Post by Lori on Nov 21, 2016 5:55:58 GMT
Gwendolyn Kay Teslow
Nicknames
She always answers to Gwen. Although Ricky calls her Gwennie.
Age/Birthday
17/September 20 at 9:18 am
Zodiac
Virgo
Reputation
Gwen is a self-proclaimed special snowflake. Although her grandmother calls her special all the time. She doesn't have the best family history behind her and essentially has everything against her to be a good girl. However instead of focusing on the bad in the world Gwen aspires to look for the best in everyone and everything. As a result she can come across as a bit overdramatic or of an oddball to people. Although her best friend is the most popular girl at Salem High and Gwen could technically be considered popular by association, she's probably still known as the weird girl.
Job
Student
Class
Junior at Salem High
Grades
Gwen is a good student. Although her grades are not always the best, she tries very hard in her classes. When she's not distracted, anyway.
Friends
Her best friend ever is Tempest Everhart. They started out as neighbors when Tempest moved to Salem; Gwen originally showed up with a painting she made as a welcome gift. Naturally the painting sucked, and Tempest didn't exactly hold back. Gwen came back with picture after picture until one with a fox caught Tempest's eye, prompting their first nature walk together. Somehow the girls have been best friends ever since...although at times Gwen can come across as more of a sidekick. Tempest is the best friend Gwen could ever ask for and the sister she's always wanted. No matter how many other friends Tempest makes or how popular she gets or where she goes, Gwen will always be waiting for her.
Through Tempest Gwen also knows Dane Colson, who quickly grew to be her best guy friend. He is every bit as accepting of Gwen's quirks and childlike nature as Tempest is and Gwen absolutely loves being around his friendly nature. Between the two of them they share a lot of school spirit and often work together to plan parties, be it for their friends or for the soccer team in general. They naturally hit it off and are always bouncing ideas off of one another. Gwen loves playing with Dane's hair and typically refers to it as Moppy. She not so secretly hopes he never cuts it short!
Ricky Nash is the one person Gwen has known all throughout school and has loved and accepted her no matter what, just as she does him. If she had a brother she'd want him to be just like Ricky! He is the only boy Noni trusts Gwen to have around the house alone. Together, Gwen and Ricky can do anything from watching Disney movies to giving hair styles and makeovers to building blanket forts. Much like Gwen makes plenty of (bad) forest paintings for Tempest, she always has (just as bad) Disney drawings she makes just for Ricky!
Enemies
MEAN PEOPLE ARE TERRIBLE GWEN DOES NOT LIKE THEM ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE EVER MEAN TO HER FRIENDS.
Interested in
Gwen doesn't care what's on the outside. Male, female, trans, non-binary or even adorable fluffy creature. She likes people for who they are.
Relationship Status
Single. She sort of kind of hasn't exactly completely or at all entered the dating world. Kind of hard to when no one ever really asked her out and when dating's not the first thing on her mind.
Body
Gwen stands at 5'4 and is pretty sure she's around or a little under 120 pounds. She appears to be a pretty petite girl, although she's gotten a lot of compliments on her cheek bones. Supposedly Gwen also has a young-looking face; sometimes she gets asked which middle school she goes to.
Eye Color
Brown
Hair
Gwen's hair is a bit on the thin side. Brown and wavy, it goes down to her chest.
Style
Gwen has a bit more of a quirky style. She prefers bright or pastel colors and the colors don't always match. However she always dresses comfortable. She has no preference between skirts and pants or sneakers and heels. Her ears are pierced so sometimes she will wear earrings. She also likes to experiment with makeup although often goes with a more natural look.
Ethnicity
Mixed - she's got a few different things in her blood.
Playby
Rowan Blanchard
Positives
Cautious; Hopeful; Open minded; Feminist; Encouraging; Sensitive; Aware; Sweet; Looks for the best in people
Negatives
Paranoid; Clingy; Forgetful; Guarded; Sensitive; Naive; Easily frightened; Cautious; Potential to go wrong
Likes
Woodland creatures; Her BFF; Unicorns; Salads; Dolls; Babies; Spending time with her BFF; Lemonade; Fluffy animals; Happy endings; Bright colors; Sleepovers; Warm sun shining days; Painting and drawing (even though she's pretty bad at it)
Dislikes
Strategy games; Puzzles; Soap operas; Dramas; Thunder; Guns; Bad news; Sad people; Animal abuse; Fish; Fighting; Littering; Homophobes and close minded people; Common names (WAY too easy to confuse people)
Junior at Salem High
Grades
Gwen is a good student. Although her grades are not always the best, she tries very hard in her classes. When she's not distracted, anyway.
