Post-Benihana Christmas fic!
Remember when Jim and Pam convinced Dwight that a CIA helicopter would pick him up on the roof? Well, neither of them could resist showing up that night to see the prank to it's conclusion.
10 It's so much fun to go back to this time. I like Jim and Pam pushing each other like they would do every day except with stakes that are like a million times more important. Love it!
8 I love how giving Pam is. She's guiding him through this awful situation, and I'm glad he's letting her. Then again, how could he not? I just love the tenderness.
Author's Response: Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
8 Oh man! What excitement to find 3 (!!!) new chapters. I enjoy the premise, though I have to admit all the medical stuff is tough, but I like the scenario of putting these two together. Seems like some discussions are coming up. Thank you in advance for putting them in the same hotel room. :)
Author's Response: Thanks very much! You're welcome for the hotel room ... Couldn't be any other way, could it??
8 Awww. I'm glad Jim's realizing that he's pretty much hopelessly in love, and the idea of sharing a bed is freaking him out. Love that he's proud of her. I am too!
Author's Response: Thanks, nimblejack! I'm really pleased that people are responding to my strong Pam. I appreciate your feedback.
9 I'm glad Pam's letting Jim lean on her. That ending with the hug and kiss-for-show was perfect!
Author's Response: Thank you!
8 I like that Jim got schooled on what Pam went through over the past year, though I think that he would have watched the show so should already know. I'm sad to see them fighting, but the stress is tremendous and realistic, but I hope it doesn't become to much of a device to keep them apart. Still loving this!!
Author's Response: Thanks, nimblejack. One of my premises that I based the "back story" on is that the documentary is not aired in Scranton (or in Stamford). So the subjects could see the DVDs at the end of the year but it would be difficult to watch week to week. I think the arc of season 3 is completely untenable if you think Jim has been seeing the footage of Pam that the viewers see. He'd have to be an irredeemable prick if he treated her the way he did AFTER HAVING SEEN that footage.
NOW COMPLETE!!!
"Jim, why don't you tell Pam how you really feel?"
Jim and Pam deal with the stuff that comes with being on a hit show...talk shows, radio call-ins, and press junkets. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but is that really the case? Watch as Jim and Pam deal with being in the public eye and under the thumb of manipulative network producers. The story is told through interviews, transcripts, web pages and photos.
10 I'm still really enjoying this story. It's such a fun way of looking at the story, and I'm so excited to see it updated even if sad to see it's winding down. Of course, this being fic, I do hope we get to see how it ends, outside the documenting of the documentary. (And I'm not too ashamed to admit I hope it's a happy ending.)
Author's Response: Hi niblejack. Thanks so much for your review. In a way I'm sad it's winding down too. You will get to see how it ends...well, kind of. Thanks so much for your kind words. They are greatly appreciated.
“Pam and I have hurt a lot of people, but mostly we’ve hurt each other. There’s no coming back from that.”10 I kind of hate you right now. I'm tearing up, and I'm not sure I've ever done that from reading fic. Seriously, this just hurts. I hope it gets better, but almost anything will be a relief. Wonderful job.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I know the angst is a lot to handle, and I really appreciate you sticking with the story even though it hurts! I promise the reward will be a happy ending, even if it takes us a while to get there! I hope you\'ll enjoy the rest of the story.
10 What a great story! I love that you took this dark route, because you're writing it to be so believable. I usually don't like stories that are mostly exposition, but your writing tells a great story and gives great character insight without becoming laborious. Can't wait for more!
Author's Response: Thank you! I\'m glad to hear you think I\'m pulling it off. This is a very wordy story without much dialogue...very much inside Jin\'s head. I know it doesn\'t work for everyone, but I\'m so happy you\'re enjoying the story so far! I hope you\'ll continue to read and let me know what you think!
10 It's so nice to have things start to swing up from the deep, dark depths you took us. And of course it's not all puppies and rainbows, but who wants that? I love the depth and pathos of this story. I just feel so much when reading it. Thanks so much for creating and sharing.
Author's Response: Thank YOU for sharing your thoughts! I really appreciate it...even if it takes me a while to respond to the reviews! (I\'m moving across country...what a pain!) I\'m glad you enjoyed the darkness of this story, and I hope you\'ll enjoy it as it heads to fluffville!
