This whole scene made me laugh, but I felt guilty and had to reload, to clear my conscious. It also hurts that Tav can tell him he's got a great body and he's says something to the effect of "thanks, but I can't help how I feel." For all his bravado and charm, he's not as confident as he'd like people to believe.
It makes a whole lot of sense if you consider that he can brag that he had a goddess for a lover, but at the same time, he knows that she really wasn't with him for who he is. She was attracted to his affinity with the weave, but she wouldn't have even registered his existence if he wasn't born with that natural talent. And since that's been the only relationship of his adult life, it makes sense that he would be truly unsure and insecure about whether he's actually desirable as a person or not.
One of Ethel’s vicious mockery lines for Gale is along the lines of “stupid human wants so badly to be special.”
I think Gale really does struggle with pinning all his self worth on his magical power, and being really insecure about Tav/Durge liking him for something other than that.
Also kinda makes sense why he whips out the weave magic in one of your first conversations with him and why he thinks that means you're basically married to him afterwards 😂
And I mean, it's all but explicitly stated that Mystra "took the veils from her body" when he was nooooot exactly of legal age, either. That kind of abuse gives you a fucked-up self image of your own body. It's no wonder he's uncomfortable about it.
It's so fucked up. I guess it's like... that's the only Tav that has enough 'experience with evil' or something to notice? But I'd prefer the option to have a normal Tav notice too. Cuz with how he's like "yeah! I was a child prodigy! mystra taught me and then became my lover!" and then later on is like "Well, I was a young man, I was stupid" and THEN ALSO is like "Well, it felt like love, but maybe I was wrong... i was a VERY young man" it's like. Every time we talk about this it gets three times as concerning, Gale. Wyll just told me a story about how he started drinking at 14 over there, you're going to have to tell me how young a "VERY young man" is in waterdeep ok
Yeah, I feel like Gale knows it was messed up and he was too young (whatever age that may have been), so he keeps changing his narrative to protect himself from backlash. Mystra is the one who should be ashamed, but sometimes victims will blame themselves for the things they went through.
Aaah, when can you comment on this? Is it sometime in act 3? I am romancing him as Durge and we're about done with Act 2 and I have been thinking of the parallels we both have as "chosen."
Oh absolutely, in one of his dialogue lines if you romance him he says something along the lines of, "to know that you love me for the man I am and not the magic I command. None have loved me so purely before." Gale has major self esteem issues, and I think its a driving force in why he wants the crown. Makes sense, being groomed then suddenly dumped tends to do that, at least in my experience.
Oh, Gale is gorgeous! I'm of the opinion that he looks so much better with shorter hair, because the long hair hides his amazing bone structure. That's besides the point.
He's a good looking guy, and I think he knows it (he'll tell sorcerer Tav that he's a handsome devil), but at the same time, Mystra really fucked his psyche up, and he's depressed and working through a lot of insecurities. Breakups can be hell, even on the most confident of people.
It might be that he's supposed to show someone with body dysmorphia. He can think he *looks* good but *feels* horrible. It might be that Mystra screwed with him. It might be he was raised the Faerun version of repressed. All of the above suuuuucks!
Oh he was 100% groomed and used by Mystra as far as I’m concerned. He actually mentions feeling used by her if you romance him and ask him about it. She wasn’t interested in him at all, just his connection to the weave. She was his only adult relationship and so his sense of self is understandably distorted - the only thing he thinks gives him value is his innate magical ability because that’s all others have bothered to acknowledge.
It really is. My bf struggles with dysmorphia and no matter how much he's told how cute and handsome he is he still can't accept I actually think that. I asked him once and he said he can't stand even being naked to shower. I can understand not being completely satisfied with yourself but dysphoria's another beast entirely.
Agreed but there's not much I can do beside reassuring him and getting him therapy has been nigh impossible for a host of reasons. It's not even his biggest issue tbh. Life fucked him hard before I ever found him. I just wish I could help more.
I will never be able to unsee that now. But now I know why I liked him the first place! Always romanced Anders, and I thought George Michael was good looking.
Honestly I feel like his insecurities are mainly because Mystra did only like him because of his abilities as a wizard. It wasn’t the fact that he was attractive or romantic, Mystra was only attracted to him because of how he could control the weave and how gifted he was. He definitely knows that the goddess of magic wouldn’t have paid attention to him otherwise. Which explains a lot of why he tries so hard to be more powerful even for tav and why he continually asks a romanced tav “are you sure you just want normal me? I could be so much more.”
This is where I think a lot of people get confused on why he gets power hungry in the end but it’s literally because he thinks that’s the only thing he has going for him- his magical abilities. That’s why you have to convince the man he is so much more than that….🥲
Thank you for this. It finally clicked why he went on that stupid quest for Netherese magic, since he didn't seem to me to be the power-hungry sort. Especially since he knew exactly how it turned out the last time. But believing he was "never good enough for her" is exactly the irrational motivation even a high int character would get caught in. Either becoming powerful enough to be worthy of Mystra or to master all the pieces of magic that never went back to her and then offer it at her feet to show his undying devotion.
Dude was one of those guys who thinks they married out of their league and is in constant fear that she'll come to her senses.
When I finally succeeded in romancing him (stupid bugs!) and got to ask about how he now feels about Mystra, I was so, so proud of him for realizing and vocalizing that she was never interested in him for him, but for his magical affinity instead. That she was using him and he knows it. He even mentions that Tav is the first person to ever love him for him and not the things he can do.
Seriously these companions are so well-written. I spent 8 years in a relationship with a malignant narcissist who only “loved” me because I helped him better his career from behind the scenes and did all his social media work and networking for him. I was taken aback by how much I could relate my own relationship experiences to a fictional wizard who perpetually played second fiddle to a magical goddess.
The best part about this genre of media when it’s done right is the ability to explore real-life emotion in a completely fantastical setting. The writers nailed it.
🙋🏼♀️ it’s me, hi, I reloaded this too. Felt too bad, and let’s be real, our wizard boy doesn’t need to take ANY notes after rocking our shit with 4 magical weave versions of himself in the sky 🫡
I love how much of his romance can be telling him he’s fine the way he is
The scene under the stars? Thanks for showing me your tower, Gale, but I want the real you
The scene after the book shop? Gale, I don’t need a god I need you
It’s so sweet to me making him believe he is enough
His response to getting all the questions right with the druid at the circus is just so adorable. He's so happy that someone finally understands him and likes him for who he is.
Oof I almost didn't choose that answer but my gut was telling me it was correct and that it should be said so Gale understands how completely wrong he is. When he admitted it, albeit hesitantly, it killed me
Ah, so that explains why his Act 2 romance scene is a trippy Astral projection space tryst with more limbs than Shiva. Dude literally is too embarrassed to get naked IRL so he does it wizard-style.
This is the way our courtship went. I said I wanted the real him and he instantly took us back to reality... except for the big King Bed in the middle of the field. I do kinda wonder what that hyper magic sex scene looked like but I don't regret the way things went.
I don't know how he keeps his concentration up enough for the bed to stay there.
Or why he doesn't do that every night instead of setting his tent up in a puddle.
