“I’m not,” he says, the same twinkle in his eye that was there the day she met him. “I’m doing it for us. I loved this line - but really the whole chapter, the last few have somewhat fixed season 9 for me. You have filled in the blanks so wonderfully with your insights and beautiful words. Pam's vows ring so true - about that she's glad everything they experienced let them to that moment and how it ultimately was only "us" that matters. I'm glad you touched on how there will be needs that come from the outside - I think that is very important and Pam still needs to come to terms with that (which in canon she does eventually) but I guess that is what is meant by love is patient - and it is through your writing I see the brilliance of the shows choice to have that voiceover during their hug. 

Anyway - jelly beans and kudos. 

What a way to wake up this morning, huh?

The ending of Paper Airplanes is just SUCH an emotional rollercoaster, and you’ve captured that perfectly. Between their conversation that we could only WISH was captured by the cameras, to the flashback Pam’s mind automatically went to.

Your imagery when flashing back to Plan C in Niagara was perfect. To finally HEAR what Pam’s vows were (versus attempting to read mouthing)? You couldn’t have captured them any better.

And leading into AARM, the conversation outside just breaking my heart yet again.

You do SUCH a great job with pulling om the reader’s heartstrings and taking us on this emotional rollercoaster of their marital struggles.

Cannot WAIT to see if you dive into what’s written in the Christmas card (or not, lol), and how we dive into the finale!

Author's Response: Oh, the card is coming up, don’t worry :) Tomorrow’s chapter is a bit unique to this story but I really hope people enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

Your writing blows me away. Have I mentioned that? I don't think I've mentioned that enough. I think you need to hear it again.

“I don’t want to start over, Jim. We have a story, and this is part of it. I want us to grow from right here.”
UGH. I love how they're treating this part of their story like the season 2/3 heartache. It feels so very jammy to acknowledge and embrace every part of their painful journey, for the sake of it being *them.*

"It’s just her and Jim and a love so big it rivals the thundering roar of the cascading falls."
As if the angst didn't already hit me in the feels! No matter what you're writing, you're able to immerse me in their relationship--all of it.

I'll be counting down the hours until tomorrow and the next update!

Ok I'm not done yet but had to write this now.....Michaels wedding vows. I'm rolling. They are so him. And it's the only time I will say I'm glad that song exists so you could include them here. Well done.

The Pam an Jim arc in season 9 to me seemed both real in that yes they might come to a place where they weren't on the same page but also not as simple as who was right and who was wrong. I see a lot of I was on her side or his side when really I feel like it wasn't about sides...it was about communication and compromise. I think you did a great job showcasing where both fell apart and why they both lost way.

Right in the flashback you showed Pam both expressing the importance of going for the things you want and being happy with the status quo. I would have been confused as Jim.

There was also this.... He knows with absolute confidence he would have loved her in every single one of her iterations, but by the time she’d gotten together with Jim, she’d begun to undergo such a transformation all on her own. The experience of watching her grow and become the person she was meant to be, all while being right by her side, is an extremely special gift that Jim will always be grateful for. Now I loved this paragraph- so beautifully written.

And through that and the conversation with Toby you showed that he believed that sometimes Pam needed a little push to realize what she wanted or go for change. However by the end maybe he realized he had overstepped this time.

your writing really puts the reader right in the middle of all the emotions of this time and my heart was hurting in the reading. You are canon compliant so I know you come to a happy resolution but oof I know there's going to be more hurt to read before the happy again. Ok deep breaths, I'm going on to chap 16

1

“Dreams don’t have to be big to be dreams.”

I love how you start to drop little hints about how they are gonna feel in S9.

Both are fine where they are because they are going to be together so that's the dreams that really matters.

Author's Response: Yes exactly! 💗 Thank you so much for your feedback!

I thought you did really well with this new, more mature Michael. This feels like the guy we see in the finally. Clearly grown up a lot, but still prone to a malaprop here or a rickrolled wedding there. And him making the callback to Booze Cruise happen accidentally was artfully done.

I thought you created a good context for this healing moment in the parking lot - the magic of the umbrella is a tipping point, rather than the scales falling from his eyes about what needs to happen - if anything, he's looking for exactly that kind of sign. And the knowledge that it's been so long since they've touched like this makes it all that much more poignant.

"But this is no band-aid, not this time. And he will wait patiently with his arms around her, as long as it takes, for her to realize that." Ouch.

I can really well visualize that montage of flashbacks.

Wow. It's, like, super dusty in this room right now, anyone notice that?

Well, you've really done a lot of work to fill in the gaps during the cuts to black here, where we missed an awful lot of dialogue in Season 9. Pam's laying out for Jim everything that she's taking on and what it's costing him being gone is really powerfully written, and you've captured the vibe well of a Jim who is just starting to catch up with how much trouble his marriage is in.

The "Roy magically cleaned up his act offscreen" thing is one of my least favorite parts of this, my least favorite season, but I thought you did well bringing that flashback up, and identifying the very different take-aways the two of them had from Roy's Wedding, and how they end up reflecting on this conversation.

