The real version is not nearly done, and it will be made out of wooden blocks as per the project requirements, but in honour of Mother 3 day, I thought I'd share a wee preview of the 3D rendition of New Pork City on which I am working.
So, the problem with this, is that most people in America (and probably in Japan too) don’t actually know that this word is a slur.
So, I’m gonna say the word once, and then after that I’m gonna censor it.
I’m talking about the Magypsies.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the word is a pormanteau of the english words “magic” and “g*psy.” It’s a direct transliteration of the characters’ Japanese name マジプシー [majipushii]. Amung the general population in the US, the word generally has positive connotations of free-spiritedness and mysticism, which is most likely what the Japanese developers were aiming for.
Unfortunately, in Eurpoe the word was used for many centuries as a derogatory slur towards an ethic group called the Romani. Romani people (NOT Romanians, that’s a separate group) are a traditionally nomadic group who currently live in a diaspora all over the world. Even though a significant proportion of Romani people live in the US, there is very little awareness of this language issue, mostly because (as I understand it) US culture doesn’t have the same racial attitudes towards Romani people that are common across Europe.
Which all this is to say, that even before we get into the issues of LGBT represention when it comes to the Mag*psies, there are already pretty damning problems with the characters (which is sad! because I love the characters!)
I don’t think any of this was malicious in any way, either with the original script of the game, or with Clyde Mandelin’s translation, but it still presents a problem with creating fanworks, at least for me.
So, in all my fics that I write, I WILL NOT be using the canon name for the characters. A couple of the stand-ins I’ve thought of are “Fae,” “Magpies” (what I misread the actual name as the first time I encountered them in the game), or “Okama” (a queer identity similar to “drag queens” that exists in Japanese culture and that the group is likely based off of).
(I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do, I’m just stating how IM going to treat these issues moving forward)
For anyone who’s curious about what I’ve said here, I’ve included llinks to information on the Romani people and their hisotry:
And a brief thread about queer fans speaking on their opinions about the representation of the Mag*psies (which are pretty similar to my feelings, as a queer fan)