#i think the raven prince likes gwyn

[not-poignant]

Do you have a favorite character evolution or relationship evolution that you’ve written? Personally, the way Augus becomes soft for Mosk in The Ice Plague really tickles me.

Oh hmmm, this is such an awesome question! But also really hard to answer.

I think I have more than one. But the one that weirdly comes to mind is Sharpwood in The Golden Age that Never Was. I've been kind of obsessed with his character ever since and I feel like I'm 'saving' him for an original novel somewhere along the way. Something about him going from like, a cold, distant servant, to what he became, until finally at the end you realise you really want to get to know him better and it's too late... I don't know. I think often about writing a side story of his trauma recovery, but I don't have like...spare time to do it in. Alas.

In terms of the main characters, like the point-of-view characters, Gwyn's and Augus' journey was compelling enough that I followed them for nearly a decade in a single universe. And I feel like that's the most obvious answer because it's like 'well, I spent tens of thousands of hours on them because they were my favourite evolution / relationship evolution.'

In terms of less obvious characters... I actually really loved writing Mosk becoming protective of Gwyn in The Ice Plague and then becoming kind of like a mentor figure almost to him, despite his age and lack of experience.

I loved, loved, loved writing the slow tentative growth of connection between the prickly Gwyn ap Nudd and equally prickle Raven Prince in The Ice Plague as well.

Right now, I'm a big fan of Efnisien and Faber, and Efnisien and Flitmouse too. :D

[acourtofthought]

I'm saw a Reddit post where the person ships E/riel but does not ship Gwynriel because Gwyn deserves to be someone's first pick and it would cheapen things if Az fell in love with her while getting over Elain.

Someone is entitled to feel that way, of course. But I can't help wondering how someone who posts this as their reasoning can't see how they're shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to their own ship:

Indeed, a glance over her shoulder revealed Azriel staring blatantly at the back view of it, Cassian and the stranger already too deep in conversation to notice what had drawn the spymaster’s attention. For a moment, the ravenous hunger on Azriel’s face made my stomach tighten.

But Azriel … Cassian tries, I try—but I think the only person who ever gets him to admit to any sort of feeling is Mor.

He knew she and Azriel were . . . whatever they were. Knew Azriel had been in love with Mor from the moment she’d strutted into the Illyrian war-camp fve centuries ago.

If the warrior ever stopped quietly loving Mor. I doubted it. Azriel would likely love Mor until he was a whisper of darkness between the stars.

“The issue, actually, wouldn’t be me. It’d be him. I could peel off my clothes right in front of him and he wouldn’t move an inch. He might have defied and proved those Illyrian pricks wrong at every turn, but it won’t matter if Rhys makes him Prince of Velaris—he’ll see himself as a bastard-born nobody, and not good enough for anyone. Especially me.”

Azriel’s head lifted from where he was sprawled in his own blood, eyes full of rage and pain as he snarled at the king, “Don’t you touch her.”

Azriel hissed—but covered her bloody fingers with his own.

“Azriel,” Rhys said, “has been preoccupied with the same female for the past five hundred years.” “Wouldn’t the mating bond have snapped into place for them if it exists?” Rhys’s eyes shuttered. “I think that is a question Azriel has been asking himself every day since he met Mor.”

“Good to know that after five hundred years, you still dress like a slut.” One moment, Azriel was seated. The next, he’d blasted through Eris’s shield with a flare of blue light and tackled him backward, wood shattering beneath them.

Mor opened her mouth, but Azriel laid a scarred hand atop hers. She snatched her hand back as if she’d been burned—burned as he had been.

Azriel stared at the floor, stone-faced. “Sorry.” The word was emotionless—distant. He had not spoken, had barely moved, since his savage attack.

“The violence as a result of what he feels, lingering guilt over the deal with Eris—and what neither of them will face.”

“But—but he loves her. How can he sit idly by?” “He thinks she’s happier without him.” His eyes shone with the memory—of his own choice to sit back. “He thinks he’s unworthy of her.”

I made the mistake of asking if he’d spoken to Mor since he’d left last night. No, he had not. And that was that. Even if he kept flexing his scarred hand at his side. As if recalling the sensation of the hand she’d whipped free of his touch during that meeting. Over and over. I didn’t dare tell him that he’d made the right call—that perhaps he should talk to Mor, rather than let the guilt eat at him. The two of them had enough between them without me shoving myself into it.

That coldness, that aloofness that had been there in the wake of Mor’s anger and rejection … It’d warmed. Either from Mor choosing to sit next to him at dinner last night—a silent offer of forgiveness—or simply needing time to recover from it.

I choked. Azriel did, too, whirling on Cassian as he did. Cassian only winked at him as the barely there red negligee swayed between Mor’s hands. Before Azriel could undoubtedly ask what we were all thinking, Mor hummed to herself and said, “Don’t let him fool you: he couldn’t think of a damn thing to get me, so he gave up and asked me outright. I gave him precise orders.

I had to look away to keep from laughing. Az, to his credit, gave Mor a smile of thanks, a blush creeping over his cheeks, his hazel eyes fixed on her. I looked away at the heat, the yearning that filled them.

She knew Azriel would say no, would want her safe. As he had always done.

Az would have been pissed, and withdrawn even further into himself. She hadn’t wanted to take his joy away from him. Any more than she already did.

Nesta said to Feyre, “Did you tell Elain?” Before Feyre could reply, Azriel said, “What about Mor?”

The High Lord of Day considered Cassian and Azriel, then frowned. “Where’s my beautiful Mor?” Az said tightly, “Away.”

These scenes are ACOMAF all the way through ACOSF.

I'm going to just say it but E/riel being one anothers first choice and currently being in love with each other are some of the worst takes in this fandom.

Claiming that he shouldn't end up with Gwyn because she's not his first choice while declaring that Elain is.....

How can someone so blatantly disregard EVERYTHING that has been said about Mor and Az? How is not extremely obvious that Az became fixated on Elain because he couldn't have the one he wanted? Elain was NEVER his first choice, she still isn't. Wondering why the female he's known for a little over a year isn't his mate because his brothers are with his sisters is NOTHING compared to his wondering why the female he loved for 500 years wasn't his mate. For the simple fact that he loved her from the moment he saw her (and not because of who she's related to and what his brothers have).

It doesn't matter what E/riel moments exist in those same books. How many "cute" one liners people like to use for them. Every single moment is overshadowed by the intensity of what he felt for Mor. Even though he was about to be physically intimate with Elain, something not special to Elain considering Rhys tells us both Az and Mor had taken lovers over the years (proof that sex does not equal love), he was unable to convince his brother that he no longer had feelings for Mor moments later.

