Date: January 14, 2021 01:19 pm Title: Aftermath
I love Penny getting to play the Larissa role here, and immediately calling in the whole council for reinforcements.
I also love the phone conversation between Mrs. Beesly and Roy. Partially because it’s just time for someone to shut Roy down for a spell, and partially because you’ve written it so we can really clearly imagine what’s happening on the other side. While granted, you have to have some sympathy for his confusion and frustration at Pam just flat out not coming home and then refusing to take his calls for reasons he doesn’t understand, the fact that his problem with this is that he has to take care of himself for five minutes is pretty eyeroll-worthy. I’d be a little worried about her if I were her mom and had taken that call too. And then he compounds the error by showing up to the apartment to get him to make her dinner? And this dude is going to be super confused when he gets dumped, of course.
I like that Mrs. Beesly has something of a clear-eyed view of Roy – both good and bad. “When I look back at the Roy you knew in high school and college and the Roy I know now, I have to ask myself, ‘what’s the difference?’” is spot on. As is Penny’s point about the unfair division of labor.
This is a tough conversation to write, and I’m glad you took it on. It also seems like a good fit with canon. Pam is often portrayed in fic as having the scales fall from her eyes post-Casino Night, but it does seem realistic to me that someone who is in such deep denial and who has lived with this unhappy situation as her new normal for so long might need an extra push to make the connection between “I’m unhappy and in love with someone else” and “I shouldn’t get married.’
The Princess Bride connection was a nice touch. As was Pastor Dan playing a big role here. His questions seem spot on – and the answers do seem pretty obvious, don’t they, Pam?
And this ending is wrenching. This sort of daze that Pam is in has always been my sense of how Pam would’ve responded to the news that Jim had left. And him leaving the heart plushie is a gut-punch.
Author's Response: I really love these in depth reviews of yours. Both Penny and Larissa will continue to have roles to play. I had great fun in bringing the sisters into this story. Jim and Pam need people in their corner and those two fit the bill nicely. Yeah, Helene has no time for any of Roy's antics. He may suck up to her when he knows she's coming, but when he doesn't know she's there there's no way he can stand a chance.
I'd like to think these were all things Helene, Penny, and the rest had been thinking for awhile. They were just to polite to say anything since Pam is an adult and can make her own choices. But getting outside input before a big decision can also help. Thus the girls day and meeting with Pastor Dan again.
I had fun bring in The Princess Bride. Yet another sign Pam either didn't see or didn't want to see. But in hindsight it's unmistakable.
It did hurt to have him leave the heart plushie. Especially with all the memories surrounding that thing.
Date: January 10, 2021 08:49 am Title: Bonus Gifts
And we have near-miss #10 with the sketch of Morgan that looks like Pam! Come on, Jim. I was thinking about Open Your Eyes reading this because of the card, so… OPEN YOUR EYES, MAN. (For the record, I still really like this version of the card for focusing so much on the role she’s playing in Jim’s life more than a declaration of feelings.)
Larissa complaining about the loss of her Boggle timer was a nice comic touch. I’m glad Jim has her to work through things with in this story.
Of course Jim takes the excuse of hanging up Christmas decorations to hang out with Pam. (I spy some references to AG here, and possibly one to Coley?)
This is a VERY interesting wrinkle to Pam’s giving up the teapot I didn’t at all anticipate but also makes total sense – of course Pam doesn’t have 100% positive associations with that day.
It seems very Pam to add in that *Michael* wants Dwight to have the iPod. She knows what makes him tick.
The teapot scene was well handled, and adding the kiss at the end was a lovely touch.
I need to go back through and read this from the beginning with a close eye on Roy, because I was really struck by his reaction to the teapot here. I feel like you’ve responded to me about this some, but he does come through as… definitely pretty awful, but also distinctly a guy whose fathers death has left him in a state of arrested development. Like this is a moment where a darker, angrier version of Roy feels like he would have flipped out, and this Roy just walks away flabbergasted when he doesn’t know how to respond. I feel like that does a good job as painting him as immature, more than a bad guy. He’s not always going to default to being a bully.
Author's Response:
They're both kind of blinded to a lot of things at this point in their relationship I think. Pam behind her wall of denial and complacancy. Jim blind to the fact that holding secrets will only bite him in the ass. Larissa is always fun to bring in. Jim needs a sounding board and she fits the bill nicely.
Yes the references are to AG, Coley, and Clover was the third one. It's there with him getting the shamrock key chain.
