#and just because a character is a terrible being doesn't mean their actor that never did anything to deserve the hate should be hated on or

[feykrorovaan]

"I don't like that character because their actor/VA is a piece of garb-"

Me:"Shhh the character and the actor are not the same person. They haven't done the same things, nor do they hold the same views. Your argument is invalid. Shhh."

[zettaireido-emotion]

Camus character analysis: games VS anime

If you finished the Uta no Prince-sama anime and your opinion of this man is "wow, he's kinda terrible," I don't blame you. in fact I've seen a lot of people say this

In this post, I want to talk about his characterization in the games and give my two cents on what the anime was trying to do with him, especially in his single focus episode Saintly Territory (S3E6).

Disclaimer: I wrote this on a whim because I'm sick and stuck at home so if anyone reads this, sorry I might go all over the place

Spoilers for all of the games!

The "be my slave" thing

Starting with Anime Camus's most egregious crime: treating Haruka like a servant/slave (however you want to translate it)

Basically in his focus episode, Haruka is tasked with writing a song for Camus. She wants to learn more about him in order to write it, but Camus will only let her follow him if she acts as his servant. She accepts without complaining, Cecil is rightfully angry, Haruka continues anyway and the song gets completed.

Now, am I about to say that Game Camus would never do this? No because he literally does lmao.

The anime doesn't pull this "servant" plotline out of nowhere, here's the context in his route:

Haruka accidentally overhears Camus talking about a plot to assassinate Saotome on the phone. When he notices that she heard everything, he basically tells her that he has to kill her now. But if she served him, he'd be able to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't leak anything, so she could escape death.

Okay uh "work under me or DIE" isn't exactly better, nor is it a good start to a love story, but I'm not finished!!

(A side note: I have to add that the anime made him look like an even bigger asshole and borderline dumb when it came to the things he made her do. Like he expected her to know that snapping your fingers means you want coffee without prior explanation. bro

^This might have been for comedic effect but I promise he can be actually funny and endearing.)

What the anime couldn't cover

The Camus episode wraps up with Haruka pulling through and writing a song that makes Camus "sincere," he says it's cool at the very end and that's the episode. I think the problem is that we technically didn't see him being sincere or what that even means to him, besides when he was singing (banger song btw)

It's a shame because in a 20-minute episode you really can't show the game experience of slowly piecing together what this man's problem is.

First of all, in Debut and AS you'll be quick to notice that he always has homeland and duty on the mind, constantly reminding himself that he's in Shining Agency/Japan for a reason, and it's NOT to have fun or make friends

The truth is, he slowly starts to appreciate the banter with his colleagues, music, and working there in general.

But because of his initial mindset, he has to rationalize & justify every connection he forms, like "it's just for work" or worse: "actually it was ALL A LIE and I NEVER ENJOYED A SECOND OF THE TIME WE SPENT TOGETHER, I'm such a great actor haha"

He uses that to fool himself and to push the other person away so it doesn't happen again. This scene is probably the best example:

(I'll be using google lens because it's faster but I checked that the tls were okay)

He also does this in the Non-Fiction drama, which may or may not have actually happened, but I think it's still a pretty good reflection of what could happen in reality because he tells Ranmaru their bond was a lie, then mopes around in his guilt thinking about the good times and wondering why he's sad, and THEN later doubles down on the "it was a lie, I don't care about you" because he just can't let himself get attached to anything.

Basically, he's terrified at the thought of forming actual bonds because he genuinely thinks he's nothing if he stops being a cold weapon:

At one point he does admit he sucks (as a love interest)-

-which is pretty huge by utapri standards. I love these games, but the amount of times where a male lead does something icky, and everyone, including Haruka, acts like it's normal or like it's Haruka's fault is ehhh but I digress

Upbringing

Of course he's very proud of his homeland and status, but sometimes it's to the point of thinking he can't be anything other than his title. So why is he like this?

We got to hear about his childhood from Camus himself a few times, and it often ended with Haruka thinking "wait? that's kinda messed up?" and Camus insisting it's nothing/it's normal so yeah that's something...

His parents were in an unhappy arranged marriage, and his mother was forced to birth an heir which traumatized her so much that she can't see Camus without falling ill. Overall it's a pretty tragic situation since what happened to her was horrible, though not Camus's fault either. Even now she refuses to see him, and I wouldn't say that makes him sad because he never really met her, but simply knowing of her sacrifice probably adds a lot of pressure. As in, he only exists for this one purpose (inheriting his father's title and serving the country), so if he doesn't play his part correctly, it would have all been for nothing.

He was raised by his father not as a child or son but as the heir, always treated and judged as an adult (even during physical training apparently, make of that what you will)

When Haruka asks about childhood memories he has a very hard time finding something that doesn't have to do with his duties or the nation. And then admits he didn't truly have a "childhood" since he was never treated like a child

As for the queen, I think his love for her is sincere: she taught him a lot of things growing up, and according to him, she's also a victim trapped by her duties so he wants to ease the burden.

So hypothetically, if he found things or people that made him happy in Japan, he would feel obligated to lock them away because that happiness is incompatible with his life: he'll have to leave when his mission ends, he shouldn't be spending time on things that aren't "useful" as he doesn't have the free will to pursue them

In his mind he's completely tied down by the fact that he was born and raised for a single reason, and the fact that he does want to serve the queen.

(This is Saotome describing him btw)

Also it might sound ridiculous to bring his self-worth into question because of how pretentious he is, but I've counted a few situations where he seemed to have complete disregard for his own life, only worrying about Haruka and Cecil's safety in scenes when they were present. And he thinks wanting to be loved unconditionally is a childish thought he shouldn't have.

"Double Face" was a lie. There's like at least 10 layers

On the surface he does have two personas, his perfect polite butler act for the media, and his cold bitchy attitude off camera. But honestly, even when he's not acting as a butler, he's often putting up a front to hide any form of vulnerability (from himself as well)

His main struggle is finding who he is outside of what he's being told to do. Before, he never actually stopped to think about what he WANTS because it just never occurs to him, or if it does he ignores it.

That's why realizing that he has his own desires is essential to his character development, and him staying with Quartet Night (and Haruka in his routes) is so important. It's why Reiji feels the need to reach out and when he does, Camus either freezes up or tears up;

This all makes him the opposite of Ranmaru (being true to yourself and sincere), and similar to Ai (gradually learning to view the world in a less cold and logical way), but I kind of want to save that for another post lmao

He is especially hard on Cecil because Cecil says & does whatever he wants, and everything still works out for him, which is a way of life that Camus can't imagine for himself at all (despite maybe wanting it?)

That he can realize this and eventually admit out loud, despite all his pride, is also one of my favorite things about him

Season 2 does hint at something, so that's pretty cool!

