#anqi talks

[liu-yu-xin]

I cant believe anqi is even shorter than ningning i always thought ningning and all of aespa are really really short 😭

[hollowfaith]

1 from basics, 2 from OCs !

Questions for the mun

When did you first start writing?

the earliest english diary i have was a birthday gift for my 7 year old birthday. i wrote stuff like "today was fun" and "i played with X today" like. super basic subject - verb - noun sentences haha.

before that i used to write letters to my great grandmother in china after i moved to the States. i was 4-5 and would tell her about what i did all day, and she wrote back!

as the years went on my writing got smaller and hers got bigger (the size of the characters i mean) because her eyesight was getting worse...i really treasured our letters even if i had to wrack my brain for what to say sometimes haha

Who was your first OC?

i'm going by tumblr OC for this one and it was a magical daoist cultivator dude with immortality and cool spell talismans based on this guy but bishounen ofc (i think i've talked about him in another ask but it was on another muse)

he was very fun and i got to dig into chinese mythology for his lore but he was also very static so there wasn't much room to develop him and i gave up and dropped him after a while

i still remember his URL which was a pun on his name: anqient for anqi sheng + b/c he was old as dirt yeyyyyyyyy

Who is your favorite OC?

i really like mary sue! but she's a very high-energy, attention-demanding muse so i really need a lot of headspace and time to write her properly like the way she deserves

she'll be back someday, she's a very easy muse to pick up and drop into the thick of things

[archonanqi]

Guess who’s back on their guili bullshit

Maybe if I don’t sleep I’ll b able to finish this animatic and all my work 😞

[yoimix]

NOOO WAY HONEYWORKS??!? on my DASH??? hello fellow honeyworks enjoyer!! do you have a favourite song? my absolute absolute fave is the world is falling in love. followed by that one MV where the honeywork characters went on a summer festival. i love their drums sm!!!! omg i have a few others but i don’t know the title. i only know the story / mv and the general tune. — @pyrodmg

THE TASTE YOU HAVE, MY DEAR 👑 honeyworks shaped my idea of romance frfr life was NEVER the same after i stumbled upon confession rehearsal and proceeded to binge-watch all of the honeyworks mvs in the series 💕

my faves are confession rehearsal, friday's good morning, pride kakumei and ヒカリ証明論 (i'm not quite sure how it's translated :c). oh oh!!! and this one's been growing on me lately, it's called i thought i hated you (i'm not sure if my translation is right hshdh so this is the original title -> 大嫌いなはずだった). it is an e2l excellence 😌

the world is falling in love is a BANGER !! i used to have it on repeat to make myself believe in love again❣️ also, i think the song you're talking about is tokyo summer session!! it's one of my faves too (๑>ᴗ<๑) it inspired one of my drabbles bc honeyworks never fails to give me insp 🌸 and you are so right, their drums go hard!! have you checked out the anime they made based on the series? it's on my watchlist after i'm done with kamisama kiss and wotakoi bc i'm getting indoctrinated in shoujo by anqi (@matchabears) rn who also happens to be an average honeyworks enjoyer 🍷✨

hope you have a lovely week ahead, with warm food and cozy evenings, sunshine ☀️💞

[siumerghe]

Ji Kang, from Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics

Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics is a collection of biographies of 144 historical figures associated with Daoism, compiled under the title Xuanping lu 玄品錄 by daoist Zhang Tianyu 張天雨 (1279-1350) and translated by Thomas Cleary.

Ji Kang was styled Shuye. He was a man of Zhi prefecture in the state of Qiao.(9) He was orphaned early. He had extraordinary talent, far beyond the crowd. He was more than six feet three inches tall.(10) He was eloquent and handsome, but he made his appearance plain and didn’t dress up. People considered him distinguished and elegant, but it was innate, naturally so.

He studied without instruction from teachers, read widely and comprehended everything. He was married into the ruling family of Wei and was given a prestige title. He used to practice nurturing nature and ingesting elixirs. He played the lute and sang poetry, enough to comfort his heart.

He considered spiritual immortality to be an endowment from nature, not a product of learning. As for reasonable exercise and nutrition, the standards of Anqi(11) and Grandfather Peng(12) could be reached, so he wrote Discourse on Nurturing Life.

Those with whom he always considered spiritual communication genuine were only Ruan Ji of Chenliu and Shan Tao of Henei, while those who joined their set were Xiang Xiu, Liu Ling, Ji’s nephew Han, and Wang Ru, eventually making up the Bamboo Grove association.

Ru said he’d lived with Kang in Shenyang for twenty years and never once saw him either angry or joyful.

Kang used to gather herbs, roaming mountains and wetlands. When he’d get into a good mood, he’d become ecstatic and forget to return. The occasional woodcutter or thatch cutter who encountered him thought he was a spirit man.

He went to the mountains of Ji county,(13) where he saw Sun Deng and then went wandering along with him. Deng was sunk in silence and self-contained; he didn’t talk or say anything. When Kang was about to leave, he asked for a word of advice. Deng said, “Your talent is of a high order, but your way of preserving your body is inadequate.”

He also met Wang Lie, and they went into the mountains together. Lie once found some stone marrow like rock sugar. He ingested half and gave the rest to Kang. In both cases it crystallized.

Wang also once saw a silk text in a cavern and immediately called Kang to go get it, but suddenly it could no longer be seen. Lie lamented, “Shuye’s mentality is extraordinary, and yet even though he looked right away he couldn’t find it. That’s fate.”

