#aprindea

[papillondusublime]

Iar ea vorbind cu el în somn, Oftând din greu suspină: - O, dulce-al nopţii mele domn, De ce nu vii tu? Vină!

Cobori în jos, luceafăr blând, Alunecând pe-o rază, Pătrunde-n casă şi în gând Şi viaţa-mi luminează!

El asculta tremurător, Se aprindea mai tare Şi s-arunca fulgerător, Se cufunda în mare;

Şi apa unde-au fost căzut În cercuri se roteşte, Şi din adânc necunoscut Un mândru tânăr creşte.

Uşor el trece ca pe prag Pe marginea ferestei Şi ţine-n mână un toiag Încununat cu trestii.

Părea un tânăr voievod Cu păr de aur moale, Un vânăt giulgi se-ncheie nod Pe umerele goale.

Iar umbra feţei străvezii E albă ca de ceară - Un mort frumos cu ochii vii Ce scânteie-n afară.

- Din sfera mea venii cu greu Ca să-ţi urmez chemarea, Iar cerul este tatăl meu Şi mumă-mea e marea.

Ca în cămara ta să vin, Să te privesc de-aproape, Am coborât cu-al meu senin Şi m-am născut din ape.

O, vin! odorul meu nespus, Şi lumea ta o lasă; Eu sunt luceafărul de sus, Iar tu să-mi fii mireasă.

Colo-n palate de mărgean Te-oi duce veacuri multe, Şi toată lumea-n ocean De tine o s-asculte.

- O, eşti frumos, cum numa-n vis Un ��nger se arată, Dară pe calea ce-ai deschis N-oi merge niciodată;

Străin la vorbă şi la port, Luceşti fără de viaţă, Căci eu sunt vie, tu eşti mort, Şi ochiul tău mă-ngheaţă.

-Poésie: extrait de ''Luceafărul'', écrit par Mihai Eminescu, à l'occasion de son 175ème anniversaire -Image: ''Romantic Encounter'', Mihaly von Zichy

[andreea1578578]

A fost odată un bogat,

Ce lemne în veci n-a tăiat.

Și-a chemat un sărman sa i le taie,

Fără parale.

Ți le tai "conașe" că munca nu mă omoară pe mine

Omul ce educație și bun-simț avea în el, se conforma și așa făcu'.

Bogatul văzând că omul este serios , îl lăsă să-și facă treaba

Zori de zi omul nu bău' nici apă

Așa de rușinos era.

După ce sfârși treaba, bogătașul ce trebuia,

Omul să îl răsplătească

Se făcu că plouă îndată.

Omul de rușinea lui, plecă cu pofta în cui.

Nu îi zise mai nimic , ci doar Dumnezeu să-l ajute.

Veni iarna, bogătașul nu știa cum să-și încălzească familia și copiii mai repede, așa că pregătise lemnele proaspăt tăiate de acel sărman, să-și aprindă focul.

Cum se isprăvi treaba, ce să vezi? Focul nu se aprindea deloc.

- Tată, tată, mor de frig, de ce lemnele nu se aprind în sobă?

Copiii strigau în gura mare, în timp ce corpurile le tremurau de frig.

Ia-tă că în coliba sărmanului nu existau lemne multe, decât vreascuri, dar iarna trecu' fără ca aceștia să simtă frigul.

Să revenim însă la bogătaș: sărmanul veni sa-i aducă o pâine făcută la mila Domnului și un pahar de vin din via muncită prin sudoarea frunții lui, vara, dar ce să vezi: bogătașul era mort, doar copiii trăiau și îl plângeau.

Morala: nu fii șiret în viață, căci minciuna are picioare scurte.

[dorombach]

Anul nou care n-a fost. Cel mai aclamat film românesc din 2024

Eu nu am mai văzut 56 de secunde de aplauze pe roll-ul unui film românesc, atunci când acesta se termina. Am mai văzut aplauze la filme românești, au fost și aici, dar după ce se aprindea lumina în sală și după ce se cereau aceste aplauze. pic.twitter.com/fnajHMclea— Cristi Dorombach (@piticu21) September 23, 2024 Filmul e foarte muncit Filmul a fost foarte muncit. Suntem la 35 de ani de la…

[dininimapentrumine]

