annaisu

[annaisu]

The AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 was an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users conducted in January 2024. We have just finished posting our initial results, so here is just a taste of the graphs and data you can check out now over on AO3!

We will be continuing to work on this project in the New Year, so please make sure you follow this blog or subscribe to the project on AO3 to keep up to date.

A full list of the survey questions with links to the relevant data is below the cut!

Demographics

How old are you?

Do you identify as LGBTQ+ in any form?

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Usage of AO3

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Works You Post On AO3

Which of the following types of works do you post on AO3? (Media)

Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post works with the following ratings?

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Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post the following types of works? (Format & Miscellaneous)

Works You Consume On AO3

Which of the following types of works do you consume on AO3? (Media)

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How much do you enjoy the following types of works on AO3? (Format & Miscellaneous)

Fandom Beyond AO3

Which of the following types of fanworks have you consumed in the last year?

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Which of the following websites or apps do you currently use for fandom activities at least once a month?

Which of the following websites or apps have you previously used for fandom activities, but no longer regularly use?

When did you first begin participating in fandom?

How many fandoms have you considered yourself a part of in the last five years?

Which of the following types of media do you participate in fandoms for?

[annaisu]

The nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist church

[annaisu]

Trump’s unidentified secret police force was not prepared to meet this guy.

[annaisu]

A Masterpost for the Revised Version of TGCF

Due to the amount and frequency of misinformation about the revised version of TGCF, I wanted to make a post to serve as a resource for those who are confused about it, while also helping to debunk some of the sensationalist rumors floating around.

This post will be edited to include new things as needed.

⚠️Spoiler Warning: if you have not finished reading the original novel, or want to experience the new scenes from the revised naturally/fresh, please proceed with caution! I've intentionally kept things as vague as possible, but some spoilers are unavoidable!⚠️

✨ PART ONE: Frequently Asked Questions ✨

🔹What is the "revised" version of TGCF?

MXTX had been working on a revised version of TGCF since completing the original, as mentioned this in her postscript/afterword, and in an online interview (Q.27) done years ago just as she competed TGCF. That's all that was known for several years.

In early 2023, TGCF was finally released in print format in mainland China — and this was revealed to be the revised version! Due to regulations, this was a censored edition. However, in early 2024, the uncensored edition was uploaded to JJWXC (the site where all of MXTX's webnovels were originally published)! It's currently fully available to read in Simplified Chinese.

If you want a more in-depth explanation about the revised, please see my post about that here.

🔹What does the revised change compared to the original?

Several scenes have been added, some removed, others expanded upon. Overall, MXTX reportedly wrote 100k characters (words) of new content. While the overarching plot of each arc and the novel as a whole remains the same, it's a more cohesive and polished story. Pacing in each part of the story has been adjusted to flow better, especially in arcs notorious for feeling slow or disjointed.

Some segments have had fairly significant changes — namely the Bloody Banquet/Fang Xin Guoshi arc. (Though it still plays out much the same way.) Most others have smaller changes.

A new extra was also added, called "the Ghost King Dressed Down," which has been translated by Scarabsi on twitter.

🔹How does the revised version effect characters?

Apart from certain minor characters — such as the child Lang Ying who was removed entirely — there haven't been many drastic changes. The biggest thing was side characters like Lang Qianqiu and Ling Wen being given notably more backstory to further flesh them out. Their characterization itself hasn't changed, however.

🔹Which version is canon, then?

Whichever you want, and you can mix-and-match! MXTX has given fans her blessings and encouragement!

🔹How do I read the revised version in English?

Currently, there are no official or unofficial English translations of the whole revised version. Nor are there any plans to do so for the near future.

However, there are English fan translations of a few notable chapters, which you can read here. There's also instructions on that site on how to read the rest of the updated webnovel in English, using a browser extension.

Additionally, the audio drama is adapting the uncensored revised version, and has been doing an amazing job! Check out how to listen to that with English subs here.

✨PART TWO: Debunking Rumors & Clearing up Misinformation✨

Note that all chapter numbers given will be referencing the webnovel's. The old chapters are also available towards the bottom of the page as "serialized versions."

(Translated screenshots provided are janky because it's just basic google MTL!)

🔸"Mentions of Mu Qing's mother was removed from the revised!"

Not at all! Both his parents are still mentioned, along with how Mu Qing is the primary breadwinner due to his mom's failing eyesight. (Ch. 57)

🔸"The earring scene isn't there anymore!"

