#dragonsthough101

[onyourstageleft]

So I ended up here because of a Tamora Pierce post and you mentioned your thesis was about Tortall, and I was wondering if you were comfortable talking more about it, because I’d love to hear!!!!

(also I’m going to go through your Tamora Pierce tag later but I’ve already come across the idea of aro Raoul in one post and now I love it and need it)

I let this sit in my ask box for a few days bc I was genuinely so excited to talk about it that I wanted to dedicate some time to it okay YES I would love to tell you about my thesis!! I literally grew up reading and loving Tamora Pierce books and then I went into my English MA program and they started talking about thesis options and I was reading some criticism about colonialism in literature and it just kinda clicked, so my thesis title is "Cultures and Colonization in Tamora Pierce's Young Adult Novels" and it's pretty much what it says on the tin. I talk about indigenous populations (Bazhir and raka) and how they are treated differently both by the characters in the story and the narrative in general. I address Alanna/Jon as white saviors and then how Aly undoes some of that damage through her more respectful/less controlling relationship with the raka. I also talked about how the books work as a framework to interact respectfully with other cultures through Kel & the Yamani, and a discussion of slavery and the respect that Beka shows for enslaved people.

it's honestly been a while since I reread my whole thesis so there's probably more in there that I'm forgetting, BUT on the off chance that you wanna read the whole thing, I published it open access so you can just Google the title and it should take you to a download link for it. please ignore the typo of the repeated phrase at the end of the literal first paragraph of the whole thing it haunts me every day (I swear it wasn't there when I submitted it)

ALSO about the aro Raoul I totally think it's a good take with the exception of one of the most fantastic fanfics I've ever read - if you like fic and the idea of Raoul/Buri, please take a look at The Tourakom-Goldenlake System of Communication by Emnot on AO3. it's the first fic that led me into the AO3 waters (where the Tortall fandom is still going strong btw) and I reread it every few months

I'm publishing this ask mainly so I can find it later and remember what I said BUT if you wanna talk more about Tortall pls feel free to message me I could do this all day

[altschmerzes]

I’d love to see a little bit of Patrick Jane absolutely destroying James McGyver over his parenting decisions, if you’d like to share

WITH PLEASURE

this needs some revision and some fleshing out, it's still very barebones but it's one of the first things that came into my mind for bad blood. some explanation of what's going on here found here.

“How long did he spend in the system, James? How long did you just leave your son in foster care while you ran around doing whatever it is you do?” “Oh cut it out, Patrick, he was never in the system.” There’s a mocking tone in the way he repeats Patrick’s words back to him, as if that were a ludicrous assumption rather than a perfectly logical conclusion to have drawn. “He was with family.” “We had no other siblings and mom is dead, who the hell could you possibly have-” It clicks in that moment, and it all makes sense. Harry’s house, the slight tinge of guilt at the edge of James’s expression. “Your father? You dumped him on Harry? Because he was the epitome of emotional availability and responsible parenting and absolutely up to the task of raising a kid who lost his mother and his father. Jesus, James.” “What else was I supposed to do, since apparently you have all the right answers. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t take him with me. So please, by all means, enlighten me.” A hand sweeps out between them, James indicating that Patrick has the floor. It’s clear he thinks he’s pulled the trump card, ended the argument then and there, but Patrick has the answer ready before James has hardly posed the question. “Me, Jamie, you leave him with me. You know I’d have taken him in a second.” The childhood nickname slips out, an endearment worn and warped and soured into a curse.

[silver-state-knights]

I’d love to hear more about Carey Price and the CCM goalie gear!

hey there! thanks a bunch for the ask! i know its been sitting a while but now i just remembered to get around to this!

Carey Price (and many other Habs goaltenders over the years, tbh) has been very influential on the world of goaltender equipment in general, but especially CCM's catalogue as he was one of their longtime "faces" of their goalie equipment and arguably one of their most notable (besides Marc-Andre Fleury for awhile there, too). he originally started with Vaughn in the early days of his career, as we can see here:

Vaughn at this time was much bigger in goalie in the NHL than they are these days, the only real notable goalie they have now as far as I know is Jonathan Quick. But, if you're CCM and you're seeing a lights out, absolutely killer goaltender like Carey Price starting to emerge in the mid 2000s, you're likely going to want him to wear your stuff, with your logo, right? If this goalie is wearing your stuff, everyone who plays and wants to be like him will likely try to emulate him, right?

Hockey brands will often send pros equipment tuned to their specs in an attempt to get them to switch all the time for this exact reason- but I can't really think of any other instance of a brand going as far as CCM did in the case of Carey Price.

To understand what I'm specifically talking about, I have to first introduce the concept of break angle- this is a term in goalie equipment that refers to the way and at what angle a goalie glove/trapper closes. The three you'll often hear of are the 580 break (90° closure), the 590 break (60° closure), and the 600 break (50° closure). No two gloves are the same, so a 600 break from Vaughn will be different than a 600 break from Bauer, and so on and so forth.

Here's a chart that should give a better visual on what each of the three look like and how they differ:

At this time, Carey Price's glove with Vaughn was most similar to what we would call CCM's 600 break today. They actually created the 600 break in order to help Price transition out of the Vaughn glove he was using at that time. As you can see with what appears to be one of his first CCM sets, the Extreme Flex III that he had circa 2012-2013, the glove is very similar looking to the one he had with Vaughn:

Now, some bonus info because I think it's funny: Carey Price no longer uses a 600 break, and has since switched to the 590 as of a couple years ago (something that caused a bit of controversy at that time). He also is no longer with CCM, as CCM Goalie cut ties with the Lefevre family a couple years ago now. The Lefevre family, who are well renowned for their excellence and innovation in goaltender equipment. Where they go, most NHL goalies will follow. Lefevre is now working with True Temper, and that explains the severe uptick in NHL goaltenders using their pads, gloves, and blockers.

