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junior year profile
GENERAL
NAME Sylvester Orfeo Stoker
NICKNAMES Sy (rhymes with "sky"). "Stoker" is fine, but don't call him "Sylvester" unless you're family, a teacher or want to get punched in the face.
AGE/DOB/ZODIAC 16 / July 29, 1997 / Leo
BLOOD STATUS Half-blood
GENDER/PRONOUNS Male, he/him
SEXUALITY Asexual, not that he's fully realized this. Sy finds his genuine lack of interest in sex pretty discomforting, seeing how he's a stereotypical teenage boy in almost every other way. Consequently, he tends to run pretty hot and cold in his relationships with girls: start out strong with the flirting then let things fizzle just as things start getting really physical.
(His asexuality is the kind that's marked by little to no libido and a serious aversion to sexual situations. He's not too interested in kissing or making out either, but he's gotten used to going through the motions with that.)
HOMETOWN Los Angeles, California, USA. Sy grew up in Elysian Fields, a magically hidden wizard-only neighborhood, although he's spent enough time around Muggles to not be clueless.
CONCEPT Hyper-competitive alpha male bully on his first run as Quidditch captain.
PHYSICAL
APPEARANCE Standing tall and with a broad muscular build, Sylvester looks (and carries himself like) every inch the smug Quidditch jock. He would be handsome in a clean-cut way if he didn't wear his aggression so obviously. Sy's one of those guys who spends a lot of time on making himself look like he didn't spend a lot of time. His clothing is standard rich Californian jock douchebag: tees, polo shirts, wrinkled buttoned shirts, zip-up hoodies, jeans, all worn as if they were thrown on haphazardly in the morning but actually requiring several minutes to establish the optimal level of "cool and uncaring." He dislikes uniforms—too stuffy, old-fashioned, unmanageable, whatever else—and only seems cooperative when it's his Quidditch gear. His school ties are always purposefully loose and untidy.
HEIGHT 6'1"
PB Sean Teale
PERSONALITY
LIKES winning, Quidditch, sports in general, heights, mountain climbing, roughhousing, waking up early, long showers, loud music, spicy food
DISLIKES losing, being told he's wrong/stupid, talking about feelings, dating and relationships, following rules, candy and sweet things
PERSONALITY
It takes only one glance to tell that Sylvester Stoker is an extrovert, but not the happy social butterfly kind. His athletic swagger is all arrogance, and the way his eyes take in a crowd is equal parts interested and confrontational. Sure, he cheerfully and freely chats up strangers, but there's always the sense that, underneath his affable surface, Sy is expecting a fight. Even when he's smiling and joking around, he never seems to fully relax.
In Sy's world, he's on top of the social heap: agree with him and you'll be fine, but challenge him and get on his bad side. He can be a bully—force is the first thing he resorts to when he feels confronted or insecure, and he often throws his weight around by needlessly picking on people. He's a tyrannical captain to deal with, but he does respect people more when they stand up to him. Just don't expect Sy to act pleasant about it. Sy always seems sure that his way is the best way, and he isn't above breaking rules or fucking someone over to get ahead.
Sy is a blunt hammer. Crass, unsubtle and brutish; he seems to enjoy having people view him as nothing more than an asshole and a bully. For someone so arrogant about his accomplishments, Sy isn't bothered when people have low expectations of him. His parents forced him to spend his whole life fighting to prove that he was better than everyone else, in everything else, and he wants so badly to reject them... but he doesn't know how. Sy's done his damnedest to spoil being the perfect student and the perfect trophy son, but God, he still needs so badly to be the best. He doesn't know how the hell to act when he's not fighting.
So Quidditch is his outlet, the one thing he loves in this world more than his own family. Quidditch is where Sy's hyper-competitive, make-everyone-bleed personality is on full display. He's smilingly unapologetic when things are going well for his team, and anything but smiles when it isn't. Lost matches leave him fuming for days—his roommates have learned to anticipate that several things in their room will end up broken after a particularly crushing defeat, and his teammates know the next month's worth of practices won't be fun for anyone.
And truth be told, Sy's aggressiveness has actually lessened since he became Quidditch captain at the beginning of the school year. Receiving detentions for fighting has been a regular occurrence since freshman year, and in any other house, this might've made him an inappropriate candidate for a position of leadership. But Sy has calmed down, thanks to a mixture of not wanting to lose the captaincy and no longer needing to prove himself as much, although that certainly doesn't mean he won't throw a punch at anyone who's asking for it.
