#WE NEED THE ARTBOOK THANKS

[razerathane]

From the Korean Tekken 8 Preorder Command Book.

[empty-movement]

Revolutionary Girl Utena Storyboards! Now on the Internet Archive!!

Hi! Vanna here! Did you know we have scanned copies of the production storyboards for a whole SEVEN out of 39 episodes of Utena? Not bad, I think!!! Most were donated kindly by cscratch, with me buying a couple myself.

I have uploaded all seven as PDFs to the Internet Archive, and you can grab them here. For now, a gallery tour!!! PART 1!

Episode 3: On the Night of the Ball, storyboarded by Kazuhisa Takenouchi

Known largely for his work on Dragonball, this is the only time Takenouchi works on Revolutionary Girl Utena. Episode 3 is notoriously one of the 'b-side' episodes in terms of animation quality, and was probably done out of house so to speak. It does include the banked opening fairy tale, which is incredible to see, as well as a lot of crossed out shots and dialogue. Lots to unpack on that.

Episode 6: Nanami-sama, Take Care!, storyboarded by Jun Matsumoto

Matsumoto will go on to storyboard several episodes, especially Nanami ones! The storyboard is titled episode 8, because these two episodes' releases were switched due to the speedier production of this episode. Originally, the curry episode was episode 6, with this being part of, starting with 8, an increasing focus on Touga and the people surrounding him and how they view him. I can definitely see how the flow would have been incredible if preserved this way, alas!! His storyboards are very clean, and tight. They appear to need little revision.

Episode 9, The Castle Said to Hold Eternity, storyboarded by Juugo Kazeyama, an alias of Takuya Igarashi

Kazeyama often works with Yoji Enokido on projects, and will continue to work on Utena throughout its run, and will even write episode 19, Song of the Fallen Kingdom. We have an interview with him that was published in The Art of Utena artbook translated to English, even! Check it out! We have him to thank for the tea on Akio Ohtori's intended age. ;D

Cool! I hope you liked! I ran out of time before break is over though, so you can catch the rest of our storyboards next time, or check them out yourself, again, either via the gallery, or the IA!

[sandplague]

(i'll just copy & paste the text here)

Pathologic 3 FAQ #1

Answers to frequently asked questions and a few hints about what’s coming next!

Hey hey!

Very soon, we’ll be sharing the first details about the game, starting with the soundtrack: on November 4th, we’re taking part in Save and Sound, an annual event dedicated to sound design and soundtracks in video games.

We know the wait has been long, and we want to thank you for the warm reception of the announcement. Today, we’d like to clarify a few points that we often see coming up in community discussions about the Pathologic 3 announcement.

So, let’s get started!

Q: What happened to the route for Pathologic 2? Has it evolved into a sequel?

A: Yes, that’s exactly what happened: the game simply grew beyond our concept of DLC—it will have different gameplay and entirely new features. Instead of one game with three playthroughs using the same gameplay but different storylines (as in the original 2005 release and the Classic HD remaster), we’re creating three fully developed games with distinct gameplay and significant differences in narrative.

Now, these are truly three separate protagonists with unique worldviews, perceptions of reality, and distinct tools. From a gameplay perspective, this means three different approaches and a complete rethinking of the original scripts.

One storyline was released in 2019, centered on the Haruspex. It was a large game that took much more time and work than initially planned. For publishing reasons, it was titled Pathologic 2.

Pathologic 3 is a new, full-fledged game focused on the Bachelor. The title was chosen to avoid confusion, making it clear that this is not a DLC but a complete game with a similar playtime.

Q: What about the Changeling?

A: Finally, there’s the Changeling, but we’d prefer not to make promises prematurely, so we’ll return to her when there’s more to share.

Moving forward, we plan to stick to this approach. We understand that premature promises about the previous Pathologic led to unfulfilled expectations. We apologize for that and don’t want to mislead you in the future. The developer should not be an unreliable narrator—unlike his characters.

Q: How do Pathologic 2 and Pathologic 3 differ?

A: The protagonists! And that’s only half-joking. The main idea and reason for dividing these games is that the Haruspex and the Bachelor are very different characters. The further we developed the Bachelor’s story, the clearer this became. We didn’t want to compromise by making the game a “safer” rework of the original script, so we reimagined the core gameplay loop:

The Haruspex needed to survive, fight, scavenge, rummage through garbage for scraps of bread, and try to save those he held dear along the way. The Bachelor is a man of intellect. Survival is not his primary concern; his goals go beyond what one lifetime could contain. He needs to think, formulate theories, and gather evidence. Ultimately, he must issue commands and observe the results. This distinction will be emphasized through gameplay, mechanics, objectives, soundtrack, and so on.

After Save and Sound, we plan to return later this year to show you what we mean. As they say, "Show, don’t tell."

Q: Who will receive game keys?

A: We remember our commitments to those who supported us during the fundraising stage nearly ten years ago, so we will provide keys to:

Kickstarter backers and other platforms where support for the game was available during the fundraising stage

Backers from 2014 and 2015

Also, backers entitled to two copies will receive two keys. We’ll share details on how to claim keys closer to release.

Q: Will the new game have its own artbook?

A: At the moment, we’re not planning a physical one, but we might create a digital artbook for the Supporter Pack. We're not sure yet!

Q: Which languages will the game be localized into, including text and voice-over?

A: We definitely plan to localize into English and Russian, and we’re considering Brazilian Portuguese, German, and Simplified Chinese. We’ll confirm languages closer to launch.

Q: Will the Russian title of Pathologic 3 remain?

A: Yes, we’re still considering options. Current ideas include “Finally,” “See, You Didn’t Believe Us,” and “Sorry for the Long Wait.”

Q: Will the game be available on GOG and other stores?

A: We’ll know closer to release, but it’ll likely be available on all platforms where Pathologic 2 can be found.

Q: Will preorders be available?

A: No.

Q: What platforms other than PC are planned for release?