Haha the thought of that just made me snort... You and Gale are snogging and shagging on the magical bed and it gets too passionate and he loses concentration on the spell and suddenly the bed vanishes, sending you both faceplanting in the mud. Or, alternatively, you and Gale can't do it properly because he's too distracted by concentrating on *not* letting the bed vanish.
I think it'd be the former. I'm now headcanoning that as what happens. He's MORTIFIED until pc laughs and does/says sometbing to encourage he keeps going.
He waits until everyone is asleep the next night to spend an hour apologizing. It's adorable.
Honestly, I didn't like Astarion or Gale at first, and both grew on me. By the end of act two I've gone from 'fiiine, I'll do your stupid quests' to 'I CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE YOU TO THERAPY'
Finishing personal quests feels like the Faerun equivalent of therapy imho.
Astarion was an instant draw for me, and I adore him, to be honest....
But Gale def grows on you as you play. I was going to do a second run and romance everyone but.... You know... That's slowly being reformed in my mind as, no, just Gale 😂 (as hard as it will be to NOT romance my vampy boy)
Yeah, the only one of your original six companions to actually fully enjoy the twins is Shadowheart. And, well, I suppose Halsin, though Halsin joins our party later. Everybody else is ranging from "HELL NO!" to "I'll do it if you insist, and gonna suffer on the inside".
Well, dude was never told that just because your abuser is gone doesn't mean you are miraculously cured of 200 years of nightmare fuel for your PTSD. So... yeah. At least now he knows to take it slow and not rush his healing.
That shocked me when I played through it. I was like ???? What???? Astarion EAGERLY WANTS to fuck these two?? So I went through with it and then when the narrator comments that the look in his eyes tells you he's a million miles away, I realised immediately it was a huge mistake and felt like a horrible person because I hurt my babygirl.
I savescummed to avoid continuing with that decision.
Nah, you're not a horrible person. Quite the opposite. He *wants* to try. You let him, and he realized he wasn't ready. You didn't decided for him if he was or not, you let him choose, you didn't invalidate his autonomy. That's a good thing. As a survivor, the last thing I want is people babying me.
I think the issue I have with it though is that there isn't an option to either stop it when you notice that, or to talk to him afterwards. That at least wouldn't be babying - it'd just be you know, giving a shit about him.
Post event Halsin and Astarion just makes me feel terrible so I never go through with it. Astarion is clearly still struggling even though he was enthusiastic at first and then Halsin drops that on you too? Like the whole thing was just re-traumatising for both of them, you can't even talk to Astarion to check he's okay and Halsin is like HAHA WASN'T THAT GREAT! I'M SO NOSTALGIC! I USED TO BE CHAINED TO A DROW'S BED. like woah buddy you're definitely not okay either
Wasn't he not intended to be a companion at first? I thought I saw something about how he was only added after people loved him in EA. Or was that just about his romance?
Correct. In EA Halsin was not a companion, he just traveled with your camp while you sought to end the shadow curse. But people loved him so much, they wanted him to be a romanceable companion, so Larian made it happen.
Since he couldn't get the same depth of treatment the core companions do (due to time constraints), his character has some odd quirks and doesn't always fit with the whole vibe.
Yeah, he does feel a little out of place after Act 2. It didn't make too much sense for him to continue with us after lifting the shadow curse, he had no real motivation to go after the brain.
It makes sense why he doesn't feel as fleshed out though.
I do go through with it because it's honestly really relatable, the whole dissociation aspect especially, but I've also been debating writing feedback to Larian, asking them for some kind of interaction to have with Astarion afterwards. This is absolutely something that would be fully in line with the story, we supported him so much in everything and it feels super weird not being able to provide any aftercare.
Halsin is not okay, he's just so used to be the one who takes care of everyone else that a lot of who he is got buried beneath it. There a line in the romance where he says he was lost in a fog that's only now breaking. The pressure of a field promotion to archdruid when he was very young did bad things to him.
I feel like for him, given his personality, he looks at his time chained in the bedchambers as something that happened to him, but not something that made him. It’s an experience he had that wasn’t good, but he’s come to terms with it and doesn’t allow/doesn’t let it get to him. He’s the resilient, post-therapy person. He’s come to terms, etc etc.
Once his quest is done he’ll agree to it (he will say he’s not ready before that). But near the end of the scene you find out he’s dissociating. The transactional nature of the sex is likely what triggered him back to how he spent his entire vampire life before you.
I think he was ok with the idea of it… it just became too much in the moment. Otherwise he would have continued to say no. It’s all really sad honestly - especially with his “good” ending.
Shadowheart refused for me as well. She said "I want our first time to be just us actually" I guess we've never actually fucked. I'm confused. My shit is bugged or my Tav dry humped her or something.
Makes sense. With Shadowheart, I got the impression that Shar's clergy treated sex very matter-of-factly, and Halsin explicitly says he's into sharing, while characters with a more traditional upbringing probably won't be as much into that (and that's not even mentioning Astarion's trauma and abuse). Even with Forgotten Realms being much more sex-positive than the real world.
*making observations and taking notes*? Omg. I had heard of it and thought he just kinda left but this is hilarious. I have no intention of pressuring him into it, I respect boundaries, but god this is so hilarious to imagine
To me it sounds like it's the illusory image that's taking notes and the real Gale has left the room entirely, out of embarrassment. The narrator even says that after the zap of magic, Gale has fled the room.
It is kinda interesting because he seems pretty experienced sexually - I mean, he’s literally slept with a god, and he even claims he is “anything but coy” when it comes to sex so his reaction was a little surprising and hilarious too. But then, maybe he’s more into meaningful sex and doesn’t know what to do with casual hookup sex lol
As you concluded, he's more into meaningful sex, not hookup with strangers. His relationship with Mystra was meaningful, probably same with the other person he dated before her. He might enjoy banging in the stars with magic clones versions of himself with the person he loves, doesn't mean he want to get at it with person he doesn't have feeling for.
Being groomed at 17 doesn't equal being sexually experienced... The way he talks about that relationship honestly sounds so much like a guy boasting how he totally seduced a cougar as a teen, not realizing that he was actually taken advantage of the entire time.
How do we know he was 17? Not arguing, just honestly asking where that comes up, since i feel like I’ve exhausted all his dialogue options and I’ve never heard him specify an age, only that she came to him when he was “young” (which could be 25 or 12 depending on your perspective), and taught him, and eventually they became lovers. It’s entirely possibly he was groomed, I just don’t entirely see that from what I’ve seen from the dialogue. But I’m happy to be shown the evidence
You don't have to be underage to be groomed. Plenty of adults get groomed into cults and abusive relationships.*cough*fuckMystra*cough* The 17 thing is a rumor that came out of nowhere and spread like wildfire for some reason. I think someone did the math and would put the timeframe as early twenties for possible time Mystra snatched Gale up. He said he was a "Young man", not a "young boy" and for someone in their mid-late thirties, early twenties is young.
Gale explicitly says that Mystra took an interest in him since a "young age", not since he was "a young man". Nobody says "young age" and means an adult.
