Date: July 24, 2022 03:00 pm Title: Frisson
Even though I enjoyed all the chapters, I loved this one. This is the first time I've read a take on their lunch at Cugino's and it fit their characters so well. Good Job!
Date: August 14, 2009 07:39 am Title: Old and New
What a beautiful story! Thanks for all the character insight and missing scenes, Annabel!
9 [Report This]Date: September 11, 2008 10:34 pm Title: Echo
so i'm re-reading this series, since it's been closed out. "He is working without a net here, and there is a heady freedom in thinking how simple and terrifying it would be to take her other hand, hold her gaze, and say, I think I could make you happy. Please let me try.
He sees her falter and look away, and this is familiar too: the door opening, a few dizzying seconds of possibility, and then she is gone."
and - i just teared up! we've just seen them do this, just over and over. it's such a recognizable motion, but it's still so, so sad.
9 [Report This]Date: September 11, 2008 09:39 pm Title: Old and New
first of all - congrats on the new baby! i hope all of that is going well, even though the naps are few and far between. second, i love you love you love you. blind pancake making???? just amazing. this was so touching and gentle - really rocked the house. most importantly, it was a great epilogue.
Date: September 10, 2008 05:12 am Title: Old and New
What a great, quiet, stylish ending to this series...though the only thing that surprises me about that is your getting it written with an infant around - and yes, the notion of babies sleeping all the time is a big scam, in my experience too ;-)
Anyway - I love how Jim expresses his intuitive understanding of how Pam sees herself in three simple words - and she gets it just as clearly. That brevity is so true to the characters. I also like the metaphor of blindfolded Jim - he's heading into their future just as blindly as she is, but he's willing to let it happen, have fun with it. His joyful embrace of that - like an excited kid who finally got what he wants (love that he races back in 12 minutes) contrasts so well with her natural self-doubt and anxiety. And how perfect that just seeing him - just the fact of him - is enough to restore her faith.
Beautifully done Annabel, as usual. (Now about that wardrobe malfunction...hee ;-)
Date: September 09, 2008 07:59 pm Title: Old and New
"No, it isn't," she agrees.
I feel like that unseen moment you've created was when Pam stopped selling herself short.
Thanks for a great fic! Congrats on your new baby, too :)
Date: September 09, 2008 06:35 pm Title: Old and New
Sigh. Just had to read the whole thing again. Amazing, as usual. I love how the thought of this type of closeness with Jim scares her for a moment, since it's new and intense and very different from what she and Roy had become. But then once she sees him, all her doubts disappear. "Welcome home." Perfect.
And I just want to say 'welcome home' to you as well. I became quite excited when I saw your smutcake icon back on the boards. My firstborn fooled me by sleeping in the hospital and then scared the crap out of me by dozing a mere 45 minutes the entire first day home. I realized then and there I had made a grave mistake. Many a winter night, I sat in the rocker, with the kid trying to decide if he wanted to sleep or feed for over an hour, and figured I was the only one in the world awake at 3am. So I remember the newborn phase well. I wish you and your hubby the best with your little one. My boy turns 22 next month.
Date: September 09, 2008 03:05 pm Title: Old and New
Wow. Your writing, even when/if it brings angst, makes me ridiculously happy. I reread this whole series, and it is just so good. Your pacing is always just so right, which is so difficult to do. I'm glad the little one left you just a little bit of time to write. :) I hope you will grace us with more writing when the inspiration strikes!
10 [Report This]Date: September 09, 2008 02:35 pm Title: Old and New
Annabel, I am so happy I could cry tears of joy right now(I know it's nauseating, but humor me) : ) First and foremost, congratulations and welcome back to the playground! Since I wanted the full impact of this epilogue, I re-read the last two chaps. It was like visiting an old friend. Reminded me why you're on my faves list.
Needless to say, I loved every little detail of this from the blind pancakes and their background story to the macaroni-and-cheese fritters to the 12-minute round trip. Feel free to put any sleepless hours to use, my friend. You have an adoring audience. I suspect your "protege", Talkative, will be happy to see this, too.
P.S. Posted this and then had to modify. Talkative beat me to the punch! She IS happy, and I'm about to have a heart attack (plus, I think I need to change my pants). Excuse me...
Author's Response: Hello again, NanReg. Thanks for the congrats... it's good to be back! Yes, Talkative got firsties. Sorry about your pants! :D
10 [Report This]Date: September 09, 2008 02:23 pm Title: Old and New
Oh, Annabel, I just reread the majority of this story (you know... to refresh my memory) and I have to say that I would read those "privacy policy statements" I get from every freaking place nowadays if you wrote them. Seriously, you are wonderful and I'm so glad you're back! I'd like to give you more specifics, but I'm overwhelmed. ;-)
Author's Response:
Hi wendolf! You'll love my upcoming fic, Privacy Policy, then! How exciting; I wasn't sure it would have an audience!
