#cow totem

[ronkoza]

more stupid boys

Tor belongs to @littleulvar

[caelumroxas]

COMMUNICATING WITH GIANT ALIENS!! | Tôtem - Full Gameplay

My full gameplay of Tôtem is available now!!

[azure-bluet]

A visit to Snowchester 🏘️❄️

This was originally a request for the expression + palette challenge, but I got a bit carried away.

Some design notes and closeups under the cut!

Techno:

Techno has golden streaks and golden scars with two emeralds from the Totem he used to save him from the execution.

He wears an emerald earring that matches with Phil.

The roses and thorns are to show how something beautiful can also spill blood, and as a reference to the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. The ruby gem that connects to them represents a droplet of blood.

Tubbo:

Tubbo's right side is significantly more scarred since he instinctively turned left when he was executed. He also rised both arms to subconsciously try to protect himself from the fireworks, losing two left fingers and leaving his right arm very fragile in the incident. He lost his right arm when he jumped to protect Tommy from a firework during Doomsday.

He has a long scar on the left side of his face from the battle with Tommy in the destroyed Community House. Tommy has a matching one on his right side.

His horns are still growing, not fully formed yet (he's a cow hybrid). One of his horns is scarred from him trying to file it down when it started to grow during New L'Manberg, but didn't manage to do it.

He wears Tommy's red bandana around his neck, but will swap its placement depending on what he's doing.

Ranboo:

Ranboo has very light tear scars on their cheeks from being half ghast and crying ghast tears. Since they're not fully ghast, the tears are so acidic they burn their skin.

They have a dandelion on their horn, given to them by Tommy. Tommy, in turn, has a netherite earring with an ender eye on his.

In the background, set in Tubbo's house, we can see a vase with two pink tulips, given to him by Ranboo, and the "Your Tommy" compass. It's snowing outside.

[sweetie-peaches]

Home o fobo design Yipeeee

Sunny stitched on the details on his pants and shawl, sun esc designs for her and totem designs for foolish! And he added the chocobo feathers off his belt!

PLEASE REBLOG MY ART HELLOOOO HELLO I AM A COW IN THE FIELDS AND I AM MOWING AT YOU

[all54321]

Wildcards!

Session 1: Shifting shrinks you, jumping grows you

Session 2: Constant Hunger III. You can eat everything, but food restores no hunger (instead increasing the hunger potion effect), and each item gives a different effect. It changed twice more during the session.

Session 3: Immortal snails. Everyone has an immortal snail that chases them down, it can mine, fly, teleport, and it speeds up when further away. Nothing can stop it. (It can also rebound TNT, and it drowns the player if it is drowning itself)

Session 4: Time starts moving extremely slowly then speeds up over the session to being extremely fast.

Session 5: Robots parachute in from the sky to a random player to give them a life series related trivia question. Answering the question right rewards them positive potion effects, weapons, useful items, etc. Answering them wrong results in consequences like making their voice not understandable, the snail returns, they get negative potion effects, etc.

Session 6: All mobs get killed and replaced with a random mob every so often. An increasing amount of passive mobs spawn before as well to increase the overall effect. The mobs can be anything from cows/sheep/pigs all the way to a warden. Evokers no longer drop totems of undying, but wardens do.

Session 7: Everyone has their own/unique superpower that can be activated/deactivated with a hotkey

Deaths From The Wildcards

Session 1: 1 Death (Out of 2)

Session 2: 6 Deaths + 1 Assist (Out of 11)

Session 3: 27 deaths (Out of 37)

Session 4: 0 Deaths (Out of 10)

Session 5: 5 Deaths (Out of 20)

Session 6: 4 Deaths (Out of 12)

Session 7: 8 Deaths (Out of 17) (and an additional 36 for the zombies)

[wesleysniperking]

Sniper King is a soldier and a warrior, not an imitator. Put some respect on his name!

I was arguing with someone on Reddit (big surprise), and they were trying to tell me that Sniper King (yes, Usopp) was wearing a sun god mask because he was trying to emulate Luffy. But I am convinced that one of the reasons why—and there are indeed layers to this, not just surface level—is that the sun god mask signifies Usopp’s allegiance to Luffy (or Sun God Nika). Usopp donned that mask as a warrior to prove that he was a soldier ready to fight alongside and for Luffy.

