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Reviewer: pollyplummer Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: June 06, 2022 02:09 pm Title: Epilogue

I have no idea who this Jack Ryan is but I LOVED this. So compelling and kind of reminded me a little of Stephen King's 11/22/63 with the time period and the teachers at a high school, only minus the time travel.

The balance of plot and fluff was just perfect!

Reviewer: Maxine Abbott Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: January 30, 2022 04:02 pm Title: Chapter 5

So it's me who is bumping up the read count of this story lately. With the slowdown of new content lately I've gone to the archives to indulge in one I haven't read before.

I truly am enjoying what you are doing here - a AU period piece with our favorite cast and the Jack Ryan twist.

Your Jim here has his same lovability and gentleness with Pam yet is kick-ass and very hot with his JR side.

I've been enjoying it so far but this chapter I became really taken in with the way you paint the picture of the cabin. Your descriptive writing makes the reader (me) feel like we are there with them.

Also loving how you really get inside Pam's headspace and how she both is nervous and maybe angered to be drawn into the danger of Jim's world and yet always is still taken by the man she'd come to know and have feelings for - maybe not realizing the depth of them yet but at least knowing he'd become her closest friend.

Looking forward to seeing how this next chapter (and the whole rest of the story goes - always nice to read when it's all done - no waiting).

Again really enjoying this so far.

Reviewer: Saturn Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: May 04, 2021 05:25 pm Title: Chapter 1

This was so fab, I can’t even tell you. A binge-read worthy fic for sure!

Reviewer: MaryESP Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: April 22, 2021 10:16 pm Title: Epilogue

Wonderful d84;a039;d84;a039;

Reviewer: MaryESP Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: April 22, 2021 06:33 pm Title: Chapter 2

Ok, um woah, I actually TOTALLY forgot about the whole Jack Ryan thing! 😆😆😆

Now I'm excited all over again!

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 06:48 pm Title: Epilogue

The ending they and we deserved. Their lives are back to the ordinary experience Jim wanted, now with the happiness and fulfillment Pam craved even before she recognized she was craving it. Bringing it full circle was a really nice touch.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 06:48 pm Title: Chapter 14

This hospital scene is well handled. Just compulsively readable.

I like you not having Pam witness the final interaction. Feels true to character and ramps up the tension here. Plus, this way we get a great reveal about how Mose is the real hero of the tale.

Not having a huge info dump about Ryan is an interesting choice, and I think a good one. Sometimes you DON’T know, and you have to live with that, especially in this business. And the story feels complete without it. The real answer we’re looking for is the one Pam gives at the end, and the one Jim gives to Wallace about getting out of the game for good. And we get it in spades. So sweet.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 06:47 pm Title: Chapter 13

This is just Ryan to a T is the thing. Always convinced he deserves more, never wanting to actually earn it, totally willing to hurt people who get in his way or to help himself and contemptuous of anyone who won’t and their values. Like… canon Ryan is definitely a guy who would commit treason and rationalize it to himself if he thought it would give him a leg up.

You did really well building the tension here, and the action sequence is easy to visualize and definitely had me at the edge of my seat.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 11:53 am Title: Chapter 12

Awww. These two kids! They’re so cute together even when they’re fleeing for their lives. This moment at the gas station is pretty great. She’s also confident with him around, he’s loved her from the start. It’s lovely.

It’s also nice to know that Mose is around even in this world.

I mean, it should really be obvious to Wallace that Ryan is shady. But that might be more frustration with canon talking than anything else. I’d imagine that having pushed hard for one guy’s guilt it looks a little odd that Jim is now trying to take out another of his colleagues.

YIKES. Another hell of a cliff-hanger. They probably should’ve taken some time to go over basic spycraft before Jim fell asleep.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 11:51 am Title: Chapter 11

You’ve done a really good job with the description in this story. I can perfectly picture the harrowing drive down the mountain with Jim lying bleeding next to her, and feel her panic and determination and fear, and Jim’s guilt at having pulled her into this world because he just couldn’t resist being around her. And working in Jim’s Casino Night lines? For Pam? To Jim? While he might be bleeding to death? I mean, damn. And then having him say I can’t before passing out? Too much.

Phyllis still name-dropping Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration in nurse form was a needed bit of comic relief – as was the extremely appropriate use of “you look like a trout.” AND Phyllis not liking her Angela. And I’m going to go ahead and assume Jon as a reference to Scott Foley’s fanonical character, just because there’s a lot of fun little Easter eggs here?

Jim waking up and immediately saying he loves her too! That’s a well-written and well-timed moment, especially knowing they can’t linger on it with their enemies still looking for them. This was paced really well with Jim immediately bringing them back into fight-or-flight mode. And as always, you’ve left us on a killer cliff-hanger that I’m happy I don’t have to wait around for a resolution to.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 11:50 am Title: Chapter 10

The images you’ve created of them settling into domesticity are lovely (I’m particularly fond of Jim enjoying Pam’s banana-cutting habits). And Jim continuing to be blown away by Pam’s willingness to share the danger and share his life is sweet. I’m glad you gave them that before things got exciting.

