#...i applied for and went to poland

[hzdtrees]

Pitchcliff, pt. 2

[tchaikovskym]

My 2023 was wild, not in a way that anyone would use the term "wild" except me

[tf2heritageposts]

alright i have som time to relax so as a quick break from the horrors we are currently in, here is a dedicated post on what i’m calling “soldier is a polish immigrant theory”. it says what it means

now how could soldier, man of america, ever be possibly not born and raised in america? well, there’s a few different instances where soldier is shown to have bad english

such as these two instances in comic one where solider refers to the band the beatles as if they were an object (the correct phrasing would be “those are the beatles” or “they are the beatles”) and says scout went to a “crying hospital” when it seems like he meant “crying at the hospital” and not a hospital dedicated to crying. the writers of tf2 are all american and speak english as their first language, so it’s not like it’s a translation or actual grammar issue.

furthermore, soldier is shown to not know anything actually about america

such as him not being able to identify new york as a state/city in america despite objectively being the most well known city and state in the united states

then of course there’s the thing that is one of the most well known things about soldier, seen on his page on the tf2 website

soldier has been in poland before but the blurb acts like he was already in america during this. but it begs a few questions, namely

why doesn’t it list a specific state where soldier is from? midwest could mean a number of things and soldier doesn’t actually have a midwestern accent, moreso a very stereotypical seargent voice reminiscent of those on tv. and the thing is we can actually infer soldier is a movie buff because he makes a disproportionate number of references to movies compared to everyone else including teriminator 2 which isn’t a war movie. what’s to say he’s not putting on the accent, or adopted the accent after watching a war movie? a lot of his knowledge about america and life in general is very reminiscent of action movies, and would make a lot more sense on why soldier acts like such a stereotype of an american, specifically a stereotype that other countries get from america based on our movies edit: i just remembered soldier also references a few specific actors in his voicelines, specifically his meramsus ones

and the thing is we know soldier has a very hard time telling reality from his own imagination, and we see him hallucinate frequently in the comics or seem to have straight up delusions. you could also point to the lead poisoning but the fact is soldier does seem to have a degree of straight up psychosis which could be impacting his ability to truthfully tell people where he’s from. what’s to say that the blurb isn’t also his imagination in a american psycho type of way? it’s a very action movie thing to be denied being in the military so you go out to do it yourself. maybe the denials weren’t real, or maybe soldier actually was applying to the polish military and got denied but his brain thought he was applying to the american military? maybe he thought poland was america?

so here’s my theory

soldier is a polish man, a big fan of movies especially american action war hero movies. he starts developing any of the number of disorders that cause psychosis gradually, and starts acting erratic. he heard about the war but doesn’t realize it was already over so he flew over to germany to kill nazis but then ended his rampage when he realized they were german citizens. now the german police were on his ass, so he immigrated/fled to america where he landed in teufort. this is where he developed his lead poisoning, and his psychosis got even worse and developed straight up memory loss from the brain damage lead poisoning can cause. he got rid of his ids when he fled, and he looks so different to what he looked like back in poland that nobody’s able to identify him as the serial killer in germany, and now he roams teufort as a mercenary who can’t even rememebr his own name

( mandatory aside, we do have psychosis in the form of a few different disorders that cause it including schizophrenia and experience delusions. promise i’m not being one of those people)

[chicago-geniza]

Giving myself a few months to soberly assess the situation but girl what if I actually did just fuck off to Poland and try to solve the citizenship issue once I was already there since I could go to Zamość and bother bureaucrats in person lol. What if I just did something stupid and impulsive and got out of this country and instead of going somewhere "more liberal" with "less of a state religion problem" where "state-sanctioned fascists weren't emboldened to hold parades in the capitol" I went to fucking. Poland. Because I have an autism spectrum disorder and can easily get a C1 Polish language certification which would qualify me for work. What if I applied to a PhD in Wrocław or something and while that was pending got my citizenship documents sorted and petitioned to stay. Idk man I'm just spitballing here

[stychu-stych]

hello,

I was wondering how did you go about selling stuff on conventions? (also im asking from a polish perspective cause i know you are from here and most vidoes on the matter are from american perspective) how did you went about pricing? what were the first conventions you went to sell to? how do you go about stocking up? is there any conventions that you recommend avoiding? anything you could share

thank you for your time, even if you dont answer

That's so interesting question! I have to admit that most of the videos about being a vendor doesn't work for me JDBDJDH unfortunately there's tons of cute content with people talking about their super inspiring art journey that is just a content, and I'm talking about videos from all over the world. Also don't get me wrong, those videos still can be super enjoyable, but you have to be aware that most of them are not real. I learned much more on my mistakes than on videos on yt or tiktok and I can tell that being a vendor isn't really different from working in a casual shop (the main difference is that you're your own boss, manager and employee). Also I want to clarify that everything below is just my own experience which may be different from other people.

