W_L

The Advocate had an article on this from 2017: https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/8/02/21-words-queer-community-has-reclaimed-and-some-we-havent#rebelltitem25 21 Words that were reclaimed (and haven't) with Pro/Cons on whether they're salvageable.

Of Pride and Power Chapter 2 Some interesting things are developing and I have added a can of worms to this story. You now know there's more than just an alternate England in this story at play, we also have a different and more bloody version of the reformation going on in Europe. Yes, modern technology and knowledge have reached this world, but it has not been transferred fully to the point of mass production. While it is true, that you could produce tanks and aircraft with Renaissance-era manufacturing techniques, i.e. Leonardo Da Vinci had an entire notebook of inventions and ideas that were prototypes for tanks, planes, and helicopters, doing it in mass scale and with proper quality control is going to be tough. Industrialization is required to adequately achieve this. While it was a smart move to take over an institution like the Catholic Church of this era with its vast social network, military connections, and territory, Italy is not an ideal center of industrial development due to the distances between various resources. It's something Isekai manga authors have considered, like Er Mu about the introduction of modern weapons technology or Harry Turtledove in his WorldWar series. Local battlefield advantage does not mean instant conquest. As for the introduction of Robert Dudley, it's history. Eli is bossy, but at times, can be quite fragile. Someone needs to be Eli's confidante, friend, and partner just as Elizabeth had Robert Dudley. Despite what historians have said about him, Robert Dudley played several important roles in Elizabeth reign, including helping establish English industries, trading companies, and the navy. His last letter to Elizabeth was kept in her private collection until her death, with her hand-written note on it "His Last Letter", underpinning her own love for him. They had one of my favorite love stories from that era, so I will try to do my own version of it, hopefully with less tragedy. Lastly, this is the 13th rule of power: "When asking for help appeal to people's self-interest, Never to their mercy or gratitude". The concept can apply two fold to both Lord Ashley seeking Eli's help with the royal court's in-fighting and the dynamic between Eli and Robert. Self-interest exist in both. --------------------- Notes: 1. Some foreshadowing in the story, but it's going to get very bloody. Edward, Mary, and Eli will each have to fight and maneuver, both against each other and outsiders. This was a tumultuous time in European history between the reformation between protestants and catholics, along with the changing rulers on the thrones of European nations like England, France, and Holy Roman Empire. 2. Interesting fact, Elizabeth I was a real polygot, she could speak a lot of native languages of the UK along with Latin at a young age. Additionally, she learned French, Greek, Spanish, and Portuguese, I was inspired to add this unusual gift for language as a special ability to Eli, which is my nod to the historical figure I am basing the character on. 3. As for table manners, to all those interested in writing historical fiction stories in this era, please remember "England did not adopt Utensils" until the 17th century. Meaning a lot of their meals were eaten by hand and knives. Modern people imagine English dining as refined and formal with various utensils to symbolize upper-crust refinement, but Aristocrats back in the 16th century were nothing like their modern counterparts. The French, Italians, and Spanish adopted the use of spoons an forks far earlier. Dining etiquette was limited in England.

I wanted to give everyone an appetizer with 2 chapters and prologue for this new story. I've created the baseline for the story with intrigue, plots, massive world implications, and a few characters. I'll try to structure it as a weekly serial, 1 to 2 chapters per week. This is a fun story to write.

Geeks are chic, but they end up with the super hot boys or dumb jocks too often, can we all share? 😛 I agree with you @Comicality Geeks are fun to write, I'm a nerd in reality, so it's sort of second nature for me to write geek characters (They're like my pre-evolve form, if we were Pokemon). To me, I think there's a kind evolutionary chain between the young geek, the nerd, and the rare final form, intellectual visionary character. Geek characters start off with a bit of knowledge and exposure to various fields, not just science, math, history, or literature as there are nature geeks too. Unlike what popular shows like Big Bang Theory or Young Sheldon might depict, the geek to nerd transformation feels like maturation of their knowledge (not always emotional intelligence or social development) to express it and utilize it. If the environment is just right with drive, allies, and resources the nerd can become an intellectual visionary.

