Incel was used earlier on in the thread. Probably not by you, but it was a term brought up, so my ending was just saying that you do not have to fall under that category for liking a character. Simp was just the opposite, so I used it.
Sleeping around is just an easy term for going from people to people, partner to partner. Maybe not the best term, but then it seems unfitting for either as they are just in a dating game to my knowledge. I really do not mind this aspect of either character, it is how they act and react to it that can get on my nerves. If they want to go on multiple dates and juggle multiple partners, whatever, but Dorothea’s sad game just does not work for me. I prefer the more comedic and owned up mentality presented by Sylvain.
I can see a misunderstanding in the character for myself. Though somethings can be up in the air for interpretation. The Caspar thing was still weird.
Also many characters are more than just tragic moments. Bernedetta had to spend her life with her abusive father, being kept away from other people. Not only was she beaten, but she had little people to confine in. Edelgard was tortured during her life, watched all siblings die, and was unable to have a proper ending with the boy she cared for. Dimitri had practically everything taken from him from parents, to the girl he fell in love with, to multiple friends, to even one of his own father figures since he choose to run away. Now he is left with a resentful friend and the responsibility of a genocide lead by his people on his shoulders. Point is, Dorothea is far from the only one with a tragic life, many have big moments that lead into long term issues that will eat away at them.
I also think people lack understanding of Sylvain in this situation as people on this thread have chocked up his backstory to pointless fodder. It is way more than that, and Miklan fits with the rest of Sylvain’s character as a whole. It is clear that Sylvain lives in a rather abusive household, where the abuse is one of an emotional toll on Miklan. Once Sylvain came into existence, Miklan was cast aside as the ‘mistake’ child for not bearing a crest. It is clear that Sylvain was seen as the ‘favorite’ due to the crest, but that came with heavy drawbacks. One of which being Miklan’s resentment, leading him to stage multiple events in which he would attempt to get his brother killed. In a sense, Sylvain has as much a rough upbringing as Bernedetta, living in a house where one member has no care for their livelihood. It also does not help that Sylvain’s parents only seem to care about the crest part. Just like Ingrid, it seems Sylvain will be brought into an arranged marriage dictated by the parents, as well as having his whole life be nothing more than a duty. He is the king whether he wants to be or not, and as such he must be decently obedient towards the role. Add in his friend group being...less than stellar with Dimitri and Felix likely doing little to help him mentality due to their own troubles, and it is easy to see the man he became. He sees himself as unvalued, a prize not too dissimilar to Dorothea. He is a ticket into nobility as his parents and brother have reinforced that he is nothing more than a mere crest, everything in his life has been in service of the crest politics. Dorothea actually works as sort of the perfect reinforcement of his beliefs, she is marrying rich to marry rich, maybe she is doing it to survive, but it is still a shallow reason. Both characters are uniquely interesting, I will give you that. I believe them to be two halves of a perfect hole. Dorothea shows the struggles of a poor women in a society run by a corrupt nobility system, while Sylvain shows a member of the nobility birthed into a system that does not favor the individual, a point the game brings up multiple times through Ingrid and Lorenz. Both use dating as some sort of game, a means to likely elevate some frustration and resentment. Sylvain can be nicer and either do what he is told, get rid of all responsibilities and be seen as a criminal like his brother, or the option he does take which is use others to vent. Similarly, Dorothea can easily not be with nobles. There are plenty of commoners who she can live a decent life with, or she can follow her mentor (Manuela’s) example and live on her own, get a job that does not require one’s dwindling beauty to be a focal point, but she instead chooses nobles likely out of some form of fighting back or getting what she believes is hers. Both have terrible lives filled with abuse, assassination attempts, likely little to no one to turn to, stuck in a position in the political cog where they are left unhappy.
As for the friend part, both had likely little to no support. Dorothea had Manuela and her theatre troupe. It seems the theatre treated her well and so did Manuela, outside of the times where her drinking got in the way. For Sylvain, Ingrid was likely the only real leverage he got, possibly Dimitri. Felix clearly became an isolationist after Rodrigue’s death, so he would be of no support. Dimitri is also a problematic figure as Sylvain does seem scared of him. I doubt Dimitri was abusive, but he would likely be a terrible person to console in knowing his boar-ish personality trapped within.
In saying this, both are on decently equal terms when it comes to the bad past game and their responsibility for behaving now. If one likes Sylvain or Dorothea over the other, then it likely comes down to personality and how the game decides to handle the character. I prefer Sylvain, while I can now have a better appreciation for Dorothea, I find the chill approach taken with the boy to be far more enjoyable. His ownership of his flawed character and “living my best life“ attitude is just far more appealing than the downer at times and potentially overbearing personality that Dorothea can exude. If you find Dorothea better, than great. I can acknowledge that I may have missed out, but I just cannot view her the same way.
I’ll just end this by saying thank you for the new understanding. I did not pick up on many things, so I am glad discussions like this can add to the game.
