More praise for Gavin!

[Guest Lilyana]

I'm pretty much done playing Gavin's romance path in BG1, and thought I'd share some thoughts and give my sincere thanks for this mod!

 

First of all, am I the only one who wishes to ship off Berelinde over to Bioware? Having some previous encounters with amateur writing on the Internet, I was at first a little hesitant to add fan content to one of my favorite RPGs. But boy, does Gavin deliver! If only the level of writing characters and romances on RPGs were this good, I'd probably never leave my computer. Gavin surpassed all my expectations, but he also managed to to become my new favorite RPG romance interest. Not bad for a guy who has a nose of a Borzoi!

 

Gavin feels entirely professional, not fanfic. Not only that, he feels like a real person instead of fiction and a fully formed and three-dimensional character I can believe in. The only thing that really sets Gavin apart from mortal men is that he somehow manages to be sweet when he does drunken passes at you. . But even though Gavin feels like a "normal" person, he's neither boring nor humorless.

 

I can appreciate the difficulty of writing a character who feels interesting and well-defined without being a caricature. Inexperienced writers, who have difficulty in characterizations, tend to underline the specialness of their characters to cover up for the fact that there isn't really anything there (please note that I'm not talking about anyone's mod, just fiction in general). Love interests usually become so perfect that you can't really buy into their characters, or like in some Bioware love interests the characterization is so centered around the flaws that you can't buy into the romance. Gavin is in the fine line in between. He's not a long lost son of nobility, he doesn't glitter in sunlight or look like a Greek statue. He's "just a guy". He can only win you over with his personality.

 

Which brings us to the romance. I'm typically not into romance. I can't stand sappy romance films, I laugh at romance novels, and I roll my eyes when the JRPG protagonists start to feel mushy around the female lead who has the personality of a timid toy Poodle. And yet, the Gavin romance has made me so gushy that I'm not sure if I should feel pleased or alarmed! For the past few weeks I've felt ten years younger, and I'm pretty sure my husband is starting to wonder what the heck is up with me!

 

Some women like romantic leads who are tough on the outside and soft on the inside. Gavin is the opposite: he is shy and unsure of himself, but underneath all that is a very passionate and determined man. I loved how his intensity starts to clash with his insecurity when he starts having feelings for the PC. It was like watching him slowly collecting steam until he couldn't stand it anymore. My PC certainly didn't seem to mind being there whenever it happened.

 

I liked how the relationship had a realistic and natural flow to it. Gavin started the romance by asking the PC a lot of questions about her, and it gave the feeling that he was interested in the PC as a person, gave the romance something to grow on, and also gave me a chance to think more about my character and to roleplay her. I loved the talks that Gavin had with Ajantis early on. It was a really nice and subtle way to show that the Gavin was starting to have romantic feelings towards the PC without her knowing about it. And the drunken confessions! Someone like Gavin wouldn't openly flirt with the girl of his fancy so early on, so the romance could easily feel that it's not going anywhere at first, and then seemingly coming out of nowhere. Gavin's romance felt like it was progressing very naturally, even though he had trouble expressing his feelings.

 

I appreciated the fact that you could put the romance on hold without jeopardizing the relationship. Also, the portrait. Gavin doesn't look like your typical love interest, and I'm glad for that. I don't like poster boys anyway. Am I the only one who thinks he looks quite hawt?

 

Anyway, I've produced a wall of text here. What I really wanted to say was just thank you for the joyride! And thank you for making Gavin available for two games. I'm not finished with him yet!

[Ankhesenpaaten]

Oh, I'm right there with you! I love Gavin and have since BG1. I haven't finished a BG2 game with him yet because I had to do a brand new reinstall and that really set me back. But I'm going again with the married, engaged, and redemption paths. Right now I'm on the engaged and just love it.

 

The flirts are very nice and tasteful (some tasty! ) and, yes, he does feel wonderfully real.

 

My fave little feature is the ability to stay in the PID menu as long as you like. Boy, oh, boy, do I LOVE that!

 

Thanks again, berelinde. Fabulous!

[berelinde]

Aw, guys, you're making me blush. Thanks for the kind words.

[KathStoneDog]

I have to be away for a week.

 

HOW WILL I COPE!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have informed my SO that yes I will miss him but I will be pining for Gavin

 

 

Kath Stonedog

[Ankhesenpaaten]

I have to be away for a week.

 

HOW WILL I COPE!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have informed my SO that yes I will miss him but I will be pining for Gavin

 

 

Kath Stonedog

 

 

Hey, what path are you on right now? Did you get that brand "spanking" new flirt of berelinde's? I LOVE it! I just can't help but wish it would pop up a little more often...I just had it once! But they are all good. And the further into the romance, the better.