Sy surprisingly doesn't hold grudges that easily. Sure, he might give you a black eye, but when all is said and done, he usually throws out the "nothing personal" excuse and shrugs it off. Even if you seriously piss him off by getting personal, he's willing to let things slide by next week—provided you've changed tactics and decided to get on his good side for a change. And if not, well, he'll keep the hits coming until that lesson is learned. But ultimately, he feels that if he isn't going to maintain hard feelings over his jackass behaviour, no one else should either. (Never mind that he's usually the one starting it.)
All that said, Sylvester isn't a totally horrible friend. For one thing, he can be considered quite supportive, although perhaps supportive in entirely the wrong way. Sy is fascinated by the vices of others, especially if he doesn't share them, and is the last to ever say "This sounds like a bad idea; don't do it." He's self-centered, but not solitary—the world would be boring without other people, and especially boring without other people doing stupid and/or dangerous things. While Sy's morals may be lacking, he's always upfront about who he is, and is similarly quite accepting of the flaws of others, so long as they grant him the respect he thinks he deserves.
tl;dr
+ confident, always speaks his mind and goes for what he wants
+ fearless, not easily intimidated by anything
+ extremely hardworking and passionate when he has a goal (i.e. Quidditch)
+ very supportive of friends and their vices
= never holds grudges for long
= doesn't lie about how he feels about people, what you see is what you get
- hotheaded, tends to escalate every confrontation to a physical fight
- competitive about everything, will do anything to get on top
- horrible bully to anyone who challenges his need to be the best
- insensitive, rarely seems to care about anyone else's feelings
- insecure about his intelligence, would rather not work hard at school than fail
In Sy's world, he's on top of the social heap: agree with him and you'll be fine, but challenge him and get on his bad side. He can be a bully—force is the first thing he resorts to when he feels confronted or insecure, and he often throws his weight around by needlessly picking on people. He's a tyrannical captain to deal with, but he does respect people more when they stand up to him. Just don't expect Sy to act pleasant about it. Sy always seems sure that his way is the best way, and he isn't above breaking rules or fucking someone over to get ahead.
Sy is a blunt hammer. Crass, unsubtle and brutish; he seems to enjoy having people view him as nothing more than an asshole and a bully. For someone so arrogant about his accomplishments, Sy isn't bothered when people have low expectations of him. His parents forced him to spend his whole life fighting to prove that he was better than everyone else, in everything else, and he wants so badly to reject them... but he doesn't know how. Sy's done his damnedest to spoil being the perfect student and the perfect trophy son, but God, he still needs so badly to be the best. He doesn't know how the hell to act when he's not fighting.
So Quidditch is his outlet, the one thing he loves in this world more than his own family. Quidditch is where Sy's hyper-competitive, make-everyone-bleed personality is on full display. He's smilingly unapologetic when things are going well for his team, and anything but smiles when it isn't. Lost matches leave him fuming for days—his roommates have learned to anticipate that several things in their room will end up broken after a particularly crushing defeat, and his teammates know the next month's worth of practices won't be fun for anyone.
And truth be told, Sy's aggressiveness has actually lessened since he became Quidditch captain at the beginning of the school year. Receiving detentions for fighting has been a regular occurrence since freshman year, and in any other house, this might've made him an inappropriate candidate for a position of leadership. But Sy has calmed down, thanks to a mixture of not wanting to lose the captaincy and no longer needing to prove himself as much, although that certainly doesn't mean he won't throw a punch at anyone who's asking for it.
Sy surprisingly doesn't hold grudges that easily. Sure, he might give you a black eye, but when all is said and done, he usually throws out the "nothing personal" excuse and shrugs it off. Even if you seriously piss him off by getting personal, he's willing to let things slide by next week—provided you've changed tactics and decided to get on his good side for a change. And if not, well, he'll keep the hits coming until that lesson is learned. But ultimately, he feels that if he isn't going to maintain hard feelings over his jackass behaviour, no one else should either. (Never mind that he's usually the one starting it.)
All that said, Sylvester isn't a totally horrible friend. For one thing, he can be considered quite supportive, although perhaps supportive in entirely the wrong way. Sy is fascinated by the vices of others, especially if he doesn't share them, and is the last to ever say "This sounds like a bad idea; don't do it." He's self-centered, but not solitary—the world would be boring without other people, and especially boring without other people doing stupid and/or dangerous things. While Sy's morals may be lacking, he's always upfront about who he is, and is similarly quite accepting of the flaws of others, so long as they grant him the respect he thinks he deserves.
tl;dr
+ confident, always speaks his mind and goes for what he wants
+ fearless, not easily intimidated by anything
+ extremely hardworking and passionate when he has a goal (i.e. Quidditch)
+ very supportive of friends and their vices
= never holds grudges for long
= doesn't lie about how he feels about people, what you see is what you get
- hotheaded, tends to escalate every confrontation to a physical fight
- competitive about everything, will do anything to get on top
- horrible bully to anyone who challenges his need to be the best
- insensitive, rarely seems to care about anyone else's feelings
- insecure about his intelligence, would rather not work hard at school than fail
HISTORY
FAMILY MEMBERS
♦ Mariela Allende Stoker, mother. Pureblood. Director of the Aquatic Beast Protection Society, and supporter of many other California-based charitable organizations.
