Date: March 20, 2022 11:12 am Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
"She wishes she had an Excel spreadsheet open to follow this conversation." LOL
I love all the "behind the scenes" you give us, like Karen and Jim after he admits he still has feelings for Pam. It makes so much sense, and I love that you mentioned how Jim is aware of how tightly Karen is clinging to their relationship and how badly he wants to move forward. And their texts when we wakes up after Diwali! Somehow heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once.
Date: March 12, 2022 06:34 pm Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! I mean seriously. This one just stings the whole way. Jim's still not able to be truthful. He's still leading Karen on because of his omissions. The only thing I can say for him here is that he didn't tell Karen he loved her, but other than that he's really not great here. Now I get the fact he's in the middle of probably the worse year of his life, but after awhile that excuse wears thin. His relationship with Karen should have ended there. But he's just to damn scared and thus he'll end up inflicting more pain on himself, on Karen, and sadly on Pam too.
The middle sections brought us up a little. Jim and Pam at least communicating, but it's still strained and while it kind of feel like "them" it's just...not.
Then Pam's section. To be set up with how she holds onto the memories of their Kiss. How it's the one and last thing of the real Jim and Pam she clings to. And then for hear from Karen that apparently to Jim it was, "just a kiss." That's a knife to her heart that stabs deep.
However, there was that tiny bit of foreshadowing I caught there. That when she finally does find her courage, she'll be ready to walk through fire. It'll be a refining fire too that will produce pure gold, but right now there's still a lot of slag over her heart.
Author's Response: Oof yeah, thing will definitely get worse before they get better. Ah, season 3. (Also, very ironic that you mentioned "gold" seeing as what's coming up...) Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!
Date: March 12, 2022 05:06 pm Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
The bookending of the music references was a nice way to show just how they really are meant to be together:
J- Dating Karen is like singing a song he doesn’t know; he wants it to sound right, he just can’t find the melody.
P - He says it again, that phrase she’s been hearing over and over in her head, like one of those songs that burrows its way into your mind until it’s all you can think about. The melody is so familiar it’s soothing. Like any good earworm, however, she doesn’t know all the words, so her brain starts making them up, filling in the blanks. Here and now, it doesn’t matter what is right and what is wrong: this song – their song – is perfect.
I really am glad that he didn't say I love you - that he wasn't that kind of an asshole!
Yeah I wish they would just be brave again - him to be truthful to Karen and himself and let what he knows is a rebound end and her to finish that last text with what she meant to write.
Speaking of text - their text conversations both the ones before and after the kiss were so them - very in character with the banter.
NOw I don't know much about TLOR but I still enjoyed the way you made the ring the metaphor for the kiss.
Oh and I'm terrified of what you are going to do to me (in a good way) with what you've subtly alluded to coming next.
1 [Report This]Date: March 12, 2022 10:51 am Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
Jim assuming that Karen would break up with him as soon as he confessed he still had feelings for Pam is a very good touch... and I do like this sense of Jim as just being kind of swept along into keeping it going at this moment. Fits a general pattern of passivity.
Yeah, Karen, Pam's actions don't make sense to us either. (But also, holy crap, lady, RUN. WHILE YOU STILL CAN. AND BEFORE HE LEAVES YOU CRYING AT A FOUNTAIN. HYPOTHETICALLY. His not being willing to say I love you is a good moment for Jim but also should be a MAJOR warning sign for Karen.)
The text message exchange is well done and seems like it would have fit in well with canon - both feeding Jim's hopelessness and allowing Pam to assume that the door is actually open. (It's also a really good illustration of the key problem with Season 3 Pam's approach - she's using the exact sort of signals she's told Jim not to pay attention to.) "He gets dressed, not realizing he’s rolled his sleeves up to his elbows" says it all.
Okay, and this Pam POV from Ben Franklin? Ow. OWwwwwwwwwwwWwwwww. OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
1 [Report This]Date: March 12, 2022 08:43 am Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
Another great chapter (I feel this is how I start all of my reviews for this story)
“But now that it’s over between them he instead feels an unanticipated sense of relief; he doesn’t have to lie to her anymore, he doesn’t have to pretend.” I can just imagine how relieved Jim felt after his revelation in the conference room. I certainly breathed a sigh of relief the first time around hoping that was the end of it. Oh how wrong I was.
“He doesn’t even know what he wants anymore. “I guess... I just figured this was over.”” I thought this was just perfectly written for Jim’s state of mind.
“It doesn’t matter how much he likes Karen: she isn’t Pam.” Yes, so much this.
“She didn’t,” he says. It’s the one thing he’s certain of. “She doesn’t.” Oh Jim, you couldn’t be more wrong.
“But all it took was one good prank, one good laugh for him to realize the truth: that today is the first time he’s really felt like himself in months. And he liked it.” Again this is just so perfect.
“He wants to get over Pam. He wants to, badly. The only thing he wants more is to be with her, and that isn’t going to happen.” Oh I clutched my heart here.
I loved the whole text message interactions and them both worrying about keeping the conversation going. I always like to believe that Jim did text her back, at least one message the next day.
“He gets dressed, not realizing he’s rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.” I loved this.
The whole part of Pam replaying the kiss and changing it to what she wished it could was great. I wish it changed too!
Poor Pam thinking Jim lied to her about this kiss. I just wanted to hug her at that point.
“Fucking hell, what is she saying? Stop talking, Pam.” This had me laughing so much.
“And maybe just like the One Ring – just like Jim has done – she ought to finally destroy it for good.” Dear god no, don’t do that.
Can’t wait for the next chapter!
1 [Report This]Date: March 11, 2022 05:58 pm Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
THE DAMN LOTR REFERENCE, TD.
THAT. DAMN. REFERENCE.
Goddammit, Jim. You *had* to spoil that one, sacred thing you and Pam shared to Karen? Ugh...
THANK YOU for Jim responding to Pam's text at Diwali. I've always been under the assumption that he never responded, but part of me believed he totally would have. I'm happy he did!
1 [Report This]Date: March 11, 2022 11:00 am Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
The details in this story. EEEK they are so good!
“So… you made a move on her while she was with someone else and she told you no? That’s not really what you said before.”
I agree with you Karen that’s weird to kiss someone after they turned you down.
Author's Response: Thank you so much!
Date: March 11, 2022 10:35 am Title: "Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone."
Jim is such an ass, and he can’t even see it because he’s too busy playing the poor me card.
Karen is a sad woman. Chasing after a guy who she knows really doesn’t want her, like a teenager with a crush. She took a risk of letting herself get hurt.
I have no sympathy for Karen when it blows up in her face.
Pam has every right to be hurt and angry at Jim.
By saying it was just a kiss to Karen made seem as though Jim only told Pam he loved her to get in her pants. If Pam were to start giving Jim the cold shoulder it would be understandable.