#and it's the cutest lil thing ever it lives in her pocket and makes tiny squeeks

[rainia]

Good morning Rain hope you have a nice day <3 :)

THANK YOUUUU good night dm I hope you rest welll <3333

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 301: All My Todorokis

Previously on BnHA: We learned that when a bunch of superpowered villains are suddenly set loose with nobody around to stop them, things get fucked pretty quickly. Old Man Samurai and a bunch of other useless people decided to make “I pretend I do not see it” their new mantra, and resigned. Endeavor had a moment of despair on account of being crushed by the guilt of having ruined the lives of himself, his family, and basically everyone else in the entire world. For various reasons the heretical notion of “person who has done bad things feels sorry for doing them” sent fandom spiraling into a meltdown, so that was fun. The chapter ended with the entire Todoroki clan descending upon Enji’s hospital room to have a dramatic chat about Touya and All That General Fuckery.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “here’s the story of how Baby Touya slowly went insane trying to win his father’s love.” It’s a tale full of subverted expectations and heartbreaking inevitability, and also like twenty panels of the cutest fucking kids who ever existed on planet earth, who are so fucking cute that I can’t stop thinking about their cuteness even with all of the horrifying family tragedy unfolding around them. It is absolutely ridiculous how cute they are. Touya is out here pushing his tiny body past its limits because he inherited the same obsession as his dad and neither of them can put it aside even though it’s destroying them, and yet all I can think about is Baby Shouto’s (。･o･｡) face. Anyways what a chapter.

so I have to confess that even though I managed to avoid being caught off-guard by the early leaks, the number of people reblogging my Endeavor posts from earlier this week and using the tag “bnha 301” kind of gave me an inkling that this chapter will include more Tododrama lol. that said, I don’t know anything else about it, so we’re still good spoiler-wise

AHHHHH FLAHSBAKC AHHHH. omg I know I typoed the shit out of that, but I’m just going to leave it lol I think it’s fitting

holy shit holy fuck. so this is Rei and Enji’s first meeting, then??

yepppp, oh shit

so wait, I know this is not even the slightest bit important, but are they meeting at Enji’s home or Rei’s? because I always figured that Enji was the one with the super-Japanese aesthetic, but maybe that was Rei’s side of the family all along

(ETA: from what I found during my very brief google search, omiai meetings are often held at fancy hotels or restaurants, so maybe that’s what this is.)

there’s such a period drama feel to this setting. like it’s so outrageously formal fff how can anyone stand this kind of atmosphere though seriously

OH THANK GOD

I mean they’re still stiff af but at least they’re not rigidly sitting in seiza and staring at each other unblinkingly anymore lol. Enji’s actually got his hands in his pockets now. why is this somehow almost cute

oh damn it’s the flowers

Rei seems so subdued and it’s so hard to get any idea of what she’s actually thinking. I want to see her side of this dammit

but anyway, so at least from Enji’s perspective it seems like even though the marriage was arranged and he picked her because of her quirk, he still loved his wife and wanted to do right by her. the fact that he was watching her and noticed that she liked the flowers, and remembered that detail for all these years -- there’s a reason why Horikoshi’s showing us this. we know what’s going to happen later on; we know how much fear and violence and breaking of trust is coming up ahead, and while it may seem like this scene is serving to soften Enji’s character further -- which to be fair it is -- it also helps drive home the full impact of his abuse. that it’s so terrible not only because of the trauma of the abuse itself, but also because of the way it retroactively destroys all of the good things as well. this could have potentially been such a sweet scene, but it’s inescapably tainted by the knowledge of what’s to come, at least for me. and that’s just brutal

anyways, shit. is the whole chapter going to be like this?? feel free to toss in something I can actually make a joke about sometime, Horikoshi

oop, back to the present

omfg lol

“are you all right” “NO I’M NOT ALL RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK.” “oh, right, because of all the stuff that’s happened with me abusing you and you having a mental breakdown and being hospitalized for ten years and then our son coming back to life and killing thirty people, right, right. I almost forgot.” whoops

omfg you guys I’m loving this new and improved steely-eyed Rei. I’m loving her a lot

and what do you mean “part one” fkjds how long is this going to be. TOO MUCH DRAMA FOR ONE CHAPTER TO HANDLE

oh, hello

yeah I’ll say you did. didn’t seem to bother you much at the time, though

HMMMMMMMMMMMM

Dabi Is A Noumu intensifies even further. anyways though would you fucking look at this boy lounging on this moth-eaten couch doing his best DRAW ME LIKE YOUR FRENCH GIRLS impression wtf

Dabi what if you actually had killed him??? what would you feel?? satisfaction?? regret?? anything at all?? tell me your secrets goddammit

who are you talking to buddy

Fuyumi-chan, Natsu-kun (is it common for brothers to address each other as -kun?? can’t recall seeing that in many other anime, but hey), and “dot dot dot,,,,,, SHOUTO” lol thank you so much for this bountiful heaping of Tododrama Horikoshi we are blessed

AH, WHAT DID I SAY THE OTHER DAY

ULTIMATE MELODRAMATIC THEATER CHILD. “I’M JUST GOING TO LIE ON THIS COUCH SHIRTLESS AND ALONE AND MAKE SPEECHES TO MY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO AREN’T THERE AND SAY THINGS LIKE ‘WATCH ME IN THE PITS OF HELL’ WITH A STRAIGHT FACE BECAUSE NO ONE’S THERE TO JUDGE ME.” WELL JOKE’S ON YOU MISTER CHATTERBOX BECAUSE I AM IN FACT JUDGING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU LOL

(ETA: and on a more serious note, it’s interesting to see that “look at me”/”watch me” theme being used again though, because we see that same sentiment uttered repeatedly by the younger Touya in the flashback. well kid, you definitely got your wish at last. don’t know what else to say.)

