#goncharov side story

[lord-of-the-noodles]

my favorite part of goncharov is the side story after the main events

i just love the way that sophia and paolo are first weary about each other and slowly get closer and just the way paolo cals her mama Sophia at the end saying he doesn't need to find his mom cuz he already found her is so sweet

i love found family

and the motive of "maps" fits so well with their journey to America 10/10

i haven't even gotten started over the "breaking cycles of violence" theme

i just really love that book 10/10

[vonkarma2]

Is the werewolf story like Goncharov? I cant find anything about it online 😅

it kind of is in a sense ok let me give you like the actual answer it’s isaac @lycanthrology / @werewolfstory ‘s OCs story <3 there aren’t any documents posted online I don’t think there’s just some short pieces of writing in his OCs stuff tag if you’re interested :3 obviously you don’t have to but I think it’s really good I love it a lot. the pain of being completely obsessed with someone else’s original characters 😔🙏

[jacepi-time]

BEGGING WRITERS ON MY HANDS AND KNEES DO NOT GIVE ME A LIST OF QUIRKY TRAITS OF YOUR BOOK AND HOW RELATABLE IT IS JUST TELL ME WHAT ITS ABOUT WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS WHAT IS THE PLOT

[iiscpr]

GGRCB

[britishchick09]

goncharov is a story written by tumblr and that’s the neatest thing ever! :D

[sadclowncentral]

some of you are really gonna watch a movie made during the height of the cold war about an eastern european man on the other side of the iron curtain trying to survive in a world that alienates him while reconciling with the legacy of violence such survival will leave behind and the take you walk out with is "cool russian accent, but goncharov is a story about the american identity" just know that i am praying for your downfall

[haru-dipthong]

How long will the japanese wikipedia article for goncharov last?

And how big is the internet, really?

I was in a wikipedia hole recently and I happened to notice that the Japanese article for Goncharov is the only language variant that is completely in-character.

Every other language specifies it as “Goncharov (meme)”. Japanese lists it as “Goncharov (1973 film)”, and formats the introduction as if it were a real movie:

Goncharov is a 1973 mafia film set in Naples, Italy. Produced by Martin Scorsese, the main cast includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Gene Hackman, Cybill Shepherd, and Harvey Keitel.

— Wikipedia (my translation)

The rest of the article does go on to acknowledge Tumblr’s influence in Goncharov’s popularity, but every mention of this influence frames it as reviving the popularity of the supposedly real film. On two occasions the word 再燃 is used (the first kanji means “again” and the second kanji means “burn” - it means “rekindle” and can be similarly used in the metaphorical and literal sense, just like the english word “rekindle”).

Goncharov became particularly popularity on social media as a result of a reblog of a Tumblr post in August 2020. The post depicted shows the title of the film (Goncharov) in place of a brand logo on a shoe, which were described as “knockoff boots”. The image post and the comment attached to the reblog, mocking the fact that the original poster had not seen the film, became an internet meme. In November 2022, a poster made by a fan of Goncharov was uploaded to the internet, and the film’s popularity resurged. Various fan-made content about the story and production began to spread on Tumblr and other platforms. Goncharov has been widely covered in the media as an example of how fandom is born on the internet, with many prominent figures, including Scorsese himself, leaving comments.

— Wikipedia (my translation)

It’s clear the article is trying to adapt the real history of the meme and incorporate it as much as possible into the fictional history of the film. The rest follows quite similarly, and includes more analysis of how Tumblr culture created the “reignited” popularity, how Elon’s acquisition of Twitter resulted in an exodus of users to Tumblr which may have contributed to the increased awareness of the “movie”, etc. Though most of it is directly translated from the english, enough of it is original (such as the attempts to reconcile both real and fictional histories) that I suspect the article’s current state is intentional.

To get back to my initial question, how long will this article last like this?

Remember the whole Scots Wikipedia debacle? An american teenager had basically used simple word replacement to translate over 23,000 articles into Scots. Some people noticed this, but not many, and not loudly enough. It was only after a well researched reddit post pointed out the scale of the damage that people really took notice and action was taken. The wikipedia editor had apparently been doing this for 7 years before the reddit post was made.

If 20,000 articles could go largely unnoticed for 7 years, I imagine a single article could easily evade similar detection. Realistically, how many Japanese speakers are going to even hear about Goncharov and make it to the wikipedia article? Then, how many of them are going to do more googling and find out it’s all a hoax (or know already)? THEN, how many of them are going to tell a wikipedia admin that the article is a lie, or publicise it somehow in a way that forces the editors to update the article?

I think the reality is that although the internet may appear to be a massive open town square (or several), it also has side streets, and side streets of side streets. I feel like the number of active members in each online hobby or interest group are really quite small, and then they get divided between platforms, and even further divided into subgroups. I think if one decided it was something one wanted to do, it would be quite easy to become one of the most prevalent members of any online community you chose just by devoting the time and energy to it.

