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Abacinating the suitors had not been a part of the original plan, but she liked the added excitement.

Justine’s sociopathic plans for the Suitors.

The Suitors are the main enemies encountered in Amnesia: Justine. As their name suggests, they were (former) lovers of Justine Florbelle, transformed by torture and experimentation into insane, disfigured, and violent monsters.

Information[]

Encounters[]

The three Suitors that are encountered are Aloïs Racine, Basile Giroux, and Malo de Vigny. Each Suitor has a unique disposition, demeanor, and motive to find and attack Justine.

Similar to Grunts and Brutes, Suitors spawn whenever the player performs certain triggering actions, such as completing a puzzle or entering a particular area. They drain Sanity when looked at, are accompanied by their own harrowing theme while nearby, and utter a variety of sounds and phrases when they first appear and as they wander around. The Suitors speak while patrolling, calling out to or threatening Justine while searching for the player. Like the Gatherers, the Terror Meter is played when a Suitor is alerted to the player's location and gives chase.

The Cells: Aloïs[]

Aloïs is the first Suitor that Justine encounters in the Cabinet of Perturbation. She is awoken by him in the Cells, where he is seen standing at the door to her cell. He appears again when Justine enters the first cell to the far left of the entrance to the common room of six cells. Aloïs spawns close to the cave-in on the opposite end of the common room and wanders towards the center, then out the door through which Justine entered. He wanders down the hallway, aimlessly searching for Justine. He may return to the common area during his search pattern, after a lengthy interval of wandering down the hall, but otherwise does not present much of a risk to an aware and industrious player.

He is not encountered again as an enemy after successfully escaping the cells, but may be heard in some endings of the game, shouting at Justine along with the other two Suitors.

Aloïs is the only Suitor to leave the area completely after a short period, but will eventually appear again if the player chooses to sacrifice the victim to get the ladder down from the ceiling. Making noise before he has put sufficient distance between himself and Justine can summon his return. Also, returning to the beginning area where Aloïs entered can bring him back.

The Library: Basile[]

Basile appears in the basement area of the Library, whispering threats as he hunts for Justine. When he appears, all the lights in the basement will be blown out, and the door will slam shut, locking you in.

Once spawned, Basile does not de-spawn and will continue to patrol the area looking for the player. It is necessary to sneak past him in order to continue. However, this isn't too difficult as long as you do so without making too much noise, since he is blind after all. Once the player passes a group of chairs near the exit of the area, the Suitors' chase tune will begin playing and Basile will automatically be alerted of the player, however, at that point you're close enough to the exit that it usually won't make a difference.

The Dungeon: Malo[]

Malo is the third and final Suitor to encounter, appearing in the Dungeon. He's seen as the most violent and crazy of the three men, as he threatens to—and will if he has the chance—eat Justine, since he's "grown tired of his own flesh."[citation needed] Despite what he's become, he speaks in a friendly, sarcastic demeanor.[citation needed] Inspector Marot is locked up nearby. Justine has a choice to make; either buying herself some time by leaving the policeman to be brutally murdered and cannibalized by Malo, or saving the inspector and causing the mad Suitor to chase her immediately. In Malo's cell, chunks of flesh and smears of blood, possibly his own, can be found.

Malo is extremely difficult to hide from. Though he is blind, he is almost always aware of Justine's presence, perhaps due to him recognizing her scent. If you hide from him, he'll make a beeline towards whatever room you are in. This is possibly because he was a violinist, so the man had to develop a very refined sense of hearing to distinguish between tone and sound when playing music, this means he can easily detect Justine trying to sneak away in a flooded basement, as the water makes Justine's movements much easier to hear.[speculation] Even if the player is standing completely still once Malo enters the area, he will still find them, further proving his heightened senses.

If the player is quick enough, they can run into the second room, close the door with the lever to their left, secure Inspector Marot's door, and then hide behind the left set of bars as Malo breaks in. Malo will then make an awkward search patrol back and forth between the exit door and Marot's cell door. Each time Malo leaves the exit door, the player can crawl up to it and undo it a little, repeating this until the player can simply flee at which point, Malo will begin the normal chase sequence in the final hall.

Even though Basile is said to be the strongest of the Suitors, Malo is the only one who actually shows immense strength. He breaks down the door connecting the first flooded chamber in only a few moments, and when Justine is bringing the missing cogwheel with her to open the next door, he tears that one down in about 10 seconds or when Justine put the cogwheel on the machine and is at the gate, he will bash down the door. Once Justine saves/sacrifices the inspector, a very intense pursuit occurs as Malo chases Justine through the final dark winding hallway; destroying both the final metal door and any obstacles in his way in less than a second, as well as receiving a deadly increase to his attack speed.

