application.
Out of Character Information
player name: eppy
player livejournal: old-blueeyes
playing here: I played here for a few months last year!
where did you find us? random clicking around lj I believe.
are you 16 years of age or older?: yep!
In Character Information
character name: guinevere
Fandom: merlin bbc.
Timeline: post season two.
character's age: 21.
powers, skills, pets and equipment:
Gwen has no canon powers, nor any equipment! She does, however, have quite a bit of skill in the swordsmanship department, and can hold her own in any battle.
canon history:
http://merlin.wikia.com/wiki/Guinevere
personality:
The thing about Gwen is that she’s a very quiet, self possessed woman; there is such a great amount of things going on beneath the surface that it is easy to miss them if one does not know her well or does not make the effort to look carefully. Gwen is practiced at fading into the background, at stepping back and letting dramatics play out before her while she quietly observes. Yet just because she is quiet and observant does not mean she lacks opinions or emotions. Gwen thinks and feels a great many things, she is just very selective about when she decides to air those opinions. She knows exactly when and to whom she should speak freely to; she is very aware of her station, and tries not to rise above it if she can avoid that. On the flip side, however, if asked her opinion, she will answer honestly, if politely, no matter whom she is speaking to. Gwen rarely lies, and only when the situation absolutely commands it.
In the right company, Gwen is a bit of a goofball, with an offbeat, charming sense of humor. She’s prone to finding the good in situations, in trying to fix and remedy things, to bring a little laughter or brightness to otherwise bleak situation. Her first impulses are never to complain, but always, “how can I remedy this?” Gwen seeks to help the people around her, to offer whatever aide she can. Even as a maidservant, she will often go above and beyond the callings of her station to help Morgana or Merlin or Arthur with whatever hardships they are facing. Gwen is dedicated and loyal to the people she cares for and considers friends, and always offers help when they need it, regardless of the cost or the danger.
She is extremely organized and tidy, one of the occupational hazards of being a maid all her life. She keeps her home very neat, and habitually straightens up whatever room she happens to find herself in, whether out of nervous habit, a need to keep her hands busy, or simply because she doesn’t like seeing the clutter. She’s prone to routine, one that she’s grown used to simply from working in the castle. Laundry done at this hour, lunch fetched at that hour, so on and so forth, and she dislikes to upsetting it. Gwen likes things running smoothly at all times, even if certain unavoidable events (Merlin.) tend to upset said routines. As a handmaid and castle worker, Gwen is very much aware of the responsibilities she bears. She never shirks her work either, although the life of a maid has to be both demanding and exhausting.
Gwen possesses a very kind, caring nature. She’s a genuinely good person, and that is apparent in all that she does. She is a very emphatic person, and has no problem putting herself in the position of others and considering the wants and needs of the people around her when making decisions. She instinctively offers comfort when necessary, and reaches out to those around her when they are sad or troubled.
A good word for Gwen is steady. She is often the voice of reason in hectic situations, and there has been more than one instance where she’s requested Merlin stop and think before running off half-cocked. In a castle seemingly full of hotheads, Gwen often plays the interpreter, and tries to think of what the person speaking meant to say, rather than what they actually said. Gwen can always be relied upon to step in as the voice of reason, and this is a role she is very comfortable in.
Although she is not the striking beauty that Morgana is, Gwen has her own type of charm. Her beauty has often been commented on, but in a different tone than Morgana simply because Gwen either seems unaware of her looks, or unwilling to flaunt them in any way. As I’ve stated, Gwen is a woman who prefers to stay in the background, and it unsettles her when someone remarks on how pretty she is. She is a very modest woman, and never claims anything other than the ordinary for herself. She simply strives to be clean, neat and efficient, nothing more. All else is more or less naturally done.
While she may not seem it, Gwen is simply a very strong person. It is not an obvious strength, nor a visible one, but Gwen possesses an incredible will, and has a tendency to steel herself and very quietly stand up to whatever obstacle she faces and defeat it. She has the kind of strength that can last a siege and weather a storm and she is aware of that. She has not had an easy life, and there have been many instances, such as when she was being held in Uther’s dungeons and accused of witchcraft, where it would have been easy for her to break down and shatter, but she simply didn’t. She stood up and refused to be beaten and that’s something that hasn’t changed throughout the series, and does not appear that it will anytime soon.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting?
Camelot is actually a surprisingly dangerous place! Gwen’s dealt with all manner of magical oddities and attacks, because Merlin and Arthur tend to draw in trouble like magnets. Also, as I mentioned above, she’s a surprisingly capable swordswoman, in spite of her demure appearance. Give her a sword and she’d most likely be able to handle anything that came her way.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:
[ Gwen manages to turn the forge on without much trouble, so enjoy the view of her peering down into it, biting her lip hard. She hesitates for a minute, turning the forge this way and then that, looking at it, before beginning to speak. ]
Hello, if…if there’s anyone who can hear me, I just need to know how to get back to Camelot. My name is Guinevere, handmaid to the Lady Morgana. I have duties to attend to and I…this is not my home.
[ she pauses, pushes a lock of hair out of her face. She looks exhausted, sweat and soot-smudged. Dodging dragon attacks is strenuous work you guys. And the next bit is murmured under her breath, not really intended to be heard. ]
Alright, I suppose I’ll just…
[ there’s a series of beeps, and gwen’s frown deepens before she finally manages to cut the feed. ]
Third Person Sample:
Sometimes, when there’s not much laundry to be done or a lack of flowers to arrange, Gwen steals away to watch the knights practice.
It does not happen often, and she often manages to stay unnoticed, tucked away upon a windowsill or upon the turrets or one memorable time, amidst the branches of a tree. She always takes her embroidery with her, in case someone stumbles upon her. An excuse, in case of the inquiry of, “Whatever are you doing up here?” as if it is so strange to be watching the knights. Gwen could always feign simple pride in Camelot’s knights, say she admired their efficiency, or that she felt all the safer knowing how capable they were.
But Gwen had never been prone to outright lying. So she carries up her embroidery and watches the knights from on high, needle flashing in and out of stark white fabric as she looks down upon the training field. For Gwen is hardly watching for any of the silly, made-up reasons she’d stammered the last time she was caught.
Gwen is watching in the hopes of learning something to improve her own skills.
Practicing was easier when her father was alive. Now she only has the one sword, the last one he forged, and no partner to spar with. But she spars all the same, kitchen table moved to the side to give her room to swing and lunge and thrust, body flowing through the positions her father had showed her when she was naught but a girl, barely strong enough to hold a sword.
Mimicking the knights is hardly the best way to learn, but Gwen takes what she can get. And trying to puzzle out the movements she watched during the day is a good way to fill the night, which stretches long and silent and lonesome. And no one notices a serving maid with calluses, or one who stifles a yawn behind her hand in the mornings.
So at night Gwen swordfights by candlelight, shadows dancing on the wall behind her, and by day, thinks of the sword tucked beneath her bed, and what new positions she’ll try come dark.
Anything else?
Basically if this gets approved I will be dropping Gwaine in favor of playing Gwen, just so you guys are aware and don’t think I’m apping someone this close to a character I already play.