Great story! You really capture Joe's POV. Bet he wishes he was back in Dayton!

*arriving via comments on old Phantom pages*
Poor Norma... She has always reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera; a monster, but a pitiful monster. (The suppressed silent "Queen Kelly" really does turn out to be a dire film, though: the clip we see from it in this movie is probably the best part.)

"The poor old dame was made of glass, and even were she a bauble he wasn't too fond of, there was no excuse for bad handling that would only break her" - and that one was a nice metaphor...

Wonderful. Simply wonderful.

I can't believe nobody has review this yet...

It's honestly one of the best-written insights into Joe's brain I've ever read. I love the bitterness, cynicism and helplessness and the fact you wandered into territory nobody tries to think about... whether they're a Joe/Norma shipper (like me) or otherwise.

I commend you for this, it's wonderful. Very, very movie-centric, too. I think Billy Wilder would have been very proud. :)