#Cybil is not that short

[mooseonahunt]

Guy who’s only ever seen fog in Silent Hill seeing it for the first time in real life: Getting a lot of Silent Hill vibes from this

[kookie-star]

Just yesterday, I was binging a 3 hours video of the entire game series and watched the 2 movies. Without a doubt, one of the best horror games ever done, happy 25th, Team Silent, and the Silent Hill series! ❤️ Beautiful soundtrack yet terrifying storytelling. The perfect combo 🥺❤️❤️❤️

To the game that started it all 25 years ago. Long live Team Silent.

[mortallyatomicmoon]

ok so Joey is canonically hot. Like, Madge thinks he’s hot, Cybill thinks he’s hot, Pam thinks he’s at least somewhat attractive (in one of the shorts he asks her how she’s doing and she seems charmed), and now Amber. And I mean we all heard what Nicole called him in the short with Amber (joke or not she still called him that). As far as I can tell no other character has been hit on by that many other characters.

that’s all. I have no real point. Just something I noticed. Lol

[eeveearoace-creative]

a speech about goncharov i made for my public speaking class!

note: this is not exactly what will be spoken for my class, as i am not reading my speech word-for-word. however, this is an outline of the speech i will be presenting, and i thought y'all might be interested in seeing it.

Introduction:

The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience of the fake movie “Goncharov” and how it has impacted me. My goal is to inform my audience of how the fake movie “Goncharov” came to be and of the value it has. 

By a quick show of hands, how many of you have seen or heard of Goncharov before? [Quick pause as I wait for no hands – or almost no hands – to go up.] Alright. So, Goncharov was a 1973 mafia movie supported by Martin Scorsese, and has been widely regarded as the greatest mafia movie of all time. It’s about the Russian mafia in Naples, Italy, and follows a variety of characters such as Goncharov himself, Katya, who is Goncharov’s wife, Audrei “The Banker” Daddano, and my personal favorite, Joseph “Ice Pick Joe” Morelli, with actors such as Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, and Lynda Carter. So, why have you never heard of this movie before? Well, everything I just told you? It’s all a lie. It’s all made up. Goncharov? Yeah. It never actually existed. 

I remember being part of the Goncharov fandom as it first blew up on Tumblr in late 2022. It was a great source of joy for me and made a significant impact on Tumblr’s culture. I am going to show my audience how Goncharov came to be, the creativity is spawned, and briefly reflect on how the website it originated on was vital for its growth. 

So, what is Goncharov, and what is going on here?

Origins:

Goncharov was a fake movie created by Tumblr in late 2022. 

Sometime prior to August 22nd, 2020, Tumblr user ZootyCoon posted a photograph of knockoff boots they had bought that advertised a non-existent movie, Goncharov, on them, claiming that Goncharov was “the greatest mafia movie of all time.” In response, on August 22nd, 2020, another Tumblr user, AbandonedAmbition, commented “This idiot hasn’t seen Goncharov”, which was then added to the post itself by Tumblr user LoserMo. 

While ZootyCoon’s original post did receive some attention, it wasn’t until November 18th, 2022 that Goncharov truly hit it off as a cultural phenomenon, thanks to Tumblr user Beelzeebub, who posted a fan-made poster for Goncharov, receiving almost 20,000 likes and over 15,000 reblogs in three days. 

Fandom:

As it turns out, you don't actually need a piece of media to be real in order for a fandom to form around it.

Countless fanworks were created for Goncharov, including fanart, fanfiction, music, scene analysis and analysis of motifs, gif sets, memes, and so much more. As mentioned in a YouTube video by YouTuber ColeyDoesThings, there was even a time where Goncharov had more fanfiction on a popular fanfiction website than James Cameran’s Avatar, the highest grossing movie of all time. 

So much lore was being created for Goncharov in such a short amount of time that efforts had to be made to record it all. Multiple individuals attempted to create a “master copy” of Goncharov’s lore, including what is now a 48-page Google doc that includes a plot summary, brief descriptions of various scenes, and links and sources to various contributors. 

But Goncharov could not be contained just to Tumblr. Various media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, and The Washington Post all posted articles about Goncharov, an internet phenomenon. 

Tumblr:

But, why? Why this fake movie, and why on Tumblr of all places? 

As a social media site, Tumblr has an incredibly weird culture. There are no public follower counts, no verification for users, and a whole array of weird social rules. But one thing that really makes Tumblr special is the interaction between large and small blogs alike. Because anyone can and is encouraged to create their own content and add to others’ content, something like Goncharov could very quickly become a “yes, and” game among Tumblr’s users. 

Tumblr is also very much a “fandom” site. Fanart, fanfiction, and other fanworks dominate the website, and Goncharov in its heyday was no exception. Interactions between fans and fan creators is what really causes fandoms to grow and survive, so it makes sense that Goncharov thrived the way it did considering how easy it was to find fellow fans. With no pressure to reveal your “true” self, there’s a lot less pressure when you share what you’ve created. 

Conclusion:

So, what can we learn here?

The fake movie “Goncharov” was unintentionally created by a tag on a pair of off-brand boots but didn’t truly become popular until Beelzebub’s poster. Fandom quickly grew around it, creating countless fanworks, but Tumblr’s unique culture as a social media site is what truly allowed it to thrive. 

There is joy and creativity in unusual places. Whether or not you believe Goncharov to be a waste of time, the popularity of a fake movie says something about the human fascination with stories. Thank you. 

[saisew]

1970s trends seen on Daisy Jones

1. Fur coats

Everyone had one.

