(Untitled)

[pottersues]

Here is day one of “All in the Summary” where the name of the Sue is in the summary. No, I'm not counting yesterdays entry in with this weeks. That also said, I'm hoping the entries are more interesting then yesterdays.

TITLE: Gypsy Magic: The Yoska Freska Chronicles
PERPETRATOR: Kami2015
SUE-O-METER:

Comments

[meepalicious]

It's possible that pureblood English wizards wouldn't consider Roma magic properly "magic," so they might not see him as "Muggle-born" exactly, but also not accept him as a pureblood wizard, especially if we're supposed to believe all Roma people can do that magic? They still might call him "mudblood" if they thought it was "dirty" or "common" magic. I think it's a really interesting idea to explore, actually.

[yemi_hikari]

The term half-blood and blood traitors also seem more appropriate here. Actually, if one thinks about it there shouldn't be any real difference between the Roma and the regular wizarding community except for the fact they would refuse to use wands and would freely interact with Muggles despite the laws put into place. Pretty much they would be leftovers from a begone era where the Wizards still interacted with the Muggles to some degree. They're also likely to be called backwards among other things.

Here though I believe the writer was trying to say their magic was entirely different from Wizarding kind and that it was tied into their ethnic group much like how House Elves have their own brand of magic. To me that makes the character even more of a Gary Stu then before.

[bluekevlar16]

"Here though I believe the writer was trying to say their magic was entirely different from Wizarding kind and that it was tied into their ethnic group much like how House Elves have their own brand of magic. To me that makes the character even more of a Gary Stu then before."

Not to mention an ethnic stereotype.

[kami2016]

You're actually closer to my intention with the first part of your comment. Think of "Roma/Gypsy magic" like you might consider how different cultures create different forms of pottery. Anyone could, in theory, learn a foreign technique but it would be difficult. The story is ongoing, and I have a bad habit of obscuring details until it is too late. Later chapters touch on this point.
Yoska's magic was always seen as barbarous to me, in the sense that normal wizards would find it unattractive.
Thank you for your critique!

[yemi_hikari]

It doesn't seem like the issue of him being a Gypsy comes up that much. Actually, Snape recommending that Yoska seems a bit odd. Yes, he may be the top student for his year, but there is the fact Snape should be fully aware of Yoska's Roma heritage and the fact asking him to settle down could be taken as an insult. Of course, Yoska has also made it clear that he doesn't like the Romani way of life either... but still, if he didn't like said way of life why is he going home for the holidays?

[kami2016]

In response to this I ask are you always happy with your cultural background? Do you have any customs, laws, or social practices you dread or outright disagree with?
The same can be said about Yoska. Ethnically he is Romani, and he identifies as such. However, he is still an individual. When writing the character I imagined someone who was able to step outside of his root culture. He wanders, but with a different purpose than say his father. His goals and dreams may involve a settled lifestyle.
Besides, many Romani today are settled down. Very few actually live migratory lives.

[yemi_hikari]

The question of why he didn't stay at school over the holidays if he doesn't like the Romani way of life still stands. Students at Hogwarts have the choice of remaining at school over the holidays, but he never even thinks about this possibility from what I remember. He doesn't think about how he would like to stay, but decides not to because something pulls him back home emotionally or because of some obligation. That would have been a perfect time to have delved into what you're talking about, but it didn't happen.

I'm also not sure what the point of saying the Romani are stettled down these days. I was under the assumption that Yoska's family is not. The Harry Potter series also takes place during the 1990's, not the 2010's. That's a twenty year gap.

[bluekevlar16]

:/ Am I the only one who thinks it's offensive that the Romani have their own special brand of magic? You know, instead of just being like normal people? I mean, I could understand if they use a different language or whatnot, but magic in HP seems to be a lot like science; there's only a very few number of ways you can do it and still get it right. But this seems to imply that magic is inherent to their ethnicity, instead of just being a minority like every other human in the world.

That said, this fic could've been interesting. We've never seen ordinary, non-magical racism explored in the books before. It could also explore more of European issues. In modern days, Romani are still discriminated against in Europe, whereas in America it seems that the cultural prejudices doesn't really cross over.

[yemi_hikari]

No. I find it offensive, particularly knowing how the Romani have been persecuted historically for superstitions people have had of them

The closest thing I think would be the prejudices against people with ginger hair color and even then there is no actual racial reference, just subliminal connotations.

[bluekevlar16]

I think Jo will probably include ordinary racism if she ever makes a sequel/prequel to the series. Wasn't it in The Casual Vacancy?

[yemi_hikari]

Casual Vacancy isn't a sequel, but there was a lot of things she covered that made many people feel uncomfortable reading it. So I don't think she would be scared to cover such subject matter in a sequel.

[darth_gojira]

Guys, I don't think the author's actually Romani....

[pottersues]

I doubt anyone thought the writer was Romani. The writer's likely using it because the Romani seem cool.

[kami2016]

If you must know I'm actually a little Romani on my mother's side. I can not speak the language barring some butchered "hellos" and "goodbyes", and I have never really taken part in any Romani culture practices. When I learned that my mom had some "Gypsy" in her I became interested in the culture and language. Did I think it was cool? Yeah I did, it made me feel special. Do I identify as Romani though, no I do not.
Should I have handled that detail with more tact? Yes i should have. I suppose I simply did not want to bog down the reader with a culture lesson. Gypsies are "cool", and I exploited that. I regret it, but I would not be opposed to writing another story with a Romani main character regardless of my own racial background.

The Suethor Strikes Back

[kami2016]

OMG!11! U GUYZ CNT FLAM MA STORY

Re: The Suethor Strikes Back

[yemi_hikari]

"A unique form of magic would not, in my opinion, disqualify someone from being labeled as a muggleborn

Re: The Suethor Strikes Back

[kami2016]

I'm seeing your point on the muggleborn issue. *Spoilers for unwritten content* I would probably classify him as closer to half-blood in hindsight. This hasn't been written yet so there was no way you could have known but Yoska's father is a muggle with a squib for a mother. On Yoska's mother's side, it's a bit more complicated. I have read heavily implied that the women in his family are uncannily clairvoyant(which I had established as a branch of Romani magic). The idea was that Yoska's mother was a descendant of the original Romani wizards. She can't really use magic, but I would say that the potential was there. I honestly don't know what that would make Yoska, though I think your right with the classification of half-blood

Re: The Suethor Strikes Back

[yemi_hikari]

Sounds like you're in a similar boat I am for some of my earlier works. I made the mistake of not revealing things when I should, or how I should have. Rewriting isn't a bad idea - particularly when you do have a good idea like you do. The best time to do it though is when you feel you're absolutely ready to do it.