When Shan Tao was about to leave, he was selected for office but recommended Kang in his stead. Kang then presented Shan Tao with a letter announcing termination of contact. In sum it said, “I have heard the sayings left by Taoists, that ingesting polygonatum and atractylodes enables people to prolong the life span, and I have a lot of confidence in this. Roaming the mountains and wilds, watching birds and fish, is a pleasure to my heart. Were I to become an official, I’d have to give all of this up. How can I abandon what I enjoy to pursue what I fear! Now I just want to stay in a humble neighborhood, raise my children and grandchildren, from time to time express my feelings about separation and distance from relatives and friends, talking about the old days. A cup of unfiltered wine, a tune on the lute—that’s the extent of my ambition!”

Now that this had been put in writing, it was obvious he couldn’t be compelled or constrained.

The governor of Nanhai, Bao Jing, was one in communion with the miraculous; Xu Ning of Donghai took him for his teacher. One night Ning heard the sound of a lute in Jing’s room; marveling at its refinement, he asked about it. Jing said, “That was Ji Shuye.” Ning said, “Ji was killed—how could he be here?”(14)

Jing said, “Shuye projected the appearance of dying, but in reality he just left the body.”

This appears in Gu Kaizhi’s(15) eulogy of Ji Kang.

Footnotes:

10. Seven chi eight cun: based on these measures as of Jin times, this would be somewhat more than six feet three inches. Presumably this was above average for his time and place.

11. Anqi Sheng is a legendary immortal associated with the island of Penglai. He is supposed to have lived more than a thousand years. The First Emperor of China, who was intensely interested in immortality, is said to have met Anqi on a journey east.

12. Grandfather Peng is supposed to have lived for eight hundred years. A manual on energy-induction exercises attributed to him can be found in the Baopuzi. See Daozang jiyao, vol. 20, p. 8686.

13. In Henan.

14. The Ming dynasty scholar Li Zhi recounts the story of Ji Kang’s murder in his Zangshu:

“Kang was poor and supported himself by working as a smith. In those days Zhong Hui, a friend of Sima Zhao, heard of Kang and went to visit him. Hui was a distinguished gentleman, esteemed for talent and ability, who rode on hefty horses and wore lightweight clothes, with a huge crowd of hangers-on. Kang kept working at his forge and didn’t pay attention. Hui was impressed with him.

“When Shan Tao was chosen to be a courtier, he nominated Kang instead. Kang wrote a letter refusing and cutting off contact, explaining that he personally could not stand current customs, not that he was slighting the example of sagacious kings of old. So when Sima Zhao heard of this, he hated Kang.

“Kang was on good terms with Lu Zhao and his younger brother An. An was smitten with Kang’s loftiness and would go to any lengths for him. Now, Lu Zhao had an illicit affair with An’s wife and then condemned An for disrespect and had him imprisoned. An called on Kang to testify for him. Kang’s sense of justice was not without appreciation, so he explained the matter.

“Like Kang, An was also very zealous in his will to save the world. Zhong Hui urged Lu Zhao to take this opportunity to get rid of him. So he killed An, and Kang too.”

15. Gu Kaizhi (345–406) was a poet, painter, and courtier.

[xqueenmakesyoucrazy]

New behind the scenes of the9 X-City concert vlog was released today!

Many things are going on here:

- Keran, suddenly channeling a very Italian side of her (look at her hands while she explains what in my imagination clearly is a cooking recipe X’D)

- Liu Yuxin not knowing what to do: listen to Keke, look at camera (someone is filming), watch Anqi dancing and being playful

-Anqi demanding attention, Keran gently pushing her away like she has a habit of doing so and Yuxin looking at HOW FAR Anqi just flew out of the way, but she comes back, still very eager to play! =)

- But wait, Keran wasn’t done explaining and because this part was inaudible we will never know what they actually talked about X’DDD

[incorrect-youth-with-you]

All Right, Ice Cream? (Anqi/ Lin Fan)

Summery: Bubble Zhu and Lin Fan are close... sometimes too close for Anqi's liking.

Pairing: Anqi x Lin Fan

Word count: 406

Anqi sat in a quiet corner of the studio, finally taking a break from the tiring dance practice. She knew that the dance was hard but it was even harder to watch Lin Fan and Bubble Zhu flirting during A Little Sweet rehearsals.

Attempting to block out the sound of Lin Fan and the loud laughter of Bubble Zhu, Anqi decided to busy herself by talking with Momo.

“Aiya Marco Lin, you have to actually move your hips for this song!”

“Qinyuan, I have to wiggle my bottom!”

At that comment Bubble Zhu cackled and bounded over to Lin Fan, pulling her into a hug doing her best to subdue her laughter.

“Don’t cry, Marco.”

Watching Bubble unnecessarily clinging to Lin Fan made Anqi’s blood boil, finally fed up with the scene in front of her, Anqi lets out a huff and stormed out of the studio.

/

Finding a comfortable spot on the ground, Anqi tucked her knees in and held them as she exhaled trying to calm down when a certain shaggy-haired dork came to find her.

“How’d you know where to find me?”

Shrugging the taller one took a seat next to Anqi.

“What’s wrong, Anqi? You, stormed off rather suddenly from practice.”

Blushing Anqi did her best to bury herself further into her arms, trying to shield her face and forget about Bubble and Lin Fan.

