You must login (register) to review or leave jellybeans
Reviewer: Alex Wert Signed [Report This]
Date: July 28, 2008 09:55 pm Title: Andy and the Working World

And I'm back from my month long sojourn.  My favourite part without a doubt: There Goes Treble.

Author's Response:

You've been gone longer than a month, Alex Wert. :(  I'm glad you're back. :)

I enjoyed There Goes Treble, too.  A cappella groups have some pretty odd and punny names, so it seemed to fit both with the original name and what they might make their "after group" name.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!  This Andy story is one of my favorites that I've written, but like many of my stories, it doesn't attract the big crowd.  I'm going for quality of readers, not quantity. ;)  Thanks for adding to both.  I hope you hang around a bit more.  The forum is slow, by the way.  Sloooooow.

Reviewer: Team Karen Signed [Report This]
Date: July 22, 2008 11:33 am Title: Andy and the Working World

I liked this.  I think you capture Andy well in that he's both cripplingly insecure and likable all at once.  And I've always liked his bravado-masked Karen soft-spot.

Author's Response:

I'm glad you liked it!  Andy is such an amazing character; we've learned more about him in 2 seasons than we learned about most of the characters in 4.

Andy does seem to think there's more between Karen and himself than Karen seems to ("It's very Sam and Diane," "she's only one of my oldest friends"); I thought it was interesting to think about the possibility that Karen avoids the drinking game of Diwali not just out of professionalism, but out of prior experience of what can happen when you get tipsy with the Nard-Dog.  I have the feeling that will never be canon. ;)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, Team Karen! :)

Reviewer: firthgal Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: July 11, 2008 11:09 am Title: Andy and the Working World

I would so be singing "Did you ever know that you're my hero..." to you right now if this review thing had audio.  But it doesn't, so your ears are safe.  OMG, I LOVED THIS!!!  His bullet list was SO PERFECT, particularly the nicknames one (Unibrow!).  The detailed story about his resume killed me, especially since the whole drawn out process reminds me so much of my own experience, as does his work history, which is sad... but so very funny.  I kind of died a little at the Weight Watcher's prank and Andy's obliviousness to the fact that they were all laughing at him and not the jerky guy.  And Little Tapioca sabotaging Andy's resume on purpose and him having NO CLUE.  And oh, how you made my heart sing with the Andy/Karen bit.  And that closing paragraph was pure genius.  I loved this entire fic like crazy.  I adore how you can portray so many of the outside forces that impacted Andy simply through his innocently oblivious views.  The writing voice that you gave him is just so him that I wish this Andy really did have a daily blog that I could laugh with and get heartbroken with.  Anyway, AWESOME FIC!

Author's Response:

I love how you get every nuance of my Andy chapters!  I'm sure there were a few people who read through this quickly and didn't get just how long it took Andy to get that resume together and get the job. 

When posting this Andy chapter and the last one (the firthgal era ones), I have to say I wait with bated breath until you've reviewed. I wonder if you're going to think I've done right by Andy. I give a big sigh of relief when you review and of course you've "gotten" it. Andy's such a wonderful character.  I'm not a fan of the season 3 Jim/Pam angst, but season 3 gave us Andy, so that part is a pretty big win.

I actually thought about changing the title of this, because to me (and to my regret, really) it didn't end up being so much about the forces that shaped him and "how he got that way," it ended up more being "this is Andy, this is how he is" and showing how the Andy-ness has manifested itself at different times.  I didn't end up renaming it because I couldn't think of another name I liked and also I sort of didn't want to wrench its identity from it, if that makes any sense.  When I think of this story, by the way, or speak of it to my betas, it's just "the Andyfic."  I thought you'd think it was funny to know that.

By the way, this chapter was done a long time ago, like early last summer when the first chapter came out.  It sat around and waited for me to write the 2nd chapter.  Then it sat around and waited until I finally decided recently that the junior high chapter and college chapter may never get written to my satisfaction, and I couldn't let this chapter die on the vine, especially since it so nicely (for me) practically wrote itself. ;)  If I ever do make those other chapters behave, I'll fit them into the right places here.

