Date: January 28, 2019 07:37 am Title: Silence
Ugh, she's so close to figuring it out and so far off... but I like how intuitive she is and how she can read into the silences - with both men in her life.
Author's Response: Intuitive is a great word! For me, a key to Pam is that she does get it, just not consciously enough to act on it. Which is an tragedy of course.
Date: January 28, 2019 07:30 am Title: Flight
You know you're having a rough time of it when you start comparing your life to Ryan and Kelly, and you're the Kelly of the situation. Oh Jim.
I haven't told you in a few chapters but I'm still really, really loving this story! It's so good.
Author's Response: Thank you Coley! I really appreciate your reviews (especially the bunches!). And yeah...Jim is losing it a bit here.
Date: January 28, 2019 07:24 am Title: Pasta
This story makes me equal parts angry and sad. I don't LIKE Pam feeling so unappreciated and lost and she doesn't even matter in her own relationship and ugh, I know it's coming, I know she gets rid of him, but get rid of Roy now.
You're doing a fantastic job of keeping my levels of hating Roy really high. I just want him to get hit by a truck.
Author's Response:
And now we've gone from punching to a truck. Oh dear.
I wonder: does this mirror your reaction to the series? Because it does for me. I find myself increasingly frustrated with the series here because I feel for Pam so much.
Date: January 28, 2019 07:20 am Title: Union
Comfect, I just... want to punch him in the face. That's all. I don't even feel bad for him and his backwards way of thinking, I want him to stop thinking he's the boss of Pammy. And I want to punch him.
Author's Response: Tell me how you really feel. Also, I'm very worried about how easy Roy is to write given your violent reaction to him. What does this say about me?
Date: January 28, 2019 07:15 am Title: Break
Oof, Jim's in deep. Poor guy. It's bad enough being banished to the annex, but banned with all of these thoughts that Roy *might* come out a hero after all this? Poor, poor Jim.
Author's Response: Poor Jim, but also I think it's important that he has an unrealistically high expectation of Roy. Like, there's actually no way Roy looks like a hero here but Jim is imagining it...because it's how he compensates for his sad situation.
Date: January 28, 2019 07:04 am Title: Arcade
$10 says he forgot to go to the store after the arcade. And that he ate the wings he brought home for her before she even woke up the next day.
Author's Response: No bet. I like to keep my money..
Date: January 28, 2019 06:59 am Title: Sleep
Poor Pam! She's so miserable and stuck and she just can't get out of it. I always hate how into Katy Roy was during Casino Night; the whole scene where she's doing the cheer at the table and he's lapping it up - ugh. It's so uncomfortable to watch and now it's uncomfortable to get into Pam's feelings after it all went down - she's not excited at all about this June 10th wedding :(
Author's Response: Yeah, I debated doing booze cruise as a triptych too because there's so much going on. Roy really does know how to ruin his own moments...
Date: January 28, 2019 06:56 am Title: Hockey
Ugh, Roy. So clueless, that boy is. Even just reading his internal dialogue is enough to make me want to punch him in his stupid face.
Author's Response: Yep! Writing Roy is basically a matter of "what's the dumbest still technically reasonable reaction?"
Date: January 28, 2019 05:02 am Title: Fantasy
One more in the "I wish things had turned out differently," category. The show runners had a great chance after this episode to have Jim and Pam re-connect a lot more than they did. Yet we had to endure the rest of S3 as it played out. Ah well gotta get ratings somehow.
I like Pam here. She's growing and the changes she's made are great to see. However she's not quite there yet. Granted she's only been recently dubbed Fancy New Beesly in this conversation so getting used to that idea, I'm sure will take some time. However I really like that she's hopeful here. That things are starting to bloom as you described. Yes there are still some rough times ahead, but at least the hope that things will get better has started to make an appearance.
Author's Response: I agree wholeheartedly. This was a missed opportunity, albeit fertile ground for me here. I think Pam is naturally cautious: decisions she makes may not manifest in the world for some time after being made. Thanks for the review!
Date: January 28, 2019 03:56 am Title: Fantasy
Ouch my heart again!
Confession, I skipped most of season 3 the first time I saw The Office because I couldn't stand these two being apart. And afterwards I read about this phonecall on a fic and I had to go all the way back, which was good but also painful.
Thanks so much!
Author's Response: I apparently missed this on the way through the first time--I felt exactly this way about S3. Sorry this fic will put you through an elongated version of the same thing.
Date: January 28, 2019 03:56 am Title: Fantasy
Ouch my heart again!