“Why don’t you go flirt with Bubble Zhu.”

Lin Fan’s eyebrows shot up at the sudden accusation, before letting out a small chuckle.

“Why, would I be flirting with Bubble, when I like you?”

Slowly processing the words that Lin fan just said. A shy smile run across Anqi face before turning into a full on grin. Grabbing a hand full of Lin Fan’s T-shirt, Anqi gently tugged and closed the distance between them, leaving a searing kiss on Lin Fan’s lips before pulling away.

“I like you too.”

Anqi whispered, her breath lightly brushing against Lin Fan’s cheek. The taller let out a content sigh before pulling away and stood offering a hand to Anqi.

“Hey, wanna go get ice cream?”

“Alright.”

Anqi couldn’t help but smile and cling to Lin Fan’s arm, as they walked off for their first date. 

[vyvesvi]

i don't mean to annoy by being in your inbox every time ytsn breathes but any thoughts on we are young and super a warning ahead?

omg i’m never annoyed by this stuff, esp bc i usually don’t get to talk about them much!

let’s see... (warning: i tried to stay positive but failed. also this got long afff no pressure to read all of it lmfao)

we are young - controversial opinion: this is their best concept (to me in this moment, i could decide something else tomorrow lmao). the choreo isn’t bad and the song is catchy, even though the production quality of the studio version leaves a bit to be desired (it sounds tinny and not super full to me?). my main disappointment is with the live stage (...this is becoming a trend) where they messed up...kinda a lot. i feel like mistakes are normal but the ones they made were just incredibly noticeable and it’s telling to me that the camera angles couldn’t really hide them. the styling was awful for the most part but the concept was cute and i feel like zy is a lot more comfortable with long hair tbh.

super a warning ahead - i actually really enjoy the song! i think the way that they draw out some of the lines sounds a bit odd but the production and everything is much better than we are young. the reason why i put we are young above this one is because of the concept idea is general. like this song...doesn’t really go anywhere? like its...sweet? but not really interesting. the styling is sooooo much better, but the choreo is pretty boring, very give and take. I don’t mind a simple point dance because they have the potential to be iconic, memorable, and easily imitated, but the rest of the dance could’ve been a lot more interesting. but then again, they weren’t in sync in the dance performance video so like...idk. i feel like live performances are one thing, but prerecorded content should theoretically be better because they can do it in multiple takes? i don’t want to judge them *too* much but that is one are where i think they have been struggling (and i didn’t really expect it at all?)

so nothing that’s gonna make me unstan but it’s clear to me that their preparations were rushed. i wish they would like. take a month or two to regroup. i don’t want them gone for that long but if these are the performances that we’re getting on their current preparations i think it’d be for the best.

i also don’t think they’re making use of their strong vocalists (xilin, wyj, znx, and czx). like 4/7 are main vocal material and they could be doing a lot more with that. of course the issue is that the remaining members aren’t really comfortable with rapping and are (comparatively) weak singers, but they don’t make use of xiening or yifan’s dance abilities well either. i’ve said this before (and i’ll try not to hammer it in too much because it’s a pretty biased opinion) but watching zy do dance breaks with or after xiening is like...tragic. like idky they’re setting her up so bad but they need to stop TTTT

as a group they also kinda lack stage presence together. like individually most of them have pretty solid presence but idk what happens when they’re together bc they don’t really sync up?

//edit: okay at this point i decided that i was maybe being too harsh so i started analyzing the debut stages and mvs for rocket girls/hjsn and the9. it didn’t help and ended up being a ramble so feel free to skip lmfao

ytsn & hjsn: bc hjsn debuted with 8 members (minus already debuted meiqi and xuanyi & main vocal zining) and not their full 11 they’re kinda comparable to ytsn as they are now. while ytsn’s styling is somehow better, hjsn’s sync and energy, even taking into account their members who aren’t great dancers, is kind of on a different level (partially biased though, despite that fact that i’m not fully a stan they’re my number one pick for most balanced gg of all time). i’m going to guess that even though they’re produced by the same company that their teams and company philosophy regarding management is completely different. the choreo quality is quite different and ytsn seems to favor debut rank a lot more. of course, meiqi and xuanyi were featured very prominently when they came back but the formations weren’t as stagnant as ytsn’s seem as of now? both groups are similar in that their main dancers (mengjie and xiening) ranked relatively low and therefore didn’t get to show their full ability very often. also an important difference between hjsn and ytsn is that hjsn’s main rapper is kind of legendary and was well known for her ability before the show so. there’s not really a comparison there (for the record though, i like curely’s rapping i just think 1.) it’s a waste given her vocal ability and 2.) she hasn’t been given really long verses because while she has talent she’s not “a rapper” in the typical way).

the9 & hjsn: idk if u watched qcyn2 but i decided to watch a bit of it since i thought it was kinda interesting that the two final groups would be debuting at the same time. to compare the two...ytsn’s vocals are stronger and i think that’s generally accepted as fact. like yuyan is really good but they put so much pressure on her (personally i think anqi and shaking could share the burden but idk). other than that everyone else is a subvocal and/or rapper, so by default the9 wins the rap category. oddly enough, because there are so many rappers they can’t have those longer satisfying verses because they have to share the lines, which impacts their....impact for lack of a better word. there’s kinda no other way to do it without everything being super uneven so i get it though. that leaves dance and stage presence. i think that individually anqi and xiening eat everyone else alive, but comparing group to group...the9 wins for their sync alone, but notably ytsn has performed more and have one more song with choreo. i don’t know i would say that they’re super uneven in presence, but i do feel that because of the number of members with previous stage experience in the9, they are more comfortable performing. 

