Playing with Dolls; Eagle on my toys

I will admit to being childish at times.

Okay, most of the time.

Anyway, when I really WAS a kid I had millions of plastic animals, that all had their own names and personalities, and that I acted out little stories with...actually, not so little. Great long complicated stories. I had dynasties of plastic beasties. I snuck them to school in my pencil case. It was fun. ^_^

These days? Welp, I dunno where all those plastic animals are. In the attic someplace probably...

...but in some ways, not so much has changed.

Let me tell you about Squalldoll. ^_^

Squalldoll came from the Forbidden Planet bookshop in London, part of a set of four Final Fantasy figurines; the other three were Tifa, Auron and Ashe, and were sent to three good friends of mine. He is about the same height as my thumb, and is an SD-ish rendition of the character from FF8 whom we all know and love. The one inaccuracy is his eyes; instead of grey, they are brown. He had a gunblade(Revolver model)which rested on his shoulder, but the blade broke off and got lost.

Squalldoll rides around in my pocket a good deal, occasionally coming out to investigate things. He is very comforting to hold. I awakened him a bit when I first got him(I awakened all four figures, in point of fact, and did a little extra hocus-pocus on the other three too)and he has a very definite personality. He doesn't talk much, though. In his Squallish way.

I have made a room for him out of a cardboard box, and had far too much fun doing so. In point of fact I have made two rooms as the first one was thrown away by an idiot nurse who thought it was a bit of rubbish. However, it wasn't a total loss, as the second room was, I think, somewhat better-executed. It is green and white, with a bed that came out of a Sylvanian Families set, a table made from a bit of white cardboard, a felt carpet and bedroom rug, and a picture in a little silver frame of Squall and Rinoa dancing at the graduation ball. I liked that cut-scene a great deal, not for the pairing, but because Squall was so funny being reluctant to dance, because he looked so handsome in his formal uniform and Rinoa so pretty in her yellow dress, because once they got into it they seemed to be enjoying themselves so, because the music was lovely, so solemn and so happy both at once, and because secretly, I should like to wear a smart formal uniform and dance the Dollet Waltz with a beautiful lady in a big ballroom with fireworky sky above. It just looked like such fun.

Ever since I sent the other three figures away to their respective owners Squalldoll has wanted rather for company, though he would surely deny this. Aurondoll and Tifadoll got on well with him, and I think he rather liked quarrelling with Ashedoll. Thus, since another human figure would be difficult to get hold of, I found him a pet. My(slightly)guilty fondness for Pokemon resulted in the choice of pet being Spots, a little Vaporeon figure two inches tall.(This has the added bonus that since Vaporeons have no hair, there is nothing for a Squall to be allergic to.)

Spots is doglike in obedience, loyalty and affection, but cattish in physical appearance and mannerisms. He has a collar and lead made from soft blue wool, and I am in the process of making him a room with a waterproof-paper floor where he can get as wet as he likes.

While I've never actually said so before, my mental picture of Phoenix HQ, the grand rambling place where most of my RPs with Ash take place, includes Squalldoll and Spots living loose in the walls and under the floor, purloining food from the cupboards, going on adventures in the jungle of the garden, and defending himself from too-curious animals with the aid of a sewing needle with red embroidery thread wrapped round the thick end, for a grip.