#sbw ask

[golden-threads-local-group]

Do any of you have any strong opinions about your group members? I’m curious if you see each other as friends or simply colleagues.

[LIVE BROADCAST - Whispering Reeds]

WR: Friends...? Colleagues? WR: No, not that. WR: We are family. We have to be. WR: We are built for each other. We cover the other's flaws. We are a tapestry, threads woven too tightly to unravel. WR: . . . WR: We were closer, once. Long ago. Before... everything. WR: I was closer, once. I should be specific. WR: I am not as... available, anymore. WR: Everything has changed. That is the nature of things. But, the others will always be my family. At least, I dearly hope so.

[LIVE BROADCAST - Twelve Endless Nights]

TEN: Colleagues? The others are hardly as colleagues as they are children I must begrudgingly attend to lest they run off into trouble. TEN: A family, yes, but one born of circumstance and not choice. TEN: Honestly, I feel like I'm the only responsible one here. TEN: I have documented and catalogued all of the work output the other have done over a long period of cycles and I consistently do more in one cycle than the others do in ten! TEN: It's like I'm the only one here with any sort of intent or drive to continue our divine purpose.

[LIVE BROADCAST - A Fleeting Moment, Silence Between Words]

AFM: we're a family, of course! one big happy family! SBW: I have always considered the others to be my kin. AFM: silo has always been there for me! he's the best, and so so nice! AFM: he's our senior but he's always treated me like an equal. unlike some people... SBW: Twelve is just looking out for you, Momo. Worrying is how he shows he cares. AFM: i think he worries more than he cares. AFM: reedie worries too much, too. but she's nicer about it. AFM: did you know?!?! reedie is my twin sister!! we were built by the same engineer! i'm technically the youngest but only by a few cycles. SBW: Indeed. I got to watch you both be built from the ground up. SBW: I saw Twelve, too, but that was far before my exaltation as senior. For you, I saw every detail. SBW: It was a wonderful honor to see my family take form. I consider all of you my own flesh and blood. SBW: Somewhat literally - we are all dependent on water that has flowed through all of us. We drink what the others provide. We are all connected through that flow - I find it beautiful. AFM: awwwww silo :') see? he's the greatest!!!!!

[ghost-town-story]

Trick or Treat? 🦇

The kitty dice have chosen... treat! And in the spirit of the holiday, I'm gonna talk a bit about my spider girl Thea :D

Now, when I say spider girl, I don't mean Spider-Man shenanigans. I mean a la driders in DnD, or for the unknowing/uninformed/those who didn't see a bunch of screenshots and gifs when BG3 came out (really the only reason why I know what they are lol), think centaur, but instead of a horse body, it's a spider.

And that's Thea! :D

Now it's bullet point time XD

Absolute sweetest sweetheart to ever sweet

She's a Weaver (name to be changed), which is somebody who can see and manipulate the threads of time

One of her parents is the goddess of the Weave (name also to be changed, basically the "tapestry" of time)

Absolutely smitten with Mari basically the moment she sees her

Hates feeling helpless

Absolute gentlest soul who doesn't want to hurt anybody

(Too bad the plot is gonna kick her well past her comfort zone re: those last two points!)

Thanks for stopping by!

[empydoc]

hii sweetheart questions bc yes :]

9. favourite side character(s)?

19. which character(s) are you most similar to?

29. favourite anthology? (ex. valenweek, hot boi winter, afterfluff, aftershock…etc)

(also hi big fan, i love you <3)

hi omg .. what a surprise .. but so very delightful !!!!

you asked ...

9. favourite side character(s)?

hrm. i like me that scorpius dude <3 also i'm pretty partial to alexis but that's a whole fuckin tangent man

19. which character(s) are you most similar to?

guh. i know what you'd say but personally? either huxley or asher? i feel with both personality wise and with partial backstory we know there's elements i relate to

29. favourite anthology? (ex. valenweek, hot boi winter, afterfluff, aftershock…etc)

i'm quite big on sbw/hbw ... however the past/present 2023 val stuff was really good so maybe that!

thanks for askinggg<3 i love you too !!

