grecocerullo - Tumblr blog

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Lenu & Lila + hugging

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omg...will i ever shut up about it...

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*walks up to a lesbian couple* so which one of you is the epic wife and which ones the fail wife

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nino sarratore is the first male character that hasn't a single apologist. elena ferrante did that.

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save me elena/alfonso save meeeee

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L'amica geniale. S3E05. Terrore.

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Lenu + Dede

My Brilliant Friend - season 3

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4x02 - “the dispersion”

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love letter to the girl who runs; poem by @jonismitchell

time capsule note: today my brilliant friend arden wrote this poem for me and i wanted to make sure it remains a monument💙🧡

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i am buzzing with unrestrained excitement as i am typing this (my hands are shakingggg) and this is definitely my inner medical student speaking, but i can't stop thinking about the physicality of l'amica geniale characters and how elena and lila keep searching for each other in their boyfriends... elena finds herself attracted to the barely contained restlessness and inherent androgynous qualities (in a physical sense in this context, but it goes beyond that too) of lila, nino and franco mari... all three of them possess this air of crossing the boundaries of their own physical selves and elena obviously finds this attractive because she is a girl who exists as a personification of a room. rooms are where she writes, rooms are her prison, rooms are her home.

and then for lila. there is elena who constantly worries about morphing into her mother physically and inheriting her limp and then there is enzo who is described as compact energy in this almost building like way and... lila as a personification of the sea (the sea is her prison and the sea is her home), as someone who endlessly worries about being eaten by her own chaos, finds herself drawn to these two people who are kind of like countries when you see them on a map. not blurry and indefinable and restless like herself, but solid and present.

people as houses or rooms (lila's brand of attraction) + people as cities or the natural world (elena's brand of attraction)............ and this geographical/architectural component of their relationships feels sooooooo significant in a story like this one where towns and feelings can't help but fade into each other and become one.

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She is disappearead and/or dead before the beginning of the book, but she still is the character that everyone remember more and focus on. Even if it's debatable if she's the "actual" main character or not.

The narrator starts the story when she was about five or six years old. She was a "bad child". She is described as having an incredible charisma and a bad attitude since her childhood. She used to act like a spoiled queen even if no one really ever spoiled her. She can be incredibly petty and say means things to hurt others people when she herself is hurt, but she is also capable of feeling an intense and absolute attachment toward the people she loves. She has a childhood friend with whom she will have an almost codependent and often conflictual relationship for all her life. During their childhood, she was the dominant one in this relationship, and the other was the follower. Every boy who used to have a crush on her when she was a young girl will be either obsessed or in love with her for all his life.

She grows up in an abusive home. Her brother becomes an addict. She isn't her father's favourite child. She is perfectly aware of the perceptions that other people have of her and she uses this to her advantage. She can changes her personality according to the person she has in front, but she always maintains a very strong presence. She can be extremely charming but also extremely dislakeable. She can be selfish but without always realizing it.

She marries a man in her teens because she wants to escape her family's life and for economic reason. The choice to marry is her own but she is pressured to do so by external factors and a lack of alternative. The desire to becomes rich, not only for her own but also for helping someone else, is a big factor in her accepting the proposal. She becomes unhappy in the marriage. Her childhood's friend goes to another city and makes a good fortune outside the place in which they grew up. She, on the other hand, will never go outside the place where she is born. It's a difficult place who is not be "pretty" in the eyes of foreigners, but it's almost a character in itself in the novel. She in some ways is treated by the narrative as a living personification of this place. After her death/disappeareance, it's seem that the place have either eaten her or made her a part of itself.

She has a daughter who inhereted all her formidables traits but not her flaws. She will never see this daughter grows up. This daughter is important from a narrative prespective, and she's frequentely described by the narrator as a flawless and perfect little girl. The narrator feels some sort of maternal feelings for said daughter despite not being related to her by blood. The little girl's father adores his daughter too. He probably love the character about whom I am talking about more than how much she loves him- even if it's not correct to say that she doesn't love him at all, because she likes him and she obviously cares about him, but their relationship is based on the fact that he adores her and she finds him not only likeable but also useful.

During her pregnancy, she has a moment in which she seems to lose control of herself and she tell to the narrator a confusing monologue that the narrator interpreted as the prove that she had lost her mind, but maybe they are the proves that she, and only she, is capable of recognizing the depth and the complexity of the situation more than all the others characters- like the prophets in ancient myths that can sees and tell the truth only in their apparent madness.