for fun i once took the 16 members of the9 and ytsn and redistributed them into more balanced lineups of 8

team one:

yuxin - vocal, lead dancer 2, sub rapper 1

anqi - lead vocal, main dancer

yuyan - main vocal 2

keyin - main rapper

keran - lead rapper

curley - main vocal 1

yifan - vocal, lead dancer 1

zhaoyue - vocal, lead dancer 3, sub rappper 2

team two:

yijin - main vocal 2

zhuoxuan - main vocal 1

xiening - main dancer, sub vocal 2

nene - lead vocal 1

xueer - sub rapper, lead dancer 1

esther - sub vocal 1

jiaqi - main rapper, lead dancer 2

xiaotang - lead rapper

i lowkey stacked the first team with both centers, anqi, and keyin but whatever

anyways based on how i feel about the other debuts i kinda think im being mostly fair to ytsn? especially because i think they’ll grow a lot as a group over the next two years. i’d be a lot more concerned about their vocals if that was the problem because that’d be the hardest thing to fix but they don’t have to worry about that!

anyways i’m gonna cut myself off here because this has turned into...a lot but if you have thoughts definitely share them, i’d love to hear!!!

[rosesnbooks]

@ghibliu(💞🥰) tagged me to do this tag game

🌿favourite comfort food

pancakes, chocolate, oranges and instant noodles.

🌼favourite alcohol (or hot drink!)

i don’t really like alcohol tbh so i’d say tea and hot chocolate

🌷favourite calming activity

listening to music while going for walks on the beach. or listening some calming music while reading harry potter. oh and talking to my best friends💗

🌸favourite fluffy/feel-good fic

omg i don’t know i’m sorry. the only 'fluffy' things i read these days are kpop astrology blogs. i learn more about astrology every day and i love it when they give love to the members i love..

🌻favourite calming scent

smell of fabric softener, the sea, plants..

🌺favourite relaxing (or uplifting) song

fave relaxing (these days): white night by nct 127, coffee by beabadoobee, let’s love by suho, more than enough by alina baraz & sweet night by v

fave uplifting songs: respect by bts, pandora’s box by nct 127, cool by dua lipa and wildflower by 5 seconds of summer

🌵favourite white noise

sound of waves and rain

🍄favourite book to get lost in

harry potter

💐favourite chill-out TV show

i haven’t been watching a lot of tv shows lately, i’m more into movies. but i really like 'his dark materials'. oh i remembered i finished atla recently! i love it so much. what else..i like to watch this british crime show 'vera' on fridays when it’s on tv.

🌹the best advice you’ve ever had

we’re not here to entertain anyone. we’re here to simply exist. and as someone who’s insecure and socially anxious, that helped me a lot to accept myself and learn to fight for myself.

thank you anqie for tagging me! i’ll do other tag games soon💖💖💖🌺🌺

i’m tagging: @japanese-camellia, @admiringrose, @lux-astrorum, @mapofugh and @fawngcf.

if anyone doesn’t want to be tagged anymore, just let me know.

[babiemochie]

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ Although I have been on tumblr for years, I recently hit my one year as parksouthgate. And what a year it has been. I have had the joy of meeting a number of lovely people, and obtaining a few mutuals. It is only fair that I mention those that have made my year so memorable. ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

messages and tags below the cut to save space ღ 

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ special words⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

@minsbutt : alex !!! thank you so much for encouraging me to make moodboards and edits. without you I’m sure my posts would have a total of 2 notes, and I wouldn’t have this cute one year banner thing. I might not understand tumblr of photoshop, but without you I would be completely lost. uwu. 

@hwagaemkt : kate !!! it have enjoyed getting to know you, and being about to chat when we both have time. You always support the things I make, and you always find interesting posts to tag me in. I’m so glad to have you as a mutual, and a friend. thank you so much !!! 

@hobistigma : chey !!! my mutual, my soulmate. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to get to know you and chat with you. You are lovely and you deserve the world. I hope you are well, and that you are taking care of yourself! I miss you, and I’m sending you all the love! 

@httpjibooty bunny !!! It has been lovely getting to know you, and have the opportunity to read the things you create. I hope you continue writing, and we have the chance to talk more in the future! 

@smol-joong anett !!! my first ateez mutual, I cannot thank you enough. I hope you are well, and that you are not too stressed. 

@7ersona anqie !!! It has been lovely getting to know you and see your encouraging messages every once in a while. They really make my day! I’ll try to be better about responding. But I hope you are well, and that school isn’t too stressful for you. 

