1 [Report This]Date: December 12, 2020 03:12 pm Title: Chapter 1
I hear a Taylor Swift song playing - You Belong with Me-
Nice play making us think Pam and Jim were together.
Nice callbacks throughout - Chilis waitress and the shredder and all the party and all the rest.
SB - I read the book ages ago and saw the movie and seeing John play Jim was very interesting so I could see where the inspiration comes from.
Enjoying it so far and looking forward to where it goes.
Author's Response: Haha, the title is actually from another Taylor Swift song (The One), but You Belong With Me totally makes me think of Jim/Pam/Karen. Thanks so much for reviewing - really glad you're enjoying!
1 [Report This]Date: December 11, 2020 04:42 pm Title: Chapter 1
Ah! Something Borrowed is one of my favorite movies/books and I’m super excited to see how this plays out!
Author's Response: Thank you! I actually didn't know it was a book, this is v exciting. Although I might need to wait to read it until after I've written this. Thanks for reviewing!
1 [Report This]Date: December 11, 2020 03:00 pm Title: Chapter 1
I realllyyy like this set-up. Have always wondered what an AU with pining Pam and a stuck Jim would be like. I really like the few very subtle ways in which pam/roy and jim/karen have been paralleled from S1&2. And the roommate + college context just makes it more interesting!
I love how you've written jim/pam here. Looking forward to this!!!!
Author's Response: Thanks very much! I'm so glad to hear that - I found the Jim/Karen/Pam storyline a bit difficult to watch at times, so was hesitant about this...but also wondered about the pining Pam & stuck Jim. And I've recently discovered there are so many good college Jim/Pam fics out there. Thanks for reviewing!
Date: December 11, 2020 01:27 pm Title: Chapter 1
love love love!
Author's Response: Thank you!!
1 [Report This]Date: December 11, 2020 01:06 pm Title: Chapter 1
At first I was a little confused as to who the girlfriend was. Jim mentions having a fight, but then Pam comes over and it seems like things are good. My fault for assuming Jim and Pam are together at this point. Good distraction though.
Pam as a waitress and Jim at DM seems to work well. They've got the classic JAM banter down which is lovely to see. Seems like Jim and Karen are already on the ropes. Long distance and different expectations will probably do that. It leaves me wondering just how long the Jim/Karen relationship will survive, especially with Pam right there being the kind of person the other one really does like being with. So a good set up to be sure.
Any chance of making the font bigger? It's kind of hard to read, even on a fullscreeen laptop.
Author's Response:
Thank you! Glad you think it's a good set-up :) I can't promise that the Jim/Karen relationship will be over that quickly though (but hopefully it won't be too painful...)
And yes - sorry! I have no idea what happened with the font. I really struggle to format anything on this, not sure if it's just my laptop. But I'm hoping it won't happen for the next chapter...
1 [Report This]Date: December 11, 2020 12:47 pm Title: Chapter 1
So first off, Pam working at Chili's (and still needing to be warned about overserving) is inspired, and you did efficiently establishing that Jim's experience at Dunder Mifflin is completely soul-crushing without her. They're still each other's escape from the drudgery of work, but in a domestic way, it's an interesting twist on canon.
You've got a solid handle on who these characters are, and you've given them and their relationships some good establishing moments - the double "oh joys," Jim knowing about Pam's family situation and her being able to tell from a glance how miserable his morning had been, Karen having taken a slightly higher job hours away and Jim just blatantly lying about it.
(You also did a good job with the misdirect on who the girlfriend actually was - felt pretty natural where it could have easily felt forced.)
I love all the different elements of both these stories you're bringing in with Karen - she's the Roy who is delaying necessary steps to move their relationship forward, she's herself as a bit of a fancy-pants who doesn't think a night on the couch could possibly be fun., but also Kate Hudson. The idea that sort of glamor is intimidating to Pam is a solid choice to replace the idea of that the two of them have a longstanding relationship of their own, and I like the way you've preserved Pam as fundamentally self-defeating and encouraging Jim to lean into that relationship.
Their domestic routine is just... adorable. Wake up before this becomes an epic tale of missed connections and love deferred, ya dummies.
This is a really good start! I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
P.S. Here is a true fact - I spent literally years thinking there was a deleted scene from Boys & Girls in which Jim says to Pam "maybe I'm an asshole, but I'm the only asshole here who gives a shit about you," and then rewatched Something Borrowed on HBO the other day and finally realized he was actually saying it to Ginnifer Goodwin. All of which is a long way to saying - the parallels of these two stories about pining best friends are not lost on me, and I'm looking forward to seeing you explore them.
Author's Response:
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you think the Pam working at Chilli's/Jim and Pam living together is working so far. I do think that as much as Pam was in slight denial about Roy, Jim might be equally bad if he was in a dysfunctional relationship, although potentially for different reasons.
And yes - I think Karen may end up being slightly OOC as a result (I do actually like her character, but for the sake of the story...sorry Karen).
Haha that's amazing - that line is actually one of my favourites from the movie. I watched Something Borrowed before I ever saw The Office, and John Krasinski in that movie was basically the reason I wanted to watch The Office. I am considering whether I can weave some kind of aggressive badminton game into this fic, but might be a stretch too far...