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Reviewer: Maxine Abbott Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: January 01, 2021 05:24 am Title: Chapter 1

(Using my best Erin voice) how did you do it. How did you write a story that seems so much like an episode of The Office while also seems so much like a Hallmark movie? And create a story that is fresh and new.

I really enjoy your writing You have such a way of making it natural and so entertaining especially in the portrayal of the ensemble. But also in your painting a scene and describing emotions.

I'm sorry to hear you've been down and that's affected your creativity because I really enjoy your stories and your reviews. Reading this one you sound like the JB from other stories of gours I've read but I do hope that things get better for you in 2021 and that the turkeys stop getting you down (if there are turkeys at play here)

Meantime I'm loving this Cinderellaesque story although Michael Scott as a fairy godmother makes me a little nervous. I think of him more like Gus. Good heart, less common sense as you so point out so well.

Looking forward to where you take us with this.

Author's Response:

Thanks so much, Max. It was a rough end to the year on the work front, but I think I’ve plateaued out from the spiraling now. I appreciate your kind words!  

Reviewer: BlindManCassidy Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 08:14 pm Title: Chapter 1

All I can say is that I have a love-hate relationship with depressed Pam. I love the writing and I think it fits her well, but it hurts my stone heart to see my comfort character so upset.

Thank god this isn’t a oneshot. I thought it was until I checked the completed tab.

BlindManCassidy

Author's Response: It would be a super miserable place for it to end! There is definitely more to come. Thanks for the review! 

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 03:55 pm Title: Chapter 1

Oh Pam, my heart breaks for how she's hurting here. She really feels like a ship adrift at sea. There's a few gusts here and there, but nothing to really fill her sails to let her set a steady course.

However, what's really amazing is how her co-workers are banding together around her. Even Angela is there and offering some semblance of support. One just wants to reach through the screen and tell Pam, "Look how much you're loved! Look how much they care about you!"

The dress seems lovely. This all feels like a great set-up for the party in New York. Should be a lot of fun (hopefully? please?) to see who she might run into there.

And of course, welcome back! You've been missed. Both in writing and your great reviews. I hope that with the turn of the year you can find a new beginning of your own.

Author's Response: Thanks Warrior! 

I’m not sure “fun” is the word I would use to describe the party... But this will be making use of many Christmas rom-com tropes so all will be Hallmark-y and well! 
Oh, I’m getting a new beginning at work this year, but it’s not something I wanted! I’ll stop being miserable & reconcile myself with it soon enough though. 
I’m gradually catching up with everything on the site - it has been super active! 

Reviewer: SprinklesTheCat Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 03:02 pm Title: Chapter 1

This is so good. I completely feel the lethargy and sadness that Pam is experiencing. I love how the whole office is concerned about her. There are so many excellent bits of dialogue. I really, really hope we get part 2.

Author's Response: Thanks Sprinkles! Part 2 is very much on the way! 

Reviewer: lazyloris Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 11:19 am Title: Chapter 1

you really captured the best parts of
Michael! can't wait for the next part!

Author's Response: Thank you! It will be coming soon! 

Reviewer: BigTuna Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 09:55 am Title: Chapter 1

Hi, I love this. You have captured everyone’s voices SO well, which ofc is no surprise at all. I truly love that they are all looking out for her, Michael especially. It’s so sweet and feels very fitting. I just know that with the party scene you’re going to kill us all, and I for one ~*~cannot wait~*~

Author's Response:

and I love you. I will trade you the next chapter for a Savannah Jim update. Help me start my year off right.  

Reviewer: boredhswf Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 09:17 am Title: Chapter 1

Jenna! This is fantastic and made my rather boring, sad New Years in lockdown much, MUCH brighter.

I love the idea of all of them, and particularly Michael, caring about her enough to help. There's so much I love about angsty sad Pam, as you know, but I will share a few faves:

"She blinked slowly and carefully. By the third squeeze, the hurt in her eyes had eased ever so slightly. She took a deep breath before clicking her mouse and seeming to return to the present. "--This is so well written. I can feel her barely keeping it together.

"She wasn’t tearing up every time there was some reminder of him at work anymore. That was progress, right?" - oh, Pam

"Dwight’s obvious sympathy felt like a new low." Oh man, it hurts.

But this, THIS is may favorite of the chapter: "Joy was a double edged sword. Anything that made her smile in the office instantly brought her sorrow because she no longer had the person she most wanted to share her moments with. The kicker was that it was all her fault. She could have had him. She’d ruined it. And now she had to live with the deeply depressing consequences."

This is beautiful and gut-wrenching and I love it! I know it has been a rough few months for you and I dearly hope 2021 brings you great things, friend. :)

Author's Response: You are one of my great things of 2020, so it really wasn’t all bad! Thanks for putting up with me as I redirected all my creative energy into incessantly ranting about the injustice of it all. 

Reviewer: nicemorningtoo Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 09:06 am Title: Chapter 1

JB, this was amazing. I'm so sorry that you've been so stressed, I really hope that everything that is causing that goes away soon. Work sucks sometimes. But this was a fantastic fic to get back into writing. I could feel Pam's sadness, and everyone else's sympathy and concern (besides Angela, of course). Michael's kind gesture at the end made me so happy. He cares so deeply for Pam, of course he would spend the money on the dress. She'd better not return it, at least not before the party.

