Izanagi's Journey - Her Eyes / Izanami Alternate Bust revealed!
about 4 years ago – Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 05:10:32 PM

Izanagi's Journey - Her Eyes 

“And thus, you will create a new era.

An era where love is divided, where One is no more. From now on, life will know Death, and every living being will live knowing that nothing lasts forever.”

Izanagi did not understand her words. Or maybe, he did, but did not want to understand them.

“How is that possible…”

He turned, without really thinking about his actions, and that is when he saw her. 

Her body was rotting, the souls of the underworld were tearing her apart. Her hair, longer than before, concealed her gaze, making her look like a monster.

He was afraid. He wanted to escape.

For the first time he felt something new. Rejection.

Not the same feeling he had for the child, who had stripped him of his beloved wife. It was something deeper.

Still, it wasn’t enough for him to leave.

But then, he saw her eyes. Under a mass of raven-black hair, curling in gentle waves, gleaming motionless as those of statues, and like them cruel.

Izanami had gone forever and so, he too had to leave. Forever.

Izanagi's Journey - Day 6 / 1€ backers policy
about 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 11:15:27 PM

“So you fled from love, but were caught in it once again?”

“But what if I say… that love fled from me, never to return?”

Izanagi looked at the man surprised, as someone had tried to mirror his cadence.

“You see, I met love a long time ago… my lover was beautiful, and my eyes were on her day and night. But then we discovered that somehow, her eyes had gained a spell that induced people who looked at her to take their own lives.

It was so painful.

She ordered me never to look at her again and wanted to stay together by words alone. But love is not meant to be like this and eventually, I felt lonely.

During these hard times I met Seki and for a while, we just shared a piece of our lives together, nothing more.

From the day Shizuka ordered me to never to lay my eyes on her, love was gone.

And the last time Shizuka laid her eyes on me… I met death.”

Izanagi could stay there and listen to his story again and again, but his attention was caught by a familiar voice.

“So... you came…”

Izanami was right behind him.

“For your wish to be together once again, do no look at me.”

It was indeed quite curious that Izanami was repeating the same request as the lover the mysterious man had just described.

“…but I know you will break this imperative… and thus, you’ll...”

A- “...create a new era.”

B- “...create a new world.”

Pledge Manager News

And it's finally time to tell you what will happen after the campaign ends!
 The success of Death Goddess Izanami is incredible and we coulnd't even expect such numbers, this Kickstarter campaign has made it much more than it was originally intended to be, we are humbled and flattered by your awesome support!

Producing resin miniatures is not something that can be done in a factory. It requires time, effort and skilled artisans. For this reason - and because this is a limited edition we are casting with this KS - we will need to exactly know the numbers that have to be produced at the earliest.
 After the campaign ends, we plan to open the pledge manager as soon as possible (you will be informed of the exact day) in order the have your orders finalized. 

We are still planning how long the pledge manager will remain open, but we plan to stop accepting new orders after a few weeks from the campaign’s end. Of course, you will be given advanced notice about the precise timing of this. Also, please note we will not be accepting payment for additional items that are added to your order in the PM until we are ready to ship.
  •  Can I buy multiple copies of the items? You can add only 1 extra copy of each item available on KS. If you are a retailer, please contact us via private message. 
  •  Can I pledge 1€ and then purchase in the pledge manager? Yes, but those who pledged 1€ will be considered late pledges, and thus Izanami and Izanagi full figures will be more expensive (+5€). Please consider that will be a limited time to finalize your orders after the campaign ends. After that time has expired, you can still write us an email at [email protected] and we will be able to help you!

This decision is made in order to thank our backers who, by making full pledges, helped the campaign grow since the beginning of this journey (and those who are still doing it by pledging now) and making this campaign the success you see with your own eyes.

Izanagi - Bust 

3D print

Some fresh prints of Izanagi's Bust coming out! 

Soon will show you photos of whole build plus Izanami! 

*the model has not been cleaned yet.

Mana - Second Sacrifice

3D print

A huge version of Mana - Second Sacrifice! Enjoy this display in 1:10 of what can be done with the STL! Please consider the resin model offered in this campaign, which is 54mm scale.

Downloadable Content 

It was expected, but how could we not add Izanagi's artwork as downloadable wallpaper?

Izanagi's Journey - day 3
about 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 02:49:41 PM

“Why did you long so deeply for a child who could never be yours?”  

The god’s voice sounded threatening, even though there was no malice in his reply. He simply wished to understand why people long for something, just as he longed to be reunited with Izanami once again.  

“I… I never wanted to be subject to anyone, I wanted to control all aspects of my life.  

 I never believed in destiny,  I was the advocate of my own fate.  Finding that there was something barred from my life due to circumstances that were beyond my control… was too much for me” 

 “So…just an object…”

 “Excuse me?”

 “Your child… was just an object to nourish your ego… is that what desire is all about?”  

“And maybe,” he thought, “my desire for Izanami is just an externalization of my ego…”  

Without waiting for her reply, Izanagi left, continuing his journey. 

He didn’t know where to go, so he put one foot before another until he reached a fork in his path.  A gentle breeze reached his ears, whispering.  

...the wheel of fate is turning. You, reader, choose the direction.

•  A - “If you’re looking for your loved one, then you should turn right.”   
•  B - "If you’re looking for your companion, then you should turn left.”   

Wow, you really impressed us with your involvement in the previous choice! Thank you so much!

Unlocked content of the day

We have unlocked a new content for this day! 

All backers will receive a printed and detailed guide for assembling at its best both Izanami and Izanagi! The guide will be contained in the art/lore book as extra pages, so no worries, you're not going to lose it! The guide will also contained suggestions for the color palette, but... we want to see your fantasy when coloring!