E/riels love to insult Gwynriel moments. "He doesn't even consider her a friend!" "Worst possible bond ever!" "He didn't care she was in the Rite!" (not true but it's one they love to use).

The reason Gwynriels aren't bothered is because they'd rather read about Az admitting that he's moved on from Mor before developing anything physical or emotional with someone else.

They don't want to read about Az falling for Gwyn while simultaneously loving and pining for Mor.

And no, maybe Gwyn won't have been Azriel's first choice but since when is that a bad thing?

Tamlin was Feyre's first choice but he wasn't the BEST choice. And she did not develop feelings for Rhys until she admitted to herself that she was no longer in love with Tamlin.

In the end it's not first or second choice that matters, it's the right choice. But the right choice won't happen until Az can admit to himself and his brothers that it's time to let go of Mor. Az might not be in love with Gwyn but I'd much rather wait until he's not thinking about another female on the regular. Where his thought upon wondering who knew about Feyre's pregnancy was not "What about Mor?" though we still hadn't gotten an answer as to whether Elain knew. I'd much rather wait until he has no problem confessing to every single member of his family that he will no longer "love Mor until he was a whisper of darkness between the stars" before they have their first intimate moment together.

It's funny that anyone would talk about Gwynriel ending up together as cheapening the romance because Az would need to "get over Elain" considering what E/riel "share" is 0.002% of the centuries old love he had for Mor. E/riel is completely cheapened by the fact that he looked at Mor with yearning after the apparent proof of his love for Elain when he went into Hyberns camp to get her and let her borrow Truth-Teller. Seriously, what kind of romance story is that?!

The concern should not be wanting Gwyn to be Az's second choice to Elain but wanting Gwyn to be the right choice for Az once he deals with everything he felt for Mor. Starting to move on is not the same thing as fully letting go. And falling in love with someone else too quickly while trying to let go of another is never going to end well. Not that E/riel is in love but they're attempting to convince themselves that maybe their attraction will be enough to make them forget about the real problems they have without ever actually facing their problems.

It was always a plan destined to fail and I'm pretty sure the moment Elain returned that necklace was proof of that, especially when you consider there's been no mention of E/riel since.

Elain has only ever been a distraction for Az and Az has only been a distraction for Elain. The only real hurdle for Gwynriel is Az finding a way to let go of Mor once and for all.

[spyroforlife]

You know what since I’m thinking about Fae Tales now, I think it’s time... for me to match them to Troubled Birds! There’s a lot of characters so apologies if I leave out anyone you like, but I’m gonna try to do a good number of them. I’ll start with a few and put the rest under a cut because I’m sure this’ll be long. Here we go!

Gwyn ap Nudd:

Augus Each Uisge:

Ash Glashtyn:

Gulvi Dubna Vajat:

Julvia Dubna Vajat:

Fenwrel:

The Raven Prince:

Albion:

Ondine:

Crielle ferch Fnwy:

Efnisien ap Wledig (canon):

Mosk Manytrees:

Eran Iliakambar:

Davix:

Olphix:

Efinisien ap Wledig (Falling Falling Stars):

Arden Mercury:

[hiddenwashington]

who are the mw from admins and members? any fandoms tbf i'm in love with loads

hey angel!! i would just like to start off with the fact that we would absolutely love down anyone and everyone you bring us, and that is a promise!! and if you would like to find some more suggestions, then check out our most wanted tag, promo blog or even wanted connections page!! but otherwise, here is a list compiled by us admins and our lovely members!! marvel/gifted: thor odinson, stephen strange, m’baku, t’challa, johnny storm, sabretooth, charles xavier, chase stein, alex wilder, colossus, nathan summers, tony stark, frank castle, foggy nelson, erik lensherr, leo fitz, philip coulson, kate strucker, blink, carol ferris, mystique, rogue,molly hayes, gert yorkes america chavez, the rest of the runaways, billy kaplan, tommy shepherd, pietro maximoff, groot, gamora, clint barton, and wolverine!! dc: lois lane, carol ferris cassie sandsmark, cassie cain, helena bertinelli, diana prince, arthur curry, bruce wayne, clark kent, edward nygma, roy harper, steve trevor, and hal jordan!! disney: anna, lilo, jessie, bo peep, prince adam, mauiprince kit, mrs. potts!! overwatch: mei, ana, pharah, brigette jesse mcree, reaper, reinhardt wilhelm, lucio, hazo, genji sombra, soldier 76, ashe, widowmaker, and tracer!! harry potter: mckinnon family (wanted connections), molly weasley, petunia evans, cho chang, daphne greengrass, nymphadora tonks, minerva mcgongall, ron weasley, ted tonks, albus dumbledore, jacob kowalski, oliver wood, theseus scamander any of the weasleys bpys, dean thomas, dorcas meadowes,  mad eye moody, bellatrix lestrange or voldemort!! mass effect: ashley williams, miranda lawson, tali-zorah nar rayya, liara t'soni  kaidan alenko, garrus vakarian, thane, mordin solus, urdnot wrex, grunt wrex miranda lawson, tali'zorah vas normandy, or james vega!! dragon age: morrigan, isabela, leliana, cassandra pentaghast, seracullen, or zevran arainai!! legacies/tvd/to: penelope park, freya mikaelson kol, finn, freya and elijah mikaelson, and marcel gerard!! hamilton: angelica, peggy, alexander hamilton, and eliza schylur!! legend of zelda: mipha, urbosa, or prince sidon!! life is strange: chloe price, kate marsh, victoria chase, nathan prescott, or warren graham!! gravity falls: wendy corduroy, pacifica northwest, candy chiu, dipper pines, bill cipher, stanford pines, stanley pines, and gideon gleeful!! shadowhunter chronicles: livvy blackthorn, cristina rosales, sophie collins, charlotte branwell, maia roberts, cecily herondale, emma carstairs, diana wrayburn,  jem carstairs, nate gray, henry branwell, gideon lightwood, gabriel lightwood, gwyn, julian blackthorn, ty blackthorn, kit herondale, mark blackthorn, kieran, max lightwood, raphael santiago, jocelyn fairchild, luke garroway, sophie, gabriel, gideon, cecily, ragnor, camille, henry, and charlotte!! doctor who: thirteen, river song, donna noble, rose tyler, martha jones, jenny, the tardis, clara oswald, sally sparrow, yasmin khan, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, jack harkness, rory williams, ryan sinclair, or amy pond!! the raven cycle: adam parrish, gansey, joseph kavinsky, henry cheng, orla, persephone, piper greenmantle, gwenllian, or maura sargent!! until dawn: jessica riley, emily davis, hannah washington, beth washington, ashley brown, josh washington, mike munroe, matt taylor, or chris hartley! star wars: bail organa, cassian, chewie, finn, jacen solo, luke skywalker, breha organa, mon mothma, winter celchu, jabba the hutt, palpatine, han solo, or the rest of the rouge one crew!! got: jaime lannister, oberyn martell, bronn and all game of thrones muses you can think of!! tolkien: bard, legolas, thranduil, frodo!! the walking dead: glenn rhee!! stranger things: jim hopper, lucas sinclair, max mayfield, mike wheeler, or dustin henderson!! the hunger games: gale hawthorne, haymitch abernathy, effie trinket, and primrose everdeen!! final fantasy: gladiolus amicitia, ignis scientia, prompto argentum, nyx ulrich, cloud strife, tidus, squall leonhart!! bat out of hell strat, zahara, sloane, and falco, or any of the lost!! derry girls: clare, michelle, james, and orla!! buffy the vampire slayer: angel, giles, willow, dawn, anya, xander!! sailor moon: haruka, mamoru, minako, rei, mako, ami, chibiusa, setsuna, or michiru!! scream tv: jake fitzgerarld, zoe vaughn, riley marra, nina patterson!! anyone from a court of thorns and roses! critical role: pike, vax'ildan, scanlan, or gilmore!! alice from the magicians!! orpheus, hades from hadestown! marius, fantine, valjean, from les miserables!! avatar : the rest of the avatar gang, azula, ty lee, and mei! legit any war and peace muses!! jack morrison from ow! anyone from the travelers, black sails or outlander!! i apologize for how long this list is, but members if you have any characters that weren’t mentioned, throw them in the replies for this angel!! ♥

