#but also SOMEONE DOESN'T END UP WITH MINTHARA AND THE EMPEROR

[the-weeping-dawn]

Even though Ilz would pretty rarely refuse personal power when given a chance basically the only person he wouldn't argue on that is literally Bane himself since personally his general goal was just to stay useful enough to stay alive, and yes a level of power is needed for that (and still prefers it when he looks weak, and is kept out of the centre as much as possible....) but doesn't see it as quite the same. Especially if one doesn't ignore that he certainly does get drawn to people who don't have small ambitions to say the least.

[majorasnightmare]

follow-up question to the ask about Dirge's adoptive parents: how does being raised by drow in early childhood affect his relationship with Minthara? does it make a difference?

how does it affect their relationship when Dirge inevitably remembers them (and how they died)?

DIRGETHARA POSTING HOURS ARE REAL AND RIGHT NOW!!! in response to THIIIIIS older ask!

The memories Dirge gets in game are all he gets. He never remembers anything more about his parents. The Emperor's Dream Guardian disguise falling is the only Extrs Bonus lore Dirge gets, with the vaguest recollection its his mother once he gets the Heal memory of killing his family. Other than that? Nothing. His parents are strangers to him, and he barely recalls his father's face, the memory distorted by time and savagery both. His mothers image is overlaid with the Emperor's deception. He recalls nothing of his childhood, with him or with Orin. His life starts that day in the Nautiloid, with vague blurry context before it. His past is a ghost he can never see clearly.

Minthara, in a lot of ways, is Dirge's only real connection to that past. The context that gave rise to his parents, the circumstances that led to them being involved in his life. He doesn't get to have any answers about their lives or their upbringings, the food they missed or the traditions they wouldve wanted to take with them. He doesnt even know if they *liked* Menzo. All he can do is learn as much as he can, and Minthara is Dirge's only real window into that world. Its one that ends up meaning a surprising amount to him.

Initially his curiosity about Menzoberranzan was because of his interest in Minthara herself, but post act 3 (when hes seen his mother and recognized her image as such thru the emperor, and recalls the killing of his parents), it takes on a personal interest. After the epilogue, Dirge really has to build himself up as someone who exists outside of Bhaal, something and someONE more than just another bhaalspawn. He has to contextualize his identity and his personhood beyond the scraps Bhaal has left him with. Part of that is his heritage as a tiefling of course (which he has ties with through Karlach), part of that is his religious upbringing (which Shadowheart and Isobel can also contribute to), but a prominent part he has no context for is that he was taken in by a drow couple in the poor part of the Gate. In that way, Minthara's recollection of Menzoberranzan is both his past, through his parents, and his future, through her.

I think Minthara groks that very early on. Shes someone deeply defined by her origins and the background it gave her, and knows Dirge is more or less floundering lost in that regard. Its... difficult, to live contextless. She couldn't imagine it for herself, and she'd hate for it to happen to anyone else. Everyone is a result of the circumstances that gave rise to them, and while the rest of the world has the privellege of knowing themselves (even if most lack the desire to interrogate themselves as such), Dirge is forced to play detective even as his past looms ever present like an eternal poltergeist. Defined and forged by invisible mysteries, their mechanisms forever shrouded by the fog of amnesia and trauma. Minthara likes to feel needed, like shes useful and contributing, and while that subsides some once shes settled into her new life in the Gate, she does still take a non insignificant amount of pride and satisfaction in being Dirge's *only* connection to Menzo. Not to the degree of sabotage, but theres something comforting about her partner not only taking an interest in her life because its *hers*, but because its something irreplacable she can offer *him* too. Minthara enjoys that fluid past-present relation Menzo now occupies for them: her fondly remembered childhood, his shrouded past, their lives entagled in each other so inextricably. The flavors and customs he mightve grown up with, an intrinsic part of his beloved. Its very... warm, if that makes sense. Theres a lot of earnest, genuine sincerity to it, on both their ends. An equal amount of self interest and compassion. Its very reciprocal. And it forms a lot of the bedrock foundation that makes up both of them, as individuals and as a couple.

