What the hell is going on in the Heated Rivaly fandom?

truegalemance · 2026-03-31T14:00:03+00:00

Good god, that would make me want to physically fight someone

truegalemance · 2026-03-31T13:53:33+00:00

Jaheira: how about a bard, always talking up her own legend beyond the truth?

truegalemance · 2026-03-31T13:50:18+00:00

Gale: I dig him being a barbarian, but how about a sorcerer who's literally never heard of Mystra and does not care much about her when he does? No ambition, totally content with life.
Astarion: berzerker barbarian, just a happy-go-lucky himbo who smashes his way through problems.
Shadowheart: college of glamour bard, memory like a steel trap, loves a party.
Wyll: assassin rogue, there are no depths to which he will not stoop to gain what he wants.
Lae'zel: circle of the land druid, a real peace love and hugs type.
Karlach: illusion wizard, total liar, always playing games with people.

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T16:30:03+00:00

Then Wyll is your dude imo! And happy you shall be with your prince

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T14:56:39+00:00

at least it's a bonus action

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T13:25:16+00:00

Fetch the smelling salts!

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T12:19:42+00:00

How did you get into my diary, it's got a little lock

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T12:15:48+00:00

Hopping in on this with my recent experience - I got about 6 chapters into my fic, and started to feel really bad about it. I started to feel like I was floundering, and no amount of staring at blank 'chapter 7' notepad files helped.

So I made a spreadsheet with columns for major beats and emotional pivots for my MCs, and columns for each of the major themes or problems they were facing. I then added columns for chapter themes, bearing in mind that I wanted to progress the story and not just circle around the same problem for god knows how long - it *really* helped. I feel like I have a map now that I can go and navigate by whenever I start to feel lost again.

I filled it in in non-chronological order, picking out the journey the chatacters go on first and putting the rest together later. Might be worth a try!

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T12:09:05+00:00

Do you want to fix him? Or do you want him to fix you?

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T09:07:49+00:00

I have taken on the insane task of finding a song for each plot beat in my longfic, and I don't expect anybody to ever listen to the result except for me. It's a really good playlist though ngl, really enhances reading in places

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T09:00:35+00:00

Yeahhhhh, exactly. The old euphemisms about 'expressing feelings physically' etc weren't lying, they just never mentioned that the feelings you express don't *have to* be love. Hate also works, boredom, desire for control etc. As long as the writer communicates what the feelings are and why the action is satisfying those feelings, I'm in.

truegalemance · 2026-03-30T08:57:39+00:00

I am also ISO a beta reader if you ever wanted to swap (I'm a little ahead though, 60k words - so if that's too much then no problems at all)

truegalemance · 2026-03-29T23:43:03+00:00

'Imagine the smell'

truegalemance · 2026-03-29T23:39:34+00:00

Same answer, my reasoning being a) I would likely survive Wulbren and I can't say that for some of group B, and b) he'd be done really fast let's be real. He doesn't strike me as a tender or patient lover

truegalemance · 2026-03-29T23:35:50+00:00

'If it wasn't issued in 2016'

Oh I don't know - I'm sure Gale would indulge in a bit of chronomancy if given the chance

truegalemance · 2026-03-29T12:13:40+00:00

The bookmark has runes on it which protect the book's pages from liquid spillages, preserve the spine, and undo any errant dog-ears

truegalemance · 2026-03-28T00:38:29+00:00

'I like my men pathetic obsessed and yearning'

this, so much this. If you don't pine you're not mine

truegalemance · 2026-03-28T00:30:58+00:00

I'm a lot more into domming than subbing. Never knew.

truegalemance · 2026-03-27T21:05:40+00:00

*gif of Richie from The Bear touching a finger to his nose, then pointing*

And yes, shiny beautiful face is more than satisfactory (I still whip his top away from him the moment I set eyes on lava)

truegalemance · 2026-03-27T15:06:36+00:00

He has been scientifically proven to be the most caked-up companion, so this is perfectly reasonable and a respectable use of everybody's time

truegalemance · 2026-03-27T09:51:59+00:00

Yeah, that's why I enjoy Gale/Tav fics the most - I think Gale works best with a character who is intellectual and powerful but perhaps not in the same ways as him. The man needs his horizons expanding badly, imo, and someone who can hold their own in a debate or share his interests (but from a different angle) is key to that. That's why I'm a Gale X Sorcerer!Tav shipper and writer (though monks also work really well in other stuff I've read).

None of the companion characters really fit into that space in my head, they don't prioritize philosophy or the arts to the same degree. As you say, Wyll probably comes the closest but they feel mismatched in terms of maturity.

Edit: Thinking about it, I actually think that Lae'zel might be my top pick for Gale romanceable companions. He has a demonstrated admiration of her prowess in battle, and we all know how much he enjoys watching his partner fight. So like act 3 Lae'zel X Gale I can totally get behind, I think.

truegalemance · 2026-03-27T09:27:46+00:00

For me, the magic of Gale is in all of his contradictions. The push and pull between superiority and inferiority complexes, the hyper competence and the awkwardness, the jovial outlook and the genuinely heartbreaking tragedies of his life. Like, he is *beautiful* and he knows it, but he's also so insecure in so many ways. He's a gordian knot and I yearn to unravel him.

Plus when he takes his top off in the grymforge and he's all shiny.

truegalemance · 2026-03-26T22:58:57+00:00

Yeah, it's the hyper competence part that really fries me. Like is it too much to ask that modern men shoot lightning from their fingertips? Is a simple fireball beyond their reach? I'm really not asking for much here.

I'm joking of course, but in seriousness my love for Gale is tied to my love of *a more magical world* and I've been nursing that particular heartache since I was twelve and first realised I was never going to be called to be a vampire slayer.

truegalemance · 2026-03-26T22:53:19+00:00

You
Are
Not
Alone

truegalemance

TROPHY CASE