Date: 07/04/12 02:31 am Title: Chapter 33
WOW, that was intense!! They definitely just made it worse by talking to Nick. I didn't think Kevin would be able to kill him; I wouldn't have been able to. He's too similar to their Nick. But now they've doomed Nick to die. I'm glad Don and Alan got out okay; I didn't think they would.
Author's Response:
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do it either. Once I saw him & realized it was Nick, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do that! I almost killed Alan off but I like him too much lol he's cute! Judd Hirsch played Alan Epps on Numb3rs. Thanks for all the reviews tonight! It's always fun getting them and reliving this story.
Date: 07/04/12 02:23 am Title: Chapter 32
OMG at the end of this chapter... I had a feeling it would come to this when Kevin kept going on about how relieved he was that Don was going to kill Nick. I knew it would end up being Kevin and Howie's job to do. And how are they supposed to do it when Nick came bounding up to them just like their Nick?! That's awful, but I love it, hehe. Backtracking a bit, I also liked how Kevin was thinking back to that time when he threw a hissy fit about getting in first class and realizing what an ass he was. I can definitely see how that works as the theme of the story, about taking life for granted. You're doing a great job weaving that thread into the fabric of the whole story. I also like that they pointed out the similarities between this prison camp and the concentration camps, because that's what I've been reminded of this whole story, every time they talk about the Canadians rounding up celebrities and children and making people prisoners. Leave it to the Canadians to not learn from the Germans LOL.
Author's Response:
I hope I didn't anger too many Canadians with this story. If I did, we can blame my sister's douchey husband! lol and yes, poor Kevin & Howie! You didn't think I'd make it that easy for them though, did you? lol and yay! Thanks again for the compliment about taking life for granted. I'm glad it seems to be weaving through the story well. :-)
Date: 07/04/12 01:36 am Title: Chapter 31
The beginning of this chapter was so sad. I felt bad for Nick, trying to swim and climb ladders and run when he's on the verge of death, and it broke my heart when Kevin and Howie said their goodbyes and left. :( I love how you make my pulse race one second, as they're trying to figure out how to drag Nick to safely, and you make me crack up the next second with the fat jokes and the blurry Brian reference LOL. Again, love that comic relief! I'm glad they found Matt, but I'm anxious to find out how it's going with the other group.
Author's Response:
Thanks, Julie! I wanted to really show how exhausted Nick was and still try to add some humor as the two tiny ones were left to try to get him around lol I realized that another thing I tend to do in almost all my stories is include a blurry Brian somewhere lol I forgot about that!
Date: 07/04/12 01:24 am Title: Chapter 30
Wow, this chapter was intense. You know it's bad when Brian starts thinking about suicide again. Alan was really brave to sacrifice himself to get the guys into the city. I'm glad Kevin didn't have to do it, though LOL. The two teams thing will be interesting; I can't wait to see if they succeed at their separate missions, or if the whole plan fails epically. Guess it might depend on which ending I choose! LOL I'm seriously looking forward to getting to that point where it splits.
Author's Response:
Aww, the choose your own ending doesn't really happen until the end and it's not the classic CYOA set up. It was too difficult to do it on AC so I had people decide in a decision & based on that, there were three different ways to go. Since no one picked Thr third option it was scraped lol anyway, I hope you like that part when you get to it!
Date: 07/04/12 01:16 am Title: Chapter 29
LOL at your author's note; I've never eaten Spam before either, but I thought it was hilarious that that was the only thing left in the store, so Howie was forced to eat it. The scene in the grocery store really did remind me of a zombie movie, so I loved that comparison and the way it carried across the whole chapter, with the people who were just sitting by the fire or wandering aimlessly around, not sure what else to do. I wonder how they'll get into the city with all the bridges and tunnels destroyed; I didn't even think of that. Nick's in bad shape, and I wonder what just happened to Howie at the end. There you go with the cliffhangers again! LOL I expected nothing less from you.
