!! This is both canon and non-canon at the same time, this is meant to be symbolic of Steph's facade !! ___ Characters: Steph, reflection-Steph(s) CW: Mentions of bl00d, self-hatred, and implication of slidal/sewer ideation ___ Her hand pressed against the mirror before her. The surface was cool, and felt rather fragile. She stared at her reflection within it with wide, terrified eyes. “...That’s not me… it can’t…” She whispered, and yet it followed her every move perfectly. The ‘her’ looking back at her in the mirror was twisted. Horrific. “No… no no no…” She backed away from it, covering her eyes as if that’d make it go away. Her denial only caused more mirrors to land around her, circling her, trapping her in her own personal glass prison. They reflected only what she viewed to be the truth. Yet what she saw to be the truth was also the very thing she was avoiding. “When did I…” She choked out, unable to finish her sentence. She dropped to her knees and slowly uncovered her eyes, staring at her reflection. “..Have I always been this hideous...?” She whispered. She already knew the answer. Or at least, she thought she did. Yes. She had. In the mirror, the curse oozed from her like it was overflowing- dragging over her distorted face. Her reflections laughed at her, taunting her. They hated her, almost as much as she hated herself. She averted her eyes, looking into her lap, finally allowing her to notice the mask that had just appeared there. The mask was beautiful, but fragile. There were spikes behind the faceplate, but it was still beautiful on the outside. Slowly, she raised it up, pressing it against her face, and tightening the ribbons behind her head. Pain immediately spiked, and bl00d seeped from under the mask, but she didn’t care. She only cared about replacing the cracks with something prettier, so that no one would see her as as ugly as she saw herself. As she looked up again, the mirror in front of her reflected the mask, but the mirrors all around it didn’t. They knew the truth. They /were/ the truth. “You can’t hide from it forever.” They told her, glaring at her with slit pupils. “...Who decided that?” She murmured in response, only looking forward at the mirror which showed her lies. “It will only get worse the longer that mask stays on. And one of these days, it will crumble.” She paused for a moment, before straightening, “I don’t care. The day that this mask can no longer stay intact, then I will crumble with it. When they see how disgusting I really am, they will no longer need me anyways. They will want me gone.” She bowed her head down, “They will realize that I am not a person. And that I only bring misfortune– that I was never worthy of their time because I do not bring anything good.” “...Pathetic. You should’ve let them see from the start instead of putting on this masquerade of lies. How will they feel when they realize you are not who you seem to be?” Steph didn’t answer.