OKAY HORIKOSHI HAS DECIDED THAT’S ENOUGH FUN, TIME FOR MORE FLASHBACKS

oh my sweet precious lord

just as cute as we left him. giving us a child this cute when we all know full well what’s going to happen to him is just unspeakably cruel though

HOMG

I’m fucking speechless. you broke me, congratulations. what am I even supposed to do with this

I can’t get over this. moving forward my life will be split into two distinct parts, B.P. (Before the Pout) and A.P. (After the Pout)

and meanwhile there’s ALL THIS BACKGROUND ANGST BUILDING UP, AND I CAN’T EVEN FOCUS ON IT. Touya’s arm and cheek are covered in bandages (I’m guessing this is shortly after that “ouch!” panel we got some chapters back), and Enji is deliberately avoiding training with him because he doesn’t want him to hurt himself further. I can’t fucking get over the irony that all this time everyone thought Touya had died because Enji pushed him too far in his training, and it turns out that it’s the opposite -- the tragedy ultimately happened because he didn’t want to push him. but I’m jumping ahead of myself though I guess

by the way,

remember this?? just wanted to remind you that it exists just in case you forgot

so now someone is talking and basically saying that Touya is the exact opposite of what Enji was hoping for when he decided to start playing with quirk genetics

-- okay hold up

...lol no, never mind. for a second I thought “holy shit he looks kind of familiar WHAT IF IT’S UJIKO OMG” before I remembered that Enji would have recognized him during the hospital capture mission if that was the case. so NEVER MIND, PROCEED

IMAGINE THAT, ENJI DOESN’T QUITE SEEM SATISFIED WITH THIS SUGGESTION OF QUITTING NOW

(ETA: how the fuck did this man go around saving 62 towns in a single day what even is All Might.)

[clicks tongue several times] trouble a’brewin’

MEANWHILE BABY TOUYA HAS UNFORTUNATELY INHERITED HIS DAD’S STUBBORN STREAK

KLDIHWOEIJFL:KSDJ

!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god. oh my god. what is this chapter. WHAT IS IT

so now Touya is all “YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND MY MANLY DESIRE TO BURN MYSELF ALIVE” well you got her there champ

THEY’RE TOO CUTE. OH MY GOD. HIS FURIOUS LITTLE TEARS. HER CHUBBY LIL FACE. HIS STUBBY LIL FISTS. SOMEONE HELP ME

also are they just home alone lol or what. “hey Touya, you’re what, like six now?? do us a favor and look after your baby sister for a couple hours for us would you? make sure not to set yourself on fire or anything.” WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!!

now it’s nighttime and Enji and Rei are arguing, presumably about his decision not to train Touya anymore

whew. okay. so, a couple of things here

1. first of all I think this conclusively shows that Enji really was trying to do the best he could for Touya. he stopped training him as soon as he realized it was hurting him, but Touya was still determined so he tried to make it work anyway, and even visited doctors to try and figure out if there was anything they could do. then, once they were absolutely sure that it wasn’t going to work, he tried multiple times to explain to Touya why they had to stop. he didn’t just abandon him out of the blue, which is really important to note. “no matter how much I tried telling him...”

so yeah, that debunks another common fandom accusation. so by the time he finally makes this decision, which we all know is going to turn out horribly, it’s basically because he’s already tried everything else he could think of. which, by the way, still doesn’t mean he handled this right. but at the very least he was taking Touya’s feelings into account and he was trying, and he didn’t just abruptly toss his son aside (at least not yet)

2. buuuut, then there’s this panel right below all that

which is the other side of it. if he’d just quit like the doctor person advised him to, that would have been the end of it. Touya would still have been upset, but he would have eventually gotten over it and the family would have moved on and possibly even been happy. but what happens next happens because Enji can’t let go. he still has this maddening urge to surpass All Might, and so he and Rei keep having more children, and then Shouto is born, and Enji finally has a kid he can start projecting all of his hysterical ambitions onto once again, and everything starts spiraling out of control soon after

though p.s. none of that is Shouto’s fault though!! he’s one of the few good things to come out of this whole mess and I’m very happy that he exists. the tragedy is that his dad fucking lost his mind over his quirk and fucked everything up. but that’s on him, not Touya or Shouto

anyways, SLKFJLSHGLKJL

I CAN’T FUCKING TAKE THIS YOU GUYS??? LOOK AT THAT LIL BUTTON OF A NOSE??? I’M LOSING IT HERE???

AND TOUYA JUST SEEMS DEVASTATED OMG

because children aren’t stupid, after all. he understands that his dad is still looking to surpass All Might. and so he feels like a failure, and feels like his dad is trying to replace him because he wasn’t good enough. and even now, isn’t that what the adult Touya is trying to prove?? that he was good enough after all?? “I’ll show you what happens when you give up on me, dad”?? “I’ll show you what I can do”?? fuck my life fuck everything

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TOLL THAT IT’S ALL TAKING ON REI GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AS WELL OH GOD

really nice touch here with the panel outlines becoming all shimmery from the heat of Endeavor’s flames (and/or becoming more unstable as the family gets closer and closer to their breaking point). but man, Horikoshi I can’t handle this, please show us more cute kids or something I can’t

GKELKWFJLDKSHFLKL

WITTLE BABE. BEEB. BUBS. SMOL. lkj; oh ouch a piece of my heart just detached and latched onto him huh look at that

TODOROKI “I’M SO SMALL AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON AND I DIDN’T ASK TO BE HERE” SHOUTO AHHHHH

crazy how they all just seem to know right off the bat lol. kid doesn’t even have object permanence yet, let alone a quirk. but do they care?? IT’S THE HAIR, RIGHT. WE’RE ALL THINKING IT, I’M JUST GONNA COME OUT AND SAY IT. they knew the minute they looked at him lol

AND MEANWHILE TOUYA IS OFF HAVING UNSUPERVISED TRAINING/CRYING SESSIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OR WHATEVER, AND, UH OH

are those blue flames yet?? they seem pretty close

(ETA: this is one of the few cases where the manga being in black and white is infuriating lol.)

