#Wąpierz

[ahopefulbromantic]

What's your favorite Halloween monster?

Oh vampires absolutely, for a number of reasons:

The origins! The cultural significance! The philosophical implications! The connection to Christianity! Especially the mythological ties to Judas! The possibility to explore social taboos! The ties to mental health issues! The solitude! The gore the blood the predatory intimacy! The free will issue! The poetic inclinations!

Gotta say, they are actually very relatable for a Christian: the being immortal (eternal life), drinking blood to live (Blood of Christ that is), being a victim of a curse that makes you sometimes act against your own will and do harm (as in original sin and broken nature), etc.

I love how they are like a distorting mirror to living people, i've always thought vampires are to humans what demons are to angels and this concept fascinates me

They are also relatable for medical professionals cause y'know taking blood hehehe (this is your PSA to please donate blood as frequently as you can, please people need it!!!)

I love to ponder their physiology as the living dead - is their heartbeat and breathing exclusively voluntary? does the blood go into the digestive system at all or straight to the circulation? what are the limitations of regenerative abilities? so many questions!

There's a funny story about the name itself because they actually come from Slavic culture - Polish people knew them as "upiór" or "wąpierz" and when English writers came to Central and Eastern Europe for inspiration they anglicized the name as "vampire/vampyre". But then the English novels came to Poland and instead of translating vampire as wąpierz for some reason they made a new word "wampir" as if it was foreign which is ridiculous but it stayed 😆

Taika Waititi's What We Do in the Shadows is one of my favorite movies ever, it's hilarious

Oh and goes without saying i hate Twilight series (if you enjoy them that's cool! they just aren't for me), i hate vampire romance genre, anytime someone says they wish they were a vampire i cringe internally so hard. No you don't, you really don't. It's hell on earth, it's eternal suffering and loss of self with no hope of comfort or end, that's the whole point. I generally hate overs*xualization of vampires, too, though if it fits the concept and has a narrative purpose i can let it pass

[bolszaja-miedwedica]

🖤🖤🖤!!!!!

[nat-es]

Marianna

[gallalctyka]

can we hear abt casimar....

^ me when i'm asked about my ocs :333

OKAY SO... i've talked a little bit about them already but here's a more detailed rundown!!

casimir (cas or cassie for short) is part of a nomadic "faction" of bounty/demon hunters in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is what was eastern bloc during the cold war. the hunters have a sort of love-hate reputation, on one hand they're one of the only ones capable of handling the danger that a lot of demons and spirits pose on everyday basis. on the other, they're not known to be particularly generous in spite of that (they do sort of have the mentality of "survival of the fittest"), not to mention their disdain for demons extends towards the non-harmful or neutral ones - a good demon is a banished one. also they aren't fond of the divine either, wishing to overthrow the status of the gods worshipped across the land

cas is more... divided on the matter. they don't jump at the opportunity to kill any demon that they encounter (more of a hassle than anything) but WILL be distrustful. as for gods - they do find their worship ridiculous because as far as they were taught they didn't do shit as humanity was literally at its end. they certainly won't give their offerings at the altars they come across on their journey. and it's a mentality they grew up with, as they were taken in by a group of hunters when they found them as an orphaned child in one of the abandoned(?) soviet research facilities

as the story starts they're 17 and honestly quite skilled, a prodigy of sorts. the hunters do find them to be a valuable asset. cassie doesn't care for it that much though - all they want is to find a way to get out of the walls to the outside world. maybe it's foolish to believe that the situation is truly better beyond the iron curtain but hey, better try that than to slowly rot with demons at every corner. which eventually leads them to lviv as they look for intel and MAYBE a way to pass the never ending storms that make traveling so dangerous AND make the road towards west practically unpassable

casimir might come off as apathetic and a bit selfish, seemingly only fueled by their own goal and seeing others as nothing more than means to an end. it was the mentality they were raised into after all. not to mention that they're still a teenager with some deep attachment and intimacy issues lol hunters make for SHIT family. believe it or not they do have good intentions. they have a STRONG sense of justice, which makes their disdain for the gods all the more understandable as well as them genuinely believing to be in the right about their attitude towards all demons and spirits. they're fascinated by history and what The Ancestors (ie people who lived before the nuclear war) were like. they love learning!! also they're big fan of white chocolate (don't ask how people managed to be able to still make it after the world ended in eastern europe of all places. soviets did some crazy shit here). they like krówki also- a sweets kind of guy :)

