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I don't know of any rec-worthy fanvids for "The Office," but gosh durn it if this isn't the best fanmix I've ever heard. Fandom: THE OFFICE Mixer: suchaprinceMusical artist: Various Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Mixer on LJ: suchaprinceMixer's website: TumblrWhy this mix kicks ass: Not a fanvid, but I think “Save the Receptionist” is worth the exception. I’ve been listening to this fanmix pretty regularly for years, even though it’s been a while since I had any actual activity in the fandom. When I wrote my own Jim/Pam fic, this was pretty much the soundtrack I had throughout the entire process. That’s how fantastic it is. Save the Receptionist | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Kelly Kapoor/Ryan Howard Length: 760 words Author on LJ: honey_wheelerAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read: This is a short fic that packs a big punch. Unlike the obvious OTP-ness of Jim and Pam, Kelly and Ryan have never really been an obvious couple. She’s bubbly and superficial; he’s a more laconic jerk. It’s never been entirely clear why they keep putting up with each other. “strings” was written back at the beginning of their relationship in Season 2, and it lends just the right insight, from Kelly’s perspective, as to the dynamics at work here. The author does so much in very little space, and it makes me wish the “documentary crew” was a little more nosy about office romances besides the headliners. ( Kelly's desperate for strings. )strings | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 1,250 words Author on LJ: honey_wheelerAuthor Website: Why this must be read: Nobody, especially if they work in at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, is perfect. Jim Halpert, for all that we fangirls lovelovelove him, is not exempt from that. We get glimpses of his rougher moments, like dumping Katy on the Booze Cruise or (as discussed in this fic) making a mockery of the Finer Things Club. For every heartfelt parking lot confession, he’s got a nasty breakup by a fountain in New York City. This little number finds Pam experiencing a few of his less proud moments, and taking them in stride. After all, she’s not perfect either. ( You’ve got some growing up to do. Maybe we should start with a coal walk. )brief interviews with hideous men | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 1,100 words Author on LJ: zippity_zoppityAuthor Website: MTTWhy this must be read: Sweet and sincere, this fic is an out-of-chronological-order recounting of five gifts of various sorts everyone’s favorite Scranton couple exchanges over the years, from pre-series up to the then-present(ish) day. ( She smiles for the rest of the day. )Trinkets - Mood: tired
 - Music: "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" by the Eurythmics
- Tags: fanfic, the office
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 7,471 words Author on LJ: Unknown Author Website: MTTWhy this must be read: As perfect as the proposal scene and the ensuing JAM goodness was in canon, I’d kind of like this to be the real version. Jim visits Pam throughout her summer in New York, sending mix CDs and lots of love. They resolve that wedding business, bond with her lovely old-Jewish-lady neighbors, and charge forward with a vitality and lightness that I think the show lost after Season 4. (Incidentally, I was not aware that Halpert is a Jewish last name despite being Jewish myself and having excellent Jewdar, but I love that the author made it relevant.) ( It's my New York City disguise. I seem to be fooling everyone. Shhh. )A Better Version of Me - Mood: busy
 - Music: "Bigmouth Strikes Again" by the Smiths
- Tags: fanfic, the office
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 5 chapters; 15,300 words total Authors on LJ: Unknown Author Website: MTTWhy this must be read: This absolutely is my headcanon for all of the inside joke tokens that were in the teapot Jim gave Pam for Christmas in Season 2, particularly because each installment feels just like a missing scene from a episode. Just read it. ( Cheesy business metaphors? Really? )Inside Jokes | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 8,585 words Authors on LJ: kieyraAuthor Website: FFNWhy this must be read: In the first of two parts, kieyra closes the spaces between the two that had been well-established in early Season 3, when this was written, getting them speaking again and in the same place, removing Roy, showing Pam with her newfound backbone that won’t take Jim’s emo-ness for an answer. In the second part, the author gives them time, breaking down by minutes a night of conversation, cold pizza, and, well, the kinds of things that make a fic rated NC-17. The tone overall is just right, and the speed is, too. ( Press 1 for I Just Need Some Space. Press 2 for It's Not About Jim. )Time and Space | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 4,800 