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver

The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless. It was a much larger aircraft, able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers and carry a considerable array of armament. It featured an internal bomb bay that reduced drag when carrying heavy ordnance. Saddled with demanding requirements set forth by both the U.S. Marines and United States Army Air Forces, the manufacturer incorporated features of a "multi-role" aircraft into the design.

The Model XSB2C-1 prototype initially suffered development issues connected to its Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone engine and three-bladed propeller; further concerns included structural weaknesses, poor handling, directional instability, and bad stall characteristics. In 1939, a student took a model of the new Curtiss XSB2C-1 to the MIT wind tunnel. Professor of Aeronautical Engineering Otto C. Koppen was quoted as saying, "if they build more than one of these, they are crazy". He was referring to controllability issues with the small vertical tail.

The first prototype made its maiden flight on 18 December 1940. It crashed on 8 February 1941 when its engine failed on approach, but Curtiss was asked to rebuild it. The fuselage was lengthened and a larger tail was fitted, while an autopilot was fitted to help the poor stability. The revised prototype flew again on 20 October 1941, but was destroyed when its wing failed during diving tests on 21 December 1941.

Large-scale production had already been ordered on 29 November 1940, but a large number of modifications were specified for the production model. Fin and rudder area were increased, fuel capacity was increased, self-sealing fuel tanks were added, and the fixed armament was doubled to four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the wings, compared with the prototype's two cowling guns. The SB2C-1 was built with larger fuel tanks, improving its range considerably.

The program suffered so many delays that the Grumman TBF Avenger entered service before the Helldiver, even though the Avenger had begun its development two years later. Nevertheless, production tempo accelerated with production at Columbus, Ohio and two Canadian factories: Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada), which produced 300 (under the designations XSBF-l, SBF-l, SBF-3, and SBF-4E), and Canadian Car and Foundry, which built 894 (designated SBW-l, SBW-3, SBW-4, SBW-4E, and SBW-5), these models being respectively equivalent to their Curtiss-built counterparts. A total of 7,140 SB2Cs and equivalent models were produced in World War II.

Initially poor handling characteristics and late modifications caused lengthy delays to production and deployment, to the extent that it was investigated by the Truman Committee, which turned in a scathing report. This contributed to the decline of Curtiss as a company. Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier skippers seemed to like it. Nevertheless, the type was faster than the Dauntless, and by the end of the Pacific War, the Helldiver had become the main dive bomber and attack aircraft on USN carriers.

By the time a land-based variant, known as the A-25 Shrike, became available in late 1943, the Western Allied air forces had abandoned dedicated dive-bombers. A majority of A-25s delivered to the US Army Air Forces were transferred to the US Marine Corps, which used the type only in one side campaign and non-combat roles. The British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force also cancelled substantial orders, retaining only a few aircraft for research purposes.

Nicknames for the aircraft included "Big-Tailed Beast" or just "Beast", "Two-Cee", and "Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class"; the latter nickname was derived from the name SB2C and the aircraft's reputation for having difficult handling characteristics.

Photo-Description:

Aircraft

Commemorative Air Force

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver

Reg.: N92879

Code: 32

Location & Date

Wichita - McConnell AFB (IAB / KIAB)

Kansas, USA - September 25, 2010

Caption:

Photographer:

J Snyder (Oklahoma, USA)

[redactedgender]

Hello!! For the ask game,

11. Character(s) you want to know more about?

12. Listener(s) you want to know more about?

25. Favorite series? (ex. Imperium, Inversion, The Balance, Project Meridian..ect)

29. Favorite anthology? (ex. Valenweek, Hot Boi Winter, Afterfluff, Aftershock..ect)

ooo!! okokok, lets go!

11. Character(s) you want to know more about?

i have like. two for this. morgan, because i wanna know more abt what it meant for him to grow up visibly and purposefully as obscura, and how that effected him, and also guy, because i want him to have so much more than just silly goofy times (dont get me wrong, i love his silly goofy times, obviously) and to actually get like. yknow. information about him??

