#especially dalí | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lonelyharmonies · 1 year

Text

out of the blue

When Huang Renjun enters his classroom on a Friday morning, he expects anything but a cryptic note with a math equation placed on his desk, addressed to him.

pairing: art teacher renjun x math teacher reader. word count: 4.5k warnings: one student has a crush on a teacher (?) a/n.: i love renjun and i love this silly little story 💖

Out of the blue, notes started appearing on Renjun’s desk.

At first, he thought it was a prank. He was used to it, after all, the staff at Dream High is playful and Lee Donghyuck is particularly fond of pulling pranks on Renjun. That’s why he made nothing of the silly note that read:

Roses are red, violets are blue, DaVinci painted Monalisa, ‘Cause he didn’t meet you.

Renjun just put the note aside and moved on with his classes. On the following day, however, the same blue post-it could be found on his table in the art room. This one said:

Is your dad an art thief? Because you are a masterpiece.

He chuckled to himself, in disbelief, and threw it inside one of the drawers of his desk before class started, and just moved on. But the cheeky slash flirty notes didn’t stop there: Renjun spent days finding silly pick-up lines written on blue post-its.

You must be an artist, because I find myself drawn to you.

On the day his class was discussing surrealism, there was even one referring to it:

You must be Salvador Dalí because you are persistently in my memory.

What confused him the most is what’s the reason for it? It wasn’t Valentine’s Day for Donghyuck to be doing something like that and Renjun was sure this is all Donghyuck’s doing (he is the only teacher who is overworked yet acts idle enough to come up with this kind of nonsense just for fun). Confirmation of his suspicions came on a Friday morning when he found the blue post-it on his desk, but, this time, it had an equation.

9x-7i > 3(3x-7u)

During recess, Renjun walked to the teacher’s office stomping his feet as he made his way to Teacher Lee’s cubicle. Today was the last straw, especially because one of the students found the previous notes in his desk’s drawer and the whole class started talking about his ‘secret admirer’ (and Renjun hated being the center of the student’s gossip. When they found his Instagram account it had been enough attention for a lifetime).

“What’s this?” he crossed his arms, wearing a scowl.

“Damn, not even a ‘hi, Hyuck! How’s your day?'” Donghyuck turned to his coworker with a raised brow.

"Cut it, Lee Donghyuck, you know what this is about.”

“Do you want me to teach you basic algebra?”

“I want you to stop sending me these ridiculous notes!"

"What notes, man?” Donghyuck was both confused and curious about how the situation was going to unfold. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have been finding these cheesy pick-up throughout the whole week and just today i see this studpid equation.” Renjun pointed aggressively to the note on the desk. “It’s obviously you!”

“What does the note say?” Jeno, biology teacher, also got invested and leaned into Donghyuck’s cubicle to take a look at the note. He snorted at the sight of the blue post-it “There is no way.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either!” he fumbled with the pockets of his pants, trying to find the other note. “You even left this one about Dalí on the day I was teaching surrealism.”

“I’m sorry, who? You’re teaching what?” Donghyuck scratched his head as Jeno peeked at the other notes thrown on the desk.

Donghyuck’s genuinely disturbed reaction made Renjun rethink his accusations. When the pick-up lines started getting too art-related, Renjun should have questioned if it was really Donghyuck’s doing. The math teacher was smart, but Renjun doubted he had enough knowledge of European painters to come up with such a specific pick-up line. But if it wasn’t Donghyuck… Well, he could have googled them, right? I mean,The Persistence of Memory is a very famous painting, you don’t need to know that much about art… right? Because,well… If not Donghyuck, then, who?

“I don’t know why you keep leaving notes on my desk, but please, stop. The students are gossiping already.”

“Do you think I have the time to leave you notes? I have a student to tutor, Renjun.”

“Then what’s this equation?” Donghyuck sighed and rolled his eyes. “You are the only person who loves making fun of me and my limited knowledge in math.”

Jeno, who was beside them holding his laugh, chimed in. "Did you try to solve it?”

“Why would I?”

“It’s because the answer is this,” He grabbed a pen to write ’ i<3u ’ at the bottom of the post-it. “It’s a confession, Renjunnie."

When the word 'confession’ came out of Jeno’s mouth, Donghyuck was not the only one to stop his activities to pay more attention to the post-its thrown at the table. A little crowd started to form around Donghyuck’s desk, who was laughing at the note. You were one of the teachers that eventually got closer to his desk and as Donghyuck’s fellow math teacher, you silently inspected the note as well. Renjun asked again if the math teacher wasn’t the sender, getting more and more frustrated by the minute with his friend’s negative response.

"If it wasn’t you, who sent this?”

“Your secret admirer,” Jeno smirked and Renjun felt like punching his face.

“Considering how childish this is, probably one of your students.” Park Jisung, P.E teacher, spoke, munching on his kimbap.

“15 year-olds love a reserved and mysterious artsy man who seems to hate everyone.” He continued, making Renjun scowl and Jeno laugh. “After Jeno, you’re probably the most popular teacher among students.”

“Do you want me to break your other arm, Jisung?” Renjun challenged, making the younger teacher close his mouth and pretend to zip it.

“It’s not childish,” you butted in, sheepishly smiling at the note. “I think it’s adorable.”

Donghyuck snapped his head towards you and scoffed, “Yeah, for 15 year-olds, not grown ass adults."

"I think it’s sweet and I’d love to get one of these from a secret admirer too.” you said, feeling the blood rushing to your face and a little self conscious about everybody’s judgmental remarks.

“I told you to stop projecting your high school dreams onto others,” he singsonged, while twirling the pen in his hand.

“Oh, shut up, Donghyuck!”

“And you make it pretty obvious too.” Donghyuck,who always sees right through you, giggled as you punched his shoulder.

“What?” you and Renjun asked at the same time

“Your crush on Renjun,” he muttered absently, scanning the exams he is grading.

“What- I don’t know- You-"

You staggered, trying to form a sentence but failing miserably. Your brain was too slow to process any words at the moment and the whole room seemed to move in a slow motion. Renjun, who was on the far left side of Donghyuck’s table, lifted his eyes to meet a very flustered you. Jeno, who was sitting right in front of you, turned his chair to see your reaction and even Jaemin and his student who were entering the room, stopped at the entrance when Donghyuck dropped the bomb.

"Mrs. Y/N has a crush on Mr. Huang?” Jaemin’s student asked, baffled by the math teacher’s confession and Jaemin intervened:

“Yah, Cha Yuna-”

This seemed to wake up Donghyuck’s senses, who realized he had slipped something he definitely shouldn’t have. The way your colleague had his cheeks painted in pink and his mouth ajar are enough to let you know that his thoughts were probably faster than the words his mouth could filter.

“I mean, we all have a crush on Renjunnie, don’t we?” Donghyuck tries to cover for himself, chuckling nervously. "Jeno buys him lunch every other day, simp behavior."

The thing about school is that it is one of the first and sometimes only socializing spaces for many, many students. Which means that their relationships usually revolve around the school grounds. Their conversation topics regard gossip about school events, the student body and the staff. And boy, these kids do love to talk.

You and Mr. Huang had the silent agreement of not mentioning what you called to be ‘just another Donghyuck joke’, so you have both led your routines just like you always had. The only difference was that you actively avoided Renjun for around 4 days after The Incident. You were too embarrassed to face him. Even though Donghyuck apologized profusely, saying how he really didn’t think he had said that out loud, and, somehow, managed to make everyone believe it was a joke, you were still unsure. Everyone could be pretty much pretending not to know the truth and your true feelings towards Renjun were just out in the open.

But while the staff seemed to have forgotten about it a couple of days after The Incident, the students didn’t. After that disastrous recess at the teacher’s office, the rumor about your crush on the art teacher spread like wildfire and it was especially fueled by the sight of you leaving Renjun’s car.

It was a particularly rainy Monday morning, when Renjun was driving to school and passed by you at the bus stop. Being the kind gentleman he is, he offered what was the most awkward ride ever, but you were thankful nevertheless. It’s better to stay in a warm car than in the freezing cold, even if it means having the shortest and most awkward conversations of your lives. The only problem was that ever since then, for the students, you became Renjun’s girlfriend.

Well, some theories said you were dating, some others said you were actually engaged and Mr. Lee had accidentally exposed your secret relationship and there were Renjun’s fangirls who would get into arguments to deny any alleged relationship between you and Renjun.

You really didn’t mind it because you knew soon the students would find a new target and the rumors would die. Eventually. But Renjun was most definitely not enjoying all that gossip. Not at all.

He looked visibly frustrated as you approached his desk, placing a cup of black coffee on it. You frown at the sight of a box of heart shaped chocolates at his table.

"Can you believe Cha Yuna just confessed to me?” He sighed and took a sip of the coffee you gave him. “First it was Jeno’s student, now this. What the hell is going on with these girls?”

“Oh,” you gave him a sympathetic smile. “You know how it is…Teenages tend to have a crush on people older than them.”

“I didn’t!”

“You didn’t have an impossible crush as a teenager? Not even a celebrity crush?” You raised a brow at him who just chuckled.

“The worst is that she even wrote this note asking me to break up with you and to wait for her. Can you believe that?” He scoffed and you took the seat beside him.

“Well, will you?” you asked playfully and he frowned in confusion “Will you break up with me and wait for her?”

“Should I?” he joked. “No, seriously, I’ll talk to Mrs. Kim today about this, I’ll ask her to talk to Yuna and give her the chocolates back.”

“Mrs. Kim won’t be coming to the school this week,” you said apologetically. “Didn’t you get her email about the conference?”

“I guess I’ll have to give it back to her myself…” Renjun groaned, making you feel bad about the situation he’s in.

“Is she leaving you uncomfortable?” he nodded.

“It’s not that… I just worry because I have been the most assertive I can to make sure she understands that I’m her teacher and over a decade older than her, but she doesn’t seem to take it seriously.”

“Do you want me to do it?” You asked, making him look at you with hopeful eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”

You should have not offered to do that. Honestly, you didn’t think straight, it just sucked to see him frustrated and pouty Renjun was too much for your heart, so you just blurted that out. Maybe a part of you also felt very guilty because part of his stress comes from the gossip running around the school about your non-existent relationship.

That day, you interrupted Mr. Na’s class to ask for Yuna and give her chocolates back. She’s Donghyuck’s student, but you like to think you have a good relationship with the student body in general, so you don’t worry too much about the situation. You waited for her to come out of the class and as soon as she saw the chocolates and the note in your hands, you realized you should have thought this through. You — whom she believed to be her crush’s girlfriend — were going to reject her on behalf of Renjun. Of course she was not gonna take it lightly.

She didn’t wait for you to open your mouth, grabbing the chocolates from your hands and stomping on the heart-shaped box until the floor had a mixture of chocolate, paper and broken plastic. When there was nothing else left to destroy, she looked at you with fire in her eyes before walking away and going back to class, silently.

You seriously thought this could unfold into a bigger problem in the future, but after that day you haven’t seen Yuna anymore and Renjun didn’t touch the subject either. Everything seemed fine,so you just assumed his student just needed to let her frustration out and some time to understand her feelings.

Oh, boy, how wrong you were…

A week or two after the rejection, Mr. Kim assigned some of Donghyuck’s classes to you to balance the teachers’ workload and that was when weird things started to happen to you.

First, your markers started to disappear, leaving you in a very disconcerting position when you looked for them in your bag, didn’t find them and had to go to the nearest classroom to borrow one from another teacher. You have never been the type to lose your personal belongings like that, but you guess you have been just forgetful lately.

Then, the air-conditioning starts acting up. On a particularly cold day, you called maintenance to turn it off since some students complained about it, but it would suddenly turn on in the middle of the class again and again.

The third situation made you become more alert and realize someone was probably messing with you. It was exam week, so you sat on your chair and just waited until the students were finished. When you stoop up, you feel something on your pair of jeans and see the gum glued to your clothes. Gum. Funnily enough, all of those only happened on Thursdays, in Cha Yuna’s class. No that it mattered, right? Coincidence.

Despite these three "accidents”, you were still reluctant to talk to Mrs. Kim because you didn’t want to sound crazy. How are you going to explain to her the situation? 'Oh Mrs. Kim, someone’s been turning on the air conditioner and I sat on gum the other day. I think the student who has a crush on Renjun is messing with me.’

It would just sound like a conspiracy theory, wouldn’t it? But after exams week, you couldn’t really avoid the situation anymore.

“What did you call me, Cha Yuna?” you slam the book on your table, making the whole class startled.

“Bitch,” she spat, “I called you a bitch.”

“Enough. Principal’s office.” you pointed to the door and she raised a brow, as if challenging you. “Now.”

“Or what?”

You feel your blood boil, and the urge to scream, grab the teenager by her hair and drag her to Mrs. Kim’s office was becoming tempting, but you kept your composure. “This is not a request, Cha Yuna.”

Her friends started to hush her to stand up, probably desperate to avoid getting their friends into any more trouble, but Yuna didn’t falter. She didn’t break eye contact with you.

After about 10 excruciating seconds of pure silence, she stood up hastily, making her chair screech, and grabbed her water bottle. You walk to the exit of the classroom, opening the door and before walking through it, she opened her bottle and threw the water on your face.