Friends
Her best friend ever is Tempest Everhart. They started out as neighbors when Tempest moved to Salem; Gwen originally showed up with a painting she made as a welcome gift. Naturally the painting sucked, and Tempest didn't exactly hold back. Gwen came back with picture after picture until one with a fox caught Tempest's eye, prompting their first nature walk together. Somehow the girls have been best friends ever since...although at times Gwen can come across as more of a sidekick. Tempest is the best friend Gwen could ever ask for and the sister she's always wanted. No matter how many other friends Tempest makes or how popular she gets or where she goes, Gwen will always be waiting for her.
Through Tempest Gwen also knows Dane Colson, who quickly grew to be her best guy friend. He is every bit as accepting of Gwen's quirks and childlike nature as Tempest is and Gwen absolutely loves being around his friendly nature. Between the two of them they share a lot of school spirit and often work together to plan parties, be it for their friends or for the soccer team in general. They naturally hit it off and are always bouncing ideas off of one another. Gwen loves playing with Dane's hair and typically refers to it as Moppy. She not so secretly hopes he never cuts it short!
Ricky Nash is the one person Gwen has known all throughout school and has loved and accepted her no matter what, just as she does him. If she had a brother she'd want him to be just like Ricky! He is the only boy Noni trusts Gwen to have around the house alone. Together, Gwen and Ricky can do anything from watching Disney movies to giving hair styles and makeovers to building blanket forts. Much like Gwen makes plenty of (bad) forest paintings for Tempest, she always has (just as bad) Disney drawings she makes just for Ricky!
Enemies
MEAN PEOPLE ARE TERRIBLE GWEN DOES NOT LIKE THEM ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE EVER MEAN TO HER FRIENDS.
Interested in
Gwen doesn't care what's on the outside. Male, female, trans, non-binary or even adorable fluffy creature. She likes people for who they are.
Relationship Status
Single. She sort of kind of hasn't exactly completely or at all entered the dating world. Kind of hard to when no one ever really asked her out and when dating's not the first thing on her mind.
Body
Gwen stands at 5'4 and is pretty sure she's around or a little under 120 pounds. She appears to be a pretty petite girl, although she's gotten a lot of compliments on her cheek bones. Supposedly Gwen also has a young-looking face; sometimes she gets asked which middle school she goes to.
Eye Color
Brown
Hair
Gwen's hair is a bit on the thin side. Brown and wavy, it goes down to her chest.
Style
Gwen has a bit more of a quirky style. She prefers bright or pastel colors and the colors don't always match. However she always dresses comfortable. She has no preference between skirts and pants or sneakers and heels. Her ears are pierced so sometimes she will wear earrings. She also likes to experiment with makeup although often goes with a more natural look.
Ethnicity
Mixed - she's got a few different things in her blood.
Playby
Rowan Blanchard
Positives
Cautious; Hopeful; Open minded; Feminist; Encouraging; Sensitive; Aware; Sweet; Looks for the best in people
Negatives
Paranoid; Clingy; Forgetful; Guarded; Sensitive; Naive; Easily frightened; Cautious; Potential to go wrong
Likes
Woodland creatures; Her BFF; Unicorns; Salads; Dolls; Babies; Spending time with her BFF; Lemonade; Fluffy animals; Happy endings; Bright colors; Sleepovers; Warm sun shining days; Painting and drawing (even though she's pretty bad at it)
Dislikes
Strategy games; Puzzles; Soap operas; Dramas; Thunder; Guns; Bad news; Sad people; Animal abuse; Fish; Fighting; Littering; Homophobes and close minded people; Common names (WAY too easy to confuse people)
Family
Father - Justin Wayne French, unknown - Gwen doesn't know much about her father except his name and that he wasn't exactly a father to her. Like, ever. Justin and Destiny were sixteen when they found out she was pregnant. Being two kids in high school and having their whole futures ahead of them was scary enough. But Justin didn't want anything to do with his pregnant girlfriend or the baby. He wanted to live his life and do what he wanted. As a result he has never been present in Gwen's life in any shape or form nor is his name on her birth certificate. It's for the best anyway. Word is about ten years back Justin was involved with a robbery. He was arrested and charged with armed robbery, specifically. He spent some time in jail though it's unknown where or for how long.
