#anchoring bias

[extra-joker-mush]

there is no connor murphy like mike faist i’ve watched about a million deh productions in the past two days and he’s just the only one

[cherryblossomshadow]

That's also why this meme exists. (comment courtesy of @firedragon1321)

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(comment courtesy of @oftengruntled)

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They have a certain worldview, and accepting information to the contrary would require them to re-examine everything they believe to be true about the world, which would be immensely destabilizing and devastating. #yknow speaking for a friend who knows people like this (comment and tags courtesy of @softness-and-shattering)

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As Robert Heinlein wrote, “Man is not a rational animal. Man is a rationalizing animal.”   The words “confirmation bias” also float through my head. People make decisions based on many things besides the facts of the case. Yes, even you. Do pause every now and then to check your assumptions. And don’t be so convinced that you are right that you start acting hateful to those who disagree. #adulting #confirmation bias #check your assumptions #true that #Robert Heinlein (comment and tags courtesy of @76ello)

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This is a fantastic description of what the term "confirmation bias" can actually mean. People generally don't make choices based on logic. We act based on our emotions, then our brain comes up with logic to justify it. (comment courtesy of @captain-acab)

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The phrase " (you also do this) " is such a raw, essential thing to read. Everybody should encounter and process that in a true context. - regularly. #self-reflection#humility#relativism#the moment anyone truly thinks they are unbiased and marinated in only truth they should shut up and re-examine (comment and tags courtesy of @breathing-chaos)

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More notes below the cut:

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Something I’ve always said is that it helps to think of good or bad actions rather than good or bad people. Everyone is capable of evil, just as everyone is capable of good. It’s a choice rather than something innate about ourselves. Always. #I was gonna elaborate on this but wow I can not find a way to word it properly #so #there you go #anyways yes I agree with all of this #text #politics #sam says #for queue (comment courtesy of @moonshine-angels)

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These are all good points, but in the US, it's not nothing that 25% of the population are part of an extremist religion that actively teaches you *not* to use critical thinking or examine your beliefs, so "raised in a cult" is a lot closer for a lot more people than I think OP realizes (comment courtesy of @sparrow-in-the-sea)

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ive read this list like four times and if it mentions "they were wrong because figuring things out is hard" I can't tell. which is bonkers, because that's the main reason like, it lists a lot of Social Reality reasons why people might be wrong, but it very notably excludes "actually they tried their best, they didn't make any obvious biased mistake, it just turns out it's hard to evaluate evidence" like damn imagine if the thing being discussed was, like, why do people get the answers to math problems wrong and you gave this list as a reason why. my guy it's because math is hard. and everything in the real world is way harder than math. Nevermind all the biases and emotions etc etc that get in the way: even if you were the Perfect Neutral Observer you would still fuck up constantly because figuring out what's true is fucking hard. the fact that we're not perfect neutral observers makes it harder but it would be an incredibly difficult problem anyway. (comment courtesy of @just-evo-now)

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We get it in the abstract. We all know everybody in this room makes mistakes. The human species, in general, is fallible -- okay fine. But when it comes down to me, right now, to all the beliefs I hold, here in the present tense, suddenly all of this abstract appreciation of fallibility goes out the window -- and I can't actually think of anything I'm wrong about. And the thing is, the present tense is where we live.

We go to meetings in the present tense; we go on family vacations in the present tense; we go to the polls and vote in the present tense. So effectively, we all kind of wind up traveling through life, trapped in this little bubble of feeling very right about everything. I think this is a problem. I think it's a problem for each of us as individuals, in our personal and professional lives, and I think it's a problem for all of us collectively as a culture. So what I want to do today is, first of all, talk about why we get stuck inside this feeling of being right. And second, why it's such a problem. And finally, I want to convince you that it is possible to step outside of that feeling and that if you can do so, it is the single greatest moral, intellectual and creative leap you can make. (emphasis mine) #ted talks #on being wrong #people are complicated #being wrong is part of life #I don't know; I might be wrong #we're all just stupid little blorbos toddling our single braincell down the road to disaster #my addition to a post (comment and tags courtesy of @krakenartificer)

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Also those last set of things (random luck, right place right time, natural environment) led you to recognise when you were having those natural doubling-down, confirmation bias type responses and, even if they felt good, question if they were stopping you from making a choice based on your own values (which are resultant of the abovementioned natural environment/random luck/right place right time etc. anyway, but a lot of people share theoretical values who believe in extremely different things). And lots of the time you find that your knee-jerk reaction was justified, but you keep asking those questions so when something comes along that makes you think Wrong! Bad! Gross! You actually parse it out and go, 'Actually, this isn't hurting anyone, it just gives me the ick. It isn't me cup of tea, but morally, it's fine.' That's a thing about figuring out how to be a better person. It involves a lot of actual figuring out. And sometimes that doesn't feel good because your instinctual feelings were off the mark and we don't like being wrong. (Or at least, I don't like being wrong. Maybe I'm wrong about that.)  But it stops us becoming people we don't want to be. #I think of this a lot when I write villains #which is very fraught anyway because so many bad guys have been racially or sexually coded as other #but I always think a genuine no-redemption-for-you bad guy shouldn't always be sympathetic but should always be in some way relatable #so when the heroes have that knee-jerk reaction of 'Oh I don't like that. That should stop!' like the bad guy #They can then have a Mitchell and Webb 'are we the baddies' moment and try to make better choices #not perfect choices but better ones #because making bad guys completely unrelatably evil bears no resemblance to most of the bad guys we see in the real world #or the bad guys we could so easily become if we didn't actively try to make better choices (comment courtesy of @glasscatowl)

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I'd like to submit one that doesn't seem to match those above (and it might, actually, it's possible I've misinterpreted something,) but just in case and because I think this is all important: They were taught an incorrect "fact" by a source they trusted (a teacher, a professor, a doctor,) and have never had a reason to question it / are not being given a reason to question it by a source they trust.  (You also do this.) To give a (somewhat) benign* example of this: the extremely common misunderstanding of wolf behavior. Many, many, many people were taught based on Mech's original publications at relatively young ages. Though people who are specifically into that subject are aware that Mech himself refuted his own work, the misinformation was already spread into the public psyche and there are many people who, to this day, earnestly believe that version without any kind of ill will or intent. And yes, those same people will often push back against being corrected. That can be for a lot of reasons, including the ones above, but also--possibly--because the person who is correcting them may be, ironically, less overtly credentialed than the person who told them the wrong information in the first place. Plenty of people who should know better are still pushing that narrative, after all. It's tempting to say that anyone being given a hint that there is different or conflicting information should just automatically go seek it out, but also consider that... there's only so much time and energy in anyone's day. Is someone who doesn't deal with wolves, has no real interest in wolves, and doesn't write an inordinate amount of wolf-related porn really going to go out of their way to delve into the mess of who is telling the truth about wolf behavior? Not likely. They're probably going to go with the version taught to them by the person they trust. *"Benign" : I'm aware that this specific bit of research has led to some seriously gnarly beliefs about human behavior (somehow) and otherwise dove-tailed into a lot of weird manosphere and tradwife nonsense. Not to mention animal abuse. That's actually part of why I picked it. The root belief here is fairly benign on its face, but when you know the evils that it's propping up it can be easy to have a knee jerk reaction to anyone who holds to that root belief. But they aren't the same. Treating them like they are can be heinously detrimental to everyone. But even if one does follow the other, being condescending or making bad faith assumptions about why the person believes what they believe will generally only make the situation worse, not better. #I agree with OP though I can't help but notice that all of their assumptions are somewhat... negative seeming #That doesn't make them wrong but there are also more... neutral things that people do. such as this #i really hope i don't regret speaking today (comment and tags courtesy of @cursedwithgloriouspurpose)

