diff --git a/assets/branding/boot_splash.png b/assets/branding/boot_splash.png
index 73bae8f..9e9d936 100644
Binary files a/assets/branding/boot_splash.png and b/assets/branding/boot_splash.png differ
diff --git a/docs/BRANDING.md b/docs/BRANDING.md
index a2d23ce..eae4b06 100644
--- a/docs/BRANDING.md
+++ b/docs/BRANDING.md
@@ -9,17 +9,21 @@ The stock Godot boot splash (logo plus "GODOT Game engine") is replaced by the
 
 ## Asset
 
-`assets/branding/boot_splash.png`, 1024x1218, palette PNG with alpha
-(256 colors, 95 alpha levels), about 150 KB. Subject: cartoon zombie head and bust,
-unsettling grin, thumbs up, with "Mat Games" below in a phosphor-terminal typeface.
+`assets/branding/boot_splash.png`, 1024x1185, palette PNG with alpha
+(256 colors, 95 alpha levels), about 159 KB. Subject: cartoon zombie head and bust,
+bald scalp with a sparse hair fringe on the sides, unsettling grin, thumbs up, with
+"MatGames" below (one word, no space) in a phosphor-terminal typeface.
 
 Provenance is recorded in `tools/branding/manifest.json`:
 
 - mascot: generated with `agy_generate` (Antigravity direct API, model
   `gemini-3.1-flash-image`) on 2026-10-11 from no third-party source material; the
-  provider terms do not claim ownership of the output. Raw source kept at
-  `tools/branding/raw/` with its SHA256. Note that an image generator does not emit
-  real alpha, so the flat magenta background is keyed out locally;
+  provider terms do not claim ownership of the output. A second AI pass (`agy_edit`)
+  kept the face, grin, thumbs-up hand, shirt, pose and flat background and changed
+  only the hair to a bald scalp with a side fringe; both files and their SHA256 are
+  kept in `tools/branding/raw/` and the edit is recorded under `mascot_derived_from`.
+  Note that an image generator does not emit real alpha, so the flat magenta
+  background is keyed out locally;
 - lettering: drawn by script, not by the generator, because generated text is
   unreliable. Font `tools/branding/fonts/VT323-Regular.ttf`, glyphs of the DEC VT320
   terminal, licensed **SIL Open Font License 1.1** (license text kept next to it in
@@ -41,7 +45,8 @@ packed into the export (`tools/*` is already excluded by the export preset).
    pink tongue or the blue shirt because their red and blue are not both above green;
 4. crops to the subject, applies a 50 px fade at the bottom to soften the frame cut
    of the generated bust, and scales to 1024 px wide with 40 px side padding;
-5. draws the title with VT323 in amber over a blurred glow layer;
+5. draws the title with VT323 in amber over a blurred glow layer. The title defaults
+   to the one-word form `MatGames`; pass `--title` to change it;
 6. quantizes to 256 colors (no dither) and writes the PNG plus the manifest.
 
 ```sh
@@ -66,11 +71,11 @@ ratio; the exported shell confirms the result with the classes
 
 ## Verification
 
-- Exported `index.png` has the same 1024x1218 dimensions as the master. It is
-  re-encoded by the exporter to 32-bit RGBA (about 475 KB), so the bytes are not
+- Exported `index.png` has the same 1024x1185 dimensions as the master. It is
+  re-encoded by the exporter to 32-bit RGBA (about 496 KB), so the bytes are not
   identical; composited on black the two images differ by at most 6.4/255 on
-  0.14% of pixels, all with alpha below 20, i.e. invisible. The release keeps the
-  150 KB master in the repository and ships a gzip sidecar.
+  0.13% of pixels, all with alpha below 20, i.e. invisible. The release keeps the
+  159 KB master in the repository and ships a gzip sidecar.
 - The exported shell contains no "Game engine" text and the splash image has an
   empty `alt`.