Behavior[]

Suitors can be seen wandering around the basement, having been imprisoned there by Justine, who later made them a part of the very "study of the human psyche" she'd arranged impromptu.[1][2][3]

When idle, they make rasping or wheezing sounds, and when they walk, their chains can be heard dragging across the floor, although no chains can be seen doing so. They are also the only enemies that speak (aside from Ghouls), which is similar in design to the enemies in Penumbra: Black Plague, wherein the enemies speak short lines, or "barks" as they are known in video game design theory.

As stated in one of the loading screens, Justine abacinated at least two of the Suitors, likely Basile and Aloïs, as the former is heard being blinded, and neither react to the player being within their range of sight.[citation needed] Instead, they rely only their senses of touch and hearing to locate the player once alerted to their presence. While she is crouching, Justine is much harder if not impossible to pick up on, provided nothing is broken, slammed or knocked over while the Suitor is around. If she is some distance away from them and not making much noise, they probably will not find her. Malo is the exception; while it is never stated whether or not he has been blinded, and though he appears to have no eyes like the other two, he plainly states that he can "see" Justine, although it's impossible to tell if he is telling the truth due to his insanity. He is much harder to hide from and escape, likely as a result of this.

If a Suitor chases Justine long enough, they will eventually pick up their running speed. They can kill the player with just one or two hits, resulting in the game ending, since—as stated in the opening slides—it is impossible to save in this add-on. This means the player will have to restart from the very beginning upon death.

Strategy[]

Suitors deal the same range of damage as a Servant Brute from the main game: between 50 and 120 points. This means they have a ~30% chance to kill the player in a single hit, if the player is at full health. Another similarity is that they run noticeably faster than Servant Grunts, making them even more dangerous and fearsome. However, the Suitors are blind, an advantage which the player can use when encountering them. The player can get close to them, but only by crouching. Running or simply walking near them alerts them of the player's presence.

Description[]

Physical appearance[]

All three Suitors share the exact same appearance, and the most obvious and striking factors of their appearance, is the horrific and agonizing wounds they all have. They are completely nude, with their genitals clearly visible. Metal chains wrap around the left wrist and both ankles. Some of the chains appear to dig into the flesh of the thighs, and can be heard rattling whenever the Suitors move. An "X" is carved into their chests, though the meaning behind this mark is unknown. They are all extremely malnourished, and have frail, skeletal bodies. Despite this, they are all extremely strong, able to kill Justine in just one hit.

They have deep cuts along the back, legs, and right buttox. There are empty, bleeding holes where the eyes once resided. The Suitors are blind, making it relatively easy to hide from them. Malo will always find the player, despite his lack of eyes. They have wide, never-closing mouth, although their mouths never move during Suitor dialogue. Perhaps the most notable feature, is a neck trap secured around the throat. Neck traps, in those times, were commonly used to prevent the victim from laying down, making sleep impossible.

Justine's view[]

Justine, for her part, does not seem to think about the Suitors much; in all her dialogue, all the notes and documents, all loading screen blurbs, and all phonographs revealing her words, thoughts and behavior, she almost never addresses any of the Suitors nor mentions them by name. Only once is she shown to have spoken directly to a Suitor, Basile, though only to heighten her own ego and to further humiliate and torture him.[4] On the other hand, she speaks quite personably and intimately about people such as her father, her mother, and even her captives.[5][6][7][8] This implies a degree of non-feeling towards and dehumanization of the Suitors from Justine; she does not even think of them, except as obstacles or playthings.[9]

Origins[]

As their name implies, the Suitors were once young men who had attempted to court Justine. She used their feelings toward her to manipulate them into doing whatever she wanted. She treated them like playthings, doing cruel things to them for her own amusement. It is implied that on one occasion, she made Malo drink heavily prior to a musical performance of his, causing him to play his violin terribly, embarrassing himself in front of the crowd, and very likely ruining his career as well.[10] Satisfied by what she had done, Justine ordered Basile and Aloïs remove the drunken Malo from the stage.[10]

Justine's torment of her suitors only escalated from there, graduating to physical harm. At some point, she put absinthe in Basile's wine (or possibly instructed Aloïs to drug him with bromide) and restrained him.[11][4] She then blinded him by pressing a heated metal tool to his eyes.[4][12] At around the same time, she blinded Aloïs, and possibly Malo as well, as seen in the drawing of three men with missing eyes.[13] The other drawings further show what Justine did to them: the metal wheels placed around their necks and the chains wrapped around their limbs. She also inflicted multiple deep cuts on their bodies, leaving wide scars. Aloïs, however, was so obsessed with Justine that he gladly inflicted such wounds himself, for no other reason than it pleased her.[11]

As a result of their torture, the suitors went insane, each in a different way. Aloïs doubled down on his fixation with Justine to such an extreme degree that he will end up killing her if he finds her. Basile is consumed by murderous rage because of what Justine did to him. Malo was starved into becoming a cannibal, consuming his own flesh to survive and attempting to eat anyone he comes across.

