Maria App - Ryslig
Apr. 23rd, 2023 03:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
notmaryOOC INFORMATION
Name: Clari
Contact: PM or![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
awakened
Age: 37
Other Characters: Dee Reynolds (agiantbird)
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Maria
Age: As Maria is a product of James's delusions, she is likely to be hours old. However, she appears to be in her mid-twenties.
Canon: Silent Hill 2
Canon Point: In-Water Ending
Character Information: HERE
Personality:
[CW: Terminal illness, suicidal ideation, existential crises, manipulation, depression, murder, self-loathing, and about 1000 spoilers for Silent Hill 2. Please play this game if you haven't already omg.]
"I don't look like a, uh, ghost? Do I?"
When we first meet Maria in Silent Hill 2, the most obvious thing about her is that she looks exactly like James's deceased wife, Mary, who had come down with a debilitating illness that left her bedridden. According to James, only Maria's hair and clothes are different, but there are other differences too, that are evident in Maria's personality. For starters, she is flirtatious, and more sexually extroverted than Mary. The game doesn't outright state this, but it is heavily implied by the way James reacts to her. For example, when they first meet, Maria grabs James's hand and tells him to 'feel how warm she is.' James pulls away in shock and comments that she really isn't Mary, implying that Mary would have been more conservative in her interactions with him. Furthermore, Mary wears clothes that are very conservative, whereas Maria does not. She speaks in a sexually suggestive, seductive manner toward James when he finds her in the prison cell, and she also acts like this when she grows weary and needs to rest in the hospital. She plays on her resemblance to Mary to try and convince him to let her tag along with him, in a way that seems manipulative. And her manipulation of James only gets worse as time passes.
The truth is that Maria is a creation of James's mind and a manifestation of the town of Silent Hill. She is not a real person and exists to both help remind James of how he murdered Mary and to tempt him away from her. She is a delusion and, according to the book of lost memories, exists because James can't face his crime on his own. She is, in her own way, a reminder of what James did to Mary, a manifestation of his guilt, and a product of James's desire to see Mary again. She flirts with and tries to seduce James because her role is to tempt and (indirectly) punish him for his sins. If James accepts Maria, it means he's forgotten about Mary and hasn't atoned for his sins. It means he becomes further wrapped up in his own delusions, and it means he isn't worthy of redemption. This is evident if players get the "Maria ending." The Maria ending shows James leaving Silent Hill with Maria. In this ending, Maria begins to cough -- just like Mary when the illness began to take hold of her. James comments that Maria should do something about it. This ending shows a James who has been tempted away from Mary, and who is most likely doomed to repeat history with Maria. Maria and the town will punish him, in this scenario, by putting him through the same suffering and heartache he'd endured watching the sickness take Mary. The title of Maria's side scenario, Born From a Wish, also heavily implies that Maria is a creation of James's desires and wants. The illness stole Mary's vibrancy and turned her into someone who was bitter and resentful, and James wants that vibrant version of Mary back. Silent Hill games are largely up to interpretation, but it is possible that Maria represents what Mary wanted to be for James too. Mary expresses frustration and anger over the disease that has ravaged her. She states that she feels pathetic and ugly, and Maria is a "more attractive" version of herself. So not only is Maria born from James's wish, but it's entirely possible that she's born from Mary's wish too.
"So, the hotel was your 'special place,' huh? I'll bet it was."
She openly flirts with James, and occasionally teases him about things. When they first meet and James states that the Lakeview Hotel was his and Mary's special place, Maria teases him about it and then tells him that she was just joking when he reacts negatively. When James can't open a fridge at the hospital and asks Maria to help, she teases him because he's "supposed to be the big man around here." She makes fun of him on occasion, but she can also be cruel and insensitive toward James, saying and doing things that cut a little too close to the bone or lack consideration. For example, when they first meet, she suggests that James may have hated Mary. And when James seems more concerned about finding Mary than he is over Maria's wellbeing, she bites at him, and states that "all he cares about is that dead wife of his."
"Then stay with me! Don't ever leave me alone! You're supposed to take care of me!"
