Common Misconceptions: Dark Faeries

It is commonly and mistakenly assumed that almost every single Dark Faerie in Neopia is an evil, villainous, conspiring maniac out to doom Neopia. Too bad for everyone's lazier nature at thinking of nothing else, that's a horrible and biased impression of those poor Faeries and it's time to let the world know just how wrong they are. Sorry, world.

Before I begin my report, explanation or whatever else you might like to call it, I should explain just how this stereotype has spread so far so quickly: people enjoy knowing things that are easy to understand. So, it's easier to assume that, because a Faerie is called "Dark," she has to be evil, than to go to the trouble of reading through an entire article by someone who actually has no formal education in therapy or psychology but believes he still knows better. If you want the tremendous ego boost of considering yourself more intellectual than others, that's reason enough to continue reading, right?

Actually, most Dark Faeries are mischievous and sometimes evil, though there's still a flaw in logic of the assumption that they're just plain evil. When a Dark Faerie is born, created or however her existence began, she grows up with the peer pressure to "be bad," and consequently becomes what everybody assumes a Dark Faerie just about always is: evil. Now, let me go in depth with what I mean by this paragraph.

First, what I mean by the term "evil" is a state of mind that actually wants to cause harm and discomfort to other beings, whether it be a person or plant. It's impossible that their souls are "tainted" and they can't help but being evil, but if I were to continue with this, it would delve into spiritual matters which aren't allowed to be discussed and must simply remain to each person's own thoughts.

Second, you might argue (if you know how to do such a thing) "But how did the Faeries that pressured that other Faerie become evil?" and that's actually a very good point. Really, we don't know enough about the origins of Dark Faeries or any other Faeries to know how they gained their psychological and magical traits, so all we can go on is what they're like in this day and age. We can only guess that some time ago Dark Faeries... I don't know, got the idea that if they weren't evil, they wouldn't accepted into society. We have absolutely no idea when or how it began.

Though as I've been pointing out, not all Faeries are evil, and that brings me to my third point. There aren't many examples of "good" Dark Faeries that I can give because there are so few of them that exist, but I've still managed to find a few. For instance, in the game Neoquest II there appear two Dark Faeries that are clearly not evil, though one is certainly neutral rather than good. However, just because they're in a game doesn't make that point moot; it's highly doubtful that the game's designers simply decided, "Hey, let's throw in a couple of good Dark Faeries just for the heck of it!" They probably had inspiration, possibly from my last and best example: the "Uber" Dark Faerie. Yes, the one that gives quests to random Neopians. Never has she particularly misbehaved or been evil; instead she spends her time asking for toys from anyone who will accept her quest and rewards them with a magical boost of their strength. While some consider the idea that she does that simply to break the toys in a nefarious, underhanded plot of some sort, that too is unlikely on the grounds that most evil Dark Faeries consider it a matter of pride to be evil, and never has the Uber Dark Faerie gone public with any sort of evil. After a paragraph as ridiculously long as that one, understand?

So, it's mostly a manner of how a Dark Faerie is raised, it seems, that determines her social state when fully grown. If it were to actually dawn on the majority of them that the Uber Dark Faerie is much more accepted and welcomed into Neopian society than themselves, perhaps we would see a giant leap in the amount of good Dark Faeries. Or, of course, they just enjoy the freedom and moral chaos that comes from being evil, which could actually mean that many of their souls are truly taint--whoops, moving on...

My point, after that cluster of paragraphs, is that while most Dark Faeries really are "evil," it is the choice of them and those around them in their lives that is the true deciding factor of their psychological and moral state. What the majority of Neopia seems to think is that most Dark Faeries are simply born evil without bothering to examine how that could be possible, which only encourages young Dark Faeries to continue in their evil and wrongdoings simply to avoid being an outcast of their own society. If that is to change, all of Neopia must change, which generally assures that things will forever stay the same until the end of time.

If you happen to personally or informally know a Dark Faerie, feel free to show them this article for them to laugh at in their evil glee upon reading from such an untrained, unknowing person thinking that he's so cool to know so much. Perhaps you'll make their day and they'll give you a poisoned lolly pop for doing so.

This has been an article by someone who didn't care not to insult anyone and may soon be found missing from his Neohome with muddy footsteps from an angry and frenzied mob all over the place. Assuming they weren't lazy enough not to read this, of course. If that be the case, you may look forward to hearing another oddly-humored and pretty much pointless article from me explaining the intricacies and logic behind another poorly-founded stereotype in Neopian society. Buh-bye, folks.