I was around this site many years ago, during seasons 4 and 5, and then went on an unexpected hiatus for several years. I'm back and better than ever! Finished up one WIP ("Sociology 101") and might finish another if inspiration strikes. For now, working on new material and enjoying being back!
119 
We came back stronger than a 90's trend
1 oh, AG. This is beautiful and sad and you did it so well. I have a significant number of emotions about this, which is a hallmark of excellent writing. This really gave me an emotional response and honestly helped me name some emotions and thought processes and feelings that I’ve struggled with in a similar situation that really does feel safe. Thank you for sharing your talent with us, friend.
1 I truly, TRULY, truly do not have words for this. I am absolutely blown away. I cannot handle how this made me feel and how perfect it is, literally every single tiny detail. Coley, how
I just
I can’t HANDLE THIS
“If he was lucky, those sands wouldn't slip through his fingers. He tended to not be lucky, however.”
Oh, my god. Oh my god. This is so perfect and a hell of an opening.
Obsessed with Isabel. Absolutely obsessed.
Uh. Jim boxing? BOXING? Hi I need a bonus scene. With Pam, and sweaty boxing, and just…bored, please, I literally never ask for anything so just give me this
“The ring had slipped remarkably easy off her finger, a defiant and conscious decision, after asking the staff to buy new sheets for her bed. Again.” Oh my GOD the punch this packs. How do you do this? This is so much heavy emotion in just a handful of words and it took my breath away.
Oh Jesus. Him trying to work on the stain!!!!!!
“He only knew her first name and yet it was as if his soul recognized hers in some twisted alignment of the stars.” Oh my god AGAIN with these beautiful lines that have so much packed into them. You are so intentional with your words and I am continually and will for ever be so impressed with that. It is such a talent, to pick simple tiny words from the ether and put them together in a way that conveys so much emotion and want and just-are you a wizard? No, you’re just incredibly talented.
“She glanced over at him, her head still tilted skyward, with a look that was frighteningly profound and it caused him to nervously shove his hands in his pockets. She was lovely in a way that snuck up on a man.” Oh, my heart. My heart.
“If Roy did happen to be present, it was a covert game of lingering meaningful glances and fascinated hushed laughs where the only two players pretended not to notice the other and yet somehow managed to ignore everyone else.” The way you so succinctly and beautifully and perfectly summed up three seasons of television in one sentence
Oh, this fireworks scene. Oh, oh oh. I don’t even have words for this. Oh what a perfect ending to a perfect part one.
She held her camera at her waist, looking down at the upside-down reflection in the viewfinder of the scene in front of her before carefully squeezing the release of the shutter.
"Why do you like taking pictures?" Please tell me why this tiny exchange and the description of her taking photos made me tear up
“She realized that that was what they did now, saying things without saying them, benign statements that served as the hidden language of their subversion.” What I would like to know is who the hell gave you the right
I swear to god I have butterflies. BUTTERFLIES. At this speakeasy scene and their kiss. This is so perfect.
Okay I know The Great Gatsby is sad and everything but I laughed out loud at “I was expecting you to tell me you had run over someone with your car.”
“He was a study of contradictions: dangerous safety, forbidden desire, beautiful disaster.” Oh this is so perfect. It’s art.
The scene where she goes to Jim after Roy hurt her is so breathtakingly aching and beautiful. I can see it so clearly, happening exactly like that. Her “I don’t need rescuing” hurt me.
He’s sorry he didn’t go to the art show. Oh, my god. That made me sit back in my chair and put a hand on my heart. Jim is so sweet and good and that really got me. And then you freaking follow it up with them in Jim’s apartment together and him wanting to say and she’s saying that she can’t and I am full on crying.
The way I GASPED when Jim told on Roy!!!!!! I didn’t see it coming. Masterful.
Okay but thank god they’re covering the pool I was kind of worried.
I am full on crying at this. I know I said that already but JFC, lady. I knew, because of the Gatsby inspiration, that it probably wouldn’t end well. And that is fine, because life is sad sometimes and happy endings don’t always come right away. But my god did that punch me in the stomach in the absolute best way. This was incredible. Absolutely incredible. To think that we get to read your writing, that you put it out here for us to take in with our eyeballs for FREE when the entire world should be reveling in your talent??? I can’t grasp it. We are so lucky you are here.