A: We’re planning releases for PS5 and Xbox S/X, likely following the PC release.

Q: What engine is the game being developed in?

A: The same engine as Pathologic 2: Unity.

Q: Will the same voice actors return for Pathologic 3?

A: Yes, we’ll bring back the same actors from Pathologic 2, or at least, we’ll do our best.

We’ve prepared a big surprise for you in the coming months, so please add us to your Steam wishlist!

Until then, we’ll see you on November 4th!

[stychu-stych]

NEW UPDATE ABOUT ARTBOOKS

So today I was told by printing house that they already made about half of the copies I've ordered. So we decided that they will send to me what they have, and as soon as the courier will stand at my doors I'll start to prepare your packages

IMPORTANT INFO pls this is the last call to double check your shipping address. If you made any typo or mistake in your shipping address and the package will come back to me, you'll need to pay extra for another shipping if you want to receive your order. If you noticed a mistake in your address please contact us here

I'm so sorry everyone for delay 🙏 I'll try to ship everything as soon as possible but it'll take me some time for sure - there were over 350 sales. I asked my friends for help, my fiance also talked with the post office workers about the situation so they're ready as well for the wave of packages djdhdh But it's still a lot of work so please be patient, thank youuuu ✨

I'm also in the middle of moving out so there's a bit of chaos around me so responding for your message might take me a day or two

[dr-spectre]

RANT POST ABOUT CALLIE AHEAD!!!

I need to get some old and built up feelings out of my chest before i explode into a trillion pieces, if you do not wish to see a LONG rambling about me getting mad and rageful about this important character to me then by all means skip over and have a good rest of your day or night!

If you can handle me getting a bit pissed off and mean then keep on reading!!

This will also be a VERY LONG POST!!! Because I have a lot to rant about. Some of it i have talked about before many times but i need to talk about them... Again..

So anyways. If you wanna move on, that's okay, if you wanna stick around? That's all good as well!!! I highly HIGHLY encourage you to read all that I have to say. Okay? Thank you!

You know, as someone who has put in a lot of time and research into Hypno Callie and the others. What I've come to notice in media is that people tend to use the words mind control, brainwashing, hypnosis, influence, indoctrination, corruption, all interchangeably despite each word having vastly different meanings and connotations and effects.

Brainwashing has been used as an incorrect word to describe a lot of these kinds of plots in TV, movies, games, etc. and it really bugs me personally. Like, if you see something as clearly hypnosis, they explain that it is hypnosis and there is a hypnotic element at play here, you cannot just slap the word brainwashing onto it. It's like if I called a mango an apple you know? Or if I showed you a squid and you called it an octopus and you were REALLY adamant that it's an octopus.

Another example, if there's mind controlled zombies that are being controlled by aliens or something, slapping the word hypnotised or brainwashing onto that scenario is stupid because they clearly explained it in the story with evidence that it's straight up direct mind control and nothing else.

This doesn't just to apply to Splatoon btw, this annoyance goes for every other time a "mind control" plot has occurred in fiction.

I don't wanna sound rude here, I really don't! But guys, do you realise that we have this cool thing all across the world called a language? And languages have words in them!!!! And words have meanings in them that are brains understand and interpret!?

If I say the word "fluffy" what do you think of? "Fluff, fur, cute, huggable, adorable." You think of cute fluffy things, yeah?

If I say the word "hypnosis" what do you think of? A trance like state, a weird altered state of consciousness, maybe even a weird sleep/flow state?

If I say the word "brainwashed" what do you think of? Cults, militarily, experiments, evil, etc.

You guys see why I take issue? You guys see why I am extremely picky and laser focused on people's word choices when it comes to Callie and what happened? You guys see why I get really angry when people who do fuck tons of research into the events of Splatoon forget that languages exist and fail to see things past a fucking Wikipedia article?!? Is it seriously THAT hard for some people to say hypnotised?

I don't even necessarily blame most people for the words that they use, they don't know any better! And you know what? That's okay! I don't wanna get mad at SOME people since that word has been used incorrectly in media for a long ass time. And you wanna know another reason why i don't blame the casual fan or someone not in the know that much too? Because even the SPLATOON DEVELOPERS use brainwashing to describe Callie which is just... from my research and posts, incorrect.

I have yet to find a single person who can confidently explain to me that Callie was actually brainwashed and provide evidence to me to prove their points. Cause all I see is people just saying that "oh, a wiki and an artbook said so, so it must be true." Instead of looking at the actual game and looking at Hypno Callie's personality, behaviour, actions, etc. and comparing them to regular Callie.

Why do you think 99% of people call her Hypno Callie? Like there's a reason as to why her name is that in most circles... Have you ever talked to someone who calls her brainwashed Callie? Probably not...

God... I'm really sorry if i come off as some gatekeeping fan or elitist snob or some shit. I'm not trying to be and i don't wanna be like that. I wanna educate people, make people think of a different perspective and make people think a little more you know?

I'm just getting tired of it all... It affects how I see Hypno Callie and the events of Splatoon 2. I can't enjoy it when some people throw out these certain words, and it makes me feel so sad and terrible. And not in an engaging way, just a sadness that fucking stings my chest and I'm SO SICK OF IT!!!!!

I just despise this notion in the Splatoon community, Inkipedia, YouTube videos, social media and official sources that Callie was kidnapped out of the blue when she was alone and Octavio forced the shades onto her, brainwashing her and removing her memories. I hate it so much. It's something that truly fills me with great sadness and pain and pure anger. Callie is a comfort character of mine and to hear that scenario for her in official canon is just... no. I can't accept it. I refuse to accept such a vile and awful thing. It makes the Octarians more evil and way less sympathetic that way too, it makes DJ Octavio's eventual redemption make less sense because in one game he's this fucking monster and the next he's like "Hey guys imma help you out!" It makes his character incredibly inconsistent at that point.

it makes his appearance with Cuttlefish at the Grand Fest feel less satisfying because there this huge black spot on his character from Splatoon 2 where he apparently did something truly evil and unredeemable. Why would Cuttlefish be okay with standing next to a man who """kidnapped and brainwashed"""" his grand daughter?! I don't care about their history together, if i was Cuttlefish and I heard about that kind of event for my grand daughter, I WOULD NEVER FORGIVE OCTAVIO!!!

