don't fear the sun.

New day, new default icon (and other La Sylphide icon). I don't know if it's pure excitement, but I'm beginning to warm to the designs of the new production's costumes, especially the general pattern and colour scheme combinations. Currently, I can't say whether that's more thanks to the atmospheric lighting or if it's really the costumes on their own, but. Stiiiiiill not too sure about James' blue kilt, but the rest might not poke at my eyes quite so aggressively anymore. We'll see what verdict I have once I've seen the performance on Saturday. I'm predicting that either I've been won over completely or the other extreme. I always thought the costume that worked the best out of the bunch was Madge's and judging by the photos I've seen from this run, that hasn't changed much. Still the most effective use of the pattern and colours. The long, loose hair is such a win!





K. and I watched Ahsoka last night and OMG. I was blown away. Very good thing I had her to talk me through all the details that had been worked into this episode, but even without the explanations, something about it went straight to my gut, emotionally. I really felt it very strongly. Amazing acting all-around, no one did anything but an absolutely sublime job. Not gonna spoil anything by going into details, but honestly. If you like Star Wars just a little bit and even if you're not interested in the series on its own, this episode (5) might be worth giving a go regardless. It has the feeling of being a kind of movie on its own. Definitely an individual story within the storyline.



I've decided to take some time off from the Napoli fic, just until after the weekend. In the meantime, I think I'm going to watch the old 1988 version of RDB's (previous) production of La Sylphide and maybe write some fanfiction (in Danish, a post over at scanfic has made me realize I should at least attempt Danish fanfiction at some point) for either Madge and Effy or Effy and Nancy, probably the former. I have a very persistent image in my head of Effy seeking out Madge after a couple of years of having been married to Gurn and desperately asking her why she isn't happy, since Madge foretold she would be.

Someone needs to tell that girl she has horrible taste in guys and should join the lesbian side. God knows, I've wanted to tell her since first watching the 1988 version with Ann-Kirstin Hauge as Effy, back when I bought it on DVD, 12-13 years ago. Might as well be Madge, since the new productions interpretation of her character seems really, really feminist-inspired and overall pretty queer.

Anyway, should anyone be interested in watching the "original" Royal Danish Ballet production of La Sylphide, it's on YouTube in full. In full meaning about an hour long and pretty simple, story-wise.

Man is getting married to the love of his life, meets a sylph on the morning of his wedding, the sylph enchants him and makes him doubt whether he really wants to marry the love of his life, is she even the love of his life when all comes down to it, and right before their vows are about to be spoken, he escapes with the sylph into the woods, leaving his bride distraught behind. Oh, he also pissed off a witch during the ceremony, so that's gonna come back and haunt him.

Witch is vengeful, she makes an enchanted veil to trick him into his doom. In the woods, man and sylph are frolicking and all is good, except the sylph doesn't want him to touch her. He doesn't understand, why can't he own her? Witch drops in, gives him the veil with a promise that the sylph's wings will fall off if he ties her up with it and he'll he able to hold her. Man, who is stupid, does as told, ties the sylph up and watches her wings fall off, only to realize that it has killed her. She was not a sylph without her freedom. She dies. Man watches love of his life marry his rival instead of him, witch comes by and boasts that she won and he has nothing left. They fight. Witch wins. Man falls to the ground, lifeless.

The end.

It's a really fucking good story.

Watch on YouTube

Oh, wow, finding the video on YouTube, it started at a random point and just hearing the music made me tear up. I have no words for how much this particular ballet means to me. It was my first introduction to ballet and it was one of the first ballets I watched on stage, too. My favourite role of Susanne's was the sylph. I've been a very fortunate fan considering how many and how many different versions I've been able to watch and enjoy on stage. Very excited to enjoy this new era of La Sylphide with some of the ballet dancers I've followed since they were very young, but who have now grown up and become mature, high-ranking artists.

What a privilege.

Struggling with getting started today.

