Before Roy can propose to Pam, a new face shows up at Dunder-Mifflin.
1 Remember when I used to review things? That was the time. Anyway this is really good, and I like the detail that they don't live together yet. Looking forward to see where you go with this!
Author's Response: I do remember those times. Good times. And look! Good times are here again! Hooray! Anyway, glad you liked this way to start things off. Kinda figured Jim wasn't the first guy she said she wouldn't live with until their engaged so that was the imputus behind that. Glad to have you here.
1 I like how you're using Izzy here. She's poking the way a good friend should, and I think Pam's degree of reticence is appropriate. She's not like head over heels for Jim, at least not yet, but she's conscious now of a difference in how he makes her feel.
Author's Response: Another fun thing about going AU, giving Pam more sounding boards on how her relationships are going. Always good to get some perspective from other sources.
1 Introducing a Jonathan Halpert! Nice site in joke. Also you're just really good at giving us extra details at a particular point to draw our attention; I think it's from Silver Wings, making those chapters long, but it's really put to good use here.
Author's Response: We can't have brother Johnathan anymore but cousin Johnathan is still up for grabs. Thanks for the encouragement on the extra details. Yes its fun to get into detail but we can also move things along in the plot too. Glad you liked the balance.
I really wonder how long Izzy was there. Beautiful setup!
Author's Response: She was probalby there long enough to realize there's more than simple friendship quickly growing between Jim and Pam. This one was fun to write so I'm glad other people enjoyed it too.
1 So I love what you did with the expired yogurt and I think that Jim was probably planning to have a lot of leftovers if he had that much to cook so he's lucky that Pam and Izzy asked him to come over and that night and not like the night after.
Great!
Author's Response: Yeah I think Jim was planning ahead on having leftovers. Either that or he never learned how to half a recipe. Something my own wife is still trying to instill in my own cooking. Jim turning the yogurt on a prank on Pam just had to be done. Glad you liked it.
1 I like it when Roy learns how to mature even though I don't usually put it in my own fics. This is very nice. Hope she does well going forward!
Author's Response: Roy is often written as a kind of clueless oaf. I've written him like that here and elsewhere too. However when I look at the diner scene between him and Pam and how he behaved at his wedding, there had to have been something that finally got to him. It's interesting to explore that I think.
Sweet. And nice to see that your personality is coming out in how Jim and his cousin think about their preferences. Or at least based on other fic I assume so.
Author's Response: Yeah, there's a lot of me coming out in Johnathan here. But also a lot from canon. Jim's style did gradually upgrade through the course of the show. I'm just hitting fast forward on that a bit. Still it's a lot of fun.
So I binged this now that it's done and DANG! I love the choices you made in the final chapter, and using the teapot that way was beautiful. Great story!
Author's Response: The joys of AU. Being able to change things around a bit for the better. It was a lot of fun creating the wrap up for this one. Thanks for the review.
1 I love this AU. Never seen the movie, but I like the setup! Good work on what makes Jim and Pam alike and sets them both apart from Karen.
Author's Response: Oh, thank you so much! That's so lovely to hear :) I would definitely recommend the movie - John Krasinski is also in it - although I can't say that this fic ended up hugely resembling the plot (other than the excellent dialogue that I stole in a few parts).
1 Aww. There are several options for Philly colleges so you're safe. And this was so sweet!
Author's Response: Thank you! (And phew, that is a relief on the colleges haha). Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback!
1 Ahh that is such accurate angst? A good pain, I guess. Nicely done.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I am all about the good pain for the angst haha, so that's really kind of you to say :)
1 Aaaaaaaah. I mean, college students are like this. It fits. But also...aaaaaah.
Author's Response: Haha, thanks very much! And yeah, I figured college Pam and Jim might be even more useless than adult Pam and Jim at this...
I think this is a fair version of Karen given the change that you made to the rest of canon. And frankly, she isn't a very good girlfriend here but I'm not sure she would have been a good girlfriend to Jim in the series even without Pam.
Author's Response: Thanks very much! That's good to hear - but yeah, I agree she might not have been an ideal girlfriend for Jim in the series regardless (just maybe not as awful as she is here, lol). Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to leave feedback!
