Foolish-neko - Hairball

literally my whole life

One of the biggest issues of moving to England as a person who is Ukrainian AND neurodivergent is not knowing how to answer the small talk question of "how are you", but today I was reminded that Ukrainian blessed me with the phrase that roughly translates as "living is hard but dying would be a pity" and can we please naturalise it so I can use it all day every day

don't worry everyone, we are not suicidal (mostly). The River One Song ends with "Я річку шукати чистеньку піду –шукатиму доти, поки не знайду". So, it's very life-affirming!

being ukrainian is a privilege because i get to go ніхто мене не любить ніхто не приласкає піду я у садочок наїмся червячків whenever i'm feeling down

I hope you'll see it, @oldpaintings. What you've done here is not only rude and cruel, it's imperialistic of you to support cultural appropriationd and historical manipulation. By calling Ukrainian artist a Russian you support the cultural genoside. It's your choice as a human on which side you want to be - to support imperialistic ambitions of Russians, who want you to spread disinformation and allow them to steal others cultural inheritance, OR to call Ukrainian art Ukrainian.

By posting Ukrainian art as Russian, you are no better then thiefs. You are participating in it. And many people who'll see your post will believe this artist was Russian. And when it comes to cultutal appropriation, do you really want to participate in it? Do you really want to be one of oppressors, who are trying to erase culture and traditions?

It's just so sad, that when it comes to culture, you and many other trying to show 'Russian culture' with stolen art. If you appriciate Russian culture so much, why don't you post real Russian art? Why you post Ukrainian artist and call them Russian? It's not that you can't find Russian artists, it's something else, isn't it? Maybe hatred, maybe ignorance and cruelty. You just choose to support oppression. I really hope you'll see this post and if you did that just by mistake, I hope you'll have enough compassion to not be a part of cultural and phisical genoside.

Self-Portrait as Pierrot, 1911 by Zinaida Serebriakova (Russian, 1884--1967)

Why Ukrainians didn’t produce a Tolstoy?

there are a lot of things that can piss me off, today it was this tweet:

and all i wanted to do was to ask this person, why the fuck do we need a racist misogynistic piece of shit as a standout author if we have Shevchenko as our prophet?

but you don’t know who he is? of course, you don’t. that is the thing with imperialism: you destroy other cultures while promoting yours as the only way to legitimise your rule. even if those territories are of higher cultural development. but there is always a way out of it: kill them all. kill anyone who poses an existential threat to your hegemony. throw them into jail. forbid them to write and paint. send them to gulag. kill them. torture them. execute them.

if you don’t know Ukrainian literature, it doesn’t mean that it‘s nonexistent. if you don’t know "a Ukrainian Tolstoy", it means there is a Ukrainian Bahrianyi, who was sent to the gulag but ran away and was the first person in the world to openly criticise USSR in his pamphlet Why I am not going back to the Soviet Union. "I don't want to go back to the USSR because a person there is worth less than an insect"

there is a Ukrainian Symonenko and a Ukrainian Stus. there is a Ukrainian Lesya Ukrainka and Olha Kobylyanska. a Ukrainian Kotsiubynskyi, Ukrainian Drach, Ukrainian Olena Pchilka and Ukrainian Lina Kostenko. and so many more of the bravest people who despite all wrote in the Ukrainian language about Ukrainian people and for Ukrainian people.

there are thousands of beautiful texts that weren’t translated because this would’ve harmed the empire. that is why you are reading Dostoevsky and not Khvyliovyi.

but there are also thousands of texts that were never written. just how many more poems would’ve Stus written if he wasn’t killed by the Soviet regime? how many more texts would have Pidmohylnyi, Semenko, Yalovyi, Yohansen, Zerov written if they weren’t shot at Sandarmokh?

just have many texts have the world missed out on because Khvyliovyi committed suicide as he couldn’t live in the world with Stalin’s repressions. "today is a beautiful sunny day. I love life - you can't even imagine how much", - he will write in his death note as he shot himself with his friends waiting for him in the next room.

or maybe there was a Ukrainian Nobel Prize in Literature waiting for Tychyna? maybe, but he submitted to Soviet authorities and started writing hails for the regime, suddenly forgetting his own literary style and living his entire life in fear. fear of what? fear of getting caught. of getting destroyed just as all of the previous Ukrainian intelligentsia.

