#and just wish i enjoyed writing F/F more fdslkajfas

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Fenwrel the Mouse Maiden

[May 14 - Taurus]

The short, round graceful mouse maiden who is terrifyingly powerful, and a compassionate and fierce mother, Fenwrel joins the Fae Tales cast asking first for asylum, but then making it very clear that she should be part of Gwyn's Court. She becomes so invaluable she eventually becomes Inner Court, and then the consort to the Queen-in-Waiting, Gulvi Dubna Vajat.

Formidable as a foe, and ambitious even as a friend, sometimes even playful and mischievous, Fenwrel is proud of being Unseelie and powerful, and is a stern, wise, compassionate friend. She offers wise counsel to those around her, but secretly just wants to live a comfortable life where she wields the power to make it comfortable for the people she loves as well.

‘Yes! That’s what I am! And there’s a lot of us! We could take you down. So don’t you mouse me. You need allies, Each Uisge. Don’t lose the ones you have.’

The Court of Five Thrones

The Court of Five Thrones - First appearing as about the only truly wise and grounded member of Gwyn's Court (at least at first), Fenwrel comes in with true ambitious and ruthlessness, desiring an increase in status, a place in the Court and making no pretense as to her motives, which including ensuring the protection of her family. A strong mother, Master Mage, and powerful ally, Augus expects Fenwrel to hate him, and is surprised to find that she's a true confidante.

The Court of Five Thrones - Without Fenwrel's steady and uncompromising vision, compassion and communication throughout The Court of Five Thrones, the other characters would have been lost without her. She also falls in love with Gulvi, and together, they become the second power couple of the Unseelie Court, readying themselves to step into power during The Ice Plague.

The Ice Plague I: The Forest of Fire - Fenwrel and Gulvi step up as consort and Queen-in-Waiting, as Gwyn and Augus leave on an expedition with Mosk and Eran. Fenwrel also makes it clear to Eran that she'll not put up with any of his nonsense, casting a geas on him that makes it impossible for him to use his fire until it becomes clear he won't use it to harm Mosk again.

The Ice Plague III: The Ice Plague - Unseen throughout book 2 due to the lack of teleportation and staying busy with the Unseelie Court, Fenwrel becomes a steady presence at the end offering her wealth of her magic and resources to everyone, including Mosk Manytrees, crucial in the final battle against Olphix.

Unwound - Gwyn finds himself frustrated and annoyed by Fenwrel's habit of both treating him as an unruly child, and also demanding that he be open with Augus instead of avoiding him. Fenwrel is right, of course, but that doesn't mean Gwyn has to like it!

Tumblr Prompts: Fae Tales - The only Fenwrel perspective story, chapter 3 of the prompts shows Fenwrel mixing herbs and musing on her connection to Gulvi, ending in her kissing Gulvi thoroughly, and making it clear she's in charge.

All That We Were, All That We Will Ever Be - Fenwrel is briefly in the final epilogue of the canon Gwyn and Augus epilogue, there offering her compassion and understanding to Augus throughout Gwyn's recovery, even though Augus doesn't want it at all.

The Best of Broken Resolutions - In a short AU, Gulvi is scandalised when Augus mentions that he already knows Fenwrel - the head of Interiors - is fucking her.

The Spoils of the Spoiled - Fenwrel comes into the story as a high-powered lawyer who is competent enough and willing enough to face Crielle and Lludd on Gwyn's behalf in an emancipation case. Powerful and ruthless, Gwyn finds himself feeling intensely pressured by her to do more than he wants to, and needs to be encouraged by the people around him to remember that he doesn't have to take things to trial just because Fenwrel wants to.

Underline the Black - (unmentioned / future mention). As the manager and CEO of the sister site to Hillview, Fenwrel is an alpha and partner to omega Gulvi.

Fenwrel is a short, extremely powerful Master Mage and mouse maiden in the canon Fae Tales series. Unable to properly appear in human form, she always has mouse ears and a mouse tail, as well as some other features even in 'human form.' She carries a Mage staff with her.

Fenwrel has black hair, black eyes, and brown skin, and is fat and beautiful, with a strong sense of fashion.

From the fae side of Kerala, she is disconnected from her heritage due to choices made by her family, though she will still wear Indian clothing. As a result, her children are more connected to it by personal choice and she has been finding more connection through them.

She is a fierce and proud mother, and will do anything for her children, but also lets them be free spirits.

Fenwrel is strong-willed and rarely insecure, it's clear that she's worked hard for what she's achieved in life, and she shows a level of confidence that is earned and not arrogance. She tends to be grounded and thoughtful, and not at all self-effacing.

Despite not being a healer, she is adept at aspects of healing, and has a lot of natural compassion.

Fenwrel established herself as a loyal and caring friend when she became Augus' confidante, though he would have preferred not to have one at all. She saw him in some of his most vulnerable and raw moments, and offered counsel, compassion and care, even when he was collapsed on the ground post severe flashback. She's crucial in helping him to heal his meridians.

When Augus comes upon something fatal in The Court of Five Thrones, she stands up to Gwyn with the coldness of someone who needs to prioritise. We see Gwyn get ordered about like a child, in spite of his distress. It's revealed later that she gave up years of her life to secure Augus'.

In The Ice Plague I, Fenwrel suppresses Eran's fire powers, finding him cruel and heartless in his treatment of Mosk. Later though, realising how severe the spell was, she apologises openly.

In every story, Fenwrel always occupies a position of high power, being a lawyer, head of a section of a company, CEO, Master Mage etc.

Fenwrel is always quite ambitious and determined, sometimes even seeming cold, but it's clear that she's often operating from a strong ethical position.

Fenwrel is always short, always fat, and always Indian.

Fenwrel is always something of a compass for other characters, even when she's not directly in the story, or not in it much, except when she's there as Gulvi's lover.

She's always Gulvi's lover, with the exception of The Spoils of the Spoiled.

I wanted to add more women characters to The Court of Five Thrones, and Fae Tales in general, and Fenwrel came in quite naturally. I wanted to write her as fat, ambitious, compassionate, ruthless. Qualities that we don't often see together in a woman character. I wanted her motherhood to not be the most important thing in her life even though it is important, that she never lost any of her selfhood to 'being a mother' and I also wanted her to be ambitious without losing her maternal compassion. I worried about how to write her, but Fenwrel appeared and just seemed to naturally flow from there. I never really struggled with any scene she was in.

Fenwrel's always scared me a little in the sense that we're all very lucky she wants to be a good guy, because if she chose to be a villain, we'd all be fucked lol

I loved subverting the idea of a mouse shifter being 'mousy' (like Terho is lol), and making her instead very strong and bold. In her very first scene, Augus talks down to her for being a 'mouse' and it's clear in a moment that she's proud of it, and will tolerate no nonsense from him.

Fenwrel is a top / dominant. Short Queens for life. I especially indulged in the chemistry that Fenwrel and Augus had together, and it was one of my favourite things to write in The Court of Five Thrones.

‘I have always been powerful, and I have never lacked for nourishment, because where there is imperfection, there is food for me. Perhaps you’ll just have to trust that I’m not trying to tip the world further into disharmony.’

The Court of Five Thrones