#// one of my other ocs ascended because her fave doll being the Bonsy had a profound effect on her psyche

[alabonshay]

// Since paper dolls were mentioned, I want to add that they're a pretty significant part of dendie pop culture.

Dendie paper dolls are usually printed in the back of official newspapers. As a bit of propaganda, they always represent a certain Duchess (design approved by them) and are made to educate children about the aristocracy, in a glorified way.

There's also certain rules, such as having to destroy them whenever a Duchess passes away to avoid having their likeness around. It's bad luck and plain disrespectful, until the (decades-long) national mourning is done.

A different Duchess is printed at the start of each year and then the rest of the year is mostly paper accessories, like tea sets and 3D folding furniture, with the occasional reprint.

The children are excited about the dolls, definitely. But not in the educational way the adults hoped-- just the usual baffling-depths-of-child-imagination way.

For example, it's almost universally agreed upon that the paper Duchess Alabonsé is some kind of evil genius. She's big, she's grumpy... and as it turns out she has a herd of genetically engineered horses that can talk but decided to rob trains. She also has a secret basement full of mounted heads of the people she doesn't like. She is also working on an invention that can make people fly.

The eventual death of the 8th Evergreen Alabonsé wrecked millions of small hearts, since they had grown quite attached to the idea of her. Paper dolls weren't as much fun after that. However, there were a lot of suspiciously-Evergreen-shaped dolls with different faces and accessories, who filled the same roles.

The end of Evergreen VIII also awakened plenty of minds to wishing they were also a Duchess like never before, if they could suddenly draw what looked like their own faces on to the template. The recent uptick in 'accidental' ascensions may or may not be inspired by the one person who resented it the most.