So basically the store MangoMilkStudio was created by my fiancée about 6 or 7 years ago. I helped her a little, tried to open my own online shop as well but it quickly turned out that we prefer to work under the one name and I decided to start adding stuff on, at that moment, our common store.

Our first convention (that doesn't exist anymore) was in Wrocław in 2019 if I remember correctly. It was a barter-like transaction, we made some illustrations in exchange for the booth. We didn't earn much but we both had different jobs at that time and we saw making merch as some kind of a hobby.

If it comes to being a vendor and what cons I recommend- it depends on where you live, how much money do you want to spend on sleeping and transportation, how much on a booth, what kind of con you're interested in. The good thing about Poland is that we have SO MANY cons so you can pick whatever suits you best. I don't want to point out specific conventions, because I know that some of cons work for us but don't work for someone else and vice versa. I think the best way of deciding which con you want to attend is just applying and then consider whether it's worth it after the con is over.

The one but very important mistake that people usually do on their first conventions is that they're expecting to earn a loooot of money and they are disappointed when it doesn't happen. Being a vendor, even as a small business artist, is still a work related to trade and that means you have to put a lot of money in your business before you'll start to earn money, you have to create your own base of customers, you have to know how to talk to the client, how to talk not only about fandom stuff but also about your own products, how to arrange your table so all the products are visible for a client etc. It works on the basis of trial and error and can take a lot of time and effort.

About the prices - if you don't know how to price your product, you should try to check other vendors' price lists and then analyze if that price sufficiently covers your production costs (yes, including your time and effort). And for a love of god DON'T lower your prices too much because of the competition. It never works and it only spoils the market.

After each convention we try to save some money for the next con but also for a restock (and taxes JDBSJSH""" yeah, we unfortunately have huge taxes). If it goes to restocking items like keychains or anything that is acrylic, Poland doesn't really have much good manufactures unfortunately (I hope this will change in the future) so we usually buy stuff in China. I'm not complaining, products are well made, people are super friendly, the only things that can be exhausting are - tariffs, super expensive shipping and long time waiting for a package. So be prepared with some extra money and make sure you won't place an order a week before convention.

Few more tips:

- don't restock merch in large quantities if you don't know if people would buy it. I did it with my Deltarune stickers, people stopped to buy them and I still have tons of them hidden somewhere dhdbdh

- home printers and plotters are great for making things like TY cards, packaging, single stickers but I recommend to find good printing house or manufacturer. It's just more cost-effective in terms of time, materials and nerves. Also if you make a mistake it's on your own, if manufacturer makes a mistake you can ask for a remake

- most people at cons are super cute and friendly but some of them can be weird as well, don't be afraid to set your boundaries

- keep your cash close to you

- don't eat food that was offered to you by someone you don't know (even if that person looks like con helper)

- write down orgs' phone numbers just in case

- remember to eat and drink a lot of water

At the end I want to say that it's hard to make a living from just one artistic job. We have an online store, we're vendors at cons, I make tattoos, commissions (from time to time), now I'm trying my best on patreon. Most of the people I know, that are vendors as well, have a "normal" job. So don't feel bad if you want to start earning money with your art but you still have to work in a second job

[cowboyoneiros]

taxi!

No Archive Warnings Apply

Armand/Daniel Molloy

Devil's Minion Era, Taxis, Setting: Poland, Rain, no beta we die like men

Daniel spent forever on planes, trains, and, of course, in taxis. Heart jumping and goose bumps rising every time he caught amber eyes or dark curls in the corner of his eye — sitting on the other side of the plane, walking down the street, almost blending in with the crowd, sitting in the same carriage. But up until this time, taxis were safe.

—

I've read the Devil's Minion chapter a while ago, and thought, what a shame that the taxi scene is only like, a sentence long. So, here you go. That's how it went down in my head. Only the setting changed, because it wouldn't be me if I didn't place the damn thing near the sea.

[gryficowa]

Did you know that there are a lot of people in Haiti about Polish origin and they live in the villages?

