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demon-fucking-therapist · 2 years

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You mentioned before that the yandere brothers could, in theory, be lead to kidnapping/keeping MC in capacity. I know you said that's a bit hard to do since Mc "owes their asses" lol, but if push came to shove, how do you think that would play out? As in, what do you think the necessary circumstances would be for any of the bros to kidnap Mc?

Gonna put the answer to this under a read more because:

1. Yandere and kidnapping talk - nothing too dark compared to the genre’s standards, but not everyone’s cup of tea, and

2. Mild spoilers for the end of season 2.

I’m also going to answer this with MC going the “harem route” with the brothers. They’ve made their peace with sharing MC so long as it stays in the family.

I can see it happening in certain specific circumstances, though that’s not the direction I have planned for the series right now. For the sake of the hypothetical though:

1. Most likely and most “justifiable” is that they see an external threat that risks removing MC from them and kidnap MC to avoid that. This external threat could be someone trying to kill them, another yandere aside from the brothers, or just poor circumstances in the human world.

We already have one canon kidnapping attempt from the brothers for similar reasons - MC is going to be separated from them, they don’t want it to happen, MC doesn’t want it to happen, so they’ll just take MC.

MC might be annoyed at them, but will probably forgive them due to their motivations being more or less pure. For the yandere bros, they saw it as a “better to beg forgiveness than ask permission” situation. Their dynamic probably wouldn’t change much at all, and might even return to complete normalcy (MC being able to move around and go where they please) when the threat is gone.

2. MC tries to leave them. This is not going to happen in the series but I’ll include it as a possibility anyway.

I think if MC tried to leave them the yandere bros would probably do almost anything to stop it (bar physically harming MC). They love MC - what happened? Did they not show it enough? Did they not prove that they were worthy? MC has to give them another chance. MC will give them another chance.

Though in a weird way, I think MC would still be the “dom” in this case - obviously not fully in control given the whole kidnapping thing, but the brothers would be very desperate to prove themselves. They would even be willing to accept much harsher punishments and treatment, so long as MC just stayed…

However, I don’t think this is likely on MC’s end. With the MC I’m writing in this series, they kind of like the brothers being willing to go to such messed up lengths for them. You think you’re gonna get that from a human relationship? To paraphrase Gone Girl, the brothers are it for MC. No one else would be willing to do the things they do for them.

#asks #anon #yandere brothers

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sophieakatz · 4 years

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Thursday Thoughts: Writing Advice (Part 1 of 3)

I recently stumbled across this writer ask meme about pieces of writing advice, and I was having so much fun thinking about it that I decided to just respond to them all!

1. Nothing is perfect

This is one of those truths that can be used for good or ill.

It’s easy to see the flaws in your own work, to hold your own writing to a higher standard than literally anyone else would. It’s good to say “nothing is perfect” to assure yourself that your work is good enough.

But if someone has called you out for using racist stereotypes in your writing, and your response is, “Well, nothing is perfect! So leave me alone and don’t tell me to fix it!” That’s bad!

Allow me to misquote the Talmud and tell you to keep two pieces of paper in your pocket, and take each out as you need it. The first says “nothing is perfect.” The second says “I can, and should, always do better.”

2. Don’t use adverbs

Adverbs are tools. Understand their purpose and use them wisely.

To prove my own point, I could not have written that second sentence without an adverb – “wisely.” The purpose of an adverb is to modify a verb or an adjective. It wouldn’t be enough for me to just say, “use them.” How should one use them? Wisely!

The best advice I ever got about adverbs is that they should be used when they are necessary for clarity.

If I write, “Sophie smiled happily,” that is not a necessary adverb. It is already obvious from the fact that I am smiling that I am happy. Using “happily” is redundant and uninteresting.

If I write, “Sophie smiled sadly,” on the other hand – that is necessary. The adverb changes the picture that you make in your head, and the sentence is more interesting as a result.

3. Write what you know

I get why people use this as advice. I’m much more a fan of saying “know what you write.”

Feel free to go beyond your own individual experience when you write – but for god’s sake, do your research. Expand what you know, so that you can write.

4. Avoid repetition

Like adverbs, repetition is a tool. Use it wisely.

What can repetition accomplish?

Emphasis – highlighting something as important.

Memorability – helping the audience remember.

Familiarity – we tend to like and believe what we hear over and over.

