Date: September 02, 2022 08:58 am Title: You start my day before the dawn
Last time I was on Lys? hora, the witchea must've had some sort of gathering. I don't remember the weather ever being this bad for such a long time except for some recent floods... Gret chapter as always!
Date: October 29, 2020 03:55 pm Title: I love you and this is right
This was a *very* sweet ending, and I love the callback to him making the mental note to tell her about how the sunlight looked on her face some day.
Nice job with this one!
Author's Response: Thank you so much, darjeelingandcoke! I'm glad you found this story, and I appreciate that you found time to review every chapter. And I'm happy that you liked it :)
Date: October 29, 2020 03:52 pm Title: The reason of life is to find life
Now, this was the version of Casino Night we deserved (and the Pam version of the teapot card we didn't know we needed). I really love that Pam just *has* to share this accomplishment with Jim, and that Jim's reaction is to literally buy out the store. I don't know what Pam's talking about, I think that was some very tasty cheese. :)
Author's Response: Strangely enough, I find it hard to write romance-romance for me, and I was very nervous writing (and especially publishing) this chapter. I'm so glad it turned out well!
Date: October 29, 2020 03:37 pm Title: You start my day before the dawn
This was a very cute first non-date, and I really like how you mixed their playfulness and melancholy and sweetness together in this chapter. The runner about Pam as a witch was hilarious, and very in character.
And "He'd never been into poetry until now" is a great line.
Author's Response: Thank you! I just really like witchy Pam (but you knew it already!).
Date: October 29, 2020 03:29 pm Title: Understand me without dictionaries
I'm glad to see Pam making friends here - she definitely needs some support from someone who she has an uncomplicated relationship right now. And you've crafted a really interesting backstory for why Pam is the way she is... I tend to share the interpretation that Pam's parents and their relationship had a major influence on how things happened with Roy.
Author's Response: Oh, that's my favorite pet peeve - Pam's lack of female friends. Friendship with Jim is the best, but still, she needs some girls to chat about everything (she couldn't speak about Jim with Jim after all ;)). And it was satisfying to give her some break from troubles.
1 [Report This]Date: October 29, 2020 03:20 pm Title: I will be as white as snow if you allow me to be
You're finding some really interesting uses of canon here, and I like that you're having Jim struggle with how to handle a breakup that really has nothing to do with him - this is not a Pam who is in any way mentally prepared to enter into something with him, and that puts him in a tight spot.
Author's Response: Thank you! I think that Jim and Pam had to spend some time apart after Pam's breakup with Roy because they were not ready to start something together immediately. And if they'd started, it might have been not great and even unhealthy...
1 [Report This]Date: October 29, 2020 02:58 pm Title: Love in payphones is doomed to be short-lived
Again, an interesting twist, and a really karmic one - Roy's failure to set a date for the wedding ends up screwing up his grand plans. And also, wow, Roy. Yes, you're clearly an insensitive clod, but it's kind of astonishing you didn't even see the *possibility* of her not wanting to go along with that plan coming.
It's nice to see some fight in Pam - and especially some fight in Pam that embraces complexity, she's not changing in a heartbeat, and her slap freaks her out as much as it empowers her - and also get a sense from her of why she stayed in this relationship so long.
Definitely struck by Pam's wildly divergent sense of what Jim's neighborhood is like, and charmed by her recognition that he doesn't really feel at home where he lives anymore than she does.
Also, props on finding room for multiple Princess Bride references.
Author's Response:
A little note about Roy. Of course, he's dense, but in this case, there is something different. This Roy was raised in such a traditional and patriarchal society that he wasn't able to think that a woman could have an opinion different from his. Probably, I didn't stress that moment enough :(
I think this chapter is my favorite here. It was so much fun to write (and add all these references and observations).
1 [Report This]Date: October 29, 2020 02:29 pm Title: Break my chest not knowing the measure
Oh, that phone call hurt, but was also pretty darn funny.
You've taken the plot in some directions you don't see a whole lot here! The deadline being Pam's departure and not Jim's casts his desperate throw of the dice in a very different light than we usually see.
Author's Response: Yeah, it was a little painful to write, but I'm really proud of making up that phone call mistake :)
1 [Report This]Date: October 29, 2020 02:18 pm Title: Please don't cry
I really like the choice to dig into Pam's relationship with Roy's mom, which always felt to me from canon like it would probably be not too pleasant. Her characterization here is really strong in relatively few words, it's good work.
This is a really interesting take on Roy and one we don't usually see - the idea of Roy as upwardly mobile, in contrast with a Pam who feels like she's being pulled away from the things (and people... well, person...) that are important to her. Going to be interested to see how you develop that.
And I loved the idea of Pam's imagined dialogues with Jim, and how they always came out as real ones - seems VERY them.