Hypnosis by nature is less evil and has more nuance and agency for Callie and the Octarians. Sure it's still fucking bad but not as extreme and dark as brainwashing is. The two terms are so vastly different and using either word willy-nilly is extremely annoying and frustrating to me.

Hypnosis ≠ brainwashing and you cannot prove to me otherwise. You literally cannot mind control someone with hypnosis, that's not how it works. They are so opposite of each other it's actually insane. I DON'T GET WHY PEOPLE USE THEM INTERCHANGEABLY ALL THE FUCKING TIME?!?! WHY?!?!!? Is it a lack of knowledge?!? Lack of caring?! Is it because of how hypnosis is portrayed?!?!

And the whole "Callie was kidnapped/abducted." My god... Do people understand what words are coming out of their fucking mouths?

Callie was more than willing to join the Octarians and she said to them "okay fine I'll hear you out." That is not KIDNAPPING!!!!!!!!!! THAT STATEMENT MADE BY CALLIE GOES AGAINST THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD!!!!

I don't know why they say this in some official sources either, i don't know why Inkipedia lists it on their pages. i don't know why fans keep wanting to push this idea that Callie was kidnapped, is it because an artbook said so and nothing in the game? I don't know why timeline explainers and people who do a fuck ton of research into Splatoon push it too. If Callie was kidnapped you figure she would mention it. But she doesn't!!!! Marie does and says she was brainwashed in the North American (NoA) localization, but of course she would think that and from her perspective she would figure that is the case from her limited knowledge of what happened to Callie.

God I just.... I hate it when people say Callie was brainwashed. I fucking despise it. It makes me so violently angry and upset and EVERYONE WHO HAS A LOUD VOICE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYS IT!!!

This doesn't even impact just Callie. It impacts the entirety of the Octarians as a species and DJ Octavio too. I LIKE DJ OCTAVIO!! I THINK HE WAS FUNNY IN SPLATOON 1! I like his role in Splatoon 3 and how he redeems himself and how he appeared in the Grand Festival with Cuttlefish. It ties back to before the Great Turf War when the Inklings and Octarians were on good terms and now finally that peace is back....

But this enjoyment... this appreciation of his character growth gets ruined because of the shit Nintendo did and what the fanbase did when Splatoon 2 rolled around... I can't enjoy Octavio as a character anymore because of the notion that Callie was brainwashed by him.

I can't look at his inkipedia page because IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH THEY SAY HE BRAINWASHED HER!!!!

And don't you EVEN MENTION the line "I remixed Callie's brain!" My brother in Christ, that is not only a call back to a line he said in the final boss of Splatoon 1, but it's also because DJ Octavio is a.. idk... DJ!!!! A DISC JOCKEY!!!! In the NoA version of Splatoon, Octavio's personality is very loud and in your face, compared to his more sinister and intense personality in the European and original Japanese versions. This serious personality was only given to Octavio finally in the NOA version of Splatoon 3 ROTM where his personality actually matches his Japanese and European versions from Splatoon 1 and 2.

Octavio says puns and musical terms to describe shit in the NoA versions of Splatoon 1 and 2. Remixing by definition is taking a song and altering it to make something new. What is Hypno Callie? A REMIX OF CALLIE!!!! It's Callie but she's more aggressive, emotional and impulsive. And you know where we've seen this remix of Callie before? IN SPLATOON 1!!!! IN THE SPLATFEST DIALOGUE!!!!

Octavio didn't literally mean that he "remixed her brain." via actual brain, washing. He just means that he gave Callie a new twist, and Callie in her hypnotic state was like "okay fine I'll hear you out."

Octavio hypnotising Callie who wanted to help the Octarians anyways out of her own free will, planting suggestions into her head that SHE HERSELF ACCEPTED AS DURING HYPNOSIS, SUGGESTIONS GIVEN CANNOT GO AGAINST THE PERSON'S MORALS AND IDEOLOGIES!!! So that Callie would be more likely to stay in Octo Canyon and not decide to suddenly run off as Callie was under a lot of mental distress and emotion from her busy and lonely life, and allowing Callie to put her influence onto Octo Canyon to help his people and boost motivation, fits more in line with Splatoon as a series and Octavio as a character than the whole "he brainwashed Callie" bullshit that has plagued the internet for 7 years and continuing. Why do you think Callie is so chill to see DJ Octavio come back in Splatoon 3 huh? Why do you think she misses shaven Octarians in ROTM? Why do you think she calls Octarians cute? Hmm... I WONDER WHY?!?!?!

Is Octavio still bad? Yes! Did he use Callie to benefit his people? YES!!!! Was Octavio being manipulative and selfish? FUCK YES!!! HE'S THE ANTAGONIST!!!! I AM NOT RESOLVING THAT MAN OF BLAME!!!! DONT GET MY WORDS TWISTED!!! HE'S STILL BAD! just not unredeemable... because once you say he brainwashed someone and forcefully removed Callie's memories like a pure evil monster, then you have a character who is pretty much unredeemable at that point. You have made him cross a line that he can't turn back from. You implanted these disgusting and disturbingly sexual suggestions about Octavio and Callie and her outfit. Why the FUCK do you want that? Why?! Why do you wanna even suggest the idea that Callie was forced to wear skimpy clothing against her consent and knowledge? Do you know how fucking DISGUSTING AND EVIL THAT IS?!?!?! FOR A SERIES SUCH AS SPLATOON?!?!?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA ON WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO FUCKING IMPLY HERE?!?!?!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?! GOD!!!! WHY DO YOU WANT THESE AWFUL THINGS DONE TO CALLIE AGAINST HER KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT IN THE MAIN TIMELINE!!??!?!?!?!! For AUs I get it, it's your right as a fan to make fanfiction and explore darker topics. I personally won't read it but I won't EVER stop someone from making a darker AU. It has its place in the community and I 100% respect it with all of my heart. I truly respect those who make dark AUs and darker takes on Splatoon because I'm sure it's fun and interesting for some people. To each their own! I actually like hearing my friends talk about Fuzzy AUs and stuff like that, given the time and place, darker toned AUs are something that i find really interesting but I'm not super duper in love with them.

