W_L

A paperboy exhibit should be created in a museum somewhere, next to a typewriter and a VHS player.

Well, I'm heading out to the Alaskan Tundra in a few days and hope to do some side-reading with some modern low-fantasy based on a system. For those unaware of the subgenre or the genre: The genre of Low Fantasy is based on our normal modern world with a twist of fantasy elements like magic creatures, races, abilities, and so on. Harry Potter for instance is an example of low fantasy (Low does not mean its quality is lesser than High fantasy, it's just a matter of world crafting) Now, the subgenre of low fantasy that I am looking for is "System", where the main character is assigned or obtains a job from the ordinary Warrior to the tragically shunned Necromancer, then they need to develop skills with a level system similar to an RPG video game. The main characters and others in this fantasy setting are assigned classes based on their abilities, levels, and achievements. Here's one class ranking: F-Class : Lowest level, baseline human E-Class: Weakest use of job specialty or item, slightly better than most humans when describing people D-Class: Adequate use of job specialty or item, better than most humans when describing people C-Class: Decent use of job specialty or item, Incomparable to human ability B-Class: Proficient use of job specialty or item, better than most associated with job or "rankers" in the area A-Class: Master use of job specialty or item, One of the best in the associated job or "rankers" in the area S-Class: Transcendant use of job specialty or item, Peak of associated Job, stands above almost everyone else Now, the SS, SSS, and EX classes are usually used to describe main characters or beings transcending the power of Gods, essentially the main character's endgame in most of these stories is going to become a being beyond transcendent, sometimes as a result of their journey and other times to face off against foes at this level to tear down an unfair or unjust world created by God or Gods (Basically in these stories, it's the living answer to Nietzsche's impossible nihilist question, supreme transcendence). Any suggestions with a gay main character?

The remaining decade was a time for progress, development, and growth. On our way back to England, Robert, Francis, and I took a few weeks to enjoy the hospitality of the nascent Dutch Republic in Bruges. I’ve heard a lot of interesting rumors about the Netherlands in my era, including wild libertine sex. During the medieval period, the prosperous region of Flanders was a pragmatic cosmopolitan area with a lot of prostitution, brothels, and sexual freedom that did not exist in many areas of Euro

