Hej Voidfarers, Faith here!

For these last three days of our Kickstarter campaign, I thought I'd share some insights from my journey as a transgender writer and artist these past six years. Ashlee herself set my waystones through that journey, so we're going to focus on her development: from ideation through to final realization.

As I shared in my recent interview with Gayming Magazine, the seeds of Stardust were planted in the autumn of 2018. I was on my yearly vacay to Duluth, Minnesota—a harbor city on the Great Lakes, and the inland-most seaport in the world. The Arrowhead of Minnesota is a gorgeous place, particularly when the leaves change color in the fall. As I normally do, I sat on the enormous rocks that make up the harbor breakwater, watching massive freighters traverse the port. Anyone who has been to the Duluth Harbor Canal or any other destination with strong maritime traditions knows how close you can get to these massive ships. It's hard not to stare in awe. They're a fascinating glimpse into how connected we all are on this Earth, and what we achieve through cooperation.

At that time, I was fighting my own demons. I struggled with my gender identity from adolescence. My fears about coming out were well-founded. Right-wing politicians were setting their sights on transgender people for their regular scapegoating. It felt then—as it does now—like we were backsliding as a society. I had long-standing medical concerns that made me doubt I could even make a gender transition.

I was anxious, so I started to dream. I sought catharsis. I began to write. I began to model. I even picked up painting again.

Some of that prose—and all of that inspiration—is now related by the fantastic cast and crew we've put together for Stardust.

My journey mirrored some of Ashlee's own. She was the vessel through which I explored my hopes, dreams, and fears about gender transition. Economic anxieties, too. We're not the same person, but we have a lot in common. We care about a lot of the same things. We both have a well of empathy dug through intense hardship. And we both just want to be normal.

I wanted to express myself through that soft butch or futch trans perspective. Ashlee is purposefully androgynous. She just wants to be her whole self, as I did. She reveres strong women of history. She loves books. She loves nature. She's a complete dork and lionheart, but one who has only found the strength to stand up for herself through painful moments in her life. As a result of her brooding nature, she has gaping blind spots. Her sense of right and wrong is perhaps skewed too, as you'll eventually see.

Ash is on a Heroine's Journey (i.e., a specifically feminine journey). She's someone struggling with the external and internal, masculine and feminine, earth and space, known and unknown, real and unreal. She is literally and figuratively between worlds, juggling the challenges of many dichotomies at once.

And it's only the crew of Windsong that keeps her grounded.

In spring 2021, I had gathered enough research and done enough exploration that I was ready to go ahead with a trilogy of books. It was now that Stardust shifted to become a grander story arc; the foundation of a tabletop roleplaying game to be published by Sublight Games.

But if we were going to publish tabletop entertainment, I didn't believe lengthy prose would be enough. We'd have to catch eyes and ears. I began leaning on my contacts in the gaming and entertainment industry, and Stardust became a multidisciplinary endeavor.

The first thing I felt we needed was some exploration of practicalities: day-to-day life in the verse that we now called The Bary (short for barycenter). I flagged down The Sojourn's Leon Woon for some help with ideation, because he has a great mind for character design. When I told him we were going for a Dune x Planetes creative direction, he quickly understood the task. Little details like the importance of medical devices and computers integrated into Ashlee's flight suit were on the ball. I also gratefully received some insight from BAFTA winner Jessica Cheng on how to construct unique environments that felt lived in and purposefully built.

By 2023, it was time to introduce people to the world of Stardust. Though the novel draft was getting praise from beta readers, I didn't think it would be enough for today's demanding and time-starved audiences. Growing up and living in the exurbs, I've always enjoyed listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and audio dramas on those long drives of mine. A lifetime of turning my commute time into story time was the biggest impetus for re-compiling the novel into a full cast audiobook.

I searched high and low for a producer and a director to work with. I found the most enthusiastic and uniquely experienced person for the job in Alexis Vandom. Her star had been rising in indie animation and radio plays. We are both film majors and hit it off immediately. Her determination to get queer voices heard was exactly what we needed to lift a tiny startup like Sublight Games off the launch pad.

Myself and Associate Producer Izzy Shackleton combed through the auditions we received for Ash. Everyone was so great, and I've never felt so much pressure to make an artistic decision in my life. Ashlee means so much to me as both a character and an important vessel through which I had also explored my gender identity. In my entire 12+ year career as an artist and writer, I don't think there has ever been a decision that mattered so much to me. I invited Alexis to audition, and she nailed that, too. If I'm to be blunt, that actually made my decision-making process harder, because it has always been imperative to have a diverse cast and crew. But you can't pass up a good thing. She works so damn hard to bring this verse to life!

At this time, I can't imagine anyone else playing our core three characters: Ashlee, Teresa, and Leandros.

In December 2023, our Lead Game Designer Rosalind Muchmore passed along some music I fell in love with immediately. The song was "Ochre" by Venera & HEALTH. At that point, I knew we must make a cinematic trailer for our Kickstarter campaign. "Ochre" was one of those earworms I couldn't get out of my mind. It so perfectly encapsulated the desolation, loneliness, and hardship Ashlee goes through in our first book. The universe of Stardust, perhaps much like our own world, can be described as "pre-post-apocalyptic." Sometimes, from a queer perspective, you feel like the only sane person in an insane world. The industrial sound just worked, and the heartbreak explored by Jake Duzsik's harrowing lyrics allowed us to hit several plot beats along the way.

At this stage, Ashlee's journey from ideation to an established character was complete.

Watch our cinematic trailer featuring Venera & HEALTH here.

Listen to the 83 minute-long pilot for Stardust.

It's so fitting that a story I began writing in Duluth will be returning to Duluth for the North Star Story Summit this year. We're honored to be selected for screening at Minnesota WebFest 2024. Stardust is at its core about the interconnectedness of humanity—readily on display in harbor cities across the globe—and I can think of no better way to celebrate what we've achieved as a team than going back to the place it all started.

I go into more detail with Gayming Magazine, but I'm very proud of what this small team has accomplished on a tiny budget. We're on Kickstarter so that we can publish meaningful queer stories that explore the normalcy of our existence. Stardust is a story for everyone—cis and trans—who has ever felt like they exist at the margins of society. As Ashlee herself says, "Every day is combat." But we need not go once more into the breach alone.

Explore. I would encourage all creators to keep creating against all headwinds. You'll learn so much about yourself, other people, and the world around you along the way. And like Ashlee, you'll realize that your voyage through life is always easier with the guidance and comfort of good friends. Here's a health to the company.

Fly safe, friends.
— Faith K. Falkner