callofkaren | [Lecture Circuit.]

After enough time spent on the island and getting to learn its varying levels of weirdness, Karen knew there was nothing she could really do when, for three days in a row, all she get off the bookshelf was the same reel of The Office. And she knew if she ever wanted to watch another movie or read another book or comic or magazine again, she was going to have to give in and watch it.

Didn't mean she had to like it.

The last time Karen had seen an Office reel had been so long ago, it felt. Like an entire lifetime had passed in a year, and remembering watching that first one, the looks on Jim and Pam's faces, seemed like a weird, barely remembered dream. She knew there was nothing she could really do, or nothing could really get worse than the last one she'd watched — she'd made it to regional manager, hadn't she? Whatever version of herself was back home was doing okay, and so was she.

That didn't mean she couldn't shake the nerves as she set the reel up during one of the relatively slow times in the compound, hoping there was nothing too embarrassing she couldn't explain away if anyone wandered over. She at least had the faint hope that anything she could do couldn't be worse than the best thing Michael Scott ever did.

As she started watching, the reel opening with Michael being Michael, Karen's nerves slowly melted away until she was actually giggling along. It was like nothing had changed at Scranton, except Jim's desk. Of course, when Michael explained what he and Pam were doing on the road, Karen saw exactly where it was going.

Still, it was a bit comforting to know that Scranton was as batshit insane as ever.

Karen prided herself in being smart enough to follow along and prepare herself for the weirdness that would be watching herself onscreen. She could take it, right? Nothing could be worse than that first time watching with Jim and Pam. She could have done without the knowledge that Michael pictured her naked. Hey, there was her voice and there she was, looking—

She blinked.

And then, practically echoing Michael but at a higher and more shocked tone, "Oh my GOD."

Half of the rest of the episode flew by Karen's wide eyes as she just stared and stared, trying to process what in the hell she was watching. She was still half in shock when the explanation came, and barely registered Michael's stupid mouth or any awkwardness. All Karen could focus on was the strange, almost disconnected feeling that came with watching herself up there being happy and starting a family.

[Find her at this scene or at this one, your pick! Dated to some arbitrary time this weekend.]

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"Okay," Karen said, once her laughter wasn't so hysterical anymore and she'd caught her breath. "We're agreed on that, so let's just...forget about it."

That was probably easier said than done when she was back on screen, and Michael was handling a chainsaw. What the hell was he doing with a chainsaw?

"Look," she said, lifting her shoulder to get Nick's attention back onto the screen. "That's my former boss. The crazy one."

Nick blinked a few times, trying to make sure that what he was seeing was actually what he was seeing.

"Based on the fact that he has a chainsaw, yes, he's definitely crazy," Nick said, sitting back up, but not before curling one arm around Karen's waist as he sat next to her. "There is... there is... that's just... No."

This was how people ended up accidentally dismembered, honestly.

"He did stuff like this all the time," Karen nodded, taking just a little bit of glee from Nick's reaction to Michael. For some reason she always found it hilarious to share tales of Michael to anyone else.

Of course, any nice moments he did have, like congratulating her, were always overshadowed by the stupider ones.

"Sperm machine," she muttered to herself.

Before Nick could stop being horrified at Michael's sperm machine comment, and before he could wrap his mind around the fact that somewhere in the future, Karen was married to some dorky dermatologist [crime scene investigator totally beat out dermatologist on the scale of cool careers to have, even if Dr. Dan probably made way more money than Nick ever would (not that this was important on an island with an economy made up of coconuts and volunteer hours)], there was a photo of Karen onscreen dressed as a burger.

"Oh my god," he said, midway between horrified and very, very amused. "I don't think I even want to know."

"Shut up!" Karen laughed and sat up, saying the words half to the screen and half to Nick. There was no way she was going to let him make fun of her for a hamburger suit she hadn't even technically worn. "Oh my god, that's the worst."

Wrinkling her nose, she turned back to Nick. "That never gets mentioned again if you know what's good for you."

Nick raised his hands up, feigning innocence. "I would never," he said, shaking his head. "I'm a nice guy."

The fact that he was barely holding in a laugh kind of undermined his argument, however.

"Stop it," Karen continued, though she couldn't keep a smile off her own face at Nick's obvious amusement. God, she couldn't even imagine any reason for her to do something like that. Maybe a dare.

The screen drew her attention back, and Karen expertly ignored both Pam's akward hesitation and her own with the news that she and Jim were engaged. Maybe a year ago that might have meant something, but now, all Karen could do was smile. "God, finally."

Okay, maybe she might have been a little annoyed if, after all the crap she went through in Scranton, they hadn't at least been together.

[Lecture Circuit.]

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