they have a hard time forming bonds though due to their messed up upbringing and what not. BUT they manage to find themselves two adoptive uncles hehe. nikolai and elias, two enigmatic brothers who seem to know a lot more than they let on... yeah spoiler alert they're actually the two leading gods in slavic faith lol. so it's kind of funny to watch them slowly growing to consider each other a real family while the two are something that cassie was taught to hate. they do get over that mentality though. kind of. everything is complicated

kind of crazy that they involved themselves with gods of all things. there's no chosen one in this story. however there is something about them that nikolai found... intriguing and concerning at the same time, hence why he continued interacting with them. long story short casimir may not be as human as they thought they were

[f0lkwitchcraft]

I'm just a little wąpierz

[ingolds-archived]

i thought you knew. 🌕 i thought...

“ i did. do, actually. i knew what you were from the moment we locked eyes. ” a vampire, theo doesn't say, like chupacabra of latin america, or wąpierz of poland. the simple fact that he is a monster doesn't bother theo in the slightest; they are a beast just the same, with too-big teeth and eyes that reflect light like a predator of the wilderness. lestat is closer to them than to the humans they both fleetingly pretend to walk alongside. a particular kinship is shared in the masquerade they dance in, each pretending to be something they're not when it benefits them.

this is a little abnormal for theo, though. the death of humanity is a different threat than the death of an animal. their nose crinkles as they nudge the rapidly-cooling body with the toe of their boot. the blood swiped across lestat's mouth is so red it's nearly black. theo tastes copper on the back of their tongue, strong and heady and metallic.

“ but is being this obvious necessary? i'm amazed you haven't attracted the wrong kind of attention yet. ”

@desiredprince

[trxces]

17 grudnia

Historia zatacza koło, a ja chyba wracam, upojona zapachem cynamonu. Spędziłam tydzień, słuchając od starych o kaloriach, teraz mamy opłakane tego skutki. Może jeszcze gdybym nie była bloated, może gdybym nie miała wrażenia, że przytyłam, może gdybym nie potrzebowała desperacko zająć czymś myśli, rzucić się w wir pogoni za euforią na łeb, na szyję, byłoby inaczej. Ale nie jest. Dawno mnie tu nie było.

Pragnę androgynicznej sylwetki, kwestionuję własną przynależność płciową. Binarny koncept wydaje mi się zbyt wąski na mnie samą. Do tego dochodzi potrzeba ekspresji. Nowa era? Następna era? Dziewiętnastowieczny wąpierz w obecnych czasach.

Tylko jak zacząć od zera po kilku latach przerwy? Znowu, jak zwykle, uciekam w pisanie. Jest lepiej, ale klasyczna linia wyznaczająca progres i regres znowu tworzy gwałtowne obniżenie i pozostanie tak, dopóki będę tu - a będę przez kilka tygodni. Domu rodzinny, czy tęskniłam? Nie wiem, czy i czego tak naprawdę chcę. Moje wyidealizowane wyobrażenie o przerwie świątecznej legło w gruzach kolejny raz z rzędu. A może to tylko dorosłość. Nie wiem. Możliwość ucieczki? Utknęłam tu, ale z inną perspektywą. Jestem w środku, ale obserwuję rozwój wydarzeń z boku. Mam inne, dojrzalsze podejście. Już nie dam sobie wejść na głowę, nie muszę brać udziału w cyrku.

Czasy odchudzania pachną dla mnie przyprawą korzenną, mandarynkami, świerkiem i zimowym powietrzem. Kuszą, a ja nie mam właściwie powodu, by się przed tym wzbraniać. Wszystko w imię poczucia czegoś. Czegoś więcej, mocniej, intensywniej. Kim jesteś, skinny bitch? Zrealizuj swoje postanowienie podchodzenia do wszystkiego z dystansem. Nie daj sobie wejść na głowę. Inni są wredni i nikt ich za to nie gnoi. Ha.

