#you unlocked my trap card! I love doug rattmann he's so me

[britishsass]

What are Doug’s most common hallucinations at different points in his life?

First of all: This is my personal headcanon. That includes that he had symptoms starting at about 12, which is extremely early. It also includes that he and Cave were friends, and he had a crush on Caroline, so.

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As a kid, it's usually voices talking in the distance-- whispering in a way he can't make out words. Visual hallucinations are usually rare, but there was this one about a giant cat monster that popped up a few times.

As a teen, when it really kicks in, it's still mostly voices. At this point, it starts to be more about his classmates talking about him to call him a freak or a weirdo or... well, less kind terms that are usual for the early '40s about a half-japanese, half-german boy. Not a fun time for him by far. He retreats more into himself. Once he makes a friend, it gets better, mostly since Cave learns how to help with that for a while. There are much fewer visual hallucinations, but the cat monster does appear once or twice.

As a young adult, it's voices talking, getting more into the things like GLaDOS and other such conspiracies, like the government being after him or whatever. He gets on meds at this point, which helps a lot, but he still has some issues with hallucinations when he misses a dose.

After Aperture's collapse, it's mainly voices at first-- Especially Caroline's, without the filter put on it for GLaDOS. He assigns that voice to the Companion Cube in order to not end up chasing after voices in the hallways. There are a couple visual hallucinations, but this is extremely rare, and mostly things like seeing people for just a moment. He almost always tries to reach them, only for them to vanish before he's close enough to touch them. When he gets out, this is the main thing he still has issues with-- He keeps having to touch someone's shoulder, hand, or arm to prove they're really there.