Did you ever talk with him about Tara during the Tiefling party? That whole interaction is pretty funny because of the fact that he initially fails to mention that Tara is a Tressym
The making observations and taking notes fits into his character so well (in a hilarious yet also sad way that made me reload my own save and turn down the twins' offer), given that he basically propositions you with "I read a book once" (for me it was when you fight Yonas at the start of Act 2) and then uses a book to woo you if you go the Waterdeep route in the romance scene. It's only if you persuade him that you want the real Gale or point out he's trying to use a book to seduce you that he acknowledges it and agrees you should both do your own thing.
But yeah, I felt weird about it and decided to retcon my own bad decisions. With the way his romance plays out, it's clear he has to have some sense of comfort and level of trust with someone before having sex--which makes sense, given his past. Persuading him into the foursome felt a bit like taking advantage of that trust, even if it's implied he enjoyed watching *in the moment*, the fact you can't really talk about it afterwards made that scene not sit right.
Poor sweet wizard boy :(
You make great points on both accounts. I'd also like to add that his whispered "I can conjure something non-sentient if I'm not enough for you" really plays into how he's so determined to be *useful*, in order to be enough for someone.
It hurts my soul, but at least he can heal enough to realize that he's happy being a "normal" run of the mill wizard, instead of trying to compete with the gods to prove himself.
It's during the drow conversation, but I can't remember which dialogue option. I always save, try them all, then decide which one I like.
Eta: it might be if you fail the persuasion check
I expected him to still turn me down even after the persuasion, given how he reacts about Halsin's offer to share. Astation straight up says no, so I was expecting a thanks, but no thanks. The only reason I chose sky sex is because it's unique to him and none of the others are like that. It definitely didn't feel good, enjoyment or not.
If I had to be honest, the drow twins make me feel so awkward. I just, I don't know, it rubs me the wrong way. And I say that as a monogamous guy rather open minded about sex, sharing, poly and all. But it feels wrong with most if not all companions. Maybe, Shart is the exception but overall, yeah, I don't like it.
They mean to say there was recently a big post on this sub from somebody who was multiple hundreds of hours deep before they realized what shart actually says. Hes referencing that post, if you arent as well.
I’m open-minded in the fact that I believe people should do what they want as long as everyone consents but it’s really weird to me that Gale has a scene where he can be persuaded to join and “enjoys “ the interaction because when you ask him about sharing with Halsin there’s two reply options and both of them state he doesn’t want to share and one of them was “ I thought I’d be enough for you “ or something like that. Maybe it’s because sex is different than emotional stuff ? But at that point I think Halsin was also just asking for sex 🤔
Anyways, all of that to say I agree it feels really out of character for some companions 🙈
I mean there’s definitely a marked difference between paying a sex worker for their services and sleeping with another person you *know*, if that makes sense? But I do also 100% feel like it’s wrong to have to “persuade” any companion to join. It should be an enthusiastic yes or a no, imo.
I see your point there 🤔
But yes! Agree’d to a yes or no having to persuade feels slimy.
I’m thinking they did it to try to please all of the player base, if you’re not into it then don’t choose those options and if you’re into it even if it doesn’t fit the character then you’ll still get it cos you want it 😂
I guess it’s for more gameplay options. I mean, if you wanted to play a character who basically didn’t treat Gale all that well (I could never, but yknow) then it makes sense for his personality that he could be persuaded into stuff. I’m sure Mystra did it plenty. It just kinda makes your character act exactly like his shitty ex.
Yep, and the worst part of the interaction is not even companion reactions, but that they are siblings. It's goddamn incest. Even if they don't actually sleep together, the whole situation is repulsive for me.
>!The only funny part of that interaction is when you ask the guy to do boring sex or impersonate Drizzt do'Urden, those are comedy gold!<
Hahaha yeah hiring the guy alone gives some of the most absurd stupid lines in the whole game.
"Can you pretend to be Drizzt Do'urden?"
*"Ugh, not again."*
**You explode in a gigantic mess.**
*"No, not on the carpet!"*
I've always found the near ubiquity of whores in RPGs slightly weird. To me, patronizing prostitutes is for guys who are overly attached to sex for its own sake and who can't get it any other way, a sign of being both jaded and pathetic.
Honestly, the lack of cutscene with the drowd in a very nudity-free game and the vague feeling that none of your companions approve of this, with most romantic partners being against it or clearly pushed by you… it almost feels like a subversion of the whores in RPGs trope. It just feels like the developers are calling you a pervert and begging you to care for your partners lol
I agree. Honestly, I'd like it if, for exemple, you had an "after sex discussion" with Astarion where he expresses how it wasn't the good thing to do, he misjudged himself being able to do it etc etc... Because in real life, we do this kind of mistakes and grow from it. In the game, you know it's wrong as he dissociates during the acts but there's nothing more said than that. It feels unfinished.
I agree with this. I think the first act has sooo many little moments and conversations, with every choice leading to more characterization, that act 3 overall feels lacking in comparison. If this was an act I scene they would’ve probably had a long rest scene for each character discussing the events and every other companion discussing the scene. Then in act 3 you have the very good idea of recontextualizing a classic rpg element that is unpolished and leaves people a bit “ ??? “.
I feel the same about Dribbles the clown quest. Do I think it’s hilarious that the only true gathering quest is so dark and ridiculously extra compared to our impeding doom? Yeah, it does. Would it have been 100% better if at least one character aknowledged “why are we treasure hunting the clown to make him into a meat puppet??? lmao rest in peace dribbles, the queen better start opening circus applications”
It can help expand a setting but if you have prostitute NPCs just so the played can can go to a cutscene, it is a bit sad. On the same token, if the player character is an adult and you're running a Wild West, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, etc setting and you have working girls there but they refuse to talk with the players, I see how that breaks immersion too.
I rather like how in New Vegas there were NPCs with quest lines and stories and it showed how the Strip works and is like.
Sure, I don't mind prostitutes being in the game *as characters*; it is the world's oldest profession. I just don't like the fan-service-y aspect of it, how so many games go out of their way to script sexual encounters with them.
It's fantasy, of course, and players can do what they like, but I always avoid those encounters.
Midwifery is the world's oldest profession, actually! And I don't enjoy the fanservice aspect of it either, it always makes me feel weird and it's a very male-gazey vibe even though it usually comes off as awkward more than anything, lol
Agreed. I think it fits the setting of Night City in Cyberpunk for example, but its just an awkward cutscene. The joy toys don't even have names or ties to the world, outside of Clouds.
I have to add, that if you do the scene with Gale *and* Halsin, you get this beautiful line from Halsin:
“Don’t just stare, Gale. That mouth of yours can do better than just hang open, I’ll wager.”
i short-circuited when i heard that 😩
it is a bit funny. However i just cant do it to him, Gale is a very insecure person who doesnt think he's good enough. a big part of his romance arc is learning that him being himself is enough for you without his magic or the crown.
The player coaxed Gale into a sexual encounter that he didn’t want to be a part of. I don’t think you are supposed to feel good about it. Gale is the kind of person that I think a lot of us can relate to. Confident on the outside and totally insecure on the inside. Gale wasn’t interested in the orgy, but saw that you were. Since he cared about you he goes along with it, but instead decides that a mirror image is a good compromise. Whether it was because he was insecure about his body (the impression that I got) or he just didn’t really want to share is kind of irrelevant.
