#Particularly regarding in game daggers and whatnot

[tiredassmage]

SWOOPS IN

Tav Questions for Leo: 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 21 and 22

GIGGLES! I knew you'd be at it! I'm still not too far into his run, so I had to let these marinate a little and get a bit further along in Act I to get a bit more data.

[30 Questions for Your Tav!]

3. Did your Tav receive any formal or informal education? If yes, how well did they learn? If no, why not?

So far I’m thinking to still diagnose him with unloved by rich parents syndrome, as per the textposts pile, lol, so, yes, I imagine Leo experienced some level of formal education; the family is well-known enough for their business endeavors in Baldur’s Gate, but probably less recognized than his father’s puffed chest might long to suggest and maintain. I think Leo’s a bit of a fan of stories as escapism in that sense; I’m playing him on College of Valor Bard, but his “education” in that regard is more likely to have come from tavern tales at the Blushing Mermaid and escapades to Sharess’s Caress. The other class I had briefly entertained was Wizard, so perhaps that’s where his family would’ve preferred he spent his time honing more of his talents versus where he really ended up. I think he likely finished most of his basic education with tutors and whatnot in the city before one of many, many arguments about Leo’s life choices finally saw him run out and fall in with less scrupulous crowds.

His martial training then is almost entirely informal - picked up from tavern brawls, pirates, and smugglers that became more and more of his common company in more recent years, until finally they became about his only primary company once he left his family. He knows enough to read and write well, and he’s absorbed some measure of history, but he wouldn’t self-describe as well-read and he’ll leave investigating every dusty tome in abandoned cathedrals and dilapidated towns to Gale’s ambitious nose. Ultimately, I think I’d call him a bit more street-wise than book-smart, but I also wouldn’t want to oversell either, exactly. The many fights at home make him a bit easily irritable at times and patience isn’t a particularly strong virtue of his. More than anything, he’d probably best be described as of a college of fucking around and finding out, frankly.

4. What hobbies does your Tav have? How did they acquire these interests?

Leo enjoys a game of cards and oral storytelling, though the latter might be something of a given with his class, lol. A lively tavern scene in the evening was a place to explore expression and live more out-of-bounds and it’s informed a lot of what Leo is currently. The art of the improvised, cutting insult was almost as good a defense as a sharpened dagger when he first started to jab elbows and shoulders with the kind in the Lower City those of the Upper would generally rather pretend don’t exist. Huddled around tavern bards, he’d hear colorful tales of adventure and exploration that planted the idea with him that it might be an alternative to the suffocating demands of power and prestige in the city.

8. Did your Tav have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their Illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how do they feel about being single?

I’m still kind of hammering out the details and the whens, the hows, the whos, etc. of exactly what life was like for Leo before the mindflayers came and turned everything upside down, but the short answer is yes. One of Leo’s later frequent locations before a plan to leave Baldur’s Gate entirely started to take any sort of shape was Sharess’s Caress. Lured by not exactly the most honest crowd to such locales, Leo found sharing company in the arms of another man far more preferable to gritted teeth pleasantries with fair maidens at noble gatherings - something he’d generally have preferred to keep perhaps a bit more under lock and key. Not all of those experiences were exactly positive in that regard, and they play a hand in the kind of crowd he hung out with when he finally abandoned (or was run out of, depending on who you ask) Upper City living - smugglers, thieves, pirates - the likes of which taught him how to bargain and the power of a manipulative word perhaps better than any tutoring on dinner table manners and politics ever had.

One may have been the exception to Leo’s generally… questionable choice of company, however - a fellow bard with bright green eyes and hair the shade of a vibrant sunset over the docks. His chiding on Leo’s typical choice of company was usually accompanied with a kiss… or a handful of them. And worried eyes would often linger around the edges of the tavern songs they learned together. Neither of them were sure where they would go if they left, but… maybe… if they did…

Unfortunately, life isn’t exactly like the fairy tales, is it?

9. What was your Tav doing when they were taken by the mindflayers?

Trying to survive, as the short answer. While Leo wouldn’t exactly claim he’s a gifted liar or even a performer (generally), if nothing else, he’s got an odd brand of luck, maybe. A roundabout talking in and out of situations that came in handy and was honed when he found himself keeping the company of smugglers to have place to put his head down at night, shorn of the noble trappings that had initially raised him (or claimed it, at any rate). With the failed idealization of disappearing into the wilds of the realm still bitter and aching on his lips, Leo’s nothing if not a creature of habit. There was a lot about his life aiding smugglers (and possibly dubiously owing some connection to the Zhentarim about it) that wasn’t exactly not broken, but it was… working. Sort of. For the moment. It was a hell of a more appealing option than trying to crawl home and grovel for some biting form of ‘forgiveness’ for spurning the rest of his family, at the absolute least. At least he knew where he stood when someone put a dagger to his throat, eh?