This conversation with Toby is BRUTAL. You did really well with him - not an easy character to write, but you've managed to capture both his quiet insight and the fact that he's kind of a smug douchebag throwing popcorn from the cheap seats. He does his job here in making Jim answers his own questions better than I think he intended to.

This chapter alone is worth the price of admission. Let's start out with Micheal shall we? I think you really nailed his post Dunder-Mifflin character. In some respects he's still the same kind of guy he was before. However marrying Holly and becoming a father seems to have finally smoothed off a lot of his rough edges. Micheal always said Dunder-Mifflin was his family and it's clear he still feels that way. Yes he has his own real family now too, but he'll always see himself as head of the DM household. Which means having the important talks. That it's Micheal to really and finally get through to Jim I think is perfect. The man who was always in JAM's corner from the start. Great insights there as well as some needed humor from him.

Jim desperatly clinging to Pam as written here is almost heartbreaking. He knows he's choosing her, he throwing out his last Hail Mary but with the damage that's been done he has no idea if it'll work or not.

The montage of memories was great as well. I always kinda figured the flashback we got in the show to their church wedding was Pam's memory. To have Jim's memories was a beautiful counterpoint. Especially with his last memory there of their boat wedding. Their real wedding.

And of course the moment where Pam gets past her deer in the headlights moment and also reaches for him too is just beautiful. The connection they've always shared is still there. It was stressed but it didn't snap. There' still so much for them to be fighting for with each other and at last they're on the the same page about it.

Their first kiss in weeks and the reaffermation of their love just drives home that. Magnificent writing.

For me the lowest point of the JAM relationship was the Monday after Roy tried attacking Jim. Pam tried to apologize and Jim threw it back in her face. He was being deliberatly cruel to her there. This chapter makes this period of them come in at a VERY close second to that point in their lives. Yes they're hurting, they're not on the same page, they're angry at each other, but I don't think they were intending to cause the other one pain. They did cause pain through inaction, fear, and a host of other things though. That's brought out really well here.

Seeing their first session with the couselor was brutal to read. By that I mean you wrote it so well we could feel all the emotions going on there as Jim and Pam try desperatly to hold on to anything that's left.

The flashbacks with Pam thinking that they don't even say "I love you," anymore really hit hard. However knowing where things go for them, it's also a great setup for things to come.

I'm intesly curious to see who she's calling. Hopefully a new update comes soon. Like I said a hard chapter to read, but you wrote it brilliantly.

Another big heavy chapter, but right in the wheelhouse of their S9 struggles. In one sense I'm glad they're at least talking about this. Even if the conversation hurts and Pam has to remind Jim of some of the things he's missed. I've said for a long time that Jim and Pam's biggest issue has always been lack of real honest communication. It feels like even if they're trying there's still a few roadblocks in their way.

Bringing up the comparison with Roy was a shot to Jim I'm sure. Like you said he's tried to be everything Roy wasn't. Which I'm sure is among the reasons why you had him agree to counseling so readily here. Still I'm sure that was a hit to him.

Their feelings after leaving Roy's wedding felt like more of the same, even if they were earlier in the timeline. There's just something off that growing between them. Nice way to bring that in.

Jim talking to Toby here makes sense. I get the sense that Toby put his own counselor hat on here with Jim. He made Jim really think about things and answer his own questions. So kind of a pre-counselling session for Jim. It does feel like Jim and Pam are not on the same page here. Yeah it stings but that means your writing was really good.

Author's Response: Yes, I agree everything in S9 stemmed from miscommunication and their inability to figure out the right way to navigate a situation where there is really no middle ground. It's real and difficult and thank god they make it through. Thanks so much for your reviews! 

Lots of ups and downs with this one. I really liked the scene at the start. Jim feeling kind of stuck but at the same time going to reassure Pam. The glare at Dwight was perfect. Really sweet that they can share a tender moment with each other and be vulnerable like that.

The flashback was a ton of fun too. That was one of the better pranks. Pam just so easily sliding in as partner-in-crime was delightful. No wonder he played the pranks for her laughter.

The scene there at the airport was a great way to show how change happens. Micheal leaving and Pam's news. Lots of feelings but all in all good feelings. Great job on the emotional content of this one.

I had to just sit and stare off into space for a few minutes before I could even try to write a review that expresses how much this chapter hurt me. Ugh.

“If you have something to say, Pam, by all means, say it.” He doesn’t mean to utter the next part, but it slips out anyway. “Or you can just air it all out to the boom guy tomorrow.”

I don't think I've ever gasped so loudly while reading. Damn. DAMN. And then how you have Pam apologize for all those moments that Jim wasn't there. Just fuck me UUUUUUP.

“You guys did couples’ counseling?”
He’s slightly surprised, wondering at what point in their relationship that conversation came up and why.
She looks right at him, eyes narrowed. “No. We didn’t.”
WOOOOWWWWWWW. I mean. Ugh. It takes guts to compare your man to your ex, and it also takes guts to write about that. I can't imagine either, so major props to you.

Jim's conversation with Toby made me come *this* close to crying. You made me feel sympathy for Jim even though he's in the wrong. Idk how you did it.

My heart hurts. So, so much. I haven't felt this much unadulterated, heart-stopping panic since I was rear-ended, lol. Please update soon! (though I know there's still more angst)