"Do you know Phil and Kaja Foglio?" . This red headed woman stood before me after our acting class with a Magic card in her hand. Despite her soft demeanor, she was the only one who approached me, despite my silence and scowls. . My hatred for Seattle was deep and acrid. White snow. White beer. White people. I hated this place. Here was this white woman with a Magic Card in her hand that I recognized from 3rd edition. I didn't let her know I played for years, she would be like every other homogeneous face I bumped into in Ballard. . "No." I said simply, turning to walk home. She stood in my way, a whispy, crimson haired rabbit in front of a Mack Truck. I paused. This chick was bold. . "I want you to meet them." . This is how I met @robespierrette of @cheapassgames. I wasn't wrong when I said I didn't know the Foglios. I didn't...not their name, anyway. . I did know their artwork. The Thrull Guy and The Spirit Link Lady. When I met them and saw their work, I embraced them with tears in my eyes. I thanked them despite their confused faces. . "You kept me off the streets and in school. Your cards made me laugh and I saw my face. So I knew it was okay to be a black nerd. It was okay to have white friends. It was okay to be weird." . MTG and comics opened doors for me. When all my friends dropped out of school and/or became pregnant, I worried about building decks to compete with. If I didn't go to school, I wouldn't get lunch money. No lunch money, no booster packs and comics on Saturday. Food didn't matter then, only gaming, anime and comics. . Now, here I am, 24 years later, sitting with my incidental heroes, on the path to being their literary equals. Here we are...as friends, colleagues...family. . Not all heroes wear capes...and sometimes they make where you live a while lot better. Crescent City Confidential post short up soon. #girlgenius #writersofinstagram #writer #comics #philfoglio #kajafoglio #seattle #sciencefiction #scifi #futurist #studiofoglio #blackgirlmagic #blacknerdgirls (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvS4nDGBXoJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nwd4hdoiymzc