Confession, I skipped most of season 3 the first time I saw The Office because I couldn't stand these two being apart. And afterwards I read about this phonecall on a fic and I had to go all the way back, which was good but also painful.
Thanks so much!
Author's Response: S3 is really painful, I agree. I disagree with a lot of the writers' choices, which makes AUs fruitful and of course makes something like this that is canon-adjacent harder. Thanks for reading!
Date: January 27, 2019 02:36 pm Title: Fashion
Okay, so Roy is changing here, but again it's for selfish reasons. Now of course I get the fact that he wants Pam back. That much is clear in canon. However for him to think Pam's change in wardrobe is for his benefit just shows how little he's really changed. Still like before I can see the path forward. Roy makes some changes, catches Pam at a moment of vulnerability at Phyllis' wedding, briefly gets back together with Pam, but due to the fact he's always been in the relationship for what he can get out of it, rather than what he can put into it, the path eventually leads to pepper spray. However it's an interesting ride to see thus far.
As far as balance between characters, for one there's still quite a few Season 3 Roy moments I can think of. Showing up at Diwalli, joking with Pam in the warehouse, the art show, and then of course the confrontations at Poor Richards and in the Office. However far be it from me to tell you how to write your story. There's a lot more Jim and Pam moments to choose from as well. As always I look forward to what comes next.
Author's Response:
Yeah Roy is...changing but not changing? Like, he's ready to change outwardly but I don't think he's inwardly bettering himself.
And don't worry--S3 will still have a bunch of stuff, it's just not going to be quite as much as S2...
Date: January 26, 2019 11:15 am Title: Conventional
Also, another quick note (hey double review too!) the starting form is Charmander, then evolving to Charmeleon, then finally evolving to Charizard. I'd say I'd stop nerding out with that, but it's probably not going to happen.
Author's Response: Nice catch. This is Jim's subconscious at work--he wants to think of himself going from starter on up but...be honest. Is Stamford Jim really a more evolved Pokemon than Scranton Jim (my answer? only if it's like a Kakuna).
Date: January 26, 2019 10:58 am Title: Conventional
Thanks for the shout out at the end there. Here I am sitting in my chair happily reading, while my wife and her best friend are talking about Oreo's and the pack of "Most Stuffing Ever" currently on our counter prior to starting their D&D game, and then they just look over at me like I'm crazy due to me laughing at my computer. Good times.
Anyway I digress. Yes, angsty here, but also you can see Jim's thought process. From his viewpoint, Pam hasn't reached out to him. She's going out on dates, not with him, even though she's free of Roy. She's moving on. So it makes sense that why shouldn't he as well. The Pokemon reference was a nice little spot of fun there to break things up too. Who would have thought when he said he was evolving he was thinking of Charizard?
Author's Response:
Sounds like a pretty good Saturday :). Glad to contribute with the laughing.
And I like taking the words from the show (like evolving) and trying to find new spins on how the characters might be imagining them...
Date: January 25, 2019 05:44 pm Title: Guilt
I loved the part of Roy seeing Pam before she sees him and thus pretending for a second they are still together. I am not a fan of Roy, but that made me feel sorry for him.
As usual, fantastic!
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I feel like at this point Roy deserves some pity--not that he deserves Pam, but that he has had a pretty awful few months.
Date: January 25, 2019 05:01 pm Title: Guilt
Why didn't she just come back? Well for the last time Roy she was your fiance! Not your girlfriend! That you've got him still not able to make that distinction shows just how clueless he is. He thinks he's trying, but he's really not. Dude still can't see the forest for the trees. Not that I'd expect anything else from him.
Great chapter as always.
Author's Response: Thank you warrior! I might give Roy a chance to remember the word "fiance" but not yet...
Date: January 25, 2019 06:33 am Title: DUI
I really like the way you've captured Pam's state of mind in this one. She'd made some big moves, which are bigger considering who she is - or was - at the beginning of the series.
It's easy to imagine her, at her own place for the first time, in front of an empty white sheet of paper, just thinking that she ought to feel better, but she can't yet.
And then Roy's mother calling, bringing her back to this confusing reality in which she is neither here nor there yet, but that still holds so many links to her previous life.
And that last part about not having chicken or fish is perfect. Again, I can imagine her driving to some place completely different, to get a burger or a salad, and actually enjoy it, in a guilty sort of way.
Gotta love Pam, and you make a superb work portraying her! Thanks!
