#it’s probably the cognitive bias

[doomer-soyjack]

The NPD+ASPD boner that comes when people online hate you and wish the worse upon you because they don't like what they see on their screen.

[willowsearth]

Should you stick with your first choice or switch? The Monty Hall problem proves how often our instincts betray us. Learn why switching boosts your odds—and what it reveals about human decision-making. #Psychology #CriticalThinking #Probability #CognitiveBias #DecisionMaking

[calicojack1718]

Cognitive Biases and Polling: Navigating the Illusion of Certainty

Reading time: 5 minutes Human beings hate uncertainty, so we go to almost any length to rid ourselves of the discomfort it causes. Our cognitive tendencies get badly abused and used by polling to skew our perception of elections.

SUMMARY: This post explores how polling exploits our psychological biases, distorting our understanding of electoral dynamics. We struggle with uncertainty and probabilities, leading to cognitive gymnastics that reinforce our preferences. Key biases—confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and cognitive dissonance—form the “Sword and Shield of Self-Righteousness,” enabling us to dismiss…

[mariasont]

OKAY OKAY OKAY this might seem really simple but i love the simple stuff

spence x reader

spence is just yapping about whatever, the quantum mechanics of coffee beans, as you said in one of your posts i think, and reader just cuts him off by kissing him IN FRONT OF EVERYONE on the jet.. and everyone’s there like.. oh! im imagining he kisses reader like he kissed lila in that pool scene IM FERAL. yes he kisses back.. and then the rest of it’s just garcia being a squeaking happy person and hotch and morgan are like “that’s my boy” but rossi and jj are just gagged

please im like

Reid the Room - S.R

spencer reid has never met a bad time to discuss aviation disasters. and before your survival instincts can stop you, you're kissing him just to make it stop

pairings: spencer reid x reader warnings: gn!reader (correct me if im wrong), secret relationship, pda, mild workplace inappropriateness lol, teasing/banter, spencer reid being spencer reid, mentions of plane crashes! wc: 0.9k

The words don’t just come from Spencer, they pour — fast and inevitable, like water rolling down slick stone, shaping everything in its path. You’ve spent months memorizing the subtleties of it, the tiny furrow between his brows when he’s thinking too hard, his fingers twitching mid-sentence, like even his body can’t quite keep pace with his brilliance.

He becomes more animated when he’s passionate. It should be illegal, you think, for someone to be this smart and this pretty at once. If the team ever noticed how intently you watched him, they’d know. They’d know everything. 

“— the likelihood of a plane crash is about one in 11 million, but what’s really fascinating is that 95.7% of people actually survive crashes, assuming they’re seated within the five rows of an emergency exit. Though, of course, the probability of surviving depends on factors like impact angle and —”

Morgan leans forward, bracing an arm against his knee, eyes locked on Spencer with the patience of a man debating the ethics of shutting someone up by violent force.“Hey, man, you ever hear of a bad time? We are currently on a plane. Read the room.”

For once, you don’t leap to his defense. No well-timed he’s just trying to educate us, Morgan, or an indulgent I think it’s interesting thrown in to buffer the onslaught. 

Instead, you glance at him, eyebrows lifting into something dangerously close to betrayal. Because, yeah. This might actually be one of those times. One of the Morgan is completely justified in wanting to tape Spencer’s mouth shut for the next four hours.

“I have heard of a bad time, but the concept is largely subjective. What you’re experiencing is cognitive bias, your brain associating this discussion with immediate danger because of proximity. In reality, the likelihood of a crash remains the same whether I mention it or not, so from a purely logical standpoint, this is no worse a time than any other.”

Morgan drags a hand down his face.

“...In fact, not talking about it could be considered the real danger. Avoidance leads to complacency, and complacency leads to fatal mistakes. Did you know that the most survivable crash positions involve bracing at a 60-degree angle? Although, of course, survivability depends largely on the structural integrity of the fuselage upon impact, and in cases of explosive decompression —”

It happens before you can think about — before the gnawing, frantic need to make him stop talking about plane crashes while you are actively inside one overrides all rational thought.

You turn, grab Spencer’s collar, and yank him in, your own common sense careening into a tailspin somewhere at 30,000 feet.

The moment your lips collide, Spencer’s entire body goes rigid, frozen mid-sentence, mid-thought, mid-existence. His mouth is still forming a syllable that dies in a half-swallowed exhale against your tongue. His hands, previously conducting an invisible orchestra of statistical doom, trap in mid-air like he forgot what hands are.

But he catches up fast. One second he’s buffering and the next his fingers twitch — once, twice — and then lock onto your waist like he’s just decided physics no longer applies and you need to be closer. It starts semi-tentatively, inhaling against your lips, breath uneven, before he presses deeper. A lit match dropped straight into gasoline.

You pull back, breath coming fast, Spencer still leaning in like he isn’t done yet. “Anyway. What were you saying?”

Spencer stares, lips parted, pupils blown wide. For a second, he seems to genuinely try to answer, searching his mind for whatever deeply important fact he was so adamant about a minute ago. “...I don’t remember.”

The jet is quiet — too quiet — and that’s when it hits you. 

You kissed Spencer. In front of everyone.

Something cold and hot spreads through you, and suddenly, your limbs don’t seem to be operating under your jurisdiction anymore. Do something. Anything. Breathe. Blink. Move. But nope, your brain is still buffering, and Spencer – dear, sweet Spencer — looks just as dazed, which means absolutely no one is saving you from this.

You could just… not turn around. Avoid whatever is waiting for you. Live the rest of your life facing forward like a malfunctioning animatronic. But the weight of twelve pairs of eyes boring into your back is impossible to ignore.

So, with all the grace of a person walking into their own execution, you turn.

Garcia has both hands glued to her mouth, body vibrating like she’s one second away from either screeching at a frequency only dogs can hear or launching herself into the air like a bottle rocket. Her eyes are huge, pupils dilated. JJ, meanwhile, is just staring. Frozen, lips parting as if she wants to say something but has no idea where to start.

And then there’s Hotch.

You swallow hard as you meet his gaze, expecting some level of seriousness, some stern professional acknowledgment of the wildly inappropriate display that just took place — but instead, he just exhales slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose like a man who is simply too tired for this.

And then, breaking the tension with the ease of a wrecking ball, Morgan lets out a low, satisfied chuckle. “Damn. I knew there was something going on, but damn.”

After the initial shock wore off — and after Garcia had texted Emily a summary in all caps, Morgan had called you both a lost cause, and Rossi had actually applauded — things mostly went back to normal. Mostly. Except now Spencer absolutely knew what he was doing.

And later that night, as you sat beside Spencer on the couch, he turned to you, utterly serious, and murmured, “You know, in the U.S., the majority of residential break-ins occur between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. —” 

You groaned, yanked him in, and cut him off the same way you had earlier. He made a very pleased noise.

💌 masterlist taglist has been disbanned! if you want to get updates about my writings follow and turn notifications on for my account strictly for reblogging my works! @mariasreblogs

[magical-reid]

could i pretty please request prompt #18 with spencer reid and a forensic scientist reader? would be super duper cool if she was part of the bones (tv show) crew, as i’ve always thought them and cm should have done a crossover. thanks!! ❤️

The Science of Luck

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Word Count: 1K

Prompt: 18: "I thought I had the worst luck, until I met you"

Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid, a staunch skeptic of luck, finds himself questioning his beliefs after an encounter with a clumsy forensic scientist, who joins the BAU team on a challenging case. Despite their initial bickering and contrasting expertise, the two begin to form an unlikely partnership while investigating a serial killer, leading to a surprising and potentially life-changing connection.

Dr. Spencer Reid didn’t believe in luck. Probability? Sure. Coincidence? Of course. But luck? That was just a cognitive bias humans relied on to explain randomness.

Yet, as he stood ankle-deep in Virginia mud, his pristine pants ruined, watching as yet another forensic scientist nearly slipped and took out an entire evidence table, he found himself reconsidering.

“I thought I had the worst luck,” he muttered, barely dodging a flying clipboard, “until I met you.”

The forensic scientist in question—you—wobbled but managed to right yourself before disaster struck. You shot him a glare as you readjusted your Jeffersonian ID badge. “Not my fault this crime scene is a swamp. And it’s not luck, it’s physics. Slippery surfaces, unstable ground, and a lack of proper traction—”

“That sounds an awful lot like an excuse for bad luck,” Spencer countered.

You huffed but couldn’t argue. You were a forensic scientist, not a field agent, and being thrown into an active crime scene with the BAU was not in your usual job description. You were used to working in the pristine, controlled environment of the Jeffersonian Institute—not chasing serial killers through the backwoods of Virginia.

And yet, here you were.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

It all started with a body—or rather, bodies. Multiple skeletal remains had been discovered in various locations across the D.C.-Virginia border, the work of a particularly meticulous serial killer. The BAU had been called in due to the pattern of abductions matching an existing profile, but given the advanced state of decomposition, the FBI had reached out to the Jeffersonian for forensic assistance.

That’s how you ended up here—cold, wet, and questioning all of your life choices.

Agent Hotchner, ever the professional, barely batted an eye at the tension between you and Reid. “Dr. (L/N), thank you for assisting us. Dr. Brennan recommended you personally.”

You straightened your back. Temperance Brennan doesn’t recommend people lightly. “I specialize in isotopic analysis and forensic taphonomy. If your unsub is moving bodies across state lines, I can determine where they were before they ended up here.”

Hotch nodded approvingly. “That would be extremely useful.”

Reid, however, still looked skeptical. “That’s assuming there’s a pattern in the body disposal locations. If the killer is deliberately choosing random drop sites—”

You crossed your arms. “Then I can still tell you about the soil composition, insect activity, and post-mortem damage, which could help narrow down a timeline. It’s basic forensic science, Doctor Reid.”

A small smirk twitched at the corner of Hotch’s lips as he turned away. “Work with Dr. Reid and see what you can find.”

