faerie ~ expectations and experiences

[kossai]

crosspost from tumblr .

just think about ... how to even say ? suppose , how kossai experience and observe faerie existence in contrast to folklore and expectations - would be curious to hear thoughts from other faerie folk here too .

people tell stories about faeries and other mythfolk , and that is part of what make up folklore . even still , for various reasons faerie was not necessarily word of choice , even in english . these stories might come from particular regions , but also share aspects with neighbours , and sometimes even strangers farther away - to point that faerie can be unclear designation for those who study folklore .

as well , not all faerie kith have folkloric counterparts - whether because these folk stay hidden from humans through history , particular stories end up lost to time , humans observe but never find any way to categorise more specifically , only seem to emerge long after storytellers die down , or otherwise . 

sometimes , someone is mythfolk that could easily categorise as faerie , but that individual reject place among faeries . sometimes , whether someone fall under category is just unclear , especially as words might refer to several different ideas and stories . other times , faerie might have form that resemble some other mythfolk , but those creatures largely not faeries . is aos sí faerie ? sure , until god . is mermaid faerie ? yes , and no , and sometimes in between . is dryad faerie ? probably not , until yes . 

also , faeries not really geographically bound . even different otherworlds and underworlds that associate with particular earthly regions could potentially have entrances anywhere , especially as humans of those regions move around world and bring echoes of history along . even so , that is not to say that other regions simply " misidentify " faeries to be something else , or that faerie is correct universal term - those creatures and mythical peoples still very much separate . 

faeries can be born - though that word choice can sometimes be can of worms too - in these worlds beneath earth , or , up on surface . as kossai experience and observe , but still would not say universal , such earth-surface faeries can form core connections to aspects from environment of birth . that is not to say inherently protector or guardian , but that might consider such to be important part of selfhood , and reflect this aspect bodily in some way . 

all of this to say : fuck if even faeries know how to define faerie sometimes , ha ! still , appreciate those who read into faerie folklores - can definitely find patterns of faerie traits and what set faeries apart from humans and other creatures alike , just ... sometimes more wibbly than , say , what define humans . sometimes easier to define specific kith that fall under umbrella of faerie , but even then might just need to flip table and be done .