It's a little too soon for me to be brainstorming for a new doll, but I'm doing it anyway because otherwise I'd be miserable.
The doll in question is the lovely Spider Gwen, to go alongside Nissima as Sydnei, Keyblade Wielder from the Land of Imagination. I recently read the comics Marvel did about Figment and the Dreamfinder, and it's got me super inspired to tie it into my Kingdom Hearts story that's brewed in my head on and off for a while now. Hence why I'm using a Marvel doll, I like being meta like that. If you're unfamiliar with this tale, it's based off of an attraction at Disney's Epcot that's been changed over the years to no longer include the Dreamfinder, called Journey into Imagination with Figment. In the comic, the Dreamfinder is an inventory named Blair living in London in 1910, searching for ways to create energy out of brainpower. In his experiments, he accidentally creates a purple dragon from his imagination named Figment, and the two go on a marvelous adventure.
In adapting it to Kingdom Hearts, I'd love to try bringing it in using the adventuring days of Master Yen Sid, the wizard who lives in the mysterious tower that sends Sora on his missions. Goofy has mentioned many times now that they used to travel and protect worlds together, so I'd like to dive into that since the game series hasn't, and probably never will given how many medias Yen Sid belongs to. My thought is that while he's out in Blair's story trying to help against the various threats, he imagines having a keyblade wielder to help them out, and thus Sydnei comes into existence, much like Figment did, to help against the threat. She goes off and lives her life in the realms of imagination and assisting Blair and Figment after Yen Sid comes home, but several years later, he calls on her again to come help after the events of KH3, when there are mysteries to be solved about the organization. While Sora handles the mysteries, she goes out and helps some worlds that he doesn't have time to attend to, such as Atlantica during the plot of The Little Mermaid 2, where she meets and teams up with Nissima. I want to add one more person to their team, but I haven't determined who yet. I considered Oswald, or maybe Goofy's son Max, even Stitch for a little bit, but nothing has fit so far. But yeah, this is my way to cross many worlds, including movies like Cocoa, Atlantis, Inside Out, maybe Moana, too many good options!
But back to the doll, I'm having some trouble working out her design.
The hardest part is coming up with something that fits the steampunk aesthetic of her world while still reading as a Kingdom Hearts design. Admittedly I don't work with steampunk as a genre ever, so this is a new experience. The other issue is that my sewing skills aren't great. I know how to make ponchos for toys though, and I really love the idea of her having a small poncho or shawl. I have a bag of discarded charms with some golden rose beads and other small beads that may work for dressing up her pigtails and accessories. Maybe if I change the boots to be more button up and leather, that could work nicely. I know I had a lot of fun dressing up Nissima's pants, as originally they were white and stained, so I used watered down acrylics to add some interest. I'd like to do something similar with this shawl, then paint some sunset-like clouds onto it. I dunno what my palette is for sure. I've considered the Sorcerer's Apprentice with bold white, blue, and red to fit with Yen Sid, but I also like the pastel purple and orange for Figment. I also feel like there should be something on her head, but I don't know what. And don't get me started on the keyblade, that's gonna be super tricky. I have an old compass I may bring into it though.
That's enough rambling from me though. I just needed to spill something so I could move on with the day. We're all moved in, but the house has been tense, and I need a break. Thanks for listening, and if you've got any constructive feedback or advice, let me know! I'm still early on in Syd's design stage and I want to make her shine. Have a great day folks!
