i must confess that i feel like a monster

[frostythehitman]

WHO: James Barnes and YOU!
WHERE: the prison
WHEN: all of October
WHAT: catchall log for anyone who may want to visit James in prison!
WARNINGS: weird monster shit going on in the background


[ For all the craziness happening this month, at least the process of visiting James is pretty consistent--show up to the prison, take a visitor's slot, go through all the security checks, then get whisked into a guarded room to be seated at one of the tables. And then, a few minutes later, James will walk in from one of the other doors and take a seat on the other side of the table, wearing his prison best: the plain-looking khaki outfit. For a falsely convicted murderer serving a 15 year sentence (and for, y'know, being James Barnes), he looks remarkably calm.

But as the month wears on, some visitors may notice that he's starting to look or act a little strangely... ]

(( Please note what date your visits are, so I can gauge when he gets infected/how infected he'll be at any given visit! ))

Comments

shades of red

[parodeity]

[ so. dave probably makes fairly regular visits to james since the Prison thing, just like he did to malik in juvenile detention. it's more recent at least? but especially if/when the Dirk Connection becomes a thing and just because he plain likes james he'd come visit.

unfortunately, this time he has a slight ulterior motive.

infect. multiply. destroy.

even if he's just on the other side of the table, not allowed to touch, eye contact should do it...and he'll tip his shades down at some point in this conversation, but nicities first!

for the most part? dave looks the same. just...unhealthier. thinner, far more pale, and his freckles don't seem to be visible any longer. there's also the minor matter of his shadow being bigger than it should be, and maybe moving a little oddly out of the corner of people's eyes...

but when they look at it dead on, it seems to behave as normal. weird! ]

Hey, dude. So...how are you? There's been a hell of a lot of network chatter 'bout you.

[frostythehitman]

[ He gets a good look at Dave as he enters the visitation room and settles in. He thinks that he looks a little pale, a little sick, but maybe that's just how Dave's always looked. He hasn't seen Dave in a few months, after all. He's not sure if something is off, really.

But he seems to sound okay, so whatever. James doesn't think about it too hard. ]

Yeah? Like how?

[ He knows, from his family, that the article published on his arrest didn't mention him by name. So if people on Retrospec are talking about him, it's probably because someone who visited him earlier blabbed about him being in here. He has no idea what they would've been saying about him--that he's innocent? That he really is guilty? That he's just a stupid jackass? ]

[parodeity]

Like, someone made this huge call out post lookin' for the actual killer? And then everyone argued a bunch about who could or couldn't have done it. We're, uh, not actually any closer to solving the case as far as I know.

[ dave sounds apologetic. ]

But several people have been pretty vocal it wasn't you? Which, like. I personally would find it more likely you'd punch him in the face.

oct 8

[thisloveisjustice]

[He tried. He really, really tried. He lasted three days, just managing to not succumb on his birthday. But once he does... the need to infect someone is overpowering. Tatsuo is about to start prowling the streets for someone, anyone he could infect when he remembers the perfect prey. Someone who can't run away from him.

James.

Once he's decided on his victim, some of the pent up agitation subsides, and Tatsuo gathers up some of the files he's put together in his investigation into the string of supposedly coincidental crime ring deaths. Coincidental. As if. His connections with the police department grant him easy access, and it's not long before he's sitting across from James. He lays down a small stack of folders, and then, perhaps curiously, a finger print kit.]

I know we already have your prints on file, but frankly, whoever took them should be fired. They were completely shoddy.

[frostythehitman]

[ James is taken aback by the file of folders that Tatsuo brings in--didn't all the questioning and investigating happen during the trial? Why this now?--but at the mention of fingerprints, he laughs a little. ]

Yeah, figures. I bet getting fingerprints is pretty hard when one of your hands is smooth metal.

[ He wiggles the fingers on the left hand for emphasis. ]

[thisloveisjustice]

[Truthfully, the stack of files is there mostly for show. Let the guards and James think he's there on official business.]

Rather difficult yes. Pretty much the only thing they could do at that point is take a sample of the metal in order to have a metallurgic profile.

[Whether they actually did that or not, Tatsuo's not sure. But it's what he would have done. As it is, he can smell the metal in James's arm, but he can't quite pin down the alloy. He's not exactly surprised, because there are so many different alloys it's impossible to know them all. Though, now that he knows what it smells like, he probably could recognize this mix again.]

It certainly has an interesting composition.

[He doesn't open the finger printing kit just yet. Instead he picks up the folder from the top of his small stack and flips it open. He lays it on the table and turns it around so James can see the list of criminal deaths that occurred between July 23rd and August 11th. Nine in total.]

Though, while I've got you here, I was hoping to pick your brain a little over Zee. I've been looking into the deaths that proceeded his, and I know he was looking into them too.