Author's Response:
I actually bought a can of spam shortly after writing this chapter. It took me a LONG time before I finally tried it though lol it actually wasn't too bad. I fried it and it tasted like bologna. Glad you liked the zombie parts. If it would have fit, I was going to use Song for the Undead as the title of this one, I just couldn't make it work lol
Date: 07/04/12 01:01 am Title: Chapter 28
The beginning of this chapter cracked me up, from the story about AJ's mom giving him Nyquil ("Apparently I was a very dumb child") to his reaction to Brian singing SMTMOBL. (As much as I would like to say we all joined in and smiled and laughed, thinking okay we are the Backstreet Boys. We can do this! It simply didn’t happen. Brian only made it partway through the second verse before deciding to stop. I think the three dead bodies along the side of the road are what muted him. This wasn’t a place for singing.") This was a nice way of paying homage (or subtly mocking) all the cheesy singing scenes in fanfics of yesteryear without going the cheesy route yourself LOL. I appreciate the comic relief, because otherwise, their situation is looking pretty grim! I have the same bad feeling about Nick. :(
Author's Response:
Hehe guilty as charged! I love how you're picking up on some of these little things like the singing part of this chapter. The visual I pictured in my mind as it was happening was pretty funny! Thanks, Julie! I see you are reading a lot! Woot!! My iPod is dying though so once it's recharged I'll respond to the rest of your reviews! Thanks :-)
Date: 07/04/12 12:53 am Title: Chapter 27
LMAO at the title of this chapter! =D Poor Nick... no wonder he's confused, if he's sharing memories with his doppleganger. Very Harry Potter and Voldemort; I love it! Neither one can live while the other survives. I felt so bad for Nick when he realized their theory of having to kill the other Nick or he'll die. At least they have some idea of where to go in New York to find the other Nick. Reading on!
Author's Response:
Thanks! I couldn't really think of any other way to get the guys heading in the right direction other than the whole sharing memories thing lol I was afraid it would be too over the top cheesy but hey, if JK Rowling can do it, why not? lol I'm glad you liked the title. I had some fun with the chapter titles in this one, paying homage to what was going on as I was writing it.
Date: 07/02/12 04:42 am Title: Chapter 26
Oooh!!! This was quite an eventful chapter! I'm so glad the Boys are all back together again and that it didn't take forever for them to all be reunited! I thought Nick was sick with an infection from his frostbitten legs; I didn't think about the doppleganger thing. I love it, though; it's like the twisted version of ET - what one feels, so does the other, but to save one, they have to kill the other LOL. Nice. I'm anticipating a scene like the one in the Spooky Fish episode of South Park where they have to decide which Cartman is the "evil twin" from a parallel universe and which is real Cartman. If Nick and doppleganger Nick get mixed up, that could be interesting!
Author's Response:
Yeah, if there's no reason to drag the reunion out, why bother? It makes better reading when they're all together and just gets frustrating to wait and wait lol they were apart long enough. Lol never saw that South Park episode but you made me lol at the ET thing. I hadn't even thought about that. Funny where our minds go. Who knows? Maybe they meet the new Nick & decide they like him better & leave the other one behind! lmao I should have done that!! Ah well... Maybe the sequel. :-p lol thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the next part of the journey!
Date: 07/02/12 04:27 am Title: Chapter 25
Ohhh, so this is the blast that got them separated! We've come full circle. Cool! I liked the part when Brian was thinking of how much he wished had one of those itineraries from management and how he'd give anything to be running away from overexcited teenies instead of running for his life. Just goes to show how much we take for granted. The little things we complain about in our everyday lives are usually not worth complaining about when you stop and think how much worse it could be. I thought it was creative how you jumped back and forth to tell the story out of order, but I think I will enjoy reading it just in one time period from now on. I'm anxious to find out what's happening with Howie and Nick now that Don and Charlie showed up to save them!
Author's Response:
I hat my iPod lol I had just typed a huge reply and then accidentally it return and it disappeared! I was saying that being grateful for what you have is an underlying theme of this story. It's the main reason I started it in flashbacks. I wanted to show how simple and happy life was for them before this happened and yet they all were to an extent, unhappy and whiny. Show you to never take things for granted because at the end of the day, you never know. I'm so happy you picked up on that, thanks!! And yes, now that we are at the blast, starting next chapter we move only ahead lol the first time you said that way at the beginning I was thinking uh oh but this time it's for reels! Lmao
Date: 06/30/12 07:40 pm Title: Chapter 24
I like how you wrote this chapter, jumping between the present and the past parts. It wasn't too hard to follow; Howie's thoughts connected it together well. I like that Howie is behaving realistically in this situation... not being a hero, just being a normal person who's frozen with fear and doesn't know what to do. That's how I would be anyway LOL. I'm glad he did do something in the end by throwing the rock, and it was lucky that Don and Charlie showered up just in the nick of time, but I wonder what Howie saw that paralyzed him with fear again at the end.
