Awesome work! I feel so bad for her losing her daughter like that. I can't wait to read the sequel please write more soon.

Wow. That was great, Alryssa! Hope you don't mind if this goes up in my archive? *g* Keep me posted as to the sequels / other stories you write. Keep the great stuff coming!

Hey, the action in this is great. The idea of "Bob" (the other one) is really original and I love how it's an exciting story, yet set in Season 2 (when we don't usually see a ton of fics).

*ahem*

Before this goes any further, I wish to point out that I have said all along that I am writing this primarily for myself, and if someone else likes it, that's a bonus. I have no intention of 'forcing' people to 'see the light.' I'm always happy to explain things as I see them, but I certainly don't presume to change the way people feel. I knew from the outset that probably very few people would like it, so I was prepared for it. And thus, it doesn't bother me. I have other things I'm writing. It's not my life. Yes, I'm an author and I have a basic instinct to defend my work, but I'm not going to run away crying because someone didn't like it. That's your prerogative. OK, you don't like it. Let's agree to disagree, and move on :)

2) Are you working for Hanako?

Nah. If Hanako wanted to talk about Alyrssa's fics, she'd do openly. We did discuss one, after Alryssa came to the List's forum asking for advice on one fic actually. We could always go there to discuss if you fear this whole review thing's become more like a fourm discussion.

First off, this should probably be my last post on here. I feel guilty over replying several times on the review feature, especially since the last two reviews on here seem to be simply REACTIONS to mine. I wish 's forums were back up, they were better suited for this kind of thing.

I have to note: At this point in season 2, Bob and Dot don't have those kinds of feelings about each other. They're friends.

That's a matter of opinion. There's still something between Bob and Dot in those seasons, especially at the end of 2. I didn't think the Robin character was "coming between" Dot & Bob at any rate anyhow, as I said before.

-CloneBob *is* Robin. This is just before she gets a name.

She gets named at a later date? Ah. I misunderstood that part until I re-read that explanation, sorry.

I have to disagree with your argument about who this fic is centered on. IMO, it's centred around Bob. Bob's feelings, Bob's reactions, Bob's point of view.

You're the author and it's your fic but the impression I had when reading it was one of large Robin-and-her-plight centricity. What else is there to the plot? Megabyte messes around with a game, plants Robin in it. Without her there'd be no story. Sure it heavily involves Bob and to a lesser extend Dot but you NEED other characters as foils in a story, not just one. (Most of the time.)

-Yes, to begin with, the copy *is* very similar to Bob - useless with car maintenance, good-natured, confident. But there's a big difference. She's a parent. Something Bob has never been.

Has she really been a parent though? If she has no memories of the past, having the mindset of a parent would have had to be hardwired into her from her conception. Bob was never a parent himself (Unless Mainframe has some extremely odd flashbacks in store for us in season 5). There's no reason a copy of Bob would have very specific pre-programmed parenting attitudes. Sure he'd want to protect kids in a general way (The way he treats Little Enzo for example) but Robin's attachment to her kid seemed fiercely maternal. Bob's copy just wouldn't "come" with that, she hasn't "lived" long enough to experience much other than Dot, Bob & Enzo coming into her world. She seems to have been created with a different set of values already instilled in her. Since she's female it's obvious Megabyte made alterations to Bob's copy in the first place.

At this point I just want to go “let’s agree to disagree”. What say you.

-She's no Mary Sue. I've even taken the 'litmus test' (she scored a 12 out of about 50, 50 being the critical MS syndrome).

We all know how reliable standardized testing is!

Seriously, just because you scored low on an online test someone made up doesn't mean it's not a Mary Sue or, to be less accusatory, maybe a character that has some Mary Sue-ish characteristics.

- She's rarely in the right. She has skills and weaknesses. She's a flawed personality, just like anyone else. In anyone's definition, that makes her a real character,

Again, that's generalizing. It depends on how all that is written. It's not just a matter of listing a bunch of traits and checking them off. "Goes through hardship, check. Bitter and not perfect, check. Changes from when we first knew her, check...and has to work through loss, check. She's a real girl now!" It's the execution of an original character in the story that defines it the most. It's always much trickier in fics since you already have established, more beloved characters from the show to play off of. I've cared, really cared for original character creations before but Robin doesn’t pique my interest in this fic.

