from tinkerbell to fae smut: the evolution of fae 🧚

[@cubitum-eamus]

imagine people in a couple hundred years studying our faerie smut books the same way we read mythology and folklore today

[@TheBookLeo]

lmaoo

[@cubitum-eamus]

@@TheBookLeo in a way, the fae in acotar still somewhat serve as a reminder of the dangers of nature, because i remember a scene somewhere in the series where rhysand’s.. reaction causes the mountains to shake 💀

[@v_loves_books]

That would be hilarious. Would pay to go to one of those classes

[@thadtheman3751]

You do know that Sleeping Beauty wasn't awoken by a kiss, it took more ( eeew eeew). The future will clean it up.

[@lithhehe]

@@TheBookLeo sorry to break the magical like number 69 lol

[@nitzeart]

These new sexy fae a la Sarah J Maas are just paranormal romance creatures of the 2000s but with different socks. Like they're basically the same as vampires and werewolves. Change my mind.

[@EllenACook]

There was a certain Twilight vibe.

[@doraokeke3228]

You literally hit the nail on the head

[@renata374]

i feel like they could be any other magical creature and it wouldnt make much difference tbh. theres nothing in her fairies that is what makes faerie stories interesting to me

[@ritzcrackee]

@@renata374 fr!

[@maritareads5229]

exactly. and some of these paranormal romances mix the three creatures in the same book/series

[@adinamusrepova1447]

The amount of work you did is absolutely incredible. The level of research is honestly higher than in my university thesis 😂

[@wizkidgamer9942]

I think I definitely prefer the Holly Black interpretation of the Fair Folk. My first exposure to her work was wayyy back in the day when I read The Spiderwick Chronicles, and I loved the nitty-grittyness of them in that series because it made them feel more believable. It puts whole new spin on the phrase "don't fuck with the fae folk". Literally and figuratively, they're dangerous and otherworldly and I think that makes them much more interesting then just another outlet for fantastical escapism. It makes me wonder if we're gonna see the same slow degradation of YA fae stories (like what happened with werewolves and vampires in the Twilight era) once more and more derivatives of ACOTAR come out. At the same time though fairy tales seem to lend themselves to be amorphous and ever changing, so perhaps not. Time will tell lol. Thanks for the video!

[@TheBookLeo]

the spiderwick chronicles introduced me to the cruel fae folk as well and was obsessed with it!

[@wizkidgamer9942]

@@TheBookLeo my first reaction to the map you showed was "Hey, I know that art style!" Need to go back and reread those; the first series was great, but I could never get into the sequels 😞

[@bubblebuhg2663]

If you like this type of Fae writing you should read the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire!

[@Samzillah]

Yes Holly black had a huge place in my heart as a teenager. The Tithe series was huge for me, I reread it dozens of times. I liked how she melded the human and fae world, and it felt so gritty and surreal. I was definately dissapointed a bit in ACOTAR because the fae just felt like magical princes instead of otherworldly beings.

[@arcane_snail]

YESSSS OMG!!! I was just about to comment how much I love the spiderwick chronicles. It fueled my lifelong special interest in fae, and it kept my childhood wonder alive a solid 2 to 3 more years, because I couldn't suspend my disbelief for tinker bell anymore, but I totally could for the scary sprites and will o the wisps of her world

[@brentblake3471]

All my friends who read fiction are young women, so 80% of what we read as a group ends up being fantasy smut. Which, upon beginning ACOTAR and Cruel Prince bothered me in no small regard. I grew up in a house with apotropaic marks under the window, using "wee folk" instead of the F-word to not get their attention; it was culture shock to learn that one of my friends had slept in a Fairy Circle in an attempt to get abducted by a hot elf

[@aninha-007]

get abducted by a hot elf 😭

[@thecakegarden5324]

💀

[@ceilinh6004]

I'm dying laughing. You friend really did that?! 😂

[@cayt23]

haha that would have been me for sure if I lived in Europe. Escapism was stronggg

[@doraokeke3228]

Wtf 😭😂😂😂

[@nelvalostinpages5846]

One thing I love about the cruel prince in comparison to acotar is how they interpret gender, especially gender expression. Cardan is often bejeweled and wears makeup, and in general the series doesn't bother with gender roles where as SJM leans into gender essentialism

[@TheDrivingCrooner117]

I love SJM for that

[@moonmoonlin]

@@TheDrivingCrooner117she could have made them humans living in a fantasy world. It doesn’t make sense that her characters are humanised fae

[@kazzfuchsia1073]

Maybe that what makes humans and Fae different? Idk supernatural creatures who are more binary than us can be a way to explore gender if done carefully.

[@deniseperez7007]

@@TheDrivingCrooner117 boring 🥱

[@deniseperez7007]

I agree, one of the reasons why I love those series as well.

[@maevem316]

As an irish person with a special interest in faeries and celtic folklore the current popular SJM-y way to write them does kill me a little. My childhood self would be so excited to have so many options to read, but a whole lot of them don't feel particularly otherworldly, which is most of the fun! I think fae are often just a great default supernatural creature to project any tropes you like on to at this point. Like, I see people who associate them with "mates" by default now, and that is so much more a werewolf thing to me, lol (I also will never forgive SJM for using celtic mythology and then making ireland the bad guys...)

[@mothman9003]

Gosh same! I went into acotar expecting somewhat accurate representations of the beings that I'd grown up with reading about but unfortunately that was not the case :(

[@beedoesthings8037]

One of my favorite book series about the fae as a kid was the Thirteen Treasures series. It explored the good, bad and ugly side of faeries, as well as the otherworldly side. It was dark fantasy, right on the cusp of young readers and young adult. The secondary protagonist had her brother stolen as a baby and is on a quest throughout the books to get him back, and the main protagonist has been tormented by the fae her whole life because of a unique connection her family has to the fae realm. It was the first lore-accurate book I ever read about faeries, and I swear it changed my brain chemistry as an 11-year-old.

[@TheJordanK]

You might like Dresden Files. I’ve never read a series yet that uses so much Celtic Mythology. Fae Courts, The Fomorians, Ethniu, Balor, all sorts of random fae creatures out of legend, and then clash them with the Vampire Courts, The Wild Hunt, a few Greek and Norse Gods still operating, the church and Knights of the Cross fighting fallen angels, demons, angels, all of them are in it, and then the Human Wizard Organization that is always trying to keep the peace amongst the supernatural organizations. It fantastic. Highly recommend, long series tho. But worth it.

