( PLAYER ★ INFORMATION )

NAME: Adi
AGE: 26
CONTACT: adi (dot ) dollsome (at ) gmail (dot ) com
CURRENT CHARACTERS & LATEST AC: n/a

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( CHARACTER ★ INFORMATION )

DOES THIS CHARACTER MEET SKELETAL BASICS? yes.
NAME & AGE: Guinevere ( Gwen ) | age estimated to early 20s.
CANON & CANON POINT: Merlin BBC | 3x02 – The Tears of Uther Pendragon, Part II.
CANON INFORMATION: Merlin wiki!

PERSONALITY:

in life you always have a choice; sometimes it's easier to think that you don't.

While myth remembers Guinevere as a queen, she began her life as a maidservant to the Lady Morgana. The first thing one has to say when discussing Gwen's personality is that even when she was a maidservant she was already noble in how she treated others. From the very beginning, Gwen is a picture of kindness, a humble hard-working girl who is also a fiercely loyal friend.

Throughout the first two seasons, Merlin asks her for many favors, all of which she fulfills, from stealing her father's best sword to having Arthur live in her house when he pretends to be a mere knight and not a prince. She may have a scolding words on her tongue, a long-suffering "I can't believe I let you talk me into this" but at the end of the day, Gwen always helps, is always willing to give from herself to others, which is why she is noble of spirit long before she turns queen. While she might seem as meek and timid, Gwen has a strong sense for justice and even a healthy sense of judgment.

She befriends Merlin after he stands up to Arthur, claiming Arthur is a bully and that she thinks Merlin talking back to him is brave. She talks back to Arthur herself when he is hiding at her house, daring to call him arrogant and rude despite him being the crown prince. The truth is, Gwen has a strong sense of justice and if confidence strikes her, her opinions will burst out of her before she could bite her lip and stop herself. This usually happens around those she cares about, mostly Arthur. If Merlin is Arthur's best friend then Gwen begins as a conscious of a sort. She is the one to scold him for making faces at the food offered to him in Merlin's village, reminding him that for the villagers that food is everything and so he best not turn down their kindness. She is the one to tell him a king should respect his people, servants and nobility alike. She has faith in Arthur, in the king he shall be, but that doesn't mean she spares him her opinions.

Growing up in poverty without a mother and with a brother who left home not to return, Gwen is a humble girl with appreciation for the little that she has. She never complains of her work, never rolls her eyes or groans with annoyance and never shows displeasure with what life had dealt her. Mostly since she knows she could have it much worse. Instead, she is almost always seen with a smile on her lips as she knows how to count her blessings, few as they may be. She is polite, sweet and considerate, lying to Merlin's mother and telling her Arthur loved the simple food she made for him so she will not feel bad. Gwen is the heart of the group, the woman who is soulful and who stirs goodness in others, sometimes gently and sometimes less so. A moral compass, she is the woman who, through her kindness, teaches the other a more moral way of handling themselves.

Losing her father to Uther's madness and dictatorship shows another important trait in Gwen, her strong, unyielding spirit. When asked by Merlin if she would kill Uther for killing her father she doesn't hesitate, says no at once, as that would make her a murderer, as bad as him and would not bring her father back. This ability to rise above vengeance and anger is not one that is found in all the characters of the show. Merlin himself debates this question throughout the episode and Morgana acts out of her anger, determined to kill Uther for what he did to Gwen when Gwen, if she knew of that plan, would advise her against it. She doesn't forgive Uther, doesn't care for him at all, but she manages to place her humanity above her anger and stay the bigger person even when Uther takes away all that is left of her family. Gwen's unique way to see things, her strong spirit, her insistence to stay loyal to her friends and to her internal sense of justice and goodness are all a proof that she is a remarkable, courageous young woman and not just a sweet, timid maidservant.

But Gwen is also able of judging incorrectly, of course. At the beginning of the series she claims she would never wish to marry Arthur and has no interest in Lancelot when later she will come to care deeply about both. At first, even she isn't able of seeing past Arthur's arrogant behavior and it takes time for her to begin seeing him for the good man he is. Even then, she doesn't understand he had come to care for her romantically and it takes him awkwardly confessing it for the truth to sink in. When Morgana comes back from her year of supposed captivity, Gwen, much like the others, is easily fooled. While Morgana acts much more distant and even gives her the cold shoulder, something she never did before, Gwen probably reasons her friend has gone through a very hard time and forgives her without thinking much of it. Gwen is sometimes lost to her own point of view, observing people and seeing them as she thinks they supposed to be when in truth she might be mistaken about them. Still, when she finally sees Arthur for who he is, she becomes fiercely loyal to him; her trust in him is unwavering. She tells him she trusts him more than she would any man and so he must do what he thinks is the right thing to do, even if it is the harder choice that might leave casualties after a battle. Her faith in Arthur doesn't come only because she loves him deeply as the series progresses, but also because it is a result of a process, of Arthur proving himself to be the king he was born to be and of her setting aside her earlier judgment only to discover in him something she did not expect to find.

