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Do you ever think about how canonically in Crimson Flower, Bernadetta becomes a General at 18 years old? Cause I sure do.

MAGIC FATIGUE/EXHAUSTION/OVERUSE.

Give me those sweet side effects of overusing magic:

Getting lightheaded and weak, struggling to stand let alone keep fighting

"Are you ok?" "Yeah I'm fine. *immediately faceplants because their legs can't support their weight anymore*"

F a i n t i n g

Physical injuries like burns, broken bones, etc

The risk of permanent damage either physically or mentally

Can I get uuuuhhhhh "loses a sense either temporarily or permanently depending on the severity of the overuse"?

Stopping their heart (cue the team scrambling to drag their dumbass friend back from death)

Bouncing back of said magic (burns from fire magic, electric scars from shooting lightning, ice burns from oce magic, etc)

Classic nosebleed

Now, when I am struggling with hygiene, I pretend I am part of a village with an annual festival, and I get one day a year to spend luxuriously at a bathhouse in preparation.

What my friend imparted on me was the skill of turning mundane tasks into fantastical adventures to make them more compelling and bearable.

So next time you need to go on a mental health walk, maybe consider doing reconnaissance for a secret underground organisation.

Like, the most luxurious "bath" I've ever had was in the woods with a pot of boiled lake water. So much effort went into that! It was a whole big process! I had to fetch the water up the hill, boil it over the fire, and hang up a bedsheet for a little privacy. Used a mug to transfer water into a pan to cool a little before pouring it over myself while the rest stayed hot in the big pot. But the near-boiling water steaming off my skin into the cooler air felt glorious and the whole process was wildly satisfying. I was a fucking forest nymph.

Just The Flax, Ma'am

Watercolor on Black Cotton Paper

2022, 25"x 33"

“Do you know what the hardest thing about knowing you was? Letting you go.”