New add on shop to be added soon!

We know you're calling them loud, but have a little more patience! Soon we're going to update the add on shop with the remaining models revealed so far, and...

We have a really nice surprise for you all soon, a very important choice! But let's talk of it another time! ;)

Izanagi's Journey - Day 4
about 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 02:49:19 PM

"If you’re looking for your companion, then you should turn left."

What was Izanami to Izanagi? To think that she was only his lover was…too simplistic. His concept of her couldn’t be confined by any label.

He turned left, hoping to find the right path.

The darkness was gone, or maybe his eyes had gotten used to the gloom, but still, he wasn’t able to progress with any certainty.

He could hear people’s voices. Each of them wanted to stop him and hear their words, but he was eager to go on.

“Sometimes, two people are meant to be together even if it’s not for love…”

Izanagi didn’t know why, but among all the voices, he felt like this one had to be heard. So he approached.

A man and a woman were together, the woman was laying her hear on the man’s shoulder.

...the wheel of fate is turning. You, reader, choose:

A - Speak to the woman.

B - Speak to the man.

Mana - Second Sacrifice

"The scriptures say that for the sake of a family, you can sacrifice an individual. For the sake of a village, you can sacrifice a family. For the sake of a nation, you can sacrifice a village. For the sake of the world, you can sacrifice a nation. For the sake of the ultimate nature, you can sacrifice the whole world. 

But... why that sacrifice must be me? I am... so scared of death."

 Time to add Mana - Second Sacrifice to the add-ons chart!
 She is available in two versions: STL file for 3D printing enthusiasts and resin model!

 

 Downloadable content

Izanami's bust artwork will be added to the collection of downloadable artworks to be used as desktop/phone wallpaper!

Izanagi's Journey - Day 5 / Pledge Manager
about 4 years ago – Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 02:49:11 PM

The woman looked so pitiful; Izanagi had to know why she was trapped in those emotions.

Before he could speak however, he noticed that she was murmuring something:

"Endless Rain, Endless Rain,

the sacrifice won't be in vain,

moon gives way to sun,

so life won't give up on death."

"She’s never said anything else since her son's death.” - the man who was with her spoke – “She gave her life for him for they had promised her to make him a samurai and thus save him from poverty. But then... after she was gone, they forgot about her son, condemning him once again."

The woman never lifted her face but continued repeating the strange verse.

"I met her before everything happened... although she was suffering; she helped me when love was my enemy".

The wheel of fate is turning.

A - So you traded love for love?

B - So you fled from love, but were caught in it once again?

 Comic Unlocked!

You didn't expect this, didn't you?

Your art/lore book is becoming more precious every day, as now we'll include a 6 pages comic with Izanami as a protagonist!

This story ties deeply with Sankokushin: Five Sacrifices' lore, so you might have a little taste of what we're preparing! And since it's Sunday and we feel very kind, here's a sneak peek to what you're going to see (these pages are our personal favorites)! 

Important: Pledge Manager Informations coming tomorrow!

You're all asking, and we haven't forgotten. Stay tuned as tomorrow we'll give you precise informations about how pledge manager will work!

This will include:

• €1,00= and no reward pledge policy;
• Add-ons policy.

More news incoming tomorrow! Anyway, don't worry, we'll always here to help you out as we always did, so no fear!

Izanagi and the Katabasis

Katabasis is an ancient Greek word that refers to the literary theme of a journey or descent, often to the underworld. 

“Underworld” is a powerful word but its meaning can be elusive as the ancients used to view the concepts of heaven and the underworld/hell very differently from how we view them today. For instance, the word for underworld was used by some cultures to refer to the part of the sky that is below the ecliptic (the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun), but it would be a very long journey to fully discuss that topic (suggested reading G. de Santillana, Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth, 1969).

Izanami and Izanagi's myth is exceptionally ancient and reverberates with themes that are common to many other early cultures and their folklore. This is not yet the time to elaborate on the particular divinity of our two siblings, but we can say that they are similar to how we view the Greek Titans relative to the Olympian gods, tailored more closely to humans and aligned with the human world. It’s not a coincidence that, in our models, human souls and "Olympian" gods (Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo) are 54mm while Izanami and Izanagi are 75mm. Everything has been chosen with careful attention for symbology as those familiar with So Long, My World know very well how dedicated we are to integrating this aspect into our games. On a side note, allow us to add that it was a pleasure to find in Charles a partner so receptive and attentive to symbols and meaning in art. This is something that is rare to find and we couldn't have been more fortunate.

Examples of katabasis - just to name a few - are found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (even if in that case the journey is not specifically into the underworld), the Odyssey, and the Aeneid. However, there are so many examples that it would be impossible to list and discuss them all here. What we want to highlight today is the myth that is probably the most powerful one about a katabasis known as Orpheus' myth (suggested reading: Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8 AD).

According to the myth, Orpheus entered the underworld in order to bring his lover Eurydice back to the world of the living but he's too late as she’s already tasted the food from the realm of the dead and so she's bound there forever. Does this sound familiar? Without going more into details, it is exactly the same myth of Izanami and Izanagi!

What could this mean? Since the time when scholars discovered that the biblical flood myth appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is clearer every day that myths often transcend their culture and region, as they are a common heritage of the beautiful humanity we are so fortunate to share.

The story of Izanami and Izanagi speaks of something incredibly primal and original that is ingrained in everyone's mind. It seems the same mythologems - the originary content that appears in different shapes across cultures - spontaneously show up in different places and times with different names. But the gods, their stories, and their symbols are always the same.

Maybe next time we will go further on this topic!