Author's Response: Thank you very much! I'm always unsure if I've hit Pam right, so this is very good to hear.
Date: January 24, 2019 05:07 pm Title: Email
I know I should be filled with angst and I swear I am, but I actually Loled at Michael's email.
Author's Response: Good! That was the idea...:)
Date: January 24, 2019 12:02 pm Title: DUI
When the line that Pam had sent Jim an email came around I at once was wondering why he hadn't then seen it last chapter. Good explanation for that there at the end.
I very much get the sense that this is exactly where Pam is right now. Yes, she's making progress, but you're right, things are still off. This is still the beginning of what's probably the most confusing and stressful time in her life. You do a good job at having that come across as one reads.
Author's Response: I wanted to find a middle ground within canon in terms of Pam's outreach. So this was my solution. She's still not fully there...but she's on the path towards Beach Games, I think. Thanks for reading!
Date: January 23, 2019 08:35 pm Title: Email
Fantastic. Very clever with how and why the emails were spammed.
I can't tell you how much I love that you had DM misspell her name. :D So funny because yes.
Really great work here.
Author's Response: Thank you! I think I'm being a little over-cute with that, but I couldn't resist, and I'm glad you liked it.
Date: January 23, 2019 08:15 pm Title: Pack
Ah, I do love/hate the thoughts of that weekend after Casino Night. Great details you added in to make this feel like canon (DM starting early for international calls; each little "spot" that holds a memory).
Really great chapter.
Author's Response: Thank you! Writing Jim is kind of instinctive for me for various reasons, so I'm ecstatic to hear my instincts line up with what feels like canon for you :D.
Date: January 23, 2019 08:08 pm Title: Casino Night: A Triptych
Wow! Wow. WoW. Comfect. Every bit of this is a thing of beauty. Really. You hit every single moment directly on the head. I can't say anything but gushing over how wonderful it is. So. Perfect. Especially for an iconic scene that has been done 1,000 times. Bravo.
Okay, I have to tell you a few things I absolutely love:
-I mean, every bit of Pam's PoV. But, that reference to her delayed processing in the parking lot was too much and too wonderful. What "I can't" could have meant...
-Jim understanding how Pam uses silence. Yessssss! This goes back to an earlier review where I mentioned that Jim just gets her and (even if he's not fully dialed into it and able to articulate it) he knows how to read her in ways that Roy never will.
-Roy's "Keep an eye on her" being a bro version of I'm onto you, but I'll let it slide is ABSOLUTELY correct. Roy's an idiot, but he's not dumb (or vice versa, but you know what I'm saying there).
Author's Response: Thank you so much. That's really wonderful to hear. I think the trick (at least for me) of dealing with a scene that's been done 1,000 times is that I've read pretty much everything that's been written on this site (not quite as much as BecauseOfYou, but if it's over 1000 words and not a romantic pairing I strongly object to I've almost certainly at least glanced at it), and so I am in a lot of ways either reflecting this archive's consensus back through my writing or very deliberately taking an angle I haven't seen before. I'm not actually sure which one this is--but I'm so delighted you liked it!
Date: January 23, 2019 07:53 pm Title: Angry
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bless his heart...
Author's Response: Just how cuttingly southern do you mean that to be? ;)
Date: January 23, 2019 07:41 pm Title: Flight
"In some strange way he realizes this is him still trying to protect her." COMFECT!! That whole paragraph has this beautiful tone of why this is so painful. He CAN'T help himself when it comes to her. He just can't.
The angst is so necessary and realistic for this episode.
The only thing I hate about these latest chapters is that I am out of jellybeans for them...
Author's Response: Aww, thanks! One thing I'm trying in this series to do is to explore (in addition to the Pam/Roy dynamic) the whole Jim-angst thing from an angle that makes me feel less like he's being an ass by not confessing earlier. I think this is an important part of it--he's decided she wants what she says she wants, and so he's trying to exit the situation rather than being honest because it matters to her. Which makes me feel better about him. Not that I usually hate Jim! I just find this particular situation frustrating.
Date: January 23, 2019 07:34 pm Title: Pasta
Remember a couple of reviews ago when I said I kind of felt sorry for Roy? I take it back. ;)
This is so wonderful; I love that moment where Pam wonders if this is what giving up looks like. So wonderful.
Author's Response: Thank you! Part of the point of this series is for me to have a chance to think about how this particular (Pam/Roy) relationship evolved and how it can be toxic and yet not quite break the camel's back for so long (to mix metaphors). I'm so happy to hear from your feedback that it's convincing.