Pam finally gets pushed over the edge when it comes to Jim and his new girlfriend. Post-Ben Franklin. 
9 Noooooooooo! Please say it isn't over...?
First: "Electrical Storm" is just a chilling, haunting song - every time I listen to it, I want to write. Sigh.
Second: Gah, what I loved most about this chapter was how seamless and natural it was when they finally...shed all pretenses. It's sort of second nature to envision such a moment happening in the midst of a dramatic flourish, but based on what we know of this show (and its commitment to realism), I really see it playing out more like the way you've written it here - a calm, understated, unobtrusive moment that we don't see coming.
I really enjoyed this, sharky!
In the end, it doesn't happen at a wedding.
8 Love this. Darkness aside (which I also love), I think that when it happens on the show, it'll be in a situation like this -- something understated and ordinary and seemingly anticlimactic, only not because it's them.
You really capture that feeling of compartmentalizing someone and the strangeness of seeing that person outside the box, so to speak.
Gorgeous, as usual.
Yeah, I kinda think we saw the big dramatic moment last May - this one'll be low-key in contrast, I bet. Thanks, girl7 :)
Now Moxie...I must confess that I'm utterly baffled as to what the fuss is all about. Forearms? Seriously? Hm. I'm stumped.
Bwah! Okay, as premiere forearm whore (I wear the title proudly), this was just a delight to read! So much fun that she masqueraded as his wife, then came clean about why she prefers the sleeves rolled up...laughed out loud at his comment about the pain meds making him dream up the conversation.
So...*cough/pushy* what's the next, er, body part on the list? Because I know you'll do it justice - and then some. (TWSS!)
Five Angela Fantasies Toby Has Used; Plus, One Inadvertent One With Dwight
10 Okay, at first your thank you confused me - I thought maybe you had gotten me mixed up with someone else who'd helped you with this, then I saw the "stroke mag" and it all came back to me. (No pun intended, of course.)
That said, this is an absolutely fascinating pairing, first of all; you really make his attraction to her (and the catalysts for it) so real here. The end with Dwight made me laugh right out loud.
Great work here! (I'm guessing the Liberry Lord loved it, no?)
I'm sad that whoooole funny/weird convo got lost in the server crash.
And yes, the LiberryLord was happy!
Thanks!
9 Whoa. This was amazing. The tension in the bathroom scene was HOT. (That came out sounding all wrong somehow.) Seriously, though, you never disappoint, my friend....
Dwight takes Jim on his first sales call. Improv!Fic. Spoilers for Traveling Salesmen and The Initiation.
This is amazing - and damn, I'm impressed that you wrote it while tipsy! (I have been known to do that - *cough* - a lot, but I have to proof endlessly after the fact.) This was great and so much fun. Voices were spot on, too, BTW. Thanks!
Author's Response: Yeah, I took the prompt and then as I started typing, I realized that next time I accept a challenge, maybe I should be slightly more sober. I was very worried I would post something I'd regret later. PSA: Drink and write, but don't drink and post! Thanks, girl7!
Improv!Fic - Started by ObsessionInc - Prompts by GreenFish. Someone has made a big change in her life and she's actually OK with it.
Eeee, this made me so happy - so great! God, the thought of Michael with a daughter just melts me for some reason. :o) I'm amazed, by the way, that you turned this out in an hour! So happy I made you happy girl7! As you know I'm a sucker for babyfic. I just never dreamed in my life I'd be writing it for Jan and MICHAEL. Hee! I'm shocked myself - but it was one of those that came out almost fully formed. So crazy.
Author's Response:
9 Gorgeous - just gorgeous. This may sound odd, but reading this was like looking at a painting - does that make sense? You really create some beautiful images here, particularly in the middle. (And no, I am not just talking about Jim with no shirt.:oP)
Really wonderful --
Oh wow. This was amazing - simple and poignant and guh. Just amazing work - and in such a short time, too. Thank you!
8 Okay, first of all, I believe I should be granted sainthood for taking the time to review this chapter instead of tearing into the next one. (Good god, did not see Roy coming!!!!! EEEE!) I laughed out loud several times during the first part - your Dwight voice was spot on. "Incontinence?" I can so hear him saying that. And Michael's bed catching on fire? Hilarious.