Maria demonstrates a clingy nature. She doesn't react well to being abandoned, begging James not to leave her alone. She berates James for walking away from her when they first meet because the town is full of monsters and there's no one around. Maria doesn't want to be alone or left fending for herself. She fully expects James to look after and take care of her, and when he fails to do that, she grows angry, jealous, and fearful. She acts similarly in the Born From A Wish scenario, when interacting with Ernest. Ernest states that he wants to be left alone, but Maria refuses to do so because she wants to see another human face. She doesn't want to be left alone, she's afraid of being hurt, and she will do whatever she feels she needs to in order to be with another person. She puts her own comfort above others, but a lot of this is motivated by the aforementioned fear of being alone. Maria demonstrates, on multiple occasions, a fear of abandonment and a fear of not being seen as real. Maria feels a need to remind James that she's real throughout the game, even if James doesn't appear to be questioning it. She wants to be seen and doesn't want to be left behind. She lashes out if she feels someone doesn't care about her enough, because once again, she's afraid of being left out in the cold. Mary states in her letter to James that she's wrapped up in a cocoon of pain and loneliness, which slowly wore her down. Mary experienced pain and loneliness, so Maria -- a being that is born from James's delusions -- possesses an inherent fear of those things.
"What?! You must be joking. But I can be yours! I'll be here for you forever. And I'll never yell at you, or make you feel bad! That's what you wanted! I'm different than Mary! How can you throw me away?!"
At the end of the game, when Maria sees that James won't give up on Mary, she demonstrates her fear of abandonment and her clinginess once again, insisting that she's what he wanted and that she's different than Mary. She grows angry when she feels rejected by James, transforming into a monster and attempting to kill him once she realizes she's lost and she can't tempt James away from his wife. Her anger toward James at this moment is one instance of her unpredictable, often moody, and jealous behavior. Another example of her moodiness is in the hospital, when she doesn't like James mistaking her for Mary, and quickly shifts from relief to full-blown anger at his (admittedly lackluster) response to her finding him again after they were separated. In this particular scene, she then proceeds to shift from anger to fear and clinginess once again, yelling at him and then insisting that he's supposed to take care of her. It is said that Mary became bitter and moody in the hospital when she was sick, so it is likely that Maria's own moodiness represents this aspect of Mary.
This brings me to Maria's existential crisis. Maria is a deeply conflicted person because she knows she exists to torment and punish James. She slowly comes to understand her purpose during Born From a Wish, and when she realizes that her only purpose is to exist as a tool to torment James and test his worthiness, she contemplates suicide. However, because she's so afraid of death and pain, she decides to go forward and do exactly what she was created to do. She can't exist without James, being a product of his mind, and this is the reason for a lot of her behavior toward him. James is her entire reason for being. Without him, she ceases to exist, and so she wants him to accept and care for her. And yet, she is also seen struggling to accept that she is a tool that exists solely to punish and test one man. If Maria were to be accepted into Ryslig, this existential crisis would be the main focus of her journey, as she learns how to exist and be her own person.
Maria also seems to absorb more and more of Mary's memories over time and appears to be confused by them initially. For example, she starts to think about Laura (a child Mary befriended in the hospital) during the Born from a Wish scenario and questions this memory.
"So what about Laura? Did you find her? We've got to find her! I never met her before. I just feel sorry for her. She's all alone... And for some reason... I feel like it's up to me to protect her."
Maria's protective side comes out when she and James try to find Laura during the main scenario. Maria is very determined to find her and shows a high level of concern toward the girl, even though she doesn't know who she is. Maria knows Silent Hill is dangerous, and is legitimately frightened for Laura because the child is alone. Mary was close to Laura, and so Maria feels the same level of closeness and care toward the girl despite having never met her. She also comments on the toys at the Baldwin mansion during Born From a Wish, mentioning that Laura would have liked them. Maria also demonstrates a level of thoughtfulness by considering Laura's feelings and her well-being. She also shows concern when James hurts himself with a bent needle in the hospital, and she tries to connect with Ernest because she seems genuinely concerned over his wanting to be alone during Born From a Wish. Maria can also be quite inquisitive, pushy, and determined. She demonstrates this in Born From a Wish. When she finds Ernest, she pushes him to answer her questions. When he asks her if it's really necessary for him to answer her tedious questions, she answers with a confident 'yes,' and isn't deterred by his attitude toward her at all. She proceeds to investigate the Baldwin mansion and starts questioning him about Amy Baldwin when she finds the girl's letter. When something strange happens (and that's common in a place like Silent Hill), Maria asks questions and shows a desire to understand the situation.
