There's some great canon-style humor here - Michael losing control of the meeting about the party is fun. And the way you worked so many classic That's What She Said moments into actual porn dialogue is hilarious.

But there's also some solid romantic material in here! This is a very cute version of the card, and appropriate for their relationship and history at this juncture, and a fun remix of some of their greatest hits into their mutual confession.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for the review! I’m so happy you found it so funny! 

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Okay, controversial opinion time: I actually think Pam and Roy's sex life was one of the places they were most compatible. BUT certainly Pam would deserve this after a long, unsatisfying early adult life. And I think they probably had quite a few wild months at the beginning of their relationship, and good for them. Nice job with this one!

Author's Response:

I’m rewatching again and I really agree with your observation of Pam and Roy’s compatibility and I HATE it haha!! That line about getting you in the tub 🤢And yeah I think Jim and Pam were definitely a bit wild in the beginning – with that unrecorded deleted scene about them filming themselves! But anyways, thank you for the review!!

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*sigh* Well, that would've been too easy, I suppose. Those two crazy kids have a lot of ground to cover. Sometimes fighting about it is the first step. At least they're talking.

Author's Response: Indeed.  They don't know how talking works.

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Ah, they went to each other's houses! Too cute.

This dialogue was VERY Jam:

“Rather than eating ice cream and watching bad Christmas movies, not really. You?”
“Something similar, I was going to eat cookie dough and watch ESPN.”
“How about we compromise: cookie dough and bad Christmas movies.”

And the exchange about her not getting him anything for Christmas was perfectly Hallmark-y!

Author's Response:

Loved writing that part!  And I'm glad you enjoyed that exchange, I try my best to replicate their banter as best I can.  It can get tricky.

Like I said, Hallmark wasn't what I was going for, but like I mentioned, I'm so glad you got that out of it. 

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Holy CRAP! It's our annual Sam masterwork! And just in time to save Christmas!

No, seriously, I'm excited and glad you're back.

I'm *really* interested in the timing of this. Not a lot of fanfic about Jim/Karen and Pam/Roy forced to interact in the Pam/Roy 2.0 era. Very tense moment to explore. And I love this idea of Jim being aware that Karen is giving him a bunch of tests, and having to admit that he's mostly failing them, acknowledging that yes, Karen's a little off the rails, but Jim's the one who put the boulder on the railroad tracks in the first place. You did well finding the balance of keeping Jim likeable and someone you want to be happy without ignoring that he's really at his absolute worst at this point in the series.

"Yeah… no. Suddenly hazard lights are flashing and horns are tooting. This promises all of the sinister chaos of a clown-car in a horror movie, but in party form. Ill-advised doesn’t cover it. It’s like… Ancient Troy—See that big wooden horse out there? Let’s haul it in —level bad." I am going to make a point of working both these lines into conversation this week. I like the party starts off bad almost entirely for non-Jam reasons that Jim *could* have told Karen about if he thought she was interested in hearing them... good illustration of why she's just not a good fit for this place.

"There’s probably a bona fide Andy in there, but he hasn’t met him yet." Sorta raises the question... who *is* the truest Andy? He's kinda all over the place all series long.

I love how much humor you brought to this deeply tense and angsty situation here. You've got a lot of really good lines - Kelly as a firework in the hand of a toddler snorting crushed M&Ms and Jim's take on scented candles stood out for me. Also the use of Kelly as a human chaos agent.

Oooof, poor Pam. You captured S3 Roy well here, a guy who is doing his absolute best, but whose best isn't sustainable and also kind of sucks. Her awkwardness is palpable.

Looking forward to seeing everyone grit their teeth through the rest of this dinner party!

Author's Response: Thank you so much - great to be back! Glad you're enjoying it. There should have been one more chapter of teeth-grittingly awkward dinner party to come before things properly come to a head. But it's humungous, so I've had to cut it in two and restructure both bits. Hopefully not too long...

