Holy.....

I mean, jesus. I have no vocabulary to discuss what you've done here. Go, the journey you've taken Jim on is just so heartfelt and incredible.

I can usually talk for hours about things I love that people write, but all I can say here is that it's full of feeling. I literally cannot articulate my appreciation and enthusiasm for what you've done here.


This chapter changes everything. It stands out, apart from a story that is phenomenal, which is saying something.

Just, awesome.

Author's Response: ugh this review just totally killed me thank you so much.  seriously, this chapter is really dear to me so I was afraid to read the reviews ;-)  but yours was like the second one and so kind!!!! Thank you so much, I'm glad it impacted you.  A couple chapters to go...

Ok I'm so overcome with general appreciate and love for this story (and you by extension) that I have to take a moment to seriously review. Wow. This is like chapters worth of appreciation pouring out here--and I'll keep the delicious references to Jim's penis and his status as dangerous jungle cat to a minimum.

So, first thing's first: fucking hell, stablergirl. Can I like marry you or something? Because Jesus.

Also, I love love love love! how you've done these characters here. Seriously--I love that Jim's the reputed man-whore and yet he's so totally comfortable with the fact that he's fallen completely in love with the lovely Ms. Beesly. And then there's Pam--poor confused Pam. This little exchange just killed me: "You're in love with him!" "Am I?". So effing awesome. Because love is funny that way, and Pam being the one who's confused and freaked out just fits so perfectly here.

On that note, I love that this chapter gives Pam a chance to breathe. Until she started rehashing the past 24 hours with the delicious kissing, I had sort of forgotten how fast things had moved for them. I mean, taken from a different perspective, it's been a long time coming. But also, he shows up at her house, makes her eggs and does some weird but totally hot foreplay something or other in her bathroom (and jesus--the payoff for that was worth like everything ever) and then he's kissing her when it wasn't in the script and then he's kissing her in her dressing room and outside the bar and then he's pounding on her door (and other things) at 2 am and holy god. It's just so perfect.

Ok, I don't think I can function anymore, but I just wanted to say that you are seriously amazing. Even if you never write anything ever again (but please, don't get carried away and do that or anything), this will still be one of my favorite reading experiences ever. And I'm not just talking about fic--I mean in general. This must be what people were like in like the Victorian era or whenever when Charles Dickens would write one chapter at a time and be such a delicious tease. Because I've seriously had so much fun reading this, engaging with it, and wow. I just realized that I've been typing furiously for like 3 and a half hours. Ok, I'm done.


In conclusion: THANK YOU!

Author's Response:

What?! What an AMAZING REVIEW!  Look how long! Omg you are amazing for this, I love it.  So first of all, I agree about Jim being the man-whore who's secretly a softy, so cute, right?  And what girl hasn't been Pam in this where you're like "Am I in love with him? Really? I'm SO confused..." I know I have.  These kinds of things are not always clear lol.  Yeah and true to this kind of fic, everything happens in like a day, so I figured they might want a hot second to recollect their thoughts and stuff lol. 

And what writer does not like to be tossed into the pool with CHARLES DICKENS! LOL amazing! Thank you thank you.  (I do sometimes think about us on this site and mentally compare that to Jane Austen reading her romance novels to all of her sisters in their drawing room...)  Anyway, the point is TEN POINTS for fantastic review that totally made my day!! Thank you ;-)

well...that was....

ahem.

HOLYFUCKYOUBROKEMYBRAIN.

and just in time for dinner part ;)

first of all...9 million gold stars for the sports night quote! what a great show! and secondly, ghhhhhhhaaaaaaaa. so amazing! i cannot wait til the kiss! cannot cannot wait! so great, SG!

Ahh, eating the beef 'n cheddar, are we Pam?

stablergirl, you are awesome. you consistently crack me up and keep me emotionally engaged! i hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend at home, but in all honestly, i cannot WAIT for you to get back into your own universe! ;)

Yes...very interesting! I'm really enjoying the way this is shaping up! And what a surprise to wake up on this gray Monday morning with not one but two chapters waiting for me! Weeee! Awesome, SG, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Oh, and I totally love the way Jim takes out his frustrations on Pam. That combined w/ the passionate way she "hates" him are going to combine for a very potent explosion...

Author's Response: haha happy st.patrick's day, I guess, two new chapters! ;-)  Yeah I love the self-destructing going on, so addictive.  I'm off to write more right now, lol.  Thanks for reviewing!

I love how confused Pam is by Jim's genuineness! This is freakin great!