By the way, I added a comment in the fanfic section of the Andy Bernard Chronicles and I noticed cobwebs in there.  (Not really, but you know what I mean.)  Have you been too busy for the Chronicles?  Have there been no worthy new Andy fics, or do you just add them and not have an "updated activity" section?

You probably recall that Andy did compare Karen and himself to Sam and Diane, in Diwali: "Roller-coastery friendship. Hot. Cold. On again. Off again. Sexual tension filled type of deal. It's very Sam and Diane." " Wow." "From 'Cheers'."  "Yup."  Given that and Karen's sensible "throwing out the Jagermeister" decision, it was easy to jump to a conclusion that Karen had perhaps imbibed the Jager a prior time and done something she then regretted, like having a little spin on the 'Nard Ride. Karen fervently hopes that anyone who reads this blog thinks that Andy's making the whole thing up.  He isn't. ;)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, firthal!  I'm especially glad that you liked this. 

Reviewer: gamesetmatch Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: July 09, 2008 11:36 am Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

My "THE KID" was Jack Schaffer. In Kindergarten, he ate the class-hamster's (Jimmy) food. In first grade he glued his finger together. In second grade he used to constantly chew on his division flash cards, and during snack he spit his grapes at people.

He must have a list though, because in sixth grade he came back from summer vacation all studly and he married my friend's sister. I talked to him last week.

But he's still THE KID. ;)

I love love love this story. I always thought Andy was a bit misunderstood!

Author's Response:

Thanks gamesetmatch!  It's neat to hear a story about The Kid who got his act together a bit!  Andy's list wasn't altogether successful, but think how much worse he could be!  If he's smelling the ladies at Dunder Mifflin Stamford and Scranton, he's learned to be really subtle, hasn't he? :) 

It's funny you mentioned hamster food.  I distinctly remember trying dry dog food when I was a little girl.  I guess I had a little bit of The Kid in me. ;)  It was edible, by the way, but remember it was the dry kind.  I'm not sure why I think that's an important distinction, as if the dry stuff would be not as disgusting to confess that you've eaten.  Also, at least it was at home, so the kids at school wouldn't have known.  I don't recall doing anything weird at school. ;)

I definitely have a soft spot for Andy.  I loved when he wasn't sure whether Jim was making fun of him, and all that was important to him was *knowing* whether Jim was, to the extent that he thanks Jim for letting him know (with a nod, I think) that "yes, I'm making fun of you again."  I think that's in keeping with the Andy I've shown here.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, gamesetmatch

Reviewer: gamesetmatch Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: July 09, 2008 11:30 am Title: Andy and the Working World

YES! That is exactly what we need. Creed Thoughts? Old news. Shrute Space? Lame. 'Nard-dog Blog? Heck yes!

This was awesome! My love for Andy soars with the eagle's nest. (:

Author's Response:

'Nard-dog Blog is a great name. :)  I wish I'd thought of that.

I'm so glad you liked it, gamesetmatch.  This was a fun one to write; you pretty much have carte blanche when writing from Andy's point of view!  As long as he believes it, you can write it! :)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, gamesetmatch! :) 

Reviewer: crackers4jenn Signed [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 08:32 pm Title: Andy and the Working World

I can't think of a proper comment for this, one that will fully CONTAIN how much I adored your little ol' story. The first two chapters had me laughing and cringing in a way that is mostly reserved for Michael Scott, but I just LOVED the sense of, oh, delusion? And blissful ignorance in the last piece. This line in particular made me laugh out loud:

Keep a little Jägermeister in your desk drawer. What may slip when Jägermeister is involved? Perhaps an office secret? Perhaps a lady's virtue?

Hee! This whole thing is just so utterly, pitch-perfectly Andy. It makes me think that there should be an entire existing collection of similar fanfiction, all of Andy's weekly blog-updates. Hint, hint.

