The Birth of Kael Angeli
The year was 2011 and everything was different. The year before, I had switched schools and lost one of my best friends the day before my 13th birthday. It was hard.
You know, when we lose something or someone, we lean toward sadness and turn inward. It is one of the few moments when we look at ourselves honestly and ask the questions we usually swallow. In 2011, at just 13, I asked myself what the future would be like. I was afraid. I wanted to know how many more friends I would lose, whether my family would still be there for me, and whether it was okay to escape from reality.
2012 arrived, the year the world was supposed to end, and in fact, that year my little world did end. That was when my bubble burst. Why? Well, I lost every friend I had when we moved to a bigger city, because my family wanted to. I had no social media, no phone, no internet. For six months in the new city, my only friends were my notebook, two pens and loneliness.
That is where Kael Angeli was born. Back then I just wanted to write a few stories, daydream about what I did not have, and put some feelings of loss and loneliness on paper. I created shallow characters and simple plots, and I had fun doing it. I decided to post on a few sites I discovered when I went to the internet café once a week. At the end of each text, the signature: Kael Angeli. The name came naturally. At first it was “Angel”, but the “i” at the end gave a Latin touch to the name of the angel who saved me, my inner angel.
And that is how we begin Prosa & Pixel: with a bit more of me, with a very personal (if condensed) story about how my path began. Now, let us get to what will really keep you here.
What to expect from Prosa & Pixel?
Everything I find interesting. I will not be fake, not at all, I will be honest: I created this newsletter for myself before anyone else, so the content here will be shaped by what I find interesting, and I hope to find kindred spirits with every post. I mean, nobody will be forced to love every word I write here. I know there will be posts you will not even open, but I will, so what better choice than writing for myself?
We will start with this introductory post, so you can get to know a bit more about me, my writing and my plans. After that, I have a schedule of two posts a week, one on Wednesday and one on Friday.
The schedule will mix content about writing for games, writing for comics, short stories (complete ones), reviews and recommendations of games, comics, books, series, movies and anime. On top of that, from time to time I will post some documents meant to help those who are starting their career as writers or planning to try this timeline of life.
Of course, all of this will be measured, planned and structured so it does not turn into a mess, but I promise you all that my intention here is one thing only: to deliver valuable content FOR FREE.
That is right, Prosa & Pixel has no monetization plan at the moment, and probably never will. If I ever decide to monetize my knowledge, it will be in other ways, and you will be the first to know here. You will be my community.
PS: The platform’s default paid plans, in dollars, cannot be removed, so whenever you subscribe to this newsletter, choose the “No commitment” option and move on with your life.
And what kind of community will Prosa & Pixel be?
A friendly community, and above all a respectful one. Anyone who knows me knows how strict I am with people who do not respect others. There will be no room here for racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia or any other hate crime. If you are the type who calls all that “freedom of speech”, please leave, and do not slam the door on your way out. Make no mistake, I know exactly who you are.
This will be a space to share ideas, knowledge, stories and friendship. We will help each other with whatever is needed and make sure everyone can feel comfortable, whether in the comments, in private messages or even on social media when you share this content. And if you relate to this, and know more people who do, go ahead and share it with them too!
The journey so far…
Okay, here we go. My name is David Stéfano. I am a writer and scriptwriter for games and comics, a gamer and a passionate reader. Writing is currently my main source of income, which is why I now consider myself a writer and no longer a gambler.
In 2016 I started a degree in physics and dropped it in 2018 after many psychological problems that built up during the course. In 2019 I started a degree in journalism, which has been on hold since the pandemic began. In 2023 I started a technology degree in Game Design, and I put that one on hold because I had to organize, practically on my own, my whole move back to my hometown. So, just to be very clear: I do not have a completed degree. I have several national and international courses, some of them quite renowned, but you know what is worth more than all of that? EXPERIENCE.
That is right. Over all these years, from 2016 until now, while I went through several degrees and made a lot of good friends, I worked. I worked a lot, for local, national and international companies, and I built up enough experience to be considered for team and project management roles, but I chose a calmer, more independent path.
Right now I am working on two big projects. One of them is with the publisher IS (Impérios Sagrados), where I am building a universe of Brazilian superheroes in comics alongside my greatest ally, the plotter and writer Andrej Biasic. The second project is Asleep, which is probably better known than anything else I have worked on. Asleep is a game split into acts, with Act 1 already out and Act 2 in production. It has a strong narrative within the horror genre, and I am currently the project’s lead writer. Besides the game, I also script comics and write flash fiction set in the same universe.
And now Prosa & Pixel will be my newest project, and probably the most important one.
If you have read this far…
Thank you deeply if you have read this far with some interest in what comes next. Please leave your first impressions in the comments or in my DMs, and of course, tell everyone what you hope to read in the next issues.
See you next time, explorers!
Originally published in Prosa & Pixel, on Substack. See it on Substack · Subscribe to Prosa & Pixel · All issues