[Migrated from DeviantArt]
(Expanded story of “Zipped Up In a Ball Pit”. Linked below)
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Being a ten-year old boy, I love to visit ball pit playgrounds at the malls. Recently, there was a new one opening at a mall just a couple of blocks away from my home. I waited until the weekends so that I could spend the day there. With permission from my mother, she came together with me to the mall so that she could pay for the entrance fee for me to play. Sighting the colorful playground that appeared like a giant castle filled with ball pits, plastic tubes and slides, I ran towards the entrance. Looking around, it seemed that it had a free entry, not requiring my mother to pay for me to enter. With my mother informed of my plans to stay for the whole day, she left me be, requesting me to return home in the evening. I nodded in acknowledgement before she left me to play.

Entering the playground, I saw that there were more than the typical slides and ball pits. There was some kind of foamy cave with a tunnel leading downwards. Since everything at the entrance was a usual thing to find at playgrounds, I decided to explore the cave first as it piqued my curiosity. The foamy cave had a pathway that led me down snaking tunnels and eventually, I saw light at the end of it. Emerging from the cave, I was surprised at what was in my vision. There was a whole street with plastic playhouses slightly taller than me, each with their own themes from café to mini toy shops. As I passed through each one, they had sheets of plastic wraps acting as windows. I poked at one to feel it and it deformed for a moment before reverting back to its original shape, not acting like a normal plastic wrap. They had gigantic plastic doors with knobs, only accessible if I tiptoed for them.

I decided to visit the toy shop playhouse for my first stop, reaching for a yellowish knob on the blue plastic door. On the inside, it was far bigger than it appeared on the outside. Around me, I could see teddy bears and various other different colored stuffed animals strewn about on the ground and in plastic shelves, along with some stray giant plastic balls among the plushies as big as my head. They reminded me of ball pit balls but they looked more like some random decorations on the ground. Something kept my eyes fixed as I sighted it.

It was a giant white teddy bear, with fluffy faux fur enticing me to touch. I stepped forward and closed my eyes as I hugged the giant plushie, feeling comforted while I squeezed its soft belly. I was oblivious to the giant plushie dipping its head to watch me while I hugged. While in a warm embrace, I felt two soft things wrapping around my back and squeezing me too, as if it was hugging back. As I opened my eyes, that feeling stopped and the bear was still stationary. I believed that was my imagination and moved on, heading towards the door of the shop. The bear shifted its head as its eyes trailed my every move, silently watching me leave the small playhouse.

Gazing through the windows of the other playhouses along the way, I spotted a giant stuffed animal in each playhouse, fit for the theme labeled above the doors. The café had a giant creamy-yellow rabbit plushie with a green apron, the sleepwear store had a sheep and there were many more countless plushies in the playhouses. At the end of the playground “street”, there was a giant plastic playhouse that looked like a mansion. Entering the playhouse, there were a bunch of other giant plushies that were not put in any of the playhouse sets I had passed by, piled-up together at a darkened corner. If I had to guess, they were the extras not fit for any theme of the sets within the playground. I examined and prodded each one mischievously, feeling how soft they were while poking them for fun. One of them, however, was different from the rest of the plushies in the pile.

It was a giant raccoon plushie but it was mostly brown instead of gray and black. Its face and belly were a light creamy-brown color. On its cheeks were two sewn on pink hearts. Along the light-brown boundary of its belly was a violet color line. Beyond that line were all chocolate-brown fabric skin, with black nubs for paws. On the belly, there was a giant zipper, something I did not notice on the other giant plushies surrounding it. As I climbed up upon the raccoon plushie, the plushie shifted on its own and wrapped its soft arms around my body, standing up from the pile. I was astonished but I did not scream, slightly fearful of the plushie. It then carried me out of the mansion, waddling towards a small lone playhouse.

Inside with one arm around my waist, the other quickly removed my socks and shoes and tossed them into a corner. I knew something was wrong and began struggling in its grasps but it kept a tight hold. It then proceeded to remove my shirt quickly with one upward tug. I tried to kick the plushie but it was unaffected. While the other paw moved to hold my chest, the one at my waist gave my shorts a tug, pulling it off my body. With the rest of my clothes tossed away, I was left in my boxers, blushing in embarrassment as it held me up by my armpits and stared at my body.