What these Usopp haters miss is the deeper cultural significance of the mask. In many African traditions, masks symbolize spirits of the dead, totem animals, and other supernatural forces. They are deeply rooted in animism, the worship of the natural world. A mask might represent a nearby river, an animal, or a deceased ancestor. When Usopp puts on the Sniper King mask, he’s not just hiding his identity—he’s transforming into a new entity, embodying the spirit of a warrior.

This transformation aligns perfectly with the idea that Usopp is trying to grow and become someone stronger. Oda himself has said that Usopp would be African, and in African cultures, masks are used to initiate transformation, allowing the wearer to influence the spirits they are appealing to or offering thanks to. During a performance, the masked masquerader transforms into the spirit or entity represented by the mask, with their identity reinforced through song and dance. (Hmm…hence that whole thing with the Sogeking opening sequence and theme song)

So, the sun god mask Usopp wears isn’t about imitation; it’s about praise, admiration, honor, and acknowledgment. It’s a physical mechanism for Usopp to initiate his own transformation, symbolizing his commitment to fight alongside Luffy. There’s so much more depth here, but I’m standing firm against the notion that Usopp was trying to mimic Luffy. That’s a load of cow dung. It’s amazing how often I end up arguing with Usopp haters. They should just admit their bias instead of trying to stamp it as "objective." No way is it objective when you’re trying to convince an Usopp fan that Usopp’s worthless when he clearly isn’t.

Like seriously. People forget that Usopp is a storyteller. And that Oda said if the Straw Hats were in the real world Usopp would be African. I’m so with (a firm supporter in) this animistic beliefs narrative.

More thoughts on the subject of Usopp, Africa, Going Merry, and what it has to do with Water 7 and the narrative:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3 - unrelated link

Link 4 - unrelated link

outside link that brings home a point

usopp community I created. feel free to join.

[eesirachs]

Hi Sam, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the tension between the anthropocentrism found in the Bible—where the earth and the natural world are seen as existing primarily to serve human needs—and how this perspective might contribute to our current climate discussions. Do you think this view exacerbates the harm to the natural world, and should we instead adopt a more inclusive, ecocentric perspective?

ps: i haven’t read laudato si, but would love your thoughts on this as well!

the hebrew bible reads, rather, as a register of ethical relationality—within and without human-human interactions. with attention, this god forms the natural landscape, occupies it with fruit and river, with things made from clay and animals as their partners. materiality in the ancient near east was like that—how flesh and dirt and gods and creature negotiated themselves was less a thing of difference than sameness. the self included things like mud, votives, totemic animals, the earth. as the bible moves through its narrative, it turns and returns to this kind of materiality that refuses to be parsed out. the prophets are their skin-mantles; grain sacrifice is fed to animals; sign-acts speak through and to bushes, cows, water. rather than a rubric of dominating environments, there is here a faith that rests upon and in those environments. laudato si attempts to hold this—and it might move further, it might hold onto the earth in the way faith narratives need it to, have long since needed it to

[gothprentiss]

hey. hey. i cannot make any inroads on your ethics but hey. hey listen. if you nod along with posts like this one

look into how this stuff is processed sometime 👍

i mean, full disclosure: i do genuinely think “i love animal products ❤️ they’re biodegradable” is kind of antivegan cope because, you know, no one ever seems to be talking about natural plant fibers versus synthetics in these contexts— despite the fact that, on average, they comprise significantly more of your wardrobe and significantly more of your short-term, short-life garments— but also, and more importantly: i do not know what kind of beautiful little production chain is being imagined here, but the idea that you go from sheep or cow or so on to your wardrobe to the compost heap to fresh soil in 5-15 years, zero environmental impact, is really out of touch with most factors of consumption. leather for example can be biodegradable, but a lot of processed leather takes significantly longer to decompose— not as long as pvc, but longer than you use it for— due to the nature of its treatment. if you buy leather goods you are virtually never buying untreated leather; tanning is a chemical process with pretty significant environmental consequences. if you are getting for example a wool coat, the odds that you can afford a 100% wool coat as opposed to a wool-synthetic blend are pretty low; same with sweaters. so maybe you thrift a leather jacket or a vintage 100% wool sweater and get some use out of it. you buy a pair of leather shoes and feel good about it. hey, their treatment and soles probably biodegrade too right? and without any lasting impacts on the environment? and maybe you overcorrect for “vegan item!!” fast fashion greenwashing and end up with items which are pretty much exactly as non-biodegradable as their plastic equivalents, and exactly as short-lived because the quality of low-budget manufacturing these days seems to be constantly getting worse.

