#gale dekarios mention

[a-heart-of-kyber]

*slaps table*

Listen!

There is something super sweet and healing and hopeful about Gale, "I was groomed and still don't realize it and had 'sex' with the Goddess of Magic via mental/spiritual/astral projection regularly. Also, I'm kind of addicted to magic." Deciding to approach you first to flirt with "You being all sweaty after battle is so fucking hot."

Because it's Real. It's physical. Yeah, it's horny, but it's the realization that the mortal realm can be equal to the godly one, if not superior, despite it being different. Like, he's not Losing something by not being with a God and he can heal.

[feykrorovaan]

"BuT a FiCtIoNaL mAn CaN't LoVe YoU bAcK."

He also can't disappoint me,Amanda.

Mind ya business.

[steampoweredstrawberry]

I just love that in every way, Gale's backstory is a Greek myth, down to being a cautionary tale about hubris.

He's a prodigy whose talent drew the attention of a goddess, who took him as a lover until he dain question her and seek to claim a mere fraction of the power she possesses. So, he must be punished, cursed, a reminder to all that the gods are ultimately fickle things whose favor is easily lost.

[honestlyitsjustsam]

favourite moments of bg3 -> (8/?)

[fascinationstreetmp3]

Let me think... why are you really here?

[namespara]

Hello strangest target audience of fellow sad mage enjoyers

[emmavakarian-theirin]

was playing around with flycam and discovered that tav doesn't spawn during the first shot of his act 3 romance scene, and thought it was a nice visual given how he tells you in that same scene he use to create this for himself, so i thought i'd take wallpaper-styled shots for you guys to use as wallpapers/icons if you wanted

4K versions here :)

unmodded version as per requests:

[elspethdekarios]

i am so set in my belief that gale's dad left when he was a kid. like that man has all the hallmarks of being a kid of an absent father. always trying to prove his worth to people? check. thinks everyone is better off without him? check. i also feel like he would at least mention in passing if his dad had died instead of just not mentioning him whatsoever. the fact that he doesn't say anything about his father makes me think it's a sore spot that he doesn't like to talk about.

[sorceresssundries]

'Elminster? Why the fuck has Mystra sent you instead of helping us herself?'

[wizardsimper]

Honestly there was a real missed opportunity for a scene involving Gale reading the player some of his poetry

[messiahzzz]

i have been thinking a lot about mystra’s relationship with gale, how reducing her to “his ex” really is an understatement. she was and still is so much more than that. moreover, using the term “ex-girlfriend” in relation to her plainly feels wrong and diminishes the influence she has over him, as well as the role she played in his life since his childhood (and it also trivializes the abuse he suffered through her).

there are several instances where gale gets defensive when his companions mention or ask him abt mystra. he claims that their relationship was no less real even though most of their interactions were incorporeal.

we have already established that gale is an unreliable narrator in this particular case, still not having fully come to terms with the fact that he was groomed, manipulated and abused. he ping-pongs between bouts of realization (even in his romance), gaining clarity that he was merely used and eventually discarded and that mystra never truly cared for him, back to making light of his situation, idealizing her once again. realizing the extent of his trauma, that he is indeed a victim in this scenario, unlearning what he has been made to believe from a young age is a slow and painful journey. he is in the process of healing, but it takes time. time he deserves just like anyone else.

which makes me wonder what their relationship really looked like, once the lines between teacher, muse, and lover began to blur. i also feel like one of the reasons why part of the fandom still struggles to identify mystra as his abuser, is because she is a white woman who initially presents herself in a soft-spoken, benevolent manner… and well, the fact that gale himself is ambitious to a fault and a lil insane about the promise of power. he also briefly mentions "crossing mystra’s boundaries” when he confides in tav and tells them about his folly. (“i am, after all, the villain in this story.”) which led to a looooot of misinterpretations.

leaving the overall lore and mystra’s treatment of her other chosen aside — what we can discern from her interactions with gale in-game, is that mystra is civil as long as she remains in control and gale follows her demands, but as soon as there’s even a slight mention of challenging her power or defying her rule, she rather quickly changes her tone.

there is also one particular exchange between them that just won’t leave my head:

“you were many things to me, but never a threat. and never a savior."

even if we choose to blatantly ignore the fact that mystra is a deity, his goddess - there is no possible way that their relationship ever could have been equal by any mortal standards. the power imbalance that comes with her being his teacher and a symbol of his admiration, plus the sheer control she holds over him and his powers are simply too great. don’t even let me get started on how it is a common tactic of abusers to isolate their victims from any outside influences so they can exert full control over them. and how up to meeting tav and their merry band of misfits, every single soul he was close to was inevitably tied to mystra in one way or another. he briefly mentions his colleagues and then there’s elminster, also mystra’s chosen and former lover, and tara, who is a fine wizard in her own right. he spend so many years in service of her, dedicating his life to her, that now there is no one left he can truly call a friend. most of his little anecdotes and stories he tells are restricted to his childhood and university days, everything else was mystra.

evidently, ordering gale to detonate the orb is the most efficient course of action in her eyes. he is just as expendable as any other mortal, after all. maybe once significantly more useful given his status and the extent of his powers, but she doesn’t feel sorrow nor remorse for ordering him to end his life. his death is simply the most convenient means to an end.

another thing i would also like to briefly touch upon is the trigger/detonator itself. a dagger to the heart. it could have been literally anything else, a simple incantation. it is well within mystra’s power to stabilize the orb and also to remove it from his body entirely. but no, what she requires of gale is to stab himself. one might argue that it was simply a cinematic choice meant for a more dramatic effect, but it really leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. especially considering the fact that she is commonly known and referred to as a jealous goddess. it almost makes it seem like yet another form of punishment or mere pettiness. after his long period of isolation, gale is now surrounded by fellow humans. people he cares about, even perhaps people he might eventually consider good friends — which is enough of a reason for him to not want to die, to keep going and try to find another way, rather than to blindly follow mystra’s bidding. now there’s a group of people who support him and are genuinely invested in him staying alive. hmmm...

[badass-space-fish]

Started playing baldur’s gate

[thedomesticanthropologist]

Remember to not erase characters canon sexualities just to make them match your OC's sexualityyyy

Straight men, lesbians romancing Shadowheart, Shadowheart is still bi/pansexual

Straight women romancing Gale, Gale is still bi/pansexual

Gay men or straight women romancing Astarion. Astarion is still Pansexual

Same goes for the rest of them !!! And no they are not playersexual!! Mix and match any of the possible descriptors for you/your characters sexuality as you see fit and the characters are STILL bi/pan!

No this does not erase your identity!! Just don't erase theirs!!!

[sun-marie]

I thought I might make this quick piece based off @galebrainrott 's idea into it's own post bc I'm quite happy with it :3

[noodlstoppr]

Happy 1 year to FrostWeave 🤲

these two still occupy my brain like a magically amplified tadpole

/i recently finished my honour mode run where i romanced Gale again. actual in-game dialogue from the tiefling party used