application

[charlock]

OOC Information;

Name; Gemma.
Personal Journal; brits
Contact; timelordish at gmail, doyouevenjoust on aim, courf at plurk.
Other Characters; N/A


IC Information;

Character Name; Guinevere ('Gwen').
Canon; BBC Merlin.
Canon Point; During 4.13 - right after the kiss.
Age; Probably around 24.

House; Sigyn.
Power; Growth.


Personality;

It has been said about Gwen that she's a 'straightforward, simple girl' - and whether or not that's meant as a compliment, she'd like to think it was true. Born the daughter of a blacksmith and raised to serve in the royal household as a seamstress and maid to Morgana, she only ever expected to lead a simple life with her father complicated only by her brother's natural attraction to various forms of trouble.

Of course, that was never going to happen.

As a friend, Gwen is a thoughtful, generous and self-sacrificing kind of person. She makes friends and trusts people easily, always willing to allow people into her life and her heart, occasionally to her detriment. Early on, she was very close with Morgana, in whose service she'd been since she was a child - she could be seen often bringing her flowers, or staying up all night with her when nightmares kept her awake. If anything can be said to make Gwen happy, it's putting a smile on somebody else's face. In fact when she first came to know Arthur, it was his total failure to consider the feelings of those he saw as below him that Gwen was most disgusted with, and as he grew into the sort of man who respected his inferiors it was that she respected most.

Gwen and Elyan grew up without their mother, and it's clear to see that Gwen very much took up that mantle herself. Until the end of his life she took great care of her father - waking him up in the morning, cooking his meals and seeing to him when he was ill, all with a genuine smile on her face. For a long time she saw nothing of her brother; but once they were reunited, she took that role with him, too. She cares for him just as much as she keeps him in line. More than anything she just wants to see him happy, doing well and staying out of trouble, and while she pretends he's on something of a last chance with her there's no denying that she would give up a lot for him if called upon to do so.

Gwen's friendship with Merlin - her closest friend since losing Morgana - is incredibly important to her. When they met, she was almost shy. She had a habit of stumbling over her words and often had a difficult time explaining exactly what it was she meant to say. But he brought her very much out of her shell, and was a great help just in being a constant when everything else in her life was in such flux. He is arguably the only person she can speak her heart to honestly without fear of consequences, and she trusts him with her life - something that's difficult for her, difficult for them all after everything that's happened.

Matters of the heart tend to be a major stumbling block for Gwen. She gets a fair amount of attention - Arthur, Lancelot, Gwaine and arguably even Leon and Merlin have all looked her way on this or that occasion, but she doesn't seem to notice until it's made undeniably clear to her. Even then, she's often quite perplexed and unsure as to what exactly to do with it. This more than anything else causes her to waver and lose her way, becoming unsure of what to do and what she wants. She means well in all that she does, but as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Such as the good intentions she very much had on the matter of Lancelot.

When Gwen met Lancelot, she still thought Arthur was a bully and a pig (which, to be fair to her, was not at that point wholly inaccurate). Merlin sought out her help in passing Lancelot off as a nobleman so that he could become a knight, and she accepted the role enthusiastically, eager to be of service to a man who clearly wanted nothing more than to offer his abilities in service of the kingdom. Because that's just like Gwen - she's always happy to throw her strength and what abilities she can offer behind a good cause. It's his pure heart and honourable, selfless nature that attracts her to him initially - and later, the way that he sees her and values her when nobody else seems to. Her feelings for him end up very much at odds with her feelings for Arthur even after Lancelot's death, to the point where it's not clear to her that she's been enchanted when he returns and she feels that old flame rekindled. That said, the entire incident serves to make it clear to her where her heart truly lies, enabling her to give herself to Arthur fully.

Gwen is most comfortable when she knows where she stands. While she will gladly accept responsibilities when given them and take pride in her work, she's not an ambitious person and never covets power or influence, happy to make the best of her lot in life and be happy where she is. That said, there is a great courage and bravery in her, and she has a very strong sense of justice. More than once she's been known to speak out against those in positions of authority when she feels what they are doing is wrong - and accept whatever punishment is meted out to her with grace. When Gwen fights, and she will, it's always for a reason. She fights when she can to defend those who can't defend themselves, and speaks up for those with no voice. She believes strongly in loyalty and in punishment for disloyal acts, even and especially her own; she held no bitterness toward Arthur when he punished her betrayal in the arms of Lancelot, and continued to want nothing but the best for him and for the Camelot she was certain she'd never see again.

Time and again, Gwen has been known to throw herself into the line of fire for another. When Lamia in her true form attacked Merlin, Gwen threw herself forward to try to save him without a thought for her own safety or wellbeing, despite the fact that her strength was woefully inadequate to take down a monster like that. And that wasn't the only time she saved a friend at what could well have been the expense of her own life: Morgana, and even Arthur both owe their lives to her. I know, I know - who doesn't Arthur owe his life to at this point... But Gwen has no special skills or abilities to have used further than a basic knowledge of how to swing a sword, and when she saved Arthur she was unarmed and unarmoured at that. The aim was never, is never, to come out victorious. The aim is simply to save a life, whether or not it costs her her own.

For the most part Gwen just has a lot of love for people in general. She always wants to think the best of people, and that there is good somewhere in everyone - which is part of why it was so troubling for her when Morgana strayed down the wrong path. In many ways you get out from her what you put in - she has little time to waste with those who show no consideration, but will amplify kind efforts threefold in return. She has a tendency to undervalue herself and the sway she has over others, but when called upon will rise beautifully to the occasion.