Here's some of his True setups because I think they're neat:

So yeah! Basically, TLDR: CCM invented the 600 break angle, a break angle that is still popular at the retail level to this day, specifically for Carey Price to switch to their equipment from Vaughn.

[firstdegreefangirl]

WIP Wednesday

Something like two months ago, I had ONE conversation with @dragonsthough101​, and then last night, I rolled 10k on this. Here’s one of the lighthearted scenes, of which there are few.

--

“I know, but you’ve gotta eat, sweetheart.” Roy runs his hand along the top of Jamie’s head, letting his fingertips linger as he backs away slowly. “Just gonna stir the cheese into the noodles, and I’ll be right back with a bowl.”

“’S it the powdered cheese?” Jamie scoots over until he can prop his chin on the arm of the couch and stare forlornly into the kitchen. Roy can’t quite make out his face from the angle, but he can picture the expression, hopeful and pouting all at once, as he watches Roy strain the pasta into the sink.

“Yes,” Roy sighs. “From Phoebe’s shelf, because the two of you would have the same diet if you weren’t in training most of the year.”

[thevoicefromthestars]

I started Second Star to the Left and it’s so good!!!! I’m on episode 2 and very worried about Priyanka (I have no idea how to spell her name yet). It’s fun sometimes hearing echoes of Arkady in you doing Gwen, but she’s fully Gwen to me

thank you!! i'm really glad you're enjoying it; the last couple of episodes might be the work i'm proudest of in my career to date.

and it's reassuring to hear that gwen still feels like her own person! (i fully admit that this happens to me, too - i had a moment listening to starfall the other day where i got distracted by a leona line that had a shade of arkady in it XD) but i've got some friends and family who can't listen to any of my shows because it's too weird for them to hear my voice, so knowing the characters i play feel distinct is always a relief!

[himbeaux-on-ice]

Things I have learned since falling into hockey that are mostly unrelated to hockey: where Montreal actually is, that US and Canadian Kit Kat’s are different, and several other random geographical and other facts

did u learn the kitkat thing from like Friday’s episode of the SDP because that was ALSO news to me too! like wtf, does it TASTE different? does it look the same? also where did u think Montreal was I’m deeply curious lmao

[thebibliosphere]

So I don’t remember the exact wording or question, but I was wondering: what is being a professional editor like? (I like editing friends’ work and betaing fic and I was wondering if it was something I would potentially ever like to do as a job (not that I have to monetize everything, but as an option) Is there a lot of stuff that’s not editing people’s work that goes into being a professional editor/is the skill of editing people’s work informally somewhat transferable to a job form?

Aha, found you. Thank you for being patient and waiting for me to see this/have the time/energy to reply. This is a question I get quite a lot, and searching my blog for editing stuff will sometimes bring up some of the posts. I say sometimes, because this is Tumblr, and this website is about as functional as a chocolate tea kettle.

And to answer your question, being a professional editor can be very rewarding, if at times, somewhat stressful and unpredictable, especially if one is working freelance. I get to work with a lot of different people, all with varying degrees of expectations and desires moving forward with their work. (Note: I’ve largely given up editing at this time. Not because I’ve fallen out of love with it as a career, but because my life is going in a different direction and I need to decide where I want to direct my limited energy.)

Doing beta and editing work for friends certainly is a good place to start if you’re interested in this kind of work, and you can indeed market it as a skill on a job form. For example, you can note it down as something like:

“I also consider myself to have a keen eye for detail and often enjoy working with other writers on their work.  This may entail offering constructive criticism, giving encouraging feedback, and correcting any grammatical/spelling mistakes that may have been missed.”

However, it is important to note that in professional circles, betas and editors are regarded as very different beasts. So if you’re thinking of going into editing professionally? You’ll likely need to look into proper certifications. This can include taking classes in copy editing, developmental editing final line editing, grammar, and proofing, etc., depending on what you’re interested in doing. And while some editors can do all of those things, some prefer to specialize and focus their skills.

I used to be really good at proofing and doing line edits, but thanks to all my health issues, I’m aware that my brain isn’t as sharp as it used to be, and I’m more prone to missing small things. I’m still good with developmental aspects, however, so that’s where I focus my skills now. Funnily enough, it’s often considered more labor-intensive. But it doesn’t generally require me to process small details which my eyes will likely miss due to visual/mental exhaustion.

As for the aspects beyond the technical? I’m going to say you need to love reading (should be obvious but you’d be surprised how many people think being pedantic is enough to be an editor), have read broadly, and also be able to work well and respectfully with others. You don’t need to be all sunshine and rainbows all the time, but you do need to know how to talk to people without putting them down or making them feel like shit when you need to point out that X doesn’t work with their story. You’ll also need networking skills, especially if you decide to go freelance, and the ability to maintain your own work schedule, which is honestly the hardest part of my job for me because my ADHD makes me completely time blind. 

You can also put yourself out there as a professional beta reader if it’s something you’d like to try. So, yeah. There are many similar aspects, but editing also requires particular skillsets, and not all editors have the same skills, so that’s something to keep in mind when comparing the two. 

I hope some of this was helpful and made sense! 

[janiedean]

I thought you’d appreciate that Jaime/Brienne is the biggest GOT ship on AO3 by about 700 works (according to the filters)

I 100% appreciate it and that’s how it should be uwu