1 [Report This]Date: February 23, 2019 04:31 am Title: Almost
I really liked it, and that's saying a lot, since I hate Ryan Howard with passion. Still, you did a very good job making him human.
Author's Response: Thank you! Ryan really is a bit of a jerk, so I'm glad you were willing to tolerate him for my sake :)
1 [Report This]Date: February 22, 2019 08:03 pm Title: Almost
This pushes most of my yuck buttons in terms of Ryan, but you do a really good job of hinting and maneuvering around, and so it's actually really enjoyable. Very impressive work. And I love the D/A insert in there.
Author's Response: Thank you! No matter what I write, Dwight and Angela have a way of sneaking in, hence the username.
1 [Report This]Date: December 10, 2017 02:52 am Title: Almost
Wow dwangela, you did it, you actually made me like Pam & Ryan, well on a friendship level at least (let's not get crazy 😜). I think you did a great job here of taking all the almost-friendly moments these two had at the start of S3 and creating a budding friendship. Pam is pretty patient with people and tries to see the best in them, so I could see her softening up Ryan's arrogant exterior if he let her. I do like that this fic is still very Jim/Pam in spirit, with both Pam and Ryan aware on some level he's just kind of playing substitute (but being okay with that).
I always felt Ryan asking out Pam in S4 was a bit out of left field, but if I keep something like this fic in mind, where they were kind of developing something before Jim came back, then it makes a lot more sense.
Anyway, in short, nice work!
Author's Response:
Thank you so much! As I was rewatching season three, I noticed that every episode leading up to Branch Merger had a little Ryan and Pam moment, ending with the awkward conversation in the kitchen in that episode, and I wanted an explanation for the tension in that scene (aside from Pam being anxious for Jim to come back). I'm glad that you caught on to the role I put Ryan in, where he was almost wanting Pam but at the same time realizing he could never be who Pam really wanted. I'm glad I sucked at least one person into my interpretation of the Ryan/Pam moments :)
Date: December 09, 2017 06:09 pm Title: Almost
Really interesting premise! Ryan’s character seemed a bit off to me (although he’s a shallow character in the show so it’s hard to know) but his introspection thing in the middle was a good touch.
Author's Response: Thank you! I had to develop a side of Ryan that we see less often (i.e. Lion King story, latter half of sales call with Dwight) in order to make this story more plausible. I think Ryan’s personality would seem different if he was interacting with friends versus his attitude in the office, so I hope the way I shaped him is believable to some extent.