Pictured on Cher, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Carly Simon, Janis Joplin, Anita Pallenberg, and Linda Ronstadt

2. Wrap tops

Bonus points for wearing a brooch to keep it closed while on stage.

Pictured on Stevie Nicks, Jane Birkin, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt

3. Shorts

Short shorts specifically. The possibilities were endless – denim, suede, crochet, patchwork.

Pictured on Cybill Shepherd, Linda Ronstadt, and Patty Pravo

4. Afghan Coats

The combination of two of the 70s favorites materials – fur and suede.

Pictured on David Bowie and ABBA

5. Patchwork

This outfit was specifically inspired by designer Melody Sabatasso.

Pictured on Cher

6. White top + Blue Jeans

An effortless classic

Pictured on Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Jane Birkin, and Farrah Fawcet

7. Kimonos

Like a shawl but less work

Pictured on Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, and Christine McVie

8. The white witch

Free and ethereal

Pictured on Cher, Stevie Nicks, and Rose Simpson

This is just a few trends, I’ll probably make a part 2 after the next episodes come out.

[skaruresonic]

I don't understand how someone is able to namedrop Heather Mason but not Harry Mason. He's her father. They have the same last name. Got all your SH3 info from Dead by Daylight, didn't you, Squidward

"Silent Hill is based on Centralia" is a myth perpetuated by Gans' films.

The Silent Hill of the games was not based on any particular town. The most you could say is that Team Silent based 2's aesthetics on several locations in San Bruno, California:

Letter From Silent Heaven - Rarities - Old Neely Street

Also, the games imply they take place in Maine:

Silent Hill, Maine | Silent Hill Wiki | Fandom

...whereas the Silent Hill of the films occurs in West Virginia.

---

I have many problems with Full Circle theory, not the least of which being that it erodes Silent Hill's ambiguity by forcing it to define some set of "rules" on which it operates. It would also require every character's emotional journey to be one of redemption and wrap everything up in a neat little bow...

But even worse, the theory assumes the town itself is sentient. That it cares about what happens to any particular character.

It is not. Silent Hill merely behaves as though it is because it is holding up a mirror to the characters' psyches. To assume Silent Hill has intentionality is to assume it is a god of sorts, rather than a force that manifests one's thoughts and feelings.

Mirrors have no sentience. They cannot force you to see anything. It is your perception which changes what you glimpse in your reflection.

The 1999 Konami-published Silent Hill Koshiki Guidebook likens the cycles of the Otherworld to the stages of REM sleep. I think most phenomena in SH can be attributed to this process instead:

silenthillchronicle.net/shkgb.htm

Q: Why does the town suddenly become dark? A: Even in the nightmare world, there is a cycle. It becomes night (?) on a number of occasions as Harry moves about the town. In the same way, there are also many times when aspects of the town and its buildings change completely. For the sake of convenience, this will be referred to as the "right side" and "reverse side" in this book. These changes occur because there is a cycle in the world of Alessa's nightmares which envelops the town. In the same way that a person normally repeats REM sleep and non-REM sleep in regular cycles while he or she is sleeping, when the nightmare world approaches a deeper darkness (sleep), a phenomenon occurs in which light is almost completely taken away and the world shifts into an even deeper nightmare as the cycle shifts again. As for the "right side" and the "reverse side," in short, it isn't that one is reality and one is a dream; the fact is that neither is reality. Incidentally, the reason the "reverse side" takes on such an ominous aspect is that with her burned body, Alessa's endless nightmares were twisted and amplified by thoughts of the malevolent god. Her hatred and terror became nourishment on which the malevolent deity thrived.

---

What's more, not everyone who comes to Silent Hill is guilty of a crime. Cybil's worst crime was driving too quickly on the road at night. Harry's was swerving to avoid hitting a pedestrian. Douglas Cartland never should have trusted Claudia when he took on Alessa Gillespie's missing persons case. Henry Townshend picked the wrong apartment to live in. And, God forbid, Eileen Galvin once gave her doll to a homeless man.

If the Full Circle theory applies to every single character, then that paints a very dark and punitive portrait of the town, where even innocents cannot escape. It once again implies intentionality on Silent Hill's part, casting it in the role of a god.

However, if rehabilitation of wayward souls is the town's goal, it's going about it in an ineffective way. If both kindness and guilt are punished indiscriminately, with one's fate being as much a dice roll as a result of their choices, there is therefore no "learning" a lesson that cannot inherently be learned. Those who are doomed to enter the Otherworld through nothing more than bad luck can expect to be trapped within it forever, or perhaps die.

How does the town determine how many chances any given person will receive? One? Two? Ten? Five million? How can a person know when they've reached their last chance? How can these "rules" of the Otherworld's be learned if they're subject to arbitrary change depending on the severity of the crime and/or guilt experienced?

There are too many holes in this theory to make it watertight. Occam's Razor would instead contend that Silent Hill does not punish people. People punish themselves. The town merely gives them the tools to do so.