"I'm not your Mary."
Again, Maria isn't Mary but she appears to possess fragments of Mary's memories and traits and, in the prison cell scene, almost seems possessed by her. This is where she begins to fully lean into her role as punisher, using Mary's memories to confuse, manipulate and torment James. We see more of Maria's ability to be cruel in the way she acts during this scene, confusing and tormenting him by appearing as a being that is both Mary and Maria at the same time. She brings up their time at the hotel and makes it sound like James is speaking to Mary. Then she coldly states that she's not his Mary, and proceeds to speak to James in a vague, confusing manner, playing on his guilt, desperation, and heartache. The way she proceeds to speak to James in a sexually suggestive manner is a part of her role in James's story as well. The player can see her trying to tempt him away from Mary, trying to make him forget about her so he'll fail to redeem himself and become doomed to repeat history.
In summary, Maria is a complex being. She isn't a real person, but merely a creature born from a wish, and given form in order to help one man find -- or fail to find -- redemption. She is her own person in many ways, with her own fears and concerns as seen in Born From a Wish, but she's also influenced by the memories and emotions of a dead woman. She's capable of being a protective, thoughtful, and curious person, but she can be cruel and manipulative too. She's a tool created by the town of Silent Hill to punish and torment, but she also wants to be loved and is afraid of being abandoned and alone. She wants James to love her and take care of her, and she wants him to forget Mary and accept her. She uses Mary's memories and experiences against James but wants to be seen as her own person as well, and is thus a very conflicted and complicated being. In Ryslig, she would still possess fragments of Mary's memories, and she will know what she is, but she will always be seeking to find her place in a world where she has more freedom to be her own person.
5-10 Key Character Traits:
+ Thoughtful
+ Protective
+ Inquisitive
+/- Flirtatious
+/- Teasing
- Fearful
- Clingy
- Moody
- Cruel
- Conflicted (Existential crisis)
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Fits, please!
Opt-Outs: Arachne, simulacrum, shade, slime, kelpie, minotaur (I would be happy to play another waldgeist and do not wish to opt-out.)
Roleplay Sample:
ONE:
Nighttime.
An undetermined date, at an undetermined time.
Thick fog blankets the streets of Bavan, but it's the only thing that bears any resemblance to the town of Silent Hill -- the town where she was born. The streets of this city are not deserted like the ones in Silent Hill, where the only sound one might hear is the warning crackle of radio static, and a pained groan from a creature created from the subconscious of one tormented man's mind. In Bavan, Maria can't hear her own footsteps echoing down hallways, because those hallways are teeming with life.
Life.
People can see her here. They speak to her like she's a living breathing human and not a creature born from a wish, doomed to die over and over again in the name of redemption. Maria doesn't know how to react at first. These people, who are not tied to James Sunderland in any way, shape, or form, speak to her and look at her and see her. And although the man is confused when Maria places her hand on his arm and asks if he can feel her touch, he answers with an honest yes, and Maria feels...
...afraid. She feels afraid because she's alone here, in this place where people can see her and hear her voice like it's her own and not the voice of a dead woman. The man whose arm she just touched turns to leave, and she stares at him with wide eyes, taking a couple of quick steps forward as if to follow him.
"You can't... leave me here," she says with a tone that's both forceful and frightened. The man barely glances at her, raises a brow, and tells her that he can and he will, because he knows what she is. And his words leave her feeling cold. They steal the words from her mouth, even as she takes a few more steps toward him. There's a heaviness in the pit of her stomach, and her mind begins to race. She doesn't fully understand herself, but she knows she isn't human. She knows she isn't natural, that she was born to punish, tempt, and guide him to redemption.