Mother - Destiny Eden Teslow, Drug Addict - The youngest of the Teslow children and ultimately the 'bad seed' in her family. While Destiny was never a bad girl specifically, she was a bit of a rebel and loved to do things her way on her terms. That was probably how she ended up becoming a teen mom; Destiny never thought or cared about the consequences. She was never even interested in being a mom. Even after she gave birth to Gwen, she couldn't wait to go out with her friends and party. While things weren't necessarily that bad in high school, the college parties were where Destiny really messed up. She got her hands on some drugs - weed or heroine, Gwen thinks - and ended up becoming addicted. It got to the point where she came home high and her mother thought it was dangerous for her to be around Gwen. Destiny left and none of the family has heard from her since. Whether she lives in a crack house, is in a relationship, got better, ended up in jail, had more kids or even has custody of any kids, is a mystery.
Grandmother - Dorothy "Noni" Regina Teslow, Jeweler - Dorothy, often referred to as Noni, has always been the one consistent figure in Gwen's life. She's the one who ended up naming Gwen; she asked Destiny what she thought of the name Gwendolyn and her response was merely 'kay'. Dorothy was extremely disappointed in her daughter, having raised four other well-adjusted and fairly successful children. She has no idea what went wrong, although partially blames herself. Dorothy was a teen mother and, although the cycle didn't repeat with any of her other kids, it seemed to have caught onto Destiny. She was hurt and disappointed in her daughter and has essentially become Gwen's mother rather than her grandmother. She is extremely dedicated to her granddaughter as much as her own children and has done everything in her power to shelter Gwen and make sure she doesn't go down the same path. She talks to her other children a few times a month. She may not exactly be a spring chicken anymore, but she remains a hard worker and will continue to work until she's six feet under. Although a bit old fashioned, Dorothy has become more accepting of the world changing around her. It helps that she has Gwen around when it comes to technologies. Dorothy has also been extremely welcoming to Tempest and Adalbert, treating them like family from the moment that she saw how close the girls were. And, she has to admit, with her kids all spread out and hardly around, Thanksgiving has become so much more lively the last few years!
Grandfather - Kevin Fitz Teslow, Deceased - Kevin and Dorothy met as teens and became parents at an early age. He was nineteen and she was sixteen. While Kevin may not have been as in love with Dorothy, he was always dedicated to his family and planned on doing every right by them. He did that with each child and has been there every step of the way. Kevin made a living working in an antique store. While he never made the most money, he loved what he did. It also fit him because he was a bit of a hoarder. Dorothy to this day has not cleaned out a lot of Kevin's things because he had so much around the house. Around the time Gwen was five, Kevin was confusing a few things. They didn't seem like such a huge deal; he just forgot where he put his keys or left groceries in the car. It wasn't until two years later when he called Gwen Destiny that there was clearly a problem. It turned out that Kevin's memory was slowly going due to Alzheimer's. Dorothy set him up in a nursing home where people knew better how to help him and what to do than she did. He was there from the time Gwen was about nine until she was fourteen. While Gwen wasn't as close with him as she was with Dorothy, she still misses him and hopes that she won't lose her Noni the way she lost her grandfather.
Dog - Sir Fluffernutter - Six months after Kevin's passing, Dorothy was looking to fill a void that her husband had left. Gwen had always loved animals and so a pet seemed like the perfect option. Fluffernutter, almost three at the time, had recently been abandoned at the shelter by his old owner. As far as the shelter knows, the owner just tied the dog to a nearby post and left him there. He is presumably a white lab or white lab mix. He is extremely friendly and loves squeaky toys - his favorite toys to play with when around Gwen. He loves playing with other dogs and chasing squirrels. Though not particularly friendly around men, Adalbert is the only exception because he's always around somewhere. Gwen was clearly the one who named him, though he also responds to any variant of his name: Fluffer, Fluffters, Nut, Nutsy, Nutter, Nutters and Sir Fluff.
