hi just found and read the comic so far im a fan of telling ppl when you like smtg they did so i just wanted to say ☝️ i 1) am very intrigued by your lore. the way you illustrate real terror is astounding and inspirational. the metaphorical horrors in a story that supposedly doesnt have heavy fantasy elements is very well done. your tied in expressions are rich and full. 2) absolutely love the way you do lighting and shadows. from what ive read so far the light and shadows feel like their own character and i think you execute it very very well. 3) drippy goop dog is fabulous both in design and again execution. 3) the way you love your characters absolutely shines through so so deeply and dearly in your work and i am excited to get to know them more. looking forward to whats to come next 🙌
Hi hello!! Thank you so much for the kind words. I just recently reopened my asks because A Situation in my ask box had left me paranoid for a bit. So this being one of the first asks I get since reopening them again has made me very hopeful and appreciative that you took time out of your day to leave a nice message! I'm glad you liked Nostalgia my little grape juice wolf, and that you think my characters are nice and fun to learn about ;v; I hope you continue to enjoy what I have in store for the future.
As for your comments on the shadows and how my lighting and shading/shadows feel like characters themselves and the horror of them, I'm very glad that's the vibes they give!! That's my goal :D I know they have a strange way of working with the world and the story. Kind of other worldy and they can be hard to comprehend sometimes but that's the point and part of the horror of it.
If you like this sort of thing and want to dig deeper into its inner workings, FadeAway falls into an specific story genre: Magical realism!
Magical realism is a genre that originates from Latin America, which makes FadeAway a piece of Latin American art/literature in more ways than just its author (me!!). In simple words, its a Latin American narrative strategy that is characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusion of fantastic or mythical elements into seemingly realistic fiction. Magic realism is a natural outcome of postcolonial writing, which must make sense of at least two separate realities—the reality of the conquerors as well as that of the conquered. It employs magical elements to make a point about reality.
1) The narrator plays an important role because when describing a fantasy event, his voice speaks normally. Therefore, he doesn't attach importance to the unreality of said event to an extent, since he accepts it as normal. The one who does give meaning is the reader, who realizes the magical events.
2) Characters with supernatural powers: This is a key feature of this type of text, as the characters appear to have extraordinary abilities.
I think another good way to explain what I'm sorta doing here is I think there are a lot of real experiences people deal with that if you heard them without experiencing them yourself you'll think that's just impossible or super weird and unusual! This is the least extreme of cases but that's what empathy and high empathy is like to me. Im low empathy and strong empaths explaining how they experience it has me like what do you MEAN you feel other's emotions??? enough for them to have a real effect on you? Or people who can see images inside their mind, for others who cant. And way more!! It's otherworldly to some, but it's reality for others. That's what Noriel's sensing of shadows is like to me. And part of the importance of what magical realism stands for in the story sometimes. It also makes her feel othered, even tho it's part of reality like everyone else, just because it isn't majorities' experience of reality. Mirroring her Black-latina identity in a very white USAmerican centric town. There is also something to say about how it mirrors trauma as well! I think there is a lot that can be analyzed from it but I'll leave some fun for all of you.
