deerington Application

[subject_013]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Albert Wesker
Canon: Resident Evil/Biohazard (Video game series)
Canon Point: Just at the end of Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmare


In-Game Tattoo Placement: On his forearms and if one looks closely, one will notice a subtle 1 and 3 in the shape of the tines of the antlers on his right and left arms respectively.

Current Health/Status: Alive, but bruised and sore from getting shoved out a window and down an oceanside cliff.

Age: 46 (looks more like he's in his late 20s/early 30s, thanks to Better Living Through Genetically Modded Viruses)

Species: Genetically Enhanced/Progenitor Virus-Mutated Human

Content Warnings: Sociopathy/psychopathy/Machiavellianism, Social Darwinism, unethical medical research/experiments involving genetically engineered viruses (some to transform human subjects into zombie-mutant bioweapons, another to straight up weed out genetically weaker humans), zombie outbreak, eugenics experimentation (inflicted on him), brainwashing/indoctrination in messed-up philosophies (also inflicted on him), body horror transformations, murder of two mentors (one indirect, the other very direct), indirect involvement in mass murder via a zombie virus outbreak, kidnapping, torture/using unwilling test subjects, psychological manipulation, sadism, back-stabbing, withholding the truth/dissembling, espionage of a corrupt corporation, god-complex, attempted decimation of humanity via inducing a pandemic in a bid to force a jump-start in human evolution.

History: History on Resident Evil Wiki

CRAU History and Impact: N/A

Personality: The metaphor of an iceberg comes to mind in describing this guy's personality, not merely because he presents a façade of cold confidence, but also because he hides the levels and layers of his psyche far below that seemingly stoical front. He can seem amenable to those around him, but at times it's either a means of hiding in plain sight or simply lulling people into a false sense of confidence in him.

Given the cult-like corporate culture in Umbrella ("Discipline breeds obedience. Obedience breeds unity. Unity breeds power. Power is life." to quote the frankly Orwellian motto found in the Training Facility in Resident Evil 0) and the very way he was raised as one of Oswell Spencer's model children eugenically selected for their intellects, it's no small wonder his thinking ended up horribly warped, and given his rebellious streak, he seems to have taken some of their ideals and distilled them into something which the higher-ups barely expected. They sought to create a race of intelligent superhumans which would replace the decadent, warlike (their opinion) mess humanity had devolved into, and instead succeeded in crafting only a prototype that turned against his creators. But then again, Social Darwinism is a philosophy almost destined to eat itself, like a snake swallowing its tail (which adds a wrinkle to the name Wesker gives his final viral creation...). The only aspect of this indoctrination that really seems to have stuck, besides a cool burning lust for power, was the belief that anything can and should be used as a means to an end and that the ends justify the means. In his case, he's made that end his own self-preservation and staying on top of his circle of influence. Thus, he's not above selling information and bioweapons to the highest bidder, even if that involves selling it to someone unsavory, including warlords in an African country or a South American drug cartel leader. On top of this, once he discovers the grand scheme Spencer had all along, he more or less hijacks the old man's plans for godhood over the race Spencer had planned to craft, only this time applying it to the human race itself (or whatever would remain after the Uroboros virus worked its way through it). This he later justifies by pointing out humanity's evolutionary stagnation and need for improvement. If he has a moral compass at all, the pointer is jammed so that it points at himself. However, rather than setting himself up as the judge of humanity (likely he's aware of his own biases, and frankly, most of humanity at best annoys him, at worst disgusts him), he chooses, rather, something as impartial as a virus to pass judgement on whichever humans possess or lack the genetic strength to adapt to it. If he could be said to possess any good qualities, it's his ambition and application to whatever he sets his mind and will to pursuing: as awful as his plans and intentions are, he follows them through. If only he'd had half a chance to apply that to something beneficial.