OH MY GOD AND STILL

so it’s not like he was so disinterested that he didn’t notice what was happening, and he was still trying to stop it and get through to him. trying to reassure him that it wasn’t the end of the world and there were other things he could do with his life, but this one particular thing just wasn’t going to happen

fucking hell. it’s agonizing seeing how close they actually were to fixing it. if he’d only said the right words, or if he’d realized at this point how destructive his obsession could be to his kids, and backed off from putting that same pressure on Shouto. we came so close to possibly having a happy ending

AND ALSO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING BUT PLEASE LOOK AT HOW TOUYA IS LIKE THREE AND A HALF FEET TALL AND HIS DAD IS LIKE NINE AND A HALF FEET. Touya barely comes past his knees flkjlkg. the Todoroki household must have been so filled with like plastic stepstools to reach the bathroom sink and all the little baby toothbrushes, and baby gates to keep the kiddos out of the important grown-up rooms and stuff. and also days-old half-empty cups of water and stale crackers and hot wheels and my little ponies strewn everywhere

“BUT EVERYONE AT SCHOOL SAYS THEY’RE GONNA BE HEROES” a wild Deku parallel appears?? how bout that

I know this is like a pivotal moment in the Todo Tragedy and all, but fucking look at this lil dumpling

“sup bro, it’s me, the manifestation of your fears of inadequacy and lack of fatherly affections. a GAAA. ba-baAA-baa [gurgling baby sounds]”

OHHHHH IT’S THE SOUND OF MY HEART BREAKING OH NO

HE WANTS TO BE LIKE YOU ENJI. good lord somebody please just get this family some therapy

“DAD YOU IGNITED IT IN ME” flkjslkj nope, nope. not ready for this pain here

baby Shouto, would you like to weigh in on this affair? “DA!! ba-ga-daaa, [pacifier chewing noises]” oh my, you don’t say. so insightful for one so young

OH MY GODDDDDD

IT’S SO DRAMATIC BUT ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT ARE THE SHOUNEN WOOSH LINES SURROUNDING FOUR-MONTH-OLD SHOUTO LOL HE WAS LIKE THIS FROM BIRTH OH MY GOD I AM DYING HELP

SHOUTO YOU’RE RUINING THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER!?!?!

“yo, the fuck kind of family was I fucking born into” oh, son. if you only knew. IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!

(ETA: lmao I got so distracted by the ridiculous cuteness that I glossed over the fact that Baby Touya seems to possibly be aiming at him?? it’s hard to tell because he’s also super out of it from heatstroke and may just be losing control in his attempt to show off his upgrade.)

ANYWAY THAT’S THE END EXCEPT WHAT’S THIS LAST LINE OMG

ffffff. and we’re in for ANOTHER chapter of this next week?? MORE drama?? MORE BABIES?? MORE OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TOUYA’S SLOW DESCENT INTO MADNESS. MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT, BUT ALSO YES PLEASE SIGN ME UP

[hueningkai]

So not sure if I can still send in an ask about toys BUT IF YES CAN I SHARE!?

So my big thing as a kid, it depended haha. Based on my memory, doll wise I was more into bratz dolls? Like legit the fact they had bobble sized heads and they didn't have feet when taking off their "shoes" was so hilarious to me as a kid that made me love them but also the fashion? Amazing, still holds up to this day. Gosh I had so many bratz dolls lol. I had a bratz rock angelz one (it was Sasha, she was my fav) that I lowkey got salty because my friend stole her from me and denied it she ever did :') i had the bratz snow lodge house along with those skating dolls (best doll house ever btw) then I had two sleepover ones. One was cloe and she had the cutest piggy slippers and comfy pj's (it was plaid sweats and a simple white top with a fluffy bathrobe and a matching sleep mask) and another was Sasha again and she was my fancy sleepover one. She came with these fantastic silk floral robes and pj's, she even had the "normal feet" switch so you could have these rose heels or her actual feet. The best part was this cushion that acted as the sparkly powder for you to use and this (overly musky scented) mini perfume like I loved them. I think I may still have them(?) The rest of my collection i sadly sold because I was "too old for dolls" and I kinda regret that because oof. I also had barbie dolls, those ranged from all kinds like I had one that had a washing machine (which fun fact i put actual soap thinking it would make the experience more real. Not a smart idea but lil me was happy lol) and I remember those fashion design line? I wish I could remember the name but it had like a more fancier option of clothes that you could buy to your barbie doll as a whole so it was a clothing line for your dolls. I have to double check this online lol. I also had a few my scene dolls! Also anyone remember soda pop girls? Yeah my shiz. Polly pocket as well! I had so many and even had those tiny ones that were of magnet? (Random side not but anyone else liked chewing on the polly pocket outfits or pretending you had a lip ring using a dolls bracelet or was that just me?)

Outside of dolls, I had quite the my little pony collection. Heck I even had a few playsets! One was a giant castle that was fantastic and another was I belive a bakery? I remember there was this oven that if you out the metal part of the pony a cake would pop up lol. Also sold those. My proudest collection? My littles pet shop lol. I STILL have my original toys (not the playsets sadly) and even own some of the limited figures where you and to send in stickers to get it? One was a ladybug and a Kola if I remember! Other toys included some pokemon ones and I had a very interesting phase of collecting hot wheel cars? Man I had a good collection as well lol.

