jimmmypie:

silent-bridge:

semperama:

Hi, nonnie. I’m pretty sure that you didn’t mean anything by this comment, but I just wanted to let you know that this is not really the kind of message a writer wants to get the day after they post something, especially something that they worked really long and hard on. I write fanfiction, emphasis on the ‘fiction’, and I’m not really concerned with whether Chris would or wouldn’t ACTUALLY survive an apocalyptic situation. (Although I strongly disagree with you that he has no survival skills, and…also that he is harmless tbh, because I think he is no more or less harmless than your average human being, which is to say that everyone has a breaking point.)  What I am concerned with is writing interesting fiction.

Now, I’m pretty sure you’re that anon who is just really enthusiastic about Chris and who I get messages from a lot, and you probably weren’t trying to be mean or criticize my story or anything, but I just want you to be aware that that’s how it comes across. It’s not a good idea to go to someone’s inbox and question their characterization. Characters have to be slightly tweaked to fit alternate universes all the time, and honestly I think what I wrote is less off-base than “completely harmless and has the survival skills of a toddler”. I get that Pie is super duper cute sometimes, but come on. He’s a competent adult, a grown man who lives alone and takes care of himself, and very intelligent. I think he has better odds than a lot of people. But hey, at the end of the day, it’s all make-believe, so it doesn’t really matter! 🙂

Well said.

Agreed!  Harmless people can also survive. They can survive by being smart instead of being aggressive or hurting people. 

Actually, I thought Semper did a fantastic job of translating both boys’ “hobbies” into excellent survival skills.  Chris really does have a garden, and really might know more than an average Joe about how to get an abandoned one going, and maybe even how to can.  That’s critical for their survival.  And Zach’s love for animals easily translates into him being helpful caring for their protein sources.  If only the internet were up so they could find out how to make cheese.  Maybe some local library has books.  Anyway, one always has to suspend disbelief in these post apocalyptic stories, since we really don’t know how society would break down and what would remain, and which of our modern skills would still be relevant (my Excel spreadsheet skills would be quite useless).  But if anything, I found that the mix of skills spread over her group of people seemed very realistic, and grounded in what I know of typical characterizations of the boys.  And Zach and Chris are both used to being active, even if it’s typically for roles.    It all felt very real to me.