when the subject of "why do people believe things that are seriously wrong and harmful" comes up it feels like you kinda hear one of two perspectives:

"oh, that's easy! it's because they're fundamentally Bad people who want to hurt others and choose their beliefs to justify that! :) hope this helps"

or

"they just don't have access to the same information we do. look at this person who was raised in a cult! don't you feel sorry for her?"

and like, yes, fine, some people were in fact raised in cults, but what i wish people would understand is that the bulk of it is just normal human flaws, like:

they want to believe stuff that makes them feel smart and cool and like they've figured everything out (you also do this)

they want to believe stuff that makes them feel like their emotions are justified and grounded in reality, and that the people they want to hurt deserve to be hurt (you also do this)

they form conclusions before they've processed all the relevant information, and cling to that first impression even when new info comes to light (you also do this)

they pick up beliefs from the people around them because they want to be liked and fit in, not because the beliefs are good or true (you also do this)

they come up with reasons that the stuff that benefits them (and the people they like and identify with) is actually overwhelmingly best for everyone and obviously the right thing to do (you also do this)

they pay more attention to stuff that supports what they already believe and avoid looking in places that might show them otherwise (you also do this)

they listen to people who talk like 'one of them' and ignore others (you also do this)

they come up with reasons to dismiss people with conflicting viewpoints as obviously in bad faith or ignorant or a shill or evil (you also do this)

they fail to take their own beliefs seriously sometimes, and take their beliefs way too seriously other times, in a selective way that lets them do the things they already wanted to do (you also do this)

the very ways they construct the ideas of 'knowledge' and 'wisdom' and 'belief' and 'understanding' are biased so that what they don't want to believe comes under lots of scrutiny and what they do want to believe receives less (you also do this)

you, dear reader, are presumably right about everything and were correct to die on every hill you've ever died on, but the difference between you and someone who's wrong about important stuff doesn't look like "well they're inherently evil and i'm not", it probably looks like a combination of:

natural environment (they would have been exposed to different information than you regardless of their choices)

being in the right place at the right time (your particular profile of flaws and virtues happened to be what was needed to lead you to the right conclusions, they had the opposite experience)

random luck (you doubled down on what felt right to believe but wasn't, but it turned out to be inconsequential, or even right for different reasons, while they doubled down on what turned out to be a horrible mistake distorting their entire worldview)

you do less of the things in the previous list, and over time the difference between you and them adds up

and, look, i also do these things. the nicest and most thoughtful people i've ever met do these things. if you meet someone who never does any of these things, i dunno, give them a fucking medal or something.

i know you're doing your best. we're all doing our best.

[thetrainingnetwork]

Neither does he

"Trumpian" is rooted in Anchoring Bias—where the initial offer shapes the negotiation. Start high, alter perceived value, and manufacture concessions. It’s the ‘art of the deal’—transactional politics, seen as pragmatic by some.

‘Trumpian’… a new word for your lexicon. If you took my advice and have read The Donald’s book, Art of the Deal, you’ll know immediately what it means.  It boils down to Anchoring Bias; the first number put on the table (the ‘anchor’) heavily influences the rest of the negotiation. If you start high, it shifts the perceived value in your favour, making any concession seem like a reasonable…

[frkt83-blog]

I am a Multimillionaire Again

I use Google Sheets to track my net worth in real time. This means that at any moment I am able to see what my net worth is. Google Sheets has a GOOGLEFINANCE function that allows you to track the prices of certain assets such as ETFs, shares or crypto. The net worth update is not perfectly accurate because I need to manually update my margin loan debt as well as how much I have in certain bank…

[sheerwillpower]

i would have liked some more mundane chatter between kyle and kamilla. i feel like i only ever see them together when the edit wants them to 1) assert they are Super Close or 2) they have a Scheme. i mean, what happened to showing and not telling?

also, i can empathize with the fact that this is a really difficult season to play the game from an emotional standpoint, but you guys it is literally a game for a million dollars. come on. you can be friends/give them some money afterward.

[wardback]

Americans news networks are fun because they're such an event, like they dont JUST want to tell us the news, they wanna have a lil fun with it

[trishmishtree]

First sewing project of 2025 completed!

It's a Vicwardian shirtdress that kind of straddles the lines between historybounding and historical costuming and cosplay.

See, I have made 3-4 blouses/shirtwaists in this style now, and the most irritating thing about them is that they gradually get more and more untucked throughout the day until I'm left with a muffin top spilling over my skirts. So I figured, why not make one that's the bodice of a dress? That way, I can anchor the blouse part down to the waistband so it can't ride up and come untucked, and I can control how much it's allowed to blouse and keep it that way 24/7 since it's stitched down.

^See? Now I won't have to constantly adjust and re-adjust the gathering and pleating into the waistband or tug my shirttails down because I can feel the back of the blouse ballooning out again.

(Almost forgot to mention: yes, the skirt has giant Victorian-style pockets in the side seams. The dress was 99% hand sewn, mostly because I was working on it while out of town without access to my machine, but also because when I got home and tried to attach a facing to the pockets, my machine decided 3 layers of this shirting-weight cotton twill fabric was too much to handle and broke down. So thanks for that, pockets. Now I have to find a repair shop or replacement machine.)

And bonus: the skirt can be worn as is, or it can function as a petticoat under a separate skirt I can wear over the dress. If I make a floor-length walking skirt to wear over this shirtdress, and maybe a waistcoat and/or an Eton jacket, then I'll have a convincing enough 1890s-1900s ensemble for historical costuming purposes.

Oh, and in case you can't tell, the bodice design with the diagonal pintucks in the yoke is inspired by the outfit that Elphaba wears in her "The Wizard and I" sequence from the new movie. She wears this gauzy, crinkle chiffon-looking blouse under a black jumper dress, and the visible parts of the blouse look like they're bias cut, with some kind of pintucked or micro-pleated texture.