Sister Figure/BFF - Tempest Stormme Everhart, Student - Gwen LOVES Tempest! She is her best friend ever and has been since she moved to Salem. Gwen could not ask for a better friend than Tempest. She's confident and beautiful and protective and everything Gwen could hope to have in a sister. Originally Gwen just wanted to impress her new neighbor but when Tempest took her on her first nature walk, everything took off from there. Gwen keeps any and every secret that Tempest could possible divulge to her, not even telling any of them to Dorothy. Even when Tempest came out as trans, Gwen hasn't told a soul. Tempest is who she is and Gwen loves and admires her immensely for it. To Gwen, Tempest and her guardian are like part of the family! Although she's not always sure what to call Adalbert. Uncle Al? Long Lost German Cousin Berty? Other Grandpa? Great Uncle Bert? She uses a few different names for him. Whatever he is to her, she just wants to know what he and Tempest talk about in German and why they sound so angry!
Backstory
Gwen's entrance into the world was far from planned. She was an 'accident' by two careless teens who didn't know or think any better. Her father, Justin, took the first out that he got. Destiny, however, wasn't as lucky. Her family didn't believe in abortion and Dorothy was sure that even without Justin they could raise the little girl. Dorothy tried everything to get her daughter interested, from shopping for baby clothes to picking out names. But from day one, Destiny just didn't seem to care. Even in the hospital when she was in labor for sixteen hours Destiny didn't seem to care about meeting her daughter; she just wanted the pain to stop and to leave. The first chance she got, Destiny left Gwen with Dorothy and went out as though nothing had changed.
For as long as she could remember, Dorothy was essentially Gwen's mother. She fed her, clothed her, took care of her and loved her. Destiny was never around. All Gwen ever knew was her Noni. This became more evident with Destiny left completely, hooked on drugs. Gwen does not remember anything about her mother nor know anything about her; just bits and pieces in passing, same for her father. Although never officially adopted, Gwen has been in Dorothy's custody since she was five months old.
Gwen essentially had the odds stacked against her from the time she was born. Her parents weren't around, her relatives were spread out and things only fell more out of her favor when it was discovered her grandfather Kevin had Alzheimer's. It didn't seem so bad at first; he was only forgetting a few small things. But it had escalated to the point where he forgot what certain things were for and calling Gwen and Dorothy anything but their names. The worst was when he mistook Gwen for Destiny. With no choice, Kevin had to be put in a nursing home surrounded by experts who could better help people in his condition. Even if it wouldn't change anything, they would be more prepared to help Kevin than Dorothy ever would. Since then it was just Gwen and her grandmother. Dorothy was the one who took Gwen to school. She bought Gwen clothes. She provided anything Gwen needed and tried her best to protect Gwen from the cruelties of the world. The young girl caught on and always put on a happy face. She already knew how bad the world could be; her dad was in jail, her mom was an addict, she had few friends and now her grandfather was losing every memory. Why should she focus on all that?
Gwen tried her best to look on the bright side of everything. Of course between her broken family and the way she came across, it was difficult to make friends. She tried very hard to overcompensate for her lack of communication with people; as a result she appeared very loud, clingy and desperate. Although Gwen has always tended to latch on hard to people fast, she was more quirky than anything. And a lot of her classmates didn't just seem to understand how to respond to that. Gwen's intentions were always good; saying hi to schoolmates in the hallway and offering to share her cookies at lunch or make drawings for people. Whether people responded or not was another story.
Naturally having a lot of creative energy and seeing the world in such an optimistic way, drawing and painting were gwen's best outlets. She was just never very good at making anything. Whether it was that she just wasn't a natural artist or that she was easily distracted - starting one piece of art, moving to watching TV or do something else and going back later with another idea - Gwen just wasn't an artist. The only time that Gwen could really focus on one thing for an extended period of time was when she made zen art. Dorothy got a book about the art for Gwen for her birthday one year, knowing how much her granddaughter loved art. Gwen just took to it. But no matter what Gwen made or how good or bad it was, Dorothy found some place in the house to put the works of art.
In eighth grade, Kevin passed away. Gwen and Dorothy kind of expected it, as his memory declined more and more every year. It wasn't as huge an adjustment because he hadn't been in the house for years at that point. But it didn't change the void that was left nor did it change the hurt. That was when Dorothy decided to adopt a pet for her and Gwen. She came across an almost three-year-old lab at the animal shelter who had recently been abandoned. The dog and Gwen quickly bonded and she named him Sir Fluffernutter. He'd been a member of the family since. Even if Gwen didn't have a lot - or maybe even any friends - from school at least she had a fluffy friend now!
