The way Gale's history and grooming is handled honestly means so much to me because he really only starts to look back towards the end of the game but in a way he still isn't ready to process. It isn't tied up in a pretty pink bow at the end - it is something he will be living with for the rest of his life.

It's a complex relationship and history that he is so deeply embedded in he can't look at it differently yet but he's learning, he's trying. He's also processing this in his later life which is a completely different process. There are a lot of complexities, especially when you tie in the fact his ex is a literal goddess who holds his life in her hands and controls the very thing he loves more than breathing.

But he's healing, slowly, in his own way whilst still trying to live his life. Mystra is always going to be in his life in some form but he now gets to carve out his own world and learn, truly, what that actually means for the first time since he was first made her chosen. Only now he has the best support network at his side, he won't have to hold himself up in his tower alone anymore.

Some guy, and all his friends!

I wanted to do that relationship chart that went around forever ago, BUT I wanted to try my best to draw the gang. So I'm getting on this bandwagon late BUT I DID IT (minus Minthara, he's never gotten to really meet her)

And then I got carried away and wrote out little blurbs for the gang (I am n o t a writer) so that's below the cut. "Enemies" is also way too strong a word for all his companions he just "had beef" with.

Astarion: Their relationship is surprisingly complex. Gideon was already wary of Astarion upon first meeting him because he claimed to be a magistrate from Baldur's Gate. Gid is heavily suspicious of everyone he encounters with any ties to nobility or the Upper City. He is hiding a huge part of his life from the entire party afterall, meeting someone too close to his old life could prove to be a problem, should they have ever crossed paths with him or his family. However upon finding out Astarion was a vampire he feels a bit more at ease, selfishly he sees this as his advantage over the elf. If he knew too much, or even just more than he was letting on, Gid could have a response. Thankfully nothing ever really came of his worries. He honestly wasn't all that threatened by Astarion. Whether true or not, he believed whole heartedly that he could deal with a vampire should the need arise, and it almost did, they got in a rather intense scuffle the first time Astarion tried to bite him, that was a bit of a bad look, Gideon didn't appreciate it. But, after a couple of rough patches they do end up becoming genuine friends. Astarion saw him as a means to an end, a meat shield who could protect him if it came down theough it: and Gideon willingly did just that, minus the "meat shield" part, he didn't know Astarion called him that… But multiple times throughout their travels the barbarian assured Astarion he wouldn't let anything happen to him, and over time Astarion realized he believed him.

Gale: Gale is... the first subject of Gideon’s... bullying? Gideon has some pretty intense feelings about spellcasters. Traditional spellcasters mind you, he displays very obvious distrust of sorcerers, wizards, and warlocks. So he isn't always very nice to Gale, who tends to go out of his way to be courteous to him despite the way he's treated. Gideon harshly rejects his offers to show him magic, he doesn't humor his musings about the weave, the only kindness he gets from Gideon is that the barbarian is at least sympathetic to his condition. Gideon actually knows Gale from the city, on a surface level. Gid's mother was an enchantress, she had her finger on the pulse of everything related to magic. So of course she heard of Mystra's Chosen and by extension the tiefling did as well. Gale was something Gideon studied years to never become, a prodigy, a powerful master of arcana. Gideon resents him, for these things that are out of his control. Upon finding out more about Gale's situation, and the revelation of Mystra's coldness and true intentions, Gideon becomes kinder to him. Even apologizing for any of his actions. They do become friends, and Gid values him as such. Hoping he'll understand that he's so much more than his magic and his goddess.

Halsin: Gideon doesn't have many thoughts on Halsin. He sees him as well spoken and wise but beyond that the tiefling doesn't have much of a relationship with the druid. It's in part because he frequently finds himself embarrassed by Halsin's flattery and he just doesn't quiet know how to talk to him. But also because Gideon’s “solutions” to problems, aren't usually the way Halsin would solve problems. Where Halsin believes There could be a more peaceful resolution, the odds of Gideon using brute force and intimidation before peace is even considered is always higher than not. They have a mutual respect for one another, but not much else beyond that.