i don’t mean to scaremonger or whatever— there really isn’t much of a way out of this unless you have some serious cash to spend. but the idea of a totemic Ecologically Good category of material is obviously out of touch with how most people in the world get their clothes and loudly praising a product which is not actually in practice guaranteed to be better than its plastic substitute is oddly common on this website. cmon there isn’t even a character limit. there’s space to actually say something useful

[blazesartbloglmao]

"Tell me about it"

“Tell me about it,” Techno says later that night, when the fire is low but not quite out and Philza has gone to bed early.

Techno had been reading from one of his many books, hooves delicately turning yellowed pages. Tommy sat with a blanket thrown over his lap, furiously typing messages to Tubbo and Ranboo. They were snowed in at Snowchester, and Michael apparently thought it was some kind of miracle of sorts because Ranboo had been forced to stay in the house a lot with him.

“Tell you about what?” Tommy asks, looking up from his battered communicator. He frowns. “Exile?”

“No. Tell me about your home. L’manberg. Tell me about when it was good.”

Tommy scowls, then softens his face out and raises an eyebrow, casting an odd look in Techno’s direction. Two parts suspicion, one part confusion. “Why?”

“Because it was important to you,” Techno says simply. “I won’t get it, but I’d like to hear about it. All I heard about was a dictator who threw the founders out of the land and all I saw was a Butcher Army on my front lawn. So tell me about it. Tell me about before.”

A nervous sort of energy has entered Tommy’s chest now. He’s not sure why it’s there, only that it feels a bit like a worm has found it’s way from his stomach to his lungs and is now furiously doing the macarena as best as it’s wriggly little body can, even though it has no hands or feet.

It’s also that he’s never tried to explain L’manberg to anyone. Either you were there or you weren’t. Tubbo always got it. Eret certainly did, when they chatted over their fabric projects. Fundy didn’t like to talk about it, but he had brightened when he saw the friendship bracelet Tommy had hung onto. And Wilbur? Wilbur built the damn thing. Even if he refuses to talk about it. Ever.

He knows Tubbo had tried to tell Ranboo about it, the good bits so Ranboo could maybe understand a bit more. Like the time they’d climbed all the trees surrounding the van to try and find the one with grapes in them and then had subsequently pissed off a stray cat that was living in the area. Or when Tommy had sung to the plants in the rain, carefully tending his old carrot patch the way he now tends his small wheat farm and the flowers that dot his front lawn. He suspects Eret has done something similar with Foolish. The golden-skinned totem always has a habit these days of knowing about certain events that played out, though he speaks as if he read it somewhere, not that he’d experienced it.

But Tommy’s never had that practice. Perhaps if he had—like Tubbo, like Eret—he would’ve known exactly what to say to get Techno to understand better. To get him to at least like the idea it had been at first, before the bitter end it’d faced.

He summons all his memories he has of his home, days spent in sunlight; picking berries and petting wild cows. Looking for mischief with Tubbo. Helping Eret with chores. Playing with Fundy and teaching him how to scam. Learning all of Wilbur’s tricks—from the best ways to brew potions to how to confuse the people he was scamming—and soaking up his brother’s praise when he gave it, collecting each soft smile the older man had offered, each ruffle of his hair.

so im a day late but in my defense, i was busy feeling like i was close to death and it only occurred to me later at night yesterday that i could draw something from my own damn fic instead of scrambling to find something in my tired little brain. that's why we're here now lmao.

i wrote a fic back in 2021 about c!tommy and c!technoblade coming together to discuss their differences and try to mend their relationship. because, as i put it succinctly at the time in my partner in crime's dms "if the streamers arent up to the task, im certainly capable of writing a fucking fix-it fic in about a week or 2!"