FURTUNA

El S-a sculat, a certat vântul, şi a zis mării: „Taci! Fără gură!” Vântul a stat, şi s-a făcut o linişte mare. (Marcu 4:39)Băteau din aripi norii a-nserareSpre asfinţitul încă sângeriuChemând, parcă, natura la culcare,Iar peste Galileea, dinspre mareVeneau tăceri de plumb şi de pustiu.Pe ţărm era Isus cu ucenicii,Dăduse apă vie la popor,Dar cum amurgul îmbrăca finiciiŞi aprindea în taină…

[meet-roots]

Despre zodii... Aerul se plimba nestânjenit prin fierărie, afara apa ploii bătea neputincioasa-n acoperiș si, răzleț, cate-un fulger aprindea vre-o ramura. Fierarul se năpusti c-o astfel de sursa de lumina si căldura-n fierărie si-aprinse forja...Aerul, nedumerit si uimit se-ndrepta degrabă-n flacara zglobie cu care a dansat si a dansat...fieraru-l ațâța cu foalele, si din când in când își vara fierul in dansul nebun al celor doi, scoțând scântei in ritmul ciocanului pe nicovala...Din când in când fierarul supăra fierul într-o putina cu apa, stropi si abur se-aruncau in sarabanda si aerul se bucura si de dansul lor... Nimeni nu poate ști de unde-a pornit gelozia apei...se-agata de aer si voia s-ajungă-n foc. Sa stingă, sa sfârâie... Azi așa...mâine așa...aerul deveni indiferent.. crescuse si își putea permite sa plimbe nori de apa...sa ridice gigantice talazuri...sa poarte foc de stele cu care pârjolea pământul...

Fierarul a murit.

Fierul a ruginit.

Raul a secat.

Focul...ei bine focul s-a ascuns.

Era-n inima unui berbec pe vârful dunei - singurul ce trăda pasiunea si prezenta aerului când blana i se zbârlea la cate-o adiere...si zâmbea tamp la oasele unui leu.

Daca aerul era cu certitudine un Don Juan...cine naiba era fierul? ...Sau fierarul?

[twentytales]

This is all so very wonderful! I love both the beautiful art and the wonderful details in the chapters! Is there more?

Sadly, no; life called us both away. I’m so very glad you’ve enjoyed it. :3

[nepublicat]

Era decembrie.

Pe ziduri dezgolite de vreme

Îmboboceau trandafirii de foc

Iar tu erai scânteia ce-mi aprindea dorința

Unui nou început.

Era decembrie

Când într-o zi a viscolit puternic

Și a-nceput să ningă și mi s-a stins scânteia

Și inima, și zâmbetul pe chip.

Căci ai plecat fără să spui nimic.

Și mi-au rămas fluturii morții arzând

Și au murit încet și trandafirii

Rând pe rând.

Eu am rămas tăcută și te-am privit plecând.

Era decembrie

Când fulgii-au început să cadă

Și au acoperit c-o mantie de gheață

Tot ce simțeam, și-am rămas fadă

Cu ochii-nlăcrimați și m-am pierdut în ceață.

Și bradul de Crăciun despodobit

Zace acum într-un sac negru

Și Hrușcă a muțit și nu aud nimic

În afară de vânt și de un imn funebru.

Era decembrie

Și era frig. Era pustiu și întuneric

Și mi-era dor. Te căutam întru-un tablou feeric.

Te-am căutat

Neîncetat

Dar tu erai departe

Și-am ațipit. Și te-am visat

De-atunci, noapte de noapte.

— M.P.

[edosianorchids901]

Watched “Our Man Bashir” tonight with my dear @aprindea and if that’s not the ideal date I don’t know what is

[goodyeartheshippycat]

Tag 10 people you want to know more/catch up with.

Thank you for the tag, @prismatic-cannon. Always fun to do one of these! And I like your song choice :D

Favourite colour(s): Green, teal, mint (okay those two are basically green-ish), that blue which they call “petrol” in the UK, and various shades of purple.

Last song: I’ve been back on my folk/power metal bullshit this fall and re-listening to favourite albums from my late high school/early university years. The Dance of Victory by Eluveitie was the song most recently played on my old iPod which is hooked up to my car stereo system. Listened to it last night while coming back from a site visit, as you do.

Last Movie: Oh lord, I watch movies so infrequently that I don’t even remember... It was definitely one of the ones I watched at the cottage this year. Uhhhhh, I think it might have been The Castle of Cagliostro. Which I really enjoyed and am now looking forward to watching the newest Lupin film when the English release comes out. I know, I know, I prefer subs too but my partner doesn’t really like watching subbed films and I almost only ever bother watching a film with him... 

