The Evolution of Us

[Guest Dabeagle]

Ryan has written a very delicate story, balancing the emotion and trust issues and insecurities into a fantastically woven tapestry. I love our guys and I love this story.

[JamesSavik]

I laughed so hard at the last line my cats woke up to investigate.

What a great way to end the story.

[Guest Dabeagle]

I laughed so hard at the last line my cats woke up to investigate.

What a great way to end the story.

Dovetails nicely, no? It'll make things easier for our lovebirds later - or they could get even, I suppose.

[dude]

Only three comments so far? I'm amazed everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room! This was a bit of inspired writing, easily the most erotic of the Sanitaria Springs series. It was also very well conceived and executed with Dabeagle setting up the event in Pillow Talk and Ryan executing it in EoU.

I give it a total

Mike

[Cole Parker]

I agree: it deserves way more discussion. As I was involved with it's production, if only in a very second-hand, bystander-ish sort of way, I shouldn't take part. But it should be discussed! There were issues raised here that everyone cannot feel the same way about!

C

[JamesSavik]

From a writing standpoint, it was art.

I will say nothing in the way of spoilers and I reiterate- the ending is truly inspired.

The Sanitaria Springs series has become a treasure hoard and this might be its Arkenstone.

[Cynus]

Finally got around to it. It was worth the wait, surely. Definitely will be a hard act to follow.

[Merkin]

"The Evolution of Us" should serve as a manual for how to write a steamy sex scene without slipping into smut or porn. The characters are the key; they move this waay beyond the mechanics, and, as JamesSavic so aptly notes, the last line pushes this tale up a whole 'nother level.

[Lugnutz]

Haven't read it yet. Someday maybe

[Guest RBartlett]

I thought this story would provoke a bit more discussion. I'm greatful to those of you have read it and enjoyed it. Thank you for the compliments.

[Guest Dabeagle]

When the story arc for this was conceived it came very naturally. While Ryan and I have traded a ton of brainstorming and suggestions and beta reading back and forth, this story was one we both felt strongly about - and we wanted to do it right.

In Pillow Talk I started to explore why Alec is the way he is, and as much as I love him, I felt I owed him that much. I didn't want him trapped into becoming a caricature only good for punch lines. Most people like Alec have a reason behind what they do, whatever that craziness might be. Once we found out not only his background, or some of it, we then find out how it relates to his current insecurities. We are, all of us, the sum of our interpretation of our experiences.

The real trouble was bringing you, our dear reader, to the same logical conclusion we'd come to which is, for these guys, this was right. There was nothing tawdry here, there was nothing cheap. This was considered and weighed - both by the characters and the author (I was on board with my approval and was allowed input) - each step of the way to ensure the message was positive, affirming and had real meaning. Of course, not every relationship goes this way and for some, it leads to problems. We desired to avoid that and show this in a positive light, even though it's not considered 'typical'. While you probably won't see things in this much detail again, I can assure you this was important and will resonate for our guys and allow them to grow even more - and you haven't seen the last of them, either.

I'm very proud of this story and the story arc that got us here. We were both concerned that the readers wouldn't understand or might reject it - but we both agreed this was the way to go. I'm glad some of you have seen it that way.

[Cole Parker]

This is one of the beauties of writing fiction. We can do as we please with our own characters.

Elizabeth George is a well-known American writer who writes British police mysteries, her character being Inspector Lynley of the Metropolitan Police. A few years ago she wrote a novel in that series, What Came Before He Shot Her, that's as powerful and moving as anything I've ever read. Her main character is a young boy, living an onerous life, and the story ends controversially. George has had tons of criticism about it, and she blows it all off, saying these were her characters and she can damn well do what she wants with them.

And it is certainly the same here. These characters were developed here and can be written as the authors perceive them to be. How can anyone complain about that?

C

[Rutabaga]

How can anyone complain about that?

Are you kidding? People will complain about anything and everything. :)

R

[Rutabaga]

Now, on to more serious matters:

I have only now gotten a chance to read this latest piece. I prefer not to read threads about stories I have not yet read, because even without actual spoilers there can be comments that will affect my response to the story. So at least in my case that is the explanation for why I haven't piped up previously.

I remember posting a comment about "Pillow Talk" to the general effect of "I wonder if someone is going to take this ball and run with it." Little did I know!

I couldn't help thinking about all the things that could go wrong at every step of this story. It was very cool that they didn't.