"Polonia in Haiti (hait. Lapologne) - Haitians of Polish origin, being descendants of legionnaires sent to the island by the French to suppress the creation of the black population. After some time and the first clashes, some of the Polish soldiers sent to Haiti decided to go to the Haitian insurgents side, Referring their tragic situation to the partitions of Poland, and their fight to Polish independence uprisings"

"After the victory of the slaves and the announcement of Haiti's independence, in the constitution of 1805 the white settlement and possession of any earthly property in the country were forbidden [1]. However, this record did not apply to Germans and Poles [2]. Jean-Jacques Dessalines has issued orders, Not only not to kill Polish soldiers (even those serving on the French side), but even to give them Haitian citizenship. He motivated that Poles, like the Haitians, were characterized by love of freedom and had to fight for it many times, also during the Haiti revolution. One of the commanders of the French contingent Pierre Thouvenot, so he wrote about Polish soldiers to the Ministry of the Navy and Cologne:

These heavy and apathetic people, strangers to our habits, at a huge distance from their homeland, lose all their energy here, unable to cope with the hardships of marches and are terrified by the dangers of colonial war, which they have no idea about. It is impossible to use them differently, as in garrisons, and it is dangerous to entrust them.

From Polish soldiers in the Haitian service, two infantry battalions were created, which were to guard the prisoners with the French. Only 160 Poles asked Dessalines to leave Haiti, what he accepted. They went to Jamaica, where the governor of the Nugent obliged them to drag on the British army, which they refused. Therefore, they were sent back to Haiti, with a letter in which the governor advises them to drive them out. Dessalines stated, however, that Poles are free citizens, Haiti's free country, And I can't drive them out. In this way, the Polish community in Haiti was created, with time more and more forgotten, not only by Poland, but also by the Haitan government. Knowledge of the Polish language in favor of the French and then Kreol Haitan was slowly disappearing.

The Haitan government twice remembered the existence of Poles. For the first time during the dictatorship of Papa Doc, who hated the Mulacka elite and its French character, and at the same time sought African symbols. He then set Poles for a model of love of freedom and courage, calling them the white blacks of Europe. This did not prevent, however, on March 27, 1969 by the secret police Tonton Macoute Massacre 11 inhabitants inhabited by the descendants of the Legionnaires of Cazale [3].

For the second time, during the visit of John Paul II to Haiti. On March 18, 1983, Poles were taken to the François Duvalier airport in Port-au-Prince to welcome the Pope. They were gathered in the honorary sector so that they could directly exchange a few words with the Holy Father. They heard from him assurance about help because we are all Poles and we must help each other. Earlier, one of the inhabitants of Cazale even visited Poland, but the imposition of martial law in 1981 interrupted cooperation with his compatriots from Haiti. After visiting the Pope, insulation and forgetfulness of the Polish community intensified. He discovered her again and commemorated the Italian reporter Riccardo Orizio in 1996. The chapter about Lephologne was in his book Lost White Tribes, published in 2000, in which he described the fate of Poles in the Caribbean in detail"

This is quite an interesting story combining two different countries that are so distant, but so close

Knowing this story, seeing my country's approach to Palestine is depressing at many levels, often Poles use the excuse "that this is not a problem of Poland", when many of their relatives who rebelled against Napoleon so that they would not look positive at them

Knowledge of Poland from the USA and the attack of Germans, Austria and Russia on Poland destroyed this country

The loss of the lands is one thing, but it becomes closer to the torturers is sad

I could forgive the countries what attacked this country, but I will not forgive Poland that she forgot where it was and how the world ignored her suffering, faint me as nationalists cry like "Poland was left alone", and then show the middle finger to countries and people who need us

The nationalists are so drooling to those who fought for this country, but they themselves would be those who would kill them for opposition to fascism

Poland simply will not admit that it has lost its entire identity because he prefers to live in a bubble

[jurakan]

I just found out I passed a huge licensing exam (similar to the Bar, took me almost a year to complete all the parts) so I’d love to celebrate with a fun fact this week! Hit me with it!

Good job on passing! I was going to save this for a big occasion, and I think this applies, so! Today You Learned about Wojtek!

Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear, orphaned as a cub in 1942, and adopted by Polish soldiers in exile in Iran after the Soviet invasion. After some time in a Polish refugee camp, Wojtek became a mascot for the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and they were the ones to name him (his name means "Happy Warrior" if you're curious). They also fed him, which, uh... I don't know that they did a great job, as he apparently drank a lot of beer and ate cigarettes, as well as, like, actual food.

And during the Italian Campaign, he went with his unit to Italy, and served at the Battle of Monte Cassino.

That's right, Wojtek was a bear that fought the Nazis.

Okay, so Wojtek didn't see combat, but he carried supplies and ammunition. And being, y'know, a bear, he was able to carry much heavier loads than humans could. Some argued that his contributions were exaggerated by his unit, but there is a British soldier who admitted to seeing a bear carrying ammunition.

After the war, he and his unit went to Scotland, where they were popular with locals. Wojtek eventually retired to the Edinburgh Zoo. He was a popular attraction, a national celebrity, and supposedly responded to Polish speech with visible happiness, and could recognize soldiers from his old unit.

He died in 1963.

There are memorials of him in Poland and Scotland, because, like... yeah, a bear who fought Nazis. Who doesn't want to see that?!