Seriously, thank you, and I'm glad to be back!
10 [Report This]Date: September 09, 2008 02:17 pm Title: Old and New
A long time in the making, maybe, but definitely worth it. This is such a beautiful story. Your insight into these two is outstanding, to say nothing of the way you've captured their banter. This epilogue was a terrific cap to an amazing journey. Congrats on the new baby, and I hope we'll see you around here again soon! :)
Author's Response: Thank you so much, callisto! I hope so too!
10 [Report This]Date: September 09, 2008 01:49 pm Title: Clairvoyance
::attempts to approach you in a cool, collected, un-Kelly-like fashion::
::probably fails::
So, uh, hi. First off, I have the biggest fanfiction crush on you in the history of all fanfiction crushes ever. I decided to start posting here after I read Talk and Prelude (erm, particularly Talk, hence the penname).
Second, thank you so much for finishing this story. I've read each of your stories repeatedly, and I was in the habit of forgetting that this one wasn't completed. Something of a letdown, yes, but then I'd just go read Talk again, and everything would be better. Or at least, you know, smuttier. Same difference?
Again, like everything else you've shared with us here, shows that you have a remarkable gift for language, phrasing, and characterization. The tension and humor are perfect. It floors me every single time I read your work. You should either be writing for the show or letting us know when your novel comes out.
Congratulations on your new little one. I'm sure life is hectic, but do drop in now and again, okay? If it would be of any help, know that you have a willing collaborator. Plus, I'm pretty sure that, working together, we could seriously make NanReg faint. And that would be awesome. :)
Author's Response:
Thank you Talkative! I've been away for a while, so I'm afraid I had no idea that someone liked Talk enough to take a pen name based on it. What an amazing compliment, to go with all the other pretty compliments you've paid me here!
I've just read Shotgun Wedding, which well deserves its pretty blue ribbon. If you can guarantee that NanReg will do some comedy fainting, I'd love to collaborate with you on a story some time.
10 [Report This]Date: August 28, 2008 10:46 pm Title: Clairvoyance
I sincerely hope you return to this someday. It's just beautiful and human and I don't know what else to say.
Date: May 30, 2008 06:09 pm Title: Nova
I'm sorry I never reviewed this right away, but I was so distraught at the proposal interruptus, that I couldn't get into the proper mood for reviewing. I'm better now. :) This chapter helped a lot with that, and I thank you. It's so nice to read about those moments between them when everything clicks and you realize that there really is no one else for them but each other. I love "first time" fics from Jim's POV, because I can just visualize how totally overwhelming it must have been for him to realize his dream of completely belonging to Pam. Makes me smile.
Best wishes with impending mommyhood. Enjoy your little one and sleep when he/she sleeps. My youngest just finished high school this week, but I fondly remember snuggling with my two as newborns. You'll have a great summer!
Author's Response: No worries, EH, look at me waiting over three months to respond to your review! I'm so glad you liked it, and I hope Season 5 will improve your mood!
10 [Report This]Date: May 17, 2008 09:58 am Title: Nova
Yeah, just lovely. Again, I so envy your pacing. Will try to take notes :)
I particularly liked the subtle contrast of the daytime scene to the others. Your prose let my mind fill in sounds and colors that made the scenes seem (as they did to Jim) as though they happened on different days -- traffic noise and fountain spray versus the almost womb-like insularity of Jim and Pam.
Did that sound gross? (she asks the pregnant lady)
Well, all that to say thanks for another beautiful chapter. Best of luck with all of the life changes you're getting to experience now. When you feel like writing again, it will be that much richer. :)
Author's Response:
Thank you, nomadshan! Hee hee, "womb-like"... no, I am now immune to being disgusted by any talk of wombs.
Thank you for pointing out the contrast between the scene in New York and the moments in Pam's living room. I tend to try to write what I "see" in my head, and I think the reason the New York section had such a different feel was that the "camera" (if you will) was pulled back to the distance between two people who are breaking up in a public place, while the other scenes were from a much more intimate vantage point, where details are too close to be in clear focus. In other words, the effect you mention was a happy accident. That gives me something to think about, which is very helpful.
9 [Report This]Date: May 17, 2008 08:42 am Title: Nova
you know, something i've always wondered: wouldn't they think it's a little strange or off-putting to become intimate? i've never written that into one of my stories, but i've always thought about it. i like that you address the awkwardness, and that's not really awkwardness, more like newness. i love that. the banter was good, as always. i esp liked: "Hi there... Do I know you?"
