#daemonophobic.txt

My two biggest examples of this phenomenon are Ralsei and Spamton

Ralsei first appears as a cloaked figure and is depicted as such within the version of the prophecy he tells Kris and Susie in ch1 as well as the prophecy stained glass within ch4. It is only when Susie tells him to take off the cloak that we more of him, but he is still shrouded in darkness. It is only at the end of ch1 that we see him as a white goat monster, fully unveiled. The way Ralsei speaks about himself, especially within chapters 2 and 4, implies that he has no concept of self outside of Kris and Susie ("I just wonder what being Ralsei-like even is") and their roles within the prophecy. As such, he only takes on visual aspects beyond what is seen within the prophecy when Susie forces him to do so. He becomes more monster-like in appearance both to appear nonthreatening to the heroes but also to become closer to them, not just a Prince from the Dark but a mentor, friend, and family member. I'm not even sure if he's doing it consciously (or any other darkner, for that matter).

Spamton's case is a little more... dark. Spamton was once an addison, as seen in images and merchandise depicting his "Big Shot Era." He already seems to have a habit of mirroring the people he "works" with (red suit for Tenna, black suit and pink-yellow glasses for Swatch), but what could have caused such a horrifically drastic change in appearance? Obviously, the phone calls. Spamton was getting knowledge of the Dark World from someone on the outside, literally exploiting code to get Big. He had knowledge of the Prophecy. And imagine making it Big and wanting to (begrudgingly) give your business associate the knowledge that got you to where you are and as punishment learning How It Ends. Learning that your partner will die and there is nothing you can do about it except walk the set path. Learning that you are less than a concept given shape, you are a concept of a concept. You are literally a puppet in more ways than one, the strings of the Prophecy and the Program impossible to cut without being severed from fate entirely. These revelations caused Spamton's self-perception to shift so dramatically that it made him entirely unrecognizable to anyone who may have known him before!

Some smaller examples of darkner's appearances being influenced by self-perception are:

Tenna growing/shrinking depending on mood, as well as getting all spiky when he's playing the role of the villain (both of these are played as gags so I don't think they have any serious weight, but fun to think about)

Ramb appearing different from other Plugboys due to him being an outsider to TV World and having a different function ("toy" rather than tool)