[OPEN] Prick your fingers, it is done, the moon has now eclipsed the sun

[manufactured]

WHO: Albert Wesker (eventually) and whomever decides to join him (presumably you!)
WHERE: Dreamscapes.
WHEN: Slightly backdated to 8/24.
WHAT: Dreamdiving.
WARNINGS: Medical experimentation, brainwashing, child abuse, violence, body horror, depictions of self-harm, a general blanket warning that Wesker has been through Some Shit and as such this is probably going to suck on several levels.

[It's cold.

It isn't the familiar drop in temperature that might come from the weather, but a sterile, artificial chill, the sort associated with medical work - hospitals and laboratories and other places that bring with them a sharp, chemical smell and an unpleasant sense that you don't really want to be there.

Of course, the metal table against your back probably isn't doing much to keep you warm, either.

Trying to sit up will be a bit of a problem, given the heavy restraints locked around your wrists and ankles, your hips and your upper body; they're a combination of metal and leather, old-fashioned and imposing, clearly designed to restrain something very, very powerful, and they're keeping you from going very far. You can look around enough to tell that where you are is...probably not somewhere you want to stay for long - it is, in fact, a laboratory of some sort, full of instruments and vials and jars of things that don't look very nice, the metal walls giving way somewhere just on the edges of your line of sight, turning into something else - a sort of open entrance to what looks like a cave of some sort. Either way, it'll probably take you somewhere that isn't here if you follow it. Tipping your head back will show another potential exit to the area - a metal door in the wall near all the instruments and materials.

Of course, you can't really utilize either route if you're bound down, now, can you? You should probably work on figuring out what you're going to do about that, first.]

Comments

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji just got here and already he hates it, thanks.

The first order of business: figuring out if he still has his satchel with his book-scythe in it, and if he does, if he can wiggle his wrists enough to be able to grab onto the book. He can think of no reason why having a weapon in his hand would make this situation worse, even if slicing through metal restraints might be difficult.]

[manufactured]

[You should have your belongings on your person, they haven't been stripped from you; it might take some doing, but you might be able to get at it if you try.

It might be a good idea, honestly, because it sounds like someone's approaching that door nearby; it sounds like a man, he doesn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular from what you can tell - it's the sort of distracted mumbling that comes with talking to oneself, maybe, even if you can't really make out words.]

[thesettingsun]

[That sounds like nobody Shuji wants to meet, especially while strapped down.

Once Shuji has a grip on the book, he transforms it into its scythe form. There's no way to get a decent swing with it in this position, so he settles for a sawing motion on one of the wrist restraints. If he can just get one wrist free, he'll be much more able to get everything else off.

He's probably not going to get it off before that guy drops in, though.]

[manufactured]

[...Probably not. Points for creativity, though?

The door opens easily enough - say what you want about the weirdness of this place, but it's definitely well-oiled and not unnecessarily badly-kept-up for the sake of being pointlessly creepy - and the person who walks in is possibly familiar to Shuji in some way, actually; at the very least his voice probably is, seeing as he's someone from Wesker's nightmares in October. His hair is a dark dirty blonde, and he's perhaps surprisingly nondescript; he looks a bit tired, maybe, but as appearances go he's just very average-looking, the sort of guy that wouldn't be out of place living in the suburbs with his dog and his wife and his kids, probably does some golfing on the weekends. You know the sort.

That said, he's got some sort of clipboard with him as he comes in, and he's still reading it and kind of muttering to himself before he looks over at whatever noise Shuji is producing and - ]

...Wh...at are you doing?

[It's not exactly sharp, it's more genuinely confused than anything. Probably because he has never seen anyone try to use a damn scythe that way, holy shit.]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji is still trying to saw when the door opens. When this guy speaks to him, he freezes, a chorus of 'I'm So Fucked' playing in stereo in his head.

He can't think of anything to say but-]

Trying to escape?

[-an honest answer.]

[manufactured]

[Well, that's. Something? Let's leave it at "something" while this guy turns that over in his head a little.]

...Having much luck?

[oh my god this is going to be social ineptitude central for a while here buddy i am so sorry]

[thesettingsun]

It's slow going.

[Shuji's just going to... start sawing again...]

[scythegun]

[Ah. This is going to be fun, isn't it.

The first order of business is to assess his surroundings before he starts struggling, even though he really wants to start struggling. Panicking isn't going to do any good, so he takes a moment to try to calm down before looking around again.

Three questions immediately spring to mind. First, is his briefcase here? He usually carries it with him now, even when there usually isn't any reason to; it's comforting to have something he can use to defend himself if he needs to. It's not like it'll help him escape, but it'd be good to know if it's here anyway.

Second, is there anything else that he could potentially reach? If he can free at least one of his hands he'll have a better shot at getting out of here.

