sebastian thoughts
Added 2024-09-12 12:20:04 +0000 UTChelp me
(sorry for double post i messed up the first time HEHE)
Comments
Okay as someone who was gonna romance Sebastian on her first playthrough and went with Shane, and who is FINALLY romancing Sebastian on my umpteenth playthrough after trying out my other options/not getting married/etc in my other files....... I have a lot of thoughts about him because I've played through his cutscenes a lot xD! Incoming brain dump :D I personally get more early-20s vibes from Sebastian, but an explanation for why he's still Like That if he's in his mid 20s is that small towns really will just... stunt your developmental growth, by nature of not being exposed to a wider variety of people. I speak from experience; I'm from a *tiny* town (a hamlet) and moved to a city when I was 18, but I know people from there who never left, and who never "grew" as people because they didn't have their horizons broadened. Being a teenager is an isolating experience, and I imagine being the oldest child in a step-family is an even more isolating experience—especially when you don't fit into that family/are the black sheep. Then, add on top of that being from a teeny tiny hamlet (which is wayyy smaller than the one where I grew up) like Pelican Town? Whoof. I totally get why that aspect of his personality seems a little underdeveloped compared to his age! (Though, one upside is his internet connection, lol, I had that too and it was fundamental to my development as a person IMO xD) Sebastian, being that tropey character, gets stereotyped by the people around him. Including us as the player! We assume he's just another doom-and-gloom sadboy, which, I mean... he kind of is, but that's not all he is. He has hopes and dreams, he has aspirations. Even more than the rest of the marriage candidates, save Alex and maybe Elliott. Alex is in the "dreaming of the future" phase of his life. Elliott is in the "has moved somewhere else to pursue his goal" phase. Sebastian is right smack in the middle: He's still stuck in Pelican Town, like Alex, but he's actively working on making his moving-to-the-city dreams a reality. He has a remote job doing the same work he hopes to do in the city. He's saving up, he's got his nose to the grindstone. But what we see with Sebastian that we don't see (as much) with the other Dreams & Aspirations characters is that, because he's in this break-out phase of his personal growth, he's experiencing more perceived resistance, or at least a clear lack of support for his goals. We get a taste of that in the scene where Robin informs Sebastian that Abby wants to hang out with him and will probably come down anyway even though she knows he's working, and Sebastian gets upset because people don't respect his time or his social needs. Which, totally understandable! I think a lot of people who work(ed) from home experienced that especially during the pandemic, from their family members and housemates. Definitely very frustrating all around! But it's not just a lack of respect for his future goals. He seems like the kind of person that keeps his feelings close to his chest, including how he expresses himself creatively. He makes a comment (at a winter festival I think? or maybe it's just daily dialogue, I don't remember!) that Demetrius made him destroy his 'snow goon' while leaving Maru's snowman untouched. Now, as many people have pointed out in the past on various forum threads and whatnot, we don't see any in-game evidence of Demetrius mistreating Sebastian (or even acknowledging him in any way really), but if this incident did occur, it could definitely feed into Sebastian's feelings of not belonging. That would feel even more isolating. There's this Perfect Little Family cosplay going on around him, and he (whether in truth or just by perception) is made to feel like he's wrong for not fitting into that 'aesthetic'. (I think this is another part of why people, especially some Sebastian Enjoyers, resent Demetrius, but I'm still a Demetrius Defender because he's just doing his best!! He has a book on his bookshelf about how to be a good stepdad!! He's trying!! dads are allowed to be imperfect!) And now... the weather. Sebastian doesn't like hot weather but likes fall and winter, like that stereotypical dichotomy of "Bubbly Extroverts Love Summer and Melancholy Introverts Love Winter." Which I've also seen play out in real life, so, there's that. xD A lot of people feel that Sebastian 'gave up' his dreams of moving to the city to be married to the player, but by his dialogue we see it's just not true. He realizes, as you say, that it isn't actually the life he wants. What he does want is to be supported in his goals, to make a difference, and to be allowed to be his own person. Even if he isn't Being A Person in the way other people think he should. (Like Linus! I think those two would actually have a lot to talk about.) Anyway, I didn't mean to write a mini sort-of essay, but I too love to delve into The Themes and The Narrative of my favourite media and characters, so xD Thank you for all the hours of work you put into doing just that! | (having just seen the vid you posted with the new green screen: if you want to use any/all of this in the Sebastian video, consider this blanket permission to do so with any of my comments anywhere on your stuff/on Discord/etc. n_n)
jadefyre
2024-09-24 18:29:22 +0000 UTCso real, me with depression making sure my desk is tidy so i don’t lose the will to live
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-19 09:08:09 +0000 UTCit’s interesting about him following two different tropes, in my experience my friends who love sci-fi and DND are also a little goth/witchy lol. for his state of mind i can see it being depression (might be projection on my part) but also that he thinks the world is against him/he won’t succeed is definitely something my depression brain has made me think. i can relate to a room being depressing, not necessarily decor or anything but if my room is messy it makes ME feel messy & unmotivated. also he lives in the basement so not having windows can also contribute to a bad mood.
