Story Recommendations
This movie is causing some serious inspiration, and I wanted to take a minute to link up to my own fic (of course) and to provide some recommendations of other lovely stuff.
All links in this post go to fanfiction.net. Some material may be NSFW.
Title: Coda
Author: anissa7118 (me!)
Word Count: 12,263 and rising - expected to be in the 35,000 range when finished. Updates daily!
Description: "Nina survives the end of the film. Now she has to figure out how to put the pieces of the mirror back together." Pretty much an exploration of Nina and Lily's relationship as the two of them help each other to heal. Currently rated T, will probably go up to M in later chapters. Click on the teaser to read.
To Nina's disappointment, she lives. The story was supposed to end with her final leap, perfection attained, her swan song the pinnacle of achievement. She'd found her freedom at last in the acceptance of her death, her suicide, and she'd danced like never before even while knowing that each move opened the wound a little wider. As the lights swam above her, bathing her in brilliance, she drifted away content and at peace.
And then she woke up again, in the hospital. Alive, and having to face herself and everything she'd done or imagined. She sank into depression, willed herself to die, trying to let go of life so it could slip through her hands and set her free again. The nurses wouldn't let her, badgering her awake, making her eat and take medicines. Apathy wasn't sufficient for suicide, but she let herself live a half-life, lost in dreams of a white swan soaring.
Title: Abandonment
Author: IAmNotTheWalrus
Word Count: 4,197 so far
Description: "A Nina/Lily fic that takes off from their night together." Begins with a rather heartbreaking morning-after scene and follows Lily and Nina's relationship from there. Near the end of the first chapter is an extremely poignant line that I really, really wish I'd written.
She was floating.
Not in the literal sense of the world, but in an otherworldly sort of way. There was no gravity. No gravity, no ground, no time…she was just floating above it all, free, chained by no person, object, or concept. She drifted in and out of awareness, always conscious, but to varying degrees…sometimes she felt a bed beneath her, sometimes she didn't. She always knew it was there, in her brain, at least, but it wasn't quite real. Nothing was real. Nothing was there. Her eyes were closed, but she knew even if she opened them, she wouldn't see anything. Not when she was floating this far away from the world, anyway. In the spaces that stretched every which way she turned her mind, there was nothing…nothing except Lily beside her. Not her body, but her warmth. Her steady breathing. Her heartbeat.
Title: Birds of a Feather
Author: J.B. Writer
Word Count: 28,058 so far
Description: "Nina survives her opening night but has to take leave due to injury. Lily takes her role as the lead in Swan Lake but begins to follow a familiar path of self destruction. Her friendship with Nina grows into something more as they lean on one another."
Nina did it.
She finally let go.
All ogling eyes were on her including Thomas and she didn't falter in the least bit. The dark Swan's body moved against the wills of her inhibition and doubts, her womanly sways and curves speaking to every single person in the theater in the most primal way possible. This sexual beast inside was ready to unleash herself, and no one was going to stand in her way.
Title: Curtains Closed
Author: Niki S
Word Count: 6,487
Description: "Swan Lake has come and gone, but the pain doesn't stop when the curtains close. As Nina recovers from the events that shattered her world, she learns that change may not be a bad thing."
The first thing I was aware of when I woke was a lullaby, humming softly in my ears and pulling me toward consciousness. I could feel my body, every inch of it, but I couldn't feel it in relation to my surroundings... where was I? All I could tell was that the soothing tune was close to me, close enough that I could feel vibrations, and then the slightest breeze on my arm. Somebody was with me.
When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of my mother, sitting in a chair and resting her arms on the side of my bed, extremely close. She was humming a tune, which I now recognized as the song of my childhood... The song from my jewelry box. Only when I slightly shifted my head did she look up and realize that I was awake. Her eyes lit up, and I didn't believe I'd ever seen a more genuinely happy look on her face.
And yet, I was uneasy.
All links in this post go to fanfiction.net. Some material may be NSFW.
Title: Coda
Author: anissa7118 (me!)
Word Count: 12,263 and rising - expected to be in the 35,000 range when finished. Updates daily!
Description: "Nina survives the end of the film. Now she has to figure out how to put the pieces of the mirror back together." Pretty much an exploration of Nina and Lily's relationship as the two of them help each other to heal. Currently rated T, will probably go up to M in later chapters. Click on the teaser to read.
To Nina's disappointment, she lives. The story was supposed to end with her final leap, perfection attained, her swan song the pinnacle of achievement. She'd found her freedom at last in the acceptance of her death, her suicide, and she'd danced like never before even while knowing that each move opened the wound a little wider. As the lights swam above her, bathing her in brilliance, she drifted away content and at peace.
And then she woke up again, in the hospital. Alive, and having to face herself and everything she'd done or imagined. She sank into depression, willed herself to die, trying to let go of life so it could slip through her hands and set her free again. The nurses wouldn't let her, badgering her awake, making her eat and take medicines. Apathy wasn't sufficient for suicide, but she let herself live a half-life, lost in dreams of a white swan soaring.
Title: Abandonment
Author: IAmNotTheWalrus
Word Count: 4,197 so far
Description: "A Nina/Lily fic that takes off from their night together." Begins with a rather heartbreaking morning-after scene and follows Lily and Nina's relationship from there. Near the end of the first chapter is an extremely poignant line that I really, really wish I'd written.
She was floating.
Not in the literal sense of the world, but in an otherworldly sort of way. There was no gravity. No gravity, no ground, no time…she was just floating above it all, free, chained by no person, object, or concept. She drifted in and out of awareness, always conscious, but to varying degrees…sometimes she felt a bed beneath her, sometimes she didn't. She always knew it was there, in her brain, at least, but it wasn't quite real. Nothing was real. Nothing was there. Her eyes were closed, but she knew even if she opened them, she wouldn't see anything. Not when she was floating this far away from the world, anyway. In the spaces that stretched every which way she turned her mind, there was nothing…nothing except Lily beside her. Not her body, but her warmth. Her steady breathing. Her heartbeat.
Title: Birds of a Feather
Author: J.B. Writer
Word Count: 28,058 so far
Description: "Nina survives her opening night but has to take leave due to injury. Lily takes her role as the lead in Swan Lake but begins to follow a familiar path of self destruction. Her friendship with Nina grows into something more as they lean on one another."
Nina did it.
She finally let go.
All ogling eyes were on her including Thomas and she didn't falter in the least bit. The dark Swan's body moved against the wills of her inhibition and doubts, her womanly sways and curves speaking to every single person in the theater in the most primal way possible. This sexual beast inside was ready to unleash herself, and no one was going to stand in her way.
Title: Curtains Closed
Author: Niki S
Word Count: 6,487
Description: "Swan Lake has come and gone, but the pain doesn't stop when the curtains close. As Nina recovers from the events that shattered her world, she learns that change may not be a bad thing."
The first thing I was aware of when I woke was a lullaby, humming softly in my ears and pulling me toward consciousness. I could feel my body, every inch of it, but I couldn't feel it in relation to my surroundings... where was I? All I could tell was that the soothing tune was close to me, close enough that I could feel vibrations, and then the slightest breeze on my arm. Somebody was with me.
When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of my mother, sitting in a chair and resting her arms on the side of my bed, extremely close. She was humming a tune, which I now recognized as the song of my childhood... The song from my jewelry box. Only when I slightly shifted my head did she look up and realize that I was awake. Her eyes lit up, and I didn't believe I'd ever seen a more genuinely happy look on her face.
And yet, I was uneasy.