Musicians understand this. Listen to the Hadestown soundtrack and keep a tally of how many times Orpheus is referred to as “a poor boy” or Eurydice as “a hungry young girl.” Listen to the Hamilton soundtrack and count how many times Burr opens a song with “How does a –?” Think back on all the times you heard the new hit song of the year and you shrugged it off, but a couple weeks later, after you heard it on every radio station, on everyone’s Spotify playlist, in every YouTube ad – it “grew on you.”

The trick is using repetition just enough that it provides a useful structure, but not so much that it’s noticed to the point of instilling boredom.

5. Write every day

Sure, why not. If you write just ten words every day for a year, you’ll have nearly 4,000 words at the end of it – a short story. If you write a hundred words every day for a year, that’s almost 40,000 words – a decent novella. Writing every day is a good way to end up with something written.

But don’t beat yourself up if you don’t or can’t write every day. Writing takes effort. You have other things to devote energy to – work, school, groceries, cleaning, socializing, confronting your own mortality, finding out how season seven of Clone Wars ends.

I encourage you to notice all the things that you do every day which isn’t officially “writing” but is still a part of being a writer.

Now, this is something I struggle with. I go months without touching my novel, and it’s easy for me to dismiss that time as “not writing.”

But I send emails. And I write essays for school. And I jot down thoughts and dreams in my journal. And I read – you have to read in order to write. And I spend time on my walks and in the shower imagining dialogue and figuring out character paths and themes for my novel, all things that will help me when I do get back to writing it. And I have all the smaller projects I gave myself – this weekly blog post, my weekly poem or quote, my fanfiction.

If you’re a writer, then you’re a writer, whether or not you write every day.

6. Good writers borrow from other writers, great writers steal from them outright

I’m not sure what the distinction is here between “borrowing” and “stealing.”

Stealing is definitely a part of writing, though. I’ve written about this before – check out my old article on stealing bicycles as a writing metaphor.

7. Just write

Oh I am a BIG fan of this one. Even if you don’t know what to write, just write. So many pages of my journal open with the line “I have no idea what to write about.” Eventually, as you ramble, you start writing about what you wished you would be writing about. And then you find yourself actually writing.

8. There’s nothing new under the sun

Sure, but the art is in making something familiar feel new. I wrote about this a couple weeks ago in this Thursday Thoughts.

9. Read

Yes, yes, yes! Read to find out what’s out there. Read to learn the conventions of your genre. Read to ignite your love of the craft. Read to discover your people. Read to add tools to your toolbox (or pieces to your bicycle). Read to find agents and editors and publishing imprints. Read to learn what stories are not being told. Read to be a writer.

10. Don’t think!

Thinking is a tool. Use it wisely.

The best parts of my writing I’ve discovered not while writing, but while thinking about writing.

Just don’t think yourself out of writing altogether.

11. Write what you love

You’ll certainly be happier writing something you love than something you don’t love. You won’t love everything you write, though. It can still be good and valuable even if you don’t love it. But if you love it, or if you can remember why you loved it, you will come back and finish it.

12. Never use a long word where a short one will do

Forget the length of the word. Is it the right word?

To paraphrase Mark Twain and Josh Billings, the difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

If you do find yourself needing to choose between two words with identical definitions, and the only difference between them is their length, then think about the effect of the word on your reader. Read the sentence aloud a few times with either option. Different words have different connotations; they evoke different moods. It may in the end just come down to which word feels right for this moment.

13. Less is more

No, it definitionally is not. See my above thoughts about adverbs, repetition, and long words vs short words.

All words are tools. All words have a purpose. Is it the right word for this moment?

14. Never use the passive when you can use the active voice

Again, active voice and passive voice are tools! They have purposes!

The simplest way to differentiate between the two is that active voice is “the girl threw the ball” and passive voice is “the ball was thrown by the girl.” Both make sense. Both describe the same action. But one places the emphasis on the girl – the subject – while the other places the emphasis on the ball – the object.

Are you trying to create a sense of immediacy, to immerse the reader in the moment? Use active voice. He did this! She did that! Bam! Pow! It’s happening right now, and we know exactly who did it!

Are you trying to create distance between the reader and something in the moment? Use passive voice. He was being followed – by who, we don’t know. Passive voice adds a touch of mystery or disassociation.

15. Show don’t tell

How do you show? How do you tell? There are engaging ways to do both, and boring ways to do both. Do what the moment needs.