I basically spent the last month and change drooling over the costuming and wanting Elphaba's entire wardrobe. I don't think I'll be accurately recreating any of her actual costumes, but I like to think that my new shirtdress *could* potentially be something she'd wear.

Oh, and here's a detail of the lower sleeves on my dress. Elphaba's usually wearing all black, so the movie costumers played a lot with the texture of the fabrics on her clothing. They were inspired by mushrooms and other earthy textures, so her dresses have a more organic look than what I have going on here. I didn't have enough fabric to play around with, so I figured I'd just give honeycomb smocking a try, and I'm shocked at how well these sleeves preserve body heat in the winter.

Now all I need to do is make her hat and maybe sew a cloth facemask from green fabric and my 2025 office-appropriate Halloween costume will be good to go.

EDIT: link to the pattern I made for this dress here

And here's the dress worn under the corresponding skirt and waistcoat, and Eton jacket.

[sapphorror]

Too lazy to actually go review the episodes right now, but it seems worth pointing out the scalpel was, presumably, a rare unhealing wound infused with enough Slaughter fury to mark him - so while the exact mechanics of statement hunger are nebulous, I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that an injury like that might reset the board.

one of my pet passions for s4 is trying to figure out the exact timeline of when jon forced statements out of people, and I can never be quite sure whether the first one was between 123-124 or 124-125.

points in favor of the former: in 123 he mentions being two days out of a coma and already feeling tired, so presumably he hadn't properly fed yet and was not firing on all cylinders, meaning he would be Humgry. also, he'd probably need to go shopping to replace what got lost in the flesh attack fairly quickly after getting back, leading him to come into contact with the unfortunate cleaner. that would also make sense with what he says in 124 about simon fairchild being "an evil man tormenting and killing simply for his own pleasure, and to feed the power that sustains him," it sounds like he's projecting a bit.

points in favor of the latter: he ends 124 with that very cold conversation with martin, and having his last potential avenue for warm human contact so decisively cut off is probably as good a motive as any for going out and soul-sucking someone. it isn't until 125 that he says he finally feels "focused and ready," and his musings about the slaughter and free will are clearly pointed, particularly this bit:

I’m not sure what scares me more: the idea that deep down, everyone is in complete control of their actions, that everything is, on some level, intentional; or that ultimately we don’t have any control of ourselves at all, and the rest is just… rationalization

but that doesn't necessarily mean he took his first victim directly before this, it might have been a little while. my main point against this theory is that he takes another victim directly after melanie gets him with the scalpel, and that just seems super quick between feedings, like maybe two days, which feels like a Lot.

thoughts?

[peachylynnie]

when you have a crush on a fictional character

word count: 200-300 per lead contains: lads men x reader, established relationship, headcanons on crack, jealousy (they have beef with a fictional character), some plushies were harmed in the making of this post, lots of manga spoilers, cursing, violence, and links to images/videos (so you know what the characters look like) a/n: i had so much fun making this. it's ironic too since THEY'RE fictional. listen, it was either this or ur kpop bias (im missing taehyung like a mf). again, bc these are headcanons, i'm not saying i'm right. reblogs and comments are always appreciated! tagged: @vvintqz (another xavier headcanon) lads masterlist

xavier

gojo satoru from jujutsu kaisen (manga spoilers below)

thought you would enjoy the series since the two of you watch a lot of anime together

but now he regrets suggesting it.

he regrets mentioning the manga too

since the damned character wears a fucking compression shirt in the manga

he swears if he hears the words "my glorious blue eyed king" leave your mouth one more time

he's going to slice your gojo plushie into a million pieces with his sword (he thinks shoving it under the bed is already too much of a mercy)

why are there so many "no lube, no protection" comments under every gojo instagram post?

why are you liking every single one of them?! (you like them bc it's funny, but he is NOT amused)

will glare at you so hard if you ask him to cosplay

would honestly rather cosplay lumiere

this man is scowling whenever gojo appears on the screen

arms crossed, lips pouted, hand reaching for the sword type shit

turned off the TV when that one breathing scene came on (i had to link it)

jumped for joy when he died though lmao

never has he ever been so happy to see a literal body cut in half

you're just sitting there mortified while he's all sunshine and rainbows

he wants to find the author and give him a big hug

xavier 🤝 gege #1 gojo haters

zayne

sakusa kiyoomi from haikyuu (manga spoilers below)

he honestly doesn't know how to react at first

a volleyball player who acts like a jerk, has less than TWO minutes of screentime, and wears NEON attire? (he respects his obsession with hygiene though)

actually questions you at one point

"is that your type?" "do you want me to be like that?" "are you into volleyball players?"

you have to explain it's not like that at all, you just think he's cool

that assures him a bit

but when you start reading the manga

his worries return ten-fold

not only because the character appears more

but because the character doesn't wear neon anymore and has compression sleeves (that's HIS thing)

frowns when he looms over your shoulder

and sees you screenshot EVERY PANEL he appears in (is this a thing or am i the only one)

gets so confused as to why you're referring to the character as omi whenever you call your friend who's an atsumu girlie (i'm an osamu girlie)

he's half grateful the msby black jackals (he begrudgingly learned the team name from you) haven't been animated yet

his face is priceless when he walks into the shared bedroom

and sees a sakusa plushie there

wants to freeze it with his evol

instead he just awkwardly picks it up and makes it face the wall (he doesn't want to see you upset)

rafayel

brant from wuthering waves

"YOU LIKE A PIRATE WHEN THERE'S A WHOLE MERMAN RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU?!"

he's so sulky and petty about it

bashes the character whenever he has the chance

"he's a pirate, i bet he smells bad."

"ew, why does he talk like that?"

"he can summon a giant anchor? big deal. i can summon an entire ocean."

you find this situation really funny

since the whole reason you like brant in the first place is BECAUSE he reminds you of rafayel

it's the theatrical mannerisms and flashy outfits (the sea too)

but you don't tell him that (he'll probably act more offended anyway)

whenever he catches you playing the game

he sighs dramatically and falls on the couch

head on your lap and trying to distract you from the game

"replaced by a stinky pirate, how could this be?"

"can't believe you're playing a game when there's a hot, rideable fishie right in front of you"

he's flabbergasted when you reach for your wallet

"wait, IT'S A GACHA GAME?!"

cue him running around with your wallet and you chasing after him

"no way, cutie. last time you spent like fifty dollars on identity v for some skin."

when you try to correct him that it was for a danganronpa collab (and that it was less than fifty dollars)

he snatches your phone

now he's running with both your wallet and your phone in hand

sylus

yomi from gokurakugai (manga spoilers below)

listen

you started the manga because the character LOOKS LIKE him (just hair down)

he has silver hair, red eyes, and composed mannerisms

literally when you see the panel of him appearing with a jacket hanging from his shoulders along with some slacks shoes

you have to sigh because

you are NOT beating the allegations

the "i have a type" allegations

sylus is honestly amused

see he would actually READ the manga

not even online

he would buy physical copies of it

and have it in your bookshelf

since he knows how much you HATE the pop-up ads on the website you use to read

also because he wants to see what you're so excited about

so imagine your face when you walk into your shared bedroom

and see your boyfriend in all of his gorgeous glory

wearing his signature bathrobe

a wine glass in one hand and...

