#edit: talked to Mystra | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amandacanwrite · 3 months

Text

More Headcanons for the Gale Babes: Pining Edition

Tagging At Their Request: @eclecticqueennerd @jeneralmischief @thewizardhole

Tagging Because I Thought You May Want To Know I posted It: @lewdisescariot @ollypopwrites @rissi-chan @foreskinfinder87

Here are some headcanons about Gale behind the scenes as he pines for you/Tav (Goodnatured, Gender Neutral) Bear with some things that are just regular ole canon for a moment and then I will get into the headcanony stuff near the middle.

Upon Your First Meeting

"I'm Usually better at this." "At Introductions?" "Hah...At magic."

Safe to say that he was well aware of just HOW much trouble he was in very shortly after beginning to travel with you.

The words "Do NOT do this to yourself, you ridiculous, touch-starved man," may or may not have been said to the mirror...or to a mirror double of himself.

But godsdamnit, you just had to continue being...kind and courageous and well spoken and your eyes...and your lips and Focus--FOCUS GALE DEKARIOS

And hells, what a world it would be if he could stop putting his foot so squarely into his mouth.

"Gods, Gale. Really did a number with that thing you said, didn't you? They probably thing you're pompous--which you are--perhaps rightfully so, you are a very gifted wizard..."

He uh...talks to himself a lot. Old habit from the tower, you see. You only catch him doing it a couple of times though, and rarely hear what he said.

"Oh, just thinking out loud, you know!"

Once He's Gotten To Know You A Bit

"Go on, Gale. You're among Friends." "I may just be about to remedy that."

It's hard to pin point the exact moment he fell in love with you. But the realization was nothing short of devastating for him.

As a younger man, he may have been brought to tears reading a tragedy like his. Abandoned by a former lover, forsaken in a plight brought on by wishing to do her a grand gesture, falling for a simpler love...one he may never have because of the orb threatening to level a city in his chest.

Sometimes at night, he watches you asleep in your bedroll, wondering if he had met you as a young man...if he'd perchance seen you on the streets of Waterdeep or sitting at the bar in The Yawning Portal perhaps he'd never wound up in this position in the first place.

Perhaps he would have simply been chosen by Mystra, and not have fallen in love with her.

It feels wrong...even to think it. He wonders if Mystra can sense the betrayal in those thoughts--in the wish that he'd never fallen in love with her.

But it's hard not to feel that way when he has to spend every waking moment next to you.

And when he watches everyone else in camp seemingly falling over themselves to get to you as well.

He makes his peace with the fact that there is simply no way that he can compete with the pale elf who is constantly making eyes at you...calling you darling.

He remembers meeting people like that in school. He remembers burying himself in his studies to distract himself from the fact that he'd never felt particularly charming or even efficacious in matters of the heart.

Of course that all changed when Mystra chose him. Before he'd wooed her, he'd managed to have a few dalliances as a teen, even going into his early adulthood.

But you're the first he's ever wanted to have something with since Mystra had forsaken him.

He still carries the charm he'd cultivated. It's hard not to get at least a little full of yourself when the goddess of magic herself chooses you. Harder still to drop the habit after he'd committed to it, even while sequestered to his tower.

He'd been deep in thought on these matters when you checked in on him one night.

"Nothing to worry about. Just a wizard stewing on matters of the arcane and curious, I assure you."

When he finally has to reveal the truth of his affliction to you and the others in the party, he's devastated all over again. He's ready to once again be banished for his crimes, to be newly punished for his folly, however well intentioned he was in acquiring it.

But...you simply don't... It seems you never do what he expects because you hardly bat an eye. Even when Astarion tells you to kick him to the proverbial curb, you let him stay.

It's that night he conjures the image of Mystra in his hand, turning it this way and that to see if it still hurts to look upon her as it used to.

When you wander over to inquire about her visage, he is relieved to find it doesn't bother him to speak of her, and daunted by the ache in his chest that you seem to inspire in him.

He keeps trying to find a way to tell you how he feels, but he simply can't form the words without choking on them.

Until that night with the teiflings...and well...let's just be honest, the generously flowing alcohol.

He just wants to share a moment with you--a foolish idea to help you experience the weave using him as a conduit. A bit cheeky he realizes--knowing perhaps better than you might the sort of sensual, intimate nature that being connected through the weave can be. But he can't help it, it is the only relief he can find for this torturous pining. To be allowed to be of one mind with you for just a fleeting second is too tempting to refuse.

When You Imagine Sharing A Kiss With Him

"I'm sorry...I wasn't expecting...but it is a pleasant image to be sure. Most pleasant, in fact. Most welcome."

How can he convince himself that he won't immediately ruin this? Does he even remember how to kiss? God's it's been so long.

He lies in his tent, banging the heel of his hand against his forehead.

"You should have just kissed them, you damned fool. How long have you wanted this? And apparently they want it, too. And you were linked with the weave! What could have been more perfect? Why didn't you just kiss them, you blithering idiot."

When he doesn't kiss you for a while, you worry you may have made him uncomfortable with the thought. Really, he simply can't find the perfect time between all of the bloodshed and bandages.

He gets sloppy in battle, too worried that someone will take you way before he has a chance to make good on that dream you shared with him. Not the best course of action for a man who can literally implode in the event that he dies.

And then he had to go and say that stupid thing about danger and...other forms of stimulation.

"Perhaps," he tells himself one night. "Perhaps, Gale of Waterdeep, you will actually make a gesture more than a silly joke and a stammering admission of liking to kiss. Your actions so far have not hinted that you will, but perhaps there is hope for you yet."

In the end it's a night where you're near out of provisions that gives him the opportunity to close this blasted distance betwixt you.

He's having a melt down of sorts. About the lack of decent food in camp. How is he to feed all of you with nothing but a few half-eaten apples and a fish head?

You suggest a walk, not far from camp. You're sure you can scrounge up some berries, or some tubers--maybe even a squirrel or a rabbit. In truth, you're not sure you'll find anything, but you can sense that Gale needs time away. Needs privacy. Needs space to simply feel things without an audience.

After walking in silence for a while you ask him if he's alright.

"No. No I am categorically not alright. Not at all. I am filthy. I am covered in goblin blood. The orb refuses to be sated. I cannot find a way to properly feed you so that you'll have the strength to fight another day. And on top of it all--rounding out the depths of my misery--you so bravely showed me the intimacy you wanted to share, yet I cannot for the life of me figure out how to adequately stage that moment so that it is worthy of the splendor that you are."

It's hard not to be touched by his admission, but you don't want him to be miserable. So you make it easy for him. You simply stride up to him and plant a kiss on his lips.

"Is that better?" you ask him. "Now you needn't fret about the last thing."

His simply...gawks at you. Stares in utter befuddlement, his mouth slightly agape. For a moment, you're certain you've broken the poor wizard. You almost have the urge to wave your hand in front of his face to see if his soul has left his body. Then he smears his hand down his face and groans

"NO," he says. "No it is not better. That is not a proper first kiss worthy of how I feel about you. I can do much better than a first kiss like that."

You remind him that that was technically your first kiss with him. He is welcome to show you how it is properly done.

You expect the slow burn with him--expect him to have to ponder that for a few days, perhaps even a few weeks, before he makes good on it.

But he has had enough of waiting. He drops his bag off to the side and unstraps his bow from his back in a quick flurry of movement. He reaches for you, gently grasping the soft curves of your face and pulling you toward him, claiming your mouth with his own.

It is a frantic, desperate thing, this kiss. Simultaneously overwhelming and buoyant. You find yourself lifting up onto your toes and leaning against him as he tilts his head, seeking some opening to taste you, to feel you on his lips.

Your knees buckle, and his hands move from your face to catch you, crushing you against him as if he wishes to match every curve of you to every corresponding curve of his own body.

His lips are soft, though they are posessive. When you finally allow him across the threshold of your lips, he tastes like that fragment of weave you shared with him. He tastes of pure connection.

And then, just like that moment, it is over. You're left panting and weak as he holds you against his chest, his face flush, his brow gently curved with worry.

You blink dreamily up at him. "Oh." you say.

"'Oh?'" he asks incredulously. "Please tell me you have more to say than 'Oh.' Or at least specify the quality of that 'Oh.' Hells, if I'm to get any sleep at all--"

You simply lift your fingers to his lips, pressing the tips to quiet him. "Consider me properly schooled in how it's meant to be done," you say. "You're an excellent teacher."

He heaves a sigh. "Oh," he says. "I know."

I hope you enjoyed this! I'm sorry if it's not as satisfying since it's a lot of like...subtext for canon things. I have more Ideas but this is already quite long. Do let me know if you would still like to see more or if you have anything you'd like to see or expand on with an actual small fic. I have been having so much fun with these.