"He means you're gonna to turn into a monster, honey," comes a soft, sympathetic female voice to her left. Maria turns to face a short young woman with fluffy, strawberry-blonde hair and freckles dotting her pale, heart-shaped face. She's holding out a yellow flier, with bold, black words emblazoned on it.
"How... do you know that?" Maria asks, curious and baffled all at once. She remembers hanging upside down, moths circling her twisted body, rage and fear overwhelming her. She remembers how badly she wanted James to die. How do they know? How do they know that she isn't a real person? That she's just another part of that town?
"Oh, all you newbies become monsters. Faeries. Nymphs. Waldgeists," the woman says, speaking like someone who has definitely explained all of this before. To Maria, this sounds like something different, but she's still perturbed. Where she's from, monsters are very real, but they're different. Maria takes the pamphlet, her eyes running over the letters on the gaudy, vibrant page. The pamphlet is an eyesore, and the crudely drawn illustrations only add to the awfulness.
"Wait. So... you're telling me I'm going to become one of these monsters?" Maria says, her voice even and carrying a hint of disbelief. It isn't that she doesn't believe the woman. She's living, breathing proof of how strange the world can be. But she doesn't particularly want to believe what she's saying. "This isn't a joke, is it?"
The woman gently shakes her head, brushing her hair behind her ear. She looks like she's heard this question before, like she's prepared for it. Maria can see that this isn't the first time her new acquaintance has encountered this situation.
"Not a joke. Sorry, miss. People get brought here all the time, and they always end up turnin' in the end. You, uh. Might be a good idea to have a chat with one of 'em. They'll be able to tell you more," the lady says softly, crossing her arms. The stranger taps the pavement with her foot and sets one behind the other, ready to walk away. One thing Maria has noticed quickly is that humans don't want to stick around and chat, and she can see that the human is about to bail on her. Maria crosses her arms, her lips forming a thin line.
"And you can't tell me more? Do you have somewhere to be?" There's something incredulous and irritated about the way Maria asks her question. It's clear to her that the woman knows things about this strange new place, but she isn't interested in helping beyond handing out a flier and telling Maria that "people turn into monsters." To Maria, that simply isn't good enough.
"Sorry, miss. Gotta hand out more fliers, you know?" The woman waves the stack of yellow paper fliers in her hand, shooting Maria a lopsided grin.
"Five minutes," Maria says quickly, unable to hide the desperation in her voice. "Please. Just... five minutes of your time. I really just want to talk to..."
She trails off. Maria is about to say she wants to talk to another human, but she reminds herself that the woman doesn't see her as human. She sees her as something else. Something different. And Maria already knows this to be true. But this woman is acknowledging her. She sees and hears her, and that's enough for Maria to latch on. Maria exhales, brow furrowing. She continues:
"...a human. I want to talk to a human. Can you do that for me?"
The woman looks Maria over thoughtfully and bites her bottom lip, uncertain about whether she should allow it. Maybe she's been burned before, giving another newbie more time than they deserved. Maybe.
An uncomfortable silence hovers over them both, as thick as the fog circling the streets.
"Yeah. Alright. Come on, I'll buy you a coffee," the woman says with a sigh and a slightly embarrassed smile, gesturing at Maria to follow her. The human seems wary but kind. She seems like the type who ultimately wants to help.
"Thank you!" Maria's features brighten. Relief washes over her, and Maria starts quickly following the stranger, whose name she doesn't yet know. What Maria does know is that the woman isn't connected to James or Mary. The woman isn't connected to that town at all, and it's both refreshing and daunting. James isn't here. Maria has no purpose and she's truly all alone, and she... doesn't want to be.
That heavy, sinking feeling remains in the pit of her stomach as she follows along, ready to learn more about this strange new place.
As ready as she'll ever be, anyway.
TWO:
[A day after arrivals begin to flood into Ryslig, a message appears on the network, written by someone with the username "Heavens_Night".]
What happens when someone becomes a monster here? What is it like to change? I'm so afraid of feeling pain that all I can think about is how excruciating it must feel. I don't want to change, but I've already been told that it'll happen whether I want it to or not.