10 Oh, that was so sweet. I have the biggest smile on my face. Very realistic and very Jim and Pam. Loved it!
Author's Response: Thanks! I\'m so glad you liked it!
9 I like this. Pam and Jim in London. Great Pam POV, even if she's lying to herself. Okay, maybe just to her friend, but still. The hand holding was ridiculously hot. Can't wait for more.
Author's Response: Thanks for taking the time to review nimblejack! Glad you are enjoying the story and especially pleased that the \'hand holding\' worked for you...I know it\'s quite a chaste move on Jim\'s part but it represents a giant leap for them I think. Thanks again, BAx.
10 Oh wow! This is fantastic. What grace and detail. I felt like I was there with Pam. Such great details, specifics that make this story to rich. Wonderful, wonderful job.
10 I'm so in love with this story, with your words. This story is so beautifully detailed and characterized. I just realized that I've got this huge grin on my face, and it's not just because of the honest joy of these characters in this story. It just love everything about this, its uniqueness, its heart.
If you've got a vault of unwritten anything, get to work! :)
10 I have a strange urge to thank you, but I just really really really loved this story. You took the characters and pushed them into new territories while still making it all so believable because their essences are the same. Pam is growing, yet that doesn't mean it's away from Jim. I'm glad they had the conversation about what he wants, probably out of Pam's desire for Jim to feel the same sense of accomplishment as she does. (And thanks for not lingering on it either, since that's also true.)
And even with all this wonderful Jim and Pam characterization, you still manage to add in Oscar's "Very, very nice", which had me laughing out loud.
All of this was just wonderful. Thank you.
Author's Response: Honestly, nimble? I cracked myself up, too, when I initially thought of Oscar\'s little comment. Thanks for your review. :)
Post-The Job. Pam tells us about her week. A companion to "Week's End."10 I love you and hate you right now. Getting the hate out of the way, it's that we have to wait! But I can already tell this is going to be something to love forward to everyday. I already love where the story is going.
Author's Response: [tiny] Please don\'t hate me. [/tiny] Just think of this as an exercise in patience while I sit over here and read the ending over and over. BWAHAHAHA...
10 I love that you're honoring Jim's relationship with Karen. It's rarely dealt with, but Jim is too sentimental and emotional (in a good way) to really just drop a girlfriend of 6-8 months by a fountain. He's not going to dwell, not when he has Pam, but he does need to wrap that up.
Loving this so far.
Author's Response: I can see him being a jerk like that in the moment and just leaving her there, but I do think he\'d regret it and realize that he had to face up to it, even if that just meant letting her vent at him. And, yeah, they were together for a while, so there\'s going to have to be some untangling that happens before he can really move on. She\'s at least going to have to come by for her toothbrush. ;)
Is there life and love after Jam?Oh man, this story is killing me. What's amazing is that I look forward most to Emily's chapters right now. I'm totally shipping them. I have to admit, though, that I read these chapters kind of backwards, because I read the end part first so as to get the hurt out of the way. I don't think you need to justify why you're writing Pam the way you are, but your reasons are totally valid. Is your Pam in character? Why isn't she? Like you've said, AU is different, and it's not like you're having her get tattoos and piercings. I kind of like this Pam, even if I hate her (in a good way) too.)
But Emily and Jim - I'm totally on board. Can't wait to see how it develops, especially once Emily watches season 4. I'm curious to see what happens in your season 5.
Author's Response: yay! Emily has a fan! That\'s awesome. Stay tuned because Emily watching season 4 is coming up next! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.
10 I hate to say what I hope happens, but I really can't stand the thought of Pam coming in and saying a few words to make Jim drop everything. I don't actually think that's going to happen, since you've taken great pains to show how Jim has grown and how he has reflected on his time with Pam and what he wants out of life. Though it pains me, I know it's the right thing for the story - for Jim and Emily, individually and as a couple - to have a formal closure with Pam. Jim's not going to change his mind. He promised!
You were so courageous to write this lovely story and your talent is enormous, so I only have very small doubts you'll break my heart. :)
Author's Response: I can\'t stand that thought, either, nimblejack. So, as you can see I didn\'t go that route. ;-) THank you so much for your lovely compliments -- I truly appreciate it.