#writing community #writers on tumblr #writing #authors #writeblr #my writing #bg3 #bg3 headcanons #bg3 gale #bg3 gale fanfic #bg3 gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale x tav #gale headcanons

723 notes · View notes

galesdevoteewife · 5 months

Text

Let’s talk about Mystra

Hello everyone, I wanted to talk about Mystra👋🔮

As much of a crazy lover as I am for my fictional wizard, the more lore research I do, the more I feel like Mystra deserves some love too. This goddess lives a cursed life. I know I know she asked Gale to kill himself, but bear with me; here are my arguments:

A bit history of Mystra

There’re 3 Mystra: Mystryl -> Mystra (Elminster’s Mystra) -> Mystra (Midnight)

In short, Mystryl is the fourth deity in the universe, composed of Shar & Selûne’s essence. She is one of the primal existences while the universe is still new and trying to settle down, a significant component of the universe itself. While Mystryl’s spirit was born naturally, Mystra and Midnight were both once mortal and raised by AO to inherit Mystryl’s power.

Is Mystra bad?

Midnight, “Mystra 3rd ” is who we met in BG3. She was a human magic user born in 1332 DR. Midnight was aiding Mystra 2nd at the time of troubles. She’s a kind-hearted and humble woman who ascended in 1358 DR. She didn’t want godhood at all; she only did it to counter Cyric, the bad guy.

From comic book Avatar (1991)

For decades, she even tried to allow only the good use of magic, later learning her duty and place as the guardian of balance and impartial arbiter of the Weave; no matter how Midnight feels or hopes things could have been. She was only 26 when she had to wave goodbye to everyone she knew, shouldering the 24/7 goddess duty. It’s true that she will inherit other Mystra’s memory, but personality-wise she is only 160 years old; even Halsin is older than her. (Not to mention she spent 94 years in dormant)

Note[1]: Later on all the Mystra mentioned I will be talking about Midnight

Note[2]: Dec17/2023 I will come back and edit this section; it's misleading according to Ed Greenwood's tweet. The current Mystra is likely a blend of all three Mystras with an unspecified proportion. I will provide details on the stories and deeds of the other Mystras.

Being Mystra sucks. Truly.

Imagine your body is just a thing lying on the street; anyone can command you to dance for them so long as they know the right spell. While you CAN reject it, you are NOT ALLOWED to.

What’s worse is that too many mortals and too many gods want the Weave, but it’s not something that she can “give”. Like no one can give away their body to someone else. She IS the Weave; I think of it as the Weave being the cells that compose her. Whoever wants to take it away will have to separate her mind and “body” by:

killing her and inherit the Weave, where all the attempters failed step 2, then only resulted in a broken/Weaveless crisis

or completely manipulating her mind, which is the option no one ever considers; they all go straight to killing her

Whenever DnD wants to change the rules, they kill Mystra.

Shar wants the Weave, Bane wants it, countless mortals want it too. According to the conversation between Gale and Lorroakan, it’s almost a common conversation trying to dethrone the goddess and take the power for themselves.

And no one is there to protect Mystra; she fights alone. Although she has a good relationship with gods like Selûne or Azuth, nobody lent a hand when she was murdered. She relies on her chosens and her own power.

On top of defending herself, aka protecting the Weave, another important duty is to maintain the Weave. Whenever a spell is cast, it damages the Weave, and she is the one to patch the holes. The more powerful the spell is, the bigger damage it will cause. That’s why her dogma includes “Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly.” She also needs to keep an eye out for possible upcoming threats. A tough and tedious job, and no holidays for the goddess.

It might sound a bit twisted, but she is taking care of the world by taking care of herself. Anything happening to her means catastrophe for the world. (e.g., Spellplague, where magic caused mutations to the users, see wiki here)

But she asked Gale to explode himself!

Yes, and she also promised Elysium once he’s dead. There is actually a thorough afterlife setting in the Forgotten Realms DnD setting. In short, a spirit doesn’t perish when a mortal dies; it would be drawn to the Fugue Plane and wait for the god they prayed to in life to send a servant to take them to their heaven.

It’s a terrible fate for the faithless or false spirits, those who either defy their gods or never choose one. They are forever punished in this grim plane and even become part of the Wall of the Faithless.

Fugue Plane and Wall of the Faithless: those are spirits piling up into a wall

In Mystra’s case, her heaven is Elysium, judging by the name, you can already tell it’s likely a heavenly place. Significantly better than the Fugue Plane, that’s for sure.

It’s a fixed truth that all will die someday, and Gale’s afterlife options are:

Defy Mystra: When he dies, he will be forever punished as a false in the Fugue Plane. Not to mention Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead, is also Midnight Mystra’s former(?) lover, and he detests cowardice.

Defy Mystra and try to gain favor from another god: I think this will mean changing class and profession for him, as a wizard he is tied to Mystra after all.

Serve Mystra and be taken to Elysium: And who knows, since he is chosen of Mystra, she might even revive him someday. Mystra 2nd did that for her other chosen before. Note: Interesting reading about how her chosen become weaveghost after death, see wiki here.

Obtain godhood: When the god Gale dies, he will go through a completely different process.

An interesting thought here is whether Gale knows about all these. It will largely define what his true colors are. It wouldn’t make sense if he is completely ignorant of afterlife logic, though. His background is an experienced wizard (probably studied some necromancy), goddess ex, and apparently visited heavens before.

Is Mystra power-thirsty?

I wouldn’t say so. She is already OP, and AO asked her to nerf herself by sharing and storing power in her chosens. Even if she were to gain more power, she is not allowed to keep it.

She wants the Shadow Weave

She sees Shar’s secret creation, the Shadow Weave, as a threat and aims to eventually subsume it into her portfolio, even if that means sacrificing her last remaining goodness and humanity.

From the DnD book “Faith & Pantheons”

We see how Shar is using her Shadow Weave in the cursed land, and it's safe to say it's not an ideal living environment for most beings. Shar has been very keen to kill Mystra and take over her power; I don’t think the world would be a better place in her hands than in Mystra’s.

She wants the Karsite Weave

The same logic could apply to the Karsite Weave. While we can argue whether Gale has a good heart and can be trusted with godlike power, he did show some concerning traits, did he not? Maybe in the future, when he is wiser and calmer, that's how I read Mystra’s line when she tells him to be patient.

Why doesn’t she just cure him since she can?

This is 100% headcanon. I think Mystra as a goddess is able to foresee some future. In Elminster’s story series, Mystra 2nd often asked him to do things that seemed irrelevant but were actually needed in the future. In Gale’s case, could it be that’s what Midnight meant to do? To mentor and humble him? Even prepare him to go through this journey? (Hardly imagine the prime archmage Gale joining our little merry band, and Elminster did say, “Mystra was anything but idle- she chose you as her champion.” What could that means?)

Gale has a curve where he goes from being “irked by untalented apprentices” to “enjoying teaching a lot” if not using the crown. He could have been relying on magic too much, and his ego or pursuit of power had led him astray from his good nature. If you look from this perspective, offering to use the orb before the final battle could be him still having doubts about the team's ability and having more faith in magic aka his own power (mixed with his deep love for everyone that he'd rather die than see their lives wasted, of course).

She is a terrible lover, and she doesn't care about Gale at all

According to patch 5, how time feels in the outer plane is very different from the material plane. God Gale came back in 6 months, and he seems not aware that it has been months. With this logic and putting myself in Mystra's shoes, she got mad because Gale recklessly activated a magical nuclear bomb and ignored him for a couple of weeks.(~1 year in the mortal world) When they meet again, this grumpy jumpy bean is thinking of the possibility of killing her for her powers already. Excuse me???

I will say there could be more considerate ways to handle this subject other than asking him to bomb himself. This long-distance cross-race romance was very problematic, but I will reserve my opinion on how much love she holds for Gale. Probably not seeing him as an equal partner, of course, but drawing the conclusion that she doesn't care a tad about his well-being might be too hasty, in my opinion.

A screenshot of Mystra telling Gale that she wasn't the one who took his gifts away from him. That's not an expression of 0 sympathy to me. I've never seen her make this face except for this line.

*UPDATE on Dec 11/2023* Add a tweet from Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms. Ref: X

*UPDATE on Jan 11/2024* • Add a screenshots during Gale's meeting with her • Add a note on DnD weaveghost setting *UPDATE on Apr 15/2024* • An great analysis of Gale & Mystra's relationship and Mystra's behavior logic

-DISCLAIMER- I am very new to the DnD world, but these are what I dug up and puzzled together. I could be very, very wrong, but please be kind; I did all this out of love for my wizard 💜💜💜

#baldur's gate 3 #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #dnd #bg3 mystra #dnd note

168 notes · View notes

y-rhywbeth2 · 6 months

Text

If you go by a certain version of events, BG3 is basically "Jergal doing community service to pay for the MULTIPLE fallouts of his stupid decisions" and it's funny.

Like the pileup of 1000+ years of consequences for his time as a force of evil have gotten too much and Ao's finally snapped and sent him to personally help fix this mess.

The Crown that's empowering the Netherbrain? Well Jergal, do you remember that time you took over a settlement of humans as their patron deity and guided them to become a powerful empire of wizards in order to empower yourself? Netheril? You remember Netheril. How about Karsus? You know, that guy who according to one verion of the story was one of your chosen? The one who as a result of your machinations grew too powerful, went off the deep end with paranoia and hubris and killed Mystra-version0.1, caused a planet wide magic backlash and forced the entire Weave to go into reboot?!