Or, for clarity's sake, I already reread and edited the three scenes I wrote yesterday, so I did get started, and now I am struggling with moving on to the next scene. I keep second-guessing my corrections and additions for the previous scenes and have to forcibly refrain from checking and couble-checking that I'm satisfied. I have to tell myself, it's fine, and if it's not, I can correct it later, for now - just get started on the next, keep going, keep the momentum up...

I have a terrible habit of editing while writing - one that I have, generally, been blisfully unbothered by while writing this fic, so I don't know why it insists on getting its say here, now.

Probably a symptom of my general mood today, honestly. Just not feeling at my best.

While thinking about how to carry my Napoli story onward, I looked over what I've actually written this weekend and if I'm feeling a little bit fatigued, I can totally see why! OMG, what a spurt. I've written almost two scenes every day since Thursday, much more than I had first anticipated and planned on. So, since I know what a burnout feels like, seeing as I went through a major one on the Omina project, I'll try not to do that again. We're going a little slower, I think, curbing the intensity just a bit from here on out. I have enough time.

And maybe have some side projects to relax with? I've never been particularly good at dividing my focus in terms of my writing, but if I have no real "ambition" with the side projects, maybe it won't feel like I'm taking away from the main one.

I tried it out a little yesterday, sitting down with my copy of A Woman Appeared to Me by Renée Vivien and doing some RP-related character analysis stuff for Vally. Mainly looking through her dialogue in the book. And it kinda rekindled an old idea I had a long time ago of writing a story that takes place within the universe portrayed in Vivien's book, but inviting the character of Lilith from Takarazuka's Lucifer's Tears into it. Lucifer's Tears takes place, like, a couple decades, maybe, after the events of A Woman Appeared to Me, but this is what we have AU's for and honestly, for Lilith's character in particular, it makes no great difference. At the point in canon I'm considering taking her from, she is removed enough from society that whether she lives (or dies) in 1904 or 1924, it should be no biggie, really.



That means, I'm probably gonna take a small break from the Napoli project today, either until I feel so inclined to pick it up again or if not before, then tomorrow.

Instead, I'll be rewatching Lucifer's Tears this morning (well, later this morning, it's 6am here) and see what interesting ideas I might get for the x-over from a revisit. The two canons both deal heavily in symbolism and metaphorical "good and evil" debates, so I think they'll be a natural fit. Not to mention, one of the recurrent themes of A Woman Appeared to Me is snakes and how "the eyes of Lilith can bring them to life again" which would be interesting to explore with a blind Lilith as part of that tale.

I'm imagining this will be another very atmospheric, quiet, sitting around talking a lot story, which just seems to be my style, so what can I do? If it ain't broken, don't fix it.



Made myself a new icon of one of the pages from the original edition of Renée Vivien's A Woman Appeared to Me with her own handwritten edits for the second print. Both because I felt it was fitting with a writing-inspired icon and just because, this book matters so much to me on a personal level that it seemed inevitable I'd eventually get myself an icon relating to it. The icon is made from an image I found on Tumblr, someone had uploaded three pages of the book with Vivien's own notes in ink from the National Library of France and it just looked so pretty...



returntomytilene

I also really, really need to get my hands on the new translation of this work that was published in recent years. Christmas, this time, I promise.



The general idea for this fic, I guess, is Vally - the love interest of the narrator of A Woman Appareared to Me, a cold, calculating woman who herself claims not to be able to love which is undoubtedly a lie for her own protection, but you know - finds Lilith in the streets and, having just been dumped by the narrator, decides to take her in, because the girl catches her fancy. Lilith actually gets proper medical care thanks to Vally's funds and survives her ordeal and the two, while she recovers, strike up a friendship that should, hopefully, end with Vally having been touched by Lilith's beautiful soul and opening herself up to love. Hurt/comfort, but you're not totally sure who's the hurt one and who's doing the comforting. Thinking this could work well as a series of micro-scenes. Depending on how long it gets, could be for tinyfandomflash. There are some good prompts from this year to work with, like Paradise Lost, for example.



Also, listening to this right now (Cécile Chaminade: Arabesque no. 1), for inspiration, because this piece of music will always remind me of the characters in that book, especially Vally.



I guess those were some very early morning thoughts?