@devildevlin1 marcy !!! thank you for supporting all of the things I create, whether that is a decent moodboard, or an absolutely sh**post. you are lovely and wonderful, and I’m so glad you have found your way to creating your own aesthetic here on tumblr. I can’t wait to see what you do next 

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ mutuals ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

@taemines @dearmingki @namjoonieftw @la-vie-en-tae @lilhwahwa @guktwt @yoonqiful @hyejiseul @jooniepatootie @mochiofkimchi @allthebrighteststars @wooshins @zzzett @wonholine @wngkunhang @amazarashiz @roseyjongdae @yxrik @byunayeon @hyukohinwoo @skzmxtp @jkjmemory @kimlinecafe​ @taenites​ @nyamvember​ @greenlightintheharbor​ @queenappleandme​ 

I might have missed one or two, but just know that I deeply appreciate all of you. You make tumblr a more enjoyable place! ღ 

[liu-yu-xin]

Seating shaking beside yuxin in the prelim evaluation is the best and worst decision because on one hand shaking is always exploding with energy so she gets a lot of reactions shots that has yuxin in the background but on the other hand all u can see is yuxin in the background completely unfazed and deadpan like 😐

[archonanqi]

In Genshin, who are your favourite characters: 1) Lore and story wise, 2) Gameplay wise (how fun and useful they are) 3) Visual design wise and 4) Personality wise?

(Yo so I swear that I hit post on this but I just found this in my drafts... it’s been 3 months... I’m so sorry)

...I uninronically have to say Zhongli for all of these, but I’ll also add in another character for each because y’all already see me ramble about Zhongli every day 🥺

| Lore and Story

Zhongli - Do I need to say more... I absolutely love the narrative trope of “ancient powerful immortal learns how to be gentle with humans” and that’s Zhongli to a T. Even before I knew about Guizhong I was Hooked on him and now he lives rent free in my brain at all times.

Childe - His lore is deeply interesting to me, what’s with the whole falling into the Abyss as a tiny Babey. I feel like he’s going to be the gateway into a lot of important story elements, such as more information on the Abyss, the lady who lives there and saved him, the overarching villainy of the Tsaritsa, etc. Also we just love 1 (one) feral little boy who tried to fight everyone, got sent to the military as punishment, and then fought so good that he got Promoted to fight MORE.

| Gameplay

Zhongli - Uhhhh I have him at C6 so that might might skew my opinion a bit but hands down he’s my most used unit, and that’s with me having all units except Klee. I just don’t die with his constellation heal and burst shield, pillar is always nice during exploration, the mans is a Mining Machine, and the petrification for controlling adds is just 👌👌 I’ve also always been fond of the “summoner” playstyle in most games AND I love filling the bruiser / tank role so Zhongli being both of them was absolutely perfect. That said, the Zhongli buffs are absolutely welcome for those without his constellations, only the best stats and kit for the CEO of GEO.

Albedo - Geo supremacy gang rise up.. I love Albedo for being a super solid off-field, selfless support — I don’t have any decent artifacts on him  but he still consistently adds on so much off field damage to my Phys DPS Zhongli with his super low cooldown E. It also charges up my Zhongli burst like no tomorrow, 10/10 best battery. The yellow blossoms are also just so so pretty and the tactile / visual / audio feedback on them is 👌

| Visual Design

Zhongli - The man could step on me and I would thank him. He can kick me like his spear. I bleached my hair ombré so I could begin to touch a hint of his divinity. I literally stand there in-game and just zoom in on him sometimes. Ever since I got the Kamera my hard drive has been screaming for the sweet release of death from the thousands of Zhongli pictures I’ve snapped. I'm learning Liyue music on a piano I haven’t touched in four years, so I can imagine playing his city’s music for him. My right hand is muscle memoried to repeatedly run his attack sequence and stop at the spear kick animation so I can imagine myself being the spear. Yeah I think he’s kinda cute! 👀 👉🏻👈

Xinyan - Trying to stray away from 5* characters here. Love her outfit, love her hair, love her facial design in general. Her ult animation was the highlight of the 1.1 trailer for me (besides Mr. Zhongli of course) She got swept under the rug because of the Zhongli debacle and it’s super sad because she’s a very solidly designed unit with beautiful animations. I also love that her instrument is a traditional lyre that she canonically designed to look like a rock guitar.

| Personality

Zhongli - We’ll be here all day if I really really start poppin’ about Zhongli’s personality so I’ll try and keep it short. Zhongli’s personality is an ENIGMA to me that I have and will continue to spend countless hours studying. I’ve been thinking of releasing my findings in a character analysis, tbh, because like. There’s so much. On the surface he’s a well-meaning, kind, gentle if not a little out-of-touch individual with a flair for the traditional / fancy. 

But??? He won the Archon war? We know from Roald’s Adventurer Diaries, where he slips into Osial’s memories, that Zhongli was absolutely BRUTAL during the war. What changed him? (Guizhong) How long did he take to change? What has he learned during the last 6,000 years of life -- certainly how to manipulate mortals like puppets, as we see from his Archon quest, which no one seems to address?? Is there some part of Archon-War-Victor Morax still in there, waiting for the right spark to ignite his fuse? Yo??? I’m.... just have a lot of feelings about Zhongli’s character. 

