It's 1900's Japan, you're stuck in a horror story, would you trust a random priest wearing a fox mask?

[Naruzeldamaster]

I'm watching a playthrough of Silent Hill F and it's been a solid story so far. But there's one character that has raised too many red flags out the gate, even for a horror story.

For one, foxes in the old Japan are commonly depicted as (at minimum) troublemakers and (at worst) murderers. There are some depictions of Benevolent foxes but those depictions seem to be saved for the snow white ones, rather than the much more common 'mischievous' red fox.

Two, the guy introduces himself, but he's very vague about what exactly he does (as a priest) or why he saves the protagonist. (Hinako even asks him at least once and he kind of handwaves with his reply) That alone is a red flag, kind of gives you 'yep I saved you, no hidden motives' [shifty eyes] vibes.

If it helps answer the question, no, you are not 'aware' you're stuck in a horror story (if that makes sense) you're just the protagonist.

 

[skip.knox]

Would it matter whether the "you" in this instance is rural or urban? Would it matter if it was 1910 or 1940 or 1990?

I'm assuming you would choose 1910, as you refer to "old Japan". What counts as old gets more and more recent the older I get.

I can't quite work out the final sentence. The question referenced doesn't ask if I'm "aware" I'm stuck in a horror story, it states as a fact that that's where I'm stuck. The question (in the subject line) is would I trust a random priest wearing a fox mask. Not sure how a priest becomes a random priest, but *shrug*. The fox motif seems to be the key point here. If a priest approached me wearing a mask of any type, I'd be on my guard. Why the mask? I would ask.

I've not played this game, so I can't comment on the priest's words and behavior, nor on how the game seems to want to portray the character and whether or not it succeeds at that. I do think culture matters here. Very likely most Westerners would not have the same reaction a Japanese native would. At all events, the story teller should be aware of audience and take some pains to make explicit the significance of an item (like a fox mask). Maybe the game does this, eventually, and maybe it doesn't.

Foxes get varied representations. My two immediate ones would be fox hunts (so, fox as prey) and Reyanard (fox as clever trickster). I daresay reactions in the Congo or Pakistan or Chile might be different.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

If it helps, being 'aware' means you're aware of horror movie/book tropes, so you'd actively be able to avoid common failings of the usual 'horror' protagonist, due to your extended knowledge of the genre. Especially with 'how things tend to go' in certain situations that lead the protagonist to certain 'doom'

Not Being 'aware' means you're just a character in the story, no extended fourth wall breaking knowledge, but still yourself. I'm personally not too keen to trust strangers, least of all ones wearing masks, claiming to be a priest of some practice that I've never heard of before. In my personal instance, I don't think I'd trust him wither I was raised in a rural setting or city or in the 1910's or 90's (I think the game takes place in the 90's since Chocolate is still a 'new' discovery in Japan) because my personality wouldn't change.

With or without extended knowledge of tropes, let's just say this guy is notably shady, the fact that the protagonist takes so long to figure things out is...a choice, but she doesn't seem stupid otherwise. (In her defense, she seems quite 'taken' by him when she first meets him but still, guy is mega shifty)

 

[pmmg]

Am i using real logic or game logic for this?

Yes if the game makes me. No otherwise

 

[Gurkhal]

I would probably not trust anyone. I may come to trust this priest later on but not at the start or the middle of the story.

 

[Prince of Spires]

If a guy saves my life (assuming that's what saves the protagonist means here), then I'd probably trust him. At least I'd likely give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[SamazonE]

Like getting your keys engraved?

I thought about GITS Innocence, and Kim being a strange yet apathetic villain, stuck in a house in an abandoned industrial mega complex. It is not clear if he has given his doll servant life, but he has managed to steal the ghosts from the innocent, and installed them in murder bots.

The series is Japanese and one of my favourites, but another horror story I like is Silent Hill. It is not clear why there is cultural reference to the cross and hospital ghouls. There is a disconnect in media in general when portraying torture devices, but by the look of things, the cross is pretty much the same.

Embroiled in veiled secrecy is the computer game horror industry. I have recently played Hylics, which is basically a surrealist-horror. That game has you reeling in sadism and disbelief. And there are other comedic twists to the same sort of vibe, namely the rockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows.

But as far as the horror getting a bit to real, I get it. It is firmly rooted in solid ground. Hacking and slashing seems like the staple meal to the industry, and there are device elements that come into effect you, no matter how close you are to clocking the game or not. I don’t know how valuable my opinion is, however I find some elements about realism disturbing, maybe that’s what you are getting at?