[@realityisascam]

@@beedoesthings8037Oh my god!! That was the same book series that got me into fae, I was in love with those books. Never got to read the last one though :'(

[@spacegalaxy19]

stop same it felt so weird that she took so much from irish mythology, one of her characters is literally called morrigan??? and then portrayed ireland like that 😭😭 like girl what do u mean the evil island full of evil people looks exactly like Ireland 🧍‍♀️ AND SHE NAMED IT HYBERN which is so similar to what the Romans called us (Hibernia) 💀💀

[@ababyrainbow_3099]

I think the Winx Club series really changed my vision of fairies, while the traditional nature mini fairy was still popular and after tinklebell movie and lately all this fairy aesthetic is getting many recognition with the public again, many people now view fairies in a more modern way, with human looks and sparkly dresses, it really changed the game in my opinion and is really interesting to see every person different view of what a fairy looks like...

[@katelynmarie1603]

Queen mab/maeve/maebh is actually a figure from Irish mythology! Shakespeare was referencing this in Romeo and Juliet. Sincerely, someone who has written an Irish myth based horror movie 😂

[@thadtheman3751]

I don't think it was Romeo and Juliet. A Midsummer's Night Dream and possibly The Tempest.

[@vietbluecoeur]

@@thadtheman3751While faerie lore is definitely more prevalent in the plays you mention, Queen Mab does in fact get name-dropped in Romeo and Juliet! Mercutio speaks of her during one of his speech, I think the one on his and Romeo’s way to the Capulets’ party.

[@abbie7099]

@@thadtheman3751 I think you have Titania and Mab confused. In act 1 scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio has a large monologue about dreams, and how Queen Mab visits people while they sleep and dances on their nose. On the other hand, in a Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is Queen of the Fairies.

[@LM-sv9zj]

omg can I find your work anywhere? Sounds cool!

[@johnathan1506]

​@@thadtheman3751As someone who literally wrote a test about Romeo amd Juliet a few days ago, there is a section in the play where Romeo talks about ill dreams he has been having and Mercutio interrupts him and talks about Queen Mab and a big speech about dreams. So yea your kinda wrong sorry😕

[@Siocpa]

Yeah, I'm calling it now, but it was Jareth the Goblin king from Labyrinth. Like, he's the archetype of fae in everything but in name, and the film is considered the quintessential feminine fantasy film. It would make sense that these authors grew up reading Labyrinth fics and then translated the tropes into original fiction.

[@Firemast]

Which, interestingly enough, probably goes straight against the intentions of the writers of the movie. Jared was meant to be both an evil Sídhe of the original sense who considers humans simple playthings and the personification of a fantasy teenage girls have to let go of to grow up. He was never meant to be an actual love interest.

[@ceilinh6004]

Jareth *is* Fae. Goblins are Fae. We're not supposed to root for Sarah to hook up with him though. 😂

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Oh, people _knew_ we weren't supposed to root for Jareth & Sarah to actually get together... but sometimes, people like to do the things they know they're not supposed to do even in spite of knowing full well they're not supposed to-people don't like being told what to or to-not do, people like to make up their own minds for themselves. Among other things. Lol

[@Min-ei5jj]

@@Firemast Incorrect! Labyrinth is a quintessential growing up / coming of age story, and Jareth is absolutely meant to be the personification of Sarah's ✨budding sexuality ✨. He's absolutely meant to be seen as sexy and a romantic fantasy -- just one that Sarah also matures enough to realize is best left as a fantasy.

[@Firemast]

@@Min-ei5jj Well yes, he was meant to be alluring (casting David Bowie was probably not accidental), but exactly, he was meant to be a temptation which Sarah has to overcome, not an actual romantic interest she gets together with (as in the overwhelming majority of Labyrinth fics). Don’t get me wrong, I certainly won’t judge anyone for indulging in their fantasies this way (especially since I still consider 1980s-1990s Jennifer Connelly a beauty), but OP is right, let’s call a spade a spade.

[@alicedeligny9240]

I feel like it's sadly telling that Sara J Maas ditches most of the folklore around fae and also ranks them according to how human-like they are. She kind of keeps the shell and fills it with whatever she decides. Her fae essentially don't have "fatal" flaws like not being able to lie (which would give humans an edge) and that weird way of functioning, instead she kind of just gives them elemental magic and clearly romantic/erotic oddities like the mate thing. Even the nice elements of her fae world (the courts) have to be toned down by rules that limit the otherwordness. In a way, she's undermining the magic, I feel.

[@melodykim5865]

Spot on. She borrowed the aesthetics of the faeries and eliminated the aspects that don’t support the romantic plotline. The “fantasy” is to have romance with beautiful mythical beings. Not necessarily a bad thing, but yeah very “telling”.

[@N0noy1989]

But that wasn't the point of Maas though. She just treated the fae like the vampires and werewolves in twilight and all the other "wattpad" type romance stories involving nonhuman creatures. It's purely about the... you know what. Talking about it in some literary or mythological aspect is pointless, like how talking about actual BDSM practices is pointless when discussing Fifty Shades of Grey. These are vehicles for readers self insert fantasy of you-know-what. There's no higher literary meaning to it. I just see so many criticisms of these stories without considering that their point is just for reader self insert. Kind of like criticizing Michael Bay movies for having too much explosions and no story. That's not what they're supposed to be. And ACOTAR and Fifty Shades are huge, Fifty Shades especially, which meant they really, really did well to give what their readers wanted--sexual fantasies, not accurate depictions of fae or BDSM. I don't read or consume those books by the way. I'm just annoyed by the high brow analysis of obviously low brow books.

[@queenb2450]

Read "Iron King" by Julie Kagawa super underrated and still is. Thank goodness I read it like almost 10 years ago in high school and got to know what REAL fae are like. It's as young adult as you can get, but Kagawa weaves in mythology in there....and a talking cat

[@alicedeligny9240]

@@N0noy1989 yeah but the "point" doesn't detract from criticizing the use made of fae stories, especially since she based her thing on actual fae stories. Essentially, from saying that it's shallow. If people like that, fine, but it's still cheap & shallow and it's fine to say it - whatever it's "meant to be". Just like it's fine to say that whatever Michael Bay does is kind of stupid.

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@alicedeligny9240 what do you mean kinda need more firmness in your conviction in that statement lol

[@aveskiss]

i was *obsessed* with the rainbow magic book series and the tinkerbell movies as a child and went into acotar after hearing it had fairies. needless to say, i was very surprised at how different the fae were compared to my original introduction to fairies.

