Reviews For Paradox
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Reviewer: Obviously_Blonde Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: September 02, 2023 09:14 am Title: The Dark Side of the Moon

I'm so excited everytime we meet a Jim from another "timeline". I hope we revisit or get closure for all of them. Thank you for taking time to come up with an AU, there can never be enough of the good ones (which yours certainly is!!!).

Reviewer: Obviously_Blonde Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: September 01, 2023 02:03 pm Title: The Season of Rains

I never know where this story is going and I love it! I hope you find the motivation and time to finish it, it is so enjoyable and easy to read.

Reviewer: Sam Signed [Report This]
Date: January 21, 2023 09:01 pm Title: The Life of the Bugs

First of all, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you here. I haven't known how you were getting on, but I've been really concerned for the welfare of you and your family, and horrified at what has happened. I'm delighted to hear that you're all home and safe at the moment, and I'd like you to know that I'm keeping you in my thoughts and wishing you all continuing safety and , hopefully, an end to this soon.

I don't know where you found the energy to write, but I'm so glad you did! I was intrigued by this when you first wrote it and I'm gripped again. Slime is fitting...

Hopefully you'll find time to provide us with an update at some point, but no pressure.

Take care x
(P.S. ... and belated birhday best wishes!)

Reviewer: PBeesly Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: January 11, 2023 04:08 am Title: The Life of the Bugs

This story has me captivated! Thank you for updating!

Reviewer: Maxine Abbott Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 21, 2022 04:39 am Title: The Life of the Bugs

Welcome back! I am so sorry for all you have been going through. I was very excited to see you did find your voice through all of this and you gave yourself the present of posting on your birthday. Hope you were able to celebrate in some other ways.

On to the story. So what a surprise this opened to but I really liked it. I wasn't expecting the Dunder Mifflin milieu in this one but I enjoyed how you brought it in. You really did well describing Pam's utter shock when 'He' showed back up in her life.

Enjoyed this line soo much -weird timey-wimey stuff somewhere else?’

SPOILERY COMMENTS
But then you pulled another twist off - when you described Ryan and his bluetooth headset did I think anything of it? No just a good description of his 'type'. I did not see that coming but now it explains why Jim is there. I look forward to seeing what the paper company on paper is all about.

Oh and a little tidbit I noticed that I wonder is it meaningful. Pam and Angelica are friends her (and the name -is that because she is slightly different here?)

Toby interested and sorta hits on her in this world too, well done.

Again I am glad you are writing again and hope to see more of this story.

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed [Report This]
Date: December 21, 2022 12:19 am Title: The Life of the Bugs

First and foremost, WELCOME
BACK!!!!!! Really glad to see you writing again. I know it's incredibly hard for you right now, but the fact you're posting again is wonderful.

So feels like we're a few year down the road now. Pam had kinda settled into the dull doldrums of life. I mean if she's seriously considering going out with Toby of all people, right? Jim's reappearance is all sorts of interesting. At first it feels like canon Jim, but clearly we all know different. Her shock was quite telling to read for sure. Then the brief fight with the temp? Something's afoot for sure. Hopefully we'll find out soon what's going on.

Reviewer: grc73 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 20, 2022 04:22 pm Title: The Life of the Bugs

Dunhelm, brilliant to have you back, glad you are all ok and sorry for all you have been through.

Oh yeah and F**k Putin. Slava Ukraini!

Reviewer: MrsKHalpert Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 20, 2022 06:33 am Title: The Life of the Bugs

Thank you so much for the update, despite how hard it’s been to get here, it’s the first time I’ve seen this fic and I binged the whole thing. Great work and I’m really hoping you’re able to update soon.
Sending birthday wishes and hope you stay safe

Reviewer: InRomanovWeTrust Signed [Report This]
Date: December 19, 2022 12:29 pm Title: The Life of the Bugs

I hope you are doing well and staying safe. I’m glad to see that you are writing again. Sometimes, it is the smallest of things that can get us out of the darkness.