12. Listener(s) you want to know more about?

OBSCURA. in a similar vein to morgan, i want to know what it was like for them to grow up hiding their real powers until the inversion happened, which made them feel like they had to come out of hiding. i think also think that i want to know more abt dear in the same way. we know they were probably raised to think they had to be The Water Elemental, yk, so i want to know more abt how that manifests (plus i want more lasko taking care of and helping dear pleaseee)

25. Favorite series? (ex. Imperium, Inversion, The Balance, Project Meridian..ect)

i looooove the balance. i dont always listen to it because i dont like some of blakes audios and i really hate listening to elliott cry in his and aaron's first audio together, but something about the way that the balance caused so many of the other playlists and even characters to appear is crazy. like think about it. the balance starts the inversion, which brings us morgan, but it also brings us sovereign's state, and hush, and vega's storyline with the warden.

i am very attached to the freelancer storyline as well though.

29. Favorite anthology? (ex. Valenweek, Hot Boi Winter, Afterfluff, Aftershock..ect)

i think in general the hbs/hbw/sbw anthologies are some of the best. the past/present anthology has one of my favorite audios in it, so obviously that one too. i think i like the hbw/sbw '22 playlist the best. i think the way erik was able to make videos that were both soft and hot for different characters at the same time is so admirable, and i love almost all the audios in that anthology

-> redacted ask game!

[taegularities]

sbw jk and oc : what’s your favourite thing to do together?

Jungkook: "I know everyone says going on a movie date is boring since you can't really talk much, but oh boy. She and I do not shut up."

OC: "We both love movies and we're both into Marvel and stuff. So we spent a good while rewatching all movies and now we're always the first to book tickets for the new ones."

Jungkook: "It's fun, we dissect every second of the movie. And she cries a lot."

OC, nodding with a smile: "So does he."

–

ask my characters! <3

[andsheoverthinks]

sure @kanelia!

the 'strong independent black woman' stereotype comes from the 'mammy' stereotype (the best example of this is the character 'Mammy' from Gone With The Wind, pictured below), referring to an enslaved woman whose entire fulfillment and purpose in life is derived from bringing her white masters' happiness at the expense of her own needs.

[you can often find the vestiges of this trope in media where a Black woman or girl is the maternal, asexual, loyal cheerleader of the white main character.]

therefore it rarely refers to strength in the way you may be thinking of it, CEOs or high-powered career women and such. Black women's 'strength' in the eyes of society comes from self-sacrifice (like raising four kids with a deadbeat dad and not asking for child support). moreso, the 'strength' implied is loyal servitude, lack of complaint, and ability to 'endure' trauma. instead of 'strength' that serves a woman's goals, health, and happiness, the 'strong independent black woman' stereotype glorifies a strength that serves only others, with the Black woman being a mean to others' ends. the strength becomes weaponized against the self and the self becomes a tool to serve others. it's inherently objectifying. it invalidates Black women's mental health struggles, our feelings, and our existence as human beings.

belief in this stereotype literally increases propensity to stress-related depression as what it actually glorifies is silent suffering.

The ways in which the SBW stereotype predisposes the humanity of the Black woman leaves her emotionally zombified and disabled. She is supposed to be perpetually on guard emotionally and invulnerable to those around her. Showing signs of stress and emotionality paints the Black woman as weak, needy, or in search of attention. Seeking validity from others is seen as a sign of low self-esteem. The world has been conditioned to see the Black woman as better endurers of distress and immediate healers from trauma than that of other women. In fact, through the initial creation of the SBW stereotype during slavery, this conditioning served as justification for white people’s violence against Black women. - (The Mule of the World: The Strong Black Woman and The Woes of Being ‘Independent’ - Cailyn Petrona Stewart)

one of the typical examples of this stereotype in action is how Black women are treated in medical, especially OB/GYN settings:

many medical professionals believe all Black people, including Black women, are 'stronger' than white people and feel less pain, and therefore under-prescribe pain medication

one of the worst examples of this is the origination of the field of modern gynecology. James Marion Sims (the 'father' of modern gynecology) performed experimental operation techniques on Black women without anesthesia. once he perfected his techniques, he operated on white women with anesthesia.

when Serena Williams, a famous tennis player, noticed she was having trouble breathing after giving birth and asked for a CT scan and heparin since she had a history of blood clots, the medical professionals treating her wouldn't take her seriously. when she was finally able to convince them to fulfill her request it turned out that she was in fact having a pulmonary embolism (which can kill you). of course i 'can't prove this was because of her race' as everyone's favorite comeback goes, but i have little doubt that the way the media portrays Serena ('Big Brutish Black Woman') affected her treatment.