Oh and the Dead Three. Can't forget the time you handed divine power to a trio of evil megalomaniacs because you were bored of the job. Also that whole thing where there's a version of the story where the murder-y one was another of your vengeful ex-chosen who you imbued with the spark of divine power in the first place. Can't forget that one! As a result we've had the Time of Troubles and the Bhaalspawn Crisis and the Mere of Dead men turning into an undead-infested hellhole and the Spirit Eater curse and the rise of fucking Cyric and all the subsequent shenanigans he got up to like 4th edition and the goddamn Spellplague…!

And now the once terrifying, alien power, formerly hailed as the "Silent slayer, bringer of strife and embodiment of death"… is forced to babysit a group of highly dysfunctional mortals - who should all be in therapy rather than saving the world. They pickpocket him. They inflict talkative children on him. They call him Withers.

He is so tired.

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 withers #withers

153 notes · View notes

wizardsix · 8 months

Text

people writing gale off as the guy who can't get over his ex is crazy bc how is someone supposed to just "get over" being sexually and emotionally abused. if people could use their brains for once they'd realize that just like the other companions, his arc also includes him reclaiming his autonomy and identity from an authority figure and learning how to heal from it--which is a very messy and absolutely not linear process, and that's perfectly fine.

all of them are coping with their trauma in different ways, just because gale's way is "unusual" and concerning at times doesn't mean he's less deserving of help.

i struggle to understand why people are being so incredibly narrow about him, but i'll take a guess that it's because mystra is a woman and people still can't grasp that men can also be abused by women.

edit: someone commented that another reason is his appearance, which is incredibly true as well. look at how gale and lae'zel are treated vs astarion and shadowheart. not to mention how barely anyone talks about wyll. people care more about looks than anything else and it makes them look stupid.

edit2: didn't think i had to specify, but tumblr isn't the only place people talk about bg3. i haven't seen anyone here talk about gale's appearance in a negative way but i've seen it on twt and rddit. i never said it was one of the bigger things, it's just something ive noticed and made a point to bring up because someone reminded me.

#not elaborating further you are beyond help if you still don't understand #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale dekarios #six speaks #im literally not saying people think he's ugly im pretty sure hes one of the most played origin characters but-#i meant when people bring up mystra and call him an incel they also lump in how he looks. ive literally seen people call him an alcoholic #anyway im done w this post i said what i said understand it or dont

187 notes · View notes

waterdeep-scholar · 3 months

Text

I have a personal head canon about Gale that I think will peak the interest of at least some of you.

I like to think Gale is related to Karsus. OKAY NOW HEAR ME OUT-

Narratively, its fascinating. Watching Gale fall into the same curse of ambitions as his ancestors, watching the cycle repeat all over again hundreds of years later- a connection even more facinating when you go down the God Gale route.

Also I think it goes a long way in explaining why the orb didn't just outright kill him. His magic is born of it after all. I would go so far as to even say it explains his natural skill the magic.

Also, a line just sticks out to me so hard is when he's talking to Lorroakem and says something along the lines of "I have Nethereese magic in my veins, I can become god!" Or something like that. Is he referring to the orb? Probably. Did my brain hear that and assume he was talking about super great grand pappy Karsus? Absolutely.

Also, it kinda explains why he kinda tried to hide his last name from you. He goes by Gale of waterdeep all the way until act 3 when Tara calls him out for his last name. Maybe he was scared someone would hear the name and immediately clock him as a nepo baby decentent of Magics Biggest Mistake™️

Now, do I think this is what Larien was going for? Not necessarily. Do I think that Karsus is ment to be a mirror or even foil to Gale and nothing more? Yes yes I do. Did I stretch before reaching this far? I probably should have. But, I think it's fun to think about, and it's something I've added to my Personal Gale Lore™️

ALSO EDIT TO ADD AS OTHER HAVE POINTED OUT: It makes all the more sense why Mystra took interest in him in the first place! "Oh, the direct descendent of the guy that killed my original form is turning out to be as good at magic as he is ambitious? Yeah, I should probably manipulate him into making sure that doesn't happen again"

#bg3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #baldur's gate 3 #gale headcanons #Gale Dekarios headcanons #bg3 headcanons

76 notes · View notes

viablemess · 1 month

Text

Gale's Childhood + Mystra

I just have some thoughts and need to articulate them because they will not leave my brain alone at all and I cannot think about much else. Feel free to sit down and join me as I word vomit how I imagine Gale’s childhood went. I did not edit this or proof read it at all, so bear with any grammar/spelling/flow mistakes please!

So, Gale’s mother is Morena Dekarios, we know that. She’s an angel, an icon, and she cares so much, and she is wicked smart. I also headcanon that she is a high quality escort in the City of Splendors, and so grew up knowing how to please people and blend in with high society in any way she can. So, she raised Gale right. She told him about what she did, never hid anything from him, and would bend over backwards to ensure that her son was happy, healthy, and cared for. Because she had to blend in with high society, she had so many books, and art pieces, and high quality alcohol and clothes all over her house. Gale grew up around these, and absorbed it all with ease, and Morena thought that was fantastic. She frequently sent him to school whenever she had to work even if he had already spent the entire day there because she knew he would be safe and looked after, because his dad was not around to look after him.

Speaking of his dad, let’s talk about Waterdeep politics for a moment, shall we? We will circle back to Gale’s parentage. Waterdeep is ruled by a council of 16 Lords, all of whom are anonymous. Whenever they are ruling in public, they use magical masks called the Lord’s Helm that hides their identities. A common game in Waterdeep is to identify the Lords and figure out the rumors that float around about them. The Lords actually start most of their own rumors, though, so these can be easily misleading. Because the Lords elect the other Lords via anonymous vote, it is difficult for the Lords to even know who is who, but they do know their names, and so they have more information. So, while the Lords are frequently protected from assassination / bribes / stalking / lobbying from the public, they are not as always well protected from each other, so the secrecy is still important, and caution is warranted. I imagine some of the Lords take this very seriously, and value the job over forming families or bonds, so high quality well-to-do escorts like Morena are highly sought after.

Now, back to Gale’s father. So, Morena is an escort for a Lord, one thing leads to another, some mistakes are made, and Morena gets pregnant which was definitely not the goal, but she can’t tell anyone she is pregnant with a Lord’s child, so she just pretends the child’s father is another client and moves on. So, if the Lord happens to be a (maybe red) wizard/cleric/paladin of Mystra… who is to say? If this Lord happens to be highly talented and magically inclined (or magically manipulated) who would ever know? Gale starts showing magical inclinations in the womb. Morena’s 9 months of pregnancy are absolutely hell. She isn’t ready for a child, but she isn’t not ready, either. So, she gets shit done and gets ready. She talks to the local Blackstaff Academy and seeks help and these teachers are /interested/ because rarely does anyone show magical talents in the womb and they are here to support her and more importantly here to teach this would-be-prodigy.

Morena is wealthy, so she can pay for private tutors and Gale shows magical abilities akin to a teen when he is a child, and so she fanes those (sometimes literal) flames. She knows her son’s child is powerful, and so Gale must be powerful, too. She loves him, and fully enables him to make his own decisions, but he is /good/ at magic and a child. He likes being good at things, and so of course he follows his talents naturally. So much so, in fact, that when he accidentally sets off a fireball trying to pick his mom some roses with a mage hand, Elminster shows right up. He had been watching Gale, after all. Mystra had told him to. Mystra had told him to watch Morena when she was pregnant, too, because Mystra knew what would happen. Mystra willed this to happen, and neither Morena nor Gale are any wiser about it.

“I wanted to give my mum something pretty,” tiny Gale had said, tears in his eyes and chubby cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry! I thought the roses were pretty, like sunsets are pretty, and I must have thought of the fire of a sunset by accident and—and—please don’t get mad at me.”

Because if there is one thing that Morena did instill in Gale other than politeness, a love for the finer things in life, and a sense of ambition (heh, ouch), it was to be respectful of authority, because Morena isn’t stupid. If a Lord could use another Lord’s child against them, they would, no hesitation. So, Gale is taught to be a good, rule-abiding little boy who has a healthy caution of leadership but mostly knows how to smile and nod and keep his head down. And Elminister, while not masked, gives off waves of authority, so Gale aims to please and keep his head down.

Elminster smiles. Gale clutches Morena’s skirt and hides behind her and Morena glares at Elminster as if daring him to do something. Elminster puts out the fire with a wave of his hand, and introduces himself. “I’ve been keeping an eye on your talents, Gale Dekarios. You’re so talented, but you do not know where to aim your talents. May I help you?”

Morena knows who Elminster is, she has heard the rumors. She does not know he is Mystra’s chosen (Morena knows Elminster to discuss grandiose tales with her clients, not to study magic or doctrine) or his relationship with Mystra at all. Morena frequently says, only in private and after a few glasses of wine, that the Gods can fuck right off because they were no help to her, she helped /herself/ thank you very much, so she does not know. She just sees this powerful and well-known figure who might be able to help her protect her son from his dad who is maybe still a Lord, and says yes.