Overall, Dirge being raised by drow didn't end up having much influence on his personality, because of Bhaal's intervention. He ended up a perfect fit for Menzo anyways out of sheer coincidence (and, as Minthara would probably affirm, its simply the most efficient and logical conclusion to reach when in circumstances necessitating the acquisition of power 😤 #MenzoNumber1) but not as a result of his upbringing. Well. Not as a result of his PARENTS upbringing that is. Hard to impart much cultural heritage when your making ends meet in a foreign surface city where your barely tolerated and definitely not accepted, raising a toddler who MIIIIGHT be subject to Evil Influences (if the rumors about tieflings are anything to go by) but is mostly just Loudly Three Years Old, all while juggling work and domestic care and managing schedules and also trying to find some way to snag presents and treats for the big-eyed little creachur back home. Dirge was honestly JUST getting to about the age where things werent so hectic and he didn't need so much constant attention, which wouldve given them some much needed breathing room to really share that heritage with Dirge, but god forbid Bhaals favorite knife arm gets anything.

So the long and short of it is that Dirge's parents didnt have time to contribute much to how he turned out, but the vacancy they left behind is a shared point of connection for both him and Minthara, so even though they were prevented from helping to shape the person he used to be, in no small way they get to contribute to the person he gets to be now.

[captain-wereduck]

So, hello there, this is Niil, my Perfect princess of a frog OC, a self-made blorbo that made me love Githyanki.

He is supposed to be an OC in a post-canon fanfic I daydream about writing (instead of writing) not a Tav, but I decided to give him a go, just to familiarize myself with the character.

90 hours later I realized it was an oopsie on my part but ah well.

__

What Niil originally meant to be, was a Gith scout. The one they send to sniff out the locals, find a neat place for a creche, gather information and so on.

Well, to be honest according to Voss he was supposed to be a corpse. Because Niil was too observant for his own good with too little mouth to brain filter.

He kinda quickly realized there was something really off about Vlaakith and the gith culture, poked and compared with istik societies to see even more...

Before his questions could kill someone actually important Voss kicker him off the Astral place, hoping that one or another solo mission would eventually resolve the problem of Niil. It did not, but Voss ended up with unwittingly useful informant.

Niil ended up very good at going solo. He figured out early he needs to be less prickly and that helping locals out made them much easier to manipulate and talk to.

(and do other things to, my boy is a proud alienfucker and will talk about it if asked)

He also continued with his little hobby of observing and comparing and he ended up a little bit fixated on all things related to child rearing of all things.

Because most of the aliens spoil and coddle their young and somehow manage to end up with decent warriors once in awhile anyway. What is this magic, how and why.

Eventually Niil learned about the whole mess of Vlaakith betrayal and Orpheus and stuff and it was more of a confirmation than a shock to him.

In the fic that I'm not writing Niil would end up tasked with finding a place for a new creche vaguely close to Baldurs Gate, one that belonged under the rightful ruler and as a proof to Githzerai that the murdery Githyanki can coexist with other people just fine.

Ends up bumping into Astarion, who is currently hero-ing around and trying to figure out how to get invited into that big vampire mansion. Niil ends up as a very convenient door opener and exactly as convenient murder partner. And hey, he just found a real neat place for a creche, this mansion is huge.

__

As Tav, Niil ended up on the mostly good deed route - he doesn't go out of his way to ask everyone around about their problems, uses intimidation a lot, but if something is happening right there he'll help out. Helping out is a very neat manipulation tactic, people want to help him back and talk to other people about it. That equals with less people trying to murder Niil for being a gith and looking like a gith.

He got along with Astarion(same sense of humor) and Minthara from the get go (tho a lot of times it feels like he and Minthara talks about two different things while somehow having the same Convo, it's the weirdest thing), surprisingly enough Karlach was sus about him for the longest. Also got into small conflict with Gale, because stop trying to shove all that magic talk down his throat, please.

Upon the gameplay Niil managed to:

- Fail every History test. I did not reroll, he's an alien, how he's supposed to know that

- bullshit thiefling kids into thinking he's a swamp elf

- he's a glass Cannon, he folds like a wet paper twice per fight, if it drags on

- bullshit lady Esher into thinking that owlbear egg is a Githyanki egg. Trust him, he's a Githyanki, he knows how babies looks like.

