Plushie Shrine

Name: Panda

Status: Emotional Anchor

Age: 18 years old

Date Acquired: Unknown

Size: 13 inches tall and 6 inches wide

Origin: Unknown. Please email me at marymastersmedia@gmail.com if you know the origin of this plushie.

Panda is my most beloved plushie. I've had him for such a long time that I don't really have any childhood memories where he wasn't in my life. I used to always carry him around in my arms, which made him practically inseparable from me. Due to my rough relationship with my family, I would probably be more ruined by seeing him disappear than my own family. I'm so scared of him getting lost that he stays in my carry-on bag during flights. The sentimental value I hold for him makes me really scared and emotional sometimes. I have a lot of great and terrible memories with him.

My family tried to get rid of him so many times, and he has a stab wound on his chest because my cousins were teasing me and stabbed him. I remember being so sad when that happened, but a family member made a comment saying, "Now we both have a scar on our chest." For reference, I have a medical scar from open heart surgery as a kid, and that made my attachment to Panda only grow stronger.

When it was time for me to go to college, I had to prioritize my space since I was flying, so I made the hard choice of leaving my plushies behind—all of them except for Panda, who I knew I would need, especially going into college life. Panda currently still sleeps with me in my arms every night. Sometimes I get needy, and I'll carry him with me or put him on my desk for support.

His name is Panda because... I was really young and was told that's a panda, so his name is now Panda. I love him. I am super happy I can immortalize him on this site. He deserves it for all the work he has done for me and the comfort he has given me. Thank you, Panda.



Name: Pooh

Status: Sleeping Aid

Age: 18 years old

Date Acquired: Unknown

Size: 24 inches tall and 17 inches wide

Origin: Unknown. Please email me at marymastersmedia@gmail.com if you know the origin of this plushie.

Pooh is another childhood plushie of mine. I believe I received him after I got heart surgery, but I may be wrong. I loved him as a kid, but as I got older, I started to drift away from all my old childhood stuffed animals, except for Panda, who has stayed with me my whole life.

When I got to college, the only stuffed animal I had was Panda, and Pooh was sent to the storage closet in my family's house. I'm honestly surprised they didn't throw away many of my plushies, considering how much they wanted to before. Nevertheless, after a lot of stressful events happened, my egg cracked, and I realized I was trans right before coming back home for the summer. I had started HRT a little beforehand and was in a critical time in my transition while also dealing with the living situation back home.

That summer, I slept on a mattress on the floor in a house infested with cockroaches and ants. Every night, they would crawl on me or bite me, and it drove me crazy, especially since HRT was making me more emotional. I ended up crying every single night, sometimes twice a day, and as much as I love Panda, he is a small stuffed animal, and it caused me to feel really touch-starved.

One day, I saw that my dad's pit bull had pulled out Pooh from the box containing my stuffed animals and had ripped his crotch up and was biting it. I brushed the dog aside, brought Pooh back to my room so that he could be safe, and then got super emotional after reuniting with one of my favorite stuffed animals. I then would hold him tight every time I was under emotional distress, crying my eyes out in his arms. He is a firm plushie, and he feels nice to press against. After that incident, I decided I would never leave him behind again.

His name is Pooh more so because of his shirt rather than because he is from Winnie the Pooh, lol. I was young, so I just saw the word "Pooh" on his shirt and decided that was his name.



Name: Meatball

Status: Sleeping Aid

Age: 1 year, 2 months and 17 days old

Date Acquired: October 16th, 2024

Size: 39 inches tall and 6 inches wide

Origin: DJUNGELSKOG, soft toy, brown bear from IKEA.

Meatball was given to me by a friend on my 22nd birthday. He is super soft and he is so fun to sleep with at night. He is like a big pillow and I love how funky he looks hehe. His name is Meatball cause I think it works well with him being from IKEA a Swedish company and also cause trying to say DJUNGELSKOG every time I want to talk about him can be a pain.



Name: Wife Beater

Status: Desk Decoration

Age: 1 year, 3 months and 19 days old

Date Acquired: September 13th, 2024

Size: 9 inches tall and 6 inches wide

Origin: Teddy Bear Uszatek with T-shirt and shorts. From Maskotkowo.

My friend went to Poland for an art festival and asked me what type of souvenir I would like when he comes back. My answer was "Get me something weird". So he found this small brown bear plushie that he laughed at because since he was wearing a tank top and underwear he looked like a steryotipical man who beats his wife. Thus, he got me him. His name is wife Beater and he sits on my desk and stares me down. He probably wishes he had a case of beer and a TV he could watch haha. The bear is from a franchise called Miś Uszatek which a person from Poland told my friend it was like their Elmo.



Name: Gamer Bear

Status: Bed Decoration

Age: 1 year, 8 months and 6 days old

Date Acquired: April 26th, 2024

Size: 14 inches tall and 12 inches wide

Origin: Unknown. Please email me at marymastersmedia@gmail.com if you know the origin of this plushie.

A plushie that I recieved because the game I was working on (and am still working on as of 10/19/2024) won an aesthetics award in a game showcase. We also won a bunch of other items but I ended up keeping this bear and I love him. I call him Gamer Bear cause of his headphones and Youtube Gaming Logo. He isn't that fun to cuddle with but that is ok. I like just having him on my bed while I sleep.