Beidou - Pirate.. lady... hnnghh,,, step me,, ; ; Beidou is a character we haven’t seen quite yet but just her voicelines and story intrigue me so much. She killed Haishan without a Vision, stopped singing completely after said kill, is doing some kind of dirty work for the most powerful people in Liyue whilst boldly proclaiming that she is their equal,,, has a huge family and a heart of gold, seems to be against the social hierarchy of Liyue yet tolerates working with the Qixing? There’s so much going on and I for one am eagerly awaiting 2.0 not for Inazuma, but for seeing her in the story 

Thank you for the ask!!! It felt great to just let loose and examine my relationship w/ each of the characters in the game. :) 

[dmyear3]

Obituary

This performance is the second in a series, both extending my project beyond inanimate pieces and into the live and theatrical – forming a cyclic narrative of life and death in interaction between my body and art objects. My first performance was of myself being “born” from a hollow sculpture resembling a human or animal carcass and performing improvised and very physical actions with a set of clay “bones”, my body a writhing and automatic medium between bodily states of birth and remains. For the next performance I wanted to retain the hugely important aspects of physicality and ritual, but in a very different form that is more pared-down and action-based (while still implying essentially the same narrative). The first element I decided on was the costume. I wanted to wear something that would act as a blank canvas which would physically record the event as gestural paint strokes, while also transforming my appearance in the performance. This resulted in making a very rough kimono-like garment with long drapery on the sleeves that would both obscure the form of my body and provide a lot of surface area to easily paint onto. I sketched out a few different versions of what the purpose would actually entail – originally it was to appear quite sacrificial and religious, with the painted garment crucified and suspended above the space. This version would have been performed in from of the stained-glass windows of the life drawing room where I performed, to provide a church-like setting. These connotations would align my interest in rebirth with biblical imagery such as the Second Coming of Christ, bringing the act of ritual into the classical European rather than the eastern references that have continuously popped up in regards to my work. It was only after already having a rough plan set out that I decided to store the paint inside of clay sculptures. I sculpted these pieces to resemble the ambiguous remains of body parts, as amorphous organic forms resembling bones and organs and flesh. The lack of colour and earthy material suggests age, withering and mummification. I filled them with a red-brown liquid (heavily watered-down acrylic paint) – the specific colour and density was partially inspired by a news story from earlier this year, about a sarcophagus that had been dug up and was discovered to be filled with a similar red-brown “water” – which was in fact ancient human remains decomposed to the point of liquidation. This reference to ancient remains, both in the appearance of the sculptures and the liquid they contained, ended up being a more important focal point of this piece to me rather than any religious connotation. I instead began to see the performance as a mournful act of transferring ancient bodies between forms of decay and new life – the body being a liquid that I attempt to reincarnate in the birth of new forms and continue the natural cycle of generational reiteration. An aspect of memory comes into play here, as I grasp at the remains and transcribe their very material onto myself. This led to me titling the work Obituary. I ended up drawing indistinct human figures onto the surfaces of my garment, and in the performance I attempted to fill in their forms with the colours of the clay and the paint – the sort of “essence” of the body being literally transferred from vessel to vessel. It was only when I began to set up in the space that I decided to use the entire room rather than the area around the window, and to place the sculpture from my last performance in the centre of the room. This work was intended to act as a kind of contextual icon that referred back to the idea of a cycle: a bleached and withered mother figure giving birth to a pile of dusty bones as a depiction of simultaneous death and birthing. I decided to not practice any part of this performance. I didn’t know if the paint would try too soon, how visible the marks would be on my garment, how much of the sculptures would be left intact, how long it would take, whether the audience would be implicated or not, or how I would myself be acting in the moment. I wanted every aspect to be automatic and unpredictable, knowing how it would begin but now how it would end. This to me added a further sense of desperation and an organically raw physicality. 

Certain things that I hadn’t considered came about during the performance. Firstly the paint leaked from small cracks in the porous unfired clay, leaving puddles on the canvases beneath the pieces. This liquid also soaked into both the clay and the garment much more than I thought it would, meaning it didn’t go as far or lend itself to big gestural mark-making. The wet, slippery clay however was really great to work with in my hands and was able to itself be painted onto the fabric. My audience fully entered my performance space and wandered about it at their own paces as I continued my actions, either following me or looking closer at the other objects. I hadn’t really considered how immersive this piece had the potential to be, so this was very interesting to me. It was brought up that within a typical gallery space the audience would probably stay back, but that this immersive-ness added another layer to the work. As this was a group tutorial there was a lot of talking about the work, and everyone agreed that the performance would have more impact in silence, with the only sounds being those made by my actions. Sound is definitely an important consideration to me so I agree with this, and would have had the group speak after the performance was complete if I had much more time. It was also interesting listening to the group slowly understand the workings of the performance as they took the time to notice and contrast certain aspects: the clay pieces being like artefacts, the liquid coming from the inside, the linework on my garment being figures and these figures being deliberately filled in. I could sense a feeling of slight mystery in the way they observed my actions as the performance began to unfold. A narrative was definitely picked up on, and the sculpture in the centre of the space helped expand this contextually. The sculpture was read as something I was actually performing to, either as some kind of sacrificial offering or as a prior iteration of my “character” – a kind of previous life or ancestor. The latter reading was fascinating to me, and it felt like a huge success in breaking ground between my intentions and the viewer’s understanding of my work. In terms of this character, I was seen as not being at all myself but filling a theatrical role – this was aided by my complete silence and masked appearance, recalling old East Asian and European theatre traditions. It was suggested that I extend this idea further by fully obscuring my face with no sign of my real identity. I was considered sad or solemn as I carried out the performance, and my other body language was noticed too – a violence in the destruction of the clay, but a deliberate delicacy in the soft touches and caresses of my hands around the broken pieces. The emotional resonance embodied in my physicality itself was another success of this presentation (Anqi actually came up to me after the presentation and told me she nearly cried as she watched me break apart the clay – this has stuck with me). While still appearing ritualistic and having a sense of ancient history and tradition, the impression seemed to be that I wasn’t referencing any one culture. Instead the aesthetic and motifs were read as quite pancultural – but with a mix of influences including the kimono silhouette of the garment an element of European figurative art. The pieces left over from this performance are now works in themselves: the painted garment, a pile of small pieces of clay partially stained red and now resembling rubble, and the canvases beneath the full sculptures that now carry the traces from leaked paint and the destruction of the objects – clay and fine dust adhered to the fabric by dry paint as an organic memory of the event. I’m planning on suspending all of the fabric works (garment and canvases) as an installation work, with the clay pieces either as a pile beneath or sorted through and displayed individually like museum relics. The performance now is only the origin of another branch of my project, one chapter in the cyclic narrative which leads to another expansion, just as a performance and other works prior led to Obituary as one of multiple paths. The remains become the work and the body changes vessel once again. When performing again, I definitely need to consider further the implications of performing live. This includes planning how to document my work and what kind of context it needs to be performed in. I was meant to take my shoes off before getting into costume but I forgot, and by the time I was “in character” it was too late and so they became read as intentional and affected a small amount of discussion regarding ancient vs contemporary – small details like this need to be ironed out if I want my work to be as successful as possible. Working intuitively and unrehearsed however felt very organic to me and I would like to totally exaggerate this method somehow, potentially with more possibilities for automatic interaction between myself and objects/environment and fewer pre-planned prompts. The location itself could also change the reading of the work completely – it was brought up that this performance would seem almost frightening if seen outside of an art school/gallery context, and that quality of unexpectedness or more intense reaction from the viewer is very appealing to me. I also need to think about duration, as when I finished this presentation I hadn’t reached any sort of conclusion or climax. I like the idea of performing continuously as people come and go, especially in an immersive environment. My concepts and references seem to be getting through extremely well to the viewer, so now I need to focus on experimenting with presentation and impact within the live performance space.