- he got swallowed whole by a big thorny monster

- somehow got bugged and zoomed off the game map

- casually dropped himself to his death off the high ground bc the game funked up pathfinding around it.

- somehow managed to bullshit the Emperor into thinking he's not going to free Orpheus

- he's currently dodging Voss very hard to not talk to him about Orpheus

- he also rolled a very neat random Guardian. He's.... Really too much into purple for it to be healthy

- also a proud member of "sleeves are bullshit" club

[ryttu3k]

Planning out my BG3 Sascha run and whoops looks like we're doing another 'bad' run. I'm sure it'll be fine!

Using the aasimar mod for that tasty Angel of Caine dynamic 8D

Old(tm). Highest stats are INT and CHA, classed as a draconic bloodline sorcerer/wizard (bloodline is gold/fire, mostly putting levels in wizard). Can't be selected in-game but they're the grandchild of Kereska, dragon god of magic.

So yes a half-deity dragon angel with fire powers I know they're OP I know but also have you seen Sascha canonically.

Trauma in their backstory, because ofc. When they were young, they fell under the control of another aasimar, Symeon, child of Tyr, who in turn served Michael, who claimed to be the avatar of Sune. Symeon was charming and manipulative, and Sascha, then calling themself Myca, fell pretty quickly under his influence. It wasn't a great time.

Had a sweet romance with Ilias, child of Silvanus. Ilias died during the Spellplague. Myca changed their name to Sascha and. Hardened themself off somewhat.

Present day, a powerful sorcerer/wizard who regularly looks in on places like Blackstaff Academy, using illusion magic to hide their wings and stuff.

Secret! Netherese! Cultist!

Has a fascination with illithid technology. It's so visceral. Why is the damn ship crashing why can't they examine the meat crimes more :-\

Immediately takes charge with their OP charisma. General play vibes are like, pragmatic and not very sentimental, but does try to take care of their coterie.

Mostly fascinated with Gale, another powerful and ambitious mage with a connection to Netherese magic. Definitely encourages him to seek out his sorcerer side (he'll end up multiclassing Storm Sorcery) and, uh, the Crown but also with an eye to maybe? using it themself?

Wary about the Dream Visitor. Does not like having their mind fucked with. On the other hand, very open to using illithid powers, although by the time they get the astral-touched tadpole they're already too negative about the Emperor to agree.

Major decisions, act 1: We are straight-out skipping the druids/tiefling/goblin conflict! (Or, well, AFAIK you can't avoid the fight at the gate, but otherwise they're going to do that, trade with Arron, talk to whatshisname who had the run-in with the githyanki, then go "yeah this isn't my business" and leave.) Won't be recruiting Wyll, Karlach, or Halsin, and the tieflings are fucked, I'm sorry everyone ;_; Might end up entering the Goblin Camp just for more info on this True Soul/Absolute business, but staying steadfastedly Not Involved, then heading on to the Mountain Pass and the creche. Obviously that'll go poorly, although Sascha is still going to be like, yeah, the one in the Prism is shifty, sure, I'll kill them. So that'll put a dampener on any potential relationship!

Act 2: I am… actually not sure how to navigate the Shadow-Cursed Lands here, without getting the lyre from either Minthara or Nere, or attacking the convoy. Hm. Might just have to do a straight shot for Moonrise. AFAIK Minthara can be rescued here and Sascha is just "yeah fine why not". Largely skipping the Last Light, so no Jaheira, and, later, no Minsc, so final team will be Sascha, Gale, Astarion, Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Minthara. Does the Gauntlet for Shadowheart's sake, but will encourage her not to kill their fellow aasimar, so at least someone is getting a good end XD;; Okay they don't seem to like many other aasimar so, uh, sorry Aylin. Otherwise, makes themself at home at Moonrise and wreaks havoc while they're not looking while in the process of Learning Everything. And, uh, the Shadow Curse is not getting lifted, although tbh I think that was a given since I'm pretty sure Halsin dies if you don't get involved with the Grove-Goblin conflict ;_;

Act 3: Learning about the Emperor - they fuckin' knew it -_- When they meet Raphael later, doesn't agree to the deal, but does plan to steal the hammer instead. They want that crown for their bae, okay.