I wanted there to be some bigger reason she went for he iPod over the teapot. When she opens it she is overjoyed and clearly knows it's from Jim. But then goes for the iPod? Maybe it's my idealistic side coming through but that was always kind of a blah moment so I wanted to flesh it out. Though it also meant we got to have a lot of fluffy fun when she does get it in the end.
Thanks for the insight about Roy. You've got it right on the head. After his dad died he basically shut down. He never really dealt with the pain and it comes out in his mannerisms of still reverting to a teenage mindset when things don't really go his way. You're right, he's not always a bully, just not a mature adult.
Date: January 08, 2021 03:57 pm Title: The Party
I'm also over-invested in the relationship between the "cast" and the cameras, so I really like that you worked in the logistical implications, and Jim's sense that you kind of forget that they're there sometimes - feels like there's a lot explained by that.
I *love* this explanation for why Pam is late, and how she ends up in Jim’s room alone. It's nice to see that this is a really big moment for her too, and digging into that. Email Surveillance is one of my favorites, but it's so hard to tell what's going on in Pam's head in that episode, so I enjoyed taking this trip with her.
Near miss #9 here with the yearbook! Jeez. That feels just achingly close - if only she had actually seen what he looked like! It's fun seeing all this playful wrestling and flirting playing out without the cameras or Meredith there to take notice - they feel a lot closer to the edge in this story than they do in canon.
You worked in a lot of good later canon references here - the Man in Black story, their mutual love of cheese.
Ooooof. A lot of images just getting indelibly seared into Jim's head towards the end here - them looking like they're on a double date, Pam wearing Jim's name on the back of his shirt. That's killer.
(I don't think I've noticed this before, but I like the runner about Jim not calling Roy by his name in his head. Funny, and feels like the sort of thing he'd do.)
Author's Response: A lot of these S1 and S2 chapters were a lot of fun. Jim pining after her. Her hiding behind denial about their "friendship." Yeah that was probably one of the closet near misses they've had so far. She's slowly kind of killing him with everything. And thank you for picking up on the not thinking Roy's name runner. I really do appreciate your eye for detail.
Date: January 08, 2021 03:56 pm Title: Mixed Up
Jim's story about Butterfly Day was cute - and also a reference to the original script, right?Â
I am over-invested in the aftermath of Diversity Day on the Jim and Dwight end, so I'm really glad you took the time to address the financial consequences for Jim.
The dialogue around the Secret Santa announcement was great and felt very canonical. I also really liked the detail of them having a commission cap day tradition, and them having a moment over this really scary experience they had together.
Pam's contempt for iPods is an interesting addition - I can't decide if it makes the decision to make her a mix tape more thoughtful, the devastation of her choosing the iPod on the day more pointed, or both. I do like how it justifies him giving her a cassette tape, and all the thought and planning you're demonstrating having him put into the teapot gift from the start.
The drunken IMs at the end were adorable, and this is a very of Pam's question I haven't seen before. Puts a very different spin on the whole thing and how it was never brought up again - it's even more of a Moment for them now.
Author's Response:
You are correct. Butterfly Day is a nod to the script. When I found out about that I had to include it somehow.
Picking Secret Santa and planning pranks were great fun too. I'm not sure I'd say Pam has contempt for an iPod, she just likes what she's used to.
The drunken IM was a lot of fun to write. For Pam I remember typing fast and not really bothering with correcting any spelling mistakes and the like. I do reference that drunken IM chat again in one of my other stories so maybe not quite as forgotten about as we first think.
Date: January 08, 2021 03:55 pm Title: Recovery
You can really see what a rattling experience this is for Pam - the threat of losing Jim jolts her here.
Near miss #7! And 8, if you count the fact that Roy has clearly made the connection between Jamie and Jim as well. Which I'm goign to.
This is another good illustration of how Roy clearly understands himself to be calling the shots in this relationship (although I'm not sure he'd see it that way - there are clearly expectations he puts on her that he doesn't think she should have for him. And Jesus, what an asshole response to Pam on every level here - he couldn't even bother asking about the friend in the ICU? Him not knowing it was Jim kinda feels like a near-miss in and of itself, albeit of a different variety - I wonder if that would've been a bigger argument.Â
I love Jim resurfacing followed almost immediately by his recovering his sense of humor - and the reference to him dying of boredom was both funny and very sweet.