[ericvick]

Profits are rising in IRAs and 401(k)s, but so are future taxes

If you’ve had a toe in the stock market for more than a few years, you likely have grown increasingly giddy watching your profits pile up. But there’s a flip side to the story: Eventually, you might need to share a lot of those gains with your partner.

If you have put money into Individual Retirement Accounts or workplace 401(k)-style plans on a pretax basis, as millions of Americans have, your investment partner all these years was Uncle Sam. When you start making withdrawals, your partner will want a share of the spoils.

Taxes in sheltered accounts are easy to overlook if you have a long-term focus. But as retirement age approaches, the tax bill will come more into focus too, especially if tax rates start to rise. You might not be worth as much as you think.

“Many households may forget that not all of these (investment dollars) belong to them,” noted Anqi Chen and Alicia Munnell, authors of a report on retirement taxes. “They will need to pay some portion to the federal and state governments in taxes.”

Ed Slott, a certified public accountant and author of “The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb,” puts it more bluntly: Many retirement accounts are “infested with taxes,” he said.

Retirement news: These Social Security changes affect your retirement age, taxable benefits and eligibility

More: Why I always make prior-year IRA contributions to help with my taxes

In their report, Chen and Munnell, at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, estimated the tax bite on retirement assets for people in various income groups and assuming various drawdown or withdrawal strategies.

They looked at Social Security benefits, pensions, 401(k) plans, IRAs and other financial assets, such as stocks held in taxable accounts. Rental properties, owner-occupied homes, small businesses and other investments also can be used for retirement, but the report didn’t examine those categories. Adding them to the mix could further inflate tax bills for many.

Story continues

The good news is that roughly four in five retirees and future retirees don’t — or won’t — face a large tax bite on the financial assets they receive or sell to finance their lifestyles, the researchers estimated, typically paying little or nothing in federal and state taxes.

But for those in the top fifth or so on the asset scale, “taxes are an important consideration” that can eat up 20% or more of a person’s retirement income.

Reviewing the basics

It’s often smart to have money in accounts with different tax ramifications. “Like you diversify your investments, you want to diversify your tax strategies,” said Paul Axberg, a CPA and certified financial planner at Axberg Wealth Management in Sun City West.

Money withdrawn from 401(k) plans and IRAs is taxed as ordinary income. Assets in Roth 401(k)s and Roth IRAs are an exception. Roth contributions are made on an after-tax basis, so withdrawals generally come out after tax, too.

Social security

In traditional IRAs and 401(k) accounts, investors usually must start pulling out money as required minimum distributions that now start at age 72. Large withdrawals can make other income, such as Social Security benefits, partly taxable.

Social Security benefits are tax-free for most recipients, but not for people exceeding certain income ranges — $25,000 and up for singles and $35,000 and up for married couples. Above those figures, depending on how much Modified Adjusted Gross Income you have, you would pay taxes on up to either 50% or 85% of benefits. MAGI includes regular AGI plus nontaxable interest income (such as from municipal bonds) and half of Social Security benefits.

Tax and timing flexibility among accounts is important. “If you don’t have flexibility, you might need to pay taxes on your Social Security,” Axberg said.

Other financial assets, such as stocks or mutual funds held in unsheltered brokerage accounts, can generate short-term gains taxable at ordinary income rates or long-term gains taxed at lower rates. Interest and dividends from these accounts usually are taxable, too. But there isn’t a requirement to start withdrawing from these accounts at any particular age.

Focusing on strategies

While most people in or nearing retirement won’t face sizable tax bills, the situation could worsen if governments, especially at the federal level, push tax rates higher to deal with budget stress and surging deficits.