Character arcs: Gale - go for the crown, babe, I'll hold your flower. Shadowheart - she's already turned from Shar, let's just complete the process. Encourages her to let her parents go. Okay maybe she will go Dark Justiciar :| Astarion - …tragically I think they'd encourage Ascension I'm so sorry Astarion bby. Sascha is just, "Get revenge! Fuckin' eat him!" Lae'zel - reject Vlaakith, free Orpheus - although that's in part to spite the Emperor tbh. Don't know what's happening with Minthara, I guess we'll find out!

Endgame: Once they have the stones, have Orpheus turn illithid. Ultimately, destroy the Netherbrain, then encourage Gale to get the crown and become a god. For the epilogue, become a god alongside him. This won't go badly at all!

On the plus side, if I'm doing God!Gale romance here, I might be able to skip one of the several Astarion runs I have planned, and just do the "they actually do make each other better this time" run?

[linka-from-captain-planet]

⭐

I can never think of titles, so most of my fics are titled with song lyrics. I was from the songfic generation so maybe it just stuck. If I know what I want to write, sometimes I find a song to match the overall vibe and listen to it on repeat for hours while writing. It helps me zone in and get into the feeling. Sometimes the exact lyric I find the most *THEM* doesn't work as a title and it's a travesty tbh.

I'm also on team All Lower Case for no reason except that I think it looks better.

Cursed? playlist below cut, with further notes

Not a song title: An Anthology of Trib...ulations, but it is a tribbing joke, so. Although I don't think I ever got around to that particular act before I lost steam.

when my blue moon turns to gold again (Shadowheart/Lae'zel, warning for major character death) is from an Elvis song with the same title. It fits within the sad-joyful tone because the song is about how happy the singer will be when their lover returns to them, and how they'll never let them go again, but Shadowheart finds peace and joy in the part of Lae'zel that does return to her, even though she comes to learn Lae'zel has perished in the githyanki liberation battles. ALSO, this song is on the soundtrack of Desert Hearts, which is the greatest lesbian movie to ever exist.

green on the vine (Shadowheart/Nocturne) is from "Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter which has the line, "my first taste of love, oh bittersweet / green on the vine." The song is about a young love that fizzled out, but the singer looks back on it fondly because it was such a formative experience. So that's very Not the Experience Shadowheart and Nocturne had, and ironic because Shadowheart can't reminisce about her first young love. I chose 'green on the vine' as a title because it invokes the image of a fruit plucked too soon and made bitter, much like the way Shadowheart and Nocturne's relationship was cut short over and over by the demands of the cult.

mirage (Shadowheart/Nocturne, Shadowheart/Alfira) is the title of a song by Sylvia and this one is pretty on the nose. In this fic, Shadowheart sees Nocturne all around her as she engages with the Emerald Grove and meets the Dream Visitor. But this song is about being misled/manipulated by a lover, so it mostly refers to the Emperor using Nocturne's image to manipulate Shadowheart.

solitaire (Alfira/Lakrissa) is the title of a Carpenters song, about a lonely man who isolates himself and keeps himself from connecting with others and finding love. I imagined Lakrissa pushes others away with her flippant attitude and pessimism, and isolates herself (notice she sits alone talking to herself in the grove) and her experience in Moonrise is what motivates her to open up and accept the friendship and, in Alfira, the love that other people offer her.

like a candy to an apple (you're so sweet on me) (Alfira/Lakrissa) is from "It's Whatever" by Aaliyah. This is my Official Alfira/Lakrissa song imo, it captures the sweet, supportive, and romantic vibe I love for them perfectly. The whole line is, "like a candy to an apple, oh we go together / you're so sweet on me." This is a fun, romantic, sexy fic, so the song fic captures it perfectly. Definitely listen to this one if you don't know it, it's a favorite and everyone should know Aaliyah!

hold you like a python (Minthara/Florrick) is from "National Anthem" by Lana Del Rey, with the line being "I sing the national anthem while I am standing over your your body / hold you like a python." I always loved the imagery of this line, of squeezing the life out of someone to feed on them and feed one's own ambitions and that's kind of what's going on with florrithara in this fic. There's no romance yet, no feelings--just two powerful women engaged in this mutual chokehold, neither willing to back down, but sure to end with someone's guts on squeezed out on the floor.

lay you down on a bed of roses (Minthara/Florrick) is from "Bed of Roses" by Bon Jovi, in the line, "I'd like to lay you down on a bed of roses / but tonight I sleep on a bed of nails". I really don't have an excuse for this except I was like 'Minthara would love Bon Jovi' and I listened to this song on repeat for hours while writing that fic.