I'm scared. I'm so scared of my body changing. Of becoming something else.
Can someone out there talk to me? Please? I don't need you to lie and tell me it'll be okay. I know already that that's not the truth. I just need someone to talk to for a little while.
Can anyone even read this? Was I imagining everything outside?
Am I real?
Name: Clari
Contact: PM or
Age: 37
Other Characters: Dee Reynolds (
agiantbird) CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Maria
Age: As Maria is a product of James's delusions, she is likely to be hours old. However, she appears to be in her mid-twenties.
Canon: Silent Hill 2
Canon Point: In-Water Ending
Character Information: HERE
Personality:
[CW: Terminal illness, suicidal ideation, existential crises, manipulation, depression, murder, self-loathing, and about 1000 spoilers for Silent Hill 2. Please play this game if you haven't already omg.]
When we first meet Maria in Silent Hill 2, the most obvious thing about her is that she looks exactly like James's deceased wife, Mary, who had come down with a debilitating illness that left her bedridden. According to James, only Maria's hair and clothes are different, but there are other differences too, that are evident in Maria's personality. For starters, she is flirtatious, and more sexually extroverted than Mary. The game doesn't outright state this, but it is heavily implied by the way James reacts to her. For example, when they first meet, Maria grabs James's hand and tells him to 'feel how warm she is.' James pulls away in shock and comments that she really isn't Mary, implying that Mary would have been more conservative in her interactions with him. Furthermore, Mary wears clothes that are very conservative, whereas Maria does not. She speaks in a sexually suggestive, seductive manner toward James when he finds her in the prison cell, and she also acts like this when she grows weary and needs to rest in the hospital. She plays on her resemblance to Mary to try and convince him to let her tag along with him, in a way that seems manipulative. And her manipulation of James only gets worse as time passes.
The truth is that Maria is a creation of James's mind and a manifestation of the town of Silent Hill. She is not a real person and exists to both help remind James of how he murdered Mary and to tempt him away from her. She is a delusion and, according to the book of lost memories, exists because James can't face his crime on his own. She is, in her own way, a reminder of what James did to Mary, a manifestation of his guilt, and a product of James's desire to see Mary again. She flirts with and tries to seduce James because her role is to tempt and (indirectly) punish him for his sins. If James accepts Maria, it means he's forgotten about Mary and hasn't atoned for his sins. It means he becomes further wrapped up in his own delusions, and it means he isn't worthy of redemption. This is evident if players get the "Maria ending." The Maria ending shows James leaving Silent Hill with Maria. In this ending, Maria begins to cough -- just like Mary when the illness began to take hold of her. James comments that Maria should do something about it. This ending shows a James who has been tempted away from Mary, and who is most likely doomed to repeat history with Maria. Maria and the town will punish him, in this scenario, by putting him through the same suffering and heartache he'd endured watching the sickness take Mary. The title of Maria's side scenario, Born From a Wish, also heavily implies that Maria is a creation of James's desires and wants. The illness stole Mary's vibrancy and turned her into someone who was bitter and resentful, and James wants that vibrant version of Mary back. Silent Hill games are largely up to interpretation, but it is possible that Maria represents what Mary wanted to be for James too. Mary expresses frustration and anger over the disease that has ravaged her. She states that she feels pathetic and ugly, and Maria is a "more attractive" version of herself. So not only is Maria born from James's wish, but it's entirely possible that she's born from Mary's wish too.
She openly flirts with James, and occasionally teases him about things. When they first meet and James states that the Lakeview Hotel was his and Mary's special place, Maria teases him about it and then tells him that she was just joking when he reacts negatively. When James can't open a fridge at the hospital and asks Maria to help, she teases him because he's "supposed to be the big man around here." She makes fun of him on occasion, but she can also be cruel and insensitive toward James, saying and doing things that cut a little too close to the bone or lack consideration. For example, when they first meet, she suggests that James may have hated Mary. And when James seems more concerned about finding Mary than he is over Maria's wellbeing, she bites at him, and states that "all he cares about is that dead wife of his."
