Tags

About the world they inhabit:

Their planet is very similar to Earth, both geographically and developmentally. Their social etiquette is also much the same. The most obvious difference is the population that's made up of anthropomorphic animals, and depending on their species, they can possess (often) magical abilities. Humans and animals like the ones we have on earth are not present (excluding fish and insects; they have those).

Some of the smaller differences are that their world is slightly more technologically advanced than ours is. Governments are run fairly similarly as well.

Every living being has a soul (excluding robots or artificial life). Rights are given to individuals depending on whether or not the soul is present. Inanimate objects (such as toys or stuffed animals) can come to life on rare occasions, and research shows that they do indeed have souls; though, it's unknown why this happens. In some cases, it seems more like possession occurs.

Abilities: 

Tags is a teddy bear, brought to life because of a curse. He is not immortal, as when his host becomes too deteriorated or unusable, the curse will move somewhere else. But he can be stabbed or ripped open with no consequence, so long as he's still (mostly) in one piece. He can still feel pain from those actions though. 

Despite not being made of flesh and blood, Tags can still cry, but can't eat or drink. 

Personality:

Tags, ironically, isn't all that cuddly. He likes a lot of space and prefers not to be touched. He's quiet, reserved, and a bit shy. He's also gentle, kind, and good at listening. He's basically the polar opposite of his friend Kelli, who is loud, outgoing, physically affectionate, and not always the best at listening.

Tags enjoys traditionally feminine things, such as sewing and cutesy aesthetics. He sews clothes and stuffed animals (not as large as he is, though).

Even though he's very gentle a majority of the time, Tags has uncontrollable urges to destroy the things around him, including himself. He tears up his sewing projects, knocks all the things around him down, etc. Often times, he'll rip open the seams on his own body to satiate this urge, and then sew himself back together. But it's a lot faster than picking up the entirety of his room and dealing with the lost time on his projects; though, when things get really bad, he doesn't get much of a choice on what he breaks.
This occurs at minimum weekly, and when he's stressed it can happen daily. This has caused Tags to be miserable, always awaiting the next time he freaks out. He has severe anxiety and depression, but it can be slowly alleviated with the support of his friends.

Biography:

Tags came alive some time during the 2000's, first gaining consciousness in an old storage unit filled with old furniture. Nobody knows exactly where Tags' body came from, not even himself. He thinks he might've had an "owner" before, but promptly got abandoned. Abandoned toys and plushes would sometimes gain a soul, or become possessed, as he'd later come to find out.  
He's large for a stuffed animal, so it can be assumed that his body was meant to be cuddled and slept with. He has tags (thus, the name) on his hip, but there is no brand printed on them, only the country of origin, which is where Tags was. It also had the date he was produced on it, 2001.  

He eventually became stable enough to afford a place and things to fuel his sewing hobby, but jobs were difficult for Tags to hold, mostly due to the "fits" he would throw, as others would describe it. Which was a fair assertion. Tags would break things, but not out of rage or even stress (though they did cause stress). It was like he would have a few negative thoughts that spiraled out of control until he lost himself completely, or like he blacked out momentarily. But he found that working from home was far more manageable, and kept away the possibility of being fired or disturbing co-workers and customers.  

Tags made most of his living from taking custom hand-made orders. He could do clothes, stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, etc. The only setback would be when he destroyed his own work, but he eventually found that harming himself kept those feelings at bay, and prevented time and money being wasted. He'd tear his own stuffing out, rip along his seams, and sew them back up. It was a painful and slightly time-consuming process, but it sure felt a lot better than destroying things or scaring people around him. Sometimes he felt as though he deserved it too.  
He spent practically all of his time in complete isolation, sewing, self-harming, sewing, self-harming... The only time he went out was to ship out orders.  

But sometimes he interacted with the online world. He had social media profiles where he'd post his work and gauge interest from potential buyers, but occasionally he needed help. Tech was not something he was skilled with. As good as he was with the sewing machine, he could never tell you about the inner-workings of it. So when his sewing machine (basically, his source of money) stopped working, he went straight to the internet to ask for help.  