Minthara/Florrick also are part of a series, so they get a series title as well: "I could liken you to a werewolf (but I admit I provided a full moon)". This is from "Werewolf" by Fiona Apple which I think of as the florrithara theme song. It's about an unsalvageable relationship, and that's Minthara and Florrick. The line is truncated from the first two lyrics, but I'm gonna list about the first five lyrics because that's what I think of for this song and ship:

I could liken you to a werewolf the way you left me for dead but I admit, I provided a full moon. I could liken you to a shark, the way you bit off my head but then again, I was waving around a bleeding open wound. But you were such a super guy till the second you get a whiff of me. We're like a wishing well and a bolt of electricity

[all-pacas]

i am BORED at WORK, doing this one too, also for my fanfic's version of durge.

1: Where in the Faerûn is your Tav from?

Baldur's Gate. She looks Drow, but thanks to the whole "born of the discarded flesh of Bhaal" thing, she's never even been to the Underdark. She has a very recognizably Baldurian accent, which most of the party probably takes in stride but Minthara at least would find Weird.

2: What is your character's alignment?

Neutral Evil as Durge. As Tav, she's trying her best to at least hit Neutral Good. Probably more like Lawful Neutral.

3: Race and subclass?

Drow. She'll say Selardine if asked, but she has no clue. Just knows she doesn't worship Lolth.

As Durge she was an Oathbreaker Paladin. As Tav, she's currently a Great Old One Warlock/Paladin. In a story and not mechanics sense, she's more apt to use swords and armor, but is weirdly good at mind control magic.

4: If your Tav was a companion, where would they be found?

On the little dock by the crashed ship, staring out at the water. Approached, she'd at first seem not to notice you, and be distracted and even seemingly unconcerned about the tadpole -- before abruptly deciding to follow you.

5: Dark Urge or no?

Yessss

6: What companion are you platonically close with?

Shadowheart and Gale, potentially also Wyll. Thanks to the artefact deciding to float on over to Tav, Shadowheart is sticking pretty close and Tav is like "this is friendship?" Gale meanwhile is (going to) give her magic lessons, and Wyll is just someone Tav admires, without seeing any of his faults and downsides.

7: Romantically close with?

Gonna be hooking up with the asshole vampire boy.

8: Who are they suspicious of?

No one. Which is a problem. Tav at her core believes she should be worshipped and feared and adored, and so she also believes that she is treated that way. She takes praise as a matter of fact. She's very easy to manipulate.

9: Is your Tav from Baldur's Gate? Why are they travelling there?

She is. And she wasn't going there in particular, but now that she has Shadowheart's Artefact, she kind of wants to ride that mission's coattails.

10: Are they proficient in playing any instruments?

Not in the least. Can't sing, either.

11: Weapon of choice?

Shortswords and daggers. Much more finesse that way, you want delicate control when you're mangling a corpse in Bhaal's name.

12: What is their orientation?

Pansexual, like everyone else. Specifically "you are into me, so I am into you." Not really uh... sexually outgoing? It's more like she will reflect any affection she's given first.

13: What are their thoughts on killing? Is it a necessary evil or do they enjoy it?

She enjoys it a lot.

14: What hobbies does your Tav have?

She's kind of trying to figure that out. Amnesia sucks! She doesn't really care for reading, she wants to do something with her hands. She could potentially get into something like embroidery or wood carving, if her companions teach her.

Durge's hobby was murder.

15: What NPC's do they like? Which one's do they dislike?