Side note, I really love that his theme in the new Oracle series is "Change," the melting of ice.

So what was the anime supposed to do??

Of course there's no way to show all this in a single episode or even during the runtime of the anime, and I never expected them to because the story is very surface-level (that goes for all characters).

It's just unfortunate since the anime is the most accessible and well-known utapri media in the western fandom, and the character's main episode is bound to leave the biggest impression.

I understand the choice of being laser-focused on the servant plotline, it's supposed to be funny (?) and waters him down to a trope that's easy to understand at first glance (the step-on-me guy I guess)

Still, I can't help but compare it to Ranmaru's episode, who was also hard to work with in the games but was chill in S3E7 and got to pet cats. Anime onlys will never know how much Camus loves to dote on his dog smh.....

[tuesdaygray]

thinking about. the consistent thread in challengers (2024) of wanting your life to be about more than "hitting a ball with a racket."

how tashi is the first character to bring this up and whether or not she means it (she's really only planning to do a year of college) she knows inherently that being well rounded is practical. that she's not from the same place as the country club, tennis academy, daddy's money kids. this should be an unattainable dream for most, but it's hers and she has it and it's terribly ingrained into her life but "what if this doesn't work out?" and then it doesn't. she gets injured and she gets stuck in this loop of the past, in her own potential, in what could have been. when it feels like everyone is counting on you to do and succeed at one thing ("she's going to make her family millionaires"), the one thing that is the framework and catalyst for everything you know, how do you come back from that? her life could now, realistically, become about something else because she actually can't have her dream anymore, but she becomes obsessed, holding on with white knuckles and performing alterations because she can't let it go, until she admits sardonically in a mostly abandoned applebees that her life really has only been about one thing.

and patrick. who challenges tashi's original statement. who has no problem devoting his life to tennis because it's a "good way to avoid having a job." who never had any dreams beyond playing the sport he's always had a knack for, coasting by on natural talent, never having to try. realizing too late that what really made it worth it was tennis as a relationship, not the selfish ego stroke it had been when he was good enough to win tashi's number. and he's stuck in arrested development, just like her. he never grew up, he never let go of the past, of what it felt like to play doubles with his best friend, of what it felt like to watch tashi at the top of her game. but he's painfully aware. he's made his bed and he's tangled in the sheets and he loves it and he hates it and above all else, he misses the way it used to be.

then there's art. whose decision to go to stanford is never questioned because it's unspoken general knowledge that he couldn't have gone pro right away. he never expected to be this big time professional player, he was always just concerned with doing a "really good job." and because of this, art's life is the one that probably should have been about more, the foundation was laid for it. but he's stuck too, a passive actor in a life he chose and was probably never meant to have. the holder of and heir to tashi's and patrick's unrealized dreams. (was it ever his dream?) and after eight years, after attaining it and living it without a real passion for it, he's ready to give it up because, out of the three of them, he wants his life to be about more than "hitting a ball with a racket" because it's "embarrassing to be doing this shit when you're 40." but he's the one who bears the weight of success, alone at the top, where the people he loves can only dream of knocking him off. so shouldn't he be grateful for it?

[phefics]

This just came to my mind while I was studying for my psychology exam - but what do you think THG would be like if they were dating a reader who is a theatre performer? Like them picking the reader up from rehearsals that ran overtime, watching their performances and listening to them talk about their crazy (and sometimes kinda weird) rehearsal memories?

I hope this makes sense because I am not too great with explaining things

this is so cute, not weird at all!! you didn't specify the guys so i'm gonna do all the characters i write for. hope you like!! xo

coryo is supportive, mostly because he likes the idea of dating someone who could be famous one day. he brags about your talents to people at school/work, and comes to every show, sits in the front row, and brings you roses. he admires your dedication, even when it means staying late to run scenes or crazy rehearsal stories.

finnick loves to watch you perform. he's been caught trying to sneak into your rehearsals before, and given you a sheepish grin as he's escorted out of the theater. he's just so captivated by you. as someone who has spent a lot of his life performing against his will, he loves to watch you flourish doing something you love. he loves hearing about cast drama, like straight up will make popcorn to listen to the gossip.

gale isn't super into theater but will be supportive! he likes that you have a hobby you're so passionate about, even if he doesn't understand. he tries to make every show when he isn't busy with work, and has terrible theater ettiquette the first time and keeps cheering every time you're on stage, so you have to explain that he can't do that, lol. he also picks you up from rehearsals because he won't let you walk home late at night, ever.

haymitch isn't very into the arts, in general - he's just never had an urge to consume it or have a hobby of his own. but seeing you feel so passionate about it and have so much fun opens him up to the idea a lot, and i can see him definitely going to your shows and finding the beauty in live theater.

johanna would be a stage crew girly, so i think she would participate in your theatre stuff (if it was local/small, i don't think she would pursue it as a career) and she does the lights or sound. definitely ignores directions so she can put the spotlight on you even when you aren't talking in a scene.

katniss is very supportive, but i don't see her being into theatre at all - she'll go to your shows but doesn't really vibe with it, so she's there to support you but wouldn't go if you weren't involved. if you are in a musical production, though, she will get the songs stuck in her head and whistle/sing them around the house.

lucy gray is probably also involved in theatre!! or, she at least totally understands your passion as well as your workload. if you do musical theatre, she helps you practice your songs and learns them on guitar so she can play them for you. she is always cheering so loud in the audience - she is so supportive and loving.

peeta would probably get involved in your production behind the scenes, painting sets. he is so supportive and i could even see him joining the show if you convinced him he'd be good - he's clearly a very charming actor and would probably find it fun. if he doesn't join you, though, he is in the front row of every single performance with flowers.

sejanus is the most supportive boyfriend ever, i swear. he will singlehandeldly fund your local theatre just so you can participate. he takes time off of work to go to every single show, and has flowers sent to you backstage. he helps you rehearse at home, always being a bit goofy and over-the-top when he reads the lines.

tigris would probably be involved as well, designing and altering costumes!! she loves to design and sew and having that outlet that benefits the community as well as her partner would make her really happy.

[oraclefreak]

I'm not going to lie; I do hate on Richard Cameron. It's a classic in the DPS fandom. But when you start looking a little bit more into his character, there is something that tells you you can't just hate this kid.

The way Cameron was always excluded by Charlie, and the Dead Poets would laugh because he would say funny jokes at Cameron's questions and comments. Even if Cameron was Neil's friend, that was mostly outside the group. He truly was the one that didn't fit between the Poets, and the reason he even got to be in the meetings was because of Neil Perry.

Neil connected the Dead Poets Society. One wouldn't think to make meetings with a really chaotic dude who hates a really stuck to rules guy, and that last guy in question being invited too. But the meetings weren't even terrible, Charlie threw some comments about Cameron and viceversa here and there.

