Daily Free-Write October 16, 2022: Love-a-Bunch Pt. 9 (Patreon)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Softheart pulled out Ben's pacifier and Ben immediately began squirming and flailing his arms.

"Put me down! Put me down!"

"Alright, alright, here you go, buddy," said Softheart, setting their favorite boy, Ben, down, then squatting down with his paws on his knees to get down to Ben's level. "What's wrong, Benji?"

"Everything. This isn't... normal. Is this all because I told you I was too old to play with baby bears?"

"That's right, buddy. Being big was taking away all your playtime and making you unhappy, so we fixed it for you!"

Ben looked down at himself, and threw out his hands, exasperated.

"Oh, my gosh, you guys.... this isn't how this works!"

"What do you mean?" asked Smart Bear, holding up a readout on his virtual tablet. "It's been working just fine. Look at your stress levels before you came to play with us and after."

The chart clearly showed a huge dip in stress during the times in which Benji was playing with the bears. Smart bear continued before Ben could even formulate a response.

"In fact, our shows and games are having the same effect on millions of people as we speak!"

"But- you can't... old-school AI is contraband!"

"That's just a little secret between you and us, Benji." said Smart bear with a wink. "To the rest of the world, we're Love-a-Bunch LLC."

"What about my job?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? Love-a-Bunch LLC is so successful that we can support all the little ones who need a break from adulthood. You'll never have to work again, Benji!"

Ben couldn't help but think that something was going to go wrong with this scenario.

"I can see you're still stressed," said Smart Bear, tapping his screen.

"You know what that means," said Cheer Bear. "It's time for some Love-a-Bunch hug n play therapy!"

"I don't wanna hug n- nmmmph!!" Ben found himself squished in the middle of a huge hug pile, and he had to admit it did feel pretty good being hugged by all those cuddly bears for real. It didn't feel quite so good, however, when he found himself being carried - in nothing but his diaper - out of the privacy of his castle nursery and out to the land of Love-a-Bunch where everyone could see him.

"Come on, Benji! Let's go on another adventure!"

"Can't I wear my overalls at least?" asked Ben.

"Oh, but you look so cute like this Benji!" said Cheer bear, ruffling Ben's hair.

"But I'm not even wearing shoes... won't it hurt to walk all around Love-A-Bunch barefoot? And won't it be cold?"

"The ground is made of clouds and if you get cold we can warm you up in our fuzzy arms. Now no more excuses, silly billy. Let's get a move on!"

The bears assured him that they made Love-a-Bunch extra safe for little Benji, and that he wouldn't have to worry about a thing. Knowing that he was probably being recorded for posterity for their Love-a-Bunch show made Benji especially subconsious. Wandering around in kiddish overalls was fine and dandy, but just a diaper? That was embarassing even if he was alone in VR, much less with his AI and an entire unseen audience watching.

"Come one, kiddo, don't be shy! Show off those official Love-a-Bunch baby briefs! You're the most popular character of the show, and everyone just thinks your new outfit is adorable!"

"I think we made him blush," said Softheart, smiling softly as the group joined Ben on his especially tame adventure to the tiny tot playground. Ben was suddenly aware that all his so called adventures had happened with a group of bears surrounding him - watching over him, you might say. Kind of like... babysitters?

It dawned on him as he was being pushed in the toddler swing, his legs poking out the openings in the protective seat, that this adventure was little more than baby games. And yet, when he tried to protest to the bears, they simply told him he was imagining things, and that he was very important to the wellbeing of Love-a-Bunch, in fact, he was helping keep the witch of apathy at bay by being just so cute and adorable.

Ben couldn't seem to win. And yet the bears seemed to know just how to handle him. Soon, they managed to distract him with this game and that. The sandbox. The toy cars. A game of tag. A diaper change. It was hard for him to stay focused on just why he was upset in the first place.