Date: August 14, 2007 01:21 pm Title: Pam's Problem
Love the Angel and Devil talking to Pam
Author's Response: I'm glad you like it. It was just an idea that I had that morphed into something huger. As is obvious by the word counts on my last 3 chapters. Thanks for the review gotkona.
Date: August 14, 2007 11:46 am Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
OMG -- I adore this description of Devil "...the unconscious part of your mind that wants to cross ankles on the small of Jim’s back" Just wow to this whole chapter. Dealing with Karen, writing the note. Perfect for Angel & Devil.
Author's Response: Ha, I'm glad you liked that self-description from Devil. She's a little tired of being marginalized, even though she prompts both the speech and the medal, the fact that Pam won't tell Jim she loves him pisses her off. And makes her wear her Juicy Couture to work....Though, Devil's going to be pretty excited, pretty soon.
Date: August 14, 2007 10:33 am Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
Wow - can I tell you how much I love this story? Pam's worries that Jim had outgrown her were so poignant my heart hurt. But I think I know that he hasn't. It makes total sense that Pam thinks that Jim is really happy with Karen. It will be so great when she realizes that he isn't! I also loved the moment with Toby when Pam finds the medal. So perfect! This is just so awesome. I can't wait for the rest!
Author's Response: I just tried to get into Pam's head for this, and while there wasn't really much in the episode to point to it, it seemed to be logical that Pam would worry about that. Jim was interviewing, getting a haircut, and just becoming more adult. So, why wouldn't Pam be both proud and sad? Yeah, poor Toby, even Devil who is all about it, couldn't figure out that he likes her. Sad. Thanks for your review supergirlsudz and congrats on your first fic. I haven't reviewed it yet, but I will.
10 [Report This]Date: August 14, 2007 09:51 am Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
I don't really have anything to actually say because this chapter was so freaking awesome! :D I just wanted to tell you (again) how awesome this story is and how much I love it. Really, truly.
Oh, and this line?: “DEFCON Twenty! That’s only a step away from DEFCON Midnight! Maybe we should evacuate. Pam, we’ve got to find a cheese pita!”
I laughed out loud for a good minute. :)
Can't wait for more!!!
Author's Response: I almost didn't write this fic because I wanted to write a multi-chapter vignette-like story called "The DEFCON Is Rising", which would detail various meetings of the women and Michael. DEFCON Midnight was going to be the name of the last chapter. So I cannibalized that a little for that line, and I'm glad you liked it. I still might write the story, I enjoy ensemble/conversational pieces. Anyway, thank for your kind words and review I Know This Much Is True.
10 [Report This]Date: August 14, 2007 07:53 am Title: Pam's Problem
That was wonderful! I'd just like to add that I'm looking forward to this final chapter for pt. 2 of The Job almost as much as the premiere of season 4.
Author's Response: That is very nice of you to say/write! Part II of "The Job" should be a little while, but I won't leave you hanging. I'll try to keep it under 10,000 words too. Thanks for the review and kind words Jordon.
Date: August 14, 2007 06:05 am Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
Great chapter. You did such a good job tying everything in. I especially loved how the "medal" attached itself to the handbook, etc. Very clever. I also love that you write long chapters " )
Author's Response: I do, indeed, write long chapters. It's not totally on purpose, I just outline what I want to do and however long it takes to get there, that's how long the chapter is. The dynamic of the story lends itself to a lot of exposition, so the words pile up. I'm glad you liked the medal bit, I thought it was a little more realistic then her just having it on her desk over a year later and reaching for it. Plus the fact that "Sexual Harassment" was the episode before "Office Olympics" explains why it was on top of it, and attached. Thanks for the review NanReg.
10 [Report This]Date: August 14, 2007 05:56 am Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
I can't wait to read the next chapter! Envisioning Pam shoving something collated up Karen's arse will help me get by til then. :o)
Author's Response: I almost cut that line from Devil....but instead I cushioned it with both Pam and Angel rebuking Devil. I just figured despite the fact that Pam, as seen by the camera, is calm pretty much the whole episode. There is no way part of her isn't pissed off at Karen for how she's acting. Thanks for your review officefreak.
10 [Report This]Date: August 14, 2007 04:45 am Title: I Wish You Would
I really like how you filled in the blanks of the Pam/Jim beach scene. Totally believable. Great work!
