#And then I remembered it was the holidays and was like “OHHHHH!! okay yah” | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

riderdrauggrim · 4 years ago

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Bored at the Hotel Storytime.

So last week when I was at the West Edmonton Mall to see the spectacle of it all, and check out the new Drive! indoor electric multi-level go-kart track, I wandered past a Build-A-Bear. It was only 8:20pm but most of the shops were shuttered closed, including this one.

I knew of Build-A-Bears, but I'd never seen a store in person, so I lingered and peered through the gate at the plush displays inside.

And that's when I saw.

Him.

I'm a sucker for Werewolves, always have been, since the day my dad gave me a Monster In My Pocket trading card he'd found on the ground outside a 7-11 back in '91. It was a little scuffed from being on the ground. But it was beautiful.

(Photo from an Ebay sale)

I remember saving up my holiday money and being taken to Toys 'R' Us on 87 Meadowvale Drive, St. Catharines (still there!). I picked out a pack with a Red Werewolf, because Red was Cool. He was the leader of my assorted monsters and plastic animals.

Look at that poise! That drama!

One thing led to another, in the late 90's and early 20's I collected Werewolf: The Apocalypse RPG sourcebooks. Eventually got damn near every book in my collection. Bought the Glaive. The mug. The hat. The necklace (still wear it). The novels. Chased down Rage CCG cards at comic shops throughout the Golden Horseshoe.

Funded the Kickstarter for the 20th anniversary reprint/master edition, even went in for the limited metal plate cover version.

Still have never played a single game of it.

Lamented at the lack of GOOD werewolf movies. Dog Soldiers (2002) and Van Hellsing (2004) are about the only ones I'll accept stylistically. But I'm just picky.

So back to WEM. There's this little dude. Smiling up at my with his badass 90's skater boy getup. My hyper fixation locked in. I spent the night looking up Build-A-Bear online. Turned out he was last year's special, so these must just be extra shells kicking around.

There was some sort of sale on. Buy one, get one (equal or lesser value) 10$. Shit. How could I not. I found the PERFECT critter for Garwik. The next day, I returned.

I was nervous, at first, was it weird? A grown person getting a custom stuffed animal? And then I overheard another dude sheepishly admitting to the cashier that the one he'd made was for himself. He'd got one for his nephew and liked it so much he wanted one too. Awww.

Okay so, maybe a little weird, but apparently not uncommon.

The cheerful staff member picked up the unstuffed shells I pointed out, and with me manning the air blower and her working the body around, we socially distanced assembled the plushies. In go the hearts. In go the optional smell satchettes (vanilla in the head for my werewolf, bubblegum in the body for Garwik's monkey). Now to go pick accessories.

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

THIS is how they "get you". Sure, I was getting two foot tall plush animals for like 40 bucks total. But the outfits. The outfits.

8 bucks for a hat. 15 bucks for a pant/jacket set. 18 bucks for a Star Wars tie-in outfit. Boots. Things to hold. Glasses. Pants. Shirts. Accessories. Iiiiiii get it now.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

So while I'm Hrmming and Hawwwwing about what top looks cool, a gaggle of young adults stumble past in the concourse.

"Build-A-Bear!" one of them exclaims loudly, slowing down. The other pause. A mixed gender group, I didn't take a headcount but about three guys and three gals. Mid-20's at the most.

"Lookit all the stuffed animals!" someone else says. At first they're making fun of it, but within seconds someone declares "We should all get one!" This idea is an immediate success. "Yah!" "We should!" "Let's all get one!" "Can we come in? Do we have time?"

It was 20 minutes to closing but the worker gamely let the young people past the social distancing barrier, and they swarmed the unstuffed body display, pointing out which ones they were going to get. She scooped up the decisions, moving the whole pack over to the stuffing blower, and had them operate the air as she filled their choices. The scent options ramped up the group's already palpable excitement.

As she offered the first plushie to the owner for a squish test, and then flipped it around for the heart insertion, a decision was made. "No, we're gonna put the hearts in all at the same time!" This might have surprised the employee, but she laughed and went along with it. Several nearly completed bodies later, she had them each choose a heart and instructed them each to hug it. And then. Rub it on their hearts. And then rub it on their heads! Now rub it on their toes!