Third, is the binding across his upper body centered over the blastia? If it is that'll actually give him a bit more wiggle room.

Oh, and while he's here trying to sort himself out, is there anything of note that he can hear?]

[manufactured]

[To answer questions in order:

First of all, your briefcase is here. It's sitting near some of the cabinets bearing specimens and the like against the wall; definitely out of reach and not much use in your current situation, but it's present in the room.

Secondly, there doesn't seem to be much in your immediate reach, because whomever works here doesn't like the idea of being stabbed by their projects. Understandably so, probably.

Thirdly, it's largely centered over that, yes.

As for what's audible, it sounds like someone may be pacing nearby? There's definitely someone out beyond that door behind you. It seems like they aren't going far - a lot of pacing back and forth in the corridor that's probably out there, the metal doing nothing to hide that fact, and it seems like they may be talking a bit? Not the sort of talking that implies there's someone there with them, but even if words can't be made out it sounds like there's some sort of very animated muttering to themselves that's happening out there.]

[scythegun]

[It's good that his briefcase is here, but actually getting to it is definitely not going to be easy. There's nothing within reach to help and while he's got some wiggle room, that's not going to help him get his hands free. Okay. He doesn't have anything he can do like this, so there's really only two options as far as he can see.

The first option is to get the person's attention. They don't sound like they're going to be a threat, but given the setup here and how helpless he is, he doesn't really like that idea. The second option is... well, to wait it out and see what happens. Jaeger doesn't really like that option either.

He'll try to find some give in the restraints around his wrists, but since he's probably not going to find any he'll eventually settle and decide on the latter option. He'll wait for a bit, see if he's able to determine anything more about the person out there.]

[manufactured]

[You'll actually probably recognize the speech patterns a little bit, if you're paying attention to them; they sound like someone else you heard a little while back, in Bosuma. You know, with Wesker.]

[scythegun]

[...Of fucking course it's Birkin. Why is he even surprised.

Irrational hatred of Birkin aside, this is probably a good thing? Wesker told him that Birkin doesn't fight, and Birkin is probably not going to turn into a slug monster the size of a bus here, so in theory he should be okay.

It's just a matter of making sure he doesn't startle Birkin too badly, probably.]

Hello? Can you hear me?

[He raises his voice and waits for a reaction.]

[manufactured]

[That seems to get a pause in the pacing, a soft noise like he's just realized that there's someone here that he probably should be dealing with; he'll make his way in and - ...yes, it's Birkin, looking about as nondescript as ever. Tired, perhaps, but generally not disheveled or anything. Just a bit overworked.]

Good to see you're awake. And not going anywhere.

[It's delivered casually, there doesn't seem to be any sort of open malice behind it; it is what it is, you're awake and not going anywhere, thank you for not being Shuji and sawing through your restraints with a big dumb weapon you carry in a book apparently?]

[matchbreaker]

[ Wow this is decidedly uncool. Uncool is an understatement, really? It's actually sort of ... terrifying? First things first, she's going to try these restraints against all of her vampire super strength (so roughly enough to throw a car) which... tbh she hopes is enough but she has this sinking fear it might not be. ]

[manufactured]

[You're going to get a lot of rattling for your effort, and there will probably be a little bit of play in the tightness if you keep at it, though it doesn't seem like they're simply going to break - are you trying the ones at your wrists first, presumably?

...Because it seems like you're not going to be alone for very long; it sounds like there's someone in the hallway. Making their way toward the room you're in, footsteps even and measured.]

[matchbreaker]

[ Yeah wrists first - she's right handed, so the right for the most part. But... damn. Okay, her eyes flash and ...

She hears the steps.

Well shit. The small woman tries to keep a prolonged tug on the restraint, but lets go of it as the other comes in. As if that'll pretend there wasn't any movement there. ]

[manufactured]

[The man that enters is honestly sort of on the nondescript side; he seems a bit tired, perhaps, the sort of person that seems to be more than a bit overworked, but he also doesn't seem the be the sort that would smell delicious to you - he hasn't lost his vigor for life or work or anything else, he doesn't seem upbeat but his spirits are still plainly up enough, the guy could just, like, seriously use a fucking vacation.

Seeing as he's here, he's also probably insane. But that goes without saying. As it stands, though, he's just kind of your average dirty-blond guy that probably lives in the burbs with his wife and his dog and his 2.5 kids and probably plays fucking badminton or something.

He's got a clipboard with him that seems to be containing notes; he'll sort of give Elda a look, and the look is kind of a hard to read one, but he'll settle back easily enough with his back against the wall, crossing his legs idly at the ankle and paging through what he's got on that clipboard, because you are Officially Less Interesting than his notes. Which may or may not be a good thing.]