Charlie punched Cameron after Neil's death, which is something completely different than a funny remark.

I've talked about Charlie and Neil's friendship, which was a lot more portrayed than what we can see of Neil and Cameron's. Charlie's grief has to do with the fact that Neil couldn't be an actor because of Mr. Perry. Cameron's grief has to do with the fact that Neil is never coming back, and there has to be a guilty one.

Cameron doesn't only think of Mr. Keating as the culprit because of the authorities, but also because he wasn't very fond of his form of teaching in the first place (for example, Cameron asked to the Poets if he would test them on something, and Charlie responding that he didn't get it). And that's another thing they don't have in common; Charlie adores Mr. Keating, Cameron does not seem to be very fond of him.

Taking these into account, Cameron's grief, along with disliking Mr. Keating, and also that he doesn't have the ability like the other Poets to just question authority--he snitches on everyone.

And that was... terrible of him, we know that. But Charlie quite literally made the Poets known before he even snitched. And that isn't talked about in the fandom. Like, yeah, I adore Charlie and I think he's amazing and bla bla, but the double standards kinda hit on this one.

Unpopular opinion much? Probably. I am not defending Cameron's actions by any means, but let's not forget these are 17 year-old boys. And Cameron had to deal with Neil's death in his own way. As I said, he didn't question authority or rebel against it like the others; Cameron wasn't a poet, but he was in the Dead Poets Society.

I am also NOT hating on Charlie. I hope my wording isn't terrible. I love all of the Poets (there might be favorites though(

I think I should elaborate on this at a much more decent hour (it is currently 3am). Please don't leave me hate comments while I sleep, I prefer to read them with my eyes open...

[Youtuber voice] Like and suscribe if you want me to do a part 2 video of this!!!

[periprose]

maybe a controversial opinion, but I didn't really like Barbie. It's not because I didn't get what it was going for, it just felt very selling-a-message while being just shocking enough to keep people talking about it. I do like the stuff about barbie as an idea (feminist vs not, what it means to be a woman, gender roles, etc) but that doesn't really make it a good movie with a cohesive plot that I'm interested in watching again. it felt like I was getting preached at, and I'm sure tumblr adores analyzing everything about it but it just wasn't for me. The ending also just feels like they didn't know how to end it.

Side note, I think greta gerwig is a terrible director who's getting way too much acclaim for being contemporary and having strong feminist themes, when everything feels super on the nose. It doesn't feel like good directing to me, it never feels like I'm watching a movie I can truly get lost in. I also didn't like her version of little women because again the themes were so on the nose, nothing felt organic about it, and she added a lot of modern feminism to what should've been very tied to the historical context of the source material. It was very jarring. I also hated the ending and what she did to Jo- Jo is her own character and is not Louisa May Alcott, and just because you do a bunch of on-the-nose critique of the book in the movie, doesn't make it suddenly a good, thematically strong scene to watch.

I think she just benefits from actors giving great performances in her movies and that's why the ratings are always so high, because if an actor can sell it, if it's well shot, more people will like it. It could also just not be for me but idk.

And there are good ideas, again, I would just prefer if there was a stronger plot and more cohesion between ideas. Feels like everything was written for a bunch of people online to talk about how deep it was. I support that, I support the feminist takes, but where is the meat of the movie? Where are Barbie's sisters? Where is the feeling that I'm watching a story rather than a bunch of ideas?

I also have a million thoughts about how Greta made barbie x ken a somehow bad thing but I will save that for another post.

[buncoreclown]

I just saw someone say "people talk about media literacy as a shield for criticism for their favorite media." And I'd like to beg to differ. You can not like something and find something wrong in all sense of the word but when I talk about media literacy being dead its because people will enjoy the same shit and hate on others for consuming it "wrong." People will enjoy Sangwoo and have "proship dni" in their bios and I'm just like "oh so you like the serial killer, rapist, abuser in a god honouring way." I'm talking about those who watch Hannibal and will say that hannigram isn't problematic because it's not pedophilia or incest and I just stare into space because how when and where did those only mean problematic. I'm talking about those who will watch media and LITERALLY HARASS the voice actor of a terrible character or cosplayers who cosplay them (this happened recently) and think they're in the right because they play/dressed up as someone bad.

*Taps the sign*

Anyways let people enjoy what they want and you can hate it and spread why you do but don't fucking harass people who enjoy it. It's as simple as fucking that. I miss when that was just fandom common sense. I also wish people would stop saying niche media is normalizing things like pedophilia and incest when GRRM writes it in most of his BEST SELLING books and you've never seen a rise in either so please hop off. You can not like it and it can make you uncomfortable but that doesn't mean it's a problem. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[sharksandstars]

Season 4 of TUA is terrible so far??

I have a lot of opinions on season 4 and I fear most of them aren't great. I watched the first and second episodes fully and briefly skimmed over the rest (yes, I plan to watch them fully!) and so far I can't say I'm a fan. I have to address the elephant in the room: Five and Lila. In my opinion, it was a terrible decision and it felt like the writers were just trying to put in the craziest thing they could think of. And on top of that, it really feels like the way they executed was like a really shitty Wattpad fanfiction. I mean, there were like 6 scenes where they were living in domestic bliss??? Hey, so that is weird by the way! I have so many issues with their relationship... first of all, the age gap between the actors. Aidan Gallagher is 20 years old while Ritu Arya is 35 years old. I'd be surprised if they didn't feel weird while filming. Secondly, Five and Lila would not fall in love. I understand enemies to lovers is a genre and it's not inherently bad but with Five and Lila it felt like their resentment was far too deep-rooted. I've also seen a lot of posts about this and it seems like everyone is in agreement that it's weird and gross, and it doesn't make sense! Knowing this, I do understand that being stranded in a strange subway timeline thing for 7 years can be a less-than-stellar experience. Lila's marriage was already rough, but they really just needed some couples counseling and they'd be fine. I'd also like to argue that Five realistically wanted to feel love since he had never truly felt it unless you want to count Delores. But again, mentioning my previous points, it seems incredibly out of character for Lila and Five to betray Diego like that. I'm not entirely sure what the writers were thinking. As for the rest of the characters, I was happy to see them living regular lives. I unfortunately don't think season 4 was as good as any of the other seasons despite this, which makes me incredibly sad. Season 1 was fantastic, season 2 really picked up, season 3 was alright but enjoyable, and I really expected Season 4 to bring it all home, but so far, it hasn't in my opinion. I don't think it would have been better to just cancel the show after season 3 because I'm not the biggest fan of ambiguous endings. I also have an issue with the duration of the season: 6 episodes don't feel like enough. A series finale shouldn't have only 6 episodes, especially since all of the other seasons had 10 episodes. I just feel like they could have done more with it and it's really unfortunate that this series ran for so long and built up such an incredible story only for it to kind of... fall off. Also, just furthering my argument with Five and Lila here, Five killed her parents when he worked for The Commission. Which led to Lila hating him and trying to KILL HIM MULTIPLE TIMES. The writers must have gotten a lobotomy between seasons 3 and 4. Leave me your thoughts so far. I'll make another post when I finish it.