JuliannaTheGood
2024-09-18 20:48:47 +0000 UTChahha ok i will free myself of the shackles of trope !! kind of freeing tbh wow he's really just a dude huh? love that for him
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-12 17:43:26 +0000 UTCyeah i have def seen quoted somewhere that he like took a bunch of parts of his personality and distributed them among the characters! so your hunch is correct lol. i guess i like that he's less 'through-line-ey' than the others, i just kinda got used to it after 10!! people irl don't have a throughline really. ooh this will be an interesting video hehe. thank you for your comments!!
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-12 17:39:32 +0000 UTCtruly though, don’t we all kind of affectionately despise our teenage selves? I am still that girl, just grown up now… but DAMN do I sometimes I want to fistfight a sixteen year old version of me 😂
Kayla Haas
2024-09-12 13:53:45 +0000 UTChe's based off CA when his brain WASNT developed i think. it's definitely depression and not feeling understood or valued and not knowing where he belongs in his community. CA is obviously a very creative person and probably felt a similar way growing up. iirc CA sort of affectionately dislikes Sebastian or thinks he's annoying, because it's his younger self, so i think he's aware of all the ways Sebastian is a pain in the ass. he's lowkey a savage abt it lol
air_infector
2024-09-12 13:41:36 +0000 UTCi think he does like the outdoors and want to be out there but it's just a lot for him and his personality. CA obviously loves nature because of the game he made about the joys of rural life and being outdoors, but in order to do that he probably had to be holed up indoors a lot like Sebastian who works as a programmer too. So i think it's just supposed to be explained the way that any person's opinions are: people just like what they like. thinking like that helps Seb make a lot more sense imo. but you're definitely right and onto something, he is an enigma of a character compared to all the other characters who can be explained with your narrative design knowledge! but for Seb i think you can just turn that part of your brain off ;-; because he's kinda just the way that he is. don't think too hard about it lmao. but i must say as a Sebastian wife im especially looking forward to this video !!!!
air_infector
2024-09-12 13:36:38 +0000 UTCCA has said Sebastian is based off of him as a teenager/young man, so to me that makes a lot of sense (but also makes me like Sebastian sliiiiightly less lol). But it explains why he's sort of contradictory or seems to have more facets and dimensions than the average Stardew character with one specific through-line or narrative. they say the best way to make characters is to examine parts of yourself and your personality and put a part of yourself into them, and i imagine most the characters have some part of Eric Barone in them. but if Sebastian is trying to be more faithful to his real, human life and experience growing up then that's probably why he's a little deeper. i like him a lot and i married him on my first play through and he's a great husband and perfect fit for me because he often has lines about mental health struggles that feel very human. and i think the reason for that and the reason he's an outlier in a lot of ways is because he's a caricature of a person. a person who happens to be a genius with many different passions and skills and hobbies!
air_infector
2024-09-12 13:25:41 +0000 UTCooh curated solitude nice turn of phrase
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-12 13:22:57 +0000 UTCokkkkkkkk interesting ok yeah oops hit enter too early will add another comment lol
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-12 13:15:50 +0000 UTCyeah i should have been clearer i put ""incel"" in quotes cos i couldnt think of a better word for the like trope, i dont think he is either
Fiona Sangster
2024-09-12 13:14:18 +0000 UTCThe motorbike, cigarette, emo thing in my mind isn't necessary at odds to the tabletop games and coding thing, I feel like these all individually signify a curated solitude from or at least intentional difference to the ideal stardew valley citizen.
callmemug
2024-09-12 12:54:47 +0000 UTCThe word Incel doesn't fit Sebastian in my opinion. He just seems like a nerdy depressed guy who hasn't grown out of his edgy teenager phase
fullmetalbasil
2024-09-12 12:42:40 +0000 UTCWas just trying to post a comment on the initial upload! I think the DnD, mom’s basement thing = incel is a little unfair given that a lot of marriage candidates still live with family. He just lives with family. Sebastian feels very “escapist” to me. He is a contradiction. He doesn’t know what he wants, because he hasn’t found it yet. He thinks he wants to the city to get away because he knows he doesn’t want to be here. But at the same time, you KNOW that boy would hate the city. Too many people. Too much… everything. He needs quiet. He needs time alone to recharge his social battery. If he lived in the city, things wouldn’t be different. He’d just be socially isolating in a different place away from his friends and family. He’s unsatisfied with his life bc he doesn’t know what he wants, but he knows he’s not happy yet. That’s where a lot of the cringe emo shit comes from. It’s even cringier if you yourself haven’t been in his shoes — just desperate to live a different life. Anything other than your own. He doesn’t feel like he fits in with his family. He quite literally lives below them, yk? His sister is the golden child. He probably perceives himself as a basement dwelling loser like you do lol. His best friend is an energetic, happy-go-lucky guy. He and Sam are polar opposites, yin and yang. If you perceive his character as the yin to Sam’s yang, he makes so much sense. Sam’s sweet, goofy personality makes him seem like he could make friends with anyone or talk to anyone. Seb is the opposite. Light/dark, sun/moon. The through line with Sebastian is that he isn’t happy and doesn’t feel at home ANYWHERE. But when he finds you, he finds home. He has marriage dialogue that tells you he feels at home with you. He feels like he can be himself. He doesn’t want to go to the city bc he didn’t want to leave, he just wanted purpose. You are his purpose. Little sad boy truly just loves you and finds home with you. 🥺 He’s Demetrius’s step son, Maru’s half brother. People always mix up the words with that!
Kayla Haas
2024-09-12 12:21:23 +0000 UTC