[manyfandomocs]

Okay in honour of finally finally finding a version of pretty smart that I could download/convert/turn into Gregg scene packs I have to ask

Any crossover ideas for the new army of Gregg ocs? 🥺👀

Absolutely I tried to keep these relatively short but it was hard lmao

Wyatt Hayden

Adrian Nelson & Amanda Weston (idk if poly vibes or bestie vibes but something)

Allie St. James

Annabel Harkness (just vibes)

Anthony Byrne (doppelgänger fun)

Ashley Nardini (Cinderella Story: A Christmas Wish said this is a necessity)

Bekah Chamberlain (Idk I think she’d be fun for him)

Casey Boone

Chelsea Geller (idk idk just vibes)

Conrad Huntzberger (I’m just gay. That’s it this is just for Me)

Cosette Gerard

Gabi Mariano

Harry Bechtel & Troy Donahue-Castillo (again I’m just gay)

Heather Belleville

Kaitlyn Lister

Kaylee Hayden (we’ve already talked about them but)

Kippi Doose

Lia Belleville (idk why I’m vibing with the Belleville’s)

Maisie McCrae

Malcolm & Marianne Medina (I couldn’t pick)

Marley Tinsdale

Paige Huntzberger

Romy Danes

Sage Hall

Sophie Dugray

Verity Huntzberger

And then just every Gilmore

Rhett Sheppard

Abigail Claremont-Diaz (either instead of crushing on Alex forever he’s crushed on her or he still has crushed on Alex but seeing Alex and Henry makes him realize it was Abi all along??)

Caroline Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Oliver Cochrane

Cate Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Isabel Luna

Kennedy Quinlan

London Carter

Madison Richards

Margaret Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Cooper Sullivan

Ainsley Winchester

Anna Winchester

Cybil

Dinah Novak

Elle Winchester

Esther Colt

Evelyn Jacobs

Kat Smith

Katia McKinley

Nevaeh Murphy

Samira Devlin

Maximillian Sterling (forgot about my Genevieve Sterling from Riverdale so his last name maaaay change we’ll see)

Abigail White

Blair Dupont

Dominic Forrest (I’m gay)

Eva Gilbert

Harry Saltzman (I’m gay)

Karina Mikaelson

Karissa Marshall

Ronnie Lockwood

Rowan Saltzman (poly with Caroline perhaps perhaps)

Graham Donovan

Anastasia Campbell

Annette Diggory

Bobbie Fortescue

Carina Goldberg (Squib kids squib kids)

Clio Lupin

Danica Lestrange

Elvira Lestrange

Laurel Prewett

Lianne Slughorn

Lyarra Vance

Lysithea Sewlyn

Maia Lupin

Maristela Carrillo

Mavis Bardot

Miranda Granger

Nineve Weasley

Talia Lovegood

Venus Malfoy

Maaaaybe the Invictus crew if we want Andrew to have a doppelgänger too

[haggishlyhagging]

The eviction of TV's single women repeats a pattern established in television's last backlash. Early television actually offered quite a number of single-woman shows, although most featured hapless schoolmarms, maids, and typists in such fare as "Private Secretary," "Ella Miss," "My Friend Irma," "Our Miss Brooks," and "Meet Millie." By the mid-1950s, however, every program with a single woman in the lead had been canceled. And the unwed heroine would remain out of sight throughout the early and mid-1960s, appearing only as an incidental character, a reminder to female viewers of the woes of unwed life. On "The Dick Van Dyke Show," single Sally Rogers served to throw into relief the good fortunes and greater femininity of Van Dyke's doted-upon housewife—played by Mary Tyler Moore. In the many doctor and hospital shows of the '60s, single women surfaced only as patients, their illnesses typically caused by some "selfish" act—getting an abortion, having an affair or, most popular, disobeying a doctor's orders.

But in 1970, Mary Tyler Moore traded in the Van Dyke dollhouse for her own apartment and show. Moore's Mary Richards was not only unwed, she was more than thirty years old. Marriage panic did not afflict her. She had real male and female friends, enjoyed a healthy sex life, turned down men who didn't appeal to her, and even took the pill—without winding up on a hospital bed in the final scene. (She was, however, still the subordinated pseudo-schoolgirl to her boss; while her officemates called their chief "Lou," she always said "Mr. Grant.") Female viewers adored her. The program maintained top ratings for its entire run, won twenty-five Emmys, and it spun off two other successful sitcoms with independent female leads. Meanwhile, other programmers got the message and drafted their own shows about strong and independent unmarried women, from the realistic in "One Day at a Time" to the superhuman in "The Bionic Woman."

In 1986, a decade after her previous triumph, the networks returned Mary Tyler Moore to prime time—as a burned-out scowling divorcée whose career is only an object of derision. In "Mary," she writes the consumer Help Line column for a trashy tabloid. She has no confidantes on or off the job, a fact that heightens an already bleakly drawn existence. Next door, her earthy best friend Rhoda is replaced by a narcissistic single career woman, an ad executive who is desperate for a ring from any man. In one episode, the neighbor meets a mobster and announces her engagement the same day.

Moore's neighbor was not the only single television woman willing to lower her expectations in the quest for a marriage license. Under pressure from the network, the creators of "Kate and Allie" married off divorced mother Allie to a colorless suitor she had known only a short while. That same season on "Moonlighting," a pregnant Maddie Hayes got hitched to a dishwater-dull accountant right after they met on a train. Cybill Shepherd, who played Maddie, was adamantly opposed to this plot twist, and viewers were similarly disgusted. The show, in fact, was swamped with so many outraged letters that the producers finally had to annul the marriage.