idk what was in the water back then, i churned out fics like every 2 weeks it felt like and it was insane. now i struggle to finish a oneshot lmao

anyways, that fic does have artwork i drew for it but i wasn't really happy with it as i felt like it didn't capture any of the warmth the fic itself contains. enter this piece that i started impulsively last night and finished today before leaving to go to a plant sale. i did not watch cc!technoblade very long and i got into watching him when i was into dsmp (which i think ive mentioned before) but i am so so glad and grateful for the time he gave us.

if you'd like to read Notos, you can do so here. ive long since stopped lookin at the statistics because the numbers freak me out lmao. if you'd like to see the speedpaint that goes with this, you can click here!

i hope you all enjoy :)

[storyboard-sketch]

With the new DLC for Cult of the Lamb I felt it was time to visit my own ewe. Demeter, Ewe of Harvest. Lore in the read more.

She's based on a Jacob's sheep but without the four horns. Her cloak is covered in fall leaves at the top and trimmed in gold. The rope she wears once held a bell, but she discarded it as she got older to stop giving her enemies an early warning of her presence. Her crown is a foil to Heket's, being the power of Harvest while the frog's domain was Famine.

Demeter is the Goddess of the Harvest across the Lands of the Old Faith, all who hope to grow anything in this hostile land give worship to her Harvest Totems. Even your fearsome lamb's followers pay tribute to her. You have her to thank for your farms doing so well, little lamb. Even the bishops admit they would not have been able to feed their countless followers had they not struck a deal with the Ewe.

Originally leader of the last standing Sheep Village, Demeter never thought to actually have a following when her people looked to her anyway for guidance without worship. But standing fast before the bishops when they came for her flock, the bellwether of the Northern Highlands fell as well in combat trying to defend the other sheep. How fortunate she is...that the domain of Harvest is also a domain of Life. Narinder could not contain her, she snuck out of the gates of the underworld the very day that the red cloaked lamb entered.

Her powers allow plants to grow regardless of environment, she depends on seeds found rather than bones to fuel these powers. From the humble grass beneath your hooves to legendary fruits and herbs of places far beyond, Demeter can summon whatever your heart desires. Beware, she has another side as well. The Harvest doesn't just mean plants alone after all. She wont hesitate to transform heretics and dissenters into mindless livestock, non sentient versions of the animals you have come to know: chickens, pigs, cows, geese, and even more exotic stock tremble in their pens. Never to speak against the divine ewe ever again. These are the lucky ones however. Better to be alive and a farm animal, than to be a fresh meal squirming in the teeth of her carnivorous plants...

If she were in game, you would find her to the FAR north, where the ruins of the Village of Lambs once stood. Assist her in repairing your lost homeland, and she will reward you with fruit trees, expansions to your cult, and the power to turn enemies into your own livestock for easy meat without your followers being any the wiser.

[caffinedragon]

If you say "I'm just not going to vote this election" like it's some kind of statement, then you don't know how voting works.

A vote is not a shop, or a con, or a group project that has a minimum number of people to work.

A vote only requires a single person to choose from a variety of options, which one they like first. And if they end up picking something you dont like? Well tough shit. You didnt vote.

You could have voted and raised the chance of the option you liked best being picked but you didnt. The only one who voted was that one person amd they picked something else and now you have to live with it.

That is how it works.

The more people that vote, the higher chance a different option is picked.

The more people that vote, the harder it is for the option that people dont want to get picked.

Our counrty is in the 11th hour, on the knife's edge from being turned into the thing the majority of the population dont fucking want.

And if we dont go out and vote in order to prevent it from happening, the other side will fucking win.

And for those of you who are thinking, "Well, I'll just vote third party.", you are not helping.

The general populace has been brainwashed into a "two party system" for over 50 years. 3-4 months is not nearly enough time to turn over 150 million people on to a thrid option most of them have more than likely never even heard of or seen.

Every vote for a third party is another vote taken away from the chance to keep the guys that want to turn us into 1930's germany from winning.

I am sorry but if you want to be able to have even a chance to change the two party system into a 3+ system you are going to need to vote for the lesser of two evils so that you will have the next four years in order to do it.

Otherwise, you not going to get a chance in this generation or the next or the one after. Because the only party that will exist is the party that is at the top of the totem pole.

So everybody that doesnt want our county to turn into a christo national theocracy that can vote, needs to do so.

Because if we dont, anyone that is a non disabled cit het white man is fucked.