[@jasmineyu493]

Same, those books are my childhood! You’ve unlocked so many of my memories that I’ve forgotten about

[@bloop4527]

Ahhhhhhh rainbow magic, you unlocked some very special summer memories of mine

[@sushiluverforever984]

I LOVED RM

[@joyc.e.7511]

Nah, I was always hunting for rainbow magic books. I loved how many kinds there were and there little outfits. 😂

[@roboninja565]

Always loved the portrayal of the Fey in the Dresden Files; the Seelie and Unseelie fey, Winter and Summer courts, the way their strange laws and customs works and the utterly alien nature of a lot of their thought processes.

[@SloanePaoPow]

The tv show Lost Girl also had these elements with different courts and magical creatures belonging to each.

[@mrnord4096]

isnt Dresden a german city

[@RuanMei_SocietyGenius]

@@mrnord4096 Of course but the its a saga of dark and urban fantasy too, very recommended.

[@kikio0529]

They are also both sexy and terrifying in those books.

[@mrnord4096]

@@kikio0529 in any reality there would have been a genoicide on both sides every 5 minutes

[@vladivi4692]

The fairies in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles are particularly interesting to me - the fairies there cannot lie but in a way they always do which is why every time we come in contact with them (which is more and more with every book) they seem even more dangerous - they're beautiful but so unsettling; like I like them but at the same time am like ughhhh stayyyy awayyy you lying creatureeee BOOO

[@rozusperelko]

cruel prince or iron fey by kagawa or darkfever by moning

[@omgmo1962]

For all CC does wrong, her fairies are actually very in line with the more modern-traditional characteristics of fairies scholars and writers developed (not necessarily the same as traditional folklore), like using the dynamics of the seelie/unseelie court dichotomy, not lying, etc. most books I remember before like... 2013(?) had fairies like that and then we got... Whatever we have now 😂

[@khfan4life365]

They also can’t form romantic attachments in the way humans can. I remember reading Clare’s stories and Isabelle got into a relationship with a faerie. They broke up because he didn’t give her the emotional love she needed.

[@pixeledgame200]

One book that really shows fairies as otherworldly is *An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson* , they're even more wild than in Black's books, they feel like they're part of nature, and though there is a romantic relationship between a human girl and a fae, it doesn't include any smut. It's really beautifully written too, a lot of quotable paragraphs! the cover is also gorgeous!

[@GC-pj6no]

I would like to add Heartless ( Tales of goldstone wood) by Anne Stengl.

[@justme4416]

Personally I care very less for the smutty Sarah J Maas fae stories. I’d rather have a story about little fairies living in a whimsical forests😅 So, in the future I’m planning to write a fairy story with Tinkerbell type fairies myself✨

[@thattoiletpaperyoucouldntb7819]

@@thewritersalcove Hello! I really like your synopsis and the concepts I grasped from reading it :D If you ever publish or upload this story somewhere I'll be looking forward to reading it. Good luck with your writing!

[@justme4416]

@@thewritersalcove That sounds awesome actually😱 Reminds me a bit of Barbie Fairytopia✨

[@marionapina]

@@thewritersalcovewhats your @ on Instagram? Or where can i read more of your story? Xx

[@toxic5420]

​@@thewritersalcove would love to learn more about this story

[@smilingstingray5537]

@@thewritersalcove This sounds so cute, I love it!! I'd be so interested to read this, pls drop a reply if you ever publish it!!

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I never read ACOTAR but one of the things I love about Holly Blacks' Cruel Prince series is how deeply she's thought out a world that operates so different from our own. I love the unique discriptions of the fae and how so much of it plays into who they are. Also, great job delving into this!

[@dieorwrite9460]

I think my favorite fae/fairfolk type is the kind depicted by Margaret Rogerson in An Enchantment of Ravens. The alienated and amoral thought process, the need for glamour and unpredictability of the fairfolk and bargaining with them is so interesting. Although the book is a standalone but I still feel like it's probably the best fae portrayal I've read in recent years

[@foundtheplott]

Loved the depiction of fae in that book!

[@GC-pj6no]

I would like to add Heartless (tales of goldstone wood) by Anne stengl.

[@The16Lucy16]

Acotar fan here, completely agree with the take that acotar is more about the romance than A Cruel Prince. Read both book series and loved them both. I would personally classify Acotar as a "Romance in a fantasy setting" and a Cruel Prince as "a fantasy tale with a romantic plot", if that makes sense? If I went into acotar expecting a fantasy tale I would have most likely been quite dissapointed but I went in expecting a romance, so I liked it 😄

[@claudiafernandes1150]

never read acotar but the way you described it as a 'Romance in a fantasy setting" is what I'm gonna say next time people try to make me read it XD. I like a romantic side plot as much as the next person but usually romance being the main plot line, specially if it is full of smut, does nothing for me (since I much prefer slow burns or characters who love to banter). I am more into the fantasy tale that casually has romance in it than a full blown romance (unless it serves as a character study), I never could quite explain to my friends this... we just have different tastes

[@jimena6194]

especially when you remember that the ACOTAR is literally a retelling of beauty and the beast. the only book that i find worse in fantasy is blood and ash, that one is barely a fantasy book lol. Cruel prince is my favorite because at its center is a political struggle and romance is only fleshed out slowly and in later books. I do admit i don't like the bully trope in the first book, but i can understand that within holly blacks fae world, it's less unacceptable.

[@gobsx3]

That was exactly what I was expecting when started reading ACOTAR, mostly because I finished the Cruel Prince books not long ago. I knew it was spicy but that was about it. So it was very disappointing for me to find out halfway through the book that everything in that universe (the lore, the magic, that curse) is more like a scene setting for sensual fantasies than an actual fairy fantasy book.

[@bangtanluver]

Does anyone have book suggestions more like cruel prince? Fantasy book. Where the romance isn’t the main plot?

[@claudiafernandes1150]

@@bangtanluver It depends... are you asking for fae recs or like fantasy books in general?

[@feyrearcheron]

acotar having a reputation as faerie smut/sexy fae story is so funny to me considering that it started off as YA and the og series had such few smut scenes (then acosf was published NA with more explicit scenes)

[@Danuxsy]

smut is like a watered down version of pornography

[@irregular_huh4459]

Susanna Clarke wrote my personal favourite fairy character in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, the Gentleman with Thistle-Down Hair. He's the villain and he's incredibly cruel, but also so alien and unaware of how humans work that he thinks he's being kind and generous... he cracks me up. Iconic. Loved the video❤

[@melodykim5865]

This comment just made me add this book to my tbr so thanks for the rec 😊

[@sambhuDutta-f6n]

Agreed

[@jojobookish9529]

YES. The Strange&Norrell fairies are the best in recent literature, and the screen adaptation portrayed them wonderfully. Alien and powerful and petty and terrifying.