Ahhh, the backstory for the Boggle timer! Awesome. And the plushie heart story is adorable.Â
Author's Response:
Had I taken this story AU this is probably where I would have had Pam leave Roy. The feeling of losing Jim forever and the near miss would have hopefully clued her in.
Yeah, Roy's not great for all those reasons. I'm sure it would have been a bigger argument had he known it was Jim. After all just yesterday in this timeline he socked Jim in the face in the basketball game.
Glad you liked Jim's humor, the Boggle timer, and plushie. They were all great fun to write.
Date: January 08, 2021 03:55 pm Title: ROSC
Again, seeing behind the curtain here from an expert's point of view was interesting. I felt like we got to be in Ethan's shoes here more than Dan's and feel his victory.
The stuck in the back bathroom story sounds genuinely awful.
Author's Response: Getting pulses back during a cardiac arrest call especially when it's someone like Jim who still has a lot of life left to live is one of the best feelings in the world. Being able to tell friends or family, "their heart is beating again," and seeing hope return to their eyes is an experience like no other.
The stuck in the bathroom call WAS genuinely awful. One of those calls that I'll probably always remember sadly. It's part of the job. However when looked at with some perspective a bad call like that makes the victories just that much better.
Date: January 08, 2021 03:54 pm Title: Class 1
I've got to say, it's fascinating getting this perspective on what happens on paramedic calls and a glimpse into what daily life is like in that position. I feel like I learned a lot. Having it focus on someone being trained was useful, I think, because we're a lot closer to seeing it through Dan's eyes than Ethan.
The bit about giving the Stars of Life pin to kids to calm them during emergencies is probably going to stick with me.
The AED scene was very well written - you really felt the tension. And I appreciated the note about the differences between what Pam has seen on TV and what this is actually going to look like.
Author's Response: Thank you. It was fun putting this one in. How Ethan gets Dan involved is how I treat students when they ride with me. Ask them questions, encourage them to participate, all that. I don't really give out the Star of Life pins anymore, it just got to pricey to keep buying new ones, but it was a fun thing to do when I did.
I wanted to put that quick Pam POV in there to really highlight the difference between reality and TV. Glad it worked for you.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:46 pm Title: Shot to the Heart
Again, you’re giving us a really clear contrast in this chapter. Roy just is not all that eager to spend time with Pam, and Jim really, really does. Plus we get the teapot backstory, which is exciting!
I’m also putting us up to six near J-M misses here between the explicit reference to the kings of practical jokes and Jim telling the story of him meeting Morgan in just too little detail for Pam to get it.
There’s a lot of really successful humorous bits in this chapter. Dwight’s post-Dwayne prank meltdown and the Larissa’s birthday story. The image of them having cake and presents in the ER waiting room is a great visual.
I’m enjoying that you made the Princess Bride thing a runner leading up to The Fire. It adds some to that episode if that’s an unacknowledged in-joke.
I love Pam being comfortable enough with Jim to bring him on this trip to Marywood and reflect on her past. I’m noting some echoes of the first chapter here as Pam tells him about her college education blowing up – we keep seeing Pam repeating the mistake of giving things up for Roy instead of learning that it’s only burdening her life.
You’ve given Jim a remarkable amount of heart trouble in your writing, poor guy. This is a very tensely written sequence, and it’s powerful seeing it through Pam’s point of view.
Author's Response:
Pre-Casino Night Jim will take any excuse he can to be near Pam. And yes more with the Teapot. I think this is the first time anyone (including me) has actually counted the number of near-misses. I'm rather looking forward to seeing what the final number is. There will be more don't worry.
Princess Bride is one of the best movies ever made so it's a lot of fun to add that in here. Like I said about the first chapter, there's lot of things going on there. Glad you're picking up on a lot of them.
Yeah, Jim's heart gets a real wringing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think about the next two chapters.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:45 pm Title: Murals and Marriage
This is a fascinating chapter – you’ve got Roy throwing up some huge red flags here and then immediately offering up some understandable context that explains a lot of his maturity issues. (I’m going to be interested in seeing how much more you get into that going forward and in your Season 3 story.)
All the same, it still comes through really plainly that the wedding isn’t going to solve anything and these are two people with different visions and goals for their future. I’m wondering if we might see Pastor Dan lay that out a little more plainly for Pam.