 - `html/export_icon=false`, so no favicon is exported: the browser tab still shows
diff --git a/docs/WEB-DEPLOY.md b/docs/WEB-DEPLOY.md
index ddcf61f..f9c8426 100644
--- a/docs/WEB-DEPLOY.md
+++ b/docs/WEB-DEPLOY.md
@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
 # Web build and compressed deployment
 
+## Bald mascot release: 1194f239fcbd91d6
+
+Title is now the one-word `MatGames` and the mascot has a bald scalp with a side
+fringe (AI edit of the previous generation, see `docs/BRANDING.md`). PCK 4,347,536
+bytes; gzip payload total 12,796,287 bytes. Backup `index-before-bald.html`.
+
+Cleanup after this deploy: the three older directories (ddba14dd80539f19,
+9a376a3dbf674069, 7ebf03fe3c88be15) were removed with approval, leaving
+1194f239fcbd91d6 (live) and 097e6c64b42640ad (previous): 272 MB -> 110 MB, free space
+1,5 GB. The same guarded procedure was used (hash read from the live base href,
+hex validation, containment check, kept-list exclusion, `rm -rf --` with absolute
+paths) and the post-checks passed: root 200 with the new base href, live PCK
+byte-identical, previous release still served, removed release 404, and the live
+loading screen captured in the browser.
+
+
 ## Loading screen branding release: 097e6c64b42640ad
 
 See `docs/BRANDING.md`: black boot splash background and the "Mat Games" mascot in
diff --git a/tools/branding/manifest.json b/tools/branding/manifest.json
index 2f7543c..0ce12fd 100644
--- a/tools/branding/manifest.json
+++ b/tools/branding/manifest.json
@@ -3,36 +3,43 @@
     "file": "assets/branding/boot_splash.png",
     "size": [
       1024,
-      1218
+      1185
     ],
     "mode": "P",
     "palette_colors": 256,
-    "sha256": "78524be4ba17ab04afe56d16b00954989457f9af247367f7c4b0f9ed8ea2dec4"
+    "sha256": "4b4bab87b5038915d5a7493c6ee134cd654293036d093e71d210cbad6359bdb2"
   },
   "mascot_source": {
-    "file": "tools/branding/raw/agy_generate_20261010234423_0.jpg",
-    "sha256": "5929495ff606fbcdd74f52a37304f3b569315bcd1fc0fef812b5fd7689dc1396"
+    "file": "tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg",
+    "sha256": "913184c2e2e3dd5357f7729988859c8e038e4561ba18af7cb60f12644f7f6994"
   },
   "generator": {
     "tool": "agy_generate (Antigravity direct API)",
     "model": "gemini-3.1-flash-image",
     "date": "2026-10-11",
-    "prompt": "single cartoon zombie head-and-bust mascot, unsettling wide grin, thumbs up, 2D cartoon style with bold outlines, flat magenta chroma-key background, no text and no logo",
+    "prompt": "single cartoon zombie head-and-bust mascot, unsettling wide grin, thumbs up, 2D cartoon style with bold outlines, flat magenta chroma-key background, no text and no logo; then edited to a bald scalp with a sparse hair fringe on the sides only",
     "terms_note": "generated from no third-party source material; the provider terms do not claim ownership of the output. The generator emits no real alpha channel, so the background is keyed out locally by this script."
