1

I loved your full circle ending! Thanks for coming back to this story, and I look forward to new stories from you!

Author's Response: Thank you! I am excited to be back and can't wait to keep contributing. And reading!! :)

1

How did you manage to capture all of the angst and longing in 800 words? This story was amazing. The almost minimalistic style worked perfectly, and your lack of description allowed me to see everything that was happening in my head.

Author's Response: Thanks so much <3

1

I really love this story. You do such a good job establishing the dynamic of Jim and Pam’s relationahip, and I love how you’ve mingled past with present and created these bittersweet moments. I absolutely love your idea of how the hot sauce packet came about; it felt like I was reading right out of the script of The Office!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much. :) I've wanted to do a frame story for a while, but nothing seemed like it suited the format, but I'm pretty excited about this one. I'm glad you like it! 

It absolutely makes my day when someone tells me that what I've written feels close to the source material, so thank you for that! So much of that first big chapter took on a life of its own, and the hot sauce packet wasn't even originally part of the outline for that chapter. It just showed up in the middle of drafting it. :) I don't know if that happens to you, but it's really fun when you get this little gift of an idea you didn't expect in the middle of writing. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.  

1

This is such a cute and very plausible scenario, and you did such a good job with it!

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it :-)

1

This is such a cool idea for a storyline, and I'm excited to see where it goes! Also beet jam? That is absolutely genius and absolutely Dwight-like! I really enjoy your writing style :)

Author's Response: Thanks very much! I really appreciate that. I thought of the beet jam on my way home from work and simply could not avoid putting it in right then (and distressingly, at least to me, it is actually a thing).

1

I finally finished this! I loved your ending and the Dwangela is much appreciated!!

Author's Response: I'm glad you finished! Thanks for reading and for the feedback.

1

I read this entire thing and completely forgot to review, but better late than never! This was such a fun and cute story! I love stories written in messaging format, and you did a really good job with it. The balance between messaging and regular chapters was perfect and farther solidified the way that Pam felt that her personality online and offline were different. I like how Jim and Pam both shared the same experiences but their cautiousness as well as differentiation in persepctive blinded them to each others' true identities. I'm still in awe at your consistency in posting, and I'm never disappointed by the quality of your content.

Author's Response: Thank you! That means a lot, especially given how much I respect your work in turn. I'm particularly glad you liked the balance between messaging and not--I was a little worried I'd messed that up, so it's good to hear I didn't.

Finally, this story has recieved the Dundie it deserves. It’s incredible to me how you’ve taken this simple plot and grown it to stretch years of time, encompass countless (and always well written) moments of happiness, humor, and heartbreak. I’m definitely not ready for this end, but then again, I doubt I’ll ever be.

Author's Response: Gah, thank you so much! Trust me, I'm not ready for it to end either... Although it's getting there, I have a few ways to stretch it out just a little bit longer ;) Thanks for reading!

1

I am absolutely in love with this story. I think you did an outstanding job capturing Jim's vulnerability and inner turmoil following the booze cruise. I really like his inner monologue at the beginning, which bounces between his hopeless affections for Pam and scolding himself for his inappropriate feelings. I really like how his inner battle contrasts with his actions toward Pam the first time he comes over (under the pretense of fixing her toilet of course). You did such a good job switching between Jim and Pam's perspectives. In some stories that I've read (and written, if I'm being honest), the switches are very choppy and a lot of material just ends up feeling repetitive, but while I was reading this story, I never once felt that. The way you showed the same situation from both of their perspectives felt like one was just filling in the details for the other rather than retelling the same story. I found your portrayl of Roy very interesting, especially the way he treated Pam with indifference and neglectance and covered up his mistakes with extravagent apologies that made Pam second guess the negative feelings that multiplied as she continued to spend time with Jim. The interactions and dialogue between Jim and Pam felt so natural, like I was just observing them from a distance, which is really difficult to manage. My favorite part of this story so far was Valentine's Day. From Pam's affinity for the holiday to Roy's insensitivity to drunk Jim inviting her over, it was absolutely perfect. It was so cute that even in his drunk state, he was worried about Pam being unimpressed by his house and messy appearance, and his frantic preperations were rather endearing. The way his friends noticed the energy between them and slowly backed out? Genius. That's something I've definitely seen happen in real life. Out of the Valentine's Day chapters, the best was definitely drunk Jim and Pam. Their dialogue was spot on (are you sure you're not Greg Daniels in disguise?), and I literally laughed out loud when I read the portion where Jim orders the pizza and Pam's logic about the heart shaped pizza. I was afaid drunk Jim would go to far with Pam, but you struck the perfect balance with the whole 'you should break up with Roy' statement. It was just enough to embarass Jim and get Pam thinking, creating that Jim and Pam angst that everyone loves, without Jim actually crossing the line. I thought that the way they handled it over IM was perfect and also very symbolic of their relationship. I think I've rambled enough for one review. Overall, this story is just amazing.

Author's Response: Wow! I am blown away by the compliments! It really means a lot to me that you took the time to touch on so many different aspects of my little story :) I'm trying to do my best to stay as true to the characters that we saw on TV as I can, so while I'm not Greg Daniels, that comment made me feel as though I'm doing Pam and Jim justice. Thank you so much for the support!

1

You’ve definitely captured the essence of an abusive relationship and the toxic thought processes that come with it, fitting it seamlessly into Pam’s inner monologue. I love the palm reading, especially Pam’s choice of including Roy and Dwight in addition to herself and Jim. Such a tiny detail holding such profound meaning.

1

I’m forever impressed by your ability to carry Jim and Pam’s relationship throughout the various alternative universes you’ve created in this story and past stories alike. Your command of the language is entrancing to say the least, creating a tone of royalty whilst never losing the essence of their relationship. I guess there’s a reason you’re AOTM!

Author's Response: Why thank you very much. I hope you continue to think so as we progress through the story. There's a fine line between ornate language and losing the characters, and I'm glad to hear that so far I'm on the right side of it, here and elsewhere.

1

I like this a lot. While there were so many great aspects of this story, by far my favorite was the powers you chose for Roy, Jim, and Pam. Jim’s power fits perfectly with his personality, elaborating on the sympathetic side of him that the show developed, especially in his relation to Pam. Pam’s power was just as fitting; I always thought of Pam as very perceptive in not only her art, but her easy cohesion with her coworkers. Roy’s was a little less of a obvious choice, but worked seamlessly in meshing the routine he and Pam shared in the latter stages of their relationship with the added abusive aspect of his character. Glad you ended up posting this on MTT!

Author's Response:

I'm so grateful for the positive feedback! :) I elaborated more on my thought process re: power choices in another comment response. But as far as Roy's power being non-obvious, it would have been obvious and all-too easy to give him super strength. It was the first thing I considered, but it wouldn't have jived with how Pam ended up being so close-mouthed and, for lack of a better term, bruise-free. The abuse had to be subtle, systematic, and psychological in nature. It also had to be impossible for Jim to detect with the naked eye, because any obvious signs that Pam was being abused would have made it obvious to him that something was wrong, rather than merely giving rise to the suspicion.