Author's Response: I figured Roy needed a little humanizing as to why he acts the way he does. Not getting over the grief of his father's death seemed a good way to take things. You're right about Pastor Dan. He'll show up again though so don't worry to much.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:45 pm Title: The New Jamie
You can really see what a positive impact Jim has on Pam here again. This sort of support for her passions is clearly something she needs and is getting the exact opposite of from her belittling, sexist, immature fiancée. You make the contrast really clear here: she glows with Jim and shrinks with Roy.
You capture the sheer awfulness of Packer here quite effectively. The dialogue with him and Roy is on point, and I like how you used Packer to shed a light on the lesser awfulness of Roy, whether it’s not being able to understand that not wanting to visit her family is a problem (come on, man) or in their sex life. (It struck me that in some ways, with Roy it’s almost worse – Packer is disgusting, but Roy is treating a woman he is professing to care for the way Packer treats his one-night stands. Ugh.)
Her having him as her emergency contact is a lovely little sign of the growth in that relationship. And again, there’s a clear contrast with a Roy who doesn’t want to see her family and Jim who makes it possible, and in the process gives up something he wants by tipping her off to his progress with his driving lessons to put her needs first.
The backstory of the hot sauce was put together well – the touch of him immediately going to get her milk even as he’s amused by it is lovely.
So that’s near-misses #3 and #4 on the Jamie-Morgan story if I’m counting correctly.
Author's Response:
Packer is the worst and no one or nothing will convince me otherwise. Roy sideling up with him like that, yeah, Jim would know to get her out of there.
Once they're out of there, it was a ton of fun to write them being cute and playful again. Just the kind of thing she would need.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:44 pm Title: Mini-Golf
I like the idea of the driving lessons coming at the beginning of their relationship. I’d always envisioned it as coming along a little later, but it feels like it would really help solidify them as true best friends and not just work friends if they’ve established some non-work space for just each other early on.
In general, I’m just really enjoying this and getting the backstory for all these references from down the line – feels like a much more complete picture of the world we’re in.
Jim caring for her after the unfortunately timed golf ball incident is a sweet moment.
Author's Response:
I wanted to make sure we took the time to really dive into why Jim and Pam's friendship was so strong. Which would of course explain why the lower parts of their relationship hurt all the more. Because they were just so close. That and it was fun to come up with the backstory for the Teapot gifts.
Caring Jim is one of the best Jims.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:43 pm Title: The Zone
This was a really fun chapter. I love seeing all these elements that we (or the characters) are going to get to know well being introduced for the first time. Seeing the photo of young Jim and young Dwight get taken was probably my favorite, but knowing that Phyllis clocked Jim’s feelings for Pam from the beginning and Pam’s mom picking up on his effect on her from day one were both great too. You can also just really see how much better Pam’s life in the office is with Jim around – he’s helping her solve problems she had stopped acknowledging she had.
An interesting note popping up here with Pam romanticizing the idea of marrying her high school sweetheart. And wow – this was a hard blow for Jim at the end, especially with what a wonderful first impression Roy makes. Charming soul, that one.
Author's Response:
The shoe had to drop at some point. Still I'm glad you liked this one too. It was a lot of fun writing in all the backstory for some of the things that are only talked about for seconds on the show. Like the picture.
Date: January 01, 2021 02:43 pm Title: New Beginning
“I’m sure it’ll be like most other jobs. Get all the payroll and tax stuff filled out. A company that has as many branches as this one, with a corporate office in Manhattan, I’m sure will have some kind of new employee orientation process.” Oh, young Jim. There’s so much we need to warn you about. Tragically, we cannot.
I love the way you wrote the re-meeting here. Jim being blown away, Pam being willing to joke with him, Jim immediately doing a bit with her and her finding it entertaining, them both being immediately attracted/drawn to each other and finding each other a little familiar. You can see their future relationship beginning to take shape from the start.
Pam being the one to volunteer the Cugino’s lunch, even if it’s just her deciding to fill in for Michael, is a take on this I don’t think I’ve seen before. Feels like some of what’s going on in this chapter casts a different light on Jim falling for her so irrevocably – she seems for all the world like she’s interested and maybe even a little eager to explore what’s happening with them at a time his feelings are come into being.
Oh, Pam. Let’s be careful about mocking that house, okay. There will come a day you won’t be so eager to leave it either.
Pam’s hand-related pick-up techniques are *adorable.*
And I like the connection between her meeting Jim and Pam starting to sketch again – he’s brought a little light back into her life, a little energy and a little inspiration that she desperately needed.