“BITCH!” She screamed and the whole class gasped. “YOU GIVE ME BAD GRADES, YOU STEAL MY-”

“CHA YUNA!” You and another voice screamed at the same time. In the hallway, you see a disheveled Renjun holding a box full of art supplies walking in your direction.

Needless to say, you became the talk of the school for a while. Yuna was suspended for three days, got a month of detention, and was transferred to another class. But Mrs. Kim didn’t let you and Renjun off the hook easily.

You talked to her separately about how this all started, from the rumors about you and Renjun to the day Yuna disrespected you in front of the whole class. And even though she managed to sort things out in a way neither of the parties involved would be uncomfortable (or have to deal with each other), the principal was adamant about how you dealt so poorly with the situation, starting by not telling her any of what happened before things went downhill. Considering you were both teachers and the situation was not entirely in your control, she just decided to give you a warning in the form of a task: tidying up the teacher’s office with Renjun for a month.

“I have a feeling they are using even more plates and cups now that we have to do the dishes,” you said drying the plate Renjun just handed to you.

“I’ve seen Jisung using three different knives today to make a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Renjun sighs looking at you defeated. “He blames his broken arm but I can see right through him.”

“I’ve seen Donghyuck using all his four mugs to drink coffee and leave them unwashed on the sink before going to his tutoring class."

"They’re definitely doing it on purpose.”

You chuckled, finishing up the rest of the dishes that are on the counter. “You know, this is my first time in detention.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I never got into detention in high school. I’ve always wanted to know what it was like.”

Renjun laughed wholeheartedly “So you’re saying this is our detention? As teachers?” you nodded and he smiled at you. “Well, I can’t say this is my first time though.”

“Ooh, so Mr. Huang Renjun was a bad boy in high school?” you joked, narrowing your eyes at him.

“I only got in trouble once, actually. Graffiti on the school’s wall."

"No way.”

“Yeah. It was a dare. I felt so cool as if I was a Bansky of sorts,” he said and you leaned on the kitchen sink, standing a little closer to him than before.

“What did you draw?"

"Oh, it was very cliché,” he shook his head, smiling sheepishly. “Anyways, I think we’re done, right? Do you need a ride?”

“Come on, Renjun,” you whined, pouting at him and stretching the last syllable of his name. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know, I can’t remember it was ages ago,” he tried to brush it off and walked to his desk.

“How come you can’t remember it? You just said it was cliché!”

“Y/N,” he warned, making you whine again.

“You’re embarrassed because it was a confession, right?” you beamed with his annoyance. “Oh my god, did you confess to your high school crush through graffiti on the wall? That’s so cute!”

“And you get mad when Donghyuck jokes that you project yourself into the high schoolers."

You looked at him unamused. "Yeah, my high school years sucked but I don’t project myself into the students. It would be a cute confession, though.”

“Well, it wasn’t a confession.” Renjun zipped his messenger bag and put it over his shoulder. “It was a factory named ‘school’ with people coming out of it and the lyrics of Another Brick in The Wall next to it."

"Are you joking?” you asked and he shook his head. “Why are you embarrassed of that?”

“Because it’s only cool and revolutionary for a sixteen year old who had just found a Pink Floyd disk in his mother’s basement,” he shook his head fond of the memory. “Now, I know smarter and less cringey ways of criticizing and fighting against the alienating educational system we live in.”

You laughed as you followed Renjun outside. The “detention” definitely played a part in making you become closer friends, which felt great. Renjun has always been nice and polite, but he was equally reserved to people he was not close friend’s with. And you did have to acknowledge that, before getting to know him, you felt silly at how your heart would beat faster just at the sight of him in the teacher’s office. You were like a high schooler who got a crush on the cool and popular guy but barely knew him, it felt ridiculous (Donghyuck made sure to point that out a couple of times. And call you a coward too for taking too long to approach him).

But as you get to know Renjun better, you realize he is so much more than that. He is kind, gentle, and hilarious. He might not crack a lot of jokes or be goofy all the time, but he has an impeccable comedic timing, he delivers the funniest lines ever, not rarely leaving you with tears in your eyes.

And wow he’s so intelligent. It’s unbelievably attractive how smart he is and the way he utters the words in a discussion is so elegant that you cannot not stop and listen to him. He could talk for hours and hours and you would never get tired of it because that’s just how compelling he is.

I mean, you like him a little (too much).

That’s exactly why on the last day of your detention, you find yourself in Renjun’s car heading to a restaurant: because you can’t say no to him. “It’s to celebrate that our detention is over,” he said, but you felt that there was something different going on. Or were you reading too much into this?

“I was surprised that other day,” he said, looking at the road ahead.

“By what?"

"You,” he smiled and you turned your head to him. “I was talking about that painting the other day and you immediately guessed Monet.”

“To be fair you mentioned Impressionism.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you of all people to know painters’ names.”

“I only know the famous ones,” you scratched your head sheepishly, smiling at him. “And why the surprise? Can’t a math teacher enjoy visual arts too?"

"It doesn’t really match with the stereotype, honestly,” he said playfully, making you punch his shoulder lightly. “Hyuck didn’t know who that was.”

“Hyuck is more of a music type of guy, though,” Renjun hummed in agreement, stealing a glance at you. When the car stopped at a red light, he turned to you.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” you turned your head to him again, signaling you were paying attention. “Was it you?”

“What?”

“The notes on my desk, was it you?” you stopped breathing for a couple of seconds as the question caught you off guard. Why was he asking about that? Everyone had forgotten about that thing ages ago, why now?

“Why are you bringing this up? It was months ago,” you laughed awkwardly, looking nervously at the traffic light that didn’t seem to be turning green anytime soon.

“Because I never got to know who sent them.” He leaned his body into the console, while you moved closer to the door. “Was it you or not?”

You heard cars honking behind you and Renjun went back to driving the car, not before giving you a look you couldn’t quite read. The question still hung in the air while an indie song played softs on his radio. You didn’t dare to speak a single word anymore.

“You know, I think the Dalí one was my favorite, but I wouldn’t have written it that way,” he glanced at you, who was suspiciously interested in the road ahead of you and refused to look to your left.

“What would you have written?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased, parking the car in front of the restaurant.

You both entered the restaurant and Renjun started a conversation about how that became his favorite restaurant in town, seeming to forget all about the question and how you left it unanswered. If it were for you, it would remain like that for the rest of your life. However, after drinking a glass or two of wine and a very exhausting week of work, you can’t expect much from your brain, can you?

As Renjun pays the meal (after you almost got physical for wanting to pay the bill, arguing that he spent with gas already), you take one of the paper napkins on the table and use the pen you keep in your bag to write him something. As he came back to the table to lead you outside, you stretched your arm, handing him the note and walking right out of the restaurant as fast as you could.

“if i were an artist you’d me my muse, jun”

You reached Renjun’s car and leaned on the parked vehicle, wondering if only two glasses of wine were enough to leave you so drunk to the point of becoming this reckless. Can you blame the alcohol tomorrow? Renjun didn’t drink and he knew you weren’t drunk either,maybe just tipsy. You should have just ordered something else, just like he did, but nooo, it was Friday and it was a tough week, you deserved a little alcohol! Now, you had to spend twenty awkward minutes with Renjun, who now had probably connected the dots and knew you had a stupid crush on him.

Okay, maybe it was time for a confession, but should you have done it through a note? Again? Like a stupid school girl?

You started to wonder if you should get an uber, because Renjun didn’t seem to be coming to his car. He was taking a little while. Maybe he was watching you from the restaurant’s window, hoping that you would go away and he wouldn’t have to drive you back to your apartment.

Your mental rant stops when he suddenly leaned on his car, but stood very, very close to you. Your shoulders touched and you could smell his expensive perfume, making your heart beat even faster than it was before. He didn’t say anything, just kept smiling as he handed you a folded napkin, just like the one you gave him minutes ago. He motioned his head towards it for you to open the note.

Are you Dalí’s painting? Because what I feel for you is surreal.

“I’m not as good as you, but-"

You kissed him.

"I think we make a pretty neat couple, don’t we?” you asked, linking your arms with Renjun’s. “I love colorful clothes, you’re into earthy tones. I teach math, you teach art. I hate spicy food, you love it. We’re living proof that opposites attract.”

“Oh, no, I can’t believe you’re saying we’re a cliché couple."

"What’s so wrong with cliché?” you pout and Renjun fights the urge to kiss you in the middle of the art gallery. “Cliché is good.”

“Cliché is overdone and predictable. How can it be good?”

“If it has been done a lot, it means it works.Isn’t it good?” You smiled, sneakingly giving him a quick peck on his cheek. “And you’re the one to talk about originality. An art teacher inviting his partner to an art gallery date? Really?”

“Oh,shut up! You were the one who brought up this exhibition,” he clicked his tongue, making you laugh.

“Just admit you want to dump random art facts at me so you can sound all smart and leave me hot and bothered,” you said jokingly, hoping Renjun won’t think much of the fact that you actually really get all hot and bothered when he is all focused and critical.

“Damn, you got me all figured out,” he huffed, faking annoyance and you smiled so prettily that he couldn’t resist kissing your lips.

On the next Monday, you both find out that one of your students was at the same exhibition and took a picture at the exact moment Renjun stole a kiss. When someone suggested in the comments that it could be you and Renjunon the background, thanks to his two-toned hair, it became chaos. Needless to say, you became the talk of the school. Again. And the most shipped couple in the school among students (a title that Jisung is fighting to revoke). What can you say, the opposites attract trope is really popular.

#nct scenarios #nct drabbles #nct fluff #nct dream fluff #nct dream scenarios #renjun fluff #renjun scenarios #renjun drabble #renjun x reader #nct dream x reader #nct x reader #nct fic #nct dream fic #nct dream drabbles #renjun fic

207 notes · View notes

spicyclover · 2 years

Text

Cutting through my broken heart

Summary: You and Pierre are living together after his apartment got flooded. He thought he knew you very much until he discovered something horrible.

Hope you’ll enjoy this part. Let me know in the comments section! And to support me by tipping me!

Little information, I will, for now, only post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thank you, and Enjoy! :)

Lots of love, xxx Spicy Clover

WARNING: mention of suicide, mention cuts, blood and blades. Dramatic backstory.

If you need help, please go TALK to someone, anyone! It’s the first step to getting better, I promised you. I send unconditional LOVE and POSITIVE thoughts to everyone struggling with difficult times. You are NOT alone!

Pierre’s apartment seeped with water, which caused a lot of damage to the ceilings, the ground and the structure of the building. As a result, he was forced to evacuate his home and seek refuge while renovations were being carried out.

Fortunately, his childhood best friend lives only a few steps away from his home, and he was able to move in with her without a problem. Her apartment is much smaller than his, but he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t want to go to a hotel anyway.

The weeks of cohabitation went relatively well. He follows her off-season training, and she continues her art study classes.

Pierre always found her super exciting and passionate. As soon as she talks about art, she gets lost in her universe, which drives him crazy. To see her eyes light up when she speaks of Monet, Salvador's Dalí, Van Gogh or Rembrandt.

Or when she forces him to come with him to exhibitions. He loves museums but to the point of spending all his Sunday afternoons doing that... Yet, for her, he does.

It’s crazy that when he thinks about it. He never notices her distress.

He never noticed that she never wore a short-sleeved shirt, always long sleeves. He never noticed how little her appetite was. He never saw the nasty look of her classmates whenever he came to pick her up.

The handkerchiefs of blood are in the bathroom bin. The razor blade was placed prominently in the pharmacy box, the many stained sweaters. Tears and especially suffering in her eyes.

She can’t remember when she started... it was in the early years of college. The long hours of work, the hatred of her comrades, and the quarrel with her parents, she no longer what triggered this vicious circle.

If found her one day, barely alive, on the bathroom floor. The blood flowed from her handles in abundance, and, as always, she waited for the pain to pass. Only that day, the pain was too present and painful to replace.

He called her name, but she was barely conscious. He took her in his arms, screaming for help. It was the next-door neighbour who called the fire department after she stormed into the bathroom. Peter’s cheeks were filled with tears, and he could not do anything else.

“Why, Stella, why?” He whispers in her ear, kissing her temple.

“It’s... it’s... it’s okay,” she responds, barely aware.

“Don’t leave me...” Those were the last word she heard from him before being taken by the ambulance.

Several months passed, and Stella always refused Pierre to come and visit her and she did not want to see his gaze lost in misunderstanding and love. Despite all her love for him, Pierre has never been a consistent person in her life. Always part of the four corners of the world, he doesn’t have time to constantly check-in.

During the long months of her convalescence, she spent them with her parents in the south of France. Far from Milan, far from her comrades and especially far from him. She will never confess to him, but that evening, she was in this state partly because of him. An umpteenth rumour and an umpteenth photo of Pierre in the arms of a pretty girl were overcome by her fragile mental health.

“Falling for him wasn’t falling at all. It was walking into a house and suddenly knowing you’re home.” She adds to her speech.

The psychologist nods his head, writing carefully in his notebook.

