with a very special VP by @rdekarios! Thank you so much!

Soon to be Dad!Gale x f!reader

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Imagine Dad!Gale. Tav is plunking out a lullaby on the piano while he reads to their little one. He notices the kiddo isn’t paying attention to the book, they’re more interested in the music.

He gently nudges them towards Tav and the itty bitty magician scampers over, begging Tav to teach them.

“Of course my little love! But first scales!” Tav says.

Gale watches with a satisfied smile as Tav teaches their little one’s fingers the ups and downs of the treble cliff line.

How could godhood compare to this moment?

Ohhh, Gale enjoying sweet domestic moments, my beloved 🥹💜 This is a tear-jerker for sure!

I firmly believe that human Gale would have so, so, so many moments like this, moments where he pauses to take in the joy of a little everyday interaction with his beloved partner/spouse, or his partner/spouse and child, or his partner/spouse and children, depending on your particular HC and whether Tav and Gale got married, etc.

Because human Gale recognizes how precious these moments are. In the epilogue where Gale does not succeed at achieving godhood and he dies, his simulacrum laments his foolishness: “To think I believed godhood was worth losing all this...” And in the epilogue with our beloved Professor/Adventurer Gale, we see him getting choked up at being reunited with the other companions again: “I never thought we’d be together like this again…”

This is why Gale choosing the human path is so important: he not only learns to accept himself, he also learns to embrace mortality, and to cherish all the gifts that it has to offer.

So, if I may continue your ask:

———

How could godhood compare to this moment?

Gale sees his little one’s face light up with glee as Tav patiently instructs them, and he feels his eyes filling up in response.

To think I might never have experienced this…to think I might have traded this for…what? Power? Power wrapped in a cloak of loneliness? Power buried under the weight of an eternity of regret? Foolishness. Madness…

For a moment he’s so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t realize tears are streaking down his cheeks, soaking into his beard.

“Gale?” Tav’s loving voice brings him back to the present, and he blinks at the wetness in his eyes as he tries to focus. “Oh, love. Are you crying?” There’s affection in Tav’s voice, and an amused, adoring smile on their face. “…again?”

Gale can’t help but laugh in response, at the situation, at himself, and yet it only makes his eyes well up even more. “I love you,” he says, for what else is there to say? Those are the only words that matter.

He joins Tav and their child at the piano bench, crouching so that he can be close to them, bad knees be damned. His little one looks up as he does so, and concern flickers over their face. It’s such a sweet expression that for an instant it makes Gale’s breath catch.

“Daddy sad?” They ask, eyes wide as they reach out to touch his wet cheek.

Gale’s reply is a barrage of kisses before scooping them up, taking their tiny hand between his thumb and forefinger, feeling how warm and delicate it is, marveling at their perfect mortality.

on a serious note: i’m certainly not the one that continuously brings up this topic unprompted. i personally really don’t understand the entire controversy around the topic or why fandom feels the need to rehash this conversation almost weekly. i truly believe that there’s nothing more of value to learn from it, to address, or add to it… yet fandom won’t let it rest.

to once again clarify: what i mean by “gale wanting to be a father isn’t canon” is that there is no evidence/neither hints anywhere in any of the dialogue that support the contrary. characters like h*lsin, w*ll and la*’zel have entire adoption subplots. all of them mention their children explicitly during the epilogue:

narrator: *your soul warms thinking of lily aurora ravengard, your adopted daughter. a treasure of a girl, found at the entrance of the open hand temple - one grey eye, one brown.* w*ll: ah, the girl could melt the staunchest heart. she might even have brought a smile to old withers' face! w*ll: but tonight is for us - and lily's only four months of age, besides. i promise, the temple will keep her in good care.

player: and our little hatchling? is he safe? la*'zel: of course. i have complete trust in our newest allies. xan is in fine hands tonight. la*'zel: what a wonder he is. he will be a fine warrior, if he chooses. or a poet, or an explorer, or a scholar.

h*lsin: being away from it... i cannot help but worry how they will fare in our absence. player: we'll be back before they know it. h*lsin: i hope so. the children shall miss their bedtime tale tonight - though perhaps i can glean a few new stories from our friends here, to make up for it.

even shad*wh*art has a line where she briefly mentions that children might be a possibility for her in the future.

