I think they’re right about the bench too!
Ahh, nothing is more butterfly inducing than lots of handholding early on in a relationship. This was so, so sweet!

Author's Response: It's the standard will they/or will they not mentality for sure! Thank you so much!

This was fluffy and lovely and adorable. I’m with Pam, little sisters are far more bearable when you’re not under the same roof as them...
I’m so here for this early relationship bliss.

Author's Response: It's incredibly fun to write this fluff and early relationship bliss. It's comforting. 

Well, that’s the cutest thing in the entire history of the universe. Bless Jim’s little college heart. If you break them up again I may just die (not to be too dramatic).

Author's Response: Not dramatic at all! That would be very angsty!

This may be my favorite entry so far. It’s so very lovely. I love your description of an ordinary day turned absolutely magical by perfect little moments.

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Oh, yay! It’s nice to see you’ve started this one! I’m excited to see where this takes us & very intrigued by the “Rachel”...

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This was not at all what I was expecting! Definitely a supernatural twist and probably the most hideous version of Roy to ever exist.
I loved all the little moments included in this - how quickly Jim falls for Pam, their first “date”, pranking Dwight. The inclusion of that first Christmas was probably my favorite part. I really loved the idea of Jim not even really trying and finding the perfect gift for Angela. There were so many nice little touches like that throughout.
A fun read!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much for your review!

The weirdest thing, I don't even loathe Roy that much. But the idea came, and I couldn't fight it, so... sorry, Roy. 

I'm glad you like these moments :) They were very fun to write. I definitely want to write more! 

I’ve been waiting until I was in the right frame of mind to reach this, & honestly I don’t know if I ever will be. I’m not sure I’m ready for this one to end...

“He spun his ring on his finger, reminding him of why, the circle of silver not only a symbol of endlessness but of time and of promises and the four reasons he was still breathing.” Fuck me right up why don’t you. I’m going to be even less coherent than usual with the trying to sum up just how brilliant your words are.

“Time was an illusion, he discovered. There were memories that time could never erase, a future that fate had set in spite of it, and a present to which it was relentlessly vulnerable.
Gunfire lit up the night sky, the finality of it echoing off the cloud covered heavens in judgment and resolution.”
BORED.
B
O
R
E
D
..
..
..
I —
Holy god.
The way I am in absolute awe of your writing.

“and kissed him, gently and unassuming, not disturbing the delicate fragmented pieces of each other scattered around them” So damn beautiful.

“He had some thirty different shades of pronunciation of her name, but she could not identify this particular one.” Oh. That hits deep in my soul.

“He stood there long after everyone had gone inside, attempting to reconcile a debt he could never begin to pay” Your Jim. I adore him. He’s still so much himself, but all his strengths have been pulled to the surface and put to work. His leadership and his compassion are just so much more than what they were. It’s so truly perfect.

“much the same way they had all been reshaped repeatedly by the year that had passed” If this isn’t the realest line in anything ever.

“Life marched forward, stumbling occasionally over uneven footing, but blindly forward nonetheless” Again. The realest. This is life. I love it so much for this story, and for the truth that it is.

Bored. If you turned this into a novel, I would buy it. I would tell everyone I’d ever met to buy it. MTT and the universe are so much richer for having this story in it.

Oh. OH. I figured I would read the epilogue and add it into this review & girl! What an ending!
Dead. So dead. Amazing. Only you could throw a sweet little plot twist into the last two words & just make it work!
Please keep writing all the things forevermore!

Author's Response: You, quite literally, pulled all of my favorite lines and I love you for it, honestly. Thank you SO VERY much for your unfailing support and love for this story; the thoughtful, detailed reviews *always* put a smile on my face. It has truly meant the world to me. Thank you for it all. :)

“Dwight’s ring” Oh. I thought Pam’s pendant hit hard, but this is absolutely gutting.

Boy. Boy. Boy. Toby is the curse that just keeps on giving.
Pam. Oh Pam. This is coal walk Pam all over - determined and courageous no matter the outcome. As always, my heart is in my throat reading this and I’m so damn worried for them both.
“Sometimes bad decisions are the only decisions to make” I feel that.

“his entire life fell with a roaring crash and landed spectacularly in the pounded dirt in front of him.” This is not good.

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod

Author's Response: I hope all of the strands are starting to tie together and makes sense. I wanted Dwight's ring to be the little push that drives him out there and Pam's courage, that we don't always get to see, be the little push that drives her to go out there as well. All will end well, even if the road is a bit bumpy. ;)

“Toby’s voice was pinched with growing fear.”
Not that I’m all for vengeance, but Toby better feel some fear over this betrayal. Pretty naive of him to think that Mac would just do Jim in and nothing else. Although, I like to hope Toby really believes it, considering he left his daughter there and is now setting her up in harms way...