Ahh, the lunch room scene - another shocker there. For some reason, I just was not expecting that; you must've lulled me into a giggly state or something. :o)
Yada, yada, yada - excellent story, must go read the rest!
Oh - and BTW - is it wrong that I'd kinda like to see Karen slap Jim across the face? Not because I think he deserves it necessarily, but just because...I'm perverse, I guess. :o)
9 Okay, I'm still giggling at "All My Employees." My god, I can just hear Michael saying that! This was really, really satisfying - action packed, as it were (no pun intended). The parking lot scene was gasp-inducing, because unfortunately, I could imagine Roy doing just what he did here. (And BTW, Darryl?? My hero Darryl? You nailed his voice!) I also liked the break room scene with Jim and Dwight - nice call back to Back From Vacation.
This story just kicked ass - you are awesome!
Yup, it’s a post-Cocktails fic! With a bit of a twist. Karen does a bad thing, and Jim is about to suffer the consequences…Where to begin? Your Michael is so spot-on that I was laughing out loud. Necrophiliac? Priceless.
I love the way you've managed to sustain the mosquito metaphor here - so apt, almost making me feel sorry for Karen. Almost. (Seriously, how dare she obstruct that call?)
....Aaaand that's the best I can do, knowing that there's another chapter waiting for me.
Terrific story!
Oh wow - gasped right out loud at this chapter. He told her they kissed at the Dundies? I mean, it's not a lie, but it's certainly...oh man, this is not good for Karen.
BTW, is it wrong that I really like your Karen? Love the way she's so no-nonsense, yet is caught in the middle of the biggest, messiest love triangle since Antony & Cleopatra.
Seriously, though, this is terrific: spot-on dialogue, intriguing characterizations, and a plot that is nothing short of mesmerizing.
Hee! Yup! It was the Dundies! I actually used that surprise in another fic, but I've convinced myself that it's canon so I think I'm going to continue to use it as a basic assumption in all of my fics. Heh.
And I love that you like my Karen. Because I like my Karen. I try really hard not to give Karen a raw deal, because I try to put myself in her place. Would I move to Scranton for Jim? Quite possibly. Would I be very jealous of his relationship with Pam? Definitely. Would I be dumb enough to stay with him even after he admitted he still had feelings for Pam... Probably not, but I can try to explain it in a way that saves her character from being pathetic and/or nasty. I hope.
Anyway, thank you so much! Can't wait to hear what you think of the rest :)
9 Ahhh! I'm all smiley over here; this was such a great fic - and you really worked in the elements brilliantly! (I snorted when Pam said, "Your guacamole recipe?") What a lovely, lovely piece of work - and I'm astonished at the fact that you did this in two hours.
So yes, you and Moxie just keep up the competition, because it works out quite nicely for the rest of us - so much good stuff to read. :o)
Oh wow, what a simply gorgeous story. I know I say that about all of your stuff, but this one really hit me in the gut (and in a happy way). So many lovely touches here: how Lillian's husband loved her the way Jim loves Pam; Pam wearing her pearls on their wedding day; oh my god Jim and a little girl named after Pam's grandmother... Just perfection. The image of him walking with the baby carrier on his chest was so absolutely visible to me that I can't stop smiling - still.
Hard to pick a favorite part, but this one definitely got a gulp from me: When she’d gone round in circles for so long she was dizzy and leaving him never, never to know was no longer any more bearable than rejection, or worse, indifference. Obstacles and circumstance couldn’t hide the plain fact of it: she was Lillian’s granddaughter. And she belonged to Jim.
Words wouldn’t come in an easy way. But finally, trippingly, not by magic but by sheer force of will, they did come. And he was hers too.
Just beautiful. (And oddly enough, my maternal grandmother was also a gifted pianst "by ear" as she put it, and she was also unabashedly romantic when it came to her husband (swore she loved him the minute she laid eyes on him). And her name was Grace - kind of a weird coincidence there.
Anyway, just a perfect story - thanks so much for this!
Pam's discovered the world of internet chat rooms. Jim can't resist the chance to be near her in cyberspace. Spoilers up to Cocktails. Whoa - something weird happened to my earlier review. Anyway, as I was saying - I'm actually nervous about what's happening here - the kind of butterflies, nervous excitement... This is a simply brilliant concept, Mox. And I have so got to go read the next chapter. Like, this instant. Bravo!
