rcgueprince

[rcgueprince]

I feel like Sebastian was so focused on establishing his hold on the throne following the events at Kirkwall that dedication to his city meant more to him. That being said, he is a pitiful romantic and wants to be married so badly. There is something about dedicating his life and all he is to someone before the eyes of Andraste and the Maker that really calls to him.

[rcgueprince]

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS

WHICH COME TO YOU IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

---INWARDLY THEY ARE RAVENING WOLVES.

Canon Divergent, Indie, Trevelyan Herald of Andraste. | Penned by: Griff

A study in: the cruelty of one who should not have been given the mantle of hero. A misused, unloved, and shunned child’s retribution on the world---and the divine anointment that made it possible.

[rcgueprince]

Whew gang. The semester has hands. I'm trying to come back here though bc I miss writing my little guy, I appreciate everyone's kindness and patience with me

[rcgueprince]

COME BACK! EVEN AS A SHADOW, EVEN AS A DREAM.

-EURIPIDES

indie & selective Carver Hawke of Dragon Age- EST 2013.

a study in | the loss of childhood whimsy & wonder. The brutality of the world and the ruthless self-perseverance one must maintain to ensure survival--- & finding peace in the hell one may help create. A commentary on troubled families, grief--- & growth.

as loved by: Griff

[rcgueprince]

❝all this is 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒,❞ spake the world-maker ❝join me in heaven and 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 no more❞

independent, private leliana of dragon age.

[rcgueprince]

What do you think would have happened to Sebastian if he hadn't Debauched Too Hard and been sent to the Chantry?

Realistically, he probably would have been shipped off to the Chantry regardless. His parents have their heir and their spare; Sebastian serves little use to them other than a gift to the Chantry. He is a means of solidifying their partnership and acting as proof of the family’s dedication to the Maker.

I could also see them marrying him off to a different ruling family; Wycome or Ostwick especially would be advantageous choices for Starkhaven because of their position so close to the coast. They have river travel, but establishing better ties to those cities would improve international travel and trade. He goes with either option – religious service or marriage - because, without the rebellious streak in him, he just kind of accepts that his life is not his own.

I think a lot about his early conversation with Anders where he remarks that none of them are free. If he hadn’t chased liquor and pretty faces and felt what life could be like if he had the choice to decide for himself what he wanted, Sebastian would never have thought of anything other than doing what he was told. He is, after all, constantly searching for a place to belong. If it would make his family proud of him, he would do it.

The alternative is he dies with his family, and it would be interesting to see how that would have shaped Starkhaven’s ability to survive the events of Veilguard.

[rcgueprince]

is there a notable time outside of canon in which his faith is tested? Does it waiver towards belief or against it? How does the relationship with faith and the grappling with it affect his relationships overall?

Sebastian, to me, has always been a man of conviction; he is strong-willed and, at times, frustratingly reactionary. His biased support of the Chantry is predominately rooted in his personal experience and – to a lesser degree - the generational support his family has given the Chantry.  When he was at his lowest, even if he had been forced into religious service, Elthina gave him a choice, and he chose to find purpose in serving the Maker. After spending so many years in a self-destructive spiral, it doesn’t surprise me that he would find peace with the same stories that would scare away the monsters under his bed as a child. His devotion is blind because he was never exposed to the darker side of the Chantry and its policies.

Now, I could argue how Elthina winning Sebastian’s trust and loyalty when he was at his most vulnerable is a politically savvy move on her part, but that’s a soap box for another time because I’m already losing myself in the weeds. I just think that had Sebastian been sent to the Circle to deliver sermons and seen the conditions of the mages, he would have become radicalized to the mage’s cause. There is a reason he is kept in Hightown, BUT OKAY. THE WEEDS. SORRY.

read more for length

Right, so why do I bring up his strong will? Sebastian is a man of action. He has taken his vows by the time Act I begins and yet is already breaking some of them to go after his family’s murderers. His major personal conflict throughout the years is whether he should take back the throne and act or accept passivity and the life of a laybrother. I know as Elthina continues to support a neutral stance even as the state of Kirkwall worsens, it not only sows the seeds of doubt for him, but it drives Sebastian up a wall because he does not know how to not act.