You and Reid stared at each other for a beat too long before sighing simultaneously.

“Fine,” you said.

“Fine,” he echoed.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Back at the Jeffersonian, you had the advantage. This was your turf, your lab, your meticulously organized work environment. And Spencer Reid—despite his genius—was a little out of place.

“Don’t touch that,” you warned as he hovered near a set of isotopic samples.

“I wasn’t going to,” he shot back, shoving his hands in his pockets.

You raised a brow. “I literally just watched you reaching for it.”

“It was a reflex!”

“Uh-huh.”

Despite the bickering, you had to admit—Reid was sharp. He picked up on patterns even before you finished running tests, and while his knowledge of forensic anthropology was limited, he had an uncanny ability to connect seemingly random details.

Together, you started to piece together the unsub’s movements. The isotopic analysis revealed that the victims had spent time in an area with a unique mineral composition—suggesting an underground water source near limestone deposits.

Reid’s encyclopedic brain immediately pulled up a connection. “There’s an abandoned mining town about twenty miles west of the last body dump site. It was shut down in the 1980s, but the underground aquifers match your analysis.”

Your eyes widened. “If the bodies were stored there first, that could explain some of the inconsistencies in decomposition rates.”

He nodded excitedly. “Exactly. We need to check it out.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The abandoned town was eerie. Old buildings, rusting equipment, and an unsettling silence. You were with Reid, Morgan, and Booth—because of course Booth had insisted on coming along.

“What are the chances the unsub is actually still here?” you asked, glancing around nervously.

“Statistically?” Reid started, but before he could finish, a gunshot rang out.

“DOWN!” Morgan shouted, pushing you behind cover as bullets ricocheted off the crumbling brick walls.

Your heart pounded as you scrambled for safety. “I am so not cut out for this!”

“Yeah, well, welcome to our world,” Booth muttered, drawing his weapon.

Reid, crouched beside you, looked equally shaken but determined. “Stay close to me.”

“Not like I have many options!”

A tense firefight ensued, but the BAU and Booth’s tactical skills won out. The suspect was apprehended, and the nightmare was over.

Mostly.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Back at the Jeffersonian, you were still rattled. Lab work was one thing. Nearly getting shot was another.

“You okay?” Reid’s voice was softer than usual.

You exhaled. “I will be. Just… not used to being a target.”

“Statistically speaking—”

“Reid,” you warned.

He smirked. “Right. Not helping.”

There was a beat of silence before he hesitated. “For what it’s worth… I think your bad luck might just be situational.”

You gave him a look. “Says the guy who gets kidnapped at least once a year?”

His lips quirked. “Fair point.”

Despite yourself, you laughed. “Guess we’re both unlucky then.”

He nodded. “Yeah. But… maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I mean, we did solve the case together.”

You tilted your head. “Are you saying we make a good team?”

Reid shrugged, but there was a hint of a smile. “I’m saying… maybe luck isn’t the worst thing. As long as you have the right person to balance it out.”

You studied him for a moment before smirking. “Are you flirting with me, Dr. Reid?”

His ears turned red. “W-what? No! I mean—maybe? I just meant that—”

You laughed, shaking your head. “You’re unbelievable.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

As you walked away, you couldn’t help but smile. Maybe you were unlucky. But if it meant crossing paths with Spencer Reid?

Maybe, just maybe… luck wasn’t so bad after all.

[slamminslamminmcgill]

waiter waiter!!! can i get more house md smut with a side of intox <3

I GOTCHUUUUUUU ive been thinking a lot abt it can you tell >:3

warnings: intox, hard drug use, cnc/noncon/dubcon, somno, gaslighting, humiliation, mentions of date rape and suicide, homophobia/transphobia, slurs, sph but make it t-dick, medical kink, 🏠 being 🏠

reader is a trans man/transmasc. anatomical terms used are cunt, slit, and dick/t-dick

so. house has no qualms drugging people for his own personal gain. he’s done it to wilson, cuddy’s mother, a nuisance neighbor, and god knows how many patients. but i don’t think he’d do it to have sex with someone. he has multiple reasons for this, the simplest being that he doesn’t need to.

“date rape is pathetic. if you can’t get people to sleep with you of their own free will, that’s what we call a ��you problem’. you should worry about fixing your own life instead of ruining someone else’s. or, you could do the honorable thing and just kill yourself, like the noble samurai.”

he also wants his partner in the moment with him. someone excited, responsive, someone who will react to his every touch and beg for more. it’s an ego boost for him.

that being said, however, he’s absolutely into intox sex. it’s probably one of his biggest kinks. he’s fascinated by the effects of drugs, how a little bit of this or a tiny bump of that can augment the experience, either for himself, or a willing lab rat.

house gets off on documenting the experience. sometimes he’ll ask you questions about your high and put your answers in writing. sometimes he'll film the session (with or without your knowledge. i bet he has hidden cameras. depends on if he’s worried about participant bias). most commonly though, he'll narrate his findings into a voice recording.

he's fully clothed with you naked on his lap. your head's been spinning for a while now, thanks to that brownie he fed you earlier. he's got one hand pinching your nipple; the other lazily stroking your cunt, tracing up and down your slit, creating a baseline level of arousal for you. "current time is 11:57, almost 3 hours after ingestion. subject is presenting with dilated pupils, impaired motor skills, decreased cognitive function..."

he pinches your t-dick and jerks it aggressively, causing you to jolt upright and yelp in shock, "a-aah! f-fu-OH! fuck!” you start to leak into his hand.

"subject is self-lubricating adequately—" house’s fingers slip off your t-dick. he huffs in frustration, but gets right back to it, “perhaps even excessively, and presents with healthy erectile tissue despite underdevelopment.” he stops jerking you to suck on your neck and smack your cunt with an open palm. “you get that? that’s big smart doctor-speak for ‘you have a tiny dick.’” he starts to jerk you again. “an adorable, tiny little baby dick. it’s almost like you’re a real boy.”

it's not always a clinical trial with him, though. he’s also into more casual, personal, intimate intox play. things like drinking games or sharing a bong together. he loves pressuring you to do one more shot, take one more hit, let yourself slip further and further. he’s such a bad influence.

as you two get better acquainted over time, you’ll build trust in each other, and house will want to take more risks with you. he likes to call you on the phone at random with ideas.

he leaves you a voicemail, “you ever hear of ketamine? it’s a dissociative anesthetic. used as an antidepressant, a party drug, and horse tranquilizer. let me know if you’re interested, because i wanna give you some and then fuck you in the ass. alright! gotta go, talk soon. later, fag!”

after enough sessions together, he’ll pop the question: “how do you feel about loss of consciousness? are you okay with waking up to me using you?”

he invites you to spend the night, and you’re greeted at the door with some water and a mysterious pill.

“what’s this?” you ask.

“wanna find out?” he answers.

a few sessions like that, and then house will escalate. suppose an offer of a pill turns into a surprise injection in your bicep.

if you don’t pass out, you’ll have to guess what he gave you based on how it makes you feel. on edge? heart’s racing? a stimulant. dizzy? can’t think straight? a benzo. your body’s heavy, and the world seems like it’s lagging? ketamine.

but it’s not always obvious. you’ll be hours into a session, paranoid, overanalyzing your senses, trying to pinpoint what’s different than usual, but nothing sticks out. overall, you just feel… good. that’s all it feels like. no wacky colors or crazy thoughts, just good. but house always makes you feel good. in fact, his mouth is making you feel really good right now. what the hell did he give you? it’s gotta be something, right?

he’ll come up for air while he’s eating you out, “any guesses?”

you’re panting, gasping for all the air you can get in this brief moment’s respite, and you have no fucking clue. “i don’t… fuck, i don’t know. i can’t tell.”

“hm! sounds about right.”

“wh… wha?”

“i gave you a sugar pill, dummy. thought you would’ve figured it out by now. god, you’re stupid.”

[feminist-space]

Excerpts:

"The convenience of instant answers that LLMs provide can encourage passive consumption of information, which may lead to superficial engagement, weakened critical thinking skills, less deep understanding of the materials, and less long-term memory formation [8]. The reduced level of cognitive engagement could also contribute to a decrease in decision-making skills and in turn, foster habits of procrastination and "laziness" in both students and educators [13].

Additionally, due to the instant availability of the response to almost any question, LLMs can possibly make a learning process feel effortless, and prevent users from attempting any independent problem solving. By simplifying the process of obtaining answers, LLMs could decrease student motivation to perform independent research and generate solutions [15]. Lack of mental stimulation could lead to a decrease in cognitive development and negatively impact memory [15]. The use of LLMs can lead to fewer opportunities for direct human-to-human interaction or social learning, which plays a pivotal role in learning and memory formation [16].

Collaborative learning as well as discussions with other peers, colleagues, teachers are critical for the comprehension and retention of learning materials. With the use of LLMs for learning also come privacy and security issues, as well as plagiarism concerns (7]. Yang et al. [17] conducted a study with high school students in a programming course. The experimental group used ChatGPT to assist with learning programming, while the control group was only exposed to traditional teaching methods. The results showed that the experimental group had lower flow experience, self-efficacy, and learning performance compared to the control group.

Academic self-efficacy, a student's belief in their "ability to effectively plan, organize, and execute academic tasks"

', also contributes to how LLMs are used for learning [18]. Students with

low self-efficacy are more inclined to rely on Al, especially when influenced by academic stress

[18]. This leads students to prioritize immediate Al solutions over the development of cognitive and creative skills. Similarly, students with lower confidence in their writing skills, lower

"self-efficacy for writing" (SEWS), tended to use ChatGPT more extensively, while higher-efficacy students were more selective in Al reliance [19]. We refer the reader to the meta-analysis [20] on the effect of ChatGPT on students' learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking."

