Sebastian x Bethany, anyone?

ohhgreywarden wrote:

Way to call Cullen out! 

Omg! That wasn't even on purpose I literally have a scene in my fic where they're in a camp, making out against a table, and Sebastian backs away because it's not the right time or place.

I also estimated Sebastian as being around 19 when he was sent to the Chantry. It gives him plenty of time to be a rake without too many creepy implications (not that teenagers don't party and have sex, but I was more under the impression that he was an "everything that moves" kind of guy at the time, which would mean people of any age, something that is already creepy enough at 19).

I would say the Starkhaven palace would be a grandiose substitute to the Amell estate ^^ I see the Mage Rebellion happened at the right time for them. Bethany would have probably been happy regardless of her status at court, but knowing that their children would grow up free is a huge thing for her!

Aww, that's definitely something Sebastian would do! Besides, it's different than the scene with Cullen because Cullen's desk is quite sturdy.

Exactly, even if he was 18 it's getting into the point where he was either very young or his "wild period" was less than a year, neither of which makes sense. I've seen some people assume that he was sent to the chantry less than a year after his grandfather promised him his bow which would have put him at... 14... and that's just crossing several lines. 19 makes the most sense to me.

Between retaking the throne of Starkhaven and Justinia's death, Sebastian regularly petitions Starkhaven's grand cleric to let them marry and she rejects it each time. Obviously they don't mind not being married but Sebastian has no intention of looking for someone "more suitable" so he just wants to wear the cleric down lol. I figure there's probably some sort of contraceptive methods available in Thedas and Bethany seriously considers stopping to see if her getting pregnant would force the cleric's hand but before it gets to that point, Justinia dies and they just decide to wait until there's a new Divine and directly petition her.

Actually, there's a plant in the codex called witherstalk that is apparently used as a contraceptive. That and I'm sure a quick google search can point you in the direction of other contraceptive methods used by people irl through the years. A surprise pregnancy would sure shock the cleric into reconsidering the situation. But I'm also sure Sebastian's still got enemies who would use his relationship with Bethany and their bastard child against him. The Seneschal in Knigh Errant didn't seem very pleased with him, for example, and I don't trust him one bit (I'm pretty sure he's got his own agenda).

Ooh thanks that's helpful to know! That codex entry.... lol.

Oh man, I've been trying to figure out a solid reason why Sebastian would even keep that guy around since he seems so clearly up to no good and definitely isn't in line with Sebastian's morals. I figure the seneschal can't be fired without permission from a majority of nobles in Starkhaven or something. A guy like that definitely wouldn't like Bethany, either, and he would absolutely use anything he could against her and Sebastian's relationship. The main reason Bethany never goes through with the plan to get pregnant is that she's pretty sure Seneschal Granger would make a huge stink about how this is proof she's corrupted Sebastian.

I actually hc that he was a proxy for the Harimanns while Sebastian's useless cousin was on the throne, either because he was genuinely loyal to them or they just paid him enough. Before I figured out the timeline of Knight Errant and I wanted to rewrite it with Bethany as Seb's lover, I had it that Granger basically banned her from attending the party because he felt it was improper.

In my fic, Granger is already seneschal for Sebastian's cousin so he strikes a deal with him when he returns to Starkhaven: he can keep his position if he supports Sebastian's claim to the throne. So now he's stuck with him until the man makes his move. Sebastian isn't as gullible as he appears to be in the comics, he knows what the seneschal is up to and is ready to intervene and have him kicked out the second he steps out of line.

And yeah, I have a feeling he would probably make Bethany's life hell. He seems the type to try to sabotage their relationship and make her look like a villain in the public eye.

Yeah, I'll probably have something like that for why Sebastian keeps him around. I also found his behavior in KE kind of OOC because come on, Sebastian would not be that won over by some "archaeologist" he's never met before handing him a random artifact as a gift. At least in my canon he has the excuse of being sort of distracted because he has one year old twins to deal with.

Even though I doubt Granger would speak directly to the mages in the circle, his attitude toward Bethany definitely fuels some of the enchanters who dislike her. When the Starkhaven circle votes on whether to join the mage rebellion pre-conclave, Bethany presents an argument that they need to have a plan in place to defend children, tranquil, and others who will be vulnerable to anti-mage violence because she saw what happened in Kirkwall, and one of the people who wants to actively go to war against the templars says something like "I'm not sure why you care so much, we all know you'll just be the prince's little pet full-time once the circle dissolves." And things like that and "the royal concubine" are about the nicest things people who dislike her call her...

Ouch, poor girl I hope she has the chance to give these guys a piece of her mind!

She probably will, not to mention she ends up Princess of Starkhaven in the end while they're still just mediocre mages and/or dead.

Since she does basically move into the palace during the time of Inquisition, maybe that's when Varric finds out about her and Sebastian.

