Date: February 18, 2022 11:13 am Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
Hahaha... ! I can totally see Creed and Joe cruisin' Syracuse in a stolen Cadillac.
I've been looking forward to catching up with this , and you haven't disappointed. These chapters have all been great, and I can really hear the characters talking.
Super stuff!
Author's Response: Oh, the Joe Biden and Creed shenanigans would've been a whole documentary unto themselves.
Thank you so much! Really appreciate your kind words and you taking the time!
Date: December 23, 2021 04:31 am Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
Ok, every time I hear Joe Biden is from Scranton I immediately go to THE OFFICE! (I feel like I also got into the show at roughly the same time he got elected last year?) so I’m really really glad there’s now a fic about this. And this was a brilliant one: I feel like you’ve nailed every single character’s political views / relationship with politics (including Oscar’s and Stanley’s, who I’d never even really thought about before. And Angela and Sarah Palin, LOL). I love Michael getting way too carried away with the whole thing, Jim genuinely and earnestly feeling connected and inspired by Biden - it’s so very Jim - and you’ve tapped into something that just feels very in keeping with the spirit of the show, with the sort of small-town excitement and pride about all of this. (I’m also with Pam on being confused about what the VP does. I’m not sure Veep has helped me with this). And then Kelly!! I really love your Kelly is secretly much smarter than she lets on theory - and linking Biden with that random note in the show about her sister dying, to create a more human moment that she then immediately puts aside for the cameras, is so amazing. I love it.
I could quite easily turn this into a list of all the moments in this that cracked me up, but I think my particular favourites are Angela ratting them out to Wallace, Michael’s hasty about-turn on Republicans buy paper too after his call (in fact, that entire speech that he gives them: but also, hail to the Chief Financial Officer - you’re killing me), the sneaky reveal on Wallace’s political preferences, and the cut to Jim’s face after Dwight’s talking head. Oh, and then the ending with Creed. Basically, this was just fantastic from start to finish.
Author's Response: Exactly! Those are the things everyone thinks about when they think of Scranton, Dunder Mifflin and Joe Biden! A killer combo imo. I will freely confess I have spent far too much time thinking about the politics of each of these characters and may or may not have detailed headcanons as to each of their voting patterns over the last decade and a half, so I'm glad to hear that did this fic some good.
Michael getting overexcited was a given, but it was fun to write earnest Jim in a non-Jam scenario - feel like I haven't done much of that. (I think Veep captures it pretty well tbh.)
There are *so many good stories* to be told about Secretly Savvy Kelly. She's delightful as a dingbat, it opens up a lot of plot options.
I'm glad so many of these moments worked for you... fun to write. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review, friend.
1 [Report This]Date: December 13, 2021 09:56 am Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
This was absolutely hilarious. I have to be honest though, my favorite line was the one in your end note: "The latter of which is funny to me because Meredith has definitely never voted in her life."
I need to stop reading your fics while in class and on camera.
Author's Response: It's weird to think of Kate Flannery being her own person sometimes. And I wish I could say I'm sorry to be a distraction, but that would feel dishonest.
Date: December 12, 2021 05:40 pm Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
Oh, one more thing... David Wallace? A hardcore Republican? SAY IT AIN'T SO!
Author's Response: It pained me to write it, but real talk: 2008 David Wallace? Highly likely. And from an economic standpoint, it's probably in his best interest.
1 [Report This]Date: December 12, 2021 05:38 pm Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
Okay. Many thoughts.
I haven't really had an opportunity (or desire) to think about these character's political affiliations but I'm upset and slightly disturbed by the very obvious fact now in my head that Angela and Dwight both certainly voted for Trump. Ick.
Pam not knowing what the VP does is actually a brilliant move because Pam is sort of all of us, I think? In the show? And you're right, most Americans don't know the answer.
Your Kelly headcanon is interesting, I don't buy it, but I still like it. (For the record it makes a lot of your Kelly notes for me make more sense, ha!)