♦ Jonathan Stoker, father. Half-blood. Los Angeles representative for the MACUSA.
♦ Rosemary Stoker, twin sister, age 16. Ribbonfin junior and prefect.
♦ Frederico Stoker, younger brother, age 13. Student at Portiuncula Preparatory Wizardry School.
Sy is a distant cousin (probably) of Diego Morales, through the Allende side.
♦ Jonathan Stoker, father. Half-blood. Los Angeles representative for the MACUSA.
♦ Rosemary Stoker, twin sister, age 16. Ribbonfin junior and prefect.
♦ Frederico Stoker, younger brother, age 13. Student at Portiuncula Preparatory Wizardry School.
Sy is a distant cousin (probably) of Diego Morales, through the Allende side.
HISTORY
The only time in his life Sylvester let someone else overtake him was when he was born a full thirteen minutes after his twin sister. Rosemary and Sylvester were the first children of Mariela Allende and Jonathan Stoker. Mariela was well-liked and influential in the upper echelons of the Californian wizarding community, and Jonathan was an ambitious half-blood who worked his way up the ranks and married into pureblood society. As a self-proclaimed "self-made man," Jonathan was adamant that his kids wouldn't grow up spoiled by being surrounded by so much wealth and privilege.
And so the second they developed distinctive personalities, Sy and Rosy were always compared: who could recite their ABC's first, who could run faster, who could stay quieter when Mommy had a migraine, with the "winner" rewarded with treats or privileges. By the time the children entered school (only the best, most prestigious wizard prep school in Los Angeles, of course), Sy and Rosy were fighting to outdo each other in order to win their parents' attention. Whoever received a higher score on a quiz received money. Whoever got less hits during a baseball game had to do more chores. Whoever was the favourite that year got more Christmas presents.
The competition put a strain on the twins' relationship, sparking endless jealousy and resentment as their parents' favour yo-yoed between them. Yet, when Sy got into fights with other kids, Rosy usually took his side. When anyone dared to tease Rosy, Sy would run to protect her. They could fight fiercely against each other, but in many ways they were each other's only ally, the one person who truly understood how difficult it was to live up to their parents' expectations. Their younger brother, Freddy, tended to get off easier when it came to being pitted against a sibling, as both Sy and Rosy were protective of him.
At Portiuncula Preparatory Wizardry School, Sy had quickly learned that the way to be number one was to intimidate anyone who might try to knock him from the top. It didn't hurt either that his father was one of the most powerful wizards in California, and every Stoker dinner was a forced recitation of the twins' achievements and failures that day, with Jonathan and Mariela always ready to send a strongly-worded owl to Sy and Rosy's teachers to "straighten things out." Sy resented his parents' control over his life, and became increasingly likely to act out against them. His teenage rebellion—breaking curfew, underage drinking, skipping "important" public events—was rewarded with swift and harsh punishment, but nothing made an impact on Sy until his parents threatened to disallow him from enrolling into Gooseberry High.
Gooseberry High had always been Sy and Rosy's goal: a prestigious, exclusive academy up to their parents' stringent standards, but also a boarding school that would take them away from home almost ten months out of the year. There were some reservations about leaving their younger brother to fend for himself, but both of them craved freedom, and Sy couldn't imagine his twin sister going without him. So he shaped up, and the Stoker twins were admitted to Gooseberry through a combination of personal achievement and their family's money. Without their parents watching them, Sy's relationship with his sister improved. It also helped when it became apparent Rosemary was always going to outdo Sylvester in academics, and Sy was always going to outdo her in athletics. They put aside their reasons for competing (although it still comes up from time to time).
Sy loved Gooseberry: rugged outdoors, plenty of trouble to get involved in, and far from the pressure of home. Sy also immediately fell in love with the British sport of Quidditch. He was always a fair broom flier, and played the occasional Quodpot game at home, so he picked up Quidditch pretty easily. A big, strong kid even at 14, he was made a freshman reserve. From there, it was Sy's single-minded goal to get on the Coppertale team, and then to win the captaincy. For all of his faults, no one worked harder or longer during practice. In sophomore year, he was a starting Chaser and helped the team win the Cup. In junior year, Ms. Vector selected him as the team's new captain.