Seriously...If my thoughts were Pam's thoughts...if I thought of Jim Halpert's penis every time I ran...well, I'd never stop moving. And after this, my patience is gone! It's evaporated! So hurry up, SG's flight...you've got an obsessed mob on your hands!

Author's Response: lol I know, I've created monsters!  It's ok though cause I'm as addicted as you are and I can't stop writing, so hopefully later this evening once my plane lands you will have new inappropriate PamThoughts to read and enjoy ;-)

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! this is just so freakin awesome. i'm dying here! i love that basically everyone knows what jim's talking about. like his "i hate you, pam" routine was so obvious to everyone. that's so great! this is so great! actually, you're so great!


also, i hope they get down to business. soon. please?

Wow…oooooh, wow! This is so great. I’ve been meaning to read this story for a while now, and I just haven’t had the chance (sorry!). Now I can’t decide if I’m mad at myself for reading this before it’s finished (because I’m like a second away from DEMANDING you update this now! ;)) or mad at myself for waiting so long to read it (which, let’s be honest, my anger is most likely self-directed at this point…your story is just way too delicious!).

So, in an attempt to keep what’s sure to be a marathon review at least semi-organized, I present my list o’ things I have loved about your story so far:

Chapter One: Have you ever read Joan Didion’s Play It as It Lays?? If not, you should. I think you would enjoy it. And you have echoed something that she does here in this chapter, and you’ve done it uniquely and beautifully. The metaphor of the overflowing toilets and un-turnoffable (what?) faucets is just beautiful and so clear a way to describe the way Pam’s feeling. This entire chapter is just achingly real. I’ve always thought that if Pam could just take a first step to realizing that Roy’s not what she wants (not even that Jim is what she wants, but that Roy, regardless of Jim, is not what she wants), it would be like an avalanche of emotion, an outpouring of feeling, and you’ve articulated that so wonderfully here.

Chapter Two: Tell her that he was incurably in love with her. That he had been since the very beginning and probably always would be. It was really that simple. This line really got me. It’s simple and true and so the way that Jim loves her—a little tragic, overwhelmingly hopeful, and honest. I love that Pam’s journey down the aisle, the trip that leads her to call off her wedding, is taken by both her and Jim. She’s willing him, and he’s willing her, but (rightfully) won’t pull a Dustin Hoffman (great reference, by the way), and she takes a step at his “Ahem.” Just so artfully crafted, wendolf!

Chapter Three: Pam looked down at the ground. Could she tell him she didn’t love him anymore? Was that accurate? No, probably not. Because she did love him, but in a completely different way than she felt you were supposed to love the man you were going to marry. Her love for him was almost . . . brotherly. Familiar. Comfortable. But not, like, passionate. Not like he was her best friend and her lover and her home and her second skin. Not like he knew her inside and out. Not like … And this is why I love this story. I mean, anything I could say about this would just be dull in comparison to what you’ve written here. So gorgeous. And I love that above all, while this is a story about Jim and Pam finding their way to each other, it’s so much a character study of Pam. A what makes her tick, a letting her develop into the woman she can be (and is w/ Jim). Letting her come into her own skin and really own her life and the decisions she makes. Because god knows that’s not easy, and it’s wonderful to see how realistically you’ve articulated this struggle, this journey, here. Also, mad props for extending the overflowing toilet metaphor here, Ms. Didion.

Chapter Four: Annnnnnnnd this chapter just reiterates how much I want to see more of Pam’s mom (and some of Jim’s mom!) on the show. She knows what’s up. She’s not going to be surprised in the least when she hears (because, really, she already knows) that Pam’s got the hots for Jim. Also, this chapter showcases just how well Jim knows Pam. He knows not to push her, that what she’s doing here is the bravest thing she’s ever done and that there’s likely to be some fallout (ie, another brilliant reference to Mr. Hoffman). Plus, he makes her laugh in the worst possible situations, so….yeah, he’s definitely a keeper!

Chapter Five: Let me say again that I love Pam’s mom. And I love that Pam has (finally!) the foresight to see that while she does have feelings for Jim (more than ‘feelings’), her not marrying Roy has to be about her and Roy and what she wants, and not all about Jim.

Chapter Six: HA! Love the Stablergirl/Beef ‘n Cheddar shout out (and come to think of it, we don’t have an Arby’s close to where I live, but I’m going to Chapel Hill this weekend—go heels!—and I can pretty much guarantee I’ll find myself at an Arby’s at some point, wherein which I will eat a Beef ‘n Cheddar with an amused grin on my face as I think of you and Stablergirl). Also, I love that she invites him over, that he makes her laugh, and that so much is left unsaid! The tension is great!