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Okay, first off, let's acknowledge this: this is *peak* Ryan awfulness, the sort where he's so despicable you're desperate to see his comeuppance *even where he kind of has a point.* Like he manages to come off worse than Roy here. Slimeball. I'm glad he got puked on.

You also continue to write a fascinating version of Karen, someone we can be sympathetic with for how gratuitously she's getting screwed over (her poor apartment!) while also recognizing that she's Not Right for Jim and should probably be self-aware enough to figure that out on her own. (The section of her kinda trying to pick a fight with him over Kevin mid-party is really telling.)

You set up a lot of dominos to fall, and honestly it was just really enjoyable watching it all play out. You did well bringing the tension to a head and then just letting everything explode. It almost ends up as a physical representation of the wreckage that Jim and Pam have left around them in the end.

Well, at least Samantha got a good story out of it. Kinda shipping her and Andy here, is that weird?

Author's Response:

Yup, Ryan is a creep here, and he deserves his comeuppance.

I think I might be doing some kind of penance with Karen  ;o)  I felt guilty about how much I wanted bad things to happen to her in series 3 when she has, after all, done nothing wrong. By any reasonable person's standards, she's a woman wronged, though I think the writers maybe opened a bit of a window to dislike her by making her slightly snarky, then (kind of inconsistently, I thought?) clingy and possessive. Particularly if you add in a couple of the deleted scenes.

In terms of the wreckage, I actually had Pam use the word 'metaphor', but I decided that was too much.

And, yeah... Samantha.  

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"he got waterboarded by reality." "What he actually looks like? A total flake who is genuinely concerned he might pass out with nervous anticipation." "he feels like a guy who’s just crawled clear of an explosion in a munitions factory on his hands and knees, all stupefied and bedraggled." Your knack for description remains as dynamite as ever.

The banter between them is fun here! They're in that space where they're semi on familiar ground and semi REALLY not, and that comes through clearly. Them both desperately trying not to laugh at a TWSS is classic, and they're very sweet when they get serious.

"which is decorated with a map of Maine and a cheerful lobster tucking into a pan of mussels, which just seems… wrong?" This is... a perfect example of Maine tourist kitsch.

In my head I'm making Jim's Boy Scout troop leader Isabel's new boss, and I won't hear anything otherwise. Also I'm now determined to convince my nephew to get a dentistry merit badge.

"They could actually keep going on like this until the end of time." Which has always been part of their problem, hasn't it?

Have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate your relentless destruction of Ryan? Like the portrayal of him as a guy too incompetent to run an extortion racket is amazing. And so in character.

"and then she’s grabbing his hair and writhing and groaning like her name’s Delicious MacLusty or something." Write THAT fic next.

"Breakup-by-Ryan." Yet another thing he's terrible at! He can do other people's breakups for him but not his own!

Jim's secret delight at Roy being intimidated by him is fun. And I also buy it. Very particular idea of masculinity from Roy that I can easily see him not wanting to puncture by putting it directly up against Jim's.

"Absolutely too early to be thinking about whether she’d prefer a single diamond or a cluster. Or maybe she rather have sapphires… That’ll definitely have to wait until the end of the week. He’s not an obsessive freak." Exactly, Jim. Make her work for it.

The ending line! Fabulous.

Sam, I enjoyed the heck out of this. Your work here is always appreciated and I hope we won't have long to wait before your next project!

Author's Response:

As I've said before (hopefully!), I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your thoughtful revies - it's much appreciated!

I very much enjoyed dismantling Ryan! I can definitely see him as a kind of incompetent plotter who is eaten up with resentment. An embittered, barely useful loser, basically. Anyway, it was fun.

I also enjoyed the idea of Roy being intimidated by Jim, and kind of wish I'd given Jim an opportunity to have some fun with it. Some hard stares, a last minute body-swerve with a wink... Roy becoming increasingly freaked-out... :o)

Thanks! 

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The familiarity of this exchange with Roy at the beginning is painful. Clearly isn't the first time they're doing it, probably won't be the last.