shad*wh*art: and i get to see my parents almost every day - i need to make every moment with them count, after so much was stolen from us. but they're doing well, [...] shad*wh*art: who knows? perhaps they'll have grandchildren before long.

gale in comparison? he has none of that. he remains childfree during the entirety of the game + epilogue. in fact, his line in the epilogue that addresses the topic of grandkids is this one:

tara: this is why mrs. dekarios and i will be waiting an eternity more for grandchildren. nodecontext: self-pitying gale: psst! shoo, tara. nodecontext: shooing away tara like one would a naughty cat.

i already wrote a post about this entire discourse here [x] but to repeat myself once more: all of the dialogue that vaguely addresses the topic of children in any way in regards to gale are these snippets

player: gale… how would you feel about having another person in our relationship? gale: what, like a child? i’m not quite sure i’d consider myself father material, plus our current lifestyle isn’t exactly what i’d call settled…

gale, upon spotting oliver during their game of hide and seek: ah, i have you! just a shame i don’t want you.

gale treating the children the group comes across with respect isn’t an indicator either. this is a courtesy gale extends to everyone he meets. he’s a character that approves of a protagonist who systematically commits good deeds. whether it’s sparing animals, helping without compensation in mind, or aiding children. wanting children to be cared for… and you know… for them not to die is common etiquette that every adult should extend to a child in need. those are not “dad goals!!!” it’s quite literally just basic human decency. gale is genuinely kind and caring to everyone he meets, there is no reason why this also wouldn’t apply to children.

i often see fandom mention his encounter with mol at last light and how excited he is to talk to her. which i think greatly misinterprets the context of the scenario since he didn’t have much of a reaction to mol before either — gale is ecstatic about lanceboard. again evident by his reaction to the party finding the life-sized board during the wyrmway trials, and how he immediately offers to give tav pointers. explaining different approaches to them in enthusiastic detail if they allow him to. the man just really likes lanceboard… as well as being the smartest person in the room.

gale: ah, lanceboard! why, this might just be the highlight of our misadventures to date.

gale: lanceboard happens to be a game with which i have more than a passing familiarity. might i offer a suggestion? nodecontext: gale's a badass lanceboard player, anticipating showing off

if you want to headcanon your tav and gale raising a big family together that is more than fine and no one is stopping you. whatever you want to happen to these two after the storyline of the game is up to your respective fantasies. no one is policing you on what you should do with your own character. go wild and create whatever fan content you wish, no justification required.

yet once again, as there is no mention in canon anywhere — neither in the main game nor the epilogue — that this is something gale would ever want (whether that may mean immediately or somewhere down the line) gale wanting to be a father remains a headcanon. while gale being childfree is explicitly shown in the game, in strict comparison to other companions that either have children by the end of the game or voice the desire to (eventually) have them.

I need everyone to behold the CUTEST EVER THING that @orangekittyenergy has created for me! I requested Devi and Gale cuddling in his Waterdeep tower with little newborn Tiawyn, AND SHE DELIVERED. I love everything about this picture! Gale's proud look! Devi leaning against her hubby's chest! The way they're holding hands while holding their baby girl! The sunlight in the window! How cozy little Tiawyn looks!!

A/N: Is this self indulgent? Yes, but we're on the cringe website, so who cares. As always thanks to @leighsartworks216 for letting me ramble.

So first things first, this is more centered around my thoughts about Gale becoming a father to my Single Mom!Tav's (Gwen) daughter Clara and eventually their daughter Morgan. But, I think this can apply to Gale being a father in general

Just imagine Gale getting hit with the triple whammy on not only does he want to live, not only is he more than willing to remain a mortal man in order to be with Gwen, but doing so also means he has a new responsibility of being a father to Clara

Once Gale decides he's going to do something, he does not half ass it

He may not be confident in his ability as a father, but damn it he's going to try

His response is pointing to his perceived inadequacies, not his actual desire. And his reasoning is in direct contrast to the way he interacts with children throughout the game. He is AMAZING with children and has no issues spending the majority of his time with them and actively participating in their rearing (his job as a professor.)

It's possible he doesn't actually want his own children, but there's nothing in the game that really leads us to that conclusion.

His is arguably the best suited out of all the companions to have their own child, certainly more than those who actually can end up having children.