OF COURSEEEE!! I just hope you see this anon bc I absolutely love the detail here and appreciate you sending it <3333

agreeeeeed. to this day bratz are iconic and had some of the best fashion in the doll market. the detail & accessories... mga know how to accessorise. you had some amazing ones! the rock angelz line is insanely good, I also really loved the pretty in punk line! omg the sleepover ones were adorable. yasmin was my fav btw! the smells yes! gosh they really did so well with bratz. that is sad :( I actually owned a few recently in my collection but sold them for extra money but I am always tempted to collect again. the collector dolls were gorgeous. side note did you ever watch the live action movie?? bc I love it lmao it may not be the best movie ever but it is a guilty pleasure for me for sure

hmmmmm I'm not sure! there's been so many fashion lines and such that I can't think rn what this is !! I might be able to figure it out if you can give me more detail <3 YES SODA POP GIRLS!! very obscure but sooo good, what a fun line !! I used to chew polly pocket clothes but omg wait I think I did that with the bracelets too, they fit perfectly as a ring hahahahaa!!

oooooo sounds like you had either gen 2 or 3? gen 2 and 3 were based around magnetic play a lot of the time !! I have lady cupcake from gen 2 who has a metal magnetic nose which sticks to a cake and makes it pop up. as a child I had the gen 3 bakery and it had the oven with a magnetic piece that popped open to reveal the cake (I have the oven now!) these are my fav gens (gen 2 being my favourite) and I looooved the magnetic play features. I always wanted to own the castle so I am jealous !!

anon I would love to see anything you have esp your littlest pet shops omg! the fact you had the mail in limited ones too ... so cool! wow you've had so many good collections <3

here's a few of my fav g3s that I own in mib packaging. I had star catcher as a child and she was my favourite so I was glad when I got hold of her new in the box hehe!

( tell me about your childhood toys )

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 13: Moving in

And here's chapter 13 everyone! The climax for the arc is coming soon, so hold onto your Puppets everyone!

Although I may or may not put up Happy Times episode 3 first, depends on what I feel like writing these next two weeks. So, y'know, keep an eye out. :D

The next day started easily enough. Will and Stacy ate breakfast, and the set up the bedroom for Scout to stay in. Stacy saw no point in forcing the Puppet to hide in a bag all day again, when they could simply let her stay in the bedroom instead. She set up the laptop with Netflix, and made sure the Switch was all charged up for her to play on when she got bored of movies. She even asked what kind of snacks she'd want, though that didn't get a reply.

Still, they managed to get her settled in and locked the door just in time for Lisa and Mason to show up. Though Lisa was more than a little curious about it.

"So." The blonde started, quirking an eyebrow. "Why'd you lock the bedroom door?" Her tone was teasing, but Stacy felt a cold rush of fear from what she might think if she found Scout. Would Lisa run? Or would she be violent to Scout? Or worse, would she want to play dress up with her?

No. Under no circumstances should Lisa find out about the Puppet. Not yet, and not now.

"It's just a mess from last night, so we figured we'd be polite about it." Stacy told her, the lie she'd practiced coming easily. Will knew the story too, and had even checked it for holes.

"Oh, please, you two are as vanilla as fresh milk." Lisa countered, and Stacy panicked. The one thing they hadn't considered! "What are you hiding in there? A puppy? Or maybe a kitten?" She looked excited, and Stacy could feel a headache coming on.

"Nothing you need to see, Lisa." Will told her as he walked past. "Now, are you gonna help us out or not? I want to get this done today, so I don't have to pay extra for the truck."

"Fine, fine. But I am so gonna find out what you guys are hiding in there!" She promised. Stacy just scoffed as they followed Will outside.

"Good luck." Was all she said, even knowing Lisa would only take it as a challenge. She had faith, though, that her friend wouldn't be able to beat it.

Not that it stopped her from trying, of course. Lisa was nothing if not determined.

And so, in between carrying boxes into Will's house, the attempted to see what was in the bedroom. It started simple, with just trying to see through the keyhole or under the door. And then Mason caught her outside, trying to look in the window.

"Okay Lees, seriously?! Are you high? Because this seems like the kind of thing only High Lisa would do." He scolded as he dragged her back inside by the arm. Luckily Will and Stacy weren't nearby, or she'd be getting a double helping of Disappointed Glaring. No, they were getting ready to go buy everyone Subway, which was real nice of them if you asked Mason.

"Lil bit." She admitted. "But don't you wanna know what Mr. and Mrs. Vanilla think is kinky?" Mason just sighed, rubbing his eyes as she continued. "I'll bet they aren't, really. I think they adopted a pet! Which would be really weird for Stacy, since she doesn't like animals."

"You're such a fucking motormouth when you get high." He groaned before practically flinging her into the armchair in the living room. He grabbed his phone and put on a random YouTube video. "Watch that and try to sober up a bit, okay? And no more trying to look in their bedroom, you fucking weirdo."

"Yeah okay..." She mumbled, already entranced by the cat video. Mason smirked as he went back outside to see their friends off and double check the U haul for any forgotten boxes. He caught them just as they were getting into Will's car.

"We'll be back soon." Will said as Stacy climbed in the passenger seat. He himself was already in the driver's seat, food list clutched in one hand. "Stay out of our bedroom. And my basement."

"Will do boss!" Mason agreed, then watched them go. He checked the truck, finding no boxes. He closed the door, then went back inside to wait for Will and Stacy to return.

He went to the living room, only to find Lisa not where he left her. the only thing on the arm chair was his cell phone, neatly placed in the very center. He swore and picked it, shoving it in his pocket as he rushed to the bedroom door. She was there, of course, kneeling in front of it as she picked the lock. She looked up as he approached, looking quite cheery.

"Now's our chance!" She hissed excitedly as she worked the door. Mason grabbed her arm, trying to pull her away even as she kept working.

"Lees, no! You don't know what could be in there!" He insisted, but she pulled back. He didn't fight her too hard, not wanting to hurt her, but she was quite obviously out of her mind.

