Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Celluloid Void: Lesbianism as Negative Presence in Martin Scorsese’s Goncharov
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

This paper presents a new reading of the Katya/Sofia and Andrey/Goncharov relationships in Martin Scorsese’s 1973 crime thriller Goncharov. While male homoeroticism in the film is constructed through a semiotic and narratological vocabulary of excess indebted both to popular stereotypes regarding queer men and to screenwriter Matteo JWHJ0715’s fascination with the aesthetics of Italian fascism, the equivalent female relationships are instead marked primarily by visual and narratological absences. I argue that, while these voids may plausibly be the result of indifference or even outright misogyny on the part of the film’s creators, they nonetheless open up a new interpretive space foreclosed for the male characters by the thick accretions of narrative and visual materiality with which their stories are encumbered. Through the repeated absence of Katya from the screen, and through a subtly distinct cinematographic vocabulary that refuses to do the work of meaning-making for the viewer, Scorsese and JWHJ0715 succeed – whether intentionally or otherwise – in positioning female homoeroticism as a locus of liberatory potential in an otherwise highly fatalistic narrative. This is evidenced, I suggest, not only by the mechanics of the film itself but also by the unusual prominence afforded to Katya – and, even more notably when considered in relation to her time onscreen, Sofia – in the interpretive apparatus surrounding it. Drawing on the work of Eliza Vanstraten and Rutger Sloan, I then conclude this article by proposing several resulting strategies of queer cinematic reading with wider applicability.

* * *

sara you’re not going to believe what that bitch has done now

okay so
i know time is a bourgeois construct or whatever
and i’m glad you’re enjoying your newfound tenured freedom
but it is 3am
and some of us have day jobs

oh my god just put your phone on mute when you sleep like the rest of us
but anyway seeing as you’re up now
guess what that bitch has done

just to clarify
by “that bitch” you mean dr megan wright, author of the respected monograph “imagined empires: visions of europe in north american crime cinema 1940-1975”?

… i thought you didn’t listen when i sent you voice memos about my work?

i don’t
but it turns out whatsapp has been automatically saving them to my music folder
and one came up on shuffle while i was doing the dishes
so yes i know about your weird one-sided feud with the current golden girl of the transatlantic film studies scene
much against my will

okay first of all it’s not one-sided
her last paper was CLEARLY a response to my application of asexual narrative theory to rick’s character in casablanca
second of all fuck you
third of all look at this
https://doi.org/10x1000/154

okay as aforementioned it is 3 in the fucking morning
so you’re gonna have to explain what reaction you want me to be having here
it’s… an academic paper?
by your nemesis megan?
leila i’m a physicist, i have no idea what any of this shit means

she’s arguing that everyone has been misinterpreting goncharov’s katya this entire time

goncharov as in that francis ford coppola film you’re obsessed with?

scorsese
not coppola
you’re thinking of the godfather
otherwise yes

okay
and this is a problem why?

well smart people have always been able to see that there’s kind of a homoerotic vibe between katya and this other character sofia
but it almost always get interpreted as a tragedy
katya ends up dead not only because of all the male ego bullshit she’s caught up in with her husband and andrey 
but also because a 1970s narrative can’t tolerate women who love women even being alive at the end, let alone happy
there’s this whole alison bechdel cartoon about it

uh huh

but megan is proposing that they’ve got it all wrong
andrey and goncharov are the ones trapped by the narrative
there are all these like
layers of symbolism tangling them up and making sure they can’t get away
but katya and sofia’s relationship exists in a kind of narrative blank
it’s actually reinforced by the cinematography if you pay attention
there’s all these long shots that don’t force an interpretation on you like the tight skewed angles in the rest of the film
sure, katya dies at the end, but that has nothing to do with her relationship with sofia 
in fact that relationship is the freest part of the film
because the camera refuses to interpret it
it’s lesbianism as liberatory, not damning

okay
and this argument of megan’s is… bad?

sara it’s fucking BRILLIANT
it’s going to completely change the way we think about queerness on film if anyone has any sense
i can’t believe i didn’t think of it first

oh so that’s what this is about

shut up
she’s poaching on my damn turf is what it’s about
she’s supposed to stick to usamerican stuff and i handle the european end

i’m going to regret asking this
but
isn’t it an american film?