Anyway, thank you for the fun read!

 



Author's Response:

Thanks, crackers4jenn!  I'm so glad you liked this.  Remember that even Michael said he'd never seen someone with so little self-awareness as Andy!  I think chapter two shows a lot of that delusion and blissful ignorance as well, and I have to say, that's a lot of fun to write.  Snickering is involved with that sort of writing.

You aren't the first to suggest an Andy blogfic after reading this.  This particular story is only Andy's past, up until right before we met him.  I may at some point add some chapters earlier than this, but the current chapter 3 is intended to be the end.

As for a new fic that is Andy's blog?  Never say never, I guess, but it's not in my plans at this point.  (At this point, my plan is not to plan.  Less disappointment all around that way.)

I'm glad you thought I captured Andy (Let him go!  Let him go!)  Good characterization is really important to me, which is why there are some characters I only write in very small amounts -- I can't get inside their heads!  Andy's POV is a lot of fun to write, I think, and it was easier with the newspaper column and the blog!  Andy can say any sort of nonsense that he believes!

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! 

Reviewer: MintChocolateChip Signed [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 09:44 am Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

So funny! I love the tender way you treat Andy - he does mean well.

Author's Response:

I have a real soft spot for Andy; I can see the hurt and confused guy within the guy who goes into Dwight's car for evidence of wrongdoing.  And I can certainly see the hurt and confused guy within the guy who punches a hole in the wall!  It's tough out there for the kids (and grownups) who are different.

What a great character he is.  He's fun to write about when I can kind of capture a particular moment in time.  I don't think I've ever done much "current" with him beyond Talking Heads; I just don't know how to put him into an ensemble.  Luckily, The Office writers know how to do that. ;)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, MintChocolateChip! I'm glad you enjoyed this!

Reviewer: Alamos Signed [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 09:06 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

What a clever way of describing a character's traits.  I think it's awesome that Andy and his Dad ARE the Sailing Club.

Author's Response:

I had to go back and check, because it was a while back that I posted this chapter.  Andy and his dad started the Sailing Club, but they "have a couple other guys and dads who joined now, too."  Those guys and their dads are on other boats, though (wouldn't you be, given the choice?) which is why the Bernard boat-like vehicle could fit another pair easily.

This was kind of a fun chapter to write.  In reality, Andy probably wouldn't be allowed to go on and on like this, but that's a bit of artistic license.  Besides, I think the Principal and the head of the newspaper are those sorts of women who can love "The Kid" and they are trying to help him find his "nitch." ;)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, Alamos.  

Reviewer: Alamos Signed [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 08:58 am Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

Pooy Little Andy -- what a sweet little boy. I think it's brilliant and heartbreaking that he made a list of the things he wasn't going to do anymore. It's interesting what he chooses NOT to do: I won't let the Room Mothers know I smell them. This one was way too funny.

Author's Response:

Thanks, Alamos!  I really identify with Andy's mom in this one; her "He's the kid!" wail came to me in a flash one day.  But Andy, finding out he wasn't quite normal in the eyes of others, would certainly do what he could to appear normal, wouldn't he?  I find it all kind of bittersweet, and I do just love Andy.  He's really just always been this guy, I think.

And really, would just a sniff be so wrong?  As long as they don't know... they can't think he's not normal. ;) 

When I go into my kids' classrooms, I see lots of "The Kids," including my youngest, who's been in a serious "flapping when excited" phase for... way too long.  I love them all, even the ones my youngest tussles with.  And in some cases, I know their moms, and we commiserate. 

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, Alamos!  I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

Reviewer: brokenloon Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 08:10 am Title: Andy and the Working World

This was truly one of the more brilliant things I've ever read...really amazing.  Favorite parts:  the secretary sabotaging him, "that works like two-fifths of the time," "it was sort of court ordered"...I could go on.  Even someone who has never seen the show could appreciate his as a great piece of humor writing.

Kudos, kudos, kudos.