"C'mon Mason! Don't tell me you're not curious!" She grinned as she broke free, and finished unlocking the door. "Ooooh, what if it's that weird occult stuff they're into? That could be fun."

"No, it wouldn't!" Mason had seen things, back when Will had first started his hunting hobby. Things that still gave him nightmares sometimes. "We shouldn't open that door."

"Too late!" Lisa exclaimed gleefully, shoving it open and peering inside. Despite his protests, Mason did too, curious as to what exactly Will would allow to be kept in his bedroom.

'Maybe it is just a puppy or something. God I hope that's all it is.' He thought desperately, tensed to run at the first sign of trouble.

For a long moment, nothing happened. There was no movement, and the bedroom looked just like it always did, though with an open laptop and a Switch on the bed. Mason sighed in relief, and went to close the door.

"See? Nothing there except a computer and Nintendo. Now, let's close the door and lock up again before they get back and we get in trouble." He closed the door, completely missing the small figure that sneaked out as he did so.

"Pfft, lame." Lisa knelt down and began to try and re-lock the door. "I thought for sure there'd be a dildo or something on the floor, at the very least!"

"Yeah, well, there's not. So let's never mention this to anyone ever, okay?" Mason asked, turning and going into the kitchen, only to freeze at what he saw there.

"Ugh, fiiiine!" The blonde groaned as she finished up. She stood up, only to find her friend standing stock still in front of the kitchen counter. "Uh, Mason?" She joined him, only to stop and stare too.

"Nobody fucking move!" It was a small blue hand puppet with purple hair. It was pointing  a large kitchen cleaver straight at them, and glaring with angry yellow eyes. It looked mad, madder than Mason could remember any other doll looking.

And it was the cutest thing Lisa had ever seen.

"You're so adorable!" She squealed, making both puppet and Mason jump. The puppet readjusted it's grip, now pointing the knife at her while Mason stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He yelled. "We're being mugged by a possessed puppet, and you think it's cute?! Lisa!"

"But look at it! It's got little mitten hands, and some of the most realistic hair I've ever seen! It's so cute!" She reached for it, only drawing back when it swung the knife wildly at her hands. "Aw, I can't believe Stacy never told me about you!"

"How fucking high are you?!" Mason asked at the same the Puppet yelled "Get the hell out of my house!"

A dull thump sounded behind them, and the two humans turned to see Will staring at the Puppet in shock, Subway bags on the floor around him. "She has a knife." He muttered, sounding just a little bit broken. "Why does she have a knife? I  hid all the knives."

Stacy came charging around him, more bags hanging from her arm. She went right pass Mason and Lisa, and grabbed the knife away from the Puppet. She set it down on the counter then grabbed the Puppet up and hugged her close, though she resisted.

"They broke into the bedroom!" She insisted, jabbing a mitten hand at the two. "They broke in! I didn't break out, I swear!" Her voice held a desperate edge to it, one that made Lisa feel bad for being curious at all. For one white hot second, she worried Stacy might be the type to punish the poor thing for this.

"Scout- Scout it's fine! I'm not mad." Stacy turned to glare at Lisa. "At you, anyways." She finished, a stern tone to her voice. Lisa knew immediately she had to try and defuse the situation.

"Aw, c'mon Stace! You can't fault me for thinking you guys were hiding something in there. And, I was right! You were hiding this adorable little thing! How could you do that to me Stacy?" She gave puppy dog eyes, but her friend just sighed.

"You're lucky I only have one hand, or I'd smack you." She deadpanned.

"Fair enough." The blonde grinned. "Let me make it up to you. I can make this little cutie some new shirts, so she's not wearing that filthy one all the time."

Stacy paused. She... didn't actually know if Scout could take off her shirt. She supposed she could always wear any new ones over it, but wasn't sure.

"I don't know..." Stacy said out loud. She looked over to where Mason was helping Will pick up their food, a quiet conversation passing between them. She wasn't too sure what they were talking about, but figured it had to be Scout.

"Aw, c'mon! It shouldn't be too hard. What is she, about American Girl doll size? I make clothes in that size all the time for my sisters."

"...I'll think about it." Stacy finally said, as Scout climbed up onto her shoulder, and to the top of her head. The Puppet pulled on her hair, but Stacy was able to keep herself from reacting to the pain. It wasn't that bad, compared to what she'd been through already. And she didn't want to remove the Puppet anyways, in case she went back to being a recluse.

Lisa helped get some plates set up and distribute the food, chattering all the while about all the clothes she was going to make for Scout. Shirts, hats, even tiny mittens for when it got cold out. Scout found it all very absurd, although Stacy seemed interested in it.

'I'm not going to need those things anyways. Why is Stacy even humoring her?' Scout watched as the Hosts all sat and started to eat, still perched on her Host's head. She desperately wanted to try what they were eating, but turned away when Stacy offered her some. 'You don't even want to stay. No point in trying it anyway. Besides, it's just dumb Host feed.'

After lunch Mason and Lisa left for home, with Mason promising not to let Lisa have anymore weed. Meanwhile Will went to return the big truck they'd used, leaving Stacy and Scout alone. The Puppet took the time to look around, noting how many boxes there were stacked against the walls. Some of them had writing on them, but many were blank. Stacy sighed as she took in all the blank ones, hand on her hip.

"Would it really kill him to label things for once." She muttered, then gave Scout a grim look. "He did this when he moved up here. Didn't write down what was in a single box, and then ended up buying a lot of stuff he didn't need to simply because he couldn't find it." She grabbed a small knife out of her pocket, opening it with some difficulty, then jabbed it into one of the unmarked boxes. "Let's see which one of these has my comics in it..."

Scout watched her open the box from the couch, listening to the noises of frustration when what the Host wanted wasn't there. She wasn't deterred, though, and quickly moved to the next unlabeled box after scrawling on the newly opened one with a smelly black marker. Each new box held either a groan of frustration, or a shout of excitement as Stacy searched through each one for what she needed.

