#yeah im a sucker for men who cause their own downfall

[st7arlight]

ugh. something something Stanford's dehumanization, feeling the world is against him, but ultimately being the cause of his own inhumanity. "something is wrong with me" to "this thing makes me great" to "i am something new and revolutionary" to before he knows it, all of his other-ness is man-made. Tattoos in an alien language announcing his affiliation with an ancient god, a metal plate on his skull immunizing him to mental attacks. who's to say there aren't more changes? side effects from using himself as a test subject, an eye lost to bill now replaced with technology more advanced than our world knows. modifications to better communicate in alternative dimensions who use growls and purrs, fortification to his teeth and digestive system to be able eat most foods in times of scarcity. of course he changed, he thinks, it's been thirty years. He's matured and learned to survive. of course he's different, he's always been different. he doesn't realize that nobody is bothered by his extra fingers anymore, nor his intellect. they are unnerved by the way he knows who is in a room and where without having looked at them. the way his breathing and heart rate slows in the face of adrenaline, like a predatory animal preparing to strike. the way he rarely smiles with his teeth, and when he does, it feels like a warning.