Date: November 01, 2009 09:17 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
So, I know this is an old story, but I just had to say that this is very interesting to read now that Jim is moving on with his career in Dunder Mifflin, motivated in large part by Pam and that unborn baby of theirs. Which means that you really got Jim's character and what makes him tick. Great writing too. There's such a bittersweet feeling to this that's very appealing to me.
Part of me is sad to know, that short of DM going belly up, there's not much to make them leave the place now. Sometimes it feels almost tragic. Sometimes I realize that really it's just life; you make the best of it, even though many dreams just don't come true. That's one of the reasons that makes me love TO, Jim/Pam and this story -- that realism.
Just some rambling thoughts inspired by Jim's promotion, Pam's career change and this fic...
9 [Report This]Date: October 06, 2008 07:08 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
This was really well done, such a simple yet powerful look at marriage and what a man will do to take care of the woman that he loves. So much more honest and beautiful than the fluff we're used to. Thanks for this.
Date: May 21, 2008 04:25 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
What a nice picture of Jim the provider and future dad. I especially liked this: "Just when he started to connect with the empty feeling, he would open his eyes and look at her sleeping beside him, and slide close enough to her so he could feel her breath, and feel nothing less than a sort of joy."
Nice job. :)
Author's Response: Thanks TLK. I like your use of the word "provider" in your review; that is what I was going for. I think Jim would very much feel the sense of responsibility suggested by that word.
Date: May 20, 2008 07:31 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
This is such a great characterization of Jim. Loved this:
When he was home, when she was asleep next to him, he would sometimes think about the past. He would close his eyes and remember their time apart, concentrating on it, trying to feel it. Just when he started to connect with the empty feeling, he would open his eyes and look at her sleeping beside him, and slide close enough to her so he could feel her breath, and feel nothing less than a sort of joy.
It seems exactly like the kind of thing he would do.
Great little piece...love your style.
Author's Response: Thanks so much, callisto. Glad the Jim characterization rings true, and since I think of myself as having a pretty vanilla writing style compared to many writers here, it's nice to get a compliment on that.
Date: May 13, 2008 08:00 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
I really enjoyed this piece. It's very poignant and true to character. I especially love the title - I have fond childhood memories of that song!
Author's Response: It's a great song, isn't it? Thanks for the review!
Date: May 12, 2008 06:54 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
As always, brokenloon, you rock. The mood of this piece was so effectively depressing. But that made it easy to see just how Pam truly is a ray of sunshine in Jim's life (to steal a line from Ricky Gervais). He'll put up with having a crappy job he hates just as long as he gets to be with her.
I also really liked the line about Jim watching the Pirates game and how it was just another sign he was in the wrong part of Pennsylvania. Oh, and I totally know someone from Meadville!
Author's Response: Thanks a ton, sudz. You rock as well. I was sort of fond of the Pirates game thing myself.
10 [Report This]Date: May 12, 2008 05:06 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
I only have one complaint: that you're not cranking out new stories every week for us to enjoy. (I kid. Not all of us are machines like CH :P).
Seriously, though, this is a fantastic piece of prose here. It's short, but it's so poignant. (Please, no TWSS moments...) The brief glimpses of the one-sided phone conversation are a brilliant move. They tell us everything we need to know--and then some--without really telling us anything at all. I'm still trying to figure out how you did that.
Excellent work.
Author's Response: Thanks so much, Mose. And no, I will never be as prolific as CH. I'm glad the one-sided phone conversation worked, as I was a bit unsure of it.
Date: May 12, 2008 03:07 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
Whoa. Should we call this "How brokenloon got his groove back"?
I just love this fresh take on Jim and his attitude toward his career and the importance it plays in his life in relation to his other values. I thought this fit perfectly with a guy who had never really tried in his job until the golf outing, there was never really any reason until that point for him to bother.
Author's Response: Thanks, hoo. The "groove" comes and goes, I guess. I enjoyed giving my take on Jim, glad you liked it.
Date: May 12, 2008 02:35 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
I really enjoyed that, but for reasons I have difficulty putting into words. I just liked how you captured a reflective Jim, which is something that is difficult to capture in a more dialogue-driven medium like TV. Something about this just feels on point and right.
Author's Response: Thanks, MA, glad it felt right to ya'.
Date: May 12, 2008 10:48 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
So, he had to give up pretending that he wasn’t really a paper salesman and not really caring, had to give up on the whole idea that he wasn’t really part of this world.
I love that line. It says so much about who Jim used to be, and who he is now. Well done, sir.
Author's Response: Thank you, ma'am. I really think Jim likes to think of himself as detached from the tedious adult world, and part of what makes it hard to really try at the job is having to give that up a little bit and play the game.