She has always had a mystical aurea around her, something that makes people obsessed, repulsed or charmed by her. This is even more evident now that she is not here anymore, because it's not really clear if she's in the realm of the dead, or still in ours world, in some places or forms. Her childhood's friend is 100% sure that she is still around in some way. Either half of the book or the narration in itself is a desperate call for her to makes an appareance.

At the end, she may gives a sign of her presence- but it's a sign that doesn't answer to any question, but makes all the situation even more misterious.

Am I speaking about Lila Cerullo of My Brilliant Friend or about the most famous and iconic female character of Wuthering Heights?

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Ukraine Donation Guide Master Post

(Ver. 2 updated Aug 13th, 2024) I will be reformatting this and adding more in the future when I have time.

Also a quick note, all of the groups I have found through twitter have been around long enough for them to be vetted by each other and the brigades they work with. In fact, a lot of these groups collaborate with each other too. Those that are in the fight for Ukraine have been diligent in calling out those that are grifters. Word spreads around quickly if an organization doesn't show up with what they promised. They also use their social media (often Twitter) as a means of transparency for their work.

Remember: When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.

Multi-Purpose

United 24 has various fundraisers dedicated to defense and drones, medical aid, rebuilding Ukraine, humanitarian demining, and science and education. You can pick which one you want to contribute to under their various projects.

Liberty Ukraine uses funds for humanitarian aid, medical supplies, protective gear and equipment, and rehabilitation therapy. You can choose which campaign of theirs to donate to.

Come Back Alive is a charitable foundation that supports Ukraine's military with competent assistance while also focusing on security and defense. They also have projects that use sports to help veterans rehabilitate. You can choose which campaign to donate to.

Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation works to help both civilians and Ukraine's army. You can choose to donate to an active project or any of their general campaigns. Civilian aid campaigns cover temporary housing, supporting crisis and emergency responses, schools, demining, and healthcare. Military aid campaigns cover drones, optics units, communications equipment, and support of air defense teams.

Food Aid

World Central Kitchen works with local partners wherever they are providing food aid. They make sure meals and meal kits are what the local population eats. Even though there is no separate fundraising campaign for Ukraine (that I can see), they still do great work.

Animal Rescue

Hachiko Foundation works to help displaced pets and strays in frontline areas. They help with veterinary care, outdoor shelters, setting up feeding stations, and rehoming animals.

Medical Aid

Hospitallers (Website) is a volunteer organization of paramedics that was founded in 2014. They evacuate the wounded, provide medical aid on the frontlines, assist in rehabilitation, and transfer of the deceased to burial sites. They are also supported by Ukraine Charity. Visit Hospitallers' website to see how many they have evacuated, different methods you can donate, and more information about them.

Other

Saint Javelin (Twitter; Website) is a great place to get apparel, gear, and other cool loot to show your support for Ukraine. They don't take donations, but instead raise funds through their shop with a portion of their sales going towards humanitarian aid and critical items needed by the defenders (generators, pick-up trucks, medical supplies etc). Part of their shop has items made in Ukraine to support Ukrainian businesses. Overall, their products are high-quality. I include them due to their impactful presence in the Twitter community I follow and how they make Ukraine visible in an alternative way. Consider buying someone a gift from their shop.

The Kyiv Independent (Twitter; Website) is a great English language resource for news about Ukraine. I include them because I think supporting good journalism is incredibly important, especially now when the information space is fraught with Russian propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation. My followers have probably noticed I've pulled a lot of quotes from their stories in an effort to amplify Ukrainian voices and experiences. Look on their website for more information on different way to support them, such as their Patreon.

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If you're on twitter, there are a number of groups and people that fundraise for Ukraine and for specific units fighting on the frontlines. If there is no official website, a PayPal for donations is listed in their profiles. When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.

@/Teoyaomiquu almost always has a fundraiser for Liberty Ukraine with a specified purpose. At the time of writing this, he is currently raising funds for engineering equipment such as excavators. One such excavator is already in Kursk. Follow him to stay up to date with what he's fundraising for.

Dyga's Paw (Twitter: @/dzygaspaw) is a smaller group that has recently raised funds for starlinks, drones, batteries, and Ecoflow generators. You can look at the fundraising campaigns they currently have on their website.

@/DefactoHumanity represents and founded Planet of the People with their website U(a)nited for Freedom. She frequently posts updates about their fundraisers and what their partners need. They are known for providing Frontline medical aid supplies, protective equipment and other military aid, technical equipment (starlinks, drones, scopes, etc), and infrastructure equipment (generators, vehicles, power stations, etc). They even have a merch store of the battalions they partner with if that's your jam. Here is their link tree if you wish to explore more. And in case you're curious, there is an article bout the founder here.