1 I mean, it's kinda expected that Jim will end up with Karen here given his later connection with her. So that angst is earned. And I just assume they all have good fakes.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I think I did write this knowing I had several more chapters of angst planned, lol. And ok, that's good to know on the fakes (at this stage I'm pretty much basing my knowledge of this on Superbad. Which may not be entirely reliable). Thanks v much for reviewing!
So yeah I hate Ryan. Not your version of Ryan who actually seems pretty reasonable. But show Ryan and especially anytime someone pairs Pam with Ryan. So it's high praise that I did in fact finish this chapter and enjoy it.
Author's Response: Haha, that is high praise - thanks very much! Ryan is definitely one of those characters that I love to hate: I actually found him quite hard to write, as I feel like he does have some moments on the show where he's not totally awful (which is what I was going for here), but...his awful moments are also pretty funny.
Well this was a lovely interlude from the angst; I mean not that there wasn't any angst but it was different. I really enjoy your version of them in college possibly because it reminds me of college students I know.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! Yeah, I did want to have a bit of a break from the angst haha, and show them actually having some fun...and I really enjoyed writing the college versions of them in this, so that is really great to hear on them reminding you of actual college students!
Doubling down on disliking Ryan. And frankly, I get where Karen is coming from (this is totally reasonable) but also Jim needs to think things through before he's in Stamford with nothing he actually wants.
Author's Response: Ha, yes - I have to say that I really enjoyed the Jim/Ryan rivalry on the show, and how terrible Ryan was, so I sort of had that in mind here...it was fun to write! And yeah, I think Jim needing to think things through/get himself together probably summarises most of this fic lol. Thanks so much for reviewing!
I mean, I'm chill with this but very annoyed at Jim for not just being honest and going with this from here on out.
Author's Response: Haha, I think you've come back to this in a later review...but yeah, not entirely his fault. I'm not saying his handling of this is stellar though.
I like what you're doing, but I do need to quibble with this: "He can’t quite tell her without admitting what had happened with Ed’s list."
He could totally say "Ryan went behind my back to tell Ed I'm not committed to the company" without mentioning the list at all.
But yeah...all of this character development is very good. Nice chapter!
Author's Response: Thanks so much! That's great to hear, really glad you enjoyed the character development :) So I think you're totally right lol - in my head some of it was also just Jim being a bit irrational/not being sure how to deal with the whole Ryan situation. It's the type of thing he could tell her if he was just her friend...but is trickier when he's an interested party but can't quite admit that.
Ok, this does a really good job of explaining some shit and does redeem Jim a bit for me from the earlier chapter. People are idiots around death. Good chapter, really good character work. Love it.
Author's Response: Thanks very much! I'm really glad to hear that haha - and yeah, I think it's the kind of thing you're never really equipped to deal with, but especially not in college/when things are already quite confusing. I'm hoping it does at least help make more sense of why they are the way they are in the present though!
Woah. That's...that's a bad day (also Pam probably has a lawsuit if PA isn't an at-will employment state, but it probably is).
Author's Response: Haha, thanks! Yeah, so I'm a bit woolly on US employment law I have to say (I'm pretty sure she would have had a case in the UK), so may have taken some liberties with that...
So Karen...has entirely regressed by the modern times of this fic.
I like how you made this happen in the flashbacks. It's really good storytelling. But it also highlights that Jim is way too passive about his own life.
I think both Jim and Karen are really in character here and it's impressive.
Author's Response:
Thanks very much! And yep, Karen has - although in her defence, I think Jim has also regressed into giving her plenty of reasons to feel insecure and not actually doing anything about it. I'm really pleased you think they're in character here though, thank you: I was vaguely worried at points that I was making Jim a bit *too* passive in this, but it's sort of like an extended season 3 Jim that has lasted several years...
So Karen...has entirely regressed by the modern times of this fic.
I like how you made this happen in the flashbacks. It's really good storytelling. But it also highlights that Jim is way too passive about his own life.
I think both Jim and Karen are really in character here and it's impressive.
I think Jim has a point here in terms of Karen always thinking that her motivations are legitimate and logical and that Jim's are not. But once again Jim is being reactive and not active in his own life, which is fairly true to Canon.
Author's Response: Thanks! And yeah, I don't think either of them come off brilliantly in this chapter - I didn't want to make Karen's frustration totally unfounded - but I think some of that is also just another sign that they're *terrible* together, and don't really have very much faith in each other.
Another spot on chapter of character flaws.
Author's Response: Thanks so much! :)