It’s also kind of shocking how much internet content is inaccessible on account of it being in a different language. English reigns supreme in terms of sheer volume, but there is original research and journalism and entertainment and art in every language, that hasn’t and might never be translated into english. For example, I found it very difficult to find any english sources or research for my post about the evolving conjugation of 違う, but I easily found several japanese papers and websites. In fact, if you google “違くない adjective or verb”, the first english result that doesn’t just handwave it as “informal” or “slang” is a tumblr blog with my post on it!

It’s a small internet indeed where my little hobby language blog is, according to google, the prevailing english source on what is quite a remarkable change in Japanese grammar that’s been happening since the 80s.

I think the Japanese unreality version of the Goncharov wikipedia article will stand for many years to come.

(below link shows the article at time of writing)

[alpacinoinheat]

Info about my Goncharov characters

The story takes place in Prague, Naples and New York

Some info about Goncho and Andrey:

So Goncharov is the main protagonist of the story. Not much is known about him, his origin is very mysterious but it is later revealed the crime boss Andrey had his whole family murdered for owing him money and Goncharov is of polish-italian origin (I'm not sure what I want his real name to be yet). In the story Andrey is about 10 years older than Goncho in order for this to work, the actors are the same age but the eyepatch ages Andrey up so it works. Murdering Goncho’s family was one of Andrey’s first things he did after his rise to power. And so basically the story is about revenge. Andrey is half czech and half italian and he operates from Naples but his crime ring works all over the world.

If you asked Andrey how he gained all his wealth and power, he would tell you it was through hard work and that he came from virtually nothing. That's a lie as his family was very well off. The extend of his wealth can be also attributed to all the blackmails, murders, abductions, frauds, thefts and other crimes he and his crime ring commited. Maybe these are the things that constitute as "hard work" to Andrey. Andrey is also a classist and something of an ethnonationalist as he often refers to himself as full blooded italian and rarely admits his half slavic origin.

Here’s some info about Katya and Goncho’s relationship from other ask (some info about Sofia too):

In my own lore, Katya is very much in love with Goncharov but is also tempted by Sofia. To Katya, Goncharov and Sofia also represent two very different ways of living. Goncho is a smuggler but an honest one and Sofia works for her boss Andrey’s crime ring. Being with Goncharov means living a dangerous life on the run but somewhere down the line there is a possibility of settling down and living life through honest means. Being with Sofia means choosing a simpler, cushier life, a life of luxury but it also means being forever part of the crime world. Who will she choose? I don’t know and neither does Katya :)

Also, I’m toying with the idea of Katya being married to Goncho (simply becasue I tagged her as Katya Goncharova a couple of times lol) but I don’t know yet :))

Info about Mario and Ice Pick Joe:

Mario and Ice Pick Joe grew up together in Sicily and were both very poor. They are not related but share somewhat of a brotherly bond. Joe’s darker side started to show from a very early age. He loved to kill and dissect small animals which sometimes freaked up Mario (although he never judged him for his impulses). Joe also talked about joining mafia from an early age, it seemed like a natural thing to do. He never imagined himself as anything else than a criminal. Mario is academically very smart. Joe often said to him that someone this smart could go study and make something of himself through honest job. But Mario was a very cynical person from an early age and thought that the only way people like them can escape poverty is through dishonest means. Also, Joe is just a joy to be around (if you’re not the animal or a person he’s dissecting), he’s funny, great cook, loves music, unassuming but charismatic. And it’s not just a front, he really is like that, he has two sides, one of them is very dark. Mario, as smart as he is, lacks the charisma and is aware of that. He is brooding and sulking and cynical. Lacks the social capital ... and friends (except for Joe of course). He also likes to go to casinos and gamble, not because he needs the money, but he likes winning and he likes the fact that other people’s social status can’t help them there. He’d never admit this to you but he secretly wants friends and wants to be liked but he is just so goddamn unlikable to the majority of people that no amount of wealth can help him with that. Mario was also always ashamed of his humble origin. When the two of them joined the crime world, they joined Andrey’s crime ring. Joe is very loyal to Andrey because he sees him as someone who gave him a chance and saved him from poverty. Joe became Andrey’s best hitman and is free to act on his darkest impulses. Mario became Andrey’s accountant, handling money. But unlike Joe, Mario resents Andrey because Andrey is a big classist and often and not so subtly lets Mario know that he would be nothing without him. In the story, Mario befriends Goncharov (the met in a casino) and will have to decide whether he betrays his boss or not. And will he be able to convince his best friend Joe to work against a man he is very loyal to?

The Naples side of my story is probably my most developed part as of now. I still don’t have everything figured out.