Gale’s private study with Elminster goes on for a few years before Mystra gets involved when he turns 11. He excels, he goes to Blackstaff as one of the youngest students ever, and his classmates hate him. He is too good, too favored, too young. He does not have to try, as if he is blessed, and Gale does not understand why his classmates hate him. He’s studying just like they are, just many years ahead. He is young just like them, but a few years more. He has a favorite teacher in the form of Elminster, just like his classmates have their own favorites who actually are teachers at the academy and not a rumored hero of Faerun. His experience is close enough for Gale to not understand why his situation is unique, and why his peers hate him for it. So, he asks for a cat. Cats are nice and soft and hiss at people who they do not like, and Gale always had a hard time saying when he didn’t like someone so maybe the cat would do it for him. But Gale needed to focus on his studies, and cats couldn’t live with students at Blackstaff, so everyone tells him, respectfully, no. Gale keeps trying to make friends, and keeps failing, and he finally says “fine I’ll summon my own friend!” and summons Tara, which is an impressive feat, and within a single hour Tara says “fuck everyone this human is /mine/ and no one can tell me otherwise.” People try to banish Tara away, and she always comes back, but only for Gale, and sometimes for Morena.

Everyone knows Gale is talented, but it is not until he casually wields the Blackstaff entirely by accident that everyone realized how much so. The staff molds to his hand, and flutters in his direction ever since he picked it up. The school is furious, and Gale does not understand, because does that not mean that he is good at what he studies? He doesn’t understand it means he is a threat, he is too good, he is too strong, and some people would rather eradicate him than educate him.

One of the requirements for students at Blackstaff is survival training. The students are released into nature and told to fend for themselves, summon food and water or use their magic to otherwise make some, to create shelter, to prove that in practice they can manage a bad situation. The teachers are nearby, of course, to help should something go wrong. However, at this point, teachers feel one of two ways about Gale Dekarios, and that sometimes is a help but frequently is a hinderance. These teachers see this child, and can easily understand that one day he will be a threat to their jobs, their research, their theories. He’s just that good. And some of the teachers get together to make this test akin to the hells for Gale, and he goes off by himself. Waterdeep is surrounded by beautiful golden beaches and stalagmite caves, which are beautiful blessings during the tourist times of year. They are deathtraps during high tide, and the teachers know this, and so does Mystra.

It's pouring by the end of the first day, and Gale does not know where to go. He can heat his closes, and summon food and water, but he is aware of the fact that magical exhaustion is a thing, and that he cannot keep himself dry and warm constantly with magic for the duration of the test. So, when he sees a rainbow will-o-whisp that feels safe, he follows it into the cave. Mystra leads Gale into a shallow grave planted by the Blackstaff teachers, and watches him almost drown. The teachers would have let him drown. They would have let this eleven year old boy get grabbed by the rushing water and dragged to the bottom of a sharply pointed, mud filled cave. At the bottom of that cave is a large hollow tree trunk, and the teachers would have waited for tide season to end, and eventually drug Gale’s tiny corpse out of where it was wrangled around the smooth wood, where Gale had tried to hold in and climb out feebly, crushed by the weight of the water overhead, until the calmness of unconsciousness met him.

Drowning was calm, for Gale, at first. It was calmest when the rainbow will-o-whisp appeared again, a single speck of bright light in the murky darkness, his eyes stinging with water, his chest and stomach throbbing for oxygen. Drowning was calm, as he felt warm arms wrap around him, and felt the water get expelled from the hollow tree. Gale felt the weave rid his lungs of water and dry him off and warm him. Mystra lead Gale to his death just so she could save him, and so easily, Mystra became an exception to Gale’s distrust of authority, because she taught Elminster. She was the very rush of security and rose and love that Gale felt every time he channeled the weave. Mystra was magic—what Gale was good at, what made Gale who he is, what Gale loved. So how could he not love his savior? His muse? Mystra welcomed him into her hollow tree and taught him of Her. Her world. Her gifts. Her abilities. The three days of the test passed in a blink, and Gale emerged from the cave tinged with blue and white and the teachers who sent Gale to die heard Mystra’s laugh in their ears.

Mystra had staked her claim on Gale, and everyone knew it. Everyone had suspected it, when Elminster kept showing up, but now they had proof. Gale’s magic was sprinkled with starlight, brilliant blue and white and purple of Mystra. Gale vanished in his dreams to visit Mystra in her domain, and she continued to teach him everything that the teachers couldn’t or wouldn’t. The teachers who tried to kill him snapped to attention and did everything they could to help Gale, then, because to not would be to betray the Weave itself.

Gale went back to the hollow tree when he was about to graduate and the tide lowered, and met Mystra again. She took a more physical form, then. She guided his hands and arms as she taught him magic, and she kissed him on the forehead. She whispered, “my child, my star, my boy, my prodigy,” and Gale fell further and further under her spell. The Blackstaff Academy had graduation ceremonies where everyone would dance and celebrate their victories with one another. Morena was so, so proud. A few Lords showed up to congratulate the students, and check on the fresh talent. Gale was the equivalent of the valedictorian, and when he danced with himself, the more learned students and the teachers and Tara could see the strings of Mystra’s weave manipulating his movements like a marionette until they were perfect. Because he was her’s, and she would settle for nothing but the best.

55 notes · View notes

dearasteria · 9 months

Text

Major Gale romance SPOILERS below, so please DO NOT read and watch if you don't want to get spoiled.

I was REALLY worried about how romance with Gale would go, especially after talking to him right after he gets Karsas' book. My Tav wanted to believe and trust him, but something didn't feel right. At the end of Act II, when Tav tries to convince him not blow himself up for his ex's forgivness/to save Faerûn, it can be summed up with that one gif from Grey's Anatomy: "So pick me. Choose me. Love me" 🤡. Honestly, she asks not only to choose her, but also not to kill her and the rest of the team. Gale is so easily swayed and tells Tav that he loves her, even more than Mystra. Tav should be happy, right? But I'm like WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, it was faaar too easy, I mean, no protests from him, I didn't even have to use persuasion to convince him. At that point, after the trauma that Bioware had caused us with Anders and Solas, I'm getting paranoid. Gale doesn't love Tav, he's definitely hiding something. But I'm thinking to myself, "Okay, calm down, he just doesn't want to die, super understable. Maybe he really loves her and he needed to hear it? He needed reassurance that he has something to live for? Yes, it must be it". But then I go to the quest journal and see this:

DAMMIT GALE, you snake 🐍 My poor baby Tav (especially since the romance scene in Waterdeep was so warm and tender). She's so in love in him. Now I'm convinced that he will definetly betrey us, stubs us right in the heart.

At the beginning of Act III, he becomes obsessed with a book called The Annals of Karsus that may help him learn more about the crown. He becomes obsessed with how powerful he can become. When Tav gives him the book and says, "We already know the crown's dangerougs. Wouldn't that make things worse?" he replies:

"Worse? It could be the best thing that ever happened to me. To us."

After all this, Gale tries to convince Tav to help him reconstruct the crown. We have this beautiful scene on the boat and when I tell you my jaw dropped. HE CHOOSES TAV, listens to her concerns and simply chooses her.

The way he says it, the way he corrects himself… damn. For Tav, it's like a bucket of cold water. And I'm like, "Here we go again" 🤡

Furthermore, when we visit the Stormshore Tabernacle in Baldur's Gate and interact with Mystra's statue, he seems to feel so uncomfortable, he doesn't want to be there. Tav starts to think he's definitely hiding something. She would like to hear Mystra's version of what happened between her and Gale (I hope we can talk to her at some point in the game, it would be very interesting).

My Tav, however, disagreed, and Gale replies, "I hope you're right. I truly do. Godly power, perhaps I can live without, but you? You're everything". Has the curse of dating mages that leave players heartbroken been broken?

But I have to admit, when he said: "With you, I forget my goddess. I love you. Tell me you feel the same way. Tell me you want what I want. Please" - OH GODS 😳. I was so close to agreeing to this madness. The VA did an amazing job (side note: so many talented VAs in this game, it's mind blowing), the writing is amazing, the music is incredible, I was blown away, really.

Next day, after the boat scene, he's so adorable and full of love for Tav. Then I remembered his gratest flaw (for me it's more like his biggest fear) from the scene with Zethino in the circus: "He thinks he, and the world, might be better off if he were dead". At the time I thought he was lying, manipulating Zethino and his answers. My distrust of mages in games… Yes, I have a problem 😅

I haven't finished the game, but I have high hopes for a happy ending. No spoilers please, thanks :)

What a rollecoster of emotions, I love it, I love Gale. It felt like I was playing Dragon Age: Origins for the first time, way back when I was a teenager. It's really insane how this game makes me feel, how much I care about its characters and story.