-Maybe Megabyte did fiddle with her base personality - but that's for the reader to decide and think about. I didn't want to dwell on technical details.

Megabyte could have tossed off a mention of how he had to change around some things with Robin to fit his plan. (Not a criticism of the way you did it yourself since you wanted it left to the imagination, fair enough. I just wanted to point out there's ways to avoid getting bogged down in the explanation)

-Claiming your character suffers doesn't save it from being a non-Mary Sue.

-Two negatives make a positive... here you're saying that she isn't? :)

Hold on while I get out my typo-eraser ray. (K-ZAP!)

-Claiming your character suffers doesn't save it from being a Mary Sue.

That ought to do it. Move along people! Nothing to see here.

-Traditional Mary Sue's are basically wish-fulfillment.

Those are the really unsubtle, user-guardian-esque ones. I never said she was a traditional Mary Sue, but there does seem to be some wish fulfillment going on.

To address the "I have a feeling we wouldn't be having this conversation if Robin were male!" comment in Alryssa’s post...that's a good point. Why DID Megabyte make Bob's copy female? Bob and the gang are in a copy of Mainframe after going into a game...they go into the Diner...and meet Bob's double with a child. That's distracting and puzzling enough as it is. Why bother making the Bob-copy a she?

If the answer is "Megabyte wanted to mess with Bob's head" then why not, for example, make the copy's child look like Dot & Bob's? Megabyte KNOWS Bob and Dot are friends and that it would play on their relationship. It doesn't have to be that of course, but it's to illustrate that there are things Megabyte could do that he could be more sure of. Female Bob is an unknown variable. Seeing the opposite gender-ed version of yourself would give anyone the willies of course, but there's ways to confound the sprites that seems less arbitrary, and easier for Megabyte to gauge the reaction to.

I honestly think you're right, if the copy of Bob was male I'd pass it off as kind of bizarre instead of as a possible SI. Making Robin a woman is what jarred the most. Not necessarily because (I assume) the fic author’s also female, but because there seems to be no real reason to make a clone of Bob female in the first place.

Of course maybe Megabyte's simply very twisted and wanted a female Bob, in which case sheer, morbid fascination takes over. That would be cool. Pick that reason!

-At the end of the day, I won't stop writing just Bob/Dot fanfic.

Damn, my campaign to end your Bob/Dot writing career has failed! Curse you Ms. Kelly!

Really, I never asked you to stop. This isn't some sort of weird vendetta. I was just non-pulsed by several parts of the fic and though I'd share that. I wouldn't have sent any comments if I’d have seen this fic on a regular archive, it’s just that on it's more convenient to click on the review box and I assume that if it’s up here the author wants ’s more immediate feedback. If I’d had known it’d get this many replies, I wouldn’t have bothered with the review in the first place.

-*Laughs her ass of at 'kite', is it? I'm sorry, dear, you're so brain dead that I was busy gawking at your stupidity and didn't catch the name.

I take back the patronizing comment from before, the one towards Alyrssa and apply it here. This really takes the cake.

-You've pretty much made Flamer Booboo Number 1 here, and contradicted yourself.

Over which point exactly? And how is this a flame? I don’t hate the fic and I certainly don’t hate Alyrssa, and flaming is generally all insult, no real content.

Rather like your message really.

-Further more, I've seen a lot more of this character (Robin, hello!) than you have-

How lucky for you. All I have to go on is the fics on itself. Once I manage to develop psi powers I'm sure to realize what a horrible mistake I've made. For shame, me!

Fics should work without assuming you can see into the author’s heads. (I have no complaint about that with Gemini, but it's irritating to hear people go on about how you're wrong because they have access to material you don't.)

-she's not a SI, she's not a Mary Sue, and -stating 'different ways' in order to try to make your accusations fit is just...well, so very, very sad.

No, no I don't think it is. I think it's called discussing the fic. Which is why this is on the review section of after all.

-Why don't you go back to mocking the ReBoot Kiddies who deserve it and leave the intelligent debate

Waiting for yours!

I mean it. All your "review" was was a bunch of catty comments on the intellect of someone you don't know whose points you've failed to rebut. Being insulting doesn't automatically win you an argument. Why don't we just discuss the fic instead? Say something kind about it that you think bucks up your points. Since Alyrssa is obviously your friend or at least someone you’ve discussed this fic with, maybe she’d like a nice review from you up on here instead of snide sniping at a relative stranger.

