Fan Art and Commissions # 3

Well it looks like the time has come once again to look at some of the fan art that I've had commissioned.  First up we've got a piece by Brazilian artist Desinho.  Actually, its a two-for-one special.  Same art but slightly different.  Based on my fanfic idea Adventure of the Silver Bullets, and that's just what it's called.

From left to right we've got Nico di Angello, Mizore Shiryuki, Mako, Reyna Ramirez and Ashoka Tano.  As you might have guessed, Reyna and Ashoka are lesbians, Mako and Mizore are good friends, and Mako and Nico are gay.  It started out mainly as way to troll shippers, but I came to genuinely love the various parings.  It helps that Nico is canonically gay, and we get some subtle hints that Reyna might be lesbian in the books.  Also, many Star Wars fans have noted that Ashoka always seemed to have more chemistry with female characters rather than male.    

The story here is that the Silver Bullets just finished a major mission and these five are going on vacation to San Fransokyo.  Yes, the one from Big Hero Six.  Anyway, let's move on.       

This is a map I had commissioned from Bruce Monroe based on my pal Matt Mitrovich's scenario What Happens Next? Hammer and Cross.  Originally, I was going to make this map myself, but I wasn't confident in my skills, so I handed the reigns over to Bruce.  When this map came out Matt was having a very rough weekend and was going through some self-doubt, but then he saw this map and it renewed his confidence and made him happy.  It is so good when art, especially art I commission, can do great things like that.  It even got featured for Map Monday.  Speaking of commissioned art doing great things.  

Here's a map based on my flag of The Russian Philippines.  It was created by the great map maker Lynn Davis.  Lynn was going through some though finical times when this map was commissioned.  I had always wanted a map made by Lynn, and I wanted to help out a friend, so it killed two birds with one stone.  I mean, just look at it!  It's super professional quality, and Lynn helped iron-out the creases in the scenario.  I hope one day to commission another great map from Lynn in the future.  It also go featured for Map Monday.  

And here we have another creation from out pal Alan Garcia.  This time we have Minami Shimada from Baka and Test as Sailor Mars.  I especially love the little spell scroll she's got.  Not really much more to add on this one that I haven't said about past Sailor Moon crossovers.  So let's move on to the final edition to the list.

To round out the list of commissions and fan art we have C.C. from Code Geass and Sailor Saturn.  You can check out my review of Code Geass over here.  You can always count on Alan Garcia for quality art work.  This might be my last Sailor Moon commission for a bit.  I'm thinking about mixing it up and doing something different next time, but you'll have to wait and see about that. 

There's no honorable mentions this time around.  Well, that concludes another look at my fan art and commissions.  I hope you had fun and maybe we can do this again soon.  I'll see you guys next time.    

   

    

   

Fan Art and Commissions #2

I think it's time for another showcase of fan art and commissions so let's get right on it.  Our first commission is brought to us courtesy of Swedish artist LadyLoriel.  Its another one based on The Adventures of the Silver Bullets fanfic, in fact, that's its title.  Let's take a look at it shall we?

I know that many of the characters look a tad off, but that's real a result of the artist's particular style more than anything else.  On the whole I'm very happy with the way this one turned out.  Great to see my vision come to life. I especially love the order everyone is in and how, even though the artist didn't intend it, Al and Mizore look like they're holding hands.  Anyway, who's up for some maps?

This map is based on Easternized World from The AltHistory Wikia.  It was created by Bruce Munro, a very famous map maker in the online alternate history community.  Easternized World is an alternate history where East Asia, rather than the West, became the dominate colonial and cultural power of the world.  It remains one of my favorite alternate history scenarios and I love the ways Bruce put his person style on it.  You really do want to check out the Deviantart page for the full description Bruce provides.  

And here's another scenario from the AltHistory Wikia that I had Bruce cover for me.  This one is called Aztec Empire and it features a world where the Aztec Empire never falls.  Its a really interesting scenario, thought you can tell at times that the author was young and inexperienced, and I like how Bruce was able to iron out the creases with his take on the scenario.  Again, check out the Deviantart link for the full description for the best experience. 

