Brother's Keeper: Author's Notes
I know it is vanity to write author's notes. If you have to write notes explaining your story then you didn't do the story right. Nonetheless, though I know that nobody will care, I feel I need to explain.
It's not my intention to do justice to a realistic real life consensual bondage lifestyle, not a realistic portrayal of gorean type of non-consensual slavery. This is a fantasy. It doesn't endorse anything that happens in this story. The villain in the story is a madman who doesn't play by anybody's rules.
The story's fundamental theme is power and powerlessness in the relationships between the three main characters. Michael, Lincoln and the villain.
Between Lincoln and Pfizer there's a struggle of dominance. Pfizer despises everything Lincoln is. Lincoln despises everything the villain is and his ideology. It is the villain's intention to break Lincoln at all costs and it's Lincoln's intention to refuse to break or even give an inch, even if it means that Michael will be caught in the crossfire.
Between Michael and Pfizer there is an element of seduction. Not in a sexual way, but while Pfizer considers Lincoln close to subhuman he senses the potential of a kindred spirit in Michael. He sees Michael as somebody who could be great, but got infected by Lincoln's ideology. On some level, he wants to help Michael rise above that. There is also a sense of fascination that somebody like Michael could be tied to, emotionally, to somebody like Lincoln. Even some limited curiosity about the way Lincoln reacts to Michael.
On Michael's side, Michael is horrified by what he experiences. He has a strong moral center and he firmly believes that nobody deserve to have something like this happening to them. However on some level he can feel the thrall of Pfizer's ideology, that on some level Lincoln's lack of discipline and his refusal to take responsibility are the root of all their problems. That maybe both the world and Lincoln's life would be a better place if Lincoln could learn to fit in or if Michael could just teach him. At the same time, Michael's love and loyalty for Lincoln are unwavering. What he really wants above all is to free his brother and get him away from his captors in one piece.
Between Michael and Lincoln the intention was supposed to be to show that even though Lincoln might be the one tied and bound, Michael is the truly tortured one. It doesn't matter that he does the penetrating, Lincoln still controls Michael more than Michael controls him. In a lot of ways Michael is traumatized much more fundamentally by the event. To Lincoln it's just a violent power game, something that comes with the lifestyle. It doesn't matter as long as you don't let it get to you.
What happens in this story is rape. Michael is being forced into sexual act with his brother through the threat of violence. He is being raped just as much as Lincoln is, only he wasn't prepared for it and probably doesn't even recognize it as he's also beside himself with guilt over his actions.
This is not primarily a sexy story. Everything happens under force. Nobody is truly enjoying themselves. If anything can be considered sensual about it it's the allure of power and the thrall that Pfizer's ideology presents to Michael even though he firmly opposes it.
Should this story be continued? I don't know. I know there will be an immediate aftermath where a tied up Lincoln is handed over to Michael and brought to his apartment where Michael has to claim him one last time. After that there are several directions the story could spin into.
1.) Dark, messed up, potentially seductive Lincoln tries to get some of his power back by exerting his power over Michael.
2.) Future fic, after the events of season 3 a distraught Michael contracts Pfizer and offers him anything he wants in exchange for information on the company. Lincoln is livid when he finds out that Michael would make a deal with Pfizer and that he would hand himself over. Would be long, plotty, with a lot of confrontations and angst and eventually end up with M/L as a couple.
3.) Slavery, medium. After Lincoln has been returned to Michael he wants to take revenge. To stop him from getting himself killed Michael lies to him that they are still being watched and persuades that they have to keep up the charade of Lincoln acting as Michael's slave. Michael would get Lincoln to take the dominant role in the relationship again under the guise of it all being an act. It would eventually spin into a relationship as its understood that at some point Lincoln knows that they are not being watched and no outside force keeps him from leaving. They just need the illusion of an outside force to have a reason to stay together (until they don't anymore)
4.) Slavery, dark version. Pfizer's men really are watching them and Michael really is forced to subdue his brother to protect him. This would slide into very dark and kinky territory of Michael feeling the temptation of power and of owning Lincoln completely. Meanwhile would be resentful, defying Michael on every turn and showing Michael that he, Lincoln, still has power over him. It would eventually end up with a role reversal when Michael just can't take the guilt an obligation anymore.