How Ice Pick Joe got his nickname:

Ice Pick Joe's favorite weapon of choice actually isn't an ice pick, despite many people assuming that's the case. He doesn't have a favorite weapon or a torture method. He likes them all. His nickname refers to one specific event that took place shortly after after he joined Andrey's crime ring. One of Andrey's highest ranking lieutenants was suspected of stealing money and giving up information to a rival crime lord. He was subjected to many hours of interogation and torture but still he would not confess. Then Joe asked to try. The only thing he took to the room with him was in ice pick. Nobody really knows what happened in there but it took less than 15 minutes for the lieutenant to confess how much he stole and what information he gave up. Andrey then used this information and destroyed the rival crime lord. This event prompted Joe Morelli to gain an immense amount of respect within the crime ring and ever since that day everyone called him Ice Pick Joe.

Info about Katya and her brother Valery:

Katya and her older brother Valery were born in Moscow but moved to Moldova after Katya's birth. Their moldavian mother died during Katya's birth and their russian father was very abusive but mostly absent. Valery is 20 years older than Katya and he basically raised her on his own.  Valery became a high ranking officer in the militsiya (soviet police) at quite an early age, mostly due to his efficiency. He soon became disillusioned by the brutal soviet regime and defected to the USA, searching for a better life for him and Katya. He became a weapon smuggler and that's how he and Katya met Goncharov. Valery and Goncharov fell out during an event where Valery thought Goncharov had betayed him after a heist gone wrong (he didn't betray him, it was misunderstanding). He also hates Goncharov because Katya fell in love with him and choose to leave with him.

Info about Mario and Goncharov:

As for their relationship, Goncharov meets Mario in a casino in Italy and befriends him only to infiltrate Andrey’s crime ring (to revenge his murdered family). But as time goes on, Mario notices all the inconsistencies in Goncharov’s cover story and figures out he’s not who he says he is. Meanwhile, Goncharov really starts to consider Mario his friend and almost feels sorry for lying to him. At some point, Goncharov tells Mario the truth about who he is, even tells him his real name (the only other person who knows his name is Katya). It will be up to Mario to decide whether he betrays his boss and helps his new friend to revenge his family.

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

does GL have tea parties with Elise and the other children-? Is Mori forced to join the tea parties-? When Mori cant make it who is substituted in for him or do they just leave his spot open?

They do.

Elise, Kyuusaku, Aya, Katsumi, Shinji, Sakura, Yu and Kousuke are having tea parties from time to time. And they often offer GL and other BSD Characters to join them. So, if any of the adults want to join them, they always have an open spot.

Some interesting bits about some characters:

Who joins often:

1. Guiding Light - will tell kids stories from the real world.

2. Oda Sakunosuke - he can be so serious, it looks funny.

3. Ivan Goncharov - he will take tea preparations upon himself.

4. Mori Ougai - will let kids braid his hair or make pigtails.

5. Ranpo Edogawa - need constant supervision, so he won't eat all snacks.

6. Kouyou Ozaki - she is surprisingly good with kids.

7. Akiko Yosano - will insist on more healthier snacks, but, won't spoil the fun.

8. Bram Stoker - will join, only if Aya present. Actually, quite good caretaker.

9. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald - he was a father, so, he knows, how to host a tea party for children.

10. Kenji Miyazawa - just likes to play with kids.

11. Kyouka Izumi - she is on a quiet side, but, will gladly join the tea party.

12. Karma - keep an eye on kids during tea parties.

13. Fyodor Dostoevsky - will join only if you present and if he wants tea. A little bit passive, but, will let kids hide under his coat.

14. Nikolai Gogol - will make a little circus show for kids.

15. Fukuzawa Yukichi and Fukuchi Ouchi - will be bombarded with questions about their past.

16. Dazai Osamu - perfect, if tea party have a role play element. Will be overdramatic, but kids adore him.

17. Atsushi Nakajima - likes to play with kids.

18. Tanizaki siblings - Junchirou will make snacks and use his ability to live things up. Naomi is good at having a small talk.

19. Kirako Haruno, Louisa May Alkott and Edgar Allan Poe - a little bit awkward around kids, but, not against joining the game.

20. Sigma - it was a surprise, but kids always listen to him. Mostly joins for cookies.

21. Flags - good with dealing with kids, especially teens.

22. Ryunosuke Akutagawa - sometimes, can be a good babysitter. Will make a hammock from Rashomon for kids' entertainment.

23. Gin Akutagawa - better, then her brother. Will bring good tea.

24. Chuuya Nakahara - will join, only if GL are here. Will make table and chairs float. Not that interested in game itself, but won't spoil the fun.

Who won't join as often as they can:

1. Doppo Kunikida and Nathaniel Hawthorne - will join only if they are looking after kids today and there's no other adults. Still, they are good at playing along.

2. Katai Tayama - he is not good with kids. But, he will find cartoons or films for kids to watch.

3. Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud - join even lesser, then Kunikida and Hawthorne. Don't think, that they are good with kids.