Hawke, after getting out of the fade: I need to go to Starkhaven and talk to Bethany
Varric: Is she still there even with the circles being dissolved?
Hawke: Yeah, she's at the palace obviously
Varric: What's she doing there?
Hawke: Do you really not know or are you just playing dumb?!

CocotteJenn wrote:

ohhgreywarden wrote:

Way to call Cullen out! 

I also estimated Sebastian as being around 19 when he was sent to the Chantry. It gives him plenty of time to be a rake without too many creepy implications...

Oof, I feel this. In my fic he has a minor role, but in it, the day after his 21st birthday, he's shipped off to the Chantry.

I’ve read a couple fics that put him at 16 when he was sent to the chantry and that just makes me go

Now that I’m done with my vallaslin for the Sims project, I’m going to try to get back to writing my fic. I have a slight change in plans because I realized it’s extremely in-character for Sebastian to make a whole 2+ week trip from Starkhaven back to Kirkwall because Hawke visits and tells him she’s worried for Bethany and then when he gets there he realizes he has absolutely no plan for where to go from there and has to improvise a plan to get the surviving mages out of the Gallows. I originally had it that he’d already coordinated with Rylen but... nah, he contacts Rylen after already getting to Kirkwall and being like “oh shit how do I get out of this situation?”

ohhgreywarden wrote:

I’ve read a couple fics that put him at 16 when he was sent to the chantry and that just makes me go

is right.

ohhgreywarden wrote:

I’ve read a couple fics that put him at 16 when he was sent to the chantry and that just makes me go

I once stumbled on a fic that had him at 13 when he started sleeping around. I noped out of there so fast.

Also, love your new idea. It is very in character for him indeed. Sebastian is an impulsive man even if it took him over six years of thinking things over before he went back to Starkhaven to reclaim his throne. And I'm always a sucker for more Rylen so it's good that you're including him too

I guess they went with that because it’s the age he was when his grandfather promised him his bow but... noooooope. (On a side note, that reminds me of how DAO acts like you’re supposed to be surprised Alistair is a virgin at 20, like sure he’s attractive but a lot of people don’t have sex in their teens...)

Silly Sebastian, not realizing that he’s dropping everything to try to help Bethany because he likes her. And yeah with Rylen I have it that he and some other Starkhaven templars are already in Kirkwall on a relief mission/subduing rebel mages who pose a public threat (they have too much on their plate to hunt down every mage so they’re just concerning themselves with the actually dangerous ones between moving rubble and whatnot). Cullen established a quarantine of the Gallows while figuring out why some templars have been acting weird (it’s red lyrium Meredith) and once Sebastian gets the mages out, the Kirkwall templars join the relief effort and some from both groups help escort the mages to the rebuilt Starkhaven circle, with Rylen being one of the ones who opt to stay behind to help Cullen.

So I kind of want to write a short fic based on this tumblr post: https://biracialistair.tumblr.com/post/188082479510

Specifically I want to have Bethany and Sebastian be at the Winter Palace during the events of Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts for... reasons? And Varric runs into Bethany first and is wondering why she's there and then Sebastian shows up and puts his arm around her waist.

It also got me thinking about how they'd be introduced by that announcer guy and I came up with the following (with my headcanon middle names for them):
"His Serene Highness Sebastian Ignatius Havard Vael, Prince of Starkhaven, former brother of the Chantry, former companion of the Champion of Kirkwall”
“Lady Bethany Imogen Hawke, daughter of house Amell of Kirkwall, sister of the Champion of Kirkwall, former enchanter of the Kirkwall and Starkhaven circles of magi, mistress of the Prince of Starkhaven”

I'm so glad I sent you this post!

This is such a great idea! I can't wait to see it take form. Varric's stubborn denial is an unending well of pure gold comedy and I live for it.

I started writing a little and wow, it is really fun to write in Varric’s perspective. It’s not first person but it’s “Varric’s POV third person” and I love using his voice, it’s so much more fun than a neutral narrator.

I’m writing it under the assumption that the Inquisitor brought all the companions along (especially since I use the mod that makes that happen) so Varric also spends part of the time after running into Bethany desperately trying to make sure Cassandra does not get a chance to talk to her because he doesn’t want Bethany to get interrogated about her sister’s whereabouts. Meanwhile Bethany is just trying to make sure that the young Orlesian noblewomen fawning over Sebastian get it into their heads that just because she’s his mistress and not his wife it doesn’t mean he’s looking for a wife. Sebastian is just trying to make sure he makes a good impression as a fairly new monarch and also sneak more hors d’oeuvres than is necessarily acceptable.

I’m still working on the Halamshiral fic (as I’ve decided the long one detailing their story in my worldstate will be a nanowrimo project) and I’m discovering that finding more ways to say someone turns their head is harder than more ways to say “said”