Maddie's coerced matrimony was only the latest development in a long-running campaign to cow this independent female figure. David Addison, a carefree bachelor and Maddie's employee, ultimately tames his "queen bee" boss the old-fashioned way; he slaps her, and she surrenders to his advances. Still not satisfied, the series' producers later have her grovel before the preening David, literally on her knees. The shaming of Maddie Hayes was no idle writing exercise. It mirrored a behind-the-scenes campaign, conducted by both executive producer Glenn Caron and actor Bruce Willis (who played David), to curb the single Shepherd's "aggressive" personality. They told the press they didn't like how she was always voicing her opinion when she disagreed with the show's direction. At Caron's behest, the network sent Shepherd a disciplinary letter. The memo ordered her, on penalty of suit or the show's cancellation, to follow the director's orders, submit to timed breaks, and ask for permission before leaving the set. "I felt ill when I received it," Shepherd said at the time. "It was like reform school."

-Susan Faludi, Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women

[gloomiegalaxie]

Cybil Vulgaris

she/her

spellcaster - inherited from her father, Flynt

high maintenance & short tempered

demeter's younger sister. they kind of get along? everyone in that family had a difficult dynamic, and after Flynt passed none of them decided to stay in contact.

Corrine still tries, but things are so strained that most phone calls are left unanswered.

Flynt and Corrine did make some pretty adorable kids though. Demeter also has a twin that ill eventually post. he gets along with no one because he's a dick.

[elfyprincess]

I really need advice. I’ll keep this as short as possible.

I’m 17 & my dad is…dad age. (Idk how old he is tbh.) But that doesn’t really matter. My dad & his girlfriend recently bought a house together. They both owned a lot of pets, so combining the two houses left us with…a lot a lot. My dad said that he might get rid of some of our animals. I was really upset, but he promised not to get rid of our two kittens Cece & Cybil. When we were first transferring everything there was a week where they were at the old house & we were at the new house. I kept telling my dad how much I missed them & asking when they would be transferred to the new house. He said they would be in the new house the next time my siblings and I visited (I do 50/50 custody w/ my mom and my dad). The next time we were there, he told us Cybil had escaped while moving. Me & my two siblings were devastated. All three of us were crying. I probably handled it the worst. I adored that cat. He apologized profusely for losing her. He told us we would get our other pets microchipped. We put up missing posters. With a $100 reward. We went out searching with treats. We put food in the front yard. My dad’s girlfriend bought a camera for our porch so we could watch the bowls of food. We were doing literally fucking everything. My dad said he would post about her being missing & the reward on an app called “Nextdoor.” I downloaded the app to see if he had stayed true to his word…and this is what I found:

With his fucking face & name & everything. I called him & told him he had some explaining to do. He told me he was “under a lot of pressure” and that he “couldn’t make me understad.” I asked him if his gf knew. He said she did. When I confronted her about it she was just as surprised as I was about the cat & she promised me that she didn’t know. I believe her because like I said: she bought a fucking camera. She was way more involved in the search than my dad was. Now she’s pissed at him for trying to throw her under the bus. It’s whole a shitshow now. I’m so mad at him. He was going to have me believe she was fucking dead. And he was planning on getting rid of Cece too ?? Was he going to tell us all that she had escaped as well ?? Was he lying about wanting to get her microchipped ?? I think so. And he called me up later saying “the couple that adopted her said they would be okay w/ an open adoption so you can visit her.” I told him he was fucking insane if he thinks that makes things better. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think. I’m so mad at him. But I’m also so happy that she’s safe. It would have been less painful if he had just told me the fucking truth. I thought she was fucking dead. I asked his gf if I should tell my siblings & she said to make him tell them. That it’s not my job. She said she’s going to make him tell her kids.

I’ve been a mess all week. He knew how much that cat meant to me. And to my siblings too. We were all sobbing. I just can’t believe he would lie to us like that. And let us look for her like that. He even told us that he had hope we would find her. He was giving us false hope. I can’t believe he would be so cruel.

[queuest]

Goncharov DVD Easter eggs:

1. On the main menu select the Set Up menu option. Once you are in that menu, highlight English and press up on the remote. The gun in the silhouette inkblot should light up red. Select this to view a 3-minute behind-the scenes footage including problems with the arificial rain machine.

2. Under the Audio menu, press right while on the #1 track (Scorsese commentary) to highlight the center of the clock motif. This leads to a short audio recording of Cybill Shepherd and Matteo JWHJ disagreeing over Katya's characterization.

3. Go to the scene selection menu. When you browse through the chapters, a bullet hole will appear between chapters 3 and 4. Click on it and you'll be taken to a mini game set in the Kremlin. (CW: cannon typical gore and violence).

4. On the main dvd menu, press up on your remote until "winter comes to Naples" logo is highlighted then press on it 3 times. Now two Scorsese trailers will play: The Big Shave, and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. And a third movie that never made it to production? It seems to be titled Kanisza.

Source: eegs.com

[lonelypond]

Jacket

NicoMaki, Love Live, 1.7K, 1/1

Summary: Nozomi Tojo has caught the Goncharov; Yazawa Nico meets Nishikino Maki. Also, shenanigans.

Jacket

Northwestern University Theatre Arts major Yazawa Nico had been up all night, finishing a paper. On Restoration Drama. She intended to never spend another second thinking about Restoration Drama so the only reason she was half paying attention to Radio, TV, and Film major Nozomi Tojo, was that Tojo was talking about something else. Or maybe Nico was nodding off and dreaming that Nozomi had suddenly become a Scorcese fan. At least it wasn’t Tarantino. Thank the gods it wasn’t Tarantino. The nodding off stopped when Nozomi shoved a printout at Nico.

“Memorize that.”

“No.”

“I need you, Nico.”

“Everyone needs Nico. I am not reading your latest porn fantasy.” Nico shoved back but Nozomi held the paper firmly in front of her audience.