It was also around that time that Gwen got a new neighbor in the form of Tempest. She and Adalbert moved into the rusty old cabin across the street, which practically let into the woods, that Dorothy swore no one would dare to move into. Gwen welcomed Tempest with open arms - and terrible drawing after terrible drawing - until their first nature walk together and the rest was history. Gwen liked being away from everything else; nature seemed so pure and calm and happy. That first year seemed kind of hard for Tempest, but Gwen never asked why. She was just there. It wasn't until Tempest said she was going to start at Salem High mid-freshman year and that she had to tell her something - that she was trans. Gwen did was most people probably did at first - look Tempest up and down - but then just simply asked what kind of wrapping paper she'd prefer with her birthday. It made no difference to Gwen; as far as she was considered, Tempest was a girl who was born with boy parts. She is who she is. Although Gwen would never tell that to Dorothy - the lady could only accept so much about the changing world and Gwen would never risk the family they were all forming together!
Although Tempest could act different between school and home, Gwen never really questioned it. She just loyally followed her and helped her catch up on all the schoolwork. The fact that everyone at Salem High grew to love Tempest so quickly for who she was, the person she was meant to be, makes Gwen so happy. It actually also boosted Gwen's confidence a bit to know that there was finally someone who trusted her so much and wanted to be around her. High school hadn't been too much different for Gwen compared to every other grade until Tempest came around. Her only slip ups had been calling Tempest Queen of the Forest a few times (which is true), but Gwen always had a good cover up for it. She now apparently has at least five drawings called Queen of the Forest - Parts 1 through 5!
Although Gwen is now technically considered popular adjacent thanks to Tempest, she's never let that kind of status go to her head. She's still the same 'special snowflake' that she always was. The only difference now was that she had Tempest to watch her back and that they're always there for each other. If she's not hanging out with her best friend at home or on nature walks, she's painting or drawing (badly) in her sketchbook or watching Tempest's soccer games. Gwen has mostly stayed out of trouble and drama despite the rivalry between Salem High and Metric High, and she hopes to keep it that way for her last two years. Gwen knows a lot of bad in the world exists; but does it really have to be in high school, too?
Random
☺The only 'drawing' Gwen is really decent at is zen drawing - repeating something over and over again to create a calming image and about feeling what you're doing rather than getting everything right. Since she has a bit of a tendency to get distracted easily, zen drawing is the one sure fire way to get her to concentrate. The headers on this page are all of zen designs as well.
☺She has no idea if she has any younger half brothers or sisters from either of her parents out there. Neither her or her grandmother have had contact with her mother.
☺Gwen often calls her grandma as Noni, pronounced similar to Nani from Lilo and Stitch.
☺Gwen and Noni live in a decently sized house downtown, where Noni raised her own children. There had never really been any reason to move even though there's more space than the two of them need. Gwen couldn't be happier they stayed though, or she wouldn't have the friends that she does!
☺Although Gwen is more of an indoors person, she loves going hiking with her best friend Tempest and looking at all the adorable woodland animals on the trail. The trick, of course, is to make sure she doesn't pet them or get too close.
☺Tempest and Adalbert are like adopted family to Gwen. Whenever Gwen and Dorothy have a problem with their house, there's a pretty good chance Adalbert can fix it. And there's ALWAYS dinner involved as payment.
☺You'd think with all the time Gwen spent around a couple of Germans, she'd grasp some bits and pieces of the language. Nope. And she has no idea why they sound so angry when they talk. Was it that bad she just wanted to make sure they knew she was saying hi??
☺Can she and Dane run their own party planning business? If Gwen had a dream job, that'd probably be it.
☺If she could rename herself anything, it would be Bubbles.
Music
☺Pocketfull of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
☺In Harmony - The Little Mermaid TV Series
☺So Long - Zooey Deschanel
☺Photograph - Ed Sheeran
☺Happy - Pharrell Williams
☺Try Everything - Shakira
☺On the Ride - Aly & AJ
Father - Justin Wayne French, unknown - Gwen doesn't know much about her father except his name and that he wasn't exactly a father to her. Like, ever. Justin and Destiny were sixteen when they found out she was pregnant. Being two kids in high school and having their whole futures ahead of them was scary enough. But Justin didn't want anything to do with his pregnant girlfriend or the baby. He wanted to live his life and do what he wanted. As a result he has never been present in Gwen's life in any shape or form nor is his name on her birth certificate. It's for the best anyway. Word is about ten years back Justin was involved with a robbery. He was arrested and charged with armed robbery, specifically. He spent some time in jail though it's unknown where or for how long.
