Jim, Pam, manicure.Funny story. So I'm at the nail salon right now getting a pedicure and I pull out my phone to see if there might be something to read while I'm in the chair. And lo and behold, this appeared on the front page. Perfect timing. Although there's much less sexual tension in my case. Not that the sweet Vietnamese lady doing my nails isn't nice. She's no lanky paper salesman, though.
Author's Response: Too funny, Blanca :D
More Jim and Pam and their adventures in raising baby Jill!
Wow, a new chapter of this! I should tell you, I discovered it not that long ago and fell directly in love with the Halpert family as you've written them. This latest part was sweet, and not a little sad. I don't yet know what it's like to watch your children grow from babies into little people, but I feel like this gives me a good sense of what it would be like. Great job, and I hope you just keep on updating this whenever you're inspired.
Jim and Pam have 24 hours together before he leaves for Stamford. A lot can happen when you're on borrowed time.You came back! I know how thrilled I am to see a new part of this, and I just read all of the chapters from the beginning about a week ago. I'm so happy to see that you still have an amazing feel for dialogue and description. And oh, the exquisite angst. Great job.
I was just poking around the site and discovered this little gem. I couldn't stop reading! This is a such a great AU premise, with wonderful descriptions and spot-on characterization. I was completely drawn in by your writing. And you're so close to finishing. Just three or four chapters, right? I hope this encourages you to revisit this soon.
Post-Benihana Christmas fic!
Remember when Jim and Pam convinced Dwight that a CIA helicopter would pick him up on the roof? Well, neither of them could resist showing up that night to see the prank to it's conclusion.
Wow, I'm floating on air after reading that last part. The tension you establish is so delicious. I can totally identify with Pam here!
I love the concept of the Halpert/Beesly Friendship 2.0. Poor Pam is trying so hard. They're so obviously into each other, it's so frustrating that they can't see it. I have a feeling that's about to change, though. Really looking forward to the next part!
I just discovered this, and I've loved what I read. I really like your characterizations and dialogue. I hope that you come back and finish it off one of these days, because it's just getting good. I mean, it was already good, but it's getting gooder.
Author's Response: Awww, thank you so much! I've finally updated, if you're interested :)
Yet another story inspired by a song by Ingrid Michaelson called Breakable. I really wanted to tell a story about people being just that -- breakable, and ultimately how grace helps keep us from falling apart. So yeah -- a nice fluffy holiday piece. ;-)I just discovered this thanks to the recommendations thread, and just in time for Thanksgiving, too. Sitting down to read this all at once was quite an emotional experience. I really felt Jim's struggle to find his place in Pam's family, and then his triumph when he finally realized that he didn't have to do anything but be his own, caring, patient, giving self. Both Pam and Jim were perfectly in character, and even your Roy had that rare and ideal balance of gruff exterior with a soft center. And God, Frank, with that sense of humor right up to the end. I saw the similarities between him and Jim even before he pointed it out. I think I was waiting for that moment between them even more than the alone time with Pam, although that was wonderful too. Everyone going through a rough situation like this should have a Jim in their life. He's perfect, but not too perfect (he does have some hilariously less-than-perfect thoughts sometimes). In the spirit of the season, I am thankful for this show and the inspiration it gives to writers like you.
Totally finished! Feel-good and gooey. The build up to, and actually including, Jim and Pam's first time together.Wow, that was hot, and quite fun. I really enjoyed it! You clearly have a way with words. :-)
8 Wow. I love your realistic take on things in this story. It bothers me, too, when writers portray Pam as a sex kitten immediately after falling into bed with Jim. This is much more believable. And yay for Jim being the confident tutor. Very hot and sweet at the same time. I love your writing!
Author's Response: Thanks Blanca! Yeah, I\'ve done my share of writing sex kitten Pam, but this felt so much more true to who she is. And who Jim is (or we\'d like all men to be). THanks so much for taking the time to read and review -- it\'s so appreciated!
9 Oh, this story made me feel all warm inside. I love your descriptions of the apartment, especially the details about the changing light (a small thing, but clearly well thought-out).