THE MANGA IN ANOTHER?!

THE ONE WHERE YOMI IS ON THE COVER TOO?!

he chuckles at your dumbfounded expression before standing up and walking towards you (the manga's still in his hand btw)

"what's wrong, sweetie? i thought you liked this series, given how much you've searched for this character on pinterest."

you gulp when he pins his hand on the wall

"would you like me to wear my hair down?"

caleb

chrollo lucilfer from hunter x hunter (manga spoilers below)

see the other guys are...relatively grateful these characters are fictional

this guy actually WISHES this bastard of a character was real

why?

so he can plummet him into the ground

because why are you squealing every time this pale, grown ass man with a tattoo on his forehead and an open fur coat appears on the screen???

here's the thing

caleb was excited to start this show with you since he heard it's good

and it is!

he loves the nen system, has a soft spot for killua, and would honestly kill for gon

but now, whenever you suggest watching the show, he's grumbling and insisting you guys watch something else

he would rather die than tell you this

but one time

he slicked his hair back in front of the mirror to see if he looks like him (oh the aura loss)

he also read the manga

but only to see how often chrollo appears so he can be prepared

was excited for the hisoka vs. chrollo fight (since he's hoping the latter dies)

actually enjoyed it too since both characters used their abilities so creatively

threw his phone when hisoka lost

and punched your chrollo plushie with his metal arm

you made him buy you another one

a/n: not me exposing all of my fictional crushes. here are some other characters i considered: seba natsuki, kei uzuki (sakamoto days), levi ackerman (aot), phainon (hsr), yoru (gokurakugai), beom tae ha (tears on a withered flower), theo lapileon (my in laws are obsessed with me), shinso hitoshi, dabi (bnha), choso kamo (jjk) (my beloved), and reigen arataka (mp 100) (solely for shits and giggles).

[xxepherr]

.ೃ࿐ELECTION DAY

summary — in which austin accidentally lets it slip that hasan’s faceless (yet public) girlfriend is the woman they’re currently watching analyse the maps on CNN. 

pairings — hasan piker x politicalcorrespondent!girlfriend!reader

pronouns — she/her

word count — 1893

note — i personally would have “6’4 jacked boyfriend” as his contact name so that whenever weird men try to hit on me they see that but thats just me (and this reader insert ofc) (also this is nothing special just me rambling tbh — what’s to say this political!reader doesn’t become a mini series)

THE DAY WAS HERE. election day. not only was it the day your boyfriend had spent hours upon hours preparing for for weeks, but you, too. you were a political journalist and correspondent currently working the map for CNN during the weeks in the lead up to the election. 

it was a big day for you. four years ago you were streaming your own map coverage to fifteen thousand people on twitch, accessing your sources across multiple states to provide statements on what was going on nationwide. being asked a couple months ago to run the maps in front of millions was certainly a step up, but it gave you control to speak objectively without bias unlike most of the other news anchors and correspondents that were pushing right-wing sentiment over any other coverage. 

you hadn’t seen hasan in a few weeks now unless you counted facetimes and tuning into his streams. you’d get texts while he was streaming and the occasional kaya video ( because apparently she’d been whining with your leave ). it wasn’t the same, but you were both incredibly career-driven people, so being hours apart by plane wasn’t as daunting as it probably should’ve been.

“you’re gonna be late to stream,” you laughed softly, fiddling with the cap of the bottle of water someone had gotten you. endless tabs were open on your laptop in front of you, following aspects of every state because there was still hours to go before the polls closed, so you were only needed in short segments for now to go over 2020 and 2016 county votes in particular states at a time. 

“you’re right,” hasan’s voice was slightly staticky through the phone. “i might have to focus on kornacki or fox news so that i don’t spend too long staring at you.”

“aw,” you let go of your phone, holding it between your ear and shoulder to screw the cap back on the bottle. one of the directors caught your attention across the room, holding up his hand to say that she had five minutes before they were back on air again. “i’m back on in a few . . . i’ll have your stream open on my laptop, though!”

“good luck today,” hasan said softly as he started his stream, leaving it on his opening scene while his mic was muted. people were already flooding in by the thousands. “i’ll talk to you in, what, twelve hours? i love you.”

“twelve hours,” you hummed in agreement, “i love you more,” you sighed softly, noticing that the twitch tab was reloading to take her to his ‘starting soon’ overlay. “good luck.” you ended the phone call first, quickly putting it back on do not disturb and placing it over on the table that was full of analytical notes. the board that now had the map of the united states of america was lit up again, an empty canvas waiting for you to load up the old votes to load up projected blue and red areas.

TOO MANY HOURS TO count and three hundred thousand viewers into the election, hasan was still going strong. despite the pull to watching CNN more than he probably should, he managed to force himself to switch between fox news to laugh at republican propaganda and msnbc. though, he would one hundred percent lying if he said he didn’t have CNN up on his second monitor. 

things were steadily climbing, and josh ( ettingermentum ) was back after mike from PA left the call. josh, who had been raging on ( no seriously, no one had really heard him be that loud all day ) about how the democrats fucked up was finally broken up when austin joined the call, the atmosphere shifting.

christmas sign in full view and a cold slab of a slice of pizza being shoved into his mouth, austin’s discussion on if he was being sent to prison if the republicans dominated was dwindled until josh left the call to analyse the polls for twitter. 

“ugh, can we watch something else?” austin asked, barely swallowing his mouthful of pizza first. “all i’ve done is watch fox today.”

“yeah,” hasan chucked humourlessly, clicking around mindlessly between tabs as he tried to find msnbc’s coverage. because the tabs were so small thanks to the fifty million twitter tabs he had open, he almost groaned in frustration when he accidentally clicked on the CNN tab.

 the tab where you were conveniently fiddling with the data of state of pennsylvania. it was already a dangerous game having you on screen when the chat knew what the silhouettes of you looked like — photos from behind of you walking with hasan, photos of your eyes after he tried to do your makeup, mirror fit checks with your face covered by the phone . . . chat only needed to be railroaded enough to work it out. 

just as he was about to switch tabs again, austin opened his mouth. “oh, man, i miss her,” there was a shift in his tone, more than just him speaking without thinking. familiarity shone through. from the way he casually uttered your nickname to the sigh, it was probably worse than railroading. it was the train forgetting to slam the brakes on worthy. 

hasan wisely kept his mouth shut as he switched to fox news — anything was better than CNN currently — and his eyes slowly zeroed in on the chat. question marks upon question marks until it eventually morphed into ‘holy shit she looks familiar’ and ‘girlfriend reveal????’ to ‘omg face reveal’ and his breathing faltered. 

someone switched the chat to emote only mode in the few moments he was silent for, austin thankfully following suit. glancing at his second monitor, you were still doing your thing, this time discussing the iowa flip from blue to red, completely oblivious. 

