#Headcanon: Gwendolyne Cousland.

[eueclid]

Gwendolyne Cousland, a summary.

The sweet and shy youngest daughter of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland was trained for battle alongside her eldest brother, Fergus. She protested at first, but eventually couldn't deny the benefits of it as she aged. How sad it was that it would come of use. The first time she ever raised her blade to another was when Arl Howe's men laid siege to her castle. No matter how much she swung her sword or how much she blood she spilled, it wasn't enough to save her parents. Wracked with grief, she had to be conscripted into the Grey Wardens and forced to join against her will. Before long, Duncan was dead too, leaving Gwendolyne alone with Alistair to raise up an army and end the Blight. Despite her protests, she would lead the charge, unite the armies, and defeat the Archdemon, escaping with her life.

Story choices:

Origin:

Sleeps with Dairren.

Is conscripted into the Wardens.

Flemeth's Hut:

Gladly takes Morrigan with.

Lothering:

Recruits Leliana and Sten.

Honnleath:

Recruits Shale.

Circle Tower:

Sides with the mages, declaring all blood mages have been cleared.

Recruits Wynne.

Brecilian Forest:

Helps reach a compromise between the Elves and the Werewolves.

Orzammar:

Recruits Oghren.

Destroys the Anvil of the Void.

Places Prince Bhelen Aeducan on the throne.

Redcliffe Village:

Leaves Jowan alive.

Involves the Circle of Magi to free Connor.

Urn of Sacred Ashes:

Does not defile the ashes.

Does not kill Brother Genitivi.

Rescuing Anora:

Gets captured with Alistair rescuing Anora.

Breaks out of prison instead of waiting for Arl Eamon.

Elven Alienage:

Saves the captives and kills Caladrius.

Landsmeet:

Anora rules.

Loghain is executed.

Eve of the Final Battle:

Morrigan does the Ritual with Alistair.

Final Battle:

Gwendolyne lands the final blow and lives.

Stats:

It is always Gwendolyne. Gwen is reserved for close friends / partners.

Gwendolyne is a sword and shield warrior with no specialty.

She is quite mild mannered despite her proficiency with a sword. This often comes at her own detriment.

Her typical party includes herself, Morrigan, Alistair, and Leliana. Sometimes, she'll trade Alistair for Shale or Leliana for Zevran, but not often.

She romances Leliana during the events of the game. I will not force ship anyone who writes Leliana.

After the Blight is over, Gwendolyne returns to Highever with her brother, Fergus. She does not marry, instead choosing to travel the world with Leliana. Eventually, she leaves, going in search of a cure from the Blight. She plans to stay with her after it she cures herself from the taint.

In verses outside of her canon verse, she keeps the same origin story. A more detailed verses page will come.

[thiedas]

my muses and their letter writing styles:

gwen cousland: very proper, cursive handwriting. she’s able to sound affectionate despite being proper though by some miracle

noora hawke: typically writes short letters, cursive handwriting. she’d rather talk in person so letters are typically reserved for arranging meetings unless the receiver is far away. then, she’ll let them get lengthy.

robin hawke: very casual, messy handwriting. as in you have to send him back a tracing of at least three words to ask him what they are but he doesn’t mind.

simon trevelyan: surprisingly proper, neat print. writes pretty much exactly how he talks.

aoi ingellvar: proper, scholarly. cursive handwriting. their writing comes off as academic, even to those they care for.

alistair theirin: shorthand letters, messy handwriting. he learned how to write later in life, so his penmanship isn't the best. letters are a last resort for him.

morrigan: very proper letters, very fancy handwriting. writes letters where you forget the point of them.

anders: long, yappy letters, messy print. incapable of shutting up to the point where the letters become too long and he knows it.

fenris: he can't read or write. ):

varric tethras: long, flowery letters. messy, but legible cursive. a storyteller until the end even in his personal correspondences.

cullen rutherford: long letters, cursive. sometimes they seem more like missives than letters but he's trying his best.

dorian pavus: long letters, pretty cursive. his upper class tevinter education was good for something liUSDHGLAIUSDG

solas: long letters, the kind of cursive that feels really old fashioned ( because it is ).

bellara lutare: long letters, messy script. think like a doctor's handwriting with lots of tangents.

davrin: shorter letters, neat print. short letters are just a result of the occupation. he doesn't have time to write letters.

lucanis dellamorte: longer letters, pretty cursive. it's the antiva in him to write pretty and write a lot.

neve gallus: shorter letters, neat print. she's to the point and needs to be able to find things easily.

taash: shorter letters, messy print. taash would prefer to speak to someone than write to them and they're very clear about that if they ever have to write.