4. André Gide - doesn't think, that he deserves to join kids' game.

Who are forbidden to join:

1. Tetchou Suehiro - problem is in his eating habits. He did it a couple of times on a tea party and kids decided to copy him. Only Elise didn't get a stomach ache. Since then, Tetchou isn't allowed to join tea parties without supervision.

2. Alexander Pushkin - he is bad in controlling his tongue and will talk about something inappropriate. And we aren't talking about swearing. Pushkin might start talking about neighbors, and who were with whom. And kids are like sponges. When Sakura, after a tea party with Pushkin, start asking Oda and you, if your neighbor really doesn't know, who is the father of her children, and what clients she brings home, you two almost strangle Pushkin. He isn't allowed to interact with kids without supervision.

Who aren't allowed to join at the same time:

Karma, Fyodor and Guiding Light

Because, when Shinji invite you three, that happened:

Everyone: drinking tea

Shinji: talking to you I am so glad, that you three start spending time as family. Finally, you and Fyodor stop neglecting your son Karma.

You, Karma and Fyodor almost chocked on your teas. It takes five minutes for your three to start breathing normally.

Karma is scared and try to hide behind his tea cup.

Fyodor never looked that shocked before. He is looking at Shinji, but can't form a single word.

You were just trying to say something.

You: "Wh... Who? Us... Our? Whom?... Wh... What..? Karma? Ours..?"

Shinji: didn't realize, that situation became this Yes! You wanted to save Karma, and Fyodor did it. You two saved him. Like Oda saved us. So, he is yours now.

Tea party come to an end. Karma couldn't look at you or Fyodor for a week.

Osamu and Nikolai, who, somehow, learn about this situation, were teasing you and Fyodor about, who will be 'stay at home parent' and who will be a 'breadwinner' for the two weeks.

[flamingwell]

So I'm a Goncharov newbie (I know, I know, I can't believe I missed out on this gem for so long either!), and of course I know there has probably been a ton of ink spilled on this already, but one thing that's just blowing my mind is that this film even got MADE in the middle of the Cold War!! I mean, you have a Soviet protagonist whose story and character are explored in such depth and with such empathy. Not only that, but he has complex and not-entirely-antagonistic relationships with characters from the other side of the Iron Curtain (Andrey is the one everyone's talking about of course, but I think his relationship with Sofia has so much unexplored depth—that Look on both their faces right before he closes the door and they both know that he's closing it on any nascent friendship they might have had? UGH, it just kills me!!). And this came out in the middle of the Cold War?? I know it's an absolute CLASSIC today (and with good reason, holy shit, the complexity of the storyline and the tension and sadness that just scream from the screen in every shot!), but can any Tumblr history buffs tell me what the reception was at the time?

[beelzeebub]

you most definitely have already got this ask lol but I would love to hear more about what you picture the plot of Goncharov (1973) is (and what your opinion on the very popular gonchrey ship as well!) I am so tempted to get a poster you would not believe-

Ok so about the ship Gonchrey or Goncharov/Andrey (who si played BY HARVEY KEITEL). In my own lore, Goncharov is the main protagonist and Andrey is the main villan (it's kinda obvious from the poster lol) so I'd totally get why people ship them bc people tend to ship heros with villains. But with everyone having their own interpretation of who the chracters are, I can't comment on other people's view of them.

And now the lore! I’m sorry if this sounds stupid or doesn’t make sense, I’m writing it in a hurry and I will extend upon this in future. Also, this is not a Martin Scorsese story. It’s a mine, let’s be honest. I’m not saying this to brag but I’m not all that interested in pretending this film is real. For me, they’re just my OC’s from a funny poster I made for my mutuals. I’m saying this because I’m not trying to emulate writing of the great Martin Scrosese who I love very much. I’m just some rando person who likes mafia and gangster things. Hope that makes sense.

Oh and before I begin, no clock, boat or bridge scenes or anything of that sort is in my story. All these things were created by someone else and don’t fit in my story.

The story takes place in Prague, Naples and New York

Some info about Goncho and Andrey:

So Goncharov is the main protagonist of the story. Not much is known about him, his origin is very mysterious but it is later revealed the crime boss Andrey had his whole family murdered for owing him money and Goncharov is of polish-italian origin (I'm not sure what I want his real name to be yet). In the story Andrey is about 10 years older than Goncho in order for this to work, the actors are the same age but the eyepatch ages Andrey up so it works. Murdering Goncho’s family was one of Andrey’s first things he did after his rise to power. And so basically the story is about revenge. Andrey is half czech and half italian and he operates from Naples but his crime ring works all over the world. 

If you asked Andrey how he gained all his wealth and power, he would tell you it was through hard work and that he came from virtually nothing. That's a lie as his family was very well off. The extend of his wealth can be also attributed to all the blackmails, murders, abductions, frauds, thefts and other crimes he and his crime ring commited. Maybe these are the things that constitute as "hard work" to Andrey. Andrey is also a classist and something of an ethnonationalist as he often refers to himself as full blooded italian and rarely admits his half slavic origin.

