#A lot of his fancies come from books but he isn't young and doe-eyed about it. He's like 40. He's realistic about these things but

[recitedemise]

𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. Even as a child, Gale struggled to find steadfast friends. He had rambled too much, was a prodigious student among overly envious wizard boys, and honestly, to make sure he kept in the good graces of most, he, with some practice, hammered a mold. He didn't wear a mask, of course, more leaning on concealing his more 'unsavory' quirks, but it was not unlike walking like just half of he was--offering, essentially, the more 'palatable' parts. He was proud, sure, riling his share of more insecure peers, but he was good at magic, obnoxiously good, and in time, people weathered that pride to essentially ride his coattails. As Mystra's chosen, however, that doubled in force. He learned to hide himself, learned he was loved exclusively for magic. He made more friends among those lonely evenings in his tower, growing familiar with the voice of long dead authors and finding, of course, fulfillment in words. In fact, his idea of romance comes largely from words. It's partly why when smitten, he's such traditional ideas. He's not socially inept, mind you, but many of his thoughts come taken from stories, and if asked, he'd admit to having his heart steeped a touch in romanticism--though age, blessedly, has tempered the naive.

With the orb, unfortunately, he learned to quell himself only further. Gale could only feel so much, a terrible weight for a man who longs most to be seen and heard. Again, he'd further stemmed his excitements, his babbling passions and the stars in his eyes, and even despair and heartache were halved or quartered, or else, of course, the orb would burst. Now, he's learned not to be burden, that on top of being something half of himself. Suddenly, Gale being Gale wasn't just halfway a nuisance, but Gale being Gale could be more than inconvenient--Gale of Waterdeep is now plainly catastrophic.

Gale doesn't exactly hate himself, but it's hard for him to think anyone would like him for him. He's so starved to show himself just as he is--and it's partly why he rushes to give himself over completely when the moment's right.

[gabessquishytum]

Hob snuck into this fancy party up the hill, cause why not. These rich as fuck Endless bastards lord their money and power over the town, but make sure to stay "safe" behind their high walls. What did Hob have to lose, just taking a peek, he was getting out of this shit town tomorrow, his truck was gassed and his scholarship was secured. He was just going to grab a drink and see what all the fuss was about.

As he was wandering around the dumb house, filled with horrible people, Hob happened on a beautiful library that was filled with books and a crying, pretty, paint-covered, boy who was maybe Hob's age. Hob didn’t want to get involved, but he couldn't just leave someone sad and crying.

When some asked him if he was okay, Dream wasn't prepared to look up to see a doe-eyed (horribly dressed) handsome young man. He thought it would just be his horrible parents, siblings or some combination of their horrible party guests. All there to just make fun of him. Dream wished he could just leave this place!

The boy, young man, was even more beautiful when he looked up at Hob with deep blue eyes. Hob was hooked.

When he left town in the morning, Hob had more than his suitcase in his beat up pickup truck - he had a pretty artist and a new roommate. It was too soon to do more than hope they could be more......

I love the idea of Hob being a thief who ends up stealing Dream right from under the nose of his family.

Poor Dream is... somewhat clueless about the outside world. He's led a sheltered life, and he doesn't quite understand some things. But that's okay, because Hob takes care of him. And Dream is a damn good artist, with a proper education, so it's not long before he manages to get a commission here and there. He can finally contribute to the rent on his and Hob’s shitty bedsit! They get pizza to celebrate and sit on the floor with candles and soft music. Both of them are desperate to lean in for a kiss, but they're both too scared of the potential rejection...

Dream's art gets noticed by lots of people, and soon he's actually doing very well in the local area. He does wall-art for shops and cafes, murals for the community centre, and of course he paints the sad little flat where he and Hob are still living in a myriad of colours. It's beautiful. Hob is so in love.

They run into some old friends of Dream’s family at some point, and they start getting mean and making threats. Hob acts on instinct and throws a punch that sends the ringleader of the assholes sprawling. He runs off with Dream in tow, and they end up hiding in an alley, breathing hard and gazing into each other's eyes. Their lips meet...

And someone comes at them from behind, knocking Hob in the back of the head and bundling Dream away from him, into a car. Its so quick he barely has time to scream.

He knows he's being dragged back to his family, and his heart is racing - what if Hob isn't okay?

But of course Hob is okay. And he's coming after his pretty artist. No one gets to take his Dream away. He'll burn the whole damned house down if he has to, and then he'll give Dream the proper kiss that he deserves.