Happy Birthday to you, friend! Stay safe and be well!

Reviewer: Basscop69 Signed [Report This]
Date: December 19, 2022 08:26 am Title: The Life of the Bugs

You’re back!! I was so excited to see this fic again - I’ve just re-read it to remind myself of what happened, and have fallen in love with it all over again. And what a brilliant chapter to come back with - I love the idea of Dunder Mifflin as a facade for something sinister, and the ‘temp’ as some kind of shell attached to the headset is just genius. I also love that Jim’s immediate instinct is protect Pam, even with the coldness between them. Hope you’re keeping well - I can’t even imagine what the past few months must have been like for you, and the fact that you’ve managed to write on top of that is incredible.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: June 23, 2021 02:44 pm Title: The Dark Side of the Moon

!!!!!!!!!!!

First off, I *think* (and will go back through my reviews and check to make sure) that I saw this coming, that Jim's rebellion from the authorities of his time was the result of a meeting with Pam we hadn't seen yet / Jim isn't necessarily experiencing these moments in the same temporal order as Pam is.

I was so caught up in the consequences of getting Pam out (and we've spent so little time in her real world) that it didn't even occur to me how much this adventure might disturb her real life. The "HAVE YOU SEEN ME" poster is in its way way more jolting than the reveal of Jim coming to rescue her as a stranger. AND THEN we introduce the possibility that Jim has erased the changes to her timeline? AND THEN Pam has to readjust to a world she's barely a part of now? AND THEN Jim comes back for her AT A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACE IN HIS TIMELINE?

THIS WAS A LOT.

I am sorry if this is incoherent because my mind is still kind of reeling. I may try this again at some point.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: June 23, 2021 02:30 pm Title: The Dark Side of the Moon

OH.

MY.

GOD.

Reviewer: Basscop69 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: June 23, 2021 04:44 am Title: The Dark Side of the Moon

Oof this chapter is so painful, and so good. (Also a big fan of the chapter title). You did such a great job of describing the Jim who doesn't know her yet, and Pam's hurt and confusion - also this is presumably the first time Jim has met Pam, so he'll be working forward/back from that? (I get muddled on time travel lol, but I love it either way). I also love the note about Danny, hee, and Jim's assumption. Sounds very Danny.

Pam going back and not being able to cope is just heartbreaking - I especially loved this bit: 'The person who hurt you. This was the final pebble in an overbrimmed jar, and Pam cried brokenly on her mother's chest. How could she describe him if she didn't know who he was anymore?' So gut-wrenching.

And then ahh Jim wanting her to join him and having no idea what's gone on, and her reply...I need the next chapter on this!!

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed [Report This]
Date: June 21, 2021 05:32 am Title: The Dark Side of the Moon

So, at least she's back in her own timeline. The cold hard Jim who got her out and the one who shows up are clearly not the same guy she left. What with the feeling of abandonment and getting thrown into a middle ages prison no wonder she breaks. Of course when she gets back to her own timeline everyone is trying to help her, but there's no way they can. They'd all think she was crazy if she told them the truth. So she's just there. Existing. That's really the only word for it. As much as it hurts to see her like this we all know there's really only one way now for her to get any sort of healing. She needs to find the Jim she loves. Though I'm sure there will also be all sorts of bagage to unpack with that reunion. Why he didn't come for her earlier and all that. Great writing to pull all the emotions out of this one.

Reviewer: Basscop69 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: June 11, 2021 02:06 pm Title: An Bhean Shasanach

Ahh I was genuinely very scared for Pam throughout this chapter - and so intrigued by who the man is at the end!! I'm also v impressed that you wrote in Irish here, and it really adds to the confusion/Pam's terror throughout the chapter. Can't wait for the next one!

