Guenevere (WIP)

[Jacob_Tebbe]

The exact wording is “giving your trust and faithfulness to him above all others, and in all circumstances, until you are separated by death?”

I certainly trust Arthur above all others for the simple fact that he is utterly guileless.

The dictionary definition of faithful is either “steadfast in affection or allegiance,” or “firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty.”

My Guen is certainly going to remain steadfast in her affection and allegiance to Arthur, she loves him deeply for his adorableness and would never betray him, and she is firm in her adherence to her promises, she just never promised not to have an ongoing relationship with Morgana. And as for her queenly duties, she fulfills the day to day stuff and is eager to bear a prince or princess.

As for the bit about “above all others.” That just means we have to prioritize Arthur first, something my Guen has no problem doing, Morgana and Lancelot can take care of themselves.

So you see, we are in no way breaking our vows by having multiple affairs, thus we are not cheating.

[wonderfulcarpet]

Come on now you lot, having an affair while you’re married is cheating. you can’t just use weasel your way out of responsibility by poking at loopholes!

[Lys]

Considering my Guen didn’t say the vows, she isn’t breaking any promises

[Jacob_Tebbe]

In a marriage arranged without our consent, loopholes are acceptable

[lexa]

@Lys

Considering my Guen didn’t say the vows, she isn’t breaking any promises

Tou-freaking-ché.

[cottoncandy]

Morgana and I can have “ladies’ days”! I guess something good could come out of this forced marriage

[Crosdice]

Hey there this is kinda off topic but has anyone seen the show merlin this wip reminds me of it and made me want to watch some mergana and merthur videos -clears throat and sniffles- on a completely unrelated note i recently umm acquired a couple buckets of tears does anyone want them… Please -tears up thinking of mergana- looks like I’ll have some more in stock soon

[LightningGarfunkel]

Second season best season
I remember watching the finale since I was abroad… ~so sad~

[Crosdice]

(20 sad characters)

[derekmetaltron]

Jean I was just curious, what sorts of programs do you use to map out all the possibilities and changes in Guen for all the books out, or is a lot of it in your head?

[Crosdice]

hey @jeantown was merlin possibly a slight inspiration for this or am i just seeing similarities that arent there?

[Mim]

Odd question that probably has already been addressed BUT-

How is Arthur ‘hardened’(guess that’s spoilerific)- I mean in the sense, is it something Guen says to him that is like ‘buckle up honey’, or does he experience an event that Guen could subvert, etc?

My main thought process is that is it possible to romance Arthur, but he is still hardened, and would he still be romantic and sweet, etc?

[SheaMcD]

I know how he becomes ‘hardened’ nudge nudge wink wink

[darkwolf76]

First of all, @SheaMcD, you are brilliant.
Anyway, I would think Arthur would get hardened if Camelot loses the battle against the Franks because he was distracted trying to rescue a false Guen. If he’s permanently maimed by Maligant’s sword, I can see him getting a huge wake up call too. None of that would necessarily affect his love for Guen if there is love there to begin with. And how she acts towards a damaged Arthur right after would also have an impact on how hard he becomes and how he treats her personally with his personality change.

Guen having an affair, especially with Lance, and even more so if she sleeps with Lance, could harden Arthur too if she chooses to fess up to him at the end of book two. That would have a huge impact on any affection he would have for Guen and how he treats her going forward. But like I said previously, how she tells him the news and how she treats him after that will impact his reaction to her. @jeantown has said that the first time we could see Arthur genuinely lose his temper towards Guen would be if she slept at Lance and then told him tactlessly. I can’t wait!

[Shawnheatherly]

I know some things are for certain, and I’ll be replaying this a lot, but I want to help Arthur so bad. He goes through so many shenanigans.

[jeantown]

@FoxalypticWorld It’s great to see you, and THANK YOU so much for posting your artwork – I love it!! It’s similar to the designs I’ve always had in mind for if/when I ever do publish commercially. (I’ve always imagined four stylized statues, a little like the Andraste statues in Dragon Age, each with a different symbol of the four skills.)

@derekmetaltron

what sorts of programs do you use to map out all the possibilities and changes in Guen for all the books out, or is a lot of it in your head?