Author's Response: Thanks, it was a really tricky thing to do and I re-wrote it a whole bunch of times. I'm glad that you found that it was believable. Thanks for your review time4moxie.
10 [Report This]Date: August 13, 2007 10:01 pm Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
Oh, dundie, how you continue to create such greatness with every chapter like it's nothing, like it's easy astounds me. A wonderful job, as always. I especially loved the scene when Pam finds the gold medal and writes the note. Funny but sweet. I cannot wait to read the next part, I know it's going to be just as incredible as this entire story is. Plus, if anyone can get Pam down in that last talking head, it's you. :)
Author's Response: Oh, you are too kind. I went back and forth on how Pam would find the medal, but I decided to go with "by accident." Who knew that it was actually Toby who eventually got Pam and Jim together? That guy can't catch a break. Thank for your awesome review, oobadnama, I really appreciate your support of my story.
Date: August 13, 2007 09:22 pm Title: The DEFCON Is Rising
I wonder what Jim is going to think when he finds out that his new girlfriend is a loony. Then again, crazy people have more fun.
Author's Response: True. Though, Devil and Angel aren't going to be around for too much longer. Their time is coming to an end. Thanks for the review Alex Wert.
Date: August 07, 2007 04:33 pm Title: I Wish You Would
I was gone for a few days so it was really, really, really awesome for me to come back to an e-mail saying this story was updated. But just.. ugh. How do you do it? Seriously. I said that I thought your last chapter was the perfect Pam voice during Beach Games, and I still hold that true for this chapter but I'm thinking maybe you just got Pam's voice down in general. Her fears even when she's being so brave, her courage, her hope. It kills me and delights me at the same time. I am just in awe of this story and in you for penning it so well. I cannot wait to read more (especially the secret assistants to the secret assistant to the regional manager, hehe) and just.. gah. So much with the love I have for this.. another chapter so beautifully done.
Author's Response: I have to say that Pam really is my favorite character on the show, because more than anyone else, she seems to have more going on beneath the surface that the cameras only glimpse at. So, this fic is really about me trying to expand on that, and I'm glad you've liked it so far. Thanks for your, as always, excellent review oobadnama, I appreciate them greatly.
10 [Report This]Date: August 05, 2007 12:17 pm Title: I Wish You Would
Oh man! You are SO GOOD! :D I swear, while reading through this entire chapter I felt the exact same way that I felt while actually watching Pam's confession. :) Way to go! And everything about it is just so well done!
And I loved Michael and Pam's little interaction at the very end there:
“What about Toby?”
“Ugh, he’s not a part of anything Pam. Well, maybe except for a Dateline investigation.”
Haha, LOVED that. :)
I really, really love this story. Keep up the awesome work!
Author's Response: I'm glad that you liked the Michael speech, it was my attempt at redeeming Michael for the events of the day, and hopefully bringing a little humor after a really awkward or angsty moment (which is something the show almost always does). I momentarily worried that pedophilia might be a little much for a joke from Michael, but then again, he called Toby a "convicted rapist" in "The Convict,"....so....I wasn't that worried. Thank you for your review I Know This Much Is True.
10 [Report This]Date: August 05, 2007 11:59 am Title: The Essence of Mangoes
I absolutely loved this chapter! (It also helps that "Beach Games" was probably my favorite episode from this season)
And the KY and condoms in the parking lot? Oh man, just about died laughing at that part! :) Heehee! Great work!!
Author's Response: "Beach Games" was a favorite episode of mine too, and I think one of the best ones to explore possibilities in with fanfic. I'm glad you liked the KY and condoms part in the parking lot, I actually started with just the joke about their positions and worked backwards to that. Thank you very much for your review, I Know This Much Is True, I really appreciate it.
Date: August 05, 2007 10:31 am Title: I Wish You Would
Whew. I think I was holding my breath through most of that. You did a great job in capturing the tension and in recreating the conversation between Jim and Pam at the water's edge. I could envision that whole conversation happening. It was awkward but sincere, very in tune with their personalities in my opinion. Good job.
Author's Response: I'm glad that you felt that way, that's what I was trying to do. Sort of ramp up the tension and speed things up to a climax with her speech. The Jim/Pam water's edge speech was tricky, but hopefully it seemed realistic. I worried a little that they might not have quite a good enough memory to reference the events of "The Alliance" but hey, who forgets putting Dwight in a box? Thank you for your review NanReg.