matteo jwhj0715 was italian
so were half the production crew
it’s got that shiny american gangster gloss on it
but the scholarly consensus is that it’s fundamentally a film about east/west european tensions during the cold war
far more so than most of the cast realised
and i’m not even getting into the argument that it was actually jwhj0715 who directed most of it!

no, please don’t feel you need to do that

so anyway
conclusion: it’s my territory and she has no fucking right to be there
let alone to do it so brilliantly

i don’t suppose there’s any chance you’re going to be
like
normal about this

oh i’m gonna be so normal
you’re not going to believe how normal i can be
i’m just going to have to write a BETTER paper, that’s all
“pleased to acknowledge dr wright’s valuable contribution to the field, however believe she has overlooked the pivotal role of xyz in the development of the genre” etc
generous in a gently condescending way
you know the style
now all i need to do is figure out what xyz is

well
great
happy to have worked through this with you
can i go the fuck to sleep now?

oh yeah sure
don’t you have to teach a class in like five hours or something?

yeah no shit leila

like i said
you really need to start putting your phone on mute at night
anyway sleep well!

* * *

hey, can you read this and let me know what you think real quick?
i promise it’s not long
just, like, tell me whether the structure holds together and the prose is solid
i know you don’t really know the context

* * *

i note that this is not an academic abstract

oh you finished it already? what did you think?

well
the pacing was good but the formatting’s a bit off
you’ve got “her dripping cunt” twice on one page
also that comma between “thighs quivering” and “her fingers clenched restlessly in the crumpled sheets” should be a semicolon
and in general i think it could use fewer em dashes

yes yes but was it HOT

… in the full awareness of what this says about me
yes
are you going to tell me why you’re writing explicit katya/sofia fanfiction instead of working on your anti-megan abstract?

oh i’m def working on it!
i just needed to think through whether it’s possible to resolve that katya/sofia tension while maintaining the space of narrative potential it opens up
hence, porn
you know how it is

i really don’t
again, i’m a physicist
you’d be astonished how little scope semiconductors offer for homoeroticism

well that sounds like a you problem
anyway thanks for the proofread!
i’ll post this and get back to the abstract now

just tell me you’re not adding this to your CV as an example of academic outreach or something
leila?
leila you’re not, are you?
leila?

Chapter Text

De-Gendering the Double: Goncharov Beyond Binaries
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia

Drawing on Dr. Megan Wright’s recent article regarding the narratological role of female homoeroticism in Martin Scorsese’s 1973 noir Goncharov, this paper argues that the Katya/Sofia relationship does not in fact represent a structural lacuna, but instead forms a mirror to that of Andrey/Goncharov, its absences illuminating the possibilities that male homoeroticism suppresses while highlighting the differing forms of violence – narrative and otherwise – to which women are subject. While I am pleased to acknowledge Dr. Wright’s valuable contribution to the field of queer film studies and believe that her interpretation provides a powerful critical tool for future scholars, its application to Goncharov nonetheless overlooks the pivotal role of the double in the Italian noir genre on which the film draws – a misunderstanding common to Anglophone critics, who frequently underrate the contributions of screenwriter Matteo JWHJ0715 to the film’s final structure. To read the Katya/Sofia relationship as a double of that of Andrey/Goncharov is not, however, to fall back on patriarchal ontologies that regard women as inferior or incomplete men, nor yet to reinforce an outmoded gender binary. Rather, in my reading, it is Andrey and Goncharov who are the twisted mirror to Katya and Sofia – as evidenced by the overwhelming critical-interpretive focus on Katya that Wright herself identifies. Projecting a complex world of false reflections and displaced defaults, this paper therefore asks whether Goncharov’s funhouse mirrors of gender might ultimately become a form of escape hatch, providing liberation not only for Katya and Sofia, but for all those falsely imprisoned by the imperatives of noir masculinity.

