#nemo replies

The Story

Takes place in Ireland in the early 90s.

An episodic tale (or tickle literature) with a mix of fluffy tickle scenes, romance and an overarching plot.

Themes include romance, humor, mental illness, hurt/comfort and coming-of-age.

The Keeper

Colin is the name I've given to the Keeper, he's an Irish American in his late 20s.

Before moving to Ireland to take over his late grandfather's lakeside homestead, he was a photographer in San Francisco.

He has strawberry blonde hair.

He is soft-spoken and an ambivert. His studio back home was his sacred space.

His father was a handyman, so he is good with carpentry, house maintenance and the like. His grandfather's cabin is the perfect place for him to be.

And as mentioned in the introduction, he is definitely ticklish. Which is a point of fascination for the Grey One.

The Grey One

Ash is the name Colin has given the Grey One, since the selkie withheld his name but offered to be called whatever his new companion wished.

In this world, selkies have about the same lifespan as humans so he's in his late 20s/early 30s.

He is the last of his herd on the lake and was familiar with Colin's grandfather to some extent (haven't decided how much yet).

He can speak the language of the fey as well as traditional Irish and English.

He is a grey seal.

He prefers to wear his skin around his shoulders but is mindful of human culture and will wear it around his waist if he isn't clothed most of the time around Colin.

Ash is also ticklish, but prefers to be the ler and not the lee.

Meeting Phoebe the Cleric

I think Gavin would notice Phoebe's shy demeanor immediately and tone down his eccentricity to keep her comfortable. He's very much a social butterfly but is quite observant! Years of observing his audience and tailoring his performance to match their mood on the fly come in handy when meeting all sorts of people.

But as much as he likes teasing people and making jokes, he is very compassionate, having learned of his father's adventures (both the good and the bad) and having grown up in the lower class areas of Baldur's Gate. So even before he left home, he's seen people go through hard times!

Seeing Phoebe's Dark Urge in action though, he'd be cautious and maybe a little wary, but he'd try to understand as gently as possible. Especially after everything with escaping the Nautiloid and running into the other companions. Everyone has their story and in their group, these stories are quite a lot to take in.

In the end though, Gavin's best friend turns out to be a 200+ year old vampire spawn and his lover is Mystra's Chosen, so befriending one of Bhaal's children is not impossible, hehe. He'd probably try to guide her to the path of autonomy, just like he did with Astarion – supporting her in fighting the Urge and Bhaal to the very end.

Bonus! Gavin loves baked goods and would volunteer to be her Honorary Taste Tester regularly!

Relationship with Minsc

"Minsc finds that the less thinking he does, the easier trusting comes."

...and after hearing that, Gavin decided Minsc needed to be protected stay at camp more often than not (and to keep Jaheira company, of course).

Gavin enjoys the old hero's stories though, having heard them on his travels and as a young boy. But he also feels very protective of him because of his... um, naiveté?

He's drawn to Minsc's "odd" charm and will humor his outlandish observations more often than not, much to the annoyance of the group. Like with meeting Boo, Gavin shows incredible reverence and respect for the rodent whenever he approached the two at camp.

"Oh, please forgive me, Ser Boo! I did not mean to startle you – please accept this humble offering as repentance for my transgression..." Then he'd offer Boo a tiny piece of carrot or bread.

I'd like to think that following the events of the story, Minsc will specifically request Gavin (his now favorite bard) to join them on his adventures but Jaheira would constantly have to babysit them both...