Chapter Seven: But he was coming over! And that wasn’t a bad thing. Despite the guilt and sadness and embarrassment and utter chaos of the day, she was deep down quite . . . content. Probably for the first time in years. She felt like before, for many of the years she had been with Roy, there had been a core of fear and insecurity and even a little unhappiness surrounded by layers and layers of well rehearsed, perhaps over-acted satisfaction. Like some kind of an emotional, metaphorical onion. Now, she felt supremely happy deep inside – it was like a warmth in her belly, a little pilot light – although it was still wrapped in layers and layers of fallout from the tragedy she had just caused. But when she was honest with herself, she much preferred this feeling. At least she knew the happiness was down there somewhere, if she could peel away the other stuff. Again, I applaud your ability to delve into the depths of Pam’s mind. Because really, she’s right. As long as she has that core of happiness, of contentment and calm to hold onto, she can wade through the chaos and guilt and embarrassment. It will be hard and painful and maybe even messy, but at the end of the day, she’s got a core truth to hang onto—that it’s better this way, that dealing with the chaos is better than letting it slowly rot her insides.

One of the amazing things about human nature is that when our backs are up against the wall, and when everything is on the verge of crashing down around us, we find out who we really are. In a sense, we’re only truly honest in moments like this, where we’re vulnerable and have nothing to lose. You’ve articulated this awakening (also, there are some similarities here to Edna in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening) so beautifully! Pam is raw, exposed, open, and to be that way terrifying but also so, so worth it. And this just confirms your deep understanding of such emotions: But today she had torn down the wall (or at least knocked a big, gaping hole in it) and it was like Jim’s irresistible charm army was invading and there was no defending herself. She was a goner. And after this, my do the flood gates open, what with her really allowing herself to notice his hands and his smell and his green eyes! Woo, the tension really spikes here! Ah, and I have to pay homage to this line, which was just killer: God, she felt like she was combustible, like if one tiny square inch of his skin touched hers she would ignite and fire would just consume her until she was a little pile of ashes on the couch.

Chapter Eight: And he feared that by morning the champagne would wear off and she’d be back to her normal, rational self. Her obligatory, responsible self. And she’d regret it all. Possibly even enough to get back with Roy. This to me is so sad because it’s such a legitimate fear. Jim’s had to deal with having these profound moments with Pam for years…only to watch her continue to be with Roy, continue to deny her feelings. And I can see that Jim would have some issues dealing with this, even when they get together. It might take a while for him to really let himself believe that it’s for real. Self-preservation instincts are strong. Also, I must mention the penis moment…hilarious! I also love that while Jim knows exactly what he wants (re: the awesome shower scene;)), he also knows enough to know that in order to really be with Pam, he needs to go about this in smart way and not rush into anything that they might end up regretting.

Chapter Nine: Loooove this: And she vowed to try to be honest with herself from this point out, even if she couldn’t yet be honest with everyone else. And ah, irony of ironies: She had the sinking feeling that she had somehow misinterpreted a whole lot. And this chapter is just so realistic. And it represents her peeling off the layers of onion that she knows rest on top of that core of happiness, contentment.

And wow, scene on the longest review ever. But I just wanted you to know that this story is just fabulous, and great, and deep and funny and heartwarming. I can’t wait to see what’s coming (twss?), and you rock!

Author's Response: Okay, Catie? You are awesome. Writers just love to get feedback like that and you\'ve absolutely made my day! I\'m glad you are enjoying this story and that it seems real to you. I\'ve certainly never left a guy at the altar but we\'ve all been torn between things that we want, sacrifices we are or aren\'t willing to make. So I try to imagine what Pam must be feeling -- traumatized by the sudden loss of all that Roy was to her for the past 10 years, but also just invigorated and hopeful and excited about the future. It\'s fun to write. Anyway, thanks again for your awesome review. You are the best!

Like the polar bear, she’d get saved or fed or whatever for the moment, but the problem of global warming was still there, still threatening to be her downfall in the end anyway. Such a great line! I love this. And I seriously, seriously love the choice you’ve made to have Jim go to Australia anyway. I can’t wait to see what Pam’s thinking! Awesome as always, wendolf, and I’m eagerly awaiting an update!

holy bejesus!!!! i just went to happy hour (it is a HAPPY day after all!) and i came home to find this! seriously!!!!!! this is just so amazing and so appreciated! we need something like this right now. you know i love what you do, wendolf, but you've out done yourself here! and...holy eff! it's not a one shot!!!!! you've made my night (well, i mean, you and Dinner Party ;))! AWESOME!

Author's Response: Thanks Catie! You are too kind. Glad it made your happy day happier!