“austin,” hasan finally said, tone flat. there was no use making a big fuss out of denying it — that would just make it more obvious. 

austin chuckled nervously, awkwardly. “uh . . . sorry, hasan. i didn’t think about it . . . awkward.”

“clearly,” he grumbled, digging his fingers into his hair for a moment as he thought. the election was put on hold in his mind for a moment as he switched the screen to the full facecam. he wasn’t going to directly deny or confirm anything, so instead he said, “take what you will from what austin said. in saying that, don’t go harass her, clearly she was faceless for a reason. anyway,” hasan cleared his throat, “moving on, back to the election . . .” and he swiftly moved on like nothing ever happened ( while the mods were timing out anyone who asked about it for an entire week ).

“PENNSYLVANIA AND NEVADA ARE expected to be the closest as of currently,” you gestured to the map that demonstrated the slight wave from the blue shift. “we’re looking at about half a percent, but election night is full of surprises so . . . we’ll continue to keep an eye on that for now.” the directors in the back signalled that the camera was no longer live, and you nodded and took a deep breath. the polls weren’t looking as good as everyone had expected it would look for the democrats.

finally off the air for a much needed break, you wandered back over to your little table off to the side. notes were piling up, but upon noticing the spam of notifications flashing across your phone. weird, you thought, your notifications usually not showing up unless it came from verified accounts across all social media platforms . . . until you noticed that it was coming from your private instagram and twitter account. super weird. 

and then the text from hasan. 

6’4 SUPER JACKED BOYFRIEND: uhhh so austin accidentally told 300k people we’re dating 

6’4 SUPER JACKED BOYFRIEND: call me when ur done? so sorry

oh. on one hand the first part was exciting. three hundred thousand? it was a new viewership record for him. on the other? that means a shit ton of people knew the secret you guys had spent almost two years safeguarding. you’d wanted to keep your face out of everything because you had your own career and didn’t want his to intertwine with it. a healthy work-life balance was keeping that shit separate, but it was only really time until people found out anyway. it wasn’t the best kept secret, anyway. 

still, you weren’t mad. you sent off a quick text saying ‘it’s alr’ with a smiley face emoji and shut your phone off completely, shoving it off to the side and turning your laptop back on. you’d be back in california tomorrow, anyway, it could be dealt with then.

THE AIRPORT WASN’T AS secretive anymore. tired after only getting a couple hours of sleep because you got back to your hotel at some god awful hour this morning, it was an instant relief to see hasan waiting for you, dresses comfortably to not draw too much attention to himself — which was difficult because he was fucking huge.

either way, you had no energy to do anything but collapse into his waiting arms, letting him engulf you until you were suffocating. “this is nice,” you mumbled. “sorry i didn’t call, was so tired.”

“you’re fine,” he promised, pulling you back slightly to look at him. “i missed you,” he slipped his hand into yours, and he took your suitcase with his other hand. it was nice to be able to publicly be in his presence without worrying, so much so that you leant into his arm, tiredness dragging your feet.

“missed you more,” you said honestly, but there was more on your mind than just small talk. “where’s austin? motherfucker’s been blowing up my phone.”

hasan chuckled, “if i hear him apologise one more time i’m gonna commit a hate crime.” he then shook his head, “he wanted to stay at the house but i told him to come ‘round tomorrow . . . want you to myself first.”

you knew what that was code for, so you shook your head with a silent laugh. “let me sleep first, god.”

and sleep you did. the house was silent thankfully so you were content tucked up in hasan’s arms, stealing him from clocking in with his twitch chat for ten hours in a fit of selfishness that you were entitled too.

“austin might’ve saved our relationship,” you teased, trailing your fingers up his arm that was tightly wrapped around you, both on the verge of falling into dreamland. “now we can go out on proper dates again.”

“you can tell him yourself,” hasan’s arms tightened around her a little bit more, so full of warmth that the blanket was starting to render useless. “when he knocks our door down tomorrow morning.”

“aw, come on,” you tapped his arm a little harder, fighting the urge to gnaw on his forearm. “you love him.”

“i love you, he’s just my side piece,” he kissed the side of your neck tenderly, “night, baby.”

“g’night,” you mumbled back with a soft smile, the world drifting away for just that little bit longer until tomorrow rolled around. you could deal with your very public relationship then.

[postcardsfromheapside]

I'm going to put a video here where a published author and content creator is talking about the way readers frequently interact with the book world, and specifically Sarah J Maas readers and their ilk. The video isn't hating on readers, or Maas or the types of books Maas & clones write. I am not posting it in relation to the topic of plagiarism. The reason I'm posting it is because of the way people have responded to Veilguard. It's not very long, and I'm sharing it because he summarizes and briefly discusses the following points:

anchoring bias

schema theory

cultural myopia/commenting on things when you have limited cultural exposure

other people dealing with the consequences of a critical poster getting 15 minutes of attention

I thought the video was a good poke into problems coinciding with people criticizing (not critiquing, there's a difference) Veilguard, where anything from themes, plot points, characterization or even costume elements in the game are being torn apart...and the people doing the tearing are approaching the topics with often *self-admitted* lack of experience on what they're criticizing, and zero curiosity.

A concrete example: there was a discussion swirling recently in which there was an attempt to criticize Veilguard for the funerary practices Rook and Bellara go through. This in spite of the fact that a Dalish Rook and Bellara can have an in-the-moment discussion about the differences between their clan practices, and in DA:I Solas can mention how clans are different from each other, and there have been many, many posts on this site discussing from a lore perspective how the elves are not a monolith. I don't have to tell you that the posters criticizing the scene were myopic on both a cultural and personal preference level in their criticisms of the scene.

Critical posters have also frequently spoken over users who attempt to explain the diverse cultural, political, or queer experiences and influences which align with Veilguard's portrayals.

I thought it was great that this creator brought up how authors are affected for a considerable amount of time by shitty online takes. Recently there were screenshots where Trick mentioned that making Veilguard was traumatic, and folks passed them around with bioware/EA/Veilguard critical tags, but didn't include that maybe the fans themselves continue to bear some of the blame for this experience.

