#summer camp stories

[girltalkcollectives]

When Did You First Learn Your Skin Color Was 'Different'? I was 5.

TW: racism, childhood trauma

You never forget your first time. Not your first kiss, or your first day of school, but your first experience with racism. Mine happened between juice boxes and monkey bars.

I was five years old, rocking my favorite yellow sundress and butterfly hair clips, excited for my first day of summer camp. Mom had braided my hair the night before, and I felt like the prettiest girl in the world. You know that pure, untainted confidence only little kids have? That was me that morning.

It didn't last past snack time.

The Scene:

Picture this: A sunny playground in mid-July. Kids running around playing tag. The smell of sunscreen and fruit punch in the air. Normal summer camp things. I'd just finished my apple juice and was ready to join a group of girls playing "princesses" in the corner of the playground.

What happened next is seared into my memory with the kind of clarity that only trauma brings:

"You can't play with us." "Why not?" "Because you're black. No black people allowed!"

They started running around the playground, turning it into a chant: "No black people allowed! No black people allowed!"

Just like that, my yellow sundress didn't feel so pretty anymore.

The "Explanation":

The counselors, bless their well-meaning hearts, tried to handle it. They put the other girls in time-out and gave them the standard "we don't exclude people" talk. Then one of them sat down with me, probably seeing my confusion and hurt, and tried to explain:

"It's like if you're wearing a green shirt and they don't like the color green…"

That's right. They compared my skin color – my identity, my heritage, my entire existence – to a shirt you can just change.

My Mother's Rage:

When my mom picked me up and heard about the "green shirt" explanation, I learned what righteous fury looked like. I remember her face changing, her grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"Baby, let me explain something to you," she said, turning to face me fully. "Your skin is not a shirt you can take off. It's not something you can change, and it's not something you should want to change. It's beautiful, it's who you are, and anyone who can't see that is the one with the problem."

Then she marched right back into that camp office.

The Adults Let Us Down:

Looking back now, I'm struck by how many adults failed that day:

The counselors who oversimplified racism to a shirt color

The parents who raised kids who already knew how to be racist at 5

The camp administration who probably thought time-out solved racism

The Things You Remember:

It's wild what sticks with you from moments like these:

The pattern of my yellow sundress (butterflies and flowers)

The taste of apple juice turning sour in my mouth

The sound of their sing-song voices: "No black people allowed!"

The hot shame of standing alone

The way my butterfly clips suddenly felt heavy

The confusion of not understanding what I'd done wrong

The Lessons Learned Too Early:

At five years old, I learned:

My skin color could make me an outsider

Some people would hate me without knowing me

Adults don't always know how to help

Racism isn't always hood-wearing obvious

Sometimes it comes with pigtails and juice boxes

What Nobody Tells You:

The first cut of racism might come from children, but the wound is deepened by the adults who don't know how to handle it. Well-meaning white counselors comparing fundamental identity to clothing choices. Authority figures who think time-out can cure generational prejudice.

To My Five-Year-Old Self:

Sweet girl in the yellow sundress:

It was never about you

Your skin is not a shirt

Your beauty is not debatable

Their racism was not your burden to bear

You deserved better

You were perfect exactly as you were

To Parents and Educators:

Don't compare immutable characteristics to clothing

Don't oversimplify racism to make yourself comfortable

Don't pretend time-out solves systemic issues

Do have real conversations about race

Do validate children's experiences

Do call racism what it is

The Reality:

First memories should be about:

Making friends

Learning to swim

Playing games

Summer fun

Being a kid

Not learning that your skin color makes you "different."

Moving Forward:

That day changed me, as first encounters with racism always do. But my mother's response taught me something more powerful: to stand tall, to know my worth, and to never let anyone make me feel less than because of my skin.

To the little Black girls at summer camp: You are beautiful, you belong, and it's not your job to make others comfortable with your existence.

And to my fellow Black women who remember their "first time" all too well – I see you, I feel you, and I hope you're healing too.