I'm cashing out while all this was going on behind me. It was complete goofery. The enthusiasm of the worker was the same cheerful joyous supportive silliness as a camp counselor leading a group of six year olds in a game. And these young men and women were LOVING it. They did every ridiculous maneuver they were instructed, laughing at the 'childishness' of it all, but not a one complaining, or calling it stupid.

I don't know why, but that incident made me unbelievably happy.

I think, too often, people are so stressed to 'grow up' and 'act your age', that they forget how much fun it can be to just. Enjoy silly things. To spin in a circle and rub a cloth heart on your tummy. To buy a stuffed animal with your best friends.

I wish them all the best.

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private-trixy-guen · 6 years ago

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Trixy's First Diary

June 13, 2002

Dear diary,

Today is my fifth birthday. I know, I'm pretty young to be having one of these; but since I'm going with Private to America, my Mum thought that this was a good idea.

According to Private's brother Lieutenant we should be getting transferred to some zoo in Texas. Where is Texas? Is that like a country or something? I guess that I'll just have to wait until I get there to find out.

I'm so excited to go to wherever zoo we are getting transferred to! Who knows what all adventures Priv and I will have there? I mean, a new area, new friends, new zookeepers to agrivate. It all just seems so fun and exciting!

Well, if I'm ever to go, I suppose that I need to go pack. I'll write some more tomorrow if I get a chance.

Sincerely,

Trixy P. Guen

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June 14, 2002

Dear Diary,

Today I said goodbye to my parents and family and other friends. It almost seemed as though some of my friends were glad I was leaving. Hmmm...oh well, at least I can count on Private to miss me...wait he's going on this trip too. I should really think more before writing in this.

After this I have to go get in the transfer box. That's the one thing that I am not looking forward too. I don't like the squashed feeling of being inside them.

I'll write again when I can, which will probably be in a few days.

Sincerely,

Trixy

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June 18, 2002

Dear Diary,

After four, agonizingly long days in that horrible transfer crate, Private and I have finally made it to our new zoo. Our suitcases and things should be here tomorrow; they had to be mailed to us.

Our habitat is neat and I really, really like it. There's a cave that has a door, and in that cave there are three rooms. On the outside there are some fake trees and rocks and things and there is a little pool around it all.

The three rooms will be the bedroom, which we have divided down the middle, the bathroom, and the kitchen.

The bedroom is also the main room of the thing and the largest room. I think I especially will like it here.

Tomorrow we will get our things and will begin to unpack and get 'moved in.' Then, we'll probably go out and meet the neighbors. I hope that they're nice. Maybe Priv and I will make new friends here.

I'll write some more tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Trixy

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June 19, 2002

Dear Diary,

Our things came in the mail today and we started the long process of unpacking. Have you ever noticed that it always seems to take longer to unpack than to pack? Well, that's at least how it seemed to me. Private, I don't think, had as much of an issue with it as me. In fact, once he had finished unpacking his things, he had to help me unpack mine. I think he was a bit overwhelmed by all of the bows I had sent here. There were over a hundred of them. But what can I say? There was no way in the world that I was going to leave them all back in London. I mean, what good would they have done me there?

After we finally finished unpacking we went out and met the other zoo animals. Most of them were nice...well, all were nice except for the badgers.

Those mean badgers scared poor Priv silly...and well, me for that matter, too. Their names are Butch and Connor. They tried to eat us which wasn't very nice. I believe that I may have to keep an eye on them. I don't trust them and Private most definitely does not trust them. I think he may have acquired badger-phobia. He won't even step anywhere near that badger habitat. And I don't blame him.

We made friends with a nice prairie dog named Mitch. He cannot leave the zoo like Private and I can. Why? I don't really know.

So far I really like Texas. I'll write some more tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Trixy

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June 20, 2002

Dear Diary,

I am not happy in the least at the moment. And why is that you must wonder. Well, the reason is very simple; there was a spider in the habitat. I'll tell you exactly what I did when I saw it.

Well, I was putting some of my ribbons in a drawer. I turn around and sitting there in the middle of the floor is a BIG brown spider. Well, okay it may not have been exactly that big, but it was. I shrieked and I don't really remember what I did after that. Priv said that he waddled into the room and found me clinging to the rafters for dear life. I remember him looking at me curiously and saying; "Trixy? What are you doing up there?"

"Um, that a good question, Priv. I think it may be because there was a You-Know-What on the floor." I replied.

"A what?"