Author's Response: Oh, thank you so much! I was planned for quite a long time to add multiple languages in my stories, so I'm glad it worked out well :)

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed [Report This]
Date: May 19, 2021 10:26 pm Title: An Bhean Shasanach

Hoo boy, so yeah, that's a chapter. Saving the translations for the end really helped set the mood of fear and uncertainty. Not knowing what they're saying, Pam not knowing what's going on, just everything conspires to really get the terror Pam is feeling here. Magnificent writing to bring that out. Even if it was hard to write, the feelings came across really well.

And more so that ending. She knows this voice? Huh, this should really be interesting going forward.

Author's Response: Thank you so much, Warrior! It was hard to write, but I'm glad it was worth it. 

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: May 17, 2021 04:03 pm Title: An Bhean Shasanach

Okay, having already made you anxious (sorry!), I will just start off with this: I really liked this chapter. You did really well making us feel Pam's confusion and terror as all of a sudden this world she's been exploring gets dangerous for her and she's thrust into a situation she's not at all prepared for. (Modern Irish or no, putting this in a different language was a strong choice... you can read this with as little information as Pam has the first time around, and it really helps put you in her shoes.) And you also made the threat to Pam feel genuine, not an easy task in a continuing story where she's the main character.

I also think you did well here highlighting something that's been an undercurrent of the story - they don't really understand what they're doing. They know just enough to get themselves through each journey, but Pam in particular is a tourist in a land she's completely unable to navigate without a guide. This is great fun but far more dangerous than she's considered in a while in its own right... and not just because of whoever is chasing Jim.

Plus the details on this seem strong - I felt really able to see 16th-century Ireland.

VERY curious who the person who found her is... except I have a sneaking suspicion it's someone Pam already knows very, very well, who maybe is experiencing life in a non-linear fashion...

Author's Response:

I'm so sorry I freaked you out with this one :( 
Still, I love your reviews, and I enjoy reading your thoughts on each part — you're very discerning!
And, perhaps, you'll find some confirmations of some of your guesses in the next chapter... 
Thank you!

Reviewer: Maxine Abbott Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: May 07, 2021 06:51 pm Title: The Belated Gift

What a lovely chapter and special gift.
The banter between them seems so accurate and adorable but the magic of the experience he gave her was what made this part of the story so interesting and entertaining. I like the description of the dress of the times. Heavy into outlander right now and that's what I thought of as she dressed especially with the mention of the butt cushion.

Author's Response: Thank you for your lovely review! And about the dress — I imagined Pam wearing something like this one (only green in color!): https://64.media.tumblr.com/8878c8eafd6457527277272714f0ea51/9229e06775ab3797-a4/s2048x3072/4e0b13ecb42be009a53986cd3dc25b2ddf355d8b.png

Reviewer: Maxine Abbott Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: May 07, 2021 03:31 pm Title: The Stranger in the Woods

Dernhelm

I've stumbled into this tale as a fellow reviewer thought I was nodding to you in one of my stories. Having not read it, that was not the case but I was intrigued, very much due of the mention of time travel - something that fascinates me. So onto my bookshelf it went and now I've begun and am even more intrigued.

First off let me begin by saying you had me in the story notes with your mention of Claire's story (and may I mention another Clare, featured in Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which it also made me think of- if you haven't read this book, I think you would really like it).

The way you described Pam and camp really struck a chord with me as I still remember a summer where I spent a week at a camp feeling just like Pam. Girls can be so mean and you really got at that here. I could see her wanting to leave, going as far as to break the rules and go against her parents to do so.

I so felt the inspiration here in how a dazzling while light blinded her - and her confusion at getting lost.
I wasn't quite sure the man was going to be Jim but I was excited when it was - this scene gave me very strong vibes from the book I mentioned above and the way you sprinkled in movies was also fun.

The grape soda explosion was a perfect tie-in too - you should add this story as a response to the exploding soda challenge.

Oh the event of the next days seemed a good place to break (her nose perhaps).

