#dylanlila.mp3

[balkanlila]

people, both in fandom and in general, would have a much better time if they admitted all of their opinions are deeply shaped by personal experiences and who they fundamentally are instead of trying to attribute everything to either moral or intellectual superiority. but you guys aren't ready for that conversation. the actual way to get close to the truth is to listen to the world and take little bits and pieces of everything you encounter and then incorporate that into your own unfiltered responses. you have to listen without being a blind follower while doing your best to preserve your individuality. that is all.

[balkanlila]

there is also ice cream. and early morning study session. and the many lives of your kitchen during the course of a single day. and the permanent wisdom of a balcony and the buildings across from it. my own building kissed by light. old music. lipstick traces. the magical nature of awkwardness.

[balkanlila]

poem by: @elenagrec

paintings by: Vincent van Gogh, Pierre Boncompain, Yuri Krotov

[balkanlila]

you didn't hear it here but lila does this thing where she judges elena for something she's still mad at herself about because she can't stand the idea of elena being in any proximity to her own fate, but there's a tiny part of her that finds pleasure in bringing elena to what she sees as her inadequate level and yes, this can be seen in immacolata as well. i feel like the pleasure lila derives from elena being reduced to her neapolitan roots is the same pleasure elena derives from her marks of superiority in comparison to lila, significantly higher level of formal education most of all. of course, both of them are quick to view those arguments as weak and petty because they will always see the other friend as the brilliant one, sometimes with jealousy, but more often with fondness that exists both at the expense of their own credibility and as their one untarnished positive quality. being your friend is the sole good thing about me etc.

[balkanlila]

never stop being incredibly annoying, never conform

[balkanlila]

Irene Maiorino on Instagram

[balkanlila]

changing the physiology of the universe // love letter to the girl who writes (for @elenagrec)

Self-Organization of the Retina during Eye Development, Retinal Regeneration In Vivo, and in Retinal 3D Organoids In Vitro // My Brilliant Friend TV // L'amica geniale, Elena Ferrante // text by me (brought to you by my unimaginable desire to accent Lila's perception of Elena, who often takes her ability to add magical components to an otherwise unpleasant and meaningless reality for granted)

Everything is connected in L'amica geniale because Elena makes it so. She is the one who offers the symbolism we all see to everything these characters do. She is the only one who sees the metaphorical kingdom behind the disgusting and the banal and the violent. She finds wounds in time and turns on a flashlight and suddenly the blood spilling out of it is a different, more vivid colour. Lila is right to recognize the underlying disorder behind artificial structures humans build to feel more comfortable and Elena engages in the same architectural work of creating boundaries where there aren't any, but she does it so differently from everyone else and that is why Lila loves her. The way Elena does this exists in direct contrast to the false safety most of the other characters are dependent on because the material Elena uses to create her shapes is love stored in attention. It doesn't matter that Nino Sarratore wasn't actually beautiful. It matters that Elena saw him as such. It doesn't matter how Lila Cerullo actually was like. What matters is that Elena Greco loved her. Love is the sole instrument that can shape things in a convincing and tenacious way.

[balkanlila]

i love how enzo is extremely good at math, but he also shows indifference verging on disinterest towards it. he's interested in lila's interest in math.