Originally Posted by Tarlonniel
My thoughts on Gale are... complicated. He's certainly charming and witty, but he can also be dishonest and selfish, and the latter qualities turn up at some very inopportune moments in the romance. That's a shame, because it puts me off pursuing his romance at all, even though in the early stages it's quite promising.

He seems like a decent guy - under the old alignment system I'd put him at true neutral with good tendencies. I enjoy his non-romance track, it's rewarding to get him to slowly open up and reveal what he's going through, and he's generally helpful and supportive. I know some people find his arrogance off-putting, but I'm more entertained by it than anything. I'm looking forward to where his story goes - I think there are probably a few more surprises in store.

Makes him all the more human, doesn't it? I've usually thought that his inflated confidence to be a result of his insecurities and fear of abandonment. People tend to find charisma and intelligence to be attractive qualities, I so often theorize that due to his past, personal traumas that he goes overboard with his bravado to keep people at an arm's length but interested enough not to leave. That could be seen as manipulative, but I can understand why he does that if my theory is accurate.

If I might ask, at what point did those less-than-flattering qualities show up for you? I'd like to look at them myself to see if I can better understand your point-of-view.