[i-have-41-protons]

I have been the agender and aromantic awakening for a twelve year old schizophrenic

[upside-down-sock-drawer]

Absolutely unrelated but when I was at summer camp this guy in my group was talking about what would happen if girls' periods aligned with the moon cycles. After that, any time a girl got her period or we discussed periods we referred to it as "werewolf days"

new period poll but i remembered to change the duration this time

once again, don’t want any terfs touching this. also: doing this a second time bc a lot of people found the old one after it was done (i forgot to change the duration from day to week. this new one will last a week)

[very-uncorrect]

Everyone talking about needing their bedtime stories because it's 11pm for them I didn't realise so many British people used AO3

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Flashback, warm nights.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[tomatosoupandpasta]

Reminds me to when I went to a summer camp when I was younger and the girls I was sleeping in a cabin with were letting me yap about my life until the girl I was yapping with went silent

I was like "??? Hello?? You still there" and she woke up and said "sorry your voice is just really soothing" AND THAT WAS A GREAT DAY

I just talked to my gf about waterfall heights until she fell asleep I fucking rule

[bogkeep]

idk why there's so much discussion around the ~*morality of traumadumping*~ when it's a VERY solvable social conundrum. all you need to do is ask something like "hey is it ok if i talk about this thing? it's kind of heavy" and respect the answer

[scootersscooter]

Don't think I'll ever forget how y'all bitches villified Camila Noceda and made her out to be an abusive parent for literally no reason other than racism

[spookcataloger]

Spirit Camp (2020)

[sapphicsnzs]

camping with allergies is so adorable especially with a significant other. being outside all day kicking off their allergies. then holding them close by the campfire and having the smoke tickle their nose more. and then finally exhausted after a day of sneezing cuddling into their partner in the tent only to realize there’s so much dust in there. also the idea of not having tissues because you can’t throw them out so having to use a bandana, a shirt, or your partner…

[simazinblr]

Summer Camp

Magnolia Creek Camp

Malaysia had no reason to be stressed out, Benjamin was having the time of his life. He made new friends, played games, fished, swam, learned about wildlife, did arts and crafts. Pretty much everything you'd expect at summer camp.

[i-have-41-protons]

I smile all the time. Sometimes people are really creeped out by it, like one of my summer camp roommates who was genuinely scared of me because of my smile for a whole of two days. Then we became besties and did ballet instead of slow dancing

[julesdaydreams]

@wolfstarmicrofic I Summer Camp AU I word count: 1114

Since the age of 7, Sirius has been sent to Summer Camp every year. His parents called it “educational”, however, he had always known that Walburga and Orion just didn’t want to deal with their first born son four weeks straight - Regulus was allowed to stay home after all.

The Summer Camp he went to had been the same for the last eight years. And he hated every bit of it.

First, there were the people. The adults were exactly the type that Walburga loved. They scolded Sirius whenever he didn’t sit straight enough and made him do chores whenever he acted out.

And the other kids? Boring at best, fucking annoying at worst. They were your typical posh suck-ups, looking down on everyone and thinking they’re the greatest person to exist.

Secondly, the whole place was fucking depressing, to say the least. It’s like a bunch of dementors sucked the life out of it. There was no colour anywhere. Believe him, Sirius has spent the last eight years looking - unsuccessfully.

Lastly, there was nothing - absolutely nothing - interesting to do. The whole thing was scheduled to the T. And between boring history classes, stiff dance lessons and the hundredth playthrough of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Sirius had little time to actually enjoy his summer holidays. And every time he tried to have some fun it just ended with him having to wash the dishes that night - again - as well as another letter to his parents, stating his lack of obedience - as if that was anything new.

So, this year, Sirius walked into his room for the next four weeks with the same expectations as every year, just to come to a sudden stop the second he opened the door.

Because instead of finding his depressing room with the uncomfortable twin sized bed and plain white walls empty and lacking of life as usual, there was a very much alive (and very much cursing) brown-haired boy, messing with the white bedsheet.

“Fucking- shit. Why won’t this bloody thing just- ugh!”

The boy yanked at the sheets, causing one of the corners he had already tucked in to spring free again, leaving the whole thing untucked. Sirius couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene, making the other boy’s head snap up, noticing him for the first time.

“Oh! Shit, you’re already here!”, he blurted out, seemingly not out of his own volition. His eyes were wide and he looked at Sirius with something he couldn’t quite make out before it was wiped away, a blank - one might say professionally polite - expression taking place, which seemed off on the young face, like it wasn't used to such an expression.

“I’m so sorry, Sir. I’ll be done in here shortly, if you don’t mind waiting a moment.”, said a much more composed voice and Sirius hated the sound for some reason.

