#What he shows in his love expressions are expressions he's sorta yearned for from Mystra for... Well. Ever. But he was only a way for her t

[recitedemise]

𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄. Still, it doesn't mean he hasn't a lovely view on it. Romance, courtship, and all the doting involved has been a long, devoted, and complicated chapter—chapter, I say very pointedly; the experience is singular. Gale, a prodigy, had won Mystra's interest when he was still a boy, and when she came before him with her showering praise, the very impressionable Dekarios was eager to please. He'd always high standards, of course, insurmountable dreams even then in his first-year lessons, but to impress the goddess of all things magic? There in his youth, the delight was worth more than kingdoms of gold. As he got older, that fixation deepened when Mystra took even further interest in him, and soon enough, once she deemed him ready, she made him her Chosen—and vapidly, of course, her mortal lover. The rest, you know. Gale, enchanted by Mystra longer than he knows, has no personal experience with genuine romance. None. He's attended family weddings, grows warm when he hears sweet ballads and lovestruck poems, but tales of butterflied-bellies and finding courage for dates? Those aren't his stories. His goddess took all that. She was his first in everything, a 'romantic' tale more a thesis on devotion and too-skewed power, and all things Gale does, he does because he doesn't, hasn't gotten. In other words, the romance he offers is the very romance he craves. Achingly long stares and lingering kisses, unyielding fondness and the whole of his heart—he gave that to Mystra. He'd give that to you. And long robbed of it all, he can only care dare to want it in turn.

#HEADCANON. #I talked to Xera about this. She sprung it into my mind... #Like Gale ISN'T naïve. He knows what he wants and gets how courtship works. #He knows all about dating and first kisses and first intimacies and meeting the folks and god MARRIAGE. #But those experiences weren't his despite being in a TWENTY year long relationship. TWENTY. #Gale's romantic experience is SINGULAR. But god is it deep—on his side anyway. #But christ? On the receiving end. Forget about it. He has to go off books and his mother's stories about their cousin who just got married #and 'when are you going to settle Gale?' #What he shows in his love expressions are expressions he's sorta yearned for from Mystra for... Well. Ever. But he was only a way for her t #feel worshipped and lorded over. That was ALL he was. #God. Fuck Mystra. #Anyway #grooming tw/ #Gotta add that. #Gale apparently DOES boast about having many lovers before but considering how young he was when he got involved with Mystra #and how DEVOTED/SINGULAR he is in love I just... do not believe that lol.