Here's one from our pal Shinoharaa.  It's Kurumu Korono as Sailor Neptune.  I case you're wondering the answer is yes, I do intend to commission a full set of sailor senshi and then some.  Well I can't think of anything else to add about this one, so let's move on.

And here we see Kurumu's loving girlfriend...er, I mean "cousin" Milly Ashford as Sailor Uranus.  I really think I did a good job with my selections of these two.  In Code Geass it's pretty much stated that Milly, and most Britannians for that matter, is bisexual.  Meanwhile, Kurumu certainly had her moments with Mizore.  Speaking of Mizore...

I'll conclude this post with an honorable mention.  Mizore Shirayuki as Sailor Mercury.  I didn't actually commission this one, but I certainly looks like something I would have commissioned.  This is the one that lead me to Shinoharaa, never in my wildest imagination did I expect to find such art for so cheap a price.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Well, that's enough art for one blog post.  I hope you had a great time as usual, and maybe we'll get to do this again soon.  I'll see you next time.    

  

  

  

Griffalco's Fictional ISOT TL

In today's post we're going to talk about the rise and fall of my first, and thus far only, timeline on Alternatehistory.com.  Wait, what?

Yes, it was called Griffalco's Fictional ISOT TL.  My user name is Nick Griffalco, and if you've ever encountered a user by that name then surprise, that was me.  It was inspired by the Fictional ISOT Map Games, but like my timeline you'll need an account to view those as they're in the Shared World's section.  My timeline is in the Alien Space Bats and Other Magics section, which you also need an account to view, but more on that in a minute.  

The Fictional ISOT map games involve players transporting fictional nations, characters, objects and various other things to an Earth devoid of human life.  Then each player writes a post describing how things play out.  Each post covers anywhere from a third to a quarter of a year.  These games are always creative, I learn about a lot of new series and it's always a lot of fun.  There have been plenty of spin-off timeline written by single author, and so I decided to try my hand at it.  

Actually, it really all started when I decided to create a series of Fictional ISOT maps to post in the map section; which can be viewed without an account by the way.  However, I decided it would be even better if I were to create a proper timeline for the maps to be a part of; so I did.  By the way, ISOT is alternate history slang for a mass teleportation, usually to the past, named for SM Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time trilogy   

The timeline was essentially a scrapbook from an alternate world.  It included excerpts from encyclopedia and newspaper articles, interviews, short fiction, documentary manuscripts, news announcements and much more.  I made sure to fill it up with all kinds of fun series like Percy Jackson, Legend of Korra, Fullmetal Alchemist, Code Geass, Leviathan, Captain Planet, Hunger Games, Neanderthal Parallax, and a whole lot more.  I figured it would be kind of like writing fanfiction, which I have experience with, so how hard could it be?

My style was considered a welcome twist on the Fictional ISOT timeline, and I received kind words and encouragement from many ISOT timeline experts/veterans.  I even got a shout out in a thread about ISOT timelines.  It stood poised to be a great timeline and potentially one of the next big things on Alternatehistory.com.  So, what happened?

Drgyen happened, that's what.  He started out as just another commenter and I was more than happy to have someone to talk about the timeline with.  Soon, however, I was talking with Drgyen more than posting updates to the timeline.  Then things started to get ugly.  Drgyen went from simply suggesting how the timeline ought to go to practically demanding that his ideas be made canon.  Speaking of cannon, I stated from the start that I was going to have a very pick an choose attitude to the canon of the various series I used.  Drgyen, however, always made a point of telling me, in the harshest and most aggressive and attacking way possible, whenever I'd contradicted canon.  

For that matter, Drgyen tended to be excessively aggressive and attacking even when it turned out I hadn't made a mistake.  I should have showed him the door, I should have seen his behavior as a red flag from the start but alas I didn't.  I was so happy someone was commenting I didn't want to screw it up, but I fear I may have in the process inadvertently driven away more level-headed (and much more civilized) readers.  Admittedly, I only really had the vaguest of ideas how I wanted things to go, and I was in large part making it up as I went along, but that certainly didn't excuse Drgyen's excessively attacking and frankly asinine behavior.    