Mother - Destiny Eden Teslow, Drug Addict - The youngest of the Teslow children and ultimately the 'bad seed' in her family. While Destiny was never a bad girl specifically, she was a bit of a rebel and loved to do things her way on her terms. That was probably how she ended up becoming a teen mom; Destiny never thought or cared about the consequences. She was never even interested in being a mom. Even after she gave birth to Gwen, she couldn't wait to go out with her friends and party. While things weren't necessarily that bad in high school, the college parties were where Destiny really messed up. She got her hands on some drugs - weed or heroine, Gwen thinks - and ended up becoming addicted. It got to the point where she came home high and her mother thought it was dangerous for her to be around Gwen. Destiny left and none of the family has heard from her since. Whether she lives in a crack house, is in a relationship, got better, ended up in jail, had more kids or even has custody of any kids, is a mystery.
Grandmother - Dorothy "Noni" Regina Teslow, Jeweler - Dorothy, often referred to as Noni, has always been the one consistent figure in Gwen's life. She's the one who ended up naming Gwen; she asked Destiny what she thought of the name Gwendolyn and her response was merely 'kay'. Dorothy was extremely disappointed in her daughter, having raised four other well-adjusted and fairly successful children. She has no idea what went wrong, although partially blames herself. Dorothy was a teen mother and, although the cycle didn't repeat with any of her other kids, it seemed to have caught onto Destiny. She was hurt and disappointed in her daughter and has essentially become Gwen's mother rather than her grandmother. She is extremely dedicated to her granddaughter as much as her own children and has done everything in her power to shelter Gwen and make sure she doesn't go down the same path. She talks to her other children a few times a month. She may not exactly be a spring chicken anymore, but she remains a hard worker and will continue to work until she's six feet under. Although a bit old fashioned, Dorothy has become more accepting of the world changing around her. It helps that she has Gwen around when it comes to technologies. Dorothy has also been extremely welcoming to Tempest and Adalbert, treating them like family from the moment that she saw how close the girls were. And, she has to admit, with her kids all spread out and hardly around, Thanksgiving has become so much more lively the last few years!
Grandfather - Kevin Fitz Teslow, Deceased - Kevin and Dorothy met as teens and became parents at an early age. He was nineteen and she was sixteen. While Kevin may not have been as in love with Dorothy, he was always dedicated to his family and planned on doing every right by them. He did that with each child and has been there every step of the way. Kevin made a living working in an antique store. While he never made the most money, he loved what he did. It also fit him because he was a bit of a hoarder. Dorothy to this day has not cleaned out a lot of Kevin's things because he had so much around the house. Around the time Gwen was five, Kevin was confusing a few things. They didn't seem like such a huge deal; he just forgot where he put his keys or left groceries in the car. It wasn't until two years later when he called Gwen Destiny that there was clearly a problem. It turned out that Kevin's memory was slowly going due to Alzheimer's. Dorothy set him up in a nursing home where people knew better how to help him and what to do than she did. He was there from the time Gwen was about nine until she was fourteen. While Gwen wasn't as close with him as she was with Dorothy, she still misses him and hopes that she won't lose her Noni the way she lost her grandfather.
Dog - Sir Fluffernutter - Six months after Kevin's passing, Dorothy was looking to fill a void that her husband had left. Gwen had always loved animals and so a pet seemed like the perfect option. Fluffernutter, almost three at the time, had recently been abandoned at the shelter by his old owner. As far as the shelter knows, the owner just tied the dog to a nearby post and left him there. He is presumably a white lab or white lab mix. He is extremely friendly and loves squeaky toys - his favorite toys to play with when around Gwen. He loves playing with other dogs and chasing squirrels. Though not particularly friendly around men, Adalbert is the only exception because he's always around somewhere. Gwen was clearly the one who named him, though he also responds to any variant of his name: Fluffer, Fluffters, Nut, Nutsy, Nutter, Nutters and Sir Fluff.
