Explanations & Disclaimers

[tehuti88]

Explanation & Personal Disclaimer for "Milk Cartons" http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600104895 :

EXPLANATION: First off--due to the length of this story, it's been split into several parts. The author's note on the first part is important to help put the story in context, and contains further caveats, so please read it.

And now--prepare yourselves for a long note to explain a pretty long novella.

This started out as a simple smut piece regarding my character Det. Justin Reichert of my Minot spinoff series, and his first boyfriend, Matt (last name never given, should really think one up). It provided a tiny bit of backstory about Reichert's past experiences with a boyfriend, when he was still pretty closeted. And that's all this was going to be, a simple smut piece with a bit of character development. I got as far as the part "...but Justin held his place," before I set the piece aside for around a year at the very least, maybe longer. I lost interest in writing about Matt and Reichert; there were so many more exciting things going on, seeing as Reichert turned into rather a man-whore after he transferred from NY to ND (North Dakota).

Come spring/summer 2011, I started writing up some more smutty scenes about Reichert and his fellow police characters, the first, I believe, being "We Don't Have To Talk," wherein Reichert actually passes the night with a female detective, Michelle Rosedale. The two of course do not hit it off as lovers, but become good friends. Such good friends, in fact, that Rosedale becomes only the second person Reichert shows his hands to. What does that mean? You'll learn what it means if you check out the abovementioned item and others featuring Reichert and his history. If you don't know what it means yet, this story will explain it all.

I got interested in working again on the old bit I'd started with Reichert and Matt, so dug it out and started typing. And typing. And TYPING. It turned from a simple smut piece into...a melodramatic novella about a very important, rather recent news event. O_o How did that happen? Well, it's a known fact that my characters love to chatter, and once they get started, they don't shut up. I've never believed in writing just pure smut, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am (or sir as the orientation may be). I find smut without character development to be incredibly trite and dull--why should I care to read about two cardboard cutouts going at it? Why should I care to WRITE about it? I won't be interested in a scene unless I have a reason to care about the characters themselves, whether they're hopping into bed or not. Hence the fact that almost all of my smutty pieces have at least a bit of character development, and some have a good deal of dialogue. (However goofy it may be, e. g., in Rosedale's case.)

This scene started out as being simply how Reichert met Matt. But the two of them have a much longer history together, and it explains a lot of how Reichert acts today (though not all of it--still figuring out what turned him into such a man-whore). After they went at it, I found myself compelled to describe the mental somersaults Reichert goes through accepting that he's gay; the story continued, however, and I realized I wanted to take a good hard look at their entire relationship, from beginning to end. So the story kept going.

The thing is...in the middle of Reichert's and Matt's relationship is one VERY big thing that could not possibly be skipped or glossed over. It was actually something I've wanted to try to portray for a long time but never had the reason or opportunity. Seeing as I could not write the story without it, into the plot it went, and took things over since that's what it did with Reichert's life. It takes quite a bit to get to this Very Big Thing that happens in the story, but you've probably already guessed what it is.

Then I found I could not finish the story without writing the followup, or rather the fallout, of this Very Big Thing, because I knew that was a big part of the relationship later on. If I left it out, I'd just be cutting things off in the middle with no resolution. So that had to be written too. And I decided, finally, to include the very end of the relationship, which takes place quite a while after the Very Big Thing, after the unwritten novel Magic City, in fact, in which Reichert, after failing to talk down a suicide jumper from a building, is nearly ordered back to his desk, but then receives a case file revealing that similar things have been happening elsewhere, in particular Minot, North Dakota, where my characters Det. Max Kristeva, Det. Chance Devetko, and Lt. Alan Kincaid work. Rather wanting a break from New York, Reichert agrees to check it out, and drives a rental car all the way there (because, well...you know, airplanes). He finally returns from that trip, and what follows will be explained near the end of this story. And that's the end of the story of Reichert and Matt...for now. (I rather think Matt is the only thing that could steer Reichert off his current course of self-destruction, if only they were in the same time zone, so keep your eyes open--he might be making a comeback.)

