#magical racism

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Okay so I just thought of a hilarious FlintWood after the war scenario. Despite my usual “inverse of fandom tropes” tendencies, Marcus is a pureblood with a Death Eater family in this. Oliver, meanwhile, is a muggleborn. Marcus and Oliver have a weird rivals-but-friends-ish thing going on at Hogwarts and end up getting together in the early days of their quidditch careers despite being on different teams and keeping their on-pitch rivalry. Obviously the war is full of angst, with Oliver going on the run after their home was attacked (Marcus was away so he returns to his parents’ manor to wait out the war) but since Marcus’ parents choose to stay out of active conflict during the war to protect their son (who they do actually love) they aren’t arrested and don’t have to go to Azkaban or anything. With the war fully over, Marcus comes out to his parents and decides to introduce them to Oliver, which is where the hilarity begins.

While they remained neutral during the war, Marcus’ parents are obsessed with blood purity and are death eater sympathizers. They use slurs against muggleborns and were completely cool with the genocide of said muggleborns, so their reaction to finding out that Marcus is gay and in a relationship with a muggleborn was negative, to say the very least. However, they set up a dinner so that the parents can be formally introduced to Oliver, and what follows is a very awkwardly tense evening.

Marcus has a strained relationship with his parents because even discounting the magical racism they weren’t exactly the best parents (a bit neglectful with impossible expectations), and his mother is kind of the peacekeeper between Marcus and his father whenever things get heated. Marcus is very protective of Oliver, so naturally things get heated. Oliver very quickly picks up on the tension between them and, having been informed of the parents’ views, does his best to deescalate. Marcus’ father keeps making veiled mean/magically racist remarks and Marcus is getting increasingly angry as he responds to them, so Oliver and Marcus’ mother end up teaming up in an effort to keep this as civil as possible, holding a conversation to keep Marcus and his father from further agitating one another.

I imagine this being a sort of sitcom, and the idea of Oliver nervously smiling as he looks between his boyfriend and the clearly disapproving parents, complementing the cooking and the house in hopes of stopping Marcus from murdering his parents in Oliver’s honor is hilarious to me. The subject matter and underlying theme isn’t, obviously, but still.

[astrosouldivinity]

𝑾𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅: 𝑨 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝑹𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑

~ 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝚁𝚑𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚖 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚜

🧹I had the opportunity to see Wicked, and it was an emotional experience that resonated deeply with me. The movie serves as a poignant mirror to our current social climate in America, particularly regarding how Black women are treated because of systemic racism. Here are my insights.

✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎

✯ As a Black woman, Wicked resonated deeply with me. I couldn't think of a better actress to portray Elphaba than Cynthia Erivo, who channels her experiences as a Black woman into the role in a way that feels both authentic and powerful. Elphaba embodies the struggles and resilience of marginalized identities (Black women), illustrating how society often seeks to harness our magic without truly valuing us. People recognize our power but attempt to appropriate it for their own gain, failing to uplift us or give credit where it’s due. This creates a sense of entitlement and a lack of genuine investment in our well-being.

✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎

✯ Glinda is a representation of the many performative allies I've encountered. Those who appear “nice” but whose kindness is ultimately superficial. They cling to their privilege and are unwilling to sacrifice it, even at the cost of the collective progress. It’s disheartening to realize that what seems like allyship is often a self-serving facade; you become a tool for them, prioritized only when it benefits their interests. Their support feels performative, as if they expect gratitude for merely acknowledging your existence. Glinda treats Elphaba like a token or pet even, enforcing an unspoken power dynamic that keeps Elphaba beneath her.

✯ Glinda is a coward; she desires to be seen as kind, yet her actions reveal otherwise. To her, maintaining power is more important than doing the right thing. Without her status, who is Glinda? This context reflects the lyrics from "Defying Gravity": “I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission to feed your own ambition.” It perfectly captures the essence of performative allyship. She complicitly contributes to the suffering of others while projecting a facade of goodness. The saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Glinda is, in a sense, brainwashed; she is unable to see reality because she genuinely believes in the inherent goodness of the world. In contrast, Elphaba understands the harsh truth, shaped by her experiences of being an outcast and rejected by society.

✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎

✯ Emerald City wants to embody green but simultaneously vilifies Elphaba for being green herself. This parallel reflects how society often appropriates Black culture while rejecting Black people themselves. Throughout the movie, we see how easily people can paint you as the villain and undervalue you, undermining your capabilities no matter your qualifications. This narrative resonates with the experiences of many Black women who face constant scrutiny and doubt, even when they prove their worth time and again. Elphaba’s journey highlights the struggle against these unjust perceptions and the resilience required to rise above them.

✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎

✯ Marginalized for her skin color, Elphaba is made to feel inferior for being different. Yet, despite this, she shows empathy and compassion for those who lack it for her. Her ability to extend kindness in the face of adversity highlights her strength and resilience. This juxtaposition emphasizes the unfairness of her situation, as she navigates a world that often dehumanizes her while still choosing to uplift others. Elphaba's journey serves as a powerful reminder that true strength lies not only in overcoming one's struggles but also in maintaining compassion for those who may not understand or appreciate your worth.

✯ In “Defying Gravity,” Elphaba discovers that the minimal allies she thought she had were actually using her for their own selfish desires. Yet, she transcends above this betrayal, ultimately realizing her own power and ability to shape her own destiny. Similarly, in “Dancing Through Life,” Elphaba’s unique expression only gains validation through Glinda’s approval, highlighting how Glinda could have used her privilege to challenge the Wizard but consciously chose not to.

✯ Ultimately, Wicked invites us to reflect on the importance of authentic allyship and the responsibility that comes with privilege. It challenges us to examine how we can uplift marginalized voices rather than exploiting them for our own narratives. While the themes of this movie resonate with the current political climate in America, it can extend beyond just the Black experience; however, I find the parallels to be undeniably distinctive nonetheless.

✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎ 𖦹 ✴︎

✯ I would love to hear your perspectives on how the movie resonated with you and what feelings it evoked. Art is a reflection of life, and there’s so much you can learn from it. ☺️

𝔁𝓸𝔁𝓸- 𝓚𝓲𝓴𝓲 (𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢) 🩷💚

𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 📋

• 𝙸’𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎. 𝙰𝚜 𝚊 𝙶𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗, 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜. 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚕𝚘𝚕!

[spacebubblehomebase]

Helllo i Love your art more than i love donuts and thats ALLOT.but my boy lucifer can have babys,like i dont even know how that works!make it make sense! I just wanna say thank you again for curing are boredom👍🏻

You are SO right that is high praise indeed! I'm honored! =D So here. Have a donut! 🍩🍩🍩 As for Luci, let us turn to the world's favorite 700k+ words old man fanfiction that is The Bible (tm) as according to their lore, it's been canonically stated that angels are genderless for they are beings made of the Pure Holy Spirit and- Holy SHIT! What do you know??? Our dear depressed duck dad was an angel himself and in some depictions Lilith is infertile as was her punishment for her freedom! The more you know! -Bubbly💙

(LMAO. My guy's been traumatized. Once is enough XD)

[prokopetz]

"Oh no, [game publisher] was doing so well reforming their depiction of [biologically evil fantasy species], why did they suddenly backtrack" they didn't backtrack, bro – that was the plan all along. It's a trick.

One of the standard ploys in the gaming industry whenever they get pushback about how depicting a particular fantasy species as biologically evil isn't a good look is to do a little storyline that's like "no, see, there were some good ones, but then the bad ones killed them all; they made themselves biologically evil through self-imposed eugenics policies, so that makes depicting them like that okay".

Popular game publishers have been doing this song and dance for thirty years. Hell, Wizards of the Coast in particular has done it at least half a dozen times in that span.

[nicstylus]

Behold, a Valkyrie Cain AND a Necronaut Suit design! In one go! :D

[crazycatsiren]

Regular reminder to Witchblr that you should take "black magic" and "white magic" out of your vocabulary.

That's all. Carry on.

[britcision]

The number of people who apparently need to be told that racism and ableism are still bad even when done to people you don’t like, and even when done to objectively bad people, never surprises me but it is getting depressing again

[rollerska8er]

This is kinda old news at this point but I can't stress enough how weird people were about Aabria Iyengar in the first season of Misfits and Magic.

To wit: There is a scene, which was made into a YouTube Shorts clip, in which Brennan Lee Mulligan's player character, Evan Kelmp, is overheard by another character who says "Hey, I can hear you!" Brennan, as Evan, responds "No, no you didn't." To which Aabria, in character as the NPC, responds "You know what we aren't gonna do? I'll whoop your ass. You're not gonna gaslight me." It's a funny scene and played off well by Brennan who is clearly blindsided by Aabria's response (which, again, is in-character).

There is no way to describe the reaction to this moment other than "bizarrely racist". The comments on the YouTube Short paint a picture of Aabria as a crazy person who is unnecessarily aggressive to poor sweet Brennan, just because he said no, the poor lamb. These people read Aabria's in-character reaction to Brennan's joking, in-character refusal to yes-and as an actual accusation of gaslighting from Aabria to Brennan.