While he's often described as having a lack of empathy, more accurately, he's lacking in compassion or concern for the well-being of most people (outside of the chosen few he's allowed to get close to him, and he's capable of making a show of compassion for the useful cogs in his catastrophic plans if it keeps them in a false sense of security - see also Chris Redfield's initial trust in him - except that compassion has a very short half-life). He is, in fact, highly capable of reading the emotions and figuring out the psyche of the people around him (case in point, in Resident Evil 1, his figuring out Barry Burton's love for his family was his teammate's most easily exploitable spot), but he uses this information as a means to manipulate and exploit them (To continue with the above example with Barry, he has his teammate's family kidnapped in order to strong-arm Barry into helping him lure the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team into the Arklay Mansion, resulting in some nervous behavior from Barry that causes Jill Valentine to grow suspicious of Barry, thus throwing some of the shade off Wesker, at least until he's ready to show his hand near the end).

While he's capable of doing his own dirty work, he's also more than willing to find others with skill sets outside his own set to carry some of the load. But if there's something personal about the matter, he'll go in himself and do what has to be done (see also breaking into Umbrella's last facility to steal valuable data that could both torpedo the company and benefit his own research). He make a show of working well with others, but it's only if there's anything in the partnership that can benefit his own personal gain. As soon as that partnership has run its course, it's not unusual for him to discard the partnership (see also his leaking a lot of damning evidence on Umbrella's responsibility in the Raccoon City incident to the U.S. Department of Justice, resulting in the corporation's prosecution and its assets being seized, and on a more personal and dramatic level, his deliberate infecting of Excella Gionne, a CEO of Tricell and his erstwhile intimate interest, with the Uroboros virus).

While he displays traits found in sociopaths and psychopaths, he's far more organized and less impulsive than most sociopaths (given his slow-burn plans and schemes toward toppling Umbrella and using the information gathered towards his own ends), and unlike most psychopaths, he's capable of forming relationships, either beneficent (witness his friendship with his research partner William Birkin, when their mentor Dr. Marcus tried to pit them against each other, also his "sister" Alex Wesker [ie. another subject of Project W - and while we're on it, one file that didn't get fully translated in the English port of RE: Revelations 2 indicates his work in Better Living Through Viruses had involved creating a virus that would have cured Alex of a degenerative and potentially terminal illness that she developed as a result of exposure to the same virus that gave Albert his mutations. Afraid of nuanced villains, Capcom USA???], who speaks highly and even protectively of her "younger brother", also presumably his relationship with Jake Muller's unnamed mother, considering that she raises her son to hold his father in respect even though the lad never had a single moment of contact with him) or hostile (consider how badly Chris Redfield got under his skin and how, despite his obvious hatred for his former S.T.A.R.S. trainee and colleague, he still speaks of him as "one of *my* men" [granted he expresses this sarcastically, but it's interesting he'd focus on this detail in particular], and despite numerous chances to kill Chris outright and be done with his now worst enemy... he doesn't). Despite the fact that he tends to discard most people once they've served their purpose in his schemes, he doesn't always do that to his pawns. Ada Wong has double-crossed him on more than one occasion, and rather than find a way to destroy her, he hasn't done so. One wonders if he's impressed at her cleverness or regards her as a worthy opponent, or both.

Vulnerability, or at least experiencing it himself, frightens him the most, no doubt a result of the experimentation, brainwashing and abuse which Spencer and the rest of those involved in Project W subjected him to from an early age. He'll stop at nothing or precious little to maintain a position of power and superiority. Thus, he also has a tendency to flout authority over him, or at least comply when it best suits his interests. Perhaps part of the reason he's always seen wearing very dark sunglasses, day or night (besides to hide the way his eyes have mutated), is his need to keep others at a distance so they can't find his weaknesses (also to better hide his emotions, concealing any microexpressions that could give away what's going on in his heart and soul). Mocking him or his creations will hit a nerve with him, even if he doesn't show it on the surface; it'll still fester and cause him to turn against the one who delivered the taunt). He also appears to be given to incredible levels of pettiness given the grudge that he carries for ten years toward Chris Redfield for laughing at the prototype Tyrant and mocking his pride in his work, and the fact that he still carries his S.T.A.R.S. side arm, even though he doesn't have a lot of need for it, given his enhanced strength; the weapon appears to be symbolic of the grudge.

Also, despite being nigh-invulnerable to damage and possessed of a rapid healing factor, he appears to be afraid of fire, given the way he runs like hell when Alexia Ashford attacks him with her flammable blood (Resident Evil mutations are cray...). That could tie into either his deep sense of self-preservation, or perhaps the fact that he really is more or less a Bio-Organic Weapon that's retained its personality, intelligence and some modicum of humanity, and one way to put down larger/more powered BOWs is to Kill It With Fire.