She really likes the Emperor. He seems like a really nice dude. :( None so far that she dislikes, but because of her habit of mirroring, anyone who is rude first she'll probably treat in kind.

16: Do they have a favorite creature in the Faerûn?

Shovel

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

A lot! I mean, Tav doesn't remember anything before that, but she knows enough to know her past life wasn't pleasant. She was also kind of a workoholic as Durge, you know, always murdering and plotting! Adventuring is kind of relaxing.

18: What would your Tav be doing if they weren't kidnapped on the Nautiloid?

Leading a murder cult and taking over the world. The more aware of this she becomes, the more uneasy she feels.

19: How do you think they'll meet they're end?

In the Temple of Bhaal. :)

20: Would they destroy the elder brain or control it?

Is serve it an option?

21: What is your Tav's favorite spell?

Friends or Charm Person, oops.

22: What languages is your character fluent in?

Common. This is mildly embarrassing to her. She doesn't know anything else.

23: What do they do after the absolute crisis?

Find a new life. Try to find a purpose as Tav, not as the Dark Urge or as the woman she was before Bhaal. Maybe do some good: not in a Wyll heroic way, but as a way of balancing the scales of her bad deeds. Adventuring more sounds fun.

24: Does your character believe in the afterlife?

She's terrified of it.

25: What arcana major best represents your Tav?

Hanged Man / Death. Being trapped, being renewed.

26: What animal best represents your Tav?

Snowy owl. Not for the wisdom tropes. For the unblinking stare and silent kills.

27: What was their life like before the events of BG3?"

She was Durge. She killed people. She fucked Gortash. She was semi-conscious, given entirely to her father Bhaal.

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Gale's the DEEPLY reluctant leader. I plan for Tav to take over slowly, due to Gale hating the job and her having some type A tendencies. But no one's trusting her with a full time leader position.

29: Does your Tav want to utilize the tadpole powers or not?

Right now she does, because her bestie The Emperor said she should.

30: What's your favorite thing about your Tav?

??? I... like the idea of Tav being just naturally a bit quiet and stoic as a half-joking reaction to the mostly silent protagonist thing. I also think the extreme gullibility will be a lot of fun and lead to a lot of bad decisions.

[thecubspeaks]

i would love to know 6, 8, 23 and 28 for Izar (and if you want to answer for any other ocs as well that would be very cool!)

(this is from selunesfavouriteprincess btw. sideblog problems)

sideblog problems solidarity

6. What companion are you platonically close with?

She feels a lot older than most of the origin companions, even though she really isn't. Her closest friend in the early stage of the game is Astarion (though they did sleep together in my actual run-- I didn't put it in the fic because I felt like that was too many pairings lol --but neither of them were taking it very seriously and they ended things amicably), because she quickly realises she doesn't need to be afraid of letting some violence slip in front of him, and she finds his snideness amusing.

She immediately connects with Jaheira, and likes her a lot even before the Bhaalspawn reveals, which solidifies their connection into basically a lifelong bond. Izar's extremely proud and, because of the brain damage, deeply self-conscious about seeming inferior to others. So Jaheira is the only person she sees as any kind of mentor, and is absolutely the only person who could get away with the whole 'cub' dynamic.

8. Who are they suspicious of?

She's way too caught up in her paranoia about anyone discovering her urges to bother being suspicious of anyone else in the party, or who they meet early game. By the time she calms down, everybody's deal is pretty clear, as is the fact that whatever their secrets or issues, they're all committed to working together to solve this problem.

She's a little suspicious of Elminster. She can't work out what his stake in all this business with Gale and Mystra really is.

Because she's dating Lae'zel and that's who she learned everything she knows about mindflayers from, the instant the Emperor reveals himself, Isemay is SUS AS FUCK. Never trusts another word he says again (and that was also the only run where I've forced him to reveal what he did to Stelmane, and I literally spent the rest of the game in terror that that meant he was going to turn on me at some point).

23. What do they do after the absolute crisis?

Has an absolute crisis of her own, eyyy. She goes to Waterdeep with Gale, and trying to settle into life as a professor's wife and plan a wedding sends her into a complete spiral. Gale will have his family there-- who's hers? Her half-sister and half-brother who she murdered? Bhaal??? MAYBE MY DAD WILL COME TO THE WEDDING she shrieks semi-hysterically before the cleric they've been speaking to politely suggests that maybe another officiant would be better.