"Recent empirical studies reveal concerning patterns in how LLM-powered conversational search systems exacerbate selective exposure compared to conventional search methods. Participants engaged in more biased information querying with LLM-powered conversational search, and an opinionated LLM reinforcing their views exacerbated this bias [63]. This occurs because LLMS are in essence "next token predictors" that optimize for most probable outputs, and thus can potentially be more inclined to provide consonant information than traditional information system algorithms [63]. The conversational nature of LLM interactions compounds this effect, as users can engage in multi-turn conversations that progressively narrow their information exposure. In LLM systems, the synthesis of information from multiple sources may appear to provide diverse perspectives but can actually reinforce existing biases through algorithmic selection and presentation mechanisms.

The implications for educational environments are particularly significant, as echo chambers can fundamentally compromise the development of critical thinking skills that form the foundation of quality academic discourse. When students rely on search systems or language models that systematically filter information to align with their existing viewpoints, they might miss opportunities to engage with challenging perspectives that would strengthen their analytical capabilities and broaden their intellectual horizons. Furthermore, the sophisticated nature of these algorithmic biases means that a lot of users often remain unaware of the information gaps in their research, leading to overconfident conclusions based on incomplete evidence. This creates a cascade effect where poorly informed arguments become normalized in academic and other settings, ultimately degrading the standards of scholarly debate and undermining the educational mission of fostering independent, evidence-based reasoning."

"In summary, the Brain-only group's connectivity suggests a state of increased internal coordination, engaging memory and creative thinking (manifested as theta and delta coherence across cortical regions). The Engine group, while still cognitively active, showed a tendency toward more focal connectivity associated with handling external information (e.g. beta band links to visual-parietal areas) and comparatively less activation of the brain's long-range memory circuits. These findings are in line with literature: tasks requiring internal memory amplify low-frequency brain synchrony in frontoparietal networks [77], whereas outsourcing information (via internet search) can reduce the load on these networks and alter attentional dynamics. Notably, prior studies have found that practicing internet search can reduce activation in memory-related brain areas [831, which dovetails with our observation of weaker connectivity in those regions for Search Engine group. Conversely, the richer connectivity of Brain-only group may reflect a cognitive state akin to that of high performers in creative or memory tasks, for instance, high creativity has been associated with increased fronto-occipital theta connectivity and intra-hemispheric synchronization in frontal-temporal circuits [81], patterns we see echoed in the Brain-only condition."

"This correlation between neural connectivity and behavioral quoting failure in LLM group's participants offers evidence that:

1. Early Al reliance may result in shallow encoding.

LLM group's poor recall and incorrect quoting is a possible indicator that their earlier essays were not internally integrated, likely due to outsourced cognitive processing to the LLM.

2. Withholding LLM tools during early stages might support memory formation.

Brain-only group's stronger behavioral recall, supported by more robust EEG connectivity, suggests that initial unaided effort promoted durable memory traces, enabling more effective reactivation even when LLM tools were introduced later.

Metacognitive engagement is higher in the Brain-to-LLM group.

Brain-only group might have mentally compared their past unaided efforts with tool-generated suggestions (as supported by their comments during the interviews), engaging in self-reflection and elaborative rehearsal, a process linked to executive control and semantic integration, as seen in their EEG profile.

The significant gap in quoting accuracy between reassigned LLM and Brain-only groups was not merely a behavioral artifact; it is mirrored in the structure and strength of their neural connectivity. The LLM-to-Brain group's early dependence on LLM tools appeared to have impaired long-term semantic retention and contextual memory, limiting their ability to reconstruct content without assistance. In contrast, Brain-to-LLM participants could leverage tools more strategically, resulting in stronger performance and more cohesive neural signatures."

[creature-wizard]

Caution & Critical Thinking In Divination

Some of you might have been led to think that divination in some form or another is a fully reliable method to work out any kind of information; at least, so long as you can find a decent practitioner. But if there's any practitioner out there who can really nail 'em 100% of the time, most of us have yet to find them. Sure, we can find some people out there who can offer us some genuine insights and advice, but I don't think any of us here have ever met anyone who can get everything right all of the time.

In fact, there are a lot of reasons to exercise caution in terms of how we perceive and practice divination. For one thing, certain cognitive biases can make us overestimate it accuracy, while there are serious ethical concerns to be considered.

First, let's talk about the cognitive biases.

There's the Forer Effect, where we mistake vague or general statements as incredibly personalized, and therefore, highly accurate. Anyone who has ever considered a tarot reader super accurate because the reader told them that they were experiencing some conflict and needed to let go of things that were no longer serving them has experienced the Forer Effect.

There's also confirmation bias, where we latch onto details that feel relevant to us and let ourselves forget about the rest. How many of you pick-a-pile tarot reading video watchers out there are really keeping score of how much fit your situation vs. how much didn't? If you're not, try and start paying more attention.

Scammers will absolutely take advantage of this bias. For example, many fake mediums will make statements like, "I'm sensing a name starting with M... Mary... Maggie... Mildred..." Most of us probably know at least one person whose name starts with M, and if the medium sticks to the more common ones, is probably going to give a name that belongs to someone you know. This technique is known as shotgunning.

Sometimes, a reader will actually, genuinely make a super accurate observation or prediction. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you should take everything they say really seriously. For example, if someone makes a lot of predictions, then one of them is bound to come true eventually. The psychological phenomenon of thin-slicing can also produce some incredibly accurate readings.

There's also self-fulfilling prophecy. Let's say you ask a reader to tell you how your next date will go. The reader says it's not going to go well because the person you're on a date with is just not going to be a great person. Because you go in expecting your date to be kind of an ass and thinking this is going to be a waste of your time, you act hostile and impatient. Your date sees you acting this way and responds in kind - seemingly fulfilling the reader's prediction.

Certain bad discernment practices can make us mistake information we want to be true for information that is true. For example, in New Age and New Age-influenced communities, you might hear that you can discern spiritual truth by asking yourself whether it makes you feel good or bad. A reader might announce that the light beings from space are going to reveal themselves to the world on some soonish date, and tell people to ask their higher selves if they doubt them. The people who would really like it if benevolent aliens came to Earth and haven't learned yet that people are always making predictions like these and that these predictions always fail will most probably feel this surge of excitement, seemingly confirming the truthfulness of this information.

None of this is to say that you should never practice divination or go to a tarot reader or anything, but you need to be aware of this stuff so you can more critically evaluate readings.

Now let's move onto ethical concerns. Because to be blunt, some methods of divination are deeply, deeply inappropriate.

In general, any reading for a person who isn't there and cannot give consent is just... no. Anyone who does this most probably believes that divination works to some meaningful degree, which means that they are choosing to violate this person's privacy. Sometimes it's just straight-up stalking behavior, like trying to divine what your ex is thinking about and when you're going to get back together. Instead of being a creep, just do a cord-cutting spell and get on with your life.

If you need to find out what's going on with someone who is your partner? You need to work on your communication skills and talk to them, not run around them by going to a tarot reader who may or may not even give you accurate information.

Also, reading for celebrities is just... not great. News media treating celebrities' personal lives like more consumable products makes it easy to forget that celebrities are literally just people and also have a right to privacy. Trying to use your preferred method of divination to invade their privacy and dig into their love lives or whatever is just really not okay. You might not think it's a big deal, but it still feeds into our overall culture of commodifying celebrities' lives. If you're just bored and need something to do, you can use your divination tools as imagine prompts for fictional characters. If you're the kind of person who hyperfixates on real people, consider studying the life of a dead historical person.

Now we have to talk about a huge problem in the way a lot of people treat astrology. A lot of people use it like you can just tell anything and everything about a person's behavior and demeanor, even to the point of determining which people are good and which are evil. In reality, research has shown that you cannot tell anything about a person from their birth chart. (And there's no such thing as an ontologically good or bad person.)

Finally, because divination isn't really known for having a great record when it comes to gaining objective information, you should not use it to:

Diagnose or treat medical conditions.

Try to figure out what's "really" going on out in the world. The news may be unreliable, but this is a surefire way to speedrun total divorcement from reality. (Like the people who think Donald Trump is doing all kinds of heroics "behind the scenes" because the tarot cards seemingly told them so.)

Making firm predictions about the future.

For those of you wondering what does constitute an ethical, appropriate use of divination, here are some examples:

Using it as a means of self-reflection.

Using it to find alternative ideas and perspectives.

Deciding what you, personally will do in response to a situation.

Helping a client decide what they, personally will do in response to a situation.

And this, I think, sums about everything up. Divination can be enriching, fun, and useful, but it's important to exercise care and caution. We have to use critical thinking and also be mindful that we aren't turning into creeps or enabling creeps with it.

Happy witchin'!

[temporarywelcome]

Night Shift - Spencer Reid

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: You have done everything Spencer wanted for the Halloween season, now it's time for him to do what you want... which you both regret.

WARNINGS: swearing, brief suggestive implications (no smut)

A/N: today is the birthday of my pookie wookie James Patrick March so I won't sleep tonight writing a fic for him so look out for that!

________

“Why the hell are we doing this?”

She grinned in response, eyes on the road as she drove, “You got to choose all the fun Halloween activities, now it’s my turn,”

Spencer sighed, leaning against the window as he looked outside, out into the dark streets of Virginia, “And you have to choose the most childish thing?”

“Actually,” she replied, “I think watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or whatever it’s called with zero children around is pretty childish,”

“It’s tradition!”

“Boooooring,” Y/N deadpanned, making him roll his eyes, “My ideas are more fun,”

“Two grown adults going to a graveyard in the middle of the night looking for ghosts? Fun? Ghosts don’t exist, Y/N. You know, there’s actually a lot of explanations as to why people think they see ghosts. There are psychological reasons such as pareidolia, and cognitive and confirmation bias. You could even think of the neurological explanations like-”

Y/N zoned out, nodding her head as her boyfriend spoke. She didn’t understand what he was saying half of the time, but she hated how so many people just shut him up. And so she forced herself back to listening to him and his yapping. “You’re so cute,” she said after a while, pinching his cheek, “My favorite yapper,” 

“Don’t interrupt me,” he grumbled, swatting her hand away. He went straight back to his blabbering and she just smiled. She was happy he was comfortable enough with her to call her out. Most people just cut him off and he would let it slide, not wanting to be a bother. But when it came to her… he could get cranky. 