The action sequence here is particularly well done, especially in making use of the POV of Pam. She is not at all familiar with this world and you let us see her experience it accordingly, sometimes like she’s stepped out of conscious control of her mind, not always comprehending or processing exactly what’s happening, reacting on instinct and imperfectly. It’s an atypical version of an action scene, and it works.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 11:48 am Title: Chapter 9

“Pam, you need to be keeping it still. I like when you have your arms around me, but-” his husky voice was cut off by Pam reaching for him again. Jim intercepted her with a hand around each wrist, gently pinning her arms to her sides as he moved above her. “Still. Do you think you can do that?”

Seriously, I need you to stop, those brain cells are important.

“Looked like he’d won the lottery when she kissed him back” and such a perfect Jim line, and it definitely describes a very specific look we see on his face a few times throughout the series perfectly.

Much like Jim, I love the banter here, and the joy they take in it.

You’ve done well throughout this building in some of the beats of canon, and this is an intriguing use of the scenario from The Job. Also, the fact that you’ve worked in the scenario from The Job made me inherently suspicious of Ryan long before it became clear that Ryan provided most of the information implicating Josh. Also, I think Ryan killed Packer in Murder in Savannah. Ryan sucks.

This little moment at the end where Jim is just moved by the idea that Pam thinks of them as a we and the danger to her because they’re a we is just… it’s a really good way to end a chapter.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 08:43 am Title: Chapter 8

“I bet that’s a game I’m better at than you. Want to find out?”

Sorry, this chapter has melted my brain.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 30, 2020 10:30 pm Title: Chapter 7

Ah, man. This is just a really well-crafted backstory and plot.

You did really well here letting us feel Jim's loss of his brother, and giving us a sense that Jim is driven by the people he loves. (Like you, Pam. He loves you.) And I really appreciate that Jim is a genuine teacher.

The nods to canon fit in really naturally here, and there were so many gentle Jam moments I really can't take it. Again, I am very happy I don't have to wait to hit the next button here.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 28, 2020 01:28 am Title: Chapter 6

Yee gods, Tuna.

Also, love the so-very-Jammy exchange about the made up definitions of words in the middle of all this intimacy.

And Jim’s long bathroom stay.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 28, 2020 01:27 am Title: Chapter 5

The cliffhanger makes me exceedingly happy I can just hit next here.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed [Report This]
Date: December 26, 2020 08:44 am Title: Chapter 4

I just really liked how you've built up Pam's level of trust in him here.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 25, 2020 10:14 pm Title: Chapter 3

This is SUCH a tense and well-done action sequence! You can really feel Pam's fear and confusion here.

And the detail of him carefully returning her dictionary to its proper place is just lovely.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 25, 2020 10:12 pm Title: Chapter 2

You've done a REALLY good job effectively building up their bond here and making it real and important to them leading up to the directional change. I feel like that's important in a story where Pam is going to need to place a huge amount of trust in someone who it turns out has been lying about some really big things.

I also was struck by how the sexual mores of the time recontextualize Pam's relationship with Roy - in a lot of ways the question of why she stuck it out for so long is a lot easier to grasp here.

The handling of the JFK assassination as a traumatic incident on a personal level just felt really real and reminds me a lot of things I've read where people recounted their own experience with it.

Okay, the cliffhanger? Damn, man.

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 25, 2020 11:14 am Title: Chapter 1

Finally getting around to reviewing this!

I really love the set up to this story. It's a really strong characterization of Pam (complete with little canon nods!), and you've totally committed to building up a story in one genre that will ultimately be in a totally different one. Just really strong writing.

Reviewer: Duchess Cupcake Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 27, 2020 06:20 am Title: Epilogue

Aw, see this is it. This is the way this movie would end and I just love it so much. The whole thing - from beginning to end - was a treat. Thank you for this little treasure.

Reviewer: jandjsalmon Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 23, 2020 08:24 am Title: Epilogue

This was absolutely wonderful. Intense and sweet and lovely.

Reviewer: Dernhelm Signed [Report This]
Date: August 22, 2020 10:21 pm Title: Epilogue

My heart is so full right now, I feel overwhelmed a little, and I think I need to fan myself. I'm sad a little that this journey is over, but I'm so glad about the way it ended!
I like stories that end in the same place from where they start, and this one is... perfect. Especially because it shows how much Pam changed, and I'm so happy to watch her that happy and careless, Fancy New Beesly. And Jim, he's the sweetest boyfriend ever. The girls' reaction to his PDA was so cute!
And... the book. Did I mention that I love their words game? Again: I LOVE it! And the choice of the word is perfection.
Thank you so much for this fantastic story!

Reviewer: SprinklesTheCat Signed [Report This]
Date: August 22, 2020 07:03 am Title: Epilogue

I love this ending! I can picture the whole sweep of the story, and bringing it back to the library is perfect. Thank you for this!

Reviewer: Comfect Signed [Report This]
Date: August 21, 2020 07:23 pm Title: Epilogue

Awwww

But is she SURE there's no code there?

But seriously, this was a lovely parallel to the earlier material and just a perfect bookend. Thanks for the lovely story, and for finishing it so wonderfully!

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