Chapter 29 As I noted I'll be on vacation for a bit, I'll leave a few short stories just so folks get some more info on side characters and stories. As for this chapter, it's an interesting culmination of effects. In the 16th century, the forces of the Calvinism Protestants and Counter-Reformation Catholics were very powerful movements that warped society and enforced a lot draconian moral rules. Places like the Netherlands, which traditionally were far more liberal and cosmopolitan due to their location as major trade hub were radically altered by internal conflicts. However, in my timeline, the Protestant lost the Civil War in the Holy Roman Empire/Germany and Switzerland where Calvinism had its roots was conquered by New Rome/Catholic Church forces. In the vacuum, new movements and ideologies are taking the place of traditional Protestant factions. The main theme in this chapter is "how can you defeat tradition", whether it's religion, entitled rights, or views. Eli was never a fan of Christianity, or any religion for that matter, based on his past life and would probably champion the fall of organized religion in favor of individual freedom. At the heart of it, Eli desires a society that isn't bound by tradition. However, to achieve this goal, Eli needs to create a new kind of thought process, known as "Noncomformist" ideology. This little known philosophy was at the heart of the scientific and industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th, when mankind stopped being held back by tradition and strived towards progress. In particular, one of scions of this philosophy created Charles Darwins' theory of evolution, a concept that threatens the very existence of creationism and in fact theological traditions across the world. If Eli wants to break the power of Habsburg Empire and New Rome, such a philosophy has to become a major school of thought. Feel free to take a look the historical "nonconformist" philosophy and its rejections of traditional Christian orthodoxy, it's an interesting history lesson. However, before Eli can do anything, there are major issues based around traditional power systems such as the English nobility. While they may not side with Habsbuirg Empire or Catholic Church, their ideology is based on a different kind of "tradition", one based on the supremacy of ownership. It's another important fact in history that English nobility had far more power and wealth than most monarchs due to how things worked. An entitled elitist group of individuals, who acquired everything due to an ancestor's ability, exploits their positions and prevents a lot of things. One of the things that England developed from this concept of land ownership is slavery. The entitled landowner and the servile farmer/laborer were well-entrenched concepts. Thomas Radclyffe is the foil in my story to the kind of English nobleman that served Elizabeth I, someone who is by nature a self-interested noble with desires of personal wealth above all. In our history, he was also infamous for his campaigning Ireland. In my story, he's a greedy war criminal with a scheming nature. Despite being such a morally and ethically questionable person, Elizabeth I relied on him to put down rebellions. However, Eli could not accept this kind of quid pro quo for the needs to break the power of his enemies over ideology. As for the solution, a series of rigged carnival games entices players to give up more money than the prize. The games play off the pride of individuals. It's a quintessential truth human beings cannot accept losing and will sacrifice a lot to win a pyrrhic victory, especially if they feel victory should have been easily obtained. As for birthdays, I have introduced my version of William Shakespeare, or should I call him Will Tudor-Walsingham as he's the son of Eli and Francis after an experiment in "double stuffing". We also have both Mary Queen of Scots' son James VI of Scotland and Eli's Omega son Jamie Tudor of England, Jamie's lover being called George at the end of the chapter is George Villiers, also known as Duke of Buckingham, the historical boyfriend/partner of King James. This week's law of power is the 21st law, "Play a sucker to catch a sucker, seem dumber than your mark", it can be seen in how Eli manipulated Earl Thomas Radclyffe to give up a fortune and his own lands in order to win something that ultimately would bankrupt him. Eli appeared to give in and placate the Earl with 20,000 gold coins, then offered to double that and showed favor by slapping Eddie, who was like a son to Eli after so many years. In order to fool the Earl and the other landowners, Eli acted like a fool and showed he feared Earl of Sussex to the point of giving up a lot to win his favor. In the end, the Earl and all the others lost everything to Eli. Notes: 1. Yes, Flanders, where the Netherlands are now, had a history as very lively place in the middle ages to late medieval era, when it was a major trade hub. Sexual freedom was higher there than in many other regions. I was inspired by this fact and modern Dutch culture to create a society that would be similar to their modern counterpart. 2. As for Novikov's self-consistency principle, it's a time travel concept that argues you can't change the past even if you go back in time. Instead, your actions will help create the event in question due to your actions. When applied to "real" probability, the concept is used to explain away why certain outcomes appear fixed no matter what factors. In my universe, I'm using a variant of this concept: History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme, meaning you can maintain historical events and outcomes by creating alternative routes to reach that outcome. That is how Mary Tudor and Charles V lived passed their dates of death. It's an important world building rule for how time travel mechanics work in my universe. There are of course things that violate self-consistency issues that also exist in my story from prior chapters.

In the fall of 1563, after the Act of Primacy was passed by Parliament and the garrisons in London left, Francis Walsingham returned to my side from Navarre, along with the nine-year-old prince Henry Bourbon, who was nominally sent to my court for education by his mother. In truth, Henry left Navarre due to a planned coup d’etat by Philip II of Spain, who wanted to end the threat of a possible schism between the French line of succession due to Henry’s nominal position as fourth in line to the F

Chapter 28 FYI, I'll be heading on vacation soon, so I might be a bit spotty for a few weeks in terms of posting new chapters. An homage to the Field of Cloth of Gold is what I consider this chapter to be, where we see a bit more of the sophistication that commercial applications of technology have brought into existence by this point. These are luxuries without modern manufacturing or shipping would only be possible for world leaders that had nation-level resources. Like the historic meeting between King Henry VIII and Francis I in 1520, it's not unheard of to have dinner party meetings out in the open by rivals like this. I also wanted to give folks a geopolitical map of the world as it exist in my universe in 1563, Habsburg Empire is massive multi-continental titan, Ming China has moved its territory into Central Asia, Japan has occupied Korean Peninsula, India has occupied southeast Asia, and Russia is at a similar size to Warsaw Pact USSR. There's also a lot of animosity hinted in this chapter between these future factions. Interesting thing that readers may miss, but the place where the Cores were discovered in our timeline was revealed in this chapter, it's Luna aka the Moon. As of right now, US, China, Russia, India, and Japan are the 5 nations that have landed on the Moon. It's why I chose them to represent the five time travelling factions in my novel, since the prerequisite would be the "Cores". Also, private space launch firms like SpaceX and Blue Horizons are sort of the forerunners for Corporate Consortium competing with the big nations to gain resources like the Cores. The 2nd Moon Race in my universe has much bigger rewards than just bragging rights or a stepping stone to Martian Conquest as some might desire, especially with the discovery of unknown possibly alien technology. This week's law of power is 20th law of Power, "Do Not Commit to Anyone", it essentially means to leave your options and your opponents' options open. Eli in this chapter did not side with any major faction from the future, rather choosing to retain autonomy. It's an example of practicality and creating opportunities. Notes: 1. Alexander Farnese is considered a major European master of Warfare in the 16th century. He was one of the shining stars in history among the Spanish/Habsburg Counter reformation against Protestant powers. Shrewd and tactical, but sadly being a bastard grandson of Charles V meant he had a ceiling on his position, compared to his cousin, King Philip II, who was legitimate heir. 2. One of the goods mentioned in this chapter used for display of national power is "Bone China", which is an English porcelain product that gained immense fame in the 19th century as a competing product against Chinese made Paste Porcelain. The reason is due to the incorporation of animal bones into the creation of the material creating a beautiful finish that could serve as templates for artistic designs.