*this rant brought to you by an Anxiety riddled AuDHD nonbinary asexual who doesnt want their friends or themselves rounded up like cows to slaughter because of project 2025.*

[fountainpenguin]

"You're on your own- So what? Have you gone blind? Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?" (x)

---

For Sale: Bird Wings (Never Worn)

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Complete! - 7/7 chapters - 37k words

💚 More Neighborhood Watch AU

I just finished a chill, T-rated found family 'fic from my "Life Series but it's a single timeline" AU project. Check it out!

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Synopsis: When Grian Ties’g was 16, the last Totem of Undying in the known world swapped his soul with the Grian one universe to the left… sparing him a perma-death, but at what cost?

An overwhelmed Grian Xelqua - who did not sign up for this, thank you very much - jolts awake in a world where Red Names are no joke and stealing someone’s life is fair play.

And a very Red Tango now has a sword at his throat. ❤️

(First 1,300 words under the cut)

---

For Sale: Bird Wings (Never Worn)

Those Who Came Before

🖤  🖤  ❤️

The first Totem of Undying in the Four Lands passed through the wrinkled hands of many wealthy folks in Crimson City before falling into possession of a princess who went Red young and fled her home. She kept it all her life, but when the time came to breathe her last, she unwound it from its place at her bosom and clasped it around the neck of her only son.

"I've lived enough," she simply said. "I've led so long and you've been faithful. Go now and do as you see fit with your given lives."

Steve Wandering watched his mother die as he had watched his father, burying the memories of both with shovel and silence. He'd always been a silent man. He took up his sword and from then on traveled decade after decade, sharing food with the needy and braving the hissing creatures of the night. He invented many things, discovered many treasures, and died glorious in a fight against the Dragon That Ends All.

And lived.

And lost those memories like the wind.

The second Totem of Undying in the Four Lands belonged to Alex Wolftamer in the east, who claimed to care not for the treasure passed down through her ancestral line of Wolf Kings and Queens. They had no palace, but called themselves such titles in their stand against Kingdom Crimson. Rather than flaunt that totem around her own neck, she wrapped it like a collar at the throat of her dog. Across the years, far too many people of sinister desire fought sword and pick to win her hand or win the hunting hound. It's with a shout and diamond axe that she lunged at the cloaked stranger who ventured through the valley forest. With cheery, bellyaching laugh, Herobrine caught her hand and spun her dangerously near the mountain drop.

"Why should I take from your beloved she-wolf?" he asked, and dangled a totem from his own wrist where she could see. "I've already got one. I did not come to take what loved ones gave unto you, but to inquire of your wisdom… for I have no one I love as much as you care for your dear wolf. I am but a cowardly man who's worn the totem for himself for security and peace. I cannot imagine surrendering it. Tell me, warrior… How did you find such inner peace?"

"Who says I have?"

"What ails you, then?"

"I fear the encroach of the Red Army. Their farms extend ever nearer to our forests. Their high-ranking officers, bearing the Hand mark upon their chests, come demanding tribute and insist we raise their banner. So many from our village have sought the safety of their walls. I wish for nothing but food for my dogs, repairs for my roof, and safe passage through the land."

"Ah… What have you done to incite their displeasure?"

"I haven't raised hand against them unless they've come directly in conflict with me."

"How frequent are their conflicts?"

"They've claimed our cows. They flood the roads to market with lava and have taken two lives- nearly three. They harass the trades I make with my own neighbors of my own free will."

"Let us go secretly, then, and burn the walls that have reached your valley's edge."

They married two years later, and it was four after that that Alex fell from a great height, one arm wrapped around her canine companion and the other reaching for a husband who lunged and missed her hand vanishing from the cliff. Alex hit the ground a block away from the rushing river that saved her dog.

And lived.

And lost those memories like rain. Not even the dog recognized her then, growling and nipping when Alex rose to her feet, and Snowflake followed Herobrine when they parted ways. They say he never took Snowflake's totem from her collar, but that Snowflake wriggled out of it the day after Alex died, took the chain in her teeth, and presented it to him with grief in her dark eyes. It may be just a story - a personification of a ragged beast - but it's a prettier tale than the alternative way this tale could end.

