Don't say it! (you'll kill one)

[Iris]

BTW, everyone's missing a far more controversial point that's hidden at the start of the thread.

I do. I'm 27, male and apparently sane

I don't believe MC is sane. I don't believe anyone here is sane. Otherwise, why are all of us wasting our lives on a fantasy-themed computer game instead of doing, you know, "Real Life" stuff?

[Captain_Wrathbow]

Thread derailer!

^joke

[Redeth]

Otherwise, why are all of us wasting our lives on a fantasy-themed computer game instead of doing, you know, "Real Life" stuff?

Because time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time

[boru]

I have never read an old folktale about a human/fairy encounter that ended well for the human. Has anyone else? (note: Pokemon episodes don't count as old folktales )

[Zerovirus]

Tons of folk tales in Chinese demimythology that involves transformative spirits that go from animal form to beautiful female form. The protagonists of these tales usually end up immortal, with immortal, beautiful wives, or both.

I'll dig up a book of them and translate some if anyone's interested.

[wesfreak]

Russian fairy tales often end with happily ever after a hero saves/helps some kind of magical creature that turns out to be a beautiful woman, so that could count depending on your definition of fairy. (hardly ever a normal fairy though)

What about Peter Pan and tinkerbell? (if you count that as a folktale, of course)

[Iris]

Tons of folk tales in Chinese demimythology that involves transformative spirits that go from animal form to beautiful female form. The protagonists of these tales usually end up immortal, with immortal, beautiful wives, or both.

Interesting.

Western European folk tales tend to be the complete opposite, i.e. as horrible as they can get for the protagonists.

(See also: The Fair Folk.)

[boru]

The Asian (including Russian) tradition is very different from the Western fairy tale. Dragons, for example, bring good luck and scare away evil, while in the West, they were considered the epitome of evil.

Next year, Peter Pan will celebrate its centenary. Folk tales go back a thousand years or more.

[Zerovirus]

Dragons are rather misnomers. The West heard of the oriental dragon, thought "wow we can't really find an equivalent, so let's just call it the scariest thing evar" and titled them Oriental Dragons. If I had my way they'd be known as Great Serpents or Divine Serpents; it'd better represent their nature anyways.

[Huumy]

Western European folk tales tend to be the complete opposite, i.e. as horrible as they can get for the protagonists.

I guess this has something to do with early christian propaganda, trying to show that the old religions are bad for you .

[Iris]

I guess this has something to do with <religion>, trying to show that <other beliefs/religions> are bad for you.

Hmm, 'kay...

Should I do this again, or lock the topic instead?

YOU decide! Let's hear the voice of the people!

*cheers from the crowd are heard*

***

Although IIRC there's some stuff in western tradition that predates Christianism or its apogee.
On a related note, one of my many quirks is that while I'm interested in (or even fascinated by) historical matters like this, I rarely bother to do any research by myself. Yes, shame on me, etc.

[sur.nhm]

(Instead of continuing the religion talk)

I believe that magic is a general term for anything we can't understand or explain.
Or in other words, the real life version of "A Wizard Did It".

I'm not saying strange things don't exist, I'm saying that they're only classed as magic until someone figures out what's actually going on.

Arthur C. Clarke got it perfectly in his third law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

[Araja]

Hear hear.
Show an iPod to someone from the middle ages and see if they class it as magic.

[Astoria]

Hear hear.
Show an iPod to someone from the middle ages and see if they class it as magic.

How do you get there? Magic?

[Velensk]

You don't even need to go back to the middle ages for that one. You ask most people you meet how computers work and they will have not the faintest idea. It may as well be magic understood only by wizards involving arcane symbols and languages not known to them. The only real difference is that it isn't regarded as some inherently evil power.

EDIT: To be on topic, I see no reason for faeries not to exist however if they do I suspect that most of the lore manufactured for them is false. I have never seen one and see no reason to base any of my plans on the assumption that they do exist though.