First, I just wanted to add to the encouragement you've already received and urge you not to worry about being late to the fandom, or writing something similar to a previous story. I'm like you--I just started writing in this fandom a month or two ago, and the way I see it is that I (or you) may write a fic that deals with the same scene, backstory, "what if" that someone else wrote about years ago, but we will always bring a different perspective, a different style, etc, to the story. No two people write the same story, and what you have to offer will be uniquely yours. So don't worry about rehashing plots or ideas. Not to mention that for people like myself, who haven't read a lot of older Office fic, are interested in seeing what's being produced now. :)

Second, this is solid writing. I usually don't care for fics that spend a lot of time on inner monologues, since it's hard for authors not to fall into the trap of telling too much (versus showing). But you struck a pretty good balance of inner thoughts and actions, a good showing and telling balance. If I had one critique it would be that the inner monologue could have been a tiny bit more condensed, but like I said, it was a good enough balance so as not to distract from moving the story forward. You wrote some nice descriptive phrases--I especially remember the image of Jim's feet being tarred to the pavement. Very nice. And finally, I have read what if fics that have a tendency to wander out of character, but this managed to rewrite the scene while keeping them in character. The dialogue was also well done.

Hope to see more from you. :)

Author's Response:

Hey, thanks for your great feedback!

That's a really interesting point about inner monologues.  I've always written that way without really thinking about it.  Honestly, the ability to get inside a character's head is something that really draws me to print vs. other types of media (and why I always tend to hate it when books that are so character-driven are made into movies).  That said, I completely get how it can be too heavy-handed, that it's important to strike a balance, so point well-taken. I'll definitely be more mindful of it going forward.

1

RE your notes: I understand the concern you may incidentally repeat someone, especially since there are any number of fics from this time on the show, but please don't hesitate to ever write anything since your writing makes these much-written about moments feel fresh again! I'm very interested in your what-if scenarios, just small little changes would have make this episode go so differently. I like the trajectory of this one, how Jim's frustration comes to a head, it definitely makes sense for the time (I always kind of wish we had seen how these two did address casino night), Very bold of Pam to say "I love you", more bold than I feel she was at the time, but it makes sense in this story especially since Jim draws it out of her. Definitely does make for an awkward meeting with Karen but better to just deal with it rather than put it off!

Author's Response: Hey, thanks!  I appreciate the reassurance.  Yeah, I can see it being a bit OOC for Pam.  I was trying to express that she had reached a point where continuing to be deceptive would have been more difficult for her than just confessing, but I probably could have had Jim probe harder (that's what she said).  Oh, well, that's the fun thing with "what-if" scenarios, it's fun to experiment.  Thanks for the review :)