1 [Report This]Date: January 03, 2021 04:02 am Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
I hope grad school is going/went well for you. May you have more David Wallace upper management types than the petty, ineffectual men I had to deal with during my career. Your writing indicates a nimble mind that can find ways working around the little men with power.
I love your writing styles. You go from flowing, smart narrative to Jim's sometimes hesitant conversation to erudite basketball trash talking to couples after party dissection. Karen's summation of Wallace hiring a desk chair if it had a Wharton degree cracked me up. You must be from a basketball background or did a deep dive on courts to get the sound of a basketball on different surfaces so spot on.
I like how you used Dwight's dismantling of the chimney cap as the lead in. It set the stage for Wallace's initial recruitment pitch for Jim's promotion while adding depth to Dwight's heritage. Wallace's later thought about taking Jim with him when Wallace makes his next move is wonderful. Succession planning not only for Dunder Mifflin but also for the next company.
You had two nuggets that I wish were canon. Jim is well educated so Penn as his alma mater is the university I have chosen for him as well. Andy as a Mifflin legacy hire explains his position perfectly.
Date: October 21, 2009 07:10 am Title: Chicxulub
Great chap, zip. This feels very real. I hated to see it end. That is just so wrong, isn't it? I mean, it involves Karen ; ) I liked the style of this chap, the changing points of view. Mark was a great addition, his "Roy?" was perfect. I also enjoyed your well-placed spots of humor.
Author's Response: Haha, I am slowly but surely converting you, aren't I? Thanks so much for sticking with it, even though it's not your pairing of choice. Mark was actually someone I was conflicted about adding--we don't actually know that Jim moved into the same house as before, and he seems like he was gone long enough for Mark to find another roommate but not long enough for Mark to need another one. Still, I'm glad it worked!
Thanks for the comment about the humor: I don't want to overdo the angst or drama and it really wouldn't be Jim without some degree of funny.
Date: October 21, 2009 06:49 am Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
I haven't written a review on this site for ages (may be well over a year, I don't even know) but I just have to tell you how much I'm in love with how you've written Jim/Karen. The emotions are real and genuine and I would root for them all the way - in fact I was near tears near the end of the second chapter because they were finally being the fantastic couple they were fully capable of being, and then that happened! AGH.
I love Jim/Pam, but you're one of the very few authors I've seen that make Jim/Karen both believable and people I can be 100% behind - your first chapter did a beautiful job of it. And the wonderful characterisation aside (because Jim's transformation to wanting her is so believably done), your dialogue is great, and your writing in general is just gorgeous - not overflowing with artistic things and unnecessary flair, but smooth and lovely, not at all self-conscious but natural and kind of beautiful in that way.
I've just enjoyed this so much, and I was bummed with the J/K divide at the end of the second chapter. I have to know if you're planning on keeping them together? Do you have more fic with them being the end-game, pre-The Job? I have to look more of your fic up; this is just fantastic.
I hope the lack of reviews on this site doesn't discourage you, is what I meant to say. basically. It's a Jim/Pam-dominated site, right? This story is so good, though; I love how easy you make it for me to want Jim/Karen to be together without the whole Pam-obstacle in S3 - I like these stories much more than J/K getting together after Jim/Pam break up in the future or something, because it strikes me as much less plausible.
Anyway, I'm with this story all the way. (unless it doesn't end J/K. i bet you don't hear that everyday.) Keep up the gorgeous writing!
(And I'm so terribly sorry for how crazy-long this is. I don't think I even articulated correctly what I love about this and how much I adore it.)
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I really appreciate the effort you put into this review, especially since it brought you out of review-retirement! I'm also really happy to hear that the dialogue is working--writing it is one of those tricky areas that I've been really caught up on and I wasn't sure at all how it was turning out. I'm going to answer some of your questions through a message via your MTT profile, if you don't mind, because these responses always appear as a block of text. Thanks again and I hope you keep reading!
10 [Report This]Date: October 20, 2009 03:10 pm Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
I love it! Even though I'm very much on the Jim/Pam train, I think its so interesting to look at other relationships. It's realistic you know? I think the reason it's a little difficult to contemplate is because the show tied Jim and Pam's ultimate happiness to being with each other. If that doesn't happen one or both of them is miserable. But I loved this and I love the idea of getting Wallace more involved. I'll be excited to see what happens next! : )
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I agree totally, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! While to a certain extent things are going to follow the end of the third season, Dwight's sneaky move will have lasting repercussions for everyone in the office.
10 [Report This]Date: October 19, 2009 04:29 pm Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
I love this chapter. Please please continue. I've always thought people were harsh on Karen and I don't really think Jim was as unhappy with Karen as other authors have made out to be!
This is just what is needed!
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I totally agree (and will be continuing, for about ten chapters in all). Jim made WAY too much of an effort to be seriously unhappy with Karen, and he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself on more than one occasion. I think by Cocktails, she was definitely falling for him and he was starting to fall for her as well, though he might not have been ready for it--though I may be giving away too much of my interpretation that will come up in later chapters... ;) Hope you keep reading!
Date: October 19, 2009 01:16 pm Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
Despite your Fair Warning, zip, and my love of all things Jim-and-Pam, I read this. I read it because I really love your writing style. Why are you making me like, Karen? Huh? So not fair! You enabled me to very easily picture Karen and Jim as a couple...and now I feel so guilty. Dirty even ; ) Seriously, really well written. Again, despite my love of all things Jim-and-Pam (the newlyweds, perhaps you've heard of them), I will be following this : )
Author's Response: Thanks so much! I take full responsibility for making you like Karen and (though I may be speaking too soon) Jim/Karen! I think that given the general consensus that Jim is not a total bastard, it follows logically that he had legitimate feelings towards Karen. Obviously, the degree to which those feelings existed is a matter of...vigorous debate. I'm glad you liked it! And yes, I've heard of the newlyweds--like Jim, I've got experience in Catholic guilt, so writing some fluffy/happy Jim/Pam is my penance for all the Jim/Karen I write ;)
Date: October 19, 2009 12:58 pm Title: Cocktail Party of the Condor
Hey! I enjoyed this! I am a hardcore Jim/Pam fan. However, I can always appreciate a well written story, no matter who is is about. I like where you are going with this, and I feel like you've already given us more than the show ever did as to how the Jim/Karen relationship worked. On to the next chapter! :)
Author's Response: Thanks! I think one of the great things about this show is that there's a lot of room to define things outside of the strict confines of what we actually see. Next chapter is in the works, hopefully with more insight into the Jim/Karen and Jim/Pam/Karen triangle dynamics!