1 [Report This]Date: December 17, 2020 10:48 pm Title: Beesly
I thought the quirky style really worked here. Brief but beautiful.
10 [Report This]Date: February 18, 2010 09:57 pm Title: Beesly
This was such a wonderful, wonderful story!
So simple yet so sweet and heartfelt. That last line: "He's starting to feel like he doesn't fit in this office again. It's okay, because he fits perfectly beside her." made my throat tightened and sigh happily.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Date: September 19, 2008 12:17 pm Title: Beesly
oh, this was lovely. said so sweetly with so little. i think the word this former english major is grasping for is succint. sharp. you wrenched my heart just as well as you made me smile at the end. fantastic job. :)
Date: August 17, 2008 05:29 pm Title: Beesly
Wow. I think this must be one of the best stories I've read here. IT summarizes their relationship in such a poignant and effective style. I don't know how to properly describe it, but it's like I read a feeling and not just words, and that's really difficult to accomplish. So congrats on a GREAT story.
Date: April 28, 2008 10:00 pm Title: Beesly
I loved the last two lines...makes me want to cry :)
Date: January 21, 2008 02:24 pm Title: Beesly
I loved "Hello Goodbye" and I loved this. You always manage to point out the mindset behind the actions and words of these two in a way that we may not have considered. Then I shake my head and think, "Of course, that's what he/she meant!" You really have a feel for these characters. My favorite line was the one where he couldn't be Halpert if she wasn't Beesly. So sad.
Date: January 20, 2008 09:51 pm Title: Beesly
OMG!!! This story was incredible. Seriously, you're an amazing writer, and you just had these sentences, these amazing jewels just strewn out all over this story. These lines that just pull at your heart. I'm flipping right now. I mean, the whole thing about pretending not to fall, and then realizing he'd fallen. I don't really read the stories that take place before the show started, but this kinda summarized for me in the most heart-breaking way. And the whole:
"He didn't think he could be Halpert if she couldn't be Beesly."
and...
"Of all the things that hurt him that night, this was the worst: how she had made him be the one to let go."
I LOVE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT! It killed me that she squeezed as he pulled away. And I've never heard another story mention that before. Maybe lots exist out there, but I haven't read them. OH, and also...
"He didn’t even try to ignore the thrill it gave him to be able to say it."
I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT! But he had that huge grin on his face, my god, he must have loved it.
Okay, sorry for such a long crazy review. It's late and I'm sleepy and goofy, and I really love this story. Adding it to my favorites and moving on to check out the other stuff you've written.
Author's Response: Oh no don't you dare apologise for a long review! They're like the best thing ever, especially when they're as nice as this one! I'm glad you picked up on the hands thing because it only just occurred to me really, and when I thought about it I couldn't believe more people hadn't mentioned it. And yeah I love the idea that calling her Beesly is like a little reminder that she's only engaged and then of course when he speaks to her again, he throws it out a couple of times because he can! Thanks again :)
Date: January 20, 2008 09:15 pm Title: Beesly
Love how you've played with the language here - all the meanings and nuances of naming, 'calling'...it's not just facile - it's a truly fresh filter to view so many aspects of their relationship.
This perfectly encapsulates the desperation that drove Jim to finally confess: She was still Pam, still Beesly but not. There was an expiration date on his heart now, like one of her yoghurt lids. She was a Bride now. A wife soon. An Anderson forever.
So clear and insightful and wonderfully written.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for such a thoughtful, detailed, review. I'm glad you liked this angle because with such a much loved, much thought about pairing like this, the hardest thing can be trying to find a new way to approach writing it. Also I'm glad you picked that part out to quote because it's my favourite bit, definitely sums up what made Jim confess like he did.
Date: January 20, 2008 08:44 pm Title: Beesly
He called Pam a mistake, unimportant, nothing, nothing, nothing at all to him. He regretted it immediately, called her his best friend and wished he could just call her on the damn phone and ask where it all went wrong and why she held his hands so tight while she broke his heart.
This is awesome and heart-wrenching, shootingstars! I love the repetition of call throughout this, as a way of underlining the importance and power of names. I'd never thought of Beesly as a subtle affirmation of "engaged ain't married" before!
Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the repetition of call because I was a bit worried it might get too much but then again it was such a fun theme to pull through. Yeah I totally see 'Beesly' as a little reminder of 'engaged ain't married' :)
Date: January 20, 2008 07:45 pm Title: Beesly
Oh, boy. This is really something special. Lovely look at one of the charming aspects of their relationship. You really have a knack for writing what lies beneath the surface of these characters. Loved this.
Author's Response: Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to leave a comment :)
Date: January 20, 2008 07:32 pm Title: Beesly
What a wonderful premise! I love the idea that every time Jim called her Beesly it was like an affirmation that there was still a chance. Great job!
Author's Response: Thanks so much. Yeah that's how I see the whole Beesly thing, definitely a tiny reminder of how he still had a chance but not indefinitely. Thanks :)
Date: January 20, 2008 07:00 pm Title: Beesly
I loved this *so much.* Especially the part about his heart having an expiration date and the fact that she didn't let go of his hands until he pulled away. Beautiful.
Author's Response: Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you pointed at those bits because they're my favourite parts of this story. Thanks again :)
8 [Report This]Date: January 20, 2008 06:40 pm Title: Beesly
"They shared stories at a tiny table, over fast food and soda from cheap plastic cups. They talked like best friends catching up after years of absence: rapid-fire, constantly interrupting each other, creating sentences senseless to anyone but them."
"They talked over intimate candlelit tables and expensive wine in oversized glasses. They took turns talking, politely, quietly, hiding more than they shared."
Beautiful story. I love the parts I quoted above - another example of why Pam's the one and Karen isn't.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I'm glad you noticed those bits because I love them and they were actually last minute additions to this story. Thanks again
Date: January 20, 2008 06:08 pm Title: Beesly
This is just plain beautiful writing, shootingstars, but what knocks me out about this story (and hello, goodbye) is that you somehow manage to dig way underneath the surface and find the emotions that we all know are there. In fact, as true Office geeks are wont to do, we've examined those emotions, debated, speculated, and done it all over again. But you manage to shed new light on these emotional moments and make them seem brand new again. Such a pleasure to read, so clever, and a wonderful review of their relationship.
Author's Response: Wow! Thank you for such a detailed review. I'm really pleased to see you find my writing original because I do often find with a much loved pairing like this, that the hardest thing isn't writing it's the moment before the writing when you have to find a new angle to take things from. Thanks again!
Date: January 20, 2008 05:57 pm Title: Beesly
I think this is such a wonderfully fresh angle to examine a familiar dynamic. What is more powerful or more revealing than the words we choose to represent the people and things we care about. I wish that I had written this!
Author's Response: Thanks! I'm glad you found it a fresh angle because so often with a much loved pairing like this, finding a fresh angle to write from is the hardest thing. Thanks!
10 [Report This]Date: January 20, 2008 05:41 pm Title: Beesly
Boyohboyoyboy. I looooooooooooved this, shootingstars. Loved it like a day off from work (which I don't have tomorrow, by the way). Loved it like dark chocolate. Loved it like an extra hour of sleep. I could keep going. Suffice it to say, I loved it. Too many good lines to quote. Instant favorite.
Author's Response: Wow thanks so much NanReg. I love reviews like this like all the things you just listed. Thanks for taking a moment to comment :)
10 [Report This]Date: January 20, 2008 05:31 pm Title: Beesly
Gorgeous.
10 [Report This]Date: January 20, 2008 04:09 pm Title: Beesly
I loved that line in your Hello/Goodbye story and this was just so amazing. I was going to paste my favorite parts, but that would pretty much be everything. I love when he describes being a fool in the early days, haven't we all been there before? And "While she was still Beesly, he could still be himself," made my heart ache a little and I don't know why, except it is such a beautiful line. Ooohhhh, and the way you descibed the way Jim talks to Pam and Karen was nothing short of brilliant. I've said it before but you're an amazing writer. You have a very distinct style that is such a pleasure to read. And your ability to express such psychological and emotional depth in such short clips in just...wow. Can't wait for the next one!!!!
Author's Response: Thank you so much for such a lovely response. I'm glad you like my writing style because I can't seem to write in any other way at the moment! Thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and respond with such a detailed review.