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I'm so happy this is the episode you decided to work with for this story!

The vending machine prank is one of my favorites, so I love that it's included here; and I'm curious to see how it plays on loop.

Poor Pam. I feel for her, that her day to day routine is already a bit dull and she's stuck in a rut...the more I think about this Comfect, the more excited I am at the possibilities of how the next chapters can go -- the options are truly endless, and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm planning to do a lot with the vending machine prank because it's the open which means it's sort of my equivalent of Bill Murray's alarm clock. Let me know as you go how you feel about the chapters!

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Listen, there are a lot of things I love to see on this site, and at the top of that list are 'Pam showing up on Jim's doorstep' and 'Pam showing up on Jim's doorstep soaking wet'.

I am already so in for this story! (Here's where I tell you've I've been reading it as it's posted but this is my first chance to review, so I'm pretending that it's my first time)

Author's Response: Rainy day confessions are my favorite thing in the world. The dRaMa of it all just gets to me. I love writing them and I LOVE reading them haha. I'm glad you're enjoying it, Coley. Hopefully I won't disappoint.

Oh, this is genius from the start! I love the "I wonder who he ran over then" line in the show, and it turns out, I love it in fic form as well.

This whole beginning with Pam's world missing bright colors with Jim in her life is so sad, but so well written... there are certain people who just add color to your life -- I have to imagine Jim is one of them! ;)

I love so much that Pam gets to the hospital before Karen does. I love that Jim can remember her birthday. I don't love so much that he can't remember the date, but well, I do love that he doesn't know who Karen is so it all works out in my mind.

I love this start! I'm a sucker for an amnesia story and this one has a different twist to it, so I'm all in!

Author's Response: Fun Run is my favorite episode so it’s fun to repurpose it with some Season 3 angst. I’m glad you’re down for the good, old amnesia trope... 

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So January Jim is a new favorite of mine. I love that he's just woken up, all he knows is Pam, and he learns that Karen is his girlfriend and all he can think of is that he should probably break up with her because it's definitely doomed.

Yeah. January Jim is the best.

I LOVE this conversation between Karen and Pam, and I love how hard Pam is trying to sell that "there were reasons" she didn't marry Roy that weren't related to Jim.

I can't believe Karen just left! I mean, I'm glad, but I still can't believe she just took off like that.

Ooh, and a cliffhanger. I'm so glad you didn't force me into passing out for these updates.

Author's Response: January Jim is essentially Booze Cruise Jim so he’s very close to at least acknowledging some feelings. Karen may have left the room, but she hasn’t left the hospital, & will definitely make a reappearance at some stage in the not too distant future... Your reviews are always a delight. Thanks for reading! 

Okay. I like Pam being the better person here, all ‘you have to figure out this Karen nonsense, but by the way, I love you too.’ Fancy New Beesly strikes again!

Oh. Hey Karen. As a non-Karen fan, this entire exchange delights me in its awkwardness. Jim doesn’t recognize himself as ‘Karen’s Jim’ and neither do we, honestly. I also really enjoy how Karen’s attitude toward Michael is a tipping point for Jim. The man hit him with a car and he’s still loyal to their friendship. That’s so sweet.

Jim doesn’t remember anything but he still knows how and why he’s with Karen and I really enjoyed this introspection on his part. And he’s STILL trying to be a decent guy by letting her down because he knows he’s been wrong and we don’t deserve him, Jenna.

Okay. This end scene is adorable! It’s just so very them and lovely and WE’RE ALL DONE WAITING, PAM!

I kinda wanna fist-bump Kevin, too.

Author's Response:

Is anyone truly a Karen fan? I mean truly... 😂 

As much as Season 3 tears me to shreds, I love the confidence it brings Pam. I also love moments wherein this is sped up. 

I think that without remembering the pain, Jim would be a far more logical thinker in terms of the events of Casino Night/all that follows.

I’m glad you enjoyed my little Kevin moment. I was tossing up about putting that in, as I wasn’t sure if it really fit with Karen’s characterization to mention it... but I loved it too much to leave it out.

Thank you, as always!  

"Michael can’t call pelvis injuries the silent killer because there was a distinct thud when Michael’s car collided with Jim’s pelvis." That killed me.

Pam eavesdropping on Jim and Betsy's conversation? LOVE.

"Oh Sweetheart, we know." Betsy coming in with the truth bombs, yessss.

"Jim can live without those memories. She wants to keep hers though. She wouldn’t be in this moment without the hard and the hurt and the horrible. She likes this moment, where Jim tells his mom that he loves her and kisses her with an enthusiasm that makes her knees weak" Oh. Well this is just lovely all around.

This is Peak Betsy.. her coming in and fixing his house, his love life, and hanging around to meet Pam.. all of it makes me smile.

Listen, as excited as I am to see how this story ends, I don't mind at all if we take the long way getting there. You just keep writing more chapters as you see fit. :)

Author's Response:

It’s nice to hear you liked my version of Betsy. We don’t really know all that much from canon about the Halpert parents, but sometimes that just makes it all the more fun. 

I worried about the eavesdropping, that it might be a bit too much... or something... So, it’s lovely to hear that it hit the mark.

I think the next chapter may just be the last one, but it’s likely to be a fair bit longer too. Fingers crossed I get it up in the not too distant future!  

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I gotta say, I really love Smugly Satisfied and Happy Pam at drinks with her friends.

