7 and 10 for the shep game? :-)
Thanks for the ask Mars! <33
7. How approachable are they?
-> Pre-Lazarus? He's got a very severe case of resting bitch face, though not much more so than your average traumatized serviceman. I'm tempted to say not very approachable on that front.
He's decent at sussing out people's intentions, but generally gives them the benefit of the doubt, so once he's actually talking with you, he's less 'unknowably annoyed and terrifying.' I've mentioned before that his eyes are unnerving. Both how he's constantly shifting his gaze, like he's checking corners where there are none (whoops, paranoia), and the way that just-too-bright green bores into a guy when he's look at 'em. As far as body language goes, he's partial to leaning against walls and railings like he's cool (back issues) and doing the old 'crossing your arms and jutting a hip' type deal (also back issues).
Post-Lazarus? Downright unsettling, uncanny valley, kind of unapproachable. Even if you didn't know who he was or that he was supposedly missing in action for about two years, he has a presence about him that's not quite right. The angles of his face are too sharp, like the features were meticulously pieced together and ripping along the red-scarred, patch-worked seams of his body. When he moves, he moves like he is overly aware of his body, or like his body isn't in sync with his brain. He seems sensitive to even the lightest touch or sounds outside the range of what his hearing should be. It's most noticeable when he uses his biotics--he hadn't had them before Cerberus' intervention. He's the juxtaposition between a fawn finding its footing for the first time and an old god as assured and aware as the earth beneath its hooves.
'They came back wrong' is my favorite way I've heard Shepard(s) in general described, and that absolutely applies to Sylvan. This post sums up my thoughts so well.
10. How do they handle a teammate being badly injured during a mission?
-> A stranger would be different. Even a squadmate he has been able to stop himself from becoming emotionally vulnerable to, no matter how much he values them, would be different. But if someone close to his heart is injured in a life-threatening way, it impairs his judgement, and he'll take more fire than he should because of it. It can leave other forces vulnerable, and it's not yet been enough to entirely compromise a mission, but enough that his actions don't align with how he acts under other sorts of heavy pressures he's forced under.
It is a weakness that has been exploited, and it is one that has been attempted to be beaten out of him. It's the major one that almost made Nihlus keep hold of his recommendation of Shepard for the Spectres. He had planned to force Shepard to compensate for his deficiency.
Shep's had good conversations with Anderson about it, as the captain has faced similar lapses in judgement. It's a sensitive subject for Anderson too because of his past with Saren and the major difference between their modes of working being their regard for collateral. "That's our humanity, Shepard. You can't change it, I can't change it, shouldn't, really, if we don't want to lose it. It's almost selfish, that we're these vehicles of our own morality; Spectres are not. It's a numbers game for them. For you, now."
It's part of why he keeps up so many walls, and it's a byproduct of Akuze and Virmire and all of the other losses he's faced, but above all, Mindoir.
He's proficient in battlefield first aid, and he will laser-focus on that task if he's in that more panicked mindset. He's followed squadmates into the medbay more times than he should.
