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Gale Dekarios is Autistic

  • Writer: LyDiA
    LyDiA
  • Dec 26, 2024
  • 3 min read

Tangent Blog Post (#1)


I've been considering making posts about characters (videogame, movie, book) that I love, as I've come to realize that they too are likely autistic. Also, part of healing the trauma that usually precedes late-diagnosis is to embrace your autism, thus embrace your SPINs, and well...


While I've always loved Dungeons & Dragons, and especially spellcasting, I don't know that it's on par with being considered one of my special interests. Gale however, did earn my hyperfocus for about a month, and he always makes me giddy (god, I'm so autistic), so he just may be considered a SPIN.


Having gotten to know his character intimately, let's break down why I'm certain he is also autistic (whether it was intended or not).


Gale is Autistic, a list:

  • One of the easiest ways, arguably, to see autism is through an autistic and their SPINs. Gale has three VERY obvious SPINs, and arguably a fourth:

    • reading

      Gale Dekarios, a white male wizard in purple robes, after being asked to leave the group and rest at camp says, "I'll get little rest given the stack of unread books waiting for me."
      Gale flirts with the player after a battle saying, "I once read a book that explained in some detail the effect a brush with danger has on one's desire for... other forms of stimulation."

    I mean who except an autistic nerd with a reading SPIN would flirt like this? lmao

    and he was kinda shy about it like what a cute lil autistic ass

    • magic

      Gale says "Magic is... my life. I've been in touch with the Weave for as long as I can remember. There's nothing like it. It's like music, poetry, physical beauty all rolled into one and given expression through the senses."
      Gale casts a spell into the starry night sky to make an aurora of green, purple, and blue light.

    • the third is below in the Spoilers section since it's more obvious via one of his endings

    • collecting

      Gale shows the player a room in his tower. The wall is full of shelves of books and his desk is cluttered with items. He says, "the sculptures, the paintings, the walls enlivened by the spines of a thousand books."
      Gale, after explaining that he has a curse that consumes magical items, says, "Oh, it's not so bad once you get used to it. And on the plus side, my tower in Waterdeep has never been so free of clutter."

      Collecting is a common autistic interest!


  • This man also definitely hyperfocuses

    The player sits on a cushioned bench, and Gale says, "My favorite spot. Many times, evening turned to night and back to daybreak once more while I sat here, lost in words."

+1 for reading SPIN


  • He does not have a large social group; in fact, he tends to focus on one companion at a time (Mystra, Tara, TAV)

    Gale says "If I'm being entirely honest, my social circle is rather small. More of a dot. Or a pinhead. I've got acquaintances, certainly. Plenty of colleagues. But friends? Those are precious indeed."

    His narrow interests/attention can also be called monotropism


  • He stims (though he hides it by talking with his hands)

    Gale bites his fingernail as he says "I think he wants something from us. Badly. And in that knowledge lies our opportunity."

  • It's commonly "joked" that he talks too much, when really he's just info-dumping/covering all the deets (a trait of autistic communication)

    • Another trait of autistic communication is no small talk. Gale's first interactions usually skip right over it:

      Gale stares at a campfire and says to the player as they approach "Go to Hell." He contemplates this phrase after actually seeing Hell.

    • Another is direct communication, which Gale is by no means indirect, though he may be superfluous in his directness (see what I did there?).

    • How Gale is perceived by the masses really goes to show the misunderstanding that results from the difference in communication between autistics and allistics. This even shows in Gale's interaction with other characters:

      The player and their group enter a tavern. Shadowheart, a woman with white hair and scale mail armor, says, "Not too downmarket of an establishment for you I hope, Gale?" She had interpreted Gale as a posh person. Gale responds, "Not at all! Why, some of the finest artists and musicians began their careers amidst stale beer and sticky floors."

      • This is also a great example of direct communication. A NT would interpret Gale's commentary on the beer and floors to be a judgment of the setting, whereas Gale is simply stating true observations.

    • The most common misunderstanding is that Gale is arrogant, when he's literally just honest (and that awesome haha)

      After the player asks Gale how he is feeling, Gale says "At a loss, really. People have always commented on my confidence, sometimes my over-confidence, and in one particularly cut-throat assessment at university - my 'abject and incorrigible self-delusion."