"Pam and Caroline don’t know what to say to their friend. Caroline tells her it will get better. Pam makes Rachel drink more wine." Pam makes Rachel drink more made me laugh out loud. That would have been my response too.

"Beefcake Penis God" is now officially in the running for best line in a fic for 2019. God, that was good.

This was a fun read! Thank you for sharing it :)

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I have to admit, that first paragraph made me laugh, because yikes - when you put it that way, I'm surprised Jim didn't jump from that boat after everything happened.

I love a good IM conversation between these two, and I especially love paranoid Jim. Poor guy, how could he have any idea what he's about to get himself into.

Man, you gave me another version of Roy to hate... there's never enough of those, honestly. He's such a slug.

Oh Pam. She's got it so bad. Again, I don't blame her.

These two have gotten themselves into quite the predicament in Jim's kitchen! I don't hate it...

I know I keep saying this,but poor Jim! The guy just can't catch his breath, can he? You're doing a fantastic job in showing his confusion and conflicting feelings, and the panic at not knowing at all what Pam is thinking.

Thanks for the visual of shower Jim. You're a doll for that!

"The sparks between them were almost visible. His gaze flickered to her mouth, and she blushed, then looked down at the floor. When she looked back up at Jim he was smiling, a knowing smile that seemed to say, ‘I’m thinking exactly what you think I’m thinking.’ She gave him a tiny smile back, shaking her head slightly as if to reprimand him for naughty thoughts. Then she turned to leave, murmuring about having some work to do." I can SEE this scene playing out and I love it so much.

Oh you know what else I love? This version of Pam's mom! This is a Helene I can get behind... lady knows what's up. As sad as it is, I love the added note of Pam not speaking to her for 2 months after she got engaged because Helene didn't approve.

And that quote! It's so perfect. I can't wait to see what happens next! What's Pam going to do next??

Author's Response: Jim showering is never a bad image. I blame certain pictures from Jack Ryan that were shared in certain chat nights for my obsession with showering Jim. ;-)

I have at least 17 more questions after reading this chapter, beginning with why is Pam kicking a foot-shaped bruise into Roy's chest and ending with who does she think she's proving right about what?

"Jim from AA was a good enough lay." might be my favorite opening sentence of a chapter for all of 2019.

And look, we all know how I'm a big fan of adding Ryan into Pam's storyline like this, but the fact that he couldn't finish? I loved that because yeah, it sounds like he didn't deserve to anyways.

I'm not sure what it is about the bulk of this chapter - but seeing Pam trying to push Jim out of her place hit so many feelings - like, she's exasperated and panicking that he's still there, but she still finds Sleepy!Jim adorable (obviously) and it's so sad that she just wants him gone so she can drink.

But Sleepy!Jim is 12 kinds of endearing and I really appreciate his trying to get her number after everything, and making sure he'll see her next week.

Damn, that end scene with Pam and Larissa? I so *get* Pam's amping herself up to set Larissa straight and warn her away from Jim... so to see that taken away from her with the realization that she's Jim's sister - it's just a lovely, heartbreaking moment and I LOVE that Larissa can't just turn off her immediate response to try and take care of Pam.

Oh look, I have another question - where did Jim go?

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This is my favorite chapter yet! I loved Jim and Larisa having a moment over condiments, and I love that in the following week, Jim was able to function a little easier - even if it was just as simple as having meals with her and not locked in his room.

Pam's AA jokes have been a consistent highlight of this story, even if I do feel bad at laughing at them.

I really like how each week they get a little more comfortable with each other, and their Thursday night routine, and this one felt so much like a first date and it was really sweet how they were kind of opening up with specific details of their lives, but still respecting each other's boundaries of what they weren't going to talk about.

Gumby and Pamcasso - I love this more than I should.

Coconuts vs Lavender, hmm? This story is truly going to wreck me later, isn't it?

Author's Response:

It was probably my favorite to write, up until chapter 5, because they are starting to get more comfortable with each other. 

It most definitely is going to wreck a lot of people. I'm going to have a lot of enemies at the end of this. And I'm really not that upset about it. 

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So one of my favorite things about your stories is that more often than not, they introduce me to new music and so far, I've never been disappointed in any of it. This song is fantastic.

Oh how dare you. First, you incorporate one of my all-time favorite scenes - the one of Dwight comforting a crying Pam - and then you give us the idea of a backwards going montage of all the times Pam's been miserable since Casino Night.

I'm fine.

"He sees it now, the way her smile looks a little worn around the edges, the way it doesn’t light up her eyes like it used to. He misses her real smile, the one that crinkles her eyes and pinches her nose. He misses his own smile, the one that curls at the ends and almost splits his cheeks in half." Hey, remember when I said I was fine? Lies.

"Come over on your lunch break. *so I can break up with you*" Did I laugh? Absolutely I did.

"Pam’s eyes flit to him, shock is quickly replaced with a quiet steadfast affection. He smiles, and it’s real. " Again, I say how dare you.

And THAT ending? Pam hinting she knows about the video and Tom's shenanigans? And the entire paragraph where they kiss and seriously, you take these scenes we've seen a million times and turn them into these magical moments and just always keep writing Jim and Pam, okay?

Author's Response:

It’s a great song! Although, the amount of time I spend in my iTunes library trying to come up with fic titles is a problem... 

Bless you and your kind, kind comments. I had a lot of fun with that ending, I’m glad you picked up on what Pam was putting down - so to speak.