#they are fundamentally misunderstanding it

[the-nettle-knight]

I want to point out that the original post actually fundamentally misunderstands the original article. This was not a case of the archaeologists not recognising the artefact type and a leather worker identifying them, this was a case of the artefact being so unexpected in this context, that it was almost missed. Here is a direct quote from the article:

"The first three found were fragments less than a few centimeters long and might not have been recognized without experience working with later period bone tools. It is not something normally looked for in this time period."

The archaeological team almost missed them because these bone fragments were both tiny and unexpected as "[the] technology [was] previously associated only with modern humans". As in, Neanderthals had not been shown to have even been capable to make these artefacts before that point. I don't think people quite understand how big of a deal this is - this is about the equivalent of finding pottery in a modern human group about 20 000 years ago (they haven't but that's the level of *that shouldn't be there*)

This was identified *by the archaeologists working on the project* because they'd found them before. They fully knew what these artefacts were in the first place, they just didn't expect to find them there.

Then to prove it, they replicated the use-wear by buying a modern tool off the Internet and doing microscopic analysis. There was not a single modern leather worker mentioned in either the article linked or the actual paper put out. That is absolutely something that would have been acknowledged in both of the papers.

This paper was revolutionary in our understanding of Neanderthal crafting capabilities, recognisied by brilliant and diligent archaeologists and this entire narrative of incapable stuck up archaeologists is an insult to their work.

The women who recognised that the blades were being stored out of reach of children were also archaeologists. Janet Stephens' research is part of a legitimate branch of archaeological research called Experimental Archaeology. Experimental archaeology has been practiced academically/professionally since the 80s. I'm a hobbiest in a lot of historical crafts and have been the person that a colleague turned to when struggling to identify an artefact. We were able to figure out what it probably was because I knew what use-wear to look for and how to find parallels.

The narrative that archaeologists are opposed to interdisciplinary work is very frustrating as so many of us, including myself, are strong proponents for it. We are very happy to talk to any and all professionals who will talk to us and highly value modern parallels (sometimes a bit too much, actually)

Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them. 

Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.” 

“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”

“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”

It’s just. 

50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job. 

[mllekurtz]

Shadowgast Fic Playlists

Some themed lists of my shadowgast works under the cut, including:

atmospheric one shots

modern and/or human aus

academia aus

silly, fluffy one shots

fics set in Exandria

long fics

smutty fics

This was suggested to me a while ago by a friend. I've written a bunch of shadowgast fics with different tags, ratings and vibes, but there are recurring patterns in most of them. I hope this is useful to anyone who'd like to approach my body of work, or reread some of it, or feels in the mood for something very specific, or wants to read the exact same fic again but different.

Atmospheric One-Shots

Fics set in a distant time and place, with a focus on the characters but also a rich backdrop of history and lore. Best enjoyed in a cozy setting with your warm beverage of choice.

the end of all our exploring (the gardener fic)

The Empire of Lights (the vibes au)

remote times and places and ultimate causes (the medieval au)

at the violet hour (the long distance relationship fic)

Modern and/or Human AUs

These stories have an emphasis on the modern setting and are farther from canon. Read if you want to meet the wizards at school, at work, on a train, at a conference...

strange magic (set in "modern" Rexxentrum)

The Empire of Lights (set in "modern" Rosohna)

remote times and places and ultimate causes (set in real life Europe in the Middle Ages)

after hours (they meet in a bar)

all this science i don't understand (small town vibes)

(your face in my hands is) everything good i need (set in modern France and Germany)

Fundamental Forces Other Than Gravity (set in "modern" Rosohna)

Academia AUs

Stories that emphasize the academic setting, with the wizards as either students or teachers. Just a different flavor of nerds in their natural habitat, really.

(your face in my hands is) everything good i need (humanities professors)

Fundamental Forces Other Than Gravity (grad student/TA)

all this science i don't understand (high school teachers)

life's too short to even care at all (they found a school in canon Exandria)

Silly, Fluffy One-Shots

Bite-sized snacks with a high sugar content, with no other purpose than putting a smile on your face. Read as a quick pick-me-up whenever things are hard.

library etiquette (a big misunderstanding)

strange magic (the commuter au)

after hours (the blind date au)

Fics Set in Exandria

Either canon compliant or divergent, these fics are all set in the world of Critical Role. If you're not a modern au person and would rather enjoy the wizards in their original setting, these are for you.

