Profile
WARNING: this is a full summary of the character, including things not learned until the end of his story. if you want to read more about him, avoid spoilers by skipping the “family and lineage” and “the rest” sections of this bio.
basic info
-sir lancelot of the house of elvensword. he prefers to go by lance, though. he doesn’t like his first name because people tend to forget the part of the arthurian legend where lancelot sleeps with arthur’s wife— something this lance would never do.
-a generally reserved and pleasant guy, but seems melancholy and has very low self-esteem. he is often quiet and prefers to listen than to talk, and is reluctant to talk about himself. though he is lacking in the necessary confidence at first, he is a natural leader and extremely level-headed and fair. he knows when to take charge and when to let others lead. he is a very gentle man with a kind spirit.
-gay, 19, white, non-religious (though he might be considered a spiritual sort)
-knight [paladin-type fighter, fights with a long-bladed holy sword that he can use with either both hands or one hand]
-knows next to nothing about modern pop culture and doesn’t know slang
-hides his “secret weapon”— he’s completely ambidextrous. taking out his “sword arm” is almost pointless.
appearance
-fair-skinned, light blonde hair kept slicked back
-intensely blue (aqua, nearly turquoise) eyes, very long lashes and a low brow
-athletic but non-“bulky” build, like that of a professional swimmer
-somewhat tall at 6’1”
-doesn’t wear a lot of “modern” clothing due to having a traditional family. even his casual garb, though often handmade, is finely embroidered and made from high-quality fabrics. he likes to wear a nice pair of brown leather boots and blue or green shirts with gold detailing.
-with his family, he usually has to wear very expensive and formal clothes, so he looks more like a high-ranking nobleman than a knight. this includes a lot of button-up shirts and vests and even the occasional cape.
gear and equipment
-his armor isn’t quite full-plate armor, but has much more metal than that of someone like tidus. it’s made from a lightweight metal that is lighter in color than the standard stuff. it’s noticeably fancy, with detailing in green, blue, and gold. he wears a long green cape affixed with a golden crest.
-lance’s armor is enchanted, so his “shields” are built into it. in combat, rings that resemble golden bracelets float away from his wrists. these are magical instruments that form a golden shield of whatever size he desires. if need be, he can combine both of them to form a full body shield that will cover him for as long as several minutes. this drains his own mana, though, so he can’t do it forever, and it has to recharge between uses.
-his sword is long enough that he has to wear it on his back, supported by multiple straps, but isn’t particularly heavy due to the quality of the metal. it is an enchanted sword capable of using holy magic and has a detailed handle. the wings on the handle outstretch when it fires a magically charged attack. the sword was gifted to the family hundreds of years ago and has been a family heirloom ever since.
family and lineage
-the family got the name elvensword when it was formally established by its patriarch, who freed an entire kingdom from a wicked elven sorcerer and was gifted an enchanted blade in return.
-the family is one of the few knight lineages left that can still claim to be of noble blood. lance is often addressed as lord while most of the other knights are addressed as sir, but he usually corrects this, as he does not like being treated as superior.
-lance’s parents hold him to extremely high standards and rarely, if ever, allow him to socialize or relax. they were only your average strict parents once, but over time forced his four siblings out of the home, disowning them, and cut him off from the outside world, refusing to let him attend a school with other students. the only person in his home that truly cares for his well-being is his personal maid, meredith, and he considers her more of a mother to him than his biological one.
-eventually lance removes himself from his family using his rightfully-earned prize money and pays off meredith’s debt, at which point she gives him permission to call her “mom”. he marries and moves in with tidus and starts his own business.
the rest
-his family is so on top of him and his activities all the time that he has trouble forming things like hobbies or preferences. he does, however like to play the piano, which his parents allow him to do, and loves to design and sew clothes, which he does in secret with meredith’s help.
-he is only allowed to listen to classical music, but sometimes has to go get his hair done at a shop that plays a lot of “oldies” and disco music, which he likes if only because he recognizes it.
-he likes the smell of lavender and gets any scented product he can get his hands on.
-his house is very decadent, and he doesn’t particularly like it. he avoids adding anything gaudy to his own room. when it comes time for him to pick his own home he goes for something that looks more like a cottage than a mansion.
-at the beginning of the story lance is a pleasant person, but very lacking in self-esteem. he is secretive and uncertain, but zachariah gives him the role of fellowship leader when he is eliminated from the competition anyway. the other knights put their trust in him and tidus encourages him, and through this he finds his confidence.
-lance confides in tidus about his parents’ psychological abuse and, after a while longer, about the fact that they attempted to “correct” his sexuality upon learning about it by sending him to a “special counselor”. by the end of the story he and tidus are honest with one another about their mutual romantic feelings and leave their abusive families behind to start a better one of their own.