to end with a direct answer to your question, praising a white woman for her 'strength' and 'independence' doesn't come with the same kind of baggage. praising a Black woman for her 'strength' and 'independence' comes with strings attached (servitude and dehumanization). we're 'strong' so it's okay to abuse us. we're 'independent' so we should be turned away when we ask for help.

i think the reason white women/white feminists glorify the 'strong independent black woman' trope is because they mistakenly think it's some GNC, anti-patriarchy thing that black women came up with to stick it to the man... we didn't. idk what the men told you. but make no mistake it's not about us being respected leaders but moreso packhorses.

the strong black women trope is very much gender-conforming and hyperfeminine. it may not be pink and ribbons and cute but it is indeed Feminine (Pertaining to Female Stereotypes). the strong black woman is the ultimate 'mother' figure (see the Mammie stereotype). she gives and gives and GIVES, having no feelings of her own. she can be abused and raped and tortured without showing any trauma or shedding a tear. she is whipped to the point of death while in labor. her children are stolen from her at birth. she breastfeeds her mistress's children the milk meant for hers without a complaint.

she is self-sacrificing having no self-love or indeed self-identity. every Black woman tries her best to escape this stereotype in order to maintain her self-identity. this is the stereotype which causes us to die at crazy high rates in childbirth... still think it's empowering? Black women cling to the feminine aesthetic because we hope it will humanize us, earn us a scrap of empathy. we hope people will look at us and see just a woman instead of a black woman. you can laugh all you like at the bright-under-eye dark-lip-liner long-nails IG girls but you don't understand how they got there. 'princess' may be a cage but it's a nicer and better cage than 'mammie.'

women of all races have to escape the programming but it's different for all of us.

why do you think hollywood loves portraying the strong black woman struggle love stereotype so much? do you think holly-WEIRD is down with the cause?

being 'soft' and expecting to be waited on and prioritizing our feelings is GNC for Black women. that's how men behave, after all.

*waves hand* make me a plate.

[argus-news]

TCS Reacts After Report Claims Staff Warned Over Work-From-Office Rule

Tata Consultancy Service or TCS announced last year the shift from 100% work from home to a hybrid model asking employees to come to office for three days a week.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's leading IT services company, has denied reports that it sent strict warning to employees who are not complying with its return to office policy. In a statement, a TCS spokesperson said that the company has been encouraging employees to work from office for three days a week, but has not "communicated or deployed linkages to career or compensation". The statement was released after Times of India carried a report saying TCS has started sending memos to employees who are not completing at least 12 days of work from office in a month.

The memo warned that disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against employees if they do not adhere to the roster, the TOI report further claimed.

"We are excited to see our campuses buzzing with energy and want all our employees to be a part of that vibrant ecosystem. A significant number of employees have joined TCS in the last two years. It is important for them to experience the TCS environment to collaborate, learn, grow and also have fun together, thus developing a stronger sense of belonging to the organisation and enabling better integration," the company spokesperson told NDTV.

"Over the last several months we have been encouraging associates in India to return to office and spend 3 days a week at the workplace. This has yielded good results with many of our people returning to office. Our objective is to have all associates work from office for at least 3 days a week on average in the month, and towards the same we continue working with all our groups to have everyone participate. For now, we have not communicated or deployed linkages to career or compensation," the spokesperson added.

TCS had said last year that it won't allow employees to work 100 per cent remotely - a scenario necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. It also sent emails to employees asking them to work from office three days a week.

As per the TCS model of calling employees to office three days a week, not more than 25 per cent of TCS employees will need to work from the office at a given point.

The company had said last year that rostering will be based on project requirements, and a mix of freshers and experienced professionals will be called to the office.

TCS said the process is part of a phased transition from the company's Secure Borderless Workspaces (SBWS) to a more hybrid model which will allow most of its employees to work from the office for some days of the week.

[sleepybutwriting]

(Possible spolier?) I'm sorry if this sounds like a request I'm just genuinely curious what do you think would be YPHs reaction to the Hawks killing Twice thing?

