View From the Headboard:
Most editors still do it the old-fashioned way (referring to how editorials are written, of course) -- "from the desk of." Expressing opinions from the perspective of the bed, on the other hand, is a whole lot more... shall we say... insightful. Just the feel of those luxurious 400 thread-count, buttery-soft sheets caressing your skin....

Come on, admit it.

Just the thought of Johnny Gage makes your heart melt. Your pulse races. Your imagination gets carried away. You're in his arms, he's kissing you, taking your clothes off, telling you he wants to make love to you. Wait, that's my fantasy. What are you doing here? Get your hands off him! What do you mean, he's not mine? I… I'm not the only one?

You know, it's really okay. It's not as big a secret as you think. Women have been fantasizing about the man of their dreams since time began. It's called romance. Did you know that romance novels make up 55 percent of all paperback fiction sold? Did you know that it is a one BILLION dollar a year industry? We may be independent, twenty-first century women, but peel away the layers, and at the feminine heart, you'll still find an old-fashioned romantic. We're longing for the perfect man to sweep us off our feet and love us like no other for the rest of our lives.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen in real life. That's why all those romance novels sell like hot cakes to women of all ages. No matter what we say out loud, deep down, most of us want that kind of love, that kind of sexual excitement, that kind of happily-ever-after ending in life. There's nothing wrong with wanting those things. It's perfectly normal. Too bad some have to find it in a book, or on television, or in the movies. At least those things offer escape from ordinary, everyday lives into a world where, no matter our age, or where we are in life, we can be young and beautiful, and lose ourselves for just a little while in the arms of that imaginary hero.

Speaking of arms (*sigh*), back to Johnny. He's simply a character created for a television show a lot of years ago. The fact that just thinking about him can still raise our temperature after all this time is kind of amazing. He's cute, he's funny, he's brave, he's sexy. Even if you don't want to go to bed with him, (excuse me?) I'll bet you'd still love to mother him. There's just something about Johnny that makes you want to take him home and.... well… you know.

So now that you know you're not alone, you can safely admit that the rest of the guys were pretty hot, too. Maybe you're not a Johnny fan, (good, that's one less for me to deal with) but if you're reading this, I suspect that means Roy or Mike or Chet or Marco or Hank turned your head once or twice. Or, maybe one of the doctors at Rampart? How else do you explain their popularity among women -- even young ones born after the show went off the air -- thirty years later? I mean, they have a whole fandom devoted to them on the Internet in the twenty-first century! As Johnny would say, that's incredible.

So, why another fan fiction site? Aren't there enough already? Maybe. But, Emergency! Fan fic has been around a while, and as much as we love it -- and we do -- we've noticed, with a few exceptions, that it's been getting kind of stale lately. Same old, same old. How many times can Johnny break a leg and still keep going? Not as many times as he can break a heart, I bet.

We wanted to bring something fresh, something exciting, something provocative, to the fandom -- but something with a touch of class and sass. Knowing what women love to read, whether they admit or not, we decided that reintroducing the boys of 51s through the eyes of some modern-day romance writers might accomplish that.

The Dormroom is not a "dirty" story site. Sex between consenting adults is a natural part of romance, and it's not dirty. It's real life. Even that depends on your point of view, so we highly recommend that you read our submission guidelines for what is and is not acceptable here, before deciding if this is a website you'll want to frequent. If slash is your thing, you can find it elsewhere, not here. That's not because we're being judgmental, it's because we don't see the Emergency! characters in that light.

While the site is not totally mainstream, our target audience has been chosen with care -- modern, mature women who enjoy reading about fictional male/female relationships in and out of the bedroom. The concept is centered around bringing Emergency! Fan fiction into a more contemporary romance-oriented genre. Stories are grouped by a rating system designed to help each reader choose those that fit her individual comfort zones within that genre.

Realizing that not everyone is comfortable with sexually explicit stories, five different reading rooms were developed. From the tried-and-true love stories Inside the Locker, to the spicy stories that don't go all the way, except Behind the Door, to the graphic, sizzling intimacy Between the Sheets, the Dormroom attempts to offer reading in an environment that doesn't make the reader feel like she's just spent the night slinking around in a red-light district.

Real stories about the Emergency! characters and their personal lives are being solicited, not tales that just use the characters' names to exploit writing sex under the guise of fan fiction. Under the Bunk welcomes adult-themed stories that have no relation to romance. Guidelines have been carefully established to encourage well-written, true-to-character, true-to-the-time-period stories that we hope you will enjoy and remember long after you've turned off the computer and climbed into bed. You just might have some pleasantly erotic dreams after spending some time In the Shower with your favorite guy.

Success will depend on finding writers who can bring us those kinds of stories. If you are one, we'd love to see what you have to offer. If you know of someone, please pass the word. We're not embarrassed by anything posted here, but we also know that anonymity is vital for many, for many reasons, and assure anyone submitting work, that their right to privacy will be respected. There is an audience for your work, trust us on that one. The Dormroom is designed to host that work in an upscale, updated public forum.

We'd like to thank the ladies over at Emergency! Universe for their invaluable input and guidance in putting this site together. NanM has even promised us a story for our Under the Bunk reading room. You can see a sneak preview of it there now.

Gotta run. Johnny's calling. Seems he has an owie that needs some TLC....

FoxyLady & The Wild Rose of 51