"No, a You-KNOW-What."

"Trixy, I'm afraid that I don't know what you are talking about."

"A s-p-i-d-e-r."

"Trixy, what are you going on about? Just tell me in plain English, please!" I looked down and saw that horrid eight-legged monster and gripped the rafters even more tightly.

"THAT!" I point a flipper down at the furry arachnid.

"Ohhhhh." I don't know what happened next, but somehow I ended up back on the ground and the spider was gone. And I hope it stays gone.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a spider-less day.

Sincerely,

Trixy

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July 1, 2002

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry that it's been such a long time since my last entry. I kept forgetting and I actually lost you. Sorry, Diary.

Well, anyway, nothing major has really happened since my last entry...other than the day that Private tried on some human's cowboy hat. Now THAT was funny. All you could was a large hat with orange feet! And then it took both Me and Mitch with Private pushing on the inside to lift it back off of him. Maybe Priv would look better in a smaller one.

I found a red bandanna that I LOVE! I think it makes me blend in more with the native Texan animals. I have also discovered that Texas is a thing called a 'state' in the country of USA.

Mitch told us that he couldn't leave the zoo because he was born in captivity and that when he leaves the zoo he goes 'feral.' What is feral? I guess I'll ask him about that the next time I see him. But, this also raises another question. Private and I were born in captivity...I think, and we don't go feral (whatever that means) when we leave the zoo. Oh well, life's full of little mysteries as Mum always says.

I'll try to remember to write some more tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Trixy

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July 4, 2002 Dear Diary, Today is what Mitch called THE 4th of July. When he told us this, we didn't really understand what he meant. "Hey guys! Do y'all know what taday is?" Mitch asked Private and I. Private looked at the calendar. "Uh, July 4th?" he said. Mitch nodded. "Yup! And you know what that means!" Private and I just looked at him and shook our heads slowly. "Um, no, Mitch, I don't think we do." I said. "What?! Don't tell me that y'all haven't heard about Independence Day!" "Okay, then we won't." Mitch just stared at us with his mouth hanging slightly open in what I guess was shock. He then shook his head with a sigh. "Golly. You Brits sure have missed out on some amazing things. So y'all have never seen Independence Day fireworks?" We shake our heads a bit confused. "Golly. Just golly. Well, I'll just have to make sure that y'all see them fireworks tanight. And y'all make sure that y'all hold me to that, yah hear?" We nod slowly. "Um okay, I guess we can." Priv said. That night Mitch took us to the top of the zoo clock tower and we watched the fireworks. They were SPECTACULAR! I can't wait until next year so that I can see them again! Sincerely, Trixy

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December 26, 2002 Dear Diary, I'm so, so, so, so sorry for not writing in you since early July. I lost you while Priv and I were on an outing and I didn't find you until minutes ago in the lost-and-found. Thank goodness for the lost-and-found! But not to worry, you haven't missed much since July. We didn't do much during all that time...nothing overly important and note worthy that is. For Halloween, Priv, Mitch, and I all dressed up and went out for trick-or-treating which was quite smashing. Also on Halloween there was this thing called a zoo sleepovah. Several human children came and spent the night at the zoo in their costumes.One child gave Private part of his candy bar. I think it's called a peanut-buttah Winky. Private LOVED it and, well, still loves it. I think he may now be a tad addicted to them... For Thanksgiving (a new holiday that Mitch also had to explain to us) Private and I went over to Mitch's habitat and ate there. We didn't do much besides talk. Though Mitch did learn that he wasn't fond of fish. Just as Priv and I discovered that we are not the fondest of cactus either...personally, I find it a bit too spikey. Yesterday was Christmas which was fun. Very fun, to be more exact. I got Private a little cowboy hat that fitted him much, much bettah than that othah one he tried on a few months back. And I got Mitch a pair of reindeer antlers. And then I got a new, bright pink ribbon from Private which I LOVE! And I got a pink bandana from Mitch. It makes me feel like I fit in more with the locals. Today is Boxing Day. This time Private and I got to explain a holiday to Mitch. Though, Mitch didn't seem to understand it. Private and I played a few games of checkers and went to explore the surrounding area. And then we went to go check the lost-and-found, which, as I said before, was where I re-found you! I'll try not to lose you again and will try to write some more tomorrow night! Sincerely, Trixy