words Author on LJ: sophia_helixAuthor Website: Tumblr | DreamwidthWhy this must be read: It’s been a while since this fic was rendered AU (it’s dated summer 2006, just post-“Casino Night”), but it’s a sweet and believable take on our favorite couple’s interactions after that one magic moment. Rather than the angsty, angry route these sorts of stories usually take (not to mention canon), “Borneo” mixes the office-buddy element of their relationship with the romance elements flawlessly, and finds a genuine and genuinely happy meeting in the middle. The usual Dunder-Mifflin shenanigans are, of course, excellent background color. ( This is beginning to feel like the stupidest conversation in the history of stupid conversations. )Borneo | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Authors on LJ: honey_wheeler, obsession_inc, kyrafic, annakovsky Length: 70K+ words, 12 chapters Authors' Websites: honey_wheeler @ AO3, obsession_inc @ AO3, kyra @ AO3, annakovsky @ AO3Why this must be read: Season 2 and 3 fics are all about the angst and the UST of everyone's favorite Scranton couple. This epic series resolves the ST pretty quickly and yet still piles on the angst like crazy in the process of imagining an AU where Jim and Pam hook up in early Season 2—but very little else changes (at least not immediately). In fact, most of it occurs directly in the backdrop of canon. Because of that, things get a little OOC later on, but by then the authors have built things to a point where it makes more sense. And then there's the angst, with raw feelings so tactile you could cut 'em with a knife. (For what it's worth, the authors all have a lot of work in this fandom, much of which is way happier.) It's far from the happiest JAM fic you'll read but it's well worth the investment. ( Watered-down rum drips down her fingers and she feels like she’s in one of those idiotic ads for some expensive liquor and she’d feel like a moron if his eyes weren’t fixed on her mouth like it’s a canteen and he’s in the Sahara. ) warning_labels (story begins with Caution : Do Not Touch With Bare Skin) | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert, Karen Fillipelli/Jim Halpert Length: 1073 Author on LJ: maidenjediAuthor Website: uninvitedWhy this must be read: This fic is admittedly more gen than it is het, but it's so, so, so worth your time either way. In this short follow-up to "Beach Games" (slightly AU in Jim's reaction but otherwise canon-compliant), Pam considers herself in a new light. The author makes it clear that in spite of all the unrequited love going back and forth between those two crazy kids, Pam could actually be not only okay but happy on her own, or at least more so than Jim might be without her. Though not without pain, "How to Wake Up Feeling Totally Alert" is a beautiful compliment to and realization of the character. ( Not like Pam, really, except just like Pam. The Pam who would walk the coal walk. )How to Wake Up Feeling Totally Alert - Mood: chipper
 - Music: "Five Hundred Miles" from Inside Llewyn Davis
- Tags: fanfic, the office
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 825 words Author on LJ: musesfoolAuthor Website: Dreamwidth | TumblrWhy this must be read: This is exactly how I've always felt their first date should have gone: quick, sweet, and fun, and ending just the way every JAM 'shipper out there would want. ( Liftoff )Liftoff - Mood: lazy
 - Music: "I Heard Your Voice in a Dream" from Smash
- Tags: fanfic, the office
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Fandom: THE OFFICE Pairing: Pam Beesley/Jim Halpert Length: 1439 words Author on LJ: blithersAuthor Website: Tumblr | PinboardWhy this must be read: In Season 3, particularly at the beginning, it's not clear how much Pam's life has changed even as she tries to change it. This fic gives us a glimpse at why: change is difficult. Momentum is hard to build after such a habit of inertia. It's more of a character study than anything else, examining how a quiet, lonely person might start to build a life for herself. ( She followed the short, pointed shadows carefully, looking upward, feeling that her mom's old 70s style lamp had created a miniature replica of Starry, Starry Night on her ceiling - a curved, line here, pointing out the next destination - here! it pointed casually. Go here! )An Uneven Ceiling | |
