answers from tumblr

[kossai]

series of questions from user , which include this snippet : I wanted to hear though what is faerie to y'all. How do you percieve yourselves as faerie and your connection to the world around you, both the physical world, but also the various humans, and non-human cultures within it. What does it mean to be faerie for you? And how do you wish they were depicted, and for us to interact with you?

preface : this become multi hour , multi fronter ramble . really appreciate questions , in other words ! :D

so have sort of different thoughts for different applications , of course . 

from perspective of folklore study and records : 

to start , kossai is not academic folklorist - but understand that there is level of cultural crossover and similarities between many folklores . especially when different peoples tell similar stories of similar creatures , with similar outcomes and similar lessons , understand why one might choose to define these under one word . 

some people can reach way too far with this , though . for example kossai have this relic from ancient year of 2002 ( ha ha ) which identify everything from irish aos sí and welsh tylwyth teg , to certain catholic saints and various african cultures' deities , as faeries . 
faerie is this label that is approachable , yet somewhat more exotic and mystical than spirit , while also less concrete than god . faerie obscure origins and significance in these cases , especially where similarity is only incidental . not that all people even try to justify appropriation of other cultures , but this is not uncommon one , sadly . 

as for what faerie should mean academically , that would be pretty big discussion , with almost certainly no single conclusion . not all beings of any given folklore ( even within celtic isles , let alone broader europe and especially other continents ) will fit potential definitions of faerie , unless stretch faerie so thin as to mean nothing at all . sometimes god , spirit , or otherwise would fit better . sometimes , there is great ambiguity , and any category is equally good fit . and sometimes , really only good category is one which come from language of origin , with no english equivalency even possible . 

from perspective of kossai experiences and religion :

well , as kossai see things , world is not just one " human " realm , but actually many more , almost something of cake . cakes have layers of confection , and also layers of frosting - so in this case , " human realm " is one confection layer , " faerie realm " is another , while frosting sit between as veil to obscure . 

number and exact definition of realms is more complex than this , and sometimes barriers can be hard if even possible to define . but what kossai have most experience with is faerie realm with inhabitants that seem to derive largely from celtic ancestries , and celtic otherworlds - so again , think irish aos sí and welsh tylwyth teg , as well as many who lose names or never have any to start with .

this can get slightly circular , though - not all beings which live in any given realm will always originally be from there . as well , there is tendency for those in long term company of faeries to become faeries - transformation of energy , put simply . so faerie can also simply be , one who feel comfort and kinship with faeriehood , or one who undergo this transformation , regardless of origins . whether one is born deep within otherworlds , or up on earth , can also change ideas of what faeriehood means . 

kossai in specific :

faeries of kossai happen to be mostly earth born also , and with this can come connections to earthly features . this in self was worthy of whole post over on dreamwidth - but to put really really short , some faeries here have connections to elements , weather , or seasons , or else embody some kind of specific plant or animal , and may act as something of guardian . 

not necessary part of faeriehood for all , but greatly inform how kossai feel about certain things , both individually and collectively . hard to hate puffball mushrooms if live with one with bright bubbly smile , see ? :P 

wishes for interaction … definitely hardest part to answer . different standards on what is socially acceptable and not . again , this is subject of discussions on human filter , where kossai try to hit comfortable medium of faerie expression without break all social rules and decencies - low filter tend to stay more private , for several reasons . 

just really ask that others try to respect and not make attempts to categorise kossai - whether that be insistence of religion as delusion , assumptions about why kossai write differently , questions about sex/AGAB , or otherwise . faeries tend to proudly defy boxes , or else bend and break until fit . 

( oh , and not cute harmless little flower fairies like cicely mary barker art - flowerfolk here tend to bite . but that art is very cute . :3 )