It really isn’t until after the events of DA II, however, that he actually feels the crisis. I have always imagined that, in cases where he survives the fight / isn’t in the chantry when the explosion goes off, Sebastian stays in Kirkwall for some time. Even if Hawke refuses to kill Anders, he may not stay by their side after the fight, but he would stay to help the humanitarian crisis. There are a lot of dead that need their rites, and he would be one of the only laypersons left in the city who could perform them. One of the few voices left to recite the Chant and assure those who survived that they could persevere through this. After days of tending pyres and watching the fires send so many innocent people caught in the crossfire to the Maker’s side, he cannot help but feel partially to blame. To remain complicit in the face of immoral actions makes you just as guilty as the perpetrators in his mind; their blood is on his hands because he could not convince Elthina to act. And now she is dead too, so who else can bear that weight except Sebastian, who is proving incredibly difficult to kill.

I think what it ends up doing in the end is it causes Sebastian to look at his relationship with faith. He sits with the Chant, and he looks at his values, including the more radical ones that are not in alignment with the larger institution’s practices. Do I think he’s about to tack his 95 theses to the Chantry doors? No. He does, however, make decisions and conducts himself in a way that he feels better aligns with what the Maker intended His children to do. He essentially separates from the Chantry entirely by the time he is Crown Prince. Any ceremonies he participates in are for politics; his faith is now a very personal relationship with the Maker.

It does affect some of his policies as Prince as he works toward making Starkhaven a more equal place for all people. He may be beloved by the public, but I joke he is constantly dodging assassination attempts after he allows elves to become squires and knights and even takes the Hahren of the alienage as a personal advisor to work on bettering conditions for the elves in his care. If all are equal in the eyes of the Maker, then Sebastian will make sure his city acts accordingly.

[rcgueprince]

reblog if you are firmly against the use of AI in roleplay spaces. this is not the place for AI-written drivel or generated images.

[rcgueprince]

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. you get a whole constellation im obsessed

CRAWLING UNDER YOUR SKIN, CRAWLING UNDER YOUR SKIN, CRAWLING UNDER YOUR SKIN. I love you sm, I am snorting our toxic Yaoi and our wholesome Yaoi, and it is fueling me to make it to the dean's list.

[rcgueprince]

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

tyyyyy ( one day I will subject seb to the horrors of gortash )

[rcgueprince]

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

CHASING YOU DOWN TO SUPLEX YOU WITH LOVE GET OVER HEREEEE

[rcgueprince]

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

you get my favorite silliest icon because you are my bestie, my pookie, my for lifer. Thank you for being my best friend and telling me to get on tumblr to write Sebastian because it has genuinely made me a happier and more confident writer. If y'all like seb and my insane ideas THIS IS WHO YOU HAVE TO THANK. everyone say ty griff, love u griff.

[rcgueprince]

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

aw ty! I do love seeing you on the dash and we should!! plot one of these days when my free time returns for the war.

[rcgueprince]

Barely a month into the semester and damn i am getting my ass handed to me. I am sorry to everyone who has been waiting on replies and answers to asks, I'm still plugging away at what I can but my muse has been really low. I may do a bit of a cull on some of these older asks I have and post my tre.llo where I keep track of asks in threads. In the mean time, if we're moots and you want to yap, let me know.

for now, consider this a temporary hiatus notice, at least until I figure out how to balance workloads.

[rcgueprince]

☆ put this star into the inbox of your favourite blogs. it's time to spread positivity!

NO U

it is always a delight to see you on the dash, xoxo pookie

[rcgueprince]

Every day I wake up, I think about how I genuinely believe that Sebastian would have ( at least by end of act two / the interim between act two and act three ) read Anders' manifesto. Call it whatever you want; an act of surveying a potential threat or an attempt to learn one man's thinking to maybe sway him from the edge, but I think he would sit down and annotate it thoroughly. He fills the once-discarded manifesto, the copy abandoned on a pew in the chantry after service one day, with questions, comments, and references to verses and stories within the chant of light. I don't know if he ever gets the chance to have the talk he wants with Anders; Sebastian's notes are dust in the wind after the chantry explosion, but he still remembers some of the more poignant quotes years later.

