Guinevere is a book in the Choices: Stories You Play series.
In this retelling of the Arthurian Legend, Guinevere, the princess promised to Ruler Pendragon, faces a dilemma that could save or destroy Camelot.
It was released on October 26, 2022 for VIP players, and on January 6, 2023 for all players.
Guinevere includes examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: Morgana is usually a villain in adaptations of the Arthurian Legends. In this adaptation, she is an ally.
- Adaptational Villainy: Merlin is usually ally in adaptations of the Arthurian Legends. In this adaptation, he is the Big Bad.
- Arranged Marriage: Between Guinevere and Pendragon and it becomes perfect if you pursue Pendragon as a love interest and marry them in the end.
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Guinevere is engaged to the king/queen Pendragon but she can also flirt with Lancelot. Both characters are gender-customizable, so if Pendragon is male and Lancelot is female (or vice versa), then this trope will be in effect. Indeed, the cover art shows the titular character holding hands with both King Arthur and a female Lancelot.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In chapter 16, if Pendragon or Lancelot are not Guinevere's love interest, they will attack her and her love interest under Merlin's influence.
- Broken Pedestal:
- Morgana twice: the first was when she heard from her boyfriend, Lord Calhoun, the intention to conspire against Pendragon and she broke up with him immediately; the second was that she discovered that her cousin Agravaine was directly involved in Merlin's schemes.
- Merlin to Pendragon, who saw him as a father figure, upon discovering that he was the one plotting against Guinevere and his intentions to kill her and erase all memory of Camelot before her.
- Call-Back: The font and text boxes use the same design as The Crown & the Flame and Blades of Light & Shadow.
- Canon Foreigner: Almost all minor characters in particular, Lord Calhoun, who was created especially to justify Morderd's birth and being his biological father, which in legends, he was born through the incestuous relationship between Arthur and Morgana.
- Character Customization: Guinevere, Pendragon and Lancelot can be customized. Guinevere is the only one who cannot have her gender changed while Pendragon has his name changed, Arthur if male and Artura if female.
- Character Title/Protagonist Title: Guinevere will be if the protagonist's name is retained.
- Chivalric Romance: It's the theme of the story.
- Cool Horse: Pendragon comes riding on one in chapter 1.
- Evil Costume Switch: After being revealed to be Big Bad, Merlin's tunic changes from white and blue to black and blue with some details that differentiate the clothes.
- Gender-Blender Name: Pendragon's name changes depending on gender: Arthur for a male, Artura for a female.
- Good All Along: For the first half of the book, Morgana is cold, aloof, and seemingly dissatisfied with her half-sibling Pendragon, and she's a prime suspect in the poisoning. In Chapter 8, it's revealed that she's on the side of good, and she wasn't involved in the poisoning. The true main antagonist is later revealed to be Merlin.
- The Good King:
- King Arthur Pendragon as ruler of Camelot.
- King Leodegrance, Guinevere's father is also a good king who arranged the marriage to keep his kingdoms safe.
- King Uther Pendragon was a good king until he died defending Camelot.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: As with all Choices characters, you can name your character anything, though the default name is Guinevere.
- The High Queen: If Pendragon is a woman, she will be this.
- Historical Domain Character: As expected from a historical fiction story, several characters are this: Guinevere, Pendragon, Lancelot, Merlin...
- Historical Gender Flip:
- You can choose the gender of Pendragon and Lancelot, as well as their ethnicity.
- Lady Yvaine, who in the legend is a man named Yvain (of Yvain, the Knight of the Lion fame), is a woman in this book.
- I Kiss Your Hand: The first thing Pendragon does when (s)he meets Guinevere? (S)He kisses her hand.
- Irony: While many adaptations have Merlin as an ally and Morgana as a villain, in this adaptation their roles are switched: Morgana is the ally while Merlin is the Big Bad who tried to manipulate Pendragon into killing Guinevere and Lancelot.
- Legendary Weapon: Excalibur, the magic sword that granted Pendragon the title King/Queen of Camelot.
- Love Confession/Love Hurts: In chapter 9, Lady Elaine confesses her love for Lancelot after (s)he participated in a competition and then she fell ill and decided to give in to the disease. After learning of Elaine's death, Lancelot felt guilty, and Guivenere decided to keep this vision a secret.
- Medieval European Fantasy: Because it is another story that retells the Arthurian Legend, it has to take place in that era.
- Not His Sled: Morgana is instantly suspicious as the one plotting against Guinevere. However, she's actually loyal to Camelot, and Merlin is the real culprit, starkly contrasting with canon.
- Really 700 Years Old: According to PB, Merlin is 1000 years old.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves:
- Agravaine is arrested for his involvement in Merlin's plans.
- Merlin may be killed or imprisoned by Guinevere for plotting against her life from the beginning of the book.
- Seers: Merlin is one as per usual, but, in this version of the myth, surprisingly Guinevere is too. She indicates that she's has had visions of the future (and the past) for as long as she can remember. The story gets into motion when, on the morning of her departure to Camelot, she has a vision of it in flames, and later of Pendragon and Lancelot fighting to the death amidst the flames.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: If Lancelot is a man, he will appear shirtless on his horse in chapter 1.
