magic5ball

[magic5ball]

A Letter to Mom (14)

Dear Mom,

The days continue to get longer, the sun shining down on unending sheets of white, which sparkle like galaxies under a cerulean sky. The Drinky-Bird and I even got to have lunch on the roof today! You should have seen it, Mother! It made so many funny little tracks in the snow! And I know you must tire of descriptions of the blank slate that spreads to infinity, but I can’t help it! It’s just so beautiful, if a bit chilly. And today, it melted just enough to see the ruins of the Old Company Village poking out in the distance.

This spring shall be a fresh start, I can feel it.

The sun is warm on my face,

Kib Johnson

[magic5ball]

A Letter to Mom (13)

Although it has been awhile since I’ve read that accursed book on Venus, I’m afraid that I’m still feeling the aftershocks.

The Drinky-bird is so curious about that planet! I know I shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as the common ancestor of all drinky-birds originates on there, but truth be told, I’ve never found Venus especially remarkable. Compared to the vast sky-bogs of Neptune or the ice farms of Saturn, Venus always struck me as… small, I suppose. It speaks miles of Lucky Pong’s generosity that he ever bothered to bless the planet with the light of civilization. Especially given how it has always been a feral backwater whose various races feud pointlessly with one another. Even the wetware that supposedly proves Venusian technical advancement only existed because Lucky Pong’s distant ancestors made it to Venus in prehistory!

As for me, I went against my sensible instincts and watched the daily news. I was curious as to how the solar system might have changed in the twelve years since I last checked up on it. Can’t say I truly understood it then, and I was always weary of how needlessly unhappy news made you.

What I saw today did little to change my impressions.

A strike on Io! Can you believe it, Mother? After everything our Glorious CEO has done for them?! They showed a throng of Ionian protestors armed with picket signs, bellowing in Ionian-

LET ME LIVE IN A HOUSE!

The same thing that effaced the portrait in the main hall!

This begs the question: how long have these ingrates been running about? Have the forces of evil truly undermined our society to such a degree? There can only be one conclusion:

The media must be filled with slander and lies! Lies that accuse our Glorious CEO, he who knows no imperfection of failure!  

It also glorifies violence. Beating malcontents is meant to be a necessary action, but not glorious one

I spent the rest of the day refuting the doubts of the sinful in my head, masterfully decimating their ignorance. But it did not give me satisfaction. If anything, I felt drained.

Frustrated and tired,

Kib Johnson.

[magic5ball]

Monsters at Sunset, 2024

[magic5ball]

Hollow-Weenies, 2024

"You know, that sheet really accentuates your best features."

[magic5ball]

Sader, 2024

One of Venus' more eccentric residents, the sader has its' mouth on the back of its' neck. By moving it's head up and down, it scrapes moss off of trees, which it then eats.

[magic5ball]

The Merchant-Gardener, 2024

The Mild Robot finds himself bought before what appears to be some kind of throne room combined with a greenhouse. The tiled floor is lined with potted plants on either side, and the whole place is brightly lit with sunlight that is filtered green through the great swaths of fabric hanging from the ceiling.

But it is the 'throne' which most fascinates our mild robot. At least, he assumes it is a throne. compared to the majestic seats of his home-world, it is a humble dais on which sits what appears to be a male native smoking a pipe, and not an especially remarkable one at that. The native (presumed male, on account of their elegant mustache) wears a viridian fabric matching that of the miniature house which shelters him from the sun, emblazoned with dark pink flowers. His only jewelry is a simple necklace, and his head has a matching bandana. His skin, a dark purple with white streaks, is far more remarkable. Behind him, all a manner of Venusian plants reach towards the oppressively bright sun.

Our Mild Robot, clever boy he is, seizes his chance. in his tinny voice he tries to introduce himself first in Selenian, then Hrossan, then Houyhnic, and all the old languages in between. It is only when he tries to speak in Old Sauric tat the native's eyes widen. He gives orders to the seamstress, who then urges him back to his cage. And though our hero cannot understand what they are saying, one word in their excited converstaion stands out: Garuda.

[magic5ball]

Incubator, 2024

"Okay, so are you sure that's my kid?"

[magic5ball]

Giant of the Serengeti, 2024

[magic5ball]

Window Shopping, 2024

"I heard the one on the right gets better mileage."

[magic5ball]

A Day at the Museum, 2024

"I like this piece. It really speaks to me."

"Surprisingly talkative for a guy who's been dead over 100 million years!"

"..."

"Get it?"

[magic5ball]

Music Box, 2024

While imprisoned. our Mild Robot takes note of a curios device situated at a corner of the room. In form, it's incredibly similar to the phonograph of his homeworld, but with one key difference: in place of a battery, it's powered by animal! An animal that appears to generate electricity by running, but an animal nonetheless. The horn too, is alive, in this case as a massive crimson flower, which emits a noise like several metal bells cascading gracefully over one another. Unfortunately, he has barely any time to appreciate the sound of native music before he is whisked away by his wardens.

[magic5ball]

I also got you some Chocolates if Flowers aren't your Thing, 2024

Oh God you're allergic!

[magic5ball]

I usually don't get political, but to the few people who follow this blog, please VOTE! Project 2025 WILL adversely effect the lives of a lot of people I know and love, and that of millions of good people I don't. Now is not the time to give in to apathy. Trump was defeated before, and we can do it again!

there are enough tumblr users who can vote in US battleground states to literally swing the election, do you realize that?? the election is going to come down to like 80’000 votes in those states — that could be your vote! so if you live in pennsylvania, georgia, arizona, nevada, north carolina, wisconsin, michigan, etccc your vote is going to make a huge, huge difference. please for the love of god vote (and if you live in a different state, you still need to vote too)

[magic5ball]

New Duds, 2024

For the briefest of moments, our Mild Robot is freed from his gilded prison, only for the larger native (henceforth referred to as the seamstress) to dress him in a newly made bandana and baggy garment! Impressively, the sparks from his coal powered battery do not ignite it. What material could it possibly be made out of?

For a moment he humors escape, but one look from the several flightless butterflies that helped make his new outfit persuades him to cooperation! Thus he slinks back into his enclosure.

[magic5ball]

Dinner Date, 2024

So, uh... nice weather we're having, huh?

[magic5ball]

Desire, 2024

[magic5ball]

Artisan, 2024

Dismounting the ceratopsian, our Mild Robot is taken through the brightly lit halls of the palace, which bustle with natives whose kaleidoscopic skin tones compliment their equally colorful bandanas and silk garments. Notably, though, most are significantly taller than his captor, leading him to believe said captor is, in fact, a youth of the Venusian race.

The room they eventually arrive at is draped in a green fabric that glows warmly as the light filters through it. A native sits cross legged in the center, surrounded by several of what appear to be butterflies, though their wings are much atrophied and their bodies round and bulbous. They speak to them in what our Mild Robot presumes to be the local tongue, and in response the butterflies dip their proboscis into little bowls of (what appears to be) hot wax and use their proboscis to etch intricate floral patterns in the cloth beneath them. Curiously, below each little bowl is a flower instead of a flame.