Y/N laughed, pinching his cheek again, “We’re here anyway. C’mon,” 

Rolling his eyes, Spencer followed her out to the back of the car. She opened up the trunk, revealing the overabundance of “supplies” she gathered for this activity: flashlights, night goggles, crosses, even some small vials of holy water?

“You came prepared,” he mused, picking up a cross with a laugh. She knew he wasn’t religious in the slightest, and she herself wasn’t either, until ghosts were involved. 

“Don’t worry, I brought religious symbols from other religions as well,” she said, opening up another duffel bag, “We’re safe,”

“I feel so protected,” he said sarcastically, resting his head on her shoulder as she organized her materials. 

“Shut,” Y/N grunted, snapping the night vision goggles into place, “Oh hell yeah. We’re the real deal,”

“Do I have to put that on?”

“Yes,” she slipped the goggles onto his head, patting his hair, “Look at you. Ghost hunter in the making.”

“I probably look so stupid,”

“Nooooo,” she took out her little digital camera and snapped a photo of them together, “We look like hot, sexy, ghost hunters,”

Spencer gave her a look, “You’re insane,” 

“I love you too, babe,” she handed him a flashlight, for in case the goggles went out. She then handed him a camera, “We’re gonna catch some ghosts,”

“This is so embarrassing,” he groaned, allowing her to take his hand and drag him through the gate and into the cemetery. He was already looking around, on high alert.

“I like the spirit! Get it? Spirit?” Y/N snickered proudly.

“I’m not searching for ghosts, dummy, I’m searching for living humans that might lose their shit when they see us,” Spencer replied, “And that joke was terrible,”

“As if you could do better,” she huffed, turning on her camera and beginning to record. The cemetery was silent except for the rustle of leaves in the wind and their steps on the grass. 

After a few minutes, Spencer was already bored, “I don’t think we’re going to find any ghosts,”

“Shut,” Y/N took a deep breath, “If there are any spirits with us, please make yourselves known,”

“Y/N, you’re talking to yourself,”

“No, I’m not. I’m talking to the spirits,”

“There are no spirits,” 

“There so are,”

Spencer sighed, gazing around the cemetery in boredom, “Did you know that in the Arlington National Cemetery, about thirty funerals are conducted in a single day alone?”

“I did not,” Y/N replied, “Morbid. Fits the mood. However, I don’t even know where that place is,”

“Babe, we’re in it right now,”

“Oh,” 

“We’re in the largest cemetery in the United States,”

“Hell yeah, there’s gotta be ghosts here then,” Y/N grinned, “Turn your camera on,”

Spencer did as told, not bothering to argue with her. He watched as she continued to call for spirits, hands in the air dramatically. “Babe, all the camera is capturing is you being a fool,”

“When we catch a ghost on camera, we’ll see who the fool is,” Y/N looked at the graves, “There’s so many of them…”

“Lot of fallen soldiers,” Spencer agreed.

“...what?”

“Fallen soldiers,” he repeated, “These graves are for fallen soldiers, veterans, prisoners of war-”

“Holy shit, I feel like such an asshole.” 

“Mhm,” 

She glared at him, “Let’s get out of here,” Spencer shrugged, slipping his hand into hers as they began walking back towards the gate. “Can’t believe you let me waltz into a veteran memorial in search of ghosts,”

“I thought you at least knew where the hell you were,”

“No, I just looked up cemetery on Google and followed the GPS toward the nearest one, I didn’t even pay attention to the name,”

“Of course you didn’t,” he suddenly stopped in his tracks, Y/N skidding to a stop next to him.

“What is it- oh,” she saw the hooded figure as it disappeared in the shadows. Hooded figure. Disappearing into the shadows.

Hell no.

“What the hell was that,” Spencer said. It didn’t even sound like a question. “You saw that too, right?”

“Right,” her grip on his hand tightened, “C’mon,” she was ready to fucking go.

“I swear if a security guard catches an FBI agent ghost hunting with his girlfriend, I’m going to throw up,” Spencer said in worry, grip on her hand tightening as well. He continued to nervously look around, expecting a security guard to jump out and arrest them both.

“I’m less worried about security guards, more worried about demons,” Y/N whispered the last word, eyes widened almost comically. 

“How could you be more worried about what doesn’t even exist?”

“Just because you haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist!”

“But there is no factual evidence to support their existence,”

They bickered on for a few minutes, until they heard the snap of a twigs. Spencer jumped, arms immediately going around her in fear, “Shit shit shit shit-”

“Shh!” Y/N pulled out a crucifix, waving it around wildly, “I’ll protect you!”

“With a freaking piece of wood?! Y/N, put that down!”  Spencer groaned, now more annoyed than scared. 

“I'm prepared,” she then pulled out some amulet with a hand symbol on it, waving the object around. 

Spencer rolled his eyes, no longer scared, “If ghosts were actually real I'm sure you'd be the reason we would die,”

“At least you're not scared anymore,”

“Because I'm flabbergasted,”

Another twig snapped and she raised the amulet again, “Show yourself, spirit!”

“I'm going to the car,” he deadpanned, until he saw it again. The shadowy figure. He squeaked, on instinct snatching the crucifix from her belt and pointing out, “Shit shit shit shit,”

“They're back is turned,” Y/N realized, “It doesn't see us… what is it doing?”

The dark figure was doing something, but it was too far for them to see. Y/N stepped closer and Spencer immediately gripped her wrist, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Investigating?” She stated the obvious.

“Okay but what if it's one of those demon devils you're so afraid of?”

She paused, biting her lip, “but I wanna know,”

“I swear if this shit was real you'd get us both killed- HOLY SHIT-” as soon as Spencer turned his head from her to the figure, it was right in front of him.

Well, he. An older white man with unsettling blue eyes and thinning salt and pepper hair, smile lines forming on his cheeks, grimace on his lips. 

Spencer and Y/N screamed. 

“You little shits!” The man barked out, “Get the hell out of here before I have you arrested-”

They were gone. They did not need to be told twice.

“I hate you!” Spencer hissed at his girlfriend as they sprinted out of the cemetery.

“We can have angry sex later, babe,” she replied dryly, pissing him off even more, “Missionary, so we could keep arguing,”

Spencer dived into the passenger seat of the car, “You're disgusting NOW DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!”

“Shit, I'm going I'm going!” She exclaimed in response, starting the engine. She sped off, getting a glance at the pissed off look on his face, “Oh the angry sex is gonna be crazy,”

_____

Later that night, after that crazy fucking angry sex, Y/N let out a tired yawn, turning on the TV. Spencer was passed out next to her, so she kept the volume low as she flicked through the channels. 

She stopped on a random news station, leaning against the headboard and lazily bringing an arm around him as she watched the news story. 

Armed grave robber arrested at Arlington National Cemetery. That was the headline.

“Holy shit!” Y/N exclaimed, causing Spencer to snap up in alarm.

“What?! What happened?!” he said in worry, starting to scramble out of bed.

“Look!” she pointed at the news report, which was showing the mug shot of a familiar grumpy-looking older man.

“The guy from the cemetery…?” Spencer sunk down against the pillows, brows furrowed as he watched the screen, “He wasn’t a security guard?”

“I mean, he wasn’t dressed like one. We were just so panicked we didn’t even think about it.” 

“I suppose,” he started biting his nails in nervousness, “I swear if we get caught…”

“More angry sex?” she proposed. He glared at her. “Or not…”

[muontron]

Alright, Rise April and Donnie mean SO much to me and it’s not even FUNNY. They’ve always been my top two favorites since watching, and my resolve on liking them really only got stronger after watching Donnie v. Witch town. (Objectively the best episode, by the way, but I digress—) this is the perfect segue to discuss how Donnie v. Witch Town was probably the BEST April/donnie centric episode in all of rise.

And although this is incredibly opinionated and biased, as this specific episode just so happens to be my FAVORITE episode, I still will put my cognitive bias aside and give you, the audience, solid evidence as to why this episode: Donnie V. Witch Town—is objectively the best episode in 1) explaining how and why Donnie acts the way he does, 2) demonstrating the strength of Donnie and Aprils friendship and Sibling-hood.

1) EXPLAINING WHY DONNIE IS THE WAY HE IS:

Okokok. So. Without a doubt, this is tumblr, and therefore, technically, I DONT need to explain Donnie’s autistic coding. But I still will because I for one am autistic and seeing such good rep makes me so happy that I just NEED to talk about it 24/7. If this is getting repetitive you can skip ahead. But if you don’t, this is some important foresight that changes the theme of Donnie V. Witch Town substantially, even though it may not seem like it. But I will make it quick so I can get to my main point: Donnie is Autistic. His coding is very prevalent and obvious, and saying he ISNT is autistic erasure. Donnie infodumps when he gets the chance to about his inventions, interests, or otherwise, and often gets hyperfixations very easily. (FAB spray, his dubbed “speech mode” from Leo, basically the entirety of Donnie’s gifts episode (which plays a lot heavily into Donnie v witch town just you wait), atomic lass, purple game). Donnie also has a so-called “monotonous” voice and has a limited tonal range. He isn’t very good with displaying or understanding emotions, especially when it comes to other peoples emotions, (like when Mikey was crying over Mike Tony’s pizzeria closing down, and Donnie saying “now that we’ve all moved on-“ mere seconds after explaining why he never liked Mike Tony’s. And then later saying “I WAS ONLY PRETENDING TO BE SAD WHEN IT HAPPENED TO MIKEY BUT NOW THAT IT HAPPENED TO ME, I HURT” when his favorite closes down too) despite this despite this (one off gag) however, Donnie isn't an emotional brick wall and understands negative emotions and feelings. But because of his low empathy coding Donnie simply just can’t FEEL that. Donnie also has a multitude of sensory issues that are sprinkled in across the whole series (such as, flavorless juice, prioritizing comfort, the battle shell and the whole deal with his soft shell, AND THE RISE MOVIE. Iykyk.)