Maria demonstrates a clingy nature. She doesn't react well to being abandoned, begging James not to leave her alone. She berates James for walking away from her when they first meet because the town is full of monsters and there's no one around. Maria doesn't want to be alone or left fending for herself. She fully expects James to look after and take care of her, and when he fails to do that, she grows angry, jealous, and fearful. She acts similarly in the Born From A Wish scenario, when interacting with Ernest. Ernest states that he wants to be left alone, but Maria refuses to do so because she wants to see another human face. She doesn't want to be left alone, she's afraid of being hurt, and she will do whatever she feels she needs to in order to be with another person. She puts her own comfort above others, but a lot of this is motivated by the aforementioned fear of being alone. Maria demonstrates, on multiple occasions, a fear of abandonment and a fear of not being seen as real. Maria feels a need to remind James that she's real throughout the game, even if James doesn't appear to be questioning it. She wants to be seen and doesn't want to be left behind. She lashes out if she feels someone doesn't care about her enough, because once again, she's afraid of being left out in the cold. Mary states in her letter to James that she's wrapped up in a cocoon of pain and loneliness, which slowly wore her down. Mary experienced pain and loneliness, so Maria -- a being that is born from James's delusions -- possesses an inherent fear of those things.
At the end of the game, when Maria sees that James won't give up on Mary, she demonstrates her fear of abandonment and her clinginess once again, insisting that she's what he wanted and that she's different than Mary. She grows angry when she feels rejected by James, transforming into a monster and attempting to kill him once she realizes she's lost and she can't tempt James away from his wife. Her anger toward James at this moment is one instance of her unpredictable, often moody, and jealous behavior. Another example of her moodiness is in the hospital, when she doesn't like James mistaking her for Mary, and quickly shifts from relief to full-blown anger at his (admittedly lackluster) response to her finding him again after they were separated. In this particular scene, she then proceeds to shift from anger to fear and clinginess once again, yelling at him and then insisting that he's supposed to take care of her. It is said that Mary became bitter and moody in the hospital when she was sick, so it is likely that Maria's own moodiness represents this aspect of Mary.
This brings me to Maria's existential crisis. Maria is a deeply conflicted person because she knows she exists to torment and punish James. She slowly comes to understand her purpose during Born From a Wish, and when she realizes that her only purpose is to exist as a tool to torment James and test his worthiness, she contemplates suicide. However, because she's so afraid of death and pain, she decides to go forward and do exactly what she was created to do. She can't exist without James, being a product of his mind, and this is the reason for a lot of her behavior toward him. James is her entire reason for being. Without him, she ceases to exist, and so she wants him to accept and care for her. And yet, she is also seen struggling to accept that she is a tool that exists solely to punish and test one man. If Maria were to be accepted into Ryslig, this existential crisis would be the main focus of her journey, as she learns how to exist and be her own person.
Maria also seems to absorb more and more of Mary's memories over time and appears to be confused by them initially. For example, she starts to think about Laura (a child Mary befriended in the hospital) during the Born from a Wish scenario and questions this memory.
Maria's protective side comes out when she and James try to find Laura during the main scenario. Maria is very determined to find her and shows a high level of concern toward the girl, even though she doesn't know who she is. Maria knows Silent Hill is dangerous, and is legitimately frightened for Laura because the child is alone. Mary was close to Laura, and so Maria feels the same level of closeness and care toward the girl despite having never met her. She also comments on the toys at the Baldwin mansion during Born From a Wish, mentioning that Laura would have liked them. Maria also demonstrates a level of thoughtfulness by considering Laura's feelings and her well-being. She also shows concern when James hurts himself with a bent needle in the hospital, and she tries to connect with Ernest because she seems genuinely concerned over his wanting to be alone during Born From a Wish. Maria can also be quite inquisitive, pushy, and determined. She demonstrates this in Born From a Wish. When she finds Ernest, she pushes him to answer her questions. When he asks her if it's really necessary for him to answer her tedious questions, she answers with a confident 'yes,' and isn't deterred by his attitude toward her at all. She proceeds to investigate the Baldwin mansion and starts questioning him about Amy Baldwin when she finds the girl's letter. When something strange happens (and that's common in a place like Silent Hill), Maria asks questions and shows a desire to understand the situation.