While my realization and panic couldn’t be hidden, it was a good thing that only this older grandfatherly guy saw it. In context to our discussion, the drop in my emotional barriers was appropriate. I eyed a pitcher of water on a distant table, which Lord Ashley brought before me along with a cup. He poured me a full glass of water, which I drank in earnest as I had not drunk any water in days. After finishing one glass, he poured me a second, which I drank slower. Upon finishing that glass, he

Nope, this is completely brand new territory for me. Feel free to read the prologue to understand the character as well. I also post blog entries to give folks some ideas on what I am doing and why Thanks

Of Pride and Power Yes, I am starting a new book. It's original and the concept was something I was mulling over for a while. I've written gay/bi/trans characters, but I've never attempted to write an intersex character. LGBTQIA+, the I is for the intersex within the community. Rarely have I seen anyone attempt to explore this area or consider themes about people in-between, not ready to define themselves through surgery or designate non-binary stance, born with bodies that don't conform to what society deems acceptable. It's worth exploring. Eric/Eli is someone very interesting in my mind, while mostly identifying as male in behavior and mannerism, the character is not really stuck on the pronoun or social convention aspects of identity rather transcending it. This is a character that embodies a transcendant queer philosophy that reject objectification and observer bias. Basically, Eric/Eli doesn't give a fuck about what others says or does, because there is no objective truth, just truth to one own self. In terms of queer characters, I am proud of someone like this. Now as to UK readers and fans of the medieval genre, I feel like the Elizabethan era was the first shot across the bow for modernity. The first true independent female sovereign shattered social norms and ideas about power and established pride not only in oneself but unifying a nation. Using her era as a template for my story has been something I wanted to do for a while, but I didn't want to just make her a gay man. No, I want to explore it from a different vantage point that can be different and just as groundbreaking with a different kind of character. My concept of an Omega is very different from the current writer and reader's perspective of Omegas, who uses them as stand-ins for female characters. While I don't disagree with the idea, I think Omegas can serve an even more important concept as a character that defies gender norms. When having babies is now considered a hot-button issue about bodies and independence, I feel like it's time to explore another aspect. ---------- Some Footnotes: 1. Elizabeth I as a young teen was living with Catherin Parr, Henry VIII last wife, who had married Thomas Seymore. Based on historical records, Thomas had on occasions gone into her room and stripped her naked. (I'll interpret as it sounds like the guy was a predator and rapist, if I offend anyone sensibilities, it's how interpret the histories. Feel free to disagree with me, but the guy was messed up and probably messed up Elizabeth's future life too) 2. I did a gender swap with Kat Ashley, who was the female Governess of Elizabeth I and one of her most trusted confidents in her early years. Historically, she was in favor of Thomas' advances (eek, Maxwell vibes), but in my story I am combining her, William Grindal, and Roger Ascham. Lord Ashley is an original character, he serves a royal tutor, among other things. A strong male role model with the mature beauty of Sir Connery 3. As for the chapter titles, I am using 48 laws of Power by Robert Green to showcase Eli. "Always Say Less than Necessary" is the 4th law of Power. I'll highlight every law of power this story

Death wasn’t as painful or torturous as my parents claimed for sinners like me. To be fair, I didn’t mind the idea of being stuck in a place where I’d be getting fucked all day or fucking someone all day as I felt it was sort of like Homer Simpson’s punishment of being forced to eat all the world’s donuts. Jack and I had already done various sex stuff, and neither of us hated it on either end. We were the rare kind of versatile, able to switch between top and bottom roles based on our needs for

Prologue: It all started when I lived and died for the first time. My first life was always weird and off-balance, like I was both incomplete and, at the same time, excessive. When I was born, I imagined the doctors first offering the usual praise to my parents with words like “Congratulations on a beautiful baby boy.” Then after some X-rays, they’d come back and offer clinical condolences, “State law doesn’t permit us to act on your behalf, we’re sorry.” My parents didn’t have much mone

An Intersex teen reincarnates into the body of an Omega during one of the most turbulent eras in history. From the main character, Eli Tudor's perspective, the story will chronicle this remarkable person's life, conflicts, loves, and journey to create a new legacy in this alternate world that is similar to our own. The past is not set in stone and the future is what you make it.

