#rusky

[mewlabu]

As the death toll of the Dnipro attack continues to rise more Russian missiles have arrived today.

First an update on Dnipro:

Death toll stands at 40 as of Jan 16th. 3 of them children.

75 injured, including 14 children.

30 still in hospital, 12 in serious condition.

35 still missing under the rubble. Chances of finding them alive now are slim. But efforts continue.

Here are some stories of the victims.

Nastya was rescued but her parents were found dead under the rubble.

Irina, a mother of a little girl, another victim.

A mother whose son died in the attack screams in pain. "why did you kill him?"

Ukranians don't even get to mourne before there is more.

Kateryna was rescued. She had trouble calling for help as she is deaf. Her son and husband still missing in the rubble.

The remains of a small, cozy kitchen where Mykhailo recently celebrated his daughters birthday. His wife and two daughter survived the attack. He did not.

This couple moved to Dnipro believing they would be safe here than Nikopol.

They were both found dead. Their 3 children 2, 9 and 14 are now orphans.

The new attacks:

15-16 Jan:

Kherson - a children's hospital, an orphanage, a residential area were hit : 1 dead

Zaporizhzhia - residential building hit: 5 wounded, 2 of them are children

[arctic-hands]

Not to be a downer and this isn't an indictment of people celebrating this, but I remember watching an as-it-happened documentary (my favorite type of documentary tbh) on the fiftieth anniversary of the Moon Landing and then halfway into it the spell it had over me snapped and I just started thinking "What did the people fighting in Vietnam, both sides, think of all this? Where was that 'moment of global unity' everyone has been talking about for the last fifty years that was allegedly during this moment? What about the people slaving away in factories or in fields or prison during this? What about the people who couldn't afford a TV because of rampant wealth inequality? There was so much vitriol in this moment just for people who wanted to be treated equal but I'm told the world as a whole and America in particular had come together."

I love as-it-happened documentaries because I love putting myself in moments that witness history in the making, good or bad, but I couldn't reconcile this idealized version of what I've been told my entire life and the historical truths I knew were going on as Americans landed on the moon

[firstluovlatespring]

sometimes im like. lavv chooses to love me. and. wow that's so lovely ^.^

[matura-to-bzdura]

ostatnio bardzo chciało mi sie tych hotdogów z żabki i dziś sie spełnilo moje marzenie bo byłem w warszawie co sie skonczylo na 3 wizytach w żabce i 2 hotdogach

[czarna-herbata]

i nie ma nieba na niebie i nigdy nie będzie już ciebie

[bonesfucker3000]

Slavic representation is practically non existent (or bad) that I’m clinging onto Pavel Chekov for dear life

(Also polish representation basically doesn’t exist in media that I’m soooo tempted to headcanon Chekov as Polish but got adopted by a Russian Family and him being overly patriotic and claiming everything was Invented in Russia is just him coping over the fact he’s actually Polish or some shit like that)

[11x11pm]

CHAINSAW MAN (2022) ✦ Gun Devil

My entire family was killed by a devil right in front of me. I’d rather make any devil I kill suffer as much as possible.

[dorthes]

Chiara: Gen-Z lesbian icon we were waiting for

(This is a translation of Chiara: el referente lésbico Gen Z que estábamos esperando and some comments of mine)

Chiara Oliver Williams is one of the 16 contestants from the reality-talent show more successful of Spain: Operación Triunfo. She's 19 years old, she likes Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Fleetwood Mac and Rosalía. She speaks four languages fluently, she plays the piano, the bass and the guitar, she's a composer, she's half English, half Spanish, and, without doubt, one of the most promising artists on the Spanish music industry. But we're going to focus on yet another aspect of her personality, last but no least: she's an out and proud lesbian.

"I'm Chiara, I like Christmas, girls, I'm a bit crazy and that's it." That's how she defined herself at the beginning of December (when the contest had barely started) when Ruslana, one of her housemates (bisexual wink) asked her to talk about her. And boy, was she right, because during the following weeks she has shown us that, if there's something crucial about her life and personality is, besides music and her talent, her lesbianism.