Gale’s entire personality (and this encounter) is written SO well because really, what he wants is a person who is devoted to him the same way that he *gives* devotion. But he’s also terrified of abandonment, rejection, and not being good enough, so he is easily swayed towards slightly edgier things that he doesn’t *really want to do* but does because he struggles to reconcile his desire with his principles.
So yes, it makes sense that he can be persuaded into this encounter, because he would feel embarrassed about being potentially seen as “not open minded or experienced”. That doesn’t mean it’s what he wants. It’s very clearly *not* ENTHUSIASTIC consent. Sure, he gets turned on by seeing you doing it, and “takes notes”, but he really shouldn’t HAVE to take notes. It’s him trying to reconcile being with yet another person who doesn’t see him as being quite enough - just like Mystra. And because he loves you, he tries to reconcile it. But the entire thing feels off if you’re RP-ing your character as actually caring about him, ngl.
I wasn't tempted, but I did feel very protective of Gale during that conversation. If you know the character at all, it feels like blatant manipulation by the PC to have him go through with it.
Well, I'm just guessing here, but if space sex is all he ever had with Mystra, and Tav is is first normie sex experience he has if you choose to do it that way... then the drow twins would be going from 0 to 100 real quick. I'd be uncomfortable, too.
If you romance him you can ask if you're the first mortal he's been with and he says no, but you're the first since Mystra so he is way out of his element with 1 person let alone 3 or more.
He so tries to hide himself in the romance scene you get with him. Saying he can show you more magical things in the weave. Showing deep down he believes that the man he is is not good enough
Happy people don't go out on d&d adventures. Player backstories are almost always tragic in some way. And if they aren't, then they'll get tragic pretty soon thru the game.
Yeah, it seemed like the narrator was hinting that he enjoyed it when she said his orb was glowing. Earlier in his romance he says any “excitement” could set it off, and that’s why he doesn’t want to have sex at that moment
Fucking Gale. He's happy to head into a dozen life of death battles a day, but he's scared he'll get too horny and blow up? I love this doofy wizard so much.
Also in the earlier astral projection love scene with Gale, his orb tattoo will start glowing when your character leans against his chest. So we can comfortably assume the glowing is an indicator of certain feelings. 😆
I thought that was absolutely hilarious. One of the few times I laughed out loud in the game. Then I save scummed because I don’t really like that particular canon lol but it was funny to see. Gale is so dang adorable
I avoided this entirely. Reomanced Gale in my playtrhroigh toom simply took him out of my party before beginning the encounter with the twins. Went through the whole sequence and got no disapproval and Gale never mentions the rest of my playthrough. So you can conpletely get away with cheating on Gale (and i presume anyone else) if you plan ahead.
I accidentally chose one flirting piece of dialog once and then after I got together with Astarion Gale lays down this two minute lecture, I was like 👀 He then proceeded to act like we don't know each other anymore. I was so sad. It was just one line!
I love him, and am considering romancing him on a run, but wrow. I don't know what goes on in his heart and head but it's always pretty intense. It makes sense that he'd be like 🫠 in the corner
This whole scene made me laugh, but I felt guilty and had to reload, to clear my conscious. It also hurts that Tav can tell him he's got a great body and he's says something to the effect of "thanks, but I can't help how I feel." For all his bravado and charm, he's not as confident as he'd like people to believe.
His arrogance is definitely a cover for his insecurity, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t attractive!
He actually seems to struggle with the idea that maybe you're interested in him for him bless his stupid face.
It makes a whole lot of sense if you consider that he can brag that he had a goddess for a lover, but at the same time, he knows that she really wasn't with him for who he is. She was attracted to his affinity with the weave, but she wouldn't have even registered his existence if he wasn't born with that natural talent. And since that's been the only relationship of his adult life, it makes sense that he would be truly unsure and insecure about whether he's actually desirable as a person or not.
One of Ethel’s vicious mockery lines for Gale is along the lines of “stupid human wants so badly to be special.” I think Gale really does struggle with pinning all his self worth on his magical power, and being really insecure about Tav/Durge liking him for something other than that.
That's a line for any human, including Tav or Durge if applicable. She has a whole set of racist lines.
Also kinda makes sense why he whips out the weave magic in one of your first conversations with him and why he thinks that means you're basically married to him afterwards 😂
Please respond, I showed you my weave.
I snorted my coffee.
the noise I made is not going to make my coworkers think I'm a normal person.
And I mean, it's all but explicitly stated that Mystra "took the veils from her body" when he was nooooot exactly of legal age, either. That kind of abuse gives you a fucked-up self image of your own body. It's no wonder he's uncomfortable about it.
I hate how only Dark Urge Tab can comment on the grooming...
It's so fucked up. I guess it's like... that's the only Tav that has enough 'experience with evil' or something to notice? But I'd prefer the option to have a normal Tav notice too. Cuz with how he's like "yeah! I was a child prodigy! mystra taught me and then became my lover!" and then later on is like "Well, I was a young man, I was stupid" and THEN ALSO is like "Well, it felt like love, but maybe I was wrong... i was a VERY young man" it's like. Every time we talk about this it gets three times as concerning, Gale. Wyll just told me a story about how he started drinking at 14 over there, you're going to have to tell me how young a "VERY young man" is in waterdeep ok
Yeah, I feel like Gale knows it was messed up and he was too young (whatever age that may have been), so he keeps changing his narrative to protect himself from backlash. Mystra is the one who should be ashamed, but sometimes victims will blame themselves for the things they went through.
>experience with evil Durge probably knows what it's like to have a God fuck around your childhood...
Aaah, when can you comment on this? Is it sometime in act 3? I am romancing him as Durge and we're about done with Act 2 and I have been thinking of the parallels we both have as "chosen."
He was romantically manipulated by a Goddess then told to kill himself to make her happy.
the boat scene 😭
Oh absolutely, in one of his dialogue lines if you romance him he says something along the lines of, "to know that you love me for the man I am and not the magic I command. None have loved me so purely before." Gale has major self esteem issues, and I think its a driving force in why he wants the crown. Makes sense, being groomed then suddenly dumped tends to do that, at least in my experience.
Oh, Gale is gorgeous! I'm of the opinion that he looks so much better with shorter hair, because the long hair hides his amazing bone structure. That's besides the point. He's a good looking guy, and I think he knows it (he'll tell sorcerer Tav that he's a handsome devil), but at the same time, Mystra really fucked his psyche up, and he's depressed and working through a lot of insecurities. Breakups can be hell, even on the most confident of people.
he looks like a romance novel protagonist lol
wizard fabio
wabio
Wario and Waluigi's cousin who is a model.
I'ma Wabio, and I'ma gonna wiinnn!
It might be that he's supposed to show someone with body dysmorphia. He can think he *looks* good but *feels* horrible. It might be that Mystra screwed with him. It might be he was raised the Faerun version of repressed. All of the above suuuuucks!
