Reviews For Future Looks Good
You must login (register) to review or leave jellybeans
Reviewer: emxgoldstars Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 12, 2021 06:50 pm Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

Ugh, you have me super intrigued here. I love the dream sequence he had with Michael, the phone call, him THINKING ABOUT HER ALL WEEK?! ugh. LOVED THIS Max!

Author's Response:

Thanks for your review. This will be an interesting journey both in the JAM story and what's going on in Stamford.

Glad you are coming along and thanks for writing.

Reviewer: grc73 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 10, 2021 04:42 am Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

I am torn on this a bit, I always struggle a bit with 'Dark Times' stories as I'm like "get it fixed and put them together already!" but I absolutely get how and where you're going with this so I know I just need to be patient. As ever (like I have to even say it by know) exemplary writing. :)

Author's Response:

Thanks - sorry to have to bum you out Jim's mindset here but it's all part of setting the scene for the story - yes patience - even though there may be some rough stuff still to come.

You are too kind - thanks for being my cheerleader.

 

Reviewer: Basscop69 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 02, 2021 03:06 pm Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

Ooh this was so interesting - I love the use of dreams here. The entire opening sequence with Michael was so well-written, and I really enjoyed the little nods to truths about each of the characters (Pam and the ghosts! And Phyllis and the burlesque dancing and evocative poetry was so spot on). Also Dwight actually declining without Jim there to spur him along is genius. You’ve captured Jim’s early S3 mindset so well (and painfully) too, the way he can’t stop going back to Pam and the agony it causes him (and I think that little hint of Jim finding out about Danny too, which makes it even more heart-breaking). Can’t wait to read more!

Author's Response:

Thanks so much - that dream while inspired by the song lyrics kept expanding as I wrote (and as new episodes of OL came out - not sure if you caught the reference that I got from there). 

Yeah, I have to imagine this had to be the time where Jim was at his lowest and glad that came across.

Thanks again.

 

 

 

Reviewer: Dernhelm Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 02, 2021 05:07 am Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

Yay! You published this story! I have to say, I love the dream/fantasy theme, and I'm here for this.
It's always sad to see Jim's misery (by the way, I truly like the 'poison' metaphor you used describing that kiss — yeah, sometimes it's better not to know...), but it was funny that it was Michael who visited Jim's dreams. His subconsciousness chose a peculiar form to speak to him.
I'm curious where you will take this! Thank you for writing!

Author's Response:

Yes- it took me a while to get it up (TWSS). Dreams are so fascinating to me and I was glad the song lyrics pointed me in that direction - not only was it fun to put Michael in there with him but I really like exploring the subconscious mind in this way.

I've got to think this was the lowest point for our poor Jim so as sad as it was, I had to. 

Thanks for coming along and the review. 

Reviewer: tinydundie Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 01, 2021 06:13 pm Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

*By the time they hung up, he was a kid on a swing, adrenaline pulsing, so high up the chains rattled, hands gripped tight to keep himself airborne. But the high was short-lived and soon he was grounded again, this time plummeting from a height he foolishly pumped himself up to. This time the impact upon landing was near catastrophic.*

This is gorgeous.


*Funny how once she was the reason he looked forward to work and now work was what he threw himself into to escape thoughts of her.*

What a great observation.

Loved the use of dreams to convey Jim's headspace, really curious to see where you take this one. (I'm working on some S3 stuff myself, haha.. we seem to be in each other's heads lately!)

Author's Response:

So I love to hear the parts that resonate with readers, especially when they were parts I worked hard to perfect. I think I wrote and rewrote that section a half dozen times so yeah....

And we know it wasn't a love of paper that kept him around all those years.

Yeah, for me dreams are fascinating so I enjoyed writing that part.

We do seem to be circling - but this one for me is mostly done (some tweaks to each chapter before they go up but the story is complete) and I've gone back to season 2 for the next one (my excuse for avoiding the Season 5 chapter I need to get to for AFD) 

 

Always a thill so get your reviews - thanks so much. 

 

 

Reviewer: Comfect Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 01, 2021 08:33 am Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

Ooh I like this. I think you did a good job foreshadowing the dream element and I'm intrigued where this goes differently!

Author's Response:

Thanks Comfect. Glad you liked it. I think you will be somewhat surprised although it will still include some of the familiar too. 

Hope it continues to intrigue.

 

 

Reviewer: boredhswf Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: August 01, 2021 04:11 am Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

This is such an interesting premise for season 3 and I love the dreams. I’ve always appreciated the use of dreams as literary device to examine fears and for foreshadowing and I love your use of them here.

