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The parallelism of starting this right where Virtus began, in Pam's vision of The Day, is really good writing. And adding so much more detail this time around... total re-read bonus. "The birds had stopped singing." Your talented is enviable.

And I'm glad to see more of the early days, too - very curious about this part of their story. I appreciate you not giving into the temptation to fill out too much of the backstory of the broader world. In this scenario, they wouldn't know much, and might never find out. It has to be enough for us to know how our initial gang came to be - that's really more important in a world that's never going back to how it was Before.

Also gives us a chance to reset our expectations of the world, and imagine it clearly in multiple senses before we jump back in, and start to think about what the future of this new world might look like... and who might attempt to rule it.

PLEASE KEEP WRITING.

TWIST. And again... THRILLED to not have to wait for the sequel to start.

And thrilled you have chosen to share your enormous talent with us. (TWSS)

Well. I'm glad you didn't drag out Mac's fate too long. And I appreciate you giving Pam the opportunity to fight back in a world that treats women like commodities and spoils of war (and bringing around Chekhov's Boot Knife) without leaving us in much suspense as to what the endgame was. Not sure my poor heart could have taken that.

And I'm thrilled to see them turning the walkie around them after it caused so much trouble.

"It was the sound of Larissa emerging from the barbershop with the broken windows, blood covering her as she collapsed into Jim's arms sobbing." Well. That's an utterly merciless image.

I love the note of Jim and Pam "blaming" each other for their sons. Such a great detail, and such a nice, normal parenting note among all this.

Mike again just very naive in this chapter. Glad to see he's waking up a little. Curious about his backstory some, how he's avoided learning the sort of lessons about how the world is now that Jim and Pam learned not too long after The Day. And now that he's going to be a father I am extremely worried about his survival.

Brian's right about the literary comparison, but I appreciate the Alas Babylon shoutout.

"Jesus," Pete whispered loudly at the noises. "No, he's definitely not here, man." Pointed, but well executed. I'm liking this Brad character so far. Just an okay guy trying to make his way in a not-okay world. Although the casual suspicion that someone's got it out for him is... worrisome.

Thought it was a good touch to remind us that Mac was actually considered beyond the pale in Tent City after seeing so much debauchery and violence here - reminding us of the stakes, along with presenting a sharp contrast to life on the Farm.

"Love and fear come in equal measure, she realized with clarity. One cannot exist without the other." Ummm, ouch?

I'm really enjoying the forward motion on Isabel and Brian. Those kids deserve some happiness, dammit. Although again, much as with Mike, this makes me worry about Brian.

Also very true to canon Toby, who is... just... not good at things. I'm really starting to understand Michael here. He really should've recognized this was going to end badly for him... especially with the limited number of people who could have possibly given that information to Mac. Not going to end well for him even if Mac cooperates. RIP, you evil snail.

The goose story is gorgeous, but I'm with Isabel. Did you have to tell it while they're actively plucking a dead goose? (Although she and Brian are VERY cute.)

Does seem like Jim's probably making a mistake by not at least starting to think about going on offense against Mac. At a certain point you've just got to fight. Actually kind of in character... not really the guy to think about throwing hands as a first or second option.

"With practiced ease, there was no space between them to define where one ended and the other began; just the existence of them. Singular." Rude. And VERY Jam.

Awwww. Welcome to the world indeed, Jack! We're happy to have you here.

Wow. Just punch me directly in the feels, why don't you.

*looks suspiciously at Toby re: the chickens*

BE GENRE SAVVY, JIM. THERE IS NOTHING GOOD ABOUT THAT MINE. ALL MINES ARE TRAPS. *sigh* Jim is being forced into a lot of dangerous decisions here, whether by external or internal need. I appreciate Jeff trying to put it in perspective for him.

“Have you been there before? I have." Yeah. I'll bet you have, Tobes.

“There wasn’t even a clip in that gun he had, the poor bastard.” Really strong choice here. There's a lot of classic apocalypse imagery on this trip, executed well, but this is maybe my favorite decision so far: reminding us that while there are people like Mac out there who are evil for the sake of power, there are other people out there who might do Jim and Pam and company harm because it's genuinely their best hope of survival.

“Does your female friend have another female friend?” Brian asked only partly joking. Toby chuckled, “Yeah she does, I’m sure.” Yeah, was definitely thinking about the reality you make explicit later on: Toby's "friend" is almost certainly not in the "friendship game" by choice, and Toby is presumably aware of that.

The image of this apocalypse shantytown run by a functional mob boss is chilling... and gives a lot more weight to the fact that Mac has been run out of town. Very much a Wild West feel here (including the casual murder over a card game), and you worry about someone who's evading frontier justice. Also makes me a think a lot about what exactly there is to lose for the folks on the farm - they're living a quite privileged existence.

