#laph

Hmmm, I mean I haven’t put much actual thought into it, but I was imagining it as a slow transformation, kinda like how the rabbits grew as his feelings did. So yes, absolutely, in an alternate laph universe there would be a Phil desperately trying to convince Nina that yes of course he’s always worn top hats to work (they do not believe him). I’d imagine it starts with the nose twitches and he worries he’s developed an allergy to some of the plants, then maybe the tail is next? And Nina, Alice, and Dan keep asking him why he’s shifting so much in his chair (and Dan probably notices something’s weird cuz he may or may not occasionally glance at Phil’s butt, totally accidentally of course). Then the ears. Maybe some odd patches of fur. Oh and his front teeth probably grow, that’d probably be an early one.

I mean this leaves many questions unanswered. Is it reversible? Or does it just stop with the trigger (I’m trying to be kinda vague on the off chance someone who follows me still wants to read laph and hasn’t yet cuz I’m still kinda attached to the idea of startling readers with the reveal lol) and then he retains his bunny tail and ears? Is it unquestioned in the universe (as it technically should be if it’s magical realism as far as my understanding of the genre goes—I kinda toed the line with that in laph tbh) or are people like ‘wtf?? you’re a rabbit??’ WOULD he be a human sized rabbit if he fully transformed? That’d be kinda terrifying. I feel like I’d maybe have him be somewhere in the middle. Like a border collie sorta size? Still kinda alarming. But probably he wouldn’t ever transform all the way because of ~developments, ya feel? Or maybe the climax would be a baffled Dan holding an enormous rabbit Phil, saying “what the fuck you idiot, of course I like you too.”

But it could also go the other way, right? He could transform in moments of ~realization, or being overwhelmed with the feelings and then go back (oh no this is kinda turning into furuba now) and then there’d be the issue of how the other characters would interact with that. Would they see it? Would they freak out, or just be like, ‘dude what’s with the rabbit transformations?’ Would it be the comedy of errors situation of trying to conceal it, Dan finding out at some point and trying to help Phil hide his secret (again this is just essentially Fruits Basket now)?