Now that all of us have either had a good refresher of what happened OR, contrarily, educated on the matter, let’s all go back to the episode of Donnie’s gifts. This episode is an extremely important one in context with Donnie V. Witch town, and totally changes the perspective of that episode (in my not so humble opinion) when watching it from that lens. If you recall properly, Donnie’s gifts was basically about Donnie, well, making his brother, gifts. That end up being more harmful than good.

However, A lot of people miss the intention of that episode. Donnie wasn’t being a pretentious a-hole just because he could be a pretentious a-hole. He didn’t make these devices that basically hamper his brothers more and call out their every mistake JUST to pick on them and make them feel bad. Absolutely NOT. His INTENTION with MAKING those devices—(albeit concerning)—was in good faith. He made those devices because he GENUINELY thought, wholeheartedly, that they would help. And of course this isn’t really an EXCUSE for making your brother a shock collar that sends a 4000 watt jolt through his body every time he says a one off pun, but rather an explanation for Donnie’s behavior. Donnie made those devices, because he loves his brothers, and he wants to help them. And yeaaah it didn’t really, BUT HE GENUINELY THOUGHT IT WOULD. He says, before presenting the gifts: “(these gifts) are a whole lot more personal and if you don’t like them I will just be crushed!”

But why, you ask, why on earth would Donnie think that making THOSE THINGS even help his brothers, and why on earth would they like them? (Or maybe you’re not even asking that. Hell if I know, I’m just a ND teen ranting on the internet. Let me obsess over mutant turtles in peace!) I’m glad you asked. This is because I FIRMLY believe that Donnie uses his tech in the sense that he created that tech for his brothers, which is, helping or aiding him and his weaknesses when it comes to situations. We know that out of the bunch, Donnie is objectively the weakest (not very sports oriented, has a traditionally defensive weapon than offensive, ((but do not misconstrue my words this does not mean he is WEAK just in comparison to his brothers he’s on the lower end of the strength spectrum.))) and his tech highly heightens his skills. It helps him be more agile, attack with more vantage points—hell, his (soft)shell alone is a negative variable, and you know what fixed that!? HIS TECH THATS WHAT! Because of this reliance on his tech he assumed that his brothers would need or want that same reliance or help, even though they cope with their own issues in very different ways. And of course Donnie’s tech to help his own issues isn’t literally physically harmful, but I genuinely just think that Donnie’s Gifts was just made this way for the slapstick humor. (Sometimes there isn’t a deeper meaning to things and it’s just what it is. Guys I know we’re all big over-analyzers but this is still a Nickelodeon cartoon sometimes it’s just goofy for the goofs. :P) however Donnie’s gifts was such an important episode to me because it showed me the biggest way Donnie shows his love: Acts of service and Gift Giving.

Donnie LOVES doing stuff for people. He goes the goddamn EXTRA MILE to show off what he did for others, what he made for them; what he’ll DO for them, he’s not good with words or physical touch but my boy will LITERALLY fly you to the moon and back while reciting what happened on the Apollo missions and the space race with 100% accuracy. And there is so much proof of this SO MUCH. (When he made the hazmat suits, when he tried to fix albearto by making him “dazzle”, donniepods, etc…) his love for others and how he shows it is totally entirely transactional. This is how HE does it. And better yet,(?) he likes this. He LIKES being the tech guy, the fixer upper, he likes being called on for help and his prodigious skill because it makes him seem useful and more than that LOVED, and this is what he wants and desires sooo badly. To be USEFUL.

See where this is going? :)

Segue to Donnie V. Witch town. April, his best friend, is not seeking out HIS HELP for a school project, despite the fact that she almost always does. Instead, April is seeking out the HELP OF WITCHES, and Donnie simply has to tag along and help her get help. Donnie literally questions this and April states that it’s because when he helps school projects can uh, go a bit overboard.

See the parallels between Donnie’s gifts and Donnie v. Witch town?

Donnie tries to help, ends up not going so well, and he ends up not even helping at all in the first place. Double whammy.

And assuming we’ve all WATCHED Donnie V. Witch town, this same cycle repeats again. ESPECIALLY with the worms, and just when his pretentiousness and need to be right and PROVEN better gets in the way. His self righteousness is also his biggest fault. And everything goes wrong and he just wanted to help. And yeah, Donnie V. Which town is different because his broken ego is at play but WHY is he taking this so personally? BECAUSE APRIL DIDNT ASK HIM FOR HELP. It further strengthens his negative self talk of being useful and usefulness. Since, objectively speaking, he shows his love quantitively, when April has no desire for him to help her; what good is he even for anymore?! HOW WILL APRIL EVER LIKE HIM AGAIN IF HE ISNT HELPFUL!!!! HOW!?? He set this standards and he can’t even hit them? What is he if not useful? And with the context of Donnie’s gifts and how he really, truly, just wishes to help others, Donnie v. Which town is honestly saddening. I was honestly on Donnie’s side the whole time. Fuck those witches dude. And yes, what he did was bad. He should have been more open minded, and he shouldn’t have kinda messed up the entire witch tradition, and NO I am not making excuses here. But you must also remember that this is a teenager. He’s literally just a kid, and nevertheless from his perspective it’s honestly a betrayal. Again not an excuse but rather an explanation. Yes he fucked up but WHY? And the whole conversation with April really pushes it. “Because I’m the science guy—If mystic powers can do everything I can but better, then why would you guys even need me?”

Why would they *NEED* him.

Why, if mystic powers, can do it better—why would they NEED him.

It’s always a NEED for Donnie. He doesn’t quite seem to understand that mystic powers are a tool. And he is HE. He isn’t replaceable, but he thinks he is because there’s something more efficient than he is. He, essentially, sees himself like a tool, which is a mantra many autistic people have, including me. And although I joke about that line a lot it’s actually a really heartbreaking line. And if you guys see the scrapped storyboard..well.. why don’t I just show you…

“Solving problems with my tech is ALL IM GOOD FOR.”

“When you chose magic instead of me, I got scared, …”

Ouch.

This storyboard is infinitely more raw and personal and honestly I’m upset they didn’t go with it. If this doesn’t show you how deeply this matters to Donnie—how personal it is to him that people ask him to help them I DONT KNOW WHAT WILL.

Donnie is the way he is because it all builds up to his deepest insecurities, that people love him because he’s useful to them, and he goes and searches for validation and appreciation like a vulture looking for a carcass. He is so fucking desperate for a hint of being useful that he will throw everything he has to prove it. ((I’ll also do an analysis of relating this to the purple dragons episode because, albeit less angsty or obvious, these themes are very prevalent there too.))

Thus, this concludes my first point on how Donnie Vs. Witch town is the BEST episode to point out how Donnie’s insecurities truly affect him in every way shape and form, and how it really makes him who he is and why he acts the way he acts. It’s all out of the desire, the need to be needed. Next up: April’s response and how it shows their deep connection and how it’s just. So amazing. This half is more opinionated but I digress .

2) demonstrating the strength of Donnie and Aprils friendship and Sibling-hood!!!

Aprils response to this is equally as important. Aprils response is actually BEAUTIFUL.

“Donnie, how could you say that!? You’re not important to me because of your tech or science, you’re important to me because of YOU.”

That. Is by far. The best response you could POSSIBLY EVER GIVE. And her sentence is really self explanatory. Donnie doesn’t see her as a tool, or measures the extent of their friendship by what she brings to the table so why should she? Or, rather, why should Donnie measure that for himself?

She loves him because he’s HIM. Because he’s a nerdy loveable dork that’s passionate about what he loves. Because he loves HER. This is also the most vulnerable Donnie has ever been with somebody, and it’s with April.

“We do things better as a team,” AND APRILS RIGHT!!!! She’s his older sister. She’s his pal, Buddy, ride or die, and it’s—just—this whole Situation, their whole friendship, and this whole arc in Donnie v witch town means SO much to me. I really just realized how opinionated this second part is but let me be. And unfortunately I’ve reached the god forsaken image limit but Aprils further discussion in the storyboard of Donnie v. witch town also just further pushes how close and comfortable they are with each other. Basically, April says:

“Magic and science are just tools, it’s how you choose to use them that matters. And you choose to help people.”

MY FUCKING HEART DUDE. Agh. Shattered. “You chose to help people.”

I feel like it’s that line that really just pushes it for me. YOU CHOOSE TO HELP PEOPLE DONNIE DONT YOU SEE? ITS YOUR INTENT THAT MATTERS. And I’ll say this over and over and over again but intent means so much when it comes to things. April, using this line, doesn’t entirely dismiss what Donnie feels and says and does. But rather, puts a healthier perspective on his behaviors and needs to be “useful.” Shes basically saying: “you try to do what’s right, and that’s what matters.”

I love April. SO MUCH. She is such a good friend and sister and supporter, and honestly I wish I had someone like her growing up. Again I really wish they went with the storyboards because it’s so much more personal and touching than what happened. #aprilsweep.

Aprils support for Donnie (as well as his brothers) is unconditional. This is also observed in other Donnie and April centric episodes, especially the purple satin jackets episode, where April does call Donnie to check on her code which he does so with much valiance, before he gets roped into the purple dragons and stuff—and then at the end, when Donnie defeatedly talks about how he just couldn’t be a part of them , April replies with: “it’s okay, you’ll always be part of the April O’Neil dorky pals for life club.” I wish we got more of rise because I would KILL for more Donnie n April centric episodes.

Anywho, have a happy thanksgiving guys. Make sure to tell your autistic friend that it doesn’t matter if mystic powers are better than them or not. Watch tmnt and listen to stomu yamashta. Thank you and goodnight.