Also there's a preschool in Warsaw, Poland named after him.

[femalepope]

no obligation to respond as I know it's a bit of a personal question, but just out of interest did you ever experience any judgement or issues from going to oxford and not being privately educated (as far as i know)? I only ask bc I live near Durham so a few friends go there and they've experienced legitimate bullying from southern privately educated students for not being "educated" or posh enough and it's a real issue ❤️ wishing you a nice day

full disclosure, i went to a private primary school in poland (and then a state middle and high school). still, it was very different from what i know about private schools in the uk - there weren't any extracurriculars and i certainly wasn't learning greek or latin.

what my parents were paying for was basically more english lessons and international presence. which obviously gave me a huge advantage when applying to uk universities when compared to other polish students, but the way i was educated was very different to the other students at oxford, whether they went to a private school or state school.

i didn't really experience any judgement from my peers, though some of my professors were condescending and kind of xenophobic towards me. i was asked "do they not teach you that in poland..." and told that "really it's not surprising you don't know this [here insert a piece of niche scholarship or an obscure fact about 16th century protestantism that none of my peers knew either] considering where you went to school..."

but it also varies a lot based on college. mine had a lot of people from state schools who got the largest possible student loan. it was a kind of shit college (as in, not the education standards - those were good, but the infrastructure etc) so none of the people who went to like, eton, would apply there haha. but some colleges are really posh and i imagine it might be slightly more difficult there.

this is purely anecdotal evidence, but for what it's worth, i've heard people are wayyyyy more judgmental and snobbish at durham than they are at oxford. most of the people i've met there have been really lovely, whereas those who went to durham... :| were either posh twats or had many stories about being looked down on by posh twats. and i know for a fact there are many posh twats at oxford but they don't associate with me so i am blissfully unaware of what they're like

[eaglesnick]

“Appeasement is the policy of feeding your friends to the crocodile, one at a time, in the hopes that the crocodile will eat you last” - FD Roosevelt

At what point will Sir Keir Starmer come to realise that the Trump administration are not our allies and that they regard us with as much distain as they view the rest of Europe? Or to put it another way, when will Sir Keir Starmer stop acting like Neville Chamberlain and abandon his policy of appeasement?

Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on British steel and aluminium. This tariff applies not only to the raw steel, but also finished products containing steel, such as aircraft components and machinery. These tariffs threaten jobs and steel production in this country.

“Chinese-owned British Steel confirmed Thursday plans to shut blast furnaces and other operations in England saying President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the sector were partly to blame for a decision which could cost up to 2,7000 jobs" ( AFP: 27/03/25)

Trump has since imposed a 25% tariff on all car imports into America, including British produced automobiles. This will affect, Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce. The USA is Britain’s largest single market for cars, worth £6.4 billion. Further tariffs on car parts are anticipated in May.

The response of Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to this devastating blow to our economy is to smile weakly and carry on as usual. The question is, when will lickspittle Starmer wake up to reality and side with the rest of Europe against Trump?

Perhaps, like Chamberlain, who only acknowledged Hitler's malevolence after the invasion of Poland, Starmer's moment of reckoning might come with the invasion of Greenland. Yet, I remain skeptical. When Trump suggested Canada should become the 51st state of America—despite its status as a British Commonwealth member and King Charles as its official Head of State—Starmer chose to remain conspicuously silent.

“ Prime Minister Keir Starmer refuses to condemn Trump’s 51st state comments.” (juno news: 01/03/25)

Appeasement failed Chamberlain, and it will fail Starmer. Trump is pursuing an expansionist agenda, and I worry that Starmer may, if not openly endorse Trump's policies, find ways to rationalize or excuse them.

Trump has said about Greenland that America has to:

" let them know that we need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it.” (26/03/25)

Trump floated the idea of buying Greenland in 2019, but both the Greenlanders themselves and the Danish government, who have sovereignty over the Island, rejected his suggestion. Since then, Trump has emphasised the need for the “annexation ” of Greenland, citing its importance for international security.

The word “annexation” refers to the formal and legal incorporation of a territory into another country, often through political or diplomatic means, and is often portrayed as an official act. The point is, talking of "annexation" rather than invasion is a much more nuanced description of what is often a blatant take over of one country by another.

In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria using “Anschluss", the reunification of the German speaking peoples under one nation, as an excuse to take control of that country. He then went on to "annex”, the Sudetenland, Bohemia and Moravia and parts of Poland.