A local commented, saying that she knew the issue, but that it may still be tricky to fix, even with instructions. So she offered to fix it for him. Tags was a bit surprised that someone would be that generous. He was already pretty worried that no one would even put in the effort to try helping through the internet. In his experience, the world was simply cruel and unforgiving. There had to be a catch; she would rob him or something. But he didn't have many other options, other than paying for the repair with what little money he already had. So it took the risk, reluctantly. She didn't seem horribly suspicious.  

And she wasn't, at all. Tags had to say, she was pretty charming. He had never met anyone so bubbly and happy to help. It was strange, though. She was very clearly a robot; it was apparent from the way she moved, the way she looked, even from the way she spoke. But she possessed unrivaled emotion and energy. Granted, he hadn't been around super long. But she was unlike the depressing world around her, he could tell.  
She helped him fix his sewing machine but almost seemed reluctant to leave. Tags wasn't going to rush her out either, especially not after she helped repair his lifeline for free. So he offered for her to sit down and chat with him for a little while longer.  
It was nice. Tags was surprised at how pleasant it felt to just be in the room with someone else, but not in a stressful, bustling environment, just somewhere quiet and contained, someplace familiar. To his surprise, Kelli was a lonely person too. The two were polar opposites in almost every conceivable way, and yet, she offered to be his friend, his very first friend. Tags gladly accepted.

After this, the two would schedule fairly regular meet-ups, usually at quiet places since Tags found it more palatable. He learned more about Kelli, her hobbies, her experiences, and her personality. He even found out what kind of robot she was through some online research (without her knowledge). She didn't even seem to know she was a robot. Tags didn't have the heart to tell her, especially not after what he read about how robots sometimes reacted when they realized what their own existence was. Breaking such a kind and innocent person like that was cruel. It seemed that many were on the same page as him, since no one directly mentioned it to her. Perhaps they just thought it was rude, despite their constant weird looks or glares, which he thought was already pretty rude (but Kelli never seemed to notice it).  

Even though Tags had a new friend and generally improved mental health, he still struggled with his destructive habits. Tags had messed up his room one day, and now, in an even further state of distress and self-hatred, he had been cutting along his arm. In the middle of this, he heard the door behind him open. Kelli was standing there, seemingly struggling to absorb what she was witnessing. Tags didn't know how she got in; he just knew that she was there, and seeing what a mess he was.  
He didn't know what to say, to do, how to reassure her that he was fine, because that wasn't the truth. All he could do was cry. Tears flowed out uncontrollably. He tried apologizing and explaining what had happened. As confused as Kelli seemed, she told him that it was okay, and that she would always be there for him and always be his friend no matter what happened. Tags appreciated this sentiment a lot; it was nice knowing he could talk to someone about his struggles without them freaking out. He really couldn't ask for a better friend.

Kelli had expressed her dreams and interest in video games and technology plenty of times. More specifically, she wanted to own a store that specialized in games. This saddened Tags. He knew that legally, she could never achieve this dream. Robots can't own stores. Robots have no rights. Robots have no souls. And on top of not being able to achieve her goals, she would have to learn about the earth-shattering reality that is her own being. He wanted to prevent this in any way he could, so he started planning.  

Maybe it seemed a bit ridiculous to go so far out of your way for someone who arguably isn't even a living thing, especially when you barely know them, but Tags had never felt so strongly about anything in his entire life. Consequences be damned, she deserved the best.
So, he worked towards getting her that business. It wasn't something he knew how to achieve on his own, but with time and research, he got there. It would require basically all of his savings, and he would need to sell a majority of his possessions (including his sewing machine), but so long as Kelli pitched in, they could pull it off. Of course, he was going to talk with her about it first and foremost.  

Tags would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to announce his little plan to Kelli, and he usually wasn't very excitable. The two planned a meeting at a nearby cafe, and to say Kelli was enthralled was an understatement. The quiet environment was suddenly bustling with life and noise from her and her alone, and she reeled Tags in for a hug, before remembering that he didn't take too kindly to being touched. But the noise and physical affection didn't bother him in the slightest. Her pure happiness and energy outweigh any negative thoughts or emotions he might have in this situation. He smiled, a genuine, real smile.  

Kelli agreed, of course, and the two started their new life together.  

Tags had to start living with Kelli, considering he poured his entire funding into her dream. Thankfully, the building itself came with an apartment right above the store, making the investment extra worthwhile.  