* * *

starfuckernumber9
just watched the movie and came straight here to see if anyone else had picked up on the katya/sofia tension lol. this was so good!! love the detail with sofia’s lipstick, it feels really authentic

billabongcloud
HOT

anon
Oh wow, this is incredible. You’ve captured the oscillating fear and desire that Katya feels for Sofia in the film so perfectly – the sense that there’s always something slightly unknowable about her, and the way that Katya can’t help being drawn in by that even though she knows it might threaten her position in the Goncharov-Andrey triangle. And the fact that you manage to maintain that air of mystery even when Katya literally has her fingers inside her…! (Did I mention that this fic is unbelievably hot? The amount of tension you build within a mere 500 words of setup… it’s wound so tight that the snap on the “so undress me” line is almost audible. And that payoff, my god… I first read this three days ago and I swear I have not stopped thinking about this line since: “Katya has forgotten that she ever spoke Italian. Sofia’s mouth undoes history, geography, would unbind every tie that holds her to this city in an instant were it not for Katya’s vows.” It’s both shatteringly hot and so emblematic of the tragedy of this relationship: freedom is right there, so close she can literally taste it, it’s smeared on her thighs along with Sofia’s lipstick – and yet she’s still held back by what she believes she owes to Goncharov (which is also what she owes to heteronormativity, of course). Incredible, thank you so much for writing this.)

lili-elbe
love love love this! may i please have permission to translate it to italian? i’ll link and credit you, of course!

* * *

Desiring Absence: A Response to Dr. Leila El-Diwany
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

Dr. El-Diwany’s recent paper “De-Gendering the Double: Goncharov Beyond Binaries” presents a bold intervention in the field of noir film scholarship. While her conclusions offer valuable food for thought, the premises on which they are based – and in particular her assertions regarding the role of screenwriter Matteo JWHJ0715 in the creative process – represent a misreading of… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

the-sofa
re: anon
god, okay, firstly, it’s insane that you’re praising this dumb lil fic when “Freedom is right there, so close she can literally taste it, it’s smeared on her thighs along with Sofia’s lipstick” is hotter than anything i’ve ever written. but secondly HELL YEAH TALK CRITICAL ANALYSIS TO ME. you’re the first commenter to really get into that push-pull of desire/fear, knowing/unknowability, freedom/(self-)imprisonment between katya and sofia, and i love how those thematic pairs almost but don’t quite resolve within the film itself. obviously on a practical level it’s because if katya just ran away with sofia, there’d be nothing to trigger the scene with andrey at the clock tower and the whole plot would fall apart! but it also feels like katya’s so blinded by the violence of goncharov’s world that she doesn’t even realise the alternative exists. and it’s fitting that sofia, who occupies this precarious position half in and half out of that world, is the one to offer it. uhhhh something something liminal spaces, i forget where exactly i was going with this but i’d love to know how free you think sofia really is! after all, she may not be bound to the mafia, but she’s still trapped by her own poverty for most of the story

ANYWAY MORE IMPORTANTLY, i’m so pleased the fingering section worked as well for you as it did for me!! (uh, tmi? sorry lol) there’s never enough femslash in the world so [starship troopers gif] I’M doing MY part! (btw i did want them to actually fuck but i wasn’t prepared to research dildo availability in 1970s naples on top of getting all the russian-language bits right… maybe next time!)

thanks so much again for commenting and please come back and tell me all your thoughts on sofia’s role in the narrative and/or whether katya would let her go down on her in the cafe bathroom before the meeting with andrey! xoxo hope you have a great day!!

* * *

What’s In A Name? Matteo JWHJ0715 and the Semiotics of Southern European Crime Drama: A Response to Dr. Megan Wright
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia

In its powerful theoretical claims, Dr. Wright’s intriguing new article “Desiring Absence” risks losing sight of the material realities that ultimately combine to produce any work of cinema. While her analysis of screenwriter Matteo JWHJ0715’s relationship to his native country – and in particular to his father, whose identity as a licence plate is frequently supposed to have been a factor in JWHJ0715’s 1971 breakdown – is in the best tradition of Goncharov scholarship, it nonetheless neglects… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

Lost in Translation? Goncharov’s Southern Subtitlers: A Response to Dr. Leila El-Diwany
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

If we consider the contested boundaries between nations to be both areas of threat and, as Dr. El-Diwany has posited in her latest forceful contribution to Goncharov scholarship, spaces of opportunity, we may begin to move beyond the contradictory premises of El-Diwany’s argument, into a… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

anon
re: re: re: re: re: the-sofa
I mean, can it really be considered enablement if all I said was “I think about the line ‘When Sofia puts her tongue inside her, it is the only thing that has ever existed’ on a daily basis”? I’m sure it’s just a happy coincidence that you happened to write 4000 words of clock tower cunnilingus porn in a 3am fugue state immediately after I posted my comment!