In prose, I recommend setting up with showing and then hitting your reader with a tell. Say your protagonist is standing alone in a room. Then, a woman enters. Show the protagonist’s reaction to that woman – their heart pounds, they tear up, they grab a chair for support…

And then, in the narration: “Her mother had been dead for five years, and yet there she stood.” Bam! A well-placed tell which contextualizes the reaction.

Plays and screenplays come down on different sides of the “show vs tell” debate. Film usually does more “showing,” while a stage play usually has more “telling.”

This comes from writers leaning into the limitations of the mediums. The first few lines of any scene in a Shakespeare play lets you know the location and time of day, because they didn’t have the scenic or lighting elements available to show it.

While a film can cut to different places and times quickly and easily, many plays are set in just one or two locations to remove the need for frequent scene changes. A play will capitalize on the characters’ reactions to and conversations about unseen offstage events, while a film will show these offstage events.

These are not hard and fast rules, of course. Plenty of films stay in one location, and plenty of plays jump around from place to place. It’s worth noting that standard formatting for plays and screenplays highlight this typical difference. In a stage play script, the dialogue (what we’re told) is left-aligned while the action (what we’re shown) is indented. In a screenplay, the action is left-aligned and the dialogue is indented.

Neither showing nor telling is superior. They are both tools. Use them wisely.

To be continued...

#writing #advice #writing advice #writblr #writers #writers of tumblr #show don't tell #thursday thoughts #listicles #shakespeare #active voice #passive voice #word choice #just write #write what you know #adverbs #write what you love

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ecoamerica · 15 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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robertkstone · 5 years

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2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 Prototype Review: Driving Mercedes’ EV SUV

Circle back to six years ago when 11 MotorTrend judges unanimously voted the then-brand-new Tesla Model S our 2013 Car of the Year. Were we nervous? Yeah, sure, of course. Tesla what? Elon who? I remember asking the group if anyone had publicly or privately ever said that the Model S was vaporware. Ten hands shot up, with the other judge stating that his mother taught him to say nothing when he had nothing nice to say.

Tesla has had many ups and downs since then, with CEO-Mascot Elon Musk’s Trumpian Tweets piling on the damage that “manufacturing hell” has wrought. Still, paraphrasing what I said back in September 2012, I’ll never bet against a billionaire who docked his rocket ship with the International Space Station the week before his electric luxury sedan won Car of the Year. Consider that Tesla has accounted for 4.6 percent of all vehicles sold in California during Q3 of 2018—and California has more citizens than Canada.

The rest of the industry is finally waking up to Tesla’s success and waking up quick. Chevrolet did an incredible job with the Bolt EV (our 2017 Car of the Year), but sales are down significantly this year—GM blames that on a shift to overseas production, but cheap gas also has most folks shopping Tahoes instead of Bolts.

I also believe that people (currently) interested in electric cars aren’t interested in Chevy badges. Premium vehicles that come across as premium—like all three Teslas but unlike the slow-selling BMW i3—are what these customers want. To wit, Jaguar just launched the handsome I-Pace while Audi is gearing up to deliver two EVs—the E-Tron SUV and E-Tron GT. Porsche’s gorgeous though unfortunately named Taycan is right around the corner. As is the first of 10 offerings from Mercedes-Benz’s new subbrand E—the EQC 400. Europe will be able to buy the electric Benz come June. Americans will have to wait until January 2020.

To break down the nomenclature a bit, for the time being, all fully electric Mercedes will be known as EQs. I predict this convention won’t last long, as it gets in the way of the brand’s other names. For instance, the EQC 400 is clearly an SUV. In fact, it’s built on the same production line as the GLC. Now, GL is Mercedes-speak for SUV (GL being an abbreviation of Gelandewagen, or “cross-country vehicle”), and the GLC is the SUV that’s roughly analogous in shape and price to the C-Class. That’s where the C in GLC comes from. So what happens when Mercedes launches an electric C-Class? EQC is already taken. Anyhow, for now, the first all-electric SUV from Mercedes will be known as the EQC 400. The 400 stands for a 400-kilometer battery range (back to that in a minute).

The 400 could (almost) stand for horsepower, as together the front and rear electric motors generate 408 of them. The front motor is slightly smaller, has five windings, and is slightly less powerful than the rear, which features seven windings. That’s how Mercedes EQ is doing rear-wheel bias. Torque is pretty healthy, too, at 564 lb-ft.