It was hard to reajust to this new lifestyle. Even though he had been going out more with Kelli, he wasn't exactly used to dealing with customers in person on the daily, or living with somebody else. It was better for him though. His mental health had clearly improved. He had gotten less destructive too, although the problem didn't cease entirely. It was more embarrassing, since Kelli would hear and try to stop it, but she seemed to catch on to the fact that he would be too deluded to help, so she started comforting him after the fact. He felt bad for causing her trouble.

The next half a decade went pretty well. Of course, there were ups and downs, and as time went on, business was tougher, but Tags had his sewing business on the side to help keep them afloat.

Negative thoughts were infiltrating Tags' head. They weren't constant, but throughout the years they would stop him dead in his tracks. It was the urge to destroy Kelli, to see the bits and pieces that made up her mechanical body scattered on the floor. He didn't know why, and once he realized what he was thinking, he very quickly corrected himself, that in fact, he did not want that to happen more than anything. He cared about Kelli more than anything else. He didn't want her gone, obviously. He was scared, though. She was the best thing in his life, but if he knew how to do anything, it was self-sabotage.  

There had been a new shop that had opened recently next door to theirs, and Kelli wanted to visit the people who ran it; of course, she invited Tags to come along with her. They didn't get to know their previous neighbors, which Tags was fine with. He wasn't super interested in meeting the new ones, but he decided to accompany her anyway, mostly to assure himself that things would go smoothly, otherwise he'd be worrying about it all day.

Surprisingly, though, the people there were pretty interesting. They actually treated Kelli like a real being and not some mindless piece of junk.  
The main two running the store were Cinnamon (who ran the baking portion of the place) and Primavera (who did the florist stuff), with the other two working there being Melon and Cotton.  
Cinnamon was mute and spoke via sign language, which Tags didn't understand, but Melon translated for her. Kelli apparently understood sign language too, although Tags wasn't horribly surprised. Cotton and Cinnamon primarily spoke to Kelli, but he stayed fairly quiet, up until Primavera started conversing with him, that is. She seemed nice, asking him about what he did in his free time and complimenting his appearance. They stuck around longer than expected, but it seemed as though Kelli had made new friends, and perhaps Tags did too. He was happy about this.  

He began to get closer to the neighbors. Kelli often invited Cotton and Cinnamon to come over after hours to play games with her; Primavera and Melon would sometimes visit him too.
Once, he opened up to Primavera about his thoughts of harming Kelli, as well as his destructive tendencies. After all, he couldn't tell Kelli, and Primavera didn't seem like a gossip or anything. However, she seemingly ignored him entirely. This scared Tags. He wasn't sure if she would say something, or if she hated him. Perhaps she now thought he was awful and disgusting. He shouldn't have said that. He avoided Primavera from that point on.  

But he did continue to get closer to Melon. He chose not to tell him about his thoughts to prevent Melon from hating him too. But he was kind and understanding about his destructive habits, and even shared his own aggressive outbreaks after his time in the military. Melon was exhausted and more scared of the world than he'd let on. Tags could relate to this. At the very least, he knew he was fearful, and it drained his energy. It was a relief to be with Melon sometimes.  

The years continued to go by, and it started to feel like Tags was taking a steep decline. It seemed that he began moving backwards at some point, his intrusive thoughts getting worse and more prevelant. He destroyed his room more often, was less careful when he sewed himself back up, and felt more agitated and on edge. He didn't know what to do. He had no where else to go, and no one to tell, or else he would be feared and hated. He was scared.

He was beginning to avoid Kelli. It wasn't easy, considering they lived in the same place, and it wasn't like he enjoyed it either; but he didn't want to hurt her (physically, in this case, though he didn't ever want to hurt her emotionally either). She seemed to catch on to his strange behavior, though.  

Tags was being destructive in his own space, as usual. He was in a horrible state; it was like he wasn't even in control of his own body. He had completely ruined his room. Many of his items (such as his laptop and sewing machine) were no longer usable. Kelli came in once the noise had stopped, touching his shoulder, likely trying to check on him. The timing couldn't have been worse. The sight of her was the last thing he needed in that moment. All he could think about was breaking, destroying, and further ruining his life and himself. He had a hammer sitting in his room, previously used for re-hanging a shelf on his wall, but it would now be his undoing.  