[nialoke]

A very late answer to this question, but! Here's my list of favourite quotes (non-exhaustive enumeration, for various reasons, but mostly because there's still so much I haven't read yet...)

Adding a cut because long post is long. Also: Significant spoilers for Game Theory and The Court of Five Thrones, if this is still relevant for anyone ^-^''

(After tumblr has somehow eaten this post about five times while I tried to format it, I am now going to stop trying ;-; I'm sorry for the weird spacing)

‘You don’t get absolution,’ Augus pushed his lips against Gwyn’s, breathed the words against his mouth. ‘You don’t get absolution because it’s not a sin to be yourself, Gwyn.’

Game Theory, Ch. 12: Liver

‘If only I had been a handful of lines in some fairytale. Perhaps you would have looked for me,’ Augus said, and then laughed again, the voice a deep, despairing jag that made something in Gwyn’s chest twist hard. ‘You found me too late, Gwyn. Far too late. I was only good for a war, when you found me.

Game Theory, Ch. 20: Nightmare

I am made of impossible things, Augus thought, looking up the staircase towards more darkness. Swamps that grow in darkness without the sun to kiss the leaves awake and unfurling. I was born in a lake that had no love for me and demanded my survival. I was given a brother I was never supposed to have. I was an Unseelie King who fell for a Seelie King who wasn’t Seelie.

Game Theory, Ch. 41: Faith

That woman was a storm unto herself and you were the wreckage she left behind. But there are some that make treasure and shelter out of driftwood and wrecked ships. There are merfae that live in those shelters and barter those treasures. And you, I suppose, turned yourself into treasure and shelter for others.

The Court of Five Thrones, Ch. 14: Pearl

It occurred to Augus that he was only breath and bone, the sharp armour of a spine and the soft innards that lurked within. He was waterhorse and human-form both. He had always been a complete being, he had never needed – never believed – that there would be someone else to complete him. In truth, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

But what he also knew was this: his life was once a calm, peaceful place. It was as steady and reliable as the lake of his birth on a balmy summer’s day. The turbulence was at the very top, the very depths, and everything between had been cold currents and utter, watery perfection. And he’d lost all of it. It was all destroyed, piece by piece, until even the physical manifestation of his lake was taken from him too.

What he knew was this: Gwyn introduced light into his life again.

Gwyn didn’t complete him, no. But Augus was too afraid of the dark to ever let him go.

The Court of Five Thrones, Ch. 32: Limbo

The Raven Prince’s mouth twitched into a sad, wry smile. ‘My dear, young boy. Do you honestly think that I could be as old and as wise and as powerful as I am, and not have known where you were?’

Augus felt like he’d been struck. He stared at the Raven Prince, but couldn’t quite see him. Everything had blurred into a white-grey haze.

‘Do you honestly believe,’ the Raven Prince said, lifting his arms and folding them as the compulsions wore off, ‘that I am so very, very stupid?’

The Court of Five Thrones, Ch. 33: Confession

‘When you came to defeat me,’ Augus said, his voice very quiet, ‘I thought you would kill me. Not save me.’

Gwyn’s heart started thumping fast, stealing his breath.

‘When…I came to you all those years ago,’ Gwyn said, clearing his throat, ‘I was already defeated. I was ready to kill myself. And you- You saved me.’

‘You let me,’ Augus said, as Gwyn pushed himself up onto his knees and leaned his forehead against Augus’. ‘I think that’s the most important thing of all. That even back then, you let me. Even then. When you hated yourself so fiercely.’

‘You too,’ Gwyn said, opening his eyes and seeing Augus’ eyes so close to his. ‘I could never have…I could never have saved you if you hadn’t let me. Over and over again. You’re so strong. And so much braver than they’ll ever know.’

‘You know,’ Augus said, touching his fingers to Gwyn’s jaw and kissing him lightly. ‘That’s all that matters to me.’

The Court of Five Thrones, Ch. 59: Epilogue: Futures

‘Maybe you cry when you’re happy,’ Lija said, walking over and wrapping her arms around him. ‘Or maybe it hurts to get good things. You know, Augus, I can heal so many patients with my hands, but it still hurts them. And many of them still cry when they come out of surgery, and in recovery, and even later on, too. Sometimes something that saves your life still reminds you of what you lost.

Spoils of the Spoiled, Ch. 24: Holiday

A honorable mention goes to this moment, for the sheer "How DARE-!!" feeling it gave me:

The Raven Prince’s mouth twitched into a sad, wry smile. ‘My dear, young boy. Do you honestly think that I could be as old and as wise and as powerful as I am, and not have known where you were?’

Augus felt like he’d been struck. He stared at the Raven Prince, but couldn’t quite see him. Everything had blurred into a white-grey haze.

‘Do you honestly believe,’ the Raven Prince said, lifting his arms and folding them as the compulsions wore off, ‘that I am so very, very stupid?’

