don't fear the sun.

Title: The Last Stage of Grief Is Drowning
Author: sunfright
Artist: pattrose
Fandom: Napoli (ballet)
Characters/Pairings: Giovanina/Teresina, Teresina/Gennaro, Gennaro/Giovanina (one-sided), Giovanina/Luigi
Rating/Category: Teen/femslash + het
Genre: Literary, slice of life, romance
Word Count: 45k
Warnings: Major character death, period-typical homophobia/gender roles, internalized homophobia, very stereotypical Italian-ness (in the vein of the original ballet), mention of alcoholism, portrayal of aborted suicide attempt (drowning), grief and depression, loss of parents, loss of partner... I think that's it.
Summary: It has been ten years since Gennaro saved Teresina from the depths of the Neapolitan Gulf and the two have lived happily together as husband and wife ever since. Meanwhile, Giovanina's and Teresina's friendship has been falling apart, due to Giovanina's feelings for Gennaro - and because of the forbidden secret she shared with Teresina when they were teenagers. But when suddenly, the Gulf claims Gennaro's life, leaving Teresina alone in her grief, Giovanina feels herself slowly circling back to her old friend who has given up all her will to live, because now they have both loved and lost, and perhaps love and loss are things that should tie two women together rather than tearing them apart.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to pattrose for making a moodboard for every single of my chapters for this fic as well as a cover! Remember to drive by their art and give them a shout-out.





Link to fic master post: This way to read!
Link to art master post: This way to see!




I'm just putting this up here for anyone who isn't following smallfandombang, because I am so damn proud of this fic. I wrote it in a frenzy over the course of a month back in October and have been sitting on it ever since, what a wait that's been!

I hope some of you will check it out, despite being unfamiliar with the canon, as most of you probably will be. It reads more like an original work than fanfiction, as it takes place ten years after the events of the ballet. I've tried capturing the mood of "tourist postcard" that Hübbe's adaption of Napoli was, so all stereotypical-ness and such is to match the aesthetic of the original material. Also, I know "Giovanina" should ideally be spelled "Giovannina", but in the original libretto for the 19th century Bournonville performance, it is rendered like the first rather than the second, and Hübbe hasn't changed that, so neither have I. Just know, I am aware.

All that said, give a kudos or a comment if you feel like it! I'm so excited to share this baby with the world. It's been a long time in coming.

Although it's been altogether a quiet day today, things have still happened. I read the rest of the 1905 edition of A Woman Appeared to Me (greatly enjoyed, I still think it works better than the 1904 version, though I miss some of Vally/Lorely's characterisation as well as the physical embodiment of San Giovanni) and got an introduction of the fandom written for bethefirst as well as outlining the concept of the fic I'm gonna write. Hope to begin writing the fic itself next week, maybe...



I've also tagged (RP) with Sylvie and had a lot of fun with that. I'm really looking forward to taking her to a game, I think she'll be a good match there. For now, I've put the prep work for her novella on hold, just until I've finished my read-through of the novel.

I'm at chapter 4, which I hope to finish tonight, then two chapters a day until I should be done by start-next week. I still catch minor (and not so minor) errors, mistakes, typos, etc., so it's a necessary job, although I was always exceedingly bad at the whole editing process.



The date for final draft being due for smallfandombang is drawing nearer and I am just coming to the conclusion that I won't be getting beta work done on my fic. It's okay, I've read it through and am genuinely satisfied with it, so I can live with whatever errors and typos and such that I've overlooked, because the overall impression is really good, if you ask me. I need to skim it before making ready to post, also need to format the motherfucker, so that's gonna take a day's work at least. Once dates for posting have been settled. Artwork is done for it and looks nice, so it's all good. Very satisfied with my contribution for this one, can I just say...



There has been a lot of stuff re: my birthday and finding a date for it, because I wanted my dad and me to combine our birthdays (mine is the 20th, his is April 1st), so I wouldn't have to travel for something big twice in two weeks, and so far I don't know whether we're doing the 28th or 29th, but both dates are in K's vacation time, so no matter what, it should work all right.

I'm going into work tomorrow to pick up Leroux's Phantom of the Opera at my local bookshop, then I'll buy my dad's birthday present on the way back. He's getting some wine glasses and a particular corkscrew he's wished for. Both things should be available in the same store, so that's relatively easy-peasy. But yeah, that's the plan for tomorrow morning. Then, I'll spend the afternoon reading my two chapters and the evening on RP'ing.

Should be a day.

Started out the day with some laundry, it's hanging out to dry now and I'm trying to think of what to do until K. gets home and we're supposed to clean the apartment for the weekend. Probably pack a bag, though I'm not bringing much except medicine, a book and a change of trousers for travelling home. I'll be wearing my evening wear all Saturday.

Before going to the hotel to check in tomorrow, we're visiting the Glyptoteque which is my favourite museum in the whole universe. I can't wait to go there again. I used to visit regularly back when I spent more time in Copenhagen. I loved it. I haven't been there in years.

I wanna bring a La Sylphide book (I have a stack, somewhat of a collector/hoarder, here) for the train trip, but I can't pick which one to take. The one I'd like to bring the most is too big and clunky to carry easily, so the choice is down to just the libretto for the ballet which is very tiny and light-weight or the slightly heavier, but same-size English-language La Sylphide introduction with three different historical analyses of the ballet, one by a Danish scholar who's very revered in ballet circles in Denmark. I've never read that one back to back, so might take that and give it a go.



Last night, when I was up due to nerves around one o'clock, I decided to take all that La Sylphide noise out of my head and put it on paper, so I made a document with my general idea for the Madge/Effy story I'm so obsessed with right now. It actually helped, and I was able to go back to bed and get more sleep, so although I've slept in intervals last night, I still feel pretty rested, because I slept between half past two until half past seven, which is a long stretch by my standards. Usually I need the bathroom at least once in that time.

I think both K. and I slept really well last night, but we were also completely knackered around half past nine when we went to bed, hahaha.



I'm not 100 percent sure what I'm going to wear tomorrow, though. I have a midnight blue/white patterned dress that is really elegant that I might go for - but we just washed the black dress that I also really love, though that one is thinner (summer dress) and I'll need to wear something underneath, though I have something that fits, so... I really love the black dress, it's super comfortable and for such a trip, I might prioritize comfort over style (the black dress is pretty, don't get me wrong, just not as fancy-pansy as the midnight blue). I dunno... I guess I'll try both sets on tonight before bed and decide there.



Under any circumstances, something I need to get done this afternoon before K. gets home is a proper hairwash so I won't have to deal with that in the morning tomorrow and my hair has time to dry, too.



I'm considering contacting smallfandombang mod and ask to have La Sylphide verified as an acceptable fandom (it has, like, 3 fics on AO3 - 1 is a poem by me), so I could consider leaving the Napoli fic on the sideline for a while and write this Effy/Madge thing, and if it gets long enough to pass the 10K word count, I'll make that my contribution rather than the Napoli one that I'll finish some other time, possibly for bethefirst, next time that comes around.

Hmm. It could be a plan.

Anyway, the general idea for the Effy/Madge fic is inspired by the prompt, Ghosts and Hauntings, on my ladiesbingo card!

( Some details under here, mention of some sexual themes... )



I think that's what I've got for now. I should go for a walk while the weather is good, still.