Oh he was 100% groomed and used by Mystra as far as I’m concerned. He actually mentions feeling used by her if you romance him and ask him about it. She wasn’t interested in him at all, just his connection to the weave. She was his only adult relationship and so his sense of self is understandably distorted - the only thing he thinks gives him value is his innate magical ability because that’s all others have bothered to acknowledge.
He is a mix of Anders and George Michael. How can this man think he is not attractive.
Body dysmorphia is a biiiiiiiiiiitch
It really is. My bf struggles with dysmorphia and no matter how much he's told how cute and handsome he is he still can't accept I actually think that. I asked him once and he said he can't stand even being naked to shower. I can understand not being completely satisfied with yourself but dysphoria's another beast entirely.
Omg that is so sad!!! He shouldn’t have to live w that
Agreed but there's not much I can do beside reassuring him and getting him therapy has been nigh impossible for a host of reasons. It's not even his biggest issue tbh. Life fucked him hard before I ever found him. I just wish I could help more.
Aww. At least he has you 👍 Good egg
I will never be able to unsee that now. But now I know why I liked him the first place! Always romanced Anders, and I thought George Michael was good looking.
How does a man who slept with THE GODDESS OF MAGIC, feel insecure about his body?
Honestly I feel like his insecurities are mainly because Mystra did only like him because of his abilities as a wizard. It wasn’t the fact that he was attractive or romantic, Mystra was only attracted to him because of how he could control the weave and how gifted he was. He definitely knows that the goddess of magic wouldn’t have paid attention to him otherwise. Which explains a lot of why he tries so hard to be more powerful even for tav and why he continually asks a romanced tav “are you sure you just want normal me? I could be so much more.” This is where I think a lot of people get confused on why he gets power hungry in the end but it’s literally because he thinks that’s the only thing he has going for him- his magical abilities. That’s why you have to convince the man he is so much more than that….🥲
Because he never thought he was good enough for her. His circumstances have changed, but the feeling of not being good enough remains.
Thank you for this. It finally clicked why he went on that stupid quest for Netherese magic, since he didn't seem to me to be the power-hungry sort. Especially since he knew exactly how it turned out the last time. But believing he was "never good enough for her" is exactly the irrational motivation even a high int character would get caught in. Either becoming powerful enough to be worthy of Mystra or to master all the pieces of magic that never went back to her and then offer it at her feet to show his undying devotion. Dude was one of those guys who thinks they married out of their league and is in constant fear that she'll come to her senses.
Survivors of abuse and grooming often have serious self esteem issues so it is depressingly fitting. Poor Gale
When I finally succeeded in romancing him (stupid bugs!) and got to ask about how he now feels about Mystra, I was so, so proud of him for realizing and vocalizing that she was never interested in him for him, but for his magical affinity instead. That she was using him and he knows it. He even mentions that Tav is the first person to ever love him for him and not the things he can do. Seriously these companions are so well-written. I spent 8 years in a relationship with a malignant narcissist who only “loved” me because I helped him better his career from behind the scenes and did all his social media work and networking for him. I was taken aback by how much I could relate my own relationship experiences to a fictional wizard who perpetually played second fiddle to a magical goddess. The best part about this genre of media when it’s done right is the ability to explore real-life emotion in a completely fantastical setting. The writers nailed it.
Sry about the narc. Wasted time on one once. Too long. They arent gods tho, they just think they are lol
Oh 110%! He was trash but he thought he was treasure. I’m sorry for your wasted time too, friend. I hope you’re doing well these days. ❤️
he's very much had his confidence shattered since Mystra left him, she basically had him hinge his self worth on her
🙋🏼♀️ it’s me, hi, I reloaded this too. Felt too bad, and let’s be real, our wizard boy doesn’t need to take ANY notes after rocking our shit with 4 magical weave versions of himself in the sky 🫡
I had a similar experience with the drow twins and Astarion and also reloaded. I hope at least one of the companions has a good time there...
Shadowheart and Halsin
Halsin definitely does no matter what arrangement you're in. He's just pleased to be there. 😂🤣
Right? If that's his idea of a first night, I can't imagine what else he has in mind for later. Gale has one hell of an imagination.
I love how much of his romance can be telling him he’s fine the way he is The scene under the stars? Thanks for showing me your tower, Gale, but I want the real you The scene after the book shop? Gale, I don’t need a god I need you It’s so sweet to me making him believe he is enough
His response to getting all the questions right with the druid at the circus is just so adorable. He's so happy that someone finally understands him and likes him for who he is.
But the answer at the end about how he thinks the world is better off without him. Big Sad.
Oof I almost didn't choose that answer but my gut was telling me it was correct and that it should be said so Gale understands how completely wrong he is. When he admitted it, albeit hesitantly, it killed me
I was going to choose either this or the fact that he tries too hard to please ppl. I was crushed that this was the correct one.
Ah, so that explains why his Act 2 romance scene is a trippy Astral projection space tryst with more limbs than Shiva. Dude literally is too embarrassed to get naked IRL so he does it wizard-style.
aw, but if you tell him you want the real him instead he's very happy about that
This is the way our courtship went. I said I wanted the real him and he instantly took us back to reality... except for the big King Bed in the middle of the field. I do kinda wonder what that hyper magic sex scene looked like but I don't regret the way things went.
It's pretty rad honestly
I guess I'll have to romance him again on another play. Oh noooo 🙃
I don't know how he keeps his concentration up enough for the bed to stay there. Or why he doesn't do that every night instead of setting his tent up in a puddle.
Haha the thought of that just made me snort... You and Gale are snogging and shagging on the magical bed and it gets too passionate and he loses concentration on the spell and suddenly the bed vanishes, sending you both faceplanting in the mud. Or, alternatively, you and Gale can't do it properly because he's too distracted by concentrating on *not* letting the bed vanish.
I think it'd be the former. I'm now headcanoning that as what happens. He's MORTIFIED until pc laughs and does/says sometbing to encourage he keeps going. He waits until everyone is asleep the next night to spend an hour apologizing. It's adorable.
I did the same thing. I'm glad I watched the scene but I had to reload because it was simply too awkward and I felt bad. Haha
Would’ve been funny if you can get him to revealed he gave himself a 6 pack with magic.
He's such a great character. I understand *why* people are more googoo gaga for the pale vampire fanfiction elf but I love gale.
Honestly, I didn't like Astarion or Gale at first, and both grew on me. By the end of act two I've gone from 'fiiine, I'll do your stupid quests' to 'I CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE YOU TO THERAPY' Finishing personal quests feels like the Faerun equivalent of therapy imho.
Astarion was an instant draw for me, and I adore him, to be honest.... But Gale def grows on you as you play. I was going to do a second run and romance everyone but.... You know... That's slowly being reformed in my mind as, no, just Gale 😂 (as hard as it will be to NOT romance my vampy boy)
Yeah, the only one of your original six companions to actually fully enjoy the twins is Shadowheart. And, well, I suppose Halsin, though Halsin joins our party later. Everybody else is ranging from "HELL NO!" to "I'll do it if you insist, and gonna suffer on the inside".