After awhile I began to feel like Paul Sheldon from Stephen King's Misery.  I'd promised myself I'd stop the timeline if it ever quit being fun and began feeling more like a chore.  I wasn't going to continue if it mean I was going to constantly get screamed at no matter what I did.  It got to the point that I could have kicked Drgyen out, but the timeline was such a jumbled mess and so far from my original vision that I decided there was no point going on and so I pulled the plug.  

Still, I made sure to write a farewell address and formal closer to all the fans who'd stuck by through thick and thin, and who had conducted themselves in a much more civilized and polite manner.  I included details on what would have happened and how it all would have had a happy ending (I'm a sucker for those).  I did consider rebooting the timeline and starting from scratch using the lessons I'd learned from the first timeline, but the passion was gone and I wanted to move on to other projects.  

Still, it wasn't all for naught.  I did learn about writing timelines, I got to meet writers I admire and I even got a few good scene/bits of writing after all.  My favorite bits were about the Planeteers (assembled from across the nations of the ISOT), the Olympics and the start of the Jaeger program to combat the Kaiju invasion.  As you can see it was pretty crazy, but maybe it just might have worked under the right circumstances.  

Still, I'd hate to end this post on a sour note.  So, as a special treat I'll show you three maps from various points in the timeline.  

First we have a map from just after the initial ISOT

Next we have from a few years down the line as more nations appear

Finally, we have a map from a few more years after the second map, and when things start to really get fun/crazy

Not featured are the various aliens, both from other planets and other dimensions, that started to show up at this point as well.  What more can I say?  It was crazy, fun up until a point and I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about it.     

A Pharaoh and The Sun

Thought I'd put out another map while I'm working on that post about my good fanfiction.  This one is an original of mine that I call A Pharaoh and The Sun.  It takes place in an alternate 17th century and among other things:

Atenism managed to last a few Pharaohs longer than it did in our world.  Despite this Egypt still returned to the worship of the traditional Egyptian gods.  However, Atenist are still a notable minority within Egypt and have managed to spread their religion to other nations.  Speaking of Egypt, they've continued to expand southwards.  The wealth of goods and minerals acquired by this conquest meant that even after Egypt's gold mines ran dry the empire was just as powerful as ever.  Egypt now controls an empire stretching from the Cape to the Nile Delta; as well as a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

The empire of Carthage, always a popular destination for Atenist escaping persecution in Egypt, was the first nation to convert to Atenism.  Without competition from Rome, and with the Greek Empire occupied in Asia, Carthage has thrived as a trading empire.  Despite some recent colonial loses to Ghana in South America, Carthage is remains fairly well respect in the international community.

The scattered Celtic tribes were united under a great warrior chieftain, known as Brennus, who formed them into a mighty empire.  The Celtic Empire has adapted many new technologies from its neighbors.  Most significantly, the Celts have developed a system of writing based largely off of the Greek alphabet.  Missionaries from Carthage ensured that it wasn't long before the Celtic Empire converted to Atenism.  Carthaginian shipbuilding expertise has allowed the Celts to establish colony along the eastern coast of North America.  

The Republic of Novgorod has benefited greatly from its alliance with the Celtic Empire.  As the Celts expanded eastward they were able to keep potential threats to Novgorod at a minimum, and trade between the two nations helps to supplement the republic's food supply during its harsh winters.  Novgorod is renowned as a center of culture and scholarship as well as being a regional trading hub.  Celtic merchants have also brought the word of Aten to the snowy republic.  

Judaism, and that's using the term somewhat loosely, is still a polytheistic faith.  The great temple of Jerusalem is dedicated to Baal and Asherah, but all of the gods and goddesses have temples of their own.  Judaism never evolving beyond polytheism meant that none of the Abrahamic faiths ever formed.  

Alexander the Great managed to live longer than he did in our world.  He not only sired plenty of heirs to his empire, but focused on centralizing and maintaining the empire itself.  The Greek Empire has gone on to expand into Central Asia and Italy, and is a major conduit in the exchange of ideas and goods between East and West.  Alexander's goal of reconciling the many faiths and cultures of the empire resulted in the creation of a new religion: the Diamond Path.  

