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you really captured the best parts of
Michael! can't wait for the next part!

Author's Response: Thank you! It will be coming soon! 

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Jenna! This is fantastic and made my rather boring, sad New Years in lockdown much, MUCH brighter.

I love the idea of all of them, and particularly Michael, caring about her enough to help. There's so much I love about angsty sad Pam, as you know, but I will share a few faves:

"She blinked slowly and carefully. By the third squeeze, the hurt in her eyes had eased ever so slightly. She took a deep breath before clicking her mouse and seeming to return to the present. "--This is so well written. I can feel her barely keeping it together.

"She wasn’t tearing up every time there was some reminder of him at work anymore. That was progress, right?" - oh, Pam

"Dwight’s obvious sympathy felt like a new low." Oh man, it hurts.

But this, THIS is may favorite of the chapter: "Joy was a double edged sword. Anything that made her smile in the office instantly brought her sorrow because she no longer had the person she most wanted to share her moments with. The kicker was that it was all her fault. She could have had him. She’d ruined it. And now she had to live with the deeply depressing consequences."

This is beautiful and gut-wrenching and I love it! I know it has been a rough few months for you and I dearly hope 2021 brings you great things, friend. :)

Author's Response: You are one of my great things of 2020, so it really wasn’t all bad! Thanks for putting up with me as I redirected all my creative energy into incessantly ranting about the injustice of it all. 

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I really like the idea of exploring what happens if Jim wasn’t deus ex machina’d right back to Scranton, and I’m glad you decided to take it on.

You have, as always, made really fun use of the ensemble. The conference room meetings were definitely something I could envision happening on the show, complete with some Michaelism (“prodigy son” made me smile), Dwangela going under the radar, “Jesus turned water into wine, he was a hell of a lot more fun at a party than you are” and no one coming up with a plan before they got distracted. I love the care and gentleness Michael and Dwight show in his fic (and Pam clocking it and recognizing it as a sign of how rough things are for her.)

It does seem 100% on point that Pam would find life at work without Jim far more challenging than life outside of work by this point. You did really well capturing Pam’s sadness and sense of defeat and how tired it all makes her, feels very real. “She missed the way it deepened further still at her mumbled noncommittal response. She was missing a lot these days” Is incisive.

The mall trip was just flat out entertaining, and again something that would have felt very at home in canon. “She wanted to walk that fine line between something nice and something that did not encourage Michael to see her as a sexual being. She was beginning to think a burlap sack might just do the trick” is a Pam talking head waiting to happen.

I would very much like to see Pam’s maniacal arsonist Santa. (…the Christmas card competition was fake, right? Michael got Jan to get him tickets because he knew Jim would be there and just invented a reason to bring Pam?)

Looking forward to seeing how the Christmas party plays out!

P.S. Welcome back! You have been very much missed around here. I’m sorry to hear how tough things have been, and I’m really glad you’ve been able to push the weight off your shoulders enough to get back to things you enjoy. The self-reinforcing nature of depression making it hard to do things that make you feel lighter is just vicious, isn’t it?

P.P.S. Happy New Year! ...2021 is better, right?

Author's Response: Thanks DJC! I always appreciate your thorough & insightful reviews. 

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Oh JB, this was so good. I got a little emotional at the end when she got the box with the dress because that’s the reason we all love Michael so much. I also adore how much the whole office cares about Pam and notices that she isn’t herself and and actively wants to change it.

So many great things about this and I can’t wait for more. I’m sorry life has been stressful for you! I hope things start looking up soon. d84;a039;

Author's Response: Thanks WW! I’m still working on catching up on all the stories you’ve put out recently - I’m so impressed with how much you’ve been writing! (& excited to read it all). 

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Oh, Jenna, I'm so sorry that you had that terrible time (and, for sure, having them affects creativity badly...). I hope that you feel better now, and I can't even start to describe how excited I am to see your new story!
It was touching that Dwight noticed these horrible things in Pam, and Michael is so eager to help her. It's nice that they have so much empathy...
'She was missing a lot these days.' Poor Pam, it feels so real, and pains so much...
Have no idea what 'She’s All That' is about, but I want to find out!
'She wasn’t tearing up every time there was some reminder of him at work anymore. That was progress, right?' My heart. Yes, dear, keep going.
'she was twice as miserable as she had been.' I want to hug her badly.
'Death was seeming like the best option.' I hate that she had these thoughts... but it's so believable to have them in her state...
I love the way you write Pam-Michael's dynamic! It's so heartwarming, and even in the worst situations looks cute.
I can't wait to read more!
And Happy New Year! May the year 2021 bring you more joy, happiness, and things you want/need than the passing one :)

Author's Response: Happy New Year to you too Dernhelm!