#what if we went to build a bear and got rainbow frogs

[souplovingwerewolf]

Actually companies need to stop making pride products because nothing they make will ever come even close to this:

This is the peak. The ideal.

[pbandjesse]

There is like a really beautiful breeze right now. Its great. Today was great for like 99% of the day. Great first day of my new job. 

I slept okay last night. I woke up before my alarm because I was nervous. Not shocked. But I got up and showered and ready to go. I did not wear the dress I planned. I wore my favorite yellow dress (which somehow I broke the strap on within hours of getting to camp??) and boots and felt real cute. 

I was getting ready to go and said good bye to James and went to say goodby to  sweetP and my backpack fell off my back and smacked him when I went to pet him. I felt so horrible!! I hurt him!! I had to put everything down and go make sure he was okay and give him treats before I would feel comfortable going. 

But I was out of the house on time. I drove to pick up Charlotte. And I was nervous about that but that ended up being fine. We talked the whole time and it was fun. Helped my nerves I think. Because it was a distraction. 

It was a beautiful day though. We got there and the camp continues to just be beautiful and idyllic. Like its amazing how quintessentially summer camp it is.  

The day was long but fun. I didnt like. Make a new best friend or anything but everyone was real nice. We started the day with introductions and stuff. And then we all went over to get the first aid skill check. But that is where the one like. Upsetting thing of the day was. 

We all walk over to the pool house were they had all the dummies set up and things. And the guy introduces himself and asks if we had taken the online class. And I raised my hand to tell him that despite me asking twice, I was never sent the links, but I was already certified and I just wanted a refresher. And he like snapped at me that I had to leave. Like legitimately he said you have to get out of here, you cant be here. Go talk to Alexi (one of the people who run the camp) because you cant be here. It was. Kind of humiliating. I had to like get my bag and walk back down the hill to the office. And everyone said "Goodbye Jesse". And like. This is not a reflection on the camp, but it really kind of upset me and gave me knots in my stomach. 

But I found Alexi and I told her what was going on. And she tried to figure out why no one sent me the thing. And it seems like it might be because I told them (and sent my paperwork) that I am already certified but it was weird. I was able to get the links later in the day and I might do that refresher tomorrow. But yeah that upset me. 

Eventually though 2 more people were sent away because they had not received the 2nd half of the class email. So I really think it was on the Y's end. They ended up both having laptops with them so they proceeded to work on the class. And I asked if I could get started on art stuff and went to pull out supplies from the office's attic.

Once I was done up there I went with Heather (one of the other people who runs the place)'s daughter Sophie. She is 15 and very sweet. We wandered around differnt cabins to try to find art supplies but did not have luck. And we were both kind of winded from walking up hills. 

We headed back to the office and got the keys to the art building and decided to just. Organize and clean.

And thats what we did for over 2 hours. Its a cute little shack. But it was very dirty. While I was organizing and Sophie was sweeping, we found a little black rat snake! We thought it was dead but it was not. So Sophie called her mom to come get it. I wanted to use a broom and put it in a bucket to put outside, but instead Heather came and grabbed him and took him to their nature center! Amazing. I am so excited to get to meet the animals there. 

Around noon the shack was sufficiently organized and swept. I would have to do a few more hours later in the day to organize the supplies they found (which was like 14 rubber maid tubs) but for now it was lunch. 

Before lunch we did a little get to know you game as small groups. That was fun. I am not the oldest! There is at least one 31 year old. A lot of them were surprised by my age though. I got that a lot today. Most of them are sub 23. A few of them are 16! Wild. But its nice to have such a nice mix.

They got us pizza for lunch. I got to talk to a lot of people more. Im starting to remember names. 

There was some paperwork to be done after that. Fingerprinting. And then I went on a small tour of the camp. Im starting to get my bearing but it will take a while. This place is really big.

The tour was fun. I liked seeing the horses. I got to pet one and a greyhound dog. They are my favorite dog because they have puppy fur forever. I also like the frog pond a lot. I really just had a very good time today. 

I was free to return to the art building after that. Chris (the last person in the primary group of 3 that run the place) and Charlotte went with a car to go find and bring me those art tubs. And two girls helped me sort and clean. 

It was a lot of work but I got all the rainbow shelves organized for each project I want to do. Its not perfect but I am really jazzed. 

