abraxas application

Content Warnings: TW:
Trauma, sexual topics, death, suicide, murder.

OOC INFORMATION

Player Name: Mimi
Are you over 18?: 25+
Contact: pinkwestwood (discord) | fuels
Other Characters in Game: n/a

IC INFORMATION

Character Name: James Sunderland
Canon: Silent Hill 2 (remake)
Canon Point: Prior to entering the Lakeview Hotel (in water ending goal)
To expand on the ending:

- In Silent Hill 2, there are eight different endings (two non-canonical/crack). Each of these endings are a result of the actions the player takes in the game, and each of them reflects James' mental state, his personality, and how he changes at the end of the series. While in the remake it's a bit more random what triggers the 'in water' ending, these are some things that seem to have triggered it in both games:

- Die frequently in game/have low health often for long periods of time
- View the knife given to James by Angela several times
- Read certain messages alluding to questionable themes/messages relating to self-hatred

This is important to note as James' mental health and personality rely heavily on the ending and how he has changed/accepted his destiny. With this ending, it affirms his obsession with having Mary in his life and his constant pursuit of her. In other endings such as leave, he accepts what happens with a sense of tranquility and slowly begins to heal. In the Maria ending, he has reverted to a perverse, nihilistic man who only cares about his own desires- it is seen when he leaves with Maria, a being created by Silent Hill as a representation of his sexual desires.

Age: 29
Background: Here

Arrival Scenario: Free Cities

Suitability:

With this version or iteration of James, we see a man who has endlessly gone through repetitive cycles in Silent Hill and has not quite learned his lesson despite the hints and memories of puzzles past, he has seen. However despite this, with each cycle, James has gained a stronger personality and has become less of the 'surly' man his late wife once described him as. In the first run of the original game, he is introduced as rather distant, emotionally detached, and uninvested in helping those he has encountered in Silent Hill.

This time around, he seems genuinely more concerned and engaged with others like Angela and Eddie, being roped into their nightmare world and finding a way to help them overcome their challenges with more enthusiasm. It is with this change in personality and a willingness to actually interact with others that makes this James more suitable to join the Free Cities army-

but he also has a significantly stronger determination and obsession with finding his Mary. So his reasons for joining will most likely be motivated for the need to confirm for himself that she isn't in this world, or any of its territories. He would most likely try and find ways to communicate with others in the different territories or even travel to them for the sake of his obsession.

Powers: James does not have any powers and is shown to be quite an amateur when it comes to handling guns/weapons throughout the game.

PERSONALITY QUESTIONS

Describe an important event in your character's life and how it impacted them.

One of the most important events that has impacted James [and by default set his story into motion] was the death of his wife Mary Sunderland from a prolonged and deadly illness. However, she did not die peacefully and was instead smothered to death by James as a form of 'mercy'. This [the idea that his wife died three years ago from the disease] is the delusion James took on immediately after the reality of what happened and he is drawn to the town of Silent Hill through a combination of the town being a reminder of happier times with his wife to James, the town's mythical forces [caused by the events of Silent Hill 1/The Order], and a strong detachment to the reality of what he had just done.

It is in this delusion, that the James we are presented with is the one he normally is or was prior to the start of events of Silent Hill but it is clear he is deeply affected by the belief of his wife being dead, and there being a possibility of her being alive somewhere in Silent Hill via a letter she sent him [that turns out to be a combination of a delusion/letter she wrote to him prior to her death].

Does your character have a moral code, or other set of standards they try to live by?

It is shown that James has an idea of what he would he should be like, and what he should do and it seems to be reaffirmed with every repetition he has found himself in throughout Silent Hill. For example he now believes in helping others more than he had in the past, reaching out to people like Angela to see if she would like his company while she looks for her mother in Silent Hill.

He is also shown to question Eddie on his aggression towards others, particularly when he encounters him in Toluca prison, with a gun in his hand and a dead man nearby. Despite putting himself at risk, he makes it clear to Eddie that he can't just shoot people because they look at him funny, and while the other fights him on that, he stands firm against his belief on senseless murder.

One interesting standard that is implied in the series is the way he behaved and lived prior to his wife's illness. During those days in the past, James seemed to live for mostly his own happiness and pleasure, spending most days with Mary in happiness and with a rather carefree attitude (which is why her sudden illness impacted him deeply).

What quality or qualities do they admire most?

Although more positive themes aren't shown in the game, one quality James seems to admire or rather strive for is that of endurance. He is put through questionable situations throughout the game that often endanger his mental health and physical safety, and yet he continues on pushing through for the sake of meeting his goal. It is a blind determination but he also seems to appreciate this quality in Angela when she seems determined to look for her mother alone.

Do they have a part of themselves they dislike?

One of the biggest forms of symbolism and a big aspect of the original game, is James' repressed sexuality, desires, and overall selfishness when it comes to what he wants. However, because he feels a deep sense of shame and guilt over wanting sex and affection during the period of time that his wife is ill, the town manifests his deepest desires in the ways of grotesque yet sexual monsters, and Maria herself. As the town manifests what the person in it is guilty over, feels deeply about, and is hiding from themselves, we see several messages of guilt and repression throughout the town that are intended for James. This is the biggest aspect of himself that he dislikes, and we see this in the monsters he encounters [including Maria]-

- Bubble head nurses:
↳ Representation of Mary's stay in hospitals and James' sexual deprivation
- Flesh Lip:
↳ Danging from above with lips at the bottom, they represent Mary's harsh words towards James and the numerous arguments they had
- Mandarin:
↳ Feeling of hopelessness and unable to rise above
- Mannequin:
↳ With their body just being buttocks and legs, born from lust, they represent James' sexual desires and his oppressing tendencies

Maria- Maria, although human in appearance, is a woman created by the town for James as a representation of how he would have liked Mary to be, and his sexuality. Maria is essentially a clone of the man's late wife with a few key differences:

- She is blonde whereas Mary is a brunette
- She is a sex worker whereas Mary was a housewife
- She is sexually alluring and assertive whereas Mary was more submissive
- She has a tattoo of a butterfly and wears skimpy outfits whereas Mary was more traditional

Maria isn't a complete source of pain for James, but rather the opposite of his personality- she is shown to be visibly worried over Laura (a child in Silent Hill), even prompting James to go look for her. She likes to tease and verbally abuse James, and is quite extroverted. In addition to that she is incredibly clingy of James and gets mad when he doesn't show much emotion towards her. While it is unknown exactly why she behaves in this manner, it could be a number of reasons:
- James' desire to have been more protective of Mary
- James' inability to express himself being conveyed through Maria
- James' idea of the perfect woman
- James Sunderland's name (James meaning usurper/criminal biblically, and Sunderland being a state of broken mind)
- James' desire to punish himself by envisioning a perfect woman he cannot have

What is their sign, and why?

The Hermit

Despite 'coming out of his shell' in this latest version of events, James is often still seen alone throughout Silent Hill and left alone by means of losing his wife, Maria, and Angela refusing to join him in exploring the town. The theme of solitude and the desire to be alone is often mentioned in the series, particularly with James. From menacing messages found throughout the town, and the fact that he is often too eager to leave Maria [and only Maria] alone, it is clear he prefers to be left alone and relies on himself often. In passing notes and references throughout both games, we also see how he dealt with the trauma and grief of losing his young wife to her illness. He would often drink alone to pass the time, work, and visit Mary at the hospital who often begged for him to leave her alone.

The challenges and puzzles he faces are often difficult and daunting for a person to do alone, but with no complaints or the desire to share what he has gone through with others in the town, it is clear he is a solitary person in the end.

SAMPLES

Samples: one | two | three