"Y'know, this is almost like Christmas. Except, more annoying cause I'm trying to find my stuff, rather than getting new stuff." She said after a while of of box opening. She finished writing and turned to the Puppet, who was absorbed in one of the comics she'd found. Speaking of, we'll probably be going to my grandpa's cabin with my family for Christmas this year. I should probably figure out how to tell them about you."

"Why?" Scout asked. She didn't see a point to

"Well, you'd be coming with us, obviously." Stacy told her, and the Puppet felt herself freeze up at the implication. The Host didn't notice. "My brother, Danny, he's gonna love you!"

'No I'm not.' She thought sadly as the human rambled on about her brother. 'I'm not going anywhere else if I can help it.'

Her plan had been working, quite well actually. She'd felt tired, lethargic even. And each movement had felt more and more difficult as time passed, to the point where she'd been sure it was about to end any day.

And then Stacy's fucking friends had opened the fucking door, and Stacy had grabbed her. Now she felt stronger than ever, and her plan was ruined.

No, she realized suddenly, while Stacy continued talking about her parents, not entirely ruined. She remembered something Riley had told her, before she'd been stitched to her very first Host. The bond relied on physical contact, but also proximity. Her energy would drain faster if she was further away.

"Hey, Host." She piped up, interrupting the human, who turned to look at her with a confused(and slightly hurt, but Scout ignored that) expression.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head, still bent over a half opened box. When Scout didn't answer immediately she started to get worried and straightened up. "What? Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Scout didn't speak, staring down at the colorful pages spread out in front of her. She didn't want to do this, but wasn't any other choice. Not for her, anyways. Never for her.

'No turning back now. This Puppet's going down! Before anyone else gets hurt...'

"Do you think we could have a window open tonight?"

[readbythestarlight]

c2e20

Can you guys believe it’s been 20 episodes already?? I can’t

LOL oh Sam we love you even if you are a nerdy loser

“IM A REAL ACTOR AGAIN”

I hate him and his ads

I knew it wouldn’t take them long to get into mischief over Nott’s never-empty flask

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“I think four?”

“How many members of the Mighty Nein are there?”

“Nine.”

“She’s fine.”

Good job changing the subject Caleb xD

F: “Are we not worried about the ambush thing?”

Everyone: “nah”

Yasha liking to snuggle Frumpkin gives me life

Molly just… using the Platinum Dragon tapestry as a blanket and Nott wanting to make it into coats smh

Clouds??

OH ARMY

oh no the cart!

leave the cart get away from the army plz go go go

or ask for help that’s possibly a good idea maybe…

Oh yay Jester, magicing it up!

Aw not enough tho…

Hey @Matt why make them lose their cart that was rude

They are SO BAD at planning on the fly it’s amazing

Hello Captain Maximillian

Laura, grinning: “What do he look like?” Laura is me I wanna know what the NPCs look like always

NOTT

NO

omg Nott plz

omg did it work

lol its food xD

Female solider: looks at Yasha

Yasha: *most awkward grin ever*

I apologize Matt thanks for letting them keep the cart

Jester loves showing off her strength and it’s the best thing ever I love it so much

Beau asking Fjord about his dreams. Beau is gonna singlehandedly dig up everyone’s backstories.

Fjord being a shifty boy about the dreams…

So much rain…. I don’t like it, it’s going to take Ashley/Yasha away soon isn’t it I can tell

YOOOOOOOO YASHA BACKSTORY

IVE BEEN WAITING

baby giiiiirl

BABY GIRL

matt I asked for a week without being sad for one of my children. just a week. that was all i asked for.

jesus matt why do you have to make me sad

Storm god??

stoRM GOD????

“You walk the right path. Be strong. Don’t forget who you were, and decided who you will become.” IT’S FINE IM FINE.

Ashley’s face is the same face I’m making right now

Yasha being an umbrella for Nott lol. For all of three seconds.

My life gets better every time Yasha speaks I’m not even kidding

Yasha and Nott bonding over collecting things is cute

I swear Sam just adds strange new things for Nott to collect every week

Seriously Nott and Yasha are just so precious

Caleb wants to poof in a house all the time

Molly and Nott are the Caleb cheerleading squad and totally believe he can magically poof in a mansion someday

LOL Caleb and his one push up

Please don’t melt the cart, Nott

YAY one vial of acid good for her

Idiots doing bird calls and Fjord and Caleb are jus like “oooookay really tho”

omg are they gonna find a pet crow in a trap i want them to

“THANK YOU OSCAR—I MEAN FJOOOORD”

creepy moving thing in the swamp 0/10

BIRB PERSON?

CREEPY SWAMP LIZARD

goooo Jester!

B: “What are we saving??”

N: “I don’t know, we’re—right now we’re saving Jester!”

SWAMP MAP SWAMP MAP

Haste on Nott, nice!

Oh wait except haste in a battle can be bad…

Matt with a sneaky second gator monster

Nat1, the bird lives!

“A 2, are you fucking serious!?” lol Matt! He’s so salty.

LOL then being like “wait the bird is restrained…” he really wanted to fuck up the bird xD

Fjord just like “why are we doing this”

Enthrall?? Have we seen that happen yet?

I love their enthusiasm about their new spells/attacks

Travis gets so excited every time Yasha rages its my fave

And Liam gets excited every time Nott does something sneaky/rogueish

Not how do you always end up pinned by/inside something

HURRY THE BIRB IS DYING

fighting in a swamp is the worst they’re so slooooow

oh wait i blinked and Yasha is the one in the gator’s jaws now I’m confused

My girl Yasha with the first HDYWTDT of the night again I’m so proud.

RIPPING THE GATOR’S JAWS APART LIKE SHE’S KING KONG YO

oh man poor Not! grappled again. thank goodness for uncanny dodge tho.