A few days ago I'd have agreed with you that Meredith hasn't voted a day in her life but after seeing that "Justice For Caylee" sign in her van I think she's more tapped into current events than I've giver her credit for.
This was fun and I can tell you had fun with it!
Author's Response: I by contrast have put immense thought into the political histories of pretty much all of our principals. *shrugs* But yeah, Angela for sure. I like to think Dwight's love of order and rules and hierarchies would have made him a little more hesitant... this is not a guy for whom "The Deep State is against me!" is going to be a rallying cry.
And in Pam's defense, she does know! She's just not positive that she knows!
Oh, have I never shared my "Kelly is secretly playing everyone" headcanon with you? Because yeah, that definitely shapes my take on the character.
She may well be the "I don't vote, it only encourages them" kind of non-voter.
Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to review!
Date: December 11, 2021 11:11 pm Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
So that was fun. I thought you walked what can be a fine line really well. I can easily see Michael getting big into the spirit of something like this. It's actually kind of working too. Jim and Stanley getting new clients. Michael may be out there, but he does have good salesman instincts. That it's Angela who calls Corporate to complain rings true for me. Same with her choice of favored politician.
Nice job with this one. Like I said, it was a lot of fun to envision.
Author's Response: You know, this sort of thing used to be the norm, a sort of cross-political spectrum pride in a hometown boy made good. That had probably passed already by 2008, but as Ryan puts it, Scranton's usually a little behind, maybe they were still catching up. And yeah, for all of Michael's shortcomings, he has a clear understanding of the spirit of his hometown in a way that corporate simply doesn't.
Oh, Angela. (It was a sad thought in writing this that if there's one relationship that's likely to have shattered over the past 5-6 years, it's almost certainly Oscar and Angela's over this sort of thing.)
Thank you very much! And thank you as always for taking the time to review, my friend.
Date: December 11, 2021 06:31 pm Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
So thinking about it now it's a bit of a surprise that Obama was mentioned on the show but Biden never was being he was from Scranton.
Glad you filled in what was left off the show.
As usual, this was very much in the spirit of what we would expect from you and from our Dm crew (except Wallace which I already mentioned) Angela and Dwight landed pretty much as I expected.
I was tickled up top with the Uncle Pam and will say that the thing I most appreciated was the bit and take on Kelly, especially since the real Mindy is both a genius and supposedly very much alike the character she plays.
Wallace is right though, not really smart business to alienate a whole party especially in the paper business.
Glad you added the footnote about Cornell since it seemed like at least someone of note would have come from there and while I didn't know RBG did, I do now.
And I still see people wearing straight outta shirts so I 100% buy it and it made me laugh too.
Author's Response: It is a little odd, right? I mean, I'm sure it would have been a thing if he had been at the top of the ticket while The Office was still on the air, but still. Might have been a little David Wallace-style action from NBC, too.
Again, I will tell anyone reading since I've already told you - it makes perfect economic sense for Wallace to follow this line and it hurt to write it.
I will always take any excuse I can think of to write SecretlyAGenius!Kelly
But they're not alienating a party! They're celebrating Scranton's favorite son! *sigh* These days are behind us now.
That was kind of a lucky find on my part... I was kind of expecting some president or other to have graduated Cornell. But RBG is pretty good.
I'm pretty sure at some point I saw a screenshot of Michael and Dwight from Lazy Scranton superimposed over a Straight Outta Scranton meme, so this is wildly meta.
Thanks as always for taking the time to read and review my friend!
1 [Report This]Date: December 11, 2021 11:56 am Title: Joe Biden's Birthday (November 20, 2008)
Loving all of the chapters so far, with special shout outs for Grilled Cheese day (the ending made me smiles so much and Casino Night (so confused but then was wonderful). All the chapters are just so well written and feel so very canon like. The Creed talking head at the end of Joe Biden was PERFECT.
Can’t wait to see what’s next
Author's Response: Thank you so much! I have a special place in my heart for that Casino Night fic. And I am calling on someone, anyone, to write the movie of Creed and Joe Biden's wild night.
Appreciate you taking the time to read and review.