at the violet hour (mainly set in Caleb's house in Rexxentrum)

the end of all our exploring (set in Blumenthal)

eleventh hour (set on a beach in Rumblecusp)

the to make an end series (set in Aeor)

displacement (also set in Aeor)

birds of prey (a Scourger au that eventually becomes a retelling of campaign 2, set all over Wildemount)

eternally present, unredeemable (mainly set in the Cobalt Soul Archive in Zadash)

life's too short to even care at all (set in Caleb and Essek's school, near Zadash)

soft driven slow and mad like some new language (set in the Nein Sided Tower)

Long Fics

Sometimes you want to curl up with tea and a novel-worth of fic. This list has got you covered.

birds of prey ("evil" au, still in progress)

The Witcher au (your wizards, but as a witcher and a sorcerer)

The cost of living series (unfinished, but still pretty long)

Smutty Fics

I know some of you are here for this, and good for you. These are my spiciest one-shots, enjoy.

jealousy 

discretion (with saturdaysky)

antinomy 

displacement 

remote times and places and ultimate causes 

risk exposure from the birds of prey series

the awful daring of a moment’s surrender from the to make an end series

where's the point in hurrying (when waiting feels so great)

soft driven slow and mad like some new language 

an interlude and musica universalis from the cost of living series

[oddyseye]

hello ! i'm only in the early parts of the odyssey; but i came across a post saying that "the suitors always planned to SA penelope in the odyssey because they wanted to go inside her room" in defense of "hold them down" from epic, and i've read some of your posts on the choices made in that song compared to the OG poem, so i was wondering what your take on that might be ...? does that hold any water ? hope that isn't too bothersome, all the best .

That take is absolutely ridiculous. There’s a huge difference between violating someone and trying to pressure them into marriage for power. The suitors in the Odyssey are overwhelmingly awful, arrogant, and predatory in a political sense. They are absolutely violating Penelope’s household, eating up her resources, and refusing to leave unless she chooses one of them. But the text does not indicate that they ever planned to physically attack her.

The suitors are plotting against Telemachus because he’s their political rival, not planning an attack on Penelope. What Antinous suggests is murdering Telemachus to remove any obstacles to Penelope being forced into marriage. He frames it as a practical move: if Telemachus is dead, his estate is split among the suitors, and whoever Penelope picks inherits the house. The whole point is that they want Penelope to make a choice — albeit under duress — not to take her by force.

If anything, the suitors go out of their way not to push too hard. Penelope has a level of control over them that prevents them from acting too rashly. She stalls them for years with the weaving trick. She also demands they bring her gifts in Book 18, and they all scramble to outdo each other, showing that they’re still following the customs of courtship rather than brute force. Eurymachus even argues in Book 22 that they would have given her gifts and had no intention of harming her (though Odysseus doesn’t buy that, and neither do I), and it still shows that the suitors operate within a corrupt, but still structured, system of power rather than outright violence. Actually, Book 18 also tells us Athena literally has to step in and make Penelope look even more beautiful to really get the suitors riled up. That tells us a lot. If the suitors had always been overwhelmed with desire for Penelope, why would Athena need to do this? Because up until this point, their fixation on her wasn’t about personal attraction, it was about power. They wanted the legitimacy that came with marrying Odysseus’ wife and ruling his kingdom, but their greed was about wealth and authority first. Athena’s trick is what makes them start acting on reckless, impulsive lust rather than cold political maneuvering, pushing them even further into self-destruction.

And that completely shuts down any claim that the suitors had been planning to attack Penelope from the start. If they were already driven by uncontrollable desire, why did Athena need to intervene? It proves that their motivations were calculated ambition, not unchecked lust. They weren’t trying to take Penelope; they were trying to force her into a marriage that benefitted them politically. Athena’s move just speeds up their downfall by making them easier to manipulate.

And just to be clear, I’m not saying the suitors aren’t a threat to Penelope. They’re a bunch of entitled, power-hungry men who would absolutely make her life miserable if one of them won. But interpreting their political manipulation as an intent to assault her fundamentally misunderstands the dynamics at play. Their power grab depends on her legitimacy. They need her to marry one of them to make it all legal.