Good hearted, kind, brave, a loyal friend who will stand by those whom she loves even in great peril, a devoted daughter, a humble maidservant and the Once and Future Queen, Guinevere is above all the one character in the series who shows consistent compassion, care and love from the very first moment she is introduced. The maidservant who will one day sit on the throne is at her core a woman who believes in justice, equality, a fair chance for everyone, good manners and being grateful for what one has and showing that gratefulness by bringing out the best of herself in every situation and by being kind to others. She is a servant who is not ashamed of her low-bringing, a commoner who speaks back to her crown prince and is the best friend of her Lady and a sweet soul who only has one request to make when she thinks she is about to face certain death.

You don’t have to but…remember me.

No big speeches or pleading, Gwen is able to stay strong and thank her friends for coming to see her and support her even though Uther condemned her to die for something she did not do. She only wishes for them to remember her, to know she has a place in their hearts as they did in her own.

Little does she know that one day the whole kingdom would remember her; for her, even just one soul is enough. If she could stay alive in one man's memory for their friendship, then she had not lived in vain and perhaps that ability to count her blessings and show gratefulness and sweetness at the most dire of times is what will one day make her a wonderful queen.

COURT ALLIANCE & REASONING:

Guinevere's character is determined by loyalty, friendship, honor and love. She is led by her heart and while she is a servant, she says in canon "I'm just a servant, at least I'm not a liar." Meaning, the fact that she comes from a lower status does not change the fact that Guinevere values the trait of dignity, of one conducting themselves fairly and honorably in their lives and she expects it from those around her. Guinevere will also go out of her way for a friend, in season 1 she leaves Camelot with Morgana to help Merlin defend his village and while she is a servant and a woman, she also helps in battles and insists on taking part in more than just polishing armor. She will protect her friends, stand by them, even going as far as telling Morgana not to interfere on her behalf with Uther as she fears he will hurt Morgana as well. What guides Guinevere is the belief in her friends, the love she has for them and her insistence that everybody, kings and servants alike, need to be honorable and kind. For those reasons, I am placing her in Seelie court.

ABILITIES:

While Gwen is a maidservant and is mostly busy doing her duties that range from laundry to fetching meals and mending gowns, one has to remember she is a blacksmith's daughter. As such, she has basic knowledge of swords; while not being an able warrior like Arthur or even Morgana, she is able to defend herself and even be on the offensive side. She watched and helped her father in his forge and so she has knowledge of how a smithy works. She mends armor and chainmail and knows how to bandage wounds and treat them on the basic level.

INVENTORY:

Gwen won't have much, just the simple dress she is wearing, a cape of rough cotton, simple shoes, a vase of flowers she will be holding at the time and a few lilies she wears in her hair.

( WRITING ★ SAMPLES )

NETWORK SAMPLE:

[ when the feed opens up, it shows a young woman who is currently very busy worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she is holding a vase of flowers, of all things. ]

I don't suppose they might come in use here. Not that – they- do at Camelot, not to me anyway as they're not mine. Not that I'd want them to be.

[ rambling, she is. ]

I am not even sure if this is working –

[ a small sigh as she presses a hand to her forehead. Ok, start over. ]

My name is Guinevere, handmaiden to the Lady Morgana of Camelot, if she is here – not that I'd want her to be – because I wouldn't! not here anyway since she doesn't belong here.

…Nor do I.

[ because morgana will be so angry being trapped, she was never good at being told what to do. Not that this is the subject at all.

Maybe she should put the vase down. ]

I wish to know more of this place. I have my duties in Camelot but if I can help – I am not sure how but I shall do all that I can. The fairies – I mean, I think they were fairies but – they said we might be able to help. I have never seen fairies before and I – I know nothing about them or magic or anything of that kind but if I can do anything at all to help, then I am at your service, certainly.

LOG SAMPLE:

Gwen was a practical woman.

Always was, really, growing up the way she did meant responsibility and duties and she had never neglected either. The king sent more flowers to Morgana (he did so every day since she had returned, Gwen found it sweet; a proof that he had missed her) and while her Lady was distant at times since her return, she was always fond of flowers even if she was never quite fond of the king.

So Gwen arranged them in a vase, picked it up and hurried to bring it to Morgana.

That was the last thing she had remembered before this.

Now she had a flower vase she no longer needed and the biggest headache she had sported in at least three years, certainly. Because Guinevere knew nothing of magic but moving from one place to another in a blink of an eye was certainly that, what else could it be?
And magic meant trouble and while Gwen would never seek trouble, being down to earth and shy as she was, it would seem as if she had found it nonetheless.

But Gwen was above all, a practical woman. And though this was trying even for her, to be brought here by – fairies! To help them in their struggles and battles – it was odd. She was a maidservant, she was neither a knight nor a warrior –

And she wasn't certain yet what she is supposed to be fighting and why. Nor did she understand what this world's magic meant - from the explanations she heard it sounded as if the world was full of it and Gwen had a few run-ins with magic and magical items and none of them were materiel for fond memories.

She understood swords and armor; with magic, she had no idea what to expect.

Flower vase in one hand and one bottom lip busied between her teeth, Gwen sat down and tried to think it through. She had no idea how far she was from Camelot or if Camelot was even to be found around this city.

Looking at the flowers in the vase and thinking of Morgana, she decided to try and speak to the people of the city through the locket (please let it not be magic; I have no magic in me to make this work). If she is ever to return to Camelot from this odd, abduction, she reasoned she would need help.

…Perhaps one of the other people would like flowers.