Taho's MYO Questline

PART ONE (220 words)

1. Silken Tofu (75 words)
   Silken tofu is the base of the Filipino dessert, Taho. This ingredient makes the dessert creamy and soft. Since this is the base of the dessert, the Baobear’s main body is also made of silken tofu. This also gives the Baobear a gentle and open-minded personality because of the adaptable nature of the ingredient. On the other hand, sometimes the Baobear could be a little too soft, and can sometimes be sensitive to stressful situations.
2. Brown Sugar Syrup (71 words)
   Brown sugar syrup gives sweetness to the silken tofu. This syrup can be seen mixed with the Baobear’s soft tofu body. Since this ingredient is sweet, this gives the Baobear a caring and empathetic personality. They are warm and comforting to others around them and can easily tell how others are feeling. Similar to the silken tofu ingredient, this also makes the Baobear easily blend in with others and make friends.
3. Tapioca Pearls (74 words)
   Tapioca pearls add to the dessert by providing a chewy texture in contrast to the soft tofu and sweet syrup. These pearls add a fun surprise of flavor on top of the base. This means that this makes the Baobear particularly outgoing and fun to be around. The tapioca pearls are also found as some kind of decorations or accessories around the Baobear. But without these ingredients, the baobear would not be the same.

PART TWO (720 words)

On the noisy streets of a village walked three sisters who were out for a grocery errand in the farmer’s markets. Technically, it was only supposed to be the oldest who should be out but the two younger sisters insisted on coming, having been unable to go to the marketplace in a while.

While they were walking around, the youngest then saw someone with a baobear companion. She tugged on her oldest sister’s shirt and pointed to the Baobear. “Hey, big sis! Look! It’s a Baobear!”

The oldest immediately tried to shush her sister, “Put your hand down and lower your voice! It’s rude to point.” She took a fleeting glance at the Baobear before returning to her shopping duties.

The youngest apologized but lamented under her breath, “I wish we had a Baobear.”

The middle sister nodded as she helped carry bags of what the oldest purchased. “It’d be so fun, I bet it would be like having another friend to play with!”

“Yeah!” the youngest agreed enthusiastically.

The oldest just smiled and shook her head. “Some day. It’ll be hard to take care of them, you know?”

“That’s true…” the middle sister said with disappointment.

“I’m good at taking care of things!” the youngest declared.

“No, you’re not!” the middle sister retorted.

“Yes, I am!” the youngest shouted back.

The oldest sighed at their back-and-forth bickering as she continued to walk another stall, ignoring their argument, but still made sure that they were following behind. Fortunately, with their loud voices, she’s able to make sure that they were still behind her. They’ll all be able to go home as soon as she was done with the shopping list.

As the oldest finished up the last of the things she needed to buy, a peculiar fruit seemed to peek out from in between some stalls. The fruit was round with bear-like ears protruding from the top. It looked like a… baoberry?

“Sis, whatcha looking at?” the middle sister asked which made the oldest jump.

The oldest looked at her sister and then back at the fruit to make sure what she was seeing was real. She then nudged her two sisters and asked, “Hey, do you two see that?” She pointed to what looks like a baoberry.

The youngest, upon looking in that direction, suddenly gets excited and runs after it without warning.

“Wait, come back here-!” the oldest tried to call out for her but it fell upon deaf ears.

“No way!” the youngest exclaimed as she grabbed the fruit and managed to return to her older sisters. “It’s a baoberry! It’s a baoberry!” the child jumped up and down in pure excitement. “Let’s go home right now!”

---

The oldest was the one who had read and heard stories of baobears. In fact, she had looked them up thoroughly and loved every single part of what they were about. She would talk about baobears to her younger sisters and because of that, they have all always wanted one one day. However, in that particular area where they live, baoberries didn’t seem to be very common (or affordable). Despite the louder, more vocal enthusiasm for baobears from the two younger sisters, the oldest is arguably most passionate about baobears in general. And now, suddenly they are in possession of a baoberry.