I don't think Bioware/EA are blameless as companies, or that Veilguard is a perfect game, but there's been a distinct trend where 'fans' claim to be critiquing things and are really only whining (and sometimes harassing creators) that they didn't get what they personally wanted. And if pressed about what they wanted, the examples they give aren't coherent narratives meant for published or produced media - if they were, those fans would already be working in those fields making art. Social media has made it very easy to 1) get access to and attention from creators, and 2) get validation (and very little pushback) from other fans for pithy remarks. In other words, it's easy to feel undeservedly "right" for shitposting.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Cognitive Bias

Cognitive Bias - a strong, preconceived notion of someone or something, based on information we have, perceive to have, or lack.

These preconceptions are mental shortcuts the human brain produces to expedite information processing—to quickly help it make sense of what it is seeing.

The many types of cognitive biases serve as systematic errors in a person’s subjective way of thinking, which originate from that individual’s own perceptions, observations, or points of view.

There are different types of bias people experience that influence and affect the way we think and behave, as well as our decision-making process.

Examples of Cognitive Bias

Confirmation bias. This type of bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that supports something you already believe, and is a particularly pernicious subset of cognitive bias—you remember the hits and forget the misses, which is a flaw in human reasoning. People will cue into things that matter to them, and dismiss the things that don’t, often leading to the “ostrich effect,” where a subject buries their head in the sand to avoid information that may disprove their original point.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect. This particular bias refers to how people perceive a concept or event to be simplistic just because their knowledge about it may be simple or lacking—the less you know about something, the less complicated it may appear. However, this form of bias limits curiosity—people don’t feel the need to further explore a concept, because it seems simplistic to them. This bias can also lead people to think they are smarter than they actually are, because they have reduced a complex idea to a simplistic understanding.

In-group bias. This type of bias refers to how people are more likely to support or believe someone within their own social group than an outsider. This bias tends to remove objectivity from any sort of selection or hiring process, as we tend to favor those we personally know and want to help.

Self-serving bias. A self-serving bias is an assumption that good things happen to us when we’ve done all the right things, but bad things happen to us because of circumstances outside our control or things other people purport. This bias results in a tendency to blame outside circumstances for bad situations rather than taking personal responsibility.

Availability bias. Also known as the availability heuristic, this bias refers to the tendency to use the information we can quickly recall when evaluating a topic or idea—even if this information is not the best representation of the topic or idea. Using this mental shortcut, we deem the information we can most easily recall as valid, and ignore alternative solutions or opinions.

Fundamental attribution error. This bias refers to the tendency to attribute someone’s particular behaviors to existing, unfounded stereotypes while attributing our own similar behavior to external factors. For instance, when someone on your team is late to an important meeting, you may assume that they are lazy or lacking motivation without considering internal and external factors like an illness or traffic accident that led to the tardiness. However, when you are running late because of a flat tire, you expect others to attribute the error to the external factor (flat tire) rather than your personal behavior.

Hindsight bias. Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along effect, is when people perceive events to be more predictable after they happen. With this bias, people overestimate their ability to predict an outcome beforehand, even though the information they had at the time would not have led them to the correct outcome. This type of bias happens often in sports and world affairs. Hindsight bias can lead to overconfidence in one’s ability to predict future outcomes.

Anchoring bias. The anchoring bias, also known as focalism or the anchoring effect, pertains to those who rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive—an “anchoring” fact— and base all subsequent judgments or opinions on this fact.

Optimism bias. This bias refers to how we as humans are more likely to estimate a positive outcome if we are in a good mood.

Pessimism bias. This bias refers to how we as humans are more likely to estimate a negative outcome if we are in a bad mood.

The halo effect. This bias refers to the tendency to allow our impression of a person, company, or business in one domain influence our overall impression of the person or entity. For instance, a consumer who enjoys the performance of a microwave that they bought from a specific brand is more likely to buy other products from that brand because of their positive experience with the microwave.

Status quo bias. The status quo bias refers to the preference to keep things in their current state, while regarding any type of change as a loss. This bias results in the difficulty to process or accept change.

How to Reduce Cognitive Bias

Even though cognitive biases are pervasive throughout every system, there are ways to address your bias blind spots:

Be aware. The best way to prevent cognitive bias from influencing the way you think or make decisions is by being aware that they exist in the first place. Critical thinking is the enemy of bias. By knowing there are factors that can alter the way we see, experience, or recall things, we know that there are additional steps we must take when forming a judgment or opinion about something.

Challenge your own beliefs. Once you’re aware that your own thinking is heavily biased, continuously challenge the things you believe is a good way to begin the debiasing process—especially when receiving new information. This can help you expand your pool of knowledge, giving you a greater understanding of the subject matter.

Try a blind approach. Especially in the case of observer bias, researchers conduct blind studies to reduce the amount of bias in scientific studies or focus groups. By limiting the amount of influential information a person or group of people receive, they can make less affected decisions.

Biases make it difficult for people to exchange accurate information or derive truths.

A cognitive bias distorts our critical thinking, leading to possibly perpetuating misconceptions or misinformation that can be damaging to others.

Biases lead us to avoid information that may be unwelcome or uncomfortable, rather than investigating the information that could lead us to a more accurate outcome.

Biases can also cause us to see patterns or connections between ideas that aren’t necessarily there.

Logical Fallacy vs. Cognitive Bias

Cognitive biases are often confused with logical fallacies.

A cognitive bias refers to how our internal thinking patterns affect how we understand and process information.

A logical fallacy refers to an error in reasoning that weakens or invalidates an argument.

Cognitive biases are systematic errors in a person’s subjective way of thinking, while logical fallacies are about the errors in a logical argument.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[olderthannetfic]

Ok. Dumb question incoming, but I'd much have a 'conversation' than try to read fanlore or watch video essays or something because I want to hear individual people's contributions.

Why Star Trek?

Don't get me wrong - I like the franchise! I'm not super duper familiar with it, but I do enjoy the bits and pieces that I do know. But I am wondering why that in particular is hailed as the grandmother of all fandoms? Obviously people were fannish before Trek, but I don't think anyone can deny the impact that OG Trekkies had on fic, zines, and eventually on the internet.

I know that it's always been popular and well-liked, but it's not as if there was NO SUCH THING as popular culture/fan culture before that (I mean, come on, the term "parasocial" predates the first Star Trek episode by 10 years!) . Was it just a perfect mix of timing + popularity + etc? Is there something in particular about ST that "hit different" than other series at the time? Or is the fandom really really just that mighty and it's almost "luck" in a way? I guess I'm wondering what particular dominoes cascaded in a line in order for Star Trek to have the impact on fandom that it does today.

or am I wrong? were there just-as-big fandoms before and I simply overhype Trekkie power in my head / happen to see more talk of that than I do of other fandoms? It could definitely be a social circle bias thing.

Ugh. Asking OTNF why Star Trek is so important to fandom history feels very much like asking a Russian History major why War & Peace is so important to literature - hence why I warned you that it'd be a dumb question! But I am just so damn curious what sort of crack was in early ST fandom that made it SO widespread and SO strong.