(Edit: I posted this on Reddit as well)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I saw this one post tagged under Aang deserved better and Katara deserved better. As someone who loves both characters. I hate how people mischaracterize them while saying they supposedly deserved better, when really they’re just salty about shipping when it comes down to it.

Here’s the post:

https://www.tumblr.com/empressofthesunslittlecorner/748486832898048000/a-rant-about-aang-and-byrke?source=share

"What does a 14-year-old want with a 12-year-old?" Same thing a 16-year-old wants with a 14-year-old, aka maybe a romantic relationship, maybe just a hook up, maybe just friendship, maybe nothing at all. You can't put people in a box like that. When I was 14 I wouldn't have cared if the person who had a crush on me was too years younger, two years older, or the exact same, all that would matter would be "Do I like them back or not?" Plenty of girls my age were the same, others would be caught dead with someone younger, and others thought that it was weird to date anyone older.

"It's just creepy, no matter the gender" *proceeds to ship Zutara, that has the same age gap, but the guy is older*

"It would have been better if they got together at like 22 and 20" Why? It's a two year agep gap, not twenty - why age them up to adulthood? 12-years-old is right around the time most people either start having crushes, or already have been having crushes for a while, it's not weird. And again, why it Zutara acceptable with Karata being fourteen, but Aang needs to be at least twenty for it to not be creepy, even though the only thing that changed was the gender of the younger character?

"I haven't read the comics" good for you, don't do it, they're terrible, every character was ruined and Yang should be as hated by the fandom as Shyamalan.

"But what I saw on tumblr" Ah yes, because you can always trust that people online are not biased, mistaken, or full on lying. Just ask the leader writer, Aaron Ehasz, about all the times he had to say "No, zutara was never going to be a thing, please stop sharing that fake interview in which people claim I said otherwise"

"Legend of Korra" Korra is also terrible, that's why the audience for it got so bad that Nick just dumped the final season online without a care.

"He kissed her TWICE, TWICE, without her consent and never said sorry for this" Nope, it was ONE poorly timed kiss that he immediately felt sorry for. Katara is seen blushing and thinking on that kiss during The Invasion because she enjoyed that kiss.

"He thinks he deserves her love because he is the Avatar (the hero) and that's how it be" He thinks the girl that got offended when he said he didn't want to kiss her, that has flirted with constantly, and has consensually kissed twice already is at the very least a potential girlfriend. When he is made to question if that's really the case, he full on ASKS HER if she only thinks of him as a brother and he simply misinterpreted her signs, to which she openly says THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. He explicitly mentions "After we kissed, I thought that meant we were together." He never, ever, ever said "I'm the Avatar, therefore you have to like me." Just because AN ACTOR in a play about THE AVATAR called her "the Avatar's girl" instead of "Aang's girl" doesn't mean he thinks his role means more than her feelings - again, he literally went to talk with her to clear things out. This is not how an entitled person behaves.

"He replaced the love for his people with Katara" No, he did not. The Guru explicitly said "Your love for them lives on the form of new love." When he saw Gyatso's dead body, Katara saying she and Sokka were his new family was what made Aang calm down. Yes, Aang is in love with her, but that moment was much more about general, familial love than romantic love. Honoring the people you lost by valluing your connection to the ones that are still in your life is not placing a burden on them, or being obsessed with them, or thinking that being loved by them will fix your trauma.

"He needed to let go of her" He did. Twice. First in Ba Sing Se, which led to him being killed and KATARA bringing back to life, then again in "The Awakening", in which he just up and leaves to focus on his mission and Katara is heartbroken because SHE DOES NOT WANT TO BE LET GO OF!

"Aang could still love Katara, he just needed to stop to put her on a pestal!" He never put her on a pedestal. He knew she was flawed and would openly disagree and even argue with her at times. Cherishing someone is not the same as idealizing them.

"Book three was... bad, and so was the finale" No, it wasn't. It had it's issues and it is the weakest season, but it is still good. Most of the problems were caused by poor pacing due to them sticking to three seasons instead of four. Aang's feelings for Katara were not a problem to be fixed, because the "entitlement" you complain about doesn't exist.

"Aang is a self-insert of Bryke" Bryan and Mike have repeatedly said that they're like Aang AND ZUKO, in the sense that one is goofy and the other is grumpy. By that logic, Zuko is also a self-insert, therefore shipping him with Katara would also be "bad."

"They act like Zuko is a bad boy instead of a dork" Zuko is a dork with social anxiety, who spent two and half seasons SUPPORTING GENOCIDE. "Bad boy" doesn't even BEGIN to describe him.

"No normal 14-year-old girl would date a 12-year-old and if she did call the police on her ass!" Go touch grass, you're insane, two children having feelings for each other is not pedophilia.

"Avatar was only amazing because of writers like Aaron Ehasz" Ehasz himself disagrees with you, and a lot of the "good changes" you made were decided by/along with Bryke.

"A lot of writer wanted also Zutara to happen and not Kataang" Ah, I see you DID read that fake interview. The writers were all on board with Kataang, even though some of them did like Zutara AS WELL. They're not mutually exclusive, you know?

"If I remember right season 3 was so rushed and lacking because the movie-who-shall-not-be-named was in production" You're remembering made up bullshit just right. Fans keep repeating that, and even I once wrongfully believed that in the past, but it's not true. The movie was going to happen regardless of when the show ended, and Bryke genuinely only wanted three seasons instead of four. Bad idea? Yes, but nothing to do with Shyamalan.

"Aang would find other airbenders" If that's true, I'm glad it was scrapped, THE LAST AIRBENDER needs to be THE LAST AIRBENDER for the show's premise and name to make any sense. Korra was also heavily criticized for a later seasons plot point of random people just magically becoming airbenders because it cheapens the gravity of the genocide by going "Lol, fooled ya! They're still running around!"

"Broodmare to repopulate" Three children is not exactly repopulating a nation, you should have paid more attention in math class.

"I'm a big fan of the theoretical season four" You being a fan of a thing that doesn't exist is surely on brand for a zutarian.

"Also, people who make fun of their own fans because they ship a pairing themselves not like are the worst!" Scream the zutarian that is doing exactly that. If you can complain about ships and call people creeps for it, you can take people pointing out your ship is just a figment of your imagination. Either suck it up or change your behavior so you're no longer a hypocrite.