But don't you DARE put these disgusting and sexual undertones about Callie and the Octarians in the main canon. Fuck off. Don't you even try and suggest that the Octarians are this purely evil race that forced Callie into a revealing outfit while she was completely unaware and it was against her consent. And that they just grabbed her... god... Jesus Christ man. Fuck. I hate thinking about that so much dude.

This type of scenario that people push did NOT happen.

THIS DID!

I'm so angry. I'm so sorry for this giant humongous rant. I care a lot about Callie. I only want the best for her. I only want a more engaging and more in-depth take on Splatoon 2. I want to enjoy Tidal Rush, I want to enjoy Spicy Calamari Inkantation, I want to enjoy Fresh Start, I want to enjoy the Bomb Rush Blush remix like how i enjoy Unconscience by Marina Agitando. I want to enjoy Hypno Callie in general, BUT SOMETIMES I JUST CANT AND I GET SO SAD AND MY CHEST HURTS!!!! This has been going on FOR SOOO LONGGG!!

I keep making all these posts about Callie because I still see that kind of bullshit being thrown around. Imagine having a perspective on a character you really love and you try and hold on to it. But everyone else around is pushing that perspective down and you feel so sad and stupid and ridiculous... And so your only option left is to scream and bark and yell....

I am literally gonna keep ranting until I can see the word "brainwashed" in media without having a fucking heart attack. I wanna just be able to enjoy Callie's arc and see it for what it truly is...

A story about two cousins drifting apart... Callie becoming so popular and famous... and lonely... that she became so mentally distraught and overthought everything. She did something incredibly irrational. She went to Octavio and the Octarians. Octavio knows that Callie can be a huge help to him after his loss and so he enlisted her help. And she just said, "okay, fine."

She was given hypnotic shades by Octavio in order to keep her more under control as she was ridden with mental illness and could leave Octo Canyon at any point with her overthinking. But he did NOT put her under total control and brainwash her, he needed Callie's influence for the Octarians, to decorate bases and add her touch into their music. The Octarians became happy and more motivated then ever. He didn't need a drone to help him. He needed, CALLIE.

However... Callie, in the canyon, lost herself, she gave into bitterness, hatred, sadness, anger... She knows who she is, but her memory is so cloudy and muffled by emotion and the shades... She needs help... Proper. Help. You can hear it in the songs found within the Octo Canyon, her reversed vocals sound so sad and deeply emotional...

When Marie arrives, Callie is mad at her, she wants nothing to do with her. But when Marie shoots the shades off of her, Callie is still dazed, upset, emotional, sick, she dances and continues to sing back against Marie's desperate words and pleas... Marie only wants to repair their broken relationship and lend out a hand to her cousin who needs to see the light....

But, when that heavenly melody echoed in that stadium, it was like a rushing tide of memories and feelings flooded into Callie. All of her and Marie's time performing, hosting news, celebrating Splatfests, and arriving to Inkopolis for the first time, came back to her and dispelled the darkness in her heart.

Callie heard the melody and went "wait... This isn't me! What am i doing!? YEAH! I REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And well... The rest is history, the pair healed their relationship over the course of a few years and are stronger than ever.

They fulfilled their fresh start, they helped redeem an angry vengeful man from the past, they inspired the present with Off the Hook, and they planted the seeds for the future in Deep Cut.

and they won the Grand Festival... TOGETHER!

Well... At least that's MY interpretation on things ;). And i want my interpretation to be held strong in my head... I'm tired of getting chest pains man... I'm tired of feeling this sadness and pain... I'm tired of going on Inkipedia and seeing that FUCKING word. I'm tired of being scared to watch YouTube videos focusing on lore and the story of Splatoon because deep down i KNOW they will say that word that has such fucking horrible connotations and meaning behind it...

Anyways. I think I'm done. I think I'm just in a huge ranting mode and I had to get it out, my autism was really acting up and i wanted to vomit this stuff out of me. I hope you guys feel what I'm feeling and if you have a character who you feel similar towards, let me know! Let the anger out. Okay?

Have a Callie for sticking around and actually reading. You're amazing.

[thalieshelen]

My full piece for @nova_mali project, « a Hitchhiker’s guide to Art History » !

You only have 6 days left to get on the spaceship and help us make this project real 🌟 this queer scifi artbook is gorgeoulsy illustrated by over 50 artists. Each of us reinterpreted a piece of classical art, in a scifi, pulp and inclusive spirit ! Mine is a reinterpretation of « Diana and Her Companions » by Johannes Vermeer (1655-1656).

We still need a bit of help to get this founded 🙏🌸

You can take a look here :

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/novaandmali/a-hitchhikers-guide-to-art-history

Thank you for your trust 🌟

[shepherds-of-haven]

HIIIIII LENA !!! As you may already know due to my nonstop blabbering I'm very very much in love with the world of Blest 🥹 and I was wondering... do you see yourself making/compiling some sort of codex/art book in the future? Like, a book that has all the organized lore about Blest, maybe with the art you've already commissioned? I WOULD JUMP ON IT IMMEDIATELYYY, EVEN IF IT'S A KICKSTARTER ITEM OR COLLECTOR'S ITEM — just letting you know teeheeheehee

OH AND if a physical published book is too difficult, then a digital printable copy thing would also be AMAZING 🌈🌈🌈 I'd immediately get that printed and hard bound !!!

