Date: July 07, 2022 03:34 pm Title: Chapter 22 - Espresso and Popcorn
OH SHIT. It was Darryl?! Huh...
I love the Michael nuances you added here, it's very Michael Scott 😂
I mean, just because Roy wasn't cheating on her, doesn't mean she isn't blind to what she has been learning... 😂
Date: May 19, 2022 10:34 am Title: Chapter 22 - Espresso and Popcorn
Well this was an interesting read!!
As much as I obviously don’t want Pam to get cheated on, I was kinda like ‘nooo’ when it turned out Roy hadn’t used that condom because I was so sure that was going to be a confrontational point there.
As gross as the thought of sleeping on other people’s sex sheets are 🤢 I think you totally nailed early seasons Darryl where he was just a bit of a douche really.
Pam finding the artwork (loved the clueless references) again I was like ‘nooo Roy has redeeming qualities’ but then to find out he uses it for Fantasy Football kinda crushed me for Pam.
If you couldn’t tell, I hate Roy 🤣
Looking forward to the next update!
Date: May 19, 2022 10:20 am Title: Chapter 22 - Espresso and Popcorn
“And they always seem unhappy to see me here when they show up. I don't get it.” Oh, Michael. I love that you worked in an "actually" moment for Oscar, too.
"the chill in her bones after seeing her fianc? hard to shake without something to warm her back up from the inside." Oh, Pam. Michael offering to go shirtless so she won't be cold is classic Michael. I hadn't even thought about the potential chaos of Michael in the warehouse unsupervised. Daryl must think he's going nuts right now.
Hmm. I initially thought this was a nice grace note for Roy with the card being in his locker, but paired with the photo and sandwiched by all the disrespect Pam described, hard not to think the real theme here is "the wave runners" rather than Pam's art. Although putting it in terms of his immaturity is a kindness still... maybe his future is just about him growing up.
HOT. TO. TROT.
The combination of relief and disconcertion at the explanation of the condom (and the book) holds up well, I think. And it's consistent with the picture you're painting of Roy as a guy who needs to grow up more than anything else... very high school moves.
OW. Okay, how is that reveal worse than finding out he was (potentially) cheating???
Date: May 19, 2022 10:15 am Title: Chapter 22 - Espresso and Popcorn
It's the cold that does it for me here in this chapter. Pam is trying to will herself warm with thoughts of Roy, but there's this insidious cold that just keeps coming back. Roy keeps a really good shot of himself in his locker, the only picture of Pam he has is from high school. Yes he has a card she drew him, but it's only as a place for him to jot down his fantasy football scores. Now she's found out he's letting his buddies use their most private area as a place for random hook-ups. I mean all these red flags are just screaming at her. Roy doesn't value her, he doesn't value her time, her interests, or even the space they supposedly call home. That making fun of her "in jest" is actually just making fun of her. Using ridiculous amounts of body spray. She is so right. Roy hasn't grown up past middle or high school. So he's not a cheater. Ok that's nice. There's a lot more to a healthy relationship than just not cheating. And Roy's not ticking any of those boxes.
I do have to wonder though. Is this a set up for a comparison chapter? I'd have to go back and re-read what she was feeling when she saw the note from Jim about what she missed the past week. Will there be other things she'll find out in her semi-private explorations of the office when no one's around? Ways Jim does value her, her art, her friendship, etc.
I think you got the portrayal of Darryl right here. Early season Darryl very much seemed to want to be one of the guys. I think you're right that it was when Roy finally left Dunder Mifflin that there was a change in his character. He didn't have his jock buddy to pull stuff like that with anymore. Maybe he also realized he needed to be there more for his daughter and couldn't be the wild stallion he was during youth.
Date: May 19, 2022 08:37 am Title: Chapter 22 - Espresso and Popcorn
Well this chapter had quite a few ups and downs for Pam. Every time she thinks she's found something she can love about Roy, there's always a reason to second guess herself. Wake up, lady!
*It was her, a photographic representation of the girl that once existed back some years ago, a snapshot from their high school days. In it, her hair was shorter but just as frizzy, her cheeks fuller, her smile wider. She had on his football jersey over her turtleneck, the garment so big it seemed to dwarf her smaller frame.
The old photograph was faded, the colors now muted and broken down from the years of exposure. Still seeing it was like a having another Time Turner in that it had her traveling further back in time to when their romance first began. When she felt like the luckiest girl in their school because he, who could have dated his pick of girls, had chosen her.*
I love this, because I imagine a great deal of Pam's reluctance to see Roy for who he is today is her inability to let go of who he was before.
Michael in the bubble wrap (and Tiki Barber) were great!
Okay... Darryl. I agree with you that he grew and changed quite a bit post-Roy, and it doesn't necessarily seem like something OOC for him to do. But it still grossed me out that he'd need their bed for some reason and that Roy would let him do it. Ew.