Most likely disappointment. Especially if they looked up to him, in that sort of big brother way. It would probably really screw up their relationship. Picture y/n, fighting with the lov, when they’re just like “You don’t even know what side you’re fighting for.”

Y/n, who’s confused just answers with. “What are you even talking about?”

“You think your hero friends know anything about justice? What about twice? Where was his justice? It was in the grave. Right where your little hero friend Hawks put him.”

Maybe y/n doesn't believe them at first. Unable to grasp the fact that someone they looked up to was capable of doing something like that. Until they confront him later, and he admits it. They’re in a state of shock/weakness. And the lov prey on that. Using it to their advantage and sort of opening the door for y/n to join them. And y/n slowly comes to the realization that they don’t want to be like Hawks anymore. They want to be better. They want to become someone worthy of the title hero. And maybe the best way to do that is by paradoxically joining the villains. (idk if that makes sense, but that's just how I picture it going down)

[ghost-town-story]

🥺🎃🕯👻Trick or treat, hiatus person?🥺🎃👻🎃

(Wishing you a restful hiatus!)

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the well wishes <3 As for the kitty decision making dice, they have chosen... treat! So I'll go with my other Halloween-y character, Mari

Her full name is Priscilla Amarie Voldaren

But she hates her first name

So she goes by Mari whenever she sneaks out of the house

Comes from an ancient, influential family of vampires

Unfortunately she is the family embarrassment due to her lack of powers

Something her brother Does Not let her forget about

She takes a while to warm up to people and really trust them

Totally not at all influenced by her family's attitude 🙃

Her favorite hobby is tinkering with electronics and machinery

Something she inherited from her bio dad

(not that she knows that at the start of the story)

(poor Thea is the one to accidentally break that news to Mari)

Desperately wants some life other than this, stuck in her golden brother's shadow, an afterthought to her father, a constant disappointment to her mother

(Too bad her first chance at something else is the furthest thing from sunshine and rainbows it could be)

(At least she has Thea and Kizali)

[sleepybutwriting]

I always love yph and ypv art! When I got your ask saying you made something my heart skipped a beat, but it completely stopped when I saw this. I love them beyond words!! They’re the CUTEST! Thank you for sharing your beautiful art🥺💕💕

ypv and yph cuddling,,

h a ha jk,,

unless-

@sleepybutwriting

[writingpuddle]

Hey! I just got the space between worlds and I’m wondering if ur aftg crossover fic contains spoilers, or if it’s just based off the universe

the short answer is "yes it contains spoilers"

the slightly longer answer is that i have changed a metric ton of things to accommodate the foxes, some fun drama i dreamt up, as well as random stuff that didnt come up in sbw but i think would be neat. however i have kept the broad strokes of the plot the same. there are enough things changed between them that i think you could read both and still not know what was coming all the time in the second one you read, but certainly there are plot points that are common to both.

regardless, i am so hyped for you! space between worlds is a really fun read, enjoy!

[taegularities]

sbw jk and oc; what do you love the most about each other?

Jungkook: "I guess saying "everything" won't count." Jungkook: "Mmh. How soft yet fierce she is. Like, she has those big, innocent eyes, but then she scolds me about hanging the toilet paper roll under. She's also so funny, though. Sometimes I struggle to understand how she comes up with all the things she says."

OC: "My eyes aren't that big and innocent anymore. That's just how he remembers them." OC: "But hm. I love how much he communicates. He's vulnerable, so he's not scared of laying his thoughts open which… has honestly prevented a couple arguments and misunderstandings."

–

ask my characters! 🤍

[strxnged]

Bestie please 😩😭 these lines aren’t even lines can you just give me the actual last line on that page that isn’t to be continued or something

umm okay

—"Do you want to know my history?"

it was right before a character spilled their backstory finally. ngl that part hit hard.

send me a page and line number.

[sleepybutwriting]

Just in time because we got ship names too 😂

@sleepybutwriting. Guess what I made in response to the continued ship content

[lisbonsteresa]

Esther being given the reins and flying down the beach, laughing freely for the first time in the entire show, in a parallel to the way she is finally given freedom from the manipulative, damaging relationships and endless scheming in her life and control over her future and the chance to decide how to live it.....