#if you can't tell i'm rewatching b99 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

insanelydeadlybookcollector · 2 years

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What you think of Pam and Jim from The Office?

I go through Phases with these two.

Which has to do very much with the material as much as the actors and the actual plot as well as their relationship.

The first time I watched the show, I liked them. Just liked them. They're two regular people, plain and normal and they're best friends and they fall in love. Cool.

I would say I ship them (and I do have a quote book like I do for Friends, Bones, Studio 60, and Go On, where I record my favourite funny lines, ship lines, and friendship moments) but I don't know if I do.

They're canon, so I'm in. But there's so much that they do, both in and outside of their relationships that I just can't... I just can't. There's a pattern of miscommunication and mistreatment towards each other and their coworkers that I just can't unsee sometimes. Yes, they have sweet moments, but I don't necessarily think that unravels the negative aspects of their relationship.

But The Office, in general, isn't a rewatchable show, in my opinion. It is about the characters but it's more about the antics, and if you're focusing on the action rather than the emotion, in any text, it's far more difficult to be rewatchable and equally as enjoyable the second, fourth, fifteenth time around. The Office is good the first time and then its good in bites or in the background. There are standout moments but there's a lot of crazy things that go on that I really just can't sit and consume unproblematically. So, maybe some of my irritation has to do with that.

I think, and this is true of both Michael Schur's Brooklyn 99 and The Office (I can't watch Parks and Rec and The Good Place was so good in theory but flopped at the end of season one for me, which was annoying because I love Ted Danson). Both B99 and The Office are the same in terms of the "main" couple's plot. Like propper milestone by milestone, they match if you combine The Office seasons one and two. (End of season = man admits feelings, Next season = woman has feelings, man has moved on. Secretly get together and begin dating, tell everyone almost immediately). Which, sure, you've found your formula that works but reads as lazy to me.

The partnering is stereotypical and unoriginal which would honestly be fine. (And don't get me started on how Jim/Pam and Jake/Amy are genuinely written as Mondler rip-offs). But there is a lack of cohesive characterisation once they settle into living together, maybe when they marry. Again, the format of the show doesn't give you their home life, so there can't be too much of that, but do still get scraps of character amidst all the craziness. It gets so close to being a character driven sitcom and then it remembers there's a punchline somewhere and abandons the character to get back to the joke. But it's lacking in my opinion.

I'm not sure if this even answers your question of if I like Jim and Pam. I do, mostly. They definitely deserve each other most of the time and they seem to make each other happy on the whole, they complement each other but where written that way and once they get together they sort of stagnate until the story focuses on them again without really growing in the background. And I'm not even sure if I like them as people. Every so often, I'm like, yeah, Pam is me and Jim's the everyman, but then I sit and pay attention and there's so much of the things that go on in this workplace are just not on.

There's just so much else going on in this story-world, whether it's the characters who get done dirty by the writing, or that the show itself fizzles most of the time and the spark definitely disappears when Steve leaves (not that I even like Michael or Steve Carrell all that much), that there isn't much room for Jim and Pam anyway, they're sort of fighting for screen time once they're together, like once the audience has buckled in for this relationship, the ride has started but we're blindfolded and don't really get to see it unfold. Save for some sweet domestic moments.

So yes. But also, no. They're a bit like Ross and Rachel, in that regard, even though their story is Mondler's. The early seasons they're front and centre and its enjoyable because we get the drama and the yearning. But once they're together and married they're basically non-events. But whether that's the story not making room for them, or me not liking them as people once they get to a certain point, I'm not sure.

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feeisamarshmallow · 2 years

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For the fanfic asks: 1, 24 and 27?

Thank you Izzy <3

1. favorite fic you wrote this year

Honestly, it's hard to choose. I'm pretty proud of a lot of the fics I wrote this year. But if I had to pick, I think I'd go with everyone i know will know [...] because it was a fun challenge to make the premise of Amy marrying Teddy work. It also was extremely cathartic to write. And I think overall it turned out well. Honourable mention goes to Murder at the Rink, which I believe I finished writing in 2020, but finished posting in 2021. I loved writing that fic and it ended up (strangely) being a love letter to my home.

24. favorite fic you read this year

Oh now I really can't pick!

Honestly your ace!Jake fic Aced It is definitely on this list.

I didn't read a ton of b99 fic this year. I spent a lot of time reading fic for Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries while I was rewatching the show, as well as some Ted Lasso, and rereading some fav Veronica Mars and Supernatural fics.

Here's a few other favs I bookmarked this year:

the little that i know, i'll tell you by amyscascadingtabs (b99)

Between the Shadow and Soul by LadyRoxie (Miss Fisher's...)

Ashes of Life by Heavyheadedgal (Miss Fisher's...)

A Group of Women in their 60s by DistortedDaytime (Ted Lasso)

Training Montage by Querulousgawks (Veronica Mars)

27. favorite fanfic author of the year

There are so many great authors, I'll inevitable miss some, but here goes.

Firstly, see all of the above authors. (I'll tag @amyscascadingtabs here since that's only above author whose tumblr I know. Johanna I miss you!) .

@seagreen-meets-grey wrote my exchange fic this year and did an amazing job!

@rusty-pulley-stars wrote a lovely Veronica & Weevil fic about friendship and grief.

@lodessa just published new Veronica/Weevil, which always makes me smile.

ask me fanfic end of year asks

#fee says stuff #ask games #fee recs stuff

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