Individuals[]

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"I've read every book I can find on the subject.
While rich in legend and hearsay, my knowledge is lack for the insight I crave."
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Aloïs Racine[]

Ss 2021-01-26 alois

Is that you I hear ?

Aloïs

Aloïs Racine was born to a distinguished family in France. Aloïs had a self-destructive fixation with Justine and was voluntarily cutting and self-mutilating in order to prove his mad love for her.[14] In his note to Justine, Aloïs confessed that he was madly, and jealously, in love with her and would help sedate Basile Giroux with bromide, which may have provided Justine the opportunity to blind the man.[11] He then proclaimed that he would even murder Basile should Justine say the word.[11] In spite of the seemingly friendly and outwardly gentle personality of Aloïs, he poses the same threat as the other Suitors. The way Aloïs speaks is somewhat haunting; from the way he talks, it is obvious he is still in love with Justine, as he will speak in a delicate tone even when attacking her. It appears that Aloïs may have initially helped play a role in the downfall of the other two Suitors.[14]

Aloïs is voiced by Scotty Campbell.[15]

Basile Giroux[]

Get over here... I'll rip your head off!

Basile
Ss 2021-01-26 basile

Basile Giroux is the resentful one of the three Suitors, and the second to appear. His rage is justified however, and thus Basile appears to have retained the most sanity of the three Suitors, and simply wants to exact retribution upon the woman who tortured him. In a phonograph recording, one can hear an exchange between him and Justine. Basile regains consciousness after being drugged and finds himself restrained to a table. He's clearly not in the mood for Justine's "games," but nevertheless is forced to say a line she prepared for him, stating her beauty is "blinding". At that moment, Justine presses a small, heated metal tool to his eyes, causing him to scream in pain. Justine laughs, as if it were a simple prank, but Basile is anything but amused and threatens to kill her.[4]

It is possible that Basile was a carpenter, as entering the empty prison cell between the other two cells (where Aloïs and Malo were) cause flashback sounds of sawing wood and hammering.[citation needed] Other elements in the game that hint to Basile's former career is that Aloïs' note stated Basile was strong, and if the player enters any other cell, it won't produce flashback sounds that require physical work (apart from the racquet sounds in Aloïs' cell and violin sounds in Malo's).[citation needed] Also, it is notable that several bricks in Basile's cell were removed, but not without it causing injury as there is blood around the brick slots and on the bricks themselves, implying that Basile injured his hands in his violent attempt to escape.

Basile is voiced by Jon St. John.[15]

Malo de Vigny[]

Justine. Let me taste you.

Malo

Malo de Vigny appears to be the most insane of the three Suitors. He is the prisoner of the cell to the right of the first cell block. It was mentioned in notes that Malo was once a very talented violin virtuoso.[citation needed] Before his downward spiral into a mutilated monster, Malo got drunk before an evening concert. It was to be a grand première of several new arrangements of songs, but Malo was so drunk he couldn't play properly and eventually the audience heckled and jeered at him.[citation needed]

Ss 2021-01-26 malo water

The stress was too much for the young musician; he threw his bow into the audience in frustration and collapsed.[citation needed] He had to be escorted away from the stage by the other Suitors, Basile and Aloïs, and was replaced by another violinist.[citation needed] All the while, Justine was sitting among the audience, seeming very amused by the event.[citation needed] It is believed from rumors in the conservatory that Malo's apparent intoxication was entirely her doing.[citation needed]

Malo is voiced by Jeff Buchanan.[15]

Design[]

Though sharing a character model and a series of wheezing, screeching and growling noises, each Suitor has his own unique voice and personality, along with specific lines of dialogue, depending on whether he is noticing, searching for or chasing the player:

Suitor's search state Aloïs Racine Basile Giroux Malo de Vigny
Idle
"Is that you I hear?"
"Why did this happen?"
"Come back!"
"I will find you."
"I will kill you, you cunt!"
"Yes, keep making those sounds."
"Justine... let me taste you... [chuckles]"
"I grow tired... of my own flesh..."
"I can't believe... this is what it feels like... [giggles]"
Discovery
"Is that you, my love?"
"You came for me!"
"[laughs] You won't get away this time."
"I have you now!"
"I see you..."
"Bonjour~"
Giving up on search
"Where did you go? Come back...!"
"Please, come back!"
"I found you once, I'll find you again."
"This isn't over yet!"
[singing] "Hide and seek, hide and seek..."
"Come out... You'll like what I have planned..."
Attacking
"NO! Stay!"
"Don't leave again..."
"Get over here!"
"I'll rip your head off!"
"[laughs] Come here!"
"I want you...!"
After kill
"Hush now... It's all right."
"You thought you'd get away, didn't you!?"
[biting/chewing sounds]

Trivia[]