(lowkey if the answer is even the tiniest yes I WILL start slowly saving 😭 JUST !! A REAL LIVE SHOH CODEX !! RAAAAAAAAH )

Oh, but I hope this doesn't bother you 🥹 the thought just came to me and wouldn't leave me alone! Please don't feel like you need to make one or anything!

Hi snow!! 💖💖 Thanks so much for your lovely message, as always! As a matter of fact, I have been slowly putting together a digital art book/lore bible for Shepherds in my (extremely sparse) free time over the last two years or so: it's been extremely slow going, but it's basically got everything you're imagining, including concept art, official game art, behind-the-scenes tidbits and easter eggs, guides and walkthroughs, codex entries from Patreon, and more! A lot of it is more of my personal rambling and reasons behind certain design decisions or showing the progression of, say, the game's logo over the years, or the differences between the novels and the game, or my (or an artist's) thought process behind this or that, but there is a codex section that will have some organized lore as well!

It may not have all the organized lore about Blest, since I'll leave that for the in-game codex, but it will have some pages on stuff like religion, factions, races, magic, days of the week, currency, and things like that, along with the stuff we cover on Patreon like animals, food, maps, calendars, and etc.! :') I'm extremely skeptical about my own visual design skills when it comes to putting this together LOL but I've been doing my best! 💪 I was wondering if I should keep it a secret until closer to the game's official release, but your ask was so nice that I couldn't resist sharing!

This will be a digital artbook for now, bundled with the 'ultimate' edition of the game (which will also include the game's original soundtrack), since I don't think I have the time or bandwidth to figure out how mass printing and distributing physical books would work: that takes a lot of research both in which publisher and storefront is the best to use, how to keep costs down for the consumer, and also figuring out stuff like margins and bleed, which aren't as big of a deal for a digital PDF!

But I hope that answers your question! :D Thank you so much for your encouragement and praise as always, and I hope you're doing very well! 💖

[jadenvargen]

hellooo!!! i was wondering a few things regarding your upcoming pre-orders/shop release:

- will a mailing list be available? (to notify us for the drop)

- how much will bundles be? i’m interested in getting your art book plus some other goodies :-)

- are there any current updates on the production process?

thank you for your time!!!

Thanks for the interest!!! : D

Prefacing saying store website is NOT up yet since ive recieved so many asks about the url! thank u also to those ppl.

-I haven't planned for a mailing list since we’re going with an unlimited run of preorders thru some weeks so im confident ppl will have time to get if they need, I can set it up!

-I'd like to have bundles, maybe by fandom or item. We're still setting stuff up. The store is run thru shopify, and it’s a bit tricky to set up item bundles but we’re finding ways we like. maybe in a separate listing… The movie stickers will be sold separetely and the saw+ds9+brba ones will be on a sheet, so I was thinking of group deals for individual stickers too. I plan to offer discount codes to my patreons.

Rn in production we decided to go with another manufacturer for the artbook after some more reviewing and being unhappy with the quality. The glue is cracking up a bit at the last page, so the last few pages have a slight buckling and wobbling to them. (Looks like a moisture issue) Print quality isn't affected, but I'd really like it to be as close to perfect as can get! so we've sent them away again to see how we like it this time. we've picked printing place, and we're waiting for the sticker sheet proofs to come in next week ^_^ !

[kradogsrats]

Been noodling idly on something about Aaravos's tiddies chest marking for a while, and since @raayllum just did a big update/summary of the "Aaravos's heart is in the Key" theory... I thought it might be time to put my little thinky-thoughts out there.

In short form: Aaravos's Star primal chest marking is not a natural feature of Startouch elves. It's a brand.

In long form: My initial question was "why, if we have the primordial Star symbol associated with the Celestial elves and with Aaravos himself, would he then have the primal Star symbol front-and-center on his literal body?"

None of the other primal elves have birthmarks or tattoos of the primal sources. (That we've seen. Runaan's might be on his butt or something.) "Actually, all elves are physically marked with the symbol of the primal they are connected to" would also be a very weird lore drop to have this late in the series. So why do Startouch elves have them?

Well, the answer is... they don't. This is a feature unique to Aaravos, and it's an important feature.

For give my heinous artbook page photos, they want thirty-five literal dollars for a digital copy:

What do nearly all of these designs have in common? They don't have their dang tiddies out. We only see what would become the chest mark in the far right and teeny bottom second from the right designs on the second page. Note that in these designs, its nature as a hole or source of corruption is much more obvious—in the far right design, it's even spreading cracks or veins across his body in the same way that dark magic affects humans. (Thank god they didn't go with that single horn, though. The fanfics would have been obscene.) Either way, Aaravos's chest being constantly, readily visible wasn't a design factor until some point where it was determined that it needed to be, because of what would be there.

Furthermore, I'm convinced that Aaravos's design and the use of the Star primal symbol on his chest informed the design of the symbol itself:

Look how much basically none of the unused ones resemble the final design. The one they chose is a total outlier from the direction all the other designs take, but it's also the one that works really well as part of Aaravos. It's the only symmetrical design, and it's simple and solid where the others are busy in a way that would interact poorly with Aaravos's already star-studded skin. (I did a broader analysis of the primal source symbol designs a while back, if you want more.

So Aaravos and the Star primal symbol were designed in a symbiotic way, knowing that it would be a prominent feature for him. Let's take a look at it, then.

In every official appearance of the Star primal symbol, from Rayla's drawing of them to Claudia's spellbook, from the cover of Tales of Xadia to the Mystery of Aaravos titling... the Star primal symbol is in the opposite orientation from the one on Aaravos's chest.

Except in two specific instances: the book page with the Midnight Star poem, and the Key as held by the Orphan Queen in the flashback sequence:

Both of which are referencing Aaravos specifically, and in a specific way—as the one who gifted dark magic to Elarion, and as a deceiving manipulator.