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December 27, 2002 Dear Diary, Hello, it's me again. Priv and I haven't done much today. But we did have a cleaning contest! I know, I know, that probably sounds quite silly, which it was, but it was smashing great fun! It all started out as an argument over who's music we would play as we spiffed up our habitat. I had said that we ought to try out some of the country music. Private, on the other flipper, said we ought to listen to some of the silly childrens' songs that we used to listen to over in England. And then when we looked in the drawer to see what other music we had, we found theBEST MUSIC EVER!! It was an old disco music CD left by the habitat's inhabitants before us. For once, Private and I both agreed that it was perfect. But, anyway, back to the contest. The contest was who danced the best while cleaning. And it was really fun! Especially attempting to dance the disco with the vacuum cleaner! Personally, I think I won. But, poor Mitch. Mitch had walked into our habitat for some reason and I didn't see him as I was vacuuming. I almost vacuumed him up with the dust and dirt! He was not a happy prairie dog. And to make matters worse, Private accidentally knocked over a vase-type-thingy that was here when we moved in. It fell on top of Mitch and he got stuck inside. It didn't take long for us to get him out though. I think Mitch may not visit us for a while. He was kind of mad when he left the habitat. He was exclaiming about how he'd never met any more disaster prone animals as us. I guess he's kind of right...hopefully Mitch won't be too mad at us tomorrow. Sincerely, Trixy

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December 28, 2002 Dear Diary, Mitch was indeed still mad at us...Even after Priv and I apologized like a bazilion times. I hope he stops being mad soon. It's more fun to play with someone when they're happy. Anyhow, since Mitch was being mad and boring, Priv and I went out for a little exploring. Private had the unlucky-ness of getting stuck to a cactus, which was quite funny....but, I'm sure it was painful too. It's hard to imagine that in a few days it'll be 2003! It'll be Private's and my first New Years in America and I'm so excited! Oh, there's the zoo bell. I have to go now, since the zoo is opening and Zookeeper Taylor will be making her morning rounds soon. Sincerely, Trixy

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12-31-2002 Dear Diary, Today is New Year's Eve! Yay! That means tomorrow will be the start of 2003! It's hard to imagine that Priv and I have now been in Texas for a little over seven months now...That's over half a year! And strangely, I don't really miss Mummy, Daddy, Willy, or Jenny very much. Maybe it's because they were always so boring or annoying. Anyway, today Mitch (who just now is no longer mad with Priv and I (and I thought Ihad trouble forgiving.....)) showed us about another American tradition. It's the one where they show a huge glass ball dropping on the telly...Which was kind of interesting, I guess..... I'll have to find a new hiding spot for you, Diary. Priv is getting a bit nosy and wants to know what I write in you. And of course I'm not going to tell him....even though there probably isn't anything all that private (private as in not-to-be-read-by-others, not as in Private) in here. Sincerely, Trixy

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January 1, 2003 Dear Diary, Yay! It is now officially 2003! I found a new hiding spot for you. You for now on will be hidden in one of my ribbon drawers. I used to have you hidden under my pillow...Though I bet you already knew that, huh? Today was a very basic and calm-ish day at the zoo. Well...Other than Butch and Connor....They're just really mean. They seem to enjoy scaring poor Priv to death. Right now, actually, Private is hiding under his covers. I can't get him to come out of hiding either. I've even tried luring him out with Winkies and Lunacorns! Oh well, maybe he'll come out on his own in a few minutes...I hope so. It's not that interesting playing all by yourself. Sincerely, Trixy

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January 2, 2003 Dear Diary, We got a letter! Lieutenant is planning on coming here soon to check up upon us and make sure we're doing okay. It'll be nice seeing him again, though, seeing my parents would be much better, I think. According to Private, Lulu will be here next week. There's a lot that'll have to be done between now and then...The habitat will need cleaned... Again...And Priv and I will need to brush up a bit on our training, no doubt. I wonder if we should tell Lulu about Butch and Conner's constant aggravations...No, I think not. I believe Priv and I can easily take them without his help, I bet. Ah, well, enough on this, eh? Well, today was just a normal day at the zoo. Lots of cute children, lots of tasty fish. It's fun being a zoo penguin. It's nice to see the children smile and laugh at Priv's and my cute shenanigans (Wow...That's a really long word.). Talk to you more later, Trixy

#trixy #diary #fanfic

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