I’m tired of my people being silenced. I’m tired of my poets being undermined by "great” russian literature. it’s not worth a single Symonenko’s poem. it’s not worth a single paragraph of Bahrianyi‘s prose.

the greatness of russian literature lies on the bones of Ukrainian writers. to be this high, they killed hundreds and they are still doing it today.

the body of Ukrainian children’s writer Volodymyr Vakulenko was found in the mass grave in Izium in September 2022.

there will be a Ukrainian Nobel Prize in Literature, and there will be more Ukrainian books. there will be Ukrainian Zhadan and Zabuzhko, Liubka and Izdryk, Sord and Kidruk. there will be Ukrainian literature.

another funny thing is that this person is Indian and let me tell you: the fact that you stand up for one empire even when your own country has suffered from the doings of another is evidence of deep colonial trauma and I hope you will cure yourself soon

this used to be a city of Maryinka, as you can see it no longer exists, thanks to russians.

What is the best way to financially help Ukraine? Is it better to go through organizations or gofundmes or something else I'm not aware of?

Thanks for asking, nonnie. That's very kind of you. If you or anyone else has some spare change and wants to give, here are a few ideas:

United24 is the official fundraising platform established by President Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian governmental members and directs money to all areas of the country.

The Olena Zelenska Foundation is primarily focused on medical, humanitarian, and educational aid across the country and was founded by the First Lady.

Stand for Ukraine gives you a range of charity options, depending on whether you want to donate directly to the military, or you would prefer to fund non-lethal or humanitarian aid, etc.

Come Back Alive is the main fundraising platform for the Ukrainian military. You can choose to donate to air defense, heavy weapons, demining, medical aid, overall combat equipment, etc.

Donate to Ukraine's Defenders also offers various (carefully vetted) links and options to donate to rebuilding projects, private medical assistance programs, initiatives for democracy, and others.

Про важливість укрліт мемів

Короткий тред про укрліт меми. Одразу попереджаю: я не проводила досліджень, а просто пишу те, що думаю. Як людина, яка часто створює меми про укрліт та мові, гадаю, маю право.

Отже, якби меми існували, коли я готувалась до ЗНО, я б склала його ще краще. Скільки балів я набрала скажу пізніше, а поки поговоримо про меми.

Що це таке всі знають: яскрава дотепна картинка з коротким влучним надписом. Саме на меми ми звертаємо увагу більше, ніж на текстові пости (хоча є винятки). Меми про укрліт з’явились ще в одній російській соцмережі. Звідти вони пішли в фейсбук, інстаграм та твіттер. Існував великий та цікавий акавнт у твіттері, зараз неактивний, на жаль.

Меми використовують для поширення важливих зборів, що там вже казати про літературу. Однак літературні меми сприяють кращому засвоєнню інформації. Наприклад, якщо прочитати «Кайдашеву сім’ю», а потім поглянути на меми, то краще запам’ятаєш хто є хто і хто саме де втопився чи яке дерево засохло.

До речі, здається, саме з Кайдашами найбільше мемів. Здогадатися чому неважко. Сам сюжет прямо кричить про меми, а ілюстрації Базилевича додають бажання створювати жарти. Це ж стосується «Енеїди».

А як же важкі твори, твори серйозні, трагічні? Їх в українській літературі чи не найбільше. Звичайно ж тут меми робити важче, однак можливо. Можна посміятися з імен літературних героїв чи їхніх безглуздих вчинків. Чи, зрештою, пригадати щось про самого автора.

Такі меми допомагають посміятися над тим, що раніше викликало у нас журбу та навіть завдало психологічних травм. Привіт, «Федько-Халамидник». Але жартувати з такими творами треба обережно.  Ба навіть з такими постатями як Хвильовий чи Стус, чия доля, без сумніву, тяжка, є меми.

