Date: August 30, 2021 10:46 pm Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
Back from vacation review number one. I did read this chapter when it was posted, but with two kids bouncing off the walls in the hotel room there wasn't much time to write reviews. I digress.
I always liked David and you did him justice here. Really glad he was able to see through all of Josh's BS and call him out on all of it. Even better that he takes the time to listen to Jim and come to the correct choice about who is the better manager between Josh and Micheal.
So things are really looking up here so that's good. Good on him to stop things with Karen before they got to far. Probably a but further than anticipated anyway, but still he was able to pump the brakes in time. Seems like Jim is starting to get more courage there towards the end too. Nice way to round that all out.
Author's Response:
Oh how I miss those days - but I also feel you man! Hope you had a great time with them though.
Love David - he's one of those character that seems to be very Dadlike in his patience and wisdom (but to be fair he's not with any of them on a daily basis - except Jan and she hadn't hit maximum crazy yet).
Sparing Karen and leaving Jim a little less tarnished in character seemed to be the right choice.
Thanks always for the reviews- they are always appreciated!
Date: August 29, 2021 09:44 am Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
* It was in part, why he left in the first place. Sure, it was self-preservation, to make the pain of her marrying another easier to bear but deep down he knew he left to free her too. He removed himself from her radius in order to spare her the angst of knowing how much she had hurt him. To keep her from having to see his pain every day as the fateful date neared. To save her the guilt that could wrack her sleep and contaminate her dreams as his were now.*
This is a great observation, and I like it. That Jim would be concerned about her own feelings is something I never really thought about much. But I totally buy it.
Love that he described Karen as his “armor” and I really enjoyed David’s acceptance of why Michael works as branch manager.
Author's Response:
Thanks for that - I'm glad you agree.
To me, Jim always seemed to consider her as much as himself (at least until season 9 but we won't talk about that here).
Appreciate the review and the love for this story.
Date: August 28, 2021 09:38 am Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
Ooh I hadn’t thought about this song in the context of The Office before. (I once went to a wedding where someone played this walking down the aisle, and the look of alarm on the elderly relatives’ faces with every ‘whoa’ is the only thing I can now think of when I hear it). But I like it! Anyway, I digress: this chapter!! This whole thing coming together with the dream, and him going to David (also, David fixing it because I love David) is just wonderful and deeply satisfying. I love Jim’s realisation here that he misses all the other people in Scranton too, followed by the realisation that having Pam as his friend is better than not having her in his life at all. Beautiful. (I’m also really glad that you didn’t have Jim sleep with Karen - mainly, as you say, for Karen’s sake. She deserves better than that). And then the final line at the end! I really, really can’t wait to see what happens next :D
Author's Response:
I love David too - he's a real smart guy here.
As for Jim - if all he missed was everyone else he may have adjusted but it was the lack of Pam (even just as friend) that did him in.
I wanted to spare Karen some hurt but also I think it would be a pretty rotten of Jim too.
I'm glad you are enjoying - thanks for the review.
Date: August 27, 2021 11:24 pm Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
Ooooof. Well, I guess Karen isn't as bad off here as she is in canon. And I think you pitched how far Jim went with her right - in addition to pulling back, I think him having literally just felt rejected by Pam again gives his initial decision to pursue her a little more context. Hot-blooded rather than cold-blooded.
"No matter how far away he would go, no matter who he tried to love in her place, no matter how much he tried to wipe her from his soul, she was always first in his thoughts and he couldn’t bear to know of her distress." I just really liked this line. And how much it all, still, fundamentally comes down to Pam. And always will. I do think Jim is ultimately right - even if they hadn't made it as a couple, they were ultimately better off being in each other's lives than not.
I love you preserving the "Dunder Mifflin This is Grace" moment, and giving David Wallace his moment to demonstrate why he's the only competent person in the Dunder Mifflin hierarchy. Clever man. And maybe he doesn't understand what Michael ticks, but he's at least thoughtful about what it MIGHT be.
Author's Response:
I do feel bad for Karen, here and in canon. She just fell for a guy who was not emotionally free...not to mention she found herself amongst a bunch of crazies to be with him when she could have just gone to NY...but that's a whole other story (but I'm going to leave the Karen stories to DC as she writes her so well.)
Thanks for your mention of that line and your agreement with that. I also think as much as it hurt to watch her with someone else, wiping her out completely had to hurt even more. His impulsive nature couldn't take that into account - even though he often made his lists to think through things in this case he went with his gut and very hurt heart and learned his mistake too late. Good thing Josh was a snake right?
That was a golden moment and I'm glad too I got to work it in. And DW - yeah I kinda love this character -his calm, level-headedness I always admired. I had a boss like him once and he was a dream to work for. Sadly, even I pulled a Josh (the not so snaky version and left for a better position and it bit me in the ass when my next one was a complete (Insert any name for male genitalia here))
Anyway -thank you once again for not only this review but the fabulous betaing you did for this story.
Date: August 27, 2021 05:18 pm Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
I’m really glad you didn’t have Jim and Karen sleep together. Great writing as always.
Author's Response:
Thank you twice - I knew you would be glad.
And thank you as always for the review and the reads (notice the plural there)
Date: August 27, 2021 05:18 pm Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
I’m really glad you didn’t have Jim and Karen sleep together. Great writing as always.
Author's Response:
Yeah me too. Sometimes I can't control what happens even in my own stories but glad this time I could.
Thanks friend.
1 [Report This]Date: August 27, 2021 11:14 am Title: The Greatest Show- the Greatest Showman ensemble
I'm a big fan of your decisions. I have no problem with Josh being an even bigger jerk than on the show and definitely no problem with Jim not sleeping with Karen (way to go Jim!).
It was a nice moment when Jim reflected on the "unique" personalities of his old co-workers and realized Pam wasn't the only one he missed.
Interesting that Jim asked David about Michael's book. As out there as making that book may have been, it does humanize the people in Scranton and shows Michael feels strongly that the people are what is most important to the success of DM.
Can't wait to see what happens when Jim returns. Hopefully Jim wasn't the only one resisting meaningless sex!
Author's Response:
Why thank you - it was a tricky thing knowing where to have Jim draw the line. Josh, I am having fun making him a REAL jerk.
And to me Jim's unhappiness in Stamford was not just about missing her, it was about his abrupt departure from a comfortable friendly place, no matter how chaotic and 'unique' it was.
The book was the germ of this story - I heard the song and had to make a way to get a bunch of photos into the story but when I did come up with it I realized how much it fit (as a companion piece to the film Michael made) and how much the book could represent. So I really love that you noticed it and picked up on it.
Hopefully!
Thanks again for letting me know your thoughts - I always appreciate hearing them.