And so the second they developed distinctive personalities, Sy and Rosy were always compared: who could recite their ABC's first, who could run faster, who could stay quieter when Mommy had a migraine, with the "winner" rewarded with treats or privileges. By the time the children entered school (only the best, most prestigious wizard prep school in Los Angeles, of course), Sy and Rosy were fighting to outdo each other in order to win their parents' attention. Whoever received a higher score on a quiz received money. Whoever got less hits during a baseball game had to do more chores. Whoever was the favourite that year got more Christmas presents.
The competition put a strain on the twins' relationship, sparking endless jealousy and resentment as their parents' favour yo-yoed between them. Yet, when Sy got into fights with other kids, Rosy usually took his side. When anyone dared to tease Rosy, Sy would run to protect her. They could fight fiercely against each other, but in many ways they were each other's only ally, the one person who truly understood how difficult it was to live up to their parents' expectations. Their younger brother, Freddy, tended to get off easier when it came to being pitted against a sibling, as both Sy and Rosy were protective of him.
At Portiuncula Preparatory Wizardry School, Sy had quickly learned that the way to be number one was to intimidate anyone who might try to knock him from the top. It didn't hurt either that his father was one of the most powerful wizards in California, and every Stoker dinner was a forced recitation of the twins' achievements and failures that day, with Jonathan and Mariela always ready to send a strongly-worded owl to Sy and Rosy's teachers to "straighten things out." Sy resented his parents' control over his life, and became increasingly likely to act out against them. His teenage rebellion—breaking curfew, underage drinking, skipping "important" public events—was rewarded with swift and harsh punishment, but nothing made an impact on Sy until his parents threatened to disallow him from enrolling into Gooseberry High.
Gooseberry High had always been Sy and Rosy's goal: a prestigious, exclusive academy up to their parents' stringent standards, but also a boarding school that would take them away from home almost ten months out of the year. There were some reservations about leaving their younger brother to fend for himself, but both of them craved freedom, and Sy couldn't imagine his twin sister going without him. So he shaped up, and the Stoker twins were admitted to Gooseberry through a combination of personal achievement and their family's money. Without their parents watching them, Sy's relationship with his sister improved. It also helped when it became apparent Rosemary was always going to outdo Sylvester in academics, and Sy was always going to outdo her in athletics. They put aside their reasons for competing (although it still comes up from time to time).
Sy loved Gooseberry: rugged outdoors, plenty of trouble to get involved in, and far from the pressure of home. Sy also immediately fell in love with the British sport of Quidditch. He was always a fair broom flier, and played the occasional Quodpot game at home, so he picked up Quidditch pretty easily. A big, strong kid even at 14, he was made a freshman reserve. From there, it was Sy's single-minded goal to get on the Coppertale team, and then to win the captaincy. For all of his faults, no one worked harder or longer during practice. In sophomore year, he was a starting Chaser and helped the team win the Cup. In junior year, Ms. Vector selected him as the team's new captain.
SCHOOL
YEAR Junior
HOUSE Coppertale
SORTING The emblems spent about five seconds arguing before Sy yelled at them to shut up and slow down because he couldn't follow the conversation. At that point, they decided he was a definite Coppertale.
WAND Red oak with core of unicorn hair, 13 inches, sturdy
FAMILIAR
CLASSES (core) Charms, Outdoor Education, Transfiguration; (electives) Aesthetic Magic, Artificing, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Magizoology
SENIOR PROJECT Not worried about it. Sy's always assumed that he and Rosemary will collaborate on something, but he has yet to offer ideas. Whatever, they're still in junior year.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE You wouldn't know from Sy's "couldn't give a shit" attitude about class, but he was once a promising student and secretly stresses out about how far his grades have fallen since entering Gooseberry. (When he decided to prioritize Quidditch, it was to the exclusion of everything else.) He's most comfortable in Artificing, where he has a knack for woodworking, and has been practicing tuning up his broom. If asked, he'll say his favourite is DADA, and he's actually doing quite well in it. He struggles most in Transfiguration, probably his most complex class. Sy picked Aesthetic Magic because he figured it would be an easy A; Poe quickly disabused him of that notion, but it turns out he actually enjoys doing art, even if he doesn't get all this shit about composition and balance and whatever.
EXTRACURRICULARS Quidditch (Captain & Chaser),
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