Actually, on second thought don’t. I said I’d stop posting after this review and I’m going to try to, and if you reply in the same tone that you wrote this “review” in it’s going to make me nauseous.

-if *Robin* is a Mary Sue, what does that make *Perl*?

A gratuitous mention of someone else's character!

We really need a message board in this place.

-I do have two things to -ask- though.

-1) What have you written, Kite? (Yes, an old stand-by rebuttal of many crap authors,

And how.

-but it holds true: Do not judge until you have been judged.)

A whole lot of film critics would be out of work then don't you think? ("Yes, admittedly 'Deuces Wild' wasn't a very well acted piece of work, but since you haven't made a film yourself I'm not sure you're QUALIFIED to judge it Mr. Ebert.")

Insert your favorite film critic if you hate Ebert.

I have some original things I've been working on. They're not up because they're not complete and I'm very lazy.

-2) Are you working for Hanako?

Sure! Here, let me fan the bills she slipped me during lunch break. Count those greenbacks suckers!

No. If she wants to complain about the fic, she can do it herself.

*Laughs her ass of at 'kite', is it? I'm sorry, dear, you're so brain dead that I was busy gawking at your stupidity and didn't catch the name. You've pretty much made Flamer Booboo Number 1 here, and contradicted yourself. Further more, I've seen a lot more of this character (Robin, hello!) than you have-she's not a SI, she's not a Mary Sue, and stating 'different ways' in order to try to make your accusations fit is just...well, so very, very sad. Why don't you go back to mocking the ReBoot Kiddies who deserve it and leave the intelligent debate to those of us with actual brains.

BTW, Ryss, if *Robin* is a Mary Sue, what does that make *Perl*?

WooT! Yay, Ryssa!

Admittedly, I'm prejudiced, being a friend of the author & all, but I liked this story even before I was good friends with her.

However, I specialize in being objective, & can be just as cruel as the next person when reading a fanfic. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of the non-Mary-Sue qualtiy of the new character, knowing the whole story helped a lot. I have nothing to add to what Ryssa has told you, really, because, as she said, "We're on the same level" when it comes to a lot of things involving Bob &/or Robin.

I do have two things to -ask- though.

1) What have you written, Kite? (Yes, an old stand-by rebuttal of many crap authors, but it holds true: Do not judge until you have been judged.)

2) Are you working for Hanako?

Of course I take my reviewers seriously. :) I just thought that question was hilarious.

I have a feeling that if this character was male, I also wouldn't be having this discussion. :P

I have to note: At this point in season 2, Bob and Dot don't have those kinds of feelings about each other. They're friends.

CloneBob *is* Robin. This is just before she gets a name. [I didn't see the point in naming her, and a name is about identity, which she is sorely lacking.]

I have to disagree with your argument about who this fic is centred on. IMO, it's centred around Bob. Bob's feelings, Bob's reactions, Bob's point of view.

Yes, to begin with, the copy *is* very similar to Bob - useless with car maintenance, good-natured, confident. But there's a big difference. She's a parent. Something Bob has never been. This is where their personalities begin to diverge. Their base code may be the same, but their experiences are different from that moment on.

She's no Mary Sue. I've even taken the 'litmus test' (she scored a 12 out of about 50, 50 being the critical MS syndrome).

Of course she suffers. They all do. Bob has to make a hard choice, and stand by it. The difference is that she doesn't get over it by the next day and doesn't have everyone's automatic sympathy. She makes mistakes. She's aggressive. She's bitter. She's rarely in the right. She has skills and weaknesses. She's a flawed personality, just like anyone else. In anyone's definition, that makes her a real character, capable of mistakes and good deeds in turn. Maybe Megabyte did fiddle with her base personality - but that's for the reader to decide and think about. I didn't want to dwell on technical details.

Dot is a strong personality in turn, and I like her a lot. She won't tolerate being talked down to and she stands up for herself. That's why they don't get along. She's also responsible for her little brother Enzo, which is why the copy is angry at her more than at Enzo for dragging her child into the Game. If everyone got along at first sight all the time, which they did to begin with - it'd make for some pretty lame drama. Witness Mouse's first appearance on the scene.