5.) More realistic rape recovery for both Lincoln and Michael. Very angsty and tortured. Would be close to gen and therefore not end with them as a sexual couple.
It's not my intention to do justice to a realistic real life consensual bondage lifestyle, not a realistic portrayal of gorean type of non-consensual slavery. This is a fantasy. It doesn't endorse anything that happens in this story. The villain in the story is a madman who doesn't play by anybody's rules.
The story's fundamental theme is power and powerlessness in the relationships between the three main characters. Michael, Lincoln and the villain.
Between Lincoln and Pfizer there's a struggle of dominance. Pfizer despises everything Lincoln is. Lincoln despises everything the villain is and his ideology. It is the villain's intention to break Lincoln at all costs and it's Lincoln's intention to refuse to break or even give an inch, even if it means that Michael will be caught in the crossfire.
Between Michael and Pfizer there is an element of seduction. Not in a sexual way, but while Pfizer considers Lincoln close to subhuman he senses the potential of a kindred spirit in Michael. He sees Michael as somebody who could be great, but got infected by Lincoln's ideology. On some level, he wants to help Michael rise above that. There is also a sense of fascination that somebody like Michael could be tied to, emotionally, to somebody like Lincoln. Even some limited curiosity about the way Lincoln reacts to Michael.
On Michael's side, Michael is horrified by what he experiences. He has a strong moral center and he firmly believes that nobody deserve to have something like this happening to them. However on some level he can feel the thrall of Pfizer's ideology, that on some level Lincoln's lack of discipline and his refusal to take responsibility are the root of all their problems. That maybe both the world and Lincoln's life would be a better place if Lincoln could learn to fit in or if Michael could just teach him. At the same time, Michael's love and loyalty for Lincoln are unwavering. What he really wants above all is to free his brother and get him away from his captors in one piece.
Between Michael and Lincoln the intention was supposed to be to show that even though Lincoln might be the one tied and bound, Michael is the truly tortured one. It doesn't matter that he does the penetrating, Lincoln still controls Michael more than Michael controls him. In a lot of ways Michael is traumatized much more fundamentally by the event. To Lincoln it's just a violent power game, something that comes with the lifestyle. It doesn't matter as long as you don't let it get to you.
What happens in this story is rape. Michael is being forced into sexual act with his brother through the threat of violence. He is being raped just as much as Lincoln is, only he wasn't prepared for it and probably doesn't even recognize it as he's also beside himself with guilt over his actions.
This is not primarily a sexy story. Everything happens under force. Nobody is truly enjoying themselves. If anything can be considered sensual about it it's the allure of power and the thrall that Pfizer's ideology presents to Michael even though he firmly opposes it.
Should this story be continued? I don't know. I know there will be an immediate aftermath where a tied up Lincoln is handed over to Michael and brought to his apartment where Michael has to claim him one last time. After that there are several directions the story could spin into.
1.) Dark, messed up, potentially seductive Lincoln tries to get some of his power back by exerting his power over Michael.
2.) Future fic, after the events of season 3 a distraught Michael contracts Pfizer and offers him anything he wants in exchange for information on the company. Lincoln is livid when he finds out that Michael would make a deal with Pfizer and that he would hand himself over. Would be long, plotty, with a lot of confrontations and angst and eventually end up with M/L as a couple.
3.) Slavery, medium. After Lincoln has been returned to Michael he wants to take revenge. To stop him from getting himself killed Michael lies to him that they are still being watched and persuades that they have to keep up the charade of Lincoln acting as Michael's slave. Michael would get Lincoln to take the dominant role in the relationship again under the guise of it all being an act. It would eventually spin into a relationship as its understood that at some point Lincoln knows that they are not being watched and no outside force keeps him from leaving. They just need the illusion of an outside force to have a reason to stay together (until they don't anymore)
4.) Slavery, dark version. Pfizer's men really are watching them and Michael really is forced to subdue his brother to protect him. This would slide into very dark and kinky territory of Michael feeling the temptation of power and of owning Lincoln completely. Meanwhile would be resentful, defying Michael on every turn and showing Michael that he, Lincoln, still has power over him. It would eventually end up with a role reversal when Michael just can't take the guilt an obligation anymore.
5.) More realistic rape recovery for both Lincoln and Michael. Very angsty and tortured. Would be close to gen and therefore not end with them as a sexual couple.