The Court of Five Thrones, Ch. 33: Confession

Also there's all of the Nain Rouge's dialogue and all the delightful sass and banter that made me laugh, and so many poignant (hah) little moments between the characters, but if I got started on that this list would never end.

Hey faedom!

To help build up some hype for Faedom Week 2022 (event guidelines/prompts), we’re going to ask you all some questions about your relationship with and your thoughts on Fae Tales Verse! We’re going to be asking one question for every week leading up to the event, that folks can reply to/reblog with a comment on/submit to the blog! (No length specification, feel free to do whatever you’d like :D)

Fifth question:

What is a line from a Fae Tales Verse canon story or AU you really love? (the line can be narration, dialogue, w/e, and there's no word limit)

(If you'd like to check out the Fae Tales Verse fanwiki, it has a lot of info on all the stories!)

[not-poignant]

Is the Raven Prince averse to touch and afraid of pain because of what Davix and Olphix did to him when he was a child?

Hi anon!

The Raven Prince is touch averse in every universe. He has definitely gone through some things that made that worse, but those things aren't the same in every universe, and he'd be touch averse regardless of those things. The degree of severity might shift, he's just never been very drawn to this kind of intimacy.

I see it as more inherent to him as a person, in the same way that he rejects his human flesh simply because he prefers to be a bird, and prefers to be in the sky. Therefore at least in when he is a bird shifter, a big part of his touch aversion is specifically being touched while he's in the form that he likes least and has the most dysphoria over. He's the shifter that says most often - out of all of our shifters - that he is an animal first 'I am only a raven' 'I'm just a raven' than any of our other shifters (Julvia, Gulvi, Fenwrel, etc.)

Imho, the Raven Prince's issues with touch come down to issues with his body, and in fae stories, this is specifically because he identifies as a bird first and foremost and is kind of always craving to be back in that form, and I think sees living in human form as a detraction and not a bonus. It's also why he shifts so much more often than any of the other animal shifters in any of his stories. He's always very quick to return to raven form.

As a human, I'm still noodling on his touch aversion, but I think it will be something he's always had. Some of it will likely be exacerbated due to trauma, but he's the kid who never wanted to hug extended family. I think honestly even in scenarios where the Raven Prince picks up a partner, he never sees that partnership as something with a lot of physical affection of any kind, and doesn't really identify with that kind of intimacy as being like...wanted often.

I'd say a fair bit of that is also neurodivergence + sensory overload issues.

[not-poignant]

HI, Pia! Can I ask two? 13) My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was [xyz]. What inspired it? and 14) My favorite line from this fic was [xyz]. What inspired it? in case they are different lines)) for The Nascent Diplomat < 3 Thank you!

13. My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was [xyz]. What inspired it?

So for The Nascent Diplomat I'm pretty sure it's:

'We are a hard alchemy, you and I,' the Raven Prince said. 'A hard alchemy I've ruined and failed at many times, even as you've kept the experiment going perhaps in spite of your better judgement. And it is a hard alchemy that deserves more of my love and care and effort, because I want to be your father, Gwyn, and not your Master, or your King, or your owner. I knew I could do all of these things better than fatherhood, so I forced you into role after role, when all you wanted was a parent. I even believed Oxcillian could do it for me, be the father figure I couldn't.' The Raven Prince's voice choked up, and Gwyn didn't know what to say, what to do, because it shattered some part of him, hearing the Raven Prince this upset, this regretful. 'What a mewling beef-witted wagtail I've been.'

As for what inspired it... I always wanted to start healing the Raven Prince's relationship with Gwyn in this series and it felt like we'd never get here!

I'm so glad we did. But also I just love writing tRP's dialogue so much.

This will be the same for 14 as well! My favourite lines are almost always dialogue in anything :D

~

From this meme!

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! I’m the anon who asked if the Raven Prince had a Welsh accent. I assumed he did because in The Ice Plague Book 2 chapter 26, Eran says “The adar llwch gwin? Gwyn said they respond to a master, and that they’re like magical birds from wherever Gwyn and the Raven Prince and Augus and Ash are from” and I’d just assumed that was Wales or the Fae equivalent, but English isn’t my first language so I think I just misunderstood.

Hi anon!

Okay firstly I owe you an apology, his homeland is mentioned in a side canon AU - These Troubled Times - as being Wales. I'd just completely forgotten because I don't have that written down anywhere (except in the stories lol - and I checked the main canon and it's not written in that 1.5 million words), and I wrote that story almost 9 years ago to the day.

But I did want to say - Eran saying 'wherever these guys are from' - he has no idea where the Raven Prince is from, he's been an unreliable narrator from the start, from like... calling Gwyn the Traitor King, to making assumptions about Gwyn's motives and behaviours, he has no reason to really know anything concrete about the Raven Prince beyond a very loose understanding of folklore and that's it.

The concrete statement is in These Troubled Times which if you haven't read yet, I highly recommend it! (And the story before it, A Broken Feather Straightened). (And also no, the Raven Prince has zero Welsh accent and also rarely speaks Welsh and doesn't tell people where he's from. He doesn't want them to know, for the most part, and I think I got folded back into that at some point lmao)

I made a mistake, but also Eran is an unreliable narrator and you cannot trust anything he thinks about these fae. What he says about his own homeland? Sure. What he thinks about other characters? Ehhh, until they say it themselves, it's best just to think that he and Mosk are unreliable (like most of my narrators).

[not-poignant]

Sometimes I just turn on The Raven Prince playlist, imagine myself on the ship high up there with him, laying and watching the sky and cry a little cause of this amazing characters exists. Thank you for that!

This is like the loveliest thing, I think I might start doing this too sometimes! I love the image it creates so much. That's so meditative and awesome. :D

(Also here's the playlist, for anyone interested!)

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Ohlo Ohlo Temsen

[17th April - Aries]

Ohlo Ohlo Temsen, or just 'Temsen', is an incredibly overpowered vench in the Fae Tales alternate universe story The Nascent Diplomat. There, he is introduced first as a stern but compassionate healer, and later as a spokesperson, diplomat, member of royalty and someone so adept at magic that he would happily take on the Raven Prince and likely win.

Taking on the job of Gwyn's healer, becoming Augus' friend, Temsen guides both through the growth of their relationship and the mending of Gwyn's magic in the underground caves of Aethelwaters, deepening their understanding of intimacy, and needing a great deal of it himself to survive.