The earring scene is still very much there! Not actually sure why this is a rumor at all, when the whole earring thing spans several chapters. Here's the conclusion of it (Ch. 59):

🔸"Characters have been butchered in general, with Mu Qing especially getting scenes cut!"

No character (who didn't straight-up get deleted) has been butchered. Nor has any character been singled out for having their scenes deleted/changed, because that's happened to every character — yes, including Xie Lian and Hua Cheng! — and they also have new scenes added!

E.g. the scene where Mu Qing picks the cherries is removed, because that whole section was changed. (However, it's still mentioned that others are prejudiced against him due to his background, and so on.) Meanwhile, there's a brand-new scene that shows Mu Qing's aptitude in treating wounds, as well as he and Feng Xin having new hijinks as "junior officials" with Xie Lian, and more.

Despite the rumors, characters haven't been flattened to make them more one-dimensional compared to Hualian. Perhaps the idea of certain scenes being cut sounds scary for characterization, but a lot of the original has been retained one way or another. In many cases, MXTX just condensed things, or moved them around. The revised is meant to be looked at as a whole, after all.

🔸"Mu Qing now leaves for no reason in Book/Arc 4, instead of for his mother!"

Mu Qing clearly states in the revised that he wants to leave in order to find a way to improve their situation, since they anyways cannot agree amongst themselves. Just like in the original, he was frustrated and felt there was no point in continuing along the same path. (Ch 152)

And yes, he does not bring up his mother in the revised scene. For context: there is a three year gap between the end of Book/Arc 2 and the start of 4. Which means in the original, Mu Qing didn't mention his mother for those three years. Given the events leading to his departure, and what follows, this causes several inconsistencies.

That is a whole topic unto itself, however. But it's not surprising the revised did it a bit differently.

🔸"Feng Xin isn't as funny anymore!"

Feng Xin is actually one of the least changed characters! This rumor likely stems from the scene where Xie Lian reveals his password, to Feng Xin, who no longer rolls on the floor while laughing. Or maybe it's a miscommunication based on the printed revised, which censored some of his (and Qi Rong's) cursing. But that was only for the printed!

🔸"Ling Wen's character isn't as interesting because of the changes!"

People will really say anything on the internet. She's been given more depth and complexity, if anything. There's new scenes that expand on her background and early days in heaven, and her relationship with Bai Jing has been given a lot of extra attention. Her motivations and actions remain the same, but if the subtext was missed in the original, it could have led to some readers thinking of Ling Wen as certain way. Like a ruthless girlboss.

The revised reiterating that this isn't the case doesn't change or detract from her, as that was one of the points of her story to begin with. Plus, the revised arc gives Bai Jing much-needed characterization.

🔸"Ling Wen's ascension is now due to Jing Wen/not on her own merit/etc!"

Frankly, this rumor might be due to people not properly understanding how ascension works in TGCF, and thinking the revised is adding something that they forgot was already in the original. The revised didn't change anything about the manner in which Ling Wen ascended.

You can actually check out the revised Brocade Immortal arc here for yourself, as it's been fan translated!

🔸"The dynamic between Hualian is different in the revised!"

Their dynamic is exactly the same as before, only reinforced if anything. If the new additions are enough to destroy someone’s image of Hualian or turn it on its head, that’s definitely not a fault with either novel version!

🔸"The scene where Hua Cheng is disguised as Lang Ying and accidentally catches Xie Lian bathing is removed!"

Unfortunately, yes, the bathing scene is gone. However, Hua Cheng in disguise is still there — he's a village kid instead.

🔸"MXTX made changes to side characters/ships because she felt threatened by their popularity compared to her main couple!"

This one just doesn't really make sense, because several side characters were given *more* content — including their relationships.

Lang Qianqiu finally feels like an actual character. Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu have new stuff about them. Shi Wudu has some clever little cameos. Pei Ming’s feelings about Yushi Huang are brought up. Pei Xiu’s backstory is even more heartbreaking. Qi Rong has new scenes that make him feel genuinely menacing. Xiao Ying’s been completely revamped. These are just to name a few, and excluding things already talked about above.

It seems unlikely that MXTX would go through the trouble of adding to her side characters if she didn’t care about them, felt they weren’t important, or thought they were getting undeserved attention. Besides, popular characters like Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan had no cuts to their arc!

Looking at the actual metrics… MXTX has no need to feel threatened by her side ships vs her main ships.