      Not to mention that he's memorized and held onto this assessment for years lmao


  • After overwhelming/stimulating events, an autistic person will either meltdown or shutdown. Gale experienced a huge episode of the later (accompanied by shame spiraling, also common with autism)

    Gale says, "After I was afflicted with my condition, I locked myself in my tower for an entire year. I was inconsolable, wallowing in my self-inflicted tragedy."

  • He's a homebody (aka having a safe space at home)

    Gale conjures his tower to show the player, saying "The scene is this: you and I stand in the room that is the center of my universe."
    After Gale explains he spent many nights on the porch reading alone and the player says it sounded lonely, Gale replies, "On the contrary. No one is lonely when they have books - except perhaps the illiterate."

+1 (x2) for reading SPIN


  • Gale is good to the core/he cares about things being just and fair—this is what a neurotypical would call Justice Sensitivity

    The player says "Putting a child on display like that was monstrous. I'm glad we intervened." Gale replies "Couldn't agree more. The girl wasn't innocent, but that doesn't mean she was guilty."

  • He scripts

    Gale says, "During my time locked away in Waterdeep, I prepared a quite comprehensive speech for her on the subject of our former relationship, and the manner in which it ended."

  • He's a child prodigy wizard, which could be argued that means he's a savant. Autistics are more likely to be savant than any other neurotypes.

    • Given this and his interest in reading, he was probably also hyperlexic as a child, which is also common with autism.


  • He's a logical yet empathetic sweetheart

    Gale explains he stops a fight at a bar when he "stood up and yelled 'Shadowdark ale for everyone!"

    • the idea that autistic people lack empathy is a common misconception caused by being diagnosed by neurotypicals and the aforementioned communication differences. Many autistics are actually on the other end of the empathy spectrum and are hyper-empathetic

      Gale says "Well, generosity is always a noble virtue - whether it be in the streets, at the charity box, or betwixt the sheets."

;)


  • He likes to be correct and efficient (shouldn't everyone?)

    Gale says, "That's the thing with being quite clever - you always have to be right. Probe all avenues, consider all possibilities."

I recently learned Efficiency is a common autistic concern


  • Autism is usually accompanied by a difficulty with emotional awareness. I don't think we see this often with Gale BUT we do have this scene where he doesn't recognize nervousness until its at an extreme peak:

    Gale frowns and says, "I always wondered what being nervous would feel like. I hate it."

Gale also just generally operates in the extremes when it comes to

emotions, also common with neurodivergence!



  • I mean, this man is so autistic, he upgraded to Astral Connection™ to avoid all that physically overstimulating action

    Gale and the player are blue holographic bodies in the night sky staring lovingly and expectantly at one another.


SPOILERS

  • Gale's third SPIN is teaching

    After Gale helps the player cast a spell, he says, "Very good."
    Gale says "Teaching at Blackstaff Academy has proven such an unexpected pleasure. Sometimes I find it hard to tear myself away."

    +1 for hyperfocus


  • +1 (x2) for hyperfocus (yeah, yeah, time difference, but still)

    Gale is in his new form with silver skin and glowing blue eyes, and he wears a blue and gold robe. The player says, "I thought you were dead. I haven't heard from you in months." Gale responds, "I'm afraid time works quite differently in Elysium. I didn't realize how long I'd been gone, until I received Withers' summons."


Bonus points

  • I'm autistic and I fucking love him

    • NDs usually bond better with other NDs, due to our different communication style (it's hard to bond with a neurotype that is likely to misinterpret you)

  • I think he's hilarious

    Gale's mirror image, what looks like him but is surrounded in a blue glow, says "You are speaking to a mere projection of Gale - his appearance, his voice, and a certain measure of his personality - reconstituted in this case to play as emissary and usher." As the projection says "personality," it poses goofily.

    • I'd argue most autistic people have a similar sense of humor (which I think also goes with the unique style of communication)



Thanks for coming to my GaleTalk! #galetok? Idk I wanted some kind of funny closing statement or Gale reference but this is all I got.


 
 
 

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