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Ash writes...

First off I want to preface this with saying that I completely love what you've done with Khalid, how his story is interwoven into his magic style and even mannerisms like berating himself for missing Trogowog aftercare, how his faith has been integrated and everything he means to people.

That said I had some mixed feelings based on how he is as an adaption, and was hoping you could shed some light into the thought processes that were carried out when adapting him, to hopefully put those mixed feelings to rest.

1) So, the first question is about how his religion was adapted. But hopefully something a little different to what youve been defending ad nauseum. In the comics, Khalid isnt muslim, instead he doesnt really have a personal faith, but struggles due to the influences of his muslim father, christian mother and the Egyptian Gods who make themselves known to him and the role hes to play. And, with angels, jimm, and ofc Bast, looking over him ans his role. I have a particularly strong connection with the Egyptian faith, so that was a major appeal to me.

So my first question is why the decision was made to simplify Khalid's religious experiences for Young Justice as seems to be the case?

2)Speaking of Khalid's christian mother, in the original she is Elizabeth Nassour, with her connection to Kent making her a little more in the know to the entire sorcery elements including Bast's presence, while her occupation as an archaeologist not only fit well to the history of the Nelson family, but let her show her own personal strenth and specialication.

For YJ, it appears as though you have replaced her with Jane Nassour, who seems to have a very different approach to the Life, in spite of sharing Elizabeth's connection to Kent so seeming to be intended as the same character. I am curious to the reasoning on this change, particularly the name since that seems like an odd thing to change even irrespective of the other changes?

3) I had always gotten the impression that the Khalid Nassour Doctor Fate was largely created because someone wanted to do a story about Ibis, but DC wanted the bigger brandname; due to how the series retconned (which was retconned back) Nabu to simply be a priest of Thoth/Zehuti, with a perculiar staff akin to the Ibistick being instrumental in their arsenal, and the blood of the Pharaohs, that made him the candidate. The Ibis family, or at least the Ibistick, is commonly seen among Zatanna and Zatara's possessions.

So my third question is if this were a partial inspiration for the connection that you forged between Zatanna and Khalid?

4) I found the usage of water in Khalid's Test particularly inspired, given the way that death by drowning is treated in Islam. The comic had somewhat similar notions in the first story, with Anubis' floods and Mohammad Nassour trapped in it until being rescued.

I was curious if this particular element was inspired by the comics usage of water, or if MPAC and other resources lent towards this particular meaningful affect (or other reasons I am not considering of course)?

5) Khalid being from Egypt ethnically was a fairly significant point to his comic character, with a further struggle between the balance between Fate duties (to an Egyptian Goddess guardian), modern american med student life with his girlfriend, and his childhood friend with an unrequited crush trying to push him towards social activism against the atrocities being committed by the Egyptian government. Along with immigrant elements, with his father (which would fit quite well with Giovannis story).

So, my question is somewhat tangential to that. Egypt has a high proportion of Sufi Islam, which has elements of mysticism understood to come from Allah, which feels very reminiscent of how Khalid and Mohammed felt that his sorcery was a gift from Allah that needed to be used for his purposes. I was curious if this Sufi connection had been discussed with MPAC and integrated accordingly, or if it is just a happy coincidence?