Among us crazy fantasy writers, do you still have a special teddy bear, blanky, stuffed dog, or other childhood soft, snuggly thing? Do you cuddle with it at night? What is its name?
Or is this too touchy of a subject?

One Christmas, when I was about...four (five? six?), my great-grandmother gave me a large, floppy, stuffed horse. It was about two feet long, two feet tall. It had a soft brown coat, and fuzzy black mane and tail. It wore a red velvet halter, and it had a white diamond on its forehead, four white stockings, and wide, deep brown eyes, beautiful in all their shiny glassiness. I decided it was a boy and named it Cracker.

I slept with that horse every night, for years, and played with it during the day. Over time, holes appeared in the plush hooves (stitched closed with clumsy stitches), mysterious orange dots appeared on the legs (I tried to fix them with a Sharpie, put they stayed), patterns were snipped into his fur ( I thought he might look nice with a star on him), his halter disappeared (vacuum cleaner accident), and his clear eyes dulled (I ground them down with a nail file, so I could pretend he was blind).

His fur grew coarse, his mane and tail turned into spiky little dreadlocks, and he lost some of his stuffing, but I still loved him. Even after I started sleeping without him at night, I still grabbed him when I needed comfort.
When I was thirteen, on that dark day when Daddy announced that we needed to move unexpectedly, I coped with my shattered future by curling up on my bed, and hugging my almost forgotten stuffed horse, until I felt calmer.

I still have Cracker. I can't bear to give him up, even though I rarely even look at him. He still has some life left, and my younger siblings play with him---but they know they have to get my permission first.

...
One word...
Pudumpps. (Pronounced poo-dumps)
I don't remember where he came from... I don't remember how I named him such in odd name... but that is he.

I was really young when I got him, so I can't remember getting him, but I have a lamb named Baa Baa Sheepy. I just call him Baa though. He used to be pretty big and stuffed and I did everything with him, but now all that's left is the top of his head. Basically, a cloth. But, unlike normal fifteen-year-olds, I have not given him up yet, and as of now, I still sleep with him.

* resists urge to scream "I'm not the only one!" *

Hehe...

I have/had a stuffed elephant named Ellee (Elly/Ellie/El/E/that-thing-we-can't-get-Bethany-away-from) (because I was so lazy when I was four that I couldn't even think of an actual name...so I just shortened elephant ) that my aunt gave me one Christmas because I wanted a stuffed elephant because... Well who doesn't want a stuffed animal that resembles the largest land mammal? Come on!

Anyways, I cuddled with it at night time for a few years until just recently when we went to Bush Gardens and I was obsessed with the tigers (Large cat... Really awesome. That, and it was the closest things to lions around... ) so my parents got me this really big, white tiger stuffed animal... And it replaced Elly... And yes... I still cuddle with it at night. And I have a nightlight. And proud of it!

I have a doll named Tina which I've had since I was two. She is always on my bed. So is my duck (named Duck, of course ) which played soft music (and still does!) when you wind it up, which I got in the hospital when I was born.

Wow Ylle! You had a wide imagination at 1 day old! Can I steal that name and use it for my duck like creatures in my book?!?

I have two teddies that I have and will keep for as long as possible. My Mother has a really really old teddy which she has kept since she was a little girl, he's still tucked away in her wardrobe.
When it was my first birthday I was given a pink elephant teddy and a lovely brown bear. I have always kept them, they seem so special. I hope that when I'm older I will have them tucked away in my wardrobe. I don't keep them on my bed though.

Well, I never really named it. . . Well, I have named it, but the names never really fit, he just had to be my Duck. <3

Well, y'all know about my buddy. Shadow is something of a minor celebrity around here.

I have two blankets. My dad gave them to me when I was born. I don't sleep with them anymore, because I don't want them to get really ripped. My grandmother used to add little pieces of t-shirt when the blankets would rip. Now, they are in my keep-sake box.

I had my blankie. It was sprinkled with pastel colored animals, and had a silk edge that I used to hold onto.
I had all my animals I used to be into: Joy the bear, Quannah the dog, Bubbles the - the... pig? We had some trouble figuring out what he was, but since he had a curly tail, I think he was (is, whatever) a pig. And a soft one at that!
And I have that delightful pink, furry/silky, pillow that my sister gave me for my 11th birthday. Ahh.

My mom wanted a pink elephant - lifesized. (Like when she was little; I think that passion has cooled now ) Anyway, her parents got her pink elephant that was only like eight inches tall... and she was crushed.

I used to have a stuffed cat (Scat), dog (I forget the name, but I think it started with B ), and tiger (I forgot his name too) that had special places in my heart.
I'd probably still give them places of honor if I knew where they were.


*wants to hear about Shadow*

There's a story about Shadow here, Sui. viewtopic.php?f=118&t=2916

*chuckles * Yes, that is a story showcasing shadow.

Well, Shadow was my mom’s, when she was a kid. Course, he was a nice, fluffy, soft little dog back then. By the time I was old enough to really give him a name (4ish?) I was in love with Homeward Bound. So, naturally, I was in love with the trusty, always faithful, always pushing the others on, Shadow. Thus, his name.