Author's Response:

Thanks, brokenloon!  This was one of those where I pretty much sat down and started typing.  Don't you love those?  And of course it needed a bit of tweaking and such, but it mostly just brought itself into being.

I see the secretary as a really good and tireless secretary who probably thinks highly of Mr. Bernard, but not so highly of his son who takes advantage of Mr. Bernard and who's "always up in [her] bidness" and giving her nicknames.  So when she has a chance to give good advice or poor advice... the devil on her shoulder wins over the angel on her other shoulder. ;)

Of course, she's only hurting Mr. Bernard in the end, as he just has to "help" aimless Andy in his quest for a job.

The "two-fifths of the time" thing is a riff on "Gets a laugh like a quarter of the time" from Product Recall.  In real life, we all use the same phrases or phrasing all the time, so I try to take some of the phrasing on the show and twist them a bit for dialog in fanfic.  (That's the only way I was able to write 3 stories that featured Stanley.)  Of course, "two-fifths" is just inherently funny to me.  What a goofy fraction to come up with. ;)  I love Andy.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, brokenloon.  I don't think I could ask for a better review ever.  When I'm having a down day, I might have to come look at this review. :)

Reviewer: Cousin Mose Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: July 08, 2008 06:25 am Title: Andy and the Working World

Hey! It's so great to see some new work from you!

I love that it took Andy so long to "get his resume" together. He certainly seems the procrastinating type. And his relationship with "Little Tapioca" was quite funny. Poor lady. :D

Andy the barnacle... wow. That's a brilliant image right there. I'm sure there's more than one person at DM who would agree with that analogy. ;)

Great job, Kev, and here's hoping that inspiration strikes in the near future!



Author's Response:

Thanks, Cousin Mose.  This is actually not new work, just "finally posted" work.  I wrote this one well before chapter 2, but I was waiting to post until I finished a Junior High chapter and a College chapter.   Sadly, I've never quite found the right angle on those two, so I'm finishing the story where it was always meant to be finished.  Someday I may be able to get those other chapters to "sparkle" ;) and add them in their rightful places here.

Little Tapioca was "helping" Andy make all the wrong decisions, probably thinking it served him right for sticking her with that nickname.  Did you notice it took him 9 months to find a job with that resume, and even then the person who hired him was someone who owed his dad money?  Little Tapioca didn't do Andy any favors, although I think she was sort of long-suffering of Andy, so I can forgive her.

Andy does keep going, though, doesn't he?  He has that "perseverance, perseverance, perseverance" that coaches talk about.  The obliviousness to what people think about him helps a lot.  Remember Michael saying "I don't understand how someone could have so little self-awareness"?  Michael!!! ;)  The barnacle line was a suggestion from Swedge in beta; I liked that, too.  

I  do love Andy, though.  He's been a great addition to the mix, as far as I'm concerned.  I'm hoping we have the same sort of wonderful new character with Holly as well (so far, so good, but I have no idea what will happen next there.)

As for actual new fic, I wrote a very short story last night which has gone to beta.  We'll see. ;) 

Reviewer: Cousin Mose Signed [Report This]
Date: October 22, 2007 04:39 pm Title: The View From 10th Grade

While I missed the a cappella and cheer inside jokes, I nonetheless learned a lesson which I wish I would have known in high school: do not wee-mo-way near the gym.

Oh, Young Mose....there's so much I wish I could tell you. And yet, tragically, I cannot.

Anyway, this was hysterical all across the board. My only wish would have been for a Mister Miyagi reference during the karate club spiel. :) 



Author's Response:

NOOOO!  You wee-mo-wayed near the... Oh, Mose.  I'm so sorry. :-(  So, YOU know the results of wee-mo-waying there.  (Tell me sometime.  It turns out, Andy would only tell the other guys.)

I'm so glad you liked this, Mose.  I'm afraid I couldn't put in Mister Miyagi, because until I just Googled him, I didn't know anything about him.   I think I saw Karate Kid once, long ago, but it didn't really stick with me.  (Hangs head in shame.)