Date: May 12, 2008 09:43 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
wow, i really liked this! jim is so accurate and i feel like you really captured his pain of being away from pam. i wish you would continue this!
Author's Response: Thanks, Sunday. I already have things that really need continuing, so I'm gonna leave this one as is. All chapter 2 would be is him getting home safely to Pam and being happy.
9 [Report This]Date: May 12, 2008 07:59 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
Really nice job, brokenloon. Such a sense of melancholy. This is just beautiful: Just when he started to connect with the empty feeling, he would open his eyes and look at her sleeping beside him, and slide close enough to her so he could feel her breath, and feel nothing less than a sort of joy.
Author's Response: Thanks, NanReg. The sentence you mention is my favorite, and something I can really imagine him doing. Thanks for being such a faithful reviewer.
10 [Report This]Date: May 12, 2008 07:50 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
I have always loved that song, and I really think you nailed the spirit of it in this piece. Well, well done my friend. :-)
Author's Response: Thanks, Moxie. Selling paper might be very different work than being a lineman, but I think the loneliness and longing might be pretty much the same.
Date: May 12, 2008 07:08 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
It's good to know that Jim's motivation didn't end when Pam agreed to marry him. Ha! Seriously, this was lovely and a perfect follow-up to Job Fair. Just when I thought it wasn't possible to love Jim Halpert any more than I already do, last Thursday (and this story) came along. I find this aspect of him so romantic because it's just so darn real. It's how every good husband and father would really be. Thanks for linking the song. I haven't heard it in years. I forgot how much I liked it. And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time. Yep, that's our Jim, alright.
Author's Response: Keds-Thanks so much for this great review, and glad you could rediscover the song. And no, I don't think Jim's motivation would end with marriage, especially if a little one enters the picture.
10 [Report This]Date: May 12, 2008 06:42 am Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
I had to read it twice before I said anything 'cause I adored it too much for once to be nearly enough. One of the reasons why I love Jim and Pam so much is because they are so simple. Not in simple minded at all but I just think that they are not very complicated creatures.
There's enough that's complicated in this life - it's nice when something is effortless and easy. Love as simple as theirs is precious and rare and you've captured it here just beautifully.
Author's Response: xoxoxo-So sorry I missed you with this last night. So glad you adored this. I agree with the simplicity, particularly for Jim--Pam is it for him, and that's that. And really, that's not such a terrible thing.
Date: May 11, 2008 10:40 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
Just reading the chapter title made my heart stop. This song sends me straight back to my childhood. It's so haunting and so beautiful - just like this story. This review isn't going to do your words any justice. I'll just say that Jim's longing for Pam is so real. I'm in love with his devotion here - you framed that so beutifully. And thank you for adding the clip of a very young Glen Campbell - it really added to the melancholy mood of the story. Really well done.
Author's Response: Hey Sweetpea, thanks so much for this (and for the rec and the typo tip). I reckon not everyone here will appreciate Glen Campbell or the song, but I'm glad that some do. My dad was more of a Kris Kristofferson man, but I do remember the song (and "Rhinestone Cowboy"-remember that one?) a little from my youth as well.
Date: May 11, 2008 10:13 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
Brookenloon there's so much I love about your writing style, and I've missed it so much. Anytime I read anything from you, I'm reminded of how much you adore these characters and really get them. I can feel Jim's lonliness from afar, and how much he and Pam are still connected. Great work.
Author's Response: Thanks so much, Lovefool, and I plead guilty to adoring these characters. Always great to hear from you, and hope you're working on new stuff for us. Who knows, maybe in the finale we will find out Pam is already carrying baby Jill?
10 [Report This]Date: May 11, 2008 07:49 pm Title: And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
BL--I've noted before how wonderful it is to see that you're still writing, but the real treat is that you're writing stuff like this. I read this once then twice then one more time for good measure, and I just love it. I always enjoy how male writers write Jim, and your Jim in this story is the perfect example of why: He's just so fucking real. Apologies for the curse, but that's just how it is. You caputre the wear and tear on his heart that is seemingly repaired every day by his relationship with Pam, and watching that unfold and gel in this story was a joy. I think you know how much I love several of these paragraphs, so I'll conclude by saying welcome back and, please, don't leave again. --Best, CH
Author's Response: CH, you have the mouth of a sailor, but that's okay. I'm glad Jim seemed real here. I really like the arc they are suggesting on the show, where his love for Pam motivates him to push himself in his work. I wanted to show that, but in a way that wasn't all rainbows...he still pretty much hates his job, but he tries to do it well so he can enjoy the other parts of his life. I think that's how it goes for a lot of people. Not every Jim gets to be a sportswriter. Thanks for your help and your kind words and I'll be around, just not as prolific as some.