1 [Report This]Date: April 26, 2022 09:01 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
“You and Roy haven’t even set a date, and suddenly the wedding seems far too soon.“
ouch
“His face, seconds before a crash of disappointment, lingers in your mind even as you try to dismiss it for now.”
Ouch
“It’s all been proof that maybe, just maybe, you made a mistake saying yes.”
OUCH
Well this was both a heartbreaking and joyful way to end this adventure. I loved Jim and Pam’s happiness at realizing what’s to come now that Pam broke up with Roy. This entire story was fantastic, I absolutely freaking love these adventures!
1 [Report This]Date: April 26, 2022 08:43 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
“No. That wasn’t it. You did think Roy had changed. Because you always think he will. You’re constantly hooked on a drug of cautious optimism, thinking that this moment, this conversation will be the turning point for your relationship. Roy would abandon his dismissive, discouraging comments in favor of real support and genuine compromise.“
I think was such a perfect way to say why Pam has stayed with Roy for so long. Shes always just hoping he will change for her, that he’ll want to start putting in more effort and that he won’t be the guy who keeps pushing off their wedding and not listening to her and holding her back, but he wont. I loved this ending so much. Fancy New Beesly is on her way.
1 [Report This]Date: April 26, 2022 08:20 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
“You finish cleaning and sprawl out on your new couch, tapping your fingers on your stomach to settle the butterflies that have inevitably developed. But it’s okay. You kind of like them now that they’re not forbidden.”
Freaking loved that. That was such a GREAT in between of pam and roy and pam and jim. I feel like we see a lot of pam leaving roy immediately for jim and so its awesome to have stories where jim and pam just stay friends for a little bit, but we can also obviously see that there’s something more on the horizon. Love love love.
1 [Report This]Date: April 26, 2022 06:10 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Although this was the canon ending, it all felt so new and I loved it. I absolutely loved seeing Pam’s perspective of all of this and how easily she was able to slip back into the “jim and pam are just friends” zone. So freaking good.
Date: April 25, 2022 06:52 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
“I’m trying to feel the same way I felt last night after you kissed me.” EEEEEEEEEEEEP.
Ooooof. Devastating moment. And again, things that will linger for poor Jim. A woman bursting into tears after you tell her you want to kiss her again is generally not a good sign.
"It’s so frustrating that you could cry again. You want to undo what you did, unlearn what you know, and have everything go back to how it was before." Yep. That's our Pam. But her little daydream of a normal day with Jim was highly adorable.
Roy takes this rather well, all told. Even if he did have it coming.
"But now, as you watch Jim take a phone call, type an email, trick Dwight into kicking a dent into his filing cabinet, and talk Michael out of buying a dog for the office, it’s already easier to think about the future." I can picture this scene really easily.
Well done on another CYOA adventure! Looking forward to the next one you have now implicitly committed to writing.
#4
Date: April 25, 2022 01:42 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Okay, but what if Pam drunkenly kept her nerve here? WHAT IF?
"You suppose those days are less likely to happen when you work in the same building." iseewhatyoudidthere.gif
Roy in full passive-aggressive mode right here. Not a good look on him. And incidentally not a great way to keep Pam feeling guilty.
"It’s the thought that if you make a decision, you might have to actually do something about it." CANON PAM: *nods guiltily*
"But you could stay on the phone with him for the rest of the day. Just existing at the same time. Breathing, listening, waiting." LOVE THIS. And Jim calling to check in.
"Fine. Whatever. I’m still going out." Don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out, Roy.
"He immediately gets a funny look on his face, as if he regrets saying that." This moment will haunt Jim's dreams.
You wrote them a heated moment over a game of chess. Let's just take a second and acknowledge that.
HE HAD MARK BUY HER CREAMER. HEART. EYES.
A very sweet ending to this. And so much pain and angst avoided. Which was your plan all along, wasn't it?
#3
1 [Report This]Date: April 25, 2022 12:28 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
A little rocky to start out but it ended well. It all gave Pam the time and courage to really think about what she wants and who she wants to do everything with. Even if that means walking her own path for a bit.
A little heartbreaking for Jim here. To show how he's feeling rather than outright tell her with the brushing of her hair? Kill me now. To see her walk in, buy two Cokes and leave again? Extra death. Her knowing he's feeling like he's getting shoved deeper into the friendzone? I'm already dead! What more do you want! Then for her to tell Jim she's single! In the words of my profession, "CLEAR!" ZAP! "We've got pulses back!" Really feels like she's also communicating that her feelings towards Jim are also real. She needs time to settle down, but those feelings are there, they're finally in front of her face, and she knows there's still a future out there for her with Jim who makes her feel as special as he does.
Hey! Look at that! I made it through all the paths. Great job with this one. Lots of fun to see how differently things could have gone if just one or two small things changed. You really did a great job with everything.
Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat!
1 [Report This]Date: April 25, 2022 12:12 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
In an odd way the nice thing about the Dunder Mifflin office is that in between bits of Michael inspired insanity, there can be long stretches of boring which can lead to moments like this. Clearly Pam is having one of those days. I think here, it's telling that a lot of her thoughts are centered around what other people think of her. How they would perceive things. That feels very much like Pam. Always putting others before herself.
One last chance for Roy to get it right there at lunch. And he blows it. Again, he's just assuming she'll go along with what he wants rather than asking what she might want to do. Very much feels like the straw that breaks the camel's back there. And as always Jim is there to make sure she's ok. Good job Jim.