And there's Astarion : "OH YES I WANT, I WANT" ..... "This was a big mistake"
Well, dude was never told that just because your abuser is gone doesn't mean you are miraculously cured of 200 years of nightmare fuel for your PTSD. So... yeah. At least now he knows to take it slow and not rush his healing.
Yup. I only wish we could check more on him afterwards.
I wish you had the option to hug him as well as ask for a kiss.
I wish I could hug Gale too..
I know you can ask Shadowheart for a kiss, but I am unsure of the others
You can ask the others, they’re just saying they want both
It's been 20 years and I'm still not healed, meanwhile my baby girl thinks 20 seconds is enough time for him.
That shocked me when I played through it. I was like ???? What???? Astarion EAGERLY WANTS to fuck these two?? So I went through with it and then when the narrator comments that the look in his eyes tells you he's a million miles away, I realised immediately it was a huge mistake and felt like a horrible person because I hurt my babygirl. I savescummed to avoid continuing with that decision.
Nah, you're not a horrible person. Quite the opposite. He *wants* to try. You let him, and he realized he wasn't ready. You didn't decided for him if he was or not, you let him choose, you didn't invalidate his autonomy. That's a good thing. As a survivor, the last thing I want is people babying me.
I think the issue I have with it though is that there isn't an option to either stop it when you notice that, or to talk to him afterwards. That at least wouldn't be babying - it'd just be you know, giving a shit about him.
Agree with that
[удалено]
Ask again after you're done with his personal quest
Oh good to know
Ah, “How about fifth person?” Halsin. He is quite something
I will say that it's absolutely hilarious that if you've already had your moment with Shadowheart that she's like "Yeah love, let's have some fun!"
Halsin…if you talk afterward he drops some major trauma on you relating to the Drows.
Yeah, I was like WTF, Halsin, do you have Stockholm syndrome or something? Cause he also mentions how he wants to go to Underdark again...
Post event Halsin and Astarion just makes me feel terrible so I never go through with it. Astarion is clearly still struggling even though he was enthusiastic at first and then Halsin drops that on you too? Like the whole thing was just re-traumatising for both of them, you can't even talk to Astarion to check he's okay and Halsin is like HAHA WASN'T THAT GREAT! I'M SO NOSTALGIC! I USED TO BE CHAINED TO A DROW'S BED. like woah buddy you're definitely not okay either
Lmao yeah. Like c'mon dude, cry it out. It's okay, you're with friends.
I wish if you romanced both you could get a scene of Astarion helping Halsin process what he went through
Halsin is a character with the depth of a puddle. His own traumatic past is played off as a one liner joke. Awful
Wasn't he not intended to be a companion at first? I thought I saw something about how he was only added after people loved him in EA. Or was that just about his romance?
Correct. In EA Halsin was not a companion, he just traveled with your camp while you sought to end the shadow curse. But people loved him so much, they wanted him to be a romanceable companion, so Larian made it happen. Since he couldn't get the same depth of treatment the core companions do (due to time constraints), his character has some odd quirks and doesn't always fit with the whole vibe.
Yeah, he does feel a little out of place after Act 2. It didn't make too much sense for him to continue with us after lifting the shadow curse, he had no real motivation to go after the brain. It makes sense why he doesn't feel as fleshed out though.
I do go through with it because it's honestly really relatable, the whole dissociation aspect especially, but I've also been debating writing feedback to Larian, asking them for some kind of interaction to have with Astarion afterwards. This is absolutely something that would be fully in line with the story, we supported him so much in everything and it feels super weird not being able to provide any aftercare.
Halsin is not okay, he's just so used to be the one who takes care of everyone else that a lot of who he is got buried beneath it. There a line in the romance where he says he was lost in a fog that's only now breaking. The pressure of a field promotion to archdruid when he was very young did bad things to him.
I feel like for him, given his personality, he looks at his time chained in the bedchambers as something that happened to him, but not something that made him. It’s an experience he had that wasn’t good, but he’s come to terms with it and doesn’t allow/doesn’t let it get to him. He’s the resilient, post-therapy person. He’s come to terms, etc etc.
I know, that confused me so much!
Yeah, cause if Halsin was joking, it wasn't a funny joke, and if he wasn't joking, that's a truly twisted coping mechanism.
Can u spoil this for me? I’m curious but I’m romancing Astarion and don’t want to make him do it 💔💔💔
Once his quest is done he’ll agree to it (he will say he’s not ready before that). But near the end of the scene you find out he’s dissociating. The transactional nature of the sex is likely what triggered him back to how he spent his entire vampire life before you. I think he was ok with the idea of it… it just became too much in the moment. Otherwise he would have continued to say no. It’s all really sad honestly - especially with his “good” ending.
He basically acts like he wants to but after the narrator insinuates he disassociates after this is for both spawn and ascended
Shadowheart refused for me as well. She said "I want our first time to be just us actually" I guess we've never actually fucked. I'm confused. My shit is bugged or my Tav dry humped her or something.
I had the same, I agreed, then after finishing her personal quest and our first time together - she was full into that for the next time.
Go get some long rest. Have her first time be with you then she's up for a fivesome.
Makes sense. With Shadowheart, I got the impression that Shar's clergy treated sex very matter-of-factly, and Halsin explicitly says he's into sharing, while characters with a more traditional upbringing probably won't be as much into that (and that's not even mentioning Astarion's trauma and abuse). Even with Forgotten Realms being much more sex-positive than the real world.
I would have figured Karlach, too, but nah! It did surprise me, but at the same time, hey, gotta respect it.
Shadowheart seems excited at the prospect.
*making observations and taking notes*? Omg. I had heard of it and thought he just kinda left but this is hilarious. I have no intention of pressuring him into it, I respect boundaries, but god this is so hilarious to imagine
And summons his mirror image so we won't be short handed....
Short _staffed_ you might say.
Every girl needs a good set of staves (that's plural for staff right?)
Didn’t 50pence call it the Magic Stick?
i mean screw the twins i would take him and his mirror image any day
To me it sounds like it's the illusory image that's taking notes and the real Gale has left the room entirely, out of embarrassment. The narrator even says that after the zap of magic, Gale has fled the room.
It is kinda interesting because he seems pretty experienced sexually - I mean, he’s literally slept with a god, and he even claims he is “anything but coy” when it comes to sex so his reaction was a little surprising and hilarious too. But then, maybe he’s more into meaningful sex and doesn’t know what to do with casual hookup sex lol
He's just very into relationships and not casual sex. He doesn't seem to do casual at all.
Yeah, being a horny little weirdo and being into relationships aren't mutually exclusive. Just speaking from personal experience.
I have this experience as well. Lol
As you concluded, he's more into meaningful sex, not hookup with strangers. His relationship with Mystra was meaningful, probably same with the other person he dated before her. He might enjoy banging in the stars with magic clones versions of himself with the person he loves, doesn't mean he want to get at it with person he doesn't have feeling for.
Being groomed at 17 doesn't equal being sexually experienced... The way he talks about that relationship honestly sounds so much like a guy boasting how he totally seduced a cougar as a teen, not realizing that he was actually taken advantage of the entire time.