Or it might have been A Mighty Wind which was painful but funny. If you’ve ever seen any Christopher Guest films, you’ll know what I’m talking about. He’s the master of cringe, secondhand awkwardness comedy. I think the one I enjoyed most and would recommend to someone who hasn’t seen his stuff would probably be the one about dog shows, Best in Show, or maybe the one about community theatre, Waiting for Guffman. 

Currently reading: Does re-reading some of my own fics count? XD

Really though, outside of technical stuff for work I haven’t been reading much lately. I did read an excellent sci-fi short story recently, called “Curo the Filthmonger” by J. Marshall Freeman. I can’t find an online copy, unfortunately (I have it in zine form from my local LGBTQ+ bookstore -- which is sadly now closing due to COVID), so no link. I was also thinking of tackling some of the many comic ebooks I’ve collected over the years via kickstarters and whatnot, and then left sitting untouched in a folder on my computer. Might start with Yes, Roya, because I know it recently got a colour edition, but I’d like to read my original black and white copy first. 

Currently watching: Nothing, actually. I just finished watching two things and have yet to start anything else in earnest. Most recently in television, I watched the final episode of the first season of Star Trek: Lower Decks which, as far as I’m concerned, is the best Trek series to come out since DS9. Hilarious and clever writing combined with solid animation and excellent voice acting by the ridiculously loveable cast. Each of them is more relatable over the course of only 8 half hour episodes than a single character in Discovery ever has been in two seasons... 

The other thing I watched recently was every currently available episode of a YouTube animated series about @dingodoodles‘s “Fools’ Gold” D&D campaign, which is helpfully collected in a playlist. I have FAR TOO MANY FEELS now, especially about her sorcerer monkey, Sips, and his best friend, Sneeze. It lures you in with the funny jokes and then RIPS YOUR HEART OUT AND STOMPS ON IT. The cliffhangers she does are as addictive as the best fanfiction on the internet, and her animation is an absolute delight. I laugh out loud every single episode. There are only 16 of them for the moment, and the longest one is less than 16 minutes, so the story is very bingeable. While my own D&D group is on a short hiatus between modules I am living vicariously through other people’s campaign stories, and this one is worthy of a Peter Jackson-esque epic movie series. Also now that I’ve discovered she has a tumblr I’m almost certainly going to fall deeper into this hole.

Sweet, spicy or savory?: Sweet tooth almost always wins out for me. Savoury, especially the salty aspect of it, does sometimes become a craving but not as often.

Tea or Coffee: Tea. Always tea. All different kinds. I’m on my fifth cup of the day right now. 

As for tagging folks, where’re my mutuals (who I haven’t seen tagged yet) at? Feel free to do this or ignore it, as you please: @pourpasserlamelancholie @royalphantom @himitsumi @killapunk @aprindea @sparkly-things

[albalbastru]

Nu te iubeam

Nu pe tine te iubeam eu,

Ci pe mine,

Că deveneam mai ușoară ca florile de mac dimineața

Și mai frumoasă decât blândețea serilor de vară,

Mai vie decât un ocean răvășit,

Mai eu decât un dor nesfârșit.

Nu te iubeam,

Chiar deloc,

Doar în pieptul meu,

Bătând lângă tine,

Se-aprindea un foc.

[gxthmommy]

Era genul de fata care a stiut din prima clipa ca o vei distruge, insa ceva nu a lasat-o sa renunte la tine, asa ca a continuat sa lupte. Se aprindea usor cand toata lumea ii spunea sa te lase in trecut si sa isi traiasca viata. Stia ca o vei parasi, dar stia si ca te vei intoarce. Stia ca nu e destul de buna, dar stia ca va face pana si imposibilul ca tu sa o iubesti. Stia ca ai nevoie de o fata ca ea asa ca nu a renuntat. A durut-o sa te vada in bratele alteia, dar stia ca nu va mai dura mult si te vei intoarce in bratele ei. A facut multe din gelozie si din suferinta si nu a regretat nimic din toate astea. Te iubea si era gata sa isi dea viata in orice clipa pentru tine, dar stia ca era mai important sa ramana in viata pentru tine, caci tu aveai nevoie de ea in adancul sufletului tau. Stia ca nu voiai sa o vezi suferind, dar tot suferea. Inima i se rupea in mii de bucati in absenta ta, insa mereu te simtea aproape de inima ei.