Anyway they shelve the whole wedding idea for now.

But she's still left with the fact that she's an amnesiac assassin with no skills besides murder and being an apocalyptic cult leader. She starts researching Bhaalspawn because she doesn't know what else to do with herself, and she's constantly afraid the urge will come back in the middle of a faculty holiday party (anyone would want to murder that head of enchantment) so maybe if she researches enough she can figure out whether she's really free. Gale's supportive at first, because he can't think of a better solution for a lack of direction than a research project! But by the time of the epilogue party, even he's a little worried about how obsessive she's getting about it.

28. Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

She and Gale are seen as and see themselves as joint leaders of the party, though secretly everyone would defer to Izar's judgement first in most matters if they had to pick.

Avigey is the unquestioned leader for the first 2/3 of the story, and absolutely no one is happy when she recruits and then unilaterally turns Minthara into second-in-command.

[the-weeping-dawn]

2, 7, and 22 for Ilztaun!! :-)

What relationship did your Tav have with their family/guardian(s) growing up? Has that changed with age?

He's from a(n incredibly minor and just holding onto being able to say this) Drow noble house, so while he had a much longer leash than most due to well his relationship with his mother being she didn't really care much about him, for the most part he was raised by his three older siblings. She started paying attention to him when he asked to study as a bard, and went through the uses the skills would have considering he starts quite good at manipulating, social maneuvering and so on naturally and less so. He slipped enough contradictory stories about where he'd been and why and second son of house no one cares about, he could do the weird thing without detrimental notice.

which I mention all that because on her side of things she's fairly unwilling to loose a very useful asset of a person without gaining enough for it. Which is sort of, if one squits like him being the unspoken favourite :p From his side, he's never quite sure.He respected her, in some way genuinely not just as a verb. He understood it could have been far worse, just a very cold relationship ultimately.

He and his father....try to have as little to do with each other as they can honestly. They both look at each other as not worth being attached to usually for good reason but do get along reasonably well when they do . Especially considering *gestures to the next question where he's a part of it*

What circumstances led to your Tav becoming their Class/Subclass?

Well he is not in fact a magic nepo baby of the traditional sense with sorcery, but Aberrant Mind is a fun subclass when it comes to that. And if you happen to have a small child on hand whos' mostly expendable...If he does by the end even just become unappealing for mind flayers to want to touch in most ways, that would be good. Great even consider some events in Menzobaranzan <3 The psionics and sorcery part working out as hoped. well that's just an added 'little' perk.

Bard is at least not something done to him, though something he wished he held onto less stubbornly But he was always musically inclined so that alone, but what actually did it was one of the times he tagged along with his sister to the surface for whatever reason, he wandered off and ended up stumbling into what he remembers being a generally shit play. But also the stuck in his mind as an interest due to what the emotionally stunted mother fucker woudl take ages to interalize how much it was more the understanding of others can come from music. And then just doesn't finish the thought to it's natural conclusion as to why it's his prefered casting method not just because it's hardly what he comes off as. Being an Elequence Bard is because the whole reason he was able was it's usefulness in twisting people with words. He generally leaves people to guess and almost always wrong as well due to well, he doesn't want a sign that says 'studied to be th emanager of the gaslight factory and excelled in it while getting someone to believe the underdark has a sky actually. .'

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?

The fact he'd call most of the companions friends would seem particularly, percularly close for when they crashed.

Minthara which I feel like I've gone into in some depth not that long ago so I ever shut the hell up ^^; The other person he got romantically involved with is the Emperor because that man has a type and it's paladins. Mindflayer that looks like a paladin? Well did he feel as protected and safe both from the brain worm and emotionally before that point? No. He was starting to unravel just a little bit too much where they both are going to become co-dependant about it.

Platonically Shadowheart is the only one I'm giving a major mention so I stop talking beyond ex-evil goddess murder cultist cares so much for someone woh cleartly does not want to be in an evil goddess murder cult. Also has very interesting taste in books she will tell him about when bored at camp.