[annaisu]

Not for me - most pages load correctly, but whenever I try to look at my bookmakrs pages, it either takes a long time to load or returns a 502 error.

We're experiencing some slowness and errors and are looking into the cause.

Posted: 06:33 UTC, 7 August, 2024

[annaisu]

I'll tell Hua Cheng you said something disparaging about Xie Lian if you don't!

i swear to GOD im finishing a B-side request today or i shall. make an alarming but ultimately empty threat

[annaisu]

Ahhh, thank you!! This was a really thoughtful and helpful reply, and I appreciate the encouragement!!

Those are some good questions!! I've thought about several of them, but others pointed out assumptions I was making! (I'll go ahead and say that following my experience, they *try* to avoid characters they dislike rather than read bashing works... so they'll provavly be blindsided all the more by them!)

About why they never finished TGCF.... I actually have something funny planned with that! You see, there's *very* little chance they'll get through everything without admitting some of the truth to Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. (they *know* they aren't the protagonist, and if they can arm the true protagonists with even a little of the knowledge they lack- they just have to survive telling them ^^;;;) And, when Hua Cheng finds out that there was a series about His Highness and that they didn't bother to finish it??? He's going to be so offended.

That's one of their driving difficulties!!! Discerning canon from headcanon from fanon - and then *I* get to decide which headcanon will and will not apply in this story :3333 (I may or may not have several oncomplete lists and charts trying to track this information)

1- That's what gave me the courage to ask this question!!! Because that was one of the things I had *also* assumed was canon, so it's good to find out now that it probably isn't!

2 & 3 - I actually avoided those, huh! Xie Lian is just too good at weaponizing his food to truly believe its easily palatable.

4- :( Hua Cheng has enough image issues already...

5- I actually know *so little* about Mu Qing, and given that this modern character/original goods mix will be dealing with him.... it's going to be very interesting ^^;;; He's kind of a black box mystery to me, and I forsee him as being one of the things to shake up the original plot outline after I do finish reading and properly internalize his character!!

Thank you again for your response and your advice!! I really appreciate your kindness in your answering!!

(Also, if anyone wants to hear about this AU, find out who the character, or ask anything or give advice, I'd love to talk about it!!)

Hello! I hope you're having a lovely day!!

Well- here's a dumb thing that I've been thinking about for absolute ages, if you don't mind dumb asks? I'd be interested in what you think of a TGCF story where a cannon character (NOT HuaLian) reincarnates with slowly returning memories of their last life - wherein they eventually discover that they'd actually read a book about their current life! Except, they never actually finished the series - they've devoured decent chunks of fandom content, but they don't know what's Canon and what's fanon for the parts they never read. (Anything book 3 and beyond)

Here's the conundrum- I haven't finished reading TGCF yet because I want to model their knowledge based off mine, and sketch out what I *think* might happen in this stories plot... and then go back and read TGCF and look for ways this wouldn't work and would change, and build the *actual* plot of the story from there.

How dumb does this idea sound? Would you have any advice to give, or any ideas on big differences fanon has with canon? (Without actually mentioing what the truth actually is? ^^;;)

Feel free to ignore everything aside from the "I hope you're having a lovely day," part, if you want ^^;;

hello!! today has been good :) I hope yours has been good as well.

I don't think this is a dumb ask! It's an interesting premise! I think you are going to get stuck at some point where your story planning hits the point in canon that you've read to, but it's definitely a clever way to basically like, method-act the character's experience? Taking advantage of your own lack of knowledge is clever, yeah, I don't think this is dumb at all!

If you want my advice, I'll just spitball a bunch of questions I think you should ask yourself- what kind of person are you writing? Why didn't they finish TGCF? What sorts of fandom content were they looking at? Were they a fan of a particular character? How did that influence the sorts of TGCF fans they followed, and what biases did it give them? The fan media they were engaged with, was it biased towards or against any particular characters? Because any of those things could create a lot of misconceptions.

I was spitballing fanon vs canon with some friends, and I realized we should also probably acknowledge headcanons, and the sort of bridge it is between canon and fanon. They overlap a bit, but to me, headcanons are ideas that acknowledge canon vs. personal opinion, while fanon ignores or seeks to replace canon. That might also be a good area to explore- what's something they forgot was a headcanon? Did they perhaps hear two conflicting headcanons, and they don't know which one is the truth?