[Which, James has effectively made impossible to do officially. Thanks, James.]

[godcards]

[ It's early October. Nothing weird going on just yet, but Malik has found out that a good ole pal of his has ended up in jail. As much as he's trying to be a better person, or at least a less heinous one, he finds this information hilarious.

So he goes to the jail, taking a seat all casual-like across from James, and he just sits there. Grinning like a loon. ]

[frostythehitman]

[ While Malik is trying to be a better person, James is trying to accept he's a terrible one. So, as much as the gleeful look on Malik's face makes him want to deck the guy, James reins it in. After all, it's not like he's got a lot of moral high ground to stand on anymore, is it?

James waits for him to say something. Eventually, he gets tired of waiting and prompts him. ]

Yeah?

[godcards]

How's it feel?

[ Even though their last few interactions had been more or less civil (for them), Malik is reveling in this. He doesn't know if James is still the "weird" James from the summer, or if he remembers everything they got into last year - it doesn't matter. It's still funny. ]

Oct 8th

[dejerate]

[It was difficult not to hear about what was going on with Zee being killed and all. So of course Yuu hears about James. Decides to go and visit the other to find out what was really going on. To see how James was doing at least.

Which, he has never actually been to prison, but he manages to get through the security checks and be led to the visitation area. There's something kind of unnerving, and part of him thinks all of this seems very cautious and paranoid but at the same time, they probably had reasons for all their rules or whatever.

He sits in the chair, glancing over to the other teenager at the other end of the table. He's....honestly not quite sure what to say. How to even start on all of this.]

H-hey. I just....I heard you were here. So I figured I'd come see how things were.

[Obviously not great because this is prison but. Still.]

[frostythehitman]

[ He shrugs, casually. ]

They're alright. I'm doing about as good as you can do, in prison.

[ Which isn't a lie. Despite this being a proper federal prison, instead of the more lenient juvenile detention center he was in last time, and despite his sentence being over a decade long instead of just a few days, he feels a lot better than he did during his last stint in the criminal justice system. At least he's accepted what he did and that he belongs here, which is a step up from before. ]

[dejerate]

Yeah, this seems.....pretty strict. And what everyone is saying -- with Zee and all.

[Sure. He'd seen proof of James and his temper, but that had just been punching a guy after he mouthed off. That didn't mean that James would go that far as to actually kill someone? Yuu isn't sure. Whether this might be some misunderstanding somehow or if James really did this. It's one thing to mouth off, to lash out in the moment, but.

Yuu fidgets, biting his lip and raising one hand to rub at the back of his neck.]

oct 9

[maskreant]

[ Despite the craziness that has started with this infection they're still looking into, then there's gathering items to contain or cure it, Akira is still looking into the serial murders during Recolle's 2-month reverie. With the list of supposed prime suspects available, it would be a shame if he didn't do some investigating himself, even if he doesn't truly suspect most of them.

Anyway, he's here to pay a visit with a box of cat donuts. It takes some time for authorities to inspect the treats (eventually taking some themselves), but Akira is allowed into visitation time without further hassle. ]

Hey, I wanted to check up on you. [ Since... What happened to staying out of trouble for the family? ] And drop off some cat donuts.

[ Let him show them off. They're cute and tasty looking. ]

[frostythehitman]

[ He peers over the cat donuts in awe. ]

Wow. I didn't know you could make donuts like this.

[ He slowly, gingerly reaches in and grabs one, then glances over at the guard watching over the visitation room. She gives him a nod, because this is pretendy funtimes and I can let food into these visits if I want, and he finally grabs it and takes a massive bite out of it. God, this donut is so good. Dry, but delicious. ]

So what's up?

[ He's muffled through a mouthful of donut. ]

[maskreant]

They're not uncommon, actually.

[ But he knows only select shops go out of their way to decorate pastries to this degree. His workplace is one of them. The whole box is for James, so Akira doesn't lay one finger on them. Instead, he gets comfortable in his seat like this isn't jail. ]

Just wanted to see how you're doing. [ And it seems to be fine...? For the most part. ] But I also wanted to talk about the case involving Zee's death if you're comfortable with that.

[ Since he likes James for being audacious and... Akira has very odd tastes in people, but he wants to be transparent about why he's here, anyway. ]

October 5th

[digthefuzz]

[Between school and last month's digital madness, Kurt was preoccupied enough that he did not realize what had happened to James until recently. The idea that he had been arrested for killing that Zee guy was just ridiculous! He doesn't know what to make of anything, but he knows that he has to see his friend.

So Kurt is there, sitting at a table as he awaits James's entry. Though he looks concerned, he tries to at least start off in a light-hearted manner.]

Dude... We have to stop meeting like this.