11. What would your Tav consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

Leo’s list of personal accusations is… fairly extensive. Unreliable of judgement, more coward than could be respectable, at the very least selfishly interested in keeping his own life. He’s a far harsher critic than need be, but there’s… a kernel of truth to his penchant for making ill-advised decisions. He could benefit a lot from giving himself a bit more grace that a lot of his more “questionable” decisions are motivated out of some flavor of fear (and who wouldn’t be overwhelmed when faced with a mindflayer invasion and a growing cult to some new god you’ve never heard of [no, he didn’t pay that great of attention to his history lessons, but how much does that really matter right now?!]). His biggest trouble maker is generally the whole package of misconstrued flaws and blame; Leo’s lack of… confidence? kindness? For himself usually leads him deeper into a cycle of acting in ways that fit the narrative of selfish, skittish, short of patience, and whichever other unflattering monikers he deems fit for the day than allowing him some space to recognize such fears and needs for a place to belong or fit in root from a not particularly supportive youth spent failing to meet lofty and often cutting expectations, mostly set by his father.

21. How does your Tav feel about love?

A darling subject for songs. Everyone loves a good ballad. He’d rather down several pints of questionable and not even particularly good ale than wrangle with the feeling in his chest that spawns from hearing the word and the memories it sparks of that other bard he spent a not insignificant amount of time learning from and spending time with. It’s nice. And it’s sweet - so he hears. It seems tempting to give a lot to enjoy the feeling of someone else’s hand nestled perfectly in one of yours, or to lose track of hours in an evening simply because you’re lost in the stars of their eyes…

What? No, he’s not wistful or hurting or missing anyone in particular. Shut up. How could you? He’s a bard, flowery words for all of this is just what he’s supposed to be good at!

(He’d… love it, to be ungraceful.) To be ungraceful but accepted with another.

He wants it. He tells himself he’ll settle for the mere physical sensations of closeness to another.

Nothing else has ever worked out to plan for him, after all. Might as well let others name the role for him and merely fill it. Maybe he isn’t the smoothest, most charismatic liar or charmer you’ve ever met, but he’s a performer by trade, right? At least he might be good for something, then.

22. Has your Tav become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

Well, I’ll say I ruined my sleep schedule to finish the goblin camp last night and Leo’s love life in this party is frankly a fucking mess, which is just about what I expected, knowing him kafnalds;flsdf. I don’t think he knows what he wants yet.

Wyll’s charming - far more a righteous heart than Leo could ever see himself being. He is a darling hero. Those always make for charming songs. He’s sweet. Good. The kind word Leo can’t help but crave to hear. But maybe too good for him. It seems he’s got quite enough going on without adding… whatever… [vague gesturing] Leo’s got going on. The reasonable one, maybe. The type that would be in the thick of goblins and monsters and cultists and trying to save the world. Leo would be lying (and probably poorly, if the blush is to say anything) if he tried to claim he wasn’t interested in seeing the Blade’s dance or sharing a drink sometime. And maybe he’s a little curious what it’d be like to kiss those scars and ridges. Tempting…

Karlach and him need to be friends, I think. Absolutely wonderful, disastrous (positive) friends. Karlach’s just a powerhouse of energy for life - with a heart of adventure, a mouth just as good at ass-kicking as her strength of arms, and really just an all-around kind of alive and kicking that might just be as contagious or more than the heat of her engine. If she wouldn’t entirely singe him, she could absolutely pick Leo clean up off the ground and spin him around. I quite think she will, assuming they can make sure he wouldn’t roast in the process. To give him the opportunity to know what it’s like to be tall, y’know! Friends in hijinks energy.

And I think… Astarion might have his fangs in a bit more than his neck, for better or worse. Part of me wants to say of course you would, Leo. Because… of course he would. I’m not sure it’s genuinely affection and charm just yet - and Leo’s not exactly fully aware of the full scope of scheming it could be, exactly. He’s probably just aware enough that it could be little more than convenience and some sort of play at power or… some such, but he doesn’t particularly… care. At the moment. If it is just that. Which I’d say has the potential to backfire on both of them and accidentally get feelings in the mix if they keep going like this. Leo had sort of resigned himself to the physical nature of it, but there’s an undeniable charm to being called darling that Leo might… just forget to keep his head on straight [as if anything about him is] about.

And I’m… wondering how him and Gale are going to get along in the long run. Something about ambition between the two of them might end up scratching my brain, but it’s a bit too early for me to tell just where they’re going. Given Leo’s absolutely haphazard sense of direction though, that little bit of magic shared one night might’ve left Leo blushing and both of them stumbling a bit for more eloquent speech. We’ll just have to stay tuned for this one.

[mischiefandmystics]

Flame-kissed Dawn