It's a little hard to say "Fanon is (X)" without in the process saying "Canon is (Y)". But here's some fanon I know of:

E-ming reopening wounds. I just learned this one, actually. There are a few fic that use this idea without any mention of it not being canon, RIP.

Xie Lian thinking his food is good.

Buff Xie Lian (I'm sorry I know it's popular don't yell at me)

Hua Cheng calling himself "lowly", "useless", or "unworthy"- this is also very common in fanfic.

Mu Qing's father was executed for (X). (you could easily make some headcanons there. It's just stating anything as fact that becomes fanon.)

[annaisu]

Absolutely!!! I'd love to hear any thoughts that go along with the story that you want to share as well! This looks like it'll be a lot of fun to read!!

Poor little Hua Cheng - will he be going by Xiao Hua, like in Dearly Departed? How old is old enough for the "lang" nickname? - who must be torn between panic and delight and disbelief!

Is this really his god, who just appeared in front of him and "saved" him once more???!!! He's in his most useless, powerless, weakest form; what can he do to be of use to his god???? How can he convince his god to let them stay together????

His Highness might look after an abandoned child- but he might also try to give him away to folk who can ""care for him properly"" instead - and if he does manage to stuck around, that would mean he'd be forced to stay in this little, despised form!

His highness would surely notice something, however, and what could Hua Cheng tell him while still being allowed to remain close?

Ahhhh, this is such a good, fun concept! I'm surprised in retrospect that I haven't seen it before, I don't think! (But then, I haven't read as many TGCF fics as I'd like to)

Wait, 450 years... this is before Guoshi Fangxin! But by how long?

Thank you for replying and sharing parts of your story!!

Hello!! I found you at a good time, it seems! I want to finish reading your current stuff before leaving an ask/prompt/number, but I'm afraid ADHD brain will forget, so!! Can I hear about your WIP number 4, or 9? Whichever you'd prefer!! I really like your writing, and your characterizations of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian feel true to the characters without becoming overblown or exaggerated!

You do have great timing!! I'm super flattered you like my writing and characterizations, it means a lot to me :) and enough to ask about my WIPs!!! thank you for giving me the opportunity to ramble about them, haha. Hilariously, the original WIP #4 was just finished yesterday, so you get a peek at its replacement on the list- a canon divergent fic where, when Mt. Tonglu opens about 450 years into Xie Lian's second banishment, he happens to come across a 'young boy' being menaced by a frenzied ghost.

[annaisu]

The worst part about having a sleep cycle many hours off from everyone else, is that when you have anxiety attacks in your "late evening" or when trying to fall sleep, everyone else is dead asleep because it's 3 or 5am and there's no one you can talk to and help pull your head out of it

[annaisu]

Braham propaganda

Luo Binghe propaganda

[annaisu]

4 way Bingo! 😔😔😔

There would be more, but I try to be judicious about using the back button and immediately forgetting what I've read-

But, God, even just the summaries for stories tell quite the tale. Sometimes I wonder if it's, like, a bad joke? But I've learned better than to check, because. No. They aren't joking.

(There's this one fic that kept popping up, and I'd given it a try because I kind of enjoyed that author years ago - turns out, when they cross over with a fandom I know and love, sh-- gets real. I had to vent to my partner about it, to prevent myself from opening the story up and seeing the sacrilege again and working myself up even more)

Binghe, baby, I love you - and more importantly, I know that Shizun loves you!!! ❤❤❤

Braham propaganda

Luo Binghe propaganda

[annaisu]

You're the best!!!! Thank you so much for the detailed breakdown and answer!!!

And, I'll be honest- I got so upset at the Donghua when they ruined the medicine scene, right at the very start, and could only bear watching in bits and pieces, so. I'm torn between wanting more Scum Villain content, and very much not wanting conflicting canon and characterization (especially not to the point of MDZS vs The Untamed)!

Do you know why everyone and their mother keeps saying that Sheb Qingqiu's secluded cultivation lasts for a year or 3??? Last I checked, wasn't he only in the cave for several months??

...I haven't seen a fic use that timeframe in quite a while - am I the delusional one??

Having intensively cultivated for several months, he could freely control his spiritual energy and had risen one level above his original cultivation base.

... nope, still as I remembered from the official book, page 85 in my copy. Even my old Exiled Rebels translation puts it as, "several months." Last I checked, 12 (or 36) months is far too many to simply be considered "several", so what am I missing? It just- throws off the timeline so badly and greatly increases the amount of time poor Binghe is stuck in the woodshed, for what?

