#how to do magic tricks

[ns-magic-2023]

[miscellaneoustofu]

Bad and evil German teenagers who are mean to their only friend/situation-ship get sentenced to learning 10,000 magic tricks to make up for it.

Oh, and Kaiser must travel back in time and re-create all of Harry Potter so it isn’t written by like the worst person ever. I just know Ness made Harry Potter his whole personality for at least 3 years straight. Is this even a debate? We just know.

Anyhow, it’s crazy how a couple of good analysis on Twitter and YouTube can change my mind so completely about two characters.

Less than a month ago I was completely indifferent. Despite how I always thought Kaiser’s design was stellar and felt sad for Ness, I was never invested enough to make art for them. Like they’re pretty boys, that’s mega cool, but they’re not my Bachira.

Now I adore the heck outta them.

I think it’ll take time, and it’s for the best that bllk is fiction, but I think they can become good for each other.

Kaiser needs someone like Ness who’s still able to dream. Considering how abuse has made concepts like wanting love and freedom feel like chasing the impossible. And Ness deserves someone who can make his dreams real after years of getting put down by people who were supposed to love him.

Idk I like them. Isagi dismantling their entire world was the best thing that could’ve happened.

Sometimes things gotta break before you can start fixing them?

[fisheito]

He's a magician

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[henley-reeves]

Jesse Eisenberg on doing magic tricks practically

[muttering-folklore]

[liyuviq]

If Shin had Unqiue Magic, what would it be?

i was racking my brain trying to come up with smth N I THINK I FINALLY GOT ONE

unique magic: chrono imprint

shin can briefly “rewind” the state of an object or area to what it looked like in the past. it is limited to a short time frame (a few hrs to a few days). the further the state is rewinded back, the shorter the “illusion” will last. the state cannot be interacted nor changed, only observed.

it becomes very helpful because it can help shin reconstruct and investigate crime scenes. it is not combat based. i don’t think shin will ever have a combat focused unique magic.

[skitskatdacat63]

Fernando Alonso & His Relationship With Cards

I'm sure we're all familar with the cards on the back of Fernando's Vegas GP helmet by now, but did you know his relationship with cards goes a lot deeper?

I. Magic Tricks

You've probably seen or heard someone at least mention Fernando's propensity for card tricks. As far as I can tell he was doing them(publically) as far back as 2003 all the way to as recently as 2018. Even once performing a card trick, with a condom and a teddy bear(!??!?!??!!), in front of Valentino Rossi who said "How was that possible?"(x)

But how did this start? According to James Allen, "Fernando admits to having been heavily influenced by his grandfather, a mercurial figure, who taught him magic and card tricks, still one of his passions away from the race track."(x) And I'm not sure the validity of this one, because I couldn't find an actual source, but apparently he once said: "My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit."

In several interviews he described it as his hobby off track, and that he loved learning new tricks and surprising others in the garage with them! So clearly cards are pretty important to him both as a hobby but also to who he is as a person since they've been with him just as long as racing has.

II. Card Symbolism in His Helmets

This is the reason I originally made this post, but I thought I should also explain the origins of his card fascination first. As I said, we probably all remember the cards on the back of his helmet in Vegas, but did you know that wasn't the first time he had cards on the back of his helmet?

From 2008-2013, he used to have a pair of cards on the back of his helmets. The symbolisms of the cards themselves as well as the evolution of their design is really fascinating to me! Even more so with the recent development of the card choice in 2023.

Fernando said he wanted to reference his two titles in some way on the back of his helmet and after his friend sent him several ideas, he decided on having two cards(an ace of clubs and an ace of hearts, sometimes pictured with 05 and 06 on them as well), saying: "I picked the cloverleaf [the ace of clubs - Ed] to give me luck, but the only pity is that it doesn't have four leaves!"(X)

2008.

Here's the very first appearance of the cards! They're displayed flat, with the 05 and 06 clearly visible

2009.

Very similar to 2008, but with a slightly different design, and they're maybe a bit more straight with less shadow?