Inca mai lupta, inca mai are putere, inca te mai iubeste si te-a iertat pentru tot, inca te asteapta si inca este sigura ca vei ajunge din nou in bratele ei. Acea fata nu va renunta niciodata la tine.

[aprindea]

Romania vs Cardassia Prime

It is actually surprisingly difficult to organize all the different aspects of this into one coherent essay so this will probably be in 2 parts. I think quite a number of you have heard me draw similarities between Cardassian culture and political climate and Romanian culture and political climate (specifically during the tail “end” of the Cold War era).  It comes to no surprise because dictatorships have similar features even in sci fi literature/movies/tv shows, but, let’s start with the basics.  In Romania during the communist period: there are actually several periods but two are official because the country changed its name from Romania to:

-People’s Socialist Republic of Romania (1947-1965) -Socialist Republic of Romania (1965-1989)

The two periods are actually fairly distinct, but the period I will be talking most from is the Socialist Republic of Romania. Effectively, I did not grow up “during the Communist period”, but I was taught by teachers who were and the influence was far reaching.  My parents, however, did grow up during the Communist period. My mother was born in the same year as Madonna. My father was born two years prior. At that time, Communism had been in effect since 1947. This is just to give people an idea of how relatively quickly things became “normal”. 

“Nothing comes before the Party and the State”. These are the first two priorities for any citizen. For reference, the Communist Party is the ONLY acceptable political party at this point. There is only ONE candidate at the polls but people are required to actually go out and vote so that the numbers, for a while, showed a 98% or 99% “vote” for a specific candidate. (First was Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej and then Ceauseascu). 

The third priority is the Family. The Party did award large families with certain benefits, including money, so that they lived above the poverty level. Large families were considered as 10+ children and came with a commendation from the government (a medal) for the “work serving the State”. There are, at this point, several awards and commendations issued.

My grandfather received several for his work in his industry (he literally built part of the industry in my city of birth and had 5,000 people under him), which he sincerely considered worthless garbage. I have a different perspective than he did and we argued many times about it.

My parents’ schooling, jobs and places to live were decided by their family situation to an extent but to a greater extent by the State. My parents were admitted into university (Polytechnique is the equivalent) based on the number of placements which the State predicted to be required for very specific projects. As a result, the marks of the newly admitted students mattered greatly, as the project one would be assigned to could be in a better city or worse city. My parents were in their early 20s when they married and as a result were assigned together in the same city, but based on my mother’s marks and my grandfather’s work position, which guaranteed them both jobs. One could not be without a job; there were three shifts where my mother worked, for instance: 8 AM to 4 PM, 4 PM to 12 AM and 12 AM to 8 AM. Monday-Friday. Weekends were for volunteering (you guessed it, each citizen was assigned a volunteer position until they had children). The State located people who were unemployed and assigned them into jobs constantly, but there was some logic to this because one was assigned a job based on their education. My parents were both engineers, which was a reputable field; both worked in automotive. At that time, Romania produced its own cars, trucks, etc but we still did import some models and my grandfather would later win a French car from the lottery. This was unusual because by then (70s) the country was beset with isolationist policies as a result of Russian interests and isolationist policies. (if you want to know more just look up Brezhnev… a lot of things will then start making more sense). Post communism, as students, we were all constantly evaluated with tests and compared against each other from a very young age. Standardized tests were and are still a matter of course in Romania. Each year, we had exams and in my school, the “passing grades” were far above 51% as we were competing with each other for a very limited amount of spots. For example, I was in a class of 30 students, and my marks had to be above 80% at the end of each year, but I competed for a spot at the end of 4th grade and was to compete again for a different spot for high school (same school) at the end of 8th grade. These were standardized tests for several subjects, so a lot of us spent long hours in tutoring to ensure that our grades were up to par. We also had behaviour marks: if we skipped school (unacceptable) or talked back (we could be hit for this as punishment: that’s the only thing that has been a visible change since I was in 4th grade vs 8th grade for me because the Ministry of Education passed laws against it. But I was hit in 4th grade. Hard and more than once. Once I distinctly remember it happened because I stood up for a classmate. I got in trouble for doing this more than once in my school career, but … I never quite learned that lesson lol! Class punishments for one student’s transgression remained common, but no hitting.) In Canada I explained the above to my therapist and she was kind of shocked, lol, but she had asked me how long I had been struggling with anxiety and I did not have an accurate answer. Mental illness in Romania is not and was definitely not acceptable during the Communist period. People were put into forced care, which often lasted for months or years, if they weren’t outright killed. LGBTQ+ people were never permitted out of the closet, and they were subjected to conversion therapy. (I argue that the latter would not happen on Cardassia Prime, but that’s another essay for another day) 