It was a long day. Around 430 we finished up in the art shack. I was dehydrated and needed to get some water. But the spout at the art shed needs a little more flushing before it will taste good. Apparently it is contentious what is the best tasting water on the campus.Some vote for art shack though so thats good. I still need to figure out what bathrooms I will use but thats not a big deal, there are a lot of options. 

I went back to the office cabin to find Charloette. We hung out there for a while until her meeting and then once that was done we headed home. 

It was a nice ride. Shes sweet. She filled me in on some more info she got in her meetings. And then I dropped her off. I am not going in the next two days but she is. Shes got rides lined up though so its all good. Ill see her thursday. 

I got home and I was. Super tired. I was so happy to see my boys. I joked about the clout I got from using "Jimmy" instead of "James" because thats what they all know him as. And I told him about my day while eating a popsicle. 

And then I proceeded to fall asleep. I slept pretty hard. And woke up at 815 delirious and thirsty. But I drank a bunch of water and James made me a sandwich and I had some ice cream and I feel okay now. Still tired. And kind of dirty. So Im going to go take a bath. 

I hope you all have a nice day tomorrow. Sleep good you guys! 

[taliaxlatia]

Stuffed Hearts

(You can blame the Vanitas Discord server for this one.)

Summary: Aqua takes Ven and Vanitas to Build-a-Bear for their tenth birthday.

Why did Ven have to have the same birthday as him? They were twins; so what? That didn’t mean they had to celebrate it together.  They were ten now; they were old enough to do their own stuff, with their own friends.  

But noooooo. Instead, Vanitas had to get dragged to Build-a-Bear on his birthday.

“Which one are you gonna get?�� Ven asked, beaming his stupid grin everywhere.  “I’m gonna get a green one!”

“I bet they don’t have a green one. Bears aren’t green.”  Vanitas looked away from his twin, searching the mall for anything more interesting than the store they were about to go in.  There was a GameStop, and Scrooge’s Ice Cream shop.  Maybe if he could just walk a little slower, they’d keep going and…

“Come on, Van,” Aqua said gently, taking his hand.  So much for that plan.  “Be nice to your brother. It’s his birthday too.”

“It’s my birthday too,” Vanitas grumbled.  Not quiet enough to get past his big sister, though.

“And we’ll go to the skatepark like you wanted right after this,” she assured him.  “The faster we finish here, the sooner we can go.”

Aqua was right. He wasn’t surprised; Aqua was always right.  But he still sighed huffily as Ven dragged him into the store.

XXX

“Vani, Vani! Look at this one! He is green!”  Ven shoved the shell of a blindingly-green frog in Vanitas’s face.

“Because it’s a frog, stupid.” He scowled at the unstuffed doll. With the seam open in its stomach and no fluff inside, it looked like it was dead.  That would’ve made him laugh, if he wasn’t busy being annoyed.

“Yeah, but I was still right.” Ven grinned. “I don’t really want a frog, though…”

“Don’t worry, Ven.  I’ll help you find one you like.” Aqua smiled at him and took his hand.  “You can still get one if you want too, Van.”

He didn’t, and he didn’t follow Aqua that as she escorted Ven deeper into the store.  She wouldn’t notice; Ven was always the louder one, taking too much of her attention.  Normally he resented that, but he’d deal with it for now.  The sooner she helped Ven find his stupid doll, the sooner they could go skating.

He eyed the  Game Stop out the entrance and across the hall.  He could still sneak over and look at the GameBoy games… but if Aqua and Ven got done first, they would get mad at him.

I guess I can look at the stupid toys.  There’s nothing else to do.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered the aisles.  Giant tubs of stuffed animal skins were everywhere, like some crazy hunter’s house. If you could hunt dolls instead of real animals.  Maybe he could get a doll and not stuff it, and use it to chase Ven around the house.  That could be fun.

Just as he was thinking it, one stuffed animal caught his eye.  Just like all the others, it sat on a shelf above its matching bin of skins.  Unlike the others, this one actually looked cool.  It was dark blue, with antennae that looked like lightning bolts.  And it had red eyes, like some kind of monster.  He stretched up to read the name on the tag.

“Flood,” he read to himself.  It even had a cool name.  How had it gotten into a lame store like this?  Whatever, it didn’t matter.  He pulled out one of the blue skins - so soft - and ran off to find Aqua and Ven.

“You are getting one!”  Ven beamed as brightly as if the toy was going to be his.  He’d better not be getting any ideas; Vanitas wasn’t going to share.

