➤ Player
Name: ame
Contact: PM or plurk @ wooloos
Other characters ingame: N/A
Invited by: elia!

➤ Character
Name: Sylvain Jose Gautier
Canon: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Canon Point: Azure Moon (Blue Lions route) final chapter, pre-epilogue.
Age: 25

History: Character info, General game timeline, Azure Moon timeline, Game synopsis

Notes: Byleth was female and no other students from the other houses were recruited into the Blue Lions.

Personality: cw for mentions of child abuse.

Charming
It's important to remember that Sylvain has, essentially, two sides to him: one that he allows people to see and likely prefers them to see most of the time, and his true personality that he only shows in private or in the presence of very close friends. For most of his interactions, Sylvain projects an outward appearance of affable insouciance, with a light-hearted and easy going charm that allows him to get along with most people right off the bat. He's generally quite likable, and gives off that older brother vibe for most of his classmates, some of whom he's taken care of since childhood. He's always seen with a smile on his face and is almost always surrounded by girls, of which he's never out of compliments for.

Self-Loathing
Most, if not all, of Sylvain's internal struggle stems from his crest (something hereditary that tends to only manifest in battle and allows him to wield the Lance of Ruin without suffering from the physical and mental strain of doing so): from the moment he was born, Sylvain was given everything and anything he could want, whereas his older brother, Miklan, was given nothing simply on the basis that he wasn't born with a crest. Throughout his childhood, Miklan tormented Sylvain, abused him and even attempted to kill him at every opportunity until Miklan was eventually disowned, all of which Sylvain had endured silently. Sylvain believed his existence was the reason Miklan had suffered, and that he had unknowingly destroyed whatever future and whatever life Miklan may have had simply because he was given the crest that Miklan didn't have. The abuse he had suffered throughout the years have colored his opinion of crests and also influenced his opinion of himself, as he was led to believe that his crest was all he's good for and all he's worth. So deep is his hatred for crests and ultimately, himself, that he struggled to reconcile his own self-worth outside of his crest, believing that people only want to be close to him to reap the potential benefits that comes from being with him.

Shallow
It's the reason why he dates around with no intention of commitment—what's the point of getting serious with someone and settling down when they have no interest in who he is anyway? He justifies it by saying that they only wanted to use him as a means of becoming nobility, yet he doesn't allow any of them to come close enough to actually get to know him like he really wants. It's the same with nearly everyone else; for all of Sylvain's smiles and friendly disposition, he keeps people at a distance, only showing them a side of himself that he's cultivated over time.

Self-destructive
For all that Sylvain tries to keep people at arm's length, he's pretty bad at it because he cares too much, especially when it comes to his friends and his allies. Let it be known that Sylvain would be the first to lay down his life for Felix, Ingrid, or Dimitri without a second thought, not because of chivalry and honor and all those other notions of duty that their kingdom had force fed them with since they were able to walk, but because he cares about them. They'd been friends since childhood and he'd watched them grow, wiped their tears whenever they cried despite having no one to wipe his own. His friends are so important, much more important than he is and ever will be, and while it's so easy to write it off as dedication, in reality it's his self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies rearing its head again.

Loyal/Caring
But here's where it gets complicated, because in the end, it is dedication: for as much as Sylvain fools around and never seems to care about his training, he never fails to show up whenever his friends need him. He's the kind of guy who makes a childhood death pact at, like, ten years old and still honors it even at twenty-five; it's the one thing that makes him get his act together and curbs his self-destructive habit of throwing himself in the path of danger for his friends rather than actually pulling them out of it. He never outright refuses to help anyone either, even if it may be out of his way, or even if they didn't ask him in the first place. He tells Ashe that it's their job to help anyone who needs it, and that everyone's the same, deep down: "If someone's in trouble, I help them. You don't need to be a valiant knight to know that." He insists that a person can't be judged by the worst of their kind, much like the way he wishes people could view him: to be free from the attention that having a crest grants him, which is both as much of a spotlight as it is a microscope, always judging and scrutinizing each move and choice he makes.