[maliciousalice]

@thresholdbb omg tumblr ate your ask but thankyou for asking!!!!

👕Character whose fashion you like.

Phoar! Startrek really isn't a show I associate with being fashionable. It's very camp isn't it? In theory a lot of the wardrobe is really cool and they wanted to gain that retro-future aesthetic. Did it work? I'm not sure. However it does make a statement. The Startrek aesthetic is really recognizable and that's important! I think that's where modern trek kind of looses the plot. It's not as careful about the unique visual design as a whole anymore and as a result it doesn't settle in our minds. Is it bad artistry? No but it's not as stringent. What I mean by that is older trek cared about nuance. For example every haircut was done the same way on men, or suits were tailored in a way to look sleek but practical (they weren't). Gaudy patterns were important to denote things like status. It looks ugly on the outside but when you're watching the show it envelops you and makes you feel welcomed into the universe.

I digress.

To answer this, the most fashionable character, hands down, is Quark! That mfer always looks good, and has the finest drip in the galaxy. Love that.

🥲 ST moment that makes you cry.

There are two moments that make me particularly sad. Kate's acting in the climax of Resistance is incredible. I read somewhere she had a special-wink-wink- relationship with the Director in the early seasons and she was being tested by this episode in some regard. I think it paid off. I treasure any time her captain-hood is removed, and the extreme vulnerability of Janeway is on display-MWAH MWAH poignant. This episode is beautifully intimate, particularly this scene. It's overall gorgeous and unique in how she whispers to him, as if there is nothing more important than to secure his peace of mind as he dies, and it's heart rending when it ends with her just crouching there, emotionally alone. I love how Janeway is forced into the father-daughter dynamic between her and Caylem, one that she would ordinarily resist (heh themes) because I think it inherently weakens her status. The back and forth throughout the episode of them taking care of each other's welfare is so it's terribly sad when it's torn down and we discover the truth behind Caylem's family. If you've dug around her character you know that her Admiral-Father has had impact on her life. She's haunted by him in both a figurative way by being a Captain, and literal sense later on in Coda. Much like Caylem, she looses her father in a violent manner that she has to carry around while she forges ahead. It also reflects well on Kate's relationship with her actual father, she recently revealed that she was never able to get him on her page, but in spite that she adore him with all her might. So a scene like this is really revealing-I believe she was able to draw upon those feelings and that's kinda neat to be so raw as an actor. SIGH.

This one just straight up made me cry fr because Prodigy s1 is a really mature, well done piece of (Startrek) media. Holo Janeway has an irony about it where in the end she is program designed to be a teacher, and she didn't expect to develop a strong bond with the crew. Her final moments are of displaying a huge amount of selflessness and courage to help the kids get out of trouble, similarly to how Janeway would approach dire circumstances. The music swelling and the ship activating is just OOOOF!!! I love how it parallels Dal's initiation of the first Protojump in a Moral Star. By that means It suggests how proud she is to get to do this for them. As a character she is really interesting to think about, in a way I can't entirely articulate. A lot of her moments are quite sad in general, she has to keep an active role so she isn't ignored, and help where help is needed, but at the same time she has constraints, one being that she manipulated by the antagonists. And In contrast to that, the kids do their best to help her feel like she is important and more than a command program to be used insincerely. She grew to love the Protostar crew, that's evident in her body language in this scene. She has a lot of depth overall. Equal to the real Janeway she deeply feels love, guilt and pain, but importantly she is transformed by the her time on the Protostar and while active, learns and grows with Dal, Rok-tak, Zero, Jankom and Gwyn. It's REALLY sweet that they care all care about each other.

I love her and I love JANEWAY!!!!

🥹 Favourite behind the scenes picture.

Ooooh I love all behind the scenes stuff. My brother in Christ It's super difficult to just name one thing and I'm very greedy!! I wish we had more BTS content for Voyager but sadly, it's a matter of grab what you can, however you can. Anyway, I have an inherent interest in seeing the cogs behind the wheel. I chose these samples because I think they're charming.

The continuity polaroid's are so fun and a lost technique, I like to think about assistants having to pull the actors aside and asking them to take those. How daunting! Kate's grin in the one where she is offset is SO cute. So she must have been in a good mood, super Cheeky!

Following that is a screenshot from a video of her having her makeup done. A rare catch. I like this because she often sooks about how much time hair and makeup was spent on her to become Captain Janeway. I get it's a huge time-sink, but love or hate it, the full irony is that her early season appearance is really iconic and in it's own right adds to Captain Janeway's sensibility. Silly goose Kate! Besides that, she looks hot checking herself out, haha.

Moreover, I love on-set editorial photos of actors in costume. While we did have heaps of them in the Starfleet uniform, I wish we had a larger collection with clearer releases, it would have given an opportunity to see in things of interest better detail. Particularly the lower half of unique costumes. For whatever reason special outfits weren't often established or framed for us to see the legs in the show, so a nice big photograph would have solved that. Also I love that these style of pictures capture an impression of an episode without giving it away.

Similarly, fly on the wall on-set photos are cool. They're way more intimate and candid than anything else and it makes me feel as though I am spying on the actors, but they're also a good way to document how things might have been on set.

The Timeless one is interesting too because it's of a deleted scene, we never see Chakotay look at a dead Janeway (how deliciously macabre!), but at some point in time it was in the script and they filmed it.

Hmm this bts picture of Janeway in the Cardigan is adorable! I believe it was worn by Kate for a Charity but look how cute she looks? Makes me wish we saw her mess around with things like that more because 7 Years is a long ass time to be in uniform everyday ( coming from someone who went to school in a Uniform and enjoyed it for the most part). Casual Fridays anyone?

I love this gif. It's from the first shoots of Caretaker and Kate looks so radiant! Her smile is is breathtaking! Whenever I see this gif I get a sense of delight. Poor thing had no idea what she was getting herself into, haha. Really though, check out the original Caretaker photos, they're super-cool. The history behind it is fascinating; I'd love to see more footage from that version of the pilot episode. Unfortunately, it's probably not preserved well, much like lots of Paramount's historical material.

On a similar trend, it's fun to see this set of pictures too. It's for the First Contact film / maybe the Universal studios ride, when she reprised her role as Vice AdmiralJaneway. Kate was genuinely delighted to do this cameo and it shows. As per her operandum she put her whole self into this small segment and that's so darling. It makes me wish we had more of this Janeway at that point in time. I love post Endgame chubby-Janeway. In a fictional sense it denotes that she is comfortable or stressed to be an Admiral (sadly it's the latter in real life) or whatever and I love that for her.