Okay, so the 3 years thing comes from the donghua, no need to look further. It's one of those things that directly go against canon but have stuck in people's minds, similar to 'the washerwoman was the one to pull baby Binghe out of the river' and 'Shen Qingqiu fainted dramatically several times early on in his transmigration'.

Then, I don't believe I have seen 1 year myself, but if I had to guess, it may come from the fact that Binghe is 14yo prior to SQQ entering seclusion and 15 once he leaves. That said, an entire year makes zero sense considering what we know of the timeline.

Which is where I confess that I tore out some hair over the length of SQQ's seclusion when constructing the timeline for Transmigrator Time Traveler, because for me 'several' months means 3 to 5, but given all the facts, SQQ's seclusion had to last somewhere between 6 and 10 instead. (I went with 9 in the end, for the fic, cause I've read that 9 is a significant number for spiritual practices cultivation is based on? the source was a little vague so i don't know how true that is, but I needed a number.)

Nevermind, to the aforementioned facts. MXTX confirmed the date of the first chapter publication - Sept.21 - to be the date of SQQ's transmigration. (Small note: I'll be using modern months, even though SV's world uses lunar calendar, because it's easier to gauge weather and stuff. For characters in the novel, they might see those as different months/seasons, but that doesn't really affect our purpose here.) Luo Binghe’s 15th birthday - which Shen Qingqiu missed in seclusion - is in winter ('coldest day' which I after some research came to hc as jan6, though that's not particularly relevant, because...) Demon invasion happened on a 'hot day' (SQQ mentions it in relation to how SHL is dressed) - which puts it in May at the earliest, August at the latest. So these are the 'borders' we are working with.

Now, to my actual calculations. We know SQQ spent some time on the Peak after transmigration, before the Skinner mission that led to him going to seclusion. So I'm gonna say that happened in October at the earliest, December if you stretch it (though I feel like his tatas would freeze off if the Skinner left him half-undressed in December...) - but definitely not later, cause Binghe’s birthday has to happen off-screen. So if we take the longest possible time frame, October to August, we get 10 months. The slimmest possible window - December to May - gives us 5 months, but between the aforementioned boob hypothermia issue and the fact that May is a bit of a stretch for the 'hot day', I think that 6 months is the shortest you can go.

Which, again, doesn't align with my understanding of what should be described as 'several' months, but what can you do... tbh, im not sure MXTX thought all that hard about the timeline, which is understandable as a writer - but as a fan, frustrating

So yeah - definitely less than a year (and absolutely not 3, donghua), though the math gets fuzzier after that.

[annaisu]

Last stretch! Vote Binghe!

...

>> hybrid battle finals

[annaisu]

Okay, I promised a writeup of Luo Binghe voter fraud meme, and as Luo Binghe is currently in the finals of the poll this happened on, I figure now's a good time.

So! It all started when Luo Binghe, our beloved half-demon child, was submitted to @/hybrid-battle tournament - or rather, as it was called at the time, @half-being-battle. He won his first poll easily enough, but round 2 was a close battle where he and his opponent, Shantae from eponymous game, took the lead from one another a few times.

In the last ~12 hours, Binghe was losing slightly after a popular blog rb'd the poll with a call to vote for Shantae. However, SVSSS fandom caught this in time and passed the poll around some more. The poll ended with Luo Binghe winning with 51% of votes - or, as simple calculation will reveal, 14 votes lead.

We breathed out a collective sigh of relief, but too soon - as half a day later, someone sent this ask:

(x)

Initially the pollrunner wasn't intending to do anything about it, but then someone suggested a teamup option, and the poll for the option was made (x). It was rb'd by some SVSSS fans with the general sentiment of 'free our boy he did nothing wrong', but didn't gain real traction until:

@gaywarcriminals reblogged it with a small rant in Binghe's defense

@piosplayhouse rb'd said rant with addition of the image from vol.3 cover, of Shen Qingqiu holding Luo Binghe's hand, edited to look like SQQ is the one saying the text above.

This version of the post was circulated in fandom overnight, leading to 'Luo Binghe moves on alone' option winning by a large margin - and, ofc, to the birth of "Luo Binghe voter fraud" meme.