We see the same arguments being used by Putin to justify his invasion of Ukraine, an argument yet to be condemned by Trump or anyone in his administration. In fact, Steve Witkoff, Trumps special envoy, has been criticised for accepting the results of the sham referenda Russia has previously held in Ukraine to justify its seizure of land there - including Crimea,

“Annexation” is so much nicer a word than “invasion”. It is one of those weasel words that can be used to mean different things to different people. In America, the annexation of Texas, formally belonging to Mexico, into the United States, has often been linked to the concept of "Manifest Destiny," the belief that the U.S.A. was destined to expand across the North American continent.

It appears that this doctrine is being revived and acted upon by the Trump Administration. It is to Britain’s shame that our government is complicit in this American expansionist policy by its continued silence and refusal to condemn Trumps bullying actions

[toomanystoryideas]

11 for the end of year asks!! :)

yoooo tysm for the ask!!!

11. something you want to do again next year?

international travel😍specifically to europe, this year my family and i went to poland to visit other family and then greece just to explore! i just applied for a study abroad trip in finland for summer 2025 so hopefully i get accepted🤞🤞

also ik ur on the tag list for my latest brick fic from AGES ago i promise i’ll upload chapter 2 someday this semester was just insane😭😭

[unhonestlymirror]

"We were smuggled to Belarus." Migrants on the border with Finland told how they got there

The Finnish publication Yle spoke to several illegal migrants who tried to enter the European Union from russia through Finland. They noted that due to the lack of success in the Belaruthian direction, many are now going from there to the Finnish border for luck.

Maayad Salami, Rayan Alhariri and Kamal Tawil are migrants from the Middle East who illegally crossed the russian-Finnish border a few days ago and then applied for asylum in Finland.

Syrian Maayad Salami said that recently in social networks "the opportunity to enter the European Union through Finland began to be actively advertised" and that is why he, together with five other migrants, came to St. Petersburg, from where a smuggler was supposed to take them to the Finnish border.

"The smuggler told us that the movement from St. Petersburg to the Finnish border was organized by the russian military. We were ordered two Yandex taxis for $100 and delivered closer to the border."

"There were some russian officers and investigators who were interrogating us. They canceled all our visas, took away all our passports, phones and money, and then after 7-8 hours of standing in the cold, they gave us bicycles to cross the border and forbade us to return to russia. They also said that if Finland completely closes the border, all migrants will be redirected to Norway, Estonia or Lithuania," Maayad Salami described his memories.

He added that now there are many migrants in russia who tried unsuccessfully to get from Belarus to Latvia, Lithuania or Poland. According to the Syrian, the topic was actively discussed in Telegram, Facebook and other social networks.

"There is now a huge amount of talk about which Finnish border posts are closed and which are still open," Salami said.

The same thing was confirmed by another Syrian, Ryan Alhariri, who tried unsuccessfully several times to get to Poland and Latvia through Belarus. He shared with Yle the details of his journey from Syria to Finland through Belarus.

"I left Syria and went to Beirut (Lebanon), from there I flew to Abu Dhabi (UAE), then to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. There we were smuggled to Belarus, where I unsuccessfully tried several times to get to Poland and Latvia.

"But then we saw in Telegram that the Finnish border is open for those migrants who are in Belarus. We and other migrants arrived in St. Petersburg, from where we were taken by taxi to the Finnish border, where russian soldiers took our phones, passports and money. In return, they gave us bicycles and told us to go to Finland," Alhariri described his journey.

Ryan Alhariri's journey from Syria to Finland through Lebanon, the UAE, russia, Belarus and again through russia. Photo: screenshot of a video by the Finnish publication Yle:

A third migrant, Kamal Tawil, also said that all his documents and phones were taken from him by the group at the border. But, according to Tavil, they were "detained for a very long time" by the russian military, and then the migrants were given bicycles and forbidden to return to russia.

We remind you that Finland has closed almost all border crossings on the border with russia, leaving only one in the north of the country. Migrants, including those with Belaruthian visas, are trying to get into the country .

Earlier, the border guard of Finland noted that large groups of 20-30 people with improved organization are trying to cross the border at the same time, they are better equipped than before, and they behave more confidently, which "resembles the crisis with Belarus."

(c)Naša Niva

[eretzyisrael]

by Ben Cohen

‘I’m Sorry for Undermining the Pro-Palestinian Movement,’ Says Norwegian Student Who Shocked World With Antisemitic Sign

Norwegian student Marie Andersen carries an antisemitic sign at an Oct. 21 pro-Hamas demonstration in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: Screenshot

The young Norwegian woman who caused outrage around the world by carrying a viciously antisemitic placard at a pro-Hamas demonstration in Warsaw has defended her behavior in an interview with a Norwegian broadcaster, characterizing the State of Israel as “dirty” and underlining that her main regret was that the furor she generated had “undermined the pro-Palestinian movement.”