“No need to call me “sir”. I’m fifteen not fifty.”, Sirius stated, dumping his bag at the foot of the bed before sitting down on the blank mattress. There was a flicker of something akin to surprise on the boy’s features before it was wiped yet again.

But before the boy could respond, Sirius interjected, wanting to see more of that cursing and dishevelled boy from before.

“I’m Sirius by the way. And you are?”, he asked, extending his hand (because yes - contrary to popular believe he had manners. At least when he wanted to have them).

The boy just looked puzzled at this, hesitantly extending his hand as well. It was rougher than Sirius’, adorned with pink and white scars that reach past his wrist and under his button down shirt. The handshake was over faster than it began and Sirius found himself missing the warmth that came with it. However he didn’t have much time to think about why that was because the boy was speaking again.

“Uhm… I’m Remus. Sorry about your bed again, I don’t really have this whole summer job thing figured out, yet.”, he said, looking a bit sheepish. Sirius’ mind was spinning with the new information.

“Right. I’ll better get someone who’s actually able to do their job, so I won’t bother you any longer.” Remus was at the door faster than Sirius could process and his mind went into panic mode. He didn’t want Remus to go. Remus leaving would mean the usual boredom of the first day and the stifling silence of the room. Sirius didn’t want that and Remus was the only way it would refrain from happening.

So - naturally - Sirius did the thing he did best, meaning that he put on his most charming smile as he jumped up form the bed, grabbing Remus’ arm to stop him.

“No! Wait, it’s no problem, we could do it together? It’s much easier to get the sheets on like that, I promise. And I really don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Round eyes blinked down at him, full of confusion and Sirius was about to apologize and say he could just do it on his own because clearly asking Remus to stay had been a very weird thing to do, when Remus smiled crookedly at him, taking a step back from the door.

Sirius released Remus’ arm from where he was still grasping it and soon the sheets were where they were supposed to be, bed made like it usually was, if a bit more wrinkled, but it’s not like Sirius cared.

They were both standing a bit awkwardly in the middle of the room, knowing that they really had no reason to both be here anymore. Remus snapped out of it first, giving a short nod before saying his goodbyes.

“Well. Thanks for helping, you really didn’t have to do that. Uhm- I’ll be going then.”

Sirius gave him a small smile, watching Remus shuffle out of the room. However, before the door could close fully, Sirius couldn’t help but get another word in.

“So, I’ll see you around then?” His voice was hopeful and he didn’t know why he felt so nervous all of a sudden, waiting for Remus to say something.

“Yeah. See you around.” With that the door closed and silence fell over the room. And Sirius couldn’t help but think that it felt different than all the last years, not as stifling. Somehow he knew, that with Remus here this summer, it wouldn’t be quite as horrible than it normally was.

[takaraphoenix]

Camping & Bonding (Part 1)

Tags: m/m, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Jackson Doesn't Leave, Pack Mom Stiles, Pack Feels, True Mates, fluff, camping, mutual pining, m/f

Main Pairing: Derek/Stiles

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Jackson/Lydia

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd III, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Cora Hale, Scott McCall, Allison Argent

@writersmonth Prompts Part 1: destiny + creek

Summary: Stiles thinks the pack should go camping, as a bonding exercise. Much to his surprise, Derek agrees with his plan. So the pack goes off into the mountains to camp together.

This Fic on AO3 | This Fic on FFNet

Stiles Summer Stories 2024

Part 1: The Proposal

Over the summer, the pack had rebuilt the Hale House together. That had been an excellent bonding experience, something they'd really desperately needed. Because Boyd and Erica had attempted to leave the pack, though they'd changed their minds and returned after their little torture stint in the Argents' basement. Because Scott had used Derek in his little ploy against Gerard and hadn't even told Stiles about it. Because Allison had temporarily lost her common sense when her mom had died. Because Jackson was now a werewolf. Because Stiles had had a little torture stint in the Argents' basement and he was done not being protected.

So Stiles had dragged Scott and Allison to the growing Hale Pack, because of course had Jackson and Lydia joined it now that Jackson was an actual werewolf and him and Lydia were back together, and Stiles put his foot down. Maybe it'd been a cheap shot to use the torture as an argument, but it had earned him the sad puppy-dog eyes from Scott and had finally made the beta cave into fully joining the Hale Pack. If not for his own sake, then for the protection of his best friend. Because Stiles only had Scott to rely on, in their little pack of two to three (what with Allison's alliances having been a bit skewed lately) and in a real pack, the breakable human would be better protected (Stiles could not believe that he had to play damsel in distress, but hey, it go the job done).