DC, just fuck me right on up with this oh my GOD
This line: “Time is a funny thing. The way it can hold you in its palm, make all of your senses keenly aware of their surroundings - the driver shouting at Jim, Jim staring at her with an intensity that rivals the neediness in the way her name falls so simply from his lips, the smell of tires on hot asphalt - without really knowing exactly what’s happening in the moment.” Oh my god, beautiful. I gasped.
I just love that you wrote them finding themselves, taking chances and doing things that are good for them as individuals and not them as *them,* you know? Like. They’re fully formed and they got there independently of each other and that is so gorgeous.
This is a hard song to tackle and you did it so well. But then, did we ever have any other expectations other than you absolutely knocking it out of the park? No. No, we did not.
Oh these heartbreaking seasons 9 emotions! I almost can’t handle them when I read a season 9 story because it always feels so raw, like they’re still going through it. You really write the realities of marriage or any long term relationship so well and I could totally see Pam and Jim both having these internal monologues and thought processes. And I was proud of Pam for doing what she needed to do in that moment! But of course happy that they found their way back to each other in the end and that we got just a little hint of steam. Beautiful job and it fit the song so well!
I kept writing and dreaming till my words ran out
And I stared at this blank page
'Til finally I wrote
Five letters Jim has written to Pam throughout his time at Dunder Mifflin.
1 Well way to break my heart right off the freakin bat
This was so sweet. I love the idea of Jim being a note writer—it makes so much sense to me—and I am a sucker for a first day fic. I can’t wait to see what other moments you choose! Great job with this first chapter, even if it was quite rude of you. ;)
1 Aly this was so good. I loved all of the moments you chose and I really loved getting to see Jim’s perspective in his own words. You wrote him so well. The different letters were so spot on for where I think he’d be emotionally. I also liked how you added the context and twisted the knife a bit in some of those, as well as the subtle Karen shade! And in the ones that didn’t have a knife twist, like the honeymoon one, the context was just the icing on the cake that was the letter. Great job, lady!
An exploration of what might have happened if our favorite couple lived in the age of the dating app.
Set in early Season 3, if Season 3 happened to take place in 2017.
1 This is so intriguing so far and I am so excited to read how you integrate this into what we know from season 3! What a great idea. I am a big fan and looking forward to the next chapter!
Also... Jim chuckled and tossed the CD to Larissa. "I never did quite get the hang of eyeliner anyway." I am DYING to see this/read this. Can you imagine little Jim in eyeliner I NEED IT
Author's Response:
Thank you, lady!! Maybe I need to add a flashback into the outline... ;)
1 You’re hitting all my favorite things here. I die every time with a texting story and this was so good! I love that you incorporated his coming back from Stamford dialogue, I laughed out loud at the Hogwarts house sorting. You did a great job of capturing how I think it would been for them if they had reconnected this way. Great job lady, can’t wait for the next chapter!
What if Jim didn’t forget his umbrella?
An alternate look at season 9.
1 I’ve been so terrible about reading and reviewing on MTT lately (or for a while), so I am trying to best to play catch up! I love that you are tackling the hard job of writing a season 9 fic, and lady I think you are doing an excellent job.
Season 9 is so difficult. Any of us who have been in a long term relationship or marriage know how easily things can start to break down if you don’t constantly communicate and keep each other abreast of how you are feeling. And it’s not easy to be honest and vulnerable, even with the person you love the most and have built a life with. I think that you’ve done an excellent job with showing that through their internal monologues, the letters and assignments, the small ways they try to reach out to each other while still dancing around the big hard discussions because they are big and hard. And you’re doing it with some really lovely moments and imagery; I especially love the bits about sunrise and sunset.