Thanks for reading and reviewing. 

Reviewer: kaystar Signed 8 [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 05:06 pm Title: The View From 10th Grade

Wow, TLK, another awesome Andy chapter. You managed to seamlessly incorporate so much of the Andy we know with younger Andy.  I just loved him trying to find his sports "nitch".   And I laughed out loud at this - "Butt doen't tell hum eye sayed that."

Author's Response:

Thanks so much, kaystar!  I was hoping to convey the 'core' of Andy.  None of us change that much, do we? 

I do love the idea of Andy almost desperately trying to find the things that work for him.  Chorus and a cappella definitely work -- other things, not so much.  And meanwhile, his parents are trying to help in every way they can!

Imagine being silly enough to insult the editors!  Hah!  No one would really be that silly, I think, but I couldn't help myself with that one.  

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, kaystar! 

Reviewer: lisahoo Signed [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 04:39 pm Title: The View From 10th Grade

Andy, Andy, Andy...  I can just picture him wee-mo-wayin' all over the hallways.  But not near the gym.


Author's Response: Ha!  I imagine he got a super-wedgie or something from wee-mo-wayin' near the gym!  Thanks so much for reading and reviewing; it's so appreciated. :)

Reviewer: lisahoo Signed [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 04:31 pm Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

OMG, being the kid would explain so much of who Andy chooses to be.  And also who he can't help but be.  Aww.  Who doesn't love that?

Author's Response:

Thanks, lisahoo!  We all remember the kid (or multiple kids), don't we?  Are any of your kids showing Kid signs?  Mine do at times.  Oh, well!

Thanks for reading and reviewing! 

Reviewer: EverybodyHurts Signed [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 10:47 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

TLK,

This fic is so money, it doesn't even know it's money, but it is.  And so are you for writing the perfect Andy story for firthgal and all of us to enjoy.   Love every bit of it and I agree with everything firthgal mentioned in her review.  You've got Andy Bernard's character down to a T.



Author's Response:

EH, I'm so glad you like it.  Don't speak too loudly, though.  If the fic hears you say it's money, then it's going to know it's money, and then... never mind.  I forgot that we were using the cone of silence, so it won't hear us.  What?  What?

I'm so glad you think I have Andy down.  Maybe I am Andy.  I think that Andy and Angela are maybe the easiest for me to write; I'm not sure what that says about me.  Either I am them or I can just get into their brains the teeniest bit.  Hmm. :)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, EH!  It's so nice to get reviews! 

Reviewer: firthgal Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 09:31 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

Oh, this was perfect!  Absolutely wonderful!!!  So incredibly Andy.  Once again you've completely captured his character into this innocent kid who is so tragically oblivious.  I love the subtle mentions of his anger problems and his inability to fit in.  And I LOVED the part where he told them not to weemohway near the gym, that made me laugh out loud.  And I so very much love that he was on the cheerleading squad and he's so proud of that fact.  You've got his speech patterns and unique verbosity down so beautifully that I hear his voice so clearly in my head (a touch higher than what his voice is like now).  I adore his desperate attempt at positivity and having the appearance of total cluelessness as to what his life is really like.  That is the core of Andy, that positivity is what keeps him going, and I love how you've captured that.  And it kind of scares me that Andy is into the same exact pop culture things that I was/still am.  Total Saturday Night Live freak.  It was the Will Ferrell years when I was in high school, but I watched the Phil Hartman years in reruns every day, so I was still quoting those episodes too.  Oh man, this is just so perfectly Andy.  I love it!  So worth the wait.  And now I need more!

Oh, and the jokes that you inserted, not sure if this is what you mean, but in the a capella section you did the "rit-dit-dit-di-doo" thing that Andy always does, and in the cheerleading one he spoke in pig latin.  So cute!

I love this!!!  Dare I say that it is my favorite Andy fic of all time?