EQ engineer Bastian Schult tells me that 0–60 mph will happen in 4.9 seconds. You might think with all that power the EQC 400 might be a touch quicker. Thing is, this compact SUV weighs right around 5,400 pounds. That’s heavy. The last Mercedes GLC 300 we weighed came in at 4,006 pounds. Why so hefty? The 80-kW-hr battery pack along with its accompanying crash structure clocks in at 1,430 pounds. Sure, there’s no internal combustion engine, but there are the two motors, along with all the affiliated liquid cooling for both the motors and the battery. For the sake of comparison, the last Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Performance we tested weighed 4,078 pounds and hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. In terms of SUVs, the Tesla Model X sits at 5,516 pounds, though it is a larger vehicle than the EQC 400.

The 400-kilometer range is based on the WLTP European standard. If you do a straight metric conversion, the range comes out to 249 miles. However, you can’t just do a straight conversion. Schult estimates that the EQC 400 will be EPA certified at 220 miles of range. For proof, he points out that the day before I showed up, he’d carefully driven the thing for 207 miles and had 7 percent remaining on the battery. That would add up to a 222-mile range. That’s not class-leading, though anything over 200 miles works in the real world. Charge times are what we’ve grown accustomed to, with the battery charging to 80 percent in 40 minutes on a 110-kW charger.

Outside, Mercedes has created a new front end for the EQ family. To my eyes there’s something vaguely Japanese about the underbite headlight surround. It could be the sharp corners coming off each “eye,” almost like a JDM minivan you’d see prowling the streets of Tokyo. It’s a decent design but not one I’d go with to launch a brand—subbrand or not. Unlike many electric cars, the grille is still in residence and fully functional, as it’s used to cool what’s under the hood.

Compared to the GLC, the EQC is 4 inches longer, and all the extra length goes rearward to give the electric crossover a more coupelike appearance. The hard side is definitely the best angle. The rear is solid and well executed if not a bit derivative. Everybody seems to be doing the solid taillight bar these days, especially Porsche. Inside, Mercedes did a nice job of keeping familiar Benz controls but mixing them with some EQ-specific flourishes. The bronze air vents and the silver cooling fins on either side of the passenger compartment stand out the most.

What’s the EQC 400 like to drive? That’s the multibillion-dollar question, isn’t it? Here’s the funny part—and I could write a comedy sketch routine based on the frequency with which this happens to me: The American PR people promise I can drive it; the Germans feel different. After much international drama (conducted on a bridge, of course), I essentially stole the thing when the Germans let their guard down.

The EQC feels quite powerful, even in Normal mode. There are four driving modes: Normal, Sport, Eco, and something called Max, which you switch into when range anxiety hits and you simply need to reach that charger. The EQC is also nearly silent—quieter than other electric vehicles. Ever since the Tesla Roadster, a characteristic of electric propulsion has been a whirring, Star Wars–like noise. Mercedes has mounted both motors via subframes to the vehicle by way of huge rubber mounts that effectively eliminate that noise. All you hear is wind and tire patter. A production EQC 400 should be even quieter than this prototype. For one thing, it’s getting thicker glass.

The ride quality is quite good—something I experienced from the passenger seat—though from behind the wheel you are acutely aware of just how heavy the EQC is. There’s a plodding feeling to the vehicle, like it’s simply crushing what lies beneath. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s very unexpected in such a small package. All that battery weight is down low, and as a result this Mercedes hugs the road. During my illicit drive it was raining, yet the EQC 400 felt sure-footed. Planted, even. I barely had a chance to play with the four brake-regeneration modes before I received a particularly nasty phone call, ordering me back to base camp. Note that the EQC 400 defaults to Auto regen mode, which uses map data, radar data, and the stereo cameras to “intelligently” set the amount of regeneration. You pull the left paddle for more regen, the right one for less.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 has the range, size, luxury, performance, and, perhaps most important, the badge that early adopters of all-electric transportation seem to crave. True, it’s not a ground-up electric vehicle and therefore has some shortcomings—like a motor where you might expect a frunk—but none that are fatal. Moreover, when this Mercedes hits the market, its only direct competition will be Audi and Jaguar. The upcoming Tesla Model Y crossover hasn’t been officially announced (talk about a poorly kept secret), and despite rumors of a mid-2020 introduction, like all new Tesla models, I’ll believe it when I drive it. The electrification of the automobile remains inevitable, and the EQC shows that Mercedes-Benz will be part of the revolution.