These kind of pictures are fun because it's been said that at times it was the most playful set to be on. There are tales that the cast were not that serious all the time. You get that impression here, and it's probably why the majority of them are still good friends to this day. They're like a family bros!!! Having worked in media I know that wrapping up after working on something for a long time is really rewarding and I bet they had a good time at parties.

Apropos previous, the opposite can be said. While they had fun, the hours were long and the scripts intensive. Kate was around for all of the episodes of Voyager in one way or another, and still managed to bring her A-game each time. She is truly admirable! Seeing her so exhausted is charming. She had a lot of weight to carry for the franchise and did an exemplary job performing her way through 7 years of weird and wonderful material. I wonder how often they fell asleep on set? I know I would. Get some rest queen!

Finally, I've been following Prodigy bts as best I can, and because of my career in animation I get pretty interested in Production art. I love seeing the fast metamorphosis of a visual style. It's really impressive how much attention they applied to the designs, maintaining the older stuff, while adapting a new frontier. One of the lead artists made some pretty neat observations to get Kate's appearance right. It's so cool that they documented that journey, because from my dabbling I know she has a very beautiful, distinct face that isn't easy to capture.

ANYWAY Thankyou for reading my fat thesis fellas. tl;dr i love this stinky Startrek Voyager and by extension the franchise.

[cipheramnesia]

Greener Grass (2019) doesn't beg comparison to other films and filmmakers as much as demand it, and it does so in the way of many unique works of art - not so much because of being derivative, but more because it inspires the same sense of disquiet and upset, hits on the same dark touchstones, as others have. We want something to articulate what exactly this experience is like, and there are few enough artists working in the same sandbox that the first response is something like "it's John Waters meets David Lynch."

As comparisons go, it's no detrimental. The less you know going in, the better, but those two names together I think evoke the mixture of highly stylized, deep running dread that characterizes Greener Grass. It's also a movie which invites an inventory of all the surreal directions it goes, but that kind of list feels shallow. Lots of media is filled with strange events, but not very many works sell it quite the same. Still, the opening of the movie, much like the basic comparison, immediately tells you what to expect in tone. Suburban mom Jill, baby on her lap, perfect pink barbie clothes, watches her son fall on the soccer field. Her face twitches and struggles behind a wide, blank smile that will remain in place for the majority of the film as she watches him laying in the grass, moving his limbs sluggishly, as if she is staring at a dying fish. She turns to Lisa, next to her, in perfect blue barbie clothes, and asks if Lisa wants her baby. Neither woman deviates from the blank smile, they both speak almost like actors struggling to keep in character, their faces twitch, everything about them undercuts their dialog their expressions, the mood of the bright sunny scene and cheerful sitcom score, and Lisa decides she will take the baby.

Everything about the scene screams about something terrible being wrong, both in obvious and subtle ways, and that's much of the movie itself. Greener Grass on its surface is about the comfortable lie of the suburbs and the upper middle class of the USA, but deeper down, it's about the surface in general, not just about how hard and sad life is for rich white women. While the movie is utilizing that imagery and those tropes specifically, it's to a larger purpose speaking to isolation and privilege, masking and social roles we use, toxic masculinity and microaggressions. The plot, such as it is, may be one woman slowly falling apart, but the meaning of the movie is much broader and more intriguing - and most importantly speaks to the world beyond only what's pretty and expensive and empty. All the characters are in a barbie dreamland, in barbie dream houses, but no matter where they go the reality of people who aren't neurotypical or white or able bodied or wealthy or straight is inescapable. The strangeness and dread that lurks under blank smiles never lets the viewer relax into comfortable satire or simplistic center left reassurance of one Bad Oppressor and one Good Oppressed. It's a movie constantly screaming, through clenched teeth, how all of us are being forced into this performance, the pretty lie, that claims everything about the USA is perfect and happy. It's an amazing work of art, highly recommend checking it out while it's still free on Tubi, or anywhere good movies can be pirated.

[fallenhero-rebirth]

Got asked for some writing advice

How did you improve your writing specifically beyond 'just writing more'?

The first thing is to read different things from different genres. Read an old book, and see how that is written. Read a genre you normally don't read. Read some poetry. Go to the library and walk to a random book, open it in the middle and read. Read on paper, and out loud. And then read some more. And when you read, try to think about why you don't like or likes something. Is it boring? Why? Is it hard to understand? Why? What is it in the words you like? Does it feel good to read out loud? If it doesn't, why not?

A tip is to take a book you think is interesting. Take a paragraph from the middle at random, and write it down in a word document. Pay attention to how it feels to write. How are the sentences? Do they feel different from your own? Close the book and continue to write a few paragraphs. Does your style change? What is the difference between your paragraphs and the one above? Sentence length? Comma use? Does it make it better or worse

Another tip is to write down a bit of dialogue from a tv show or movie you like. There might be transcripts online even. Take that dialogue and write a scene with it. Especially if you find dialogue hard to sound natural this might be freeing. Or, you might even find that what sounded good on the screen looks terrible on paper when it's not said by a charismatic actor.

A third is to write fanfiction and try to make it as good as you can. Try to make it real, as if it might have been from the original source. Think about what it was you liked about it, and then try to imitate that and make your own story. Fanfiction gets a bad rep, but it is a great way to experiment with writing without having to come up with characters and a world. That way you can just focus on the language.

Would you have any tips regarding writing interesting characters? Mine are always very flat and bland OR 'mary sues'

First of all, there is nothing wrong with a "mary sue". The way this is used these days, it might as well mean "protagonist". If Batman or James Bond can get away with their shit, your protagonist certainly can too. And your characters will be flat at the start because a story consists of so many parts. You have your language, your plot, your world, your story rhythm. And when you are starting out, there's simply too many things to focus on. You won't get depth in all of them, and the characters are what you spot being flat first, because that's usually what attracts us to a story in the first place.

My characters were terribly flat when I started out, but I wrote short story horror so it didn't matter. Nobody read that for the characters.

A trick I have to try to get my characters to feel alive is to write arguments. Take two characters you have trouble with and let them talk. Argue about something. Be stuck in an awkward situation together. Don't bother writing anything but dialogue, never mind the actual scene. Just write them talking, and after a while you might get a feel for how they feel different from one another. Maybe they start talking about things about them that you didn't even know. Explore. Have fun. Have them say something weird. Something hurtful. Write reactions. Don't bother thinking if it's usable or not. I've written pages of dialogue just to get a feel for how people talk.

I usually build characters by combining archetypes. I start with one people will know immediately, then add another, and a third. They will be uncovered one at a time, adding depth. Let's take Ricardo Ortega for example. The first archetype is "the sexy leading man/hero". Then, we get to know what I fondly call "the himbo". And finally, we discover "the clever, sneaky asshole". I didn't need to bring in all those things at once, as long as I got writing the first archetype, people would be interested and intrigued when they learned about the new facets.

