There’s something you should know about me, Thunderdome: I liked stuffed animals. A lot. I also have a lot of them, and sometimes, in fleeting moments of moral weakness, I like to invent little backstories for them. Is this madness? Yes, perhaps, but this is also Thunderdome, and I am not the only madwoman here. Perhaps some of you, too, have cherished childhood toys you’ve invented little stories for. Perhaps you still remember some of those stories—or perhaps you’d like to write a story now. Come and play with me, won’t you?

You cool kids are all way more familiar with this flash concept than I am, so I’m giving you 800 Words to write some flash about some stuffed animal friends. At a word-count this scant, I won’t be demanding a fully developed story so much as I am a feeling or a vibe (as this is apparently a valid expression of flash!) However, if you find these 800 precious words too limiting, there are two ways you can get more:

+200 words if you post a picture of a stuffed animal of your own choosing, whether it’s one of your own or one you want to own or one you just think is neat, and you include them in your story
OR
+200 words if you want to roll the dice on one of my weirdo animals! I’ve got some real wildcards in here, and I promise you, I will not run out. (The stuffed animals pictured in this prompt are not my collection, by the way. My taste is MUCH more refined.)

Usual Thunderdome rules apply, including no erotica and no fanfic. Having said that, you may want to use a stuffed animal (or you may be assigned a stuffed animal) from a recognizable IP, so what do you do? You do what you did when you were five, dummy: use your imagination! Give them a life outside their IP, one entirely unique to them. I promise you, some of these little guys could use it.