Date: 03 Dec 2019 19:46 Title: 'Round and Around
I've probably said this before but Arnie sure is one hell of a fascinating characters with just so much intriguing backstory.
My favorite part of this chapter though has to be the two young rebels imitating Arnie's accent. I suppose there ain't much traveling going on in the post-apocalyptic world, or movies and TV shows for that matter.
Great stuff interspersing such great light-hearted moments into this generally quite dark tale.
Author's Response: I stole him from the British sci-fi/comedy Red Dwarf, so I can't claim he's original. XD But I can claim that my version's been around the block; I first wrote him twenty-five years ago! I figured that those two kids probably have never heard a British accent. And that was some fun stuff to write, for sure. Thanks so much for the comment!
Date: 30 Nov 2019 22:42 Title: 'Round and Around
I like the emotional range in this chapter; it feels like that's the main focus here, as we're mostly dealing with mission set up in the actual events.
We have the discussion about how Arnie manages to go out on these missions, which focuses on his strong sense of confidence in getting the job done. However, that doesn't make him emotionally cold or short sighted. Arnie still has space for joy, anxiety and empathy. Being good at surviving in the post-apocalypse doesn't mean burning out or shutting down one's emotions. Compared to weaker stories in such a setting, this is a breath of fresh air.
Two little bits of writing that capture my imagination for things unsaid, off-screen:
"No one pounded on the door to wake him up, so Arnie figured he hadn't overslept; "
Fuck you, Tom. :P
"It wasn't nearly as successful a strategy as he wanted it to be, but maybe with practice it would be. It wasn't like he didn't have time to get good at it"
Knowing what is coming up in two hundred years, this feels ominous.
Author's Response: For someone who claims to be an anti-social bastard, he halfway fails at that. I think if there's anywhere that he's LESS self-aware, it's in his propensity to get attached to people without actually meaning to or even quite realizing it, until the chips are down in some way. Hell, the Red Dwarf crew. The original ShadowKnights. And these people.
Tom would just shrug and say, "Should have set an alarm." LOL!
Also, yeah. Heh. That foreshadowing to Mister Aloof down the road. It takes a surprising amount of bad happening -- 2072-2080 -- before he masters that to any real degree. And probably another couple decades for it to become comfortable, or comfortably numb anyway. Thanks for the comment! ^_^
Date: 16 Nov 2019 23:22 Title: 'Round and Around
Hope is not a sin, indeed. This is great!
Author's Response: That's one he wrestles with pretty much back and forth with for centuries, too. Thank you very much!