2010.

This is the first major change! I was sad they didn't have the years on them anymore, but then I realized they're sparkly to match with his signature lightning bolts on the top of the helmet!!

2011.

Honestly I'm still somewhat unsure if this is the actual 2011 helmet? It's pretty difficult to find clear photos of the back of helmets from older seasons. It's easiest to find them on replica sites or auction sites so I'm not 100%? But anyways, I like that this has the championship years on the underside of the cards

2012.

This is when I started getting weirdly emotional about the helmets. Do you see how they've progressed from being a centerpoint to being curled up and sad at the bottom of the helmet? Not listing the year anymore??

2013.

Same thoughts as 2012. And after this season, they cease to exist (just like his ferrari chair in the garage, WOAH CALLBACK), until cards make a reeappearance in his Vegas helmet, albeit in a different form

2013 Monaco(Honorable Mention):

For some reason 2013 helmets were easier to find proper pictures of, so I happened to witness this absolute beauty. The creativity of this helmet genuinely blows me away??? Wanting to keep the card motif, but making sure to incorporate it into the rest of the puzzle piece design?? Mwah! There was another special 2013 helmet but they didn't change the cards at all so I really applaud this one

2023 Las Vegas(The Return of The King):

The magnificent return! But look! The cards are different cards! Instead of being two aces, it's now an ace of hearts, a four of hearts(his driver number of course!) and, the, now iconic, representation of himself as a Joker. I literally could not believe my eyes when this helmet was released and I saw the Joker card, what a fucking silly old man....I really wonder if he felt nostalgic having cards on his helmet again or if he didn't think about it all and was just like, "ah cards because Vegas!!!"

III. Why Does This Matter?

*The rest of the post was factual, this is moreso my personal thoughts on the symbolism of the cards/designs

This post spawned from me recently watching the 2010 Bahrain gp and noticing "hey wait a minute...are those CARDS ON THE BACK OF HIS HELMET!?" It's a really tiny detail that's unfortunately covered up by the HANS device pretty much whenever he's wearing the helmet, so it's really difficult to spot! But I became fascinated with the fact that he had cards on his helmet before that recent helmet, and now here we are!

There's something to me about how the design of the cards evolves over the course of six seasons from the cards being front and center to being smaller, more folded up and closer to the bottom of the helmet. As I said, the 2012-2013 ones genuinely made me depressed because it feels, symbolically, like his hopes for getting another Ace are becoming more and more unlikely and falling away until they eventually fall falt and fade away entirely after 2013 and disappear for basically a decade.

But when they return? They're not the same cards! Instead of representing Fernando's championships, they now represent him as a person, displaying his driver number and his persona of being a Joker!! Though I do think it's interesting he happened to keep the Ace of Hearts, even though he talked more about the Ace of Clubs before. I'm not sure it's actually this deep in reality, but I like to think that it's him not letting his championships(and the lack thereof) define him, but rather letting who he is as a person shine and be the centerpoint instead! But on a sadder note, as @suzuki-ecstar said to me, maybe the Aces aren't there anymore because he's lost all hope for a chance at a third Ace entirely :(

[the--firevenus]

Headcanon that while merlin had forgotten a lot of their past, there will be sometime someday a moment where they pulled out a skill so impressive even they goes "????"

Like, origami fold thing, merlin just did that one day cuz he was bored and he's like "... Wait a minute, I don't remember I learn how to do this...." and it was a very cute and impressive origami of the hamsters familiar. Merlin cannot fold any other origami beside that one.

