Thank You Dimension 20 for Misfits and Magic’s K

By Julia Stitely

In elementary school, there were two tables at lunchtime: a boy and a girl table. The girls sat on one side and the boys sat on the other. Up until third grade, I was very much a girly girl. I wore pink, skirts, dresses but at some point, something in me snapped and I didn't like how I dressed. I was following what I was told. You’re a girl, you wear dresses and play hopscotch but not with the boys. 

Soon, I started sitting at the boys’ table. My parents bought me more “boyish” clothes, and I started to play Jurassic Park, where the third-grade boys and I tackled each other until the game was banned. I was considered a tomboy, and as much as I enjoyed it, I missed doing stuff that was deemed “girly.” Ever since, I felt in-between but I couldn't describe it. 

There was a sense of familiarity as I watched Dropout’s Dimension 20: Misfits and Magic, (Season 1), three years too late. Dimension 20 is a Dropout-produced show where people play tabletop roleplaying games, the majority of Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. Dropout alums Erika Ishii (she/they/any), Brennan Lee Mulligan (he/him), Danielle Radford (she/her), and Lou Wilson (he/him) star as four American wizards forced into a British wizarding boarding school. Aabria Iyengar (she/her) is the Game Master. 

While the campaign takes elements from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter universe, it stands on its own from the property. Although, it does mock the plot holes and the bigotry that the series’ author left in. The Dimension 20’s Creative Director, Orion Black (they/them), vocalized their complex relationship with the Potter series. As they stated in an interview with the Daily Dot, “We should have the freedom as the people who are affected by these things…we were the characters who got Cho Chang and the one Black guy who I always forget his name because he was around for, like, two seconds…we let it go the majority of the time because of what just about everyone who loves Harry Potter and also hates Harry Potter has in their heart…” 

Flashbacks of my childhood went before my eyes as I watched K’s (she/they/any) storyline unfold. At the beginning of the series, the character K, played by Erika Ishii, goes by Dream, dresses in all black and argues with people on the internet. She’s distant with her parents with her feelings. As Dream enters into the magic world, their wand develops by more spells they use, the wand changes to be their worst nightmare: pink with ribbons and sparkles. He hates it, but Sam Black, Danielle Radford’s character, reminds him that when they were kids, they were “pink pals.” Dream’s response is that it’s “so femme. It’s just not [her], okay?” 

As the first season continues, Dream has outbursts where suddenly they will sound like a Disney princess. After being saved by Evan, played by Brennden Lee Mulligan, Dream transforms into a pink and sparkly persona. From that moment, the two have a heart-to-heart where Dream expresses that they were “deeply uncomfortable with myself…I think now that I’ve accepted them a little bit more…At the strengths that we do.” Evan reassures Dream, “Deep down, whether you’re wearing black fishnet, crushed pink velvet, you’re the person who fixed my leg without thinking about it and I don’t think that whatever you wear is ever gonna cover up how good of a person you are. Wear whatever you like. It doesn’t matter if your heart is perfect.” 

During the season one finale, after completing the first task in the tournament, Dream declares their name as K and that they will start using they/them pronouns along with she/her. The clothes they wear are a mixture of dark and emo clothing and their pink persona. The holiday special confirms that K goes by all pronouns. 

K’s arc works as a critique of Rowling’s portrayal of femininity in the Harry Potter series. As Snehal Sachde writes in her article, “How Harry Potter Contributed To My ‘Not Like Other Girls’ Phase While Being A Feminist,” “Rowling’s authorial voice shudders at the thought of women being distinctly feminine… [Hermione, Ginny, and Luna] are not obsessed with beauty and vanity, they do not care about their appearance, like pink, or are overly emotional.” Sachde writes about losing her love for interests due to the views of feminism from the Potter series and unlearning what she was taught. 

The whole Misfits and Magic campaign challenges this, but specifically in Erika Ishii’s portrayal of Dream/K. Dream is the only one who is an avid fan of the Potter series and is deep in fandom culture in the group. Even in response to receiving their letter, she explains to her mom, “I got accepted into the magical school that I told you that I’d probably get my letter for.” They’re affected by the negativity of femininity in media, specifically the Potter series, which causes them to push femininity away entirely. 

J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric has been more direct in public, and her quotes have been used to pass anti-trans laws worldwide. Recently, even after having a lawsuit filed against her for spawning a hateful campaign that labeled Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelifa predatory and abusive “biological male,” Rowling came out of hiding to harass Italian paralympic athlete, Valentina Petrillo, who is the first trans woman to compete in track event during the Paralympics.  

This rhetoric is present within the series with how Rowling describes and patrols how femininity should be denied. Sachde writes, “While some fans wonder how she could have changed so far after her wonderful depictions of women in her books, I don’t.” This links up with K’s story in Misfits and Magic. 

Like K, I grew up believing that I had to reject femininity to be respected and strong, mainly because of how women were portrayed in the media I watched. I was taught to laugh with Hermione at Lavender Brown, having a sweet crush on Ron. I was assured that Cho Chang was annoying because of her over-emotional behavior due to the death of her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory.

I became comfortable in femininity once I knew my gender identity and how I felt with my body. I bought fingernail polish after ten years of throwing it out. I wore dresses with confidence after vowing to only wear pants. However, like Evan says to K, “Wear whatever you like.”

In most trans stories, it’s more about the trans characters defining themselves for others, but here, K’s journey is defining himself for himself. They’re stripping away the harmful internalized misogyny they were taught growing up, embracing what they like, no matter the gender expectations. 

Asian-Pacific Islander (API) representation is still lacking in mainstream media, especially queer/trans-Asian representation. GLAAD estimated in their 2023 study, there was a decrease in overall API representation from the previous year, and of those queer characters on streaming services, 29% were API. Two of the trans API characters came from HBO MAX in the Girls on the Bus and Sort Of. Both of these shows won’t return since Girls on the Bus was canceled and Sort Of finished its run. 

However, with Misfits and Magic returning for season two, I’ll be anticipating the return of all the characters, especially K.