“dump him with the others” this might be the single most ominous sentence of this whole thing. The others? How many other corpses has Mac collected?! Nope. Don’t love that.
But also, bye Toby. Wish he had made it back to warn Pam (and therefore everyone), but it’s a very apt fate given his arc here.

“dead goose laying unceremoniously near the door” once again, I find myself missing Dwight... He always was good at bringing dead geese places...

Pam says the right person and Isabel starts talking about Brian. Very cute.

“He felt his skin crawl the same way it did when the lactation consultant was all over her breasts, rather excessively he still contends” Oh, this made me laugh. Gotta love a good cameo... I love you bringing it up in this way here. So, so great.

“With practiced ease, there was no space between them to define where one ended and the other began; just the existence of them. Singular.” This is so damn beautiful. Don’t even stop writing, please.

“It was as if, despite the dying, cold world around them, a bit of humanity was placed back amidst the devastation.” As always, this is truly perfect and beautiful imagery. I love the little moments of light. The human connections in this story only seem deeper through the trials they’ve overcome together. So beautiful.

Author's Response:

Thank you Jenna! 

You know, I put the goose story in to reinforce the theme of Jim and Pam being inseparable, one can't exist without the other. It wasn't until I had already written it that I remembered Dwight's lovely goose he had placed at reception, so that was a fun little added bonus.  

Thank you for all your kind words!  

Umm. I’m a little concerned about that chapter note... So, there’s that.
It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m just crying. I’m sure we’re all crying.
Perfect chapter is perfect. Especially those last few lines.

Author's Response:

No worries about the chapter note! I just knew this was going to be a heavy chapter and I didn't want anyone throwing something at me. lol. 

I was crying while writing it. My husband thinks I'm certifiably insane when he walks by me at my computer sometimes.  :)

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Wow. It’s quite a world you’re setting up here... I’m really curious to see what they’re up against, whether it’s just dangerous humans or something more. I loved the little touches - like of course it’s Angela who’s good with the children & becomes their teacher. That fits so very well. It’s really interesting to see who you’ve included in this world, for example Pete & Erin. I feel like they’re generally underused in fic, so it will be great to see what you do with them here. This was really wonderfully written, I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Author's Response: Thank you! I've always been interested in how people respond when modern culture and civility is stripped away. I'm glad you felt Angela's role was fitting. She doesn't have a very large role overall but I wanted her to reflect that significant loss of Dwight from the wife's perspective. It's probably an unpopular opinion but I always liked Pete and Erin together! I also wanted Jim to have capable guys to have along with him and Pete seemed like he fit. Thanks for reading!

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The intrigue just keeps building... If you hadn’t clarified that the major character death wasn’t going to be Jim/Pam, that last line would have been awfully ominous! I mean, it still was, just not as much as it could have been...

Author's Response: I wanted to relieve some concerns because I wanted to use her fear of losing him to shape some of her decisions down the road but I didn't want the reader to be too anxious. I can't stand to lose either one of them anyway! Thanks for commenting!

Jeff is full of words of wisdom. I hope Jim is able to heed them, at least to some degree.
Larissa’s spunk with Jim is wonderful. I love the sibling dynamic you’ve created for them - very in line with all the other fic out there (that seems to be the generally accepted headcanon).
Pam and Jim leaving their children makes me all kinds of nervous. That said, them sticking together is a bit of a balm to it all. They’re stronger together. That seems to be a key theme here.
Toby coming along seems ominous at best now...
Jim and Brian’s friendship is so lovely - and that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.
“He’s probably got a girl he likes there or something.” I love Jim’s reaction to this. He’s not silly. Even if Toby hadn’t shown his hand a little last chapter, I don’t think Jim was always blind to it.
“Worry gnawed at the back of her mind at his deep hatred of Jim” Same, Pam, dame.
The chapter both begins and ends with sage advice to Jim from his friends. Hmm... I fear there is trouble to come...
Once again, I’m super glad about that note earlier on where you stated that neither Pam nor Jim would be the character death listed in the warnings...
As always, your writing is wonderful. I love getting sucked into this eerie world you’ve created.

Author's Response:

I always love hearing your thoughts, Jenna! I really love Larissa and Jim's relationship. I wish we had seen more of it on the show but at least we have our fics to fill in that gap. :) I'm glad that you picked up on Jim and Pam being together as important--things tend to not go well when they are apart. 

I wrote Brian to be the guy friend we never got to see Jim have and in this universe, I think it's particularly important to have a guy that has your back, and they are that for each other. I have come to adore Brian as I written this story. That's probably strange but *shrugs* lol

Oh, Toby... You are right, Jim is not naive to Toby's affections for her. There are a couple of deleted scenes from the show that point to that, and I tried to mention it here as well. It will come into play later for sure. Thank you so much for your review!