"Does Shen Qiao even like Yan Wushi?"
I feel like it may be relatively easy for people to pick out "what does Yan Wushi like about Shen Qiao / what does YWS get out of yanshen." but I think a criticism/line of thought I see around is people struggling with "well what does Shen Qiao get out of all of this?" and like, "does SQ even like YWS, what with how YWS annoys him and gets him angry all the time."
But I think that actually is the crux of their relationship, lol. Because if you think about it, to everyone else, Shen Qiao is this lofty ideal, this untouchable immortal/仙, maybe even this obstacle or goal to conquer or shoot down.
Who else treats him casually and teases him and pokes at him to get emotional reactions out of him because they like that about him?
If he wants to seek people who treat him with respect and reverence, he just has to step out into the city square - hell, he just has to travel out and random people he meets are likely to treat him with that sort of dazzled awe or reverence too (we literally see this happen several times in the course of the novel).
So yeah, I think joking not joking, YWS makes him angry and feel Emotions and he likes that, YWS is enrichment for him, YWS pushes his buttons and his boundaries but reframing that it's pushing him out of his comfort zone and like hardening him off to the elements and realities of the world like a gardener with plants out of the greenhouse. But also, YWS treats him like a person, like a man, and not like Shen-daozun, Shen-daozhang, Shen-zhangjiao. To Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao is Shen Qiao. (and he loves to tease the shit out of him hehe ( ̄▽ ̄) )
CONVERSELY! This also gives Shen Qiao a space to *be* Shen Qiao. With Yan Wushi, he does not have to be Shen-daozun, Shen-daozhang, Shen-zhangjiao. He does not have to always be magnanimous and generous and a bastion of righteousness. These are in his nature, yet, but it's not ALL of his nature - he is, after all, still a man, a human, with human emotions -- including the full breadth of human emotions. Yes Yan Wushi annoys him and he shows it, but it's specifically BECAUSE of that that they are closer than him and anyone else in the world. He can "be himself" around Yan Wushi, he can get worked up and be petty and be snippy, and it's fine and won't cause catastrophes or undesired splashdown sociopolitical effects.
But also, he (lets himself?) get worked up by Yan Wushi - they HAVE that level of intimate understanding with each other where they can be like this and not have feelings hurt in any irreparable way. This isn't something that SQ does (lets himself do?) with just anyone, which we see throughout the novel reflected in his internal narration and comportment. So really, the fact that he DOES get annoyed with YWS shows that they are on a different, more "real" level with each other than SQ is with anyone else.
And like, they didn't get there in a day, sure, but imo we definitely see through the novel how they get there, so imo, the yanshen relationship is incredibly justified.
(I also say this bc I think literally every "I've connected the two dots" moments I've had in my reread, I would metaphorically flip the page only to be met with that connection I'd made spelled out on the page by MXS lmao. Like... yeah okay MXS *shakes your hand* you know your stuff. oh and also because I do think there may be some level of skepticism about yanshen esp from SQ's side floating around lol, but like... MXS did the legwork! yes chapter 45 happened, yes YWS never "apologizes" with words, but that doesn't mean that they don't share a deep mutual understanding of themselves and each other by the end, nor that they haven't moved past the events of literally 83 chapters ago, 96 if you count the extras -- a whole literal two-thirds of the novel ago. Like, I know we piss on the poor here and many educational systems around the world are in shambles these days, but work on developing reading comprehension skills, pls :') )
(lmao rip this post got long AGAIN. well, hopefully at least some people are reading all of this lol.)
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Because I'm normal and way too excited here are some close up sneak peeks of some Astarion photos to he posted later ;3
(or you can look at my instagram I just didn't have time right now to post them on here)
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AHHHH IMA RAMBLE!! I know it’s been long since the change :’) but I still hate how we can’t really afk farm anymore.
Makes me remember when after we’d do some candle running. Me and my vet friend would go to that bonfire spot in prairie (can’t remember the name), and just chat and chill around as we slowly got our wax from the fire. I really did love those moments…
Now i can never do that again with someone because there’s those annoying orbs that spawn from the fire, and honestly it sucks. Cuz you can’t just chill, just let the game run while you’re busy doing whatever irl.
I don’t have much motivation to candle run anymore, even after I took a few months break from the game. I want wax, but I can’t make myself go and get much. With afk farming basically not a thing anymore it’s even harder now ;w; and i am suffering from the “becoming a vet and then all your friends vanish” sickness so… yah, can’t really cr with anyone either.
Idk I just find it sad :’) I still don’t understand why tgc saw afk farming as some “illegal activity”
But whatever :/
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well i return in defeat from going back up to 5 yrs in the illustrator's instagram archive looking for the single specific will roland portrait i remember. but i did find other fun artifacts
some more bmc moments
^ illustration for a cd re: the tonys? something i didn't know existed but maybe it's a mix of a song or two from nominated musicals
"I’ve been a bit more involved with this show than most others thanks to producer Stacey Mindich who enlisted me to draw original cast members as they ended their runs. (Park once jokingly asked me to let him know when Stacey commissioned his, just in case he hadn’t yet found out he was getting fired. Ha!)"
a lights of broadway card ft. abf & jordan fisher specifically lol v cute
a cropped non full res piece of evidence of an illustration for the broadway macbeth production that ft. akd as malcolm, and just like how i couldn't turn up the will roland portrait via searches, i can't find this one either. even knowing that if it was posted in full anywhere it was probably broadway.com, and yet,
fun surprise like Pointing hey i'd know the joe iconis christmas extravaganza from a mile away
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