Temsen is often quite opaque, especially as we've gotten to know him more as a peak alpha in the Underline the Rainbow universe. He's cheerful and steady but also unafraid to be strict and commanding. He can be unexpectedly flexible, or very rigid. What's clear is his dedication to helping those less fortunate (and less powerful) than him, and his dedication to becoming a healer in every story we've seen him in.

'You have been so alone, and I do not think you are like the to-ahl, as some of the others say. You were not meant to be alone.'

The Nascent Diplomat

The Nascent Diplomat: Temsen first appears as a healer from the Ohlo Ohlo clan who comes to take care of Gwyn after he kills the to'ahl, gets poisoned, and wounds Kithkalkith Kimerrin. It becomes clear quickly that Temsen holds a significant amount of power and negotiating weight among his people, however, his weakness is that he cannot be away from his clan or from touch for long at all, forcing Gwyn and Augus to have frequent physical contact with him for his own health.

The Nascent Diplomat: Temsen really helps the rest of the story to continue coming alive. He heals Gwyn's magic, but more importantly serves as a healing compass to both Augus and Gwyn. He is accommodating but firm enough to make sure that Gwyn never strays from the path of growth, and it's clear that he has affection in his heart for these fae from the above, even if he has zero respect for other aspects of their lives, including the School of the Staff.

Also he point blank said he would fight the Raven Prince and even go to war with him due to his abuse and neglect of Gwyn, so you know...

Underline the Black: Appearing as the head doctor at Hillview Rehabilitation Facility, Temsen is a peak alpha who lives his best life as someone who doesn't need a relationship because he's responsible for the health of about twenty five omegas at any one time. He comes in clutch to assist Efnisien repeatedly during some rough gender issues, and also acts as a firm father figure, reminding him that young alphas do not disrespect or abuse other people just because they can.

Underline the Blue: We see Temsen at his most fallible here, as both Janusz' supervisor at Hillview, and Nate's doctor, we see the gaps in Hillview's ability to match alphas and omegas, and also in how they handle early heats and difficult situations. Temsen misses that Nate is an atypical omega, and ends up with an alpha who develops PTSD due to the methods he used to try and get Nate to bond with him.

Underline the Gold: Temsen becomes extremely involve with Flitmouse's care in Underline the Gold when he realises the extent of his Anorexia Nervosa, and later when Flitmouse undergoes corrupted heats. Flitmouse and Temsen don't always see eye-to-eye, especially on certain invasive exams. Temsen isn't afraid to manipulate Flitmouse to get what he wants, but in the face of a firm withdrawal of consent, he shows that he has the ability to concede and let the omega guide the way.

Underline the Red: While only mentioned so far, Temsen eventually becomes Faber's interim boss, changing their connection forever.

Among the vench, Temsen is a member of the Ohlo Ohlo clan and they all look the same (and indeed all vench look quite similar). But in the Underline universe where he spends more of his time these days, Temsen is African-Australian, his mother is a Kenyan immigrant and a doctor, and his father is Australian, and a doctor. He's multilingual, and can speak Kiswahili, Elgeyo, English, Indonesian, and Mandarin. He's semi-lingual in Vietnamese.

Temsen deliberately wears clothing that makes him seem less threatening, in the same way that he deliberately makes himself seem less threatening in the Nascent Diplomat as well.

Temsen can have a slightly formal intonation. In TND it sounds like he's still discovering how to translate his language into Gwyn's and Augus' language, and in Underline he's more likely to say things like 'goodness!' and be very direct and not prevaricate.

Temsen is always kind of overpowered in whatever he's doing, as a healer, as an alpha, as a doctor, he's just always at the top of his game.

Temsen is someone who can be physically intimate with a lot of people, but isn't inclined to have a very special 'someone' in his life.

Temsen taking on the Raven Prince and threatening to go to war over his treatment of Gwyn, and the Raven Prince essentially bowing to that and admitting he was right, was a pretty stellar moment actually.

In Underline the Black Temsen sailed in as the white knight to save Efnisien from his fear of being forced into the shape of an omega, and in a single conversation in front of a projector, managed to solve a lot of problems for Gary and Efnisien in one fell swoop. For that reason, I couldn't have him in the story for quite a few chapters lol. He's too powerful!

Always extremely competent and well-educated, but also willing to admit to his faults and apologise.

Relatively open to other's experiences, but you always get the sense that he holds back some of his counsel and that you're never quite seeing all of him, despite his direct way of speaking.

Despite having the power and status to act refined, arrogant and pompous, Temsen prefers to come across as humble and receptive, but sometimes it's clear that he's doing this in a calculating manner.

Temsen is always a healer!

Temsen is always a leader

Temsen started as a throwaway character. Even with all of my worldbuilding and character creation, I found myself suddenly needing a healer and I very quickly cobbled together a bunch of traits and made Temsen. We were only supposed to see him a few times, and he was never supposed to be as powerful as he became. He was a breakaway hit, and ends up becoming more prominent in the story as a result!

I think Temsen has outrageous chemistry with everyone, honestly.

I initially shipped Temsen and Gwyn together in Underline and I also ship them together in TND, but in a very low key way. If I think about very porny AU oneshots, Temsen/Gwyn has come up for me a few times. I don't think I'll write it, because I think they'll be intense/depressing.

Temsen's anger is one of my favourite things to write, so I may be looking for more opportunities to make that happen!

'In vench society, we measure our worth by how we treat those we care for. Not by our magical achievement, not by our individual jobs, not by the different aspects of our personalities. All of those things only matter in connection to how we treat those we care for. It is how we value other societies, though we find many in the above sorely lacking by our standards. We know our standards are unique, and we do not seek to press them upon anyone else. But Gwyn is my ward, his healing is under my domain and therefore the domain of all the vench, and it disturbs me as a healer to release him to someone who would do this to him. There is nothing to stop you from doing untold damage to him in the future. I can heal what we did to him. I should not have to heal what you did to him.'

The Nascent Diplomat

[not-poignant]

January-June Merch!

So I can finally show the merch (the reward for the Vexteria tier on Ream and Patreon) from this drop, as it's just been shipped out to everyone safely :D

In the Raven Prince bundle there are:

4 unique vinyl stickers (I've been testing these on my water bottle and they've held up really well over a 3 month period. I wouldn't say they're dishwasher safe, but for general usage on items like laptops, water bottles etc. they're probably the hardiest stickers I've used!)

A5 Leatherette Hardback Journal with bookmark ribbon and outer band to keep closed, with 192 lined pages

Sticky pad notes (50 pages)

Individual, personalised letter <3

I've learned a lot in the past six months and I'm excited for the next six. I think I'll be looking at either 'the girls' (Julvia, Gulvi and Fenwrel), or a quotes drop that probably focuses on Gwyn and Augus and some of their more iconic quotes!