But it's pretty clear that Aaravos's chest star is upside-down. Falling, you might even say. It has also always been that way: we see both in the s1e1 intro shot of the elves preparing to cast the humans out of Xadia and in the much more recent s4e3 flashback sequences that it has the same orientation even before he's imprisoned. It's also there (and I'm 90% sure in the same orientation) in the s6e1 photo leaks (spoilers).

This key element of Aaravos's design is a) not a natural feature, b) very specifically oriented, and c) has been with him as far back as we have thus far seen, to what we are generally assuming for the moment was his "fall."

So, in combination with the "something (literal heart or no) was removed from Aaravos when he "fell" and may be connected with the Key" theory: either in conjunction with or as part of that process, Aaravos was branded, on his body for all to see, with the mark of a fallen star. Then he absolutely owns it with his tits-out outfit, presumably out of sheer fabulous spite, and no one around him actually knows what it means—that he's a punished exile, a piece of himself or his power stolen and/or corrupted.

[jessicafongarts]

My piece for the Hitchhiker's Guide to Art History!

'There is only one who I desire to share eternity with.'

🪐There's 19 hours to go on the campaign for this amazing artbook, we need a big boost to get there!

'50 full page color illustrations from over 50 artists. Each piece inspired by a piece of classic art, morphed into something based in science fiction'

My piece is inspired by 'The 16 Luohans' by Wu Bin from the Ming dynasty (1591). I thought the original was already so surreal and alien that it would be a perfect jumping off point~

❤️Thank you for sharing, pledging to the project, and/or stopping by to look!❤️

[muchanmocha]

Theory Masterpost

Tag(s): #alnst theories #alnst artbook commentary

I should get an award for consistently digging so deep even ALNST canon is like, "woah, back up there, it CAN be simpler than you think."

(Spoiler alert: it usually is.)

I love all of them thanks yeah that's allowed; if I had only one favorite my wallet would be happier

Theories / Breakdowns

Sua didn't really know death

Luka's fingertips reflect his heartrate control

ALNST time shenanigans

Great Anakt and "came back wrong"

R7 and beyond (+ so I misjudged how much time we had left)

Alien Stage points system

Ivan's "Spectator" post

Hyuna's left hip

Till's sponsor logo armband

R7 Luka's reaction to Till seeing Mizi

R7 Luka and Hyuna encounter

R7 for IvanTill

Hot Takes

Ivan was choking Till

Luka actually didn't impersonate Sua

3AM Thoughts / Miscellaneous

Hyuna's universe?

Additional collar functions?

Human weapon Hyuna (+ 1)

We're 1000 years before plot

Cure: Till, Ivan, Mizi, and Sua

MiziSua first names

Hyun Woo's ashes

Death and Growth

Timing of R6 and R7

Not a fan of rigging theory

Askgame — Ivan

Art

Round 7 AU

"Came back wrong" Ivan [R7 AU]

How to carry someone to safety

Resources

Alnst Resource Masterpost by @welpuu

Luka-positive spaces on Tumblr by @mirrorcatcreditcard

How to take a break from ALNST

Contact me if you ever need to find a source I referenced in a post

[igetthedisneybox]

The Future of the Family Madrigal

Inspired by @hannahhook7744's AU, here's what my new Madrigal family tree looks like, roughly twenty-six years after the events of the movie.

I used the scrapped characters from the Encanto Artbook, as well as some early versions of existing characters to round things out.

EDIT: Added two additional kids, to bring Dolores and Mariano's kid count up to five.

First Row: Pedro Madrigal and Alma Cadenza

Second Row: Félix Castillo, Pepa Madrigal, Alejandra Delgado, Bruno Madrigal, Julieta Madrigal, and Augustín Rojas

Third Row: Antonio Madrigal, Camilo Madrigal, Dolores Madrigal, Miranda Madrigal, Amelia Madrigal, Sofía Madrigal, Isabela Madrigal, Luisa Madrigal, and Mirabel Madrigal

Fourth Row: Marcos Vasquez, Mariano Guzmán, Juana Aguado, Bubo Marquez

Fifth Row (and the one slightly above it): Hugo Madrigal, José Madrigal, Héctor Madrigal, Princesa Madrigal, Fuega Madrigal, Mariana Madrigal, Óscar Madrigal, Beatriz Madrigal, Lidia Madrigal

Sixth Row: Leta Madrigal, Andrés Madrigal, Carlos Madrigal, Avila Madrigal, Amada Madrigal, Tomás Madrigal, Rómulo Madrigal, and Zoe Madrigal

Putting a character and familial guide under the cut, because the tree is m e s s y

Alejandra is Bruno's wife, and Miranda, Amelia, and Sofía are their daughters.

Alejandra is a scrapped character who I think was supposed to be the original founder, and the Julieta Character's mother. She appears to be dead in the version of the story she's in, as we see her statue, but not her. I decided to make her Bruno's wife, as I think he deserves a scary sword wife who loves him and their daughters very much.

Miranda was an early version of Julieta, and Alejandra's daughter. Since the two look near identical, they kinda ended up being a package deal. Miranda is technically Bruno's step-daughter, but that doesn't really matter.

Amelia and Sofía are characters from a very early concept. I threw them in as Bruno's daughters, as I liked the idea of one of Bruno's kids having a 'bad' power.

Marcos is Camilo's husband, and Hugo, José, and Héctor are their sons.

There are so many early concepts of Bruno, that there are no less than three in this tree, and they all look different. Marcos is one of those early concepts, back when Bruno was a skinny twink with bright blue eyes. The name Marco was chosen from a list of potential names for Bruno.

Hugo is an early version of Antonio (there are also a lot of those here), one where he's older and selectively mute.

José seems to be from the same era as the twins, although he doesn't get any notes. He seems like he'd be Camilo's kid in any timeline lol.

Héctor is yet another concept of Antonio, but I thought he looked different enough from Hugo that it worked out. I picked the name as a reference to the movie Coco.

Leta, Andrés, Carlos, Avila, and Amada are Dolores and Mariano's children.

