Guenevere (WIP)

[buggygirl11]

@Elfwine Poor word choice. My mistake.

Totally not implying that she did the right thing or that a Guen who yelled at him is a bad person, though I guess I can see how my exact wording could be taken that way. This is the kind of thing I would catch in editing if I was writing a paper, but since this is an online forum I kind of just posted it up without checking it.

That said, I have to respectfully disagree with you that she would become angry/evil/embittered no matter what. I really do think that if this Guen talked to Arthur about it rather than hiding her real feelings behind a fake smile and pretending everything’s fine that they could work through it and have a stronger marriage because of it. After all, it was unintentional on Arthur’s part (and Morgana’s). It’s not like he purposefully slept with his sister. And even if it wasn’t, plenty of Real Life couples work through infidelity (though sleeping with your half-sister who also happens to be your wife’s best friend would certainly make marriage counseling MUCH more difficult).

As for her eventual vindictiveness…
(1) It will happen over a long period of time, not immediately after she sees the incident.
(2) I did mention in a prior post, there is something just slightly off about this Guen. Maybe not a sociopath, but something off enough that will cause/allow her to eventually act on her revenge fantasies instead of keeping them in her brain. That safeguard that most people have that says “But I could never actually do that,” that she just doesn’t have, or at least has one that is much weaker than it should be.

[Elfwine]

@Buggygirl11 I think that talking to him about it could certainly resolve the issue, but I think that failing to talk to him about it is not leading her down this particular path. Somewhere bad, but it took other stuff to lead her to that route of her bad choices.

And yeah, a Guen with the “But I could never do that.” on the weak side, who feels upset with Arthur but can’t/ won’t just let it out . . . that spells trouble. Interesting experiences for the player, no doubt, too.

[Ponku]

As far as i know/suspect neither of them will do it deliberately and there will be someone else involved and manipulated them to it. S who is it, we can only spculate. So Guen would be totally justified in suspecting a foul play in it.

[buggygirl11]

@Kinruush Having nobody to turn to is definitely a factor as well. She’s far away from her family and childhood friends (how far-I don’t know, but it seems like she’s too far to visit), and literally the ONLY two people she’s formed a close, trusting relationship with in her new home are the ones involved in the incident.

She’s not entirely dependent on Arthur for companionship; she did become close friends with Morgana, but she’s pretty darn close. She’s nice to Lancelot and appreciates all that he’s done for Arthur, but his blatantly obvious attraction to her (while she wants to be faithful to Arthur and is not interested) makes things too awkward for them to have developed a real friendship.

So you definitely nailed her feelings immediately after the incident (way before she becomes vengeful-that’s years away at this point); betrayed and lost and completely alone.

[buggygirl11]

I just want to thank everybody for the GREAT feedback! So many diverse opinions and ideas…so much to think about…

As a matter of fact, this went so well, I think I’ll do this whenever one of my Guens (I have 8, remember) goes through Character Development.

…uh, that is, if @jeantown doesn’t mind me hijacking the forum to talk about my Guens occasionally. I hope she isn’t annoyed about it or anything.

[Elfwine]

Thank you for your thanks. It’s interesting to see how people think of their characters and choices - we all come at this from different views and feelings even if broadly speaking the same choices are made, and even that’s hardly a given in stories like this.

[jeantown]

::quietly works on FAQ and observes character development discussion::

::thinks back to the long-ago day when she wrote her first ChoiceScript choice of “kitten or puppy” and how she never could have imagined this sort of discussion evolving out of the thing she was starting to write::

::wishes she could just be writing part 3 already!::

There’s (yet again) way too much wonderful discussion here for me to be able to respond to all of it, so I’ll just touch on a couple of specific things…

@Mirabella @WulfyK Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll probably do both – a linkable tumblr post/page for when people ask questions here, and then also in the game.

@LanaRose That will certainly be possible. Lance has had his big dramatic moment for the time being, so I don’t think he’ll be betraying any trust beyond what’s already happened.

@Logan_Chessar Yes. It may not be easy, but it will be possible.

@brandizzle93 Thank you! I can’t wait for you to have that opportunity! A long way off, but it’s good to know I’m not the only one looking forward to it.

@poison_mara I’m glad you mentioned the possibility for Guen to be angry with Arthur for not acknowledging Mordred as his son. While Arthur absolutely will not beget Mordred on purpose – so it may be harder for some Guens to really fault him for that – he’s absolutely accountable for his choices about how to handle it after the fact. So a Guen who forgives him for what happened with Morgana may still be angry with him for his handling of it. I hadn’t thought of it in quite that way.

@Savriss Thanks for catching the typo! It should be fixed now. And I’m very glad you appreciate the characters; thank you!