[chicago-geniza]

When did all these blandly affirmational posts start using the collocation "beautiful life"--specifically "make a beautiful life [for yourself/for oneself]"--I wish there were an Ngram-equivalent tool for social media. I had never seen it before and it proliferated explosively over the last month (?) or so and now it's everywhere on social media and I don't think it is just frequency illusion or some other cognitive bias*. The first memorable-to-me instance was a post where someone asked how they could balance the desire to "make a beautiful life" with some set phrase about impending collapse, encroaching fascism, etc. And now I see variations on that dichotomy everywhere interspersed with "it's not too late to make a beautiful life"--if I were working on an ESL text I'd flag it as an idiom being translated literally and work backwards to figure out what it was in the L1, like. Who SAYS that. Anyway I hate it a lot and now whenever I read the phrase "beautiful life" I mutter "fascist" under my breath, which is probably worse

*okay it MIGHT be but I am like 90% certain it's not

[larothoughts]

qijiu thoughts: complicated codependence

after reading a few more shen jiu fics i figured maybe the diverging point when it comes to fan-interpretation is understanding how codependent qijiu is. like, it's not just qi-ge who won't let go of shen jiu, shen jiu 100% spitefully, unwillingly yet helplessly refuses to let go of qi-ge either. the obvious author answer to this is for sj to remove himself from qi-ge because of toxic codependence (see my rant on anti-qijiu pro-sj fics), except i don't think it's in-character for him to ever do so??

the man literally died twice because he couldn't let go of qi-ge until the very, very end. he'll never give up on him as easily as he does in fic, this man is a canonical stubborn asshole who can't let go of anything. that's his entire problem lol

(first time was obviously after lbh gave him xuan su's shards. sj, who had spent the entire time being tortured refusing to bend, cracks at the realization that qi-ge came this time and died. i forgot if him eating xuan su's shards is canon in the qijiu extras or if it's a fanon theory, but i 100% find this in-character of sj to do as a final f*** you to the universe.)

(second time was the qi deviation that caused shen yuan to take over his life. i'll go over this later, but i believe sqh, who transmigrated decades before, likely tried to nudge qijiu into reconciling and instead made it worse. so while in the og!pidw universe, sj never deviated hard enough to die; in this svsss universe, sqh trying to get sj to face his own heart demons literally caused him to die. oops. system got pretty mad because lbh MUST go into the abyss, and so had to scramble to find a sj replacement lol)

preface

much of this is my own interpretation of things btw. i haven't read the qijiu extras in a while so it's very possible some of these things don't follow canon. especially the whole cognitive dissonance part. i've always leaned towards the 'shen jiu is an unreliable, in-denial narrator of his own story, he can't admit anything to himself until he's literally at death's door' interpretation of sj's tsundereness, so that's 100% my own bias peeking through here.

how qing ding peak made everything worse

this a fanon theory i like that has merit given how long qijiu had problems: things would've been so much different if yue qi wasn't chosen by qing ding. like, literally any other peak, qijiu would've had 75% chance of having a happy ending. i feel like any peak with a halfway decent lord with basic empathy skills would have thought 'hmm yes, if we rescue the friend of this little prodigy we can ensure his loyalty to us for life' instead of 'let's dangle the chance of rescuing his friend as a way to get this kid to work as hard as he can until it's too late, then allow the failure to break him down completely so we can reshape him into the perfect successor.' though to be honest the former sect leader probably didn't expect yue qi to literally be broken down.

my thought is that the sect leader kept putting off the rescue over and over, hoping to drag things out until the inevitable happened. but yue qi, naturally wary of adults, panicked once he realized what his shizun was doing. he tried to pull xuan su without permission to force the leader into acknowledging his strength and letting him go... which then led to the entire soul-binding fiasco we see in canon. sure, the former sect leader could've lost his newest experiment, but throwing him into the caves had the bonus of making him late anyway. so a success all around everyone!

we can further theorize the character of the previous sect leader (and how his grooming of yue qi possibly led to his guilt complex and inability to communicate his honest feelings) but ultimately it was qing ding peak's teachings itself that led to yqy's inability to reconcile with sj. because qing ding is the diplomat's peak. the politics peak. the peak where people often cannot say exactly what they mean, must never overtly show favor to anyone, must control every single thing they do or say else the political fallout ruins their sect's reputation.

so it really didn't help that their reunion happened in the middle of sj committing pretty bad crimes like murdering and looting disciples. yue qi went immediately into political clean-up mode, sj misunderstood yue qi's silence as 'i will never tell you' instead of 'not now sj we need to bury these bodies in the bushes', and then later sj was so scornful yue qi's guilt-complex kicked in and he figured 'sj will never forgive me, obviously he doesn't want to hear excuses.' and as yue qi's political position grew, the less he could overtly support and protect shen jiu. the more careful he was of his words and actions, so far removed from the qi-ge sj once knew that sj can't help but lash out. by the time yqy was mentally well enough to talk about the lingxi cave fiasco (if ever), sj had already built up a protective wall of 'this qi-ge is an imposter, the real qi-ge would not have left me.' and yqy didn't know how to tell him the truth without sj's psyche collapsing in on itself. so... he just continued not to tell him.

in which qi-ge is alive but also dead, as declared by shen jiu

sj barely recognized qi-ge once they reunited. yue qi has always been the peacemaker amongst the rowdy slaves, sure, but he'd always been on sj's side. he told sj everything, things he never told the other slaves, and only really clammed up when they were facing beatings by adults in a true us-versus-them scenario. now, however, he's clamming up with shen jiu. he hates it, this intrinsically qi-ge thing that this fake qi-ge doesn't realize he's doing. more than the shiny clothes and well-fed appearance, this is what makes the chasm between them feel real. qi-ge never came back for him, because qi-ge was dead. cang qiong killed qi-ge and all that's left is this qi-ge puppet going through motions of caring for sj it obviously doesn't understand.

(this is easier for him to accept, because if yue qi wasn't mentally dead than he really did willingly abandon shen jiu in the dirt, and accepting that would make shen jiu lose his mind.)

now what to do when qi-ge is dead and he doesn't need sj to protect him anymore? logically, sj should've stayed long enough to fix his cultivation, save up funds, and then leave to become a rogue cultivator before his past had the chance to catch up to him. but sj is not logical. he's spiteful and angry and contrary. he claws his way up the disciple hierarchy on qing jing and spits in the face of yue qi's awkward overtures. he hates the other qing jing disciples, his own shizun, lqg and a bunch of the other head disciples; in fact, he hates cang qiong as a whole because they were the ones that took qi-ge away from him. but at the end of the day, a dead qi-ge puppet is still kind of qi-ge and even if qi-ge threw sj away that didn't mean the reverse was true. sj will not give even a dead puppet qi-ge up; he belongs to him whether he likes it or not (/spitefully).

so as it becomes clearer and clearer that yue qi will indeed become the next sect leader, sj begrudgingly finds himself stuck in cang qiong. one would think things would get better after the former peak lords ascend, since that meant the evil brainwashing sect leader and the resentful qiu-naming qing jing peak lord would've finally fucked off. but no, things actually get worse.

because now that the former sect leader isn't actively sabotaging qijiu's relationship (sure, he didn't mean to break yue qi's mind that bad, but even the worst broken eggs can be turned into a decent obedient successor, except shen jiu's continued existence is threatening to undo all his hard work) yue qi is more able to try and make overt amends. the problem is, by acting more like the real qi-ge, he's threatening sj's mental defense of 'qi-ge is dead, this qi-ge is a fake.'

when cognitive dissonance gives you qi deviations

the more qi-ge acts like he's honestly sorry, the more shen jiu must accept that qi-ge isn't dead. that he either chose to leave sj behind (devastating given sj's abandonment issues) or was forced to leave sj behind and refused to tell him why (more abandonment issues; does he not trust sj anymore??) worse for peak morale, the more overtly sj rejects yqy, the more annoyed the other peak lords get. doesn't sj know how bad it looks for their sect, to have their top two lords fighting like this?? why is yqy not shutting it down, isn't he a politician?

well yes, but as sect leader he now has the freedom to pick and choose when to put his politicking hat on. lqg follows sqq to a brothel and causes a ruckus in the middle of the street? scold sqq for being so overt, because they both know the best way into the brothel is through the back via code word! they learned how to sneak into brothels as street kids ages ago and sqq could have totally done so discreetly! argue with lqg but refuse to explain himself? sqq please, he can't take your side for no reason, especially in front of all these peak lords who already knows he favors you!!

and because shen jiu is facing the cognitive dissonance of qi-ge's... qi-ge-ness, he sets up tests rigged to fail no matter how yqy responds. this way he is always right! if yqy sides with sj, sj's annoyed because he's clearly trying to placate him like a child. if yqy sides against sj, he's obviously choosing to abandon sj again!!

yqy is fully aware of the trap because yqy is a trained politician capable of reading social cues (and sj hasn't changed all that much from when they were kids, he still has that same spiteful edge to him yqy is so fond of). he intentionally falls for them because (1) he deserves to be hated by sj and (2) being hated by sj keeps him from lashing out too much at the other peak lords. yqy is very used to sj's temper tantrums, it's when he lashes out at other people that things become unmanageable.