Author's Response:
You picked up very much on what I was going for with this chapter. That even though they only met once before they hit it off then and now do again. It was a ton of fun to write this chapter. The pick-up techique always got a laugh even if it never got me any dates back in college.
1 [Report This]Date: January 01, 2021 02:42 pm Title: A Lot of Reasons
Wow. Yet another brutal chapter for Pam between¬ the lost sketch and a pregnancy scare. And does Roy ever handle this conversation horribly at just about every turn. His explanation for why she isn’t cheating is genuinely insulting. Both of his proposals suggest a guy who is not at all interested in what he’s suggesting they do. The ring does too. I guess I have some sympathy in the sense that he feels like he’s trying to do the right thing here, but wow. You can see his heart is not in this from the jump. Fortunately, help is on the way, Pam.
I appreciate you having Pastor Dan coming in with something I think Pam needs to hear – the wedding is a big day, but the marriage is what’s important, and they need to be thinking about that as they go through the planning process. I’ve always seen Pam as subconsciously assuming the wedding would somehow change things in the relationship despite all the evidence to the contrary, so it’s interesting for me to see this playing out in a context where she and Roy are going to have to address their expectations for what comes afterwards.
Author's Response:
Pre-first breakup Roy to me is a high schooler in a man's body. He never had to grow up more so he didn't. Thus he hasn't learned what a mature relationship is supposed to be like. Part of that could be of course because his Dad died, but that's my reasoning for a lot of his behavior.
Good insight on Pam there about the wedding.
1 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2020 07:14 pm Title: Looking Ahead
I appreciate you building out the concept behind Athlead/Athleap here, and in particular the way you’ve given some context for the kind-of-out-of-nowhere appearance of what was apparently supposed to be Jim’s dream all along – it casts a different, more favorable (and better-written) light on his jarring leap into this if the idea was always “we’re gonna do this 10 years down the line.”
Jim’s interview with Michael was fun to read. I love that he was already making Chili’s where business happens, and Jim’s natural instinct for handling him being there right at the start.
I’m glad you gave us a sense of what a Jim relationship looks like pre-Pam – probably a decent boyfriend and someone who Jess looks backs on fondly, but on a fundamental level really not capital-C Committed. (Also, it gave us Jim telling Larissa she was easier to talk to about this stuff before she went into psych, which is too real.)
Author's Response:
I remember this chapter as being a ton of fun to write. To give Jim some more backstory with Athlead/Athleap and how his previous relationships might have been as well. I don't think either Jim or Jess were capital-C committed to that relationship. Thanks in part to a nice heart to heart with Larissa.
The interview with Michael remains one of the most fun things I've ever written. Glad you liked it.
1 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2020 07:13 pm Title: Fractured
God. I feel terrible for the Andersons, but honestly, what did Pam do to deserve this? She tries to stand up for herself maybe ONE TIME and immediately gets the worst possible outcome. Followed by a pretty horrific experience losing her virginity. And it ends up costing her her college experience and gets her stuck at Dunder Mifflin. That’s definitely an experience that’s going to leave a mark on your psyche.
Author's Response: I was going for crazy hurting and mixed up with everything here. It stings true and it will leave a mark for sure. In more ways that one.
1 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2020 07:13 pm Title: Nights to Remember
This was more 90s nostalgia trip than horrible 90s flashback, but still – this tale of how Jamie and Morgan never end up connecting again is painfully plausible in pre-social media times.
Kenny is just… the worst. I’m looking forward to seeing the backstory play out with Roy’s family here. And I’m glad to see a slightly more positive take on Roy. I do think he really *has* to be decent at some point in their relationship for it to make sense that Pam keeps him around so long.
Author's Response: I had to come up with some reason as to why Jamie and Morgan couldn't re-connect and that seemed to fit the bill. Yeah Roy may have his redeeming moments. Not so with Kenny and I'll die on that mountain.
1 [Report This]Date: December 31, 2020 07:13 pm Title: First Meeting
A really interesting start to this one! You start with something like an anti-meet cute – she can’t see, they get stink bombed, and he immediately has to run. It’s almost more of a missed opportunity than it is a prior meeting. And then we go right into her first date with Roy – and I really enjoy that this ended up being jinx-related. (Though the fact that Roy enjoys a Pam who can’t speak for herself just feels… troublingly accurate.)
I’m interested to see how you’ll explore the theme being introduced here – that you learn from your mistakes or you repeat them. Certainly it’s something you can pretty cleanly apply to canon in all sorts of ways.
