Bawling because of how Ana’s older brother reminds me of Viktor…
So, Damião is his name. He’s also disabled in a similar fashion to how Viktor is.
Damião and Ana both have this unusual resistance to the Cordyceps Brain Infection, but their bodies respond very differently. Ana's biology prevents the fungus from settling, while Damião's only slows and disrupts the process. It’s a constant tug of war. Like Viktor, he lives with a body that's perpetually changing, caught between wellness and rotting rather than recovery or total infection.
Exposure to spores doesn't immediately infect Damião, it triggers severe flare-ups of his chronic symptoms, leaving him weaker each time. One thing that stands out as a parallel is the coughing flare-ups and the headaches. The fungus partially recognizes him as like a compatible host, slowing the progress without stopping it. When taking his physical state into account, he just looks chronically ill—I’m talking a forward hunch like the runners, brittle curly hair, pale, lesions on his skin that keep trying to heal—all of it.
They also both need a crutch to walk…
I’ll see myself out… brb crying ☹️