Would you have any tips on writing humor/banter? You're pretty dang good at it but I could never figure out how to be funny lmao all the jokes I write are Extremely Cringe.

Oh I wish. I honestly have no idea. I was terrible writing characters and dialogue. I think something clicked when I wrote massive amounts of DA2 fanfic, because that was a game which consisted of nothing but banter, so I tried to mimic it the best I could. I have never liked comedies or really understood humor, so I never try to be funny. It's the one part of my writing I truly does not understand, some of my characters are just like that.

What's your plot planning process like, if you have a consistent one? I can only figure out the very generic broad strokes but it falls apart as soon as I try to come up with details.

All plots are generic broad strokes. Rebirth is basically just emo protagonist monologues a lot, meets up with some old friends and proceeds to beat them up. That's it. All plots will look flat and boring in your head, because what makes a plot cool and interesting is that you don't know what's going to happen. You do. You're the author. So of course it will look flat and uninteresting in your head. The hardest thing is trying to ignore this.

My workaround to this is only knowing the barest of broad strokes. I know where I want to go, who the opposition is, some basic scenes that needs to be there (not in detail) and then I write and discover things as I go along. That is the only way for me to remain interested in the plot, if I had planned it in detail I'd get bored. And oh, sure, there's a lot of foreshadowing and hidden things in my writing, but that's only because I know some big things that's going to happen. It's not like I have sat down and detail planned every chapter, what things I need to plant there, and so on. A lot of the times I forget things, and have to go back and add them, and so on. I would say focus on the characters before the plot. If you manage to figure out how to write fun characters first, nobody will care if the plot is bland.

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

Sophia: This was the first season that James started directing on our show and he got so passionate about it. I remember he was starting to shadow the producers and starting to shadow Paul. When Nathan knocked on Brooke's door, I had this immediate sense memory moment. I had forgotten this until I saw the scene. James went and advocated to the writers that in all the connecting Nathan was doing with Quentin, we were missing the Nathan and Brooke being essentially the same characters in high school. We were missing them connect as grownups about their journey. He pitched that!

Joy: He did? I didn't know that!

Sophia: Yes, he pitched that. He was like, 'I think we're missing an opportunity and with this character having gone through this thing, this violence, I think it's weird that this man who's been in her life all this time who's the only person who knows her journey with toxic parents and whatever, isn't gonna talk to her about it.' And he was right.

Joy: So insightful.

Sophia: It was such a good scene. I remember now, he went and like argued... I mean, not argued, but had this great idea and they loved it and put it in the episode. He was directing before he was even directing. That's a cheat code. Having the confidence as an actor, 6 years into a job, to be like 'hey, if this was my real life with my real friends i've been working with for 6 years, I would immediately go check on this person. Why aren't we doing that on camera?' And they put it in the show! That boy deserves a writing credit.

Joy: Let's talk about that scene though because one of my notes is 'Everyone's acting like Brooke is acting normal' and it's really strange to me and I was so glad to see Nathan walk in and even though he didn't acknowledge flat out "Hey, you're being weird. This is beyond you just fell down the stairs" but he was preserving her pride and privacy and all those things she was clearly wanting to hold onto but also letting her know " Hey, i'm here for you" in a very real and important way beyond a suggestion of therapy, which was nice, but still not noticing what is really going on. Beyond "Here's your apartment key." He just dropped into a level of acknowledging that there was something deeper going on and I appreciated that.

Sophia: I did too and I liked that he was really gentle but he didn't-- like Nathan doesn't let Brooke get away with it. When she says "I'm fine. Really" his response is "That sounds like something i'd say" and then he goes into this whole thing "Yes, we've experienced a loss but it doesn't mean your problems are any less important" and then he reminds her like of their similar roads, their same cliques in high school, their parents who were like children. We were these bad versions of ourselves and look who we've become and I know how hard it is. I don't want you to isolate. I want you to come talk to me. I'm an ally here for you. I think there's something so important, interestingly because Brooke had this terrible relationship with her parents and they haven't been there for her and Nathan has had this terrible relationship with Dan but like Deb is finally showing up for him. He's able to show up for Brooke as the dad he is... Jamie's dad. I felt like he was being my father figure in this scene and it was so kind. Brooke's never had that.

💕💕 Drama Queens 💕💕

[hello-nichya-here]

Let’s be real. The only reason toxic Zutarians and delusional Zukkas became so rampant is for the same reason.

Zutararians and Zukkas are two generations of the same issue.

Maiko is written so incoherently and Mai gets no development of her own. Zuko and her are a terrible match and treat each other poorly (I know the fandom can’t agree which one is at fault but I don’t think it matters).

Fans searching for a more satisfying conclusion of the fandom fav Zuko stumble into the waiting clutches of Zutarians or Zukkas who bombard them with their terrible takes, OOC writing, and admittedly beautiful fan art. Before you know it, they lose touch with actual canon.

This is all Bryke’s fault for writing Maiko terribly.

And yet people blame Zucest… nonsense!

Anon, I don't mean to be rude, but you're just wrong all around. Not only do I not think Maiko is terrible (might not be my OTP, but I am fond of it), but even if it WAS and fans had to rely on fanon for good romance, that does NOT explain or justify the way Zutarians and Zukkas not only act like their personal preference is objectively better than everyone else's but also actively lie to themselves and others about their ships totally being secretly canon but screwed over at the last second.

They do that for one reason alone: Entitlement. They're entitled, spoiled cry babies who screetch at anyone with a different preference because they take it as a personal attack.

Bryke writting Maiko any differently would not have made these people less insufferable. Hell, their ships hapenning in the exact way they wanted them to would also not do the trick, if anything it'd make them worse.

It doesn't matter what you think about Bryke as writers and people, or how you feel about the canon ships: The bad behavior of Zutara and Zukka fans is the responsibility of Zutara and Zukka fans, nobody else.

I don't like Legend Of Korra or the comics. Never sent a death threat to the people who made them. Never harassed fans of it or had them doxxed. I love Zucest to unhealthy degrees, but you won't see me claiming "There was totally a deleted scene of them kissing in the finale instead of fighting, but evil Bryke ruined it all, and if you don't believe my obvious bullshit I'll scream at you until I'm blue in the face!"

I LOATHE the ending of How I Met Your Mother with all my being, and resent the showrunners for being such dicks to fans and complaining we didn't praise their terrible writting. I would NEVER accuse them of abusing their authority over the actors and being predators just because I disagree with awful messages the finale sent - something zutarians do Kataang and Maiko fans ALL THE TIME.

It's really, really, really, really easy to not do that kind of stuff.