Nat20 to beat it on the nose go Beau!

Curse of the Eyeless?? What are all these things??

Liam all like “no no no matt no hurting nott” is such a mood

SAM DONT RISK IT WHAT THE FUCK

Jester is the worst cleric/Laura is the best worst

poor Fjord has been so useless xD

I TAKE IT BACK showed up just in time to get the other HDYWTDT

“Nott today!” xD

“A slop-dolly of epic proportions!”

Oh the bird! Yay!

Adorable little bird person!

IT SPEAKS

A LIL BABBY BIRDIE??

I LOVE HER ALREADY

i can’t believe the mighty nein are gonna take care of a kid

she wrote thank you awwwwwwww

Four she’s four she’s such a babby

Kiri I’m gonna adopt you

SHE’S LOST POOR BABY

Jester/Laura is in mom mode and I love it

I can’t believe she got stuck and her family just left her poor baby Kiri I’m cryyyying

“Nowhere to go, can I come with you?”

I CRY

“Can you handle a weapon?” CALEB SHE’S FOUR SHE’S A BABBY

omg she put her little wings like she was gonna fight I cryyyyyyyyyy

LOL the way she mimicked Fjord’s voice

omg Nott got that pouch of oats and corn. How convenient!

Beau please don’t hit Kiri

LOL she rolled a Nat20 to hit Beau good for her

OH NO DID THEY EAT KIRI’S FAMILY

Caleb totally playing dad to keep Kiri away from the talk about her family possibly being dead I cryyyyyyy

BEAU YOU CAN’T JUST ABANDON HER

she’s so tiny i love her

YOU WILL NOT DROP HER OFF YOU WILL KEEP HER AND LOVE HER UNTIL YOU CAN GET HER BACK TO HER FAMILY

The mighty nein have 8 members now!

Nott and Jester losing their shit over how cute Kiri is is such a mood

Aw poor baby is scared of Frumpkin xD

Caleb sharing his comfort cat is the cutest sweetest thing ever

Ashley why are you insight checking my sweet bird child

Nott gives to Kiri, Jester gives to Nott, Caleb tries to give to Jester. What a bunch of nerds.

Jester and the cranky old lady

“What the FUCK is pocket bacon?!” xD

Caleb is NOT getting into this place lol. An eight foot climb up a rope? Skinny boy can’t handle that.

Beau, honey, please don’t antagonize the Crown’s Guard

“I don’t like you”

“I get that a lot” Poor Beau

LOL then the awkward face off I love Beau so much

“that was me at 16 with every cop” Taliesin Jaffe backstory

NOTT NO ALCOHOL FOR KIRI

“We’ll get her a Tirly Shemple”

“Is it haunted?”

“….Do you like things that are haunted?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s haunted!”

Caleb making an intimidation check oh no

Oh wait it worked? holy cow

“It ain’t worth the coin!!”

“What if we gave you a hundred coin?”

“I’d come for that.”

lol Jester forcing the dude to sing

omg is Matt gonna sing??

I’M CRYING

do not trust the guy to take the cart that’s probably a horrible idea…

Nott darling sweetheart light of my life your problems are not a burden talk to Caleb if you need to

wow listen can we go like three weeks without making me sad about Caleb’s past and Nott’s issues

CALEB MIDDLENAME WIDOGAST DO NOT CALL YOURSELF A GARBAGE PERSON (unless you mean it ironically which I know you don’t) I WON’T STAND FOR IT

Matt’s face while Beau and Jester are talking about Captain Max

DO NOT LET KIRI READ YOUR SMUT BOOK JESTER

Molly like super locking up his room is smart, 10/10, that’s using your head

Fjord are you really just gonna sleep in two inches of swamp water

Yasha is having none of this gross guy’s shit good for her

This episode was sooooo good! I hate that I missed it live. It’s all good though. I’ll be back next week!

ALSO I’M SERIOUSLY GONNA ADOPT KIRI

ending it on teasing Marisha about her notebook

GUEST GUEST GUEST GUEST GUEST

[pravasiga]

June 25, 2017 - Merak: Joy to the World

Merak: (n.) a Serbian word that "refers to a feeling of bliss, and sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of pleasures. It is the pursuit of small, daily pleasures that all add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfillment."

Life at VMH-Kenchanahalli is quiet. It's quiet enough to hear yourself think all day and be comfortable with this small parcel of land where so much goes on. A lot of my updates so far have been about larger experiences and big moments that have given me enough material to write literal essays on. But most of the best things here have been the small, the simple, and the quiet.

These are the moments that have made up the majority of my last three weeks in India and I cherish them just as much as all of the other larger, more spectacular memories. So many of these moments are fleeting, devoid of a moral or a punchline or a story, but they weave together the fabric of warm community and bonding that I've been lucky to be apart of while I'm here. In a collection of same little drabbles that have given me the feeling of merak, as a reminder of all the great and good things that come in little packages.

********************************************************************************** On our very first day at the SVYM VIIS campus, we were greeted by several staff with baskets of jasmine flower garlands and little bowls of red powder that they dotted on our foreheads to welcome us to India. I spent almost the entirety of the first day trying (and failing) to not accidentally sweat or wipe off the tilaka on my forehead. I spent the entire day with my garland on, just to envelope myself in the sweet scent for as long as I could.

I adore the smell of jasmine flowers. The clear, sweet aroma hangs heavy in the air, and remains crisp all day. Vendors - young, old, women, and children - sell garlands on garlands of flowers in a rainbow of colors: ivory white, sunburst orange, bright yellow, vibrant red, and pristine pink. Everywhere I go here, I see women and girls with flowers in their hair, pinned behind the ear or with garlands curled around thick, elegant braids. Every morning, staff at VMH-Kenchanahalli pick fresh wildflowers to place around the statue bust of Swami Viviekananda. I have stood under trees with a dazzling display of paper-thin magenta-purple cocoons around tiny white flowers.

