Thank You Very Much For The Answer! Gale Loves Riddles, And It Was So Great To See Him Solving One. Also

Thank you very much for the answer! Gale loves riddles, and it was so great to see him solving one. Also using the real language as a fantasy one is cool 💜

How would Gale react to Tav revealing that her native language is not common?

What a Røv

I'm sorry this has taken me so long to answer. I initially had a whole smut idea with this and then it went sort of angst homesickness idea, and now it's just ended up as a comfort/fluff thing. Either way, I wrote a little fic for it - Overall though, Gale wouldn't mind, he'd find it endearing.

Word Count - 1635 - Fluff - CW - shameless use of Danish (Shut up I'm allowed.)

Gale had heard the utterances only once or twice before, a grumbled obscenity as a toe was stubbed on a bookshelf, a quiet obscure whisper between clenched teeth during the throes of passion. He knew his partner Tav was a half-drow, but their accent was entirely from Baldur’s Gate, the lilt of certain words always putting a smile on his face with how pitch perfect they were. He’d asked her about her heritage, a curiosity he could not help but indulge in, and she’d claimed there wasn’t much behind it all; her mother was a Drow, her father a human, and she’d grown up with neither in the city.

The story had been good enough for him until he’d caught her perusing through his library, peering into tomes not written in the common they’d spoken between themselves so often. His first instinct had been that she possibly spoke a form of Undercommon, or more likely Deep Drow; her wanting to hide it a shame of some sort, but the tomes found didn’t match up with what he’d heard. There seemed to be a mixture she had glanced through, some books written in the Elven Espruar, others closer to the Thorass alphabet they used each day, but no one specific tongue. It was as if she was searching for something amongst the pages that had not been there. Gale had questioned her about it just to be met with the answer that she was as curious about literature as he was. “Who needs to understand the words to see the beauty in poetry?” and with this he had continued to just observe, to listen for those obscenities and whispers and make a mental note of them for when he could check their meaning.

---

“Sollys, skin på ham. Beskyt ham mod mørket. Skygger, skjul mig af syne. Beskyt mig mod lyset.”

It was a small prayer, but one that had Tav whispered most days as the sun rose over Waterdeep. Gale had heard snippets of it often as he’d rushed to change into his robes for a day at the academy or been trying to tame his unruly hair after a night of excitement. Now he lay in bed, the words drifting into his subconsciousness as he lay sleeping, his mind questioning the meaning behind the dream of a language he did not understand. His eyes flickered open, keen to find the source and catch her red-handed.

“Tav?”

She turned to him from the foot of the bed, her hazy blue skin lightening under the rising sun that drifted lazily in through the parted curtains. She wore the black lace nightgown he’d bought for her, the one that contrasted so well with her salt white hair. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she whispered.

He groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes, a disappointment that he’d not been quick enough to understand what she’d been saying before he woke fully, but a smile at the sight of her as welcome as ever. His hair lay messily tufted around his face and ears, a reminder that he needed to tidy it up with some scissors even if she protested to it. “Did I hear you speaking before?”

Tav quietly moved up next to him, stroking a lock of hair from his face. She looked down at him lovingly, her violet eyes a pleasant reminder of the tattered robes she’d once passionately removed him from. “Only in your dreams, I’m sure.”

His hand reached over to her, his fingers rubbing along the arm of her nightgown, an invitation for her to join him before either of them got distracted by the world’s need for their attention.

She leant in and kissed his forehead, a teasing warmth lingering from her lips upon his brow. “As much as I’d love to, I’m needed in the library this morning.”

Gale longed for time to stop, for the curtains to stop the impatient daylight from entering any more than it already had, for her lips to find his own, and for her body to have as little control as his did in that moment. He unwillingly withdrew his hand, knowing he would see her again later amongst the dusty books and candle lit corners they’d both frequented so often. “You are but a cruel harpy.”

“My waterlogged wizard doth complain too much.”

