love letter

about a doll maker finding out that his only reason to live is still alive.

Julian Duval, 72 years old.

Stopped aging at 32.

Born as an only son, as soon as he reached the age he started helping his family in the doll-making business. His family was caring, but both his father and mother seemed to have an issue with having an only son; despite genuinely loving him, they became frustrated with the fact that they didn't have a daughter.The dolls became his sisters. The family took care of them as if they were little girls until they went to the new owner's home. He often had to sleep with them, share the dinner table, change their clothes, or brush their hair. Growing up and used to this he even started talking to them.At the age of 15, his father asked for his help. This seemed like a big deal for Julian as this was his first life-sized doll, and he was happy it got to be with him.When the doll was done his father took a trip to deliver it but never came back. He never saw him ever again, and they never knew what happened to the doll.

His mother died a few years later. He reached adulthood in solitude, surrounded only by the dolls he had made and some others that he never sold, since they were memories of his family. He kept talked to them as if they were his family because, as far as he knew, they really were.Years went by and he gets told about "someone" who could help him make his dolls more popular.d Dspite being warned by his closest friend, Stanley, that this could be dangerous, he accepts.However, when he arrives, he's not greeted by this "someone". Instead, he sees a doll, the one that he made with his father, completely alive, as if she were a person. Her hair was much longer, and her eyes were different, but he was sure. It was her.

Love Letter spoiler territory

Julian is a pretty nostalgic man, he prefers to spend his time working on his dolls to keep his mind occupied. He gets ashamed easily, especially if it's about his dolls. When he's surrounded by people who seem to appreciate his occupation, he will change into a totally confident and excited man. He could talk for hours if given the chance, and that's exactly how he connected with Amanda.He likes to write and just listen to the radio; he appreciates being seen while working but prefers to be quiet.

"[...] Entonces me di cuenta de que ella ya no era una obra mía o de mi padre, tampoco una obra de Lean, era su propia persona. Ella había creado lo que era en ese momento, su alma era la creadora, su propiedad era ella misma. Amanda se había dado su propio nombre, se había conseguido un hogar, se había hecho su rutina, su propia historia, todo por su cuenta. No estaba en mí si ella moría o no, yo había perdido autoría desde hace muchos años, estaba todo en ella, y ella no se había permitido morir hasta ese momento. Pero sobre mí no decidía nadie, nadie más que yo, y yo estaba listo para seguir con esto hasta lo planeado, todos los ojos estaban sobre mí. Quería aplausos, el universo aplaudiendo mi última decisión."

He knew, from the beginning, that he was going to meet this one doll there. By this point in his life Julian was feeling suicidal and ready to end it all. He happened to know where she was and took it as a sign. He planned to kill her first and then kill himself, as he didn't want to leave anything behind.However, once there, he started to truly meet her. She seemed like nostalgia incarnate, just as tired as he was. They both started to fall for each other as she was, at this point, very suicidal herself, they related to each other struggles even though Amanda didn't really knew how bad his state was. It was perfect timing, and the worst at the same time.They both asked each other questions they needed to know. He was the one who created her body, and she was probably the only one who knew what happened to his father. They complemented each other, they made each other feel less lonely, but it was already too late.Living with Amanda was a time bomb, as she carries her father's depression with her. Things got out of control, and Julian soon suffered the consequences. Committing suicide while leaving her behind.

Amanda Padmore, 82 years old.

Appears 14-15 years in her doll body.

Born as Frida Rita Olivas in México, Amanda has few to no memories of her human years. Her "father," Lean Bennett, told her about the few memories she has. She died young, then was brought back to life by Lean in her current doll body. He became his father figure. She has a love-hate relationship with him.After being bought back to life he she was left all alone. Soon, she started to find her own family. She adopted three kids who grew up with her. They really see her as their mom despite her looking so young.Unfortunately, she has to carry the depression of his Lean, who, in order to bring her back to life, had to give her something from himself. This was not a "sacrifice" from him, and she knew this. Due to this Amanda is in a constant state of sadness that, when worsened, can escalate to suicidal behavior. Sadly, this separated her from her family, as the older of the sons, Linter, noticed that Amanda would try to end everyone's lives when she was in danger herself. They moved out for a while and left her in the family house, where Julian met her.

