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He’d made a stop at the used book store crafting aisle, then at the actual craft and fabric store, then back to home to unload all of the new acquisitions and get a start. Björn dumped the bags, arranging it all neatly as per the pictures in the first few pages of the beginner’s book on sewing. This was going to be the most difficult battle he’d ever faced- Sewing.

First thing first was double checking he had everything he needed- needles and a needlebook to keep them in (and not in his feet), scissors, pincushion and pins, measuring tape, water soluble marking pens, an odd thing called a seam ripper, thread, fabric, hair wefts, beeswax, crimping pliers, an awl, and an iron. Who knew so much went into making dolls! He looked between each item and the book, then just sat for a few moments taking it all in. It was like looking at a foreign planet, or hearing a different language for the first time- baffling. He wanted to call Colin, or his mother, or anyone who might be able to give him actual pointers and help him with the first couple, but there wasn’t anyone he could really call. He was going to be making them into little senshi, a point that made more questions that he should have to try to circumvent with his limited capacity. Lying was awful, and aside that, it meant having to remember a lot.

Alright, next step. ‘Pre-wash fabric before you start’ That is simple. It is a very small amount though. For good measure the big guy threw in some towels that needed to be cleaned anyway, and kept reading while the load processed. It worked out well enough- he was able to practice threading and unthreading the tiny needle, as well as just holding the tiny thing in his well-calloused fingers. Shifting things to the dryer when they were done gave him the time to cover the basics of stitching and practice on a square of muslin- Basting, stitch length, zig-zag, double needle. None of them were particularly pretty, but maybe they would get better the more he practiced. The first couple of doll bases were going to be very ‘experimental’. It would be good that way right? He could try out the hair wefting on them first without worrying that it was going to uglify something he wanted to be really special and desirable for a certain Youma to collect. The next challenge he had was remembering that through the whole process he was sewing them inside out so that the right side-out would look neat and crisp. The first really nice body wasn’t until day three of trying- stuffing the fluff in the little crevices of the limbs was hard with his meatcleaver-hands. It was like handing a polar bear a brush and trying to teach it calligraphy. With that small victory accomplished, he kept with it to make a bank of little dolls. The first decent clothes took just as long- and accumulated a small pile of fabric swatches that had been mangled with holes and thread beyond recognition.

The Hair. This was the biggest nightmare. He started trying wefting, but it ended out as a tunafish net tangle and he was the dolphin. Bunching, pinning, and punching through holes like a barbie doll head didn’t look natural at all and made the poor things look like Pinhead on crack. Back to wefting. Slow and steady won the race? He wondered if Colin’s sister had an experience with this sort of thing. But there was that whole negaverse admissions thing, and he abandoned the brief hope of reinforcements in the long, tedious battle of Dollmaking. More books. More glue. More burned fingers.

THen he had the first one.
A ...passably cute Sailor Leda for Bazzite to hunt in the dark crystal paths of the Rift. The Youma could learn what she looked like, hopefully get a desire to tear her apart for the insult to the honor of battle that she was walking around. But where to hide it? Somewhere...challenging. But some bit of it should be visible to tantalize? Otherwise the Youma would never know something was there to find! Björn gathered himself as soon as night fell and headed out to transform and hide the little thing. Who should be next? He didn’t know so many senshi. He liked the others that he’d met- they’d even saved him as a regular, disappointing person. Maybe some of the other negaverse agents? Less for hunting training with those as much as maybe companionable collectables.
Unless it was Bitchfit. Bazzite should eat that one.

He wished he could wait the while and watch, like some nature documentary, to see if and when the ex-agent found his present. He’d been invited to visit, back when they’d talked. Maybe he could get to see the little doll there among the Youma’s things. He’d have to remember to bring a seed or energy, too. He didn’t want to be food himself. Always feed the tiger that one planned to relax with.