[@tamarkelly4107]

Yes, yes, yes! It's one of my favorite books ever.

[@np6980]

Ooh also the ones in her short story collection related to JS&MN, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories.

[@rinnielikesmemes]

I’ve read Cruel Prince as well as ACOTAR, and I enjoy both. Though, I will say I am also more of a fan of Cruel Prince. But I was surprised at the end when you mentioned you’re not really a fan of ACOTAR, because you gave it a very honest and thoughtful summery. I think despite not really caring for it, you gave ACOTAR and it’s fae a fair and non biased description. Good Job!!

[@nealfirstofhisname]

Arcadia is a region in Greece, known for its nature, and where magical creatures like Pan came from. So I think it might be referring to this instead/also. Edit: 34:29 Faemously

[@larssjostrom6565]

I have only read the two first ACOTAR books, but my impression is that the power and aggressivity of the Fae is what makes them sexy according to Sarah J. Maas and her protagonists. Another thing I have noted is that in Tolkien's fantasy when human and elf marries it is human man and elven woman, Beren & Luthien and Aragorn & Arwen, and when an elf and a maiar(spirits more powerful than elves) married it was the male elf Thingol and female Maiar Melian. When women are holding the quill it is almost always a human woman romancing a male fae, vampire, angel, etc. It is like everyone dream about falling in love with someone more powerful.

[@lorenzomeulli750]

To be absolutely fair, Tolkien has 2/3 "Elf wife" and one "Elf Husband", which out of the total 3/4 interspecies couple kinda counts. And since Aragorn/Arwen is in parallel with Beren/Luthien, I wouldn't even read too much into it. At least, with this data. Then I remember that Tolkien has Beren written on his grave and his wife has Luthien. It works lol

[@nadgamgee7767]

In "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth", Finrod, the elven man, falls in love with a human woman, but it was pre Beren and Luthien, so he thought they would never be "allowed" to be together. This is discussed in their conversations in the story (well, there's not much plot, but still a great read).

[@dotkiarika1026]

Its interesting because Holly Black, the author of Cruel Prince usually doesnt have human protagonists at all, Jude is actually a diversion of sorts from her fae stories. Her protagonists are usually fae discovering themselves as such or hiding in the human world. On that same note, Sarah J Maas human protagonists also turn into fae in the middle of the series. So I would say its less of a wanting to love something more powerful and rather a recognition of an inherent otherness that is expressed through fantasy?

[@larssjostrom6565]

@@dotkiarika1026 Maybe

[@shadestorm6565]

Its definitely interesting how in ACOTAR the fae look down on humans and yet the most human looking fae are considered above the rest. It would have been interesting to see if they had switched it around and the fewer human characteristics a fairy had the more respected they were.

[@moonmoonlin]

It kind made me think of colonisers(?) if that makes any sense.

[@itsmoisama]

34:04 actually (aside from Rhysand since he’s only half Illyrian) the Illyrians are very looked down on more than the lesser fae because they’re seen as just aggressive and very backwards unlike everyone else but Rhysand just works and is friends with Cassian and Azriel so that’s why they’re seen as “better” :)

[@plasticstag7287]

sarah j maas can pretend she invented sexy fae all she wants, but the real ones have been fighting in the trenches of the true blood fandom since 2008 😂 good god that show had supernatural creatures hooking up in every configuration imaginable

[@Ericaaaaaaaaaa]

(laughs in Merry Gentry, circa 2000)

[@Styxintheriver]

Yeah the Dresden files did it before that

[@ensommeille5315]

I did my research project on how Shakespeare kinda revolutionised the image of the fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream so I'm excited for this video lol, I have a soft spot for fae that not even ACOTAR could ruin 😤

[@melodykim5865]

This! Saw someone saying SJM is often disregarded as a fantasy author because of the smutty elements of her books, but really the problem with these romantasy books is that they seem like they were written by people with very shallow ideas of fantasy as a genre. There’s deep lore to these mythical creatures, and how different they are from humans. The faes in acotar don’t feel like creatures who have lived for centuries, like literally rhysand’s just a fuckboy. It’s a problem with Fourth Wing and its dragons, too. They’re supposedly these powerful ancient creatures but none of the way they behave and speak suggest this. It’s actually kinda funny. There’s nothing wrong about enjoying these books, and I’m not gonna gate-keep fantasy or whatever, but it’s mindboggling to see these books sometimes being talked about online as if they’re the pinnacle of fantasy. Like really, what is the plot of acotar??? People like it because it’s faerie porn.

[@karritheberri]

I did find the ACOTAR series entertaining, but I wholeheartedly agree. The way the characters would act would bother me so much because they’re a few hundred years old yet they were acting like they’re in high school. It’s one of quite a few pet peeves about the series.

[@melodykim5865]

⁠@@karritheberriOh I agree they’re fun books for sure. I binged all 3 books in 2 days the first time I read them. I absolutely understand the appeal, but remove the “sexy romance” elements and it would be a rather subpar fantasy series. The characters “acting like highschoolers” is spot on. Also, Rhysand’s supposedly this character that exudes sensuality or whatever, but he just comes across sleazy most of the time to me.

[@lorenzomeulli750]

It's not gatekeeping, it's critical analysis. Stuff like ACOTAR would be a fantasy "because it has fantasy things", but in practice it's a romance/smut/whatever with a surface level usage of fantasy elements. It's like with Twilight. Would you call it horror? It has vampires and werevolves living in human society and the vampires hunt people, plus the protagonist was targeted by vampires specifically. But it's not really horror, it's not written to be such and it isn't enjoyed as such. We have a name for such a novel, and that's "Paranormal romance". Stuff like ACOTAR is 100% a Paranormal romance novel but not set in our world. They read the same, the target is the same. This isn't gatekeeping, this is analyzing writing and fiction seriously. All of this discourse fits nicely inside the topic of a lot of fantasy nowadays not... Really feeling like it's fantasy? The fantastical elements often ends up ebing just kinda there, not being really central to the story

[@melodykim5865]

@@lorenzomeulli750 Hmm when I said gate-keep I meant that I’m not trying to imply in any way that fantasy romances aren’t valid, or that they aren’t fantasy, or that there isn’t space for these types of stories. I’ve had people misconstrue my point in this manner in the past when, as you’ve said, I was simply just trying to break down the story elements and analyse them. I don’t mind other people saying acotar is a fantasy book, but if I were to describe it to another person who hasn’t read it I would tell them it’s fantasy-romance, as that is the more accurate description. I personally don’t care to spend time debating genre legitimacy, as genre categorizations can be rather arbitrary anyway. And yeah, there are a lot of popular fantasy books right now with shallow fantasy elements, mostly fantasy-romances. That’s just the industry. If something is popular, they just do it over and over until the next big thing comes along. I personally don’t mind these books, cause great fantasy books are still consistently being made alongside them. At the end of the day it just adds to the variety.

