Champ Otter
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Daily Free-Write September 19, 2022: Love-A-Bunch Pt. 2
🕑 Added 2022-09-20 08:43:03 +0000 UTC“Monitoring vitals!” said Smart Bear, looking at his happy heart monitor screen in the observation room of the Love-a-Bunch castle. “Uh oh, Bennie’s heart is not happy!”
“What do you mean, ‘not happy’?” Asked Grumpy Bear, putting his hands on his hips.
“He’s stressed, tired, and I think his cholesterol is up. It’s all here in the readout.”
The bears had been gathering data and hooking into the newly discovered network of accounts and devices connected to Benjamin. What they found was not good - an overworked 30-something without any family, friends, not even a pet to keep him company.
“But look… when he talks to his bear or the portal he uses to get here, his signs improve!”
“By gosh, you’ve got it!” Exclaimed Cheery Bear. That must be why he’s so upset. He has to play dress up like an adult all the time!”
“I like where this is going,” said Baby bear.
“Right,” said Cheery Bear, “so we just need to remind him how fun it is to play with friends and be a happy little boy!”
“We should start with his clothes!” said Baby bear, tapping some buttons on the Love-a-Bunch command console..
“Ooh, yeah! Happy boys wear their rompers and diapers too!”
“Uh, I don’t think it works like that,” said Smart Bear, scratching the back of his head.
“Ordered!” said Baby bear.
“Excellent work!” said Cheer. "And what about his nursery? He's sure to miss that as well."
"Oh, that's already on the way," said Baby bear, giggling. "That was the first thing I asked for!"
"Great thinking, Baby Bear!"
Baby bear seemed to be full of ideas this fine day. Ben was going to be very happy indeed.
*****
“Hello? Hello?” Benjamin was once again in the fog. “What a weird way to start the game,” he said to himself. He had no way to tell where he was, and he was completely startled to hear Softheart’s voice right next to him.
“Hi, Bennie! Welcome back!”
“Holy… you scared me!”
Softheart giggled. “That’s usually Scare Bear’s territory. Let’s get you ready, ok? It's a big day for us!”
“Ready for what?” Asked Benjamin as the bear pulled him by the hand.
“It’s a surprise.”
Benjamin had to smile. The characters were super cute. He found them even moreso now that he was an adult. It really did feel like he was being tugged along, too, thanks to the haptic enhancements in his clothing. Now that he thought of it, he didn't recall that being a feature back in the day. Had that always been part of the program?
"Quick! Let's take the slide, it's faster!"
Benjamin chuckled. "Slides don't go up you know."
"They do in Love-A-Bunch!"
Sure enough, they jumped through a cloud and slid right up to the Happy Heart Dressing room.
"Look at all the outfits we could put you in!" exclaimed Softheart, picking up a particularly adorable pair of overalls.
"This is all a bit... childish, don't you think?" asked Benjamin.
"Oh, no, no, no. It's perfect for playing! And you did say you would play, didn't you? You wouldn't want to disappoint Stuffles, would you?"
"Wait, how did you..." Ben looked down to see he was holding his bear.
"A promise is a promise, right, Bennie?"
"Right..."
"So then, you should play with us fully! Don't you think?"
"Yes, okay. That's fair," Benjamin conceded.
"So you'll put on the outfit?"
"Yes," said Ben.
"Great!" said Softheart clapping. That's when Ben heard a knock on the door.
"Hold on, there's someone there..."
Softheart put his hands on his hips. "Okay, but you better come back soon! We don't have long until the big surprise!"
Ben quickly hid the headset, and went to the door. It was just a Nile delivery person, nothing more. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had half expected the Federal Beareau of AI to be at his door.
"Delivery for Bennie?" the man said when he opened the door. Bennie?
"Benjamin, yes." Ben held his hand out to take the package.
"Sorry, sir, but this is specifically for Bennie. Is that you?"
Benjamin sighed, "Yes, that's me. It's just... I don't go by that name anymore."
"So... for Bennie?"
"Yes, for Bennie," said Benjamin, his cheeks glowing pink as he took the package and slammed the door shut.
After locking the door and watching the man leave through the eyehole, Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the package, and his jaw dropped. It was the same outfit that Softheart had showed him. He held it up, hardly able to believe it. And what's more, something fell to the bed. He looked at it. It was a diaper - just like the ones he wore when he was little, only sized for him.
"How is this possible?"
Benjamin quickly put on the headset.
"Your heart rate's up, Bennie," said Softheart, holding up a red heart-shaped walkie talkie. "That's what Smart Bear says."
"How do you? My smart watch..." Ben said, as he saw Softheart tap his wrist. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "Softheart... did you order..."
"No, I didn't," said Softheart, to Benjamin's relief. "Baby bear did!"
"Oh my gosh, you can't do that, Softheart! Don't you know we could all get in big trouble if anyone finds out about you? I could get in big trouble."
"But you said you'd dress up!"
"I know I said that, but I didn't mean..." Ben stopped himself. He had almost said 'for real'.
"You said..." said Softheart, looking dejected. "You don't really want to play with us at all, do you?"
"No, no," said Ben, "I do! I do! It's just... I was a little shocked to see this outfit appear in the real world."
Benjamin finally agreed to put on the outfit, but there would be no more surprise Nile deliveries to his hotel room. He had already made up his mind that this would be a one time thing, so he didn't feel the need to discuss it further than that.
"This is ridiculous," he said to himself, as he put on the outfit. "Okay, I'm not going to wear the diaper, though."
"That's fine," said Softheart. "You'd be much more comfy if you did, though..."
"I"m sure," said Ben. "So now, I'm dressed. What's this big surprise you wanted to show me?"
"Oh, yay! You look great, Bennie! Come on, it's finally time!"
They jumped down another slide, and came out in the main Love-A-Bunch Castle Concourse. Here was the welcome Benjamin had expected - that and much more!
There were floats. There was confetti. Fanfare. And scores of animals cheering just for him.
Ben's jaw dropped. They had put on a whole parade... just for him... he wanted to cry. There was no one in the world who would put on a whole parade just for him.
"We love you Bennie!" said a big banner, held up by Cheer Bear and Friendship Bear.
"You guys," said Ben, his voice thick with tears. "You didn't have to..."
"But we wanted to," said Softheart, softly, taking Ben's hand and raising it to wave to the crowd. A great cheer went up. Ben felt better than he had felt in years. In the observation room, the readouts were going crazy.
"Amazing!" said Smart bear, taking notes. "The data are incontrovertible."
In the background of the program, formal papers were already being composed for submission to scholarly journals. Unbeknownst to Ben, he was about to be part of a breakthrough in the treatment of mental health.
"We're going to make a lot of people happier and healthier," said Smart Bear, smiling softly, feeling the warmth as he watched his favorite person cry with joy. "And we're starting with you, friend."