That third Totem of Undying, the one that Herobrine Mapcrafter wore on his wrist for much of his life, originated from the North. It tumbled through the hands of wizards and they say Herobrine was gifted it for his proven mastery in breaching the Nether dimension- the secrets of which had only been held by the Westlands until now.

Prior his apprenticeship beneath the wizards' eyes, he'd been raised a cartographer. Following the death of Alex, he took up mapmaking again with Snowflake by his side. He entered the Nether dimension for what he knew would be his final time. They never came out again and no record survives depicting full details. People speak often that he perhaps saved a community of Netherborn folks from a hissing, snarling Wither Boss that clawed its way out of the ground. Others whisper he released that Wither himself out of grief and wished for death. Witnesses claim he leapt before the beast, taking the hit on Snowflake's behalf.

And lived.

And lost those memories like they'd been scorched alive. They say he went mad, never the same again. Some claim they've seen Snowflake's white fur dashing through the Nether even now, her howl weeping for her masters and the moon and the feel of grass beneath her paws.

The last Totem of Undying in the Four Lands (rumor claimed) lay hidden in the Southlands. For three decades since the rise of the Dragon That Ends All, the unremarkable little thing drifted and tumbled and snagged or… something of the sort. Details unknown. It passed into the sewers at some undefinable point, where it floated until it didn't. It caught and clung to the sewer's edge year after year after year.

There it stayed until a ragtag tangle of friends - a trio - sought shelter in the tunnels after their brotherhood of Bad Boys split and turned against each other. They trekked without hesitation into the grime, for they were Red of name and disgust could graze them not. The youngest, with his gray and yellow wings, sat down near the entrance to clean an open wound. The eldest began to organize their meager food supply. The middle child, aged only 16, waded deeper through the passageway, wandering with little purpose but to scout for things to have; things to take. Red Lives, as a rule, are very, very greedy.

The totem lasted exactly 4 minutes and 36 seconds in Grian Ties'g's possession. He found it tangled among the filth and wasted no time taking it for himself. To prevent his fellow Bad Boys from sniping it away, he scrambled up a dirty shaft to the surface like an eel gifted flight. His wings were soaked from sewage water, so he did not fly. He bolted across the open field, laughing like a madman.

"Yes! YESSSS!"

His foot crossed a boundary line he never could have seen. Grian charged straight into a shrieker trap laced with TNT. Set them all off. He died to the gasping cheers of a Red who'd only just finished all the set-up. The last thing he ever heard was the "OH-hoh-hoh-ohhh!" of a shrieking onlooker. He blew up instantly, scarlet feathers and blobs of purple soul energy scattered in all directions. The central core melted free from flesh and dribbled to the ground in a gooey heap.

In a word? Perma-killed. The totem vaporized before anyone ever confirmed he had it, so people seek it in the Southlands even now (It might be right here; it's been hiding right here).

This story is not about that Grian. Not anymore. It's about the one who lived… whose memories do not match this world at all.

[ Full 'fic up on AO3 ]

[minecraftbookshelf]

not sure if you're still doing the made-up fic titles, but if you are;

Waterlogged If it rains forever Reflections of Neon Lights Bones to Dust

As long as I get made up fic title asks, I shall answer made up fic title asks!

Sometimes it takes a bit, but I will answer it XD

Waterlogged - Baby Empires Jimmy. Lil Cod Baby. Tiny Fish Child. (Look out, he bites). This would be right when he first arrives at the Swamp, I think, it could be either canon or Marriage of State.

If it rains forever - Empires Season 1 Pixlriffs and Storms and Guilt. A character study, this one would probably be canon-based. I have a lot of thoughts regarding the symbolism of a totem of undying, literally a life, being sacrificed in payment for a thunderstorm. And this is a nice dark concept I fully am going to be exploring in Marriage of State but I'd like to do a canon spin on it too.

Reflections of Neon Lights - Cyberpunk Soup Group plots to overthrow the king (Hermitcraft S9 AU)

Bones to Dust - This could actually work for a fic concept ive had on the backburner for awhile now; a walk through the world of Third Life, long after the games are over. When it is populated only by cows and sheep and skeletons.