This chapter gave me all sorts of horrible 90s flashbacks, down to the chatroom… where all of a sudden you turn an anti-meet cute into a regular meet-cute! A really nice touch.
Author's Response: Well hello new reviews to this story! Glad you liked how things got set up. I hope you were paying attention to this chapter. There's lots of things that will come back around, and in that regard I'm pretty proud of it. Sorry not sorry about the 90's flashbacks. I remember the 90's as being a great time. Looking forward to what you think going forward.
1 [Report This]Date: March 19, 2019 08:57 pm Title: Epilogue
What a wonderful ride this story has been! I looked forward to every chapter and selfishly I waited a few days to read the epilogue once I saw it posted...just because I wasn’t ready for it to end.
From one medic to another- it was refreshing to see medical aspects added to a story that were accurate! Haha. Nice to see my two loves-the office and paramedicine- combined in a believable way. Totally enjoyed every part of this and I hope to see more adventures of Jamie and Morgan!
Author's Response: Another Medic around these parts?! Holy crap! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Ah well. Actually I realized something a while back about the cardiac arrest chapters. They're based on 2010-2015 AHA guidelines, however at that point in the story it's what 2006? So Vasopressin should have been there for the first and/or second round of Epi. Ah well, I'll take off my medic nerd glasses now.
I'm very glad you enjoyed this story. It was a lot of fun to put it all together. Please feel free add more feedback to future writings as well. I always value what readers have to say. Thanks again.
Date: March 17, 2019 07:47 pm Title: Epilogue
I'm not shy about saying that Niagara is my favorite episode of the series, but I'm always a little disappointed that we don't get to see any of the reception. It's always nice to see how others think that reception might have gone... This is no exception.
This is a cute and satisfying ending that wraps up the last loose thread of an amazingly detailed and intricate story! You pulled off a story of epic proportions and didn't lose sight of the characters at the heart of it. Great job!
Author's Response: Thank you so very much for this and every other review you've written here. As well as comments during chats that have helped shape this story. It wouldn't have been the same without your input. I'm very glad you've enjoyed it so much. It was a fun story to bring to life and I'm very glad others enjoyed it too. I'm a little sad to not be working on it anymore, but there are other stories to write as well. Again, thank you so very much.
Date: March 17, 2019 07:36 pm Title: The Hunt
Lord knows I love a good scavenger hunt! Good job, Pam!
What a lovely and fun look back through their history, from present and going back and I'm sure there are a million little bits I could point out that are adorable and cute, but here's the thing Warrior -- all I can think about is the fact that Jim is doing wind sprints. He's doing wind sprints instead of trying to get to Pam. Oh Jim.
I mean, you nailed it, Warrior. There was a lot of build up to this chapter, and it's everything it should and needed to be!
Author's Response: To be fair, he didn't know where to meet Pam while he was running those wind sprints. And he only had to run 5 this time rather than all the ones he did back in high school.
Thanks. It was a ton of fun to have this trip down memory lane. My first thought was to have all the notes Pam wrote him to be in poetry, but your comment in a chat awhile back when I floated the idea as well as my feeling that it would hard to come up with poems for everything nixed that.
I'm very glad you liked how this chapter turned out.
Date: March 17, 2019 06:53 pm Title: Memorial Day and Beyond
Aww, look at Pam sucking up to Jim's parents. I see you and your whiskey lessons, Warrior.
Good to see Betsy how I like my Betsys... cheerful and lovely and not hating Pam for all of the drama that really, her own son was responsible for, but still, I get why Pam felt the needed to play nice and I'm glad it worked in her favor.
We're finally here! The reveal is about to happen and... I definitely didn't see this coming! To be fair, I don't remember the conversations from the first chapter, so I had to go back because I didn't get where we were going with this whole stink bomb thing. Good to see Pete and Tom are sticking with classic pranks, even all these years later! Makes me feel better about slamming my cousins' hands into butter every thanksgiving for 8 years running now.
I like that Pam is the one figuring it out and I love that she's confiding everything to Larissa for confirmation.
Oh Beesly, what are you planning??
Author's Response: Three fold reason for the whiskey lesson. One, write what you know and writing is easier. Two, because way back in the Mini-Golf chapter I'd written that Ger-Bear was big into whiskey and it gave me to chance to explore that. Three, the lesson primed Pam's mind to have smell trigger memory as happened with the stink bomb.