This is undoubtedly the eleventh session they spend on Pierre, and this is the first time she allows herself to speak of him as someone she loves. A true love.

“Could you think of seeing him again?” Ask the doctor carefully.

“I wish I could explain to him how he makes me feel, and I guess the closest I can get to it would be to say that; he makes me feel good while, at the same time, breaking my heart.”

After that session, she thought long and hard about picking up her phone and dialling his number, but she felt like she was taking several steps back if she made that decision. So she didn’t. She never called him or answered the thousands of messages he left her.

Pierre spent the last few months trying to find out where Stella was, but no one in her family answered him, leaving him in a cloud of gray. He returned several to the apartment, hoping to see her sitting in front of her painting. Yet every time he walked through that door. It was the cold and the silence that they welcomed him as an old friend.

He finally tidied up his things and went back to pursue his dream, bringing with him a little piece of her. An old sweater, too oversized, from Milan college that still smells like her. She wore it all the time when they were living together, and it was her favourite.

He once asks her about it, and she only responds, “Every time I wear it, I think of you. For me, Pierre, you are Milan.”

He didn’t respond anything, just looked at her watching some fireworks. That’s when he knew he loved her.

It’s a May afternoon, and she decided to take a few days off from the family home to watch the boats on the port of Monaco. Hundreds of Yachts turn between them and around the dock while waiting to return, a truly magnificent spectacle. The city is preparing to receive the Grand Prix next week, so hundreds of people are already present. She didn’t think about this event coming here, which made her sad.

Thought of the Grand Prize comes to the thought of Pierre, yet no negative thought tarnishes her day. It was only when walking back to the car that her heart stopped.

There he is, a few meters from her, next to his car, talking with his friends.

Her heart stops, and her head goes crazy. Unable to move, it is only when Pierre looks at her that she finds the use of her legs. She flees through the harbour to find a place to hide forever.

Pierre’s heart is racing, and he does not hesitate a single blow before running after her. She is there in the flesh. Skin more radiant than ever, hair more voluminous than ever, and especially a beautiful strapless dress.

They run around, passing tourists and locals, him shouting her name.

He eventually caught her at the end of a pontoon. Unable to escape further, she was trapped.

“You’re not gonna jump, are you?” He asks in a humorous tone before he safely advances to her.

“Am thinking about it.”

“I’ve missed you.”

“No...”

“Yes, every day since that day, I think of you. I dream of you.”

“Stop...”

“Je t’aime, Stella.” He says while stroking her cheeks. “Every day... I’ve tried so hard to come to see you, but they never let me in.”

“I know... I ask them to.”

“What? Why?” He asks, confused.

“Meeting you, Pierre, was like listening to a song for the first time and knowing it would be my favourite.” Says Stella taking a deep breath. “Since the day we met at this primary school, I loved you. You are my first love, Pierre. And I can’t bear that I’ll never be the one for you. You have so many pretty girls around you every time, and I’ll never be like them. I’ll never be popular. I’ll never be prettier or funnier than hers. And I can’t go back to where I was. I need to move on, Pierre. I need to...”

“Stella! Stella! Stella,” he shouts, taking her chin up.

“What?”

“You have a place in my heart no one else ever could have, but we can be together until you are better. You need to be strong and brave. I can’t be the one helping you ‘cause I'll lose the sense of everything. You are my sun, my moon, and all of my stars, Stella.” Tears in his eyes while looking at her tears.

“No, we can’t be together. No now. No, never.”

“I...”

“Je t’aime Pierre, mais j’ai trop travaillé pour que tu me brises le coeur une nouvelle fois. Je ne peux pas le prendre. J’ai besoin de quelqu’un de présent et d’attentif, de patient et de fidèle...” She adds taking his hands off. “We are endgame. Goodbye Pierre, maybe in another life.”

“Stell...”

This time he didn’t go after her. He watched her walk away. Tears always run down her cheeks, but he knows he can’t do that to her, not after what she’s been through. He has to let her go even if his heart is broken, even if she took a piece of his heart with him.

‘Only knew he loved her when he let her go.

And he let her go.’ Let her go, Passenger.

#pierre gasly #pierre gasly x reader #pierre gasly imagine #pierre gasly sad #pierre gasly fluff #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1

213 notes · View notes

hyperactivewhore · 1 year

Note

what’s the most unhinged things that’s happened in your dr?

Shifting content 😻

Well, I haven't shifted yet (tho I'm definitely going to) because the only attempt I do at it is go to sleep and hope to wake up in my dr lmao. Which can work btw, but you gotta set the intention to and I don't even do that.

But I'm still gonna take the opportunity to talk about my drs (they're so good even if they're Wattpad coded, I promise 😭) because I love them and I need to get out of this shitty reality as soon as I can.

My main reality (not the one I'm shifting tho rn) is a tvd one, where I'll permashift and I'm basically the daughter of Hecate in that dr aka the reason to make myself as overpowered as possible (yes I made myself more powerful than Hope deal with it, I'm literally a goddess in that reality). Given that is the dr where I'll stay forever, it's the last one I'll shift to. But my s/o is Klaus and I'm having his tribrid child because no child of mine is being born on this rat hole and I literally love Hope. But it's so cool, I created a new family so I don't have to be part of the main families of tvdu and I basically script those siblings in almost every reality.

Btw, if someone shifts to tvd as well, please script Damon doesn't rape Caroline/Andy and that Katherine doesn't rape Stefan either. And script out the racist shit the Mikaelson are always pulling on Marcel as well as Klaus (and any other Mikaelson tbh) treating Marcel like he's family and not making any blood distinction between him and Hope.

My fame dr is practically those siblings I mentioned earlier and characters of the tvdu in a human au. I'm dating Klaus as well in this reality, and I'm basically the most successful actress and singer of the century (I need my main moment leave me alone). Klaus is a successful painter, at the level of Picasso, van Gogh, Dalí, da Vinci etc. Rebekah is the most famous models of Victoria's Secret, Elijah is one of the best lawyers, Kol is a professional magician and Finn and Freya manage a luxurious company. In other ways, they're famous Kardashian level, as well as my family.

Their parents, Dahlia and Henrik are still dead though lmao. Rip

And I scripted out Julie Pl*c, JK R*wling and Rick Riordan as well. And I basically attributed Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and a lot more to a poc woman named Elia Lennox. I changed everything about hp and pjo btw, they're not problematic books in my dr at all and I added a lot of representation, diversity as well as subplots.

And I asked an ai a way to eat meat that doesn't come from animal abuse and scripted it into my dr. Short explanation: scientists grow meat in a controlled environment using animal cells, without the need to raise and slaughter live animals.

But going back to your point, idk. I like to script scenarios I see in tumblr (especially the ones from @klausysworld 🙈), but perhaps is the one where I run over Klaus with my car and throw him off a bridge in my tvd dr. I need that enemies to lovers trope and he's an complete asshole anyway.

Or perhaps the scenario I scripted where the Mikaelson "go poor" for a week and they have to come live at our house and I suddenly have to share my bedroom with Klaus. Dw they get rich again, think about it as if their bank account was suddenly hacked by no reason other than karma. Or perhaps witches, who knows.

Ah, I love my stupid fanfic drs that make absolutely no sense. They're so ❤️💗🌷🌼💛 and ☠️💥💢🕳️💀 at the same time.

#shifting realities #shifting #tvd shifting #fame dr #tvd dr #klaus mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #kol mikaelson #freya mikaelson #marcel gerard #hope mikaelson #anti shifters dni

65 notes · View notes

beatx-mavie-archangelx · 1 year

Note

Do YOU have any headcanons for Rio? >:3

YES !!

Rio Ranger headcanons

he doesn't know about Sei

he doesn't really know he's related to Kai since Gashu doesn't refer to him as his son and can't show any kind of affection towards him, but knows about him as "one of Asu-Naro's greatest traitors"

while he is almost fluent in every language in the world (thanks to the internet), he can hardly read and cannot write in any of them. The most he can accomplish is writing "父さん", ”トトノエル", and maybe "ハンナキ" in a 5 year old hand writing. He could learn, but he doesn't care since he sees no use for it, especially with Safalin there to help him if he really needs to

While the visible parts of his body are super detailed and realistic, those that are usually covered by clothes are just a block of plastic with poorly drawn details

he likes to draw on himself with washable markers since the drawings look like he has tattoos (...like his dad, you know... to show loyalty to the organization on your own skin, something that will never go away, no matter if you try to leave... the yakuza can work like that sometimes)

he's utterly terrified of Salvador Dalí for some reason

he tried to learn how to smile and laugh realistically, practicing in front of a mirror for hours and asking AIs for advice, but he eventually gave up since it was too hard for him

like Sei, he has a lazy eye (the left one)

he has freckles

he tries to bite everything and everyone

he tried to bite a Hello Kitty plushie's head off once (failed)

Safalin puts him to bed at night and covers him completely with a blanket for him to go into "sleep mode". She forgot to cover him once and he just laid there the whole night like "👁️_👁️".

got partially stuck in a vending machine once (or twice)

he asked Mishima's AI for help with the expression masks

#I'M SORRY THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR CENTURIES I THOUGHT I HAD POSTED IT #i hope this were enough :3 #there are more but I can't think of anything else rn #some of this might change but oh well #yttd #gashu satou #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #rio ranger #tia safalin #yttd headcanons #kai satou #yttd headcanon #headcanons requests #head canon #rio yttd #michiru namida #sei satou

40 notes · View notes

blackswaneuroparedux · 2 years

Text

Schiaparelli’s ‘Inferno’: A journey to Hell and back

I’ve always wondered if today’s self-absorbed creative directors and edgy designers at the leading luxury fashion houses based in Paris are familiar with George Santayana’s cutting observation that, “Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.” On the evidence of this year’s Paris Fashion Week I think not.

For the Spring 2023 collection at Paris Fashion Week, Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry revealed in pre-show notes that he was specifically drawn to Dante Alighieri’s magisterial Divine Comedy. He was especially inspired by Inferno, the 14th-century Italian poet’s renderings of Hell. Present as spectators and models were some of the internet’s favourite muses, such as Kylie Jenner wearing taxi-dermied outfits with hyperrealistic faux animal heads affixed to a fitted gown.

The singer Doja Cat was also there, appearing bald and covered in red gemstones at the steps of the Petit Palais like a demonic red figure. In other pieces, gold-painted torsos and metallic sculptural heads paid tribute to the house’s founder, Elsa Schiaparelli, and her ties to Surrealist artists like Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, and Meret Oppenheim during the 1930s. She was the subject of a recent retrospective at the the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris last year in 2022, and her collaborations with those artists demonstrated a propensity to shock audiences with strange garments that at times merged human bodies with animal features.

Throughout the haute couture show, Roseberry brought to life versions of Dante’s epic poem’s three allegorical animals: the lion, the leopard, and the she-wolf. Accordingly he dressed three super models, Shalom Harlow as the leopard, Naomi Campbell as the she-wolf, and Irina Shayk as the lion. All three haute couture dresses were sculpted and embroidered by hand, “celebrating the beauty of nature and guarding the woman who wears it” said the proud creative director.

When I read that particular remark I almost choked on my tea. I was sitting in a nearby Parisian café with my younger sister, who was visiting me in France, and one of our French-Nordic cousins who actually works in the luxury brand corporate world as a senior exec in LVMH. Through our cousin we had managed to see one or two of the fashion shows last week. It’s not really my cup of tea, but I gave in to indulge my visiting sister and my cousin who loves her job.

Many people outside of haute couture world of Paris Fashion Week, focused on the spectacle of cruelty of seeing three stuffed animal heads on the bosoms of three super models strutting on a fashion show runway. Most of the criticism was misplaced as it showed little understanding what a haute couture show is all about. It allows the talented designer to let his/her hair down and show off their most off the wall ideas, and above it’s meant to be playful.

That said, I, however, was focused on what Daniel Roseberry actually said of his collection. I thought it was a misquote but no, as it turned out later, it’s what the designer said.

I resisted the urge to feel ‘offended’ and to look around for a pitch fork to join the unruly easily offended mob to denounce the designer. To me it wasn’t about the Surrealist heritage of Schiaparelli that the creative director drew inspiration from for one part of his show - that’s what one might expect from that fashion house. Nor was it the animal depiction on dress gowns that was pretty par for course for any haute couture fashion show - which I personally found garish and in bad taste - but which drew the public outcry against the perception of animal cruelty.

No, it was the crime of cultural vandalism against Dante himself.

I have no idea if Roseberry has actually read the Dante’s Divine Comedy or not but from his remarks that his hideous creations were “celebrating the beauty of nature and guarding the woman who wears it” he clearly hadn’t or was high as a kite on drugs and high energy drinks.

So I’m going to discuss Dante’s three wild beasts as Dante wrote them.

In the opening Canto of the Divine Comedy, Dante encounters three ferocious animals: the leopard, the lion and the she-wolf.

In the first canto of the Inferno, Dante, having gone astray in a dark wood, reaches the base of a sunlit hill (later described by Virgil as “the mountain of delight, the origin and cause of every joy”) and begins to climb - only to find the way blocked by three beasts. First, a leopard appears.