I appreciate you working in some subtle bits in her arrival at Alli's party - the way everyone can kind of see Pam's unhappiness with Roy, but none of it mattered until she met Jim, the way Alli's life is getting bigger and hers is staying exactly as it was.

I always love these Pam and Jim's social circles accidentally collide stories and a good interfering Larissa. Who immediately starts selling him out. Their dynamic seems very appropriately older brother-little sister here.

This is just such a cute evening for them, and I think it really works - how they're able to finally connect like this when they're freed of their usual daily routines, and of Roy, and even of having to look at each other, that it just makes it easier to make that leap.

Very enjoyable, and a fun and natural working in of the recipe too!

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Some interesting notes on here to start. I thought it was a nice touch making it clear that Jim is fully capable of fitting into this corporate environment on command, he just doesn't feel much desire to, and the way he doesn't have a very good handle on what disconcerted him about Karen’s prank.

Also, this is well handled Michael dialogue.

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A return to the Jamie and Morgan-verse! Excellent.

Creed being able to speak badger is vintage Creed. As him being lost as to which solstice it is.

You know, Michael is a goober here, but I'm happy he got his invite to the corporate Christmas party. He's earned it, dammit. And the disaster it led to wasn't even his fault.

I'm not sure I'm drinking a Scotch named after Shackleton, but other than that it was quite lovely to spend some time with Pam among the Halperts, being embraced by that family, especially knowing that her own family has some travails in its future. Her dialogue with Vanessa is adorable.

And the ending is perfectly Christmas movie.

Very sweet!

Author's Response: Yup, always fun to come back to this series. One shots are a great way to keep it going I think. Creed was actually kind of easy to write. I just started button mashing and it grew from that. Yeah Michael earned that invite. I think it's more due to David Wallace rather than Ryan though. Always fun to have Pam interacting with the Halperts pre-engagment and wedding. Same with helping Pam to realize she can interact with kids. Glad you liked the ending as well. Thanks as always for the review and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

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Jim is a very wise man here. Better safe than sorry re: the no presents request, especially given Pam's history. And the snowglobe is so cute! Shame about... you know. (This is always a really cool way to work the finale line in.)

Them getting caught is hilarious but HORRIFYING. Like, people have nightmares about this sort of thing. The detail of Pam having flour on her butt makes it art. Amazing. (I'll also say again - this is kind of on Jim. He knows Michael well enough to know that key is not going to be used as he intends.)

This bet is *extremely* dangerous. Y'all are not helping Jim act like a normal person, guys.

Awwww, Kelly. Delightful agent of chaos. Very sweet gesture. AND you actually know to text in advance unlike certain parental units.

"I’d say… a bunch of ex-girlfriends who are now in the Witness Protection Program." So true.

THE WAGON WHEEL. Awesome.

Ooooof. What a perfect storm of terribleness. Them getting caught, Pam's parents splitting, Michael and Holly stepping on their toes... way too much going on right now. Poor kids.

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I love the atmosphere in this one - the joy of northerners returning to the land of White Christmases, Pam shooting the Nerf gun at Jim, the kids' sheer joy at the holiday. Cece and Phil and their excitement and energy felt very real here, and Phillip and Jonah seem appropriately Dwangela-fied. (I loved Dwight instructing Phillip about handshakes, and all the bows and stickers ending up everywhere.)

I feel like this is a take on Dwight as a father I haven't seen much of before, and I like it. He's noticeably more normal while still being very Dwight - the identical instructions to Cece and Phil about their knives was a nice touch.

“Please don’t talk about him when we’re in bed together.” “Wouldn’t be the first time." Mean, Pam.

I appreciate you bringing in the loss of William, too. Feels like we get to see a lot of Jim and Pam's milestones as adults and that would seem to be the next one.

The callback to the wink was terrific, and *very* organically built in!

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Ha! Delightfully awkward. Always love a good Katy return. (Enjoy the squirming while you can, Pam. Might be your turn next.)

I'd feel worse for Dwight if I didn't know that he was actively helping Angela cheat at this point.