EDIT: Okay, so we have an audience with Mystra, I mean only Gale, but we see the whole conversation between them. My only complain is that Gale doesn't mention Tav when Mystra asks him why he defied her 💔 The outcomes are different depending on whether you do it before or after the boat scene. Personally, I think doing the boat scene before meeting Mystra is much better. I get the impression that Gale is abandoning the plan to reconstruct the crown solely for Tav and his love for her. And the drama 👌🏻 it gives me life.

#sorry for the wall of text #ignore my rambling #the thing is i'm very excited and none of my friends play bg3 and my husband can't listen to me anymore 🤭#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #bg3 spoilers #Gale #gale of waterdeep #gale romance #might delete later #Tav #gale bg3

175 notes · View notes

thesongweave · 7 months

Text

Fights

They all suffered injuries in their adventures across the wilds, sure. Before Halsin and Jaheria joins the company, the healing and treatment of wounds tends to fall between Alathea and Shadowheart. What they can't fix with their spells has to be dealt with through potions, poultices, and good old fashioned bandages.

So the first time (after admissions of feelings...) Thea takes a serious injury in combat while Gale was back at camp...

TW: injury

EDIT: updated with some spellcheck, lol.

They'd had an argument that morning - gods know Gale had been thinking about it almost non-stop since, especially since he had decided to stay in camp to get some space and cool off.

For the life of him though, he couldn't quite recall what had STARTED the argument in the first place ..

Maybe it was the shadows, the looming threat of Moonrise ahead...

They had already been there once, freed the surviving tiefling refugees &and some gnomes - slipped back out with none the wiser.

Then came a brief stop at Last Light before heading off after Balthazar.

It was that night he'd stolen away, turned the shadowy sky to stars and confessed to Thea how he had been feeling, and found she felt much the same.

They had been dancing around each other for some time now, really, but if he wasn't worrying about the orb, then Mystras command....

Gale had not wanted to burden Thea with his feelings just for him to turn around and die. But, he felt it not right to leave things unsaid, either.

The next morning, they'd run into Raphael, the damned devil. He wanted Thea and company to take care of a...well, Raphael was rather vague on what they'd find, but he wanted a thing taken care of. In exchange for information for Astarion.

Then there was the gauntlet of Shar, hidden under the Thorm mausoleum...

And now they were camped there, amongst the ghosts and the crumbling walls.

At any rate, Thea and Gale, who usually saw eye to eye on most things, did not see so this morning. So the bard, stewing from the... disagreement, had struck on out to finish the trials with Shadowheart, Karlach, and Astarion in tow.

Gale had been attempting to read, unsuccessfully, when a sudden commotion broke the silence that had been the camp. He heard Wyll shout out for him, which drew Gales attention to the returning adventuring team.

What he saw made his blood run cold and the blood drain from his face. Shadowheart, magic glowing around her hands, and Astarion flanked Karlach. All three were bloodied and battered, but it was, of course, the smaller figure that Karlach carried in her arms that drew the wizards gaze.

"Thea, oh gods no," he thought, book discarded quickly to the side as he grabbed his staff and ran up, "please, no..."

Karlach was laying the elf out in a hastily laid out bedroll by the fire pit, Shadowheart never ceasing in her healing magic - for all the good it seemed to be doing. Why wasn't it working?

"What happened!?" Gale felt a disconnect. He heard himself talking, but it sounded miles away as his eyes took in Theas unconscious form.

Like the others, she was covered head to toe in blood. She was unnaturally pale, paler than Gale had ever seen her.

Halsin had swooped in next to Shadowheart, partially blocking Gale from Thea. The former first druid set straight to work.

Everyone was talking, fast and frantic, but Gale wasn't listening, their voices all blending together to make an almost overwhelming buzz in his ears.

Trying not to panic, the wizard stepped around Halsin and Shadowheart, finally finding a spot to kneel next to his lover, praying frantically that it looked worse than it was.

"Fuckin - fuck me, but we didn't hear them coming. More of those undead justiciars, they portaled in behind us--" Gale picked out a bit of the story.

"They were in us before we knew it." Karlach was on the edge of being frantic, herself. Thea was her best friend, after all, and the tiefling made it a point to keep an eye out on the elven bard.

Gale gulped, seeing the broken haft of an arrow protruding from Alathea's midsection. It wasn't the only wound, of course, just the thing that drew his attention first.

"Healing not working--"

"Might be cursed--"

Shadowheart's and Halsins voices blurred together. Gale tried to listen, but his mind just kept playing back the angry words from that morning.

Why had they even argued in the first place? Why did he let her go angry? He should have been there...

Was she even breathing? Gales's mouth was dryer than paper.

She had to live. Gods, please, she had to. It couldn't end now, not like this.

He reached a shaking hand out to Thea's face, fingers just barely brushing her skin.

She was so cold.

"-- Gale!!"

Shadowheart's sharp voice snapped the wizard back, out of his own mind.

"Bloody hells. I think it might be a bone-chill curse. I cannot remove it - can you?" The cleric's tongue was sharp, a hint of exasperation edging into the panic that was in all of them.

Gale swallowed, trying to focus. Nodding, he faced Alathea's much to still body, just managing to focus enough to recall the incantation for removing curses.

Magic flowed from his fingers into the elf, the magic floating like must through the air as it settled over Thea.

There was a quiet over those gathered now, waiting...

"There!" Halsin exclaimed, soft streams of healing magic finally taking hold. "Come, Shadowheart. We may yet save her."

There was a flurry of activity as the two worked, quick as they could. Karlach and Astarion tried, maybe only half-heartedly, to get Gale to move to give some room, but let it go when he refused to move.

The few minutes it took for the druid and cleric to work their healing spells dragged on for what felt like an eternity to Gale.

Both healers sat back once they were done, sweat-soaked and exhausted.

Halsin was the one to turn to Gale, concern and worry clear in his features. "It is up to her, now. We have done all we are able to. Shall we move her elsewhere to rest...?"

Gale blinked, tearing his gaze from Thea. He had been so focused on watching her breathing...

"Ah, yes. My tent. I will watch her, of course." Gale felt lumps growing in his throat and stomach.

He'd never argue with her again if he had any say in the matter. Whatever it took to have Thea open her eyes once more.

Halsin nodded, standing and moving to pick the much smaller elf up. Gale stopped him, standing and gently gathering his lady love up in his arms. The druid nodded in silent understanding, simply resting a hand on Gales shoulder a moment before turning away.

"You will get me if anything changes, hm?" Shadowheart asks as Gale turns towards his tent.

He just nods.

Thea is so very light, he realizes. He noted it before, but now...well, he holds her just a bit closer, just a bit tighter.

She's so very still.

~to be continued~

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #tav x gale #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #bg3 companions #gale romance #bg3 gale #gale bg3 #gale dekarios

70 notes · View notes

jo-the-nerd · 2 months

Note

ALSO SPEAKING AS SOMEBODY WHO ONLY KNOWS THE BARE MINIMUM OF GOOD OMENS AND THE INEFFABLE HUSBANDS i just wanna say im pretty sure bg3 has their equivalent in bloodweave (gale [the one played by tim downie] + astarion)

my defense:

autistic book nerd and king who has the Audacity to fight God + chaotic theater gay that gives cat vibes and may need Therapy

aziraphale and gale sound like the type that would have solidarity in old man knees . idek if thats canon for aziraphale but it sure as hell is for gale

aziraphale and gale rhyme holy shit thats becoming a legitimate bullet point AJSJSJSJA

the book nerds live in their own private library . gale has a whole ass wizards tower while aziraphale has his book shop (that iirc he doesnt even sell the books in it ???)

crowley and astarion are the same fruit men . i also dont know how to explain that crowley just gives me 8 strength vibes as well . even if he was an angel you cant tell me this man can lift more than three books at once

"fuck the gods that did nothing for us. what if we chose each other" vibes from the both of them (idc what the other endings for gale are hes denouncing mystra in my canon bc i say so <33)

is aziraphale the type to have a cat . he seems so . how about a cat w wings (<-a tressym) . theyd absolutely bond over that

if you replaced the cutscenes of astarions little hissy fits w crowley i think itd honestly still be pretty in character

if i manage to pirate good omens one of these days i will be confirming if my hypothesis is correct <33

Ooooh now we're talking :)))))) I'll try to be brief (< lying)

yup that's them.