Let's start from the beginning. Chiara was one of the candidates that caught the most attention during the casting stage (in which 13 thousand contestants tried their luck) for her special voice, her artistic personality and her technical skills.

As early as the first week of the contest we know she's a raging homosexual when another one of her housemates, Violeta (also bisexual wink) asked her why several of her compositions are dedicated to boys (even though she would later explain they're not romantic songs) when she's "the most lesbian from all lesbians of Spain." However, her "official" coming out came later thanks to the LGBT talk scheduled in the show.

"Straight-passing", invisibility and lesbian pride

During that talk, Chiara spoke to talk about one of the problems femme lesbians often face: being pretty and femenine, and so, nobody expects they're lesbians.

And that's just what Chiara explained. It took her a while to understand not just to understand her lesbianism, but assume it, because how are you going to be a lesbian if you're not masculine and have grown up in a society which denies you like girls if you're pretty and femenine? Like, if boys like you and you check every box they look for, how could you not like them?

Basically, she talked abour her experience. "I've always been very feminine Society tells you lesbians are masculine, gays and affeminate, so I didn't realise until later because I told myself "I'm not masculine, so it's phisically impossible." But that's not the truth."

Chiara has what is known as straight-passing, that is, nobody thinks she's a lesbian at first glance, and nobody is going to think so if she doesn't say it. And that's a "privilege" and more so in a TV contest. But she decided not to "use" that "privilege" and she says every single day she's a lesbian. And, of course, she has "paid" the price, but we will talk about that later. All that matters is that Chiara's not only openly a lesbian, she has said it whenever possible, has coined "Go lesbians" as a personal brand alongside Bea, another housemate and a lesbian too and she says the word "lesbian" without any kind of taboo.

Lesbian is a word so charged with prejudice that a lot of lesbians refuse to use it and prefer some "euphemisms" like gay. So it is to be welcomed that a 19-year old Menorcan says it in one of the most successful TV shows in Spain (and with some repercussion in Latin America). With all its letters, with pride.

Chiara is a lesbian. And she also has all lesbian culture in her mind. She's a fan of Glee (particularly of Santana and Brittany), her favourite character from Grey's Anatomy is Arizona Robbins and she didn't like Bridgerton for being too straight. She loves Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson and Paula Usero. I Kissed a girl is a hymn in her life (and she sang it in the contest and finished it with a kiss with Violeta) and has covered Mujer contra mujer thousands of times.

She, self proclaimed "Spanish lesbian Olivia Rodrigo", also has various romantic songs aimed to girls and many of them composed during the contest (rumours say some of them are dedicated to one of her girl friends in the contest).

Ships

Of course people is going to ship her with her housemates. In fact, a bisexual boy, Paul, confessed his feelings for her knowing it was impossible, which he told her, and people suspect possible relationships with her mentioned before housemates Violeta and Ruslana. It's true they're all very good friends, but Violeta has a girlfriend already and Ruslana is dating another housemate. I (the translator) personally think this is not relevant but, to whoever may care, you can search Wartanera on YouTube.

Misogyny, lesbophobia and ableism

Well, obviously not everything could be rosy. This is the 21st century and Spain can be one of the most advanced countries on LGBTQ+ and women's rights, but lesbophobia still exists. Chiara started the contest as one of the favourite contestant to win, but for the lat month she has received a hate wave from a good chunk of the audience because, well, she's an easy target.

Reality shows audience look for people to hate, and nothing is easier than a lesbian girl with ADHD. Chiara faces double discrimination for her sexual orientation and for being neurodivergent. And the consequence is that she could leave the show this week.

How to save Chiara

If you have read all of this, if you like how she sings, what she means to us, please help us save her and stay in the contest, not only for Chiara, but all Chiara represents.