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Gulvi Dubna Vajat

[24th March - Aries]

Gulvi Dubna Vajat, the chaos-loving, determined, vicious killer and loving sister is the Unseelie swan maiden from the canon Fae Tales series. She's the lover of Fenwrel the Mouse Maiden, younger sister of Julvia Dubna Vajat, and bucks all the standards when she chose to become the first swan maiden to turn her back against the pacifistic ways of her kind so she could train with the Council of Lammergeiers and become a highly reputable and successful assassin who ended up working for the Raven Prince, in line to be the next Queen of the Unseelie Court.

Despite Gulvi's sometimes abrasive ways, she's always been well-liked among many readers. She's a staunch supporter of Gwyn's, a best friend to Ash, and for a time, Augus' declared enemy. She spent a few chapters just stabbing him to get revenge, because, well, he did kill almost her entire family.

Gulvi is a fantastic advice-giver, lives her own life, and is well-equipped to be Queen-in-waiting and Unseelie Queen. One day she'll take the throne for herself, and Gwyn is more than aware of it and more than happy for it to happen. Even if she did get him drunk all those separate times...

‘Make no mistake, you are lucky that I am friends with both Gwyn and Ash, for nothing would please me better than to come at you through your loved ones. Think about that, for a minute. I like that this hurts you. And if I didn’t think I’d be hurting this Court, and myself in the process, I would let Gwyn be executed by the Seelie Court in an instant just to watch you make more of these delicious, frightened expressions of yours. I can smell your fear, you horrid, mess of a fae, and I revel in it. You have not Ash’s sympathy, nor his support in this. And you do not have mine.'

~ Game Theory

From the Darkness We Rise - (fanfiction) Gulvi first appeared as an OC in this fanfiction in her swan maiden form, as an informant to Gwyn ap Nudd, even then an effective assassin who used French affectations in her speech and rubbed Jack Frost the wrong way every time she opened her mouth.

The Court of Five Thrones - Gulvi came through for Gwyn ap Nudd when Augus died (temporarily), offering him sage advice and getting him drunk. She's sent to assassinate many of Gwyn's enemies in order to manipulate people into giving Gwyn what he wants as King, she falls in love with Fenwrel, and pulls the heavy duty of serving as Queen-in-Waiting, all while nursing her fragile, near-death's-door older sister, who is stuck in swan form due to Augus' actions when he was once a villain.

Into Shadows We Fall - (fanfiction) Notable for appearing as Ash's best friend and Gwyn's ally, but she makes Jack too furious and he attempts to murder her, and in return, she stabs him with one of the best verbal repartees. It is her actions which serve as the turning point for Jack and Pitch, as she inadvertently severs a very important scarf in the process...

Game Theory - Drugging Ash, giving Gwyn advice even though they're on opposite sides, and stabbing Augus repeatedly while calling him a donkey are just all in a day's work for this graceful, ruthless, and surprisingly mature swan maiden.

Unwound - An interstitial between The Court of Five Thrones and The Ice Plague, this series explores Gwyn's occasional melancholy due to well...all the burdens he carries. Once more, Gulvi proves herself to be a staunch and true friend.

The Ice Plague I: The Forest of Fire - When Gwyn and Augus leave the Unseelie Court, Gulvi steps into her role as Queen-in-Waiting, but not before trying to forbid her sister Julvia from going on a grand quest (she fails, much to her anger).

The Ice Plague III: The Ice Plague - Gulvi has been working in the background throughout as Queen-in-Waiting with Fenwrel by her side, but we finally get to see her again, which comes as a profound relief for our ensemble team.

All That We Were, All That We Will Ever Be - In the final epilogue of Augus and Gwyn, in the Fae Tales canon, Gulvi is there watching vigil over a certain someone, even as she works a truly overwhelming job.

The Spoils of the Spoiled - High school student, girlfriend of Kayla (Gulvi is so incredibly lesbian), bitchy frenemy of Augus Each Uisge, best friend of Ash, and eventual friend of Gwyn ap Nudd. Gulvi is the one who suggests the detached apartment at the back of her house to Augus and Ash, giving them a place to live when they become homeless. She comforts Augus after he's molested by Efnisien, and she offers charming, funny, and sometimes caustic commentary throughout.

The Day the Ferris Wheel Came Down - High school student and best friend of Ash, Gulvi is up to her chaos-loving antics in this short oneshot!

The Best of Broken Resolutions - In one of my favourite AUs, Gulvi is a high-powered architect working with Gwyn ap Nudd who bitches out their work colleagues, judges all their outfits, and is immaculately fashionable. She's in a workplace relationship with Fenwrel, which isn't nearly the well-kept secret it should be.

Tumblr Prompts - Fae Tales - Anyone who asks me about whether I'll ever write any F/F should go here for a little kissing between Fenwrel and Gulvi in Basorexia.

With chaos as her heartsong in the Fae Tales canon, Gulvi embraces the chance to introduce a little unpredictability into the lives around her.

Despite this, Gulvi still has her swan-maiden roots, she is a loving, family-oriented, loyal friend and lover who just wants to have a good time in life.

A swan maiden who was raised a pacifist and then proved that her turning away from peace-loving ways wasn't 'just a phase' when she became one of the most notorious Unseelie assassins in the fae realm.

Any excuse to drink - which makes her a good friend for Ash

Protective of those around her. Once you are taken under her wing, she will fight tooth and nail for you, and sometimes against you, if you're your own worst enemy.

White wings, white hair, black eyes, and uses two kris daggers. She almost always is seen solely in hybrid form, never human or true form.

Helping Gwyn to get through the hard times with hard liquor and sisterly advice

Any time she insulted Augus, while Augus was powerless to retaliate

Saying 'La!' as a form of punctuation

Swearing

Despite her sometimes casual-seeming, party-loving nature, she possessed a courtier's tongue, holding her own against Albion at the end of Game Theory, and bringing both Augus and Gwyn to their senses multiple times.

Always loves an element of chaos in her life, though it's more muted when she's in human AUs, especially once she's in love.

Lesbian for life

Graceful and beautiful, and does not suffer fools

Gulvi is all about family whether she wants to be or not - chosen family and blood family

Will always find Julvia incredibly annoying and condescending while loving her fiercely

Tends to think of Augus as a bit of an idiot, all the way from 'too stupid to live' in Game Theory to 'I still love you though' in The Spoils of the Spoiled

I've always really loved swan maidens, after meeting them in The Bitterbynde Trilogy by Cecilia Dart-Thornton. I came up with a whole scaffolding of background for these beings, and still feel very fondly towards swan maidens so I'm not entirely surprised that when Gulvi was no longer a significant character in The Ice Plague because she was holding up the fort, Julvia became a significant character instead.

