#and that's a manipulation tactic. Alistair realises Eldwin has no one and uses that to his advantage

[inhurtandincomfort]

I feel like, as much as Jowan thinks he and Eldwin have a little bonding going on, y'know, they're friends right, right? But he never stops calling Eldwin Subject Thirteen. You know when your friend or your pet has a nickname that sticks and no one calls them by their actual name anymore? Yeah it's like that, as far as Jowan's concerned it's a point of pride, it's an achievement to have a subject last this long, and it only took 13 to succeed! (And half of those weren't even Jowan's) It's like. A badge of honour, for both he and Eldwin. He doesn't think about how wrong it is.

But it's also a degree of separation, human vs test subject.

I think Jowan doesn't even realise that's what he's doing. Of course he knows his subjects are human (or, well, people.) He's seen them intimately, he knows them inside out. He treats them like actual patients for the most part. He tries to be reassuring and friendly. But he's never actually stopped to consider their humanity. Even Eldwin, who Jowan genuinely likes, is always Thirteen.

I've only written one piece so far but my favourite thing about lab whump is when the subject, in this case Eldwin, begins to separate themselves by referring to themselves as their subject name. To Jowan, it's a pet name. To Eldwin, it's a coping mechanism. "Eldwin" doesn't exist in the lab. Only Thirteen does.

One thing they have in common is the dehumanisation within those words.