Anyway, I actually haven’t read it yet – not because I’m not thrilled, but because I have an awful deadline this week and I need the prospect of a reward at the end to get me through it – but I still wanted to reply to your point about Sofia/Andrey as wlw/mlm solidarity. I really think you’re onto something there! I mean, the line probably wasn’t intended to be read that way, but the author is dead (whoops, is that in bad taste? sorry, Matteo…), and to my mind it’s the only logical explanation for why Andrey gives her the gun when it’s so clearly against his best interests. Not to mention that the contempt that Icepick Joe treats him with really smacks of homophobia, especially if you read his comments about “fancy dressing” as targeted at Andrey specifically.

Much to think about! Anyway, I promise I’ll be back at the weekend to finally read the new fic; hope you’re having a good week! <3

* * *

Doubles and Doppelgangers in Europe’s Bootleg Goncharovs: A Response to Dr. Megan Wright
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia

While Dr. Wright is to be congratulated for her willingness to go beyond orthodox sources when analysing Goncharov’s European subtitlers, her lack of attention to the unauthorised dubs and “remakes” that proliferated behind the Iron Curtain renders her assertions… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

the-sofa
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: anon
i’m telling you, you ought to be writing fic as well! even just drabbles or something – the little snippets of story you keep gifting me in your comments are better than 99.9% of the stuff on this hellsite, i swear. anyway, i have three different academic books about midcentury sex toys open on my desk as we speak and i’m blaming you for this. katya/sofia strap-on porn coming to an AO3 near you uhhhhhh whenever my actual day job lets up long enough for me to get it betaed, lol

the-sofa
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: anon
AND ANOTHER THING: i’m almost too tired for critical analysis right now (day jobs are a bitch, huh?) but i had to bite (lol) on that point you made about katya as a masochist. i love it, it’s such a freeing interpretation! everyone else seems to see the “hit me” scene with sofia as evidence that katya can’t detach herself from the abuse she’s suffered, but to me that doesn’t make sense. not only does she explicitly say at the beginning of the scene that this is the freest she’s ever felt – and we know she never actually lies to sofia onscreen – but the cinematography is backing it up too – all those ambiguous wide shots, and nary a dutch angle in sight! like… sometimes a girl just wants to get slapped, you know? especially if sofia’s going to kiss it better after. (now there’s a story idea for you…)

* * *

A New Trichotomy? Goncharov’s Slavic Imitators as a Metaphor for Cinematic Structure: A Response to Dr. Leila El-Diwany
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

Dr. El-Diwany’s recent article on the reception of Goncharov behind the Iron Curtain is perspicacious but flawed. If we take the example of… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

anon
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: the-sofa
For some reason I keep imagining them running away to Scandinavia, not the US – I think because the story of Goncharov is so closely linked to Naples, I can’t help feeling that fleeing to another city like New York would just tangle them up in the same stupid conflicts again. But out in a little cabin on a fjörd, far away from the nonsense of gender roles and able to earn an honest living from the land… I mean, insert all the usual caveats about how cottagecore aesthetics often tip towards fascism irl, etc, but… we can dream, can’t we?

the-sofa
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: anon

scandinavia! you know what, the more i think about it, the more i agree – dappled light through the window and the forest as silent as the first day of history, the callouses on katya’s hands slowly beginning to hide her scars, subjectivity unfolding like petals in the sunlight...