Найбільш мемна постать укрліт — Тарас Шевченко. Звісно, він найпопулярніший поет, однак хіба його твори комедійні (є винятки), вони ж такі глибокі та серйозні! Однак його образ, його стиль, його картини, його доля, рядки з його віршів — меми. Знамениті: «як умру, то пох», «немає долі» тому приклад. Шевченко — це непочатий край для мемів та жартів. Жартів різних, але таких, аби точно не образити нашого Кобзаря.

Замало мемів про твори Кулішів (обох), Карпенко-Карого, Старицького, Багряного, Кобилянську, Костенко та інших. Найпопулярніший мем з Багряним створений вже давно, але його досі поширюють. Це ще одне свідчення того, що меми про укрліт важливі та майже такі ж безсмертні як твори, на основі яких зроблені.

Звичайно, ви можете сказати, що меми не несуть в собі нічого корисного і треба читати книжку. Треба читати! Читати треба! Однак візуальне сприйняття та смішний жарт при цьому допоможуть учням. Меми ж не лише несуть освітню мету (здебільшого не несуть взагалі, якщо так подумати), а популяризують щось, змушують усміхнутися чи аж зареготати. Літературні — популяризують літературу, українську літературу, на уроках з якої буває… так нудно!

Ще один сучасний спосіб прищепити любов та популяризувати укрліт — фанфіки. Але про них поговоримо якось пізніше. Дякую за увагу.

Поділіться своїми улюбленими мемами про укрліт чи покажіть свої! А ЗНО я тоді скалала на 192. Зараз би не склала. Однак зараз я роблю меми не лише заради жартів, а тому, що знаю: це важливо.

п.с. усі меми, окрім кольорового з Багряним, мої

більше мемів у мене у твіттері, блускаї або тг-каналі

Ai no Kusabi Volume 8 Retranslation

Hello everyone!

I present to you the full retranslation of AnK Volume 8.

As most of you know, official translations of volumes 7 and 8 are extremely poorly done and there has been a need to properly (re)translate them. Volume 7 has already been retranslated by Rabi and can be found here. And now, you can get volume 8 through the link below:

Download

With this, our fandom finally has a chance to properly read the, arguably, most important part of the story. Guy’s thoughts, actions and motivations have especially suffered in the official translation, so I really hope you guys would carefully (re-)read it to try to get the whole picture. I also think that Raoul and Katze have been really snubbed, with entire sections related to them just outright skipped.

Happy reading, and once you’ve read it, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions! Love, Darcy PS: Don’t forget about my retranslation of volume 1~~ and visit my blog for other AnK translations.

I LOVE THIS GAME

It was a great birthday gift from me to myself. That violet bloody sky is something. I love this castle soo much.

omg, dude, did you read what I wrote? I literally gave you ukr wiki because I know that you are.

besides, I gave you not only wiki, but 3 more sources - site with info and two history works from explorers of that times. if historical testimonies and articles are not enough for you - make your own research, you're not banned from google as I see.

make a little effort to educate yourself.

Because series made me to think about this canon again

For years, I was confused about how to feel about Armand's book backstory.

Like. He's from Kyivan Rus', BUT at the same time from 15th century. Kyivan Rus' was feudal monarchy that existed from probably IX (at least we assume so, because it was mentioned under that name in 852, tho it's not popped from the air, you know) to 1240. From ~1240 to 1349 the country was Rus' Kingdom. After that, Ukraine was splitted between Poland, Lithuania and Moldavian principality. Tho, Ukrainians were called Ruthenians (Latin name for former nation of Kyivan Rus') up until 19th century. I've read Beauplan's and Merimee's works about Ukraine, and they call Ukrainians both Ukrainians and Ruthenians.

SO.

When was Andrii (yes, this is how you would pronounce Ukrainian variation of Ανδρεας or Andrew)? He was Ruthen from Kyivan Rus' or he was Ruthen from 14th century Rus' Kingdom? Or he was even later? Book says he was born in 1481. So, later. A lot later.

