Sylvester Ashling

Sylvester Ashling is a character from Epithet Erased featured in the longterm Danganronpa: NIHILMANIA. He is the 17th participant.

## Personality

Sylvester is a boy of erudition, preferring to spend his time with knowledge than people. Because he is not the best with small talk, he would rather observe than involve himself. Thinking before speaking is Sylvester thing, although it can get to a point where he thinks too much and ends up never speaking, awkwardly stunning himself. While not a very social person, he makes an emphasis on gauging other people's reactions first and foremost to ensure the atmosphere is appropriate for whatever he wants to say. Sylvester gives off an arrogant air to those he doesn't know, and is seemingly unapologetic about it. He tends to harbor a judgmental view towards others.

Sylvester may not be the nicest, but he's not heartless. He is capable of caring for others when he wants to, but the gravity of the killing game renders it difficult for Sylvester to express that side. Whenever someone acts insensitive to the suffering of others, Sylvester will question their emotional intelligence whether in his thoughts or out loud. There are occasions where he considers offering moral support to someone, but trying to solve the problem becomes a subconscious priority due to his logic over emotion decision making. Sylvester is shown to also easily disturbed by corpses no matter how close he was with the person, so there is some limit to him he refuses to acknowledge. Thus, it is implied he may actually be a good person, but it's hard for him to express his intentions due to his pompous and paranoid personality.

Sylvester can overthink simple things or conclusions at his worst because of his nagging need to read between the lines even when there may be just the lines themselves. His analytical streak can only go so far before it puts him into analysis paralysis. Despite that shortcoming, Sylvester generally has a good sense of logic and will gloat about it whenever he's in a suitable position. He's undeniably intelligent, but he's not immune to his ego interfering with his better judgment. It is unclear whether Sylvester has healthy confidence or he's just unbearably stuck up.

While viewing himself to be sophisticated alongside wanting to be seen as such, there are occasions where Sylvester lapses into childish antics such going big ham with a "Smug 4D Chessmaster" persona. While annoyed by whimsical behavior, he is ironically a frequent offender of it himself. Sylvester makes up for this by actually believing the things he claims to do, meaning whatever he says, he is sure to have something prepared to back it up. He doesn't smile much, and the closest he's gotten to expressing one throughout the Killing Game is a smug smirk. Despite being only high school age, Sylvester longs to be treated as one of the adults based on his qualifications.

## Danganronpa Nihilmania

### Prologue - ***The Hosts are Proud to Introduce...***

Sylvester wakes up in his numbered coffin alongside everyone else. While most of the others were either panicking or exchanging small talk, Sylvester was one of the few who focused on figuring out the deal behind the kidnapping and the circumstances that follow it. He started off by checking the door to confirm his thoughts, before attempting to ascertain any clues from the paintings. However, Sylvester refused to associate himself with the painting thieves as he snarked at their act of vandalism. After hearing the piano music from afar, Sylvester associated it with the hosts, whom he believed were waiting for the group somewhere. While hesitant to introduce at first due to his disdain for the group, Sylvester figured it was the only way he was getting out of the morgue and even pointed out that the rest were desperate to escape as well from his observation of their behaviors before saying his name.

The killing game is announced, and Sylvester attempts to pry into the the motivations of the hosts, believing there must be more than just entertainment. He calls Jeanne a dolt for behaving seemingly excited about the situation despite her life being in as much danger as the rest of the group. Emira forms an RPG wolf pack for the sake of investigating together, but Sylvester snarks at her idea that he'll fare fine as a lone wolf, and so he turns his back on the rest by walking off on his own.

### Chapter 1 - EVERYTHING IS WORTHLESS

###### Daily Life

Sylvester was usually in his dorm unless he had a place in mind to investigate. The places he investigated so far are the abandoned bus, police station, strange wall, and dining hall. He found a galactic alphabet translation paper in the abandoned bus, making him able to quickly deduce what the creepy language meant on the strange wall.

During Kumi's birthday, Emira gave Sylvester a set of cryptic symbols to decipher. Naturally, Sylvester's prior knowledge meant that he was quick to express his conclusion about the message behind them, boasting how the wolf pack was somehow unable to get it the first time together, but a lone wolf managed to do it all by himself. Emira congratulates him for solving the riddle shockingly fast and suggests that he works with the wolf pack more, much to his typical disdain. Sylvester claims that his low opinion on their competence gave him a bigger reason not to associate himself with Emira's group. Sylvester doesn't directly wish Kumi "Happy Birthday," but instead informs Emira to tell them that he said Happy Birthday.

