But a Jape

“As per my previous message, I was informed that Magic Mirror would be capable of fully replacing our raven system. If our understanding is mistaken, and Magic Mirror’s functionalities must still be supplemented with raven correspondence, then I am afraid the Academy must reconsider our contract with Magic Mirror.”

– letter from F’et B’Gon, Archmage of the Capital Academy of All-Magicks, Re: Dissatisfaction with Magic Mirror service

I don’t know what it says about a person when they grow up with fantasy and sci-fi stories and begin to desire more world-building about the mundane aspects of these fictional worlds. Like, Dumbledore’s a school administrator at the end of the day, he’s not always fighting off dark wizards and unraveling conspiracies. Most of his day is just navigating the bullshit of academia and the bureaucracy of the education system. What does that look like?

I hesitate to attribute this development in taste to maturation, because I know plenty of mature adults who still crave escapism in their fiction, so there has to be something else to it. Is it a desire for relatability in our fictional characters, so we strive to imagine their lives as similarly to ours as possible? Or perhaps a coping mechanism – “Yeah, life would probably be boring as a wizard too.”

– James