[casper-casserole]

Dog/cat people have this fundamental misunderstanding of exotic pet ownership in that they think I own a reptile because I want him to love me. I have owned Hero, my leopard gecko, for 3 years. I see him maybe once a day if I am lucky, sometimes I only see him when I feed him. For a month every year he hides all the time and does nothing. He spends his entire life in a little tank in my room that I have spent 100’s, probably thousands of dollars on to make him as close to happy as his simple little brain can get. I do not really ever touch him unless I have concerns. The joy from owning a reptile comes from when I see him and he is round and brightly colored and happy and I go “Ah my son is thriving” and then he goes and hides under a rock again

[henrysglock]

don’t get me started on fat and/or disabled characters getting the ace label more often than their thin/abled counterparts…or how traumatized characters also get the ace headcanon more often…or how trans/trans-coded characters—even ones who are explicitly stated as some other sexuality—also get the ace headcanon more often…or how a combination of more than one of them basically guarantees that there’s a widespread/widely accepted ace headcanon…

Fandom Problem #7550:

Male characters being headcannoned as gay just because they're skinny or they did something "feminine." Female characters being headcannoned as lesbian just became they're tall or they did something "masculine." Characters being headcannoned as bi just because they're super flirty or goofy. Characters being headcannoned as ace just because they're emotionless or a clueless little baby.

Like, it's one thing if that's your own identity and you see yourself in a character. That's cool and I'm glad you're expressing yourself through headcannons.

But if you're not the identity you're headcannoning a character as, maybe use more than just stereotypes to headcannon them?

[ongreenergrasses]

my least favorite thing about the HG fandom is that even though people, validly, have a lot of interest in Finnick’s and other victors sex trafficking storyline very very very few seem to have any concept of how grooming into trafficking works and have seemingly absolutely no interest in doing so much as a simple google search. almost every fic has the whole situation come off as very cartoonish with Snow just showing up and being like “heyyy so we’re gonna kill your whole family if you don’t have sex for money :( you start tonight btw!” and then Finnick shows up the next morning with like 3 broken arms and a shattered leg like ok what the hell sure

genuinely you’re so right. a lot of the time it comes across very simplistic with no research done. I think one of the most telling things about this too is that far and wide the thought seems to be that Finnick’s getting trafficked the most because he’s the prettiest, which is such a fundamental misunderstanding of the dynamics and realities of trafficking that I’m like well. we’re never going to get to a point of depicting this realistically if the core understanding is so wildly off base.

[stevethehairington]

everyone i see saying "omg oliver really said eat the rich!!!1!111!!!!" are COMPLETELY missing the point of that movie. it was not an "eat the rich movie", it wasn't about class in that sense AT ALL. it was very much about desire and obsession and consumption. not class!!

[the-wandering-wayseeker]

Repeat after me:

The Jedi taught emotional control, not repression.

The Jedi took kids with parental consent, they did not kidnap them.

The Jedi did not hold people against their will, they could leave the Order at any time.

The Jedi were not "just as bad" as the Sith.

[rowanisawriter]

fic is a safe space, probably one of the last safe spaces. by safe i mean safe from the pressure of caving to advertisers. you can write fic about anything and not worry (shouldn’t worry) about what’s popular or what an advertiser oriented algorithm will pick up. what i mean by this is that you don’t have to bring this advertiser friendly behavior into fic. heroes can make bad decisions, people can fall out of love, villains can win, villainous organizations can win, redemption doesn’t have to happen, etc. make things a little messy if you want to, because life can be messy and art is a reflection of life. not what the advertisers have decided for us life is like, real life. this is one of the last places where this is still possible

[myprongsfootera]

I cannot stop thinking about that "Sirius killed for James, died for Harry, but lived for Remus" post

No.

Stop it.

I want to squirt water like "bad fandom"

Sirius stayed sane in Azkaban solely to avenge James's murder and try to protect Harry. It was about the two of them and Peter. If Remus ranked on the list it was a very distant fourth.

When Sirius came back, his *sole focus* was how to protect Harry. He lived alone as a dog feeding on scraps for most of his time post-Azkaban. He was only with Remus a tiny fraction of the time at the end, and even then it was with a primary focus of how to work together to protect Harry.

James's son.

It all comes back to him for Sirius.

He killed, lived, and died for James. All of it. Over and over, he was willing to do all of it for James.

Fucking Remus, who?

[knightobreath]

people need to stop being so toxic about the dsmp. i get it isn’t everyone’s thing but it isn’t this super evil minecraft server of groomers. that was one guy and the allegations came out at the end of the dream smp’s lifespan. also, despite being in the title, dream hardly played on the server and never streamed or recorded his gameplay. he was basically just there for promo!! the vast majority of dream smp fans weren’t dream stans, they were there for the dozens of other creators playing on the server. in fact, there has even been beef between dream smp fans and dream stans!! anyways, it’s just a roleplay series, and i don’t see people sending death threats to fans of streamed dnd campaigns.