Starting on a new Gay Historical Fantasy book, (I wasn't the first one to come up with this particular concept for gay fiction) The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang, where two gay lovers are reincarnated through three lifetimes from Ancient China to 17th century China to Modern US. Reincarnation + Gay Historical Fantasy + a lot gay erotic scenes (I didn't go as heavy as this author in Of Pride and Power, based on what I've read so far) Since I am writing in the same genre right now with my setting in England versus Asia, it's a good thing to see what a published writer did successfully and what didn't work for me. For instance, romance-wise, his deuteragonists were more hot-sexy than mine continuously. On the other hand, I think the actual plot and history weren't built up enough; it's why I chose to create an entirely different timeline rather than stage things in history. "Based on" versus "Inspired on" concept is important to writer mentalities in this type of genre.

An interlude

The laws will have an important change compared to the historical points. At this point in my story, a lot of divergences will happen, but these are natural with what needs to happen

Over the next three years, Robert and I made several trips to Avalon located in Greenland. The discovery of the treasure trove of cores was by itself instrumental, but the equipment and notes that Merlin left behind were even more important. The two-hundred-thirty-three cores had been depleted over a thousand years by the facility supercomputer and twelve guardians, whose consciousness existed in one core and consumed a core every 60 years. Merlin had left very little room for error because the

Chapter 27 Major internal reactions are happening in this alternative version of English history, especially with the addition of Omegas in the mix. When reading Omegaverse stories, I've always wondered, how would the introduction of Omegas, essentially gay/bisexual men with the ability to have children with other men, affect a society? Then, I considered what would the big religious implications be for dominant belief systems, like Christianity. Due to how I set up my timeline, especially with the early encounter of Eli and John Knox, I had essentially killed Puritanism before it had a chance of gaining roots, wiping out a whole host of modern Protestant sects (many of whom have very negative fundamentalist foundations). In its place, an early version of Enlightenment Theism and idealism became central third faction within English faith factions. Nominally, both Protestants and this new upstart faction were allies against Catholicism, but they were natural foes as I have hinted at over the story. An important problem would put their difference into open view: Omega transitions. I am not a Trans person, but I do think it's worth exploring the issues of the issue in a fantasy context. Usually female and gay male writers of Omegaverse just leave the concept of Omegas without thinking deeper, but the transition of normal human males into Omegas raises a major species-wide issue on several fronts, including the ideas around faith. If Human beings can create a new gender without God, who defined only Male and Female, then it puts into the question the fundamental principle behind Judeo-Christianity itself. If man can essentially become God, then why have prayer, read books, or visit churches? Most importantly, why is society offering billions of dollars to an organization that offers wishful thinking, when other human beings can achieve the same thing with scientific knowledge and advanced technology. The reality of Omega transition is a scary proposition in a science fantasy setting, but in the real world, the idea of transgender people are just as scary, attacking the underlying concept behind belief systems that require absolute truths. I know I left the chapter off in a cliffhanger, but students of history know what I am hinting at. Heck, even the movie Elizabeth made this an important plot point for the fictional reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Yes, Eli has an heir and these compromises seem to offer a momentary peace between various factions of England, but fundamentally, there's a lot weaknesses in a noble-based system. This week's law of Power is the 45th law of Power, "Preach the need to change, but never reform too much at once”. It has two meanings for this chapter, considering the need for religious settlement due to the discovery of Omega conversion technology at Avalon for public use and the religious factionalism in English noble society due to the split on the ideals of what can and cannot be allowed, like creating a new human gender. Notes: 1. Greenland really is one of the lowest populated landmasses in the world with just barely 60K population. It was settled in 1721, but it never really grew. 2. The historical Acts that Parliament passed for the settlement of Civil and Religious society in England were the Acts of Uniformity and the Acts of Supremacy. Interestingly enough, the new Act of Supremacy that Elizabeth I had passed through parliament changed the title of "head" of the Church of England to Governor, which differed from Henry VIII original act. There was definitely some gender bias in making that conscious decision to change the title.

