>>97155491>This is Marco trying to explain why the wand didn't transform when he initially touched it.Correct
>The fact that the wand transforms immediately afterwards makes the statement meaninglessWrong. It's irrelevant in-universe, but on the meta/narrative level it is a significant line for the audience. Like some kind of dramatic irony.
>Furthermore, magic in SVTFOE has nothing to do with soulsThis is pure conjecture and arguably wrong with some of the stuff we've seen with Tom and the Underworld, like the Soulrise.
>It has to do with physically tapping into the realm of magicThe Realm of Magic is, as far as we know, the "source" of all magic in the multiverse, but the only objects that we can say probably have a DIRECT connection to it are the Queen's Sanctuary and the Wand.
When people directly, physically interact with the Realm of Magic itself, the result has been things like Toffee's corruption/destruction and Star's purification/resurrection/recreation.
>In fact, we have actually seen magic being channeled from one person to another in "Moon the Undaunted" when Moon uses the darkest spell. Both her and Eclipsa's cheekmarks glow when the spell is used. When Marco uses the all-seeing eye, Star's cheekmarks do not glow.The situations are very different to the point that they can't really be compared. And trying to make the comparison is inconsistent with your argument that "magic has nothing to do with souls."
Moon and Eclipsa formed a magical contract to exchange their power and knowledge, Marco (apparently) unknowingly dipped into Star's pool of magic across their soul bond while attempting to cast a spell.
The only consistent meaning of cheekmarks glowing (white) is that the person casting the magic is Dipping Down. Maybe it could be said that's what Marco was doing, but that seems like a bold claim. If that is the case, it wouldn't be necessary for Star to Dip Down just to give Marco enough power to cast an ordinary spell.