“So?”  He shrugged.  Aqua smiled down at him.

“Why don’t we give him to the nice man here?  He’ll stuff him for you.”

The older man she pointed to smiled.  Vanitas eyed him warily before handing the limp skin over.  It would probably look cooler stuffed, he decided.  It was too hard to see the red eyes otherwise.

“Oh, and don’t forget to pick out a heart,” Aqua added, pointing to a bin overflowing with the fabric shapes.  Most were red, but a few were other colors.  He wanted to tell her that his Flood didn’t need a heart, but instead he just rolled his eyes and dug out a blue one, even though he usually liked the color red better.  If Flood had to have a heart, it was going to be one fit for a monster.

“What did you get?”  He asked Ven while the old man did his job.  Surprisingly, Ven blushed.  Vanitas thought he’d be excited to show off his new doll.  “You did get one, right?”  If Ven didn’t get one, there was no way Vanitas could, even if his was cool.  Repli would never let him hear the end of it.

“Yeah… but you can’t laugh!”  Ven said.  That’s when Vanitas noticed what he was holding behind his back.  He tried to skirt around his twin to get a better look, but he stepped back.  “I mean it!  Promise!”

Vanitas rolled his eyes.  “Whatever, I promise.”

He finally got around Ven’s guard and snatched the stuffed animal out of his hands.  And then he burst out laughing.

“Vani!  You promised!”

“But - but it’s a pony!”  Vanitas cackled, holding up the already-stuffed green pegasus his twin had picked out.

“Aquaaaa!  Vani’s making fun of me!”

Aqua spun from where she had been talking to the man.  Her face was already full of stormclouds, wiping the grin from Vanitas’s face.

“...He got a pony,” he tried to justify himself.  “Why did he get a pony?”

“Ven can get whatever stuffed animal he likes.  It’s his birthday,” Aqua reminded him sternly.  “And if you want the toy you picked out, you need to be nice to him.”

He sighed loudly.  Why did no one care that it was his birthday?  He shoved the green pony back into Ven’s arms.

“Here, take your dumb pony.  I got a cool stuffed animal.”  He took the now-stuffed Flood that the worker handed to him.  Aqua was apologizing to him, for some reason.

“She’s not dumb,” Ven insisted.  “Her name is Zephyr Breeze, and I bet she could beat your dumb Flood.”

“You - Flood is not dumb!”  Vanitas snapped back, not realizing how tightly he was hugging his new toy.

“Oh yeah?”  Ven taunted with a grin.  “Can he fly?”

“No, but - flying doesn’t make you not dumb!”

“Ven, Van,” Aqua interrupted, clasping her hands on each of their shoulders.  “Don’t you want to give your stuffed animals some clothes?  Come on.”

By this point, she sounded almost as done as Vanitas was.  He almost felt guilty for that, but it was Ven’s fault, really.  He was the one who’d wanted to come here in the first place.

“Come on, Vani!”  Argument already forgotten, Ven grabbed his free hand and dragged him towards the clothes section.  Flood wasn’t really the right shape to wear clothes - he had pointy feet and arms, so he couldn’t wear shoes or gloves.  Not that he needed shoes or gloves.  They’d probably just look stupid anyway.

That didn’t stop Ven from shoving shirts and accessories into his arms for him to try.  He just stood there, counting the seconds until Ven lost interest in him and went to trying clothes on his own toy.  His pony.  Seriously, what had made him choose that?  He’d have to get the answer out of him later.

In the meantime - since he had to wait on Ven anyway, again - he sat down and shuffled through the tiny clothes piled in his arms.  Most of them were as dumb-looking as he’d figured - a rainbow umbrella, an “I <3 Build-A-Bear™” shirt, pink sequined pants?

“Really, Ven?”  Vanitas muttered.  Maybe his twin was just trying to get a laugh out of him.  It almost worked.

Some of the clothes weren’t so awful, though.  He ended up choosing a black leathery-looking jacket and stuffing Flood’s skinny arms through it.  Now he definitely looked tough enough to beat up Ven’s pegasus, wings or no.

“Finished already?”  Aqua asked when he joined her, leaning against a tall standing display of stuffed bears.

“Uh-huh.”  He nodded.  “Ven’s still being too slow.”