The number of F-bombs in the story bugs me--I view excessive use of the word to be a sign of ignorance--but this is the way Reichert ended up talking when I wrote him up. I always thought he was rather polite and restrained; I never knew he was so foulmouthed before now. Weird. He continues to surprise me. Strangely, since starting this story most of my other characters have started cussing like crazy, too! I think I may have finally come to understand the difference between PG-13 and R-rated writing--F-bombs. Lots and lots of F-bombs.

A final thing. The weird title? It suggested itself to me well through the story when Reichert makes a particular observation. I fought against using it as the title, because the "Milk Cartons" are not the center of the entire story, despite being a main part of it. However, the name stuck in my head and nothing better took its place. And I guess the Milk Cartons in question are important enough to warrant being the title of the piece. Plus, I thought it was rather unexpected and a bit more abstruse than I'm used to being. A bonus is that milk cartons evoke the image of missing people, which is part of the theme of the story. So, "Milk Cartons" it is. Although weird, I think it's a rather obvious title if you know what the story is about; if you haven't figured it out, you will soon enough.

Fun fact: For Reichert's description of what he thought he was seeing on TV that morning, I needed to reference a movie. My first choice was Die Hard as I'd mistakenly believed it took place in New York; hence Reichert's "There's no Bruce Willis" comment. Fortunately I Googled it and at Wikipedia found out my mistake (it takes place in Los Angeles), but I still needed a movie that corresponded with events. I spent quite a while browsing various disaster movie summaries at Wikipedia until I finally discovered that Armageddon would fit the bill just nicely. (I can't remember that scene from the movie myself, but at Google I found a screencap of New York City that's really, really creepy in light of the Very Big Thing.) I hated that I would have to get rid of the "There's no Bruce Willis" line, probably to replace it with "There's no Ben Affleck." Then I recalled that Bruce Willis is in Armageddon, too! So the line stayed.

Fun opinion: I think my favorite line out of the entire story must be "Giant fucking mirrors!" (Reichert's terribly tasteless "Two big nice empty places" comment, which was actually added a bit later on, ranks highly too.)

The majority of this story was pounded out in a matter of a few days in September 2011, as I planned to have it posted online by a particular day; I didn't make the deadline in finishing it (the final scene remained unfinished for a few months), but here it is at last, complete. I hope the likely slews of inaccuracies (see disclaimers) don't detract too much from enjoying the story, if possible. This is one of the most ambitious non-serial items I've ever written so I hope SOMEBODY enjoys it.

PERSONAL DISCLAIMERS: If I had this story to start writing again, I probably would start it in a manner that makes it sound less like just a smut piece and more like an actual story with plot; but seeing as it started out as a mere smut piece, that's how it starts out.

In this piece there is plenty of "showing," but with a story covering such a long period of time, there is also plenty of "telling," which I hope doesn't come across as boring. My biggest concern, however, is accuracy, or rather, inaccuracy. I've never been to New York. I'm a lazy researcher, relying primarily on well-known facts, a few smaller checked facts (hello, Google; hello, Wikipedia), and a LOT, LOT, LOT of artistic license. The same holds here, only more so, since of course the Very Big Thing is a well-known and widely described historic event. My intent in writing stories is to set a mood or entertain, not to be 100% historically/culturally/regionally accurate, hence why I specialize in fantasy set in worlds of my own creation, where I can't easily get things "wrong." New York City is not my creation (neither is Minot, for that matter!), so I'm leery of sharing my very inaccurate personal version of it; I hope the story itself can make up for the slew of inaccuracies and just plain wrongs I'm betting are in here.

In particular, descriptions of places, and the span of time it takes certain events to happen (e. g., the appearance of the missing posters), niggle at me. Oh, as well as the news details that come out regarding Reichert after the Very Big Thing. Dunno how realistic it all is. Probably isn't. But as Reichert himself says at some point in the story, some things that happen are just so unbelievable you think you must be either watching a movie or dreaming.