The three sisters sat in silence, looking at the baoberry placed on top of their dining table, with the dumpling steamer sitting next to it. This all had felt so surreal that it felt weird to take the next step.

“So what are we waiting for?” the middle sister finally broke the silence.

“Uhm-” the oldest tried to find the words.

“Let’s just put it in now!” the youngest declared.

The oldest sighed in defeat. Her sister was right, there was really no point in delaying it. “Alright, alright…” Admittedly, she had reservations. Despite all her research on baobears, she was really nervous, although she tried not to show it.

Her two younger sisters fought over who would place the fruit inside the steamer before the oldest decided to do it herself instead. They let the fruit steam and the three sisters waited anxiously for anything to happen. 
Finally, after waiting for who knows how long, it finished steaming and there crawled out a small, round little baobaby. 

PART THREE (342 words)

“Why does it look…” the middle child began to say before the youngest finished her sentence for her.

“-boring?”

“Don’t be rude,” the oldest said. “Don’t you two remember? This is just a baby, we need to feed them first.”

“Ohhh…” the two younger sisters acknowledged in unison.

“I’ll feed it something good!” The youngest immediately went to the kitchen, searching the cabinets and the fridge.

“Not if I find it first!” the middle sister said, going after her younger sister.

Meanwhile, the oldest watched the little baobaby curiously taking in its surroundings. She was careful to not make it disoriented considering it was just born into this world. We need to feed it and love it. And I guess the magic will be there somehow, she thought to herself.

While the sounds of cabinet doors opening and closing and the shuffling and clinking of kitchen items filled the background and various food items filled the counters, the oldest caught her eye on a glass of a particular Filipino dessert. It was silken tofu mixed with brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls.

“Hey, you two,” the oldest caught the attention of her two younger sisters. “Is that unfinished Taho on the table still good?”

“Wait, that’s genius! We should feed that to the Bao!” the middle sister declared.

“Yes, yes! Let me feed it!” the youngest said as the two began to race to the glass of Taho.

“Be careful!” the oldest shouted out.

---

The sisters left a spoonful of the dessert for the baobaby to consume. The baobaby first took a small bite out of the soft tofu. Soon enough, it was devouring the contents in the spoon. It left the tapioca pearls for last before it began to chew on them happily.

The two younger sisters excitedly watched the baobaby eat the dessert while the oldest looked on happily as well. There was no doubt there was going to be lots and lots of love there for their little baobaby. And they’ll soon have the baobear they have always wanted.

PART FOUR (692 words)

The three sisters’ little baobaby soon grew up to a full-on baobear after they steamed it while it was full of Taho. They promptly named it after the Filipino dessert after it took on its filling. Taho had since then been a companion to them, they were able to properly love and take care of it with barely any issues. 

One day, the sisters found Taho to be particularly slow but seemingly restless. Unlike its usual excitement for food, recently it had shown a slightly begrudging attitude towards their usual meals. 

“Maybe he needs to try new food?” the middle sister suggested.

“We should go out for street food!” the youngest immediately exclaimed. 

The baobear’s ears perked up and made an excited sound. The three sisters noticed this and the two younger ones particularly got excited.

“See? Let’s go now!” the youngest said as she dragged one of her oldest sister’s arms towards the door. The other sister dragged her other arm as she was excited as well.

“Wait! We need to get ready to go out first!” the oldest demanded.

---

Little Taho was sat on the oldest’s shoulder, much to the disappointment of the two younger sisters, wanting to carry the baobear. The oldest was the tallest so it would have been better to see the sights from up there. The baobear also wanted to sit on her head, but the oldest refused and compromised by placing it on her shoulder. 

When the four reached the alley for street foods, a delicious aroma of different foods wafted across the air. This was all mouth-watering to the baobear and the three sisters. On top of the smells, there were all sorts of sounds filling the air such as the sizzling of grills, chopping and slicing on cutting boards, vendors calling out what they were selling, and the lively conversations in general. 