The Diamond Path teaches that there is a universal divine essence which permeates all all things knows as The Truth.  The Truth is unknowable in its pure form, but it makes itself more understandable via four paragons known as the Father, Mother, Son and Daughter.  The four paragons were originally identified as Zeus, Cybele, Mithras and Isis; however they have since been identified with all the gods and goddesses.  The Diamond Path teaches that the various gods are merely mask that the four paragons wear to make themselves better understood by humanity.  The Diamond Path is followed by Greece, Egypt and the Norse.  

The Norse control Scandinavia and the British Isles as part of their Empire of the North.  They've long since given up raiding to become the dominant trading power of the northern seas.  The Norse began colonizing the New World in the 10th century, but they didn't start arriving en mass until the mid 14th century.  Their largest colony is Markland, located along the St. Lawrence river valley.  

Buddhism has found its way west thanks to merchants and missionaries from Bharat and Vijayanagara.  Buddhist have found moderate success in Diamond Path nations due to their willingness to incorporate local deities; and are treated with suspicion by Atenist nations because of this.  However, it was in the Empire of Arabia that Buddhist found the greatest success.  A merchant turned conqueror, in time known as Mohammad the Great, united the tribes of Arabia around a new religion combining traditional Arabian beliefs and deities with Buddhist teachings.  This new faith, known as Zensunni, has proven somewhat controversial among other Buddhist do to its somewhat violent origins.  

Gwanggaeto the Great managed to live longer than he did in our world and united the Korean Peninsula.  Taking advantage oft he chaos of China's Six Dynasties era, Gwanggaeto ceased the Mandate of Heaven and established the Goguryeo Dynasty.  Gwanggaeto expanded into Manchuria and Japan to eliminate any potential threats to the Korean Empire.  Recently, Korea has established colonies on the western coast of North America.  

The Khmer and Srivijayan empires have developed into minor trading powers.  Both nations are closely allied with fellow Hindu nations Bharat and Vijayanagara, and are the primary Pacific trading partners of the Mayan and Incan empires.  Though both Khmer and Srivijaya currently lack colonies in the New World they have sent expeditions to scout for possible locations.

The Mayan city-stated were united into a single empire by charismatic warrior king.  The Mayan Empire stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula to the central valley of Mexico.  In many ways the Mayan Empire can be seen as a more peaceful version of the Aztec Empire.  The Mayan religion places more emphasis on personal offerings of blood rather than mass sacrifice.  Overall, the traditions of the conquered tribes are tolerated as long as they pay tribute to the emperor.  The Mayans have developed an immunity to Old World diseases following an expedition of very lost Vikings landing on their shores in the 12th century.  

Though Egypt remains the dominate power of Eastern Africa, there are several notable empires in Western Africa.  Ghana has grown rich from the gold and salt trade; they also stand of as the center of learning and scholarship in West Africa.  Ghana has recently asserted its power on the world stage by capturing Carthage's former colonies in Brazil.  Meanwhile, the Ashanti Empire remains an economic power house despite its small size.  A more centralized Kingdom of the Kongo is a regional power further to the south.  Though all three are technically Atenist, they're willing to work with the Diamond Path nations if it benefits them.  

The international situation is complex to say the least.  Traditionally, Atenist and Diamond Path haven't gotten along with each other, and over the years there have been more than a few wars of religion.  Having said that, many of these wars were just as much, if not more so, due to secular concerns.  For example, several of the Atenist nations mounted a war to "liberate" Egypt from the followers of the Diamond Path.  However, this war was just as much due to Egypt having recently bared Atenist nations from using its canal.  Eventually, the war ended with the Atenist being expelled from Egypt.  In more recent times the number of wars of religion has decreased dramatically, and both Atenist and Diamond Path are beginning to grow more tolerant of religious differences. 

 Atenist are currently experiencing a schism between those who follow the traditional strictly monotheist version and those who want reform.  The reformers claim that just as rays emanate from the sun, so to do less divine beings emanate from Aten.  Praying to these beings is still forbidden, but praying through them, and having them intercede to Aten, is acceptable.  Critics say this is nothing more than polytheism in disguise; and polytheism is considered the worst of all crimes in Atenism.  Supporters, however, say that it is a great way to reach out to polytheist for conversion.  