Author's Response:

firthgal, what a wonderful review!  You mentioned so many of the things I was trying to get across!  I was a little scared about your reaction; I thought you might think "she's made my Andy into such a loser!"  I'm glad you saw that he doesn't see himself that way at all, and he's really a pretty positive and happy guy here.

You may need to wait a while for another chapter.  See reason 5 of "Why I Haven't Updated..."  It's really that bad. ;) 

The a cappella in-joke is actually not just in the a cappella section, but it's something throughout the fic.  Only a total a cappella nerd would get it.  My husband will get it, and I wrote it, so I get it...  (I'll PM you...)  But yes, the rit-dit-dit-dit thing was to show Andy was already doing some fun things with his words due to the a cappella influence in his life!

The cheerleading joke was sort of guessed already, it was just that it's ridiculous for a boy to be a flier.  Fliers are always the littlest/lightest girls.  And no, I was never a cheerleader, but I do have some cheerleaders around me...

See, you're catching the little Andy-jokes, things that Andy did then and still does now!  I love how you're always so Andy-focussed.  Andy is so much fun, isn't he?  Some episodes we'll see more of him, and some less, but even in the background, he's a lot of fun.

To have something I wrote be the favorite Andy fic of the biggest Andy fan is just wonderful.  Thanks so much for that compliment!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, firthgal.  I love how well you 'got' everything I was trying to say with this. 

Reviewer: Big Tuna Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 08:26 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

I heard that Mrs. Greene sometimes asks problem-kids who don't ‘fit in' anywhere else to work on the newspaper, but there are no losers like that this year, so it's probably not true.

Oh Andy. *shakes head* Great chapter!



Author's Response:

I'm really enjoying Andy more and more as we go along.  I tried to make High School Andy be about the same as the Andy we know, but even more positive and even less self-aware.  He really is trying, and he thinks he's doing awesome!  (Whoo!)

I'm so glad you liked the chapter, Big Tuna.  Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. 

Reviewer: Big Tuna Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 08:20 am Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

That kid was Alex C. I let him borrow my markers and he ate the caps. But this is totally perfect. It fits with Andy so well.

-Rose : )



Author's Response:

He ate the caps????  Wow.  He really was THAT kid.

I'm so glad you liked this and think it fits with Andy!  I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I really identified with Andy's mom.  I have a few "that kids" of my own!

Thanks for reading and reviewing! 

Reviewer: feared_or_loved Signed 9 [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 06:28 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

Poor Andy, too fat to be a flier.  Oh well, it happens to the best of us.  He sure did work the odds didn't he with all of his girly activities.  Nice job Kev.  L-E-T-S G-O, let's go, let's go, L-E-T-S G-O, Let's Go with Chapter 3!

Author's Response:

I wouldn't say fat, really!  Andy just grew between 9th and 10th grade, like lots of people.  So, maybe he added 4 inches of height and filled out a bit as well.  The silly thing is having a boy be a flier anyway, right?  That's what gave me a giggle.  I like that he had a nickname with the cheer squad (Andy-Bear), and they probably did kind of like him.  :) 

We now know that Andy has at least a couple friends who like him enough to sing a cappella over the phone with him! 

And, yep!  Andy's trying to work the odds by getting involved with things that girls are in.  But, to be fair, he's also trying out for all the sports.  (Not making the cut, but...)  He's really looking for friends, isn't he?

The next chapter may be a while.  If you want to know why, see "Why I Haven't Updated That Story You Really Want Me To Update."  The reasons aren't numbered, but it's the 5th one in the list. 

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! 

Reviewer: nbyevu Signed [Report This]
Date: October 21, 2007 05:20 am Title: The View From 10th Grade

This is so well written. I already love Andy on the show, but I love having a backstory for him (even if its not true lol)...to see why he is like he is. Great job...looking forward to more!

Author's Response:

I'm glad you like the writing, nbyevu.  I'd never written any fiction before this past May, so I sort of feel like Grandma Moses, finding something a bit later in life.  Not that my fics can be compared to Grandma Moses' paintings, but you know...

