10 [Report This]Date: October 12, 2009 11:48 am Title: Chapter 1
this was really well written, steph! kind of depressing, yet for me anything relating to toby is, yet so true to his character. great job!
Author's Response: Thank you! Yep Toby is one of the most depressing characters around so I find his character just fascinating. Glad you enjoyed it!
Date: October 12, 2009 08:49 am Title: Chapter 1
Just when creepy Toby reared his head, you write this and make me feel for him again. Loved this self loathing description: "He thought again about his misbehavior over the last few years and he wondered how he had gotten so far away from the way he used to be. From the way he really was. No wonder Pam wanted nothing to do with him. No wonder Jim hated him.
No wonder Michael treated him the way he did. No wonder Cathy divorced him so many years ago."
Very well written. It makes me wonder which way they will take Toby's character this year.
Author's Response: Thank you! I hated his TH in the episode, but I still don't find him creepy. But I'm such a Toby apologist and defender so that's how I see things. I really hope Toby has more scenes, but that his scenes are completely separate from Jim and Pam. I like the way he interacts with Kelly (shocker), Oscar and even Ryan. I always have had the impression that Ryan genuinely likes him. Glad you liked the fic.
9 [Report This]Date: October 12, 2009 06:47 am Title: Chapter 1
Toby turned back to the bartender and tapped his glass. Another drink, preferably this time with a drain cleaner chaser. Is it wrong that that made me laugh, even though I was feeling so badly for poor Toby? ; )
Great, as always, Steph.
Author's Response: Nope not wrong at are. I think Toby has kind of a dark sense of humor that shows up in unexpected times and glad it came across. Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Date: October 12, 2009 05:29 am Title: Chapter 1
Guh. Steph, you kill me. Here I was annoyed with Toby all over again when he did that TH, but the way you write him, so complex in his sadness and depression and self-doubt, can't help but make me feel for the guy. Loved his brief fantasy about fixing Michael up with his sister until he realized that may very well backfire. And Kelly at the bar... ouch.
As always, great stuff. I love seeing everything through Toby's eyes the way you write it. It always rings true but has that 'other' perspective. Keep it comin'. :)
Author's Response: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I hated the TH too - found it so unnecessary. Any time there's something less than positive about Toby in an episode I have to find a way to justify it or defend him somehow in a fic - just because I'm one of the few who loves him. And it's always fun writing Kelly even when it's like that. Thanks again.
9 [Report This]Date: October 12, 2009 12:42 am Title: Chapter 1
Another good one from you. It's great to get a different perspective on the wedding. I'm a Jim/Pam person, so that wasn't me knocking on fics that concentrate on them, but a different take on the day is just fantastic. You know.
You treat Toby better than the writers in the show do. I was so disappointed with his TH at the church, because I had thought that The Meeting and the bit about hard boiled detective genre (which I loved) would mean the return of Toby from season 2: downtrodden and tired but with a quite sense of humor. I agree with you that his thing for Pam is more likely a symptom of his problems than the cause of them (if I read you correctly) but just... enough already. Let's move on.
Okay, sorry for that little rant there.
The detail with Kelly/Ryan is both funny and horrifying. Very in character.
The fact that Toby has to listen to Pam's mom and Michael (I'm assuming) left me with three very conflicting reactions.
1. Laughing five minutes straight.
2. Feeling very sorry for poor Toby.
2. ewwww
I like your writing and your style a lot. You could probably give us a little unseen moment with Toby for every episode, and I would be quite happy.
Author's Response: Thank you! I liked your comment about how I treat Toby - I just feel so sorry for the character who can't catch a break and just seems to have such a miserable life (both in and out of work) and I just don't find him creepy. I hated the TH too; he had been doing so well since coming back from CR. I hope it's the last kind of comment from him. Loved the detective bit too - so dorky and wonderful. And yes you read me correctly - in the fic he saw Pam as a chance for a break from his depression more than anything else. I left the couple in the next room ambiguous. It could have been Michael and Pam's mom. It's open for interpretation. I love writing Toby the most out of everyone (with Kelly second) so there will definitely be more about him from me.
9 [Report This]Date: October 11, 2009 11:58 pm Title: Chapter 1
As a person who is indifferent about Toby, I found myself drawn into the way you wrote him. You were great in giving this background character depth. His thinking processes and his reasons for doing/saying the things he does...it's very interesting.
It makes me smile at the thought of Michael and Toby's sister together because...wow...that's not going to be fun for anyone :D
Author's Response: Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, Michael and Toby's sister together would definitely be something...