People then go on to be outraged that she refused Brennan a deception check (which he did not ask for, and also isn't really possible in the narrative-driven system they're playing because guess what, not all TTRPGs are D&D). The implication is that Aabria is a nasty, unnecessarily aggressive GM who creates an uncomfortable, abusive and oppressive atmosphere around her table.

Except, of course, this isn't what is happening in the clip at all. Aabria is smiling throughout, as is Brennan. Nobody is visibly uncomfortable. Brennan's character becomes flustered by the interaction, but he is supposed to be socially awkward. Did any of these armchair critics bother to learn the context for the scene before making a snap judgement about the GM? Of course not.

Why do I make the racism accusation? Well, because Brennan has also been known to react to PCs goofing around with the same kind of stern, in-character finger-wagging. See Emily Axford-as-Fig's interactions with Goldenhoard and other authority figures, for example.

Were the roles reversed, and Aabria tried to blatantly lie her way out of an interaction with one of Brennan's NPCs only to be told, in-character, "You're not gonna lie to me", I have a feeling the reaction would not be quite as strongly negative.

It is impossible to read the reactions casual viewers had to this moment as anything but specifically racist and misogynist. These people saw a black woman even in roleplay assert a boundary and concluded that she was being aggressive to a white male player for no reason.

I'm just thinking about this now as the second season of Misfits and Magic is currently being released. Of course, it's clear that Brennan and Aabria are good friends and have GMed for each other on and off camera. But I just keep thinking about how fucking uncharitable people were to Aabria two years ago and it does really concern me how normalised this is in TTRPG spaces.

I hope the production team are taking steps to care for their talent because honestly, a small but vocal minority of D20 fans and quite a lot of wider casual actual play fans can be really fucking horrible at times.

[hellspawnmotel]

terranigma, a cool game

[azurecanary]

The people on Reddit need to shut the fuck up about K Tanaka actually

[crimeronan]

another Vital AU hunter-and-camila thought from this morning was a thought of, like. camila very very very gently and carefully explaining that she'd like luz to get a basic physical done by a doctor in the human realm, because luz has not been seen by a human doctor since she was four and is overdue for ten million vaccines and desperately needs bloodwork to check her vitamin and thyroid levels, etc, etc, etc, and hunter is like. visibly freaked out and upset by this. bc he is SO afraid of strangers hurting luz.

anyway. that's all pretty much expected, on account of The Horrors.

what got me in my feelings was the thought of camila telling hunter that she has a lot of the same worries, and that she Knows not all human healers have good intentions, and that she Promises she'll take that into account when finding one for luz. because she does not want luz to get hurt.

hunter, naturally, is like "how.... do you know that....?" and camila is like ay dios mio. HOW do i explain medical racism or the united states..... to a boy.... with no concept of racism or the united states.....

[quehecke]

messy but idc because its orter so hes still fine

[askquarantinedredheart]

CW: Fantasy based racism, slurs, references to drug use disorder, threats of violence against healthcare workers, mean spirited jokes at patients' expense, insensitivity towards others

Volume 1: Isolation

First - Previous - Next - Last

I'm not a good pony...

Yeah, there's a lot of content warnings for this one.

Asks from @ask-wizard-sunburst

[the-gamling-dog]

Watching Mismag and Bombini's willingness to die to protect the extractive magic system exemplified by elitism (to the point of using Tad to ensure optimal numbers aren't breached) the day after starting Legendborn (Tracy Deonn, 2020) and seeing the conflict between "colonizer" blood magic and the more sustainable rootworking system has got me feeling some kind of way, whew.

Long live these things getting unpicked!

Pretty much separately, I had Chris Cornell's Killing Birds echoing through me at Evan's arc this week (I spent my youth| tearing down the walls my father built| just like he did to his father before him| but then i had no home| and i tried to build a better one| it looked just like his, so i tore it down again).

@quiddie's tags on her excellent post regarding simple slashing vs complex solutions had me cheering to the outro chorus of this song by Frank Turner too (ALL YOU BROKEN BOYS AND GIRLS, WITH YOUR TATTERED FLAGS UNFURLED, QUEST TO FIND AND KILL THE BIGOT KING!)

[prokopetz]

Like 90% of all tabletop RPGs which include ritual magic in modern settings – those that put any thought at all into the metaphysics of it, anyway – are stuck on 1990s neopaganism and/or early 2000s chaos magic as their model for what's really going on, and most of the remaining 10% are just 19th Century Theosophy/Golden Dawn shit with some (but not all) of the racism scrubbed off. I think we need to go deeper – I want to see an urban fantasy RPG whose magic users are fucking John Dee style angel summoners. I want to see an urban fantasy RPG based on whatever Aristotle was smoking.

[mimi-0007]

I'm saying this!! Made this!! Standing by it!!.