For the three sisters, they haven’t gone for traditional street food in a while. Meanwhile, for the baobear, it was its very first time. They all began to rush around checking out stalls, and deciding on which food to get first. 

“Let’s get some barbecue!” the middle sister said, pointing at a stall. The baobear looked up and took a whiff of the smell and excitedly urged the oldest sister as well.

“Alright then,” the oldest laughed and they all went to the stall to get their first bites of the day. 

It was funny to the oldest that their little dessert Bao is eating meat. But that was what made their baobear special, it was able to like anything. After spending the day trying new “exotic” tastes, they reached their final vendor as Taho was now being held in the youngest’s arms after the oldest was tired of letting it sit on her shoulder.

“Taho!” the youngest excitedly said and the baobear mirrored her expression. Their final vendor was a familiar young man to the three sisters, he was about the oldest sister’s age. The three sisters were his regular customers since he always walked around the village selling his dessert.

“Well if it isn’t the three lovely ladies and the little Taho baobear!” the Taho vendor cheerily greeted.

“Hello again!” the oldest greeted and the younger ones excitedly echoed their greetings as well. “We’d like four again, please.” 

“Understood.” The young man playfully winked and prepared their cups of Taho. As the oldest was about to give him money, the young man stopped her. “Don’t worry, it’s on the house for today!”

“A-are you sure? I insist-” the oldest said.

The vendor shook his head and smiled, “No, really! I hope you all enjoy!”  

They all said their thanks and made their way home. The two younger sisters teased the oldest’s interaction with the young vendor. Even Taho sensed their chemistry. As they walked, they ate their favorite dessert in comfortable, happy silence as the sun set in the background. At the end of the day, it was nice to go back to something familiar. Little Taho was quite happier now, with all of their bellies full and satisfied.

PART FIVE (500 words)

Taho, having felt the thrill of going to a marketplace for street food, decided to go out on his own. He managed to sneak past all the sleeping sisters considering they were all in their own rooms, and got out of the door. 

I hope they wouldn’t mind, the baobear thought to himself and ventured where he recalled where the marketplace should be. Fortunately, Taho seemed to be able to find the street food alley. The delicious smells all came back to him and he went walking around again. The little baobear wanted to try more new foods since he was not able to try everything with his big sisters.

While walking around the marketplace, however, the little baobear felt a sense of guilt and dread. Taho then looked around the marketplace and realized he was very lost among the large stalls and people walking around. He started to panic but tried to put a brave face on. The baobear continued to move forward, hoping to find something or someone familiar.

As the baobear ran around frantically, he bumped into someone’s shoes. Taho made a little sound as if to say sorry to whoever he bumped into. 

“Oh, if it isn’t the little Taho baobear!” a familiar voice said.

Taho looked up and saw that it was the Taho vendor from before and hugged the end of his shoes, feeling relieved.

“Aw, are you lost, little guy?” the vendor picked him up and looked at him. “Do you need help getting home?”

The baobear nodded with an embarrassed and sad look on his face. 

“I’ll take you home, little Taho!” The vendor put Taho on his shoulder and made their way to the three sisters’ home. 

The whole walk there, the little baobear was growing more and more anxious having to face the sisters, especially the oldest. He knew he snuck out without their knowledge and surely they would all be upset. The vendor noticed Taho’s mood and reassured the baobear. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to them.”

The young vendor rang on the door and the oldest answered it after a bit. She saw the baobear with shame on his face and the young vendor with a reassuring smile. The oldest retrieved the baobear and the vendor explained the whole situation. The oldest thanked him and bid him farewell. 

Meanwhile, the oldest looked at Taho with a worried expression. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?” she gently said.

Taho nodded and looked like he was about to cry. 

The oldest sighed and hugged her baobear. “I’m not mad, don’t worry. Just… next time please tell me?”

The baobear made a sound of agreement and hugged her back. 

Thankfully, the younger sisters were still asleep or else they would have panicked. When Taho also went to rest for the night, he was thinking to himself. The outside place is scary without her big sisters. Next time he’ll make sure to be more careful, or at least ask her big sisters first.