Author's Response: Thanks so much - I have learned the proper use of cliffhangers from the masters (*wink*wink*)
Ohhh, what I would not give to hear Jim Halpert say, "Maybe evolving isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know?" on the show. I would absolutely do a dance.
Another terrific chapter. This is just such an incredibly smart concept - so suspenseful.
Oh, and Karen needs to get a life. Seriously. :o)
Yes, he NEEDS to acknowledge on the show that he's attempts to change just weren't worth the heartache it all caused. There is nothing wrong with old!happy!Jim. And we need him now more than ever!!!
Oh hell no. I am just - damn it, that makes me so angry! (Note to self: These are fictional characters. In a fictional story.)
Seriously...you know, those deleted scenes seem to be angling Karen's characterization a bit in this direction. I will absolutely go ballistic if this happens on the show.
...Though it's kind of fun to be able to hate on her so freely in this case. :P
Excellent work, as usual -- can't wait for the next installment!
10 Gaaahhhh! I am gasping and slapping my hands over my mouth and am literally excited - as if this is happening to me or something! I think one of the reasons that this story is so addictive is that you've come up with the most brilliant concept that allows you to present both sides of the story here. I mean, in what other scenario would we have Pam speaking so freely about her feelings for Jim? This is so much fun and just....guh. (Oh, and how pathetic is it that I was so happy both of them were drinking - like yess, that's it; drink and type, just spill it allllll...)
Also her comment about sex on his desk? I could so perfectly imagine the Jim face in response to that comment. :o)
Argggh, this just keeps getting better and better! Their "under the table" messaging was so sexy somehow! Such a great premise this is, and I really can't wait for the next installment....
This continues to just amaze me. It's hard to keep the momentum going on longer stories (or at least, I find that it is), but honestly, this just gets better and better and better. Karen's threat? Whoa. I never considered it before, but you know, they've mentioned "love contracts" and reporting to Toby more than once....eeeeeee.
Loving this and can't wait for an update!
Okay, I could not wipe the enormous grin off my face as I read this -- you're killing me! That last line - guh, I could so hear Jim saying that (even though he's typing it). This continues to be absolutely riveting - it's the weirdest thing because on one hand, I'm DYING for Pam to find out the truth, but on the other, I don't ever want the story to end!
...Translated? Damned good work - again!
10 Oh my god. I don't even know where to start. (That last blittle exchange has left me a bit stupified.) First: I happened to glance down and see the "Previous" tab at the bottom, indicating that it'd be over soon, and I swear I got the same feeling that I get on Thursdays when I realize there are only a few minutes of the show left. Wow. That said, so many lovely touches here -- sympathetic Toby, oh-so-perfect Dwight, and Jim's gift --- brilliant! Seriousy, such a sweet thing and something that he totally would do.
As for the "favorite color" exchange: I could so see that happening on the show -- and the episode ending there, leaving us all reeling and squeeing, rather like I am right now.
One final note: I've read a lot of comments lately about WIPs - why some people love them, why others don't. And I have to say, while it's frustrating to have it end when you're wanting more, it's also sort of nice in the sense that I know I've got something else to look forward to in the next few days. I swear, this story has gotten us all through this hideous hiatus.
That said, you'd best start cooking up something just as awesome for the summer, missy....
10 It's ridiculous how sad I am that this chapter is over. Yet another great one with the suspense continuing to build. When he mentioned online that he hadn't made it in to work until noon, I was immediately thinking, Eeeks, they're going to put two and two together! So hmmm...I'm wondering now if Pam senses that it's him and that's why she's avoiding him? Arghh, update soon!
Thanks again for yet another excellent chapter.
10 Oh my god. I've been sitting here staring off into space, utterly shocked and moved and just...stunned for close to five minutes now, thinking I'll come back to myself enough to leave a coherent review.
But apparently not.
This is simply brilliant: so very real and bold in its eroticism, so incredibly heartbreaking and just devastating in its realism. Such an original take on Jim and Pam - heartbreaking, yes, but I love it that you travel the unbeaten path here (so to speak). Because these characters are simply too rich and too brilliant not to.
I'm still sitting here stunned, no joke. Stunned and haunted in the best kind of way.
You are so, so talented, unfold - your work never ceases to leave me feeling the way that I do right now. Brilliant.