I know a lot of people have a lot of feelings about season 9 and the arc that it took Jim and Pam on. I don’t think we can say “Pam’s a selfish bitch” without ending that sentence with “and so was Jim,” because that is the truth. Jim was uncommunicative and secretive and Pam was uncommunicative and scared, and it brought out the worst in both of them. I don’t think it’s fair to paint Jim as the good guy in season 9 (and you didn’t, but I’m a bit hot under the collar about another review you’ve received) because working full time, single parenting, and wondering if your relationship is going to fall apart isn’t easy and wanting to keep your family intact isn’t selfish. Especially when there are clear instances of Jim having an absolute blast in Philadelphia without checking in on Pam or the kids and not attempting to put herself in her shoes. The thing about season 9 is that they both make awful decisions and it isn’t until towards the end of the season that they look at the issue as “us vs the problem” and not “me vs you.” But I shouldn’t take something that someone who thinks that having the thought process of an artist means you can’t understand how a fictional start up works says seriously.
Anyway my own feelings about your other reviews aside, I think you are doing an excellent job with a heavy subject. Jim and Pam both feel in character and easy to sympathize with, and we see how events like this in a marriage can be so hard to reconcile. I look forward to seeing how you take us through along the rest of their rocky path and back into the sunshine.
Author's Response:
Hello BT-
First off thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts. I said it before and will repeat it again, I never thought I'd be writing a season 9 fic but once I was inspired to, it kinda took over. I originally thought this would be a one-shot and not a multi-chapter.
Season 9 was difficult because of the Pam and Jim arc but as someone who has been married for long enough to know it wasn't without truth and realism. As I said, marriage is work - it needs to be cared for, even if you are soul mates, especially if you are soul mates. And we know sometimes these 2 forget to communicate - thinking they know everything the other might be thinking (this is shown in the Roy's Wedding episode). I know you agree there.
It was not my intention to show either side as right or wrong, and like you say they needed to stop looking at it from a me vs you and get to the heart of the problem. And that took some soul searching and outside help. Some thinking about their own history and remembering how they felt when all they wanted was each other and there was an obstacle in the way. I'm glad you feel I've been able to show both of them coming to realize where they made mistakes and how to get back. I'm so please you liked the sunrise/sunset parts. I was very into writing those. Where I live we get some unbelievable sunrises/sunsets and that was a vision I wanted to bring to life - plus there was the symbolism I hope came across.
I think the show (by the nature of it being a sitcom) glossed over some of the journey to get there and that was what I hoped to bring out a bit more. I loved the hug and the flashback to the wedding but I did feel that alone was just a first step. However in a sitcom it's hard to get at what might have been in their heads and pleased you feel that is coming across and in their voices.
Without saying too much (as it will be said when I'm done), there was something in the timing.
Once again I want to thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. It's truly one of the things I love most about this community, the way in which we can connect through shared love of reading, writing and Jam.
Hope you enjoy the ending.
1 This is my favorite thing that I have ever read in my entire life.
Just two women watching rom-coms, drinking wine and gossiping about boys and kissing. Just two gals being pals...
1 Loooove this setup. Karen is so tricky to write and you wrote her perfectly! I am firmly aboard the KaPam train, let’s go. I’m ready. Hurry up.
1 “I’m watching that episode with Cathy” she says nonchalantly one day and then the next she says: “hello, here is a very real and vulnerable look at their fears that we don’t get to see” and it was heartbreaking and perfect and holy crap, lady.
"He doesn’t want to be presumptuous but all he’s been thinking about for the past twelve minutes as the car sped away from the restaurant is how much he wants to kiss her again; how much he wants to keep on kissing her until he either dies from happiness or wakes up."
My (canon-compliant) take on Pam and Jim's romantic journey, beginning with their first date. Includes flashbacks.
1 This was so lovely. I would never have known that this was your first story! The way you move from the little moments of elation and disbelief to sadness and the lingering regret and heartbreak they both feel was just so well written. All the little moments, the funny and the sweet and the nervous, were beautiful. Looking forward to more from you!
Author's Response: Thank you for commenting! I really appreciate it :)
1 Excellent, as always! A very fitting tribute to the holiday. I read it while enjoying some coffee in a certain mug of mine...
Author's Response: I'm glad you liked it! Especially since it definitely pushed the mug fic back like another three months.
1 Sir? You are so good? And I just wondered how you came across the absolute audacity to be that way? The parentheticals holy crap just break my heart into a hundred little pieces why don’t you? Those were so perfectly placed and really captured the back and forth and “well does she know?” and “no, she doesn’t” in a really beautiful way. Maybe some of the best Jim train of thought/inner monologue type writing I’ve seen.
