Foxcross Side-Project

I'm unsure how many know about Foxcross, but it's a side world of mine that I go back to and explore sporadically. I'll likely start posting about it more on Patreon just for y'all for the time being as I rework it.

I think it'd be cool to shift gears and try something out that isn't restricted to the webcomic format. I've always been a big fan of interactive and non-traditional narratives. I don't think it'll be particularly thrilling or revolutionary in any way. Just me experimenting on the side with doing something through (possibly) multiple platform but mostly through Instagram. I'd like to try working WITH the platform/medium rather than trying to fit what I'm working on into it. Like I don't want to weirdly crop webcomic pages to post on IG. I'd prefer to make a new page and make the whole thing a part of the story. It'd be neat to keep things relatively free form and try it all out.

To explain what Foxcross is

Currently it's going through some major overhauls, but the main premise so far is this: some time during the peak of the Industrial Revolution, the thin veil between worlds seemed to wear even thinner, as if unable to take the strain of humanity's rapid technological advances. Suddenly, the stories of fairies, monsters, and gods were not just fanciful folktales, but real beings just as you and I. Some places disappeared wholly, replaced entirely by  their mythical counterpart. Others remained completely untouched, life progressing on without a hint of change. And yet others became an odd mix of the two, a liminal space, an in between of the two world. Now, in this changed world, the closet could lead to an ancient forest. The fairy circle could lead to a super market. Doorways and suspicious landmarks can mean the difference between life and death. With the passing generations, it seems that the line between these two worlds have blurred further. Humans are not quite as human as they used to be. Monsters not as otherworldly. The world is rife with undiscovered mysteries and young Foxhair has a keen interest in exploring it in order to find out the truth behind his father's disappearance (or possible death). With only the old, worn journals his father left behind filled to the brim with details of his own ventures and studies, he sets out on his own.

 For those of y'all who may know the original story, this takes place before then, back when he's younger and much, MUCH more mischievous. 

I'm split between making the 'other' world much more fantastical and drawing only vague inspiration from actual folklore or going deep into digging into real folklore and myths or some healthy mix in between those. I'm leaning towards the latter and getting a healthy mix of both. It'd be exciting to explore the idea of myths we knew warping and changing with time to become their own independent entities. It's an idea that gets played around with a lot in the story.

That being said, I know this isn't the most original idea in the world by any means. It's been done dozens of times before me, but I still think it'd be a fun story to tell. I'd likely introduce the general concept of the world before getting into Fossegrim. It'd be exciting to add to the cast as well. 

On how the story would work

It'd be fun to go with the dynamic of Foxhair logging his exploration rather than going the traditional comic format. Posting 'videos' and just general posts as well that detail his experience. It gives me more room to explore all the characters in different aspects as well. I also think it's just a fun challenge as well to try to figure things out. For the time being, were I to do it, I'd make a private Instagram to test the waters out and y'all would have access to it. I wouldn't be able to post too often or if I did, it would be rough sketches and thumbnails. 

I don't know if this sounds silly and cliche either so I'd love to hear y'all's opinion! It's just been an idea that's been niggling in the back of my mind for the last day while I've been working.

It's also important for me to say that NPC would not stop at all with this! NPC is my main story currently and I plan to keep it like that for the foreseeable future. Foxcross will just be a labor of love on the side, especially for when I'm losing it working on one story haha.