Character Survey
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
2. How old is she?
21
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Guinevere has a quiet beauty about her. She isn't the most gorgeous woman, and if anyone made an allegation of such she would quickly dismiss it. She's well kept enough to be presentable at court as a requirement for her job, but she is not as shockingly beautiful as, say, Morgana. She's hardly plain and is aware of this, though she's more concerned with inner beauty than the outer sort.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
She has a clear, cappuccino-colored complexion and it tans from long hours in the sun from time to time [a sign of her class].
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Very curly, chestnut hair. She often wears it in a bun and lets a few of her curls fall where they may, but occasionally she will wear it down. With all the work required of her it's usually a bit of a mess.
9. What color are her eyes?
Chocolate brown, light enough to catch the color but still rather dark.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
11. What are her chief tension centers?
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Gwen's selection of clothing is very limited. She has 3 frocks she rotates through mostly; a purple one, a red one and a green and yellow one. Each is just a simple dress for working, though the green and purple ones are a bit more acceptable for court gatherings with their embellishments and patterned corsets. Her red on is a bit frumpy and better suited for work.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
Most of them are intended to be comfortable while doing things like scrubbing floors and doing laundry. They get the job done.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
Yes, she has a very limited wardrobe.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Hardly a question a maid should be answering!
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Her voice is rather quiet typically with soothing undertones. However, she can be a bit sassy and brutally honest when she chooses to be, and often the sound of her voice loses its sweetness when she does.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
It's normally soft, and at times when she is flustered her words flow quickly. Gwen has a lot on her mind about the people around her, and at times she can be brutally honest without meaning to. She thinks that sort of honest can be rude at times and often hesitates and back-pedals to discern her meaning more politely [or less embarrassingly]. This is a rarer occurrence for her now, as she's found her voice and knows that some people can handle the harshness.
Gwen is a bit anxious though. Social situations where she must keep a delicate balance between what she wants to says and what she cannot say make it difficult for her to express herself at times. There are some things though she is very certain of and she will never pause or hesitate to offer these thoughts when needed. They're often words of encouragement for her friends.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Other than hesitating there isn't much else. She shows politeness to those ranked above her, 'sir' 'madam' 'lord' 'lady' 'miss'. These flow freely from her in polite company.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
For all intents and purposes, she speaks English. It's probably suppose to be closer to Old English, which is more like German, but we'll fudge it for the sake of fictions.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Nope.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
It depends. If there's something she believes in she must address, the words will come to her easily. In the face of socially awkward situations or those where being sassy is inappropriate, she'll hold her tongue or think on her words before speaking.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Typically she is eloquent, a requirement of being around court, but when she's flustered or embarrassed she can be all over the place.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Gwen is highly street smart, though her book smarts are lacking. She can read and write well and knows a number of things from Morgana's studies, but no one subject comes easily with her. She is fairly intelligent and has helped Merlin with figuring out causes and sources of crimes.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
Gwen's learned to think on her feet. Things are perilous in Camelot at times and you need to make snap decisions if you're going to survive something like a griffin attack. Ask her to make a decision about her life or something personal she may hesitate a bit, but Gwen knows what kind of person she is and it wont take too long for her to know the right choice.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Gwen's very intuitive and trusts her instincts on a lot of things, especially when it comes to people. While she's rather practical in some respects, Gwen's very idealistic in the most optimistic of ways. Perhaps this idealism applies seldom to her, but she has high expectations for the world and the people around her and wont settle for anything less at times. That being said, she's well aware that there are certain things that are just reality and cannot be altered. She accepts these things and does not see them as a disadvantage, just a fact of life that must be taken into consideration.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Little. She learned to read and write and had access to learning things because of it. Morgana shared much of her education, though women are more well equipped with handling estates and running a household rather than book knowledge.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
She's the daughter of a blacksmith and knows just about everything one needs to about armor. She can repair and weld just about anything, and is an exceptional seamstress to boot. Her knowledge on tending weapons is decent, though she didn't learn too much about forging as she grew up. She would like to know more about it now that her father is gone.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
Gwen is very much an introvert. She internalizes a lot and keeps many things from even her closest of friends. There's a lot hidden in her looks that she keeps herself from saying, biting her lip to bide her time and keep herself from making outbursts to people with the power to ruin her.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Guinevere is very kind, cheerful and sweet. She's been told many times that she has a kind and caring heart, one of the best, and she wears it more often than not on her sleeve. Of course she can be sassy as well, for with wearing one's heart in the open comes exposure to all sorts of people's emotions. Typically she's easy going, enjoys laughing and joking around and is all around bright.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
14. What does she fear?
Abandonment, above all. Her mother died when she was a little girl and her father was killed recently.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Morgana is her best friend, though Merlin is a close 2nd.
6. Does she have other close friends?
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Seeing as she has no family left, friends. They are her family.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Her first canon crush was Merlin. Her latest is Arthur at this canon point.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
Gwen's very much a textbook Virgo.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? purple
2. Smell? night blooming jasmine
3. Time of day? dawn
4. Season? spring
5. Book?
6. Music? something with flutes
7. Place?
8. Substance?
9. Plant? violet flowers
10. Animal?
END
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