Again, Maria isn't Mary but she appears to possess fragments of Mary's memories and traits and, in the prison cell scene, almost seems possessed by her. This is where she begins to fully lean into her role as punisher, using Mary's memories to confuse, manipulate and torment James. We see more of Maria's ability to be cruel in the way she acts during this scene, confusing and tormenting him by appearing as a being that is both Mary and Maria at the same time. She brings up their time at the hotel and makes it sound like James is speaking to Mary. Then she coldly states that she's not his Mary, and proceeds to speak to James in a vague, confusing manner, playing on his guilt, desperation, and heartache. The way she proceeds to speak to James in a sexually suggestive manner is a part of her role in James's story as well. The player can see her trying to tempt him away from Mary, trying to make him forget about her so he'll fail to redeem himself and become doomed to repeat history.
In summary, Maria is a complex being. She isn't a real person, but merely a creature born from a wish, and given form in order to help one man find -- or fail to find -- redemption. She is her own person in many ways, with her own fears and concerns as seen in Born From a Wish, but she's also influenced by the memories and emotions of a dead woman. She's capable of being a protective, thoughtful, and curious person, but she can be cruel and manipulative too. She's a tool created by the town of Silent Hill to punish and torment, but she also wants to be loved and is afraid of being abandoned and alone. She wants James to love her and take care of her, and she wants him to forget Mary and accept her. She uses Mary's memories and experiences against James but wants to be seen as her own person as well, and is thus a very conflicted and complicated being. In Ryslig, she would still possess fragments of Mary's memories, and she will know what she is, but she will always be seeking to find her place in a world where she has more freedom to be her own person.
5-10 Key Character Traits:
+ Thoughtful
+ Protective
+ Inquisitive
+/- Flirtatious
+/- Teasing
- Fearful
- Clingy
- Moody
- Cruel
- Conflicted (Existential crisis)
Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Fits, please!
Opt-Outs: Arachne, simulacrum, shade, slime, kelpie, minotaur (I would be happy to play another waldgeist and do not wish to opt-out.)
Roleplay Sample:
ONE:
Nighttime.
An undetermined date, at an undetermined time.
Thick fog blankets the streets of Bavan, but it's the only thing that bears any resemblance to the town of Silent Hill -- the town where she was born. The streets of this city are not deserted like the ones in Silent Hill, where the only sound one might hear is the warning crackle of radio static, and a pained groan from a creature created from the subconscious of one tormented man's mind. In Bavan, Maria can't hear her own footsteps echoing down hallways, because those hallways are teeming with life.
Life.
People can see her here. They speak to her like she's a living breathing human and not a creature born from a wish, doomed to die over and over again in the name of redemption. Maria doesn't know how to react at first. These people, who are not tied to James Sunderland in any way, shape, or form, speak to her and look at her and see her. And although the man is confused when Maria places her hand on his arm and asks if he can feel her touch, he answers with an honest yes, and Maria feels...
...afraid. She feels afraid because she's alone here, in this place where people can see her and hear her voice like it's her own and not the voice of a dead woman. The man whose arm she just touched turns to leave, and she stares at him with wide eyes, taking a couple of quick steps forward as if to follow him.
"You can't... leave me here," she says with a tone that's both forceful and frightened. The man barely glances at her, raises a brow, and tells her that he can and he will, because he knows what she is. And his words leave her feeling cold. They steal the words from her mouth, even as she takes a few more steps toward him. There's a heaviness in the pit of her stomach, and her mind begins to race. She doesn't fully understand herself, but she knows she isn't human. She knows she isn't natural, that she was born to punish, tempt, and guide him to redemption.
"He means you're gonna to turn into a monster, honey," comes a soft, sympathetic female voice to her left. Maria turns to face a short young woman with fluffy, strawberry-blonde hair and freckles dotting her pale, heart-shaped face. She's holding out a yellow flier, with bold, black words emblazoned on it.