“It’s a legitimate project, Nico-chi.” Nozomi’s smile was too wide, her eye contact too skittish.

Nico leaned forward, “Legit, like for independent project credit.”

Nozomi leaned forward, turquoise eyes mischievous, “Legit like will look good on Nico’s resume when I walk away with the Clocktower Laurels at the next Goncharov Film Festival.”

“Goncharov? Is that Russian.”

Nozomi started to sparkle like a magical girl about to spin into a transformation, “You don’t know Goncharov?”

“Goncharov, Chechov, if Nico has to do plays, at least make it American.”

“Nah, you want English farces, Nico. Your face was made for farce.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Nozomi shrugged, “Goncharov is a crowd sourced Martin Scorcese mafia film.”

“Some of those words make sense.”

“People on the internet made up a thing and it went viral.”

“So it’s stupid.” Nico was back to only half listening, debating if she should wake up fully and eat breakfast.

“No, it’s genius. And it’s got this great plot and Cybill Shephard was cast in one of the leads and…”

Nico understood now. “The blonde. You want an excuse to talk to the blonde. That dancer you’ve been stalking.”

“I haven’t been stalking her.”

Nico glanced around the room. Yep, blonde head, by the window, looking out at the Lakefill. “This is why we’re at Norris, not the dorm cafeteria, where Nico has a paid up meal plan.”

“I’ll buy you coffee and a donut.”

Nico sat, arms crossed.

“What?”

“Go buy Nico coffee and a donut. Now.”

“Read the script.”

“Maybe.”

Nozomi stood, shimmied into a better fit with her dress, then strolled by the blonde to get to the Dunkin Donuts. Nico saw the blonde follow Nozomi’s path, sighed, and began to read the page in front of her. It was a dream sequence, two women mirroring each other, a gunshot, a woken, shaken protagonist. Quick and atmospheric. Nico conceded, to herself, that it was actually a pretty solid scene. No dialogue. Not much of Nico’s time.

“I’m so sorry. I’m just so so clumsy. I didn’t mean…did I ruin your sweater…” Nozomi’s voice boomed out.

Nico groaned. No coffee. Maybe she could rescue the donut. Nico grabbed her bag, hopped to her feet, and went to interrupt the meet cute conspiracy that was happening with her breakfast.

“My friend’s an idiot.” Nico announced, strolling up, “and this was the only way she could think of to meet you.”

Long eyelashes blinked over puzzled blue eyes.

Nico grabbed the donut bag from Nozomi and dropped the printout in front of the blonde. “Nico looks forward to working with you.”

And Nico headed for her dorm.

###

Nico’s phone went off an hour later. She was half asleep but too curious to ignore.

Nz: ( ͡~ ‿ ͡°) Eli’s in.

N: 乁(◣̪◢)ㄏ

Nz: (✿ヘ‿ヘ)

Nz: And we have a composer.

Nico didn’t know many music majors, how did Nozomi?

N: Composer?

Nz; yeah, she must have seen the call to collab I posted in the Beehive or the theatre building or somewhere.

N: Collab?

Nz: On the Goncharov short.

N: SOmeone actually messaged you?

Nz; You may not Tumblr, Nico-chi, but actual creatives love it.

N: Nico is creative.

Nz: Nico needs attention. Tumblr hates it.

N: Eyes are automatically drawn to Nico. Nico’s TWIG game is flawless.

Nz: Some of us prefer a more anonymous experience.

N: So what’s this weirdo’s deal?

Nz: She’s into noir and horror scores.

N: ( ͡⎚﹏ ͡⎚) Sounds cheerful.

Nz: We’re meeting her tonight, after her recital.

N: We?

Nz º·(˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º

N: ᕙ(ᓀ‸ᓂ)ง Oh no, Nico is busy.

Nz: Are you going to make me go alone?

N: what about the blonde

Nico scrolled back through the messages to double check the name. Eli. Nozomi had just met Eli that morning and while Nozomi handled all situations with charm and confidence, the older sister in Nico just couldn’t imagine sitting at home while Nozomi went out to meet some horror movie obsessed music nerd.

N: What time?

###

“Did you forget a mask, Nico?” Nozomi pointed to the sign.

“For the protection of the community, please wear a mask during the recital.”

“What is this, a hospital?”

Nozomi smirked and put on her mask, leaving Nico to grab one of the N95s left for the audience. It took several minutes to arrange her twin tails over the head bands.

“Nico spent some time on Tumblr, on this Goncharov.”

“Ooohh, research. What’dya think?”

“You want Nico to play Sofia, right? The one in the suit.”

“Yes.”

“Nico doesn’t do suits.” Nico’s eyes pinched up in a judgey frown, “And it’s a dream sequence, wouldn’t pajamas be better?”

“But the audience shouldn’t know its a dream until the gunshot wakes Katya up.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Northwestern’s newest performance space, Galvin Hall, was about a quarter full, a hundred heads, one third students, the rest local music lovers and professorial looking people. Nico slid into a seat at the edge of the front row.

“What’s Nico listening to?”

Nozomi shoved the program at Nico. Nishikino Maki, original compositions inspired by Salvador Dali and Erik Satie.

“Dali’s the melting clocks guy, right?”

Nozomi nodded, doing a quick search on her phone.

“Is the other guy an artist too?”

Nozomi shook her head, “Composer. Lots of stuff for single piano, not so famous, but…”

“But…”

“Famous people paid attention to him.” Nozomi glanced toward the stage, “Interesting choice.”