[@lorenzomeulli750]

@@melodykim5865 It's not like I find much of interest in debating details, but a minimum is necessary for decent critical analysis to happen. I don't have any issue in recognizing that I am not interested nor equipped to discuss the value of most (paranormal) romance, so I wouldn't say much about ACOTAR. But if it is to be discussed within the framework of fantasy literature? I would have way more than a few criticism to throw, to say the least lmao. And I don't mind the industry having its cycle, but it's just that seeing the most popular "fantasy books" not being interested in the fantastical elements just doesn't sit right with me. Consider Mistborn. Sure, its main conflict is a purely social one: a lower class rebel organization tries to incite a rebellion against the theocratic monach by directly attacking his palace, destroy its aristocracy and actually make the rest of the lower class revolt. But the fantastical element is essential for the story. The monarch is immortal and a powerful magic user, the rebels are guided by two rare magic users with ties into the aristocratic class, the world was changed after a disaster 1000 before where strong supernatural elements were at play. When I say that the fantasy elements must be important, I don't ask for a magical McGuffin, but for the setting magic system to not be replacable by guns and early tech

[@Faeree]

As someone who used the Fae as my thesis for my literature degree, I thank you for this break down. I respect authors branching out and adapting folklore to make a fun story, but some are better than others and research and care should always take precedence over..uhhh..how do I say this cleanly...the current fad that readers want.

[@wickedmonica]

so i think honestly the thing that makes the ACOTAR fae & cruel prince fae are the moral compass that the authors place on the FMC & love interest. both authors are like “hey, fae are scary and you’ll be completely helpless if you piss one off” but ACOTAR works on a black/white spectrum where as cruel prince is blue/orange. SJM makes the FMC become super OP fae to make the other fairies less dangerous even though they started off weaker and vulnerable. Holly Black however works on a completely different moral compass, so a lot more leeway in what the other characters can get away with. Jude even says “if i can’t be better than them then i will be so much worse” just because she KNOWS she’s never going to magically become fae and no longer be vulnerable

[@4niasomnia573]

My personal favorite fair folk smut series is Merry Gentry. She knows her target audience wants smut, she delivers smut, but she also throws in a lot of interesting folklore aspects with the different courts and how they had to come to the US.

[@JellieGHope]

I literally have been digital g through the comments to find someone talking about Merry!

[@4niasomnia573]

@@JellieGHope she’s estimating a new Merry book probably next year and it might have a resolution to the Frost storyline. 🙏

[@cinnsuamongar]

ty, just added this to title to my TBR.

[@brettbosley779]

In the Peter Pan novel there's a line about Tinkerbell coming back from an orgy. Now, I know that English has changed from more than a century ago, but damn... talk about a sentence I never expected to read.

[@marinKem]

What??

[@pdacafplaguedoctorsarecool7179]

Explain. Now.

[@brettbosley779]

@@pdacafplaguedoctorsarecool7179 the line itself is, "After a time he fell asleep, and some unsteady fairies had to climb over him on their way home from an orgy." It's the next to the last sentence in Chapter 6. I had to take the book out and double check. I misremembered - it's not about Tinkerbell, the fairies remain anonymous.

[@marinKem]

@@brettbosley779 ...wow!

[@laurameier9825]

I think orgy is also how large bancets and food/wine related and excessive get-togethers were called in ancient rome. So it may not mean anything sexual in particular but of course it could

[@isaa1782]

To add a little bit: Faye was also used as a term similar to magician. Think Morgan Le Faye from Arthurian legends. So they looked very much human there. Plus, the concept of otherworldly beautiful or tempting creatures is not necessarily new and have been present in all kind of folklore. We have sirens, rusalkas, nymphs,... In most cases, however, they are female only. So I think it totally makes sense that especially female romantasy writers would choose creatures that aren't

[@circuslollipopart]

I love this video!! Personally I much prefer Holly Black's fae over SJM's fae as someone who's always been very interested in faerie folklore. In fact it was a huge surprise to me to learn that Holly Black also co-wrote the Spiderwick Chronicles, to which the movie was my very first introduction to fae outside of like Tinker Bell! (And ever since then it's been one of my favorite depictions of faeries). In my own story I plan to make fae a background element--ever present, to make the supernatural forest setting more alive and dangerous, but not the main focus.

[@anotheridiotontheinternet6136]

Folk of the air was my first introduction to fae, and I absolutely love that Holly Black tries to incorporate the more of the older and anglo-scottish folklore behind fae in her stories. Nothing wrong with faerie smut, but we all know SJM should've just stuck with ABO or smth (at least in ACOTAR. Admittedly I can't takk abt the rest) 😂

[@v_bunny]

i was so scared of that movie as a kid but when i grew up a little bit i found that i loved the movie and all the whimsical elements in it! definitely daydreamed about being a magical being like one in the movie when i was a preteen lol. and good luck with writing your story!

[@cthulha_north]

I used see people in high school read spiderwick chronicles but at 30 im just now finding out that Holly Black made them 😂

[@Samzillah]

If you haven't check out her Tithe/Ironside/Valiant series. Its YA and I don't think it has any outright smut, as the characters are early teens, but I think its an amazing story.

[@enyanoelle]

This exact topic has actually been on my mind for the past few days, so thank you for this video Leonie!! I just couldn't comprehend how the popular modern-day SJM "fae-smut" books related to my understanding of fairies at all haha. This video was really eye-opening and informative about the many ways people throughout history had completely different concepts of "the fae". I was obsessed with fairies as a child (and I still love them!) - I had big pretty fairy folklore books, made fairy houses and played a lot of pixie hollow too! So that's always the image I have when I think of fairies, the cute little pixies dressed in flower petals that give me a sense of comfort and childhood nostalgia :) And I admit that in my mind it felt like the only "right" interpretation. But now I can see myself opening up to different interpretations of fae. I hadn't really considered reading Holly Black's Cruel Prince series until this video, but the fae in those books actually sound very diverse and intriguing! So thank you for this video and all the research you did, it really gave me new perspective. 💜

[@jesterfairy3845]

The Spiderwick Chronicles taught me about Fae more than anything else lol Holly Black is an icon

[@pendragon2012]

I was in a Midsummer Night's Dream, lol. So the setting of Iron Fae is pretty familiar. I have mixed feelings about the fae stories generally, but the newer stories where they are beyond human notions of morality is a pretty old one as you notice. So everything old is new again. Great video, Leonie! Hope you have a wonderful week!