Here’s some info about Katya and Goncho’s relationship from other ask (some info about Sofia too):

In my own lore, Katya is very much in love with Goncharov but is also tempted by Sofia. To Katya, Goncharov and Sofia also represent two very different ways of living. Goncho is a smuggler but an honest one and Sofia works for her boss Andrey’s crime ring. Being with Goncharov means living a dangerous life on the run but somewhere down the line there is a possibility of settling down and living life through honest means. Being with Sofia means choosing a simpler, cushier life, a life of luxury but it also means being forever part of the crime world. Who will she choose? I don’t know and neither does Katya :)

Also, I’m toying with the idea of Katya being married to Goncho (simply becasue I tagged her as Katya Goncharova a couple of times lol) but I don’t know yet :))

Info about Mario and Ice Pick Joe:

Mario and Ice Pick Joe grew up together in Sicily and were both very poor. They are not related but share somewhat of a brotherly bond. Joe’s darker side started to show from a very early age. He loved to kill and dissect small animals which sometimes freaked up Mario (although he never judged him for his impulses). Joe also talked about joining mafia from an early age, it seemed like a natural thing to do. He never imagined himself as anything else than a criminal. Mario is academically very smart. Joe often said to him that someone this smart could go study and make something of himself through honest job. But Mario was a very cynical person from an early age and thought that the only way people like them can escape poverty is through dishonest means. Also, Joe is just a joy to be around (if you’re not the animal or a person he’s dissecting), he’s funny, great cook, loves music, unassuming but charismatic. And it’s not just a front, he really is like that, he has two sides, one of them is very dark. Mario, as smart as he is, lacks the charisma and is aware of that. He is brooding and sulking and cynical. Lacks the social capital ... and friends (except for Joe of course). He also likes to go to casinos and gamble, not because he needs the money, but he likes winning and he likes the fact that other people’s social status can’t help them there. He’d never admit this to you but he secretly wants friends and wants to be liked but he is just so goddamn unlikable to the majority of people that no amount of wealth can help him with that. Mario was also always ashamed of his humble origin. When the two of them joined the crime world, they joined Andrey’s crime ring. Joe is very loyal to Andrey because he sees him as someone who gave him a chance and saved him from poverty. Joe became Andrey’s best hitman and is free to act on his darkest impulses. Mario became Andrey’s accountant, handling money. But unlike Joe, Mario resents Andrey because Andrey is a big classist and often and not so subtly lets Mario know that he would be nothing without him. In the story, Mario befriends Goncharov (the met in a casino) and will have to decide whether he betrays his boss or not. And will he be able to convince his best friend Joe to work against a man he is very loyal to?

The Naples side of my story is probably my most developed part as of now. I still don’t have everything figured out.

How Ice Pick Joe got his nickname:

Ice Pick Joe's favorite weapon of choice actually isn't an ice pick, despite many people assuming that's the case. He doesn't have a favorite weapon or a torture method. He likes them all. His nickname refers to one specific event that took place shortly after after he joined Andrey's crime ring. One of Andrey's highest ranking lieutenants was suspected of stealing money and giving up information to a rival crime lord. He was subjected to many hours of interogation and torture but still he would not confess. Then Joe asked to try. The only thing he took to the room with him was in ice pick. Nobody really knows what happened in there but it took less than 15 minutes for the lieutenant to confess how much he stole and what information he gave up. Andrey then used this information and destroyed the rival crime lord. This event prompted Joe Morelli to gain an immense amount of respect within the crime ring and ever since that day everyone called him Ice Pick Joe.

Info about Katya and her brother Valery:

Katya and her older brother Valery were born in Moscow but moved to Moldova after Katya's birth. Their moldavian mother died during Katya's birth and their russian father was very abusive but mostly absent. Valery is 20 years older than Katya and he basically raised her on his own. Valery became a high ranking officer in the militsiya (soviet police) at quite an early age, mostly due to his efficiency. He soon became disillusioned by the brutal soviet regime and defected to the USA, searching for a better life for him and Katya. He became a weapon smuggler and that's how he and Katya met Goncharov. Valery and Goncharov fell out during an event where Valery thought Goncharov had betayed him after a heist gone wrong (he didn't betray him, it was misunderstanding). He also hates Goncharov because Katya fell in love with him and choose to leave with him.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Thank you to our creators who have submitted their Top 5 fics of 2023! I know this is a terribly difficult task. After all, I did it myself! But I've always felt this list was the more important of the two - it's not about the numbers; it's about the works that nourished their creator's souls and brought them joy. So, thanks to each of you for sharing with us! Links to all stories can be found below the break!