But things had needed to be mended between them all and the summer had been spent doing so, by all of them working together near daily on rebuilding the Hale House into a place where Derek and Isaac could actually live in. That had done so much in building bonds and trust between them all.

At one point though, the summer ended and the house was fully rebuilt. And sure, the pack still did weekly meetings at the Hale House, every Friday, but it wasn't the same as it had been during the summer when they had spent nearly every day together. And school wasn't the same. They were all there, but they weren't all in the same classes, and school wasn't bonding, wasn't having fun together. And considering they'd come across Cora Hale – Derek's baby sister, Derek's baby sister was still alive, Derek still had family left beyond his creepy uncle, holy shit – Stiles thought they needed some more proper bonding. He already had a solid plan too.

As October rolled around with nothing currently trying to murder them, Stiles' plans grew more concrete. A camping trip during autumn break, just the pack and a bunch of tents. The wolves would be able to run wild without running into people, there could be barbecues and bonfires.

Stiles made a plan. Not just for the trip, but also for convincing their Sourwolf leader. He'd made a whole power point presentation on why this was a good idea and why they should do it, fully bracing himself for a long debate with the grumpy, stubborn Alpha.

"Stiles," Isaac smiled brightly as he opened the door for him. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Stiles grinned. He loved how much more at ease Isaac was these days, ever since him and Derek had moved into this house, since Isaac got a proper sense of family and home. A small laugh escaped him as Isaac pulled him close and nuzzled his neck, the blonde curls tickling him.

"It's not Friday," Cora noted from the couch in the living room.

And that, precisely, was why they needed this bonding exercise. The Hale siblings both struggled with how this pack had to work, because they'd grown up in a pack that was family, a pack that lived together in one home. Rebuilding the house together had done a lot in teaching Derek that this pack was different but it was still pack. Cora, she still needed to find her place in it all. Peter had tracked her down in South America and it had been a tearful Hale reunion, but Cora was struggling with all the new people, this new pack – she'd had a different pack where she had lived before.

Stiles offered her an offended look. "Oh, we so need to stop by and bother you Hales more often outside of pack meetings if that's the kind of greeting I am getting in this household."

Cora just raised an eyebrow before she turned her attention back to her book. Stiles had one hand in Isaac's neck, knowing that for some reason, Isaac really liked that. Though Stiles hadn't figured out why yet, since the betas usually only let their mates or their Alpha touch their necks. Which maybe was part of why Stiles had decided on this camping trip too, because he planned on cornering their Alpha and confronting Derek about the betas' weird behaviors. The neck thing wasn't the only one.

"Where can I find our sour leader?"

"His office," Isaac jerked his head a little. "If you're here, does that mean you'll make dinner? Please. It's been take-out the past three nights."

Stiles had to grin when he saw Cora perking up at Isaac's words too. So Derek was kind of culinarily challenged, and that was no surprise. It had kind of become a thing that Stiles cooked for the pack, it had started out with sandwiches during the rebuilding and then evolved into him cooking full family meals every Friday for their pack meetings. And Stiles loved it! It reminded him of cooking with his mom, real family dinners with mom and dad. Nowadays, his dad worked so many shifts, they didn't get to spend too many dinners together. Pack nights were the best.

"Depends on how long I'll take convincing Der," Stiles grinned. "But sure, if I have enough time left, I would be kinda hungry too. How about you two go through the fridge to pick something."

His grin grew when he saw Cora get off the couch immediately. The girl was slowly warming up to Stiles too. The Stilinski charm could wrap every werewolf around his fingers! Well, their fearless leader was still a work in progress, but there had been less death threats lately so Stiles booked that as on his way to success. Then again, there had been… less Derek, lately. Ever since the school year had started. Stiles only saw Derek during pack meetings or when something tried to kill them. And Stiles tried not to take it personally or feel hurt by it, but there had been a weird bond of sorts between Stiles and Derek, or maybe he'd been imagining that.

"Hey, Sourwolf," Stiles plastered on his broadest grin as he entered Derek's office.