Though aside from this particular post being funny, there was another factor contributing to the meme catching on: how damn in-character it all was. The following sentiments were all repeated more than once in the post's notes:

Luo Binghe getting accused of crimes he didn't commit? Omg just like in canon!

Shen Yuan would absolutely buy bots to get his most beloved blorbo to win an internet poll.

It's just Luo Binghe's protagonist halo!

All of which made the situation fucking hilarious.

Then, the next day, tumblr user verycharismaticdragon (whoever they might be 😉) made some fanart about it, which possibly aided the spread of the meme too.

Also, SVSSS fandom surprised the mod with our chillness 😅

(x)

Since then, Binghe has been going strong in that poll - and now, he's in the finals! So make sure to vote for him; as we all know now, the real voter fraud is the friends we made along the way. And I do recommend checking Luo Binghe's tag on the poll for some fun propaganda we've been making, including a family tree by Pio and some more art by yours truly <3

But wait! There was also another layer to the voter fraud iceberg. The tl;dr:

At about the same time Luo Binghe vs Shantae ended, Hua Cheng was losing in round 1 of @/the-ghost-bracket, with something like 39% of votes to his name. In a desperate move, I linked his poll under my bingqiu voter fraud art, which gave him a boost to get close to a tie, but didnt flip the poll. The next day, I was explaining the LBH voter fraud meme to my friends, and mentioned Hua Cheng's poll too - which was when inspiration struck me, resulting in...

this post. [ID: art of Xie Lian with a wooden board which reads "Puqi shrine accepting donations in the form of votes for Hua Cheng in the ghost bracket", captioned "please help dianxia, he doesn't have the money for voter fraud"] Which gave the poll enough visibility for Hua Cheng to win with over 62% of votes in the end. (The link in the post is currently changed to round 2 poll, which HC was also initially losing. Srsly besties we gotta follow the tourneys to get our babygirls to win!)

So: LBH voter fraud meme had even helped little bro Huahua out.

And thats about it! Since then, the scum villain fandom has been joking about voter fraud on all of our polls 😂

(Aaaand the last reminder to vote Bingbing in the finals. His opponent has been gaining lately and I think we shouldn't leave it to the protagonist halo this time.)

[annaisu]

I'm terrible in recognizing feelings in others, but I make it a point to try to understand my own. ...Normally, they're strong enough that I can extrapolate what they are based on how I'm reacting/how my thoughts are going, even if I can't automatically understand the emotion itself - which I then get better at recognizing in the future!

...starting to think I should have said "yes, moderately" or "yes, strongly," but I was too busy being pleased about how I'd gotten so much better at recognizing my own emotions. ^^;

*alexithymia : also referred to as emotional blindness, is a psychological phenomenon described as challenges in recognizing, expressing, & describing one's own or others' emotions. common in - but not exclusive to - those on the autism spectrum.

i for sure experience this !! i think it's quite common, but let's see. ^^

[annaisu]

There seem to be two questions here: the actual question stated, and the assumed underlying question, and I have very different answers for both!

"Is listening to an Audiobook the same as reading?" Is the posed question, but it comes across with an intent of the actual question being, "Does listening to an Audiobook count as reading?"

To which I say: Yes!!! Listening to an audiobook 100% counts as reading!! You are taking in information presented directly to you from an outside source!! Language formatted by another person is entering your brain!!! You leave the interaction with your book, having absorbed the content written!!

However. That's not the question you actually asked.

I'm a voracious reader - of fanfiction, admittedly, but that doesn't discount the 187 stories I've read and saved since January this year alone, nor the 4,480 I've read and bookmarked since Jan 2021 - I could go on, but the point is, I read a lot of stories.

I'll normally spend a minimum of 2 hours a day reading, and I do entirely refer here to reading stories visually. This is my favorite way to read stories, and I enjoy the experience greatly.

I also spend at least 4 hours of my shift, every day that I can get away with it, listening to the fanfiction read aloud. Text-to-speech, typically, not traditional audiobooks; but again, that's not an important distinction at play here.

THESE ARE TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES TO ME.

90% of the time, I cannot listen to a story, unless I've already read a decent portion of it visually!!

If I'm given a story to read, and I read it visually - I will generally be able to tell you what happened, when in the story it happened - (oh, that section came right after X but before Y, while in the actual timeline it really happens during Z-), to give you inexact quotes, to have formed a mental index of people and places and plot beats-

If I listen to a story, I can't do those things. Not reliably, and not well. If I want to be and to do that, I'll need to listen to the story 2, maybe 3 or 4 times. My brain processes the information differently when it's given verbally, not visually.