There was a ripple of a reaction and a tall redheaded woman in an exquisitely tailored tuxedo walked out off the wings, striding piano-ward, acknowledging the audience with a brief nod.

“Suit.” Nozomi hissed in Nico’s ear.

Nico hummed, watching the composer slide onto the bench, fingers gracefully arched, waiting to fall into the keys. She’d never been to a piano recital before.

###

Nico didn’t know if all pianists were that compelling or just this Nishikino Maki, but Nico’s interest was hyped. The physicality and grace of the playing amazed her, her dance experience giving her some insight into how much effort Maki was putting into creating this music. The music itself was tightly woven emotion, wrapping itself around Nico, soaking in under the skin, leaving Nico jittery with friction she didn’t quite understand. After the final note, Nozomi, seemingly not affected, grabbed her coat and barrelled to the stage, a befuddled Nico in her wake.

Nico didn’t hear the quick exchange between Nozomi and Maki, but suddenly they were all three speed walking toward the back of the stage, through an exit door, and outside, where it was colder than Nico had expected. Were they going for a smoke? Why had she left her coat inside?

Maki took her mask off, her expression neutral, although Nico couldn’t stop staring at the loveliness revealed. Nozomi kept talking. Nico could feel shivers about to start, so she clapped her hands together to get blood moving. At the sudden sound, Maki JUMPED, as if someone in a mask with a chainsaw had jumped out.

Nico giggled as Maki scowled at her.

“Aren’t you the horror movie fan?”

“I score them, they don’t surprise me, I’ve seen the script and the dailies.”

Nico shrugged, sounded dull. “That takes the fun out.”

Maki’s eyebrows lowered, “Fun is successfully cracking a stalking scene so people look over their own shoulders.”

“That’s not really fun for Nico either.”

Nozomi’s lips were twitching like she was holding in a comment, her eyes merry.

Maki had a hair curl twisting between fingers, staring at the sliver of a moon.

Nico was never one for silence, especially not silence and cold. “Nico was impressed. If your movie scoring is like your playing, the emotions will definitely come through to the audience.”

“Which is why it’s a shame, and I think Nico-chi will agree with me,” Nozomi glanced to Nico, who was too busy shivering to respond, “to only record 47 seconds of the dream. I’d like to expand the script.”

“So these would be scenes adjacent to the script proper.” Maki’s amethyst eyes caught the streetlamp’s glow.

“Yes, the intro or outro to all the Katya/Sofia scenes. Or the scenes where one might be thinking about the other.”

“My schedule’s packed, but I could make some time.” Maki said.

Maki then turned to glare at Nico, who had advanced to hopping from one foot to the other, “Here, you’re distracting me.” Maki took off her tuxedo jacket, dropping it around Nico’s shoulder, a musky rose and sandalwood scented warmth surrounding Nico, who hastily shoved her arms into the sleeves.

“Nico could make time.”

Nozomi stepped back, whistling. “That’s a good look for you, Nico-chi.”

“Everything is a good look for Nico.” Nico glanced down, wondering what the actual effect was, the tuxedo jacket over her pink knit sweater dress. She pulled out her phone, holding it high and talking a quick selfie.

“What’s your tag?”

“Huh?”

“TWIG tag, stalker nerd.”

“Maki.”

Nico tilted her head, staring at Maki, not playing games.

“My account’s locked. Not for strangers.”

“Well, now you know Nico. Not a stranger.”

“Don’t tag me.”

“Okay…” Nico glanced to Nozomi. Who shrugged.

“It’s Nishikinoir.” Maki glanced back over her shoulder, speaking to Nozomi. “I have to find my parents. Text me.”

Nico started to shrug out of the jacket, but Maki stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, “I’ll get it next time.” And then Maki sprinted off back to the building, a barely audible, “looks good” in her wake. There was a pause in the conversation until the sound of her footsteps faded.

“Suits.” Nozomi drawled, shooting the cuffs of her peacoat.

Nico glanced down at her winking selfie, tailored black smooth over pink crunchy texture. “Yeah.”

A/N: Participating in the @sapphicfest, 8 weeks of prompts, started with "borrowed jacket." Goncharov has been amusing and inspiring me on Tumblr so I thought it might be fun to imagine what Muse would do with it. Thanks to @ryqoshay for many Guncharov and suit chats.

[somejerkoff]

I’ve been seeing a lot of misinformation about Goncharov lately, and I wanted to set the record straight about this fascinating piece of Italian/American cinema history. When I first heard about it, I had a hard time believing Scorsese managed to mount this ambitious epic in the same year as his breakthrough with Mean Streets, and the truth is, he did and he didn’t…

So let’s go back to 1972. After a number of acclaimed shorts, a promising feature debut with Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, and some high-profile editing gigs, Scorsese went the way of so many young directors and helmed a low-budget feature, Boxcar Bertha, for Roger Corman’s American International Pictures. Famously, upon screening the film for his friend and proudly independent filmmaker John Cassavetes, Scorsese had a rude awakening when Cassavetes told him, “Marty, you’ve just spent a year of your life making a piece of shit.” Here the seeds of Goncharov were planted.

Hearing these words in the wake of his fellow film brat Francis Ford Coppola’s masterful work on The Godfather, Scorsese knew his next work would be need to be a simultaneously grand and personal vision. He found the inspiration for his intercontinental saga in the Goncharov trilogy of novels. He managed to assemble a stellar cast—Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, John Cazale—who all believed in the script, but unlike Coppola, he did not have a studio budget. Financially, Scorsese blew his meager funds on some bravura set-pieces—an opening at the Kremlin, a Naples marketplace, and an absolutely stunning clock tower sequence—all gave plenty of bang for their buck, but he wasn’t able to thread them together into a narratively satisfying feature.

