Topic on Talk:Malik Destiny

I've mostly been a passive watcher of the initial proposal, but I will be forthright that part of reason why an update would be nice is because the original page had incredibly uncomfortable connotations when combined with Malik being Kuwaiti? I mean, it was already previously talk paged and yet this page both had Malik being explicitly Kuwaiti and also from a land famous for thievery- and while it was probably accidental, I think the misgivings regarding the connotations of this (with the Middle East being both stereotyped as a crime filled, backwards exotic place, Aladdin/Ali Baba being one of the most popular images in the West... It's really a yikes! Moment and was only changed by a random non-Garage)

Like to be forthright, I think that adaptations to make Malik more fantastical is totally doable, especially when there have been many fantastical players, but I think:

A) Your point That the JRPG stuff added depth and is central isn't very reflective of what is on the wiki, where it's largely about Malik being funny because they are out of touch and because they do crimes. I think that if there really is depth here, then you should write up those edits to Paopuleaf's doc and ground Malik's characterization better because grounding their lived past and where they have been helps make a round character and makes it clear that oh, we are not just riffing on old classical tropes that tend to be very Orientalist, especially when portraying other societies.

B) In addition, I think this is a reasonable request to make- if there's an expectation that Paopuleaf is an outsider and should be willing to edit according to your desires, I believe it is also fair that Garages be willing to discuss amongst themselves the issues raised and creating concrete solutions or compromises rather than creating a list of what they expect to see kept without committing to contribute to the work of writing a wiki page and the work to actually like... Address these concerns and writing a better version of a player.

As I'm writing this, I hope this doesn't feel like I'm coming out of nowhere but I just want to nip these issues in the bud given prior experiences.

Some concrit on the original page and what I think would be nice to keep

- removal of the antimonarchist stuff

- better incorporating them being Kuwaiti as a positive thing (the original only had the King bit where very specifically Malik only felt negatively about it)

- incorporating being Kuwaiti and Greenlander in lore, even in brief, as part of their personal & familial history

- removal of the thievery based land (it's whats on the wiki and was left to stand this whole time so I think it's a fair enough concern) unless it is grounded... So much better, but at the same time the vibe of a thievery based character who isn't adjusting to modern USA and kinda from the Middle East is like, kinda dicy from the get go