… okay give me three to five business days and i’ll make it happen lol

* * *

The Unsuitability of Metaphor: A Response to Dr. Megan Wright
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia

While narrative theory may offer convincing insights into the work of auteurs such as Matteo JWHJ0715, Dr. Wright’s new paper goes decidedly too far in… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

Structuring Style: A Response to Dr. Leila El-Diwany
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

If Dr. El-Diwany wishes to comment on the role of metaphor in a broadly linear narrative such as Scorsese’s Goncharov, it would behove her to… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis: A Proposed Resolution to the Wright-El-Diwany Debate
Dr. Marcus Szymczak, University of Gdańsk

This paper proposes that the apparently fundamental differences between the approaches of Dr. Megan Wright and Dr. Leila El-Diwany regarding Martin Scorsese’s 1973 crime drama Goncharov are in fact merely differing manifestations of a broadly harmonious… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

On Incompatible Narratives: A Response to Dr. Marcus Szymczak
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia

It is rare to encounter an academic paper that fails to advance to any degree whatsoever the discourse of which it forms a part. Dr. Szymczak’s recent article “Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis: A Proposed Resolution to the Wright-El-Diwany Debate” is, however, one such paper. If… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

Fossilised Paradigms: A Response to Dr. Marcus Szymczak
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London

The axiom “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” is particularly apt in the case of Dr. Szymczak. His recent paper “Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis: A Proposed Resolution to the Wright-El-Diwany Debate” has the virtue neither of novelty nor of accuracy, and as such… [log in to JSTOR to continue reading]

* * *

anon
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: the-sofa
Well, you already know my feelings on the mafia as an allegory for hegemonic masculinity, so I’m just going to go right ahead and dig into the porn! Is it too much if I admit that the first sex scene made me cry? Like, the idea of learning to speak a new language as a metaphor for desire could so easily be trite, but here you tie it into the film’s themes of displacement and xenophobia so beautifully that it feels completely earned.

[click here to expand comment]

And that swooping feeling of recognition and things at once opening up and falling into place… god. I’ve been there. I’ve been there!

anon
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: the-sofa
… In the sober light of day, it occurs to me that I did not in fact dig into the porn at all, just wrote five gushing paragraphs about how much I related to your portrayal of lesbian desire in, um, a space AU of noted noir crime drama Goncharov. But you know what, I stand by it. Of course the porn is fantastic – I’ll come back soon and pen a proper tribute to the way you balance breathless winding descriptions with the bluntness of four-letter words, I promise! – but also, I honestly can’t remember the last thing I read that made me feel so seen. Just– thank god for the internet, I guess. Thank god for fanfiction.

the-sofa
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: anon
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Chapter Text

oh holy shitfucking hell

always nice to hear from you too, leila
is everything… okay?

obviously fucking not
you know how i’m speaking on that conference panel this afternoon?

yeah?

well guess who else is here
starts with “m” and ends with “egan wright”

i can see how that might present a problem
seeing as you were on the brink of calling her a moron in the most prestigious film studies journal in europe

be fair
i can adapt my register to my audience
i would have called her an ignoramus

marcus szymczak for the nobel peace prize, tbh

anyway, i might still get the chance!
panel’s starting, wish me luck

try not to start an actual physical fight, will you?
london rents are brutal, i can’t afford to go bail for you as well

* * *

[Auto-transcription, page 16 of 84]

Catrina Worsted, moderator: Hello, everyone, and welcome to our panel, “Goncharov at 50: the Afterlives of a Noir Icon”. With me today are British Library digital media preservation expert Barry London; film studies scholars Megan Wright, KCL, and Leila El-Diwany, UEA; and translator and Jagiellonian University emeritus professor Cynthia Tokarczuk. Cynthia, would you start us off by giving a brief overview of Goncharov’s reception in the Soviet Union in the 1970s?

[...]

Leila El-Diwany: As I’m sure Professor Tokarczuk will agree, official interpretations of Goncharov as a critique of Western militarism were a key factor in its revival in the Soviet bloc of the 1980s.

Cynthia Tokarczuk: Yes, that’s–

Megan Wright: I’m sorry, but it’s simply not reasonable to make that argument after the lengths Professor Tokarczuk’s own colleagues at Jagiellonian have gone to to debunk the idea of a single official culture in 1980s Poland and Hungary.

CT: Well, I would argue–

LED: I never said anything about a single official culture. I’m simply arguing that the general trend across the Soviet Union was to read Goncharov as an allegory for Western military-political manoeuvring during the early 1970s[…]

[...]