Violence is part of the ongoing zeitgeist of human civilization, while peace is considered the optimal ideal. In my stories, I view conflict less as the plot and more as a means by different elements and groups to achieve a goal. Minimizing the harm is desired by protagonist by only going after "active combatants", but as you guys may find out if you read on, I am open to the idea that minimizing harm may not be a good thing. There is such a thing as "passive combatants", i.e. civilians who will assist your foes and who will never be won over to your side due to various ideological or experience-based reasons. In modern fiction, especially Asian manga in China, South Korea, and Japan, there is a genre of protagonists who are willing to go far above what is reasonable in conflicts to achieve their goals due to the element of realistic conflict, where settlement may never be possible without great sacrifice. As such, these protagonists engage in things that would be considered "war crimes" under international law and Western value systems from subjugation into forced labor to genocide of entire nations in the name of victory. I am not condoning this kind of protagonist, but I do understand why they chose that route to achieve victory against foes. However, if you want to create this kind of protagonist, you need to set up a lot of elements prior to those actions, a causus belli so to speak. Far too often nowadays, the genre's protagonists are simply deranged without a valid cause, but others like Rimuru Tempest for example in the latter half of season 2, exemplify why committing war crimes against a foe is sometimes needed to safeguard your people.

That's why I couldn't make this an optional short story There were too many new twists, character intros, and major plot developments for future story

Thanks guys, this is why I like writing short stories to be companion pieces to a main narrative. A lot of side characters and interactions can be explored and expanded.

Thanks Chris

Upon the discovery of a creature's involvement in the disappearance of the Viking settlement, a state of alert was raised among the Royal Marines. Frances had urged that Robert and I return to the HMS Relentless, while her team continued to scout the area and attempt to find Avalon facility or hunt the creature that was connected to the mass deaths. However, before paranoia could take hold of all my soldiers, Robert raised an important point concerning the graves. "Do we even know why all t

Part II I hope readers were surprised with the various revelations and technological advances from the Avalon facility, including the introductions of battle androids with the consciousness of the teenage pages of Camelot's knights. For various readers, I love mechas and I wish they were used more in gay fiction, but alas, it's very hard to incorporate them into your storylines. Adding Mechas, my story is science fiction and science fantasy set at the end of the medieval era; can you imagine how these guys will perform on the battlefield? Gundam series is one of Japan's most famous anime/manga, which highlighted various aspects of war, heroism, sacrifice, and ideals. There are many variants of the concept, but I find the idea of mechas fighting for honor and chivalric ideals to be something charming. The revelations such as the use of a Neutron bomb, aka radiation bomb to kill organic life, and limiting his technology for use by himself and Omegas opens some interesting questions about Robert's past incarnation as Merlin, his actions aren't entirely flawless. In trying to resurrect his lover, who is now Eli, he had to do and face a lot of things. Robert is not his past self, but he is still the same person in terms of mindset and persona, you can't change a human soul. Note: We finally learn what method Eli is displacing matter into the future by, "Phantom Energy", negative kinetic energy. I am adding little tidbits about Matsudeira Takechiyo throughout these last chapters, since his conflict will affect a lot of other players in the big map of the world. Remember, Eli and friends are just facing off against Western Charter and Corporate Consortium renegades, there are still Chinese, Russian, and Indian factions in this story. As for the push for Omegas, why are they so important for the salvation of humanity? Why is this solution good for human beings? Notes: 1. I made several references in this story to Anime, but the one thing people should have noticed is that I openly quoted lines from Disney's 1994 Gargoyles series. To be honest, I was inspired by the show a lot as kid and it made me a lover of English myths and stories. It was the first cartoon show that I watched incorporating the science fantasy elements of magic and technology together. I was inspired by the airship of Cybertronics Corporation in Gargoyles to imagine the Sky Fortress of Papal/German alliance. 2. Despite its lack of technical prominence during WWII, in 1940 Italy did develop one of the world's first geothermal electric generators and developed functional binary cycle systems that are still modelled on today.