[athenasdragon]

About the Muse

I was tagged like a month ago by @laurelsofhighever--sorry for missing it the first time!

Your muse’s name: Gwendolyn Cousland

A favorite picture/faceclaim of your muse: Here is some actual art I’ve done of Gwen, but also I’m indulging my favorite heatwave activity and making her with this picrew by @sangled:

((Except I already messed up because I forgot her eyes are grey, not green lol))

Two headcanons you have for your muse:

Eleanor and Bryce Cousland didn’t talk much about their famous courtship to their children. Gwen had heard a few anecdotes from others around the castle, but it wasn’t until she was traveling after their death that she learned the full story and heard The Soldier and the Seawolf. As much as she appreciates being able to hear her parents’ story in any tavern across Ferelden, she still has an “ew, gross, those are my parents” moment ever time.

After the Blight, it’s about ten years before Gwen goes back to Highever. She spends time with Fergus when he’s elsewhere in Ferelden, but not as much as they both would like. Finally, when she marries King Alistair after the events of Inquisition, they go to Highever together to make a formal visit and unveil the statue of Duncan they had discussed after his death. After that, Gwen stops by Castle Cousland any time her Warden duties take her nearby.

Three things that your muse likes doing in their free time:

At Castle Cousland: sparring with Ser Gilmore! The two grew up close, and it was always a race to see who could learn some dirty new trick and knock the other flat on their back during practice. When they weren’t sparring, they would team up to bother Fergus, which worked out well for Gilmore because Gwen always caught the blame.

During the Blight: swapping stories and songs with her companions

Post-Inquisition: what started as a bit of a stunt to get Alistair’s advisors to allocate money towards repairing and revitalizing the alienage (“Well, if there are truly no funds, I’ll go out there with a hammer myself.” “Wait--no--my lady--the princess-consort of Ferelden cannot spend her afternoon on a ladder repairing roofs in the alienage--”) became a good way to de-stress, spend time among the people, and make sure that Denerim’s city elves had a direct way to access the Crown

Seven people your muse loves/likes:

Just from those who are still alive by the end of Origins, and just mentioning the companions she’s closest to (there are so many!):

Alistair Theirin: Gwen and Alistair got off on the wrong foot because his sense of humor rubbed her the wrong way when her grief was still so fresh. Fighting their way to the beacon during the battle of Ostagar forced them to learn to cooperate, and when Gwen woke up at Flemeth’s cottage later, she realized that they were in the same boat. They became fast friends almost overnight, then fell in love gradually as they traveled and suffered and learned. Alistair ended things between them after the Landsmeet, citing his duty to the Crown. It was ten years before they were reunited at Skyhold and more yet before they were married.

Zevran Arainai: Gwen couldn’t put her finger on why she trusted Zevran when they first met, but that trust was justified a hundred times over. Though it took them a long time to open up to each other, they became quite literally ride or die for each other. They traveled together when they could after the Blight but lost touch after a few years when Zevran began targeting the Crows. They reconnected when Gwen was on a mission to help the Inquisitor eradicate Darkspawn on the Storm Coast.

Wynne: Gwen latched on to Wynne as a parental figure during the Blight. The two women spent a lot of time together, and Wynne was always the one willing to offer blunt criticism when Gwen fucked up.

Leliana: Leliana helped Gwen re-learn how to be happy and lighthearted even in the face of hardship. It was good to have a friend to talk to normal things about.

Fergus Cousland: Their age gap meant that the two didn’t always get along during their childhood, but as Gwen hit her late teenage years and Fergus got married, they became very close. That closeness would only be cemented by the massacre at Castle Cousland, even if Gwen couldn’t bring herself to spend too much time with her brother in the years following. It wasn’t until they were older yet that they were able to have a frank conversation about what happened and what they both went through.

Rena Trevelyan: when Gwen was invited to Skyhold to help train their recruits against Darkspawn, she tried to take the younger Inquisitor under her wing. That dynamic didn’t exactly work out but they remained friends.

Magnus: Gwen’s faithful mabari. Legend has it he killed more Darkspawn than either of the actual wardens during the Blight. 

A phobia your muse has:

She doesn’t do well with fireworks or explosions.