However - I can do other things while listening, which I can't do when reading normally!! (...I have to be doing things while listening, actually. I can't just sit and listen and do nothing else, like I could with a story in my lap.) I can pause and visualize scenes, which I basically never do normally! My emotions are more me, rather than just being pulled along by the story! I can't accidentally start speed-reading and skimming when I get too excited and caught up!

Except, before I can do any of that, I have to pick a story that I already know something of, and something that will come across at a pace acceptable to whatever state of mind I'm in. When I read normally, I can choose to read faster, or slower, or if I need to reread a line. While listening, the words will come just as fast or slow as they always will, and sometimes it'll go slowly and my brain will get impatient and bored and distracted; sometimes it'll go too fast and I won't catch everything, will need to continuously stop and rewind, which will also lead to me getting distracted as I end up missing more and more things - unless I've read it before, preferably visually, and then I can fill in the blanks.

Yet, I'd never give up either method of reading!!!

I would just about die at work if I couldn't listen to my stories - the days I can't, whether due to not having an appropriate story ready or not being allowed, are absolutely awful.)

And I would just. Be in a much worse place, mentally, without the escape that reading can provide for me, every single day.

So. Yes. Reading stories visually and listening to stories audibly are two entirely different experiences.

(Also, if you define reading as actually visualizing the story, I have "read" very, very few of all the books I've ever actually read. Like, .01%? Maybe? ...Probably much less? And even then, it's only for specific scenes, often lasting only a few seconds- So, you could honestly say that by OP's definition, that I've probably read less than 30 books in my entire lifetime - and I have several overflowing bookcases in my room to disagree with that notion.)

Settle a debate with me and my partner

I define reading as taking in a story, that means visualizing the story and using imagination just like you would if you had a book in front of you

Also plz reblog to spread this around

[annaisu]

Err, sorry about the formatting of my first reply. >_< I was in the middle of something when I first saw your post, and had to jot down all my thoughts as fast as possible... and then tumblr was weird about the reblog visibility, as far as I can tell? >_< So, I'm sorry about that, and thank you for the reply!

(...and then upon looking back at this completed reply, I'm sorry about this one as well. I'm really not very good at it - the replying, that is, as well as just communicating in general-)

I'd like to respond to your further thoughts! Admittedly, this includes offering you a lot of... well, silly thoughts and headcanons that I am playing with, that I hope might spark within you new ideas or points of insights! Just, new perspectives that aren't necessarily correct - nor assuming that they are correct - but new angles to (re)examine, all the same!

I thought so! I wasn't completely sure that YQY facing down TLJ while still being a head disciple was canon, So I'm glad to hear I wasn't wrong there!

And yay for more support for not-old!Peak Lords! And for this IAC being one of the first their generation is facing! I always found that interesting - how, one of the first thing Yue Qingyuan says, is that Shen Jiu!Qingqiu needn't worry about presenting himself well for the Immortal Alliance Conference - especially since I'd also noticed the every-four-year event taking place three-years post-transmigration, meaning the last one should have already passed a year ago, and the next one shouldn't be for another three! Why would that be the first thing on Shen Jiu's mind/what Yue Qingyuan assumed to be foremost on Shen Jiu's mind as a source of stress?

I've got a few ideas in mind for that, though no proof for any of them, so: A)They're thinking of terrible the IAC were they met each other went, with SJ killing the other disciples and then his master, and then discovering that Yue Qi had presumably forgotten him or set him aside, which... yeah, would leave some pretty negative connotations attached to the event. B)The last conference went badly - either as a whole, or for 9!SQQ in particular. SJ is constantly in fear about his position and place in society, or similar, so any form of weakness might echo loudly even between occurrences...

or, my pet idea, C) Cang Qiong Mountain, still newly ascended to their position, did not all attend the previous IAC, either as a whole or in parts. They were still settling in, and taking in all-new inner disciples; they'll be prepared to give a much better showing after a few more years, and want to come out showing themselves as strong.

asdfhkasl a silly idea just occurred to me: D) According to the rules of the tournament, contestants found fighting can be banned for 12 years. What if SJ was banned from the conference after his misconduct at the earlier IAC, and the ban only just ran out? XD

(Or the boring option E) That they just recently went over a bunch of paperwork connected to the IAC - either individually or at a Peak Lord's Meeting - and thus it was fresh on their minds.)