As readership is quite low in this story, I guess there's verry little interest. I'll put on hold

I've noticed an interesting trend in some published gay fiction, especially among male gay authors. While the words "fag" and "faggot" are perjorative usually used in stories to denigrate, alienate, and "other" homosexual desires and people with same sex relations, several gay male authors appear to express an interest in changing the connotation through its uses in regards to power dynamic relationships. In past stories, the term is used to describe males with homosexual desires by seemingly heterosexual (or likely bisexual based on the content) male as a term to demean gay male activity. Anyone who grew up in the era of the early internet gay culture and story sites knows those types of stories. However from the late 2010's to present, published and more mainstream stories appear to have taken the term on with a different meaning, more resembling what consider as "sub" roles BDSM culture. Additionally there are authors, who actually exalt the word as something to be "proud of" in expressing identity rather than shame. If the meaning of the term is no longer shameful, it loses its power over us. It wouldn't be the first time a derogative term has been reclaimed, the most famous being the N word that was used against people of African descent, which is now commonly used in spoken language and song. If I hear that word being used to describe me or someone I am with, I'd usually take a defensive stance and be vigilant of negative actions. It's an inherent fear response that still exist to hear someone using that term. Maybe the change has already happened and I am just too old-fashioned to keep up with modern trends of current cultural norms that exalt the use of "fag" as something more than a pejorative, but I do wonder what others feel about this trend. Is this term reclaimed and made to be something worth exalting or endearing?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22499313-this-is-not-a-love-story One word came to my mind as I read this book, hopelessness. The subject matter is something a lot of gay authors explore, including me, because it’s part of gay community’s shared experience. Even if you never face homelessness or severe poverty, you probably have met someone or loved someone who faced these circumstances. Above that, I appreciate the main character’s portrayal as someone with disabilities, who endures wh

Well said, I will add one corollary to this: When I review full novels, I usually provide detailed explanation on why I made my final judgement. Yes, there's some bias and arbitrary elements within my reviews, but also, I hope if the author's ever read my long reviews, they see I was critiquing their work as a peer and reader. I may not be one of the best writers either, but expressing an opinion based on thousands of stories read as experience is hopefully worthwhile. For me, on reviewers and writers alike, criticism should be given and taken it, but explain why you feel what you do just as I have. It enriches both of our experiences. I welcome folks critiquing, but explain your opinion whether it is bias or not, examine the reasons for your rating of a story.

With the return of my visual acuity to a level equal to my high school self, I picked up published novels, manga, and Anime again, rather than reading via large print or text to speech that I used for GA. I still write, but I'm trying to catch up on a decade of material I had not been able to access for a long time (including several LGBT publications). It's a shift in mentality and reading approach. Online written stories are still great, but capturing my attention is much harder nowadays with the plethora of content. Wattpad, AO3, and elsewhere are all dividing up the readership. GA has a niche of certain kinds of authors and stories so we're essentially competing with the bigger communities that also incorporate LGBT stories. Also, reading Amazon Kindle titles is only one published outlet for gay readers, I've been following gay authors on https://www.smashwords.com/ as well, they're not all well known authors with big names or even Amazon algorithms backing, but I like exploring alternative authors and trends. -------- Bottom line, you have to hook me with a concept and keep me reading with a story

Just referencing the fact you thought I wrote either of those stories To be fair, I'm only starting to get back my initiative to write again.

@AC Benus Glad to know you think I am a dirty secret But I can confidently indicate I did not write either story

Thanks @chris191070 and @Clancy59, I could have picked a lot of science fiction universes to do crossover and fanfic, but I liked the idea of creating a bridge between my childhood love of sci-fi and the earliest representation of LGBT concepts that I remember in sci-fi. Interesting thing to note about Alien Nation, the idea of a third gender and reverse roles where males carried children for the Tenctonese predated the modern Omegaverse/ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) genre by more than a decade. Despite current popularity on GA and elsewhere, most writers and readers don't consider the origins of the genre, probably considering them being more akin to fantasy elements dur to the wolf hierarchy structure, I personally think Alien Nation concept was one of the ancestors to this modern genre, challenging pre-existing gender roles and norms that had existed in fiction with something else.