We also know that he was kidnapped and enslaved by Mongolians. Mongolians entered Kyiv in 1240, it was a 13th century, not the end of 15th.

AND I HAVE A THEORIES.

Vampires live very long. So, probably it could be a mistake. Maybe Armand is simply older. Maybe he was around in 1240. He was just a child back then. Probably centuries later he was like 'yeah that Mongolians they sold me... so... it was... um... 15th century... yes? no?' Maybe it's just miscount. And then he never bothered to fix that.

The book is written by Daniel if I remember correctly. Perhaps Armand was like 'dude I was in orthodox Christian church I didn't know what year it was, I almost forgot my name and appearance in the catacombs under Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra'. And Daniel asked Marius when he met Andrii. And Marius... Well, if you are around for 2 thousand years, you can remember things incorrectly. So, Daniel, who is American and know nothing about history of Ukraine, and Marius who maybe knows something about Kyivan Rus' because it was a huge and powerful country back then just made that. They counted and assumed that it was 1481. And it was wrong.

Armand is a liar. How we can know that his real name is Andrii? Maybe he had a friend who's name was Andrii and Armand stole it. Maybe he was Taras. Or Bohdan. Or Oleh. How we would know? And maybe he never saw Mongols. How we would know? How would Daniel know? Maybe it was just his grand grandmother who told she saw Mongolians and how they burnt Kyiv. And little Andrii (we can say he was a weirdo all along) was just 'wow I want that! how cool it would be!'. And then he was kidnapped. And assaulted. And sold as a slave. And little weird Andrii just wanted a little comfort in his misery and a cool story. And when Marius asked how Andrii was captured, he made up this cool story about Mongols. Maybe in reality it was something more... Common. Dark and common. Everything could happen. Maybe he was sold by his parents, and he denied it. Maybe it was abuse in that church. Maybe he ran away from church and somehow ended up on the slave market.

Actually, I tend to 3rd. Isn't it a western movie where little talented boy paint so beautifully that Prince Michael (Mykhailo II of Chernihiv I assume) orders one of his icons, but on the way he and his father are interrupted by Mongolians. Also, it was said that Andrii suffered an amnesia due to his trauma caused by life in a brothel. He even starts to learn how to paint from the start, like he never knew how to paint before. So, was he at Lavra at all? Was he an icon painter? We would never know. He could just go to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, point at some old icon and say he drew it.

Or maybe some part of the story is true and some - isn't. I would speculate that Armand had an education. He wasn't a son of a hunter, no. He knew about Mongols. He knew who was the knyaz in 1240. But in 1481 Yurii Paz was knyaz. Mykhailo would be long dead by that time, obviously. So, how would little poor Andrii Ivanovych from 1481 know who was knyaz back when Mongols burnt Kyiv?)) A hunters son could not, he would not have an education, he would not know how to read or write, so history? Oh no, no way.

So, simply, we do not know who is Andrii. Is he Andrii at all? Was he born in 1481? Was he even 17 when Marius was thinking he was? Was his father a hunter named Ivan? Was he an icon painter at Lavra? probably yes and Ann Rice just didn't research enough

I just was thinking about it for years since I have read Vampire Armand. All these years I was wondering how he end up stolen by Mongols in 15th century...

Tho, it would be hilarious to see Armand's icon in Vampireverse Lavra. Imagine that. By the way, Lavra still have catacombs (I was there on tour). Maybe in Vampireverse some of Andrii's friends are there. Literally, their mummies as saints. He would arrive in Ukraine, in Kyiv and like 'oooh let's go see my old friends'. 'Look, Daniel, this is Marko, I knew him. Oh, and this is Illya, he looks better now, actually'. And then he would see his icon. And like... You know how it feels to see your artwork after some time. It's just not that good anymore, you know. You can do better now. Yes, this is how he would feel. It was a masterpiece in 1490s, he painted it for a year and a half. And now he can draw photo-like detailed art on his graphics tablet.

If you read this, thank you for the attention! Love you!