Roy! A cheater! I am SHOCKED to my core!

"Recollections of times Roy made her feel small and insignificant lined her mind like sharp-edged formations of angry violets, shocking indigos and gangrene olive hues, whereas thoughts of fun times with Jim seemed just as vivid but more like splashes of paint that in their haphazardness screamed of the playfulness and optimism he seemed to always have for her."

Have I mentioned how much I adore all this Pam-as-an-artist imagery? Because I do.

"Every relationship had them and it was only because she was not in a romantic one with Jim that his colors seemed brighter, that the abstracts she associated with him had fewer of those harsh edges."

Oh yikes. This actually made me think of s9 and now I have a sad.

Loved that we got to see the source of the paintings at her art show! Interesting to note, does this affect season 3 though? Will Michael put the painting up? How much of this is actually undone/ undoes what happens later? Ugh, time travel. ugh.

!!PINK PAMTHER!!

*Still, the slip that read I owe Pam Beesly for this absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring painting of art, was worth more to her than gold.*

I felt this deep in my soul as a writer. Words like this are all it takes.

Please, I beg of you, write a fic where Pam takes Michael to Michael's. Please.

Author's Response:

Sarcasm?

Well she is an artist - no matter what she calls herself.

I am so into time travel but even if it were possible I would never want to - there's too much risk - even the most tiny changes can majorly shift everything else. -as we see here.

YES- it's words like this and I thank you graciously for yours.

Michael at Michael's would be fun - maybe I'll put it up in plot bunnies. (can't tackle it myself) 

Oh Michael....

Michael, Michael, Michael.....

Author's Response: is very fun to write.

1

Pam's looking back on Casino night HURT :(

But I LOVED THIS!!

1

Ugh, I loved this! You write Pam EXTREMELY well, and I loved the imagery here of them going back in time! Whoa, this was SERIOUSLY good, Max!

Author's Response:

I watched and read a ton of times how it happened in HP and then added some of my own bits. Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks so much. 

“There were the rare instances where the ghost of an inner tiger would claw her way out to growl for her own desires, but even after the loudest roar, her stripes could still not change.”

This is a great sentence and really captures that struggle of someone not in a healthy and balanced relationship.

Oh, Pam. You just want to gently push her to get her to connect the dots! You are doing a great job of conveying that mental back and forth and making it extremely frustrating for the reader (which is definitely a good thing)

“The warehouse, he said was like an amusement park, especially without Darryl there to tell him what he could and couldn’t touch. Pam had to wonder what kind of messes her fianc? and the rest of the crew were finding when they got in each morning and how long it would take before they reported the curious break-ins where nothing was stolen but things were strangely out of place or, knowing Michael, potentially broken.”

This made me laugh. I can only imagine. Lol.

“And so back into the vault they went.” Uuuuugh Pam!

Author's Response:

Uuuugh Pam is right. Pam is so not in a healthy relationship. And I hope it is coming across that she slowly is seeing it but still fighting it internally because not only would that would mean having to change, but also risking everything she "invested" in for so long.

I really appreciate the reviews. ALways loving hearing from you so thanks. 

“It was a look she knew was familiar, a facial quality she’d seen on someone else, somewhere else, quite recently in fact, only she couldn’t place whose face it was that she’d seen that same glow of love, probably on television, the character or show, she couldn’t think of in the moment, especially with her time jump still messing with her memories.”

Love this!

I really appreciate this pattern developing of hints and things to notice later that will pay off: book/library, song/music, etc. I can also tell you have done some research with this one.

Great job!

Author's Response:

Lots of pay-offs to come here - circularity is one of the devices (not sure if it is a device or structure or what) I love to utilize, and as you know, read in other fics - so I'm tickled you are noticing. 

Also yes, this one took some googling. And I listened to a lot of Elvis during this time. 

Thanks as always. 

I think one of my favorite things about this story is the close calls. Super clever using Dwight’s concussion for one in this chapter. You also did a great job at writing what that day might seem like inside a concussed Dwight’s mind.

You also use these fabulous little Freudian slips of thinking about Jim instead of Roy. That is such a spot on interpretation of season 2 Pam especially the one at the end about her missing Jim. Oh, Pam…

Author's Response:

The near misses are fun - as are the ways things done while traveling in time - will shift the original timeline. Time travel stories are fascinating in this way - so glad you are enjoying these elements.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Goddammit, Pam.

I really liked what you did with the earrings, making them a sort of metaphor for her relationship with Roy, losing one then finding it again, because it's true... leading right up to the wedding was probably when she was pretty happy with him for the most part. Worst timing possible for Jim.

*But now, what she'd tasted again over the last few days was not sitting right in her system. Even just the little nibble of doing things she loved was an overindulgence she couldn't digest properly after years of being starved.*

Ooh, this is lovely.