   },
   "chroma_key": {
     "background_rgb": [
-      250,
-      4,
-      247
+      246,
+      1,
+      237
     ],
     "transparent_below": 55,
     "opaque_above": 130
   },
   "title": {
-    "text": "Mat Games",
+    "text": "MatGames",
     "font": "tools/branding/fonts/VT323-Regular.ttf",
     "license": "SIL Open Font License 1.1 (tools/branding/fonts/OFL.txt)"
   },
-  "bottom_fade_px": 50
+  "bottom_fade_px": 50,
+  "mascot_derived_from": [
+    {
+      "file": "tools/branding/raw/agy_generate_20261010234423_0.jpg",
+      "sha256": "5929495ff606fbcdd74f52a37304f3b569315bcd1fc0fef812b5fd7689dc1396",
+      "edit": "AI edit (agy_edit): keep face, grin, thumbs up, shirt, pose and flat background; change the hair to a bald scalp with a sparse fringe on the sides only"
+    }
+  ]
 }
diff --git a/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg b/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34a0647
Binary files /dev/null and b/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg differ
diff --git a/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg.import b/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg.import
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cbdd0e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg.import
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+[remap]
+
+importer="texture"
+type="CompressedTexture2D"
+uid="uid://co32s8aqwa3bj"
+path="res://.godot/imported/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg-d9de74481e03780407b2a1aacf263683.ctex"
+metadata={
+"vram_texture": false
+}
+
+[deps]
+
+source_file="res://tools/branding/raw/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg"
+dest_files=["res://.godot/imported/agy_edit_20261010235510_0.jpg-d9de74481e03780407b2a1aacf263683.ctex"]
+
+[params]
+
+compress/mode=0
+compress/high_quality=false
+compress/lossy_quality=0.7
+compress/uastc_level=0
+compress/rdo_quality_loss=0.0
+compress/hdr_compression=1
+compress/normal_map=0
+compress/channel_pack=0
+mipmaps/generate=false
+mipmaps/limit=-1
+roughness/mode=0
+roughness/src_normal=""
+process/channel_remap/red=0
+process/channel_remap/green=1
+process/channel_remap/blue=2
+process/channel_remap/alpha=3
+process/fix_alpha_border=true
+process/premult_alpha=false
+process/normal_map_invert_y=false
+process/hdr_as_srgb=false
+process/hdr_clamp_exposure=false
+process/size_limit=0
+detect_3d/compress_to=1
diff --git a/tools/make_boot_splash.py b/tools/make_boot_splash.py
index 0e3640f..17b121d 100644
--- a/tools/make_boot_splash.py
+++ b/tools/make_boot_splash.py
@@ -13,13 +13,15 @@ from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFilter, ImageFont
 
 parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
 parser.add_argument('raw', type=pathlib.Path, help='raw generated image (magenta background)')
-parser.add_argument('--title', default='Mat Games')
+parser.add_argument('--title', default='MatGames')
 parser.add_argument('--canvas', type=int, default=1024)
 parser.add_argument('--title-height', type=int, default=190)
 parser.add_argument('--bottom-fade', type=int, default=50,
                     help='soften the generator frame cut at the bottom of the bust')
 parser.add_argument('--colors', type=int, default=256,
                     help='palette colors for the shipped PNG; 0 keeps 32-bit RGBA')
+parser.add_argument('--generated-from', type=pathlib.Path, default=None,
+                    help='pre-edit generation this file was derived from, for provenance')
 args = parser.parse_args()
 args.raw = args.raw.resolve()
 root = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
@@ -108,7 +110,8 @@ manifest.update({
         'date': '2026-10-11',
         'prompt': ('single cartoon zombie head-and-bust mascot, unsettling wide grin, thumbs up, '
                    '2D cartoon style with bold outlines, flat magenta chroma-key background, '
-                   'no text and no logo'),
+                   'no text and no logo; then edited to a bald scalp with a sparse hair fringe '
+                   'on the sides only'),
         'terms_note': ('generated from no third-party source material; the provider terms do not claim '
                        'ownership of the output. The generator emits no real alpha channel, so the '
                        'background is keyed out locally by this script.'),
@@ -118,5 +121,13 @@ manifest.update({
               'license': 'SIL Open Font License 1.1 (tools/branding/fonts/OFL.txt)'},
     'bottom_fade_px': args.bottom_fade,
 })
+if args.generated_from is not None:
+    chain = manifest.get('mascot_derived_from', [])
+    manifest['mascot_derived_from'] = chain + [{
+        'file': str(args.generated_from.resolve().relative_to(root)),
+        'sha256': hashlib.sha256(args.generated_from.read_bytes()).hexdigest(),
+        'edit': 'AI edit (agy_edit): keep face, grin, thumbs up, shirt, pose and flat background; '
+                'change the hair to a bald scalp with a sparse fringe on the sides only',
+    }]
 (source_tools / 'manifest.json').write_text(json.dumps(manifest, indent=2) + '\n')
 print(out, canvas.size, canvas.mode, 'mascot', mascot.size)