While I certainly don't excuse anything he's done, one has to wonder who or what he'd be like if Spencer and the old man's cronies had never happened to him, if he'd had a normal life with his family of origin from whom he was kidnapped at a young age (and given Umbrella's tendency to dispose of witnesses, one shudders to think what they did to the poor tyke's family). In some ways, this makes him a bit of a tragic figure, and while it mitigates some of the choices he's made and the plans he's concocted, it still doesn't condone his general wide-scale misanthropy and his later decision to stay the course with his grand schemes, rather than relinquish it. One wonders if someone can still shed some light in his dark world, or if he's too far gone, if, essentially, his soul is already lost.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
-Nigh invulnerability to injury/rapid healing: Lethal injuries will still kill him (no chance of his surviving someone dropping fourteen steel I-beams onto him and merely stunning him; they're just going to crush him like a bug), Non-lethal damage will heal at about half his usual rate (A few hours rather than within minutes).
-Immunity to most known viruses: this will not apply to in-game pathogens.
-Super strength: In canon, he's seen lifting a large steel grating off a good sized entrance and throwing it several feet away, has also lifted a canonically two hundred pound man (twenty pounds heavier than himself, no less) above his head, amongst other feats. While he'll likely hide this for a while, it won't be affected.
-Super speed/heightened reflexes: He can dodge bullets like he's teleporting (as long as he can see where they're coming from). Again, he'll likely be concealing this from bystanders for a while, thus it won't be affected, either.

Weaknesses:
-Vulnerability to poisons: Despite the healing factor, toxins still affect him as they would a normal human (the serum he depends on to keep his viral load balanced has to be dosed precisely, otherwise too much causes him intense pain).
-Arrogance: This guy doesn't just think highly of himself (though he could almost be excused for it; he could be compensating for the way Spencer and his cohorts treated him as a youngster), he's got a god-complex that outweighs the earth by double its mass at least. One good way to get into and stay in his good graces is to find ways to appeal to his vanity and hubris; a clever and devious enough person could conceivably use this against him.

Inventory:
-The clothes on his back: Black business suit over a black turtleneck jersey, black dress socks, black shoes, black driving-style gloves, very dark sunglasses that hide his eyes, topped off with a black leather duster (This is why we make nervous jokes about him being a Corporate Goth).
-A metal Haliburton-style suitcase containing a change of clothes, minus the duster.
-A military-style knife
-A month's supply of PG67AW, the above-mentioned serum he depends on. (This will require bonus points and/or the in-game ritual.)

Writing Samples: Aug. TDM TL

Sept. TDM TL

TDM with Javert

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Ref
Player Age: 43
Player Contact: PM on this journal, please?

Other Characters In Game: Jack Harkness / Torchwood
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Albert Wesker: Ref
Permissions for Character: Over here

Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: I suspect implying he's a fictional character would at best amuse him in a dark way and at worst offend him deeply, depending on how he's addressed about it (Also, given that there are different permutations of him, see also the S.D. Perry novelizations of the earlier games, the Paul V. Anderson live-action movies [in which he's a crooked CEO of Umbrella, rather than one of their lead researchers], and now the Netflix series in development, this could get fun [Go ahead and ask him about the twins, we dare you].). Also bleeding information about his past would make him livid because he'd rather not be reminded of it after finding out more than he cares to know, while bleeding information about his future could intrigue him ("Hey, how'd you get out of that volcano??" ". . .Volcano? What are you prattling on about?"). Bring it on.

What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: Cosmic horror, supernatural/paranormal horror, psychological horror, horror-comedy, gothic horror, occult horror, and for this weirdo, existential horror.

Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Intergenerational incest, low-shot photos of the undercarriages of motor vehicles, filthy bathrooms, cannibalism especially of the unwitting variety.

Additional Information: I assure you, I do not in any way, shape or form condone any of this guy's actions, planned or executed. I'm hoping to play a fellow who could stand to be taken down a whole ladder of pegs by entities and forces far stronger than he's ever conceived or considered. Yah think yah wanna be a god, Al? have fun dealing with things far more god-like than you'll ever be. Consider this your master class...