Aelfric Elias Tudor, my lord and lover, asked that I commission this secret journal for posterity to future generations. However, I believe Lord Eli desires to have Robert read these in our waning years for personal pleasure rather than posterity. My tales are those of infamy and shadowy work, not the story of gallant battles or righteous deeds, but Lord Eli and Robert find interest in them. At the age of 22, I left my lord Elias Tudor’s side, but I never abandoned my lord in my heart or so

17th law of Power: "Keep others in a suspended state of terror." 😛 I also use hints in my story and it's fun to give folks glimpses into my idea process with hints and fun little tidbits of story details. Worldbuilding is hard work, especially if you are trying to do something from the ground up.

It's an interesting theory that was once postulated, especially by spiritualists and New Age groups.

Thanks Chris

After Harry was born, I spent three long months greeting well-wishers and holding court in the Tower of London’s medieval hall. In the spring, I went to Cadbury Hill’s fair folk stronghold in Somerset, ostensibly to show Harry off to the fair folks there. Specifically, I wanted to take him to see Puck, Ambrose, and Edward. Puck, my close friend, had mobility issues due to what happened to him at Mary's hand, while my brother, Edward, was supposedly dead and could not show his face anywhere near

Interlude Search for Avalaon Part I This was supposed to be a short story, but I had to keep it in my main story as there are too many important facts that cannot be omitted if a reader didn't read this portion of the story. It's too integral to separate from the main plot. However, with that said, it is not directly connected with Eli's main story line of gaining power or fighting against the future factions. Thus, I created my story's first interlude chapter and before I knew it, the entire thing was over 10K words, so I had to make my first two-parter. For readers who know my interest, I am a huge fan of the historical mystery and adventure genre. Indiana Jones and Dan Brown may be pulp, but the stories are very cool. As such, I went about creating my own elaborate mystery with a blend of myth, history, foreign languages, and ancient script. Japanese timekeeping is actually counting backward versus forwards as Takechiyo mentioned in my story, the Japanese look at time based on the point of a melting candle, i.e. depletion rather than accumulation in western mindsets. Additionally, instead of using numbers for their ancient clocks, the Japanese imported the Chinese method of hourly measurement by using 12 Zodiac animal spread across two hour periods and split between Day time Zodiac versus Night time Zodiac. This clock was famously used in ancient during the Tang Dynasty, but it was abandoned in later Dynasties. However, Japan even during 16th Century, would still be using this kind of timekeeping system. It's a type of cultural knowledge that you may not know unless you're a big Otaku. Some other stuff to consider, I made several references in this chapter to things that will play important roles for a meta reference about why I am such a fan of this era in history. As a kid, I did not automatically fall in love with history, art, or culture, but there was a certain TV show from Disney that made me a huge fan of Medieval British history and the Science Fantasy genre that I am currently writing in. In Part II, the homage will be revealed, but you can already tell from certain words in this chapter where I drew my inspiration. References: 1. Edward Clinton was Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy during both Edward VI and Elizabeth I reigns. He was a capable naval commander and was credited with the seizure of the City of Boulogne in France under Henry VIII. I am not sure if he's related to a certain American President with a love for young ladies, but even so, it would be many generations removed from this British Royal Navy man. 2. Yes, Ultima Thule was the name of Greenland during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was also used to name imaginary locations on maps north or west of England throughout history. 3. As for Vatnahverfi, the disappearance of the Vikings from Greenland remains a major historical mystery today. Several fringe theories have alluded to lay lines and mystical portals over the years, along with conspiracy theories. 4. That tale about a fairy king and the construction of St. Michael's Church in Glastonbury is taken from the mythology of the town. It was a perfect concept that fit into my story. There are a lot of fairy stories around Western England, so I just incorporated them. Additionally, Glastonbury is the home of a lot of New Age groups, who are trying to find the Holy Grail, King Arthur, and so on. Using this place as the starting point of an Avalon search just feels right. 5. As for my use of Runes, I am not sure how many people are familiar with Norse Runes or deciphering the various codes from these symbolic alphabets. It's a literary connection for Jack Hume's bookloving nature, which his boyfriend Eric now Eli would know.

Can you make tea out of it?

Thanks Chris for reading Some complex stuff is developing, there's more things in the next chapter