#magic5ball

[theothin]

I remember seeing you watched Girls Und Panzer on your myanimelist account. What did you think of that show?

masterpiece. funniest worldbuilding ever

[bunnymajo]

No Cure Marine?

I like Cure Marine, she used to be my favorite when I was just starting Precure

I just like other characters more now

Here, have this incredibly old art I did of Cure Marine & Cure Blossom in 2011. I think this was my first precure fanart?

[fipindustries]

What appeared to be fine golden chains wove around the pictures, linking them together, but after examining them for a minute or so, Harry realized that the chains were actually one word, repeated a thousand times in golden ink: friends … friends … friends …

'tis done, veritably so.

time for another round of "people that i care about a whole lot". i do these every other year since that is just about enough time to accumulate enough new friends to include in these.

lots of very new faces! and some people who should have been here long long ago were finally included. here i present you: @thecurioustale, working as always on his eponymous masterpiece, @obsidianchild, with whom i broke up recently but i still consider my bff irl, @utilitymonstergirl, wearing the proud face of her hellion isidore, @artbyblastweave, with his truculent creations, @sirartwork, doing a tribute to a picasso painting, @lipstickchainsaw, who was mentioned years ago in one of this but they finally get to participate, you humble artist, @lumsel, showcasing to me, their biggest fan, one of the best comics that anyone has ever done online, @dandelionwhiner, with her discord avatar since her tumblr avatar is far too abstract and finally @magic5ball, also as his discord avatar for much the same reasons.

i included some references to discord since its the platform where i most often interact with them, a little wanted poster for Laika Albarn, my favourite cancelled artist who has recently decided to retire her little series Limerence and a quick little nod at AI art, which has been so controversial as of lately in my circles.

i would like to make a quick shoutout to some of the people who didnt quite make the cut, @lilietsblog,@unmotivated-cosmere-nerd,@yumantimatter and @paradigm-adrift.

[charlesoberonn]

@magic5ball Jerry did not have sex with his mom, no. I don’t think that YouTuber actually finished the episode — Jerry got a fortune cookie saying that he would, then got really nervous about whether it might be a magic fortune cookie and make that come true — that plotline that episode seemed to be more of a satire of previous incest joke episodes — no incest took place in that episode, no. It was actually a rather hilarious episode about fortunes and fortune cookies, complete with an evil Gwyneth Paltrow running Fortune 500.

Making an episode all about incest where an incest almost occurs is still very suspect.

[kirbythulhu]

Thank you for reblogging my drawing!

Yeye, no problem! 💙

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

Do you know any resources for writing non binary/ trans characters?

Hello! As a matter of fact, I have a masterpost of resources for writing nonbinary and genderfluid characters, right here. 

As for other trans resources, I have two compilations in the works of what I consider to be the best sources for the depiction of trans men and trans women, respectively. I’ll be publishing them this week. 

In the meantime, I hope this helps, and happy writing!

[houseki-no-suffering]

This will definitely be an unpopular opinion, but I actually consider Cairngorm's fate to be worse than Phos'. Because for all the torment Phos is experiencing, at least they have FREE WILL and more importantly, REALIZE just how screwed up their situation is. Admittedly I'm biased, seeing how I strongly value free will, but seeing Cairngorm, a character I loved, reduced to a trophy wife... I'd rather be free and in pain than happy in bondage.

but do they?

phos has free will, but that will has been redirected and exploited from day one in order to lead phos to the most excruciating (and convenient for the lunarians) conclusion.

cairn started off with little free will and ended up embarking on a journey of self-discovery which they think has led them to become free but that just resulted in them becoming a trophy wife

in the end, both of these characters willingly became aechmea’s pawns. we can just hope that they change their mind eventually

[pozpopiliz]

My problem is, as cathartic as the vengeance is, when it comes down to it it really just is playing right into Achmea's hands. Doesn't help that, as sympathetic as Phos is, setting the firing squad on one of the few gems that has been a consistent alley (Padparadscha) feels really twisted to me.

@houseki-no-suffering got an ask that I think explains phos and padparadschas situation in the most hopeful way- "phos' will to die is loud and violent" that ask, if anyone remembers it- "phos understands Pads will to die, and while pad is quiet and contemplative, phos is loud impulsive and violent" or something like that- it stuck with me because phos does stare for a second and pad and rutile. If it implies that phos and pad both have a death wish, that would be acknowledgment between them that soon they'll both be free from their own personal hell.

Removing that- it's an incredibly brilliant way to show how far phos has fallen. They go from being traumatised by shattering (the amethyst twins), to injuring a gem who's in their way on accident (bort on the night raid) to indiscriminately attacking everyone in retaliation. The decline is slow and gradual at first but due to the earth gems escalation of the situation, phos hopped afew steps and went straight to revenge. but it was always there, and this is just how broken and different he is from who he was before.