Also, you have just the right amount of dialogue -- not too talky, but not all description either. A great balance, and very in-character, too.
My favorite part was the description of the diamond at the end and the reflection of their relationship. Lovely imagery there. I literally sighed aloud when I finished reading.
7 Just discovered this! It's wonderful! You say so much with so little.
My favorite line of all the lines:
"Something’s happened to them, is happening to them, and it’s intense and beautiful and absolutely the rest of her life, and she’s so grateful."
Short, but sweet. And hot. Thank you for writing it.
Very brief look at The Merger through The Job from Jim's POV.8 I've added this to my favorites! It's wonderful! I really enjoyed the peek inside Jim's head. You write with such clarity and depth of emotion. It made me sigh.
Author's Response: Thanks Blanca! It was a lot to cram into one little story, but I\'ve always just felt such a sympathy (and empathy?) for Jim that I needed to write something solely from his POV. Cathartic. Thanks for taking the time to read and review!
Very cute! This story made me smile a lot. And I really like your playful dialogue. It's so them. More "shenanigans" please!
Post-The Job. Pam tells us about her week. A companion to "Week's End."What a lovely summer picture you paint, Talkative.
I know we already got Jim's point of view, but I would have loved to have known what was going through his mind right here. It couldn't have been easy for him to keep up the front of the "level-headed, brand-new boyfriend" on this particular date. Their pool flirtation was sweet, though.
And yes, I was wondering when the movie date would come in. Also looking forward to seeing them interact when they go back to the office.
In other words, still hooked.
Author's Response: My theory, Blanca? I think it was. I don\'t think Jim is making a concerted effort to play it cool, I think he\'s too stunned and nervous to do much of anything else. Detachment seems to be his default move when he feels like he\'s in over his head, even if he\'s actually really, really bad at it. Btw, we\'ll see them in the office tomorrow.
I love it. No time for more coherent feedback, I'm afraid. I just loved it. Reading this has been a welcome treat. Thanks for writing it!
Author's Response: You\'re welcome, Blanca. Thanks for all of your feedback.
Sorry I missed yesterday's feedback. Forgive me! I'm back, though. And I've got nothing but gushing things to say about you and your writing. I've been reading your replies to these comments and I must admit I was wondering what it's been like trying to work backwards from a story you've already written. I guess I know the answer now. Not easy.
Speaking of not easy, I think this was my favorite part so far, with the finally talking about the awkwardness (or whatever, you know what I mean). Because it would be.
And because I think it will make you happy to know. This part?
"He tucks his chin and squints a little, finally looking her in the eye. "Wait. Was that a compliment?"
I totally had a perfect picture of Jim in my head right there. So bravo.
Author's Response: Don\'t fret. This is my self-imposed homework assignment, not yours. But thanks again for your feedback.
Just chiming in to say: Yay for drunk!Jim! You've still got me hooked. Also, I just realized what you're doing here. You're making us wait so we will empathize with Jim and Pam in the story. Clever. And devious. And brilliant.
Author's Response: It only seems fair that we should suffer along with them, no? Though this will only work for this week, I\'m really doing this to see if adding \"real time\" to the reading experiment ups the tension. After this, everyone can just rush right through in the archive. You\'ll have to let me know.
10 Ahh. I love first date fics. And I really, really loved Week's End, so it's wonderful to see you coming back to this. I'm so glad to be getting in on this from the beginning, especially knowing that you have a plan. I'll meet you back here, once a day, for the next week. Looking forward to it!
Author's Response: Hey, Blanca. Happy to hear you liked Week\'s End - I\'m rather fond of it, too.
Well, your scheme is working so far. These parts seem to go by in a flash, so sweet and so right and then they're over and the waiting begins. But I do think you're taking this empathy thing a little too far with the hangover today. Take it easy, drink lots of water and tell your mom that you're finally dating Jim. Oh, wait, that's Pam. Forget that last one. ;-)
Author's Response: I think my mom would want to know what happened to my husband if I started going on about some Jim fellow. :) Thanks for all of your reviews, Blanca.
