Sylvanpyxie, I'm responding to your post, but kind of just giving my opinions in general as well, so I didn't quote you. I'm going to say now that I've only read the last couple pages of this very long thread, so if some of what I say is proven/disproven by facts (codices, Bioware employees, game dialogue), I apologize for not hunting it all down in the prior replies.
Overall, I love Sebastian as a character but am so frustrated that there were so many times the writers could have just given him an extra sentence of dialogue and made him so much richer. Despite the flatness of his character, once you play through (and go through all dialogue options) enough times, you can get a sense of just how deep his character was originally written to be. (More on that below)
I feel retaking Starkhaven after Kirkwall is a 50/50 shot, to be honest. IIRC, in Act II we get the impression that his efforts to gather support between Acts weren't terribly successful, and that's why he wound up back in Kirkwall. Can't remember if it was a codex or in conversation. We don't really hear more about that after Repentance, and I think the confrontation with Lady Harimann & the Desire Demon really shook him more than the writers were able to have him express. That, to me, seems to be his "crisis" point; he was rather hell-bent on retaking the throne up until then. BUT, we don't get any insight as to how his cousin is received by the citizens. If Goran Vael is as simple as we're led to believe, perhaps he's doing a really crappy job by the time DA2 ends and Seb gets more support at home because of it. It could even resolve itself bloodlessly, because we just don't know how the puppet works without his puppetmaster (Lady Harimann). That was a huge hole that the writers failed to fill.
I personally see a lot of fear (and anger, of course) in Sebastian, but I don't think he's as ruled by emotions as we are led to believe. He's also driven by his sense of duty and honor, and for that I don't really see him becoming a wallower--yes, he's very upset about Elthina, but can't be moreso than over the loss of his entire family, and he seems to have a pretty decent handle on that fairly soon after the confrontation with Elthina at the Chanters Board. (xref with Alistair whenever you bring up Duncan, and he only knew the man 6 months.)
I also don't see him abandoning his faith. No way. He was devout as a child, even before being banished to the Chantry. It's a fundamental cornerstone of who he is. Most people wouldn't act that rashly out of a sense of loss anyway, especially not when their faith runs that deep. Would he take out his anger on the Maker? Highly unlikely. He realizes that it is not the Maker who took Elthina, it was Anders, even with the whole "Maker, noooo" bit considered. He asks why they are going after other mages when the one who was responsible was right there in front of them. Those aren't the words of a man who is ready to place blame on the Maker for what happened. Those are the words of a man who sees remarkably clearly despite just losing the place and people he knew as 'home' for what, fifteen years?
I also think the fact that he constantly debates whether or not to go shows remarkable maturity on his part--not waffling or spinelessness or whatever the haters like to call it. I've studied a few leaders in my day (I'm an ancient historian) and I've consistently found that the most effective leaders (read: not the most successful, militarily) always consider all facets of their decisions, and in the conversations with him, he says much if you really listen. He reveals that he is aware the people may not accept him, and he wants to do what's best not so much for himself but for his people and the Maker. The question is not "What should I do", but "Who best serves the Maker". He's not asking Hawke to decide for him, he's merely engaging him/her in discourse. He recognizes Hawke's leadership abilities and the people's love for him/her, and implies that Hawke should be Viscount for the people. The way the game rewards/punishes Hawke's responses, though, is rather misleading and cheapens the depth the writers are trying to convey in his conversations. The more I use him as my primary rogue on PTs the more I've noticed that in certain situations, he actually can have a lot to say. Yes, it's almost always in defense of the Chantry, but it's often stated quite eloquently. I actually don't find him nearly as whiny as Anders or even Fenris when it comes to his pet passion. Certainly not slipping copies of the Chant into Hawke's bookshelf, that's for sure. And to those who say he only wants Hawke's help...he's not the only one. Anders, in particular, asks for quite a lot of help, and dangerous help to boot.
I wish they would have left the banter about turning in Anders & Merrill out completely. It was, I think, totally OOC for him to say, especially like that. Fenris' response also seemed OOC--I'd have expected him to be right on board, considering how much he hates Anders and Merrill. I also wish the writers hadn't fallen asleep when scripting the bit with Anders. That was a HUGE missed opportunity, IMO. Hawke should have been able to defer to Sebastian, just like you could defer to Fenris and his Fist of DOOM in other situations. I would have loved it if Sebastian could have put an arrow between Anders' eyes while muttering something from the Chant. It would have set up a nice transition from Chantry Brother to Prince quite nicely if done right.
At any rate, I can see a few different futures for our Prince. If he is incorporated in future titles, I can't see having Hawke guide Sebastian one way or the other (cloth vs. crown) throughout DA2 and not have that decision be the most critical in determining how he is presented. Here are my possible scenarios:
If you told Anders to stay and fight: Sebastian goes back and takes the throne, regardless. He's just that pissed.
If you let Anders go free: Sebastian hunts Anders, consumed by the desire for vengeance until it's all he knows.
If you kill Anders: if Hawke convinced Seb to stay with the Chantry, he'd join the Templars to fight back against the maleficarum. After all the fighting he could have potentially seen in DA2, I just can't see him going back to the sedate life of a Brother, even if the Chantry would re-swear him. If Hawke convinced him to retake Starkhaven, I think we see a very strongly pro-Chantry/Templar principality with a BAMF Sebastian on the throne.
And maybe this is the most crazy, but am I the only one who thinks he would look smokin' hot in Seeker armor? Just throwin' that out there.
My only concern about us seeing him again is in that he was DLC. And again, IIRC, he was originally supposed to be a full companion and BioWare removed him just to make him that way. I think that could explain a lot as to why his character seems to fall a bit flat at times. They probably edited out too much, especially for a character that can follow you for 2/3 of the playthrough plus the DLC packs. That tells me that perhaps Starkhaven--or at least the Vaels--aren't as important as we'd like to think they are. It'd be a shame if they threw away this tantalizing storyline, even more so if they brought back a DLC character like Tallis instead.
Anyway, I'm done now. Tired. That took a while to type.
edited to fix a blocked word.
Modifié par Catia, 30 septembre 2012 - 08:42 .
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I hardly see any Sebastian artwork so I was very excited to see yours. 
I don't mind, argue to your heart's content, I love a good debate.