Scorsese turned to Coppola, who in turn showed the footage to Robert Evans. Evans did not see any way Paramount could release it. He did, however, arrange a gala screening for a number of television executives with the thought that this expansive story would make for a compelling miniseries. This was pre-Roots, however; miniseries were not the phenomenon they would become. No network was willing to spend the money to back the project. (Little did they know that they would be getting future TV stars Lynda Carter and Henry Winkler in small roles.) Dejected, Scorsese set the footage aside and began work on his smaller-scale but just-as-personal Mean Streets.

This was 1973. Flash-forward to the end of the 1970s and Scorsese was in a very different position. His mid-1970s run of features had established him as one of the leading lights in American cinema, but his fortunes fell upon delivering his ambitious and underappreciated flop, New York, New York, in 1977. With his two grandest undertakings of the decade both deemed failures, Scorsese had no desire to attempt to return to the world of Goncharov as a director. This is where Matteo JWHJ 0715 enters the picture, and why so many sources waffle on which filmmakers deserves the director credit.

Anyone who’s watched Scorsese’s documentary My Voyage to Italy knows that he has long been a fan of JWJH 0715’s work. The two felt immediate kinship upon meeting at the Venice Film Festival in 1979. When Scorsese mentioned the shelved Goncharov footage, JWJH 0715 lit up. The two crafted a plan to resurrect the project in one cocaine-fueled night. Scorsese handed him the footage and took on the role of producer as JWJH 0715 completed his vision.

Scorsese’s original film was not enough for the completed feature. Along with sumptuous new footage shot by Vittorio Storraro for JEJH 0715, Scorsese’s friends and collaborators also lent a helping hand. De Niro agreed to film reshoots (though ironically De Niro’s weight gain for Scorsese’s own Raging Bill led to some incongruous continuity changes within scenes), and Shepherd recorded new dialogue. Sadly, John Cazale had passed away, leading to the unfortunate but ultimately poignant decision to kill off Ice Pick Joe. Additionally, Coppola agreed to lend unused footage from The Godfather films and The Conversation to flesh out some of his sequences. This generous gift yielded enough new footage of Al Pacino and Gene Hackman that their performances were added to the picture.

Keitel had limited availability for reshoots, so Scorsese asked Paul Schrader to lend footage from Blue Collar. Schrader declined, stating that the movie would be better off if he had been asked to complete it instead of just providing scraps. In a recent Facebook post, Schrader admitted that these comments came from a place of jealousy—noting how beautifully Scorsese depicted his characters struggling with their sexualities while Scorsese showed no apparent struggles with his own.

For Shepherd’s sequences, they used footage from Peter Bogdanovich’s At Long Last Love, a move that contributed to Goncharov being underseen to this day. Shortly after the premiere of the newly-assembled Goncharov at Cannes in 1982, Bogdanovich claimed that Scorsese took advantage of his grief over Dorothy Stratten’s murder to pressure him into handing over the footage. In a conversation with Henry Jaglom, Orson Welles claimed that this was a “horseshit excuse” and that Bogdanovich told him about the decision well before the tragedy. Nevertheless, Bogdanovich’s belief that the footage was in-bad-faith helped lead to the decades the film spent in legal limbo.

It’s a strange twist of fate that a film that was borne out of Scorsese’s desire to break free from Roger Corman’s style of filmmaking ultimately found itself subjected to some of the same production techniques, particularly the cobbled-together nature, of many of Corman’s features. However, when these cobbled-together pieces happen to be the work of two master filmmakers, incredible performances from some of the best actors of the 1970s, and cinematography contributions from Storraro, Gordon Willis, Bill Butler, and Laszlo Kovacs, it’s no wonder that Goncharov has found a new generation to captivate.

[awritingcaitlin]

Find the Word Tag

@tananaphone tagged me for Find the Word too so let's go!!!

My words are: BITE, BREATH, BITTER, BOW, and BREAK

I'll tag @pinespittinink, @turnips-creates, @mr-writes, @baroquesse, @muddshadow for the words: change, place, time, never, and heart

Snippets from The Brewing War under the cut:

BITE

“Roger departure, frequency change approved, um ah, have a nice day and ah, thanks,” the pilot said to the controller. He then looked at his copilot, “Bobby, switch me to East North Sea Common and set the squawk to tango. I’m going to try to remember what it’s like to not sound like an asshole on the radio.”

The copilot in the left seat rolled several knobs on the radio and looked back at Captain McCormack. “Sir, does he have to keep talking like a fucking nug out of flight school for the rest of the trip? I’m having trouble believing it’s an act.” 

“Bite me, Bobby,” the pilot rejoined.

.

BREATH

“You’re not suggesting Rinnie get herself kidnapped?” Suri said, eyes narrowing.

“Oh heavens no!” Brenna said. “But you’re planning on going to Berthingtonn, right?”

Rinnie raised an eyebrow. “In like, a month. Assuming the project I want to be on grants me leave, or I haven’t been shipped off someplace else.”

“Okay,” Brenna took a deep breath. “Well, Matron Cybil got a letter from Matron Reese over in Berthingtonn about how a missing priestess from Schmiedland showed up in Berthingtonn, but she apparently wanted nothing to do with either Temple in Berthingtonn. In fact, she was actively speaking against Evianne.”