You can watch all of her performances on the official Operación Triunfo Channel (and clips of Chiara in general)

You can see what she has done in the Academy through Twitter and Tiktok searching for Chiara OT or the words "Kivi" and "Ruski" (her ships).

You can listen to the songs she has covered in the contest and follow her on Spotify where she will publish her own songs outside the contest

But the most important thing is to vote for free in the official Operación Triunfo App once a day until Monday 5th February. It's fast and easy. If you are from Latin America or Spain you can download the app for free. If not, you can download it from here. Follow the instructions below to vote. It's very easy. Save the lesbians, go lesbians

[author4013]

My silly oc

[admiralexclipse]

“Fuck it, we ball”…. …… Is now available on Etsy ! (each order comes with the pictured free sticker 🥰) ……..

you can get it... here!

[xmind0vermatt3r]

Chiara Oliver – “mala costumbre” (Lyric Video)

[street-corner-felines]

[cptnruski]

I am, once again, feral for Hollywood and Wolfman.

[mypatchworkreflection]

What the actual fuck.

"On CNN, the former House speaker, a California Democrat, told Dana Bash that the "call for a cease-fire is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's message" and said she thinks some of the protests that have erupted across the U.S. since October to demand the U.S. push for an end to Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza "are connected to Russia.""

[edennill]

I got a lot of comments that time I made a poll about potential Silmarillion adaptations, to the effect that there already are two musicals of the Lay of Leithian, and this, among other things, has prompted me to write down my thoughts on the Rock Operas. I know there's more of them, but I will confess I've only had much contact with the two most famous ones; also fair warning that I'm mostly going to point out faults in this post (not that there aren't things I like in them, but that's not the focus here).

To start with, I'm going to quickly get out of the way the fact that even if none of the following were issues, the Rock Operas would still not cure my hankering for a Beren & Lúthien musical, because out of necessity, they don't have the same vibe as a greater-scale Broadway production and thus aren't really comparable. Now, moving on to my bigger issues with the two productions:

(1) It is difficult for me to get engaged in an entire musical in a language I do not speak — and I admit I'm probably in a better position than many because as a polish speake, with the translation underneath I can understand maybe one word in ten? And when I do — say, when Mandos sings "o synie Barahira" in Leithian — that moment is powerful because it's exactly the same as it would be said in my mother tongue, but otherwise it's reading prose poetry (translated by people without much experience with one of the languages, which shows, though I greatly thank them for their work) with music in the background for me. As a disclaimer, I'll add that this is not a technical complaint, but it certainly impacts my own listening experience.

Edit: This post has been waiting in my drafts for a while, and in the meanwhile, I've realised I can get to one in three (I counted) through repeatedly giving a song an intent listening. I'm even thinking of maybe making a semi-translation into Polish of some, one where I try to keep to cognates when possible even if they're not entirely correct. But I do not see how more people who speak no Slavic language do not find it a problem.

Of course this can sometimes backfire in a way that makes a phrase sound ridiculous.

(2) I also don't agree with all the narrative choices — for one, I am dissatisfied with how the romance is handled in wither Opera, as both make it out that Lúthien falls in love against her will which leaves a bad taste in my mouth — and Finrod Song makes Beren behave like a jerk towards Finrod at times, among other things — neither of which I understand. Then there's the visual side, which I mention since the choreography of most songs bugs me in Leithian. And to top it all off —

(3) We can argue about what historical Russian culture is worth to us right now another time. But these are ongoing productions, and unfortunately I dare say at least 50% the participants are probably in favour of the current war — which, you may understand, makes the situation quite awkward for me as an Eastern European. (I suppose if I found the rest of it absolutely perfect, I might elect to try my best to ignore the fact, but as is I find it bothersome. Which, I suppose, makes me a hypocrite given my thoughts about cancel culture, but never mind.)

[czarna-herbata]

dziś śpij spokojnie bo nie mamy co ratować

dziś nie dzwoń do mnie daj nam w końcu umrzeć

schowaj uczucia do mnie chociaż nie ma czego chować