Images of Marie Andersen — a student at the Medical University of Warsaw in Poland — carrying a home-made sign showing a Star of David being dumped into a garbage can alongside the slogan “Keep the World Clean” went viral over the weekend. Polish leaders quickly condemned the display, with President Andrzej Duda saying that “any signs of [antisemitism] arouse our deep indignation” and Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski urging that anyone displaying antisemitism “should face legal consequences.”

But in an interview on Tuesday with Norway’s TV 2, Andersen defended the message behind her sign.

Asked why she had designed such a placard, Andersen replied that it “contains an Israeli flag in the bin to illustrate how dirty I think the Israeli government is, both in this warfare, but also by running an apartheid state for decades.”

During a generally sympathetic interview which at no point challenged her contention that her sign was an attack on the Israeli government and not Jews in general, Andersen said she was “sorry that the poster was not clear enough on the point that this applied to the Israeli government and did not represent any religions and is interpreted as Jew-hatred.”

Andersen also claimed that during a media interview she gave while participating in the demonstration, she had made clear “that this poster was certainly not aimed at Jews, and that we support human rights and freedom of religion is an important right.”

She went to say that she was “sorry for everyone who has been affected by this misinterpretation of the message during the demonstration. I condemn antisemitism and any hatred directed against any religion.”

Andersen concluded her remarks by emphasizing, “I also want to express that I am sorry for how this has undermined the pro-Palestinian movement.”

Despite being investigated by the Warsaw police on possible hate crime charges, Andersen said she had gone to the authorities after receiving “several thousand” hostile messages on her WhatsApp account, the details of which had been leaked without her consent, she said.

“I have been misrepresented in the media and because of this I have received death threats, rape threats, and serious sexual harassment. My family and friends have also been harassed,” she alleged.

[dadlezal]

A Study in Coaching

LONG POST ALERT!

While scrolling through my old posts, I came across those on the Dolezal drama at the end of season 2021/2022. I'll link it somewhere (if I find the will to do so) if you missed this. I remember Kamil saying he regretted his emotional interviews in Planica and felt stupid afterwards. The drama went on for a couple more days/weeks if I recall and ofc Adam Małysz, now chairman of Polish Ski Federation (PZN in Polish), stated that coach Dolezal was offered to continue in his role but he kept leading PZN on, kept being indecisive. And for some reason, men in our country believed Małysz's story, even though he's done and said awful things but they were about women, not them, so ofc they didn't give a shit. I remain skeptical to this day.

If I were to provide a reason as to why Polish "male fans" disliked Dolezal throughout his stay as the main coach, I'd say it was because he wasn't Horngacher. See, Polish men (and not only them but you get it) tend to think that the only good approach to coaching is through aggression. And it doesn't apply to ski jumping only, of course. While I do appreciate everything Horngacher's done for our team, I think he had this aura of a very strict, unlikeable person, with a resting bitch face at that. He rarely talked to any media, he even went as far as to forbid Żyła to talk to journalists - and they were days when he forbade the rest to do it, too. He would often cut off their interviews, even though they weren't long or too releaving. To be fair, Żyła was involved in a scandal including his divorce - it's a long story but it could have been kept quiet had his wife stopped herself from flooding social media with accusatory Instagram posts - photos, videos etc. (There were even rumours about supposed unfaithfulness, first only on Piotrek's side, then on hers, too. But I digress...). I'm not sure how he is now in Germany but I guess he just came to Poland prepared, knowing that the social media frenzy around ski jumping here can be more overwhelming than in Germany. But it was thought he was a very strict, non-compromising coach and ofc men LOVED IT, while majority of "female fans" remained careful with their opinions (ofc, I'm oversimplifying, it wasn't all men and all women). On the other hand, it's during his time when the legendary "BBQ parties" started and he was the one to teach Żyła how to play guitar. As usual in life, things rarely are black&white.

When Horngacher left, Dolezal decided to stay with the team despite a very lucrative offer from DSV and Horngacher's insisting. I'm pretty confident when I say this: within the last decade, Dolezal was the only coach our team had such a strong friendship vibe with. You could see it in the interviews, during competitions, in all off-camera moments, in the small things. They even called themselves "Dodo's mafia" at some point. I personally loved it but many "male experts" in our country were very appalled by this and that's how the gossip was born - that Dolezal had a good first season only because we "ran on Horngacher's leftovers".

I'm not sure how the relationship with Thurnbichler looks like now - many were concerned before it started as the coach is younger than most of our ski jumpers - at least the "prominent" ones. If I were to say on my own, I'd say it's the most distant/professional from all the last four/five coaches. Kamil made a comment, last year, I believe, which many treated as a "nose flick" towards Dolezal's and/or Horngacher's team - that this is the most professional team he has ever worked with. But I don't have a problem with this, not at all.