And almost where the hillside starts to rise - look there! - a leopard, very quick and lithe, a leopard covered with a spotted hide. He did not disappear from sight, but stayed; indeed, he so impeded my ascent that I had often to turn back again.

It is a spring morning, and “the hour and the gentle season” give Dante “good cause for hopefulness” upon seeing the leopard - but then he sees a lion.

but hope was hardly able to prevent the fear I felt when I beheld a lion. His head held high and ravenous with hunger - even the air around him seemed to shudder - this lion seemed to make his way against me.

When the third beast appears, Dante gives up hope entirely.

And then a she-wolf showed herself; she seemed to carry every craving in her leanness; she had already brought despair to many. The very sight of her so weighted me with fearfulness that I abandoned hope of ever climbing up that mountain slope. . . . I retreated down to lower ground.

When you read Dante - in Italian or in translation - nothing you read ever so simple and nothing should be taken at face value. Indeed in the Divine Comedy almost nothing is said without good reason. Take the verse preceding the appearance of the three beasts.

When I had rested my body there a while I then started again up the barren slope the more powerful foot always behind the other

Dante refers to the manner of his climb. He makes the climb with ‘the more powerful foot always behind the other’. One foot (the more powerful) is always behind (lower than) the other. This is a difficult line to interpret. It could of course simply be a description of how someone climbs a hill. You plant one foot in the ground and then push up allowing the other foot to 'land' and secure your position.

If Dante is talking about a stronger (firmer) foot and (presumably then) a weaker foot and talks about the one being lower than the other, there is probably a deeper meaning behind it. In Dante's thought world it was sometimes said that in the 'pilgrimage' towards heaven, we walk on two 'feet' (or legs); the Will and the Intellect. Because the Will, the stronger of the two, is always desiring what it shouldn't, our journey forward towards God is therefore hampered. We limp our way to heaven! So Dante could be saying that his Will lags behind his Intellect as he strives to find the light of God, making his journey up those slopes that much harder. The (weaker) Intellect is having to drag the (stronger) Will upwards towards the divine light.

An alternative explanation is inspired by a comment from St Augustine to the effect that 'love is the foot of the soul', in other words the driving force of the soul's quest for God. So, Dante could be suggesting that his stronger foot (love) pushes his body up the hill towards God. Personally I prefer this more optimistic image of his ascent; after all, he begins his climb in hope and anticipation.

And so we have to ask ourselves as we come to the three beasts, is there a deeper meaning to these animals beyond their physical power and scariness. Yes, there is.

When Dante engages with myths throughout his Inferno, he’s also leaning into this tradition of animals as allegories. He’s striving to teach a lesson, as mythical creatures punish sinful souls for eternity. Invoking creatures from antiquity, Dante’s Inferno moulds pagan hell into a Christian design. These mythical creatures are behemoth reminders for potential sinners about the consequences of their actions.

Even from the opening canto of Dante’s Inferno, we find our titular character lost in a dark and winding wood. As the woods darken, he feels his consciousness enter a strange state - a feeling that he likens to death (Inferno 1.7). As this shroud covers him, Dante encounters the first mythical creatures in the Divine Comedy. Leopards and lions were not native to Italy. Travellers relayed tales of these beasts to illuminators and scribes, and information about them would be published in bestiaries. Leopards were often incorporated into coats of arms when there were descendants of adultery in a lineage. The leopard Dante encounters is “very quick and lithe” (Inferno, 1.32). Perhaps the leopard is meant to symbolise a sin associated with impatience or hubris. Lions were often symbols of Christ, akin to Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia but in this case the lion was “ravenous with hunger” (Inferno 1.46), which may have been a reminder to the reader about the dangers of gluttony.

The importance of animals goes beyond face value. Animals appearing in stories always contain allegories. The beasts symbolised the major categories of sin: incontinence, violence and fraud. Or as they are more commonly called - lust, pride and avarice. In her commentary, Dorothy L. Sayers explains that these categories of sin were associated with the three stages of life - lust with youth, pride (self-conceit) with the middle years and avarice with old age. Of course, they can attack a person at any time of his life.

Symbolism can help us enormously when reading Dante but it is also important I think to try to read the text itself and take clues from the way Dante uses the symbols. The Leopard is mesmerising, clever, quick and very pleased with itself, displaying its gaudy spots for all the world to see. The Lion terrifies even the air around it with its appearance (and presumably its roar) but the most noticeable thing about it from Dante the pilgrim's point of view is how proud it is as it hold its head up high. The third beast, the she-wolf, is one that has brought grief to many people. Her leanness speaks of an insatiable appetite; no matter how much (or how many people!) she eats she never thrives, never grows fat, she is never satisfied.

If Dante's world each of the beasts represented different vices or sins - the leopard as a symbol of lust, the lion a symbol of violent pride and the she-wolf as a symbol of avarice and fraud - then these could also either represent Dante's own besetting sins which prevent him from reaching heaven, or perhaps the three levels of hell which are divided according to the kind of sin committed. In the first circle Dante the pilgrim will find those guilty of avarice and incontinence (not the bowel kind), in the second circle sinners guilty of violence and in the third, those responsible for crimes of treachery and fraud.

It’s easy to see then these animals as symbols of divine judgement on Dante. Dante is not ready to find the divine light. He is still under judgement. His sins have not been dealt with and as we shall learn, only by descending to hell and rising through the mountain of purgatory will he be able to find that light as a 'saved' soul.

All three wild beasts are mentioned in the bible and used as symbols of the kind of fate that will befall the people of God as divine judgment.

In Hosea 13:4-8 God says that he will be like a lion and a leopard (and an angry mother bear!) towards his ungrateful, apostate people.

In Jeremiah 5.1-6, Jeremiah fails to find one godly (just) person in the city of Jerusalem. Failing to do so God promises that judgement will come like this:

Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many. (NIV)

If indeed the wild beasts represent the judgement of God in the Old Testament through Hosea and Jeremiah, in the New Testament they take another form entirely. And this may well have played a part in Dante’s thought. It is entirely possible that Dante is thinking of the Apostle Paul's reference to 'fighting wild beasts in Ephesus' (1 Corinthians 15.32). Of course Paul didn't mean he actually wrestled lions and wild beasts. He meant that dealing with those who opposed him there was just like being a gladiator in the arena fighting lions and bears. And the people who opposed him were the institutions of Ephesus, the city authorities, the trade guilds, the business leaders.

Dante the pilgrim, following in the footsteps of the Apostle struggles with his own 'wild beasts'. the wild beasts who had plotted against him, and exiled him from his native city in 1302. Dante the pilgrim walks in the footsteps of Paul. He also walks in the footsteps of Christ who was alone in the wilderness with the wild beasts for 40 days and 40 nights. Although the the original intention of the gospel writers may have been to conjure up the impression of a restored Eden, for Dante those accounts would have conjured up the idea of conflict and danger.

Like Paul and like Christ, Dante the pilgrim has to struggle with ferocious animals in his journey towards God, just as Dante the writer has had to in his journey.

Who or what then are these forces, these wild animals who prevented Dante from finding the true path? Interestingly these animals were all prized in one way or another in Dante's native Florence.

There is evidence that a leopard and a number of lions were kept and publicly displayed in cages in Florence in Dante's day near what is today the Loggia del Bigallo, as a sign of Florence's power and prestige.

The lion was also part of Florence's coat of arms. Scholars have noted that Dante was familiar with the writings of Richard of St Victor who had associated the leopard with the sins of deceit and fraud. The lion was associated in medieval bestiaries with the sin of avarice (because of its apparently insatiable hunger) as well as with pride. These are 'civic sins' as much as personal vices.

Was it Florence's avarice and pride that was in the front of Dante the writer's mind when he described the leopard's gaudy spots and the lion with its head held high? Is it perhaps the city that had turned against Dante and thrown him out to live a life of exile that prevents the progress of the pilgrim towards paradise?

The she-wolf is the most daunting beast of all. She proceeds terrifyingly, step by step stalking forward, threatening and relentless. Dante comments:

The very sight of her so weighted me with fearfulness that I abandoned hope of ever climbing up that mountain slope. . . . I retreated down to lower ground.

Surprisingly perhaps it is the she-wolf, not the leopard or the lion that finally causes the pilgrim to despair. Wolves were considered to be symbols of fraud and deceit as well as sexual immorality and prostitution.

In his hugely influential work The City of God, St Augustine had commented that in his time prostitutes were known as she-wolves and a brothel was known as a 'wolf den'. He suggested that this verbal link gave rise to the famous origin myth of Rome, according to which the two twins Romulus and Remus, the offspring of the god Mars and the their mother (whom he had raped) Rhea, were abandoned to die but were saved and suckled by a she-wolf. Augustine suggests that instead, they were found and fed by an unknown prostitute i.e. by a 'she-wolf'. From this play on words came the legend that it was a literal she wold who found and fed them. In the City of God (Book 18 chapter 21) Augustine writes as follows:

“Procas ruled before Aemulius. Now Aemulius had made his brother Numitor's daughter, named Rhea, a Vestal Virgin; she was also called Ilia, and was the mother of Romulus. The Romans wish to say that she conceived twins by Mars; for, in this way, they honoured, or excused, her unchastity. They offer as proof of this the legend that, after their exposure, the infants were suckled by a she-wolf. For they hold that this species of animal belongs to Mars; and so, therefore, the she-wolf is believed to have offered her teats to the little children because she recognised in them the sons of Mars, her master.

There is, however, no lack of people who say that, when the exposed infants lay wailing, they were first taken in by some unknown whore, and that hers were the first breasts they sucked - for ‘she wolves’ (lupae) was the name given to whores, which is why houses of ill repute are even now called ‘wolfouses’ (ilupanaria). Afterwards, it is said, they came into the care of a shepherd called Faustulus, and were nurtured by his wife Acca. And yet if, in order to convict the man who was king, and who had cruelly commanded that these infants be cast into the water, God willed to help the children through whom such a great city was to be founded, and to have them rescued from the water by His divine intervention and suckled by a wild animal: is there anything very wonderful in this? “

- Translated by W. Dyson (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

So, according to Augustine, it wouldn't be surprising if God had supplied a real she-wolf to find and feed the abandoned babies, because God is merciful and just, but in fact the stories he has heard suggest a different explanation. Namely that it was a human 'she-wolf', a whore, who had found them.

It is also interesting that Augustine links the god Mars with the story. The wolf, he says, is one of Mars' own creatures' i.e. a beast with a special affinity to Mars. Is it relevant that the city of Florence had adopted Mars as its own patron 'star'? It may also be relevant that the name of the Guelf faction, some of whom had ordered Dante's expulsion from Florence, was linked to the German word for wolf (Welf). Dante's enemies in Florence were 'wolves'. It seems the clue lay in the name.

But it may not have been only Florence Dante wanted to suggest to readers' minds. In addition it seems that by the time Dante wrote the Divine Comedy the Papal Curia had adopted as its own symbol the famous statue of Romulus and Remus suckling from the mother she-wolf on the Capitoline Hill. The she-wolf was of course the defining myth of Rome’s founding. Several ancient sources refer to statues depicting the wolf suckling the twins. Livy reports in his Roman history that a statue was erected at the foot of the Palatine Hill in 295 BC. Pliny the Elder mentions the presence in the Roman Forum of a statue of a she-wolf that was "a miracle proclaimed in bronze nearby, as though she had crossed the Comitium while Attus Navius was taking the omens". Cicero also mentions a statue of the she-wolf as one of a number of sacred objects on the Capitoline that had been inauspiciously struck by lightning in 65 BC: "it was a gilt statue on the Capitol of baby being given suck from the udders of a wolf." Cicero also mentions the wolf in De Divinatione 1.20 and 2.47.

The Capitoline Wolf was widely assumed to be the very sculpture described by Cicero, due to the presence of damage to the sculpture's paw, which was believed to correspond to the lightning strike of 65 BC. The 18th-century German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann attributed the statue to an Etruscan maker in the fifth century BC, based on how the wolf's fur was depicted. It was first attributed to the Veiian artist Vulca, who decorated the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and then reattributed to an unknown Etruscan artist of around 480 - 470 BC.

So for centuries The Capitoline Wolf was almost universally recognised as an Etruscan statue from the early part of the 5th century BC. It was only in 2006 that an Italian art historian and restorer, Anna Maria Carruba, published a detailed critique against the accepted view. She argued that the bronze had been cast with a method unknown in classical times, and that marks left by the artist on its surface were more typical of the Middle Ages. Barely a year later in 2007, Rome’s top archaeologist and heritage advisor, Prof. Adriano La Regina, reported that over 20 tests using radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating don at the University of Salerno suggested that the wolf portion of the statue may have been cast between 1021 and 1153. Overnight one ancient Rome’s oldest artefacts became one of city’s youngest.

Given the pride and place of this famous statue, The Capitoline Wolf, given by the Church of Dante’s time, it adds an extra dimension to any reading Dante’s words about the she-wolf. For the wolf, the creature of Mars, the symbol of Rome and now of the church was a big thing in 13th century Italy. It is this beast that scares Dante the most, that strips away his hope and forces him to turn around. It is this beast he says which has been ‘the despair of many’. It is not a surprise then to find that throughout the Inferno he likens various damned souls to wolves.