'may need therapy' we all know they do, the 'may' is only there bc they either won't admit it (Aziraphale & Gale) or would have to get dragged kicking & screaming before ultimately weaseling their way out of it looney tunes style (Crowley & Astarion)

Aziraphale is an old man in all aspects except one (biologically), however Crowley is the same age and he would definitely have old man knees. he doesn't know what to do with his joints half of the time due to being snek

yeah there are no books being sold in that bookshop fgfjkfggnv. like, it's all first editions and what-not so i totally get not wanting to give any away but then why open a shop??? instead of a collection???

yk what, fair enough. Crowley is a noodle, those arms aren't doing much more opening doors for his angel. tbf he can lift multiple potted plants at once but that's more spite than anything

i could also totally see Astarion doing the Crowley Walk(TM)

"fuck the gods that did nothing for us. what if we chose each other vibes" so true, no notes.

aziraphale doesn't have a pet (yet) but I think he would love a cat (I mean, he's got Crowley hanging around, basically the same). A tressym is just a very peculiar step up from that (consider: it has it's own wings to match him and Crowley, which is really adorable!!)

crowley's hissy fits are great and can likewise be replaced with Astarion's.

similiar additions which would probably still be in character:

C slammed Aziraphale into a wall for calling him nice

C went out into the middle of the street when he got really frustrated/anxious and exploded lightning from his body

C agreed to take care of the bookshop, not selling any books etc. but tossed any books he was holding into some corner whenever

both of them evaded the immediate ire of their higher ups by pointing out a technicality that amounted to 'this word is explained to be different from the one you're using, but through a miniscule footnote on the last page of this giagantic book'

Aziraphale has an incredible hard time overcoming the trauma and toxic mindset upheld by his superiors, including how he views himself and his partner (that one's just sad, sry)

Solid ground for a hypothesis I'd say :))

#being so normal rn #i need to work on uni stuff i cannot start another drawing-- *hand's already twitching towards my pen*#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #anthony j crowley #ineffable husbands #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 gale #gale of waterdeep #bloodweave

41 notes · View notes

galebrainrot2024 · 2 months

Text

GalexTav Enemies to Lovers Part 21

A short one because my brain is a little toasted :( I have guests coming this weekend and will be traveling again for work next week so I will be cranking out as much as I can in the mean time or weird inbetween! I appreciate you all <3

I’m also going to stick with Gale’s POV - this story isn’t about Tav (it is, but you know what I mean lol) thanks @laserlope for helping in the brain room 🤝

EDITED TO GALE’s Perspective | Read on Ao3 | Master List

“Ah,” Gale said, leaning over Tav’s shoulder to point towards what appeared to be an alter.

They were exploring the cellar of Last Light after fighting off a particularly difficult gaggle of meanlocks. During their explorations they found a journal, and decided to have a gander at finding the resistance at Last Light.

“A hidden shrine…” he murmured, “Dedicated to the Moon Maiden herself. Even amidst the darkness, Selunites are stubborn enough to cling on.” It was a sentiment he understood. Despite everything that Mystra forced him to endure, he still cherished magic because it was what he adored and had known so long as he’d had memory.

“Pretty beautiful, isn’t it?” Karlach mused, brushing her fingers over the lacy cloth of the alter and cold, forgotten statues. Gale loved watching her experience the world around her - it helped him maintain perspective, to see the world through fresh eyes. To remember what wonder there was in simplicity.

To grapple with life’s end is no easy feat. There are many who avoid the task entirely, choosing instead to delay the inevitable. Gale felt the crushing weight of finite time and couldn’t bear to ignore his deepest desires. It had been so long since he felt these delicious emotions. What he felt for Mystra.. it was nothing like this.

“If you have a fondness for paperweights,” Shadowheart crossed her arms and inspected the arms of her armor, disinterest evident. Gale internally scoffed, mumbling about how deeply entrenched she was in Shar’s vile, false prophecy.

Karlach snorted and gave Shadowheart a salute. “You’re a funny frog, you know that?”

“Excuse me what?” Shadowheart bristled and glared at Karlach, though a curl tugged at her lip. “If anyone here is a frog, it most certainly isn’t me. If anyone, it would be Lae’zel.”

“Why, because she’s green?” Karlach poked, egging her on.

As the two volleyed back and forth, Tav turned to Gale. She was shifting awkwardly, something he flagged to secure and unwrap later. “Sometimes I can’t tell whether or not those two like each other.”

“Oh, I’m sure most of our companions could say the same about us.” Gale grinned and flashed his teeth, the corners of his eyes scrunching. His cells surged from their proximity.

“Well,” Tav chewed on her bottom lip and pressed a finger to his chest. “Perhaps they wouldn’t have the wrong idea if you were better at admitting defeat once in a while. I know it’s hard for you, to be around someone so much more charismatic, intelligent, funny…”

“Scratch undoubtably stakes his claim to the limelight and acclaim that I have no chance competing with.” Gale rose a brow as if in challenge. He knew she was talking about herself, but he needed to see if she’d indulge him. To test the waters.

Gale had been testing the water for weeks now, to the point where Karlach told him that if he didn’t get on with it soon she’d jump Tav’s bones before he got the chance.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said, half joking and mostly serious.

“I can,” Karlach shot him a look, pointing a finger cockily, “and I will.”

Although Gale thought she was kidding there was still a part of him that chewed on her seriousness.

She returned his look, a wildness spreading through him as he continued to neg her and at how wonderfully she responded. “Are you comparing me to our camp dog?”

“Ah!” Gale’s hand flung to his forehead and he tapped his fingers against it before resting on his hip and then twisting to point at her. “You know what, you’re right, I should have known you were talking about yourself. An honest mistake. Scratch is quite popular amongst our merry crew of miscreants and scoundrels, you’ll have to forgive me. Had I known you were talking about yourself,” Gale’s fingers wrapped around her wrist to lower her finger from his chest. Tav’s breath caught and that little sound, an otherwise innocent, unremarkable noise gave Gale’s body everything it needed to know. “I would have said that is woefully untrue and I wonder if that tadpole has eaten through more than a fair share of that beautiful mind of yours.” He whispered haughtily. Tav exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes which made his cheeky grin somehow more smug. He loved watching her get more and more flustered by him, though if he felt her feelings were hurt he’d learned well enough to stop. Lately, though, she seemed to relish in it.

“This place is hard to bear. I hope we’re able to continue on our way soon..” Shadowheart interrupted their banter and Gale looked to Tav who seemed delighted by their delay, unbothered by the impatience of their most gothic comrade.

“I know what you mean. Everything is so… dark, and musty.” Karlach’s nose wrinkled and she nodded towards the exit, shifting from foot to foot.

“Oh, well I meant more the idols to a false goddess,” she gestured and then took off her glove, inspecting her hand. “but yes, the mildew and must leaves something to be desired.”

“Hopefully I’m not contributing to the smell too much,” Karlach gave herself a quick sniff and rose her arm. “What do you think?”

Shadowheart laughed and shook her head, “Hush you, stop fishing for compliments. I’m sure Dammon showers you with plenty already.”

Karlach stuck out her tongue and grinned. “You know it, baby.”

Gale admired how, despite learning of her almost guaranteed fate, Karlach was a formidable optimist. He was trying to mirror her attitude, though despondency chewed at his robes. “Alright, alright,” Tav said, gesturing. “lead the way.”

“I love a nice secret hideaway, don’t you?” Shadowheart mused, glancing around the damp enclave. “Even if it’s dedicated to,” she shuddered as if eating bad fish, “Selune.”

“I mean… I guess.” Tav and Karlach shrugged in unison.

“You can just fill it with supplies, seal up the hidden entrance, and tuck yourself away from the world…” Shadowheart said this as if she were asking a djinn to grant her wish.

“Whatever you say, squirrelheart.” Gale chuckled at his own joke and the two groaned at his joke and Tav surprised him with an earnest giggle. He grunted as he hoisted his pack. “Where are we headed, m’lady?”

Tav blushed. Another clue. Gale knew when he spoke to her in that voice, although it was playful there was an undercurrent of words unspoken. He knew it was beginning to affect her concentration because she let more than a few errant spells slip anytime they locked eyes in combat. He’d give an extra flourish, put on a bit of a show, and then she’d get a little smile and forget to cast her ward. Gale felt guilty, of course, but it was a little endearing.

Still - What if she wasn’t receptive? What if it was all in his head relationships? He didn’t remember overthinking past relationships quite so much. Perhaps he did. Well, he nearly immediately admitted the fib to himself.

He also worried that if he acted impatiently, Tav would slip through his fingers like quicksand. There was a nagging in her gut, that he would somehow mess up.

Tav - apart from his mother, and Tara - was the person who knew him best - which wasn’t saying much. She had seen so much of him, though, had been invited into more intimate moments while he held everyone else at an arms length. It was easier than seeing them hold him at an arms length. He tried to find solace in the stars instead of substance on solid ground. Terrified of letting people past the well-crafted fortress to his heart.

For the past few weeks as he tried, and failed, to teach her simple recipes he felt his resolve grow weaker and weaker. He thawed her, little by little the layers of herself peeling back to welcome him in. Jokes that once would make her gag in annoyance now evoked bubbles of laughter. They rarely spoke at first. Only a few snide comments here and there.

As the days progressed, however, Gale started to ask her more questions, which he sensed annoyed her to an extent. Once that emotion passed due to his persistent verbosity and monologues about his own answers would she open up and reveal tidbits of herself - what foods she liked to eat, the flowers she noticed, how she liked to spend her time - the latter earning him a withering look, implying him to back away from the question, to which he smirked at and held up his hands.

“Hello?” Gale waved a hand in front of her face, realizing he’d been waiting for her response for quite some time. He noticed she laughed unintentionally and licked her lips before she pressed them together. It made his core simmer.

“Sorry?” She said, tilting her head and scrunching her face a little.