10 I know I've been remiss in reviewing, but I know I'm going to reread and heap much praise when I do so. However, I have to chime in and say you're KILLING ME. I didn't have a hard time learning to love Emily, because the story made so much sense. But now that you're bringing back Pam my guard is up. I like the idea, since I love the angst, but....BUT. If you break Emily's heart I am going to cry. Pathetic, yes, but there it is.
Author's Response: Oh, I\'m so glad it made sense to you, nimblejack, because I don\'t think it made sense to a lot of people. It\'s a relief that I found an audience willing to suspend disbelief and their rabid JAM love to give it a chance. Thanks so much!
10 I'm not surprised to see that this story only has 4 stars since it's not an automatic JAM4eva kind of piece, but I'm excited about that. Sad, but excited. Jim's not giving in to Pam when she wanted to get engaged is too likely - over-thinking things and being kind of lame. I love Jim, don't get me wrong, but he's kind of clueless sometimes. Loved this:
I don’t think she’d purposefully throw me under the bus or anything, but there are two sides to every story and her version … well. I’m still not sure what her version is. Verbal communication was never our strong point. Neither was timing.
Author's Response: Yes, it\'s something different alright. I\'m glad you\'re okay with that. And yes, Jim is very clueless sometimes, which is why he can\'t blame the demise of his relationship solely on Pam. He\'s got plenty of faults of his own, and I think he knows it. I almost added a little bit of him realizing his mistake in not asking Pam to marry him at the end of that first chapter, but I liked it better without it. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means a bunch!
10 Yes, I love Emily. She's awesome. The show is kind of trapped in exploring what might happen with Jim and Pam in the future, mostly because they both need to stay at Dunder Mifflin or there's no show. (Sort of, but hopefully you know what I mean.) I like taking this look. It's too bad people will be turned off the non-Jim/Pam-ness of it, because it's actually quite hopeful in a way that Jim/Pam isn't.
Author's Response: Yeah, that\'s why AU fic is so much fun -- you can forget about the restraints of the TV show and just explore. This non-Jam world may not be one a lot of people want to look at, but I\'m finding it so interesting. And I agree with it being hopeful -- as I\'ve responded to other reviews, I totally believe that there is more than one person out there each of us could be happy with. And I think that\'s my whole point in writing this. Anyway, I\'m glad you like Emily, too. I\'m sort of attached to her myself...
10 I love that I start reading this and there's four chapters, and now there's five. Yay! Don't let the downers get to you. This story is really wonderful, and as I started to say in my last review, I really do think this story is hopeful. We see Jim start to move past his heartbreak (that's thankfully not maudlin) and meet someone normal and kind of perfect for him. Doesn't have to be the epic love story, which is more fallacy than fact anyway. And even ending with the slow Jim/Pam breakdown, which is tough, I'm curious to see who Pam is becoming. I'm happy for her. Great job all around!!!
Author's Response: Most of our love stories aren\'t epic, are they? In fact, the epic ones usually end in disaster. So I\'m okay with \"normal\". And I agree -- I think Pam is being true to what she wants and who she is (at least in the circumstances of this specific story) more than she\'s ever been before. I do think that\'s kind of hopeful. Anyway, thanks again nimblejack!
Jim comes back, Pam's late, and it's time to talk. Takes place in the summer between S3 and S4.10 I love this so far! Your stories are so wonderful for the details, like the line juice and the 'hola', or the 'We still have to sneak up on sex about half of the time.' Even your description during the sex scenes are so vivid in a wonderfully non-smutty way which makes the story ridiculously hot. Seriously.
I cannot wait to see where this goes, though I'm more curious how it will happen rather than about what will happen. Great title and subtle groundwork laying (as if there was such a thing!)
Author's Response: Can I tell you a secret, nimble? Smutty sex scenes squick me out. Unrealistic, porny sex scenes do the same. Because of this, I can guarantee you that these two will always, *always* be accidentally knocking foreheads and getting rug burn on their knees in my stories. Realistic is way hotter, anyway. And, yeah, this whole thing kind of started with the title, so I\'m happy to hear that you like it.
A golf pencil, two hot sauce packets, a Boggle timer, a mixtape, a high school yearbook photo, a card, and a teapot. Yup.10 Oh, yay. That was really sweet and so playfully Jim/Pam. I love these vignettes - well-written, tender and of-the moment.
Author's Response: Thank you, nimble. I was going for cute, because it gets, uh, less cute (?) from here on out.