I am most interested to see where this story goes. Thanks for sharing.

Author's Response:

Thank you, Max, for taking the time to read this story and leave a review — I appreciate it very much! I hope you'll enjoy this story.

I heard about 'Time Travelers Wife' but neither read this story nor watched the adaptation. But I'm curious about all time travel stories, so definitely put this one on my list!

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: April 21, 2021 04:23 pm Title: The Season of Rains

OKAY. WOW. LOTS GOING ON HERE.

First, the photoscope is cool and I want one. I love Pam's cleverness in this chapter, even if it doesn't always serve her well. She's a little hard on herself considering she's exploring a world she doesn't know. Although it is striking to me that it hasn't occurred to her yet that the secrets Jim is hiding might be about HER.

You hint at some interesting answers to our questions about Jim here. His society seems something less than utopic. Now, the environmental degradation is probably mainly on us (sorry Jim), and I guess what he describes might be just standard capitalist dystopia rather than authoritarian dystopia... but it does hint that maybe he's something of a brave rebel. OR, given the hints that he's hurt someone and the actually fairly sensible limits on what he can tell Pam that he's chipping away at, and, you know, the implication that he's trying to save Pam from a terrible fate against a well thought code code... maybe Jim's the bad guy. Or at the very least he's risking terrible consequences for love.

Also definitely struck by Pam's sense that Jim knows her body already. It sure SEEMS like they're on the same timeline at this point, and Pam noticed earlier that Jim was experiencing events out of order. But we don't KNOW that they are. Which raises some questions about Jim's goodness again... feels like the sort of thing he SHOULD share with her.

The aftermath of their first time is gorgeously written. You are a POET.

THE DRESS. THE PERIWINKLE DRESS. AND IT WAS KAREN'S. TWIST AFTER TWIST. AND THAT CLIFFHANGER. *PLEASE* DO NOT WAIT SEVERAL MONTHS TO UPDATE THIS AGAIN BECAUSE I DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

Author's Response:

That awkward moment when I want to discuss every single moment, but I CAN'T because of spoilers :( 
I can say, though, a little about Jim's goodness. He's a good man... but the norms of morality he was raised in may (or may not) differ from ours. If views on what's good and what's bad can change between two generations, what could happen with them in a couple of centuries from now?.. 
I'm a slow writer, but! I'm planning the next chapter to be much shorter (no more than 4,000 words), and I already have 1,209 words written (and 396 words in chapter 9 because I have a feeling that you might need that chapter asap too), so I hope to finish this chapter in May. 
Thank you again! 

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: April 20, 2021 10:19 pm Title: The Silence of Sound

Okay, so I've been saving this until I had a chance to actually sit down and read back through the full story from the beginning, and in the meantime you've written another chapter, and I'm now actually a little happy I waited because I would NOT be happy to have to wait for the follow-up to this.

SO MUCH going on here. Some fantastic work-ins of canon (them sharing the Audi, the peck that was just in the moment versus this moment of wanting to kiss for real for the first time). Standard-issue "pretending everything is fine" canon Jim. Pam coming to grips with how much of himself Jim has hidden from her in the guise of keeping her safe... in ways that both hurt their relationship and their bond and in ways that might endanger her, like leaving her in a world that she enjoys but does not in any way understand. Some shout-outs to your Regency fic. A good capture of the general JAM vibe.

And, of course, what Jim is doing to the fabric of time. He's super casual about the controlled paradoxes, and it's hard to tell if that's him or the culture, but the idea that they can fix anything, particularly in concert with the hints that the time travelers don't understand the past as well as they think they do. And then we throw in the idea that Jim is less demi-god and more joy-riding team and the Kennedy re-election reference... I'm desperate to know what happens next.