...like I said - I have no proof for any of these, that's just some of the possible reasons I could come up with that SJ would be worrying himself so terribly with 3 years to go before the IAC.

(Skippable rant incoming)

BUT RELATEDLY. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY. THE THREE-YEAR SECLUSION IN THE DONGHUA IS A BESERK BUTTON FOR ME. (skip to [rant over] if you want to skip the SY levels of indignant ranting on a nitpicky subject-)

WE ACTUALLY. FOR ONCE. HAVE PRECISE DATES AND YEARS AND TIMES AND EVENTS!!! It's not like MDZS, where you're constantly wondering how long the Sunshot Campaign lasted! Or wondering for how long they were at the Burial Mounds! THERE'S NO HANDWAVEY-TIMELINES - WE HAVE DATES CLEARLY AND REPEATEDLY CALLED OUT!!!

Binghe is 14, and has already suffered under SJ for some time!!! Upon returning from the Skinner mission, SQQ spends 3. MONTHS. In seclusion, which immediately dovetails into the Sha Hualing's Invasion - in which LMY has no sword and is defeated, and Binghe barely manages to outlast and defeat his demon! 2 YEARS LATER, giving them plenty of time to train (and for Bingqiu to bond <3), these two will then go from faring poorly to RANKING THIRD AND FIRST IN THE ENTIRE IAC.

THE! IAC! TAKES PLACE! WHEN LUO BINGHE! IS! 17!!!

If SQQ spends 3 YEARS in secluded meditation, then Binghe and LMY have to go from "ehhhhhh" to fantastic practically overnight!!! WTF?????

Unless! You want!!! To destroy the timeline further!! And explicitly go against every single age and time frame mentioned after!!!

AFDHAKJLDHAKJSD

WHY WOULD YOU INTENTIONALLY THROW CANON OUT THE WINDOW WHEN IT'S BEEN TIED UP WITH A NEAT LITTLE BOW FOR YOU????????????????

Watching SQQ in the first episodes was painful enough - they make him look like an idiot clown with the whole drinking the medicine, as well as ruining one of the first touching scenes and the go----amn turning point in Luo Binghe's life -

..........................

...Alright. I'll stop now. It just... hurts, to think about, and I feel better after imagining I'm like SY raging at some of PIDW's plot holes and inconsistencies.

[...okay. rant over.]

asdfh- I almost went and quoted the "spent twenty days binging from start to finish" line before I remembered you had just debunked that when picking through the literal Chinese translation. So, I guess I have nothing on that point -

-just to say that we probably can't really trust what SQQ claims as his memory. Sure, I totally believe that you forgot all about the IAC. It's probably also a complete coincidence that Luo Binghe was out on an assignment that took him away for weeks, and even trying to return as quickly as possible, he only managed to make it back three days before the IAC. Definitely not a completely plausibly deniable way to get Luo Binghe out of the IAC, nope. (another wild pet theory to play with)

..

Oh! I completely forgot about the existence of extras as a standard occurrence, until your other post mentioned it!!! YEAH, that would totally make sense!!!

(and yeah, a 4 year total-3 year productive streak makes sense with a slower start, absolutely!! I feel like after he lost his outline, upon being expected to still update consistently, he just threw as many words out as he could in frustration (and grief - ouch >_<) .)

🥺 But what about the Airplane and Shen Yuan left behind? I feel like Shen Yuan's life will be emptier without ever having a Luo Binghe, or even an Airplane... ouch! Airplane, though... just continues on his sad, probably unfulfilling life alone :(

...

I think that was it, plus a bunch of uninvited extra? ^^; Thank you again for your reply!

...actually you know what*, I'll check the canon myself tomorrow, but: do we actually know for sure that SY died immediately after finishing PIDW? because i remember he died cursing it with his last words, but not whether it was indicated that he died the same day as he finished reading.

Couldn't it happen at a later date? Because, like, just basing it on myself, there are some things that I finished 2 years ago and hated so much that I still have a rant pretty much lock'd and loaded, and I will start recounting it at the slightest provocation.** Couldn't it be the same case?

*inspired by a couple posts i saw before, about the discrepancy between SY following the novel for years (i didnt see this on my reread yet so idk source) and finishing it in 20 days (chap.1)

**yes, yes, the probability of transmigrating into woh/shl if i meet an unfortunate accident is something I have a healthy fear of