“I heard that!”  Ven called.  Of course he did, they just at the end of the aisle.  Then Ven jumped up from where he was rummaging in a low bucket and ran toward them.  “Here!”  He shoved something into Vanitas’s free hand with no explanation.  He stared at it, and his eyes widened.

“You found a skateboard?”  Vanitas couldn’t help grinning.

“Yeah!  Now we can take Zephyr and Flood skating with us!”  Ven held up his own toy skateboard.

“That was thoughtful of you, Ven.”  Aqua smiled at him, then gave Vanitas a brief but pointed look.  He didn’t usually talk nice to his brother, even when Aqua told him to, but… well, it was his birthday.

“Thanks,” he said, quickly flashing a rare sincere smile.  Then he covered it with a smirk.  “But I bet Flood is faster than your pony!”

“Oh, yeah?  How much you wanna bet?”

Aqua frowned.  “There will be no betting.  Remember what Father said?”

Vanitas did.  Dad had said no GameBoys for a week if he and Ven bet again, even if it was just over who had to do chores.

“Fiiiiine,” Ven said with a sigh.

Later that day at the skatepark, Vanitas still earned two Starburst and a Jolly Rancher off of him.

A/N:  The reason Ven wanted a pony is because he’s friends with Namine and Xion, who both like to play with ponies, and wanted to be able to play with them better. I didn’t find a good place to include that, sorry!

[raychulemma]

50 Completely Random Questions People Rarely Ask Tag:

1. What’s your favorite candle scent? Red Apple Wreath - Yankee Candle. It's perfectly Autumnal and always goes on half price sale after Christmas. I have far too many versions of it

2. What female celebrity do you wish you were related to? Probably Maya Rudolph because she's a shameless weirdo like me

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother? Probably Peter Kay. I feel like he would be easy to open up to. And he would make awkward family events so much more bearable

4. What’s your favorite thing about marriage? (And if you’re not married, what’s your favorite thing about being single?) Security. Safety. I didn't expect it to feel any different because we had been living together for a while but something about the actual marriage made me feel protected and comfortable. Also because its a same-sex marriage it's a lot nicer to say my wife than my fiancée, because i would wonder if they assume my fiancée is male

5. What’s one thing you own that you should probably get rid of, but just can’t? Books that I'm not going to re-read but have memories linked to buying/receiving/reading them.

6. Can you do a split? not a chance

7. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike? Seven. i learnt at the end of my road because it's a dead end. and i got a green bike for my birthday with a seat for my teddy

8. How many oceans have you swam in? just the Atlantic ocean 🌊

9. How many countries have you been to? 6. France, Spain, Germany, USA (Florida), Wales, Scotland.

10. Is anyone in your family in the army? No, my Grandad was, and some of my Great Uncles but no one during my lifetime

11. What was your favorite TV show when you were a child? Superted, Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Dick n Dom in da Bungalow, Jungle Run

12. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight? A classy binbag witch

13. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series? I got into the Harry Potter books in 1998 and am still in love with the series. I went to the midnight release for the last book. I watched all of the films in the opening week and vividly remember that the cinema i saw the first film at in 2001 had a Harry Potter themed sweet shop. I have jewellery, clothing, books, dvds, wands, other collectibles. I read the books with my mum when i was younger and watched all of the films in the cinema with her. she had her own HP merch. My wife also loves Harry Potter. We have been to see Cursed Child twice and have been to the Studio Tour 3 (or 4?) times. We had a Harry Potter themed wedding which was absolutely perfect. Hunger Games was something i avoided reading until the first film was coming out, and then absolutely loved the first 2 books (3rd one got too political for me) and the films are still some of my favourites for costume and set design. I read the twilight books after my best friend recommended them to me. We all actually read them as part of our sisterhood club. I went to blackpool to watch the first film in the cinema with my best friend. I watched the last one at midnight with my wife and one of the girls from the sisterhood who is one of the biggest twilight fans i know still. she has behind the scenes books and dvds and has re read the books that much that the spines are just gone. my mum was also a big twilight fan and would watch them any time they were on tv. i watched a few at the cinema with her, always her choice. she hadnt seen hunger games at the time of them being released but we did watch them all with her a few years ago

14. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent? i film YouTube videos and always think my accent would be more interesting if it was American

15. Have you ever taken karate lessons? no, my 2 brothers and sister did when i was 5 or 6. i didnt like being touched so never did it

16. Do you know who Kermit the frog is? yup

17. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to? im going to guess Gullivers world Warrington because its the closest one to where i live

18. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in? French because I love disneyland paris. or japanese because i would love to visit tokyo but its way out of my comfort zone

19. Do you spell the color as grey or gray? grey. e for england, a for america

20. Do you know triplets? yes, 2 girls and a boy but i only met the girls

21. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook? Titanic. my mum was a massive fan. She watched it 3 times in the cinema when it first came out. we watched it with her when it was released in imax on an anniversary. she had behind the scenes books, a few versions of the vhs and dvds, playing cards. her love for it made me love it

22. Have you ever had Indian food? no im a very fussy eater and have never tried indian or Chinese

23. What’s the name of your favorite restaurant? Of all time? Tough choice but im going with pizza hut. Cheesy bites base with double mushroom. Never craved something more

24. Have you ever been to Olive Garden? they dont have it in England so no but i would probably like it

25. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender? i have no idea, maybe jason after my dad?

26. If you have a nickname, what is it? rach, chicken, chickadee

27. Who’s your favorite person in the world? i want to say scruff but shes technically not a person. kirsty is my best friend and i would pick her every time

28. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs? where i live is in between. drive one way and its city, the other way is farms. so living in one ot those farmhouses not far from city life would be the dream. i would have chickens, sheep and cats.

29. Can you whistle? yep but my cats hate the noise

30. Do you sleep with a nightlight? i can see the hallway light from where our bed is so i dont generally need a nightlight but we do have cute ones. i have 3 HP ones on my bedside table

31. Do you eat breakfast every morning? yea as long as i have time

32. How many times have you been to the hospital? ive only ever been to a&e. once for palpitations, a few times for mental health and once for an x ray on my hand. ive been to walk in centres for urine/kidney infections and for fractured fingers. oh i did go to hospital to see a neurologist to be diagnosed with essential tremor

33. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? yes i love it. my brother and sister both bought me the dvd for christmas the year it came out so i had 2 copies for a while. i also had the game for pc and ps2. and i had a game on my phone and ipad where you could build up the seabed and gain fish. the film is just so nice and calming to watch. the scenery, the sound effects, the movements are all just gently flowing. and somehow you get attached to these characters and root for them whether youre a fan of tropical fish or not.

34. Where do you buy your jeans? primark, next, sainsburys, asda

35. What’s the last compliment you got? kirsty said my eyelashes look like im wearing mascara when im not

36. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning? yea and they're weird as fuck. the latest one was about the bath being clogged with poo

37. Favorite beverage that isn’t water? Tea ☕

38. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own? a disgusting amount. maybe 20. maybe more

39. How old were you when you found out that Santa wasn’t real? about 8 which I think wasnt too young or too old. my brother told me which I was glad about because i was prone to being bullied at school and would have hated to be told by nasty kids

40. What is one food that you used to hate but now you love? cheesy garlic bread WTF

41. What is a weird lie you’ve told? i told kirsty once that i had pood the bed and asked her to help me clean it.

42. Heels or flats? flats always. specifically trainers. i think dresses look so much cuter with trainers. same with suits

43. Do you have any weird phobias? no just common ones. moths, spiders, flying insects, beetles, heights, being completely isolated, finding a dead person

44. What is a phrase or word you always say? i cant actually think of a current phrase i say but i do get stuck on phrases

45. What is a song that you bast or belt out when you are alone? part of your world, let it go, bridge over troubled water, over the rainbow. any that i try to actually hit the notes on

46. What is one of your biggest pet peeves? nails. nails tapping, and the sound of cutting or biting nails. or people that stop in the middle of an aisle or walkway when you're trying to get past

47. Do you sleep with your closet door open or closed? they dont even have doors on yet so open

48. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? bear. the noise of bees terrifies me. i had a flying ant in my hair on flying ant day but i didnt know. i heard it buzz and cried

49. Do you have any weird things you do? i cant have 2 cream biscuits together (custard cream and jam n cream). i sometimes say hi to my teddies so they know i havent forgot about them. i buy hatchimals when theyre on sale even though i havent previously collected them cos im an impulsive pos. (honestly collecting animal jam figures and my little ponies were the best though)

50. What movie could you watch over and over again and still love? any of the harry potter films, titanic, sisterhood of the travelling pants, Princess diaries 1 and 2, enchanted, princess and the frog, raise your voice, catch me if you can, chalet girl, the shining, slumdog millionaire