(during the latter half of their rule over cang qiong, i feel that yqy learned to stop actively chasing reconciliation. he came around for tea and present-giving, kept things civil, and still let sj get away with all kinds of terrible things. he fell for all of sj's traps with his eyes wide open and it infuriates sj, everything about this drives him mad. he doesn't want this soft, unspoken affection, because this was how qi-ge used to handle sj's tsundereness back when they were on the streets. it's another sign that qi-ge is still qi-ge, and this fact brings sj both selfish comfort and undeniable agony.)

it's an awkward balancing act that continues to sour sj's reputation with the other peak lords, but it's mostly manageable until sqh sticks his nose into their business and pushes sj over the edge.

how transmigrators ruin everything

"maybe yqy did something impulsive, did you think of that? why can't you forgive him, he tried so hard? aren't you tired of being angry all the time?" bitch no, sj has been keeping the worst of the qi deviations away for years by performing mental gymnastics around his walls of denial stOP KNOCKING THEM DOWN. Even worse, lbh arrives on the peak and shen jiu hates him. not just because he's got all the potential shen jiu had stolen away from him, but he's so glad to be here. he's making his mother proud. all while shen jiu was dragged here essentially against his will, trapped himself in this bamboo prison out of spite, and then realized the dead thing he's been looking after for decades isn't dead after all. that qi-ge actually did, for realsies, leave him at the qius. that all these overtures, the silent acceptance of his faults, everything could just be out of guilt (qi-ge is ashamed of him) and not out of a ghost reenacting its former lingering affection (the real qi-ge would've still loved him.)

the dissonance, abandonment issues, frustration and everything culminates in a devastating qi deviation. ironically, now that yqy's rule is mostly secure and sj's reputation has soured enough to start negatively affecting the sect, sj finally feels safe enough to let go. in this moment of emotional clarity, sj finally releases qi-ge from his grasp and decides to die.

that was not supposed to happen.

qi-ge's no good, very bad sacrifice

in another universe where og!sqh was too busy plotting to betray cang qiong mountain, the frosty and emotionally charged stand-off between yqy and sj continues for years. then, lqg dies. i'm torn between yqy believing sj killed lqg or not. either way, i don't think he'd be 'disappointed' in sj as portrayed in some fics. i also don't think it would infuriate sj that yqy thinks he's capable of killing lqg, because if anyone knows how much of a murder kitten shen jiu is, it's yqy. maybe he's offended yqy thinks him dumb enough to kill him in such a sloppy way. maybe he's even more offended that this turns the other peak lords against him and yqy just lets it happen.

or maybe (through my qijiu-tinted glasses) it pisses him off that yqy does tell the peak lords that they should all stand together, and the other peak lords ignore him and hate sj anyway. they're disrespecting yqy because they think he is compromised, and sj worked too goddamn hard to solidify yqy's position to have it undone by a murder he didn't even do.

(ironically, if lqg was alive he'd tell the other peak lords to f*** off for disobeying yqy. lqg's canon respect for yqy is something i feel needs more acknowledgement, likely because i feel half the reason they don't get along is because of sj's utter disrespect of their sect leader. who cares if sj is a street rat or the son of a wealthy family, no one disrespects yue-shixiong!)

now the story of sj's road to becoming lbh's plaything is a well-worn track that everyone knows. i do subscribe to the idea that sj took one look at huan hua's eagerness, lbh's vendetta, and yqy's recklessness and made the same decision he did in the svsss verse: he'd rather qi-ge be free (happy) than dead. this is a battle he cannot win, and he'll be damned if he lets lbh drag cang qiong down with him. when yqy promises him he'll save him from the water prison, sj spits in his face and tells him for the final time that xiao jiu and qi-ge are both dead. he let sj go decades ago, and now sj is letting qi-ge go in return.

sj faces the torture with the tenacious spirit of someone who'd withstood worse torture for years. in fact, he's a bit impressed by lbh taking revenge on him the same way sj took revenge on qiu jianluo. either way, even with more than 50% of his body missing, sj faces his fate in utter defiance. and then lbh shows up with xuan su.

the reveal of qi-ge's failed rescue and demise was devastating for a lot of reasons. most obviously, sj's sacrifice to keep cang qiong safe from the fallout was a failure. everything he'd done and sacrificed to keep qi-ge safe, all the scorn he'd borne as the hated qing jing peak lord was thrown away because qi-ge wanted to be a moron.

the other reason why sj broke was because qi-ge did come for him. he simply failed. and the tiny part of him that always suspected qi-ge was still qi-ge now has confirmation that all those years ago, qi-ge likely did the same. he came for him at the qius, but he failed. the only difference now is lbh's willingness to tell him the truth vs. yqy's decades-long silence. the only difference now is that yqy is actually, physically dead.

sj has been living on borrowed time ever since he looked the new yqy (fake qi-ge) in the eyes and allowed himself to be brought to cang qiong mountain. everything he did was to elevate himself into a position where no one could hurt him (and qi-ge) anymore, the same way he'd acted back when they were on the streets. now that he was in this state and qi-ge was dead, his time was clearly up. and sj refuses to let lbh have the last laugh. as much as he respected lbh for his ruthlessness, it's not enough to stave off sj's spite. he didn't let qjl control him in the end, and he won't let lbh do so either.

final thoughts

some last, disorganized thoughts on qijiu's relationship

rather than yqy telling sj what happened, i think showing him the scars all over his body would be much more impactful. sj knows how worthless words can be; he's likely prefer being able to touch each scar and check the meridians for himself. yqy doesn't need to say a word, his entire body is a testament to the torture he'd endured.

ironically, sj fixing up cang qiong as a tactician and his personal refusal to put himself in weak situations made yqy incapable of showing his care through action. all of his crises were political/reputation-based/etc. all things qing ding's teachings guaranteed yqy to fail all his speech-checks. and yqy is definitely not the type of person to engineer a false crisis just to swoop in to save sj... not because of any moral reasons, but because risking sj in any way would be absolutely unacceptable. in yqy's world, it's sj > the sect > good morals. he does have good morals, yes, but he's also pragmatic and self-aware enough to know when to put the things he cares about first.

there was a theory i read before about yqy and sj's trauma responses being to shut down and say nothing in the face of accusations, and i agree with this. saying nothing often netted less punishment than 'making excuses.' even without this coping mechanism, the mental trauma of having his mind and body broken could've easily stopped yqy from being able to even speak around the topic for years. if he doesn't talk about it and no one sees his scars, he can pretend it never happened. sj's scorn of him is forever a sign that it did happen, but that's fine, he's always made exceptions for shen jiu.

i don't really know where the uncomfortably-creepy-no-boundaries yqy towards sy came from? in the original novel sy clearly like yqy and views him in a positive, big-brother-shape light. even towards the end of the novel when yqy confesses, sy feels more guilty for being an imposter than angry that yqy failed sj. yqy even steps aside for lbh thinking 'well, at least sqq is happy now' because that's what he wanted for sj for so, so long. for him to be happy, even if that meant forgetting qi-ge.

(the no-boundaries thing is something i disagree with in general, because i think yqy's political and social training would make that very unlikely. he doesn't call sqq xiao-jiu as often as he does in fics, i think he did so in canon because he was delirious and exhausted post-drawing-xuan-su. i figured qijiu's latter years cooled off a bit as yqy realized direct overtures weren't working and went the coaxing-stray-cat route to everyone else's befuddlement.)

does qi-ge know sy is not sj? i can go either way with this. the theory that he does know but he's repressing it out of his own mental wellbeing is intriguing; but so is him assuming sj losing his memories means sy is a different person. which means he's always been happier without qi-ge. either way, i do believe yqy no longer views sqq-y the same as sqq-j. after the first few years post-qi-deviation, i think yqy is emotionally mature enough to realize sy is here to stay and that the sj he once knew (either because of his lost memories or whole-soul transplantation) is gone.

i am a qijiu shipper, but i do also like platonic qijiu. my only prerequisite for any other-ship-jiu fic is some kind of qijiu reconciliation. i honestly don't think either of them would have good romantic relationships unless they fix their own relationship first. qi-ge can't marry someone, that would remove sj from being the most important person on qi-ge's list. despite scorning him, sj being number one is one of the only things holding sj together throughout their divorce era. sj cannot marry anyone because that would give qi-ge the false impression that sj is happy and qi-ge is now free. and qi-ge is not allowed to be free. he will belong to sj for as long as sj wants and nothing is allowed to interfere with that impression. lol both of these are sj-based, but sj's always been the dominant party in this relationship. whether or not qi-ge is jealous of sj's new lover is irrelevant; as long as sj is happy, the og!sj-simp qi-ge is also happy.

i have too many qijiu thoughts and not enough time to write a fic about them, alas. i find their relationship fascinating and very integral to their personalities no matter the au or ship.

[willowsearth]

🚪 Did you know that switching doors in a game show could teach you how to make smarter decisions in real life? From job offers to relationships, the Monty Hall Problem reveals how our brains are wired to misjudge probability. Learn why switching might be your new secret weapon. #DecisionMaking #CognitiveBias #PsychologyInEverydayLife #CriticalThinking #BehavioralScience #MontyHall #GameTheory #SelfAwareness #CognitivePsychology

[maxdibert]

some of these people are a little silly when it comes to this Snape hatred thing. There is a reason that there is a such thing as a reformed white supremacist, one who grew up like that but not anymore. (Derek Black, Tony McAleer, Christian Picciolini) People can have epiphanies about their beliefs and change them. There are plenty of activists who used to have Anti-... views but have figured out that their views were wrong. Being groomed into the system, you need to account for why a person would feel the need to do that. Going into a gang, for example, to protect yourself or your family/friends/etc. Would this be something you would do no matter what? No. There is always nuance and it is really detrimental to simply say, well but he was a racist. Okay, why though? No one is born anything. The fact that he was able to take a look at himself, regardless of the reasoning and change his viewpoint is something that is really nice actually. Also the Marauders gang and their 'pranks.' The one prank that we got to see is idk pretty evil, and for this I'm thinking of the books not the movies since I remember the former better. The nuance of the good guys bullying someone would probably make that person go more down that rabbit hole. A cornered animal bites, just like a cornered human will twist and claw at any chance to get out of the situation. Add in an ego that is actually very common for guys (in terms of not wanting to be saved by a girl of all things), and you have Snape saying a slur to the girl he likes. Objectively bad, but again with nuance. People need to not be taking things at face value I fear, its the same kind of energy that would have us without a self-defense exception and treating all types of murder the same, 1st degree to involuntary

This is one of the main reasons why I don’t like or believe in the validity of a jury trial, because jurors lack legal knowledge and tend to view things without a clear perspective.