The muscle memory of doing things, like for example sewing, "I don't remember you sew magister?" valen one day say, "I don't either," merlin replied, almost done patching up the knight cape

Or when they picked up a pencil or brush and start mindlessly doodling, nothing in mind, almost auto pilot, and they accidentally drew a portrait of mirael, makes you wonder if that ever happen before

Anyways—

[lady-quen]

Hello Guild Wars 2 community! A new poll has dropped! 🐦‍⬛

(At least, hopefully new, lol.) I'm curious, which blessing did your Commander get on their first/canon go through the Raven Sanctum in the story mission "The Invitation?" Choose and tell me in the tags why they made their specific decisions :)

Compiled explanations from the wiki below for ease of access:

The trial choices in order:

Save the wounded man or save the healers

Save the spell tome or save the historical record

Save the queen or save the prince

Blessings:

Blessing of Daybreak

"When the fear of beastly claws and a child's pain is made sharp by the knowledge of elders, we make no mistakes. But do we grow?"

Healers -> historical record -> prince

Grace of Dawn

"When wisdom is favored in all things—a healing hand, a text of old, a beloved queen—we lose the sharpened sword of the truly bold."

Healers -> historical record -> queen

Consecration of Morning

"We seek to destroy monsters with sharp claws and icy breath, but do we protect ourselves from the beasts shaped like us, who prey on the young and vulnerable, who seek to rule us?"

Healers -> spell tome -> prince

Invocation of Midday

"When we flee from the things we fear most - the teeth of beasts, the storm of a dragon, a change of power-we risk running backward."

Healers -> spell tome -> queen

Supplication of Midday

"We favor the skill of healers and the wisdom of elders over the uncertainty of the future. But the young take chances, and the young push us forward."

Wounded man -> spell tome -> prince

Consecration of Evening

"We long for the comfort of a healing touch, an ancestral word of wisdom, a leader we know and trust. But comfort is fleeting, and with it comes inertia."

Wounded man -> historical record -> queen

Grace of Dusk

"We sacrifice so much—safety from the claws of death, knowledge of the ages, a steadfast reign—to propel ourselves forward. But if we move too fast, do we risk the inability to stop?"

Wounded man -> spell tome -> prince

Blessing of Twilight

"We try so hard to do the right thing. We heal, we protect our people, we preserve stability. But we cannot control how the winds of fate may shift, and a tight grip can sometimes hurt more than it helps."

Wounded man -> spell tome -> queen

[fakemichaelsheen]

-the bookshop-

gabriel: *dusting*

crowley, saunters downstairs, yawning: gabriel

gabriel, cheerful: morning

crowley, flops into a chair: what’s for breakfast?

gabriel, curious: did you stay the night?

crowley: yup

gabriel, looking around: does aziraphale know?

crowley, smirks: oh yeah

aziraphale, hurrying downstairs: now we really must return these *brandishes handcuffs* to muriel before-

crowley: *loudly clears his throat*

aziraphale, shoves the handcuffs behind his back, flustered: gabriel!

gabriel, oblivious, grinning: morning. watcha got there?

aziraphale & crowley: magic trick

gabriel: awesome. can I have a go?

crowley & aziraphale: NO

[alienhunteranonymous]

I'm convinced no one in this school has ever touched social media until this year

[swagveryswagamazinf]

WAOOO MIMORIANA💥💥💥🎉🎉

[catsafari25]

Another question for the Skulduggery Pleasant fandom, because I've just finished reading the Haunted House on Hollow Hill, and I feel like I'm missing something.

Below the cut 'cause this is, y'know, a murder mystery

Do we get two explanations for how the police officer (Dudley) dies? First is that Grody killed him (and is used as an alibi for Grody & how there is more than one killer abroad) and the other is that Terry did it (and he openly admits it) - the second option is clearly the correct one, given the confession, but it just felt odd that there's not even a nod back to the first red herring.

[veilk]

[ID: The first is an uncolored sketch of a thin, long haired boy sitting awkwardly. He looks towards the camera, face obscured aside from a large eye. Behind him are several photos. All are parts of the default Windows XP background with a heat map-esque filter over it. The second is the same person, smiling uncannily with sparkles around him. He holds a sign reading: "Normal Human Person" with arrows pointing to him on it. He is wearing a shirt reading: "Kill Kill Kill". /End ID]

moreee experimenting. actually figuring out how to enjoy drawing again i think? i think