@elveny Thank you; I’m glad you like it enough to replay and try out different things! Yeah, the Lancelot romance is “strongly advertised” since it’s such a huge part of the Arthurian tradition, but, as you say, it’s always been important to me to let Guen decide how she feels about his attentions. The physical reaction does have a specific cause, which will be revealed at the end of part 2, and both Guen and Lance will be able to decide that they want to try to get rid of it (or not). Anyway, as for when part 2 will be finished, I try to respect the forum rules and the other forum authors by not answering that question – though, at the moment, I don’t think I could give a reliable answer anyway, since it’s taking forever to write. You can follow my progress on my writing blog. Basically I’ve written the Frankmarch branch, I’m 2/3 through the Camelot branch, and I still have to write the Michaelsmount branch and the last few scenes of resolution/denouement.

[jeantown]

@Elfwine @WulfyK @buggygirl11 @Ponku Okay, although I’m mostly just observing and enjoying the character development discussion, I’ll chime in to say that Mordred’s conception really will be caused by forces that are mostly beyond Arthur or Morgana’s control, and Guen will know that, immediately and in no uncertain terms. She’ll absolutely be able to blame Arthur and/or Morgana, and be angry with one or both of them, but it’s not like she’s just going to walk in on the two of them going at it in bed with no other explanation – she’ll know that it was profoundly unintentional, and she’ll know what caused it. That’s why I like the thought Mara gave me that it may be easier for some Guens to blame Arthur and/or Morgana for their handling of it after the fact, than for the conception itself.

[Elfwine]

@Jeantown That should be interesting to see when you get to that part of the story - how do you (the player’s Guen) deal with the concept that things like this can happen because fate (or however)?

On the bright side, it makes me feel better about my Guen wanting to make sure both are on good terms with either each other.

[Chriswa27]

This just came to my mind! Wouldn’t it be possible for Guen to feel a little upset that arthur and morgana conceive a child but she hasn’t yet? The plan was each book would go three years in between right? so it be around 6 yrs. since they got married. People will at least begin to think that something might be wrong with Guen (as the blame would usually go to the wife at that time period and it is expected for royals to have heirs as soon as possible.) Guen might feel jealous or inadequate since she still has not gotten pregnant. ( if your Guen wanted to have children in the first place).

[erica_98]

This is such a great game. Really enjoying it, great job. Out of curiosity how much of it is finished?

[Illmaster]

I’m thinking my guen might not have kids with Arthur or lance knowing that mordred will be lurking around

[Mirabella]

Just out of curiousity: What kind of field do you work in?

Oh, and the issue with Lancelot should probably go in the FAQ, too.

[jeantown]

@Elfwine Arthur and Morgana will ultimately be grateful if Guen is able to reconcile them. They don’t really want to hate each other

@Chriswa27 Mordred’s conception will provide a jumping-off point for some thoughts/possible conversations about how Guen hasn’t had a child yet. People will definitely be talking, and the pressure for Guen to have a child will escalate. Of course, she doesn’t have to, and she can still finish the game happily and/or successfully without a child, but part 3 will be the point at which that issue will come to a head.

@erica_98 Rather than me trying to explain how much is finished and how much remains (because I tend to go overboard and give more detail than anyone really wants), you could take a look at my blog. The February progress report (scroll down one) gives some word counts and projected amounts of time.

@Illmaster That will definitely be an option. Mordred’s feelings about Guen’s child, if said child exists, will make a difference later on (and will be different depending on who is the child’s biological father).

@Mirabella Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain my “field” anymore… Somehow I went from majoring in Latin to a job for which everyone assumes I must have an English degree. I don’t have an English degree, or any formal training in writing/editing, but my current job involves some editing, some instruction, some administrative paper-pushing, and some writing. I did teach Latin for a few years, but I don’t tend to use it much anymore, unless you count the Mad Grammar Skillz that one inevitably picks up from learning/teaching Latin.

And you’re right… Lancelot issue is now going on the list. Thanks!

[lexa]

@jeantown Won’t Guen having and child be a defining factor on the plot? How can she choose not to have one?

[jeantown]

@bellamyb Guen having a child will certainly make a significant difference in the story, but it’s not essential. In the majority of Arthurian stories, Guinevere does not have any children (which gives Mordred a stronger claim to the throne). So really, the deviation here is in the option for her to have a child at all. How can she choose not to have one? Well, one simple way would be to not have sex with any men. (: Guen will never have to have sex with anyone in my game. But even if she tries to have a child with Arthur, it won’t happen for many years – something’s going wrong somewhere – and ultimately will require a little magical assistance.

[WulfyK]

Do you imply that it would be easier to get a child with Lance?

[Logan_Chessar]

I have a question if they do have a child is it going to be a boy or can it be a girl (Hope it can be a girl)

[jeantown]

@WulfyK That is indeed the plan.

@Logan_Chessar I’m keeping that one to myself for the moment. (though I do know the answer, and I already have names and looks and personalities – which will be different depending on biological father – sorted out).

[Kinruush]

If Guen and Arthur have a daughter, there’ll be a second generation of half-siblings. As long as that incest discussion from earlier doesn’t become more relevant it should be fine.