Stoic Soldier: Inspired by Jamie’s Daydreams by Kevin Atwater
Music has always been a huge literary inspiration for me, often creating playlists for projects I am working on. This gives me a sort of time capsule for that moment in my life that I can look back on.
In Kevin Atwater’s 2025 debut album, Achilles, the track list moves through a young Kevin’s experiences in expressing his queerness, often in unsafe or damaging ways.
The track Jamie’s Daydreams on the album impacted me immediately upon first listen, and the more I dug, the more I fell in love with this piece. When Kevin announced a “literary piece” form submission where people can write their own stories based on Achilles. When I saw that, it was like my bat signal up in the air, and I knew I had to write something.
Stoic Soldier takes us into the moment we do not see in the song, and explores the intense, visceral emotions people go through when they begin expressing their sexuality dangerously, as many young gay men do.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17: The Villains Roast
Welcome to my blog, where I talk about whatever my gay ass feels like talking and sharing my opinions about! This will probably include a lot of commentary on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Survivor content, as well as how me, a Latino Gay man, experiences life in the United States 2025. Maybe some of these will be turned into social media posts, who knows.
A little bit about me: My name is Collin and I am a gay man in Los Angeles currently pursuing my MFA in Dramatic Writing at the University of Southern California. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, I am an actor by trade, as well as an experienced director, costume designer, and stage manager. Since moving to Los Angeles, my focus has shifted to my writing and finding my own unique artistic voice.