I want to talk about The Winslow.

He was a very formative idea for me.

See, the Winslow appears in a lot of Phil Foglio's stories. Whether as a cameo, or even (like in Buck Godot) an indestructible plot device that existed since the beginning of time, and will exist when all civilizations are gone; and is even worshiped and revered, though it is a simple little plushie that goes "Hi!"

https://witches.town/media/EzwL8iMcpeZMJgIjdYw

What was The Winslow when Phil met him, first?

A discarded plushie in a trashcan.

No purpose. A thrown out children's toy. To be forgotten like so much waste. Gone, faded, and forgotten.

Phil decided to help the Winslow be known. Felt others had to see this creature he saw and the magic he saw in it.

So he made the Winslow powerful. Unforgettable. Timeless.

There was no objective reason to do so. No scientific reason to do so. It was a thing he wanted to do; so he imparted upon this plush an identity, and gave that plush recognition and lovability that made it known.

As long as Foglio's works exist, so does the Winslow.

That is magic.

Plushes themselves are a form of magic. Stuffing and threads forming something endearing (or, in some cases, terrifying).

An image put on basic material, and then that material can form a plush, and that plush can form an obvious thing different than other things, a toy to children.

And that toy can adopt a name.

And maybe a child, like myself, once wished so hard their wolf plush was alive.

That even today they write stories (or intend to, sometime) about a plush that becomes a real guardian.

All from threads and stuffing.

@Ulfra_Wolfe Ya know, this all hits around territory relating to how me and -several- of us here self-identify as toys.

All from threads and stuffing.