Rinnie’s eyebrows narrowed. Most places in the world allowed for freedom of religion. Anyone could switch whenever they felt like it, or worship as many deities as they pleased. But it was rather unheard of for known clergy to swear off the religion they’d trained in. And the fact that it was a formerly missing priestess to boot?

.

BITTER

He sighed. “Perhaps it would be better if you started at the beginning.”

To his surprise, she laughed. It was a short, mirthless one. “Oh no, sir, we don’t have time for that. But I’ll give you the basics. The only true way to tell who a Nidtrin is, is to see their tattoos.”

“Those were included in my brief,” Adler said.

“Did they tell you the different types?” Riela asked.

Adler frowned. “We were given a few examples. They’re all spidery.”

“Maybe that’s all I can expect from a country far enough away they don’t have to worry,” Riela muttered bitterly. Before Adler could argue, she kept talking. “So there’s two distinct types. The first type are the elegant ones, those are the ones on the favored—the clergy, the high ranked mages, the warriors, the devout. The second type are the blockier ones, those are for the converts who haven’t proven themselves yet and for the people they brand.”

.

BOW

Mica’d been celebrating Schmiedland Day in the town of Trotsberg, near her family’s farm, when it had happened. She’d been complaining about her mother, as usual, with her face neatly shaven, hair in a cute style with two bows in it (one gold and one green, her country’s colors) about how she would never be the perfect dwarven daughter Mother wanted and proceeded to become further inebriated long into the night. The drunker she’d gotten, the more she’d bragged about her alchemy, and the unconventional methods she used, which in hindsight was what’d attracted the pirates to her.

Consequentially, as she was leaving the bar, a cudgel thumped her on the back of the head. When she’d come to, she was forty miles over the Crater Sea heading east, and she couldn’t say with exact certainty that she’d been disappointed.

.

BREAK

Right as Rinnie was paying her tab, someone crashed into her and a cold wetness seeped into her lap. A glass hit the floor, but it bounced, enchanted not to break.

“Goddess Aenehra, I am so sorry!” the elf woman said in Edan.

Rinnie turned. The woman had short brown hair and a heart-shaped face. Her white blouse was crisp but she’d rolled up the sleeves. She looked casually disheveled in her drunkenness. Rinnie reasoned this woman must be in the first century of life. She stood and brushed the ice cubes out of her lap and onto the floor. The other woman steadied herself on the barstool, and looked at Rinnie with an apologetic expression on her face.

“Are you alright?” Rinnie asked, slipping easily into her native language. She wasn’t angry at her—she’d spent many years getting sloshed and making a fool of herself in bars not unlike this one, then waking up the next morning with, unfortunately at times, every memory. She and her cousin had been good at that. If one could be considered “good” at getting wasted.

[melis-writes]

do you have any face claims for miss Emily Sutcliffe? For some reason, I tend to picture her as Cybill Shepard

At the moment, I don't! 😭 I can't seem to come up with any for her, although for some reason I picture Emily with short (shoulder length-ish) dark hair?? 🥺👀 Kind eyes... SOMETHING LIKE THAT! I need ideas for her faceclaims! 😭 A little saddening we don't have any because Eyes Like Stars isn't very popular. 🥺

CYBILL SHEPARD BASICALLY FITS MY DESCRIPTION OMG. 😳

[rorschacheatsbeans]

A short feminist reading into Goncharov (1973)

In the same way Scorsese’s Taxi Driver has had modern feminist readings, Goncharov absolutely deserves the same. Though to emphasize contrast, Taxi Driver is very much focused on DeNiro as Travis while Goncharov is a true ensemble piece giving great attention to Cybill Shepherd as Katya. The true emphasis comes in the second half’s crescendo of events where Katya goes from an intelligent yet worried wife to driving the story as femme fatale till its tragic ending. Katya’s life has been defined by struggle. First living as an orphan in the streets then becoming a Russian spy, she is perfectly set up to be a femme fatale. But even as that trope is fulfilled, she is still fully realized beyond her place within the film’s genre.

Scorsese was amongst the first generation of filmmakers to make films after the end of the oppressive Hays Code. George Lucas, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg made their names in the late 70’s as the filmmakers to change Hollywood’s landscape. Even with how game changing these filmmakers were, they were all a group of men. This is to emphasize why it was so subversive that Katya (and her possible paramour Sofia) were so multifaceted in Scorsese’s film. In a time where violence against women in film was far more normalized, Katya herself being a perpetrator of violence is simultaneously cathartic and shocking. Scorsese has a had mixed track record on how well women are treated in his films, but Goncharov undoubtedly soars in this regard. Cybill Shepherd’s performance as Katya achieves heights many actors only wish to achieve. In a cast with DeNiro, Pacino, and Keitel, she stands out with her deliberate and highly disciplined use of rhythm, cadence, and micro expressions to sell her path as femme fatale. A sympathetic, sometimes even likable, perpetrator of violence in a setting bound to breed a cycle of suffering is nothing short of fascinating.

Katya’s monologue to Goncharov about her rise from nothing to be his wife and a spy is emblematic of what Katya serves within the story’s themes and symbolism. Katya was a victim of circumstance who became a perpetrator of violence. This position shows how violence breeds violence, in essence making an ouroboros of suffering. This can later be said of Sofia and Paolo escaping on Katya’s ship. Optimism says to think they find peace, but a more tragic and realistic reading implies another likely cycle of violence ahead. All in all, the characters Katya and Sofia help emphasize how relatively subversive Goncharov was in 1973 and still resonates with audiences today.