#I’ll edit in the morningggg hehehe

[chaotic-fandom-hoarder]

mom said it’s my turn on the writing again!

Alex can’t exactly pinpoint when they first started to change. After all, they lived with a creature who could create hallucinations and worked in a place that had a “state of the art hallucinatory environment”. It’s hard to think about strange things happening to yourself when everything is already strange.

Although, a big telling point should have been the eyes.

Every once in a while, they would look in their bathroom mirror and meet yellow eyes, like that of a cat, or more likely, a veldigun. They would just sigh and continue business as usual, and when they glance back up at the mirror their eyes would be normal again. Human.

One time, before another day at the Lankmann Asylum, Alex was washing their hands. Their reflection didn’t look like them, but Clyde was asleep, so it wasn’t of much concern to them. The hallucinations always seemed to be stronger whenever Clyde was sleeping, whether under a table, in a closet, or sprawled across the couch.

Did Alex paint their nails recently? They didn’t think so, but there they were, with light green nails. It was probably just a hallucination, they thought. It was a nice color though, it suited them.

It took Alex a while to notice that the colored nails never faded. If anything, the color got more intense, eventually ending off as vibrant forest green claws.

Of course, at this specific moment, the nails weren’t the most important thing. The most important thing was the eye right in the center of their hand.

Alex blinked. Then it blinked back. It was yellow with a narrow pupil, like Clyde’s. 

Oh, this better be another hallucination because if not, then that’s not going to be convenient. If it’s not from Clyde, then maybe they should check the batteries in their co2 detectors.

The eye closed just as they thought that, and Alex could swear that they saw the air ripple before their hand looked perfectly normal. No eyelids. Nothing looking back at them where there shouldn’t be.

Alex just sighed and left for work. The fact that they’re seeing things doesn’t matter. Probably. Between the Lankmann Foundation and Clyde, a hallucination or two is probably not the worst thing that could happen to them.

After that, they never seem to get less… weird. Specifically with their reflection.

There comes a point later on, not long before the police raid their home, where Alex doesn’t like having mirrors around anymore. Afterall, the hallucinations always seem to get stronger in their reflection. The shadows seem to get deeper and darker, as though something was hiding one side of their face. 

Sometimes they catch a glimpse of inhuman teeth in their reflection, almost like Clyde’s, but whenever they fully look at it the reflection goes back to normal. Other times, the person in the mirror seems to move differently. The reflection looks stiffer than Alex feels, like watching a stop motion picture of themself.

(What Alex doesn’t realize is that the reflection isn’t the unnatural one anymore. They are.)

Does the Paradox of Theseus’s ship apply to a person as well? At what point does someone stop being human?