Teddy bears last all summer long * 2026
Summary
This work contains sensitive topics, viewer discretion is advised.
content warnings
- Implications/depiction of child abuse & neglect
Bobby Jr. loves his dad, he's just the best.
Everyone says their dad is the best, but Bobby Jr. pities those kids, for his is truly the cream of the crop.
Bobby Jr. loves when his dad buys him toys and memorabilia, the other kids make fun of him for carrying around his stuffies, but they don't understand it. Plush toys are symbols of culture, they're important to history, they represented people, in their own unique ways.
Bobby Jr. doesn't have many friends, but that's okay, who needs friends when you have dozens of plush toys to talk to anyways and the best dad in the world.
Despite his dad being the best in Suitopia, Bobby couldn't say the same for his mom, this confused him greatly. He couldn't feel connected to his mom, she must've felt the same way too. She ticked the box of checklists that all good mothers did, she kept the house clean, she cooked for him, she made sure he didn't get in trouble. So why did none of this feel... Real?
Bobby had to admit, she was quite intimidating... Her face always seemed to be in a scowl, she seemed out of it whenever Bobby came to her for something. Most of the time, it felt like walking around glass shards scattered across the floor. He realizes he'd be better off avoiding the path of shattered glass all together, lest something bad happened.
When Bobby felt confused, he'd consult his toys for help. His teddy gave him the brilliant idea of writing letters to his mom, he wouldn't need to even approach her and she wouldn't be bothered by him, it was a win-win situation for everyone.
But as Bobby tried his best to write letter after letter to his mom, he grew frustrated at each attempt, eventually crushing everything together into a crumpled mess. Teddy reminds him that he shouldn't be wasting paper in the house, that'd make dad angry, he didn't like angering the best dad in the world.
Everyone feels angry, so his dad would too, but truthfully... Bobby was scared of his father's wrath. Bobby never made his dad angry of course! He was smart, special... way more mature than the other kids, his dad told him so after all. But Bobby knew what his dad felt sometimes when Bobby made a mistake, Bobby hated seeing his dad look at him like his mom did, it hurt.
Dad's anger was not always guided towards Bobby, lots of things made dad angry. Bobby didn't understand the full scope of it, but he wish he did, he's a grown up after all, shouldn't big kids learn more about their futures? When dad wasn't screaming into his cellphone, he was in screaming matches with Bobby's mom.
Bobby hated seeing them like this, his dad told him that his mom was being difficult, Bobby resented his mom for making dad's life harder. Why can't everyone get along? Bobby didn't want to choose sides, but he did gravitate towards his dad, he's the best after all.
Bobby would try to assess these situations with his toys, many sessions spent reenacting what dad and mom did, trying to put in bits and pieces to make sense of this story. He didn't like seeing his friends be so cruel to each other, Bobby didn't want to be cruel, he'd never hurt his friends.
Bobby's "playtime" were "quite imaginative", at least that's how people described them. Sure, maybe this was all just fun and play to others, but not to him, this was reality. Bobby knew he sounded ridiculous thinking that, but what other life was out there, if this was his reality?
Bobby felt alone, he knows he wasn't alone technically. He had his dad... He had his toys... He supposes his mom could be there, oh and uncle Saggs.
Uncle Saggs was interesting to Bobby... He was nice to Bobby, but his dad told him that he couldn't be trusted. Bobby learnt from his father that lots of people weren't safe, that they were all phonys. Bobby could do nothing but heed his dad's advice and stay clear of uncle Saggs, he wonders why dad didn't trust him, Bobby trusted his toys, they weren't fake.
Bobby trusted his toys with his deepest, darkest of secrets. They would never tell on Bobby, that's how his secrets were kept, they trusted him because they loved him, Bobby loved his toys back.
Toys could be anything Bobby wanted them to be, or act, or feel. Toys could hold Bobby's deepest desires for him, they made him understand from a different point of view. He liked the antique clothes they wore, pretty dresses... cute hair bows... pristine shoes... Things cogs like him couldn't be. Bobby always defaulted to calling his toys "men", but the roles had to be switched sometimes. Sometimes they were girls, pretty girls. Bobby wasn't into "crushes" from school, but he wondered how it would be to be a pretty girl for a day.
His father would certainly laugh at him. Men like him weren't supposed to be pretty, they couldn't be soft or dolled up, that made them weak. Weak, soft men didn't dominate the business world, they didn't belong. Gray... monotonous... that's what Bobby was, that's what he was supposed to be, to want, cause that's what his father wanted. Bobby would never think to object the best father in the world.
Bobby envies his friends for the freedom they had, but they didn't have free will or autonomy, they were just stupid, childish toys.
Only his father had free will, Bobby will have to wait till his gets his, he's only the second best.