I have a zillion text files of notes. Each book has its own file with the major plot points (as far as I’ve figured them out) outlined, and little snippets of descriptions and dialogue that come to me (usually while I’m out walking or exercising) that I plan to incorporate. I have a file of ideas that I haven’t figured out if/how/where to incorporate, a huge file of edits I want to make to the parts I’ve already shared, a file of suggestions from readers, a master character list, a master timeline, a file working out the overall backstory (which is an enormous mess at the moment) and short prequel stories, and a lot more.

@Crosdice

hey @jeantown was merlin possibly a slight inspiration for this or am i just seeing similarities that arent there?

I think I watched like the first season and a half of BBC Merlin? I know I didn’t get as far as Morgana going evil. I can’t think of anything specific that I knowingly incorporated (unlike, say my Merlin turning people into animals drawn from TH White / Disney), but it does all kind of mush together. Maybe the idea of having a young Morgana be present at Arthur’s court and have a relatively positive relationship with him? I guess my Arthur and BBC Arthur share some raw idealism and some cluelessness, but I think my Arthur is nicer – at least, he’s supposed to be.

@Mim

How is Arthur ‘hardened’(guess that’s spoilerific)- I mean in the sense, is it something Guen says to him that is like ‘buckle up honey’, or does he experience an event that Guen could subvert, etc?

In many ways I’m going to be sorting out the exact parameters of “hardening” as I go, but @darkwolf76 is on the right track for what I have in mind. Negative events provide the potential for Arthur to “harden;” Guen can then push Arthur more toward pessimism or optimism in the wake of such events.

@Mim

My main thought process is that is it possible to romance Arthur, but he is still hardened, and would he still be romantic and sweet, etc?

If Arthur loves Guen, he certainly won’t love her any less if he’s hardened. (Dear goddess we need a better term for this than “hardened.” It’s all Bioware’s fault.) At this point I honestly don’t know how much of a difference it might make in the details of how he interacts romantically with Guen. Like maybe, as I’m writing those scenes, I’ll see some interesting ways to show it? But maybe not? I’m certainly not going to write romanced Arthur, like, pushing Guen around or acting dominating or anything like that; it’s just not in his character, no matter how “hard” he gets.

@Shawnheatherly

I want to help Arthur so bad. He goes through so many shenanigans.

You’ll have your chance. The last book is pretty much entirely Guen choosing to help Arthur or not (it’s called Le Morte d’Arthur, after all – if Arthur isn’t dead at the end of the book, it will only be as a result of Guen’s actions).

[295Phoenix]

@jeantown

If Arthur loves Guen, he certainly won’t love her any less if he’s hardened. (Dear goddess we need a better term for this than “hardened.” It’s all Bioware’s fault.)

I think it’s the fault of people’s imaginations more than anything else. Alistair was an unambiguously better person post-hardening (an unhardened Alistair made for a bad Robert Baratheon-style king) while a hardened Leliana is somewhat more pragmatic but not overwhelmingly so…for example she won’t leave the party if you destroy the Urn of Sacred Ashes but she’ll still chew you out over it.

You’ll have your chance. The last book is pretty much entirely Guen choosing to help Arthur or not (it’s called Le Morte d’Arthur, after all – if Arthur isn’t dead at the end of the book, it will only be as a result of Guen’s actions).

Yay! The Arthur in your game is so adorkable that I want to spoil him at every turn!

[Ylva]

@295Phoenix

while a hardened Leliana is somewhat more pragmatic but not overwhelmingly so

Uh huh, right. Go play Dragon Age Inquisition and let a hardened Leliana become Divine.

@295Phoenix

Alistair was an unambiguously better person post-hardening

No, he wasn’t a better person. He just wasn’t an idealistic idiot anymore.

@295Phoenix

an unhardened Alistair made for a bad Robert Baratheon-style king

This is true. A hardened Alistair is definitely a better king than an unhardened one.

[thatdodgymoggie]

The contrast between a hardened Divine Leliana and an unhardened Divine Leliana were equal parts awful and amazing. I really hope I can keep Arthur from becoming someone like that but I can’t deny the possibility greatly intrigues me…

[Zoilus]

Both still worse than Anora though…

And Murderpope is best pope. Those Chantry bastards deserve what they get.