PART SIX (604 words)

Taho loves to make friends, but it was odd to him that he barely saw any other Baobears around where he and her big sisters lived. Little did he know, his oldest sister had a surprise for him. Without warning, the oldest took Taho to an outside park where baobears seemed to hang out. 

As Taho got a view of this baobear hangout, he immediately jumped to join the others like him. It wasn't long before one particular baobear, who stood out with her light and colorful appearance, caught his attention. She sat casually, munching on snacks, seemingly engrossed in the colorful, moving images on a phone that was almost her size.

Curiosity got the best of Taho and couldn’t help but watch over the colorful baobear’s shoulder. But immediately, the baobear noticed Taho, and her face lit up with excitement. She greeted the newbie with a large smile. "Hi there, are you new?" she asked. "Do you want to watch with me?"

Taho's joy was uncontainable as he replied, "Sure!" With a wide smile, he sat down next to this very friendly baobear. "I'm Taho, by the way!" he introduced himself.

“I’m Bonnie, it’s really nice to meet you!” The baobear introduced herself as well. Bonnie then offers some of her colorful loops of dry cereal, “Do you want some?”

“Sure, thank you!” Taho grabbed some loops with his little paws and munched on them. Soon enough, Taho was also entranced by the colorful moving images. He asked Bonnie what they were. 

“They’re cartoons, silly!” Bonnie giggled. “They’re super fun to watch, don’t you think?”

“Yeah!” Taho nodded enthusiastically. His big sisters didn't have cartoons in their home, making this a fascinating new experience for him.

As the cartoon came to an end, Bonnie invited Taho to go have fun. They made their way to a baobear-sized playground, and the first thing they tried was the slide. They took turns, whooshing down the slide, their laughter echoing throughout the little park. With a bunch of energy still, they rushed over to the swings, pushing each other higher and higher into the sky. The seesaw followed, and the baobears had an absolute blast as they launched each other up and down. Their next stop was the trampoline. They bounced each other with glee, with laughter filling the air. 

They seemed to be at the playground trying out all the different equipment all day since Bonnie found out that Taho hadn't been to one his size before. As the day went on, however, their energy eventually died out and they agreed to grab some dessert. They went to ask for some ice cream and ice cream they got. They were quite big but they seemed to be able to consume and savor their sweet treat.

As they sat down to eat, they also engaged in wonderful, random conversations such as talking about their favorite foods or their favorite hobbies. But soon, they were interrupted by Taho’s oldest sister calling for his name. With disappointment, the two baobears finished up their treats. 

Taho turned to Bonnie and gave a warm hug and a wave goodbye. “I had so much fun today, Bonnie!” Taho exclaimed. “Thank you so much for introducing me to new things! I haven’t done a lot of these before.” 

Bonnie's face beamed with happiness as she waved back. "I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself, Taho!" she replied. "I had such a fun time today too!

The goodbye was pretty bittersweet but Taho had so much fun that day. He hoped to meet more baobears and make more friends with them in the future!

PART SEVEN (240 words)

As Taho continued to grow alongside his three big sisters, he found himself thinking of his future. He often found himself deep in thought, lying in his own cozy window-side bed, gazing out at the night sky with stars twinkling in the sky. Taho valued his relationship with his big sisters more than anything. They are his family from the beginning and he could not imagine life without them. 

Not only did he want to maintain his close bond with his sisters, Taho also wanted to form new connections with as many friends as he possibly could. Perhaps maybe he can fall in love. These filled him with hope and excitement. 

Not only that, as a baobear, he hoped to be able to gain enough love and magic to develop speech. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to finally be able to communicate properly with her big sisters. Then the next step would be evolving into a human so that he would be a part of his big sisters’ lives even better.

As he closed his little eyes, he allowed sleep to envelop him as he began to visit a sweet dreamland. When it all came down to it, Taho’s aspirations were simple and pure. He desired to maintain his already existing loving relationships and also yearned to create more fulfilling friendships. Taho learned that this was his greatest joy–his love for all the people in his life.