[@cinnsuamongar]

I love that play. I got to sit in the first row when I was at university and it's so much better in person. The actors were amazing.

[@evilscientistrecords]

In the late 17th - early 18th century, a lot of French aristocratic women wrote "contes de fées" (stories of enchantment), about fae and other wondrous and cruel creatures. Brian Stableford wrote about them, and he also translated a bunch of stories into English, definitely worth checking out.

[@dorrolorro]

In Swedish folklore, the morning mist was actually dancing fairies that wanted to lure you away. They were dangerous creatures, always dancing and always entrancing unsuspecting victims. It's very interesting to see the evolution of fairies, thank you for a great video!

[@Kath_BookVampire]

In Denmark we have Elvere, they are also depicted dancing, often times on or around their hill but it is very dangerous to go near them as they will lure you in with their dance and esentially make you dance until you die. There is also some of the dangers that i know exsist in the fae stories of other countries like: Never give fae folk your name because if you do they control you. Also do not go with them, do not eat or drink anything they give you as this can lower your inhabitions and make you forget time (basically stranger danger)

[@LadyJaneBooks]

This series is always so well researched, educational and thoughtful. Always enjoy these videos!

[@larssjostrom6565]

Being swedish I want to add some linquistics. You say älva but the text say älvor which is the plural of the word. Elf is likely more based on alf or alv, alv is the modern swedish translation of elf in fantasy works like of the Lord of the Rings. Alf is the word for a being between gods and humans in old norse mythology(about gods which came from Germany during the immigration era), divided into ljusalver(plural form, meaning lightelves) and svartalver(meaning blackelves), the lightelves are good and friendly, the blackelves hostile and isolationistic. Älvor has been used about beings which dance in circles and if you dance with them time will go slower so that you return from the dance years or more after that you begun to dance, but if you politely decline to dance with älvdrottningen(the älv queen), she will curse you so that you soon die.

[@crystaleefyffe1230]

The idea that accepting a dance that can steal YEARS off your life is scary as hell to me.

[@larssjostrom6565]

@@crystaleefyffe1230 No, you haven't aged, it is like travelling to the future.

[@crystaleefyffe1230]

@@larssjostrom6565 so what do they gain from it?

[@larssjostrom6565]

@@crystaleefyffe1230 No idea.

[@MsLilly200]

@@crystaleefyffe1230 I mean pranks are funny sometimes. Fae just have blue and orange morals... Shit like tricking a dude into dancing for 100 years as everyone he loves dies, and then just letting him go... Switching out a baby for a changeling... Luring kids in to ride on your back and then drown them in the river... Are just, you know, funny little pranks. /s And they're too powerful to ever have to do the "It was just a prank bro!" bit.

[@harper9246]

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL VIDEO!!!!!! i am kind of obsessed with fairies and have watched so much about them but no video has been as thorough and detailed as yours, with all of the pictures and precise history, not to mention the literature aspect of it!!!!! girl this was insane I loved every minute of it

[@elskabee]

this was such a cool video! also I love that the Iron Fey series was mentioned because it gets often forgotten in the discussion of modern fae stories

[@xh9010]

This was a super cozy and infromative video. I've loved fairies since childhood so seeing them being changed over and over again are kind of fascinating.

[@museofafterthought2761]

I really appreciate your dedication and time you spent researching this topic! I am a Holly Black fan - especially because I grew up on Grimm's Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Anderson. It took me a while to realize why I liked her works and it was because she presented them so capriciously and unapologetically self-serving. 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is another of my favorite interpretations of fae and magic - the Gentleman with the Thistle-Down Hair is absolutely cruel and revels in his power over others and Suzanne Clark's description of his land is... something else. It stays with you. I'm always on the hunt for more 'modern fairy stories' because I love seeing everyone's own interpretations of this otherworldly place and the denizens therein. Great video!

[@Anon-qs3jd]

I love how much you talked about art history!!!! No one is doing it like you!!!

[@sierraking3171]

Also for SjMaas, I feel like the Fae in TOG more aligned in the harsh or Wicked Lovely/Cruel Prince style while the ACOTAR story is created to cater to healing relationship wounds (family and love) the TOG is more about developing a chosen family for various characters instead of a singular romance taking forefront (but they still in Acotar are more humanoid appearing than say Cruel Prince with their otherness delved into especially for Tamlin who shapeshifts into a lion or bear and Rhys who is some sort of chimera or something and Amren is a multidimensional goddess or dragon cursed into a human body but the character Morrighan is a call back to the folklore of the Irish goddess) they remind me of the vintage Froud fae illustrations i saw as a kid in the 90s (if you liked Cruel Prince def read the Wicked Lovely series - my fav book of that one is Ink Exchange)

[@radix2830]

"They crafted their Faes in different ways because because they were trying to tell a different story." Thats one way to call it. 😂 Loved the Video

[@maziecrazyclouds]

I have been obsessed with the “Fae” since I was a child. However, I have always been a fan of the fae being more attributed to nature and the horror aesthetic. The capriciousness is also what i find fascinating in interpretations. Fae that are not human, and used more for magic and spookiness rather than romace. For me, the anglo-scottish/Irish interpretations are my favorite. (Hence why Cruel Prince is my favorite lol) but also how fae can represent how scary nature and the “unknown” can be! This was such an incredible deep dive! So cool to see a deep dive analysis!

[@cup_of_tea755]

I also think cruel prince does a good job at portraying the Fae as nonhuman and I like the inspiration from Celtic mythology, where I live there are a lot of fae stories, a famously dangerous river that is supposed to be a kelpie's home so the myths felt familiar even if they are a bit mixed up. I wish someone would name-drop Jenny greenteeth though, I was proper scared of her when I was a kid!

[@In_Spite]

My favourite line: they could be naked because... Victorian. I laughed so hard! Also, a lot of these books I either bought or were on my to read list, but I never got to read them, which is funny because I really love fae. But then again, I do not wish to read fairy smut so.... thank you for talking about it ! Great video!