This will be a series of self-contained chapters (oneshots) exploring various "what ifs" pertaining to episodes spanning seasons one through three. Each chapter will examine how things would've gone differently if either Jim or Pam had responded to a given situation the way that (most) fans had wanted or almost expected them to.
For example, the first chapter focuses on how things would've happened differently if Jim had confessed during those twenty-seven seconds of silence on the booze cruise when we were all holding our breath and hoping he would.
Among the other chapters I have mapped out: What if all the reminders of Jim in "Gay Witch Hunt" had provoked not a small, sad smile from Pam at the end of the episode, but rather, had motivated her to take action -- drive to Stamford to see him for the first time in four months? Or what if Jim had responded to Pam's text in "Diwali" via a post-Jagermeister phone call? What if Jim had walked in on Pam crying at the end of "Back From Vacation"? (...You get the idea.)
Again, though, each chapter will be confined to an episode, so it will essentially be a series of oneshots that are unrelated to each other.
9 Oh, that was beautiful. I love your descriptions and the in-character-ness of it all (look, I made up a phrase just for you). I could really see this unfolding as I read, and I couldn't help wishing it had actually gone this way. Still lots of room for angst, but with some hope too.
I can't wait to read more of these, especially the Diwali one. I've been dying to read that exact scenario in a fan fic and I know you would do it justice.
Summer pre-S5. Jim's in Scranton - Pam's in New York. Just little a set of vignettes - week by week until they're together again.
Oh, that was wonderful. I can say from experience that November is a great month to get married! Thanks Blanca. That was was I was hoping to do most of all. To make a sweet - yet non-cavity inducing fic. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to review. I really appreciate it.
I really enjoyed the way you balanced out the happiness with some not-so-happy moments in this. It's much more realistic when life has both ups and downs. It's really sweet, but not a sugar overload, which is so nice. Thanks so much for sharing.
Author's Response:
Yay for Drunk!Jim! This is a nice start, and it's an idea that I can't get enough of. I mean, the writers set up the perfect opportunity for a great interaction between Pam and Jim and then didn't do anything with it. But it's not so frustrating when I can read the possibilities of what might have happened.
I'm really looking forward to more!
Author's Response: Truthfully, I've never understood why we didn't get a little more about what happened with her text, but then again, as they say, The Office is a comedy, not a romance. But not in my world! Gotta love the world of fanfic for that reason. I've been dying to write this and I'm really happy you're enjoying it.
Jim comes back, Pam's late, and it's time to talk. Takes place in the summer between S3 and S4.8 Ooh, this is starting out nicely. I'm very curious to see where it goes. Definitely liking it so far, though. You are so good at capturing that new-relationship awkwardness. I'm guessing we're in for some baby drama soon, too. Interesting.
I also find it interesting that you have problems writing Jim, because I find him much easier to write than Pam. Speaking of which, and in answer to your question, I think you have Pam's voice down. I like the hesitancy she still has at this stage in the relationship. It feels right.
Question: Is this intended to carry on from Week's End/Week Days? I remember she had birth control in that one, but the characterization seems similar. Or maybe it's just because that's how you write. Just curious.
Author's Response: Yep, same universe as Week\'s End, Week Days, A Better Version of Me, and No Stairways, Just Stairs. And, yes, my Pam is on birth control, but, it\'s not perfect... that\'s all I\'m saying for now.
Interesting that it takes a pregnancy scare to get these two really talking about things, but that was really wonderful to read, so whatever it takes is good. I'm really taken in by your writing style, the descriptions and the dialogue are very well done. I don't know how you do it, but you manage to be both romantic and un-romantic at the same time. It's really refreshing.
Author's Response: Doesn\'t it seem likely that they\'d need some sort of push, something they wouldn\'t really have control over? Thanks so much for your kind words, Blanca. I\'m glad you enjoyed it.
Okay, um, hot? I'm going to go with hot. Yeah. That was some lovely smut right there. And now you have a peek inside my brain, because I liked it.
Author's Response: yay! thanks so much. writing smut is difficult for me to do, not sure why, but i want to better at it for you, the fanfic community :) glad it worked for you.