The zipper on the raccoon plushie’s belly unzipped, revealing soft puffy cotton stuffing inside. The plushie then turned me around and plunged me into its belly, zipping up halfway before moving off again. The stuffing was touching most of my body and moving any parts of my body now sent tingles, as if I was touching clouds. Struggling inside the soft warm stuffing, my head managed to pop out of the half-zipped hole, watching the ground move a few feet below me as it took me somewhere.When it stopped, I saw what looked like a big ball pit with pink and violet plastic balls, similar to the one I saw at the toy store playhouse earlier. It leaped into the ball pit, “splashing” some of the balls out. The plushie then wiggled itself and settled in the middle of the plastic balls and laid on its back. Once stationary, I resumed my struggles within the cottony stuffing, managing to stick my left hand out of its body. Grabbing the light-brown fabric of its belly, I tried to pull myself out before it fully zipped me in.

Suddenly, the cotton inside began to vibrate, causing me to calm down and relax the longer I was inside. I could feel the vibrations on my body and my head, simulating a massage chair but for my whole body. Soon, I felt sleepy and retracted my left arm back into the plushie, snuggling in the shifting cotton as it zipped me up. With my face still outside in the mouth of the plushie, it shut its mouth, trapping me in the warm darkness of stuffing. Closing my eyes, I hugged the stuffing as I fell asleep.

Some time passed before I was awoken by the sound of the belly zipper unzipping. A black-tipped paw reached in and fished me out of the cotton stuffing. This time, my boxers were gone too. I covered my private areas with my hands, more embarrassed than before and my face lit red like a tomato. I looked around and noticed I was in the sleepwear store playhouse which I have only seen from the outside. Around me were onesies of different colors and design. Right in front of me was a brown fleecy raccoon onesie with similar designs to the original plushie who brought me there. The raccoon plushie pushed me gently on my back to encourage me to wear it. Beside the raccoon plushie, the sheep stood with its plushie hand hooves together waiting silently in anticipation for me to receive my gift.

The torso of the suit was seemingly stuffed with cotton to simulate the pudgy looks of the raccoon plushie’s belly. The zipper was on the front. Other than the belly, the attached feet parts of the onesie were also stuffed as paw shoes, probably so that I could be comfy while I walked. The arms were just sleeved without the paws so that I could enter and exit the onesie without issue. On the back a hood hanging behind with two brown triangles as ears and a stuffed brown striped tail.

Stepping inside the suit, my feet entered the stuffed paw shoes and my toes wiggled happily in the comfortable hugging. As I pulled it up to my chest, I felt the stuffed belly squeeze against my body like I was in the middle of a marshmallow. Reaching my arms through the brown sleeves, my hands popped out on the other end. Zipping up the onesie, I hugged myself and felt the warm comforts of the suit. The raccoon plushie poked at the hood, as if asking me to wear it up. Lifting up the hood onto my head, it was hugging my ears like comfy ear-warmers and the rest of my head like a cotton helmet.

“Human? Human? Can you hear me?” I heard the raccoon plushie’s voice through the hood. Taking off and on, I could only hear it when the hood was around my ears. I then nodded. “Good. Hold on a moment while the Sheamstress finishes up your outfit.” The sheep plushie stepped forward and ran its plushie hooves along the zipper, causing it to vanish and get replaced by more fleecy fabric. It then gave my belly a gentle pat as though telling me that she was done. She did not speak, but I still could understand her actions.

“Now then, what do you think?”

“I love it!” I exclaimed, but I felt a pit in my stomach as it was empty. I was feeling hungry.

“But, I’m hungry. Is there anything I could eat?”

“Sure, little kid. We could move over to the Café Playhouse and have ourselves a snack! Oh, by the way, my name is Tanuki.”

“I… I…” I could not gather my words to introduce myself as I was shy.

“Don’t worry kid. We just call all of the children visiting a ‘kid’ or something. We don’t remember the names of most children because they just come and go.”