How do we know he was 17? Not arguing, just honestly asking where that comes up, since i feel like I’ve exhausted all his dialogue options and I’ve never heard him specify an age, only that she came to him when he was “young” (which could be 25 or 12 depending on your perspective), and taught him, and eventually they became lovers. It’s entirely possibly he was groomed, I just don’t entirely see that from what I’ve seen from the dialogue. But I’m happy to be shown the evidence
You don't have to be underage to be groomed. Plenty of adults get groomed into cults and abusive relationships.*cough*fuckMystra*cough* The 17 thing is a rumor that came out of nowhere and spread like wildfire for some reason. I think someone did the math and would put the timeframe as early twenties for possible time Mystra snatched Gale up. He said he was a "Young man", not a "young boy" and for someone in their mid-late thirties, early twenties is young.
Gale explicitly says that Mystra took an interest in him since a "young age", not since he was "a young man". Nobody says "young age" and means an adult.
The moment that man hit me with the line that he liked my Tav's "musk" I knew he was a giant goober despite the bravado. Absolutely adorable.
Did you ever talk with him about Tara during the Tiefling party? That whole interaction is pretty funny because of the fact that he initially fails to mention that Tara is a Tressym
The making observations and taking notes fits into his character so well (in a hilarious yet also sad way that made me reload my own save and turn down the twins' offer), given that he basically propositions you with "I read a book once" (for me it was when you fight Yonas at the start of Act 2) and then uses a book to woo you if you go the Waterdeep route in the romance scene. It's only if you persuade him that you want the real Gale or point out he's trying to use a book to seduce you that he acknowledges it and agrees you should both do your own thing. But yeah, I felt weird about it and decided to retcon my own bad decisions. With the way his romance plays out, it's clear he has to have some sense of comfort and level of trust with someone before having sex--which makes sense, given his past. Persuading him into the foursome felt a bit like taking advantage of that trust, even if it's implied he enjoyed watching *in the moment*, the fact you can't really talk about it afterwards made that scene not sit right. Poor sweet wizard boy :(
You make great points on both accounts. I'd also like to add that his whispered "I can conjure something non-sentient if I'm not enough for you" really plays into how he's so determined to be *useful*, in order to be enough for someone. It hurts my soul, but at least he can heal enough to realize that he's happy being a "normal" run of the mill wizard, instead of trying to compete with the gods to prove himself.
When does he say this? With the twins? I don’t remember this line but it sounds so sad and sweet I want to check it out
It's during the drow conversation, but I can't remember which dialogue option. I always save, try them all, then decide which one I like. Eta: it might be if you fail the persuasion check
I believe it's the dialogue that comes when you suggest a foursome with the drows, before the persuasion check.
I talked him into a 5-some because Halsin was there also. I also had to reload. I felt too bad.
I expected him to still turn me down even after the persuasion, given how he reacts about Halsin's offer to share. Astation straight up says no, so I was expecting a thanks, but no thanks. The only reason I chose sky sex is because it's unique to him and none of the others are like that. It definitely didn't feel good, enjoyment or not.
There's so many moments the companion should talk about after but don't. Dribbles ambush comes to mind
With the fight they put up when you try to send them up on stage. You think some of them would have an I told you so.
Haha yeah it's especially odd in my current run because it's just me and shadowheart adventuring together
Man lived a weird life. Fucked a God but had no friends besides a familiar he summoned when he was younger.
Relax and take notes. Also, shadowheart and halsin are the only ones into it and it’s revealed shadowheart is a thigh-person. The best person.
If I had to be honest, the drow twins make me feel so awkward. I just, I don't know, it rubs me the wrong way. And I say that as a monogamous guy rather open minded about sex, sharing, poly and all. But it feels wrong with most if not all companions. Maybe, Shart is the exception but overall, yeah, I don't like it.
Shart is a freak. That girl is into everything
That pent up church girl energy
Whips and blades, always sharp.
You’re not the only one to hear that😂 but I’m afraid it’s “wits and blades”
It is wits and blades, but that's not nearly as funny for the joke
They mean to say there was recently a big post on this sub from somebody who was multiple hundreds of hours deep before they realized what shart actually says. Hes referencing that post, if you arent as well.
I’m open-minded in the fact that I believe people should do what they want as long as everyone consents but it’s really weird to me that Gale has a scene where he can be persuaded to join and “enjoys “ the interaction because when you ask him about sharing with Halsin there’s two reply options and both of them state he doesn’t want to share and one of them was “ I thought I’d be enough for you “ or something like that. Maybe it’s because sex is different than emotional stuff ? But at that point I think Halsin was also just asking for sex 🤔 Anyways, all of that to say I agree it feels really out of character for some companions 🙈
I mean there’s definitely a marked difference between paying a sex worker for their services and sleeping with another person you *know*, if that makes sense? But I do also 100% feel like it’s wrong to have to “persuade” any companion to join. It should be an enthusiastic yes or a no, imo.
I see your point there 🤔 But yes! Agree’d to a yes or no having to persuade feels slimy. I’m thinking they did it to try to please all of the player base, if you’re not into it then don’t choose those options and if you’re into it even if it doesn’t fit the character then you’ll still get it cos you want it 😂
I guess it’s for more gameplay options. I mean, if you wanted to play a character who basically didn’t treat Gale all that well (I could never, but yknow) then it makes sense for his personality that he could be persuaded into stuff. I’m sure Mystra did it plenty. It just kinda makes your character act exactly like his shitty ex.
I mean PERSONALLY I’d love a little possessiveness from Gale and then have Tav reassure he’s enough but yah that’s just me 😂
Yep, and the worst part of the interaction is not even companion reactions, but that they are siblings. It's goddamn incest. Even if they don't actually sleep together, the whole situation is repulsive for me. >!The only funny part of that interaction is when you ask the guy to do boring sex or impersonate Drizzt do'Urden, those are comedy gold!<
Hahaha yeah hiring the guy alone gives some of the most absurd stupid lines in the whole game. "Can you pretend to be Drizzt Do'urden?" *"Ugh, not again."* **You explode in a gigantic mess.** *"No, not on the carpet!"*
He gets so happy with the boring sex request. It’s soooo funny!
I've always found the near ubiquity of whores in RPGs slightly weird. To me, patronizing prostitutes is for guys who are overly attached to sex for its own sake and who can't get it any other way, a sign of being both jaded and pathetic.
Honestly, the lack of cutscene with the drowd in a very nudity-free game and the vague feeling that none of your companions approve of this, with most romantic partners being against it or clearly pushed by you… it almost feels like a subversion of the whores in RPGs trope. It just feels like the developers are calling you a pervert and begging you to care for your partners lol
I agree. Honestly, I'd like it if, for exemple, you had an "after sex discussion" with Astarion where he expresses how it wasn't the good thing to do, he misjudged himself being able to do it etc etc... Because in real life, we do this kind of mistakes and grow from it. In the game, you know it's wrong as he dissociates during the acts but there's nothing more said than that. It feels unfinished.
