River Acheron Question For Imagine Magazine November

[Comicality]

What brought you here?

No, this is not some existential question about life, the universe and everything. This month, I am asking quite literally...what brought you here to Comicality? How did you discover this community? And to get us in the Thanksgiving spirit this month...why are you thankful of that?

For me, it all began in 2007. I was 13 years old and was (and still am, even moreso!) a big horror and sci-fi fan. When it comes to fiction, even at a very young age - probably like 8 or 9 years old - I have always loved ensemble stories, of a group of misfits or unlikely heroes fighting some evil or injustice, where one character stands out as the most important, or the chosen one, or the prophet, the savior, etc. The 'Dragonlance' novels for example, the 'Final Fantasy' videogames, many different manga series such as 'Fruits Basket', TV shows like 'Star Trek: Deep Space 9' (trust me, it fits that criteria...and it's also dark as HELL!), movies like 'The Matrix.' I ate all this up and was always looking around on the internet for these types of tales, whatever the medium was. The one thing missing in these (even as late as 2007) was a distinct lack of LGBT characters...especially main characters! It is a situation that is vastly improving now, but that was not the case back then. So, I would check out gay-themed story sites, especially sci-fi/horror sections, because that's my thing and I came across Gone From Daylight, and have been an avid reader and fan ever since. It literally has everything I have ever looked for in fiction and more. I remember at the time, (and this is a complement), it had a very big 'Matrix' feel to me....but with gay vampires! A match made in heaven. What also turned me on to the story was the setting; while I will always and forever have a soft spot for 'Nosferatu' and 'Dracula', there was something about the city vampire scene that always appealed to me. Movies like 'Blade', 'The Hunger' (eh to a lesser extent), 'Near Dark'. What 'Gone From Daylight' did for me is it took so many aspects of what I enjoy in my fiction, that it literally took my breath away.

I enjoyed the story so much that a few years ago, it was one motivator for me to visit Chicago and check out the anchor on Navy Pier for myself (being gothic, and standing out there at sunset looking out at lake Michigan sure turned a few heads!), but I loved it...it was like a little pilgrimage for me, since that story changed my life, and inspired my own creative side. Note: I do not recommend riding on that damn Ferris Wheel after a few beers!. I also discovered I loved the city itself (Especially 'Three Dots and a Dash', a little, almost hidden,back ally gothic/voodoo/Polynesian nightclub! Not even sure how I discovered it!)

During these uncertain political times, it's more important than ever to support authors who incorporate LGBT characters openly in their stories. I am so proud how inclusive fiction has become as of late, and can only hope it continues. We live in an age where we can have a character on 'The Walking Dead', or 'Star Trek: Discovery' who just happens to be gay. No big deal is made out of it, it's not spotlighted or spoofed like in ages past. Acceptance has never been so strong, but we must remember the past we came from and realize that it can all be taken away. Thus, take nothing for granted! I truly believe that what Comicality, and authors/screenwriters like him, give us is the opportunity to read about characters that are just like us, and it's okay to be gay, trans, bi, etc. I am too young to know or understand how things were in older decades but I have read horror stories from the Stonewall Riots to Matthew Shepard, but I am wise enough to know that hate and bigotry does still occur and could come back full force once again. Yet, I am thankful that we live in a county where reading or watching something that's LGBT-inclusive is not something that can get us dragged out into the street by the police at 3 in the morning, and it is my hope that where that does still occur, that the hate stops and the people wake up. Finding Comicality, now 13 years ago, and seeing the progression of our own society during a cultural paradigm shift is something I am thankful for, and to be part of this magazine now is a dream come true.

I would ask you guys to share your own experiences to what led you here, and tell us why you are thankful for that. We all come from different walks of life, with difference circumstances which makes this community a melting pot of acceptance. During this age of social media, you really do not see those kind of close-knit ties anymore. So lets be thankful of Com for starting this, and lets be thankful of each other.

[Comicality]

...I can't really say that anything 'brought' me here, seeing as I built the place. Hehehe! But as far as the idea and the origin of The Shack Out Back...I think it had a lot to do with me releasing a lot of pent up feelings and desires, and just wanting other people to not feel the way I felt at that time.