Again the bible may have played a part in his thinking Jesus warned his disciples to watch out for the false prophets, the wolves who come dressed in sheep's clothing. Ithink it’s too much of a stretch to say it was a direct attack on the church or the papacy of Boniface VIII but it does lend credence to the possibilities of personal corruption for those in the church who flirted with earthly temptations and sins - the very sins that destroyed souls and blocked humanity’s upward path to heavenly salvation.

For Dante there was no distinction between the inner and the outer person or between the individual and social. The individual did not live a life apart from his or her wider life in the state and in the church. Sin was something that affected everything and everyone. These beasts may well represent sin or vices with which Dante the writer was only too familiar in his own experience but to me it seems highly likely that they represent above all the forces he saw around him which, in his mínd, prevented people finding the beauty and love of God. The Apostle fought his wild beasts in Ephesus. Dante fought his in Florence.

The mythical figures featured in Dante’s Inferno lean on a long tradition of animals as allegory. As Dante journeys through the realms of the afterlife, these beings can lend a helping hand on the long and winding road through hell, purgatory, and heaven. While the creatures of the Inferno intend to scare sinners straight, they themselves also suffer as the embodiment of their respective sins.

While hell is where sinners languish, it remains a complex and captivating place. Dante filled his entire Divine Comedy with bizarre creatures from across literature, and they serve a similar purpose to any beast in a story: to distill morals or a lesson. Their presence makes the story memorable, even for modern readers like us today.

Dante’s Inferno brings readers on a journey through hell, replete with allegories from across time like sitting through a hellscape of a Schiaparelli haute couture fashion show during Paris Fashion Week. As time wears on, Inferno’s wild beasts offer captivating perspectives on our very modern sins of lust for affirmation, pride in our self-centredness, and an avarice for material comfort.

But I don’t wish to end on a downer because Dante is not a pessimistic poet. Most readers never proceed beyond the macabre thrills of Dante’s ‘Inferno’, with its grotesquely inventive torments. Those who do ascend from the “Inferno” find some of Dante’s most lyrical verse in his ‘Purgatorio’. But it is the least-read of the three books, ‘Paradiso’, that makes sense of the other two. It shows, Dante was not just a poet of crisis, but also a poet of hope:

The ‘Divine Comedy’ is that rarest thing, an epic poem with a hopeful ending. It is about getting a second chance - and ultimately finding joy, a Christian understanding of joy in the light of God’s saving grace.

91 notes · View notes

erinarigby · 2 months

Note

That's what I really like about your art, your use of shadows portray their ambiguity towards themselves and each other. We are all heroes in our own minds, so everything we do is justified to ourselves even tho outside observers don't agree. John & Paul were both too selfish to accept each other's whole selves and so it all broke apart. They put themselves first and refused to acknowledge the needs of the other. Funnily enough this seems to happen in reverse where they started out more accepting but then as fame ate away at them they became more judgmental and harsh to each other. "What have you done for me lately?" That's why I love the tender strangulation painting & the one where Paul is gripped in the act of conception while sitting on John's member. Those two paintings really capture their dynamic in a way I haven't seen before.

Christianity is built on a strict vertical pyramid hierarchy. It attempts to level the field a little bit with the presence of Christ but Christians insist on enforcing the hierarchy instead of accepting His lessons into our souls. Jung wrote that his main beef with Christianity was that it was static and didn't evolve its myth. It impresses its followers with the need to stay stagnant hence why so many Christians are frightened of change and why it's so easy for Christianity to traumatize regular people. I experienced that myself, I won't burden you with the details but I don't go to church anymore because of it.

I've only just started studying Buddhism but it seems to me that Buddhism is actually very similar to the internet: the hierarchy is horizontal, not vertical. Christianity has a massive emphasis on legalism and bureaucracy and who has power over who/personal status which is why John and George rejected it. Whereas on the internet, anyone can and will talk back to you and your credentials don't mean shit especially you're a credentialed person high on the vertical hierarchy and you get caught making a mistake. Your place in the pyramid does not protect you on the internet, you have to prove yourself everyday.

Buddhism strikes me as similar in that yeah mutual respect is a requirement but there's not as much emphasis on status and everyone has something to learn and something to teach, there are Masters but they're trying to nudge you towards independence instead of forcing their opinions on you. Everyone is trapped in the cycle and all we can do is help ourselves and each other try to climb out rendering us all on the same miserable plane. Meanwhile the churches desperately want that pyramid back to ensure suffering and resent the internet for destroying it.

I would even go so far as to say that the Beatles are popular because they operate on a horizontal hierarchy where they busted up the vertical pyramid if western music classes (classical at the top, rock and roll underneath the bottom) and then refused to become kings, staying in touch with their roots as much as they were able. They remain relatable and thus not only did their music continually renew itself, they also busted up their own vertical pyramids with each new album. Quite an event in human history, eternally tragic that Jung did not live to give us his personal take on them.

John&Paul may have survived if they had approached their relationship with the same horizontal mindset they took to their music. Instead verticality and status obsession resulted in mutual resentment and misunderstanding which destroyed them. Very sad state of affairs and a cautionary tale for us all.

first off, thank you so much! i try to make my art purposely ambiguous because i want to see what type of story people can come up or infer from it. i’ve always been inspired by surrealist artists (i did a master study of salvador’s dalí’s most famous work) and have done callbacks to rené magritte’s work as well, i was very happy when i learnt of paul’s admiration for his art.

on my lenmac depictions on my art, again i’ve always been fascinated by the less savory parts of their relationship. my art has sensual / erotic themes but it’s not for the purpose of sexual arousal which i want to make clear. i was so frustrated when my artwork was accused of being pornography when it’s not. (not demeaning any creatives who make artwork for such purposes) but it felt like it was missing the point of what messages and themes i portray in my work. i have people who see these artworks as intimate and sweet, people who see it as sensual and erotic, i welcome all interpretations except accusing me of sexualizing lenmac just because. i’m really honored i could bring something new to the table in depictions of them, its the least i can do. but basically with my art i want to push boundaries but it’s not shock content for the sake of shocking the audience, i want to show a part of their relationship that people don’t really do in visual art.

regarding the topic of religion: from my experience of my upbringing in a buddhist household, there really is less of an emphasis of being controlled by a specific temple or like a person. there’s the dalai lama but that’s one sect of buddhism, my family follows mahayana buddhism so obviously there’s no reason to follow him. though, i noticed there’s a false perception that buddhism is always progressive and inherently better than christianity. my mom is a devout buddhist, but is conservative in her other beliefs. violence in myanmar and sri lanka have been perpetrated and justified by buddhists for the sake of religion. (both of these events are too complicated for me to explain fully) but my point here is that buddhism isn’t a perfect spiritual escape that most people perceive it as to be. back to my own personal experience, i remember in a conversation with my therapist my therapist who has the same ethnic and religious background as me talked about how buddhists parents tend to be conservative and harsh on their children for no good reason at all.

also i feel like people don’t really see a difference between hinduism and buddhism either, even i struggled a bit with seeing a distinction since there are similar beliefs but the caste system. converts and outsiders (like the beatles) aren’t really taught this part of the religion so it makes me think about the issue of hierarchy between john and paul and the whole india trip fiasco. i wonder what would of happened in a universe where the beatles decided to go the buddhist spirituality route instead of hindu.

#ask #long post

3 notes · View notes

kamas-corner · 5 months

Text

"Al igual que el narrador de 𝑨𝒍 𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒆ñ𝒐 que se pregunta si la gente «se detiene alguna vez a reflexionar sobre la inmensa importancia que de vez en cuando tienen los sueños», Lovecraft vivía por y para sus sueños. En ellos experimentaba «una extraña sensación de expectación y de aventura, relacionada con el paisaje, con la arquitectura y con ciertos efectos de las nubes en el cielo». Esos continuos viajes imaginarios, que en un principio constituían para él una simple evasión de la realidad, se convirtieron rápidamente en parte esencial de su obra: a nivel metafórico constituían un espacio para la experiencia transformadora, el descubrimiento personal. A través del sueño y el vuelo de la fantasía compens�� su escasa movilidad física y viajó más lejos que nadie. «El deportado que he sido ha comprendido también que esa ruta de evasión existe, y que lleva muy lejos, mucho más allá de las alambradas de púas». Los puntos de vista de Lovecraft sobre la realidad y los sueños están expuestos admirablemente en 𝑯𝒚𝒑𝒏𝒐𝒔 y en especial en 𝑳𝒂 𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂, que más que un relato es una alegoría o apólogo filosófico, la auténtica autobiografía espiritual del literato."

Juan Antonio Molina Foix. 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝑽𝒐𝒍. 1/ 𝑯. 𝑷. 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕. Valdemar (Gótica). 2011.

Imagen: Salvador Dalí

#Juan Antonio Molina Foix #lovecraft #salvador dali #arte #pintura #surrelism #surealart #surreal #surrealismo #escritos #pensamientos #fragmentos #literatura #escritores #libros #literatura universal

5 notes · View notes

tilbageidanmark · 5 months

Text

Movies I watched this week (#172):

"May I watch you eat?"

The taste of things is the latest French 'Food-porn' movie, following the recipe of so many before it, and paying homage especially to 'Babette's Feast', with Juliette Binoche playing the simple cook Stéphane Audran in a similar style. They knew what they were doing, romanticizing the 'olde thyme' vision of culinary bliss, making it like a summertime Renoir tableaux [but without any of the dozens of assistants needed to chop the wood, peel the potatoes, pluck the geese, and do the dishes]. Food as love.

I saw it on the same day I read this article about 'The Hottest Restaurant in France', which got me in the mood.

🍿

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive me..."

Samsara is not Ron Flicke's film of the same name (him of the The Qatsi Trilogy). But this 2023 film too is a meditative, spiritual essay about life, death and change. It specifically tells about the Buddhist idea of re-incarnation.

Like the Italian poem 'Le quattro volte' it transforms the philosophical concept of 'Bardo' into a visual story about a bed-ridden old Laotian woman who turns into a new-born goat in Africa after her death. And like Philip Gröning's patient 'Into Great Silence', it follows the simple life in a monastery, quietly and poetically. (Photo Above).

It tells two separate stories: A young boy reads from 'The Tibetan book of the Dead' to a dying woman in a village in Laos. And exactly at midpoint, there's an unexplained, abstract 2001 "Star Gate" light show, where the (Spanish) director asks the audience to close their eyes, and get lost in the vortex with her for about 15 minutes. Long stretch of strobe lights and strange dead sounds, as her soul travels though the afterlife into new birth. Then her spirit transmutes into an another form, as a pet goat for a young Muslim girl in Zanzibar. It's a fragile, silent and unfocused vision about the circle of life.

🍿

Thoroughbreds, my second unsettling thriller by Cory Finley (after 'Bad Education'), his accomplished debut feature. It tells of two rich, psychopathic Connecticut girls who scheme to murder, a-la Raskolnikov, the mean father of the richer one. Terrific direction choices and well-made execution, but I can't stand the young, unlikable actresses (and actors!), and their emotionally-stunted upper-class coldness left me cold too.

I loved JunePictures's lovely animated logo at the beginning!

🍿

Invention for Destruction, a Jules Verne steampunk'ish adventure fable. It was made by Karel Zeman, the "Czech Méliès", in 1958, and is considered "the most successful film in the history of Czech cinema". It's a fantasy sci-fi story that includes rollerskating camels, underwater biking pirates, a giant man-eating octopus, submarines with duck-foot paddles, Etc. It mixes real-life acting with special effect Victorian engravings and animation, including traditional, cut-out, and stop-motion, along with miniature effects and matte paintings. 4/10.

🍿

2 by French feminist Germaine Dulac:

🍿 Dulac was a radical, impressionist, avant-garde film-maker who had made ground-breaking surrealist silent films even before Buñuel and Dalí made 'The Andalusian Dog'.

The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923) is a strong feminist story of an intelligent woman unhappily married who's dreaming of killing her boorish husband. It includes a literal Chekhov's gun. [*Female Director*].

🍿 The Seashell and the Clergyman is based on an experimental story by avant-garde artist Antonin Artaud. A year before 'Un Chien Andalou', it's just as opaque & untamed. Anybody interested in early Buñuel, should visit her films. It's about the "erotic hallucinations of a priest lusting after the wife of a general." Distorted images, bizarre fantasies, impolite subversions... [*Female Director*].

🍿

Another silent era classic, made by a towering pioneer, Alice Guy Blaché's 1906 The Life of Christ. [On IMDb, Alice Guy is credited with directing 464 (!) films, producing 32 and writing 18!]. Composed of 25 individual tableaux, telling of mostly his last days, and noted for her focus on his mostly women followers. The poor baby who had to play Jesus in the manger!... [*Female Director*].

🍿

Crack-up, a confusing 1946 Film Noir, made by a second-rated director, with a terrible script and bad acting all around, including the miscast Pat O'Brien. A stolen art piece, not up to 'The Maltese Falcon' levels. 2/10.