Thanks about the critique about Betsy. I've usually always seen her pictured as a warm woman and saw no reason to change that.
Glad I could keep the suspense up with the first reveal. I'd had the image of Pam kneeling on the floor going through the box since I started writing this story and it was fun to finally bring that out. If I recall a review of yours a while back, you were saying you'd like it if the sisters had a role in the reveal. I'd already been planning on Larissa being a part of that, but it's fun when things line up like this.
As for what Pam has in mind? Well I'm sure you'll find out soon, but it's a lot of fun.
Date: March 17, 2019 06:37 pm Title: Clearing the Air
Full confession: I am like, one of maybe 7 people in the world who turns the station every single time Africa comes on. Oh Pam, I was fully on your side in this story until that song choice. ;)
I like that we're skipping past the first date and going right into the good stuff. And I very much love that Pam's the one being all, "nah, we're not done with tonight yet, I'm coming over." BUT.
WARRIOR.
MAN.
The idea that Jim didn't sleep with Karen OR Katy?? Bold move, Warrior. Bold, bold move. As much as I loathe Karen, I'm not sure she's the type that would have moved states/stuck around a dead-end town for a guy she hadn't gotten past first base with. I'm very curious as to your reasoning for this!
This is quite the showdown between Karen and Jim (especially if they aren't banging! lol, I'm sorry, I'm kidding) but like, good to see Jim bounce back here a little and get his balls back and stand up for the woman he loves. That's what we like to see!
Good discussions between them, getting everything out into the open so they can move forward with clean slates. Hopefully Jim learned his lesson and stays away from paper shredders from now on.
OOoh, time to meet the parents! This should be great!
Author's Response: Hopefully Pam's reasoning for liking the song was reason to include it. I had to get at least one more "almost finding out moment," in there. The whole Jim and Karen not sleeping together thing was another one of those Season 3 things I'd thought about, but it got edited out to move onto more important issues for this story. Again it's one of those things I might go back and re-visit sometime later. Another reason was my wanting my story to be a little more unique than most other stories I've read here. Same thing as to why Jim goes off on Karen rather than the other way around.
Jim and Pam having those discussions are my way of making sure they're ready for other big things that might be coming in their relationship.;) But yes Jim has learned his lesson about paper shredders.
Date: March 17, 2019 06:14 pm Title: Refining Fire
Ooh, big time jump! There is a lot going on here. It's interesting to think about what happened immediately after Dwight pepper-sprayed Roy and it makes sense that the police and an ambulance would have been called to the scene. And that Roy would be an ass through the whole thing.
Nice little bit with Ethan putting Dwight in his place, though. That made me laugh.
Excellent synopsis and intuitive look at Pam during the coal walk. I gotta say, I'm liking Pam's growth here.
And now we're to "It's a date!"... at least I have a pretty good idea where we're going from here!
Author's Response: There were more ideas I had for stuff in Season 3, but I kept thinking, "I've already been dragging this whole Jim and Pam don't know they're Jamie and Morgan," thing on long enough so that meant a big time jump to more important things in the story. I might still write some of those other Season 3 ideas as one shots though.
Always fun when Dwight it put in his place like that. Dwight is mostly bluster and doesn't really stand a chance against people who actually know what they're talking about.
Pam's growth was always a lot of fun. Yes we see her grow in the show, but there had to have been more off camera to help it along which was fun to explore.
Date: March 17, 2019 05:49 pm Title: Visitors
It's not often that I prefer the Beesly family to the Halperts but I gotta say.. I'm not their biggest fan this chapter! I don't know, man, if my family stormed into my place uninvited and started to unpack my things and dump my booze, I'd kick them out.
This is a rough chapter to feel for Jim too...like, he made these choices - the choice to leave, the choice not to go to Australia, the choice to start a new job -- suck it up, buttercup!
...Which is why I kind of laughed when he shredded her letter -- that's just another choice you're gonna have to deal with, buddy.
Now let's go see what Jim can do to get back on track and become the guy we all know and love again. Here's hoping he doesn't let me, or Pam, down.
Author's Response: Yeah I was going for tough love on the part of the Halpert's here. And the whole suck it up buttercup is kind of what his Dad and Johnathan are telling him. Yeah, I'd be angry if my booze got dumped, but again sometimes when you love someone you need to save them from themselves. Better a few bottles get dumped now, than a much more destructive cycle start up.