Seriously, I enjoyed #TheBonsaiofDeath, a #Cyberpunk2020 #rpg #warstory, more than everything I've seen or heard of #Cyberpunk2077 (incl. #PhantomLiberty).

The fraudulent #corporation #CDProjectRed is actually "an evil corporation" that #EdgeRunners would fight...

#Cyberpunk #TTRPG #crpg #Cyberpunk2013 #inspiration #CyberpunkRed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi92utzEcA

Seriously, I enjoyed #TheBonsaiofDeath, a #Cyberpunk2020 #warstory, more than everything I've seen or heard of #Cyberpunk2077 (incl. #PhantomLiberty).

The fraudulent #corporation #CDProjectRed is actually "an evil corporation" that #EdgeRunners would fight...

#Cyberpunk #TTRPG #crpg #Cyberpunk2013 #inspiration #CyberpunkRed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi92utzEcA

Postcard 16 of 16.

In this final postcard Yana expresses her disgust at the R's cheering on the war and their blind loyalty to Putin's regime.

She ends with an apology for an overwhelming amount of text but it was cathartic and she is committed to countering the misinformation war.

This story does not have a happy ending. It is gut wrenching.

Thank you for allowing me to share Yana's story.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 15 of 16.

Yana tells us that she had to cut off communication w/ her family now in Moscow. Her husband acts as an intermediary. She notes she nearly lost her job, and her husband. It was all for naught.

All of her friends from her younger years in Moscow have turned their backs on her.

She tells us she was in a Moscow mall when R annexed Crimea. The mall erupted in cheers and it crushed her.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 14 of 16.

Yana describes the pain of betrayal in her family's decision to go to R to be w/ her brother, after everything they did for them. She notes many Us suffered & are suffering so much more than them at the hands of the Rs.

The family, led by Yana's father arrived to Moscow to be w/ brother. But he had to flee R to avoid conscription and the war against U.

W/ R passports, they are stuck.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 13 of 16.

This is a hard one. Read the postcard, if you can.

One of the cats dies. And then Granny has a heart attack and refuses treatments. She is super depressed and is making everyone else depressed.

Yana's Brother in Moscow was expecting a baby, so Mom decided she wanted to go there. What a betrayal!

Dad stayed in #Kharkiv but as an R national he'd not be able to return to U if he left.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 12 of 16.

Yana finally gets to travel to see her mum and granny in Petro's country. Because Mum has a Russian passport they are denied aid and protection. They work with lawyers, politicians and NGOs to see about an exception.

Yana and Petro have spent months trying to get them to this point and have given them everything possible.

Despite all this, Mum and Granny want to go back to #Kharkiv.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 11 of 16.

They found an evacuation flight from Poland to Petro's home country run by volunteers. They were even willing to accept Mum's Russian passport and bypass the feline vaccination waiting period.

The flight was to take off from an airport 9 hours from their location in Eastern Poland. Transit was a challenge.

They made it to Petro's country where he met them. 6-hour drive to his Mom's..

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 10 of 16.

Mum, Granny and the two old cats had to move a few times in Poland as families needed space.

Petro needed to get back to work as his 2-weeks was up so he left them. Yana and Petro were relieved that at least they were safe.

Options from Poland were limited b/c Mum's passport was Russian.

Petro's home country in Europe agreed to accept them, & they would live with his 82-yo mother.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 9 of 16.

In this postcard Yana talks about the complexity of the refugee process and the warmness of the Polish accepting folks.

She also talks about the sacrifice of Petro having to defer his British citizenship exam.

She is unable to meet mum and granny because she is just starting her new job.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 8 of 16.

Mom & Granny boarded a train in Kharkiv w/ two fat cats. The trains ran at irregular intervals & were packed full.

Petro made it to Poland and crossed into Western Ukraine to receive them. Even in the west air raid sirens went off constantly. Petro was in a shelter when their train arrived.

Exhausted, they all made it to Poland where volunteers provided shelter. Mom wanted to go home.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 7 of 16.

Petro needs first to secure medicine for granny so he enlists the help of his own 82-year old mother who gets meds and meets him on his way to Ukraine for a hand off. He flies to Poland while Yana coordinates routes and logistics from home in London.

Yana notes that it's difficult to know who can be trusted for help in Ukraine because Russians are intercepting or impersonating helpers.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 6 of 16.

This postcard details how Yana's mother goes from denial and assuming the war will end soon, to saying "I will always be with you" indicating some desperation.

Yana's husband Petro decides it's time to go back to Kharkiv to try and save mom and granny. He doesn't speak Ukrainian. But Yana, a USSR Russian-born citizen isn't allowed to join him.

The Ukranian trains are chaotic & packed.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 5 of 16.

On this card, Yana describes how the stress of the war and worry for her family and friends cost her her teaching job. She needed strong sedatives to sleep.

Yana later found community in the recurring protests at 10 downing street & Trafalgar Square.

She believes someone helped her get a new job, one that would help her find reprieve from the stress, and lose herself focusing in data.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 4 of 16.

Five days of shelling, time spent in basements avoiding the Russians. She talks about reports of cars being blown up or shot at, and how the roads to the west were mined. She describes the toll this took on her granny and the helplessness she felt. No way out. Yana was glued to her phone, news & SM for updates. She felt paralyzed to see family and people suffer, and her city be destroyed

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 3 of 16.

Yana describes how her family in Kharkiv hid in a cold damp basement without provisions or toilets. Most were not prepared. Supplies sent from the West rarely made it. Volunteers were shot. Store shelves were empty. Explosions and gunfire were constant. They were worried building might collapse into basement. Granny's BP was bad. She couldn't get around well. Train stations were packed.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 2 of 16.

Yana tells us she lived happily in U and then went to UK for professional dev where she met her husband we'll call Petro. They moved to Karkiv and opened a school. And later moved to Europe but continued to visit fam in U and loved seeing the country flourish in post-soviet times.

No one believed war was possible. Many mixed R and U families, like her own. "This simply couldn't happen!"

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 1 of 16.

Changing and blacking names for privacy.

Yana lives in London. Most of her life she lived between Kharkiv + Russia. Her Ukrainian parents moved to R during USSR times for dad's job. She & bro were born in R & granted R citizenship. They visited fam in U often. She preferred U to R. R schools taught hurtful misinfo about U. When she finished school, fam -bro moved home to U.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

Postcard 1 of 16.

Changing and blacking names for privacy.

Yana lives in London. Most of her life she lived between Kharkiv + Russia. Her Ukrainian parents moved to R during USSR times for dad's job. She & bro were born in R & granted R citizenship. They visited fam in U often. She preferred U to R. R schools taught hurtful misinfo about U. When she finished school, fam -bro moved home to U.

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #warstory

This has been on my mind for a long while. I plan to start the thread today in honor of Ukraine standing up to Russia’s unprovoked war for a full year.

Thinking a scan of each side. Redact names. Try and summarize the text of each postcard. Too much to document in a single toot even with accessibility. It’s going to take a while. So, patience please. This story needs to be told.

— 2 of 18ish —

#ukraine #ukrainewar #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #postcrossing #postcards #russiaswar #warstory