A representation of the artist’s abusers – They embody every single person who made my life a living hell as a child. They are very snide and cunning, deceitful and full of multilayered fabricated identities. They also act as a depiction of those who succeeded in befriending me, only to hurt me later on.

SYMBOLIC VALUES

🍓 Things the character symbolizes when present in an illustration. The Friend symbolizes my abusers from my childhood, mainly from kindergarten, elementary school, hobby circles, and online communities. They also represent those who pretended to be my friends by manipulating me, with the intent to hurt and use me later down the line.

ROLE IN STORY

🍓 The role the character plays in illustrations. Every time the Friend is present in illustrations, her role is the kids who abuse other kids. Usually they are called bullies, but I don’t want to use that word here.

ASSIGNED SYMBOL

🍓 A symbol assigned to a character based on their values and other attributes. The Friend’s assigned symbol is PHONE, because a lot of the abuse I faced was online, including various crimes that were committed against my likeness.

ASSIGNED FOOD

🍓 A food item assigned to a character based on their character traits and symbolic values. The Friend’s food item is TIRAMISU, because its main flavor is that of dark-roasted coffee, one of my all-time favorites out there, but the inside is soaked in bitter and burning alcohol. The Friend seems very nice at first, but at their very core, they are a spiteful and vindictive person only looking to hurt others.

STATUS

🍓 An indication of whether the character is based on one single human being, a group of several people, or abstract concepts. The Friend’s status is ABSTRACT, because she is not based on one single person but rather a large group of people who are responsible for abusing and traumatizing me.