People always used to ask me if I shipped her and Ash, but Gulvi's love for Ash was never quite 'that' kind of love, even though she gave her heart to him. I always loved the idea of two best friends so bound together that the friendship would last an eternity.

Gulvi has tattoos of symbols on her arms from the Council of Lammergeiers as part of her initiation but I always forget she has them, so this is one of her biggest continuity errors in that I just don't mention them enough so we ALL forget.

I always like to imagine that Gulvi and the Raven Prince are actually extremely close, and we never see it because it's private - a friendship between two bird shifters.

Gulvi is from the fae side of Latvia - she's not French! She just picked up an affectation from the human realm because she liked it.

The reasons I gave my heart to him weren’t as clear as they should have been. They couldn’t be. They never are! Swans think they have such pure hearts, but… Ash is worthy, make no mistake, but I never wanted to be with him. Even as I gave him my heart, without his consent I might add, because he would have refused it – I knew I didn’t want to be with him. I didn’t want him to fuck me, I didn’t want to lie on a bed with him beyond collapsing together on a bed with marshmallows and fried foods while watching silly human movies about very profound things. He has always been a gentleman about it, even as I took something from the both of us the moment I staked him with the permanency of my love. But, Gwyn, I’ve never wanted to be with anyone. Ash gives me all of himself in our friendship. His love is a whole thing. He has such an abundance of it. It spills everywhere. It makes him do and say stupid things. It makes him wiser than he should be. He loves love. Whether it makes him a fool or seer. And me, with my cynical heart, I needed his idealism, his romanticism, all of it. He gives me something I have never been able to give myself. And he has enough of it – so much – that he can give it freely and I never have to worry about depleting him of anything. You see? Everyone thinks it’s unrequited. But that implies that it is one-sided, and it is not. They say unrequited love is not returned in kind, but he returns it. And they act as though I accidentally tripped over his feet, looked up, and fell in love with the stupid idiot he can be. But I did not. I made a conscious declaration to myself, to the world.

~ The Court of Five Thrones

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 44 (final chapter AHHH!!!!) of The Nascent Diplomat:

‘How often do you think of him, when you’re here?’ the Raven Prince said, staring up at the branches of a particularly tall fir. ‘Oxcillian.’ ‘Oh,’ Gwyn said. ‘Well. Often.’ ‘Today?’ ‘Yes.’ The Raven Prince scratched at his head where one of the longest feathers sprouted. He’d likely lose it soon and grow another and complain at how much his head hurt because of it. ‘Is there any way I can change this for you?’ the Raven Prince said. ‘I… There’s no need to-’ ‘That’s not what I’m asking you,’ the Raven Prince said, gaze sharp. ‘Then no, I don’t think so. He’s dead, and my mind is still like this. And I don’t want my mind and my thoughts and my memories altered.’ ‘Then I shall make a home for us beyond this Court,’ the Raven Prince said.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! I actually started your original works through UTGold and then UTB before deciding to start all the way back from SAL (yea idk how i figured out that order either lmao) and now I've finally reached the end of it with TND! And now rereading UTB again, I realised just how much whiplash there is with Temsen in both stories. Don't get me wrong, the vibe is the same. But he's so much more threatening as a peak alpha compared to his vench self, and it's also funny bc in TND you had to almost permanently hold hands with him to stop him from collapsing. I wanted to ask how much of his TND self is similar in UTB? Are there parallels in how he grew up or his family structure? After reading TND I've kinda liked to imagine he comes from a really remote but close knitted community, and that has influenced how he views the secondary genders differently (and less discriminatory) compared to others.

Ps. I will always rmb Gywn's official debut appearance being him marching up to Santa's workshop xD

But he's so much more threatening as a peak alpha compared to his vench self, and it's also funny bc in TND you had to almost permanently hold hands with him to stop him from collapsing.

This is so interesting to me! I almost feel like you're talking about a different character - I know you're not, but these are all the ways I feel like Temsen is actually the same amount of threatening in both stories in different ways. Like, Temsen is the one who:

Threatens to go to war with the Unseelie Court and King and implies very heavily that he would win.

Which is then confirmed when the Raven Prince candidly tells Gwyn that Temsen is much stronger than he is, and that he has a lot to learn from the vench but,

Understands he never will because they don't want him to.

Temsen is the one who physically supports Gwyn while walking.

Temsen is the only one in the world strong enough to heal Gwyn.

Stronger than even the Raven Prince or his healers or any of the other vench.

It's strongly implied that if there were hierarchy among the vench he'd be a prince, but it's clear when he interacts with the Raven Prince, he behaves more like a very strong king.

He literally lectures the Raven Prince more than once free of consequence because of how powerful he is.

Like, yes, Temsen was vench, and needed a lot of intimacy to stay healthy (although - not constantly! And he's also the one who asks for it and decides how it happens), but imho Temsen to me is actually a lot more threatening in The Nascent Diplomat because he literally takes on the Raven Prince and the Raven Prince is the one who yields and basically goes 'oh no no you're totally right we don't want war haha you're so much stronger than me oh my god.'

Idk for me if you get much more threatening than 'squares up against the Raven Prince and wins so easily there's not even an exchange of magic because everyone just knows how strong Temsen is.'

His needing intimacy to live imho is just not a sign of weakness or doesn't detract from his being powerful or threatening in The Nascent Diplomat. It would be like forcing the Raven Prince into the sea - he still needs to breathe air, it's not a sign of weakness, it doesn't make him less threatening (at least to me! It's just occurred to me that people having basic needs and needing them met might seem like it detracts from someone's personal power which is like, something I've never thought of before, because everyone has basic needs and needs them met, even the world's worst dictators - i.e. being threatening exists completely independently to that in my mind).

I wanted to ask how much of his TND self is similar in UTB? Are there parallels in how he grew up or his family structure?

I definitely think he has strong family support in both stories, but otherwise to me both Temsens are extremely similar. Both:

Weaponise cheerfulness to gain control.

Are the most powerful person in the room while pretending they aren't.