(Elliot Taylor) I kept looking around Mcdonalds, which is only slightly different than the ones I was used to back in my world. It is brighter with more colorful displays of deals and booths, along with the loud and happy chatter of families. I remember this was typical when I was still a kid, but things like this disappeared over the disappointing decade of unrest. It should be a joyous scene, but I also look in wonder at the individuals within the fast-food chain. My inner voice offe

Think of him as a brutal realist without the restraint of conscience and blinded by bitter empathy. A trillionaire person with a God complex isn't far off, whether it is historical or modern examples, we've got tons of people like that. In their eyes, why do "Ineed to obey the old moral order if the power I possess matches the power of God". Ultimately, the root is that human beings upon such discoveries and access are no longer bound by humanist concepts. At this moment, we have breakthroughs in Cold Fusion technology, quantum communications that can bypass the laws of nature, and even Artificial intelligence that can perpetuate our beliefs and ideas long after we are dead. The question isn't whether we will have the power of God or Gods as depicted in various religious belief systems, but what we will do when someone achieves it. The framework of nation state system comes from the idea of social contracts establishing checks and balances, but enforcing those checks and balances is a belief that the individual "are endowed by their creator/nature" with certain rights. If a single man can hold the power of God, how could such a social contract exist anymore? How can nation states and hierarchies exist? The human framework of beliefs and ideals will be utterly shattered, since all old laws, belief systems, and boundaries would cease in this kind of world.

Funny enough, I referenced the song in my fanfic two weeks ago I was wondering if anyone remember the Bee Gee's or the song. Personally, I like the more contemplative First of May, which is a more softer track from Bee Gees.

An eye for an eye will leave the world blind Escalation for human stupidity is all too common, but there's sometimes no recourse except escalation other than destruction. This was one of my old test pilot stories, just to gauge if there's enough reader interest. I wrote it before Oppenheimer was even conceived as a movie, but I had the creator of the Atomic Bomb in mind, with a bit of Elon Musk's ego, Steve Jobs' functional realism, and Henry Ford's Draconian idealism. Geopolitically, the big picture from this story is a massive disruption of the global order, the end of nation-states using nuclear arms as leverage in actions, whether it is Russia or US or China. What is created though is not a utopian ideal of peaceful coexistence, like Star Trek, instead it's one based on supreme firepower and highest ground for a lifetime. If I did continue with this story, I'd explore what a lifetime under such a society would look like.

Neat, The Fly is technically body horror and science fiction, so it counts

It's not hard to pick a few movies like Psycho, Sleepaway Camp, or Nightmare on Elm Street with homoerotic or LGBT subtext or titular characters from the community. However, none of those films exhibit positive LGBT themes in their exploration of the subject. Psycho- Norman Bates identifies as his abusive mother in the form of crossdressing and manipulating his voice to match hers. Sleepaway Camp- Angela Baker is psychologically and physically abused by her aunt to become an idealized girl, but in fact, spoiler Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - Jesse is a boy, who has various aspects that suggest he's not heterosexual. However, the villain identifies his nascent sexual awakening and wishes to invasively take him over. All of these movies are horror classics for various reasons, but in the modern lens, the themes they represent seems to echo transphobic and homophobic undertones from mental instability being the root of trans identity to heterosexual romance being the cure for nascent adolescent homosexual desires. ------------------- I wonder, are there positive LGBT themes in horror? Modern horror films has featured gay characters, but more often they are side characters. Side character from Bride of Chucky and Cursed may be gay and friendly, but they're bit characters with very little plot. Any suggestions for this genre or observations

See, you learn something new from @W_L I'm not just a fan of Science fiction, I am also a pseudo-historian of the genre. I like those little details about the social commentary within a story and what it says about the people and society. The movie was in production when the first season of Quantum leap was filmed, the episode broadcasted 6 months before the movie premiered.