I also hope that Kale continues to make progress in not being so hung up about his surgery scar. It seems like his friends are working steadily in this direction. I would like to see him move from "Damn! I have to have this scar" to "Damn! I get to have this scar." He should be viewing it as a symbol of his good fortune to be living in these modern times where medical science could help him. 100 years ago he would just have died.

Anyway, this was a very intense story in its way and yet it managed deftly to avoid all the opportunities for heavy-handedness and cliché. Well done.

R

[Cole Parker]

I couldn't help thinking about all the things that could go wrong at every step of this story. It was very cool that they didn't.

R

The thing is, however, that all the things that could go wrong are most likely to go wrong afterwards. And afterwards is still upon us. Now I don't think the author intends that to happen, but in real life this would be opening a very treacherous and possibly explosive can of worms. Sort of like opening Pandora's box.

C

[Guest RBartlett]

I believe what will help these couples continue to have successful relationships post this story is the planning that went into it. This wasn't a random act, it was thought out and all the participants are aware of the consequences.

[Guest Dabeagle]

I read, recently, an article about couples who are married but do not feel that monogamy is the healthiest thing for their relationships. We are conditioned to think that marriage and monogamy is the ultimate goal, the relationship 'holy grail' - yet it's an institution that fails 50% of the time. Clearly it doesn't work for everyone, but there are many benefits to marriage. It depends on the people and what they want and the level of communication, etc.

What Cole says has a ton of truth - for some people. I know I am not a 'share and share alike' sort of guy, but I also recognize not everyone thinks or feels as I do, which is why this seemed so right and made so much sense. As Ryan noted, there was a lot of planning and back and forth. We each looked deeply into our characters with 'how would X feel about this or would Y say that? I can say with authority we lived in these characters heads for this entire story arc - and for what comes after.

[jnwrx1]

From a writing standpoint, it was art.

I will say nothing in the way of spoilers and I reiterate- the ending is truly inspired.

The Sanitaria Springs series has become a treasure hoard and this might be its Arkenstone.

The Arkenstone has to either "The Ultimate Gift" or "Birthday Blues", and it's just coincidence they focuse on Robin and Lucien, but both stories also go a lot deeper into the characters. Maybe that's also because I'm on fence about whether the guys really needed this, or not. It's one quirky way to get Alex and Kale to open up for each other, I have to say.

I read, recently, an article about couples who are married but do not feel that monogamy is the healthiest thing for their relationships. We are conditioned to think that marriage and monogamy is the ultimate goal, the relationship 'holy grail' - yet it's an institution that fails 50% of the time. Clearly it doesn't work for everyone, but there are many benefits to marriage. It depends on the people and what they want and the level of communication, etc.

What Cole says has a ton of truth - for some people. I know I am not a 'share and share alike' sort of guy, but I also recognize not everyone thinks or feels as I do, which is why this seemed so right and made so much sense. As Ryan noted, there was a lot of planning and back and forth. We each looked deeply into our characters with 'how would X feel about this or would Y say that? I can say with authority we lived in these characters heads for this entire story arc - and for what comes after.

I also read somewhere that the brain chemicals that create 'romantic bliss' fade after about 18 months , so maybe it's a good thing these guys are all still able to hold on to their romance, and also be able to express that quality of love between each other and share it amongst themselves. I can't say whether trading partners to be able to strengthen those bonds is the only answer, but it seemed to be right for this particular group of friends and lovers.

I would think that the ultimate goal, or the ultimate relationship is just what all these guys have: what Chase described as a 'found family'. They don't need anything but to love each other, they all care about each and watch out for each other. Some of them happen to be couples, but they don't just go hide in a bedroom and ignore the rest of the world or their family and friends for the sake of monogamy. In some sense, if any sex occurs, it is purely incidental and not an essential ingredient for any of their connections. I think Kale and Chase made that pretty clear when they were debating the whole idea with each other, that sex is not what made any of them fall in love. Doing it the way they did would enhance the connections between all them, but it couldn't make them fall any more or less in love with each other than they currently are.

At the end of the day, I'd take one of Dabeagle's families, to be able to have the best friends in the world, over all the sex in the world.

[Cynus]

At the end of the day, I'd take one of Dabeagle's families, to be able to have the best friends in the world, over all the sex in the world.

Amen to that!

[Guest Dabeagle]

One such article, interesting stuff.

Just shows that one size does not fit all.