Leta was Pepa's twin sister originally, so I thought it made sense to make her her granddaughter instead.

Andrés is another Bruno, and I thought he looked the most like Dolores out of any of the concept characters. Andre was another potential Bruno name, so I named this version of him that.

Carlos is the infamous beta Camilo. Since Cami doesn't have any bio kids, I gave Carlos to Dolores to explain the simillarites. Plus, he does kind of resemble Mariano.

Avila and Amada are two of the four concept girl cousins in the artbook. Picked them because they have Dolores' ears and Pepa's teeth. @hannahhook7744 showed me a concept character from an early script called Amada, and we discovered that Alma's name was originally going to be Avila (in the 2017 version) so I picked those names. (Thanks Hannah!)

Juana is Luisa's wife, and Tomás, Rómulo, and Zoe are their children.

Juana is an early Pepa, back when her gift was indestructability. I paired them together just because Luisa needs a laid back gf to counteract The Anxiety. Her name is actually a beta Julieta name.

Tomás and Rómulo are a pair of twins that appeared only once in a family portrait. There are very limited boy concepts, so I snagged these guys too. Tomás means "twin" and Rómulo is the Spanish form of Romulus, a very famous twin.

Zoe is from the same era as José, Amelia, and Sofía. She's basically the poster child for Scrapped Encanto Characters.

Bubo is Mirabel's husband and Óscar, Beatriz, and Lidia are their children.

Bubo is Isa's scrapped love interest, but I'd already planned on having Isa stay single when I learned about him, so I ditched the OC I gave to Mirabel, and gave Bubo to her. They both have glasses, so I think they'd be cute together.

Óscar is the third Bruno, and the one who gets the Óscar name. I was originally using a different Óscar, but figured that this one looks the most like Bubo. The name is the most widely used name for beta Bruno.

Beatriz is a beta Mirabel, so obviously I made her her daughter.

Lidia is a Luisa, and looks decently enough like canon Mirabel and Bubo. Lidia was supposedly Luisa's name before it was Luisa.

Isabela has no partner, but Princesa, Fuega, and Mariana are her daughters.

Princesa is a bit of an enigma to me. I think she was supposed to be an aunt of some kind, maybe Augustín's sister? It's never made very clear. She's shown to be dating/married to a beta Mariano, and potentially the mother of the four girl cousins? Anyway, I aged her down so I could use her as Isabela's daughter.

Fuega was supposed to be Isabela's other sister/cousin, one who was jealous of her gift and 'perfect' status.

Mariana seems to be a veeeeery early version of Mirabel. The name also stems from an early version of Mirabel.

I have bios for all the kids, I just need to post them.

[fisheito]

if someone's having a bad day what's the comfort food Yakumo would make for them? and if Yakumo's having a bad day who's the one making comfort food for him and what food is it?

ooohhhhhhhhh you would do this to me. you would walk into my room! bring up food AND that accursed snake. in front of my tiny nightlamp!!! !!

*stares at the pit laid out for me*

*leisurely walks toward it*

i think i once read in fic that yakumo cooked congee for sick food and i couldn't get it out of my mind this was before i thought about the possible ethnic influences of each character ... but once someone (was it someone HERE?) slapped "yakumo" and "han chinese" together i went "WEL>LP! *slaps my thighs* *abruptly stands* *walks out the door with my hands in the air* GUESS WE'RE DOIN THIS FOREVER, THANKS"

so. now yaku will default to making the absolute lightest congee as a "SOMEONE IS SICK AND NEEDS TO EAT" first defense unless:

-the Someone normally likes congee a certain way, and asks him to make it THAT way ((i would do this. just because i'm sick doesn't mean i'm allergic to salt. please give me my seafood congee i'll cry if it's just rice)) -the Someone has a known, OTHER preferred sick food, which yakumo will cater to the best he can. i KNOW he has a section in his brain dedicated to everyone's food preferences.

if someone doesn't like congee, he has an entire repertoire of soups to call upon. they can act as temporary sickfood til the *perfect most desirable* dish can be made what? sickie doesn't like congee? no problem. we got chikken noodle. we got cream stew. aster can procure an entire beast for bone broth in no time at all. u want blended veggebable mush? no peas, right?

example! if for some ridiculous reason dante gets sick at the mansion and he complains about the lack of solarian food while bundled under 300 blankets

yakumo is IN the library. he is OUT IN THE STREETS. researching. gathering ingredients. finding substitutes for that one solarian spice whose flavour profile is unlike anything in the light territory but HEY if you blend these 4 things we DO have together ,,it's similar enough...?

but BEFORE all that, dante is still hungy. so if picky king dante refuses to eat unless it's the Comfort Food of all time (i doubt he would refuse food all brattily in this scenario, but i'm gonna pretend he's a picky baby for fun)

then yakumo needs to prepare a pre-meal quickly! before venturing out for the grand solarian sickfood quest

in that case, i imagine he'd prepare a l'il something... where the texture and tastes are familiar to most people... like a bowl of cut up mixed fruit? or a bit of soft bread? porridge? a simple veggie broth? to fill the belly with something warm

Oh wait I REMEMBER SOMETHING FROM THE ARTBOOK. SOMETHING Like THIS!!!!!:

NNOW FOR THE OTHER SIDE OF TEHQ EUSTION *SLAPS THE WALL WITH RENEWED VIGOUR*

WHAT HAPPENS IF YAKUMO GETS SICK?! he exhibits wounded animal behaviour and drags himself into a dark corner to suffer where nobody can see him hahaha

wait. we have plenty of chefs in the mansion. that's easy enough. if any of the clan members have witnessed the secret knowledge [childhood gossip from his grandparents], then all they have to do is relay the info to the chefs.

"yakumo's grandparents always made him _____ when he was feeling bad" and BAM! professional dish ready in minutes

(i am once again assuming it'll be congee bc cooking habits are passed down LOL but if it's not that i could imagine it being a simple steamed dish like root veggies/cabbage)

that's the practical answer at least. because who wants to serve a subpar dish to chef yakumo?? in his time of weakness?!?!?