[@jilianh]

I was obsessed with the Tithe series by Holly Black as a preteen... Personally definitely love the more mainstream acceptance now because I have always loved the fae worlds!

[@flamingaish]

what's the chronological order of tfota series?

[@jilianh]

@flamingaish Tithe was actually unrelated to TFoTA, that series went Tithe, Valiant, then Ironside if I recall!

[@Thenoobestgirl]

​@@jilianh it is related. It happens icn the same world and there are some characters that show up in The Cruel Prince.

[@Thenoobestgirl]

​@@flamingaish The Cruel Prince (The Lost Sisters novella) The Wicked King The Queen of Nothing (How The King of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories novella) And now the Oak+Wren spinoffs are The Stolen Heir The Prisoner's Throne (coming out in February)

[@jilianh]

@thenoobestgirl7987 really??? Maybe I'm due for a reread then- I haven't read those first 3 since they came out so I didn't recognize the connection!

[@soovin9922]

This is the 38 minute video that I didn't know I needed 😭 I recently started the ACOTAR series after absolutely DEVOURING and loving the folk of air series, but it didn't have the exact umph (I absolutely adore Jude, but I find Feyre a bit whiny and annoying, like Juliette from the shatter me series) This video gave me so much insight to the actual origin to these 'fae' stories, and I am so grateful that someone like you actually put the time and effort to create such an educational, yet fun and relatable video! i don't write comments often, but this one is well-deserving of one. THANK YOU x100

[@mary-annv2140]

This was so fun. Please do something like this again in the future? I don’t have a topic but I love the way you explain things and the video’s format!

[@SK-yv4fi]

I know it’s just for something to show, but map you used for 19th century is from 1920s. It’s quite important because we are talking here about the interest in folklore at that time, and for many nations of Central and Eastern Europe (for example, Poles, Lithuanians, Czechs) this folklore was in their literature a symbol of the struggle for independence from the powers ruling Europe in the 19th century and their alive spirit of the nation. This borders formed after I Word War

[@lisaplummer8144]

I'm a new fan of Fantasy and Fae. I was surprised and confused by the Fae at first and thought that I had missed something along the way. I'm happy to hear your wonderful deep dive into the evolution!

[@trashraccoon2635]

my Formative Fae Book was wicked lovely by melissa marr. i love the world building on that one. the main character is aislinn, someone who can see through fae glamour, who is being courted by the summer king. the summer king, meanwhile, is searching for his summer queen, who has been missing for centuries, and apparently human girls could later turn out to be the queen. the danger of the fae is underlined over and over. in fact, aislinn's personal rules are basically "pretend you can't see Them so they won't know, and even if they think they know you can see them convince them somehow that you can't see them". i remember enjoying that one. it was published in 2007 and it was my first Fantasy In Modern World book.

[@soymikleo]

ur serving fae realness with the look omg✨✨

[@margaritacharalambidou9304]

As a person that has always loved fantasy from a young age( faeries, magic powers, othe worlds etc) i found this video super entertaining and educational at the same time.

[@lilysider1733]

The Pixie Hollow thing is too real. TOO REAL.

[@loganjenkins1119]

I've read ACOTAR, myself and have been a fan since my late high school years. I've not read the Cruel Prince (though I might take a look at it), but I do agree that the series is more focused on the romance and magic of the world as opposed to the dangers Fae pose to humans. That's not to say there aren't dangerous Fae, but they don't have nearly as much focus as the High Fae in the books.

[@golnazzziiii7125]

An example would be Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market", a narrative poem for children, but it reads actually quite sensual

[@returnoftheromans6726]

Oh, yes! It does. I haven't read that in a while.

[@myrtje_5780]

I have only ever read this poem in one of my favorite books (Not good for maidens by Tori Bovalino) In there this poem is used as inspiration to create quite a dark, distubing horror world, so I wouldn't read anything sensual into it, but more some kind of warning

[@Satyaapatel]

I feel like we all grew up with fairies and Disney stories of epic adventures so now as adults we still want that but in a sexy way.

[@katmaldonado1323]

You did such wonderful work with this. I have always been a lover of fantasy. I read the Cruel Prince and loved it based on your recommendations (I also was not a big ACOTAR fan). It is not much talked about, but the Faerie War series by Herbie Brennan mixes fae and sci-fi in a way I have never seen before. I haven't read it in a while but it is a unique twist. I love these deep dives and can't wait to see more!

[@craftymoss]

I really loved your analysis on this subject. I absolutly adore the darker, old folklore faes. Margaret Rogerson's fae in Enchantment of Ravens are both earie and stunning, and creepy but beautiful. i really recommend it.

[@BaobhanloreArt]

As a Scottish person who loves Scottish folklore, thank you for including the Scottish roots to so much of Fae literature. I feel like the merging of it all as one thing makes it so it's not clear what comes from where, and it's actually pretty frustrating to see it basically England-washed where so many of the characters are given English fashion and accents. Though it'd be really nice to see some actually accurate representation. Did you know that Selkies, for example, were thought of as literal angels in physical form and not weird sea beasts? Have you even heard of the Baobhan Sith, a creature that I based my avatar and username off of, which basically has the main personality traits of a lot of modern Fae but is never included in these stories? Or that mermaids (at least in Scottish folklore) were sometimes small like elves or could grant wishes? Or Nuckelavee? One of the scariest and most badass creatures in mythology as a whole? I've actually thought of writing a story that more accurately depicts Fae and witchcraft in all the ugly ways that are ignored for a while.

[@serenemermaidsummer]

Oh leonie you never fail to amaze me with the choice of your topics ❤

[@user-jg8un7yg1v]

I too was OBSESSED with the iron fae series as a teen and as a society we need more discussion of how those books managed to be simultaneously twilight + Labyrinth knockoff trash and also clearly the result of meticulous folkloric research and very fun world building. But they never got big enough to warrant rampant discourse. Justice for Julie Kagawa and the beautiful garbage she created

[@illmamnim]

This really makes me really wanna read a fea story that's heavily steampunk. Like Tinkerbell's story only her mechanical engineering is actual inventions that developed during the time, and she's like this hated person by the fea who live in the forests or are literal nature spirits

[@zofiabochenska1240]

That video was so cool! Very interesting faeries are in Artemis Fowl series. They are kinda small and do have the insect wings, but otherwise they are behaving mostly like humans (at least in the first book). Fun world building :)