Are strong enough to make executive decisions and override other people if they need to (esp around someone's health)

Are healers

Enjoy sex but aren't bound to any one person and like it that way

Do not need to be bombastic about showing off just how powerful they are

Use kindness and compassion as a form of manipulation, especially in matters of health

Infodump at times

Feel very passionately about ethics, health and politics

Are relatively open minded and quick to apologise, but sometimes still do harm simply as a result of holding so much power

Have gone through seeing a particular large instance of trauma that shaped them towards wanting to make sure things like that stop happening (the fungal infection in TND, omega experimentation facilities in UtB)

Appear to get along well with everyone

Have a strong drive to meet personal needs (i.e. Temsen needing more intimacy than the others admit to in TND, Temsen complaining about Gary's job constantly + often talking about food etc. in UtB - He has this strong sense of refusing to compromise his needs or quality of life for anyone)

Can influence the energy of another person (meridians in TND, pheromones in UtB)

Prefer to come across as less powerful in the first meeting in order to strategically assess what's in front of him

Extremely strategy-minded.

Manipulative, but in a very 'I'm using my super powers for good' kind of way.

Tbh, for me personally, Temsen is one of the characters who needs to change the least to become a peak alpha, and I actually invented the 'peak alpha' designation specifically for him, because I knew he'd be stronger than pretty much all the other alphas. I later added Gary / Augus / Crielle etc. to that list, and then Gwyn because I thought it would be funny. But peak alphas exist because Temsen does!

Obviously how I see the characters isn't how everyone else will! But yeah in my mind, they're both so similar I don't have to change nearly anything about Temsen's personality, even down to him having a more visceral reaction to other alpha pheromones because he's so strong in UtB, is a direct parallel to Temsen having higher intimacy needs because he's so strong in TND. One just naturally flowed into the other!

[not-poignant]

Hi Hi 👋

I love your stuff so much! I am reading Game Theory again, and recently read Tradewinds for a second time.

I find Heart Songs and Unseelie appetites really interesting as a concept.

Some Fae eat other Fae and Mosk losing his Heart song was massively catastrophic. Everyone seemed to be fairly horrified that his Heart song was gone. So I was musing over Heart songs and appetites for a bit and I wondered how an Unseelie Fae might be received by other Fae if their appetite was literally to eat people's Heartsongs and leave them empty?

Would this be scarier than say a Fae who ate another Fae or would it be subjective/about the same?

Would such an appetite even be possible/does a Fae like that already exist for you?

Your world building gets the brain spinning in such a good way. :D

Ooooo some worldbuilding questions *rubs hands together*

So I was musing over Heart songs and appetites for a bit and I wondered how an Unseelie Fae might be received by other Fae if their appetite was literally to eat people's Heartsongs and leave them empty?

Tbh I can't imagine it existing? Like it kind of breaks the world to exist.

The thing I wanted re: Davix and Olphix removing the heartsong was for it to be such an alien concept, and such an anathema to the entirety of the fae - more than rape, or torture, or cannibalism, etc. - was this one act that only they were capable of, and more than that, only they were willing to do.

And so on that axis if any fae speculatively/hypothetically could eat heartsongs, then they'd absolutely be scarier than any other kind of fae. The idea of heartsongs being removed is so jarring that we witness fae who have endured some of the worst tortures imaginable (particularly Augus and Gwyn) being extremely shocked over it. Augus in particular, who has endured something almost no one else in the fae realm ever has - underworld torture - that literally drove him to madness, still finds the idea of a removed heartsong absolutely repellent.

It's not like any other crime that exists. It is, to fae, separate and apart from any other horrible act.

So yeah, a fae with that appetite can't exist in this world, otherwise firstly, I don't think any fae would have had the reaction they did to Olphix and Davix's actions (so their reaction to what happened to Mosk would no longer make any sense at all), but it also wouldn't make Olphix's and Davix's crimes so serious in the first place, if they're just doing what some other fae can do just by like...being hungry.

And it wouldn't be a thing that so many fae haven't ever heard of happening before.

So it's definitely something that could happen in fanfiction folks wrote for themselves! But otherwise it was something I only ever intended to be possible through magic, which is part of the narrative that 'magic works against the natural order at its most bombastic' (see also: Mosk growing a hickory tree in the sea, and the flesh fruit, and a bunch of other things that come into existence through magic, not least that the Raven Prince survived dying).

[not-poignant]

hi, I hope you're having a wonderful day!!! my apologies if you've answered an ask paramount to this before, I went through the ice plague tag on your blog and couldn't find it. I just wanted to know; what exactly happened after the battle with olphix, politically? did the power return to the seelie court? or has it fallen forever, and now Gulvi is dual-queen-in-lieu? does the power ever return to the crown that eran has? also, if the seelie court has fallen permanently, is this something that mosk can fix? would he, hypothetically? basically just what happens in the grander scheme of things in the fae world?

Hi anon!

So some of this stuff I'm not comfortable answering in case I ever come back to the universe in a decade or something and decide to write it out but:

I just wanted to know; what exactly happened after the battle with olphix, politically? did the power return to the seelie court?

There was no power to return to the Seelie Court after Olphix died. It has - like it was explained - fallen forever. The power that even created it was destroyed because Olphix took it back.

It's not something Mosk can fix, because Olphix and Davix could only create the Seelie (and Unseelie) Court as we knew it because (this was explained by The Raven Prince to Mosk in The Ice Plague) they ripped away people's heartsongs to get that much power to do in the first place, and Mosk will never do this to other people.

(He used his 'extra' heartsong to bring back the Aur forest, he doesn't have another one to spend now).

(I also think Gwyn would prefer the Unseelie Court also get taken down, rather than the Seelie Court resurrected - so he'd have a lot to say about that.).

Gulvi is just the Unseelie Queen right now in every meaningful way, since Gwyn doesn't plan on coming back to the role, it will naturally fall to her after the allotted time has passed. Albion didn't make her 'Seelie Queen' and tbh Gwyn never thought the title applied to him either, so he won't take it.

You'll notice at the end of The Ice Plague anon that Gwyn gives Eran the Seelie crown. That's a very strong hint of what might happen to the Seelie realm in terms of Gwyn bequeathing a crown to someone who was always intended to rule his people, who is also Seelie, and who is also the guardian of the dragons.

There are answers in the story itself, since Gwyn would never give the Seelie crown to just anyone. He made a very strong choice. As he says:

‘The truth is,’ Gwyn said, putting the pack down, ‘I think there may come a time when you’ll make a fine King. You’re concerned about the wellbeing of others, you were being raised to be a chieftain, you’re protective, just and kind, and for a Seelie fae, you’ve grown a capacity for understanding nuance in difficult situations. And you are not in any way inclined to be martial. You understand war and battle and the pride of it all because you are afrit, and yet you chose peace again and again. You have a good heart, Eran. It may even be a King’s heart.’

What happens to the Seelie Court is no longer up to Gwyn, he's made it clear who this decision belongs to!