Here, in India, everything is in bloom, from bushes of hibiscus flowers, with their trumpeting petals and rich colors, to frangipani flowers that have swirls of buttercup yellow and white petals. Here in the countryside, everything is green and lush and I can only imagine what this vast and beautiful looked like centuries ago before civilization. When we drive home in the evening, the dipping sun throws a sheen of gold all across the land and I see a glimpse of what heaven must look like.

* If there was one place that could convince me to never jay-walk again, it would be a busy street in India and I've been told that Mysore is not nearly as bad as other major Indian cities. Try dodging rickshaws, tour-buses, cars, motorcycles, AND goats. And all of them are moving at their own pace and pattern, forming a dynamic Gordian Knot of human (and goat) activity.

* I wish there were words to describe how happy I get when I see them serving puris for a meal. Burning hot from the stove, these delicious pockets of deep-fried dough have become a favorite. I can smell the heavenly sent of ghee (clarified butter) and flour and hearing the soft hiss as it deflates on the plate in front of me. I burn my fingers every single time when I get too impatient to wait for it to cool down but it's worth it.

Also noteworthy: the parathas here, which are even better than the frozen scallion ones that I used to rejoice about when my dad made them for breakfast.

* My phone alarm went off once at 3:40AM and once again at 3:45AM on June 21, telling me that it was time to get out of bed in preparation for our International Yoga Day World Record Attempt in Mysore. An enormous bus, already packed with students from the Hosahalli Vivekanand Tribal Center of Learning, about 40 minutes down the road, hurtled down the rural road, its headlights piercing the darkness of the early morning. I fell asleep as soon as I got onto the bus, waking only to catch glimpses of the landscape as we chased the sunrise on the horizon.

It was a massive effort and the entire Mysore Race Track was swarming with color coordinated groups of uniformed school children including a particularly sharply dressed class in maroon and gold. The Hosahalli girls held hands in groups of three, running barefoot along the side of the street, a skill which I still haven't learned to master because I'm still too afraid of tripping over rocks or stepping on animal feces.

The entire center of the Race Track had been partitioned into more than forty sections, each consisting of over one thousand people. In the distance as far as I could see, rows upon rows of yoga mats were being laid out by participants. All of us had been instructed to wear light colored clothing so that we would contrast against our yoga mats in the aerial photo that Guinness World Records would be taking and using as their official counting metric.

Halfway through our yoga practice, official passed out official Guinness World Record ATTEMPT certificates which now just reminds me of what could have been because while Mysore clocked in at a whopping 54,101 people, we later found out that we had been beaten for the world record by a city in Gujarat by what was first reported as 300,000 people but later recorded as about 54,500 people which makes me even sadder because WE WERE SHORT ABOUT 400 PEOPLE.

Will be rooting for Mysore next year to beat Ahmedabad. Viva Mysore, Yoga Capital of the World.

*

I fed a happy cow who then slobbered all over my friend's hand. We kept feeding it anyways.

*

One late night, I asked Raju, our main point of contact for rickshaw drivers, where his favorite place in Mysore was. He turned around (while speeding through traffic, mind you) and said, "Everywhere."

*

I have also asked Raju what his responsibility would be if he accidentally hit a cow with his rickshaw and I don't remember the entire process but it seems pretty serious. Pro tip: don't hit the cows here.

* The same Raju also took a selfie with us from behind the wheel, while weaving through traffic. I need his driving skills.

*

There are several young children who live at VMH-Kenchanahalli campus because their parents work here. Anu is the world's cutest three year old and she's already running around with seven-year old Yogesh. They have always been peeking in through our office door and squealing "Hi!!" at us before running away, but yesterday, we went outside to play with the kids. This eventually devolved into a game of "Illa! Howdu!" (literally, no! yes!) which had no real rules but I snapped a quick picture of it. It was a convoluted version of slapping hands and it eventually turned into us doing the wave in a circle around them. We sat on the stone floor, grabbing at each others hands while Anu laughed with delight. Quite honestly the cutest child I've ever met and when she giggles, she rolls the sound in the back of her throat. And it sounds like pure joy and sunshine.

* At a women's empowerment organization that served as a sheltered for survivors of domestic abuse, assault, or disputes, we met with a dozen of the residents and dozens upon dozens of the children. Many women are pressured into marriage here and unfortunately, many face abuse and violence at the hands of their husbands and silence from their families. With one of the organizations serving as translator, we slowly communicated about women's issues in India and the US. Through difficult stories and rough memories, we were able to spark the tiniest of connections. When someone asked the women what they wanted to see next in the future, one of the women, cradling her sleeping daughter in her arms, asserted that she will never allow her daughter to face the same fate that she had.

*

The children at the women's empowerment organization had prepared us a song. Then they asked us to sing an English one. We chose 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and started as twenty voices. Over 60 other little voices soon joined us in a deafening roar.

*

The stars in the night sky above VMH-Kenchanahalli are so clear, I can see them twinkling here too.

*

And one of my favorites -

At VMH-Saragur, while waiting for the bathroom, I met Pooja, one of the academic coordinators who was helping to supervise all of the visiting international students' projects. I told her that I had friends back in the US named Pooja too. She took my hand, smiled at me, and said, "Well, my name is Pooja, and now I'm your friend too."

Matte Siguva (See you soon), Winnie

PS: I'm definitely forgetting some cute moments but just assume that I'll work them in some sappy way in another post in the future.

PPS: I am currently binge-watching Gravity Falls and Brooklyn 99 and impatiently waiting for Season Three of Rick and Morty to PLEASE come out.

PPPS: The food at Kenchanahalli is bomb af and my stomach is a happy lil thing. So happy. We get fresh mangos and bananas here!

PPPPS: Have a wonderful day!