The Alpha scowled when he looked up, first at Stiles, then at Stiles' laptop and somehow, his scowl got even darker. "What's trying to kill us this time."

"It is, genuinely, so sad that you assume it must be a threat when a pack mate comes visiting you outside of pack nights," Stiles heaved a sigh and let himself fall onto the couch like he owned it. "Nothing is trying to kill us. I have an idea. And I bring my laptop because that's where my very well put together presentation lives that will absolutely convince you."

Derek crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at him. "What idea."

"It's nearly fall break and I think that we, the whole pack, should go on a trip together. A camping trip, in the mountains," Stiles sat up straighter, trying to convince Derek. "The wolves could chase and hunt, without running into people. We could barbecue whatever you hunt and eat together and-"

"Okay," Derek interrupted with a short nod.

"-and I found the perfect spot too, it's a creek… What?" Stiles blinked doe-eyed at Derek.

"Okay," Derek nodded. "I think that's a good idea. I've been thinking about what to do to bring the pack closer together since Cora moved here. This is… It's a good idea, Stiles."

Huh. Stiles continued blinking at Derek. He had made a whole presentation! He'd hiked up there to take pictures of the damn creek for that presentation. It was quite beautiful and it ended in a lake, so they could also do some swimming. Derek had never just agreed to anything without needing serious convincing. But Derek hadn't even let him finish a whole sentence.

"Okay," Stiles nodded, very pleased. "Well then, that means I'll have enough time to cook dinner after all, I guess. So, I'll be in the kitchen with the pups. Once you're done with whatever you're doing there, you can join us and help too."

/break\

Derek stared after Stiles' retreating form when the human headed to the kitchen to make dinner for them, like he owned the place. And, in a way, he did. The kitchen had somehow become Stiles' territory. He cooked for the pack during pack nights, he fed Derek and his betas. Stiles, this infuriating, loud, snarky, brilliantly clever human, had just walked into Derek's pack, claimed a spot for himself and somehow taken over the role of Pack Mom like it was natural.

Heaving a sigh, Derek rested his head against the back of his chair. There was a bond between them and it had steadily grown with every time they'd saved each other's life. When Derek had trusted Stiles to chop off his arm after Kate had shot him, when Derek had rushed to the hospital to save Stiles from Peter after they realized who the Alpha was, but the tipping point for Derek had been when Stiles had kept him afloat in the pool for two hours, instead of running off to safety himself. That was when Derek first realized that Stiles was a potential mate for him. And every time after had only solidified that potential bond between them. The summer had been worst, because Stiles had so naturally taken over the position usually reserved to the Alpha's mate.

It was like this sarcastic little shit had waltzed into Derek's life and declared himself Derek's destiny, not leaving any room to argue. He kept saving Derek's life, he brought Derek's pack together and took care of them, he… made this house feel like a home, to Derek. Stiles was his mate, not just a potential mate anymore, the bond between them was so strong at this point, Derek could not imagine ever finding anyone as perfect as Stiles.

Which was why he'd kept Stiles at an arm's length ever since he realized. Breaking into Stiles' bedroom suddenly felt risky. Pinning Stiles against walls only made him want to kiss his mate. But he couldn't burden Stiles like that. Stiles was human, they didn't have mate-bonds, he couldn't feel that call of destiny. He had a choice and Derek wasn't going to take that away from Stiles.

However, he now found himself unable to deny his mate. Quite frankly, Stiles could have asked any ridiculous thing of him and Derek would have agreed. But a pack camping trip? That really was a good idea. A small smile played on Derek's lips as he imagined hunting with his betas and bringing whatever he caught to his mate. He hadn't dared do that yet, thought it would be too obviously an act of courting. But if they went camping, if they went hunting…? Surely, he could get away with bringing Stiles the biggest, juiciest deer he could catch. This was going to be torture.

[jrooc]

The final chapters of Light My Fire are live! Complete with a drag show and a private dance 👀 and incredible incredible art by @sgtmickeyslaughter

Read it now!

Thanks to my teammates for making this really fun ❤️ @sgtmickeyslaughter @solitarycreaturesthey

[incorectpercyjackson]

Sally, picking up Percabeth from Camp at the end of Summer: So, how was your break? Percy: We almost got surprise adopted! Sally: What? Annabeth: We almost got kidnapped Sally: Oh, ok Sally: slams breaks YOU WERE WHAT?!