@/wilendhornets (Website) specialize in making high quality drones that have gotten a lot of praise from Ukraine's army. They have attracted a lot of media attention too. Check out their website for the list of articles that have been written about them. Their Twitter is very active with strike footage.

Ants Kitchen Hub (@/ants_kyiv) is a volunteer kitchen that makes dry rations for the Ukrainian army. They are more active on their other social media. To learn more about them, check out their link tree.

@/frontlinekit (Front Line Kitchen) is represented by Richard Woodruff. Originally they made shelf stable food for the Ukrainian army, but now their fundraising has branched out to other campaigns such as raising funds for medical supplies and drones. They are a well known group that many battalions have come to for help.

@/bekamaciorowski (Rebekah Maciorowski) is as combat medic and nurse who helps provide medical care to soldiers and civillians at the frontlines. She raises funds for medical supplies and other equipment, but also helps train soldiers in first aid. More of her social media that features her work can be found in her link tree.

@/UkraineAidOps (Website) is another organization battalions frequently go to for help. They fundraise for all sorts of equipment from medical supplies to drones. If you're interested, they also have a shop with patches from different brigades and flags signed by soldiers. Their shop also includes a separate section called the Victory Gallery where artifacts from the war are turned into art. This includes shells that are painted on, scrap metal from downed enemy planes are turned into keychains, and pieces of a rocket are turned into lamps.

Chris Garrett is the co-founder of Prevail. His organization deals with humanitarian demining as well as training for trauma care, training of bomb disposal, and education to the public. Prevail works with local agencies in Ukraine as well as the army.

Project Konstantin (Twitter; Website; Linktree) is still going strong after the death of their founder, British paramedic Peter Fouché. His digital ghost can be found here. They collaborate with the military, thus giving them an insight into what is dearly needed. They often raise funds for starlinks, personalized first aid kits (IFAKs), generators, portable power stations, and other nonlethal military equipment. I regret forgetting them the first time this post went around. Visit their website to see everything they have done and more. It has more information on what and how they do it than this post can cover.

One Team One Fight (Twitter; Website; Linktree) has some of the original members that worked for Ukraine Aid Ops. They formed their own group after differences with the previous one, and are still helping Ukraine. They are very visible on various social media showing what they have accomplished in their deliveries to various brigades. They're another group that seeks to bring starlinks, drones, medical supplies and protective gear to the battalions that come to them for help. Check out their website for more information on their current fundraisers, their achievements, and received recognition.

NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade (Twitter; Website) Another small group that focuses their funds on delivering drones, generators, vehicles, and saving the occasional furry companion. They are very diligent in their updates for their fundraising campaigns. Check out their website for more information and the articles written about them.

Postmaster General Boomer (Twitter; Website) focuses on humanitarian aid, animal aid, and logistics. Boomer is the beloved pet of one of the founders and the secret boss/mascot. They have many transparency reports and are diligent in reporting the various "tours" they do in getting supplies where they are needed to go. They are based in Germany but have built up many connections during their existence. They have also worked closely with Ukraine Aid Ops.

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I am sure I have forgotten some, so please reply or comment with any more I should add to this master post. I will edit and update as I see and evaluate more.

Last updated: Aug. 13th, 2024

Version updates listed below

August 13th, 2024 Added:

Hospitallers

Saint Javelin

The Kyiv Independent

Project Konstantin

1 Team 1 Fight

NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade

Post Master General Boomer

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got 2 points to make. the first one being: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LAST SHOT...... showing this right after lila's dissolving boundaries breakdown says EVERYTHING... it has her and elena within the boundaries of the door, as if they were their own little country... second point being (this is for people who care about jo, the blogger posting this): me circa june 2024

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gonna say something insane, but i think everything i said about lila and the sea/sky goes for elena and rooms. rooms are where writing is born, but rooms are also a symbol of entrapment and elena's life with pietro unites these ideas. lila is synonymous with the sea/sky and elena is synonymous with rooms/houses... lila fears her own vastness and chaos, but they are also what makes her brilliant and elena fears she will always be somewhat limited, be it by her own "mediocrity" or her ancestry, but these exact things, her experiences and the uniqueness of her thoughts, are the integral elements of her books and what makes her brilliant. this also explains why lila and elena can't escape each other's orbit. lila longs for a place that would prevent everything from dissolving and aren't rooms designed to keep feelings and experiences within specific boundaries? elena longs to break free from the limits of her circumstances and the sea stands for freedom and drifting away from familiarity. they are each other's safe place. THEY ARE EACH OTHER'S HOME!!!!!!