Like, I guess the TLDR is: what was particularly 'different' about Star Trek, either as a fandom or as a franchise or both, that made it Theeeeee OG fandom, rather than something, like, i dunno, LOTR or the earliest versions of Marvel/DC comics or General Hospital or something else like that?

--

I await the hordes of angry Man from U.N.C.L.E. fans eager to prove that they were first.

And, no, it wasn't that popular. Hence the aggressive Save Our Show campaign and explosion of fan culture when it ended after three seasons.

Part of the answer to your question is that there were like three things on TV at the time. What big fandoms? 'Parasocial' was about non-subculture people feeling warmly towards news anchors or hosts of variety shows or something, wasn't it?

LOTR got rediscovered in the 60s or 70s from what I hear, but science fiction and fantasy books were for fringe weirdoes. SFF was not mainstream for the most part. There are a bunch of History of Book SF Fandom things on Youtube, and you should consult them on the complex role of LOTR in that space. LOTR wasn't a mainstream thing until there were live action movies a billion years later.

The key about Star Trek is that it was a hit with the pre-existing book SF crowd. They were an organized subculture. Some of their favorite writers wrote episodes. Other shit on TV was for people who did not form subcultures in that way. Other shit for SF fans had an audience 1/10,00th the size.

MFU was insanely popular. Illya Kuryakin was the heartthrob of a certain era of girl and inspired many a Russian major. (Seriously, there are soooo many Russia-boos of a certain age who probably still have a poster of him somewhere.) The actor set a record for fanmail. The show may have more influence on fandom history than we think now, but it also didn't rerun the way Trek did, at least in some eras, and it didn't have sequel series in a franchise. I'm always finding 2015 movie fans shocked that there's a still extant and semi-active fandom—or even shocked that the movie is based on something.

Starsky & Hutch was also hugely important and is the moment slash fandom and "Media Fandom" really split from book SF fandom. As Trek fans moved on to buddy cops, they were into a completely mainstream show but in a non-mainstream way. Trek was an awkward bedfellow at SF cons, but S&H just didn't fit at all.

Of course, while Trek is the grandma of AO3 type fandom, don't forget that a shitton of modern fans who are doing "research" just look at the same few sources. Enterprising Women is great and all, but even other fans of the same stuff are like "Oh, that was just X's friends. Where's [thing] and [thing] and [thing]?" Ditto Textual Poachers and the other scant early sources that people think have academic weight.

While Trek would still be central, the picture of what was going on in the late 60s-early 80s would look a bit different if you just found a bunch of 70-something nerds and asked them than if you regurgitate other people's research, you know?

If you want an idea of what else was going on in SF fandom back in the day, check out Galactic Journey, where they roleplay that it's 55 years ago and review SF things "as they come out".

If you want to understand MFU, here's a vid of Illya:

--

What say you, readers?

What have acafandom and fandom history and meta left out?

[glossgojo]

long hair // jake sim x reader smut

busanking photo credit edited by me

MDNI: oral fem recieving, pu$$y drunk jake, teasing jake, dom jake, sub AFAB reader, pet names (princess, baby, angel cuz y/n makes me cringe sometimes), long haired jake bias wrecked me at fate plus, lemme know if u want a part two i could go on and on ab <3

“step away from the scissors.” your voice came out a lot more stern and harsh than you intended but it had its own effect, jake sharply turning away from the mirror and setting down the offending tool and moving toward you ready to apologize and grovel like he should.

“princess the company said it’s getting too long, just a little off won’t hurt right?” his arms looped around your waist, tugging you towards him and pouting down at you. the bathroom of the hotel you were staying for the night was connected to your shared room, did he really think you’d let him get away with it so easily? at least now you were out of the crime scene, closer to bed where you could lull him to sleep. you wouldn’t concede to his whining or whatever the fuck the company wanted.

“no you-no it’s perfect as it is.” you gave him your best puppy dog eyes, wide and round as you looked up at him pitifully. as if you hadn’t just demanded he set down the scissors.

“you can do it for me, just an inch baby please?” his hands were lingering, tracing the back of your spine, thumb brushing against the small sliver of skin on your hip that your low rise skirt exposed. he was hypnotizing you, getting his way slowly and you hated that he was still sweaty with his hair styled from the concert. his voice gravelly from use and you wanted nothing but to give in to him. and he could see you were conceding from how your wide pretty eyes fluttered from his touch, how your hand absent mindedly bunched up the material of his shirt.

“nuh uh, it’s your hair you can do whatever you want to it, i won’t partake in a crime.” you pouted and attempted to stomp away, his finger hooking under the band of your skirt .

“don’t be mad angel, at least tell me why it would be so bad.” he turns you by the hips towards him, standing less close than before but still close enough to smell his maddening cologne mixed with sweat. even his sweat smelled good to you, you were a goner. a lost cause.

“are you fishing for compliments jake sim?” you narrowed your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest and jake’s eyes unabashedly trailed to your now propped up cleavage. you fought an eye roll at his actions, was he insecure after the show? like thousands of girls weren’t screaming their lungs out when he raked his long hair back.

“no besides that you think it looks good, do i not look good in shorter hair?” so your pretty boy was actually a bit insecure. maybe you shouldn’t have been so dramatic. he was the hottest man you’d ever seen and not to mention you were in love with him, if he was bald you’d still find him attractive.

“of course you do…it’s just…it’s like my anchor.” you mumbled out the last bit, eyes looking away from him as your cheeks heated. really you’d been thinking about it since you saw the scissors.

“your anchor?” jake was actually confused by you, he wasn’t teasing you and the realization made you blush more. maybe you were more perverted than you thought.

“you know when my mind is being blown having something to hold onto helps.” and how badly you would miss having something to hold onto as jake’s nose and mouth pressed against where you needed him most and made you see stars.

jake’s furrowed brows of confusion eased out as his expression morphed into a smug smile. oh god you were fucked now. “is that right baby? i can’t take that away from you can i?” he was smiling like a cat that had gotten its toy, walking closer to you as you stepped back, arms uncrossing as your legs hit the back of the bed. you almost fell backwards from the surprise of it and instead braced yourselves against his solid chest. looking up at him then was a recipe for disaster as his dark eyes narrowed and laser focused on your lips. were they always this puffy? had you been gnawing at them? his poor baby all stressed about his hair.

“ake-“ you warned, a little terrified by the look in his eyes and also too turned on to stop him. you knew that look, it always ended with you passing out from exhaustion and him still not being done after you lost count of how many rounds, orgasms, screams of his name.

“come on baby, i gotta see it to believe it.” he bit his lip at your small hands feebly pressed against his pecs. you were sure you were soaked below, you’d never live it down. his leg slotted between yours, pushing up against your underwear, wearing a skirt was another cause for jake to lose his composure very quickly.