Barry London: And of course, there’s a compelling argument to be made that Goncharov will remain relevant as an allegory for the developing threat of AI. Wouldn’t you agree, Dr. Wright?

MW: Well, to some extent, but in general I think that to view it as an allegory reduces the specific political power with which–

LED: Oh, come on, surely a work like Goncharov is capacious enough to contain however many allegories you like?

BL: I wouldn’t–

MW: I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest that even a work as powerful as Goncharov risks becoming overdetermined. If we–

LED: That suggestion lacks nuance.

MW: If we look at the pernicious political effect that far-right interpretive hermeneutics have had on films such as[…]

[...]

MW: Dr. El-Diwany, that is perhaps the most elaborate misinterpretation of the production team’s motivations–

LED: – either an inability or a refusal to perform the basic due diligence–

CW: If we could–

MW: – the very suggestion is insulting–

CW: Dr. Wright, Dr. El-Diwany, thank you so very much! Perhaps we could move on to questions now?

LED: We weren’t–

CW: Yes, the gentleman in the blue blazer, if you could speak directly into the microphone…

Matthew Ledbetter: Good morning. Matthew Ledbetter, Ohio State. Less of a question, more of a comment, really: Dr. Wright, I couldn’t help but notice that you referred to the character of Sofia as Tuscan in your summary, rather than Sicilian. It’s an easy mistake to make, of course, particularly if you’re not entirely familiar with the differences in accent between northern and southern Italy, but–

MW: Actually, I was–

ML: – unfortunately it removes a central prop of your argument regarding Sofia’s position in Neapolitan mafia society.

MW: Dr. Ledbetter–

ML: Perhaps you should reconsider your implied characterisation of Sofia as an ontological outsider in the world of Goncharov? It would be a shame to–

LED: She was talking about the Czech dub.

ML: I–

LED: As you’d know if you’d actually been listening as opposed to thinking about how to leverage this little confrontation for maximum exposure on your LinkedIn profile later.

ML: That’s not–

LED: Dr. Ledbetter, she literally wrote the book on the role of regional stereotypes in Goncharov.

ML: If you–

LED: Whereas your most significant publication to date – I’m judging by your academia.edu page, you understand, as I must confess I don’t recall your work appearing in any of the major international journals – appears to be an analysis of Marxist subtext in Mean Girls. A cinematic work which I of course respect as much as the next millennial, but if you believe it qualifies you to–

CW: Well! Thank you, Dr. El-Diwany, I think that’s all we have time for today! Now, if someone from the tech team could just stop the recording, I believe a buffet lunch is available in–

[transcript ends]

* * *

how’s it going?
i haven’t heard any reports of police being called to a brawl at the british library so i assume you managed to exercise some restraint

leila?
everything did go okay with your pal megan, right?

uh
yes?

not sensing an overwhelming level of conviction here
what happened?

uh
well there was this utter idiot in the audience who wouldn’t know auteur theory from his arse
picking some really dumb fight with her that made it clear he wasn’t listening
i mean i don’t think he even knew who she was
so anyway, i told him where to get off because calling her a moron is my prerogative
and now we’re writing a paper together?

… you and the idiot, or you and megan?

me and megan

sara?
are you still there?

one sec, i’m just taking out property insurance
pretty sure the combined force of you and her on the same side for once will level half of london

oh fuck off
i don’t know, it could be… fun?
i mean, what’s the worst that can happen?

* * *

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Fuck you

M–

If you think we’re citing fucking Samuel Kline[...]

[three paragraphs snipped – click to expand]

* * *

“it could be fun”?

i hate you
you could at least PRETEND to sympathise

sympathy is what friends are for
BEST friends are for pointing and laughing when you inevitably encounter the consequences of your own actions

[voice memo – 0:05]

that audio’s just a fart noise, isn’t it

ugh
i’m going to bed

* * *

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: You know our employers can monitor our email subjects, right?

Leila,

If you would just put aside your absurd prejudice against the Baker School and look at the actual argument[...]