BUUUt because it's yakumo, Sappiness will help him heal faster. in which case, you could argue that a dish cooked by a mediocre-skill clan member will be as powerfully healing as a comfort dish cooked by a professional stranger.

aster would obvs make the chefs do it, and morv is not to be trusted with sustenance that is not cum. so...

safer choices: eiden, if he's better at cooking in this world now than in yaku SR intimacy rooms LOL..... but because it's eiden, even if the food is bad, yakumo's taste buds will be overshadowed by his grotesquely overwhelming love oli, who can likely cook up meals of (at least) average difficulty with consistent tastiness garu, making simple familiar meals like he did with gramps quincy, if available and willing

potential recruits: edmond under supervision, blade with a clear recipe+instructions laid out (also under supervision)

do not think about it: kuya (i bet he knows how to cook, but in ?WHAT?? universe????? would he give up his time to prepare a homecooked meal and NOT infuse it with weird stuff),

dante (i assume his cooking skills have suffered due to, you know, having to take on several other more pressing responsibilities),

rei (he will eat a poisonous shrivelled mushroom off the floor of his cabin. one that he accidentally tracked in via his boot a few weeks ago. he will consume it just to stop Father from pestering him about eating. he has no time for culinary duty)

[whiskerknittles]

Hey hello hi! I made a video game

Actually I did all the art for a video game. Specifically this video game, One-Thousand Cuts, a pixel-art samurai hack-and-slash with brutal one hit kill combat, super in-depth story and world building, and even pettable cats - and it’s on Kickstarter right now!!!

Why haven’t I mentioned this before, you ask? Well. I’m shy. Also I usually try to stay relatively anonymous on this website bc that’s kind of a selling point for tumblr imo, but I’ve been working in this project for about, well, two full years or so, and now that we’re fundraising I really really want to share it!

EDIT: WE MADE OUR BASE GOAL TONIGHT, BUT WE STILL NEED HELP TO REACH OUR STRETCH GOALS!!!

Why do this, you ask? Well, along with helping us make the full game (which has a free Steam demo available you can play this very second, by the way) supporting our campaign can get you some super cool rewards such as:

- t-shirts!

- a copy of the OST!

- a digital and/or physical artbook (packed with concept art, first drafts, and progress timelines)

- and (my personal favorite): adding your pet to the game!!!

We’re just over halfway to our base goal on KS, BUT we’ve got more than a dozen stretch goals that we’d really really love to reach! Some extra goals include alternate gameplay modes, language localizations, and console ports, PLUS entirely new area expansions that could up to DOUBLE the current projected length of the game.

I know money is tight for a lot of people (myself included) and I fully understand if you can’t support our campaign yourself, but just reblogging and sharing this post (and the more official ones on Instagram, TikTok and Xwitter) would honestly mean the world to me (and the rest of the team).

Anyway, this post is well past long enough 😅 Thanks for reading / sharing!

[winchester-reload]

One artbook, one 2023 calendar, and one more year of suptober, art, memorable interactions, and watching you all create beautiful things, and I have to step back to really appreciate it.

I am BEYOND thankful for all of you. Not just for your overwhelming support of me and my art but for your own fearless creations. For your kindness, openness, and willingness to listen to each other and grow as people, creators, and content consumers. The world is overwhelming sometimes. These past few years, maybe even more overwhelming than most. And I know we don't all always agree, but I know sometimes that's just the way *family* is. Be kind to one another. Support one another. Forgive one another. And stay passionate for the things that bring you joy; no one else's opinion need necessarily change it.

I don't know what 2023 has in store for us, but I know there will be art, fandom, and new adventures. Take care of yourselves. Drink your water. And embrace the possibilities.

Happy New Year, my friends <3

[plottwiststudios]

Women of Xal II: Delayed Indefinitely

(1 out of every 200 Women of Xal players unlocked this CG)

The team has discussed it further, and we have certainly come to the same, overwhelming agreement: we're shelfing the series. A long list of reasons can be found in this Tumblr post, but in short: To survive and even thrive, this series is not the way to go. I'm fighting debt to this day -- all to make sure the game's quality was as good as it was. So until the game is profitable and the fandom legitimately grows, or at the very least there's an investor with $50k to spend on a visual novel, it's financially and emotionally folly to fight against such a devastating upstream battle. So here's what we're going to do going forward...

2024 Goals:

Remaking A traditional novel ("Mesto Accelerando: Encore")

Let the cofounder lead the next project (Non-Visual Novel)

Small practice projects with Unity/Unreal/Godot

Finish the artbook for Women of Xal I

Sharpen up my music skills

I have personally noted that an all PoC cast is overwhelmingly great and fun for my spirits, but objectively proven to chase away income I need to eat, get medical attention, and not stress loved ones. Lesson learned.

What About (x) Project?!

AlrightEros: Backburner as it needs more income than we can spare at the moment. We do however see the potential in it from both a passionate and financial standpoint, however!

PT's DollMaker: We were putting it all together right around the time AI took over and decreased demand for commissioned art of actual effort everywhere. That's just a discouragement I have to get over and we'll try to release the app for it.

Xynthology: ...Did you know, that tabletop rules are harder to balance than one might think?! Costs may be the least of our concerns here. I'm still rebalancing nonsense to this day. This day!

Definitely a "completely fallen off the horse" moment for me, but I do intend to get back on it with a clearer, stronger vision and the same ferocity that saw to the completion of "Women of Xal". I promise we'll keep providing unique, diverse characters that range from Xjena's chill vibes to Clanice's esoteric problems that I initially thought only I could relate to. But right now I really do need to sit down and figure out if the stories I want to tell -- the way I want to tell them -- is at all something the world will ever embrace. Because if it's not, I need to sort out how to proceed for a company dependent on the exact opposite.

Thanks for listening, and for always sticking around. <3 -John