[czymjestmaupka]

Wąpierz w deszczu

[springsteens]

Hi! I made this post two years ago only for my followers alongside a few other posts to show some Slavic beliefs and magical creatures and I have never expected this to get more than ten notes. I don't remember now what was the source I was relying on, it was most likely Wikipedia because I wanted to be sure what I write is grammatically correct + it was only supposed to be a short aesthetic post with information, not a whole encyclopedia about vampirism because that's a subject for a whole PhD thesis.

-> However, the idea of this was to show how Slavic people see vampires – I do not claim that the idea is Slavic. We can say that Lilith was the first vampire and she is a demon in Judaism. The vampires we know in pop culture at the moment originated from Eastern European beliefs overall – of course I focused on Slavs because it was easier and that was the concept of this post but Eastern European cultures are mixing together and tbh Romanians or Hungarians are "honorary Slavs". The "non-Slavic neighbours" are also mentioned in the text.

-> It says here that "wąpierz" is from modern Polish so the XIXth century neologism should fit in? 🤔 It doesn't claim to be an old Polish form...

-> The 40 days being an Orthodox thing... Well, many Slavic nations are Orthodox and I was not talking about Poland only which is a Catholic country. As I said before, I didn't go into details here because that was not the idea of this post.

-> It doesn't say that the upiory are pagan, it only refers to some pagan tradition that Slavic people had after someone's death although after reading a book about Slavs recently I have to admit lots of those traditions are probably made up or younger than we think.

-> The text says it's possible to trace back vampire related beliefs to the times before Christianity and since Slavic people were in touch with people from other areas of Europe, it is possible since the prototypes of vampires are older than Christianity.

-> It doesn't say that ubir is a Slavic word, it says: "Slavic concept of ubir" as in: Slavic concept of this thing known in a different culture as ubir. Also, Slavs had things in common with Turkey, especially Southern Slavs because they are close on the map and they could adapt their beliefs and words.

Wishing you a Happy Dziady soon! 👻

SLAVIC VAMPIRES

• modern Polish — upiór, upir, wąpierz, wupi • Czech and Slovak — upír • Ukrainian — упир (upyr) • Russian — упырь (upyr’) • Belarusian — упыр (upyr) • Old East Slavic — упирь (upir’)

A demonic being from Slavic folklore, a prototype of the vampire.

🦇 The term upiór was introduced to the English-language culture as a “vampyre”, mentioned by Lord Byron in “The Giaour“ in 1813, described by John William Polidori in “The Vampyre” in 1819, and popularised by Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. With the development of mass culture, he returned as a “vampire” recognizable in literature and film.

🦇 Slavic belief indicates a stark distinction between soul and body. The soul is not considered to be perishable. The Slavs believed that upon death the soul would go out of the body and wander about its neighbourhood and workplace for 40 days before moving on to an eternal afterlife. Thus pagan Slavs considered it necessary to leave a window or door open in the house for the soul to pass through at its leisure. During this time the soul was believed to have the capability of re-entering the corpse of the deceased. Much like the spirits mentioned earlier, the passing soul could either bless or wreak havoc on its family and neighbours during its 40 days of passing. Upon an individual’s death, much stress was placed on proper burial rites to ensure the soul’s purity and peace as it separated from the body. The death of an unbaptized child, a violent or an untimely death, or the death of a grievous sinner (such as a sorcerer or murderer) were all grounds for a soul to become unclean after death. A soul could also be made unclean if its body were not given a proper burial. Alternatively, a body not given a proper burial could be susceptible to possession by other unclean souls and spirits. Slavs feared unclean souls because of their potential for taking vengeance.

🦇 From these deep beliefs pertaining to death and the soul derives the invention of the Slavic concept of Ubır. A vampire is the manifestation of an unclean spirit possessing a decomposing body. This undead creature needs the blood of the living to sustain its body’s existence and is considered to be vengeful and jealous towards the living. Although this concept of vampire exists in slightly different forms throughout Slavic countries and some of their non-Slavic neighbours, it is possible to trace the development of vampire belief to Slavic spiritualism preceding Christianity in Slavic regions.