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The way both Lila and Lenù's mother live in some way through Elena because Lenu had the possibilities to live the lives that they couldn't and that's why they both are so angry when she screwed her (in theirs eyes) "perfect" life for Nino and decide to come back to Naples.

But on the othet hand when Lenù's *was* living the life they had all dreamed for her, with Pietro, with the Airota, they both think that she was rejecting them and trying to distance herself from them. And they weren't really right, but they weren't wrong, either. Because Lenù *was* ashamed of them and of her background and she thought she had to cut ties from where she was from to fit better in her new life.

The life both her best friend and her mother had dreamed for her, but it ends up that in this life there weren't any space for them, or for anyone from Lenù's old life. And both her mother and Lila resented Lenù for that, in some ways.

Lenù cannot win with either of them in either, and it's frustrating, and it's unfair, because it seems that Lenù has always to be perfect and live the oerfect to make it up for the others women in her life and from her childhood who didn't get the same opportunities, and this responsability of "making things fair" is such a burden on Lenù's shoulders, something that avoid her from follow her desires and doing what she really wants to do, instead of what she is always expected to do.

But on the other hand. Can you blame them. Can you *really* blame them, as an adult, reading theirs stories and all the hopes they put on Lenù simply because Lenù was the only girl from theirs families and circles that get to do all the things they were never given the possibilities to do.

Lila had lived since she was eleven with the knowledge that both her and her best friend were considered enough brilliant that their elementary school teacher thought they should have both continue to study, despite the fact that they both came to a very disvantaged background where it was very unusual for boys to have a superior education, and basically unheard for girls. Lila's father didn't want to hear about that and so Lila didn't get the opportunity but Lenù's parents in the end listened to the teacher.

Lenù, Lila realized from a young age, would have had all the opportunities that were close to her. And at first there was envy, obviously, and jealousy, but then another feeling settled on and became the new fundation of their friendship, or at least of the way Lila saw it (and Lenù).

The idea that Lila's brilliant friend would go out and live the life that Lila couldn't have, and so Lila could still live this life too, through Lenù.

Yes, Lila was kept away from school and buried in an abusive underage marriage and then made an outcast in her own neighborhood, but guess what?

None of this could *really* hurt her to the point of destroying her hope in the future and in her own ability to make it out of bad situations, because she always knew deep down that none of the people who hurt her or speak badly of her were as smart as herself, because the only person that could be her equal in her mind was her best friend who was really "making it", who had studied and was a writer living a comfortable life far away, just like they had dreamed as children. And no one could break that dream as long as Lenù, through Lila's eyes, was living it.

No matter what everyone else could have done to Lila or said about her, because it was *her* brilliant friend that was living the life Lila dreamed of, not everyone else, not everyone else's best friends. Only *Lila*'s brilliant friend.

And as long as Lenù was living with the idea of making good use of the opportunities that were given to her (not only for herself, but for making up of the unfairness that happened to Lila too), Lila could live with that. She could live with the life she had, make the best of it, and not dream of impossible things and a different life. As long good things seemed to happen to Lenù's life, and as long as Lenù were made good use of those good opportunities, Lila could forget all the hurt and lack of opportunities and anger of her own life. But if Lenù purposely destroy this, what remains to Lila if not this anger and hurt?

From Lenù's mother pov, where all the sacrificies made to make Lenù's study will go if Lenù would not be able to give her daughters a nice life either? If her daughter did get a prestigious degree and made a prestigious marriage for nothing, what was the point of making her study when neither her parents nor her siblings had the same opportunities? If Lenù will choose to come back and say goodbye to a life in which her daughters could have lived in a big house and went to the best schools and dress always in pretty clothes and had all the most expensive clothes and family's vacations every years, and all the others things that Lenù's mothers never had and couldn't give her own four children because all the money Lenù's father was making went into feeding them and into Lenù's books and education...then what was the point?

Both Immacolata Greco, Lenù's mother, and Lila Cerullo, Lenù's brilliant friend, bet all they had on Lenù's education and on all the doors that this education would have opened to her, all these doors that to them were always goong to be close. To endure theirs owns lifes they had to live with the convinction that all the pain of sacrificies that they experienced had a meaning, a purpose; and this purpose was Lenù's bright future. They had to dream of something that was going to avenge all the unfairness in theirs lives: and this would have been Lenù's success.

And this why Lenù literally could have not win in this regard, because there is no success of a single person that could repair the lomg list of unfair things inflicted to all the women of not privileged background, who were stopped from going to schools and forced to give up theirs dreams and hopes because they had to take care of theirs families, who didn't have money to spare to invest in something as futile as the education of girls and happiness of women.