Chapter Text
It all started with Paul...or "Polly" as she calls herself now.
He had a massive breakdown one day. Finally lost his grip on reality. He had been trapped in a land of toys in the body of a plastic doll for what? Twenty...forty years? He couldn't remember anymore. He wanted to escape so badly, but there was no going back to his old life.
He began isolating himself. He didn't want Jen to see him like this. She had been his anchor, but she didn't share his longing to be human again. They had had arguments over it. She hated her old life. She hated her body. But for Paul, it was more...complicated. He had long wondered if the transformation into a Barbie doll had also altered his gender identity in his mind. Perhaps he always felt that way, and simply didn't know what to make of this gender euphoria that he had been drowning in since arriving in Toyland. He...kind of liked being a girl? He wasn't sure if those were his thoughts or the curse's, but the feeling remained the same.
Paul wished he had someone to talk to about it. He was, of course, an idiot. There were others in Toyland he could talk to. Friends, support groups, Jen... He was nervous and uncomfortable. Growing up, his father drilled into him that boys didn't play with dolls or played dress-up. Society told him what sort of things men should and shouldn't do and what sort of things men should and shouldn't like. And so he played the part that was assigned to him. Looking back, he realized just how much of a misfit he was deep down inside. Did he really want to go back to that? Here in Toyland, he was assigned a new role as punishment for the way he treated women. He lost his humanity in the process. Maybe it was better like this...
Maybe he should just give in and play the role he's been assigned.
That's when Dolly came to him. She saw just how distraught Paul had become. She had gone through something similar years ago, and so, she stood by his side and tried comforting Paul out of sympathy. Eventually, Paul stopped fighting whatever it was inside his head. His mind seemed like it just ran away, taking all his memories and identity along with it. All that remained was the doll. That's what she was, right? Who was this ragdoll next to her? She says her name is Dolly. She then asked Dolly what her name was. She giggled and said it was 'Paul'. Paul? No, that didn't sound right. She was pretty sure that was a boy's name. She was a girl doll like Dolly! Perhaps she meant...'Polly'? She felt a fluttering in her chest at the name. Yes. That must be her name. Polly proceeded to introduce herself to Dolly, although there wasn't a lot she could say about herself. She couldn't remember anything else before this moment.
Dolly was happy to see that Paul Polly was feeling better. Even more so that she was finally at peace with her new existence.