Oliver is a manga artist, but he was once an angry little boy with a sunny best friend: Ian Miller. Then, one day, they weren't friends anymore. Oliver doesn't know when was it exactly that Ian disappeared from his life, and refuses to remember why...
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Alright, my darlings. In today's context, I feel I must address this.
I've deemed all the sexually explicit scenes necessary, even if they're technically not so, meaning that some can be skipped and still follow the plot. However, you'd be missing critical character development. It's never there gratuitously, after all.
And since this is my book, and I am utterly fascinated with the dynamics of sexuality where our vulnerability and animalistic core (the most genuine aspects of us) are exposed, and I think that they speak about who we are far more than we embrace it, I choose to keep these scenes.
There are endless discussions about fetishizing homosexual relationships, and that exists and I'm strongly against it. But I also think for most people reading it that aren't queer men themselves, there's something deeper running underneath, and society's starting to catch up to it. When we're strongly drawn to something, it's because there's something there that's already ours. We recognize it, but we can't name it yet. It might have to do with sexuality, gender, or maybe other aspects of our identity.
If you ignore it, it'll knock on your door later on. Trust me.
Reading this type of content when I was younger gave me rather crucial knowledge I needed to understand myself, who I was, and who I wanted to become. I can talk endlessly about how queer literature made me realize what devotion feels like, how organic and healthy relationships behave in comparison to force-fed, heteronormative, infinitely toxic, chemistry-starved, cookie-cutter bullshit, and just how damaging that is for every single human on a global and bio-political scale. It benefits nobody.
In great measure, I owe to writers that inspired me with it just how happy I am today, and how I'm able to live off my one true passion and see nothing but bliss ahead.
Maybe it will do the same for you.
Truly, I think all writers should keep whatever it is that moves them, for it'll definitely move others. So, if you're a writer that's been hesitating with your own content, or someone that just wants to write but feels overwhelmed by the prospect of it, here's a Franz Kafka line that perpetually unlocks me:
"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly."
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PS: I've been asked by some of you to do an author reveal, so that's why I put my most recent picture up there, although my Instagram is already in my bio. You're more than welcome to follow and reach out to me there if you feel like it, to discuss either characters' stuff, to ask for writing advice or anything you feel like sharing with me. I love interacting with you guys. Don't be shy!