Good to see you're awake. Making much headway?

[...On the. Restraints. Probably.]

[matchbreaker]

[ It's the fact that he doesn't smell good that surprises her as much as anything. He has that look to him, though he's surprisingly young looking for how... generic he looks. The woman narrows her eyes as he comes in, though it does hurt to do that when she looks at the lights in the room. Ugh. Anyway, let's focus on him for now and... ]

Less than I'd like, really!

[ Ever honest....

... Wait. She should try to see if she can sense bats here. She closes her eyes (also to get the lights out of it) to reach out to feel for that. Probably not, but. ]

[manufactured]

[No bats in the immediate area, unfortunately. Leaving her with...well, the restraints and also this guy.]

Do what you want, I suppose. It's not like they can't be replaced if you manage to break them, and I'm actually interested to see if you're able to. Those things have held some pretty powerful specimens in their time.

Try not to damage the room too much, though. Our materials are on the expensive side.

[frostythehitman]

[ When he wakes up, he immediately wants to struggle. He squirms against the restraints and tries to snap them with the strength of the metal left arm, but no luck.

But then he remembers, no, this is normal. For him, this is normal. Waking up restrained like this (or similarly), it just means his superiors are nearby doing....something with him. Maintenance, or something like that. He knows it's happened, over and over and over, but he's never quite remembered the feeling of it.

He doesn't like it.

James calms down and starts looking around for anyone else. Instead, he catches sight of the lab materials and feels...he's not sure what he feels right now, this weird cocktail of emotions brewing in the pit of his stomach, but he doesn't like it. ]

[manufactured]

[Eventually something can be heard in the hall, the sort of footsteps outside that are quick-paced and brisk but not urgent, the sort of thing indicating someone with a naturally fast gait that's been given something to do with themselves. There's a voice accompanying it as well, soft and equally quick-paced, but not conversational - or at least, not the sort of conversational that implies that any directional flow is anything but one-sided. Mutterings done to oneself, keeping the mind occupied and on-task, keeping whatever fucked up ducks need to be in a row here in a solid row, and it's all a bit too scattered to be all that foreboding, all things considered.

It doesn't seem like one of your superiors, though; it's not anything recognizable, it's not anything too familiar outside of the setup, and in the end, the man who walks through the door likely isn't familiar either.

He's put-together, perhaps a bit moreso than one would assume from his audible demeanor in the hallway; he seems fairly young, mid-thirties at oldest, with dirty blond hair and a look about him that's a bit tired in nature. He doesn't lack energy for being here, per se, but he seems a bit overworked; the sort of guy that wouldn't take a sick day if his life literally depended on it because he's needed here, for as long as they require him. Otherwise, though, he's just a guy, almost weirdly nondescript - the sort of person that probably lives in the suburbs with his wife and his dog and his 2.5 kids, maybe he has a membership with a tennis club that he never uses. You know the sort.

That said, he's got a clipboard with notes tacked to them on him, and he's glancing those over when he enters, well before he spares a look at James; he seems easy, though, actually setting the clipboard down before he'll address him, because for once someone is not Officially Less Important Than His Notes.]

Well. Good to see you're still in one piece, and so is my table.

[It's conversational, if a bit awkwardly so. Not malicious from the sound of it.]

[frostythehitman]

[ James looks over at the man and...he looks completely unfamiliar. Of course he does. James doesn't actually remember what any of his superiors or the doctors or whoever else he worked with look like, he just knows they exist. Is this man one of them? Is he getting one of those strange memories right now--or perhaps discovering one in one of the strange dreams? ]

...what am I here for?

[ His voice is mostly calm and even, but there's an undercurrent of fear. He really doesn't want to be afraid. He wants to trust these people, he knows he does. Or at least he has in the past. But with so many blanks in his mind, with so little idea of what's happening, he can't help but be apprehensive. ]

[manufactured]

A few experimental treatments, that's all.

[His voice isn't comforting in the least, but there isn't any sort of bite to it; it's like he was asked what day it is, and it just so happens to be Thursday.]

I've been given the go-ahead to proceed as we see fit, so let's take it a bit at a time, shall we?

[frostythehitman]

[ He nods, trying to keep relaxed. ]

Experimental how?

[ Surely they wouldn't do anything that dangerous to him, right? Surely there's not that much of a risk here. They wouldn't hurt him. He's valuable, they care about him. They need him. They wouldn't subject him to anything extreme.

(But if that's the case, then why is he tied down?) ]

[manufactured]

Things designed to enhance the body, nothing to be concerned about.

[He's messing with some of those vials, though; they may be a bit difficult to see, but there's definitely solid matter in some of them along with liquid. Which is always...you know, a promising thing.]

It's something we've been working toward for a while.