Everything was rationed, especially starting mid 1970s. That means food was rationed (people had cards with lists that were checked off by government workers, if I find a copy of ours I’ll post it) gas was rationed (no more than 2 large flat metal cans per vehicle and gas stations were extremely far apart) and the government set up a system for clothing: if one had had a baby, a family member could collect a baby box which could contain anything from pacifiers to formula bottles, to formula and baby food and possibly blankets. No regular citizen was ever to be informed on what exactly they were going to receive. I asked my mother what my box contained and she told me my grandfather lined up for it and the workers recognized him and she believes they may have given him a better one/extras. We’re not entirely sure, but mine was useful. It had a pacifier I never used, a formula bottle (we still have that) and a few other things.

 There is no church and no religion which can come before Party or State. The Orthodox Church is the official state religion, but it is in and out of favour depending on how much they can “serve”. Every citizen MUST serve The Party and the State fully. This meant everyone over the age of 18, voting age, is a member of the Communist Party. (my parents and their parents were members; I am certain my grandmother burned her party ID card after December 1989  :) ) Socially it was more acceptable to be Atheist.  So you are probably wondering: how did the State effectively control people for that long?  -propaganda; this was present everywhere from the more subtle (posters in the workplace) to more obvious (party meetings, union meetings, schooling)  -The Securitate (this is that Obsidian Order). I often joke about the Obsidian Order. A lot of people probably would get upset with me, but the truth is that most of us bore the weight of the Securitate by making dark jokes about them because there was little choice. Many people disappeared without a trace and this happened pretty frequently. My grandfather told me of many arrests which would happen in the middle of the night. The next day, everyone (co-workers, family members, etc) were to pretend that the person who had been arrested never existed. That’s not an exaggeration. Most homes were miked/bugged so one’s phone conversations were recorded. Additionally (or perhaps even more importantly), family members were enlisted to report each other. So, mother reported son/daughter and children were expected to do the same.  Another way in which people were recorded was in the workplace and restaurants. Specifically, a clear, good quality microphone was placed in or under flower vases in restaurants, and restaurant owners were directed to place a flower vase on each and every table. That’s a small example :) . 

The members of Securitate did not have uniforms normally because they were practically undercover at all times; they also received information via travelling and talking with regular people as if they were having a friendly conversation, or playing with children in parks. (surprisingly effective) However, the Securitate did have military/army designations, such as “Lieutenant”, “Major”, “General”.   My grandfather, one time, in an act of open defiance, actually raised his voice at two agents who were talking on the same line he was using. He knew he was being recorded, but he was trying to conduct business for the day… and the two agents had been making weekend plans… he never heard them again. After the 1989 Revolution (or Coup d’etat), my grandfather continued to openly greet former Securitate members in public by their former designation.  Many of them were old men by the late 90s. He always told me, after we’d part with such people, that I must continue to be careful, lest I be followed, watched and reported on. He frequently insulted them with information he’d obtain through unofficial channels… but although he was offered better pay, positions in the Party and a job, he’d turned it down saying he was “an engineer” and “I am better serving as an engineer for the State”.

 I can and will answer questions about any of this.  (Part two will be at some other point in time... if anyone is interested in reading another 1500 words...)

[fatacusentimensblog-blog]

"Te-am ținut de mână"

"Te-am ținut de mână

Inima am simțit cu imi crește

Sufletul se aprindea

Te strangeam din ce in ce mai tare

Fără să-mi dau seama ca te doare

Dar o făceam din iubire

Atât de cald era...

Încât mâinile noastre

Transpirau...

Transpirau energii din mine

Energii indescifrabile

Greu de explicat, dar plăcute

Mai vreau...mai vreau experiența asta...

Sa ma încălzească

Să-mi doresc mai mult...

Să-mi doresc sa traiesc

[goodyeartheshippycat]

Happy Friday, @aprindea! This made my morning so I hope it makes yours, too.

Ok I really liked slutty cowboy Garak, so I’m posting it on it’s own x) (art inspired by this post)

And the process ! (+ alt version with a tail)

[arhitectul]

Și nimic nu mă aprindea mai tare decât noaptea.

[edosianorchids901]

Some anniversary Garashir for my dear @aprindea 💕

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