Sister Figure/BFF - Tempest Stormme Everhart, Student - Gwen LOVES Tempest! She is her best friend ever and has been since she moved to Salem. Gwen could not ask for a better friend than Tempest. She's confident and beautiful and protective and everything Gwen could hope to have in a sister. Originally Gwen just wanted to impress her new neighbor but when Tempest took her on her first nature walk, everything took off from there. Gwen keeps any and every secret that Tempest could possible divulge to her, not even telling any of them to Dorothy. Even when Tempest came out as trans, Gwen hasn't told a soul. Tempest is who she is and Gwen loves and admires her immensely for it. To Gwen, Tempest and her guardian are like part of the family! Although she's not always sure what to call Adalbert. Uncle Al? Long Lost German Cousin Berty? Other Grandpa? Great Uncle Bert? She uses a few different names for him. Whatever he is to her, she just wants to know what he and Tempest talk about in German and why they sound so angry!
Backstory
Gwen's entrance into the world was far from planned. She was an 'accident' by two careless teens who didn't know or think any better. Her father, Justin, took the first out that he got. Destiny, however, wasn't as lucky. Her family didn't believe in abortion and Dorothy was sure that even without Justin they could raise the little girl. Dorothy tried everything to get her daughter interested, from shopping for baby clothes to picking out names. But from day one, Destiny just didn't seem to care. Even in the hospital when she was in labor for sixteen hours Destiny didn't seem to care about meeting her daughter; she just wanted the pain to stop and to leave. The first chance she got, Destiny left Gwen with Dorothy and went out as though nothing had changed.
For as long as she could remember, Dorothy was essentially Gwen's mother. She fed her, clothed her, took care of her and loved her. Destiny was never around. All Gwen ever knew was her Noni. This became more evident with Destiny left completely, hooked on drugs. Gwen does not remember anything about her mother nor know anything about her; just bits and pieces in passing, same for her father. Although never officially adopted, Gwen has been in Dorothy's custody since she was five months old.
Gwen essentially had the odds stacked against her from the time she was born. Her parents weren't around, her relatives were spread out and things only fell more out of her favor when it was discovered her grandfather Kevin had Alzheimer's. It didn't seem so bad at first; he was only forgetting a few small things. But it had escalated to the point where he forgot what certain things were for and calling Gwen and Dorothy anything but their names. The worst was when he mistook Gwen for Destiny. With no choice, Kevin had to be put in a nursing home surrounded by experts who could better help people in his condition. Even if it wouldn't change anything, they would be more prepared to help Kevin than Dorothy ever would. Since then it was just Gwen and her grandmother. Dorothy was the one who took Gwen to school. She bought Gwen clothes. She provided anything Gwen needed and tried her best to protect Gwen from the cruelties of the world. The young girl caught on and always put on a happy face. She already knew how bad the world could be; her dad was in jail, her mom was an addict, she had few friends and now her grandfather was losing every memory. Why should she focus on all that?
Gwen tried her best to look on the bright side of everything. Of course between her broken family and the way she came across, it was difficult to make friends. She tried very hard to overcompensate for her lack of communication with people; as a result she appeared very loud, clingy and desperate. Although Gwen has always tended to latch on hard to people fast, she was more quirky than anything. And a lot of her classmates didn't just seem to understand how to respond to that. Gwen's intentions were always good; saying hi to schoolmates in the hallway and offering to share her cookies at lunch or make drawings for people. Whether people responded or not was another story.
Naturally having a lot of creative energy and seeing the world in such an optimistic way, drawing and painting were gwen's best outlets. She was just never very good at making anything. Whether it was that she just wasn't a natural artist or that she was easily distracted - starting one piece of art, moving to watching TV or do something else and going back later with another idea - Gwen just wasn't an artist. The only time that Gwen could really focus on one thing for an extended period of time was when she made zen art. Dorothy got a book about the art for Gwen for her birthday one year, knowing how much her granddaughter loved art. Gwen just took to it. But no matter what Gwen made or how good or bad it was, Dorothy found some place in the house to put the works of art.