Be critical of Bryke and their writting, have whatever opinion you wanna have on Maiko, but let's not pretend writers/showrunners are to blame for FANS attacking people.

It'd be like going "Oh, this actress and her fans got death threats because audiences didn't like her character, clearly this is the writers fault for mishandling said character" NOPE, the blame of that kind of awful behavior ALWAYS lies solely with the people who choose to act like that.

[corroded-coffin]

the way cobra kai fandom absolutely IMPLODED because of the johnny/carmen baby plot is so bizarre to me... like you guys know you can just ignore canon, right? right??? the end of the world as we know it is not here and the whole final season will not center this baby, it'll probably be an epilogue thing?????

i'm deeply Meh about this particular plotline too and would prefer it to not be a thing, but to be honest it seems par for the course considering how aggressively hetero this show has been from day 1

so many "there's no way carmen/johnny (either/both) would want another kid" takes - why? and for that matter, y'all know that a lot of unplanned babies live perfectly happy lives, right?

i've seen arguments that they're not financially stable enough? they seem to be doing fine, and even so, poor people are allowed to have babies if they want to. also: they're like, besties with the larussos now, do you really think daniel OR amanda would just let their kid live in poverty if it came to that??

(sidebar: i swear to god i saw people saying that carmen having a top gun themed fantasy was unrealistic or weird when i literally could NOT escape the tumblr top gun renaissance which had a huge overlap with CK fandom??? at this point it just kinda sounds like you hate carmen???)

also like, idk how to tell people this but... lawrusso was never gonna be canon you guys. this show is written by a bunch of straight dudes as nostalgia bait. it does truly have some great emotional moments, but it's also at the end of the day a show for all of these middle-aged dudes to go "hey remember the 80s??? weren't they so EPIC????"

not to mention i'm pretty sure some of the actors (ralph and billy especially) have some sway over the way their characters are written, and i just don't see them being that bold. ON TOP OF ALL THAT - it's netflix! they are here to milk this cash cow for all it's worth and that means appealing to the lowest common denominator.

that doesn't mean you can't enjoy fanworks!!!! i ship them too!!!!! everyone is queer as FUCK in my mind and it's SO fun to explore that as a fan and no one involved with the show can ever take that away from you!!!! i just feel like a lot of people have these overblown expectations of what SHOULD happen in canon and then are disappointed when the show inevitably just does what it does. of course it would be fuckin Sexy if the show ended in a johnny-carmen-amanda-daniel polycule, but it not happening doesn't mean it's a Bad Terrible Show That Should've Never Been Made™, you know???

TL;DR: stop making excuses for hating on my girl carmen!!!!!!!!!!! and if you hate the Stupid Karate Soap Opera so much for not being as deep or groundbreaking as you'd like it to be, perhaps it's just time to watch a different show.

[elwolfen]

Alfred Molinathon Day 9

Prick Up Your Ears (1987)

Kenneth Halliwell

His Role: Quite the perturbed man, huh? Both of them stuck in this seemingly never-ending toxic cycle. Kenneth being left to the wayside as Joe shines in the limelight must have been a terrible blow. As he said in the end, "In the way of circumstances and background I had everything an artist could possibly want. It was practically a blueprint. I was programmed to be a novelist or a playwright. But I'm not and you are!" In the beginning he had plenty of things that could go for him as he said, a novelist, a playwright even an actor. Yet overtime, he didn't continually presue them, possibly the time he spent in prison made it more difficult? His mental health took a deeper divot over the years? It could've been plenty of things. A cocktail.

While he had his extremes, I do feel deeply sympathetic towards him. I know what it's like at one point it seems everything is fine, and in order, it's all looking up and then the next something or someone could tip you off and you suddenly developed a heightened mania. You lash out, inappropriately so. A few minutes later, it's like it never happened because something else grabs your attention. Being with someone who seems unsympathetic to your mental blights, your needs, and your lack of direction can make you feel a bit deranged. To have someone excel and be successful at something you were once good at or something you taught them, while you just idle by and question what happened to that spark can be very dreary.

I do wish that he was able to have the help that he desperately needed. It would've also helped if he had more support too, but Joe wasn't that. Joe felt that this relationship was dying yet didn't feel the need to push the question of why or actually figure out what to do. What was he hoping for? For Kenneth to just up and leave? Get himself admitted? I don't know. I'm not saying Joe was the main problem. As I said, they were both toxic towards each other. Kenneth's extreme emotions and Joe's lack of empathy can make for quite a tumultuous relationship.

The beginning of their relationship was nice to watch, but knowing how it all ends... it's a little unfortunate.

Besides that, he's such dramatic and funny to watch, even though he doesn't mean to come off that way. It is a comedy, after all.

One of my favorite scenes (right after "have a wank"), it reminds me of my choir class... I will not elaborate.

Really, I could go on and on, but it's best I don't. I don't have the best writing skills and don't have a very sophisticated inner dictionary. So...

~~~

The Rest of the Movie: Joe himself. He was also quite funny himself and was oozing with charm. But as I said, his lack of care was a bit off-putting to me. Yet I still also relate to him. Trying to relate to people who experience sadness and anger always makes me quiet and unable to help quell or calm any of it. I don't feel deeply as I should. It's something I constantly struggle with and to watch a character who is always trying to charm people while unable to do much for someone he possibly cares deeply about's feelings, hits a bit close. But where we differ is that I try to understand and reason while he berates and ignores.

I mean, this man paid another guy to please Kenneth to boost him up and make him believe that the wig helped. Which, I didn't know if that was horrible of him or kind of him? And on the topic of the wig! Did he do that out of genuine kindness, or was he actually ashamed of Kenneth? Or perhaps he wanted to shut him up for a little while.

Outside of that, he charms nearly everyone he meets. I mean, look at his cheeky grin. It's hard not to be. He's can be sly when he wants to be. He can lie right through his teeth with authorities. This includes throwing Ken under the bus very hard during their time on prison.

Learning that he could write fourty words a minute and him not utilizing it and doubting his writing then to see him only write all the time was a fascinating climb to watch while Kenneth goes in the complete opposite direction.

I can't see much about his work due to the fact that we don't get to see what his shows are about in the film, just the success. Makes sense. If I wanted to, I could seek it out.

Again, I can go on and on about these two, but wording my thoughts is a difficult task. Why did I do this to myself?

~~~

Peggy isn't nearly as interesting to me personally. She just narrates sometimes, which makes sense due to the framing device of her being interviewed about her connections with the couple. She also has more insight than most thanks to her stealing Joe's diaries and claiming she lost them.

Mr and Mrs. Lahr were also uninteresting. It's not any of the actors fault at all. It's Joe and Kenneth's story, I'm more intrigued by that.