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More Mushroompeach❤️🍄🍑

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A Mushroompeach drawing since I've gotten some recent motivation to draw again lol

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Sage of Truth is great, but we need more Fount of Knowledge art!

there goes my babyyyyyy

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Sorry for being inactive for quite a while. I've been stressed with finishing high-school and now that I'm graduating in a few days hopefully I'll have more time to post lol. In the meantime here's some angst art of my babies

(THIS IS A FATHER AND SON RELATIONSHIP NOT SHIP ART☝️‼️)

I also got really into cookie run kingdom again so I might post about that more too

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Wukong and mac in my design

i think it looks good

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Apes are a kind of monkey, and that's ok

This is a pet peeve of mine in sci comm ESPECIALLY because many well respected scientific institutions are insistent about apes and monkeys being separate things, despite how it's been established for nearly a century that apes are just a specific kind of monkey.

Nearly every zoo I've visited that houses apes has a sign somewhere like the one below that explains the supposed distinction between the two groups, focusing on anatomy instead of phylogeny.

(Every time I see a graphic like this I age ten years) Movies even do this, especially when they want to sound credible. Take this scene from Rise of the Planet of the Apes:

This guy Franklin is presented as the authority on apes in this scene, and he treats James Franco calling a chimpanzee a monkey like it's insulting.

But when you actually look at a primate family tree, you can see that apes are on the same branch as Old World monkeys, while New World monkeys branched off much earlier.

(I'm assuming bushbabies are included as "lorises" here?)

To put it simply, that means you and I are more closely related to a baboon than a baboon is to a capuchin.

Either the definition of monkey includes apes OR we can keep using an anatomical definition and Barbary macaques get to be an ape because they're tailless.

"I've got no tails on me!"

SO

Why did all this happen? Why did we start insisting apes are monkeys, especially considering the two words were pretty much interchangeable for centuries? Well I've got one word for ya...

This the attitude that puts humans on a pedestal over other life on Earth. That there are intrinsically important features of humanity, and other living things are simply stepping stones in that direction.

At the dawn of evolutionary study, anthropocentrism was enforced by using a model called evolutionary grades. And boy howdy do I hate evolutionary grades.

Basically, a grade is a way of defining a group of animals by using anatomical "complexity". It's the idea that evolution has milestones of importance that, once reached, makes an organism into a new kind of thing. You can almost think of it like evolutionary levels. An animal "levels up" once it gains a certain trait deemed "complex".

You can probably see the issue here; that complexity is an ephemeral idea defined through subjectivity, rather than based off anything truly observable. What makes walking on 2 legs more complex than walking on four? How are tails less complex than no tails? "Complexity" in this context is unmeasurable, therefore it is unscientific. That's why evolutionary grades suck and I never want to look at one.

For primates, this meant once some of them lost their tails, grew bigger brains, and started brachiating instead of leaping, they simply "leveled up" and became apes. Despite the early recognition that apes were simply a branch of the Old World monkey family tree (1785!), the idea of grades took precedent over the phylogenetic link.

In the early years of primatology, humans were even seen as a grade "above" apes, related but separated by our upright stance and supposed far greater intelligence (this was before other apes were recognized tool users).

It wasn't until the goddamn 1970s that it was recognized all great apes should be included in the clade Hominidae alongside humanity. This was a major shift in thinking, and required not just science, but the public, to recognize just how close we are to other living species. It seems like this change has, thankfully, happened and most institutions and science respecting folks have accepted this fact. Those who don't accept it tend to have a lot more issues with science than only accepting humans as apes.

And now, we come to the current problem. Why is there a persistent idea that monkeys and apes are separate?

I want to make it clear I don't believe there was a conscious movement at play here. I think there's a lot of things going on, but there isn't some anti-monkey lobby that is hiding the truth. I think the problem is more complicated and deals with how human brains and human culture often struggle to do too many changes at once.

Now, I haven't seen any studies on this topic, so everything I say going forward is based on my own experience of how people react to learning apes (and therefore, humans) are monkeys.

First off, there is a lot of mental rearranging you have to do to accept humans as monkeys. First you, gotta accept humans as apes, then you have to stop thinking in grades and look at the family tree. Then you have to accept that apes are on the Old World monkey branch, separate from the New World monkeys.

