vaelaerion

[vaelaerion]

I'm not entirely new to the MDZS fandom, as I've loved WangXian for what feels like eons now, but I admit I've yet to make any friends I can discuss MDZS stuff with, since I'm shy as hell. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so I'm finally just going to type this up and then close my eyes as I post this in hopes of fixing that, lol.

I'll add a bit more about me in the tags, but if you also share the following with me, please like this post, reblog it, reply to it, or just straight up send me an ask or IM, because even though I haven't written fanfics in years now, I have fic ideas, thoughts, and others stuff that I'd really like to discuss with others!

Liking only top!Lan Wangji / bottom!Wei Wuxian.

Disliking the Jiang family very much (Yanli excluded).

Side-eyeing the major clans, Jiang and Lan included.

Sometimes wanting to punch Lan Xichen in the face for listening to Jin Guangyao over his own little brother, among other reasons.

Oftentimes wanting to yell at Lan Qiren for being a hypocrite, among other reasons too.

[vaelaerion]

I didn't make a post about this earlier, but in case anyone might be wondering, I did end up changing this blog's username from:

rhyaenv → → → vaelaerion

I know I haven't posted or reblogged anything on this blog for years now, but I'm hoping to be a bit more active on here now. I'm also going to try my best to start writing again, so if I make any progress on anything, I'll be sure to let you all know, lol.

[vaelaerion]

Does anyone know of any MDZS WangXian fics where Wen Ning is the one that somehow manages to travel back to the past and basically fix canon so that the Dafan-Wen and Wei Wuxian are never killed?

Because if not, I think it's time I start plotting something out because the idea occurred to me yesterday, and now I can't stop thinking about it.

There are so many different points in canon where Wen Ning could travel back to, but I'm also really wanting him to travel far back enough so he can stop Wei Wuxian from giving up his core to (the undeserving) Jiang Wanyin. If Wen Ning can also make Wei Wuxian stop feeling indebted to the Jiang, and maybe even leave the Jiang Sect, that'd be even better.

And if Wen Ning can help Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get together during that time in the past as well, then the fic would be absolute perfection.

[vaelaerion]

There’s nothing quite like sitting down to work on a WIP you’ve had to take an extended break from and breathing out in tangible relief when you realize that’s it’s okay, it’s okay, you remember how to write these characters, you know the rythym of these words, you can still tell this story.

[vaelaerion]

sometimes people are absolutely WILD about comments, acting like the idea that they shouldn’t be a jerk is a violation of their first amendment rights 

last week i read a fic i HATED. it was well written and highly recommended and i wish i had never read it. hours of my life i will never get back. 

i disagreed with: it’s interpretation on canon, it’s take on mental health, the social contract between loved ones, recovery, trauma, boundaries, and … more tbh

i could NOT stop thinking about how much i disagreed with it. me and this fic have philosophical differences so large i could give a ted talk and i was still super irritated about it days later. 

so you know what i did?

i called up my friends and was like “you guys have no context but i’m going to bitch about this fic you haven’t read in this fandom you haven’t consumed for the next thirty minutes” and they were like “okay sure it’s a tuesday night, we’re in a pandemic, i have nothing better to do”

what did i not do? 

leave a comment on this person’s fic because i’m a human person

[vaelaerion]

Looking to make some friends that ship Draco/Harry and Severus/Hermione. But that also have a preference for top!Draco/bottom!Harry in Drarry fanworks. 

If this sounds like you, please send me an IM or an ask so we can chat (preferably on Twitter or Discord, if possible), especially if you might also be interested in helping me beta some (Draco/Harry and/or Severus/Hermione) fics I’d eventually like to write in the future. 

[vaelaerion]

The worth of your stories is not defined by the number of likes, reblogs, kudos, or interactions you get. 

So much comes down to luck, algorithims, and a whole host of other factors that are not in your control. The worth of your stories are in the joy and care you took to create them and the way you grew from writing them. 

Your stories are important. 

[vaelaerion]

reading fanfiction is like *tries to stop giving love declarations to the author in the comments*

[vaelaerion]

There’s no such thing as being too enthusiastic for your ideas! I know that sometimes it feels like we talk about our creations too much, but passion should be celebrated! Never apologize for “never shutting up”, thank your audience for listening!

[vaelaerion]

The worst part about working on original fiction is u gotta wait like 5 years to get a book draft done in order to SHOW YOUR FRIENDS chapters. Ain't like fanfic where you can just....send em. Tis horrid.

[vaelaerion]

you ever read a fanfic and just sit back and think...someone wrote something THIS good... and then just....published it on the internet....for free.....

