Question for my friends list

[hazliya]

Alright, so as I posted before, I've started a comic. Here's the blurb from the site:


"Trinkets" follows the adventures of Natalie, who has just finished her first semester of university. She comes home for winter break, only to reencounter the childhood imaginary friend that she dismissed seven years prior! Tariendir, or Ian, reminds her of the deal she made when she was ten years old: he would disappear, leaving her to concentrate on school, until she got into college.

Now he's back, and before they can catch up on the last seven years, something more pressing arises. Natalie may have made the deal with Ian, but what about everyone else? He hands back the bracelet she was given as an infant, which held charms that represented each of her imaginary friends, including the adventure spirit, the dress-up spirit, and many others. Instead of disappearing altogether, the neglected eidolons have wandered and found other - sometimes quaint, sometimes destructive - things to occupy their time.

Now it's Natalie's responsibility to 'rescue' everyone she's left behind, and try to lead a normal lifestyle outside of the supernatural.


So, my quesiton is this: What kind of imaginary friends did you guys have growing up? What kind did you wish you had? What did they do? What kind of things did you do together?

Have any ideas for imaginary friend eidolons? I've got a list I'm working on, but this is to help generate a few more.

And for extra credit: if they were a real person and grew up, too, what would they be like today?

Just letting you know, they might end up in the comic. And I'd credit whosever he/she was if he/she shows up. =)

-Haz

Comments

[jalawingedone.livejournal.com]

There always has to be at least one fierce usually animal-like friend, from the point of childhood when the things that live in dark and scary places feel the most real. The friend is kind and gentle to the child, but quick to rush to defend them, changing in appearance. This friend makes the child feel empowered and secure. Think of Hobbes, or the little angel/warrior angel that accompanies Pasquale in the comic Rose is Rose. The adult version could appear as a human with characteristics of the animal, or perhaps they've just gained some deep wisdom, and more subtle powers, like the ability to influence others, not just frighten them. I had an alligator friend for deep water, and a smallish dragon to watch me while I slept.

[hazliya.livejournal.com]

She actually has a luck dragon (he showed up already! But not as such) and an animal shape-shifter. But he's more for cuddling. And escaping. And fetching.

[hntrpyanfar.livejournal.com]

I think I had imaginary friends before school, but I don't remember talking to them much IN school. I was one of those kids that had to poke you before talking to you seriously (had to make sure you weren't an illusion, after all).

When adults asked, I used to tell them that my imaginary friend Fred got bored easily and went visiting with all the other imaginary friends at their clubhouse. :) (I was a daydreamer of a kid, and I wouldn't wish boring school on my imaginary friends if they didn't have to go too. ;)

I used to believe that my horse-head-on-a-stick had a spirit that would become a real horse someday if I believed in him enough, a la the Velveteen Rabbit. Fred (yes, he was the horse) and I used to gallop around together and have adventures. I was very Shinto-esque as a child, and believed that everything has a spirit to some degree. (You could argue I still do.) Things that made scary noises had angry spirits in them (like the furnace) that got lonely and wanted to be talked to. Stuff like that.

Um. *blush* I do like the idea of a protector spirit. I figure a trickster spirit, to go along with the protector. And perhaps one to tell stories with a child. Also either an older or younger sibling-spirit, depending on the personality of the child. I had conversations with my 'younger brother' while Mom was pregnant. (but not necessarily while she was in the room... I figured babies could astrally project or something, to prevent boredom. ;)

[hazliya.livejournal.com]

Ian (if you've read it) is the protector spirit, hence why she loves him best/is closest to him. He's also a royal pain, as it's turning out.

And we've got an "adventure" spirit, who is remarkably like my 7th Seas character, except kid-friendly.

And then there's the boogeyman. >}