Love Letter spoiler territory

Due to carrying her father's depression she's melancholic by nature, however, she tries to be a warm person. She can be shy around strangers, mostly because she is afraid of scaring them or making them feel uncomfortable with her appearance. When being with a stranger she seems like a regular teenager, but when getting to know her one might notice that she acts in a more motherly way, especially with kids. Her voice is also a bit uncanny, as she sounds older than she looks.When at her lowest, she can be pretty selfish, self-destructive, and seems to ignore the danger she puts everyone else in.

what is playing in amanda's radio?

Lean Bennett, the moon.

Unknown age, presents himself as an middle-aged man.

"Father" of Amanda, as he was the one who brought her back to her new life. No one knows quite well who, or even what is he.Once in love with Lydia Lovett, but when she stepped away from his life he decided he had enough. Since he couldn't kill himself as he can't really die, he decided he wanted to dispose of everything that made him "human" or, remotely even made him feel something. The first thing was his depression, and once he succeeded, he kept doing it. Everything went into the dolls that he would later call his daughters.

Lydia Lovett, the sun.

The closer the doll, the more intense the feeling will be. This is why the closest doll to him is Morgan, as he feels love is more manageable than every other thing he has disposed.The dolls are usually brought to life with no human sacrifice, Amanda was an exception as she was the first one, some sort of “trial and error”, and that's why she has a love-hate relationship with him. Lean genuinely loves them, despite not fully knowing how to express it, and the rest of the dolls truly love him back.

Todd Padmore

45 years old, stopped aging at 19, looks a bit younger. He's the youngest one. He carries the blue star, previously owned by Wildre.When he was found by the Padmore's he had just escaped from the place were he grow up. He was almost a feral kid, he even had to eat a guys face off in order to leave. That guy was his "boss", who made him get into violent fight with other kids -or even adults- in order to make money.It was a long process and he was the most difficult of the sons, as he didn't trust Amanda at all. He, however, trusted and grow to be really close to Wildre, who was the one that taught him everything he knows now.Todd is a quiet teenager with a bad temper, he spent a lot of years without speaking at all, when he started to, he showed that he actually knew how, but his vocabulary was very vulgar. Everytime Amanda tried to get close to him he would try to bite her, he could only be around Wildre and Linter. Later in life he started to trust her more, but not as much as he trusted his brothers.

Linter Padmore

58 years old, stopped aging at 23. He's the older, and he carries the red star, previously owned by Amanda.Born as Daiki Nakamura, he was the second son. He was raised in an abusive household, as he was always less successful than his older sister. If he did not meet his family's expectations, whether in terms of work or studies, he would be denied food, water, and even his home. He could never commit to anything as he was always too weak due to not having any sleep or food at all.He found himself spending more time on the street with other kids than in his house, and when he came back home he would be greeted with more abuse, so he ran away at the age of twelve. He met Amanda when he was fourteen. Although they didn't had a home at this time and would mostly live on the streets, having each other made things more easier.They would later change their names; Daiki changed to Linter, and she, who didn't remember her name at all, changed to Amanda. Since they started to see each other as family, they picked the Padmore last name.When Amanda is self-destructive and negligent Linter is the father figure to his brothers, he'd quick to act and stand up for them. He just wants the best and does not want to repeat the story that his family made him live. Despite his height and appearance, he has a calm voice and soft manners. He is loving and caring toward his family, but he is also willing to make difficult decisions.

Wildre Padmore

49 years old, stopped aging at 18. He's the middle one. Carries the aqua star, previously owned by Todd.Wildre is a special case, as he carries no memory of who he was before he meet Amanda and the rest. They saw him wondering on the streets many times, and, as Amanda and Linter were in a decent life condition decided to make make him part of the family. At first they asked if there was a way to help him and make him contact his family, they even began to search for it but nothing was ever found. Everyone believes that maybe it was for a good reason.He stills have memory issues, often have to be reminded stuff, write down important things, besides that he's still a pretty normal guy, probably the most of the whole family. He's pretty positive and tries to find the nice things in everything.