"How... do you know that?" Maria asks, curious and baffled all at once. She remembers hanging upside down, moths circling her twisted body, rage and fear overwhelming her. She remembers how badly she wanted James to die. How do they know? How do they know that she isn't a real person? That she's just another part of that town?
"Oh, all you newbies become monsters. Faeries. Nymphs. Waldgeists," the woman says, speaking like someone who has definitely explained all of this before. To Maria, this sounds like something different, but she's still perturbed. Where she's from, monsters are very real, but they're different. Maria takes the pamphlet, her eyes running over the letters on the gaudy, vibrant page. The pamphlet is an eyesore, and the crudely drawn illustrations only add to the awfulness.
"Wait. So... you're telling me I'm going to become one of these monsters?" Maria says, her voice even and carrying a hint of disbelief. It isn't that she doesn't believe the woman. She's living, breathing proof of how strange the world can be. But she doesn't particularly want to believe what she's saying. "This isn't a joke, is it?"
The woman gently shakes her head, brushing her hair behind her ear. She looks like she's heard this question before, like she's prepared for it. Maria can see that this isn't the first time her new acquaintance has encountered this situation.
"Not a joke. Sorry, miss. People get brought here all the time, and they always end up turnin' in the end. You, uh. Might be a good idea to have a chat with one of 'em. They'll be able to tell you more," the lady says softly, crossing her arms. The stranger taps the pavement with her foot and sets one behind the other, ready to walk away. One thing Maria has noticed quickly is that humans don't want to stick around and chat, and she can see that the human is about to bail on her. Maria crosses her arms, her lips forming a thin line.
"And you can't tell me more? Do you have somewhere to be?" There's something incredulous and irritated about the way Maria asks her question. It's clear to her that the woman knows things about this strange new place, but she isn't interested in helping beyond handing out a flier and telling Maria that "people turn into monsters." To Maria, that simply isn't good enough.
"Sorry, miss. Gotta hand out more fliers, you know?" The woman waves the stack of yellow paper fliers in her hand, shooting Maria a lopsided grin.
"Five minutes," Maria says quickly, unable to hide the desperation in her voice. "Please. Just... five minutes of your time. I really just want to talk to..."
She trails off. Maria is about to say she wants to talk to another human, but she reminds herself that the woman doesn't see her as human. She sees her as something else. Something different. And Maria already knows this to be true. But this woman is acknowledging her. She sees and hears her, and that's enough for Maria to latch on. Maria exhales, brow furrowing. She continues:
"...a human. I want to talk to a human. Can you do that for me?"
The woman looks Maria over thoughtfully and bites her bottom lip, uncertain about whether she should allow it. Maybe she's been burned before, giving another newbie more time than they deserved. Maybe.
An uncomfortable silence hovers over them both, as thick as the fog circling the streets.
"Yeah. Alright. Come on, I'll buy you a coffee," the woman says with a sigh and a slightly embarrassed smile, gesturing at Maria to follow her. The human seems wary but kind. She seems like the type who ultimately wants to help.
"Thank you!" Maria's features brighten. Relief washes over her, and Maria starts quickly following the stranger, whose name she doesn't yet know. What Maria does know is that the woman isn't connected to James or Mary. The woman isn't connected to that town at all, and it's both refreshing and daunting. James isn't here. Maria has no purpose and she's truly all alone, and she... doesn't want to be.
That heavy, sinking feeling remains in the pit of her stomach as she follows along, ready to learn more about this strange new place.
As ready as she'll ever be, anyway.
TWO:
[A day after arrivals begin to flood into Ryslig, a message appears on the network, written by someone with the username "Heavens_Night".]
What happens when someone becomes a monster here? What is it like to change? I'm so afraid of feeling pain that all I can think about is how excruciating it must feel. I don't want to change, but I've already been told that it'll happen whether I want it to or not.
I'm scared. I'm so scared of my body changing. Of becoming something else.
Can someone out there talk to me? Please? I don't need you to lie and tell me it'll be okay. I know already that that's not the truth. I just need someone to talk to for a little while.
Can anyone even read this? Was I imagining everything outside?
Am I real?