Jaheria: It's hard to tell if she actually enjoys him, or if it’s some sort of pity that shapes their relationship, but Jaheria does like Gid, and the feelings are mutual. Gideon greatly admires her. It's that he clearly just admires her as a person, and finds her presence comforting, since he actually admitted to not really knowing much of her story, given his sheltered life there are lots of things he isn't quiet aware of. She seems to understand that and treats him kindly after their rocky first meeting. He is often able to convince her to share some stories with them under the guise that he and Karlach want to listen, when in reality he wants to know more about her, and she knows that, but humors him anyway. His cautious optimism and steadfast bravery remind her of friends who've come and gone, and she hopes he finds the life he deserves at the end of everything.  

Karlach: They knew eachother once. Though neither recalls because time has been cruel. But they did. They met as kids, and only knew eachother by informal names. She just called him Evervale, and he only knew her as K. They weren't in each other's lives long, so when they met again some decade later they were none the wiser. She is easily the companion to become the closest to him, the quickest. They have a lot in common despite living two very different lives. It's not hard to see why they had little crushes on one another for a pretty long time. But it never really develops into any besides that: a crush, puppy love. They're platonic soulmates in every right, or maybe 'right person, wrong time'? There is a certain tragedy to their relationship but it becomes clear to everyone (except him... for awhile atleast) that he clearly loves someone else and they aren't meant for eachother like that. She's actually the one who points it out to him, insisting he should go with his heart. This actually hurts him a little as he doesn't see the truth in her words, and for awhile they stop speaking as Gideon isolates himself. But that doesn't last long at all, when the part encounters Dammon again at Last Light Inn. With Karlach's second upgrade Gideon can't stop himself from pulling her in to a hug, which he returns instantly. With the moment quickly turning somber at the news they receive about her engine. The two spend that night together as friends, though he tries to ask her about her engine he stops when she asks him to, and they just spend the night sharing some drinks and stories under the stars.

By the time they reach Baldur's Gate they're pretty much inseparable, attached at the hip wherever they go having one pretty significant squabble about Raphael but in the end there's not many people he trusts as much as her. And he holds her trust in him as an incredibly high honor he doesn't take lightly and would do anything for her.

Lae'zel: Gideon greatly respects Lae'zel. Lae'zel… acknowledges he exists. The way he looks at Shadowheart disgusts her, the way he empathizes with strangers disgusts her- she sees him as soft and weak, perhaps rightfully so. When meeting strangers sometimes Gideon will withhold some of the truth about his class, if not outright lie. As a noble he has preconceived notions about how someone claiming to be a "barbarian" may be perceived. So upon meeting the party, he told them he was simply a fighter, something he tried to use as common ground with Lae'zel. If anything this just made it worse, as she would often comment on how tender he tended to be, and how it was a miracle he hadn’t be brutally gutted yet, as he lacked discipline and principle. This charade couldn't last forever though, as in one particular fight, when their tiefling 'fighter' friend flew off the handle and brutally pummeled some goblins with a rock after one caught the Bard he befriended with a stray arrow, the party had more than a few questions; it was obvious their blood soaked fighter wasn't entirely honest with them. While everyone else briefly felt a little more tense around him, Lae'zel actually softened toward him. They reached some form of understanding. He was simply a different kind of warrior than she was, and a fearsome one at that, she grew to respect him and he returned it in kind. They become genuine friends after everything, and eventually he even gets the 'Thank you' he asked for all that time ago.

Shadowheart: I'm not immune to the "A fell first, B fell harder" trope, and that is them in a nutshell. Gideon liked her pretty early on in a platonic way, he found her company enjoyable enough. Though by his own standards of "enjoyable", a lot of their time spent together then, was him irritating her. He saved her life once and that was really the only thing they had between them. She was secretive and guarded, he was somewhat honest and eager to help. She felt he was an idiot with a bleeding heart, who shared far too much with strangers, and he felt she was just kind of mean. That didn't stop him from developing feelings toward her, however they weren't so obvious, as if he didn't even realize it himself. He was the only member of the party to seem unrattled by her revelation of Shar worship, which is what perhaps made her see him as a real ally. She confided in him, and without fail he listened. Now whether or not he would throw in a joke in response was up in the air, but it was never malicious, and he always knew there was a time and a place. His goal was never to actively hurt or upset her, though he did tend to pry when she would make vague comments about her mission or getting back to the city. It was to be expected, that was their dynamic. It would actually be Shadowheart who confronted his feelings toward her. They spend the night of the Grove Party together and the next morning she muses about how for some reason she thought he wanted to kiss her, and that he would but didn't... He's an idiot, he plays it off, they have a laugh, but this is a turning point for the both of them.