“Good! We were worried we lost you there - you just,” Gale pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed a little with excitement. He leaned forward and Tav’s lips parted as she inhaled. He tried to steady his wicked thoughts. He noted the soft red brushed across her cheeks, how her iris’s were swallowed whole. His voice slowed, his tone smooth and mellow, “Blushed a smidge, ah… just as you are now….and then froze, faster than you could conjure an ice storm.”

The silence lingered, the hairs on his arms stood up and he felt magnified. And then she spoke. “No, regrettably you’re stuck with me for now. Don’t get too excited.”

He did. She returned the retort exactly as he wanted. “Oh, if this adventure has taught me anything it’s that I’ve grown rather fond of you. I would be rather miffed for our paths to part so soon… there’s so much more to do.”

Karlach and Shadowheart’s whoops of laughter drew a scowl from her and started walking.

“Don’t be shy!” Karlach yelled to her and Gale laughed.

Fine. He thought to himself. Tonight. Tonight.

#gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #bg3 gale #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale #bg3 brainrot #gale x tav #gale fics #bg3 fanficiton #bg3 gale fanfiction #bg3 gale fanfic #bg3 gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale romance #bg3 enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers gale x tav #gale fic #gale fanfic

31 notes · View notes

brograndpa · 2 months

Note

okay but gale really IS a beautiful princess with a disorder you're so right

Thank you so much for giving me a chance to talk about how BPD Gale is literally so real.

While you can easily make the claim that Mystra is Gale's FP, and how he both idolizes and reviles her within the same breath depending on his rapidly changing mood, there's so much more to it than that.

There's the subject of his alignment. How at first he seems like a genuinely good guy, constantly giving approval for doing kind acts towards others. The more you delve into his reasons as for why, though, it quickly becomes apparent that he's far more neutral in standing. Doing good acts is something he hopes will bring him closer to Mystra once again, but more importantly, being good is not necessary to keep him at your side. You can be an awful, deranged person who attacks refugees just because you can, and so long as you convince him he'll be lost without you, he'll stay.

He is desperate to be accepted, and yet he is the first to volunteer his own dismissal upon learning about the orb. He believes whole-heartedly that he is unlovable and not worth expending any effort on, so he tires himself out in trying to be someone reliable and useful. Without any means of proving himself, Gale truly thinks he's not worth anything. That's why he doesn't fight for you if you break up with him. He assumes any relationship he enters is as doomed as the one he had with Mystra, not because of anything wrong with you, of course. He assumes himself to be the problem even when there isn't one. He genuinely thinks it's inevitable that he will be left alone by everyone he cares about because he's done nothing to deserve them in his eyes.

You can presume a lot of that has to come from his upbringing. The fact that he was such a troublemaker in his youth, possessive to the point of narcissistically believing he had the right to a book he didn't buy or a staff he was forbidden from wielding, all point to him trying to find purpose to his talents and the expectations that came with them. His ego inflates the moment he comes near a source of power he thinks he can control, for no other purpose than the belief that he will be revered and respected when he does eventually tame it. His ambition is nothing more than a means to impress the one he loves most, and I truly mean this when I say there is no way God Gale doesn't become your personal stalker should you refuse to enter the heavens with him.

All and all, Gale is a pretty classic borderline. His contradictory narcissism and self-loathing come together to create a man dying to please yet only out of a sense of self-preservation. He is desperate for a reason to understand why he exists, and his only means of finding peace in that split existence is for someone who truly loves him to say he is enough and to treat him like he's enough.

Edit:

But like come on. You can see it. The way he snaps at you and holds the breakup over your head just to feel in control over it. He doesn't even allow you to call the breakup a mistake. The fact that you were ever willing to break his heart over your indecision is too much, and you're no god to him. Not anymore.

#bg3 #gale dekarios #pr@ncing #@sk #god i fucking love my girlfriend gale dekarios #princess in a tower cursed by an insane wizard that is also himself #he is perfect in every way

24 notes · View notes

sorcerous-caress · 4 months

Note

Do you think Cazador could have a human kink?

In a character analysis way or fun au way? Because if it's the latter then yeah! We can give anyone a human kink if we want to.

But if it's the first, then let's find out! There are some characters that already seem to have a clear human kink ex: Mystra and Arnell Hallowleaf.

I'm using this analysis post on Cazador as a frame of reference because the wiki is lacking.

Cazador was a high elf before becoming a vampire. According to the post. The scroll below has a list of the dates when each vampire became a vampire lord and not when they were turned to spawns.

So, it is safe to assume that Cazador was turned anytime during Vellioth's region. But with the way he mirrors his favourite spawn, I'm guessing he too was one of the first spawns.

It is unlikely that Vellioth turned him right away, it took Cazador around 20ish years to get his first spawn so let's meet halfway and go with 10.

His whole years as a vampire add up to 278, with 62 years as a spawn and 216 years as a lord. The game events are set to happen during 1492.

So he was turned around 1214, give or take.

What was happening during that time In Baldur's Gate? Well...not much.

Ketheric doesn't build moonrise tower until 1365. The first ever Baldur's game 1 story takes place around 300 years after the establishment of the city by Baldurian in 1068.

Cazador seems pretty old tho, even for an elf. He probably was alive as a high elf during the time Baldurian established the city.

So it is safe to guess that Cazador has been Baldur's Gate vampire lord since the first ever game. The treatments of humans back then is...well...uh.

You can wear an armour made out of human flesh in that game. It is also the only race who can romance all the other characters with no restrictions while picking half-orc, elf, or dwarf can lock you out of romances.

In 1st and second dnd editions, humans were the most versatile, literally. While other races were very very limited to the classes they got to choose. Hell being a druid was a human thing back then and elves couldn't do it, they had to be cleric of nature and larp as druids.

Cazador still talks in plural too, it makes sense to assume he came from elven nobility back in the 900 or 800. His name isn't an elven baby name either. Hunter isn't a name you'd give to a baby elf below his 100 years.

He probably had human servants, the Szarr family are merchants. And humans control most of the world trade, he had to learn how to deal with them. Although I feel like he still saw humans as cattle even back then.

But being a vampire brings out the worst in someone so who knows. Maybe a once gentleman noble elf Cazador existed somewhere in the world.

There is also the possibility that his previous master as a human? Humans tend to be very military oriented, and Vellioth was a disciplinarian in the army.

Off note, the master of Vellioth is a Szarr. Are they related to Cazador?

And Cazador's spawns imply he favours elves. 3 elves, 2 humans, 1 tiefling and 1 halfling.

So after all of this information, what is the conclusion?

He is from a time when humans almost ruled faerun but also showed a lot of discrimination against other races. He was surrounded by elf nobility and could only watch humanity from a safe distance except for the few merchants his family traded with.

He seems more comfortable with elves, judging by his past and his elf spawns ratio. He has probably never had many brushes with humans during his time as an elf.

But as a vampire? With the amount of human nobles in Baldur's Gate? He was suddenly thrown in the world of humans and had to learn how to deal with them quickly.

So, to him, humans are prey. And look at the two human spaws he has. One is a sorcerer and his most talented hunter, and the other is the village idiot.

He could only view humans in two ways, too dumb to function on their own, or too dangerous to be left on their own. They're a wildcard, rightfully so.

To him, we are new, unfamiliar and unmapped territory. No matter how much he thinks he has humanity figured out, one or two suddenly get thrown his way and completely shatter his perception. Much like how we keep discovering new aquatic species every other week that are starting to sound made up.

He'd feel frustrated by humanity and more so the fact he can't escape them or opt out of them. They are literally everywhere, even at the lines tethering the heavens and the hells, they somehow established cities there.

Humans are a constant thorn on his side, each generation that keeps meddling and getting overly curious about his gothic mansion. But they are also the main source of his food. They reproduce faster than all vampires can ever drain them all.

Cazador doesn't seem like the curios or fascinated type, more like the old-fashioned and stick with the familiar type. He probably has an elf kink, if anything, sucking his own dick figuratively.

But he would hatefuck a human like no other. How dare a cattle ever see themselves as something better? Even before he was a vampire he thought of them as the lesser race who can't keep their legs closed to save their life. Pretty little dumb humans who constantly get brought into his home and handed to him.

#♡Cazador #♡character study #♡human kink

24 notes · View notes

lelalyo · 7 months

Text

Got Gale's romance scene today (Why do the companions keep trying to get with my Tav when she's been in a relationship since Act 1? Is her rizz just too potent? JK)

I gotta say turning him down was not a pleasant experience. At least, in my playthrough (can't speak for everyone else) Karlach, Wyll and Lae'zel all took it on the chin like champs (kind of) but Gale, phew, kitty got claws. I didn't even turn him down directly, wasn't rude or anything because I like Gale like I like all the companions and again, I didn't flirt with any of them. I just danced around the subject because, I mean, the man basically said "I could die at any moment" as a pick up line and I feel like we should've been able to drop "Gale, I think we need to get you some air and have a long talk about unresolved issues" Cause, that's concerning, right?