#IFTTT #PerformanceJunk WP Feed 3

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outputshrimp8-blog · 6 years

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Summary Response Essay - The Small Details

Essay title format

The “Small Details”

1.) What do we call these readings -- stories, short stories, or essays?

Technically, they are essays. (Essays can tell stories: an entire essay can tell a story, or a part of an essay can tell a story, or an essay can tell several different stories. However, a short story is normally the term given to a fictional writing which tells a story. What we’ve read is nonfiction, so the proper term is essay.)

2.) How do you refer to the writer in your paper?

The first time you mention the writer's name, use her or his FULL name -- Patti See, Davina Ruth Begaye Two Bears, or Jennifer Crichton.

Every time thereafter, use either the writer's LAST name, or FULL name, or a variety of both.

Using M s. See, Ms. Two Bears, or Ms. Crichton is also appropriate.

NEVER use only the author's FIRST name.

Be sure the names are SPELLED correctly!

3.) Your own title (examples):

A Single-Source Essay

A Summary-Response Essay

A Summary and Response to Patti See's "Outside In"

Patti See's "Outside In" : A 200 7 Update

You should NOT quote, bold, underline, italicize, capitalize, or enlarge your own title.

4.) Writing other titles in your paper:

Underline or Italicize (but not both) the titles of longer works like books, newspapers, and magazines, and be consistent with which one you choose.

Higher Learning --> Higher Learning or Higher Learning

Newsweek --> Newsweek or Newsweek

Star Tribune --> Star Tribune or Star Tribune

Use “quotation marks” around the titles of shorter works like essays.

Outside In --> "Outside In"

I Walk in Beauty --> "I Walk in Beauty"

"Who Shall I Be?" The Allure of a Fresh Start --> "'Who Shall I Be?' The Allure of a Fresh Start"

Be sure to quote accurately. Copy the text exactly, word for word, all punctuation marks, etc. Sloppy quoting is a form of unintentional plagiarism -- you are mis-representing the words of another writer.

Be sure to use quotation marks.

Be sure to introduce all quotations using a “signal phrase.”

Be sure to end all quotations with a parenthetical citation which includes the page number from which the quote was taken.

6.) Using ellipses to shorten quotations :

Original: “But students like the ones who wrote those notes can also be found on campuses from coast to coast -- especially in New England and at many other private colleges across the country that have high academic standards and highly motivated students.” (from Zinsser, page 95)

Sample: According to Zinsser, students under pressure “can also be found on campuses from coast to coast … that have high academic standards and highly motivated students” (95).

Original: “I think the observable reluctance of the majority of Americans to assert themselves in minor matters is related to our increased sense of helplessness in an age of technology and centralized political and economic power.” (from Buckley, page 37)

Sample: Buckley thinks that “the observable reluctance of the majority of Americans to assert themselves … is related to our increased sense of helplessness in an age of technology” (37).

7.) Is it required that we have quotes in our essays?

No. And do not quote just for the sake of quoting. Only quote if you have a really good reason to. Otherwise, you can summarize or paraphrase information from the essays to put in your own essay.

There is also no specific number of quotes needed in your essay.

8.) In your introduction:

Try to avoid phrases like “In this paper, I am going to write about …” or “I will argue that …” or “I hope to show you that …” or “I chose this essay because …”

These phrases are O.K. for the first draft, but revise them out by the final draft.

You do not need to include background information about the author in our introduction . Doing so was a suggestion. If it fits, or if you feel it is necessary or helpful, put it in. Don’t force it. And, if you want to put it in but not in the introduction, you might consider putting some information later in your essay, perhaps even in the conclusion. But, again, this is only a suggestion. You won't "lose points" for not doing it.

You do not need a "forecast" statement in your introduction as part of your thesis statement, but one is sometimes helpful, not only for your readers, but also for you as a writer as you are drafting. Just be sure that, in the final draft, the forecast statement "matches" the rest of the paper.

Other introduction ideas:

Explain what attracted you to the essay you chose.

Tell a personal story that relates to the essay you chose.

Startle your reader with something -- an image, a statement, a quotation, etc. -- they wouldn't expect.

Start with an important quotation from the essay you chose.

Click here for more information about introductions.