The Shadowcursed Lands are particularly hard on him, even though he isn't a religious man, uncovering the story of Moonrise and what befell the town of Reithwin because of Shar, really shakes him. He and Shadowheart drift apart during this time as the way he sees her actually shifts. After she choses to spare the Nightsong, when they escape the Shadowfell, Gideon is the first person to rush to her. It is in this moment the barbarian finally confesses how he feels and she returns those feelings.

Gideon doesn't see much in himself, but she sees him as a light in the dark. The irony of it is, that's exactly how he sees her too. They're a balance neither realized they needed.

He and Wyll are also ironically two endings of a similar story, Gideon realizes this, and it drives him mad. Wyll is noble hearted, wants to do what's right, and free himself in the process; Gideon is furious, wants to survive, and is destroying himself in his efforts to do so. Unlike Wyll, Gideon believes he will never be free of his family name, he will never be anyone more than Gideon Evervale. There are no legendary heroics in his future, he is no Blade of Frontiers, he is simply an angry, hurt man, who can't escape the darkness that haunts him.

Wyll: Wyll is so kind, and patient, and good… and Gideon can't stand that about him. While Wyll likes Gid well enough, Gideon is extremely cold and abrasive towards Wyll. Again Gideon doesn't trust magic users, wizards, sorcerers, warlocks. Things like Arcane Tricksters or Paladins or Clerics don't seem to bother him, but he is extremely wary of spellcasters. (He has a big "I told you so" moment after the party meets Lorroakan. He talks about it for days after, he is extremely committed to this bit. “Oh, who would've thought the sorcerer who sent mercs to hunt Aylin was a BAD GUY”)

These feelings are obvious one sided, Wyll is always kind and patient with Gid no matter how the barbarian treats him, because he can see Gideon is hurting, and his anger is misplaced.

As their respective stories unfold Gideon does grow kinder to Wyll, as the Warlock along with the others eventually learn the truth about their barbarian, and he can see Gideon’s rage. And Gideon comes to realize just how much he and Wyll have in common when the party learns about the Duke. Gideon does eventually apologize to Wyll, for everything he ever said or did. He acknowledges the other man had no reason to be so understanding to him, when all he ever was was cruel.

They respect eachother in the end. The warlock helps him see he's more than his past, and life will go on.

HexSaga 1B - Lore time!

Mary: Hey there! I’m Marie, from the Institute of DARE Identification, Organization and Testimony. Although, due to a certain other character who is more plot-relevant and has the same name by accident, please call me Mary instead.

In case you have not seen, a new story is unfolding, which is being called “HexSaga”. There’ll be multiple chapters, but they’ll be a bit slow for now and the true lore-heavy stuff is reserved for the end. There’s no specific posting schedule, but hopefully we’ll last longer than the Flat Earth story.

Maybe you noticed that the first chapter has “1A” instead of just “1”. And that’s for a good reason! Since there are so many characters, the main plot will only cover a fraction of them. And that’s no good. That’s why, along with plot progression, you’ll get an unrelated side story with every chapter posted. These’ll mostly focus on characters who do not participate heavily in the main events, although some backstories for certain plot-relevant people could be explored. And hey, if you want, you can even suggest characters you want some fool to focus on for B-side chapters. Just like leave your suggestion somewhere they can see it, if you want.

That aside, there are a TON of lore bits and details that you may have missed over the course of 231 numbered OC posts, not to mention those that are attached to non-numbered pieces. Luckily, I’ve compiled everything you need to know in this convenient side chapter. Hope you have fun!

DAREs (2018 Challenge)

“DARE” is the broad term used to define a being who can break the fourth wall. In other words, they’re aware of you, the reader, and everyone else who may be reading their stories or viewing their images. While FPs, a race of small and generally blue penguins, happen to be the most common form of DARE, this also applies to animals like the Raihanian Whale Shark or possibly the Red Herring. Although you probably mostly associate the term with gimmicky girls. For humans, the gene that causes DARE is nullified by the Y Chromosome, thus no males can break the fourth wall. It is completely unknown why only people from here have the gene, but to tell you the truth, it doesn’t really matter. In reality, it’s just an excuse to design gimmicky characters who can break the fourth wall. We DAREs tend to follow a mindset which is a mixture of nihilism, apathy and blind optimism. It’s kind of that we know that we’re fictional and our lives are sort of meaningless, but we don’t really care and just look forward to whatever wacky pun-oriented situation we’ll get into next.