What I have a problem with is Adam Małysz, unfortunately. In one of the last Eurosport studios, it was suggested that his patience with Thurnbichler is wearing thin. Yeah, the season is looking bad but Thurnbichler was asked to change something around the preparation system and like inventions in any other life matter, this one involved risk and it didn't work out! (The guys had time off right before the start of the season when everyone else was perfecting their technique). Thurnbichler's contract is set to expire in 2026, after the Winter Olympics in Turin but the fact that after a month of bad season Małysz's patience is wearing thin? Ridiculous. Not to mention, he seemed to have chosen Dolezal as his victim - maybe he sensed he was easier to work with than Horngacher, hence additional responsibilities (Horngacher strictly refused to help out our B team and one of the conditions of his contract was focus on the A team - he did have drop-ins at B's trainings and gave a hint or two but refused to overlook two large groups at a time; I think the dislike towards him after his departure was mostly related to the fact that he used our team to improve his resume, make an impression on DSV to be finally accepted as the head coach there) and the CONSTANT PUBLIC CRITICISM! Not only towards Dolezal but towards the jumpers, too! I was surprised to find out that Kubacki is on speaking terms with Małysz because he slandered him in the media on regular basis. Maybe someone smart suggested to Adam that he stop speaking publicly about his discontentment with the results and leave this kind of conversations for closed door opportunities.

The other thing about him - even though he was quick to sack Dolezal and is "running out of patience" with Thurnbichler, he defended Kruczek in his role as the head coach for ladies. Kruczek kept saying that "they would never be good enough to get real results", kept complaining on "their being emotional", their supposed "constant disagreements". They both even went as far as to say the ladies were "too fat" to ever be successful and that they refused to lose weight. Małysz additionally stated (and no, not YEARS AGO, but very recently) that "women shouldn't do sports, especially ski jumping, as it affects their uterus". Yes, that was the shitty excuse men used to ban women from professional sport until very recently (1970', I believe?) and no wonder it came from a man, with no basic knowledge on human biology. When people demanded Kruczek was sacked, he refused to do so, stating it was "the girls' fault, not his". But after many protests from the fans, Kruczek was eventually fired and nowadays, ladies have a new coach, Harald Rodlauer. His position remains untouched, thought, as he said it would take years to fix the damage that was done to the team.

If PZN seriously decides to sack Thurnbichler after this season, I don't know who would be open to cooperation with them. All good coached went through us and probably left traumatised. We can't afford (financially) the best ones like Schuster (who was very eager to work with us but his salary was way over our budget). They all heard about our struggles, they know we have no real "backup", no youth - our jumpers can't even qualify in ContiCup! Many people wanted Tajner out of PZN, hoping Małysz, knowing the environment from the inside, would bring new hope, new light, new ideas and trust for the chairman. Nothing of the sort happened - if anything, he clearly states that he's focused on financing and results and that he won't ask for more sponsors until he sees them.

Anyway. Felt like talking because the constant complaining in the studio gets on my nerves. I'm a fan, too - imagine that! Do I sometimes feel frustrated my favs aren't faving? Yes. Do I keep reminding people how miserable we are every weekend? No. And while results should be the main focus, I think that pressuring everyone involved while giving nothing back is not to way to get them.

[Sorry for all the errors to the two people who will read this post in full]

[suomeen]

Chapter 3: The Longest Journey

We departed on December 20. Took the bus at 2 pm and went through 3 of Ukraine’s major cities to pick up other passengers and head for Poland. The trip started out well but soon things began to go south. The bus itself was alright. However, the site boasted outlets for your devices and free wi-fi. Which is true technically. Except the outlets were the type basically nobody uses in Europe and the wi-fi… there was a whole of 250 MB, all for the taking for your 16-hour ride. The seats were fine but the human body is not really made to sit in one place for so long. My knees were soon hurting and I barely had any sleep.

The trip itself was a bit of a mess too. Flixbus clearly doesn’t want to pay for extra buses for emergency situations so when another one of their buses broke, our driver had to pick up its passengers. Then another company’s bus broke and we took some of its passengers too. Sitting in a bus for hours is bad enough, but at least we weren’t the ones standing in the aisle, wet from the rain. We felt sorry for those people but it was very frustrating for everyone. This incident set us back a few hours. Then there was the border crossing.