Author's Response: Thank you! To be honest, I cheated a little there — my grandma lived in a small village and, as a kid, I witnessed a variety of country folks, so here I just described one of granny's neighbors :)
1 [Report This]Date: October 29, 2020 02:06 pm Title: Not today for sure tomorrow
Oh, man, there are a lot of great lines in this - the game of 20 questions now on the 164th question and their secret shared knowledge of the never opened station really paints a picture of the deep connection between them, and Jim saving feelings in his mental Pam-box and storing up moments to tell Pam about when the time is finally right for them tells you so much about the longing he has for her.
You've also painted a really vivid image of Kyiv here!
Author's Response: Thank you! I wasn't sure at the beginning what I wanted to do with it, so I loaded (and, maybe, even overloaded) the first chapters with details. I'm glad you liked them, though.
Date: August 13, 2020 07:49 pm Title: I love you and this is right
So lovely. I'm glad like the teapot note we don't actually know exactly what she said, but we know exactly enough.
Author's Response: Thank you so much! I'm happy that you like this story :)
Date: August 13, 2020 07:46 pm Title: The reason of life is to find life
Awwww. I love that for the stakes of this story Pam getting her art printed as a postcard is PERFECT. It represents going places but also staying home, and making money her own way but not too much. It's lovely. As was the emotion and the sending a postcard, of course.
Author's Response: Thank you, Comfect! I like postcards and Postcrossing, so I couldn't resist sharing my hobby with favorite characters in an appropriate way.
1 [Report This]Date: August 04, 2020 09:13 pm Title: I love you and this is right
This was so good! I loved reading about them in this new setting, doing things that are so familiar with all the references to canon while incorporating elements that I haven’t seen before. And you are such a lovely writer! Your expressions and phrasing are beautiful. I am so glad I was finally able to sit and read this all at once! This last chapter especially just made me smile so much. Already looking forward to my next reading of a Dernhelm original!
Author's Response: Thank you so much, BT! I'm quite insecure about my writing, and your assessment excited me. And I'm glad that my story made you smile :)
1 [Report This]Date: August 04, 2020 08:08 pm Title: Love in payphones is doomed to be short-lived
Finally able to sit and read this in one go and just had to pause and tell you that this phrase:
She had heard once that the person could see their life right before the death; she wondered if that was right about the relationships.
Is one of my most favorite things to have read in any story, period. It really love it.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate them!
1 [Report This]Date: July 23, 2020 11:14 am Title: Not today for sure tomorrow
I really enjoyed this: it's warm and lovely and it made me happy. Thanks!
Author's Response: Thank you, Sam! I'm glad you enjoyed this story!
Date: July 12, 2020 03:38 am Title: I love you and this is right
“The frantic, nervous energy boiling in his bloodstream was reduced to the soft, lazy humming.” Well, this is the sweetest thing. You built up Jim’s frantic energy so well and to have it soothed like this, with Pam’s touch was delightful.
“I just like my berries mixed” This is so perfect.
The postcards! Their home! The cat! I love it all so much. Oh, and to end it with Pam’s postcard arriving after a week and prompting Jim to buy a ring! I love the way you intertwine canon into this very unique world/story!
I’m so sad to see this end, but so glad you wrapped it up in such a lovely way. I look forward to the sequel!
Author's Response: Thank you so much, Jenna! This story made me happy, and I'm excited that you enjoyed it :)
Date: July 11, 2020 11:37 am Title: I love you and this is right
Thank you so much for sharing this story with us, it's been a great ride!
I love the warmth and contentedness of this chapter, it's really a balm to the earlier chapters of angst, uncertainty, and worry. I also loved the inclusion of the callback to the postcard that Pam sent on the day of their first kiss.
Quick aside to the postcards they sent out, I live near one of those locations! So it's like being told hello... fictionally! ;)
Going back a little, of course Pam likes her berries mixed, that got a chuckle and a smile out of me.
I wouldn't be opposed to a sequel, but I think you probably knew that already. I'll even forgive you for making them cat people!
Author's Response:
Thank you for reading and reviewing, DG! It means a lot to me. And I'm glad you like the story even though I made them cat people (but keeping a dog in a rental apartment is too difficult...)
Date: July 11, 2020 11:17 am Title: I love you and this is right
Lovely way to wrap this all up. Jim getting antsy and fidgiting to get out of the office as quickly as possible. Dwight secretly keeping tabs on him. Pam moving on with her art. Just lots of fun all around.
I love the insights you've given us to how they're doing now. A much better version of both of the from how they started. Full of life and energy. Reinforcing each other in their shared life. The postcards are great too.
A bit of inspiration from Pam's teapot letter there in not letting us know what was on the first postcard? Very in feeling with the show.
Great job bringing them to this point.
Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat
Author's Response:
Thank you for your lovely review, Warrior! I'm glad that this worked out well.
And I decided to keep the message in secret - it was meant to be read just by Jim after all :)
Date: July 03, 2020 04:10 pm Title: The reason of life is to find life
I didn't have time to review this at my time of reading, so sorry that this isn't more in-depth. My thoughts on this chapter can be safely summed up with a fist pump and 'Yes~!'.
