I Had A Lot Of Fun Curating This Playlist To Their Characters And The Arcs They Both Go Though - Tumblr Posts

Put the Stars to Shame: A Gale x Tav playlist

Letter To An Old Poet by boygenius ~~ Last Words of a Shooting Star by Mitski ~~ Through Me (The Flood) by Hozier ~~ Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine ~~ Northern Attitude by Noah Kahan & Hozier ~~ First Light by Hozier ~~ Hello my Old Heart by The Oh Hellos ~~ Graceland Too by Phoebe Bridgers ~~ Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You by Stevie Nicks ~~ Home to Me by Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ~~ Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay ~~ Inkpot Gods by The Amazing Devil ~~ Fair by The Amazing Devil

Meta, commentary, and extracts for each song under the cut :)

Letter to an Old Poet

You’re not special, you’re evil / you don’t get to tell me to calm down / you made me feel like an equal / but I’m better than you, and you should know that by now

Slate has a lot of baggage in her life, coming from an abusive long term relationship with Malus and abusive parents, and escaping indentured servitude (read: slavery). Despite that, she has survived, though with deep scars. She has the same theme of ‘abuse’ as the other origin characters, except rather than breaking free of those toxic relationships, she is dealing with the aftermath of leaving abuse behind and how to survive beyond it.

Last Words of a Shooting Star

I always wanted to die clean and pretty / but I’d be too busy on working days / so I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted / I couldn’t have changed anyway

From Gale’s perspective after being infected with the tadpole. With the orb, he wanted to be able to die meaningfully and in forgiveness, not in body horror ceremorphosis. Ultimately though, he was prepared to die, this is just an unexpected method. It could be worse- he is relieved that he is far from those he loves, and that his affairs are mostly in order. At least this way, he thinks, his death won't be as hard on Tara and his mother (they’ll think of me kindly / when they come for my things)

Through Me (The Flood)

Picture a man /... swimming out beyond the breakers / like he's done his life before / he feels a coming of the squall / will drag him out a greater length / but knows his strength, and tries to gather it / and he swims on

Following their abduction, Slate and Gale’s situation seems hopeless, and it seems foolish to waste energy struggling. Nonetheless, they join up with the rest of the party, gathering their strength to meet the oncoming storm. It may be impossible, but there is still value in trying.

Dog Days are Over

Happiness hit her like a train on a track / coming towards her, stuck still, no turning back / she hid around corners and she hid under beds / she killed it with kisses and from it she fled

Slate and Gale are both somewhat estranged from happiness. So, when they start to form a bond with the other, they instinctively try to push it away. Slate because she knows that you can only be betrayed by those you trust, and Gale because he thinks himself a dead man walking.

Northern Attitude

If I get too close / and I’m not how you hoped / forgive my northern attitude / oh I was raised out in the cold /… oh I was raised on little light

Slate hasn’t had an easy life, and while she does like Gale, she worries that she is too damaged to be with him. This song is her begging him to forgive her for keeping her heart walled off from the world, trying to assure him that she does love him, even if she can’t say it.

First Light

The sky set to burst / the gold and the rust / the colour erupts /... the sun coming up / like I lived my whole life / before the first light

A classic of Gale playlists (thanks Tim!). Gale letting in the flood of light that Slate is for him, letting himself see colour again. In one sudden moment he is realising what it means to love somebody who brings warmth to him life (unlike somebody we could mention)

Hello My Old Heart

Hello, my old heart / it’s been so long / since I’ve given you away / and every day, I add another stone / to the walls I built around you / to keep you safe

Slate starts to deconstruct the walls around her heart, opening herself up to Gale, and allowing herself to be vulnerable to him. She still isn’t convinced that it won’t end with her brokenhearted, but she is starting to think that even if it all ends in tragedy, the happiness from the good parts will make it worth the pain.

Graceland Too

No longer a danger to herself or others / she made up her mind and laced up her shoes / yelled down the hall, but nobody answered / so she walked outside without an excuse

This song is about loving somebody who is self destructive and mentally ill. One one side, it depicts the suicidal path Gale is being pushed down by Mystra and Elminster. On the flip side, it depicts the struggle for Slate of loving somebody who is suicidal. Ultimately, Gale chooses to find a new path.

Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You

Has anyone ever written anything for you? / in your darkest hours / have you ever heard me sing?

Gale to Slate. He knows the she hasn't had many people who have truly been on her side and there for her. Gale wants her to know that she is worthwhile, and that she is worthy of his love; that she deserves to have words and actions of love given to her.

Home to Me

How dare you love me like you never known fear?

Slate to Gale. This portrays Slate’s astonishment at how vulnerable Gale lets himself be. He seems to dive into their love without fear, despite the orb in his chest, despite the very real possibility of the world ending and their souls being destroyed. And despite all that, he is still choosing to love her rather than shutting out the potential of pain.

Something Just Like This

I’m not looking for somebody with some superhero gifts / some superhero / some fairy tale bliss / just something I can turn to / somebody I can kiss / I want something just like this

Slate doesn’t need Gale to be a god. She doesn’t need him to be Chosen. She doesn’t need him to be a powerful wizard. She only wants something just like this.

Inkpot Gods

And to those gods, I will speak bluntly / “we’ve an accord, if you ever touch or harm him / please rest assured that you might not fear a man / but to a woman, by the end, you’ll kneel and plea, ‘cause I’m more than what my mum told me to be”

An anthem to growing despite and overcoming trauma. As two highly traumatised people, Slate and Gale can’t fix mental illness with love, but they support each other, have the other’s back, and rejoice in recovery. Its also Slate's 'stay the fuck away Mystra' song.

Fair

He'll trip and she'll pretend not to have seen / Burying her head into his chest and clinging to the moment / "Where have you been?" she'll whisper/ "I've waited oh so long for you to come" / And as the stars above them hum and hear them / He'll turn to her and say, "That's what she said"

Slate and Gale travel to Waterdeep to start anew. Their love is strong and deep, and their bond has been tested time and time again. Yet, there is also beauty in the mundanity of love; in the everyday. This song has so many great lines it was hard to choose. I love how this song contrasts grand gestures of love (she promises to fight them all when it all becomes too much) and the day-to-day moments (you don’t need to pretend to be someone you’re not / ‘cause it’s not like I’ve never heard you fart and snore). Gale is a man of big, romantic gestures (conjure a beautiful starscape for your lover, intertwine your souls in the astral plane), but the everyday moments are just as beautiful and meaningful, and only become more so after Gale rejects godhood to remain mortal.