I was still pretty new to the internet, personally, and I don't even remember what the heck I was looking for at the time, but a gay story came up in my searches. It was about two teen boys on a boat together, and they were sunbathing I think. And I had never read a story like it before. It was homoerotic and sexy and they were teen boys! I don't think there was any sex in the story, but I thought it was amazing just from the affection alone! So, there was a link to other stories by the same author, and that led me to the Nifty Archive. I started devouring every story from every category that I could! And the more I read, the more I wanted to participate!

I just remember being a kid and thinking that it wasn't too much to ask to want someone to kiss and snuggle with. I mean, sure, I was horny and boy crazy and I definitely wanted the sexy parts of a relationship too...but I was really searching for intimacy, trust, romance...the same thing that everybody else was looking for. But I had to keep it a secret. Nifty was the only place that spoke to me at that time. And it changed my life. Changed the way I looked at myself, and life in general. I don't know who I'd be right now if I hadn't discovered it when I did.

Anyway, I burned through what seemed like five hundred stories before I started to get a little bored with them. The formula got a bit stale. 'Boy meets cute boy, cute boy smiles and wants to go somewhere private, boys have sex, boy whispers I love you, and then...happily ever after'. I mean, they were great for some momentary relief, but I wanted more character development, more story, more conflict. And once I found a few more really well told stories on Nifty, I wrote to the authors to let them know that I enjoyed it...and they wrote BACK! Which I didn't expect at all! I think that was the catalyst for me. There were real people, with real lives, sharing a lot of the same wants and dreams and experiences that I had growing up and always wanted. I sat down, and I wrote the first "New Kid In School", just to say that I did it, you know? It was supposed to just be a one time thing. And when I started getting positive responses from people and they began asking me what happens next...I got hooked. I kept writing and writing and eventually had to build a site to hold them all. The rest, as they say, is history.

I doubt that I'd be able to recognize myself if I could go back and meet the person I was before The Shack came along. I've grown so much. I've learned a lot from the people I've met, both online and in person. I've fallen in love a few times, got my heart broken a few times, shed some tears, and lent a shoulder for others to shed some as well. Overall, The Shack was calling out to me before it even existed. And it healed parts of me that I didn't even know needed healing. It started out as an expression of sexual frustration and angst...but it became so much more than that. It's an amazing feeling to have talked at length and joked around with kids as young as 13 or 14 years old, have them grow up, graduate high school and college, buy a home, get boyfriends (or even husbands)...and yet, there's still this little corner in the back of their mind that causes them to stop by every now and then and say hello! Hehehe, like...that's crazy to me! But it lets me know that this place did some good, and that it holds some significance in somebody's life, and always will. That means more to me than anything in the world. It affected them the same way it affected me. I guess it made us all better in the end.

So thanks to you all for that. I mean that. ((Hugz))

[Page Scrawler]

For me, I don't remember exactly how it happened. I had just bought my first Kindle Fire, and I was looking for gay romance stories to fill it with. That's how I discovered The Secret Life of Billy Chase. After reading book three or four, I thought, "Hmmmm. I wonder what else this person has written?" So, I did a Google search, and Gay Authors was at the top of the page. So, I've read many Comsie stories on GA, but The Shack came later. 

[Who4m1]

Well, I always liked reading (although that doesn't mean you always have/take the time for it). At some point I wanted to read a few more stories about gay people. Due to that I found gayauthors, liked some of the stories there and read a lot there for the next while. There are really some jewels there. (Although sometimes stories can also be heartbreaking.)

One funny thing: I mostly searched for completed stories, because I didn't want to read a story without an end, where you would have to wait for updates with pauses between them, if you want to know how the story continues - I definitely came to the right place here. 😄

 

I think the first story, after which I decided to look up more stories from that particular author was Connor's best. At that point I realized the similar style with some other stories and that I liked it. It definitely were those (completed ) "daydream" short stories that brought me here (like "Connor's Best", "Boy Valentine" and "Written"). After that it was a fun game to play "Have I read that?" - "And do I know that?" 

Of course I still hadn't read the majority of Comsie's work. (I mean, more than 6 million words...) But there were quite a few stories that I recognized. I realized for example that I knew "My Only Escape" already.

It didn't take too long and I had found the community behind it and started to participate a bit. Sometimes it is really funny, that I'm really new in comparison to like almost everyone here.

Let's hope the best for the future of the shack.

Who4m1