[robinwithay]

you guys understand that if aziraphale had to go undercover in hell, his demon disguise would be just as silly as crowley's angel disguise, right? right???

[thylacinetears]

Here are the sentences you specifically said: "but the reality is simply that male privilege comes from NOT being a woman" "not [being] women... is the only prerequisite for benefiting from male privilege". The only interpretation of those sentences is that anyone who isn't a woman benefits from male privilege, and anyone who benefits from male privilege isn't a woman. That's what the word "prerequisite" means. I agree that this idea is a fake binary. But you are the one who has created it.

So, I'll stick it in proper deductive argument notation: P1: Anyone who isn't a woman benefits from male privilege P2: Nonbinary people are not women C: Nonbinary people benefit from male privilege

Or alternatively: P1: Anyone who isn't a woman benefits from male privilege P2: Nonbinary people do not benefit from male privilege C1: Nonbinary people are women C2: Nonbinary people don't exist

Anyway, later you say: "there are nonbinary people who look like cis men, and they benefit from male privilege."

There are trans women who look like cis men. They do not benefit from male privilege. Because if a trans woman is perceived as a cis man, she is closeted, or having her identity actively erased. And if a trans woman is referred to in the way you would refer to a cis man, she is being misgendered. Being closeted and misgendered is not a privilege, and it outweighs any other benefits that may come with being perceived as a cis man.

The exact same thing applies to nonbinary people. Nonbinary people are not (entirely) men or women. If a nonbinary person is perceived as a man, cis or not, they are essentially closeted, or having their identity actively erased. If a nonbinary person is referred to in the way you would refer to a cis man, they are being misgendered. And still, being closeted and misgendered is not a privilege, and it outweighs any other benefits that may come with being perceived as a cis man. Because misgendering is not "less worse" when it happens to nonbinary trans people.

But ultimately this comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of what male privilege is. Cis men's male privilege is not "conditional". Cis men do not have to hide a fundamental part of their identity and experience, in order to have male privilege. The whole point of male privilege is that it's something cis men don't even have to think about!

some of you seriously think male privilege comes from being given something, or only having positive experiences, or otherwise some external validation rewarded for being a man. but the reality is simply that male privilege comes from NOT being a woman. it literally does not matter that trans men face transphobia, because we still aren't trans women, who face transphobia and are also women.

now, some of you are going to say "but trans men are often TREATED like women", and that is true! that's transphobia. we're treated as delusional girls destroying our sacred bodies, that's misogyny. many trans guys don't pass or are closeted. for sure, trans men do not benefit from cis privilege. but plenty of trans men ARE seen as and treated like men, even if they don't completely pass (like online, and/or in queer spaces). at the end of the day, binary trans men are men, and are not women. which, if you remember, is the only prerequisite for benefiting from male privilege!

[facelessoldgargoyle]

I hate seeing the tags “female rage” “female hysteria” “coquette” “girlblogger” etc. on a picture of Laura Palmer. I can’t find the words to describe why exactly but it’s the worst. She’s a complicated person for whom no one would intervene. She’s not like, an empowering figure.

[bonefall]

Clear Sky threw his son in front of a fox?!

YES!! He SHOVED him in front of a fox! It's in fury from the fact Thunder refused to kill Frost. This entire section is VERY poorly paced and glances over it in two paragraphs, so most people don't fully register it.

Clear Sky dragged Thunder down off the stump and shoves him at it, blaming him for bringing the fox to camp with his loud disobedience.

He then leaves Thunder to fight this fox on his own. Leaf and Falling Feather jump in to help him of their own accord. Clear Sky then tries to praise him for being strong and Thunder tells him to shove off for the first and last time.

It's not the last baby of his he knowingly and consciously endangers to prove a point. In Moth Flight's Vision, he refuses to allow Acorn Fur to get medical help for Tiny Branch's fox-inflicted injuries until his condition worsened, bellowing, "SkyClan does NOT ask for help unless there's no choice." AND didn't allow her to complete her training after he caused Micah's death.

Clear Sky is a serial child abuser. He is willfully neglectful, emotionally abusive, and physically violent.

[hotsugarbyglassanimals]

A lot of you need to sit the fuck down and remember that cis women and trans women can be butches. because at this rate y'all are acting like it's a solely transmasc identity by conflating the experience of going on T and having top surgery as a universal butch experience. or god forbid, y'all equate butch to being a trans man