“please-“ your soft voice didn’t need to say much more, as his hands pushed you down, kneeling in front of you as you now sat on the bed. his head between your legs faster than you could grasp what was happening. his veined hands squeezed the plush of your thighs, your knee highs only covered the skin visible to the world, the rest for his pleasure. he loved when you wore skirts, but it made him unrulier. you still remembered when you wore a particularly short one and you both fucked in the green room before a show.

“pretty baby, how could i take anything from you?” you squirmed in his hold, the vibrations from his deep voice against your inner thighs made you even needier. his soft lips pressed to the sensitive skin.

“jake-.” his left hand pressed your hip down as you bucked in his hold, his tongue teasing the edge of your underwear not delving under the fabric where you needed him.

“what do ya need baby?” he loved hearing you say it, confirming you were just as gone as him.

“your mouth please.” and that was enough for him, usually he wanted specifics but tonight he wanted to taste the sweet scent that was already teasing his senses. he pressed a adoring kiss against your clothed core before weaving his arms under your thighs and pulling you against him, one of your legs was resting on his shoulders now the other spread for him to slot into.

he kissed at your underwear not giving up the chance to tease you, “so wet already baby.” jake could feel himself grow hard in his pants, losing himself slowly to your taste.

he couldn’t take much more teasing himself any more as he pulled your underwear off you, shoving up your skirt and inspecting your pretty cunt under the dim beside lamp light. his second favorite girl shone in the light, red and puffy and slick with need. you squirmed from his attention, feeling ashamed from his eye contact and he quickly dove in, giving into the meal in front of him. his thick tongue purposefully collected your slick before circling your perked up clit. you whined at the contact, hands flying to his hair and the smug fucker smiled against you. despite your whines you were purposefully grinding against his mouth, his soft pillowy lips kissing you slowly.

“taste so sweet, need more.” he was already drunk off you, tongue licking up everything he could as his nose clumsily bumped against your clit making you clutch his dark strands a bit tighter. he noticed that, now surging so his sharp nose grinded against your clit. your fingers twitched as the obscene sound of his devouring of you filled the air. he was sloppy and in a craze, eating you like you were his last meal on earth. your quiet sighs were music to his ears and the taste of your ichor staining the back of his teeth made his head dizzy. his eyes fluttered closed as he hummed against your cunt, like he’d taken a bite of his favorite ice cream. one of his hands left your hip and traveled down to your inner thigh. the cold of his rings made you shiver in his hold.

it was all too much, he kissed against your folds, sloppily making out with your cunt as two of his lithe fingers entered you, curling up and filling you instantly. you clenched around him as more slick poured out of you, jake quickly drinking it in and pulling more out of you. his mouth moved fervently against you, tongue delving into where his fingers drew moans of his name from you. he fucked and stretched you out, never quite letting you get where you needed. the combination of his nose, fingers, and mouth made you reach your climax closer than ever. his fingers moved in and out you, you embarrassingly kept pouring out straight into his mouth and clenching around his fingers. as he felt you getting closer he removed his fingers, pulling you flat against his face as his tongue fucked you instead, his nose bumping your clit as he moved back and forth and making you scream his name as you came hard on his tongue. all he could breath was you, hear was you, taste was you, his eyes fervently looking at each piece of you, his hands roaming the plush of your thighs. jake thought he could die happily between your legs.

once your back had stopped arching and your mind came back to earth you realized your needy boyfriend was still lapping at your juices, your sensitive cunt making you whine at his touch. you shoved at his forehead with your fingers still in his hair, a few strands of his long bangs fell into his face with his chin and lips shining in the light from your wetness and you felt yourself grow hot at the image. you were so glad you told him to put down the scissors.

“come on baby one more, can’t get enough of your taste.” he licked his fingers clean, eyes shuttering close as he moaned at the taste. you clenched on air as your pussy drunk boyfriend begged for another round. you knew it was never just one more round, it would be at least four with you falling asleep with his dick inside you.

“but what about cutting your hair?” you wanted him to admit defeat and his eyes shone at your words, smile lifting his puffy lips.

“princess i meant it when i said i’d never take anything away from you.” he smiled wide at you that puppy smile that was entirely too endearing and you almost forgot he was still between your legs. you whined a bit at his words, thankful and a little bit dazed from how insane his statement was. yeah you lost the bratty attitude pretty fast, you’d go for as many rounds as he needed, because you needed it too.

[liberatingreality]

We’ve created a culture that fetishizes the new(s), and we forget the wealth of human knowledge, wisdom, and transcendence that lives in the annals of what we call “history” – art, literature, philosophy, and so many things that are both timeless and incredibly timely.

Our presentism bias – anchored in the belief that if it isn’t at the top of Google, it doesn’t matter, and if it isn’t Googleable at all, it doesn’t exist – perpetuates our arrogance that no one has ever grappled with the issues we’re grappling with, which of course is tragically untrue.

Maria Popova

[starreyblueberry]

Tbh I just rlly miss Timmy cause he was a kid who wasn’t a genius, who wasn’t this role model that was fated by some prophecy, that he was a miserable kid, who wasn’t this extremely mature kid but just had a bit more self awareness. Like, don’t get me wrong this ain’t a diss on any other cartoon who had these out of the world kids, their amazing ! But the show had a huge anchor that Timmy had it worse then other kids. While it was made for laughs, it was also semi acknowledged. It’s hard to see “bad” parenting in kids shows usually, especially older ones. it’s almost always redeemed or excused, which to be fair that was the case with fairy odd parents, (except for the new show which I’m so happy that they show both healthy but has problems parenting and actual shit parenting) but there was always some line or base that Timmy’s parents were indeed neglectful, and that Timmy was just a kid. That he didn’t deserve what he was going though, and that Wanda and Cosmo were indeed an escape.

He was not some secret choosen dude who was destined to save the world (ignoring the one special) he was just a kid who had shitty conditions and thus lashed out. He was just a kid who tried to make his life better. I feel like a lot of kids when they were younger related to that, to the control Timmy turner wants over his life and he constantly tries to get, Ya know LOL. And I feel like sometimes- when you constantly see these almost super human teenagers who the gods themselves have chosen to have this adventurous life with their friends and family, Timmy almost felt like this grounded “anyone who’s depressed can have this.” Look not every kid was a gifted kid or had an extremely tragic backstory. A lot of kids are like Timmy, just an average kid with shitty parents. It doesn’t make him this great, talented, person though and tbh I love him for that! I love that at the end of the day he was still a kid tryna make the world better, and that yea he was selfish sometimes but whenever people had a problem, he’d unwish it away. I love Hazel hell I even have opinions on Chole, but the reason Timmy is my favorite (besides the obvious generational/Nostalgia fueled bias) is cause he shows what a average kid is like, one who deals with shitty parents and has a hard time on school. But he still stands up :]