He didn't even realize what he had done until it was far too late. He came back to his senses. Fear and confusion quickly turned into shock and horror; Kelli had been completely destroyed. It was no simple fix; her metallic parts were bent and dented, her wires cut in certain areas. There was no fixing this, no going back. She was gone forever.  
Tags didn't know what to do. He fell to his knees and stared at what he had done.  

Once things really started to hit him, he felt like he was going to be sick. He left, ran outside, and continued running for what felt like hours. He had no idea where he was going or what he was doing, but it didn't matter anyway. He wanted his soul to leave his body.  
Once he stopped running and finally sat down, he was in a part of town he didn't recognize. But he didn't even notice, too baffled and distracted by what he had done. He cried harder than he ever had, wailing out in pain.  

He searched around in a trash can, finding some broken glass, and used it to rip parts of himself open. It was the only thing he could think of doing. This wasn't an uncontrollable urge, but a conscious decision. He felt as though he deserved the pain.  

He missed Kelli more and more as the days went by.  

Tags decided later on that he didn't want to go home; he didn't deserve to. He was going to allow himself to rot outside. His habits didn't cease; he'd break things he found abandoned or in the garbage, with a complete lack of concern over those who saw him. He was more self-destructive than ever too. He ended up finding a needle and thread in the garbage, as well as bits and pieces of fabric from clothes, so he could stitch certain areas back up. But that wasn't his priority; he was just waiting until his host was unusable. Then he would be free.  

However, this plan was interrupted a few months in. Melon was the one to find him. Tags was scared, unsure of what he was going to do. He figured that he was angry with him, and rightfully so, but Tags would be lying if he said he wasn't still scared to die, scared of what the afterlife held for somebody like him. But Melon instead kneeled down and looked him in the eye. His presence was comforting. Tags felt safe enough to cry again, profusely apologizing not only to Melon, but also to Kelli, Cinnamon, Cotton, and even Primavera. He expressed his anger and disappointment with himself, how he deserved to die, how Kelli deserved better, how unfair it all was to her and her friends. The guilt was killing him. But Melon said nothing, passed no judgement, and went in for a hug, holding on tight, wordlessly reassuring him that he was deserving of forgiveness. Tags didn't usually like to be touched. He wouldn't even allow Kelli to hug him, but there was something so impactful about this simple action. It wasn't scary or uncomfortable like it usually was. Tags began to calm down, and after a while, he wrapped his arms around Melon, too.  

Tags was convinced to come home, or, technically, his neighbor's home. His and Kelli's game store was already shut down by this point. It was a hard decision, but he chose to do so. It would be unfair to the people in his life if he didn't try to make amends with them.

Cotton and Primavera seemed relieved at his return. Cinnamon, not so much, which Tags completely understood. His actions were borderline unforgivable.  
Primavera had apologized for not taking his concerns over his thoughts of harming Kelli seriously, and offered her support in whatever way she could. He was surprised she apologized, but was quick to forgive, it was his fault after all, she wasn't the one who did it. But she kept her word, being there for him when he was sad and needed someone to open up to, or simply being in his presence and allowing him to help with relaxing gardening tasks.  

Melon was good at bringing him in when his destructive behavior reared its ugly head; he did a good job of keeping him under control, allowing him to paint out some of his frustrations with him. Tags still wasn't perfect; sometimes he would break Melon's stuff, but he was kind and patient; maybe a bit exasperated, but who wouldn't be? He might've even needed that newfound hint of sternness that Melon now had to him.  
Cotton seemed a bit preoccupied with helping everyone else through their grief, but she showed up for him on more than one occasion.  
Cinnamon even came around to him, though much much slower. She, him, and Melon even went out to do things together at times.

Tags felt unworthy of it all sometimes. His friends were great, not only to him but to Kelli when she was around. And he couldn't have been more thankful for that, but why him? It felt unjust. But he knew that there was no point in dwelling on the "what ifs." What happened happened, and he had to accept that.  

He was learning to accept and love himself through it all. He just wished that Kelli was here to see it too. Tags never got over her loss, but with the help of his friends, he learned how to cope with it.