🦇 An upiór was a person cursed before death, a person who died suddenly, or someone whose corpse was desecrated. Other origins included a dead person over whom an animal jumped, suicide victims, witches, unchristened children, and those who were killed by another upiór.

🦇 Slavic vampires were able to appear as butterflies, echoing an earlier belief of the butterfly symbolizing a departed soul. Some traditions spoke of “living vampires” or “people with two souls”, a kind of witch capable of leaving its body and engaging in harmful and vampiric activity while sleeping.

[gr00vyvampire]

your local balkan vampire

[mahatka]

Dracula and Johnathan!

I like linear cartoons i should do more for this blog

[wehavekookies]

same old (but younger)

[czarownicaesmeralda]

20 demonów z mitologii słowiańskiej - [Czwartek - 16.06.2022 r.]

[nanamo]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death Relationships: Otabek Altin & Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky Characters: Otabek Altin, Yuri Plisetsky, Victor Nikiforov, Licho, Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Vampire, wampiry, cuda, wianki, na kiju, Getting to Know Each Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Summary:

Yuri to wampir, Otabek to człowiek. Co z tego wyniknie? Niespiesznie opowiem.

[thirstyforred]

So,which red are you thirsty for? The werewolf? Upyrica? One of the colours? I'm sorry if you don't wanna answer that, I'm just very curious

red lyrium actually

few years ago i was very into Dragon Age Inquisition and it seemed like a funny and cool idea for url

[tricksterslav]

Hi there I don’t have any experience with the Witcher. Never played the games or read the books. I’ve watched the trailer for the Netflix series. I was wondering what you meant by the issues you have with no Slavic representation in the aesthetic and other things like that? Also I’m from the US so I’m incredibly uninformed on this topic and would enjoy being enlightened. I promise I’m not being sarcastic and if I’m coming off as rude I’m sorry

(Disclaimer - I am not an expert nor do I claim to be, I'm speaking from my own heart and the knowledge I have)

To get into the issue, you've got to understand that for most people that've read The Witcher, it's a very important book. I grew up on foreign fantasy and adventure novels and when my mom handed me a book that was Polish -it was weird. I didn't know Polish fantasy novels even existed - I was fed grim, westernized fantasy beforehand. The Witcher immediately stood out to me- it was complex, intelligent, with a lot of morals and likeable, but problematic characters. It had strong girl protagonists (including Ciri, who's canonically lesbian/bisexual), intriguing action, and it was perfect. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same about it. It's a unique piece of Polish culture, rooted deeply.

The Witcher is riddled with references to Polish history and culture, especially Slavic mythology. Monsters such as Strzyga, poroniec, wąpierz (or even the Wild Hunt, [even though it does appear also in German mythology]) hail from Slavic mythology. Superstitions (such as children being born under a bad moon) are driven from Slavic beliefs. The dryads that take Ciri in while she's exiled are creatures from Slavic mythology. It doesn't matter that Witcher takes place in a fictional world. It's a fictional world build upon slavic motifs.

Now imagine that amazing book, and the incredible game (made by polish artists) taken by a big corporation such as Netflix. They cast non-Slavic actors as the main characters, they leave out everything that makes it unique and beautiful, and turn it into a stereotypical fantasy setting- English castles, French costumes, American actors. There's nothing distinct about it now - it's not a beautiful, captivating story anymore. It's just a mainstream tale about a guy with a sword. And it's fed to a target audience - mostly people who have no knowledge of the books at all, who don't know what this book means to us.

I don't know how people can not be mad about it. If any of my information is false, be free to correct me, but I'd much rather enjoy something made properly than another mediocare Netflix show that leans heavily on special effects for any semblance of quality at all.

Slavic people don't get represented in the media- and I've talked about it before, but to take any sliver of the brand that we had - something distinct, something ours, and exclude us from it? I was very excited for the show, at first, because I didn't know how badly executed it's going to be. This is an utter disappointment, and I'm going to express my dissatisfaction.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope I've helped you understand the problem a little more.