---

Gale watched her for some time after she had finished her shift, their game of cat and mouse a regular occurrence at this point of the day. Tav would end work on schedule but would then spend time amongst the well-organised shelves, looking either for poetry or something she could bring home for his amusement. He would eventually find her amongst the tomes and would whisk her to a dark corner where they’d indulge in the art of self control and silence. Her delicate fingers traced along the spines of the books as she walked down the aisle, her eyes gazing across the titles until something caught her attention. Seeing the gentle sway of her ponytail as she took each step forward, he kept his own pace matching hers, knowing it was only a matter of time before she glanced up and saw his deep eyes spying on her.

Her words were quiet, another whisper amongst the library’s inhabitants. “Der er få der prøver at forstå Vævet - det er synd, da kun de der er fuldt på bølgelængde med Vævet kan kalde dem selv for ægte magikere.”

He listened with curiosity to her mutterings, some words like that of Common, others a reminder of a distant language he had researched long ago. But this was proof that not all was what it seemed, that there was a secret she kept from him, a mystery to be solved. What she spoke naturally was not a simple speech of Baldur’s Gate, but something else, no Drow nor Elvish, nor something that matched his tomes. He thought possibly it could be a form of Jotun, but why would a Half Drow ever speak such a tongue? It was as her fingers continued to grace the titles of the books between them he realised it was that of Illuskan, a language rarely spoken outside of northwest Færun. Gale smiled, a plan being conjured up to have her reveal all. One that he knew would have her spilling all secrets.

---

“Y – eh – g” He spoke deliberately, a hard pressure put on each sound as Tav walked through the door, knowing she would hear him.

 “Yegg? Working on a new spell?” she asked innocently as she placed her bag down near his desk, her eyes glancing over the papers that lay scattered in front of him.

Gale looked up at her, seeing the way she recognised the texts in front of him, a momentary smirk at the realisation of what it was he had been trying to pronounce so poorly. “Just some new linguistics materials that I found tempting to dive into.”

“Hm... I’ll leave you to that, then.”

For the next hour Tav sat in a nearby chair, her finger tapping irritably at every mispronounced syllable, at the purposeful bastardisation of her native language. He held back a laugh as he attempted to read through a basic cooking recipe; the word fløde, causing her to close her book sharply and grit her teeth. He didn’t want to torture her, but their relationship was one of games and puzzles. Now, however, this attempt to have her reveal her secret had turned into one of simple teasing.

“Yegg har fang-et een store row...”

The cackle was unmistakable from her lips as he spoke the last word, the combination of letters a confusion to utter out loud even though he knew the phonetic for each now. He twisted on his chair, her laughter becoming a snigger in between breathed out words.

“A røv?” Tav laughed further, her own correction making it all the funnier in her mind. “Is that what you’re trying to say? Or is it-” She exhaled, trying to regain her composure. “Ræv?”

Gale heard little difference between the two words, but it mattered little as he caught her in his web. “An expert on Illuskan, my love?”

“I consider myself more the expert on røve...” She gave him a playful smirk.

“On foxes?”

She chuckled again at his misunderstanding; the laughter causing her cheeks to flush, and she rose to her feet to come closer, placing herself in his lap. “On arses, you fool.”

He lifted his hand, pushing aside a stray strand of hair from her face. “You were letting me make an idiot out of myself, weren’t you?”

“I wanted to see how far you’d take it to draw it out of me. Though I’ll be honest, I was expecting something a little sexier, and less... painful.”

“Painful?” Gale said with a mock exaggeration. “Remind me next time to add it to my repertoire, should we find ourselves upon another adventure.” He stroked her face, her skin as soft as silk, the scent of the library held in her robes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tav leant into his touch, a gentle smile curling the corners of her lips. “You like puzzles, to solve things and learn. What fun would there be without a little mystery?”

“Are there any other mysteries I should be aware of?”

“Only time will tell.”

Placing a longing kiss upon her lips, he felt the warmth of her breath mingle with his. “Jeg elsker dig.” He whispered, his pronunciation of the simple phrase of love clear and understandable.

She looked into his eyes, a surprised but proud look in her gaze. “So, you’re not a complete røv with the language.”

“Only those few words at this time, but I’d learn it for you. I’d do anything for you.”