Author's Response: I found my audacity between the couch cushions, actually. It's almost always the last place you look... honestly, I had given up and was trying to get at the remote. Sorry for the heartbreak, but I'm glad you thought I captured Jim's inner turmoil well! Poor guy. Things are going to get a lot worse for him before they get better. Thanks for taking the time to review!
"Shut up! We didn't film ourselves!"
"Hi, Pam's grammaw. Sorry you had to find out like this."
She hits him.
1 So hey when are you gonna write that Jim/Pam/Johnny Storm crossover you set up so beautifully?
1 Jsmfjanxnaonvmapzbdkqozbdkanx e
That’s my best attempt at a keyboard smash on an iPhone because I cannot put into words how PERFECT and FUNNY and PERFECT this is
I just—
Sir! The audacity to write this piece of perfection about a thing that I own and make it so hilarious and make me giggle like an idiot and want to go get said mug out of the cabinet to tell it thank you—how dare you? Please, keep daring. I’m going to send you pictures of every weird thing I own and make you write a rejected cold open about it.
Ugh. This was so so perfect. I have to go read it again. I love it, love you, love the tooth mug.
Author's Response: Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I'm glad this one delivered and was worth the wait!
Thank YOU for allowing me to spread the gospel of the tooth mug as it deserves! And please pass on my thanks to the mug as well, it really deserves all the credit for being such a wonderful muse. Also, please tell me you own more objects as fundamentally creative and amazing and slightly terrifying as that.
Awwwwwww, you're making me blush. <3
Jim missing Cece's recital is what makes Pam realize she's falling back into her old ways. She's accepting things she doesn't want to accept and not standing up for herself like she should. She decides she needs to find herself again before her and Jim can be happy.
Loosely based off of Grow As We Go by Ben Platt
1 Yeah, I have a lot of questions
Number one how dare you
(This is beautiful and sad and very real and you are doing an amazing job of breaking my heart, keep it up. Also Dwight made me teary eyed and I never thought I’d say that.)
She had spent her whole life trying to put it into words.
1 Lady, I am constantly left in complete awe when you post. The way you take these little moments and build them out into something so pivotal and meaningful and an anchor to their relationship is just gorgeous. And the look into Pam’s mind, with the uncertainty and the certainty and the hesitation and everything, it’s all so perfect. You are one of the most talented writers I have ever seen, thank you so much for sharing yourself with us.
Author's Response: Well, I always covet your reviews because they are so beautifully written so thank YOU for that. You are far too kind to me. :) Thank you so very much, truly.
33 1 Guys. This was so sweet and you were absolutely right, this line should have gotten called back. What a lovely Mother’s Day tribute!
1 Catching up on all the things I’ve been slacking on, and this is just beautiful. A beautiful reimagining of what (should have) happened at CN, and you weave in the lyrics of the song so beautifully. And I’m just obsessed with how they take it slow but they don’t really because how COULD THEY, god. Beautiful job, WW!
1 The emails for these last two update had been sitting in my inbox to make sure that I knew how long it had been since I’d read and reviewed this, and I’m sorry it has taken me so long! I loved this story, WW, and how you so perfectly made it follow and fit the song and gave us a look into Pam’s mental state after the breakup. I think it would have gone a lot like this had she left Roy and got to go to Jim right after his confession. Beautiful job!
We had made a life behind fortified walls, protecting from the depthless sorrow, and containing the glimmer of hope within. What was worth fighting for was buried in our bones, a cry from our souls, and it was louder and clearer every day.
1 Ladyyyyyy
I gasped aloud when I got the email notification about this. You sneaky wench. To just drop this on us with no preparation? And get us back into life in the After while also giving us a hint of the before?? Are you JOKING ME??
This is beautiful and the bit about Before was just amazing. I want to know everything. And then the mystery of the town they were trading with! You are a master of spinning a tale and captivating your audience from the start. Gorgeous writing as always, can’t wait for more.
Author's Response:
Haha yeah, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull it off by the AQP release date so I didn't want to let anyone down by promising and not delivering so...surprise! lol.
Honestly, I'm shocked but thrilled that people still care about this universe and I'm excited to be back in it. It's always encouraging to hear that.
Thank you BT <3