'people can write whatever the fuck they want' and 'its good to approach writing about sensitive topics with some diligence and forethought' are statements which can and do coexist
Paladin!Tav: "Damn...I don't really want to tell Arabella that her parents experienced the worst case of medical malpractice on the Sword Coast. Maybe I'll just lie and—"
I do wish more people appreciated Lae'zel. Look, she is not Nice, but she can be very Kind. She is patient, and loyal, and terrified. She has been taught to be violent and does not understand Faerun's culture, but she is not malicious. She takes all new knowledge and internalizes it because she is willing to overcome her pride when necessary. She is prideful, but not to the point where she is unreasonable. She listens to others when they have things to contribute, and she's willing to share her own expertise to help the others become better. She is literally 22. She is the Youngest of the entire group. She's just trying so hard to appear confident and competent among all these people so much older than her, all while handling the most stressful situation she could have ever imagined. (Even Karlach is in her mid-to-late twenties at the least.)
big fan of characters with abandonment + attachment issues so profound that they leave claw marks in everything they touch but would sooner gnaw off their own leg than admit they just want someone to stay for once. in a totally normal well adjusted and not at all projecting way of course.