🍿

"I was drugged and left for dead in Mexico, and all I got was this stupid T shirt."

A single re-watch this week: the sophisticated mystery The Game, again♻️. Still my favorite David Fincher film, even more than 'The social Network'. With the magnificent Memory montage opening, which was also copied successfully by the show 'Succession'. Chasing a "White Rabbit", a birthday present to remember...

🍿

2 more selections from the US National Film Registry:

🍿 I am somebody is a 1970 documentary about a strike by 400 black hospital employees (all but 12 women) for better pay in Charleston, South Carolina. Racist discrimination against poor blacks in Amerika is so appalling and so deep, it's hard to watch. The fight for equality and civil rights never ended. 9/10. [*Female Director*].

🍿 Jammin' the Blues is a 1944 Warner Bros. jazz short featuring Lester Young and (new to me) singer Marie Bryant. Oscar nominated in 1944. 'Smokin'!

🍿

I used to really like British magician Darren Brown, and saw many of his shows. Pushed to the edge (2016) is a disturbing experiment in social compliance, a-la Stanley Milgram, taken to the extreme. With dubious morality, he manipulates an unsuspecting guy to push another man from the roof of a building. But the more elaborate the set up, the more uncomfortable it is to watch it.

🍿

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a lame, loud, shallow music mockumentary by The Lonely Island. It had only one good number, "Fucked Bin Ladin" (which came at 46:00, exactly one hour before the end, so they did follow some script writing rules after all..) and about one million celebrity cameos, including Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. 2/10.

🍿

In They're Made Out Of Meat (2005) two aliens meet in a night Diner. One of them tell the other, dressed in St. Pepper-type uniform that he discovers that all people on this planet are "made out of meat". It's a cute concept, but that's the whole thing, and there's not more to it.

RIP, Terry Bisson!

🍿

Semiotics of the Kitchen was an angry installation piece by artist Martha Rosler, at the heights of the second wave feminism years (1975). A parody of a cooking show, where the host gets more and more agitated. [*Female Director*].

🍿

(My complete movie list is here)

#movies #samsara

4 notes · View notes

withloveanye · 3 months

Text

Cada artista tem uma obra de arte favorita, a preferida, aquela que consideram orgulho e sinônimo de perfeição.

Mas sem dúvida, nesta galeria de arte chamada vida, você é uma obra única, a mais perfeita.

O teu sorriso é mais bonito do que o de Gioconda, e Da Vinci sabe disso porque, ao olhar para ti, o seu coração dispara, as suas batidas fazem sentido e dançam ao som do amor.

Seus olhos são mais bonitos que o surrealismo e Dalí aceita, porque até ele entende que seu olhar o leva além da realidade e o deixa sem razão, espantado porque não há como encontrar uma explicação para tudo que eles produzem com apenas olhar.

Seus cabelos são como pinceladas finas que nem o próprio Van Gogh poderia ter feito ou imitado e é por isso que, quando ele olha para você, fica pasmo com a emoção da beleza que há neles, da suavidade com que são feitos e a maneira tão majestosa com que te adornam.

Seu corpo, cada membro que faz parte de você é tão linear e correto que Michelangelo desmaia diante de você, pois a assimetria de seu corpo é pura perfeição e magnificência, não há nada que pudesse ser considerado mais perfeito no mundo, porque mesmo aquilo que você chama de defeitos são elevados.

O teu coração brilhante e puro, a tua alma cristalina, a tua inteligência e sabedoria são como delicadas linhas e expressões que até Gustave Flaubert desejaria desenhar, pois são tão impressionantes que deixam espantado quem se digne a contemplar e tentar compreender a obra de arte que você é.

Mesmo com aqueles monumentos que merecem ser apreciados no museu da galeria mais apreciada, poderia escrever e debater que és a mais bela, única, especial e acima de tudo já existente, obra de arte. Mais que perfeita, uma obra de arte tão real quanto você.

Feliz aniversário, que papai do céu continue nos abençoando, amo te ter e amo você ❤️

#amor #aniversário #notas de amor

6 notes · View notes

wonkaautismtruther · 2 years

Text

Can we just take a second to appreciate how AMAZING this program from Zwolse Theaters is (where the Dutch CatCF Tour ran a few weeks ago) [design by Viesrood]

Like, it goes hard as-is but it's even BETTER when you know about the choices that were made for the Dutch Tour and how they are represented in this program.

[📸s by Nathalie Dekkers]

The designers of the Dutch Tour made the choice that Wonka should be an surrealist artist of sorts. (Which is why I'll forever be upset we didn't get Simply Second Nature in our soundtrack, it would've fit so well)

There are multiple references to 20th century surrealists, such as Salvador Dalí, but more explicitly: René Magritte. Especially in the Mixing Room there's a lot of references. The Giant Mixing Cup™ is... Well:

The Elephant design was based off Dalí's work, when you take a look at his 1948 work "Elephants", you'll see how.

When the Tour enters the Mixing Room, when only the Elephants head is shown, however, one of the first things Charlie says is "that's an elephant", to which Wonka replies by showing us what's written on the box surrounding it: "ceci n'est pas un éléphant." Probably the clearest art reference in the show: a reference to Magritte's 1929 painting La Trahison des Images.

It is in this room Wonka wears a different hat as well:

But wait! I recognise that hat from somewhere! Oh right! Magritte's famous Son Of Man (1964)

But, maybe even more clearly referenced by the program, Man in a Bowler Hat (1964)

And that's why I'm going absolutely feral over this program. They understood so well what vibe the Dutch Tour was going for and that's amazing.

#catcf #charlie and the chocolate factory #catcf dutch tour #catcf musical #art #rené magritte #salvador dali

26 notes · View notes

magnetized-by-mapi · 2 years

Text

Exploradoras Vol. II, part 1. Mapi & Ingrid weekend adventures, February 18-19, 2023. They went to Cadaqués, which is about 106 miles (170 km) north of Barcelona (2 hour drive). This is a Catalan town on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean sea.

Mapi always looks so happy, especially whenever she is with Ingrid. Her smile kills me.

The geology here is unique. The rocks here were pushed up when the Pyrenees were formed, and are mostly metamorphic schists which turn a golden color in the Mediterranean sun. Add to that the weather: this is one of the wildest spots on the Costa Brava in the winter (Costa Brava means "wild coast"), so the migmatites and schists are battered and eroded by the Tramuntana wind which whips off the mountains and by a sea that appears as if it is boiling in the force 8 winds. The Cadaqués migmatites formed under extreme pressure and temperatures: a partial melt. They are halfway between an igneous and metamorphic rock. It also has the easternmost point in Spain / the Iberian peninsula.

There is strong art history in this area as well. Salvador Dalí lived here, as well as Pablo Picasso and several other artists.

#mapi leon #mapi león #maria leon #ingrid engen #mapi and ingrid #mapi smile #mapi goofy #mapi hiking #exploradoras #hiking #vacation #mapi vacation #food #mapi casual #off pitch #casual #fcb #fcb femení #fc barcelona femeni

29 notes · View notes

byneddiedingo · 7 months

Text

Lya Lys in L'Âge d'Or (Luis Buñuel, 1930)

Cast: Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Caridad de Laberdesque, Max Ernst, Artigas, Lionel Salem, Germaine Noizet, Bonaventura Ibáñez. Screenplay: Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, based on a novel by the Marquis de Sade. Cinematography: Albert Duverger. Production design: Alexandre Trauner. Film editing: Luis Buñuel.

Salvador Dalí was a bit of a hack, more interested in making money off of the bourgeoises he affected to mock than in advancing his art. So it was inevitable that he and Luis Buñuel would part ways, especially after Dalï turned to the right, supporting Francisco Franco and embracing Catholicism. Although their collaboration produced two extraordinary films, the 1929 short Un Chien Andalou and the feature L'Âge d'Or, it was Buñuel's career that proved to be the more lasting in terms of critical respect. And if there's anything memorable about L'Âge d'Or, it's Buñuel's ability to bring the Surrealist aesthetic to life in semi-narrative fashion. The extent of Dalí's actual contribution to the film has always been somewhat in question, especially since one target of the film's satire is the Catholic Church, which Dalí never quite abandoned before returning to it enthusiastically. The movie is essentially a series of vignettes, starting with documentary-like section on scorpions, then tracing the efforts of a couple to consummate their love, always frustrated by conventional society and religion, and concluding with an episode derived from the Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom, in which a group of people emerge from a castle where they have been participating in an orgy, led by a man who looks like Jesus. Bizarre images -- a cow in a bed, a woman sucking the toe of a marble statue, a cross decorated with the scalps of women, and so on -- punctuate the entire film, which is often unsettling and often very funny. The film's assault on the complacency of the bourgeoisie would become a constant in Buñuel's films, and the party scene clearly anticipates the experiences of the trapped partygoers in The Exterminating Angel (1962) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). David Thomson has noted the similarity of the country house party in Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game (1939), pointing out that the gamekeeper in Renoir's film is played by Gaston Modot, who is the male half of the central couple in L'Âge d'Or, but I think we can also see its influence in such French New Wave landmarks as Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961) and La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961).

#L'Âge d'Or #Luis Buñuel #Lya Lys

3 notes · View notes

ninarobinson-author · 2 years

Text

Little Ashes: The Surreal Insanity of Dalí

Dalí the Dandy Villain - in the film little fascist, I mean "Little Ashes."

Warnings: nudity, fascism, homophobia, cursing, anarchy, politics, war, death (minor) +++Queer Fanfic at the end

Affiliations: revolutionary, change, taboo, disruption,

oppression, repression

art, poetry, politics

Odd, strange, bizarre, different, atypical, queer, avant garde

("Little Ashes:" Setting: Spain 1922)

Dali's World:

Dali doesn’t maintain a single and continual persona like most healthy people. Dali creates a new personality as he would create a new piece of art. It's too boring to stay the same. A person needs to switch things up every now and then to keep things interesting. Especially for creative geniuses. He is not humble; he knows that he is a genius. Dali is in fact, a self proclaimed monarch. He knows he is a king and will hold himself in high esteem. Dali is highly delusional and egocentric, but that is just how artists are, right? Dali lacks authentic emotion; he is detached from reality and chooses to live in only Dali’s world. His mannerism and gestures are like a baby in a rocking chair. He is both naive and dictatorial. Much of the time Dali seems to be staring off into space, mute, having no personality and then suddenly acting erratic.

In contrast to King Salvador, Federico Garcia Lorca is very polite, according to Luis. In Federico's poem (“The Soul of the West Wind") he writes about butterflies, thrills, and god. Luis thinks his writing is a bit too Andalusian. He thinks Federico is in danger of becoming bourgeois. He says his writing is “bloody good,” it's just the subject of his writing is lacking passion, or as they call it "duende." Duende here meaning, "a passion on the edge of life and death." Luis would prefer if he wrote something more political such as the decapitation of a "putrid priest in Zaragoza."

(Luis Buñuel and Federico García Lorca)

Luis: “What does Federico Garcia Lorca feel about all these bloody butterflies?” “What makes him angry?” “What turns him on?”

The most magical moment in the film is when Dali makes his first appearance. The audience sees a nervous Dali anxiously awaiting his first day at the art college.

(Salvador Dalí)

The spectators see an absurd creature stand before them. Lorca feels a fresh wind of change entering his life.

(Arrival at Art College in Madrid, Spain)

Dali is new and has not yet found out who he is as an artist. Whereas, Lorca is well known at the college and has made strides in his work. Having already been published and gained wider fame even beyond the college. Dali, having already been privy to Lorca’s work, looks up to Lorca and admires this writing.

(Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí)

(Federico García Lorca)

Salvador uses Federico as his muse to inspire better paintings. He sees Lorca as the pinnacle of artistic inspiration. Although in truth, Lorca may have lost his duende and seems to have hit a plateau in his creative work. That is where the fresh and intriguing Dali has come in to help. Federico is fascinated by Dali and inflamed, quite literally turned on by his presence. It seems as though Salvador is also lacking a reason to paint as he can’t put his brush to a canvas for the first thirty-eight minutes of the film. When he does have a brush in his hand he looks stressed and frustrated. Much of the time Salvador is shown to be sneaking voyeuristic glances at Federico. This is the spark that the two needed in order to produce work that is inspired and passionate. At first, the dynamic between the two is like a game of cat and mouse. This push and pull could signify the tension it takes to create, before finally giving in and creating a piece of art.

Salvador was like most any other college student, lost, unsure of himself and begging for attention. The only way to capture the attention of the famous Federico Garcia Lorca was to quietly draw him into his web. He was strategic in his methods. Making himself appear to be in the right place at the right time, not to come off as trying too hard. He wanted Lorca to view him as intellectual and artistic, just as he views Lorca. His methods were adolescent. He placed a canvas that he had already finished painting on the easel. He assumed the pose of an artist, leaving his door wide open as to be seen by anyone who happened to be passing by, and ‘accidentally’ dropping his paint brushes as Luis Bunuel was walking by. However, Luis was on to his game and commented on his “strategically placed copy of Freud.”