Now we come to modern times. By now age has worn Shadow, and love has given him character. He no longer had any stuffing in his neck, his fur is scruffy and nappy, his ears have been stitched back on, and you can see the under fibers of his frame where the hair has been worn off. He is also suffering from a hole near his eye.

But he is well loved, and still slept with every night. He goes everywhere, even the HW conference.

Shadow's been with me through thick and thin. He's one of my best friends.

I had a pastel-colored dog that I named, predictably, Doggy He's a good mate, though I don't sleep with him anymore I also have some others: Arthur the bear, Spot the dog, and Ally the Alligator (Actually, I bought Ally when I was sixteen, ignoring strange looks She looks like a stuffed alligator from my classroom in first grade which is why I bought her).

My Nana also made a little red quilt which I slept with until I got too tall to fit under it! I think I was about...twelve By then it was so ripped all the middle stitches had come out and so I slept in it like a sleeping bag

Um...is it bad to say that all of those are now safely tucked away in the attic? *cringes* *goes to rescue stuffed friends*

eru

*gasp * That is terrible!!!

What is he, exactly?

*feels incredibly relieved to know she's not the only teenager to sleep with stuffed animals* Okay. I have a bear that I sleep with every night I'm home. (He's too old to go with me when I spend the night at friends' houses - I don't wanna risk it) His name is Huggy Bear and I've had him since I was born. He started out white with a white onesie with teddy bears holding balloons and he had white bunny slippers for feet. (He still has them but they are no longer white.) He had a fuzzy brown nose, which over time was rubbed raw so you can see the hard black part underneath. He's gray and his onesie is threadbare, but I love him. I can't ever get rid of him, and nobody in my family tries to make me, even though I'm almost sixteen

When I was little, I had Brown Bear, White Bear, and Tiger. And that was what they were. (Imaginative, right?) I still have Brown Bear; he sits on my shelf with some of the other stuffed animals I can't part with. I'm not really sure what happened to Tiger or white bear.

Up until I was about fifteen I slept with all my stuffed dragons, but then my collection grew past ten and I moved them onto a shelf.

I love that story.

I like Shadow's character too.

I have at least 50 stuffed animals. I loved collecting them when I was younger. They lived under my high-bed (or whatever it's called) and now i can't stand to keep them in a rubbermaid storage container where they would be 'trapped'. But right now they are in a rubbermaid just until my room renos are finished. After that, they will find a place on a special shelf somewhere to wait to be played with by my children or nephews or nieces or grandchildren. All except the specialest ones of course!
I had a handful of stuffies from when I was very little, all of which I gave masterful names. The grey seal was named Grey Fur, the pink bunny named Pink Bunny, the the small birdie which is now missing a wing named Birdie, The cheetah named Cheetah, and the hedgehog named *gasp* Hedgehog. Yes, I had naming skills like that! I would love to share more about my large collection, but at the moment I have to run! *thinks happy thoughts* I love all my stuffies....

Yeah, I have a lot of stuffed animals. I've always loved them. I haven't named them all , but I did name quite a few of them. Some of my favorites is a cat named Casey, a moose that doesn't have a name, a chipmunk named Chippy, a brown bunny named Cocoa, another grey cat named Silver (which always sits in the center of my bed), two stuffed owls, unamed, and so on. It would take a long time to list off all of my stuffed animals, even just the favorites.

*sneezes* I am allergic to stuffed animals, but i have one that is safe. I got this polar bear when i was 2 and loved it! I named it Poliy, now it is yellow with age and one of the feet is torn.

I have a blanket, which I've had for about...forever. Okay, maybe not that long. It sits on my bed, though I don't sleep with it anymore.

I also have a stuffed Orca Whale that lives on my bed. (Named Shamu...I got 'im a SeaWorld, ya see. ) I don't really sleep with him, but I've got such a skinny bed I guess I kinda do...

I also had a stuffed pony named Heart. Unfortunately, we had to get rid of her. I still miss her sometimes, I admit.

This is great, actually.
Ozark is my stuffed black bear. I got him when I was one (or so) and I still sleep with him. My mother tried to convince me he didn't need to come to France, but that didn't work. He would have missed the biggest adventure of my life. He's my adventuring pal. He's also missing some fur. The funny thing is, my friends are so used to it, they barely notice it anymore. Except to hug him, of course.
Then there's Hospital Bear. I got him from the hospital after my X-Ray the first time I broke my arm. (long stories, those.) I don't snuggle with him as much, but he's good at comforting younger sisters.
I thought I was the only fifteen year old who slept with a teddy.

I still sleep with some of my stuffies at times. I went through a short phase where I had to sleep with ALL my stuffies, because I thought the others would get lonely if I only slept with one. There was hardly any room in my bed for me.

@Aldara: ohhh don't worry you are not alone! Like I said, I sleep with mine every single night...and I'm sixteen as of today

My little sister has a big teddy that she sleeps with. So cute. It's a massive teddy though!

Thanks, Mark.

I have several other stuffed animals (I collected them), but none were ever like Shadow.

Nobody should be concerned about age. I'm 20, and Shadow sleeps with me. In fact, he travels with me, too.

I don't sleep with my stuffed animals, but I put them out for decoration and look at them all the time.