I'm not positive about Reichert's given height. (His weight isn't given for the reason that I'm no good at estimating the proper weight of my characters.) All I can tell you for sure is he's taller than most of my police characters. Also, yes, him driving his own car around is kind of odd, but that was how I originally wrote him getting to and from the bar, so...*shrug.* No clue where he parks it, though. It only just occurred to me that when he leaves the city, he uses a rental car! So I've had to work in an explanation for that discrepancy. *oops* I'm unsure about Tim Reichert's exact age and how it fits into the timeline; he was supposed to be a young teenager here, but now I'm not sure. Sad to say, I have no idea how cell phones work as I've never used one (yes, you read that right), so my depiction of that rather mundane activity could be off. I remember seeing in a documentary, I think, that the power went out in Manhattan later in the evening, but I'm not sure how widespread that was or if it would affect the characters' establishments or not. Lastly, Reichert's glasses--a big, BIG artistic license. Later in the storyline he seems to wear them more for matters of light sensitivity, possibly due to what he went through; nowhere in any of my writing do I refer to him having any sort of vision problems. So he probably shouldn't have them at least until after the Very Big Thing. This is a detail I haven't figured out yet.

I'll point out right now that Reichert himself making it through the Very Big Thing is probably the biggest artistic license in the story, and I'm already aware of that; I always have been. This is fiction.

This story is from September 2011 (actually much earlier)/January 2012, so some details and the writing style may be out of date.

[tehuti88]

Explanation & Personal Disclaimer for "Completely Different People" http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600104970 :

EXPLANATION: Oooohh! I've got so many adult WIPs and just keep starting more as ideas for new pairings pop into my head! So much I want to finish, but can't post certain scenes until the earlier ones featuring those particular characters are finished. So without further ado here is one scene of three (so far).

Now, that out of the way...regarding this scene, the meek and docile Russell Whittaker ("Getting To Know You," "Taking Turns")--pairing up with the brutish and sadistic Sheriff Rhoades (*deepbreath*--"Jekyll & Hyde," "After The Storm," "When The Mood Strikes," "Bait & Switch," "Stolen Moments" (WIP), "The Competition," "Call Me Max," "Kind Of Rough," "The Bribe," "Ad Infinitum," "Two Tops Together")--WHAAAAAAT--?? My thoughts exactly. This'll take a bit of explaining.

Some time back I got the thought to pair up Russell Whittaker, the sweet-natured but mentally disturbed young man Det. Chance Devetko briefly paired up with once, with somebody I felt might give him exactly what he needs: Reggie Boomhauer. Reggie is the roommate Det. Max Kristeva had a physical relationship with a long time back ("Purely Physical," plus some in-progress stuff); the two were never really an "item," and lost touch for a while after Kristeva went on to join the Sheriff's Department and Reggie flunked out and went off to become a...bounty hunter or bail bondsman or some such. Turns out Reggie didn't pass the exam as he has Asperger's syndrome so doesn't quite "get" all the details of how to interact properly with people. You can't tell this much in "Purely Physical," unless you count his rather odd and straightforward approach toward Kristeva ("I want to have sex with you right now"--aww, how romantic!), as well as his intuitive understanding that something isn't quite right with Kristeva himself. Anyway. In one of my later unwritten novels Reggie reappears in his "new" job and gets (re)acquainted with Kristeva and the others, and eventually, this somehow includes Russell. Russell has the same issue Kristeva has--multiple personalities. So, being familiar with this, Reggie should know how to deal with him. Not only that, but Russell can provide the emotional attachment Reggie lacks, and Reggie can provide the emotional stability Russell lacks, so the two should even each other out. I do believe they'll continue their relationship for at least a while.

Then THIS scene came along.