@aallotarenunelma ✒️

Moonlit Hearts (IL/ID Crossover/AU) - Original Characters

Childhood Memories (ILW) - Lincoln McQuoid x NB!MC

Close to the Flame (ILW) - Lincoln McQuoid x NB!MC

Another Sun Will Rise (ILITW) - Dan Pierce x MC

Indigo Blood (ID) - Cas Harlow x MC

@angelasscribbles ✒️

The DeFacto Queen (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake x MC, Liam x MC

A Fervid Fixation (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake Walker x MC

The Dark Kingdom (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake x MC, Liam x MC

In Your Room Masterlist (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake Walker x Leo Rys

Laws End (TRR) Ⓜ️- Drake Walker x MC, Liam Rys x MC

@baldwinboy5ive 🎨and ✒️

Aerin Prison Visit (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

The Right Path (BOLAS) ✒️- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

Name on the Wall (BOLAS) ✒️- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

Bye-Bye Baldur (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valleros

Aerin x Raine Fanart (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valeros x MC

@cariantha ✒️

All He Wanted (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Hey Stranger (OH) Ⓜ️ - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

For You, I Will (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

War & Peace (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

A Solid Strategy (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@coffeeheartaddict2 ✒️

Everybody Hurts Sometimes, Ch. 7 Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey, MC

Love in all Forms (OH) - Ethan Ramsey, F!OC, Tobias Carrick

Power to Overcome (OH) - F!MC, Aurora Emery

Everybody Hurts Sometimes, Ch. 15 Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey, etc.

Desire Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@inlocusmads ✒️

Past Lives (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Music for the Lost (and Found) (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

The Feverish Itch (Guinevere) - Guinevere, Queen Artura, F!Lancelot

Cross Your Heart and Set it Ablaze (COP) Trystan Thorne x F~!MC

The Bow That Burned Bright (BOLAS) - F!Elf!MC, Kade

@jerzwriter ✒️

A Mother's Journal Ⓜ️(WTD) - Eli Sipes

What's Forever For Ⓜ️(OH/AU) - Tobias Carrick, F!MC

Breathe Again (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

A Bit Dark (OH) - F!MC x F!OC

I Do, Me Too (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@ladylamrian ✒️

Welcome to the World of Night (NB) - NB Side Characters

A Meeting in Wyoming (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Towards the Future (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Duty & Pleasure (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Sweet & Tender Hearts (NB) - Original Characters

@liaromancewriter ✒️

La Vie Avec Toi (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC, Sienna Trinh x M!OC

Late Shift (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

The Reluctant Valentine (OH) - Sienna Trinh x M!OC

When the Clock Strikes Twelve (OH/AU) - Sienna Trinh x M!OC

Breaking News (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@moominofthevalley ✒️

The Haunting, Part 1 (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Turpentine (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

The Girl With the Glass (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

I Will (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Future Days (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@peonierose ✒️

Wildflower (OH) - Keiki Lahela x M!OC

Kintsugi (OH) - Original Characters

Summer's Kiss (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

I'm a Sucker for You (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

Rose All Day (OH) - Bryce Lahela, Keiki Lahela, OCs

@stars-are-within-me ✒️

The Rain (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Reflections (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros

A Day Off (COP) - Trystan Thorne x MC

In the Gray (COP) - Eveline Goncharov, Maksim Thorne, etc.

The Lonely Prince (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros x MC

@storyofmychoices ✒️

Shadows & Deceptions: A Royal Murder Mystery (Crossover/AU)

Can I Have This Dance? (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

Shadows of Hope (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

The Quest for Daenarya (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

Dealing with a Narcissist (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@tessa-liam ✒️

Smoke & Mirrors, Ch. 11 Ⓜ️(TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

Cappadocia Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

Marabelle, Ch. 2 Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Turning the Page, Ch. 5 Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Ti Amo Molto Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

@trappedinfanfiction ✒️

Fast Break, Epilogue (OH/AU) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

What's in a Name? (COP) - Trystan Thorne

Crossroads Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

By Your Side (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

A New Neighbor (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@zealouscanonindeer ✒️

Dangerous Games Ⓜ️ (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Naughty & Nice (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Like Whom? (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Roots (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Drunken Nights (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

[sassydefendorflower]

You know what I find interesting about the Goncharov (1973) phenomena? Tumblr had the opportunity to make Goncharov and Mario or Andrey or Sergei explicitly gay - they had the chance to write the next cookie-cutter bland Gay Pairing that fits into the current fandom trends of ship hopping and washed out boring dudes... but they didn’t. 

Yes, many people wrote homoerotic subtext for Katya and Sofia and for Goncharov and Andrey, people faked academic queer readings of this masterpiece or wrote about the subversion of toxic masculinity within the film...