[frostythehitman]

What do you mean, "like this"? It's my first time in prison. Last time was juvie, remember?

[ James seems to be pretty upbeat himself. Certainly a lot moreso than after the last time he was arrested. ]

[digthefuzz]

I know, but- you know what I mean! You... being locked up... what's up with that, man? [He frowns, as he tries to frame that casually.]

Oct 10th

[blondferret]

[Did Derek fight the urge to infect. Yeah... for like a day. Being a ghost just... felt so nice. Being free.During the day he was mostly solid and it wasn't until evening did he start becoming more see through. So when he went by the jail to visit James, his was still solid... minus his feet. Yeah, the feet were starting to go, not that anyone bothered to notice.

He's waiting in the guarded room, trying to determine if he wanted to infect James. Really, why not? It would make life so much more fun! And Derek had the best excuse to come and talk to James. He recently got a new memory that he thought James might find more interesting. Something to give them some common ground. Yes, any reason to get close to he kid.

His head tilts when he sees James in his khaki outfit.]


Isn't is suppose to be orange?

[frostythehitman]

[ By this time, James has started to...feel weird. He feels desperately thirsty all the time, and his legs are weak. He might chalk that up to not getting enough food or water at mealtimes--maybe they intentionally underfeed people in here. Maybe that's part of the prison sentence.

What's weirder is how he feels like sometimes, he can see or move beyond his own body. Wherever his shadow falls, he feels like he can control it, or sense things there. He's not sure what to make of it.

When he makes it into the visitation room, he practically falls into the seat, his legs too weak to lower him into it. His voice is raspy. ]

I don't know. [ He shrugs. ] It's not like the guards are gonna explain it to me. One of the other guys, though, he thinks that the orange was too bright and cheerful, and that the beige is more bland and depressing. Like oatmeal.

[blondferret]

Depressing? Please, oatmeal is only boring if you don't add anything to it. Like boo-berries!

[Derek... did you really just say "boo-berries"?]

[Derek leans back against the chair he is sitting in.]

So, how has it been. Been reflecting on our actions or what ever you're suppose to be doing here. Do you get to go to school?

October 13th sure

[nachetanya]

[ Natalia, when she's visiting, is showing very obvious signs of her own infection by now. Red feathered wings closely folded to her back. Her red eyes turned snake-like. Tight scales as from a sea snake over much of her body, blueish in hue. Her left arm's stub has partially merged into her body and her right hand's webbed. Hers has progressed very quickly due to her overall embrace of it.

But she was visiting James because... well, she might not be wearing the prosthetic now for obvious reasons, but she did still feel a kinship with him because of it. And she smiles a little to see him, though it almost seems apologetic. ]

I've not kept good track of your case.

[frostythehitman]

[ He's glad that he got to sit down in the room before she entered, because it saved him the indignity of her seeing him crawl and flop his way in here. His legs by now have turned to scaly jelly (that are completely floppy and barely have knee joints anymore, to boot). He's got some visible gills forming near his neck, just peeking out of the prison uniform, and some more scales creeping up the sides of his face.

Honestly? He's freaking out about it, but he was going to try to keep it together for visits, at least. Until he saw that Natalia has similar scales herself. ]

Uh, me neither, apparently--what happened to you?

[ Guess who's been cut off from Retrospec info from in here and therefore has no clue what's happening! ]

October 16 because I like living danerously

[standalonehuman]

Togusa has been a mix of lucky and cautious to escape these two weeks and still be himself. He isn't quite sure what it is that drives him to go check up on James, but he finds himself there with little forethought. Even being here feels like a failure, that Togusa had said he would make it right, and he hasn't so far. That he should have been working harder to find the real killer.

But, then again, one of his best friends tried to literally hunt him with a set of wings and talons, so, priorities?

Maybe he's here because he thinks that James is safe, removed from this all, and he's looking for a piece of normalcy. Togusa doesn't need to knock on the visitation room door before he enters, but he does anyway.

He has no idea what he's in for.

[frostythehitman]

James wishes he'd knocked, so he'd had a little time to prepare himself. He was already in the room and seated, but he's winded--between not getting enough water to his gills (because he has those now, holy shit!!!) and his legs disappearing into a fish tail (holy shit!!!), it takes a lot more effort to basically move around anywhere.

Instead, when Togusa walks in, he'll see James wheezing a little as he tries to catch his breath, sweat running down the translucent blue-ish scales running along the few exposed patches of skin from his prison uniform. If he catches a glimpse under the table, he will see that James neither has legs nor pants. And despite the lighting in the room being steady, and James not moving all that much, his shadow seems to be wobbling and shifting strangely.

"Whoa--uh, hey--hi--what's up?" Talking throws him into a coughing fit, but he tries to force his way through it while he speaks.