[hexjulia]

reading more about atomic gardening and this is so much fun. to read about that is. it also seems fun to do, but. you know. anyway:

"The story of these citizen-pioneers of mutagenesis (the technical term for creating genetic change through the application of chemical, physical, and biological agents) is full of fantastic details, from Muriel Howorth’s propagandising ballet-mime, Isotopia, which involved a cast of Knowledge, Electron, Proton, Neutron, Rat, and Cow, as well as a working geiger counter, to Tennessee-based atomic entrepreneur C.J. Speas irradiating trays of seedlings into his backyard bunker.

IMAGE: C.J. Speas giving a tour of his radioactive bunker to high school students, photo by Grey Villet for Life, via Pruned.

Perhaps the most bizarre detail in the interview, however, is the news that these gamma gardens are still in operation, relatively unchanged in design since the 50s, in the grounds of national laboratories today. Their circular form, which, as Johnson notes, bears more than a passing resemblance to the atomic danger symbol, “was simply based upon the need to arrange the plants in concentric circles around the radiation source which stood like a totem in the center of the field.”

It was basically a slug of radioactive material within a pole; when workers needed to enter the field it was lowered below ground into a lead lined chamber. There were a series of fences and alarms to keep people from entering the field when the source was above ground. The amount of radiation received by the plants naturally varied according to how close they were to the pole. So usually a single variety would be arranged as a ‘wedge’ leading away from the pole, so that the effects of a range of radiation levels could be evaluated. Most of the plants close to the pole simply died. A little further away, they would be so genetically altered that they were riddled with tumors and other growth abnormalities. It was generally the rows where the plants ‘looked’ normal, but still had genetic alterations, that were of the most interest, that were ‘just right’ as far as mutation breeding was concerned!

Over at GOOD, Peter Smith recently described a similar layout at the still-active Institute of Radiation Breeding, in Hitachiohmiya, Japan, which has “has a 88.8 Terabecquerel Cobalt-60 source, ringed by a 3,608-foot radius Gamma field (the world’s largest), and a 28-foot high shield dike around the perimeter.”

IMAGE: A gamma garden at Brookhaven National Labs, New York, c. 1958; image provided by Paige Johnson, via Pruned.

IMAGE: Aerial view of the Institute of Radiation Breeding, Hitachiohmiya, Japan.

As it turns out, far from being a fantastic fossil from the future that never was, along with jetpacks and flying cars, atomic gardening is alive and well today. According to a 2007 New York Times story, which quotes Dr. Pierre Lagoda, head of plant breeding and genetics at the International Atomic Energy Agency, radiation breeding is actually experiencing a renaissance, due to the introduction of “new methods that speed up the identification of mutants.”

IMAGE: Mutant crop varieties mapped by The New York Times.

What’s more, the Times adds, nearly 2,000 gamma radiation-induced mutant crop varieties have been registered around the world, including Calrose 76, a dwarf varietal that accounts for about half the rice grown in California, and the popular Star Ruby and Rio Red grapefruits, whose deep colour is a mutation produced through radiation breeding in the 1970s. Similarly, Johnson tells Pruned that “most of the global production of mint oil,” with an annual market value estimated at $930 million, is extracted from the “wilt-resistant ‘Todd’s Mitcham’ cultivar, a product of thermal neutron irradiation.” She adds that “the exact nature of the genetic changes that cause it to be wilt-resistant remain unknown.”

IMAGE: “Pierre Lagoda, the head of plant breeding and genetics at the International Atomic Energy Agency, showing mutated plants at a greenhouse in Austria,” photo by Herwig Prammer for The New York Times."

[all54321]

Wildcards!

Session 1: Shifting shrinks you, jumping grows you

Session 2: Constant Hunger III. You can eat everything, but food restores no hunger (instead increasing the hunger potion effect), and each item gives a different effect. It changed twice more during the session.

Session 3: Immortal snails. Everyone has an immortal snail that chases them down, it can mine, fly, teleport, and it speeds up when further away. Nothing can stop it. (It can also rebound TNT, and it drowns the player if it is drowning itself)

Session 4: Time starts moving extremely slowly then speeds up over the session to being extremely fast.

Session 5: Robots parachute in from the sky to a random player to give them a life series related trivia question. Answering the question right rewards them positive potion effects, weapons, useful items, etc. Answering them wrong results in consequences like making their voice not understandable, the snail returns, they get negative potion effects, etc.