The fact that this falls into Achmea hands should be detached from phos' actions. He isn't mind controlling phos, and while he planted the idea of getting his eye back (it's amazing bc this is the only time phos actively tried to recover any piece of himself-) it was ultimately phos' choice to come down and rain hell fire, and the actions of the earth gems that gave phos the idea that peace was never an option. I find it unnerving that Achmea has never given phos a direct order, but has always gotten his desired outcome. Its annoying that Achmea is getting his way, but Achmea is still giving phos the choice to go through with these things.

I cant say don't be annoyed by it, but it shows how intelligent and manipulative Achmea can be.

[capripian]

Thank you for reblogging my post! By any chance, have you read the novella it comes from? It's quite good!

I have! I have!!!! It’s so good!

For the followers: All Tomorrows is a short story about the branching of humanity into countless fractured species over billions of years. It’s quite morbid but a very good read if you don’t mind some body horror.

[monsterbroth]

Thank you for reblogging my art!

: D!!! Thank you for making such great art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cursed--alien]

Thank you for reblogging my picture. It means a lot to me.

No problem! I love aliens and speculative biology stuff!

[theothin]

Now that J.K. Rowling has ruined magic school, do you think 'cute woodland critters' is going to become the next big fantasy subgenre?

it certainly seems popular among the mtg crowd, but I don't know of any indications of it currently getting big beyond that. and mtg still has another magic school visit lined up for 2026, so

[bunnymajo]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you become so interested in Japanese history and culture?

Hm, I dunno it just kinda happened

I like learning about history & cultural stuff in general, so when I became a huge anime nerd in elementary/middle school, wanting to learn about Japanese culture itself just seemed like the natural next step

[fipindustries]

btw, and just so you guys know this.

happy valentines day guys, i truly love all of you, big hugs and kisses specially to @ericvilas, @theothin,@jenlog,@mrcatfishing,@not-terezi-pyrope,@lumsel,@verminfang,@sigmaleph,@magic5ball,@lipstickchainsaw,@obsidianchild,@st-just,@artbyblastweave,@yumantimatter,@intimate-mirror, and many more i just cannot remember off the top of my head.

all my hearts to you guys, you make life worth living <3

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Out in Bethlehem they're killing time. Filling out forms, standing in line.

Oh no they haven’t!  They’re doing the’t  not!  “Since when can’t I stand in line?” they cry.  Oh no they can’t!  [confused cat body noises]

Not in line?  You didn’t know that Jesus would turn out to be a walter de selden mad  “No no no no no no” kid, they’d think.  That’s one you’ve won.  No matter.  All you have to do is buy a Bible or waggish and steer clear of movies, and you’re pretty good.

[charlesoberonn]

The Owl House vs. the works of Ayn Rand

magic5ball submitted:

Before I begin, I would like to say I enjoy the Owl House and have nothing but respect for the creators. If anything, this is more a testament to Ayn Rand's lack of self awareness than anything else. And that context is everything. Without further ado:

Like the typical Ayn Rand protagonist, Luz Noceda is a unique individual that doesn't fit the mold of contemporary society, and after said society tries to flatten her out, leaves for a secret place where she can be herself without being tethered by chains of conformity (the Owl House / Galt's Gulch). She also succeeds at anything she sets out to do via creativity and ingenuity, even besting people who have been doing the job much longer than her, just like an Ayn Rand protagonist. 

This 'Secret Place' is headed by a shrewd, hypertalented rebel who occasionally makes forays into society to engage in free market capitalism and tell everyone how stupid they are by buying into the obvious lies of their obviously evil government. John Galt or Edalyn Clawthorne? Bonus in that both have red hair. 

Like Galt's Gulch, the Owl House manages to elude the evil government  despite by all means being very easy to find, especially since residents and visitors keep coming and going. However, I'd argue the Owl House kind of has an excuse in the form of Hooty.

Speaking of Evil Government, in both the Owl House and any Ayn Rand book, in the past magic/ capitalism was allowed to flourish, until said government said it should be regulated, leading to a totalitarians regime that censors history and executes unruly citizens. Why the evil government decided to regulate 'the thing' is never fully explained, but it was definitely for an evil, selfish reason, and it is screwing over talented individuals and keeping them from succeeding.. And again, said government is hilariously inept at rounding up our heroes, making it hard to take them seriously. 

Both 'The Owl House' and 'The Fountainhead' have the protagonist contend with a standardized education system that is failing them and set out to surprisingly quickly overcome systems that have been in place for decades. 

In both 'The Fountainhead' and 'The Owl House', the protagonist has run ins with a girl who is abrasive to them at first, but later warms up to them as time goes on. 

Both have political commentary they are NOT subtle on, although I would still say the Owl House is more subtle than Ayn Rand. 

Both also have romance that could be considered scandalous or unacceptable by contemporary society. One could even say this romance is a bigger draw than the actual political commentary. However, while the Owl House was scandalous because of gay romance, Ayn Rand's works are scandalous because husbands cheat on their wives and women fantasize about being raped (yes, really). 

Interestingly enough, the Blights could actually still be considered villains in Rand's eyes because they sell products to the government, making them not real capitalists.

So that's all or now. Let me know what you think!

Okay you convinced me. The Owl House is a neo-Randian story for the twenty-first century.