Tanuki carried me in his big plushie arms with my onesie’s tail dangling below his paws. He moved past playhouses faster than I could walk using his long trunk-like legs. When he finally stopped, we were at the Café Playhouse where the yellow rabbit plushie I saw earlier was. He placed me down and I followed closely behind into the playhouse. On the inside, there were pastel-colored plastic chairs and tables. As both of us settled, the rabbit waiter came and passed me a menu. Reading through the menu, there were only options of chicken nuggets snacks and fizzy soda, two of my favorite things I loved in fast food restaurants. Ordering myself some nuggets and a cup of blue fizzy soda, I had realized that there was a problem. Since I could not exit the onesie, going to the bathroom could be a whole hassle.

I then asked Tanuki if he could remove the onesie so that I could go to the bathroom when I needed to later. “Ah… The onesie’s got everything covered so that kids can play long hours here. Bathrooms are not required as the suit absorbs everything and turns them into fluffy stuffing!”

“So… Just do it whenever I need to go?”

“Yup!”

Just when he had answered, two plastic plates of warm chicken nuggets and a plastic cup filled with blue bubbling soda.

After finishing the snacks and the soda, I felt re-energized. I was ready to play with the Tanuki.

Returning to the ball pit, both of us dived in and flung the giant plastic balls at each other, painlessly bouncing off our faces as they hit. While we played, I sighted the cave where I had originally come from and thought of escaping. I crawled my way under the balls of the ball pit and ended up on the other side. From beneath, I could see Tanuki searching for me, like we were playing hide and seek. When he was looking the other way, I shifted the plastic balls slowly, emerging from the ball pit stealthily before running towards the cave exit. I was almost home free nearing the exit when I collided with a white fluffy wall. It was the white bear plushie I first saw and hugged in the toy store playhouse. It lifted me up into is paws and carried me with my chest leaning on its shoulders. I was being brought back towards the playhouse street! I tried to push the plushie but I was not strong enough to get myself free. Then I saw him again…

“Is this your kid?” The bear asked Tanuki as it presented me to him like a gift.

“Yes…” He said, sighing with a look of disappointment, holding me in his grasps again. “Why do you wanna run away? We were having fun…”

“I just… I just wanna go home…” I tearfully said, leaping out of his arms and dashing around at full speed again, trying to find another way out. Running around the playhouse street once again, many of the giant plushies turned to look at me. Some even began to follow me around the place with looks of concern. I ran to the lone playhouse that had my clothes. Upon entering it, every bit of clothing I wore into the playground was gone. I sat down and buried my head in my knees, crying with intermittent sniffles as muffled footfalls of the cotton beasts could be heard outside. Tanuki entered the playhouse and hugged me, followed by a few other giant plushies who gathered around us and hugged too.

“I wanna… Go… Home…” I tearfully said between sniffles to Tanuki before falling asleep in his arms amid the warm plushie cuddling.

When I woke up, I was in bed, covered in my blankets and hugging a plushie while I slept on the side. Looking out of the window drowsily, it was already evening. I yawned and thought it was all a dream, but I felt a thick hood still squeezing my head. Letting go of the plushie under the blankets, I looked at my arms. There were brown thickened sleeves covering my arms, but I could not confirm if it was real. I sat up on bed and saw my body still covered up in the Tanuki onesie from head to toe, except for my face and hands. It was not a dream. Pulling the plushie from beneath the blanket, it was a miniature version of Tanuki I had met and played with in the playground. It was the size of a typical teddy bear and similarly had a zipper running down its belly like the real Tanuki.

Unzipping the zipper in curiosity, there were wads of soft stuffing. I swirled my fingers inside for a feel and the plushie responded by shifting a bit as if it was alive. It reminded me of the warm moment when I got trapped in the stuffing. Zipping the plushie’s belly back up, I continued hugging it and stepped outside to show everything to my mother.

“Honey? Where did you get that cute suit?”

“The mall, mom! That place is magical!”

“Oh, you kids and your imagination… Do you wanna have dinner?”

“Nah!” I declined with the shake of my head, yawning, still feeling full from the snacks I had just eaten. I returned to my bedroom to sleep again in my comfortable onesie and my new plushie.

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(Original Concept) ”Zipped Up In A Ball Pit”: https://www.deviantart.com/ephraim2.....-Pit-853684955