Author's Response: Thank you, Emilys List! As someone who married her best friend, I guess I'm predisposed to believe that yes, the transition would be a little strange at first. Even though the feelings between these two characters have been volatile for some time, I agree that there's some part of the experience that would have to be disorienting. I'm glad you thought it worked!
Date: May 17, 2008 06:55 am Title: Nova
Annabel - I read this and as I do wonder why I even bother writing.
Thank you.
Author's Response: xoxoxo, you write because you are very, very, very talented! Thank you for that lavish compliment, though! :D
Date: May 17, 2008 06:04 am Title: Nova
This made me ridiculously happy. Images like this: their faces so close her features are just a soft blur...just put the reader right there with the characters. Fantastic. Such great details - from the perfect awkwardness of the woman asking him to take a photo in the midst of his break-up with Karen, to the lush ones when he's with Pam.
Love how you always seamlessly mingle the sexy with the vulnerability and the wit (just as I imagine they'd be together.) “Yes,” he says, reemerging from the shallow valley of her navel. Now that is a gorgeous and unspeakably hot moment. And this: “Pam—” he says thickly, “I’m going to… I can’t stop…” Oh, my.
But, if I went back a cited every line, image, bit of dialogue I loved, I'd have to transcribe your entire story.
(And how generous of you to deliver this to us, when you must be very close to your actual delivery! Hope you're feeling well...how exciting!)
PS for some reason this review is formatting all wonky. Please excuse ;-)
Date: May 16, 2008 10:06 pm Title: Nova
So glad you updated...all your stories are so wonderful and the dialog is always perfect and in character. Great job :)
10 [Report This]Date: May 16, 2008 08:12 pm Title: Nova
This is delicious: “This is everything… you have no idea,” he says, the words unfiltered by any conscious thought at all. Your style is just gorgeous, Annabel.
And the theme of "again:" The ease of his own homecoming worries him, a little. He is sitting across the table from Pam, (again), feeling giddy when he makes her double over with laughter (again), trying not to watch her face too closely (again), willing himself to expect nothing and failing (again). It fits him like a glove... She wraps her limbs around him, moving in concert with him as he sinks into her, again and again, until the last few seconds of his willpower are exhausted. Amazingly lovely and hot.
Date: May 16, 2008 05:26 pm Title: Turn
Annabel, this is a response to your response to my first review for this chapter. You know, I remember thinking, right after I hit submit, that something wasn't right with my wording and when I read your response, I thought...really? THAT'S what you wrote to her? Well, THAT didn't come out right at ALL. So here's my second attempt:
There are a lot of scenes and moments in the Jim and Pam storyline that I have wanted to write about but when it comes to the "big" moments, I always hesitate and back off. I figure if it's already been done and done well and I can't bring anything fresh to it, what's the point? I know prevailing wisdom says that each author brings his or her own voice to it and make it unique, but maybe I just don't have that much faith in myself.
So, when I read this chapter, I was knocked out. First, you didn't shy away from writing it. Second, you took them on a wonderfully hot date. And since it was you writing it, it was all beautiful to read.
God, I hope that came out better than the first one. I need a preview button for reviews!
Author's Response: Oh, Sweetpea, please don't worry, I didn't see anything wrong at all with your earlier review. I hope my response didn't sound snippy... this is my third (and probably last) time through the First Date scene myself, and this story in particular was a kind of self-challenge to see if I could do anything new with some well-worn Office moments, like "Casino Night" and "Booze Cruise" and "Beach Games." I felt the same as you; a little hesitant about working with materials that have been tackled by so many talented souls. Curse these interwebs... it sure is hard to convey sincerity, but I sincerely completely missed anything less than complimentary in your first response. Thank you for your generous compliments, as well!
Date: May 16, 2008 03:38 pm Title: Nova
That was the perfect antidote to season finale blues. You're unbelievably good at making scenes between Jim and Pam sensual and so charged without being graphical. It's always so evocative. That was just perfect.
Date: May 16, 2008 03:27 pm Title: Nova
God bless you, Annabel. Just the most wonderful, delicious, warm, comforting, arousing bit of a medicine on my broken heart. Thank you so much.
10 [Report This]Date: May 16, 2008 03:21 pm Title: Nova
Annabel, I could cry right now. You have completely and totally made my day just by being you--wonderful, brilliant, fabulously pregnant you. This was a dream. I will visit later and properly review when I am capable of coherence. For now: *sigh* and "squeeeee" : )
Date: April 24, 2008 02:38 pm Title: Turn
Hey, I'm a patient person. Enjoyed the new chapter and the next one sounds like one I won't want to miss. Glad you're back.
Author's Response: Thank you for being patient, just-once! :) The pace of these chapter postings requires an unreasonable amount of patience.