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I've been reading and reccing here for years and I realized just in time that there was one must-do fandom for which I hadn't yet taken the wheel! Enjoy what will mostly be a boatload of Jim/Pam recs (because who are we kidding) over the scant few weeks remaining to us :) Fandom Category: The Office Pairing: Pam Beesly/Jim Halpert, Pam Beesly/Roy Anderson, Katy/Jim Halpert Length: 11649 words Author on LJ: obsession_incAuthor Website: AO3Why this must be read: Set in the summer between Seasons 1 and 2, this fic has got to be canon. It's the only way to explain the perfectly balanced dynamic between Pam and her life with Roy. Reading this, you leave with a strong sense of exactly why Pam stayed with him for so long. It's comfortable, if incomplete. It's really all she knows. He's really all she knows. Her frustration with her life and her loneliness are on full display here alongside her failure to do anything about them. Her interactions with Jim are as subtle and sweet and fraught are they are in canon, and you'll long to tell this Pam that there is and will be so much more to her life. ( Pam senses, on some level, that there's a detail missing, but she can't quite put her finger on it. )Nothing Better | |
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This is my last post of the month. I hope some of the stories I've recced have brought you as much enjoyment as I've had in sharing them! Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Jim/Pam Length: one-shot Author on LJ: broken__recordsAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:This is from one of my very favorite authors; I had a hard time choosing a particular fic, but this one fit in with the theme of some of my other recs. This story (like all the author's other works) is lyrical, beautiful, and terribly romantic. And we'll sleep in the ocean | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Jim/Pam Length: one-shot Author on LJ: codestothestarsAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:It occurs to me that almost all I've recommended thus far has been PG-13 or tamer, and I figured I needed to fix that with some good old-fashioned angst and smut. I don't know why this author isn't more widely recced - check out the author page for more thoughtfully written and melancholy sex. Horizon | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Ryan/Kelly Length: 3600 words Author on LJ: periariyxAuthor Website: Why this must be read:This pretty much sums up the purest essence of Ryan/Kelly - darkly funny, biting, and entertaining. There isn't a word of this that I wouldn't take as completely canon - it's absolutely pitch-perfect. When I Grow Up | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Dwight, Jim, references Dwight/Angela, Andy/Angela Length: one-shot Author on LJ: maidenjediAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:Oh, Dwight and Angela. I love your wacky funhouse mirror version of romance. This shows a surprisingly sweet side to Dwight while remaining perfectly true to the character and his relationships - not an easy task. On a side note - it's just about the awesomest thing ever when you discover that your favorite author in one fandom has written for another of your fandoms. Amortentia | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Pam, Jim/Pam Length: One-shot Author on LJ: kyraficAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:There's something very visceral and real about this piece. It's sharp and quiet, and somehow sweet. Blankly As Walls | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Dwight/Angela Length: 3,543 words Author on LJ: dollsome Author Website: Why this must be read:Oh, Dwight and Angela. I adore their wacky funhouse version of romance. This story cracked me up and provided a backstory that I'm surprised I almost never see. But that's ok, because I couldn't ask for anything better than this. It's perfectly in character and filled with all the same type of little odd quirks that give the source material such life. Office Strange Love | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Roy, Pam/Roy Length: ficlet Author on LJ: sophia_helixAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:I have no idea how this hilarious title ended up turning into such a lonely and heartsore little story, but it's stuck in my mind ever since I first read it. The 'What If' is intriguing, and the last line is pitch-perfect. You should really read everything this author has written - she has an exceptional talent for tone and understated emotion. Dunder-Mifflin, This is Roy | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Creed, Jim/Pam Length: Ficlet Author on LJ: zippity_zoppityAuthor Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:This is a talented author with a number of worthwhile longer works that should be recommended, however, I love Creed. There's not nearly enough Creed in the world, and this deserved to be shared. It's funny, and a little sad, and a hell of theory. A Man Does What He Must | |
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Fandom: THE OFFICE (US) Pairing: Mose/OC, background Dwight/Angela Length: 4 chapters Author on LJ: paper_jam11Author Website: At MTTWhy this must be read:Mose fic? This is about the most unusual take on the Schrutes I've ever seen. It's weird and sweet and surprisingly epic. I'm not sure what prompted me to read it, but I'm glad I did, because it builds an unseen, unexpected world. Give it a try! Feuilles | |
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