---------------------------------------------

The Illuski language group is based on real-life Nordic languages such as Old Norse, Danish, and Norwegian

----

“Sollys, skin på ham. Beskyt ham mod mørket. Skygger, skjul mig af syne. Beskyt mig mod lyset.”

“Sunlight, shine on him. Protect him against the darkness. Shadows, hide me from sight. Protect me against the light.

“Der er få der prøver at forstå Vævet - det er synd, da kun de der er fuldt på bølgelængde med Vævet kan kalde dem selv for ægte magikere.”

“Few try to understand the Weave - a true pity, for only they who are truly attuned to the Weave can rightly call themselves spellcasters.”

I'm the one who tells everyone I'm not a native speaker 😆 Sometimes people really say I'm good at writing in English.

But there are things I cannot feel. For example, the nuances of using rude and swear words. Is this word too rude or too obscene for this situation? How would native speakers react to it?

On the other hand, how not to sound old-fashioned? Dictionaries are not updated quickly, and some things do not register there at all.

So yeah, we non-natives do not want to flex (not all the time at least XD), just trying to improve our texts.

I have trouble with writing in general. Can you help me? English isn't my first language, but I really want to write a story in English someday. However, both I and my English teacher have noticed a problem. He says he can tell I haven't cheated on my assignments because I write like I speak. That comment broke my heart a bit and made me feel pressured because there's a recurring joke in fanfiction that all stories starting with "English is not my mother tongue / I'm not fluent in English" are masterpieces, haha. I'm very disappointed in myself because I don't feel as good as other non-native speakers. Do you have any tips for improving my writing?

Improving Writing as Non-Native Speaker

First, I'm so sorry that your English teacher or anyone else has ever made you (or anyone) feel bad about your speaking or writing. Anyone who tries to learn a language other than their native language should be commended, no matter the skill level they reach. Many people who have the ability and access to learn another language never even bother, so kudos to you for learning. If it helps, I wouldn't have known you were a non-native speaker if you hadn't told me.

Any time you want to learn to write stories in a non-native language, there are four things you can do to improve your skills:

1 - Watch movies, TV shows, videos, and listen to audiobooks and podcasts in that language. Not dubbed or with captions in that language... movies, TV shows, and videos where the people are actually speaking the language you want to learn. This type of immersion can really help you get a feel for how native speakers actually sound, which can help you with writing and with creating authentic dialogue.

2 - Read stories, books, magazines, blogs, poems, and posts in that language. Again, nothing that has been translated into that language, but things that were originally written in the language you want to learn. This helps to reinforce the visual of the language in your mind's eye as you write, and quite often, seeing things in text can stick out more to you than they do when only hearing them. Also, some people just learn better one way over the other, so both hearing and seeing the language makes sure you're covering both bases.

3 - Practice speaking in that language. Even if speaking isn't your issue, it's still helpful to practice speaking the language, because it helps to reinforce it in your mind. Try reading news articles, stories, chapters of books, and social media posts out loud. It can also be helpful to look up movie and play scripts and speak the lines out loud.

4 - Practice writing in that language. If you wanted to learn a concerto for a piano recital, you might practice by watching other people play it, listening to it, reading the sheet music over and over, and practicing the tune with your voice, but nothing would help you improve more than actually playing the song over and over again yourself. You would get better with each performance, and writing works the same way. The number one thing you can do to improve your writing in another language is to write a lot of stories in that language. It's okay if you're not perfect. Even native speakers don't write perfect stories without practice. ♥

Happy writing!

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Finally painted a tribute to BG3 ~

you should know that i am screaming

i’ve seen so many posts about gale whimpering. and i know, i just know when he and tav start to have a physical relationship that he whimpers and whines because of how good they feel and how long it’s been.

Okay tadpole strikes again because I've literally had a post in my drafts that said

''Gale is the type of guy that whimpers and moans when he goes down on you."

So yes, absolutely yes. I picture Gale as a totally unabashedly vocal lover. Not only because he can't help himself because it feels so fucking good but also that's just how he is. He isn't 'coy' as he himself says and he would be fully unafraid to express himself vocally.

Him and his lover would be horrible fucking neighbors. That silence spell would be getting ALL the use.