Poland was startlingly unwelcoming. I didn’t expect much. I knew we were way past the “Poland is our best buddy” early war honeymoon illusions but this encounter still took me by surprise. We arrived at about 5 am but had to wait for a few hours in a line of other buses before finally proceeding to the border control. At first, they had the few men on the bus go there, making sure they had the right to leave the country. Then it was the rest of us. There were about 5 Poles at the checkpoint and they were not happy to see us. I honestly don’t know what our people did in these 2 years that they hated us so much. First a blond middle-aged woman came up to the bus and began to shout at us in Polish to get out in groups. I understood most of it, but I shouldn’t be expected to. Then we went to show our documents to a few dudes in booths who asked us where we were going and why. After that, a tall handsome young man began to rummage in some people’s bags. He took his time dismantling one woman’s bag, which mostly contained children’s clothes. Her little son, about 3, wanted to help and I don’t like children much, but he was adorable and made all of us passengers smile. Not the Poles though, they didn’t budge. None of them spoke Ukrainian or Russian, or maybe didn’t want to. I wonder who pissed them off so much. We were tired and stressed out as it was and this felt like we were some sort of criminals, not women and children fleeing from a war.

I managed to book a trip directly to the Warsaw airport so, despite the delay, we still had 2 hours to get on the plane. I was just glad we took a plane because 16 hours on a bus wrecked me and I can’t imagine 40, which is what most other people had to endure. We got the world’s most expensive coffees and muffins and took off. The flight was delayed but only by about 10 minutes so it was fine. The Finair plane was kinda small but the flight was very smooth. The weather was rainy but up there, above the clouds, the sun shone brightly and I felt my heart healed a little.

Finland greeted us with blinding whiteness and I felt a strange comfort when we finally arrived. But there was still a good chunk of road ahead.

Normally, most people in our situation would just go to Helsinki and apply for asylum at the closest police department. But this way you get assigned to any place in the country they see fit. Our plan was different. Since we had a friend there and we wanted to be close to her, we were to go to the large city nearest to her and apply there. She even asked at the reception centre and was told they would be expecting us and we would probably get an apartment that was prepared for moving in.

So first, we had to take a city train to get to Tikkurila. Then we had to take the intercity train to a city where we would later be living. But instead of going there, we were to stay at our friend’s so we then had to take another train that got us closer to her where she could pick us up.

I had no internet connection of my own and got to rely on whatever hubs were available. There were none at the station and I was getting a bit panicky that I would miss the train. I had to bother a few Finns for directions, the first of many. They were very friendly and tried to help the best they could. As I got into the train, I had trouble opening my ticket on the ancient tablet I had but the conductor was nice and patient with me and let me take my time as he went on to check the tickets of other passengers.

The intercity train was great. Fast and smooth, it was the best part of the trip. The cars were clean and comfortable. Everything was designed to make the trip enjoyable for everyone. The Finns looked relaxed and many took off their shoes for the ride and stretched their legs languishly.

We also found ourselves in the children car. The idea of such a car would probably sound a little annoying to me, but I was happy to be there. There were many parents with small children and a part of the space was free of seats with some stuff for them to play in. Small kids were running around back and forth in the aisle. Some fell a few times but nobody seemed to worry, kids or parents. They just got up and continued on their way. I sat next to a Finnish mother with a tiny baby. I don’t care about babies that much but I couldn’t stop looking at her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so gentle and tender and loving as she was with her child. The whole car had such a soothing atmosphere of peace and joy. It later turned out that we took the wrong car and when the rightful owners of these seats came, we had to move to another. But I’m glad we made that mistake so I could experience this.

This train was also slightly late. Not by much, but enough that we were risking to miss the transfer. I’m glad I decided to seek help from the lovely young woman staff, so we just barely made it to our final train, which was a small local train, far less glamorous. After bothering some more Finns, we finally got help from a nice older man and made sure we were going the right way. After another 40 minutes, we finally stepped off the train and into the dark, immediately greeted by our friend and her husband.

It wasn’t the longest trip of my life but it sure felt like it and was certainly the most intense and nerve-wrecking. Honestly, I don’t even know how I survived the journey, let alone got it all right, though a lot of it was thanks to the lovely Finnish people.

We did not immediately go to their place. First, we went to the nearby building to have our photos taken for the police. Your document photos never look good but having them taken after a 28-hour journey makes them extra ugly. Though I suppose fitting for a refugee application. Finally, after a short drive, we arrived at the house we would spend the next week at.

[galaxywrites]

Moodboard for Aurelia "Mauve" Wątroba, an oc I created for the old Lin Kuei— in the second timeline.

She was born in Warsaw, Poland, and was apart of an orphanage for "gifted" children. She has the ability of "immortality," but this applies only to staying young forever; she is not immune to being killed.

She managed to escape the Cyber Initiative, and met Kenshi as she was running from the cyborgs. When they encountered Johnny and Sonya, she went to fight them-- but then they mentioned her Lin Kuei tattoo. She joined them the minute she learned of Smoke (wlw/mlm solidarity) and Kuai Liang's fates.

She rejoined the clan the minute Kuai Liang had reformed the clan.