no compunctions on buying him. $30 including shipping was an insane deal! Then back on the frozen purchasing plan until my Shiwoo could be realized. By this point I had also added the Dollmore Black Lilis Liv to my WTB list and both cost about the same. Just when I had about had the funds to buy the limited Liv, she sold out. I was crushed, but I reasoned I could still get my Shiwoo… then another family crises and he slipped through my fingers.
But it was okay. He wasn’t limited, nothing to worry about….
And then the contract with CP and Luts fell through and all CP Delf sculpts became discontinued! So, I picked myself up, said I could wait until Fairyland released him since they had been re-releasing the older sculpts. During the wait I started picking up more random heads and adding to the EoF crew. Yet, he was never released. I didn’t buy him second hand because one of my stipulations had been having waited so long, I wanted him brand new! But he was never released.
The sculpts began disappearing from the second-hand marketplaces and I had waited too long. Then, CP released they wouldn’t be re-releasing the Shiwoo sculpt… and I was crushed! I stared trolling the second-hands, but they were never what I was looking for. I got lucky and found a vampire head and got to bring him home! But always missed the listings for a normal Shiwoo.
For a long time I had lived vicariously through others that had Shiwoos. Enjoying and loving him and, believe it or not, never jealous. I had truly believed that one day I would own one, even though it had been so long.
Last month when we had our meetup we had a miniature Shiwoo meet. I was surrounded by lovely Shiwoozles! On the way home, while sitting in the passenger seat, I surfed the second-hand marketplaces. Not really expecting to see anything of interest. In fact, I think it was more of a lark than anything… and saw a posting for a Shiwoo! It had been there for two weeks and I hadn’t even looked. I thought about it, checked in on it to make sure it was legit, and warred with myself whether to wait another week until payday and risk losing him or tap into my savings and just bring him home.
Finally, I contacted the seller for extended questions and her responses tipped me over the edge. I bit.
And after 11 years, brought my normal Shiwoo home!
In many ways this Shiwoo was perfect for me. It felt like he’d been waiting all along. He was 11 years old, bought the very same year I decided to purchase him and started saving for him. He had his original factory faceup (the dreaming Shiwoo style) and though I didn’t want pierced ears, they were done by Luts and professionally done. She even kept his original Luts acrylic eyes, which he came with. He was gently played with and in amazing condition. Mellow-yellowed and kept in a box in a closet for the past 8+ years! He was a one-owner doll and, irony of ironies, her very first BJD. He still had his original paper work, too! Only thing he lacked was the top of his original box, but I got the bottom and the cushion, lol!
The only hitch was some damage… but in the inside of his headcap. The pegs had been broken off and reglued (almost identical to the vamp head, lol) and the neck mechanism had the corners snapped off. The owner said she can’t remember what happened but believed it was a fall. There is no otherwise damage whatsoever.
I couldn’t be happier than a clam!
Now, Briean, my bebeh boy, is complete, and home, and my Ultimate Grail has been achieved. And while it may have taken me a decade to receive him, he represents more than the acquisition of an object. He represents years of hard work, hard times, perseverance and great patience. He’s more than my “gold star” and certainly not a trophy.
Like many inanimate objects, he’s a manifestation of mile stones. And a sign of greater things, more than just BJD, to come.
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