The Inspiration Behind Deirdre Quinn

Today, I want to talk a little about my longest running character and her doll form. In a previous post (which I can't find because I probably filed it under something totally random), I talked about the fact that Deirdre has gone through three sculpt changes over the years. And her original name was Maeryn Grey.

The character of Maeryn Grey was firmly set in the medieval era. Originally, she had dark hair and piercing dark eyes. She was the only daughter of a Warrior Queen (Najara) and King Ronan of the Western Kingdoms. She became Queen at the age of fifteen after the death of her mother at the hands of their Xaren enemies on the battle field that would later become known as The Bleeding Plains. Forsaking tradition, she married her Head of Intelligence, Matthias and bore three children, all girls. She was also known to be a practicing Priestess of the Veiled Goddess.

The original Maeryn Gray. She had a somewhat dark beauty about her and an air of danger. (Doll Love Brian with face up by Hydra Kitten on AOD body).

This was the second version of her although clearly, here, she is slowly becoming Deirdre Quinn with the green eyes and red hair. Already, her face has become softer, more gentle. (DK Shuin Qing on AOD body, default face up).

Finally, she fully embraces Deirdre with the original green eyes (later changed to blue). (AOD Qian with face up by Xhanthi).

Essentially, it's at this point that I believe she has changed from the character of Maeryn Grey to Deirdre Quinn.

At one point, I did have a RS Chun with a custom face up (I don't recall the face up artist sadly as I had purchased her second - hand with the face already). Deirdre essentially became and was largely inspired by both Maeryn Grey and the RS Chun doll. She is still a lady of noble blood but with a far more gentle disposition and features than the original Maeryn Grey who inspired her character.

Having said that, I do miss Maeryn. I miss her dark beauty. I miss her air of danger. I miss that you really never know which side of the line Maeryn fell on, good, or evil or did she walk the delicate balance between both?

I would love to re-shell Maeryn again as a separate character from Deirdre. I would love if they were rivals, maybe even immortals who have lived through the centuries. Two faces of the same coin or something like that, after all, they are both priestesses of the Veiled Goddess who herself has two faces, one shown in the light and the other hidden by the shadows.

Something to procrastinate on ...

Do you ever have characters that have evolved over the years? Whether that be their personality, background or the actual sculpt itself? Are these characters still with you or have you put them to rest?