The Twilight Histories Podcast

So we begin with the first official blog post.  There's a lot of topics that could be covered in this post, but I think I start with one that, if you've followed my work in the past, you're probably familiar with.  In this post we're going to talk about one of my favorite podcasts: The Twilight Histories with Jordan Harbour.  

It feel at this point that I should point out that this podcast has nothing to do with a certain book series by Stephenie Meyer.  The title is intended to be an allusion to Rod Serling's classic series The Twilight Zone.  Trust me, there are no sparkly vampires, and if vampires ever do appear in the show I assure you they will be proper ones.  Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the podcast.  

This is both a time travel and alternate history podcast in the style of old time radio adventure serials where you, yes you the listener, go on an adventure.  The first few episodes, collected as bonus material in the members only section of the website, tell their stories in a detached narrative focusing more on the history of their timeline rather than on stories and characters.  Starting with the episodes Roma Islamica and Ice Age Misery, however, things changed.  Jordan really found his voice, and the stories became much more character driven and personal.  Bonus tracks to the mains shows, continuing the stories of the world's presented, have recently become available on the show's website.  A series of shorter blitz shows, focusing on first-hand accounts of historical events, have also recently been produced.   

There's not enough words to describe how much I love this podcast.  The engaging stories, the creative new worlds, fresh takes on familiar places, the music and sound effects.  It all just works so well!  Ah, but maybe I have other reasons?  Perhaps I have a bit of a personal connection?  Well, you not to terribly off the mark.  

Last year I'd been trying to find my voice/style in alternate history map making.  I had posted a few joke maps, as well as some more serious maps, on Alternatehistory.com's maps and graphics section.  I knew what my next map would be: based on my favorite episode of the Twilight Histories, Roma Islamica, and set 500 years in the future of the timeline.  I made the map, consulted the companion book for details, used my imagination and posted it to Alternatehistory.com.  The reaction...to say it was almost universally negative would perhaps be a major understatement.  

I was under a nearly nonstop attack from all sides.  The other members of the maps board seemed to be under the impression that I'd just massacred 1000 handicapped orphans by hail of gunfire; or that's how there comments seemed anyway.  Thankfully, a few kind hearted members actually stood up for me and called for an end to the torment.  I know it was just a stupid message board, and a bunch of stupid (mostly) Brits, Scots, Aussies and Kiwis (the Americans, by contrast, were much nicer and more laid back) but the damage had been done.  

I began to doubt my ability as a map maker and I was at the end of my rope.  Then I thought, what if I were to post to the Twilight Histories Facebook Page?  I figured I didn't have much left to lose, and if Jordan didn't like it I figured it would be a fitting final nail in the coffin for my map making career.  So I posted the map and...he absolutely loved it!  I really loved it!  

Not only did Jordan repost it on the main page, but it got honorable mention on a Map Monday in Alternate History Weekly Update.  Before long I made maps of other episodes, and then they got an article all to themselves on the Update (two in fact).  I got to meet someone I admired, a celebrity if only to me, and I couldn't think of a happier ending to the story.  

Oh, but the story doesn't end there.  I'm a fairly regular contributor over at Alternate History Weekly Update; and ever since my recent column,The Audio File, skyrocketed in popularity it seems that I'll be writing about audio magazines offering free alternate history, historical fantasy, time travel and all the various punks for the foreseeable future.  That might seem like a problem with regards to the maps and flags I make, but then I started this blog.  I also want to make it clear I'm not being forced to write about audio magazines, it's just how I feel that, for the moment, I can best contribute to the Update.  

So, I shall be posting my future maps for the Twilight Histories to this blog, as well as my own original maps and maps I have produced in the past.  I can't wait to post these maps, I might even post one tonight, and I hope you can't wait either.  Here's too good times, good maps, and good stories all around.  

And to Jordan Harbour and Matt Mitrovich, although I've probably told you both many times and many ways, thank you both for everything you've done for me and all the opportunities you've granted me.  I only know how to pay you back with even more maps and articles, and I can only hope it's enough.