[five paragraphs snipped – click to expand]

* * *

the-sofa
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: anon
ugh, i’m so sorry, i know i’ve owed you a proper message for like three weeks now. my only excuse is that i’m having a shit month at work and it’s even screwing with my ability to write good porn (pun sort of intended). anyway, i’ll reply to your actual question at the weekend, i promise! in the meantime, please accept this drabble (remember when “drabble” actually meant “100 words”?) as a token of my esteem <3

* * *

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: THE PRESIDENT OF KCL SUCKS BALLS

M–

If this email gets through I think we’re okay on the surveillance front. Anyway, here’s my entirely unbiased analysis of the Baker School’s argument: it fucking sucks. Look, if we just change the structure of the paper to[...]

[two paragraphs snipped – click to expand]

* * *

anon
re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: the-sofa
“screwing with my ability to write good porn” excuse you, that drabble was a delight. In the meantime, I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about coffee shop AUs (yes, I know, but I think we can learn a lot about a narrative by looking at the places where it can and can’t submit to the norms of a totally different genre). They might brighten your day up a little? Here’s an outline…

[click here to expand comment]

Anyway, just an idea! Hope work improves soon <3

* * *

well thank god for my anonymous commenter at least
do you think they’ll let me post to AO3 from jail when i’m in there for strangling megan?

[voice memo – 0:23]

… that audio’s just you laughing hysterically, isn’t it

* * *

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I don’t think tenure has been good for you

Leila,

Okay, I’m willing to concede on Peterson. I don’t like the historiographical assumptions she makes either, but I don’t think there’s a better reference, and we need something to[...]

[four paragraphs snipped – click to expand]

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Making my job security everyone else’s problem

M–

If you concede on Peterson, I’ll give you Martinović. Yeah, his “translation” of those street signs is inaccurate as hell, but we can get a good couple of paragraphs about the assumptions that Canadian critics bring to the table out of it. Only problem is I still can’t figure out how to structure the section on[...]

[five paragraphs snipped – click to expand]

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Maybe if we put the statistical argument first?

Just a thought…

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: We still don’t have a logical link between sections one and two, tho

Lead with the Peterson section…?

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Thanks, I hate it

Doesn’t solve Galbandian’s objection. Just scrap section one and start again??

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: UGGGGGGH

See above

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I concur

Look, doing this over email sucks beyond words, and Zoom is somehow even worse. You’re in town for that workshop at UCL, right? Do you want to come over and see if we can solve it in person?

Address follows:[...]

[one paragraph snipped – click to expand]

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This better not be a cunning ploy to murder me and assume my professorship

5:30? Incidentally, I can’t believe you live in fucking Kensington.

Much against my better judgement,

L

* * *

sara
sara help
sara pick up this is an emergency
we’re working on this paper at megan’s place and she gave me her laptop so i could proofread while she went to the bathroom
and i accidentally minimised the window because of course she uses this fucking weird trackpad thing
and there were a bunch of browser tabs underneath
and obviously i wasn’t going to look because i’m not a BARBARIAN
but one of them was my AO3 username
sara she’s my anonymous commenter
she’s read my porn
she LIKED my porn
sara what the fuck am i going to do

you’re working on what where now

oh NOW you respond??
look hashing this dumb paper out over email wasn’t working
and i was down in london for the day so i went over to her place
i figured at least i could throw coasters at her when she tries to cite people i hate

you’re in london for the day and you’re not visiting me?

sara i love you but now is not the time
what am i supposed to do??

okay we’re having WORDS about this later
but for now it looks like there’s only one option

what
what’s the option
come on sara i’m begging you she’ll be back any second

log into your AO3 account on your own laptop
and give it to her so she can “proofread” while you go to the bathroom

… leila?

… that’s either the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard or pure genius
oh shit she’s coming
guess we’re going to find out which!

* * *

leila?
is everything okay?
i was expecting you to have texted by now, if only to yell at me

starting to worry

leila?

* * *

hey, can you proofread this abstract real quick and let me know what you think?
also, we’re dating now

Chapter Text

“Thank God for Fanfiction”: Minoritised Cultural Criticism and Lesbian Identity Formation in Goncharov Fandom
Dr. Leila El-Diwany, University of East Anglia
&
Dr. Megan Wright, King’s College London