[rcgueprince]

"Sebastian? I've... a favor to ask, if you've the time."

They don't know each other well. Not yet. Little beyond strangers still getting to know each other, really. And if their shared connection had not been rooted in knowing the pain of losing one's family, Pirith would not seek him out.

But Kirkwall is a terrible place for elves.

Even here, in these hallowed halls hearing the distant echo of men preaching about Andraste's grace and love, Pirith does not feel welcomed. And if he is not loved here, he suspects nowhere in Kirkwall will ever be truly safe again. Hightown is full of the magistrate's men, but at least here there are guards who might intervene given his ties to Aveline should the man try to take his revenge.

"It's a lot to ask, I know, I'll owe you my life. But someone has reported trouble at the Wounded Coast, my presence has been requested, and I've no one to watch my brother," he says apologetically. "The alienage isn't safe. I can't leave him with someone who can't protect him."

The elf's gaze shifts from the priest and back to the doors, where the boy in question waits. The nine year old is still hovering nervously in the doorway as though he fears he'll catch fire if he sets foot upon the luxurious red carpet that leads the way inside. Yet his gaze is locked upon the massive arches above, the stained glass window, paralyzed by nervous awe at the great and terrible beauty of the chantry.

"He won't be any trouble. I just..." Pirith pauses, chewing his lip. "... With all that's gone on, with all the - since what happened with the Vanard's, I just... I need to know he's safe. And there's few people in this city I trust that won't be out on the field with me... I'd be back by evening at the very latest."

The request had been a surprising one; though the two had always been cordial, Sebastian had not considered them particularly close enough for him to be a person Pirith would approach to care for Ilnarel. Granted – with a few very recent exceptions – the Chantry was a place of peace where all are welcome to find respite in the Word. The boy would be safer here under his watch, that was a fact he could not deny.

His blue eyes soften as he glances between the two brothers before briefly looking over his shoulder toward the pews and the statute of Andraste behind him. He was responsible for assisting in both services and confessions later, but perhaps he could call in a favor himself. Returning his attention to Pirith, he nods.

“You do not owe me anything, Pirith. I am honored you would trust me.” Sebastian’s voice is warm when he speaks, the lilt of his accent heavy on his words. “If I may ask, do you have an extra key you might loan me in case he does want to go home? I don’t mind waiting with him in the alienage if he is uncomfortable here.”

To give the boy credit, he made it through at least most of the first service before he started to nod off, which was much longer than Sebastian used to when he was Ilnarel's age. As the incense curls upwards from the censer swinging in hand, and the chant's verses dance off his tongue, the laybrother cannot help but be lulled into the memories of HOME.

The melodies of the Chant had always lulled him to sleep; his brothers admitted later in life that they would often take bets on how long it took before their father elbowed the youngest Vael awake. If he focused, he could still remember how their hidden chuckles sounded or how the corners of his mother's lips would twitch with the barely restrained smile. What had embarrassed Sebastian then was now a warm remembrance of the family he no longer had.

One of the only ones not fading with time.

It does not take him long to assist in the clean-up following service, and with a few well-placed compliments, one of the lay sisters agrees to cover in his place for the rest of the evening. Sebastian is careful when he calls the young elf's name, trying his best not to startle him awake

"We still have a bit of time before your brother arrives home, Ilnarel. How would you like a lesson in how to shoot a bow?"

When Pirith arrives home in the Alienage, it is to the sight of Ilnarel holding a simple wooden bow, like so many offered in the Lowtown market. Sebastian is by the boy's side, pointing at a sack of flour on the other side of the room.

"Now remember what I taught you earlier. Until you are more comfortable, make sure this shoulder - " He gently taps the shoulder of the arm holding the bow, "Is lined with your target. Like that, yes!"

The door shutting alerts him to the new presence, and Sebastian is quick to whip around, eyes widening only slightly when he sees Pirith.

"Oh, you're back sooner than I expected."