So I tried to talk to him about how he was feeling (kind of ended up ignoring the magic part because no amount of magic can cover up that mental health, my man, I'm sorry;;;;) but he started getting a little catty, lil arrgo and then he pretty much said he wished that everything Tav had said to him had come from Mystra instead.

Like DAMN man, where did THAT come from? How am I meant to take that? Burning for 10 turns was in full effect here and then, when I got the scene where your party is sleeping, Gale wasn't in his bed. It was a rough time out here, gamers. That said, I don't hate Gale because getting rejected hurts, even if it isn't said outloud but wow, I'm just shocked. I guess it's just because I didn't know Gale had it in him?

Edit: I got a scene where Gale apologized for his behaviour and said he was happy to have Tav as a friend (he sounded sad) but I actually really appreciate that they put that in there.

#I tag characters I mention in post even if it's not about them so people can block if they don't wanna see the post #Baldur's Gate 3 #Gale of Waterdeep #Gale Dekarios #Karlach #Lae-zel #Wyll Ravengard #BG3 Tav #Lily plays BG3

30 notes · View notes

alpydk · 26 days

Text

Cabinet of Oddities (Part 19)

Stealth edits are incoming. Mostly to CH8 to dampen the smut. The next chapter is written and I find it too beautiful to want to smut it up further so the smut level of the entire piece has come down. (Sorry to those who wanted real smut). Honestly, I'm just enjoying writing this all so much and I am so so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to even read one chapter, let alone the amazing people who have left comments. Sorry, I'm just riding the post-CH20 high.

Ao3 link

Summary: Not long from now they would travel to defeat Kethric Thorm. Everyone seemed to be spending their last moments of freedom in different ways.

Thomas stood against the pillar watching her as she woke in the astral plane. “My sweet little mask, how I’ve longed to see you again.”

Nana stared at him sceptically. “I know you’re not him. You can stop playing games.”

“Nana, come now. You know me.” His voice softened slightly trying to convince her.

She looked away trying to not let him sway her. “Gale said not to trust you. And after what happened before I know I shouldn’t.”

He took a seat next to her. “I’ve done nothing to harm you. I’ve protected you, just as I used to.”

She felt his presence next to her. He seemed different, softer, weaker. “Are you okay?” She didn’t want to believe it was him. She didn’t want to be used and manipulated as she had been five years ago and yet she still cared deeply for him. This time would be different. She would say no if she had to.

“Yes, yes I am.” Nana heard the strain in his voice, her memories going crazy, reminding her of his death. She pulled herself close to him and held him fearing that this would be the same, that in moments she would lose him again. He wrapped his arms around her and it took all her strength not to start sobbing in his arms. She had missed him so much and yet Gale’s gentle voice still rang out in her head.

He slowly released her from his grasp. “It’s been a while since somebody did that for me.”

“Five years…” She whispered.

-------------------------------

She stood on the balcony of the Last Light Inn looking out over the blackened waters. Another restless night where her mind trailed from Thomas to Gale trying to trace a path of similarities and differences between the two. “I just want to do what’s best for him. To hear his voice.”

Not long from now they would travel to defeat Kethric Thorm. Everyone seemed to be spending their last moments of freedom in different ways. Gale had taken to secluding himself in his room at the inn and although Nana had tried talking to him he always seemed distracted. He’d rub at the orb on his chest and she would hear quiet prayers to Mystra as she left the room.

Shadowheart and Karlach had also taken to a room but the noises had been very different, Karlach clearly making up for lost time or trying to seize the moment before their inevitable defeat at the hands of The General.

Nana had tried to bother Wyll only to find him training tieflings outside. He’d taken his attention off one of them for a second as she had approached only to end up taking a rapier blade into his armour. The children were learning. This had meant though that she’d ended up alone with her thoughts.

She pondered over her reaction to the drow elf. “I shouldn’t have reacted so forcefully. A no would have been enough. That rage. He’s back under my skin. I feel him there.” She muttered to herself and she flexed her fingers trying to relieve the tension in them.

-------------------------------

Astarion had been watching her for some time, judging whether he should approach her or not. Trying to decide if it was worth thanking her for the doll that he’d placed carefully in his pack. He wanted to hate it but in combination with her scaring the drow, he’d ended up hiding it away. He hadn’t needed her care. With the worm and its advantages, he had been learning his strengths, learning that no was an option. If Nana can reject you… He shook the thought away. No, she wasn’t to thank for his new choices but he could at least give her a little credit. The fear she’d put in the drow’s eyes had at least been entertaining. He took a step forward towards the balcony resting his delicate hands over the flaking wooden bannister.

“Under your skin. So you finally succumbed fully to Gale’s charms then?” he said with a devilish smile at her.

“What? Oh no, no. I’m not sure how ready I am for any of that yet.” She gave a nervous laugh.

“Still playing the part of the innocent virgin then, I see.”

She shook her head and he noticed the blush rise on her cheeks. “I wish it was just an act. After- Well you know the story. When someone has been under your skin like that, used you…” She pulled her arms into herself and gazed down at the bannister. “...Broke you, you don’t want to let anyone get close, no matter how much you might want it. At least not until you can be sure.”

He understood her all too well. The centuries of Cazador's abuse had left him a shell of what he once was. He sighed deeply realising they were more similar than he had liked. “Nana, I spent two hundred years using my body to lure pretty things back for my Master. What I wanted, how I felt about what I was doing, it never mattered.”

“I’m sorry, Astarion.” She kept her gaze on the wood in front of her which he was thankful for.

“Look, I wanted to speak to you about the doll and what you did at Moonrise.” He turned to look at her, his eyes examining her closed-off posture, her defences up. “It would have been so easy to bite her. To just go along with what I was being told to do. A moment of disgust to force myself through. And then I could have carried on, just like before.”

“Is that what you would have done with me, all those moons ago? A moment of disgust?”

He was caught off guard by the question and looked away from her trying to bite back the shame that crept up his spine. “It would have been so easy.”

She gave a small nod and picked at the dirt that lay under her fingernails.

“But now…I’m more than that. More than a thing to be used.” She lifted her head, her eyes forgivingly pointed in his direction. He felt embarrassed by his words, as if opening up had made him weak and he would have followed up with a deflective joke if she hadn’t spoken first.

“We’re going to kill your master, aren’t we?” This was not the response he had anticipated. He had expected a hug, a friendly comment of caring and concern. But violence, revenge? This was more his style than hers.

“Maybe. But I'm not even sure he can be killed. Cazador’s a vampire lord, his power…” He batted her question away trying not to pay too much attention to it. She really is insane if she thinks we can take him on.

Nana smiled and he noticed there was a malicious flash behind her eyes. “There is always a way to kill someone. You just have to be creative enough.”

Darling, you have a mask for every occasion.

----------------------------------

Gale paged through the journal. It had become a habit when he could not find answers elsewhere. He knew his time was running out and he had tried to distance himself away from those he had grown to care about. He was terrified of what was to come, the shadows of the curse not the only ones darkening his spirits. The book brought comfort. Poems of love, and comments of joy written about himself. Yes, it was self-indulgent, but to be loved for who he was, not for his wizarding abilities, not for the knowledge he had or his charisma and charm. No, to be loved simply for being him. For silly things like his eyes or his voice. Love, to love again…

He turned the pages, mud sticking them together. He’d managed to salvage the first half of the book and although the latter half was in better condition, corners had become ripped and frail and some were still stuck together. This poor book. A ribbon stuck in the centre of one and he peeled it slowly up leaving a faded trail between the words. He sighed as he began to read.

I hear you whispering. I see the blood on my hands. You made me do this. I tried to fight you this time and now you’re gone and I miss you again. I know I need you to protect me. I’m sorry. Why do you have to do this? I know it’s not right. Why do I feel your sick pleasure in my mind afterwards? Who are you? I’m your sweet mask and you’re hiding behind me. But you love me, you wouldn’t do anything to harm me. These people deserved to die, didn’t they?

Gale skipped a few pages. He needed something more recent. Something happier to fulfil his needs.

He’s so kind. He talked for hours today about a place in Faerûn; Waterdeep. I’ve never been there before but it sounded beautiful. He told me about his tower there, the culture, and how women would wear silk gowns. He says there is the Blackstaff Academy that goes way back and how he used to study there. The whole city sounds like a dream and I can only hope that one day I’ll visit. Maybe I could find a silk gown and be one of those women he spoke so fondly of. I’ll braid my hair and be someone worthy of him. We could walk arm in arm throughout the streets and people would come up and talk to us. We could laugh at high society jokes and share wine that we wouldn’t check the price on. I’d let him read on his balcony and bring him fresh tea. I’d run my hand through his hair, I’d touch him.

But I’m getting far too ahead of myself. It’s just been one night under the stars listening to him talk. But where's the harm in dreaming, of wondering what could be?

Gale eased the flutterings of his heart. To dream of these things? He could make them a reality for her. For one night alone, maybe he too could dream.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 gale #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #gale bg3 #galemance #bg3 fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #i dont care what anyone says this author has everything I want

7 notes · View notes