[Raieyana]

I don't like poster boys anyway. Am I the only one who thinks he looks quite hawt?

 

I have to completely agree! I always liked that about Gavin; he was just average and down to earth.

 

I might be crazy, but in the last few months, every time I'd see that AT&T guy on TV I'd have a little fangirl squeal. "Gavin's almost done!"

 

 

Always thought he sort of resembled Gavin's default portrait.

 

All praise goes to Berelinde for the hard work! The OP said it best. I agree 100% and have nothing to add but my thanks! I finally have my favorite cleric back. I will wait semi patently for the ToB addition.

[Ankhesenpaaten]

You're right, he kind of does look like what's his name on AT & T. Just slap brown on him and we're ready to go!

 

I know, I can't wait for ToB, either. But Berelinde never leaves people hanging for eternity. She finishes what she starts. And since what she starts is always so darn good I'm extra pleased that she's a great modder we can rely on.

[KathStoneDog]

Hey, what path are you on right now? Did you get that brand "spanking" new flirt of berelinde's?

 

 

It was waiting for me on my return.... I guess he missed me! ROFL

 

Kath Stonedog

[BelgarathMTH]

I don't like poster boys anyway. Am I the only one who thinks he looks quite hawt?

 

I have to completely agree! I always liked that about Gavin; he was just average and down to earth.

 

I might be crazy, but in the last few months, every time I'd see that AT&T guy on TV I'd have a little fangirl squeal. "Gavin's almost done!"

 

 

Always thought he sort of resembled Gavin's default portrait.

 

All praise goes to Berelinde for the hard work! The OP said it best. I agree 100% and have nothing to add but my thanks! I finally have my favorite cleric back. I will wait semi patently for the ToB addition.

 

Does anybody know this actor's name? I use Amaurea's portrait for Gavin (I like the hair a little shorter and better-styled, and the dawn colors used in that portrait), and I was just thinking about this actor before coming in here and seeing that someone else saw the same "type"-resemblance between Gavin's appearance and this actor.

 

He would be a perfect live-cast for Gavin.

 

I know I've seen him all over movies and TV as a character actor, and I think he's had a few "best friend to the male lead" type roles in the movies. There may even be a couple of light fantasy-romance movies where he was the lead.

 

EDIT: Okay, never mind, I found him myself using that AT&T lead. His name is Luke Wilson, and he has an extensive filmography that you can look up under his name. His leading man role that I remembered and couldn't quite place was in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend", which is a great movie for a Gavin fan to watch, since the main plot is about a regular guy type falling in and out of love with a superwoman who's not unlike a female BG Charname.

[berelinde]

You know, it's funny, but I think of Gavin every time I see that commercial, too. It's actually been very good motivation to work on the ToB part of the mod.

 

Maybe one of these days, somebody will do a Luke Wilson-based portrait for Gavin (and I'll include it, certainly), but until then, yeah, it really does look like Amaurea's wonderful portrait, so I'm happy.

 

Glad you guys are enjoying the mod. The ToB part moves a little closer to completion every day, but I can't promise an ETA quite yet.

[Ankhesenpaaten]

Hey, what path are you on right now? Did you get that brand "spanking" new flirt of berelinde's?

 

 

It was waiting for me on my return.... I guess he missed me! ROFL

 

Kath Stonedog

 

 

Heh! Wasn't it great??? I LOVED it! And I'm glad Berelinde isn't afraid to include such flirts. It was bold and well done.

 

I just hope that one of these days he isn't so afraid of

 

SPOILER ALERT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tying up my pc in bed one of these times!

[Guest Guest_Amaurea_*]

I have to add my praise, and my thanks for the hearty belly laugh I had over where Gavin and I ended up after a drunken evening.

 

I haven't received any spanking flirts yet... I'm waiting. And um, count me in with Ankhes hoping for Gavin to loosen up... well, um.... so to speak.

[KathStoneDog]

And um, count me in with Ankhes hoping for Gavin to loosen up... well, um.... so to speak.

 

 

Well, that's three of us

 

But if he /really/ doesn't want to......

 

Kath Stonedog

[berelinde]

Well, there is ToB to think about... though I don't know if that's really in character for him. He's a sub if ever there was one, and it takes an awful lot of persuading to get him out of that role. Have to wait and see, I guess.

[KathStoneDog]

He's a sub if ever there was one, and it takes an awful lot of persuading to get him out of that role. Have to wait and see, I guess.

 

Exactly. If it isn't in character for his absolute adorableness then it won't happen.

 

Credit to Berelinde for creating such an internally consistant character!

 

Kath Stonedog