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[camlannpod]

Character Playlist: Gwen (Shújūn) Liu

Number four in our character playlist series, this time for episode 4, which is focused on our beloved Gwen / Shújūn. Like the other playlists for Dai, Morgan and Perry, I'll be going through track by track and talking a bit more about Gwen's character and why I included these specific songs. Enjoy!

1.Mirror Mirror by Juniper Vale

Followed me into a dream And twirled me out of time Down a trail of twisted tales That mythemized my mind All my memories they ring a bell But taper with each toll Mirror, mirror who am I now? I don't know

Like everyone, Gwen is struggling with identity in this apocalypse. Especially as a woman who grew up in Hong Kong and is now stranded in the UK, with no way to know what's happened to her friends and family, being judged and shaped by a British story, she's being pulled in a lot of different directions at once. For her, it feels like a very strange waking dream. She's probably the most Alice in Wonderland character in the series.

2. Paper Mache by Iris Lune

I almost lost everything I got to this Scratch at my soul, I clench my fist Counting the lights on my way out There is no time to lose, must replay the scene

Fundamentally Gwen is a survivor. She was alone in a monster-infested wilderness for far too long, and as to what happened to the other survivors she was with? It wasn't pretty. Gwen is the definition of that quote about hope being covered in blood and mud and getting up again anyway.

3. Eastward of Eden by Amelia Day

Our children, they spread to outnumber the stars Oh, Eastward of Eden, where day turns to dark Dark Leave it all, leave it all, leave it all behind

The world ended. And again, Gwen in particular feels lost in an alien and foreign landscape, completely disconnected from the world she knew. She has family in the UK - aunts and cousins, but she only moved to Leicester for university. Now she's 6,000 miles from Hong Kong and trapped, forced to forge a new path for herself with no one there to help her. And on top of all of that, she's inherited this strange, massive power that influences her interactions with everything and everyone she meets.

4. All Things Devour by aeseaes

worms and spiders spin inside her like the story make me holy this thing all things devours

Gwen, like the others in the gang with Names, has a very conflicted relationship with Guinevere. She sees the name as a tool, a weapon in her arsenal that's helped her survive. But she's also painfully aware that she's dancing with fire, and she's seen the ways that her Name puts her and the people she loves in danger, too. She worries that one day she'll put the costume on and not be able to take it off.

5. Sad Forever by Lauv

'Cause lately, I've been in the backseat to my own life Trying to take control, but I don't know how to I don't wanna be sad forever I don't wanna be sad no more I don't wanna wake up and wonder What the hell am I doing this for?

Gwen is a woman whose actions speak louder than words. She has to be careful around Perry, Morgan and Dai because she's a stranger and she needs the shelter they offer. But privately, she's determined not to give into fear or despair, despite all the grief and horror she's suffered. She's so frustrated by the way she's being pulled around this apocalypse like a puppet, and she's determined to take the reins.

6. Only Lonely by The Ballroom Thieves

She knows I have a tendency I make mountains out of stones And with that timber, burn a hundred fires

The first time they meet, Morgan brings Gwen back to reality. Morgan's stubbornness, her directness and her anger help snap Gwen out of the daydream of the story and back into reality. Gwen finds Morgan fascinating, and funny, and grounding like nothing and no one else she's ever met. Whenever Gwen is scared of getting lost in the clouds and being unable to come back, Morgan anchors her.

7. On Board by Alana Henderson

I'll be the figurehead On your ship's bow I'll be the last glimpse of a topsail As we go down I'll be waiting on the seabed Repeating the words Don't forget (you said), ships were not built to be safe

Gwen is maybe more conscious than Morgan of how explosive and dangerous to both of them their closeness can be - the way that others might see it as a threat, the way their own stories might react in ways they can't predict. And despite this, despite knowing that Morgan is an objectively dangerous woman to her, Gwen can't help but be drawn to her.

8. Throw Me in the Water by WILD

Pushin' away Only gets me closer Fallin' fast Can we move it slower?

Morgan is not good at creating relationships. Gwen is amazing at making new friends, and Gwen can see all the ways that Morgan prickles and pushes her away. Gwen chooses to ignore the spiky armour Morgan wears. If anything, she finds it an interesting challenge. Morgan is the wild untamed stallion and Gwen is the horse girl in this movie. Gwen desperately wants to untangle the knot that Morgan is and see what lies underneath, again, despite all the danger that presents.

9. We Will All Be Changed by Seryn

We look for home, but we'll never know Distance will grow, but I'll always know

What happened to Hong Kong and her dad, Kai, is a huge unanswered question that lingers over Gwen's head every day, this unresolved grief that she has to get up every day and live with. But she keeps going, in the hope that one day she'll answer it.

#gwen liu #Shújūn Liu #camlann #camlann podcast #we're gonna pretend that this was on time it's fiiiiine