But as a collective we decided that all of this would be subtext. We decided that Katya and Goncharov are married, and it might not even be a loveless marriage (the jury’s still out on that one) after all. We decided that it’s a tragedy with Goncharov being betrayed by his wife, and killed by Andrey (which is often read as a sign of love and commitment). We gave a side character the ability to break out of the narrative, Ice Pick Joe the only character who escapes the circle of violence while everyone else falls victim to the narrative - time is a flat circle, after all, and loss of identity and the inevitability of one’s fate are the central themes of this fake movie. 

We could have turned it into a gay romcom or a mafia spoof or some flat reimagining of movies from a long time ago.... but we chose to turn it into something that is far rarer and more fun to analyze: a tragic tale of love and betrayal and queerness and the horrors of the cold war and lonliness and death and time. 

Our reading of Goncharov (1973) is queer - but the movie itself isn’t.

(only that it is, because we created Goncharov and as such we are a part of its story)

[super-ion]

In honor of the 1 50 year anniversary of Goncharov, I wanted to write just a little thing about my favorite underappreciated side character. Mariella deserves so much better than what she got.

-----

Mariella gasped awake, clutching at her midsection.

Katya shot her.

Mariella, drenched in Sofia's blood had grabbed her lover’s gun. Before she could even attempt to aim, the second shot rang out. A lance of pain streaked through her as the clocktower began to chime. She sank to her knees on the wet flagstones on the bridge and felt the life pouring from her. The last thing she saw was Sofia's glazed eyes. The last word on her lips was Sofia's name.

The clocktower, now distant, rang. She stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

It was Monday again. The clock was chiming with the sunrise.

Mariella pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. How many times had she woken up in this bed, on this day? How many times had she been around this loop?

She had lost count a long time ago.

Each time was different, as if she were trapped in a story with a thousand authors who couldn't agree on the details.

She wasn't even the main character of whatever this story was. She couldn't explain it if she wanted to, but over the grind of endless living the same week over and over, it had become clear that she was just a minor side character. Someone who existed in the background, along for the ride in someone else's narrative.

She rolled out of bed and stared into the distance.

“What do you want from me?” she asked the universe for perhaps the millionth time.

She didn't think about trying to end it. She had tried. She had tried and tried and tried. But invariably, death simply delivered her back to this moment.

Perhaps she had been dead this whole time. Perhaps this was hell.

She was doomed to relive the same five days, doomed to fall in love with a woman with impossibly twisted loyalties, a woman who herself fell in love with a monster, a monster by choice rather than necessity, but a monster nonetheless.

Even after this eternity, Mariella could remember being a schoolgirl on holiday in the countryside. She could remember meeting Katya, she could remember falling in love.

She could remember their reunion, years later. She could remember the unease, the vague wariness of meeting the woman that girl had become.

The door to her flat opened. Joe was here, bearing eggs and bread and sweet apples from the market.

Might as well start again, she murmured to herself and drifted like a wraith to the kitchen.

Joe was at the stove, his back to her as it always was.

“Hello, sister dearest. Do you want breakfast?”

The boss wants you to work late tonight, Mariella recited silently.

“Boss wants me to work late tonight,” Joe said, without turning from the stove. “Might be a busy week.”

He did turn them, a crooked grin on his face. He stilled at the sight of her. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. Something she never noticed or questioned before the day after tomorrow.

Why do they call you Icepick Joe?

The question had been innocent enough at the beginning, but she had seen too much, lived through this week too many times.

He studied her a moment.

“There someone I need to pay a visit?”

The woman I love is going to kill you in four days.

Or he was going to kill her.

Both of them would be dead by Friday in either case.

Sofia would kill Joe. Katya would kill Sofia. Or Goncharov would kill Sofia. Or Andrey.

It was always the same. Every. Single. Time.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to fall to her knees and howl until her throat was raw.

Every single person Mariella ever loved would-

The phone rang.

Mariella flinched.

The phone never rang. Not in all the times she had lived through this morning.

It rang again.

She stared at it.

“You going to get that?” Joe called over his shoulder.

With trembling hands, she picked up the receiver and raised it to her her.

“Mari?”

Her breath caught in her throat and she nearly staggered.

That voice haunted her dreams, it haunted every waking thought.

She wasn't supposed to hear that voice for the first time until that evening.

She cast a glance at Joe, who was no doubt listening very intently.

“It's… it's me,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “I'm here.”

“Mariella, what the fuck is going on?”

[fatehbaz]

The “goal of civilization” should be to get these delicious tropical pineapples shipped up to kitchen tables in St. Petersburg.

Much to consider here.