Clever
And while he plays up his dumb playboy act like it's going out of style, he is, in fact, surprisingly intelligent. There's an expectation of nobles and crest-bearers that he rails against vehemently, the idea that people who don't have crests are lesser than those who possess them. As someone who is both, Sylvain was expected from a young age to do great things, expected to be better than the rest and a model for people to look up to; to lead his citizens to a brighter future. It's something he both hates and is terrified of, partly because he wishes so desperately to have the freedom to live his life the way he wants to, without the burden of crests and the suffocating weight of everyone's lofty expectations; partly because he's seen firsthand what happens if he were to fail to meet those expectations: his brother cast out and disowned, reduced to nothing but a bandit and who had ultimately died a monster, attempting to wield the Lance of Ruin in a last ditch effort to prove his worth despite knowing the consequences of doing so without having a crest. So Sylvain does the exact opposite, builds up a reputation for himself as nothing but a dandy and a philanderer, one who doesn't care about training and studies and hard work. In actuality, it couldn't be further from the truth: Sylvain is smart and calculating, able to grasp complex magic formulas at a mere glance, expressing his suspicions of the true cause behind the Duscur tragedy despite the story that everyone else believes. He values hard work and respects those who truly dedicate themselves to following their passions or honing their skills, but further than that, what he actually admires are people who are true to themselves: people who don't try to pretend to be someone different, who know who they are and what they want and are unapologetic in trying to achieve it.

Greatest motivation
Beneath all the smiles and frivolity, Sylvain is a man weighed down by expectation and duty, burdened by bitterness and self-loathing. He wants to be free from everyone's expectations of him and wants to live his life the way he wants to, not one dictated by his crest; later he goes on to mend his country's relationship with others and works to create a new way of life where crests and relics are no longer necessary. He cares a lot about his friends and the people around him, wanting nothing more than for them to live happily and freely.

Mundane interests
Sylvain is actually a big fan of the fine arts and has a love for strategy games. He's an avid reader even if he might not look like one, and enjoys both fiction and non-fiction genres. In one of his supports, he also expresses an interest in learning how to cook.

New situations
As someone who is very curious and analytical, Sylvain will prioritize gathering as much information as he can about the situation he's found himself in. He's social and has a knack for diplomacy so he won't hesitate to use his friendliness and charm to try and get to know others, whether to learn more about the setting or to establish connections and allies. Being able to establish this sort of network would hopefully help him in figuring out a way back home for him and everyone else.

Abilities:

• Weapons proficiency: Sylvain's main weapon of choice is the lance/spear, and while he isn't Felix "While You Were Partying, I Studied The Blade" Fraldarius who wakes up at four in the morning to destroy training dummies every day, Sylvain is actually quite good at wielding it. He has to be, when he's tasked to defend the border from invading armies from the north; when he's the only one able to wield the Lance of Ruin. He's also decent in wielding axes and handling horses.
  
• Magic: Sylvain has a budding talent for Reason, which, if cultivated, allows him to access a variety of fire-based elemental spells of increasing strength. He also knows some minor healing spells, which aren't very powerful, but will work in a pinch. Unfortunately, his magic will be nerfed.
  
• Sylvain possesses a minor Crest of Gautier, something hereditary that tends to only manifest in battle, which gives him a boost in strength when he uses special attacks and allows him to wield the Lance of Ruin without suffering from the physical and mental strain of doing so.
  
• Lance of Ruin: a cool and creepily unsettling lance made from the bones of a beast. As Sylvain is its rightful wielder, he's able to execute the special attack Ruined Sky with it, which is super effective against dragons and flying enemies. This ability will also be nerfed.
  
• Education and upbringing: As heir to House Gautier, Sylvain was given a thorough and elite education both at home and later at Garreg Mach's Officer's Academy that would prepare him for his responsibilities as the next Margrave, i.e.: horsemanship, etiquette, territory management, politics, the whole shebang. Sylvain is good at diplomacy and has a talent for warfare (even if he may hate it), having grown up fighting for Faerghus his whole life. He is skilled in military strategy and battlefield calculations, and is a decent tactician with a focus on avoiding as much casualties as he can. He's the kind of guy who would cut off your supply chains right from the get-go; the guy who would first come for your gold, your lands, and then eventually, your head. He plays the long game.

Inventory:

his armor

the Lance of Ruin, now just a regular but creepy looking lance.

one silver lance

a pack containing: a change of clothes, a bed roll, some rations, and a chess set.


Vision: Anemo.
Reason: Anemo is about wishing for a gentler future and wanting to be free, both things that Sylvain strives to work towards for himself and others. It's also granted to characters who shoulder a great burden, which also applies to Sylvain and his crest, as he always felt weighed down by the expectations of everyone around him and his own desires to live his life the way he wants to.
Role: Support-tank. Sylvain's in-game stats are built like your typical great knight/paladin class; he can take hits with his high defense and also provide support through healing/buffing skills.
Constellation: the Gautier crest.