I fought against it at first--"Hold on, Russell's supposed to be with Reggie!" But the idea refused to die. At the moment I so far have three scenes featuring these two, and knowing the way of things there'll be more. Anyway, on the surface, yes, the pairing isn't that plausible, as Russell and Rhoades are polar opposites--Russell is meek, unassuming, overly eager to please (you won't believe the s**t he's put up with from other guys over the years), warm natured, and eternally optimistic despite his eternally gloomy circumstances. Rhoades, on the other hand, is aggressive, blunt, not interested in pleasing others in the least, borderline abusive even toward his wife, and could barely crack a smile to save his life. (He smiles at his wife Nora in a WIP scene of mine and she's all, "WTF??") Most of all, Russell is BEYOND affectionate and loving, very emotionally demonstrative, whereas Rhoades loathes such fluffy things and prefers his trysts with other men to be brief, painful, and one time only. In short, he does not believe in emotional involvement, which is good, seeing as this is part of the arrangement he's made with Nora regarding his extramarital activities. (He can see other men, but no other women; he can have sex with said men, but no romantic involvement or relationships. That's just the pertinent part of the arrangement. "The Competition" is enlightening here; Rhoades himself explains the arrangement in detail in his third, WIP scene with Russell.) Long story short, these two should really, really not get involved.

I tried pairing off the two anyway. And color me surprised when BOTH parties seemed to cling to this strange relationship. And not only that, but it didn't seem forced to me at all, writing this pairing just came easily. Russell offers Rhoades a warm, affectionate, unconditionally loving experience (seriously--unconditionally loving even when Rhoades ends up throttling him in their third scene, I already told you Russell will put up with just about anything anybody will do to him, if it means he's in a relationship), while Rhoades offers Russell the safety and protection he's always longed for. Not to mention playing, in a kind of warped way, the father figure Russell lacks. Russell is just head over heels about all this, though Rhoades is more confused than anything, since aside from his feelings for Nora and Kristeva, he's never really romantically loved anyone before, especially not somebody who was just supposed to be one throwaway sex partner out of many. That's what I decided to explore here.

Regarding Rhoades's dislike of hospitals, see "Jekyll & Hyde" and "After The Storm" for the scoop on that.

Oh, yes, one more thing. The interlude regarding the Kristevas seems out of place to me, too much explanation of something that has no direct bearing on the plot, but it stays for now as it explains Rhoades's reaction to Russell's comments. Regarding Max and Natalie Kristeva and their weird history, keep your eyes open for a novella explaining all. (SPOILER which isn't a spoiler at all--recall that Kristeva has DID. Look that up if you don't know what it is.) Please see the disclaimers below.

Writing this pairing has really helped me explore and learn more about not only Rhoades's personality, but Russell's as well, since Russell has always been a rather flat and wishy-washy character prior to this. Needless to say, I've since started OTHER scenes with him in other pairings...yet more WIPs. *sigh*

PERSONAL DISCLAIMERS: The main iffy thing is the deal with Miles. Miles was not meant to come up until the third scene, where Russell fully explains who he is. However, Russell telling Rhoades about his "wild" side in this scene was written before Scene 3 was started; then Miles was mentioned in Scene 3 before his name popped up here. Confusing, yes. Currently Rhoades is all surprised hearing the name "Miles" for the first time in the third scene so that's going to have to be edited, since obviously he first hears about Miles here. I left it so that Miles's identity is never properly explained in this piece, leaving the mystery for Rhoades to figure out in the other scene. I have yet to write Rhoades's reaction. The other issue is just how much is revealed about the situation when it's compared to Rhoades's interactions with Kristeva. It looks to me like Rhoades is getting practically battered over the head with the explanation behind all this, yet he doesn't seem to get it until the third scene. So either he's in disbelief or he's more dense than I thought, and Rhoades has never struck me as dense. Finally, it niggles at me how similar Rhoades's and Russell's meeting scene at the county building is to Rhoades meeting Campion in the same place ("Call Me Max"), right down to Rhoades addressing the other man by his last name, but, meh, not like I've never repeated myself before.

Oh, one more. Russell says he doesn't drive, when in fact he drives a scooter-type thingie which shows up in Scene 3. *shrug* And it seems Rhoades's vehicle would have one of those cage/screen thingies separating the front seat from the back, at least, if this is his police SUV, which I'm not sure about. *double shrug*

This was meant to be regarded as a scene, hence the lack of all caps at the beginning, but it's long enough to be a novella. I'm iffy on what it is right now so the status could change.

This scene is from December 2011/January 2012, so some details and the writing style may be out of date.