Underfoot · Small Life Stories
Underfoot
Small Life Stories · An episodic adventure · France
Underfoot

Two dolls living at 1/6 scale in a full-sized world. France is enormous when you are very small. They are managing.

Ongoing · Episodic · Drop in anywhere

Small figures
in a vast world

Mathilde and Cosette are dolls living at 1/6 scale in a world that was not built for them. Everything is the wrong size — doorways, eggs, the gap under a bed that becomes a perfectly reasonable home. France, seen from six inches off the ground, is a different country entirely.

They are surviving. Mathilde reaches for her sword when things get difficult. Cosette reaches for a friend. Between the two of them, they usually manage. Each episode is a complete adventure — a toy store at night, a rat who turns out to be good company, a graveyard of dolls that requires careful navigation. Drop in anywhere.

Who’s in the story

Mathilde
Mathilde
The hero

Brave, fearless, and almost always the first one through the door. She has a sword and is not reluctant to reach for it. The world is large and occasionally dangerous and Mathilde finds this entirely acceptable.

Cosette
Cosette
The heart

Makes friends and trusts the world, which has mostly rewarded her for it. She is the reason they have a rat for a friend and a warm place under the bed. She breaks eggs that are larger than her head and makes it look straightforward.

Episodes

First Night
Episode One
First Night

The first night in a new place is always the hardest. Everything is the wrong scale and nothing is familiar. They find a corner that will do. Mathilde keeps watch. Cosette sleeps first.

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Break In at the Toy Store
Episode Two
Break In at the Toy Store

They need supplies. A toy store, after hours, is technically full of things their size. Getting in is the first problem. Getting out is the second. The bulldog is the third.

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The Doll Graveyard
Episode Three
The Doll Graveyard

There is a place where dolls end up when they are no longer wanted. Mathilde and Cosette find it. It requires careful navigation — not because it is dangerous, but because it is sad, and sadness requires a different kind of attention.

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Mathilde and Cosette Make a Friend
Episode Four
Mathilde and Cosette Make a Friend

Cosette meets a rat. Mathilde is less certain about this than Cosette is. The rat turns out to be good company — knowledgeable about the city, generous with warmth, and large enough to be useful in a difficult situation.

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Underfoot Under Bed
Episode Five
Underfoot Under Bed

They move under a bed. It is warmer than the alternatives, quieter than the street, and the dust is manageable. A home is what you make it. They make something quite good.

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A New Home
Episode Six
A New Home

Something changes. A goodbye, and then a beginning. The world is still the wrong scale. They are still managing. Some things are better than before.

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