Author's Response: Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter that much :)
Date: July 01, 2020 03:23 am Title: The reason of life is to find life
I have no idea what Pam is so excited about, but I love that her instinct is to get Jim to meet her. I wish she had hugged him - I feel like he’s keeping his hands in his pockets to stop himself from hugging her too.
“‘The earlier one? To check the expiration date of the yogurts you're going to eat?’ Jim smirked, and Pam blushed.” Oh this line is SO very perfect!
Pam’s painting printed as a postcard is so cool! Jim’s enthusiasm is beautiful.
(When we can finally send things again, I have a postcard I’m very excited to send to you, & this reminded me of that).
“But neither of them spotted the changes.” Of course they didn’t... They’re far too wrapped up in each other to notice trivial things like the changing weather.
“Don't forget us then” Wow. This is such a great twist on Pam’s note to Jim. I love that it’s him saying it to her, about her art instead.
I love that it’s a universal truth that elderly will pay their bills at the post office until the end of time... That’s true of here too.
Oh, it’s so sweet to know that Pam looked at their painting excursion as a possible date! She borrowed the dress! She was excited! I love that she still had a good time, even with Jim’s nap.
“I just left it in the office” Way to hit me with the Paper Airplane feels. Wait. Have you watched that episode?! I can’t remember, but I feel like you haven’t finished Season 9? I’ll send you a link for the clip Jim leaving his umbrella makes me think of!
“she hadn't prepared for that at all, even with her determination and written confession” This is just so pure and adorable! And now the Casino Night dialogue! So, so good.
This was such a wonderful chapter! I wish I had more jellybeans to give!
Author's Response:
Thank you so much for your amazing review, Jenna! And yes, you guessed it right about Jim's wish to hug :)
I spent much time trying to figure out this chapter, and I'm thrilled you liked it!
Date: June 30, 2020 08:33 pm Title: The reason of life is to find life
Love this chapter! Pam's getting herself more under control here and it's lovely to see. I really like that despite what her art teacher wants, she's also still drawing what she wants. Great to see that bit of spunk to her. After all, an interest like that should be about what brings her joy not what someone else demands. Great way to show her accomplishing that.
Speaking of things Pam wants, her inviting Jim to the lunch date was another great way to show that. She's not scared to go after what she wants now and I love that Jim's there for her. Even more because she's had this plan in place to surprise him. He's been a major catalyst for her change and it's adorable to see her recognize that and bring him into everything. Especially with the image on the postcards.
Then of course we get into one of the best romantic tropes and I'm all sorts of here for it. Kissing in the rain along with Casino Night lines but in this new context. *chef's kiss*
Their relationship has been increasing well up to know. To have this scene feels appropriate. They're both in a good place to take these next steps and it's wonderful to envision.
Though of course I'm VERY curious to read what she wrote on that postcard. Can't wait for the next update.
Author's Response: Thank you, Warrior! Somehow, this chapter was hard to write, and I appreciate your kind words so much. And the update is almost here!
Date: June 30, 2020 05:44 pm Title: The reason of life is to find life
What a lovely chapter. I wish it were longer, though. But that’s just me being greedy :)
Author's Response: Thank you, Merria! I wish they were longer too...
Date: June 12, 2020 03:52 am Title: You start my day before the dawn
Aww. Beautiful. I do like that this feels like Jim and Pam in character despite the Ukrainified setting.
Author's Response: Thank you! I appreciate it, I try to keep them in character.
Date: June 11, 2020 11:09 pm Title: You start my day before the dawn
“Well, the client could wait.” Oh Jim. Pam always comes first for him. It’s so incredibly sweet. I feel like this has kind of the same energy as “not a bad day”.
“'All right,' Jim replied and bit his tongue to prevent 'it's a date' from escaping.” Ouch. That’s a bit of a punch to the chest. But at the same time, it’s kind of nice that Jim is giving her the time to heal before jumping into anything.
“She was twenty minutes earlier than he'd expected.” This makes me so very happy. I love the idea that Pam has had a similar morning to Jim and her anticipation has her arriving early too.
Jim’s dream is so very lovely. It breaks my heart a little that it was only a dream. His frustration at wasting his time with her sleeping is so palpable.
I love the little snippets of Ukrainian folklore/culture throughout this story. You make me long for international travel again...
Author's Response:
Thank you so much, Jenna! I'm in love with your reviews and I'm sorry that this chapter made you feel sad.
Next one will be good, I promise ;)
Date: June 11, 2020 09:06 am Title: You start my day before the dawn
Now that's just cruel, 'how much was a dream...' for the sake of my sanity I'm going with none. Poor Jim. I like that they were both eager and showed up early, this can only mean good things I hope. I'm glad that Pam isn't too sad anymore, and I look forward to her finding happiness... With Jim of course.
Author's Response: Thank you for your review, DG! I'm not cruel, though, and I hope the next chapter will prove that ;)