---

Anton Chekhov, it appears, was not the first Russian literary luminary to visit Hong Kong. Chekhov had stopped off in October 1890 and wrote about its “wonderful bay”. [...] But Chekhov was beaten to the punch by Ivan Goncharov who stopped by in 1853. Goncharov is now best now known for his novel Oblamov, but his bestseller at the time was a 700-page tome of travel-writing called The Frigate Pallada. Goncharov had been taken, as a sort of official scribe, on the Russian naval expedition sent to “open Japan”. If that sounds like American Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition, it very much was: the Pallada arrived in Japan several weeks after Perry. The Pallada [...] went [...] via the Cape of Good Hope, Java, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, with side-trips to Manila, Korea and the Ryukyus. [...] Edyta M Bojanowska relates all this, and much more [in her book] [...]. Bojanowska uses Goncharov’s travelogue as a window on Russia, a window through which to view the European, and particularly British, imperial project [...].

---

Russia’s Pacific history is little known, perhaps even in Russia. [...]

In the library [...], I once came across a book entitled La Frontera ruso-mexicana: “The Russian-Mexican Border”. There actually was one in what is now California in the first part of the 1800s. Nikolai Rezanov had tried to open Japan in 1804; he got nowhere. (He did however continue on to North America and all the way down to San Francisco where he got engaged to Conchita, the [...] daughter of the Spanish governor, a story which became a late Soviet-era rock opera.)

---

Alaska ended up being sold to the United States a decade or so after Goncharov’s voyage. [...] Goncharov’s [book] [...] “strains to project an image of Russia as a confident and competent peer of European colonial empires.” [...] Goncharov was a product of his age. He was furthermore an anglophile and thought that the British had on the whole the right ideas about empire. (He did however find their ubiquity annoying: his idyll on Madeira is ruined by seeing so many of them. “They’re here too?” he wrote.) He would occasionally take the imperialists to task for some particularly egregious injustice, but he never questioned the enterprise. He just thought Russia should have a piece of the action.

---

Goncharov settled on Korea as a good potential target for Russia (“Goncharov Island” is now known as Mayang-do Island, the site of a North Korean missile base) [...]. The book hit the ground running, went through ten editions by the end of  the century, and seems never really to have been out of print [...]. Singapore gets a slightly fuller treatment. Goncharov marvels at the pineapples piled up “like turnips”. “The goal of civilization,” Bojanowska quotes him, is to get these pineapples up to St Petersburg where they were currently unheard of luxury items. (Goncharov’s equating of capitalism with tropical fruit is reminiscent of the [...] [twentieth-century] fascination with bananas.)

---

Text by: Peter Gordon. A book review published under the title '“A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada” by Edyta M Bojanowska'. Published online in the Essays, Non-Fiction, and Reviews sections of Asian Review of Books. 10 July 2018. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Italicized first lines in this post added by me.]

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 1 - Side B

Propaganda below ⬇️

Valery

tw unreality skip to eddie

His feet are washed in a scene very reminiscient of Saint Peter being washed by Jesus, his leitmotiv is stronger than ever in the scene in front of the church, and his whole arc is about forgiving those who sinned against him.

I'm pretty sure he's actually russian orthodox but rules say that's allowed. His conversation with Katya Jesus told them to turn his cheek literally made me cry ahhh greatest mafia movie of all time

Eddie (tw mentions of suicide)

He meets Venom (the alien goo parasite that inhabits his body) in a church. Eddie is depressed and about to end his life and just before he does it goes to church and prays to God to forgive him because suicide is… y’know, a sin. Anyway Venom possesses him and saves his life and they have a crazy relationship/love story and the stained glass window in that church becomes important symbolism for them <3 He is the most catholic man ever

Admittedly, most of Eddie's insanity has little to do with Catholicism, he's just a deranged weirdo (affectionate) but he was suicidal once and went to a church to ask forgiveness before killing himself. That's where he met the symbiote and their relationship has parallels to both marriage and religion.

Listen listen he is the epitome of Catholic trauma. He’s got the angst. The repression. The je ne sais quoi. His whole story is basically very dependant on churches if that makes any sense. Like he tried to kill himself in a church and that’s when he bonded with the symbiote. They stopped a symbiote invasion by fu̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ crying out in agony in a church. EDDIE AND VENOM GOT MARRIED IN CANON IN THE CHURCH WHERE THEY MET. He also has so many breakdowns in churches and we love that for him.

He meets Venom in a church and has a lot of religious moments connected to Venom. They also sort of get married in the church they met at? It's gay. Eddie is catholic and in a committed relationship with an alien and it's gay.

(Cw suicide mention) He's canonically Catholic and has such a funky (read: kinda fucked up) relationship with it. When his life fell apart he went to a church to pray for forgiveness for the sin of committing suicide and to ask God to kill spiderman i think but then before he could actually do anything an alien came down and connected with him (in a gay way) and he was like "are you an angel". Also his sense of morality is totally fucked, its like "if you've done something bad once you deserve to die" and I like to think that's related to the specific brand of Catholicism

killed a cop in church (amazing spider-man 1963 comic, issue 300), had a homoerotic rebonding moment with his symbiote in church (venom: planet of the symbiotes comic), asked jesus to carry out a hit on former coworker peter parker (spider-man 3 movie)

more here