Humans also have strange reactions to said gene, which results in the variety of gimmicks you see on girls with DARE. For example, some girls are made of paper, while others are made of rubber, while others are made of food and some even appear in completely different art styles. Most of them live in Raihan, since it is generally well-accommodating to gimmicks. However, a few have found success in other parts of the world. Take, for example, Gale, a magician who is secretly a girl in a gaseous state of matter. Or Sophie, a half-japanese pop-star sensation whose body is formed from bubble solution. Around the rest of the world, those two are like novelties and one-of-a-kind, but in here they’re just as normal as the next person. Unfortunately, not many people know of DARE and Raihan in general, since most of us gimmicky girls believe that advertising people like us as a reason to visit is degrading and insulting. I mean, we’re people, not freak show performers. Most of us aren’t really offended if you ask about our gimmicks though, since we do know that, in terms of how our bodies work, we’re some of the weirdest things alive. It’s just not cool to advertise that as a reason to come to our country. Doesn’t help that, for those of us whose bodies are unintentionally hazardous or don’t really exist in the conventional sense of the word, getting passports is pretty much out of the question.

Gimmicky people are being studied by the Institute of DARE Identification, Organization and Testimony, whose head is Prof. Stacie Brown. I, Dr. Mary J. Holly, also work at said institute, as lead researcher, aided by the fact that I have DARE myself. I am the successor of Dr. Emma Smith, who left after a falling out with Dr. Brown during an experiment gone wrong. So far, she’s the only known case of a person who got a DARE unnaturally, since everyone else has it at birth.

Cursed Objects (2019 Challenge)

On early September of 2018, an incident in a spiral-shaped mountain off the shores of Raihan, which left the head of excavation Petricia Clayson literally petrified, lead to the discovery of an ancient book written two thousand years ago, which was found covering a small sapling girl who was also alive at that time. This compendium of sorts listed details on a hundred objects that had been given souls, or were “cursed”. These cursed objects integrated themselves with their society fairly easily, according to the notes found in the journals of the authors of said compendium.

It appears that their purpose was to charm the people of this ancient land, known as the kingdom of Leffand, only to have their souls ripped from them, causing their loved ones to fall into depression, which the dark mage Hexakosioihexekontahexafeui somehow harvested for power. However, since a few of the souls were spent on defenses for his hideout and some landed in the deep forests, with no human contact, it appears that it wasn’t enough. We believe that they come from another reality, and the dark mage has somehow been able to transport the entire land to our world. His reason for doing so is unknown, since tests on Spring show that, at a fundamental level, Cursed Objects and DAREs are not the same thing, as our gimmicky-ness stems from biological factors, not supernatural means. Additionally, we’ve come to find out Cursed Objects cannot break the fourth wall. Said land is adjacent to our capital city, Megami. Nowadays you can see ruins of the formerly inhabited towns described in the books, and the forests have grown too thick for modern development in the entire former kingdom.

The sapling, named Spring, apparently cannot age, explaining how she survived for twenty centuries. She’s currently under our supervision and is struggling to keep up with contemporary knowledge and technology. Mysteriously, Spring and the books with the information about her ancient race of cursed objects were in perfectly legible modern english.

Due to his name and hymn’s lyrics, it has been speculated that Hexakosioihexekontahexafeui has some relation to the perfect being, Hefeuhefeuhefeui. However, the dark mage is imperfect, and honestly looks nothing alike, not to mention they’re from different universes.

It is also noteworthy that in Leffand, they praised a goddess named Matured Insect, who bears an uncanny resemblance to a being we call “Unmatured Insect” that lives among us. This is not public knowledge yet, but it is highly likely that these two could be the same individual.

Closing statement

Well, thank you all for catching up, and on behalf of all of us behind the fourth wall, we hope you'll enjoy our hijinks!