One obvious strategy for people still in the workforce is to channel some retirement-plan contributions into Roth 401(k)s or Roth IRAs. You will forsake front-end deductions, but you would save on taxes down the road and won’t face the requirement of mandatory withdrawals. About 10% of assets in IRAs and 401(k)-style accounts are held in the tax-free Roth versions, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service and the Vanguard Group cited in the Boston College report.

Another — and more painful choice — is to convert or transfer money from traditional 401(k)s or IRAs into a Roth. The pain comes from having to pay taxes on the amount you convert. Also, conversions make more sense when stock prices and other assets are low. When they’re high, like now, you would face taxes on higher account values.

Yet another strategy is to make regular withdrawals past age 62 from your IRAs and 401(k)s, while holding off on claiming Social Security. Delaying Social Security often makes sense anyway in that your monthly benefits will rise the longer you hold off (up to age 70). Ideally, you don’t want to draw heavily from retirement accounts or other sources while also receiving Social Security, as the combination could push some of your Social Security benefits into the taxable category.

More on Roth conversions

Roth conversions could become more popular if tax rates seem destined to rise. This is mainly a threat for high-income Americans (with income above $400,000) under proposals by President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. But even less-affluent individuals with large retirement balances might consider them. Once you make a conversion and pay the taxes, the account is no longer subject to taxation.

Converting to Roth accounts “removes the uncertainty about future higher (tax) rates,” said Slott, who recommends a series of conversions over many years to “get some of that money out at today’s historically low rates.”

Robert Keebler, a CPA at Keebler & Associates, also suggests doing Roth conversions gradually, maybe once a month or quarter. You wouldn’t want to do a big one right before the stock market tanks, he noted in a talk sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Doing a series of smaller conversions is like dollar-cost-averaging in reverse, Keebler said, referring to the popular strategy of buying in at various prices over time.

And ideally, you’d want to pay the tax bill using outside money so that you don’t erode the value of your newly converted Roth account, he said.

Reach Russ Wiles at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The flip side of rising profits in IRAs, 401(k)s: Tax bills are rising

[incorrect-youth-with-you]

(2) Tbh I felt like Anqi crushed hard on Lin Fan and I loved everytime I saw their interactions🥺 (I simp for angst but I also love happy endings) theres a video where Lin Fan was dancing and playing around with Bubble Zhu and then Anqi suddenly appears of nowhere and she does her cute "hmph" when she plays like she is angry and oh I could sense she just wanted Lin Fan attention on her🥺 and as I said I can send you the videos so I will do it! (Resended haha)💖🥰

All Right, Ice Cream? 

Anqi sat in a quiet corner of the studio, finally taking a break from the tiring dance practice. She knew that the dance was hard but it was even harder to watch Lin Fan and Bubble Zhu flirting during A Little Sweet rehearsals.

Attempting to block out the sound of Lin Fan and the loud laughter of Bubble Zhu, Anqi decided to busy herself by talking with Momo.

“Aiya Marco Lin, you have to actually move your hips for this song!”

“Qinyuan, I have to wiggle my bottom!”

At that comment Bubble Zhu cackled and bounded over to Lin Fan, pulling her into a hug doing her best to subdue her laughter.

“Don’t cry, Marco.”

Watching Bubble unnecessarily clinging to Lin Fan made Anqi’s blood boil, finally fed up with the scene in front of her, Anqi lets out a huff and stormed out of the studio.

/

Finding a comfortable spot on the ground, Anqi tucked her knees in and held them as she exhaled trying to calm down when a certain shaggy-haired dork came to find her.

“How’d you know where to find me?”

Shrugging the taller one took a seat next to Anqi.

“What’s wrong, Anqi? You, stormed off rather suddenly from practice.”

Blushing Anqi did her best to bury herself further into her arms, trying to shield her face and forget about Bubble and Lin Fan.

“Why don’t you go flirt with Bubble Zhu.”

Lin Fan’s eyebrows shot up at the sudden accusation, before letting out a small chuckle.

“Why, would I be flirting with Bubble, when I like you?”

Slowly processing the words that Lin fan just said. A shy smile run across Anqi face before turning into a full on grin. Grabbing a hand full of Lin Fan’s T-shirt, Anqi gently tugged and closed the distance between them, leaving a searing kiss on Lin Fan’s lips before pulling away.

“I like you too.”

Anqi whispered, her breath lightly brushing against Lin Fan’s cheek. The taller let out a content sigh before pulling away and stood offering a hand to Anqi.

“Hey, wanna go get ice cream?”

“Alright.”

Anqi couldn’t help but smile and cling to Lin Fan’s arm, as they walked off for their first date. 

[windowsillflower]

Sun 17 Feb

Went for fundraising at St Anne’s early in the morning, it was pretty good although I was soooo tired and dazed towards the end. It lasted 8am-2.45pm. This shift was pretty good compared to my first one at SPP because I got to talk to Anqi! And knew a few more people such as Stella, Aaron, Celestine? I bought a rosary for Daniel’s mum too and got it blessed. We sold all our perishables (brownies, cookies, muffins) which was awesome. Went home and toh-ed awhile before Ling’s friends and Alistair and Daniel came over for dinner and some gamblingzzz.

Mon 18 Feb

Stayed home, neighbour gave us some food hahah. Dinner at home. It was a terribly angsty day...