Get in! GREAT chapter, the chickens have finally come home to roost for Roy - well done Pam in keeping her head and her resolution! Really looking forward to the next chapter!

Author's Response: Well thanks lady. Glad you enjoyed. Happy to have Pam make her best move yet. 

HOLY CRUD. THAT MUSIC VIDEO. THAT IS THE MOST SERENDIPITOUS THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED. (I am forced to admit I was unfamiliar with this Ingrid song, which is too bad since it's a BANGER video or no video.)

"Toby stayed behind, muttering to himself as he stared at the image of a beach on his computer’s screen saver." *sigh* Poor Toby.

I continue to really love the whole premise of this fic being "what if Pam could see herself the same way the audience sees here?" It really is such a different perspective, and her being able to see the cracks in the concrete around her here is a well-chosen metaphor.

Oh, CRUD. Some base level time travel problems here (although it's interesting to see how much altered-timeline Pam is finding herself thinking much the same way...) And having to witness a Dwangela make-out session is just the cherry on top.

Props to Pam for pushing through it all at last... and to Roy, I guess, for doing his best to make it the obvious choice. Look up from the magazine, doofus, and pay attention to what she's saying and not just the measly details you're capable of picking up on.

LOVED her interior monologue here...

Author's Response:

THe song - right? The video- double right?

Toby, at least he can dream- but could you imagine his reaction had Pam come out from her hiding spot upon him?

Thank you for always coming to share your enjoyment of this fic - I know its dragged on so long but we are in the home stretch and many of the the throughlines are about to resurface (and that is a hint).

Thanks again always. 

Talk about self-reflection! Future Pam being able to see all the cracks around Past Pam was incredibly telling. We really get the sense that Future Pam is ready to move on from where she was to where she wants to be. Her confrontation with Roy shows that in superb form. If feels like she might have broken and caved to Roy like her past self did last night. However, Future Pam isn't the pushover she once was. She's had the steel in her spine forged and tempered to withstand the hardships now facing her. It's amazing all that's she's found out about herself and more importantly who has and who hasn't been there to help her along. Jim, Michael, Randall, Gabby, friends who have been there to walk along side and help her grow all in different ways. Yet Roy, the person who is supposed to be all that for her in one, treats her simply as his maid, cook, and bedwarmer. It really feels like the innocence of her youth has left her. She sees that Roy was attractive to her younger self, now as a more mature adult he fails the tests that will really bring her happiness. So yes it's still hard for her to end things, for both of them, but once more Future Pam is standing up for herself.

I also find it really interesting that it's not a big scream of fury that is what finally gets through to Roy. Clearly, he had been expecting a fight there at the end. When Pam changes tactics on him and ends things calmly, it hits him in a way he can't deal with and can't recover from. Nice job bringing that out.

So, the plan is in motion, and it seems like the first and biggest part is complete. Now to see how all the rest unfolds. Can't wait.

Author's Response:

Yup, Yup, Yup, and Yup. Breakup scene was one of the hardest parts in this to write (if you don't count keeping track of the different versions and the easy to mess up continuity and remembering which Pam experienced what) so I'm grateful for your review.

Thanks again. Looking forward to sharing how the rest turns out. 

This was all so beautifully written, loved it.
You wrote the break up so well here. Roy just doesn’t get it at all, and at the end he still says boyfriend. Amazing work.
The reference to Pam’s blue shirt was a great call out as it’s so strikingly different to her normal clothes.
Looking forward to the next chapter!

Author's Response:

The breakup scene was one of the hardest parts for me to write so thanks for the kind words. You noticed the blue shirt - good!

TY again.