First, as you said, a crime is not just a crime. Not all crimes are the same, nor do they have the same level of severity, and they cannot be judged legally or ethically in the same way. There are aggravating and mitigating factors based on intent, cruelty, mental state, and the individual’s context. Manslaughter is not the same as premeditated murder or incitement to homicide. Theft is not the same as robbery or armed robbery. Belonging to a terrorist group is not the same as committing a terrorist act. These are different things and must be judged accordingly.

In Snape’s case, he joined a terrorist group but became an informant for the “good side,” which, in a real-world legal context, would likely exonerate him from previous crimes. Even people who have committed heinous crimes and murders receive deals from governments if they become informants during wars. Beyond that, the worst thing he did was insult someone. We could argue hate crime, but in court, I would claim his prejudices stem from trauma caused by his abusive Muggle father and his upbringing in extreme Muggle poverty. I would request a psychiatric evaluation from state-appointed experts to confirm that not only are his potential biases rooted in trauma, but also that he shows signs of antisocial behavior and emotional and cognitive underdevelopment due to years of abuse and bullying at school. This would be a strong defense in any trial, making prison time unlikely with a judge. If a jury convicts him due to bias and a lack of understanding of how the legal system works, that’s not my problem.

Honestly, I judge James more harshly than Snape because James had no reason to be a bully or an awful person. He had everything, including a loving and caring upbringing. Nothing in his life was violent. No one taught him that violence was acceptable (unlike Sirius, for example), and yet he still engaged in it. I can understand children struggling to distinguish between right and wrong when their role models have been dysfunctional, but I can’t forgive a boy who had everything — including supportive parental figures — and still turned out to be a sociopath. The only explanation for his behavior, in my opinion, is that he was simply a terrible person who enjoyed causing pain and exerting power over others.

[theomnicode]

Perception bias, round 2 Director's cut, Saigenos edition!

(or basically, how my brain jumps into another topic only loosely related to the original ask)

Thank you @itsmaferart For the wonderful ask again. :)

Warning: Long post ahead

-*-

Perception bias also serves another more...sinister purpose for Saitama. Psychological conditioning. There is potential evidence for deprivation of basic needs, conditioning for violence for protection and subliminal messages for suggestion, among other things.

Being deprived of all these needs is akin to mental torture. But so is facing all of the underlying issues at once via hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy if the patient is sufficiently dysfunctional in a societal setting like Saitama happens to be. Especially if the therapies are performed...poorly.

CBT has shown to be the most effective intervention for people exposed to adverse childhood experiences in the form of abuse or neglect Criticism of CBT sometimes focuses on implementations (such as the UK which may result initially in low quality therapy being offered by poorly trained practitioners. However, evidence supports the effectiveness of CBT for anxiety and depression. Evidence suggests that the addition of hypnotherapy as an adjunct to CBT improves treatment efficacy for a variety of clinical issues. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its symptoms have been shown to improve due to implementation of hypnotherapy, in both long and short term. As research continues, hypnotherapy is being more openly considered as an effective intervention for those with PTSD.

In short, in order to heal mentally, Saitama may need to face mental torture because he has such strong willpower and such strong mental barriers shielding his vulnerabilities on a basic primal need. There only needs to be a sufficient trigger.

ONE sent Saitama home to restore his energy levels...because he's going to sorely need them for the upcoming confrontation.

Empty Void's ability to genjutsu people casually and cause parallel shifts in the reality and using these to abuse emotional dependencies is like a loaded Chekov's gun on Saitama's forehead. Because Saitama has been roleplaying to re-learn his emphatic skillset after he had suffered too much mental trauma.

That's why early Saitama did not even bat an eye when Beefcake killed his own brother but now he's empathizing with Hamukichi. That's what I call character progression.

Even a compulsive planner like Saitama cannot predict what will happen because he's not familiar with Blast's maladaptive coping methods deep down. Blast is great at masking because they are coping methods so he can bear with his guilt and other issues and just wants to do things on his own, without assistance.

This causes Saitama's perception bias about Blast who seems capable and emphatic, when he is in actuality unscrupulous and amorally indifferent if you really, REALLY study him hard enough.

My bro casually invited Saitama, who is sensitive to aggression, hostility and violence, to watch literal torture of human turned monsters, with an actual smile on his face. And justifying it with his end justify the means philosophy. That's awfully too close to being sadistic and cruel when you consider the ramifications.

They say "love is blind" and Saitama is wearing some rose tinted glasses on because Blast is straight up shady, but he does not see it because he's probably identifying with Blast so hard. Middle-aged, number 1# hero, powerful, confident, outwardly caring, intuitive, ruggedly handsome, positively masculine, secretly gay...you name it. Everything Saitama more than likely fantasies about being because he's so emotionally dependant on Genos and he wants to better himself for Genos due to all his insecurities.

Oh yeah time for some saigenos. *rubs hands*

The very first Genos tells him is to tell Saitama to hide in order to protect him. Saitama has a lot of dependency issues since he has been a small child because he was so emotionally lonely and never got the safety he needed to cope well in life. There are definitely some underlying anxieties or disorders laying about.

Second thing Genos does is show just how smart, capable, cool and devilishly attractive he can be when he gets passionate and engages in combat. Genos can get an awed reaction even from Saitama who's emotions were being blunted during their first spar.

Third is showing he's not gonna judge Saitama for completely embarassing himself, even if he was to get naked around him and lower his inhibitions and showing him it would be ok to trust him on the level of intimacy he craves so dearly. (Season 2 Blu-ray & Dvd: Saitama and the mysterious heroine)

Fourth is showing that Genos is also extremely resilient even when getting hurt...because Saitama hates to see others hurting and he doesn't want it to happen because of him.

And finally the fifth...is because Genos is just as emotionally lonely as he is, but he's unable to let go of his emotional dependencies because he trauma bonds so deeply. He would rather double KO for a Game Over screen than let the monsters win over him and his loved ones on pure principle and take those he trauma bonds with him, because emotional abandonment and guilt would kill him deep inside, so he would rather end it himself for a shred of agency before he withers away.

All these draw in Saitama like moth to a flame and he easily lets Genos into his life. Because he identifies with the lonely teenage boy Genos with traumas who is so familiar to him like coming home.

-*-

Despite everything that has happened to Saitama, he tries to remain optimistic. He's not naturally prone to cynicism unless under great amount of duress. The worst thing to do against him would be Genos emotionally betraying him, betray everything that he perceived in him since the first day they met.

But Saitama has perception bias towards Genos too...such as that Genos is no longer the small teenage boy who needs to be sheltered and cared for, but a battle-hardened soldier. Neither is he a lost naive little sibling in need of guidance or chaperone but an adult wanting mentorship where he can be truly open about his own issues. Would be such a shame if these wrong illusions about Genos were to be shattered...painfully. If Genos were to ever violate that implicit trust Saitama gives to him.

My brother in christ Saitama, he's not actually related to you and he's not your family member even if you'd love him enough to adopt him or something. Not letting go of this notion will spell trouble, like wonky image of relationships and intimacy.

(Yea Saitama please he's not actually related to you, even if it's kind of endearing that Saitama considers Genos to be as close like a family member)

It'll just get worse if Saitama confuses emotional intimacy with sexuality because of his bad upbringing when he's never had any friends and missing his parents too and all his role models have been aggressive and toxic people.

Funny how Saitama's first conclusion about Dr. Genus being interested in his body was sexual in nature and he immediately got defensive. He essentially revealed himself as someone who doesn't even know for sure which way he swings. Which would be quite classic for infj demi but I'll get to that if it becomes more relevant.

Genos naturally knows best though, poor guy looks so disappointed haha. Doesn't stop Genos from attempting every trick in the book besides outright throwing roses at Saitama and arranging dates to get into his good side and woo him, he dressed up so nicely for a spar haha. Dressing to impress, yup. And then he got himself new shiny body and practically walked weeks without a shirt on just so Saitama would see it. (Chapter 185: Updates) My guy has it down bad for Saitama, but Saitama seems oblivious to Genos indirect advances and Genos gave up and finally found a shirt to put on.

(I would pay to see Genos actually chuck roses at Saitama though.)

Even Saitama has to acknowledge that Genos is objectively a hottie though, because in the webcomic he says something along the lines of "he's not even pretty" about Amai-mask and it really makes you think the standards of who Saitama considers pretty when even ikemen like Amai-mask won't do.

-*-

Genos unfortunately is growing up some pretty large perception bias about Saitama after the time travel fiasco. His idolization of Saitama is becoming obsessive and objectifying, like Saitama can do no wrong and that Saitama is some kind of messiah.

Genos also does not take no for an answer. It would be incredibly damaging to both Saitama and Genos when this perception bias is broken when Saitama gets too much on his plate to handle. Like for example...Empty void's specialty, messing with emotional bonds and inducing traumatic events like the illusion of death to break any emotional bond, just like he did to Flashy flash and Sonic.

I do greatly anticipate how Empty Void's fight is going to proceed, we might be in for very big perceptional bias shifts all around, like Flash was forced to acknowledge that he's emotionally dependant on Sonic. (Chapter 201: You pass) And Saitama's idolization of Blast will come crashing down when he finds out what Blast is really up to.

I'll throw some funny perception bias at the end.

[are-you-judd-enough]

not a match, but I've noticed that ppl seem to vote for the "good guys" a lot more than the "bad guys" (at least from a quick scroll through your blog) I wonder if, because we're always used to seeing ourselves as the "good guys" we're more predisposed to vote for them - we always want our own team to win, after all.

Thats a pretty solid theory. There probably is some kind of bias there. Maybe people just don't think I'd intentionally include my own losses or think i'm so good i'd never lose (i did get 5 clam blitz wins the other night, for 5 clam blitz wins total lifetime play to date in around 1800 hours playtime)

My grandest desire for this blog is to be included in somebody's doctorate thesis as a huge dataset, and cognitive bias psychology is as good as any.