what was gaspard's relationship like with his family? (wife, children, parents, etc.) is he open to talking about them, share many fond memories, etc.?
-rubs hands together- ahhhh this is a good one, thank you!!!
I’ll talk first about gaspard’s wife, calienne de ghislain.now, there are approximately three canon facts about her – daughter of bastiende ghislain, keeps a poisoned stiletto in her sleeve, arranged a ‘huntingaccident’ for celene’s mother. but that just means I have room to play alittle, my favorite! I am quite certain that gaspard, being a politician, madethe match from political reasons. I’m also quite certain that, from thedescription, they complemented each other well. I headcanon a pleasant littleproper courtship, in which the two discovered that political alliances aside,they were very well suited to each other. she had the more bardic side covered; he had the military. between them, they were aforce to be reckoned with in the Game. yes, I’ll go so far as to say there waslove there, whether it began as a love match or not. they worked together welland were married for approximately twenty-seven years, after all! I like toimagine they had a relationship based on mutual respect, full of banter andlaughter. she managed the domestic affairs while he was away leading thearmies, and he could trust her to do so, and to manage the social side of theirpolitical life as well. they were happy, in other words. he grieves her still, though it’s been a good twenty years and the sharpness of it has faded.
meanwhile, despite that, gaspard seems to have no childrenof their union. (I assume canon would at least mention them, if they existed…!) given the higher rates of infantand child mortality prior to modern medicine (and it’s canon that a fever tookthe children even of the highest nobles in orlais at one point, thus leavingonly celene and gaspard (and florianne…) in direct line for the throne, so weknow that magical healers aside, these things do happen) I’m going to go ahead and headcanon that calienne may havehad miscarriages or there were children who didn’t make it out of infancy.otherwise, it seems odd that, love or no love, the prince and presumed heir oforlais wouldn’t take a wife who was fertile and could provide him heirs, if hiscurrent one wasn’t….
as to his parents – theodore, his father, was very distantand not particularly involved in the lives of his children. he was moreinterested in drinking and gambling and other such decadence than in hisfamily. this much is canon, per WoT2. I actually don’t doubt that part of thereason young gaspard went into the academie de chevaliers was to find thestrong male support figures his life was lacking, along with purpose,structure, and the sense of honor and pride that someone like theodoredefinitely did not have. so in a sense,gaspard was very inspired by his father – to be as unlike him as possible.
meanwhile, his mother melisande coveted the throne and spentall of young florianne’s life grooming her for the game. it seems likely thatshe basically did the same thing to gaspard, imparting upon him her own driveand ambition from a very young age. she herself would never have the throne andby then she knew it; but she raised her son to be a prince of the empire and toknow in his bones he was the future emperor, living her ambitions through him. there wasn’t a lot of room forsoftness and affection in that sort of upbringing, but at least she was moreinvolved with his life than theodore.
and finally, dear sister florianne. she’s about thirteenyears younger than gaspard and was very young when gaspard left to join theacademie des chevaliers. there were no other children in emperor florian’scourt and so young florianne would have been very isolated and likely quitequiet and strange and watchful and lonely. melisande raised florianne to be herolder brother’s support, too; the whole aim of florianne’s life was meant to begaining the throne for gaspard. when gaspard returned, he doted upon hisyounger sister. he brought her gifts, he told her stories, he took her with himinto the city and to the theatre and he expanded the narrow horizons of herexistence in any way he could. when gaspard himself was finally allowed to joinemperor florian’s cabinet, he insistedthat florianne be allowed to come too, as his page. he adored and pampered her;and in return she idolized him. of course, in the end, that all twisted intoresentment and gaspard never saw it. he never expected betrayal from her, ofall people.
not a meme but just send me things to write/write about