Date: August 05, 2007 08:15 am Title: I Wish You Would
Wow. That was just 100% made of awesome. I've often wondered what happened between "I wish you would," and the awkward hug, and you've filled in the blanks perfectly here. I know much is made about how Jim diffuses emotional moments with jokes, but Pam does it too, and you captured that perfectly. I loved how they referenced some of their best pranks...it was like "see, this is why you guys at least have to be friends!" I also really loved the moment with Michael. I can totally imagine him saying just those words. And I hope he did :-) Anyways, great job. I can't wait for your next installment!
Author's Response: It was definitely challenging to basically extend scenes that are written by really, really talented writers and make them realistic. So, I'm glad that you found the Jim/Pam talk believable. As for Michael, I basically copied the writer's habit of making him an ass, then redeeming him with these talks. Plus, I truly think he feels like Dunder-Mifflin is a family (sans Toby). Thank you for your review supergirlsudz.
Date: August 05, 2007 07:15 am Title: I Wish You Would
You did a great job with the speech scene. The whole issue of "should Pam have told Jim she loved him" was debated after the episode, but you have captured the confusion of Pam's thought process at the time, and thus, the disjointed and abrupt way that she addressed her co-workers and Jim. I think she said as much as she dared, considering Karen's presence. And she realizes that she needs his friendship back more than anything right now.
Nice job. Looking foward to the next one.
Author's Response: I, obviously, agree with you on that. One of the inspirations for this fic, was what I thought was a visible internal battle within Pam when she gave that speech. She even says in "The Job," "he shot me down," which to me means that even though she didn't say that she loved him directly, it was understood. The reason she didn't say it, being Karen. Even so, she decided to salvage their friendship, because she missed him and wanted him back in whatever form she could get. So that's what I tried to go with for this chapter. Thank you for you review EverybodyHurts.
Date: August 05, 2007 12:00 am Title: I Wish You Would
I don't think I've ever told you how much I adore this story, but I do. OK? Just...know that. Because I freaking love/adore this and when I see a new chapter up I start grinning and just loving it. All of it.
I loved this chapter, and I can't wait for the next one! The one thing I felt like pointing out and mentioning [the only reason I'm reviewing now, maybe, instead of lurking] is how much I love that all of Pam's BeachSpeech took place over nearly forty seconds in the show, and maybe there weren't so many gaps between what she said, but this is so perfect in that it's so long, because it just fits, you know? No doubt Pam was thinking at a mile a minute and with that kind of adrenaline rush it's not a surprise if she thinks a billion things at once, about the past and possible futures and things, and I love that. It's certainly something I would do, considering the kind of person I tend to be. Like her, I mean.
Can't wait, I'm telling you. Angel and Devil's commentaries to the entire Imaginary Assistants to the Secret Assistant to the Regional Manager thing is going to be marvelous. And and and I'm going to love to see how much she acknowledges that she mentions Jim in every. single. talking head of hers and how she's just accepting things, even if she knows she may not want to, and - the last two episodes of the third season made me fall a gazillion times over for Pam Beesly, Fancy and New and Shiny, and seeing how amazing you've done for Beach Games, I'm convinced the one for The Job will be freaking brilliant.
Author's Response:
When I started writing fanfic, which was just a couple weeks ago I told myself that I was doing it just for fun, and for myself. That said, I can't surpress my grin at reading your awesome review! And now...to two of your points.
1. I'm really glad you liked the memory digression I put in Pam's Speech (first time they met, 5-5-05, the Unicorn pendent). It seems to me, that Pam and Jim are so tangled up in the past, that any movement in the present and future would necessarily conjure up memories. Not to mention, like with the Unicorn pendant, I think Jim represents a support that she's never had outside her family, and so she misses him. So I squeezed all of that in.
2. Next chapter, "The Job", should be a mixture of the lightheartedness of the first two chapters, with a bit of the angst of the last two chapters. You're completely right on the talking heads, and those, along with a couple other key things seen on camera, will make up the chapter. Is she really accepting of Jim leaving? is she just saying that to the camera? We'll see....Either way, thank you so much for your awesome review, moofoot, I really appreciate it.
Date: August 04, 2007 10:11 pm Title: I Wish You Would
Yea!! I can't wait!!
Author's Response: Thanks, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out exactly (7000+ word chapters usually make me have to take some time off to recover), but it's coming. Thank you for the review, office_romance.