One day, Sylvester was enjoying his grilled cheese sandwiches in the dining hall when he spotted Zenkichi and Yuzuki in the middle of their shenanigans. While it was framed as Sylvester simply being Sylvie by silently judging them in a comical way, the reality is that he suspected the two were up to something no good, which was soon to become explicitly stated in the second half of the chapter.

###### Deadly Life

Sylvester assists in the investigation by checking the corpse to see if there are any bullets lodged into the victim. Seeing none around the crime scene, he concludes to himself that the bullet must be elsewhere which gets proven true through a finding in the dining hall. He checks further into the corpse to see a note that reveals the location of where the victim was asked to go, a part of determining the true location of death.

Throughout the trial, Sylvester not only figures out the metal scraps in the trash can were aluminum foil, he calls Zenkichi and Yuzuki out on stealing said metal at the back of the dining hall the night before the night of the murder, suspecting their involvement in the case. The aluminum foil became part of the reason Zenkichi was found out, as according to said culprit's words, only he would be stupid enough to use aluminum foil as wheels for a skateboard. When the group was stuck on the timeline, Sylvester offered to help them figure out what happened between the time Kumi woke up and the time the victim died by reminding them to cross reference the two testimonies of the case: Kumi testimony and Anthony’s testimony. He states that the group will know who the killer is if they discuss about who knew about Kumi’s gun, proceeding to accuse the wolf pack once they are revealed to be the only ones that knew. Sylvester was able to remain caught up with the discussion when it mattered, especially through dismissing claims that are either already disproven or would be disproven by what has already been established about the case. However, there was this one embarrassing blunder where he suggested the possibility of Kumi being knocked unconscious by the stop sign, which was shut down quickly due to it being misinformed.

Upon the reveal that Zenkichi was the culprit, Sylvester doesn't forgive him for what he's done, but understands that he didn't do this because he would normally do it, but because the pressure of the motive made him lose it.

### Chapter 2 SELF-LESS

###### Daily Life

Sylvester doesn't do much of note other than investigate the Sunshine Laboratory more thoroughly than the others who visited said place. Seeing stuff missing from it, he becomes paranoid that the events of next murder will resemble that of the first one to an extent.

He has not talked to anyone this section of the chapter, and instead spent the majority of it in his room to contemplate about the events of the previous chapter alongside the hallucination/poison motive. It is implied he felt unproductive staying in his room for a long time since the only places he visited throughout Chapter 2 Daily Life were the Sunshine Laboratory and the Tulpamancer Park.

What is shown IC were cut off, sugarcoated versions of what truly transpired during Sylvester's hallucinations.

###### Deadly Life

It is currently unclear why, but Sylvester appears increasingly shaken over this chapter's victim compared to the previous one's. He goes off on his own again, albeit for a different reason than he would typically claim. Sylvester spends the remainder of the investigation in the Sunshine Laboratory to take his mind off of the gory sight. At the time, all the evidence was already found unbeknownst to him.

Throughout the trial, Sylvester once again attempts a proactive solving role despite his questionable emotional state. He presents a theory about the usage of the Prosopagnosialloid chemical based off of his prior knowledge of psychology. Sylvester introduces the group to the purpose of the control panel in order to fine tune their theories about the Ferris Wheel and how the chemical ended up where it did, claiming the killer must have needed to find a way to go back to the ground from their cart without falling and thus committing, as he words it, "strategic and physical suicide." Coming to the conclusion that where the victim was found and where the victim died wasn't one and the same, he proceeds to follow it up with establishing the crash as a red herring and claiming that Malleus was placed on the driver's seat to give off the illusion he crashed into the church on his own. Sylvester proposes a gambit for the group to connect the glass shard in front of the rat pack and the small bloody trail. Thanks to his line of reasoning being expanded on, the group was able to come to the conclusion that the victim and the killer switched positions in the Ice Cream Truck after the crash, the killer leaving through the passenger seat. When someone brings up how the list of suspects are narrowed down by who visited the Squeak Mart, Sylvester goes the extra mile by mentioning that if these suspects ALSO knew about Socrates, they are incriminated further. Yuzuki ends up accused due to meeting both conditions.