She has potential and she has problems. I'm writing this to see how she pans out as an individual in her own right. She'll make mistakes. She'll get backlash. That's what character evolution is about.

If anyone's a Mary Sue in this fic, it's Adena. ;-)

Claiming your character suffers doesn't save it from being a non-Mary Sue.

Two negatives make a positive... here you're saying that she isn't? :)

Traditional Mary Sue's are basically wish-fulfillment. I don't see any of that going on here. I don't wish to be her on any level. I'm happy with my significant other and 2 cats, thanks.

Yeah, she suffers. But I don't spend pages and pages reaming on and on about how awful it is for her. It's pretty obvious that it sucks, and instead I focus on the main characters.

At the end of the day, I won't stop writing just Bob/Dot fanfic. I certainly don't expect everyone to blindly accept what I do. I write primarily for myself, and if someone else likes it, that's a bonus. *shrugs*

-*laughs her ass off at previous 2 reviews, Flamedancer's particularly*

Nice to see you taking your reviewers seriously. Please do continue to partonize us. What fun!

-Now, if I wanted to do SI, I could just go ahead and do what every third person has done and write in an attractive sprite who 'steals' Bob away from Dot, but y'know, that's not what people want to read about.

There's different ways to do SIs. She's a new character we're supposed to feel for or be interested in that dominates the plot (the entire purpose of the plot was to introduce fembob) and who we're supposed to feel sympathy for at the end, and is still more hostile to Dot rather than Bob (even though I didn't think Bob and femBob were getting together). The fic's centered around an original character, femBob. While that doesn't always mean it's an SI, it can be a pretty good sign of one.

-(And yes, this 'otherBob' is the same character as Robin - she just doesn't have a name at this point).

Why would a copy of Bob be identical to Robin?

-Now, to address the other issue - Think of twins. They share the same genetics, but they don't share the same feelings or skills as each other.

They aren't twins though, and that doesn't make sense. Twins and copies are different things. The copies of little Enzo and AndrAIa still acted like the originals for example.

-While she's essentially a copy of his code,

she has some of his skills but not his life experience that has made him the way he is. Both are allowed to change and be different according to their experiences.

But if she can't remember what happened to her before Bob & Dot & Enzo came, she would have no other experiences at all to base a personality on. She hasn't had time to be "different according to her experiences" because she's had no experiences prior to the "game" in the first place. Wouldn't her default personality be similar to Bob's at least until she gets experiences of her own? Where is she getting this "Robin" personality from? Did Megabyte program her with it on a strange whim? (Which would make more sense)

-*shrugs* I never expected everyone to like the character, but she's certainly nothing like me in personality, and I certainly wouldn't want to be in her position, which is the reverse of what most MS's are. :)

A lot of Mary Sues get into horrible positions, usually to hurry character development and/or to try to make the readers feel sorry for them. Claiming your character suffers doesn't save it from being a non-Mary Sue.

Actually, given that Other-Bob was derived from Bob, it would make it more 'self abuse' than incest.

I gotta admit, I look at Other-Bob/Robin, and then I look at Ryssa who I've known for years...

If thats Mary-Sue'ing you sure have a dark side you keep well hidden hon ;)

Like the characters, like the fiction. More please!

Yeah! Drive a wedge between Bob and Dot, little Mary Sue FemBob! Doesn't matter that anything between you and Bob is technically incest and that Bob really loves Dot! After all, any woman who takes Bob's attention from the SI should burn! BURN!

Did the sarcasm come through there? I want to be sure of that.

Female-Bob seems like a thinly disguised SI. She seems almost identical to your other original character Robin. For someone copied directly from Bob she has none of the goodnaturedness or dorkyness, and clashes with Dot. (Femalebob claims she's just worried about the system but is much less irritated by Bob than Dot?)

If this is a copy of Bob with the gender reversed, shouldn't femBob be attracted to Dot anyhow? Was she mean because the situation was weird for her?

Female Bob: Damn that annoying Dot Matrix...coming here and messing things up, with her shining hair and red, moist lips and incredible eyes and - why am I thinking about a woman this way?

Just a though.

This is alphanumeric! The part with the clone realizing that she isn't real is great, lots of emotion.

wow, this is great. Write more!