Session 6: All mobs get killed and replaced with a random mob every so often. An increasing amount of passive mobs spawn before as well to increase the overall effect. The mobs can be anything from cows/sheep/pigs all the way to a warden. Evokers no longer drop totems of undying, but wardens do.

Deaths From The Wildcard

Session 1: 1 Death

Session 2: 6 Deaths + 1 Assist

Session 3: 27 Deaths

Session 4: 0 Deaths

Session 5: 5 Deaths

Session 6: 4 Deaths

[harpagornis]

Kizazi Moto review

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire is an anthology of animated shorts from studios all over Africa, with the theme of afrofuturism and science fantasy (mixing frequently indigenous spiritual beliefs with the tech, and many shorts are actually about gods or spiritual beings). It's a shame that the project is attached to Disney, because this is one of the best anthologies I've seen in a long while.

So let's review the individual shorts.

Herderboy

By Uganda's Raymond Malinga, this portrays the story of a boy trying to join a band of herders, which harvest kyber crystals from cyborg cows and are under constant attack by spirits (read dark side hyenas). It's a good start to the anthology; the CGI is bright and makes good use of color, and it has a nice twist at the end.

7/10

Mkhuzi the Spirit Racer

By South Africa's Simangaliso Sibaya and Malcolm Wopé, this one bears a bright and joyous 2D animation. It features a half-human half-something boy who struggles with his Zulu identity, and that all comes crashing down in a race against gentrification. It's a delightful short with beautiful visuals and actual incorporation of cultural themes into the narrative.

9/10

Moremi

By Nigeria’s Shofela Coker, this is a pretty bleak looking CGI short not out of place in Love, Death & Robots. Long ago, soul stealing giants forced a woman to construct magical machines by giving her son's heart to the gods; this is about the summary you're gonna get without getting into heavy spoilers. A delight if you're into mythology as there's quite a few allusions to Nigeria's folklore, but I can see people getting a bit confused and the visuals can be grating at times.

6/10

Surf Sagoma

By South Africa’s Nthato Mokgata and Catherine Green, in a future where sea levels rose and mutant octopi lurk in the depths a boy is peer pressured into surfing in dangerous waters. I have to say, while this has a happy ending it is rather bleak and the CGI visuals are not particularly pleasing.

5/10

First Totem Problems

By South Africa’s Tshepo Moche, we're back to 2D, this time more Disney-esque. If I had to describe this, it'd be like a mixture of the first half of Brother Bear and Coco. It's pretty fun, though a bit lacking in substance and the family feuds can get grating.

7/10

Mukudzei

By Zimbabwe’s Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove, an influencer desecrates Great Zimbabwe, only to be taken to a timeline where it never fell to colonialism and became basically Wakanda. The concept alone is amazing, though the story itself is rather generic.

8/10

Hatima

By South Africa’s Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, this is by far my favourite of the shorts, it features the tragic conflict between merfolk and humans, with a Black Panther 2 reveal at the end. With stellar 2D animation and allusions to Dogon mythology, as well as a good solid plot where the reveal has just the right amount of foreshadowing without becoming obvious.

10/10

Stardust

By Egypt's Ahmed Teilab, I had the highest expectations for this one, being the only Middle Eastern short in the mix. It's an alright story, I really loved the science fantasy twist on astrology by just being handed a "destiny" in a tube with stars inside. The protagonist naturally choses her own fate over the manufactured ones... though getting there is quite spoilerific.

8/10

You Give My Heart

By South Africa’s Lesego Vorster, this is another return to 2D animation and the second one about influencers amusingly enough. The plot kicks off in a competition in which the human contestants can ascend to godhood. Godhood is very much treated like being an influencer, and amusingly one of the previous contestants was demoted by typing in all caps. Overall pretty fun and the animation is gorgeous, though the characters designs can get a bit ugly.

9/10

Enkai

By  Kenya’s Ng’endo Mukii, the final short is done in a CGI mimicking stop motion, which combined with the stellar coloration and lighting makes for a stunning visual experience. This too deals with the divine, this time the young Enkai seeking to become a creator deity like her mother. There is a big plot twist that I will not spoil, and recontextualises the whole short.

9/10

Conclusion

I give the overall anthology 9/10; barring a few hiccups, these are wonderful stories from Africa's many creative voices. Again, pity Disney has a grasp on this.