Sylvester is shocked by Yuzuki confessing without a struggle, but it quickly becomes clear to him that she was telling the truth based on her reaction. Yuzuki somehow knew he would be suspected, so she took Socrates with her to point the evidence towards herself instead of Sylvester. Because Yuzuki killed to save everyone from the hallucinations and didn't try framing him for her crime, Sylvester ceases the thought of hating her for what she did. It was implied Sylvester had mixed feelings about the killer, as he he was able to tell how the altruism behind her actions was genuine despite believing murder is murder regardless of intention. In a rare attempt to comfort someone, he reminds Kumi that they can try fulfilling Yuzuki's promise in her stead since the two were very close with each other.

### Chapter 3

###### Daily Life

Sylvester starts off the chapter walking towards the hotel to process his emotions and regain his headspace after the trial, but his attention was drawn by a manhole cover opening up in the middle of the weird road. Based on Tan's absence in the second trial, Sylvester assumes underneath was where he went and acts on it by climbing down. The sight beneath him proves his assumption true. Walking into Tan's breakdown, Sylvester snarks at how there's going to be hell to pay for his damage of property that doesn't belong any of the hosts'. Tan asks Sylvester to leave, but then comes to the supposed realization it wouldn't work since it's a psychologist he's talking about. Spiraling into a paranoid fit, Tan accuses Sylvester of being a liar. Unsurprisingly, Sylvester dismisses Tan's claim as unfounded, an expression of projection regarding what the host is believed to be insecure about. Sylvester further talks down on Tan by questioning the competency of how the Killing Game is run, going as far as to gloat about how his contributions to the second trial helped ensure it didn't get chaotic even under Anthony Almond's sole supervision.

## Relationships

I will expand on this once Sylvester gets more interactions :)

## Quotes

*"...I just realized how much I want to get out of this dusty, creepy place, and just by looking, the rest of you do as well, so I'll get this over with. The name's Dr. Sylvester Ashling. Don't you forget it. But you may call me Sylvie. Next."* - Sylvester's introduction.

*"Time to get more answers. One wrong move... and it's checkmate for us." -* On his way to the auditorium.

*"...Whatever you say, founder of the wolf pack. Do share. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll indulge you."* - Talking to Emira.

*"This level of reasoning was achievable by Dr. Sylvester Ashling." -* After explaining his conclusion.

*"I got my own ways." -* A phrase often said by Sylvester.

*“Heh! Wolf pack, this isn't looking good for you. Kumi handed you the shovel, and now you appear to have dug your graves. You're in check, so you might as well explain yourselves."* - Accusing Emira’a “RPG” group during the 1st trial.

*"...Zenkichi, what you did was inexcusable and is never worth forgiving. But even if I never spoke with you, I can confidently state that it's mostly your cowardice that made you a murderer, not malice. You may have been misguided, but knowing how the world works, things like that don't matter in the long run, and that includes the killing game." -* Expressing his view on Zenkichi before execution.

*"Heheh, is that so? I didn't try. I saw and heard enough from said tantrum. Need I remind you the poor sound quality of these sewers? I could hear your screaming and banging from the surface. Whaaaaaatever. I've gotten whatever information I needed. Eh, but really? You didn't get the full picture of these occupations, anyway. Sounds like a you issue. Still, you won't gain anything from projecting your fears into what you assume of people. You'll dig your own grave if you don't take accountability for what you're paranoid of, and continue to take them out on others, especially your fellow two hosts." -* Expressing his disdain towards Tan's assumption about him.

## Trivia

* "Ashling" is an anglicized form of the Irish first name "Aisling", which can mean "dream".
* He wear a cologne that he thinks makes him come off as more cool and mature. It does not.
* His birthday is May 23rd. This makes Sylvester a Gemini.
* Sylvester is typed as an INTJ 5w4 according to Personality Database.
* Sylvester is the youngest one of the Nihilmania cast.
* AP likes to joke about how Sylvester is a vague mixture of how he roleplays Sesena Kanou from Ayakashi Akashi and Rachel Alucard from Blazblue, being, as Eden words it, a middle ground between "dorky goofiness" and "calculating smugness."
* It is unclear what his canon sexuality is. Based on the player's analysis of Sylvester's character, he is headcanonned to be aroace.
* Sylvester's minimal screentime in the Chapter 2 investigation was due to both OOC and IC reasons. The player had a power outage that time so he had to improvise a justifiable reason for why Sylvester couldn't assist in the investigation.