“But mostly it hadn’t cleansed him of the taste of her lips, lips that he should never have sampled because as they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

The harm of that small taste was like a poison that entered his body and set up camp, refusing to leave even so many months later.” Love this whole section but imagery is fantastic.

I’m looking forward to see where you take this story!

Author's Response:

Yes, this will be a bit different. You'll still recognize some tropes and the characters will hopefully still feel true but this story is not what what we saw on the show.

As I mentioned I have always been fascinated by dreams and was inspired by the song lyrics but the use of dreams to really explore ideas and feelings is open and freeing (am I making sense?).

You were not the only one who pointed out that line - and yeah it was one of my favorites too.

I'm excited you'll be along on the journey  - your thoughts always mean a lot to me.

 

 

Reviewer: darjeelingandcoke Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: July 31, 2021 06:00 pm Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

Yayyyyyyy!!! The PRESENT look good!

So I feel like you mostly know what I think about this, BUT:

I really enjoy the case Dream!Michael makes here for him actually being the cause of Scranton's success, and about the little tidbits he's absorbed about his "family." Mostly I tend to think of Scranton's success as being incidental/coincidental/plot-driven, but this is a perspective that makes me think. And I very much share the sense of how a lot of the tensions between Jim and Dwight, for instance, end up being ultimately more productive than you'd think.

"But how could it save him, if it was one-sided?" OUCH.

The image of Michael solemnly delivering this valuable advice while doing the Booze Cruise dance cracks me up every time.

"The harm of that small taste was like a poison that entered his body and set up camp, refusing to leave even so many months later." I thought you did well with the lingering impact of Casino Night here... especially given, you know, developments. You capture his hesitance well, and how much he's wrestling with himself over things like fabric softener reminding him of her.

I really like the image of the two Jims fist-fighting each other here... and again, the little notes of how Pam aside, Jim doesn't quite *fit* in Connecticut.

(The ending is good foreshadowing, too...)

Author's Response:

Yeah, it took me a while to post I know but well you know...

First off, I never cold have completed this one without you so OH SO MANY THANKS for being my beta here. It really made a huge difference.

The dream sequence  - yeah some of it was out there but I did want to offer up that perspective that sometimes you a little lighthearted fun goes a long way (not so much as Michael's brand but a little)...a lifetime ago when I worked in advertising, we had a bullpen of our own where it felt a lot like Romper Room  (you might need to look this reference up) but it was where the creatives went to unwind when they got stuck.

Yeah, glad you enjoy that little slapstick bit -I rather enjoyed it too - and it is yet another thing that in a small way ties my stories together (Lucky Penny). 

Great minds they say - you are not the only one who appreciated that line and I'm so pleased.

How better to illustrate the internal struggles within your own mind - and Connecticut not really the place for him (not sure if Andy was quite what I think of either and least in his goofiness but I tried to point that out too here)

Anyway - THANK YOU again for this and all the reads and reviews. 

 

 

 

Reviewer: warrior4 Signed 1 [Report This]
Date: July 31, 2021 06:43 am Title: This Man He Talked to Me - One Republic

I think you really got to the heart of Jim's woe's here while in Stamford. Just about everything that had made his life worth living in that office had been ripped away so the only thing he has left to do is run. Of course the pain is still there and we can see it's still very raw. Even in his dreams it's raw and heartbreaking.

There may be some signs of healing, going out for drinks, playing call of duty, etc. but there's not much life left in him.

I liked the image of the phone call being the rays of sunlight. Beautiful, warm, and blindinly harsh at the same time. He wants to soak it in, but after months of living in the dark the sudden light causes him to reel back in shock.

Interesting that he has some advance warning of the the Scranton branch closing. It also fills in a bit of a gap for me. Josh seemed to work really fast to get that Staples position if they only heard about Scranton closing that day. Here is seems Josh has some more time to arrange all that. Nice choice there.

Some really well worded metaphors throughout this one too. Good job on the wordsmithing. Should be fun to see where we go from here.

Author's Response:

Thanks Warrior.

I have been at this one for quite some time and it took me a while (and some beta reads from DJC) to get it to where I felt ready to post.

It's reassuring to hear you felt the heartbreak Jim was experiencing post Casino Night.

Yes, Josh has advance warning - and there will be more about that, but I'll say no more.

Thanks for the kudos. Always look forward to your take and your encouragement. 

 

You must login (register) to review or leave jellybeans