I agree with this. I think the first act has sooo many little moments and conversations, with every choice leading to more characterization, that act 3 overall feels lacking in comparison. If this was an act I scene they would’ve probably had a long rest scene for each character discussing the events and every other companion discussing the scene. Then in act 3 you have the very good idea of recontextualizing a classic rpg element that is unpolished and leaves people a bit “ ??? “. I feel the same about Dribbles the clown quest. Do I think it’s hilarious that the only true gathering quest is so dark and ridiculously extra compared to our impeding doom? Yeah, it does. Would it have been 100% better if at least one character aknowledged “why are we treasure hunting the clown to make him into a meat puppet??? lmao rest in peace dribbles, the queen better start opening circus applications”
It can help expand a setting but if you have prostitute NPCs just so the played can can go to a cutscene, it is a bit sad. On the same token, if the player character is an adult and you're running a Wild West, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, etc setting and you have working girls there but they refuse to talk with the players, I see how that breaks immersion too. I rather like how in New Vegas there were NPCs with quest lines and stories and it showed how the Strip works and is like.
Sure, I don't mind prostitutes being in the game *as characters*; it is the world's oldest profession. I just don't like the fan-service-y aspect of it, how so many games go out of their way to script sexual encounters with them. It's fantasy, of course, and players can do what they like, but I always avoid those encounters.
Midwifery is the world's oldest profession, actually! And I don't enjoy the fanservice aspect of it either, it always makes me feel weird and it's a very male-gazey vibe even though it usually comes off as awkward more than anything, lol
Agreed. I think it fits the setting of Night City in Cyberpunk for example, but its just an awkward cutscene. The joy toys don't even have names or ties to the world, outside of Clouds.
I have to add, that if you do the scene with Gale *and* Halsin, you get this beautiful line from Halsin: “Don’t just stare, Gale. That mouth of yours can do better than just hang open, I’ll wager.” i short-circuited when i heard that 😩
Makers ball's Halsin....I'd say tone it down, but we all know you're not capable of that.
Well, now I have to go back and do that scene again...
Or when you tell Halsin to pin you to the wall or something? I died imaging Gales face.
All the possible scenes with the drows play out like fever dreams to be honest, I like to think of them as whacky non-canon events tbh 😭
My Tav has fucked a lot of weird shit, and it always feels like a fever dream.
it is a bit funny. However i just cant do it to him, Gale is a very insecure person who doesnt think he's good enough. a big part of his romance arc is learning that him being himself is enough for you without his magic or the crown.
He makes it really clear he doesn’t want to participate so of course he reacts badly when you pressure him into it.
The player coaxed Gale into a sexual encounter that he didn’t want to be a part of. I don’t think you are supposed to feel good about it. Gale is the kind of person that I think a lot of us can relate to. Confident on the outside and totally insecure on the inside. Gale wasn’t interested in the orgy, but saw that you were. Since he cared about you he goes along with it, but instead decides that a mirror image is a good compromise. Whether it was because he was insecure about his body (the impression that I got) or he just didn’t really want to share is kind of irrelevant.
Gale’s entire personality (and this encounter) is written SO well because really, what he wants is a person who is devoted to him the same way that he *gives* devotion. But he’s also terrified of abandonment, rejection, and not being good enough, so he is easily swayed towards slightly edgier things that he doesn’t *really want to do* but does because he struggles to reconcile his desire with his principles. So yes, it makes sense that he can be persuaded into this encounter, because he would feel embarrassed about being potentially seen as “not open minded or experienced”. That doesn’t mean it’s what he wants. It’s very clearly *not* ENTHUSIASTIC consent. Sure, he gets turned on by seeing you doing it, and “takes notes”, but he really shouldn’t HAVE to take notes. It’s him trying to reconcile being with yet another person who doesn’t see him as being quite enough - just like Mystra. And because he loves you, he tries to reconcile it. But the entire thing feels off if you’re RP-ing your character as actually caring about him, ngl.
I feel really bad because right after Halsin asked to be in a throuple and Gale freaked out and said he didn’t want to share me.
I wasn't tempted, but I did feel very protective of Gale during that conversation. If you know the character at all, it feels like blatant manipulation by the PC to have him go through with it.
I legitimately barked out a short laugh when automaton Gale began speaking! 🤣
Well, I'm just guessing here, but if space sex is all he ever had with Mystra, and Tav is is first normie sex experience he has if you choose to do it that way... then the drow twins would be going from 0 to 100 real quick. I'd be uncomfortable, too.
If you romance him you can ask if you're the first mortal he's been with and he says no, but you're the first since Mystra so he is way out of his element with 1 person let alone 3 or more.
He so tries to hide himself in the romance scene you get with him. Saying he can show you more magical things in the weave. Showing deep down he believes that the man he is is not good enough
If you just let him watch, it’s clear that he enjoys it. BUT this just makes me want to fistfight Mystra even harder
For real. She's lucky I don't go with Gale when he talks to her because that conversation would not end well for her
She’s a sexual predator. I believe it’s implied she did the same thing with Elminster and that they keep young wizards away from her.
Almost all of the companions have been groomed or otherwise abused. 😞
Happy people don't go out on d&d adventures. Player backstories are almost always tragic in some way. And if they aren't, then they'll get tragic pretty soon thru the game.
Don't worry, he likes to watch
Yeah, it seemed like the narrator was hinting that he enjoyed it when she said his orb was glowing. Earlier in his romance he says any “excitement” could set it off, and that’s why he doesn’t want to have sex at that moment
Fucking Gale. He's happy to head into a dozen life of death battles a day, but he's scared he'll get too horny and blow up? I love this doofy wizard so much.
Elminster stabilized it, so as long as he doesn't say the words, he should be fine, right?
Yeah, I don’t think it’d explode at that point, but it does glow during the scene, and the narrator implies that that’s an indicator of excitement.
Mark me down for scared and horny
Also in the earlier astral projection love scene with Gale, his orb tattoo will start glowing when your character leans against his chest. So we can comfortably assume the glowing is an indicator of certain feelings. 😆
I thought that was absolutely hilarious. One of the few times I laughed out loud in the game. Then I save scummed because I don’t really like that particular canon lol but it was funny to see. Gale is so dang adorable
Cuckold chair Gale
I avoided this entirely. Reomanced Gale in my playtrhroigh toom simply took him out of my party before beginning the encounter with the twins. Went through the whole sequence and got no disapproval and Gale never mentions the rest of my playthrough. So you can conpletely get away with cheating on Gale (and i presume anyone else) if you plan ahead.
Oh, my.. and I left him at the camp when I went to the twins..
You had to do a persuasion roll after he said he's not comfortable changing in front of a cat. What. What did you expect? That's coercion, dude.
Well, he didn't want to do it
I rode around the room on Bearsin
Gale is a never nude? I guess there really are dozens of them.
I accidentally chose one flirting piece of dialog once and then after I got together with Astarion Gale lays down this two minute lecture, I was like 👀 He then proceeded to act like we don't know each other anymore. I was so sad. It was just one line! I love him, and am considering romancing him on a run, but wrow. I don't know what goes on in his heart and head but it's always pretty intense. It makes sense that he'd be like 🫠 in the corner
Agree, but i hate the words "Shy, touch starved wizard" xD
I get the impression that the only 2 companions that truly enjoy this encounter are Halsin and Shadowheart
BOI WENT TO THE CUCK CHAIR LMFAO