1 [Report This]Date: April 25, 2022 12:01 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Ok, so this one is interesting for sure. Starting out with the way Jim reacted to her question. Awww, Jim. Yeah, that probably stung even if she doesn't quite figure it out. She's still drunk after all. However, he does take care of her nicely. Gets her food, gets her home, all of that. But then the thoughts (and vomit) start to come up. She's got a lot on her mind for sure. This time around it feels like a simple apology from Roy to her and from her to Roy just doesn't quite cut it. Same with her thinking about how she still basically just goes along with what Roy wants. She's not done getting ready but they have to leave. He'll only go out with her if his buddies aren't doing anything. He comments they're almost out of milk, she's the one who says she'll go shopping. There's an imbalance there and it feels like she's feeling it more and more.
Also feels like the reason is because she's comparing Roy to Jim and more and more finding Jim lacking. Should be really interesting to see where we go from here.
Date: April 25, 2022 11:50 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
And there's Canon Pam. Avoiding the conflict. Letting Roy off the hook. Though to be fair, that did feel like a heartfelt apology from him. So, it's back to normal for everyone and they'll all just have to wait and suffer through the rest of canon before they can really feel happy. Not to say this version isn't good, it is! Onto other paths and we'll see where they lead.
Date: April 25, 2022 11:50 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
And there's Canon Pam. Avoiding the conflict. Letting Roy off the hook. Though to be fair, that did feel like a heartfelt apology from him. So, it's back to normal for everyone and they'll all just have to wait and suffer through the rest of canon before they can really feel happy. Not to say this version isn't good, it is!
1 [Report This]Date: April 25, 2022 11:44 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
So that was a bit of a ride. Feisty Pam was the way to go for this first round for sure. She didn't back down there with Roy when he got home and stood her ground again when he got home. I think it's telling of Roy that he says "one bad night and you're doing this?" when she just said it's been a lot more than one bad night. Guy can be kind of dense.
Big kudo's to Jim there. I'm sure his imagination went into overdrive when she called for a place to crash and also when he saw her with the suitcases in the driveway. However he also doesn't push her into anything she's not ready for. The wound is still fresh and he knows she needs her friend right now. Though the fact he had Mark pick up her favorite creamer was adorable.
So, an early vision of Fancy New Beesly too. She is honest with herself, she's not avoiding the hard conversations, and there at the end has invited Jim over. Loved it. Like I said a lot of fun and introspective for my first go through of this story. Onto other paths.
Date: April 25, 2022 11:23 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Ok, so maybe not too off canon regardless. Nice to get some fill in what the cameras didn't catch there. And Angela didn't saying anything about her kissing Jim either. Still Pam feels feisty right now. Let's go with the more feisty option this time around.
1 [Report This]Date: April 25, 2022 11:19 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Look at Drunk Pam's thoughts go all over the place. Still annoyed at Roy. Loving the attention Jim is giving her. Loving the feeling she has what with act first think later. Getting all hot and bothered with Jim right there. That's fun. And here we go off into non-canon land already! I feel like I need to go get a pad of paper to keep track of everywhere I go with this one. In fact, I'm going to do just that. Away we go!
Date: April 24, 2022 11:14 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
So awesome you did another one of these! I absolutely love it. Nice work!
Date: April 24, 2022 11:14 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
So awesome you did another one of these! I absolutely love it. Nice work!
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 04:38 pm Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Loving these! Thank yous so so so much for writing!!!
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 07:41 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Ooh, this one is left so unresolved. And Roy actually being sort of... decent? Color me surprised.
(Also, I'm pretty sure since the added footage of Superfan episodes came out, there's no longer a debate that Jim canonically responsible for Pam's Dundie award :)
This one was great fun, TPB!
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 07:36 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Okay, I really like what Jim did here. He made his intentions clear without really scaring her (like in CN, twice). I don't think he did anything wrong, necessarily, in CN by being honest, but I do think if he'd approached it all a bit differently it might have had a different outcome. (The timing is a key factor, of course, as well.)
"Seeing your engagement ring always made you think about the night you and Roy got engaged, never your future wedding. You always tried to imagine it, but there was nothing in place to give you inspiration. It was just easier to think about the past."
This is a great way to show how Pam pushed forward while we were all screaming at her to wake up. And I love the juxtaposition between her and Roy's past with her and Jim's future.
This one was my favorite!
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 07:25 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
“Um, can I ask you your opinion on… something kind of personal?”
He rolls his eyes and sighs heavily. “You don’t look fat.”
All of this Dwight dialogue was superb, lol
"Maybe you can catch Meredith before she comes in and take a swig of her Big Gulp."
This made me chuckle.
"Go get 'em tiger" THE CUTEST
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 07:10 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
"What happens after this sentence ends? What if there’s nothing better than you and Roy?"
This is such a great way of putting Pam's fear into words, I love it.
These two bits:
"Of course, fourteen-year-old Pam knew who she was without Roy Anderson. Maybe you’ll get back there one day."
"You start packing clothes and shoes and other random things. You can’t tell what your thought process is as you cram a faded beach towel and some books you’ve never read into an old suitcase, only that it’s hard to figure out what things are important to you."
...hurt me. Good job!
This was a sweet ending and actually felt really authentic to what would have happened and how it would have happened if she'd dumped Roy before CN.
Date: April 24, 2022 06:52 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Very clever way to make "Do you think I should break up with Roy?" exactly what was going through her mind in canon.
"You don’t quite know how to feel about the silence that responds, but the nice thing about silence is that it doesn’t demand very much of you."
Ooh, I loved this line.
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 06:49 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Yeah! What a fun setup! (Although too late, Pam, the entire office saw you guys)
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 06:26 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Loved all of these! Can't wait for your next adventure series!!
1 [Report This]Date: April 24, 2022 06:20 am Title: Fourteen Beers at Chili's
Yessss Roy is gone! Loved this one