Again... concerning that this Toby does not seem particularly distant from canon Toby. He's... kind of a dark character for a sitcom.

VERY relieved that this rescue went successfully. And that we found Isabel! (Actually kinda curious: what shaped your decision to use folks like Brian and Isabel in different roles like this?) Although I'm going to be keeping an eye out for the reappearance of the Chekhov's Rifle Traded to Free Trafficked Humans.

Author's Response:

First of all, thank you soooo much for taking the time to review all of these chapters. It’s been fun to ‘re-read’ this with fresh eyes. And as always, I appreciate that you picked up on all the subtlety that I often put in hoping someone will notice.

Okay, so the Brian and Isabel thing. This is one of those rookie mistakes I talked about before. I thought it would be good, clever even, to have these minor secondary character’s names used. 🙄 But as they took shape in the story I realized that people would have in their head the characters from the show, even if these characters are actually not even remotely related.

All this to say no, this Brian is NOT the Brian from the show and never had been to me, just a poor choice of name really, and this Isabel is not the Isabel from the show. 

So yeah, stupid rookie mistake. 

Thanks for all the lovely reviews and I’m glad you enjoyed it! 

"The when and where were still muddy as her mind scrambled to put the pieces into place but his arms, that she was sure of." Who do you think you are. What gives you the right.

Some intriguing hints at backstory re: Dwight and what became of Jim and Pam after his death. Looking forward to seeing how you work that in.

The care they have for each other shines through in this chapter, even amidst the change. It's hard to imagine our Jim as the guy who spends all night cleaning firearms to get ready for battle but very easy to see the way his world revolves around Pam. And I was really struck by the way the break in Pam's memory revolves around Jim, and not the end of the world as they know it.

Mac's focus on the farm is... interesting. Looking forward to getting a little more into his head, too.

I am so late in posting this review but I’m so excited your back and extending this story. I loved the first fic and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

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I love this beginning here. Such a sweet moment of Pam enjoying Jim as a man and as a protective father.

You know, you mentioned the greatest danger being other people, and that comes so clearly here with how much the tension ramps up the second this random group of anti-social men appear. Also comes through that there are some challenges in a decentralized society. It's great if you want to call the shots for yourself - it also means there's no one in charge, no safety net, if things go wrong, and precious little reason for folks not to try to MAKE things go wrong.

The action sequence here was great. Really well-written, really captures the attention.

Author's Response:

Thanks! 

Yes, exactly and you see how easily things fall into chaos in V2. I've always thought it was interesting how precarious our perception of civilization really is and when there is a structure vacuum something always fills it, good or bad. 

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Again, some really striking imagery here - Jim stumbling across first the hand wagon and then its owner, being able to get a glimpse of the person he was before... and then quietly returning to his group with nothing but the cans the departed left behind. Chilling.

Interesting to hear the timeline here, that this is several years post-The Day. So the wildness and violence here is not just the wildness and violence of a new society being born, but maybe something they have to accept as what the world will be for the rest of their lives. And I'm intrigued by the idea introduced here that the post-apocalypse status quo is already beginning to change again, and not necessarily for the better.

You've done well translating Pam and Jim's longing and living for each other into this very different environment. You've called to mind the vibes of deeply comic episodes like The List in an extraordinarily different context. You've got skills my friend.

Can't decide right now if I want to hear more about the death of Dwight or if this is enough information... looking forward to finding out.

Author's Response:

Thank you!

The journey to the Farm was transformative for them all, almost more than the initial Day, and I wanted to show the smothering dark sadness as well as highlight the dangers of which they are somewhat isolated from now. In my rather beginners mind, I wanted this whole story to fall together in pieces in these first chapters, all of these different parts coming together to shape the bigger story. 

One of things I hoped to convey was that Jim and Pam were still fundamentally Jim and Pam underneath all the darkness this world has forced on them and that their love would transcend that.  :) 

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Ladyyyyyy

I gasped aloud when I got the email notification about this. You sneaky wench. To just drop this on us with no preparation? And get us back into life in the After while also giving us a hint of the before?? Are you JOKING ME??

This is beautiful and the bit about Before was just amazing. I want to know everything. And then the mystery of the town they were trading with! You are a master of spinning a tale and captivating your audience from the start. Gorgeous writing as always, can’t wait for more.

Author's Response:

Haha yeah, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull it off by the AQP release date so I didn't want to let anyone down by promising and not delivering so...surprise! lol. 

Honestly, I'm shocked but thrilled that people still care about this universe and I'm excited to be back in it. It's always encouraging to hear that. 

Thank you BT <3 

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Please picture that gif of Michael Scott: it’s happening. Oh my god. It’s happening.

Author's Response: Haha that's perfect. :)