In eighth grade, Kevin passed away. Gwen and Dorothy kind of expected it, as his memory declined more and more every year. It wasn't as huge an adjustment because he hadn't been in the house for years at that point. But it didn't change the void that was left nor did it change the hurt. That was when Dorothy decided to adopt a pet for her and Gwen. She came across an almost three-year-old lab at the animal shelter who had recently been abandoned. The dog and Gwen quickly bonded and she named him Sir Fluffernutter. He'd been a member of the family since. Even if Gwen didn't have a lot - or maybe even any friends - from school at least she had a fluffy friend now!
It was also around that time that Gwen got a new neighbor in the form of Tempest. She and Adalbert moved into the rusty old cabin across the street, which practically let into the woods, that Dorothy swore no one would dare to move into. Gwen welcomed Tempest with open arms - and terrible drawing after terrible drawing - until their first nature walk together and the rest was history. Gwen liked being away from everything else; nature seemed so pure and calm and happy. That first year seemed kind of hard for Tempest, but Gwen never asked why. She was just there. It wasn't until Tempest said she was going to start at Salem High mid-freshman year and that she had to tell her something - that she was trans. Gwen did was most people probably did at first - look Tempest up and down - but then just simply asked what kind of wrapping paper she'd prefer with her birthday. It made no difference to Gwen; as far as she was considered, Tempest was a girl who was born with boy parts. She is who she is. Although Gwen would never tell that to Dorothy - the lady could only accept so much about the changing world and Gwen would never risk the family they were all forming together!
Although Tempest could act different between school and home, Gwen never really questioned it. She just loyally followed her and helped her catch up on all the schoolwork. The fact that everyone at Salem High grew to love Tempest so quickly for who she was, the person she was meant to be, makes Gwen so happy. It actually also boosted Gwen's confidence a bit to know that there was finally someone who trusted her so much and wanted to be around her. High school hadn't been too much different for Gwen compared to every other grade until Tempest came around. Her only slip ups had been calling Tempest Queen of the Forest a few times (which is true), but Gwen always had a good cover up for it. She now apparently has at least five drawings called Queen of the Forest - Parts 1 through 5!
Although Gwen is now technically considered popular adjacent thanks to Tempest, she's never let that kind of status go to her head. She's still the same 'special snowflake' that she always was. The only difference now was that she had Tempest to watch her back and that they're always there for each other. If she's not hanging out with her best friend at home or on nature walks, she's painting or drawing (badly) in her sketchbook or watching Tempest's soccer games. Gwen has mostly stayed out of trouble and drama despite the rivalry between Salem High and Metric High, and she hopes to keep it that way for her last two years. Gwen knows a lot of bad in the world exists; but does it really have to be in high school, too?
Random
☺The only 'drawing' Gwen is really decent at is zen drawing - repeating something over and over again to create a calming image and about feeling what you're doing rather than getting everything right. Since she has a bit of a tendency to get distracted easily, zen drawing is the one sure fire way to get her to concentrate. The headers on this page are all of zen designs as well.
☺She has no idea if she has any younger half brothers or sisters from either of her parents out there. Neither her or her grandmother have had contact with her mother.
☺Gwen often calls her grandma as Noni, pronounced similar to Nani from Lilo and Stitch.
☺Gwen and Noni live in a decently sized house downtown, where Noni raised her own children. There had never really been any reason to move even though there's more space than the two of them need. Gwen couldn't be happier they stayed though, or she wouldn't have the friends that she does!
☺Although Gwen is more of an indoors person, she loves going hiking with her best friend Tempest and looking at all the adorable woodland animals on the trail. The trick, of course, is to make sure she doesn't pet them or get too close.
☺Tempest and Adalbert are like adopted family to Gwen. Whenever Gwen and Dorothy have a problem with their house, there's a pretty good chance Adalbert can fix it. And there's ALWAYS dinner involved as payment.
☺You'd think with all the time Gwen spent around a couple of Germans, she'd grasp some bits and pieces of the language. Nope. And she has no idea why they sound so angry when they talk. Was it that bad she just wanted to make sure they knew she was saying hi??
☺Can she and Dane run their own party planning business? If Gwen had a dream job, that'd probably be it.
☺If she could rename herself anything, it would be Bubbles.
Music
☺Pocketfull of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
☺In Harmony - The Little Mermaid TV Series
☺So Long - Zooey Deschanel
☺Photograph - Ed Sheeran
☺Happy - Pharrell Williams
☺Try Everything - Shakira
☺On the Ride - Aly & AJ