[@stsgsimp]

if anyone is looking for another good fae series and hasn’t read this yet, I really recommend the Folk series by Lily Mayne. it’s MM fantasy romance and personally it was equal amounts fantasy and romance for me, i’m invested in the romance and the plot/world. if you like the fae in Cruel Prince, I think you’d definitely like these fae. it’s indie published so people don’t talk about it as much, as far as I’ve seen. the last book, King of Death, is coming out soon and I’m so excited to see how this series will end. 10/10 recommend

[@LunaWho47]

First off, absolutely brilliant job on the research! Was not expecting a Dresden Files mention in here, but it definitely caught my attention when it popped up. The fact that you could take a figure of literature that rarely captures my interest (fae) and have me not only glued to what you were saying, but also changing my opinion on it, really says a lot. Also, this video made me feel like a very complex individual because, while fae are my least favorite folklore creature, they're the main focus of my favorite book of all time: The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, which is a retelling of Tam Lin set in Elizabethan England. (Aside from that novel and the Buffy tie-in book The Child of the Hunt, which is about Buffy going up against the Wild Hunt, I've been bored by every fae book I've read.) Even Cassie Clare's Shadowhunter books (which I love as whole) become a slog to read through any time the fae courts take center stage for the plot (so, obviously, The Dark Artifices were a trial from cover to cover for me), and I couldn't get through any of the Throne of Glass books after the fae element was brought in. But, based on this essay and how similar the fae courts in The Cruel Prince are to the one in The Perilous Gard, I think I'll give that one a go and see if it can convert me. (Just have to see if I can keep the horrific and trauma inducing images of the fae from the Torchwood episode Small Worlds out of my brain while I read it.)

[@momentmemos]

I never have been a fae fan and actually despised ACOTAR oops but this is such an interesting topic (and your make-up is fire)

[@faithi717]

I saw that you posted about this the other day on your Insta story, so I have been patiently waiting for this! I'm slowly getting back into fantasy as an adult (actually reading the cruel prince right now and you're actually one of the people who convinced me to!) so this will be very helpful and interesting.

[@kat-vp8qu]

didn’t expect this to be so educational! super interesting video i love deep dives that make sure to talk about historical influences and specific examples

[@rozusperelko]

series i loved: cruel prince , iron fey by kagawa , darkfever by moning , alex craft by Kalayna Price

[@AndrewWatson401]

You got your graduate degree (congrats!) but you can't stop doing theses. I hope that you keep doing so.

I read all Sarah J Maas books before I read The Cruel Prince and I adored them (even though ACOTAR is my least favourite series from her), and her books definitely focus more on the romance than the otherness of the fae or how dangerous they are. It's been two years already since I read ACOTAR and I honestly had forgotten the fae were supposed to be dangerous - because even the "dangerous" traits of the main characters aka their super abilities become part of the romance plot.

[@marcelademarchi5610]

I love your vídeos! the amount of work and research you do to explain elements that are actually important to society and are inserted into pop culture is astonishing ♡ lots of love from Brazil!!

[@wolflover306]

Iron Fea series of Julie was my favourite as a teen. And still am to this day are following to the end of the series!

[@ccm7319]

OMG HI just wanted to say that I also went crazy over that series when I was a teenager! I never got to read the newer books though...

[@wolflover306]

@@ccm7319 The newer books are very fun to read!

[@saralind2032]

YES.

[@rozusperelko]

true

[@persephene]

I really love that you included different types of Fae , I used to watch all kinds of fantasy shows and read books growing up. There are so many Fae!

[@horrorandinconvenience5036]

I have been desperate to see a video like this! It’s such an interesting topic and the lack of overlap between non-romantic fantasy/folklore readers and romantic fantasy readers has made it hard to find!

[@cuentaccuentos]

Olivia Atwater made amazing faery books: ten thousand stitches and half a soul. Beautiful writing

[@jannekewade-dejong2773]

Love your fae makeup and the sleeves of your outfit. I'm always impressed by the research you do to make these deep dive videos happen. Your video made me realize that I no longer have a copy of The Iron King on my bookshelf 😭I haven't read The Cruel Prince yet but your descriptions make me want to check it out

[@yzkkoch479]

1:21 THE WAY I BURST OUT LAUGHING the change from tinker bell to the tall smexy hunks 😭

[@my_arabella]

Juliet Marillier is one of my favorite authors whose books surround fairies 😊

[@jaydenalvarez382]

ive been listening to your entire channel for like 4 hours while doing my brothers holiday homework (its 4am) and i just wanna say i love you and your videos

[@kid_a__]

Can we take a minute to appreciate Leonies eye make up? I need a close-up to try and recreate it 😍

[@marcosissocool]

I don't even read, but I think your videos are amazing, girl ❤ keep it up

[@TheBookLeo]

thank you so much!!

[@vincentalvarado7058]

I am not the target audience for any of these videos but I'm obsessed with this channel LMAO

[@claremarie2652]

Fascinating - I thought that the Industrial Revolution was a time when people were abandoning fantasy stories, but it makes sense that it became their escapism from the rapidly changing and mechanizing world.

[@twentyonehanias]

please never stop making videos ever

[@Danuxsy]

well she'll eventually grow older, have children (maybe) and then die and rot away so that ain't possible lol

[@heatherduke4545]

I am so delighted and proud to see you mention the Irish folklore around na sidhe and taking the time to pronounce it right ❤️ thank you. I love, love, loved this video!

[@hannahnolte1963]

Thank u for putting all the effort into making those incredible videos for us🧚🏼‍♀️💗

[@AlejandraRodriguez-wk6ev]

this has been one of my favorite videos!! i have always been fascinated by fairies and the different types of fairies out there in stories. this was so informative and we can see the amount of effort and time you put into this. thank you!!

[@jeeranko3359]

Wow, that was amazingly well researched, no wonder you've got your degree! Even tho I've no interest in reading any of the series you've mentioned, I've great interest in folklore tales from around the world, and your video was very informative, thank you!🧚

[@veronicag875]

I am honestly so IN LOVE with every single video you put! They’re so insightful, creative and open minding. You’re a wonderful creator and I’d love to see more videos like this!

[@WeCreateMore]

I was a teen when the first YA fae books were coming out and there was NEVER enough of them for me. I loved the genre to absolute bits. Imagine my happiness when they started coming back. Even if they're not quite the same... And I have to say I'm surprised the fae smut community hasn't blown up Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series (unless it has and I don't know because I'm not on social media much). Maybe because the author seems to have abandoned it? But talk about smut, smut, smut. 😂

[@akernis3193]

This was an absolute delight to watch! I love this kind of deep dive, and I'm impressed by the amount of research you did on the background and history in this. Awesome work!