[vaelaerion]

the act of creation is a miracle. you made something that didn’t exist before.  whether or not another person ever sees it doesn’t change that fact. 

you made something and it exists and that means that it’s valuable. it’s precious. it’s your own little miracle. 

be proud. be content. and when you’re ready, create again.

[vaelaerion]

AO3 Userscripts & You

So there’s been an uptick in those stories with a thousand tags. With the right userscripts, this:

Automatically displays like this instead:

Here’s how. (And I promise it takes less than 5 minutes, and 0 tech knowledge).

Keep reading

[vaelaerion]

i know it’s been said before, but it bears repeating: a big, big part of maintaining your confidence & self esteem as a creator is fully embracing the concept of “you don’t have to be good like them.  you can be good like you.”

for example, i’m not someone who’s particularly good at coming up with complex, elaborate plots or incredibly unique ideas.  it’s just not how i choose to write.  and it would be easy for me to look at someone with an elaborate, super unique plot & decide that because i don’t write like that, i’m not a good writer.  after all, unique plots are good, and my writing lacks those, so my writing must not be good, right?  well, no, actually.  i just have different strengths, like taking a simple premise & digging super deep into its emotional depths.  that’s what i do well & it isn’t any better or worse than people who do elaborate world building or come up with really creative and unexpected plots.

your writing is never going to be all things to all people.  it just isn’t.  inevitably, you’ll have to make creative choices that favor certain aspects of writing over others.  there is truly no getting around that & it’s honestly a good thing, because it means you’ve developed your own style.  but you’ll always encounter other creators who posses strengths that you don’t.  it doesn’t mean one is better than the other or that your writing isn’t good enough. 

comparing yourself like that would be like taking a piece of pizza & a cupcake & going “oh no, that cupcake is so sweet & my pizza isn’t sweet at all.” or “gosh, the garlic crust on that pizza is delicious and my cupcake doesn’t have ANY garlic.”  obviously your pizza isn’t sweet.  obviously your cupcake doesn’t have garlic.  a food can’t have every single delicious flavor at once.  the cupcake is good like a cupcake.  the pizza is good like a pizza.  so you don’t have to be good like them.  you can be good like you.

[vaelaerion]

It's 2020. I'm tired of people not knowing how ao3 works

Here's a quick rundown:

- you can filter the tags. please do.

- if your bookmarks are public, EVERYONE can see your tags. yes, even the author. pls don't be rude

- kudos are awesome.

- you can only leave ONE. for more, leave a COMMENT.

- do not be rude in the comments.

- do not demand updates. do not demand anything, period.

- please, do not be rude in the comments

- support your writer with kudos and comments and bookmarks and nice words

- authors, if you have a kofi/patreon/commissions open DO NOT MENTION IT ON AO3!! I REPEAT DO NOT!! IT GOES AGAINST THE TOS.

- link your social media or your commission post or your carrd. "if you want to read more, check out my site", etc.

- you can subscribe to authors or works or series - we can see the number but only the number. it's a great way to get notified

- please leave a comment, please

[vaelaerion]

every day i am percieved™️

[vaelaerion]

things that don’t belong on AO3

People out there who are new to AO3 might not realize that some of the things they are posting actually violate the Terms of Service. While these kinds of posts are great for social media sites like tumblr or Twitter, they are actually not allowed on AO3. AO3 isn’t a social media site. It’s a fanfiction archive. 

Since most people don’t read the Terms of Service for sites that they use (no shade - I’m including myself in that description), I thought I’d make a post about things that you should not post on AO3. This list is in no particular order:

requests to help find a fic

lists of prompts

requests for prompts

translations of someone else’s work, if you don’t have their permission (this includes published fiction as well as fanfic)

someone else’s work (either published or fannish)

liveblog reactions to watching episodes 

invitations to a discord server

songfics that include the full lyrics to a copyrighted song

a placeholder - no actual fic, just a work posted saying that a fic will eventually be there

class notes or homework (unless that homework is fic or fandom meta)

searches for role playing partners

rec lists

requests for recommendations

callout posts

fandom organizing (ex. let’s vote X for People’s Choice!)

requests for money 

fic planning/outlining

As new people join the site, works like these are bound to be posted to AO3. Give friends and fellow fans a heads up, and hopefully by letting people know ahead of time they can avoid posting these mistakes. 

Remember, it’s a group of volunteers who needs to deal with all of these posted works so if we can lighten the load they’re dealing with I’m sure they’d appreciate it. ❤