BUT: I have a prediction: something terrible happens to Pam in her post-college years. Jim has either changed it and thus caused ripples, OR has decided to give her the life she won't get to live, and in traveling to the past so much has impacted it. The latter is intriguing to me because it occurs to me you usually don't see quite so much casual time travel in a time travel story. Usually there has to be some sort of purpose.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much for such a profound review! It's a pleasure to read them :) And I'm happy I could keep the JAM vibe — I don't want to write about characters that have only the names in common with The Office heroes (not ready for an origin yet...).
And my special gratitude for noticing the Kennedy reference! It's not a spoiler that the universe these Pam and Jim exist in is different from ours, but I want to add more little moments that point at that — so yay! 

Reviewer: Basscop69 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: April 20, 2021 07:28 am Title: The Season of Rains

So: I have to confess that I'm not normally a huge fan of sci fi - but this is amazing! It's so beautifully written. I've just read the whole thing, and I'm hooked. I really like the way you've written their relationship, this version of Jim is adorable/heart-breaking, and I'm really enjoying how you've re-worked lines from the show and things like Pam's volleyball camp and the hockey game. It's so great! And their interactions all still feel very real, and very them, despite the setting. I'm also so intrigued about what's going on with Karen and everything that Jim knows. Their kiss in this chapter was perfection. And then the cliffhanger at the end! 😱 I am now eagerly waiting for what comes next...

Author's Response:

Aww, thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot to me. And, to be honest, I'm not a sci-fi fan either, but I'm fond of time-traveling (and mixing things I like together), so Jim and Pam with their infamous timing... match made in heaven :) 
I'm a slow (English) reader and even a slower writer, but I'm already working on the next chapter, and I hope to publish it in the following weeks. Thank you again!

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed [Report This]
Date: April 17, 2021 09:18 pm Title: The Season of Rains

Loved the use of canon lines sprinkled throughout this one. Really lots of fun, especially with the big moments they've had together. Pam coming to the realization of her true feelings for Jim. Hearing him say the same to her. Getting some more backstory about everything. All great.

Loved the line that happiness can stop time. Especially for them wrapped up in their little cocoon of love there.

Then all of a sudden the Casino Night dress makes an appearance. And it's something else from his past. Curious.

That ending though. Hoo boy. This seems ominous. Jim being petrified of her going through that door, and when she turns around, he's not there. Really interesting. Should be a treat to find out where we go from here.

Author's Response:

Thank you, Warrior, I'm glad you liked this piece. And that was fun to me to weave canon moments into the different setting. 
I hope my real life won't get in a way, and I'll publish the update sooner than the previous one!

Reviewer: JennaBennett Signed [Report This]
Date: February 03, 2021 12:37 am Title: The Silence of Sound

There were so many moments in this where I wanted to shove them together & say “just kiss already” or “talk” even.
You write a slow burn of anticipation so well. Pam’s swirling thoughts throughout are perfect.
I love that I can never predict the setting of this story, and yet the characters fit together so well no matter the time.
Bringing in Karen adds an extra layer of intrigue... I truly can’t wait to see where you take this next!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much, Jenna! I was worried so much about this chapter, I wanted both to (finally) bring the romance and not rush anything; I'm so glad that it worked for you! 
I hope the next chapter takes me less than two months... 

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed [Report This]
Date: January 31, 2021 09:39 am Title: The Silence of Sound

Kind of a heavy chapter this time around. Feels like Pam's getting herself deeper into things here. She's not content to just go along for the ride, she wants to know more of what's going on. That he can't talk about it all is a huge frustration I'm sure. Especially with the way her feelings are running. She tries to take some time away from him, but it's no use. He's all she thinks about. So the scene there at the end where he does give some answers is a nice way to aliviate some of that tension. They do still want to be with each other, even if there's still some tension about everything. Great writing.

Author's Response: Thank you, Warrior! I totally agree that it's a heavy chapter (for me to write too), but I'm glad to give them an opportunity to be open and honest with each other... at least, as much as it is possible in this world.

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