*When seven days earlier, what she heard made her weak and dizzy and unable to focus, after she regained her equilibrium, she found herself flattered, validated, and for the fraction of the second she allowed herself to feel so, happier than she’d been in a while, perhaps even more than both times she lived through Roy choosing a date for her to be married.*

This is spot on what she felt, and then hearing him say he was over it probably just crushed her, ugh

*"Michael, this trip was more than enough travel for us this year. And I'm already using all my vacation days with going away next week and then my wedding and honeymoon."*

Okay this has always bugged me because Pam says she used up all her vacation days in January (but never specified she was saving any for the honeymoon!) I guess we are to assume she was including those? I like how you addressed it here, though.

Great chapter, even though we all want to shake Pam.

Author's Response:

Right - wake up damnit.

But I'm glad you agree - And I feel like Pam is a big sign person - and she would read much more into finding it than there was - and not see the forest for the trees there too.

You and I think alike in so many ways - yeah the vacation day thing was kinda like 'huh' to me too? But figure this was a quick trip and the honeymoon would have had to have been short...more to come with that (and I almost gave away a future plot point so I'm going to close out this thank you before I say too much). 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(deep breath)OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Come ON, Pam!

On the other hand, I 100% buy this of her as a character. She's uncomfortable with change, so naturally she's looking for signs that things should stay the same, and interpreting what happens to her accordingly - even when she could easily interpret the same set of facts as demanding the need for change. And her recognition that some of the issue is her not standing up for herself and letting him make the decisions still feels like progress if you really want to see progress. It feels like you're making a case for the necessity of Pam's growth in Season 3 to allow them to move forward, that it has to more than just her running to Jim, that it has to be also her learning to trust herself. The line about how she couldn't or wouldn't leave Roy feels very telling.

"Even just the little nibble of doing things she loved was an overindulgence she couldn't digest properly after years of being starved." Good line, but also, oh, Pam...

Feels sad that we're losing out on some of these moments in canon... certainly the ice skating's going to be a different feel for Pam now after this moment. But then who knows how things will be by Michael's birthday?

How did I know there was going to be a real Sandals Grenada?

"Between the kitchen, the ladies’ room that became his temporary bedroom, the warehouse playground and the means to wash up, he had all the luxuries of home, but with none of the rules set upon him when he was a guest in someone else’s place." PLEASE tell me we're going to get to see the aftermath of one of Michael's nights at the office at some point.

Also, I'd like to see the Jim-as-proto-Elvis/Michael as the Colonel AU now. And also a Michael staying with Pam AU, which feels like a full story on its own.

Author's Response:

Yeah, that was my reaction too as I wrote it, but that's what I saw as her response to finding that, plus it was good for the story.

Hmm growth, are you on to something?

Because it's me  - plus I wanted to be bombarded with ads for Sandals all over my social media. 

Well let's just say we can't leave this story without some scenes at Dunder Mifflin.

Yeah, those could be fun...but I was picturing the pompadour like hairstyle Jim sports in later seasons when he finally discovers a comb. Could that be what Pam was drawing? when he starts using a bit of product and gets that lift to the front. 

But an Elvis-inspired rejected cold open - I'd like to see that! 

As always thank you for the animated and in depth review. 

Not an Elvis fan myself but a good chapter.

Author's Response:

There's got to be one Elvis song you like.

But thank you, thank you very much. 

Remind me to tell you a funny story about St. Patrick's sometime. But I love that Pam is in full on "Jim is Kevin Bacon" mode.

"The cost of New York parking was more per hour than what she'd paid for the entire outfit she had on" - is it a critique of New York? Or of Pam? But I'm glad she's at least acknowledging that there always seems to be plenty of money for the things that *Roy* wants.

Hmmmm. Paying some attention to the couple that got between them in the elevator. Maybe they're just rude... but it *is* a time travel story, and that is an odd moment...

I *feel* the awkwardness of having drifted off and coming back in to realize you've missed something important. I'm with you, Pam.

The sense that Pam is mainly nice to Angela because she doesn't like the idea of anyone disliking her is a good connection. As are the many things pulling on her here.

Love a little growth moment from Pam to close this one out.

Ah, well. Probably better for your privacy anyways to confuse the alogorithim.

Author's Response:

Do tell! Always enjoy a good story.

As for the cost of parking, well Pam is wearing mostly clothes from her go-bag but.... the line was part hyperbole and part error on my part (the way it reads her whole outfit would have to cost about $25 and so I edited the line - thanks for bringing it to my attention). But yeah, the point is Pam is cost-conscious while saving for a wedding and Roy spends like he's Rockefeller but only on things that he wants.

Pam seems to be getting closer to seeing things more clearly, doesn't she? But she's still teetering. And who knows what lies ahead to set her one way or another. Stay tuned.

Thanks as always. 

I liked this chapter getting to know more about Gabby and Randall’s relationship and the parallels there. I spent most of the chapter just willing Pam to realise!
“…and murmured something Pam couldn’t quite make out but sounded a bit like didn’t happen yet Gabrielle.” This line though has me SO intrigued!!!! Looking forward to the next chapter and hopefully finding out more!!!

Author's Response:

Me too, me too and she's getting closer I think but there's still lots of tale to unfold.

Thank you as ever for reading and reviewing. Every review is like old 70s pop to my ears (and I mean that in a good way).