I have to assume that Jim will be at this corporate party as well, which I am SO ready for. If he's not, then I am very curious on how you're gonna play this out. But, either way, I know it will be amazing. I can't wait for part two!!

Author's Response: Aly! You’re a sweetheart. Thank you so much for your kind words & kind review! 

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 08:40 am Title: Chapter 1

I really like the idea of exploring what happens if Jim wasn’t deus ex machina’d right back to Scranton, and I’m glad you decided to take it on.

You have, as always, made really fun use of the ensemble. The conference room meetings were definitely something I could envision happening on the show, complete with some Michaelism (“prodigy son” made me smile), Dwangela going under the radar, “Jesus turned water into wine, he was a hell of a lot more fun at a party than you are” and no one coming up with a plan before they got distracted. I love the care and gentleness Michael and Dwight show in his fic (and Pam clocking it and recognizing it as a sign of how rough things are for her.)

It does seem 100% on point that Pam would find life at work without Jim far more challenging than life outside of work by this point. You did really well capturing Pam’s sadness and sense of defeat and how tired it all makes her, feels very real. “She missed the way it deepened further still at her mumbled noncommittal response. She was missing a lot these days” Is incisive.

The mall trip was just flat out entertaining, and again something that would have felt very at home in canon. “She wanted to walk that fine line between something nice and something that did not encourage Michael to see her as a sexual being. She was beginning to think a burlap sack might just do the trick” is a Pam talking head waiting to happen.

I would very much like to see Pam’s maniacal arsonist Santa. (…the Christmas card competition was fake, right? Michael got Jan to get him tickets because he knew Jim would be there and just invented a reason to bring Pam?)

Looking forward to seeing how the Christmas party plays out!

P.S. Welcome back! You have been very much missed around here. I’m sorry to hear how tough things have been, and I’m really glad you’ve been able to push the weight off your shoulders enough to get back to things you enjoy. The self-reinforcing nature of depression making it hard to do things that make you feel lighter is just vicious, isn’t it?

P.P.S. Happy New Year! ...2021 is better, right?

Author's Response: Thanks DJC! I always appreciate your thorough & insightful reviews. 

Thank you also for the reviews you’ve been leaving on some of my older works - I feel terrible for not having replied & fully intend to (at some point). They haven’t gone unnoticed, & they have been so appreciated. 
You’re so right about the nature of depression. A lot of my coping mechanisms (like writing) ironically seem to work a lot more efficiently when I am indeed coping. Still, here we are, & there are indeed some words again which is nice to discover. 
Happy New Year to you too! All the best for 2021! 

Reviewer: Ava Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 08:33 am Title: Chapter 1

“Jim as a hot, young Freddie Prince Jr.” Rude.

I always love how perfectly you capture these characters and the rhythm of their interactions. Cannot wait to see what awaits Pam at the Christmas party.

I'm so sorry about the work stuff. Hoping this New Year makes up for the last few months and then some. xo

Author's Response: I love you. 

Reviewer: WanderingWatchtower Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 08:25 am Title: Chapter 1

Oh JB, this was so good. I got a little emotional at the end when she got the box with the dress because that’s the reason we all love Michael so much. I also adore how much the whole office cares about Pam and notices that she isn’t herself and and actively wants to change it.

So many great things about this and I can’t wait for more. I’m sorry life has been stressful for you! I hope things start looking up soon. d84;a039;

Author's Response: Thanks WW! I’m still working on catching up on all the stories you’ve put out recently - I’m so impressed with how much you’ve been writing! (& excited to read it all). 

I don’t know about things looking up, but they will definitely be looking different (which I’m starting to reconcile myself with, begrudgingly & only because there’s nothing I can do about it. Such fun). 

Reviewer: beth9501 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 06:38 am Title: Chapter 1

Oh, I loved this so much. It's beautifully heartbreaking. The pain is so palpable and harsh for Pam, but she's trying to get through it.

I'm so sorry to hear about how the end of this year has been for you. You're an amazing writer and I've been looking forward to your next creative piece. This was the perfect mix of sweet and angsty.

I can't wait for your next update!

Author's Response: Thank you, Beth. I really appreciate it. It’s been nice to try and push myself back into putting words to paper. I’m glad they’re readable! 

Reviewer: Dernhelm Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: December 31, 2020 04:12 am Title: Chapter 1

Oh, Jenna, I'm so sorry that you had that terrible time (and, for sure, having them affects creativity badly...). I hope that you feel better now, and I can't even start to describe how excited I am to see your new story!
It was touching that Dwight noticed these horrible things in Pam, and Michael is so eager to help her. It's nice that they have so much empathy...
'She was missing a lot these days.' Poor Pam, it feels so real, and pains so much...
Have no idea what 'She’s All That' is about, but I want to find out!
'She wasn’t tearing up every time there was some reminder of him at work anymore. That was progress, right?' My heart. Yes, dear, keep going.
'she was twice as miserable as she had been.' I want to hug her badly.
'Death was seeming like the best option.' I hate that she had these thoughts... but it's so believable to have them in her state...
I love the way you write Pam-Michael's dynamic! It's so heartwarming, and even in the worst situations looks cute.
I can't wait to read more!
And Happy New Year! May the year 2021 bring you more joy, happiness, and things you want/need than the passing one :)

Author's Response: Happy New Year to you too Dernhelm! 

Your reviews always bring me joy. Thank you for taking the time to leave such considered and kind words. You are so very lovely. 

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