  • Suitors bear a slight resemblance to the infected human enemies from Penumbra: Black Plague; not only do they share a similarity in having standard yet mutated human bodies, but these enemies were the only ones capable of speech in their respective game series, until the addition of Ghouls in Amnesia: Rebirth.
  • The actor that voices Basile (Jon St. John) also voices the eponymous character of the Duke Nukem games.
  • Like the Gatherers, Suitors are shown to have been normal humans once. However, the manner in which they became frightening monsters is very different: poisoned wine is implied to be responsible for turning Alexander's lackeys into Gatherers, while the Suitors were physically and mentally scarred by Justine's torment.
  • A glitch exists where Basile can be de-spawned by placing a chair in the way of the door to the basement and preventing it from closing and locking, then running back after he spawns.
  • All three Suitors are identical in appearance. They can only be distinguished from each other by their voices and quotes. Aloïs sounds sad, Basile sounds angry, and Malo sounds insane.
  • In the Library, there is a boarded-up door. If the player approaches it, something will pound on the door from the other side and the moans of a Suitor will be heard. This is most likely Basile, but it is unknown how he would leave the room to go to the basement.
  • When Aloïs is roaming through the Cells, it is odd that he does not attempt to kill or break into the hostage's (Dr. Fournier's) cell, even though he can speak to the player asking for their help easily as when Aloïs isn't there, he will not attract his attention. He also will not cause Aloïs to return if he speaks while Aloïs is still around. The most likely explanation is that Aloïs either knows the doctor is unreachable, or is only interested in finding Justine.
  • Despite being three different people, all the Suitors' whimpers, wheezing, and moans seem to sound like Aloïs' voice.
  • Despite the fact that Aloïs regarded Basile as "strong", it is actually Malo, the former musician, who surprisingly turns out to be the strongest of the three, being able to smash through gates and obstacles with ease. This could be attributed to Basile being deprived of muscle, and Malo being the least sane.[speculation]
  • The Suitors' mouths do not move when they speak, as their voices "emanate" from them in a ghostly, eerie manner.
  • Despite being inhumanely mutilated and injured by Justine's torturing, they somehow have the strength and speed to catch Justine. The reason for this is unknown, but it could be explained by their adrenaline taking over.
  • In the last chamber, before the exit, Malo doesn't actually break the door down until Justine starts to turn either the wheel that closes the door to secure Inspector Marot, or the wheel that opens the door to the exit. If Justine is in there without turning any of the two wheels, or trying to turn one of the two non-functional wheels, Malo will just keep hissing and slamming on the door, without breaking it down. This gives the player an opportunity to take a good look at Marot, who's tied up in his little chamber.

Gallery[]

Video[]

Below is a collection of all three of the Suitors' voice clips.

References[]

  1. Phonograph: Introduction (Justine) – "I bid you welcome to my Cabinet of Perturbation. it is my study of the human psyche - specifically yours."
  2. Loading Screen: Library (Justine): "The gloomy place downstairs became a playground – a mysterious place for Justine to discover with her friends."
  3. Loading Screen: Crypt (Justine) – "When she first imagined the cabinet, it was for her amusement, but since it had grown into something more important – an opportunity to reveal her most suppressed desires."
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Phonograph: Basile (Justine)
  5. Loading Screen: Library (Justine) – "The downstairs library still reminded her of father. All those hours spend [sic] there had fostered a sense of shelter."
  6. Phonograph: Congratulations (Justine) – "Father never knew me. He thought he did, but then he was frightened and nothing was ever the same again. I can still see him, lying there on the floor, he looked so surprised... Rest in peace, papa."
  7. Phonograph: Monsieur Fournier (Justine) – "I do hope you managed to save Monsieur Fournier. He was a friend and a colleague of my papa, you know. Friendly fellow, a real bon garçon, but frail of mind. He puts up an impressive front, but it is all an act, I assure you."
  8. Phonograph: Inspector Marot (Justine) – "Inspector Marot, are you still with us? I'm looking forward to see if you managed to save him or not. I know very little about him, but surely he had a family, don't you think? Poor, poor, fatherless children."
  9. Dialogue (Justine) – Justine: "They can't hurt me anymore."
  10. 10.0 10.1 Newspaper Article – 19 March, 1858 (Justine)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Billet Doux (Justine)
  12. In the torture room near the end of the Cells, there is a small metal object on the table that has the entity name "abacinate_tool", with a small fireplace close by. "Abacinate" is a term meaning to blind someone as a form of punishment or torture.
  13. Loading screen: Dungeon (Justine) – "Abacinating the suitors had not been a part of the original plan, but she liked the added excitement."
  14. 14.0 14.1 Billet Doux (Justine) – "Justine, my love. [...] I am certain my love is truer. Do not my scars tell you so? I will continue to cut myself as long as it pleases you."
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Amnesia: Justine – English credits

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