It is fun to fill in a backstory for Andy.  Like most of us, it seems he's probably been the same person all along, just the surroundings change.  But he's still trying to fit in, and thinking he's managing it, and generally having a good time.  Remember Michael (of all people) saying how he'd never known someone with so little self-awareness as Andy?  What a great character Andy has turned out to be.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, nbyevu! 

Reviewer: firthgal Signed [Report This]
Date: August 11, 2007 06:53 pm Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

Oh god, this was so heart breaking, yet darkly funny at the same time.  Absolutely wonderful, I can totally picture Andy being that kid and failing miserably at trying to be normal.  The part about smelling girls was so hilarious, I loved that!  And you managed to capture Andy's personality and put it into a little kid absolutely brilliantly.  Superb fic!

Author's Response:

Wow, firthgal!  You're really reading the old fics!  I'm so glad that you liked it. 

Some of it was inspired by my own children, so I really understand Mrs. Bernard's point of view.  I feel like Andy still just sort of wants to be normal and have people like him. (I'm pretty sure he's still smelling girls, also.)

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. 

Reviewer: Alex Wert Signed 10 [Report This]
Date: June 22, 2007 09:03 pm Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

My grade 5 teacher was named Mrs. Huber.  I can't remember what she smelled like.  The Kid was named Robert.  Actually a friend of mine.  I wish I had cooler friends.

Author's Response:

Oh, Alex, you're a good person, to hang out with The Kid!  The Kid needs all the friends s/he can get.  

You probably don't remember what Mrs. Huber smelled like because you didn't go around smelling people.  That's my take on it!

Thanks for the review! 

Reviewer: BlueJeanBaby Signed [Report This]
Date: June 22, 2007 07:49 pm Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

Excellent story idea!!  The Andy character really is fascinating and I love how you've decided to tap into why he is the way that he is.  This first chapter makes me so sad, but it's really wonderful.  Andy just wants to be liked and loved.  I wanna hug little Andy. 

Oh, btw, I've befriended a few That Kids when I was younger.  (and then there were a few that I didn't) 



Author's Response:

BlueJeanBaby, you're awesome for befriending Those Kids!  I'm guessing that the ones you didn't, there was a verrry good reason!

I want to hug little Andy as well.  I see The Kid in my children sometimes, as well as in some of their classmates, and now, as an adult, I have a lot of empathy for them. 

The story idea just came to me, and it was great that it happened to be about one of our lesser-represented characters in fanfic!  Hopefully, the next chapter will be up in about three weeks, and the other ones much sooner than that.

Thanks so much for reviewing.  I'm really glad you liked it, BJB!

Reviewer: kaystar Signed 8 [Report This]
Date: June 22, 2007 06:27 pm Title: Andy Bernard is NOT The Kid

Oh my gosh - this story made me feel so very sad for Andy that it brought tears to my eyes! Seriously. Great job on this. And all the excuses Andy used to keep coming downstairs reminded me so much of my daughter when she was little. I had forgotten that so thanks for helping (inadvertently) bring back such a nice memory. And I can't remember anyone from my school years that was like this, but there was a boy in my daughter's class that I swear wore orange sweatpants to school every day for a solid year when she was in 4th grade. Every day.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much, kaystar!  Tears!  Wow.  Real crying.  I did not expect that.  (/Pam)

Every kid uses those excuses, I think.  As did we, when we were young!  My children are still young enough that I not only remember it, I live it, a number of times per week, sadly.  

Orange sweatpants!  Ha!  I dated a guy once who wore bright yellow pants.  In college.  Yeesh!  Although I don't think he was ever The Kid - he just had poor taste in pants, I guess.  And he only wore them once or twice, due to my relentless mocking.  I may not have been the easiest girlfriend to have (TWSS). 

I'm really glad you liked this.  Thanks for reviewing. 

You must login (register) to review or leave jellybeans