That's a lot of steps, and I've seen science-minded zoo educators struggle with that much mental rearranging. And even while they accept this to an extent, they often find it even harder to communicate these ideas to the public.

I think this is a big reason why zoos and museums often push this idea the hardest. Convincing the public humans are apes is already a challenge, teaching them that all apes are monkeys at the same time might seem impossible.

I believe the other big reason people cling to the "apes-aren't-monkeys" idea is that it still allows for that extra bit of comforting anthropocentrism. Think of it this way; anthropocentrism puts humans on a pedestal. When you learn that humans are apes, you can either remove the pedestal and place humans with other animals, OR, you can place the apes up on the pedestal with humanity. For those that have an anthropocentric worldview, it can actually be easier to "uplift" the apes than ditch the pedestal.

Too make things worse, monkeys are such a symbol of a "primitive" animal nature that many can't accept raising them to the "level" of humanity, but removing the pedestal altogether is equally painful. So they hold tight to an outdated idea despite all the evidence. This is why there's often offense taken when an ape is called a monkey. It's tantamount to someone calling you a monkey, and that's too much of a challenge to anthropocentrism.

Personally, I think recognizing myself as a monkey is wonderful. Non-ape monkeys are as "complex" as any ape. They make tools, they have dynamic social groups, they're adapted to a wide range of environments, AND they have the best hair of all primates.

I think we should be honored to be considered one of them.

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Have a drawing of Macaque and his kid, who I decided to make an oc (who i made from a c.ai chat) almost a year ago

Idk if I introduced him on my Tumblr yet or not but his name is Marcello

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It is just you and your F/O inside the house. You are doing something pretty mundane. Maybe you're in the kitchen preparing a meal or sit on the couch to watch tv. Or maybe you’re doing a bit of cleaning.

Suddenly this is put to a stop however. Why? Because someone snuck up quietly to wrap their hands around you. You turn your head to see who it is, your F/O of course.

Maybe they grin or look a little bashful. Regardless, they can't help but nuzzle against you. It is just the two of you and they want to feel you close. Yet they also hold you in a way that you can proceed with what you're doing.

Enjoy the closeness a little.

Proship / Comship do not interact please!

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Some vent mushroompeach because I'm sad and tired

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Sorry for not posting in a while I'm in my last semester of high-school and I'm trying to make sure I pass all my classes

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My school went to our local art center for a trip and I got this notebook from the gift shop solely because it reminded me of Wukong and Macaque

The Mushroompeach/Shadowshroom fanfics I'm gonna write in this bad boy are gonna be fire🔥

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What better way then to start off the year then with dad-bod Wukong?

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Pinterest: You’ve already saved this picture of your F/O to *Self Shipping Pinterest Board*

Me:

[Image and banner described in alt]

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Mushroompeach coded

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A little drawing of Macaque and Hiran (an oc I made from a c.ai chat)

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💫 f/o's who understand and respect any unconventional or uncommon triggers. they don't think you're being 'too sensitive' or that you're 'overreacting'.

💫 f/o's who let you cling to them in public, they'll always hold your hand and run their thumb over your knuckle to help ground you when you're anxious.

💫 f/o's that are completely supportive if you use a fidget toy, use chewellry or carry a comfort item; they support any and all ways you self soothe.

💫 f/o's that understand how your bfrb works. they absolutely don't think it's gross if you pick, chew or bite. if you accidentally hurt yourself they'll always help you patch it up.

💫 f/o's that love to see you happy stim. that are thrilled to see you rocking back and forth happily or flapping your arms or any other stim you may have.

💫 f/o's that do deep pressure therapy with you. maybe they drape themselves on top of you, and you can feel their comforting weight pressing you down.

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selfship post that caters to ME

your f/o would never hate you or think youre gross for picking your skin. they will bandage and clean all your scabs and wounds and still adore you even if you are covered in scars from scratching and picking your skin.

they will never shame or degrade you for picking your skin. it is not a disgusting thing and your scars don't make you ugly. they still think your skin is beautiful no matter how much you've picked and that you're worthy of so much love.

they'll clean and try their best to disinfect your wounds. their main concern will always be making sure you're okay, not that it could scar. it doesn't matter to them how scarred you are as long as you're okay. they will try to help manage your triggers, help you trim your nails, try to distract you. but they will never push you, and if you end up picking they will take care of you.

they love you. scarred skin and all.