Author's Response:
I am drawing major blanks on this chapter so I have to go back and read ir. Poor Howie is always being paralyzed in fear of some kind. If this was the wizard of Oz, he would completely be the Lion! LOL Thank you feo saying it wasn't confusing going back and forth though. You know how I feel about flashbacks and i'm glad it wrote it in such a way that it wasn't too horribly confusing. NOw I have to go read it! Thanks again, Julie!
Date: 06/30/12 07:31 pm Title: Chapter 23
LOL This chapter was amusing; I love how you wrote AJ. It felt very AJ-like, and yet, I liked the explanation of how he was taking on some of his bastard doppleganger's traits because he didn't seem SO angry before - yet I think he's absolutely justified in feeling that way! Even what he said about Nick... I don't wholly disagree LOL. Just the whole way it was written was funny, and I think you set a record for number of F-bombs in a chapter! Congrats! =D LOL
Author's Response:
You had to see my writing this one. Everyone who knows me well would never believe this chapter came from me . I can't even bring myself to say that word. I literally call it the F word. LOL So there was some major AJ channeling going on. I agree about Nick too, i'm sure I would feel like that if I were AJ! Thanks, Julie!!
Date: 06/25/12 03:10 am Title: Chapter 22
Poor Nick! :( At least you didn't leave off with another total cliffhanger - thanks for that LOL.
Author's Response:
NO problem! lol I don't remember this one probably BECAUSE I didn't leave off with a cliffhanger. Thanks for all the reviews, especially while i'm on my old desktop. It's so much easier to respond on the desktop than the IPod!
Date: 06/25/12 03:06 am Title: Chapter 20
I forgot to say in my other review, I'm really glad the plane was still there when Kevin went back with Charlie and the gang. I hate in stories like this when the main character witnesses something strange and then tells everyone, and they don't believe him, and there's no evidence to prove his story. So it was nice that the plane was still there as proof and that Charlie seems to "get it." That's all! :)
Author's Response:
Thanks, I hate that too! It was really important for the plane to still be there so this way Charlie could finally let Kevin know what the heck was going on (And you guys too!) lol
Date: 06/25/12 03:03 am Title: Chapter 21
OMG!!! That's three in a row now! If you keep doing this, I'm going to end up reading the rest of the story tonight LOL. Wow... I don't even know what to say first. I'm glad Nick finally told the story of Laura; I had been waiting to find out more about her. That is really sad. :( I hate that she planted ideas in his head about leaving his "family" and sacrificing himself to save them. I hate that he made Howie leave him. I'm kind of surprised Howie did, but I guess that fight or flight instinct kicks in. I did, however, love this line; I laughed out loud: “Howie, you can barely open a Snapple bottle without help. How are you going to make a stretcher?” Hehehe
Author's Response:
lmao yes, see? Lots of cliffhangers! Poor Laura! If only I could keep female characters alive for an extended period of time! Maybe one day! I loved writing this chapter, it actually made me emotional and mad at Howie. Glad you liked the Snapple line. The thought of Howie building anything is comical to me! Poor Howie! Thanks, Julie!
Date: 06/25/12 02:51 am Title: Chapter 20
WHOA! First off, way to leave another mean cliffy! Secondly, I was floored by the newspaper photo. I guess it confirms what I was thinking, that they're in a different dimension or something, but it's still really weird to think that their parallel twins or whatever you wanna call them have already been killed (except Nick, apparently). I wonder what they're doing to the underage ones. Training them to be proud Canadians, like the Hitler youth? LOL Speaking of Canadians, I forgot to put this in a review, but it occurred to me the other day that the reason it's been snowing this whole time is because the enemy is from Canada! Is that right?? If so, that's hilarious LOL. Reading on to find out where Nick went... and I'm still curious to find out what Howie said to Don after the last chapter!
Author's Response:
lmao I give Canada no love in this one, eh? glad you like the snowing constantly but at least there is no sign of a moose anywhere! ;-)