(Luis Buñuel)

Dali is like a spider in how he captures his prey. At first, he was unassuming, as a spider’s web is unassuming. It is only when the prey is caught in the web does it realize how insidious the web becomes when initially it seems inviting and delicately sprung. That is, until the spider encases its prey with the same means that drew it in, and devours it with pleasure.

(An unassuming Salvador Dalí)

Attention*****Tumblr has limited my use of images. If you want to continue reading with any kind of viewing pleasure, click this link to head to the official blog post on my website. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Or continue reading without visual aid....

Dali joins a group of equally interesting and talented gentlemen and women. Dali is treated like a collected piece of art himself, as he is described as yet another acquisition of Luis Bunuel. The only ones brave enough to consider themselves genius are Dali and Lorca. The group appears to be a sort of rat pack. All sharing the same artistic airs of snobbery and frivolities. The woman called Magdalena claimed to have read eighty books over the holidays, when she had only read ten. This is just one example of the kind of performative intellectualism that goes on among these college students. This is normal behavior for this age group, as well as a common tendency of most artistically inclined people. They appear to believe that if they act as a great artist they may eventually turn into one.

Salvador, Federico, Luis, Magdalena and others

Since I am no history buff, I may not have a grasp on the details of the political nature in Spain in the nineteen-twenties. However, I can feel the spirit of revolution and necessary change that the anarchists propose. This is why I love Luis Bunuel’s commentary throughout the film. He is a no nonsense, honest type. Despite his unfortunate homophobic attitude, his commentary is bang on.

Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí

Bunuel is clearly into politics, and he holds what at that time, seems to be extreme beliefs. He wants the corruption purged from his country, by the most swift of means.

Luis Buñuel and Federico García Lorca

Lorca also shares this strong sense of liberation. Bunuel, being a part the Ultraism underground movement, takes Lorca and Dali to a low profile puppet show. The show highlights their political beliefs in a very humorous manner, but the message is clear. The pope is living in gross wealth by stealing from the people through taxation. While the people are living like peasants do, starving. They simply want freedom in their country. I can’t see why these democratic beliefs wouldn't have a wider appeal among the general populace. They have to go on about their political perspectives while hidden away in a hole in the wall.

We get another unforgettable scene in the film. At twenty-one minutes into the film, the tension is palpable. Lorca seems to have consciously discovered his admiration for Dali. In the scene, he is a little too obviously staring at Dali, yearning for him even. Then within a few micro expressions, he momentarily attempts to hide it, and finally he seems ashamed. Dali is unaware of Lorca’s staring, then he catches on, and is left equally embarrassed.

Little Ashes is perversely delightful. It inspires you to throw caution to the wind and do the things that most are afraid to do. Whether that be artistically, socially, politically, or sexually.

The funniest scene is the aftermath of this, with Federico’s realization of his desire for Salvador.

Federico García Lorca

Although both men are assumed to be straight, they experiment with their sexuality as they do their with their creative endeavors. This nineteen-twenties society doesn’t exactly welcome maricóns with open arms. Feddy is repenting for his “impure thoughts” of Salvador. He prays to be freed of this black widow spider. He continues to avoid him like the plague. There is a scene where Federico sees Salvador walking up the stairwell, and he reacts as though he has witnessed the devil incarnate himself.

This scene is not just about portraying Federico running from his homosexuality, this scene portrays the villainous energy of Salvador Dali and says a lot about Salvador as a character. Salvador stands for everything that is taboo and different. Dali is, by nature, a rare creature. He is artistic and strangely enchanting. Salvador Dali is the villain. His very existence threatens the established order. He is a disruption to society, the art world and to the people around him. He is capable of corrupting the status quo in the most interesting and unexpected of ways. Salvador Dali is a rare gem that Bunuel and Lorca were lucky enough to collect. Dali himself is like a fine painting worth billions. Ultimately, though, unlike a piece of art, he has the freedom to walk away anytime he likes. Dali cannot simply be owned like a painting.

Lorca despite his revolutionary aspirations, comes across as still rather old fashioned in some kind of way. Lorca is well mannered and morally righteous. He is the type to pray, respect his teachers and be diplomatic. Dali is alienated from any kind of normal demeanor and disregardful of the traditional niceties of society. He doesn’t care about keeping the peace and will be downright disrespectful and rowdy at times. Initially, it was this very chaotic behavior and strange persona that drew Lorca to him. In the end, the two grew apart and became too different to coexist with each other. Lorca grew tired of Dali’s games and found him to be displeasing. Perhaps it was Dali’s new admiration for fascism that put a bad taste in his mouth. After seeing so many of Dali’s childish antics, I personally can’t take anything he did seriously. For Lorca this stood against everything he was fighting for, and was unforgivable. Dali was a man of varied and extreme tastes.

Dali is certainly queer. Although it is a matter of semantics, I don’t think Dali was truly gay or at least not looking for a real relationship with Federico. Dali is so artistically inclined that he would be willing to try anything once and will quickly move on to the next thing that captures his attention. Federico just happened to be one of Dali’s many fixations. This is shown when Dali suddenly leaves Federico in Spain and goes to Paris with Bunuel to contribute to his play and advance his artistic predilections. In defense of Dali, I don’t believe that he was truly cold hearted. He merely had a higher vision and purpose to his life. Dali lives for art. Dali creates art but he also lives by the philosophy of art. Art cannot be understood logically but it has to be felt. Dali likes to feel energized and free. He is like a bird, he may leave Lorca today to fly to Paris, but by tomorrow he will be back to share his spoils. As a piece of art may be interpreted, you must interpret Dali’s actions.

Salvador Dalí

On the surface, Salvador Dali is a villain. Indeed he is the villain. But in the same thread, he is also the absurdist hero. Despite every dastardly action of Dali we root for him anyway. For the sake of the human spirit to be free! Dali is a rich well of multitudes of colors, like a rainbow. Perhaps Dali’s sexuality was as fluid as a rainbow and not so easily defined by human words. Each day he chooses a different color that will surprise and shock. Dali is disgustingly weak and fragile and in others he is brave and inventive. His transformation from the start of college to the beginning of his fame is like witnessing a train wreck come back from destruction.

Salvador Dalí

Interestingly enough, it does not appear that Federico was gay either. As he is always shown to be intertwined with Magdalena. Unless, you consider his relationship with Magdalena a performance. There is definitely a lot homophobic rhetoric and symbolism going on throughout the film, so it is likely that both Lorca and Dali felt internalized homophobia. Especially with the pressure from the larger conservative and violent society. Even their close friend, Luis Bunuel is shown as highly homophobic and threatens violence on the maricons.

Human relationships can be ambiguous so who can truly say. Queerness and artistic persuasions are similar, in that they creatively break the norms of society. It’s a good parallel to use to understand the revolutionary emotions of the film. Political freedom, artistic expression, and sexual liberty can all be frightening and exhilarating. I don’t think the focus of the film is only about sexuality. Salvador Dali is an artist that you cannot fully capture, there is something about him that you just can’t put your finger on. That is why Federico cannot understand Dali. He is not supposed to. The film is really great at doing just that. Dali is equally mystical and insane. I use insane pretty loosely here. I should really be using the word surreal when describing Dali.

Another way you can view their relationship, is that they admire each other’s creations so much that they wanted to make their art come alive in a more “raw” expression. As Bunuel said, both Dali and Lorca are “self-titled geniuses.” Love for oneself to an extent can become narcissism. Each became fascinated with the other due to seeing the reflection of their own genius in the other. Were they truly falling in love with one another or just falling in love with their own reflection? Ultimately, falling in love with the reflection of their own artistic sentiments. Much of the ambiguous nature of their relationship can be left to interpretation and is wonderfully captured in the film.

I do think Dali is absolutely savage in all of his expressions. With the way he behaves, it's any wonder how he can practically live in the real world outside of his artistic daydreams. Understanding Lorca’s success is easy because he has every positive affiliation under the sun. You feel that he has slowly and surely built a name for himself in the standard fashion. Dali is so disruptive that the surrealists literally “expelled him from the movement.” Creativity is by nature, a chaotic and destructive thing. That is why Dali detests the art college professors from critiquing him. Giving a commendable villainous speech on how he disapproves of the professors wasting his talent and showcasing how useless they are.

Salvador: “Gentlemen, I have returned from Paris with the conclusion that the entire amount of real, artistic knowledge contained within this panel of professors is not equal to one half of this. This, my fingernail. Not one half, gentlemen. And I’ve been insulting myself, by letting your shoddy practices, your pathetic outdated theories, and questionable character shit on my genius. I hope with all my heart that you’ll realize I am right and give up this foolishness and go back to the pigsties and the haystacks where you might be of some real use.”

Salvador Dalí roasting the art professors

Dali does not need the approval of anyone. He is willing to burn any bridge that stands in the way of his creativity. That is pretty savage. It is this quality that Magdalena admires in Salvador and the very reason she invites him to her aunt’s “legendarily dull dinner parties.” When someone says party, they instantly think of Dali. An actual quote from Salvador Dali comes to mind, “I don’t do drugs, I am a drug.” She even says that it is vital for her aunt to know people such as Salvador. He is a good representation of the revolutionary ideology that her conservative aunt is sheltered from. Merely being in Dali’s presence is enlightening. This isn’t to say that Salvador doesn’t get extremely drunk at the party. As you may have realized by now that Dali is truly a walking contradiction. Not only are there conservative people attending the party but literary censors from Madrid are present as well. This uptight and stuffy dinner party is the perfect scene to make Salvador Dali shine in all of his counter-cultural glory. At the very least, you will be entertained by his antics. Worst case scenario, you are chased out of the building by civil guards. Either way, it will be a night to remember.

Salvador Dalí at Magdalena's aunt's dinner party

Little Ashes: Defining quotes:

Luis Bunuel: “All the institutions that prop up this corrupt regime must be dismantled!”

Paco: “I just think it sounds a bit extreme.”

Luis Bunuel: “But it has to be extreme, Paco. It has to be complete revolution. All the churches, all the palaces.”

Salvador Dali: “You know, when I was small there was this ruined tower near our house in Cadaques. I would sit in this tower and I’d draw, and draw and draw. I never came down. Just imagine this little shrimp of a child, half-starved, covered in piss. And I wouldn’t come down in the winter, in the summer. In the freezing cold, I’d fill this iron tub with water and I’d sit in it for days. It’s like even then I realized that if I’m going to be anything more than average, if anyone is going to remember me, then I need to go further in everything. In art, in life. And everything that they think is real, morality, immorality, good, bad, I, we have to smash that to pieces. And we have to go beyond that. We have to be brave, Frederico.”

Federico Garcia Lorca: “No limit.”

Salvador Dali is excessive in his pleasures as well as his snobbery. He is self indulgent and selfish. To be fair, he needs to be selfish for the sake of his work. If Dali were not selfish, he would lose his artistic voice catering to the whims of others. It's this dastardly quality that makes Dali a villain, a villain you have to respect. Even though you hate him, you must admit that it is his unwillingness to compromise that makes him get what he wants. Dali is a fully concentrated, unfiltered can of artistic expression.

Dali can be considered a reckless trouble maker or a mischievous gremlin. Dali creates some sort of mayhem everywhere he goes. In one scene, Dali convinces Lorca to steal a couple of bicycles with him. Lorca gives in and follows Dali, throwing caution to the wind. This starts the beginning of a new chapter in their relationship. A dirty secret that no doubt draws Lorca only that much further into Dali’s web. Dali rides ahead at full speed, while Lorca can barely keep up. This is symbolic of their relationship, Dali moving forward and never looking back, while Lorca can only try to keep up with the new thing Dali is on to.

When I say Dali is a spider, I mean he has caught Lorca in his web of desire with no intention of a fulfilling relationship. I believe Lorca loved Dali more than he loved him back. You can always sense that Dali is somewhere else, that is just who he is. But you can sense the unevenness in their relationship by analyzing the scenes where they invite each other to their childhood homes. Salvador doesn’t invite Federico to his home, he says that he is coming, as if it is already a given. Federico overlooks his lack of consideration, and treats it as a forgivable child-like exuberance. Later in the film, when Federico politely asks Salvador to come to see his family, his home, and everything that he is, Salvador disregards his offer and tells him that he already sees who he is. That speaks volumes to me. It’s like Dali doesn’t care to know who Federico really is, outside of what he believes him to be, the famous and daring Federico Garcia Lorca. When Dali first arrived at college, his mind was preoccupied with art. His relationship with Lorca is purely business. Lorca serves as a muse and Dali is close to devouring him, physically and metaphysically. I think that is what is so selfish about Dali; he will use Lorca's heart if it will help improve him artistically. Dali is eccentric and almost inhuman. His artwork made him immortal in a sense. I think that is what he was going for. Dali assumed that they would live on in his paintings forever. Lorca believed that eventually they would be nothing but dust, or little ashes. There is a sensibility in Lorca. Dali always seemed to have eyes that were larger than his stomach, in terms of what he wanted to achieve. His visions were always fantastical and simply nonsensical. In art, this is an empowering notion. In real life, it is simply unrealistic.