10 [Report This]Date: July 30, 2007 06:51 pm Title: The Essence of Mangoes
Wow! What a great chapter. Quite lengthy I might add. The Devil's last outburst was just so necessary and wonderful. This story in going in my favs for that paragraph alone. I hope you continue with this story.
Author's Response: I do plan to continue with the story. I felt like Devil's word were necessary as well, something drastic and dramatic had to happen to push Pam to do something so out of character for her. Thank you for the review feared_or_loved.
Date: July 29, 2007 08:43 pm Title: The Essence of Mangoes
Pam’s mouth hung open slightly at the sight of the last items and she gulped back what she could only assume was the cinnamon Pop-Tart she had eaten before she left for work. Angela was going to have sex with Dwight on the beach? Twice? Ugh, gross… just horribly, horribly gross.
Yeah. That.
Apparently, her mind was trying to kill her.
Really? That's how I feel right now! Cool.
Author's Response: Thank you? I'm not sure if you liked the chapter or not, though I'm going to assume you did (why not?). I realize that the Angela thing might seem a little out of character. However, my justification is that any woman who is willing to at least makeout on top of someone in a playhouse thingy in the backyard during a party, wouldn't be shockingly opposed to having sex on the beach. Plus, I think its funny. So there is that. Either way, thank you for your review Alex Wert.
Date: July 29, 2007 05:17 pm Title: Pam's Problem
Ugh! You had to end it right there! This is hilarious!
Author's Response: Thank you, I hope I made you laugh. Thanks for the review Joni24.
Date: July 29, 2007 12:55 pm Title: The Essence of Mangoes
Oh, you DIDN'T just end there! You did! ARGH!
Way to take an awesome episode and make it even better. It seems like the whole story was pointing toward this chapter -- is that how you envisioned it? Just wow. I am loving hearing Pam's conscience debate itself.
Author's Response: I had to lisahoo! I actually knew for the beginning that I was going to, and make "Beach Games" a two-parter. It would take some stamina to read a 12,000 word chapter. As for your question, you are pretty much correct, so nice catch. Funny enough, I actually originally envisioned this story as a workplace oneshot, with each new chapter being a different employee. But...after re-watching Pam's speech in "Beach Games" I changed the focus. I love that scene because its obvious that she is fighting between saying what is safe (missed friendship) and what she really wants to say (i miss you and love you), at least in my opinion. So, Pam's speech is really the crux of this whole story, and it opens the next chapter. Thank you for the review, lisahoo.
10 [Report This]Date: July 29, 2007 11:18 am Title: Pam's Problem
This story is so fun, I am in love!!!! It's the first thing I read in a long time that I was like NO!!!! Don't end it here!!! Keep going!!!! Please post more soon :)
Author's Response: Haha, well I appreciate your enthusiasm. I'm not exactly sure when the next chapter will be up, I'm going to do Chapter Five of 'A Game of Global Domination' first I believe. I did back-to-back updates on this one because I got blue-ribboned and sort of wanted to update while I was still a featured story, but I lost that. Still, I won't leave you or anyone else hanging, Pam's speech is coming! Thank you for the review downtown.
10 [Report This]Date: July 29, 2007 08:50 am Title: The Essence of Mangoes
Um. Wow. Yeah, so I'm kinda in love with this story, I admit it. But this chapter is truly the best inside-Pam's-head-during-Beach-Games that I've ever read, I think. Just. Wow. Your characterizations of.. well.. everyone are spot-on and I just.. Wow. This was great. Really, really great.
Author's Response: I really appreciate your kind words. I'm especially glad you found the characterizations on target. Obviously with Pam, you have to go beyond what you see in the show, because that's what she shows the cameras, and I think there is a whole lot more going on. So thank you very much your review and your TWOP rec, I appreciate them both oobadnama.
10 [Report This]Date: July 29, 2007 08:08 am Title: Pam's Problem
This story is so good. It's hilarious and heartbreaking, all at the same time.
Oh, and "the KGB used to kill people by choking them with snow, so there were no traces?…That’s all I’m saying."
Still laughing out loud, that was great.
Author's Response: I appreciate what you say in your review. I really tried to have it both be funny but also angsty/dramatic, so I'm glad you saw that. The KGB thing is real too! I read it in a book, somewhere, I think Dan Brown maybe. Either way, thank you for the review Jordon.