arcticfallsarctic

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Some of my favorite magic side effects:

-Nosebleeds. Never gets old.

-Coughing up blood. The good ol’ “cough into your hand and pull it back to see blood” also never gets old.

-Headaches. You keep fighting as your head pounds, desperately telling you to take a break. At first they fade within minutes when you stop using magic, but overtime, they become chronic.

-Fatigue. After a big battle, you stand triumphant, and then just fall asleep on the spot.

-In a similar vein, overuse causing you to straight up faint rather than just fall asleep. Darkness begins to overtake your vision in the middle of battle, unconsciousness abruptly looming over you.

-Any of the side effects happening to another person. Maybe two close characters are connected, and whatever side effects character A would normally endure are transferred to character B. When A uses a blast of magic B screams loudly because holy shit that hurt.

-Magic gradually deteriorating your mind. Using it too much eventually caused hallucinations and an inability to retain memories, or even larger scale memory loss. 

Feel free to add more, I’m looking for some to steal

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If I had a nickel for every time a father in genshin was (suspected to be) involved in child human experimentation

Links below cut:

Candace redesign: eternal-moss (tumblr)

Dehya redesign: ohhnorr (tumblr)

Cyno, Tighnari, and Collei: mine :)

Quest summary masterpost (needs updating)

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girls when there’s too many things

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dimner

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can u pls draw impure vanilla putting his hand over light milk cookies mouth?

I think I misunderstood the request, but I decided to draw it anyway! This sketch was done a long time ago, it finally saw the light of day….

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live in my broken world.

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They said love is blind

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i hope youre all lying and hyping your cv/resume’s up

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I came out of my apathy Finally.

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^_^

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my favorite group: middle child syndrome or MCS for short

beard erlang propaganda continues

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It actually bums me out that astrology has persisted through the years as the standard BS divinatory practice that people really buy into, when it so easily could have been ornithomancy instead.

We could’ve had hipster girls trying to predict the minutiae of your life using an intricate chart that details how many herons or crows you’ve seen in the past year. Instead of asking what’s your sign on dating apps people would be like how many birds did you see on your way to work today. I cannot stop thinking about what could have been.

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Tit for tat (22pages)

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Erlang Shen—A Playful Free Spirit

Many might already know that Erlang (二郎) means the second son. Historically, Erlang Shen has also been referred to as Langjun Shen. The term, Langjun (郎君), initially served as a title for young aristocrats beginning their careers in the bureaucratic system. Over time, it became more generalized, used to respectfully address any young lord and affectionately by young women when referring to their husbands or lovers.

This both reflected and shaped Erlang's image in folk tradition. Since "Lang (jun)" carries a strongly positive connotation and evokes admiration, Erlang is often depicted as a handsome young man with a majestic presence. Wu Cheng'en, the author of JTTW, wrote a poem titled Tribute to the Erlang Searching the Mountains (for Yaoguai) Painting (《二郎搜山图歌》), which is believed to have inspired his later novel, where he introduced Erlang as:

The young and elegant Lord of Qingyuan*, Leads his troops, raising the mystic wind. 少年都美清源公， 指挥部从扬灵风。 *Qingyuan (清源) is Erlang's main title in Daoism. Both characters are water-related and implies clarity/purity.

As a protector god, Erlang is seen as caring, generous, and dependable. However, as a young lord, he is also thought to be carefree and playful. The latter likely explains why he became the patron god of various artistic and leisure activities. The playful side of his character hasn't been explored much in modern media, except perhaps in the animated film New Gods: Yang Jian (2022). In Black Myth: Wukong, Wukong remarks in the intro that, besides Bajie, Erlang is the best at talking nonsense and making him laugh (the literal translation of the Chinese line for the English dub "All these years, except for that pig, you're the one who talked the tallest tale. Good, I'm entertained"). Who knows—maybe Wukong was telling the truth here under the disguise of a jab.

Erlang's carefree and playful nature is a perpetual theme in Chinese literary tradition. In a 1207 C.E. inscription dedicated to him (《平定县昭惠灵显王感应碑记》), Erlang is described as:

Naturally fond of roaming freely, with transformations that follow no fixed pattern. 性好游逸，变化无方。

Around the same period, a tribute poem for Erlang (《灌口二郎歌》) described him as:

A fine young man in yellow robes and a silk hat, Fierce like a starving tiger cornered in mountains and valleys. Not interested in staying near the political center, He roams the enchanting mountains of the Southwest border. 黄衫纱帽佳少年，炯然饿虎穷山渊。 不居秦鹿祖龙畔，却走碧鸡金马边。 ... At times, he shoots slings beyond the evening clouds, Or plays Cuju [ball game] in the spring breeze. Other times, he dons a red scarf, And searches for immortals (hidden) in the medicine market. In character he certainly resembles Li Bai*, And in pursuit of the Dao he is as committed as Ge Zhichuan. 有时挟弹暮云表，有时蹴踘春风前。 有时却自着绛帕，走入药市寻神仙。 为人定似李太白，学道定似葛稚川。 ... *Li Bai is a renowned Chinese poet famous for his free-spirited nature, poetic genius, and love of travel and alcohol.

Perhaps because Erlang's character has inspired countless artists and his stories have long been told through folk drama, Tang Xianzu, one of the most prominent Chinese playwrights of the 16th—17th centuries, referred to Erlang as the patron god of drama/opera, and said:

[He] is kind, and [he] attains the Daoist way through playful spontaneity. 为人美好，以游戏而得道。

This characterization of Erlang Shen is seen in JTTW as well. Wukong's second encounter with him takes place when the group is struggling against the Yaoguais of the Lake Bibo. Erlang somehow is nearby on a hunting trip with his Mei Mount brothers. A bit embarrassed by their first encounter, Wukong has Bajie ask for Erlang's assistance. Erlang is only delighted to see Wukong again and is more than happy to help. He invites the group to rest at his place first before the rematch the next day, even thoughtfully providing food and drinks that comply with Buddhist dietary restrictions. Then as Wu Cheng'en puts it:

The brothers gathered under the starlight and moon, with the sky as their canopy and the earth as their mat, raising their cups and reminiscing about the past. Just as loneliness makes the long night feel endless, the joys of reunion make the night feel too short. Before they realized it, the dawn light had already appeared in the east. 众兄��在星月光前，幕天席地，举杯叙旧。 正是寂寞更长，欢娱夜短，早不觉东方发白。

In the next post, I’ll touch on some lore that highlights Erlang's playful teasing and sharp strategic mind. He's a really fun figure to explore, so stay tuned for more entertaining tales!

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@rippledragon linked this to me and a good time is being had.

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sorry for being gone for so long!!

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