So Federico goes to visit his family for the holiday break, alone. He writes this letter to Salvador:

“Salvador, I think of you and I’ve never thought more intensely in my life. Since our time together, everything I am has been split apart. I write in a way that I’ve never thought possible. My pen scratches the surface of things, the masks. And then it goes beyond them, right down to the bones. Down to the dark, cold jelly in the marrow.”

And he writes back.

“Federico, from the day you left, I’ve been in the studio day and night. I started to work on designs for your play. I’m doing them gypsy-style. Andalusian, like you. The unconscious mind, Federico, rises like a beast within me. I let it speak and it produces such wonders.”

Then once more from Federico,

“It’s true. I touch sea bottom in myself and my poems write themselves. I am, just as you said, raw, bloody, alive. And I, too, want to be alive.

Dali, once again, is a little thief and steals the key to Lorca’s room. He is working on the set designs for Lorca’s play. This is where the two share a kiss before they are interrupted by Luis. Before that though, Dali mentions a line from Lorca’s letter, “everything that you are being split apart.” This line in his letter also caught my attention. Federico said something similar to this when he invited Dali to his childhood home. He said “I want to show you everything that I am.” When Dali refused and he was left alone to visit, that was when he wrote “everything that I am being split apart.” Was this splitting apart triggered by the absence of Dali? It seems like a romantic notion, but it may be due to Dali’s all-encompassing influence on Federico. Dali seems to have changed Federico’s view of himself to fit the ideals of Dali. Living in Dali's world has corrupted Federico. Dali has completely disrupted his morality and his religious beliefs. For better or worse, is not the point. The point is, Dali has a hold on Lorca. Like a spider, Dali has fully wrapped Lorca in his web. Just in time for feasting on his face.

Luis asks Federico how the progress for his screenplay edit is going only to find out Federico has no idea what he is talking about. He is referring to the screenplay he asked him to write about. Federico’s excuse being that he hadn’t had much time. It’s because his world now revolves around the all-important Salvador Dali. Dali asks Feddy to “play the putrescent game,” to Luis’s confusion. Luis looks as though he is being left out of some inside joke. Dali explains that putrescent is his new word and that it means outdated, outmoded. As if to say that the friendship between Federico and Luis is outdated. The word that Dali owns seems to signify that Luis is living in Dali’s world now. The atmosphere changes as though Salvador has put a wall between Luis and that he has Federico all to himself. Luis tries to play along but it is clear that there is something special between the two of them that Luis is no longer involved in. It’s the Dali and Lorca show and Luis has become the third wheel. Federico attempts to hide the tense atmosphere by inviting the whole gang out. Dali asks Lorca what he should wear. Luis is sensing their homo relationship. Obviously, it appears like the homophobic Luis is becoming suspicious of the two. Beyond that, It once again highlights the level of narcissism in Dali and the control he has over Federico. Could what Lorca sees as a mutual relationship, really just be Dali indulging in his artistic frivolities? Dali could never have this much self-involvement in any friendship, so he uses the intimate relationship he has with Lorca to play his strange games and to self-indulge in his own egoism.

Salvador: “Federico is working on something now that will blow everything apart.”

Luis: “What’s it about? His family? Butterflies? God?”

Salvador: “Me.”

Salvador Dalí talking to Luis Buñuel

Somehow, Dali, this strange man has consumed Federico Garcia Lorca for everything that he is and has spit him back out. Lorca has turned his back on everything and everyone for Dali. Where once Dali was the fanboy of Lorca, now Lorca is a fan of Dali. Dali has truly used an Uno Reverse Card here. Does Dali share the same amount of admiration and loyalty? Not really. Dali leaves Federico behind for the opportunity of finding success in Paris. After listening to Luis talk about how dull Lorca’s work is and how he the people in Paris "wouldn’t give a fuck about his work." Dali doesn’t defend Lorca, he only talks about himself. The level of snobbery is unmatched. It only takes a little convincing on Luis’s part to convince Dali not only is Federico done for as an artist, but that life in Spain is over with.

After all of the accommodation Federico had done for Salvador, it is understandable why he would be upset that he left him. Salvador chose to work with Luis, the rageful homophobe of all people. Dali goes to Paris to pursue his art, to meet Picasso and the surrealists. Lorca quickly comes to understand that he is losing Salvador, that he doesn’t hold the same grip that Salvador has on him. Salvador was always flighty and unpredictable, but he was never this way towards him. It's as if their relationship was just another bright and sparkly object that momentarily caught Dali’s eye. If Federico was split apart before, now he is absolutely ripped apart and burned to little ashes.

In the first half of the film, we witness the transformation of Dali from a meek thing into a loud and daring man. With the inspiration of Federico Garcia Lorca, Dali was able to transform from a novice artist into a genius artist from the tales of some fantastical myth. By the second half of the film, Dali has once again reinvented himself, this time without the presence of Federico. When Federico sees Salvador for the first time since he’s arrived back in Spain, it is like he is meeting an entirely new person. Dali is ever changing, like the moon has many phases. Sadly, Federico was caught in a phase that couldn’t come true. Dali has left a mark on Lorca’s heart, though it doesn’t seem that Dali has been affected at all. Can he really brush off all that has happened and begin a new life just like that?

When Dali returns to share his exploits, including the naked photo of a woman called Gala. Lorca is not so happy with Dali’s cavalier attitude. He doesn’t want to be considered as just another one of Dali’s fascinations or thrilling conquests. He wants to matter, but not in the way Dali thinks he matters, as the famous Federico Garcia Lorca. Wasn’t their relationship more personal than that? Were the sentiments they shared merely just artistic thrills? Did any of that actually touch Dali’s heart? It definitely touched Lorca, “down to the very cold jelly in the marrow.”

Federico had grown tired of Dali’s games. He wants to know who Dali really is, not just who he pretends to be. Dali plans to start what he calls his “real life.” This makes Federico feel like nothing more than an old pair of tattered shoes. Salvador now made it sound like the time he spent with Federico was nothing but a dull and tortuous thing of the past he had to endure. Not only is Dali physically different, but the change in Dali’s character is totally unrecognizable to Federico. He feels alienated from the man he once felt so close to. After the time spent in Paris, it is clear that Luis has become Dali’s new compadre, as he begins to recite the same homophobic rhetoric back to Federico in the most hypocritical fashion.

Dali: “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

Dali: “You’re a selfish fucking maricon.”

Salvador Dalí with Federico García Lorca

Again, it is a shame the homophobic rhetoric will paint Salvador Dali's actions as purely evil. Instead, if we just look at the situation in terms of pursuing artistic endeavors, we will see that Dali's actions are quite necessary to the success of his artistic ambitions.

Speaking of Luis and Dali spending their time together in Paris. The film they were creating strongly references to Lorca, it is called “An Andalusian Dog.” It looks like it was Dali and Bunuel's intention to mock Lorca.

Federico García Lorca with Magdalena

That is some truly despicable backstabbing. What did Lorca ever do to you Dali? It seems like the only way Dali could come to terms with his own internalized homophobia was to blame Federico for his feelings. Spending time with Luis was not a positive influence on the highly influenced Dali. Being that his identity is so flexible. Federico may have brought out the best in Dali, both artistically and emotionally. Whereas Luis brought out the worst in him.

Dali stopped all communication and affiliation with Lorca. Not responding to the letters that Federico had written to him. Federico was completely pushed out of Salvador Dali’s life.

Federico: “It’s as if nothing ever happened. Sometimes I think we never even met.”

By the time Federico catches up with Dali for the final time, Dali has been fully transformed into a caricature of the man he once knew. He is sporting a ridiculous mustache, no matter how fashionable it may be. His speech is full of metaphors and he speaks in an odd accentuated manner. By some impossibility, his clothes and surroundings are somehow even more pretentious than they were before. Dali comments that Federico looks the same in contrast to Dali whose identity changes like a revolving door.

Salvador recites Wait Whitman: “All this time. The dark unfathomed retrospect. The teaming gulf. The sleepers and shadows.”

Salvador introduces his wife Gala to Federico and seems to be trying to create some sort of ménage à trois scenario.

Dali: “The only viable solution to surrealism is the world war. A cleansing. Cut through all this dead wood. Purge the weak elements. An era of enlightenment.”

Salvador Dalí with Federico García Lorca and Gala

Lorca: “Are you saying you actually support the fascist? You used to be an anarchist.”

Federico García Lorca with Salvador Dalí and Gala

Dali: “Oh Federico, you’ve become so liberal. What with your government schemes and your theatral little people.”

Lorca: “Listen, this country is on the brink of something terrible and here you are siding with the people who could destroy everything we stand for. I know you are not through but you must see there’s been no freedom of speech. Anyone who is different, who strays from the norm would just be wiped out.”

Dali: “Would that be a bad thing?”

Lorca: “You’re joking.”

Gala explains that Dali is not interested in politics. That doesn’t mean he should mock Federico and his beliefs. Salvador knows the severity of the situation but instead makes light of it and turns it into a joke.

Federico recites his poem of Dali and wants him to recite his ode, telling of his olive-colored voice. Once again highlighting Dali’s egocentrism. Lorca says Dali always has a plan for everything. Dali claims he can guess the actions of Lorca. This is because Dali is a spider and spins his plans like a spider would its web. Like a spider can sense the vibrations on the web when its prey moves, Dali always knows the next move of the people trapped in his web. Dali proposes that Federico pack his things and come with him to conquer America. Another attempt to pull Federico back into his web of control. After suggesting a ménage à trois situation, Federico is not into it and leaves pretty quickly after that. The sad thing is that Dali had deluded himself into thinking that Federico truly had nothing better to do than to wait around for the great King Dali.

Federico returns to his home town of Granada only to be targeted by the civil guard and abducted. Federico has made a name for himself after his political views became a threat to the established regime. The punishment for freedom of speech is death, apparently. After Federico Garcia Lorca is executed by the civil guard, Salvador Dali loses his mind. Salvador Dali's sanity was already questionable, but this time he’s really lost it for good. I’m sure Salvador was feeling latent regret.

Takeaway: Salvador used Federico as a muse and his personal fan. He had no real feelings. Salvador used him as training wheels before he outgrew him. Federico sees Salvador’s growth as a negative instead of a natural process and change of life. Let the bird fly and if it comes back to you it was meant to be. By the time Salvador came back, Federico had also grown and moved on. Both men pursued their creative work. Having had the beautiful experiences and inspiration from the other to move forward in their careers.

Bonus for the romantics:

If you care to view Dali the way I believe Lorca sees him, feel free to read the inner dialogue I wrote of Federico Garcia Lorca below. Warning: Federico is a total simp for Salvador.

Federico García Lorca staring at Salvador Dalí

Federico García Lorca STILL staring at Salvador Dalí

Someone who is interesting from head to toe. Strange hair style and an avant garde fashion sense. Everyone notices you when you enter the room. You take with you a universe of dreams. Your sturdy yet fragile ego. The nervous tremor in your hand is what makes you all the more fascinating. How can someone as strong as you be nervous in simple situations such as this? It’s humanizing, you who was untouchable might just be like me in a way. If I could be similar to you I would be flattered. The piece of hair tucked behind your ear. Although you look like a nervous mess and a bundle of nerves I sense that you hold a stronger power than you confess. The intensity emanating from the darkness in your light colored eyes. I see who you really are behind the mask.

Someone who is more interesting on the inside. Whose powers and abilities are seemingly endless. Wanting to look deeper into your soul but getting lost in an endless abyss. The odd remarks you make. Your delusional imagination of the past and future. You have a grandiose self image that carries you forward at an unstoppable rate. You are extraordinarily impressive when you do what you really want without approval from others. The way you disregard the standards set by our society. You yell, mock, vandalize and oppose the established order.

Although you look like a pathetic chicken standing on his only leg, you are absolutely dazzling. It’s almost entertaining to see what you’ll look like tomorrow. You are so dynamic I can't wait to see what happens next. Meeting you was like unfolding a story. You change your identity daily. You don’t care if you’re mad. You boldly lie about who you are. But I actually believe your lies. The lies you tell are still a part of who you are, inside. You can imagine things that others can’t, you imagine a different world, turned upside down on its ass. I’ve found myself wanting to trust in your lies over reality.

All I need is to follow you, no matter where it leads me. The world is just the world but the world changes when you’re in it. Even when you do things that I can not find myself to begin to forgive you for. You don’t sacrifice your dreams for anyone, not even me. I’m okay with that. I know that I am just another chapter in the grand story of you. I just want to stay in the plot for as long as I'm useful. You seem to always know where you’re going. You have a mission in life. Your life has a purpose unlike most. You are my messiah. Your brain thinks twice as fast as mine. Your imagination is endless. I’m on a ride and I don't want to get off. It’s exhilarating and I pity those whose lives are completely stationary going round and round on the same orbit.

This has been a creative review of "Little Ashes" 2008 Film, Starring: Robert Pattinson, Director: Paul Morrison, Screenplay: Paul Morrison, Philippa Goslett

youtube

I highly encourage you watch this film if you haven't already.

Article written by Nina Robinson, author of novel "Villainism", via villainism.com

#robert pattinson #salvador dali #little ashes #robert pattinson fanfic #little ashes fanfic #robert pattinson ff #queer stories #villainism #Youtube

18 notes · View notes