#Phantom of the Opera Retelling

[a-hearts-a-heavy-burden]

Listen to me...

Anita's books are always stunning

[thegrimmlibrarian]

Thank you Netgalley and 8th Note Press for the ARC!

[twogolddoubloons89]

I can’t remember if I posted this before or not 😭

[a-nick]

Can you imagine writing a Phantom of The Opera version where there's just the Phantom on an old timey passanger liner like the Titanic. Hehe, Phantom on the boat.

[estellamiraiauthor]

All right, this was not really an official ask, but in response to the lovely @alinacapellabooks and for anyone else who’s interested, I would like to explain exactly how I “got the idea for a Phantom of The Opera retelling set in early 2000s Japan, in the tail end of the visual kei scene”.

I’ve posted some of this before somewhere but it might have been on my now-deleted Twitter?

No spoilers, but it might be a little long, so more under the cut!

I had wanted to write a Phantom retelling for a long time… I was first introduced to the story through the Lloyd Webber musical, but I read the Leroux novel shortly thereafter, and started seeking out the different movie adaptations, so I never really thought of the musical as the “definitive” version. I loved how the same core elements could be respun as romance or mystery or horror, in different settings, with characters that were usually the same archetypes but also a little different each time.

It was Phantom of the Paradise that REALLY convinced me that I wanted to do my own take on the Phantom story someday… that film is just SOOO wildly different from any other version but also unbelievably good, both as a retelling of several different stories and also just as a story in its own right. So as early as high school I had started to play around with the idea… I know I still have about ten handwritten pages of a “Phantom of the Space Station” which was supposed to be kind of The Fifth Element meets The Ship Who Sang… but the characters never really gelled as their own people, and eventually I moved on to other things.

Then in 2005, after the release of the ALW movie, I started reading a lot of fanfiction… and again, I tended to like the ones that took the basic components of the story and retold it in a different place or time. I started writing again, first with a fairly cliched “university theatre professor and student” idea, and then a Star Wars crossover where the Phantom used a Jedi mind trick to hide his face, tutored “Christine” in the Force, and she’d eventually get strong enough to “unmask” him.

The Star Wars one was starting to feel a LITTLE more like a story that maybe only I could write, but the characters weren’t really coming together and there wasn’t necessarily a lot of overlap between those two fandoms, so I was still kind of searching for an idea for “my” retelling.

Around the same time, I was sort of struggling with being a visible minority myself. Although I love Japan, I was struggling both with sticking out physically and with having something that had always been a personal strength (language) suddenly become a weakness, so I was starting to build this image of a Phantom character who was struggling not only with a seemingly hopeless love but with kind of a loss of identity.

I was also looking at gender-bent retellings, as that’s something else I’ve always enjoyed, not necessarily for Phantom specifically, but it always interested me to see how gender could change the character dynamics of a familiar story. I’d read some gender-bent fanfic, but female Phantoms were kind of a hard sell. I mean, the Phantom has almost zero self-esteem but he also has the confidence of a mediocre white man? Believing that the universe owes him a wife? I hadn’t really found any fanfics, at least, that managed to create a female Phantom who really made psychological sense as a character. (Many years later, I can recommend The Monsters of Music by Rebecca F. McKinney as a VERY different take on a straight female Phantom that I did enjoy immensely.)

But the male “Christines”? Those I LOVED… a shy, less than confident male protagonist with a heart of gold? *chef’s kiss* So I started thinking, why couldn’t they both be male? And having a female “Raoul” could help that character be the “socially acceptable” option, since nobility isn’t much of a factor in modern-day fics.

The final piece—setting it in Japan in the visual kei scene—clicked into place when I was listening to X Japan’s Blue Blood Album in the car one day. I was listening to “Unfinished” (the song Teru ends up singing to himself in the first scene), and lyrics like “Go away from me now. Just leave, and forget me. No need to be hurt anymore.” just had SUCH Phantom vibes… he loved Christine so he let her go, right??? So… visual kei Phantom. It was perfect. I’d been active in that subculture myself around that time. I hadn’t been in a band, but I’d dated a few guys who were, and had been backstage and in the studio enough times that I knew how things worked from the other side. And it was a modern-day setting where it wouldn’t seem TOO out of nowhere for someone to choose to wear a mask instead of just, facial prosthetics or something? And it’s also a subculture that places a LOT of emphasis on physical appearance, which worked with the whole idea of becoming disfigured as sort of losing a part of his identity.

Everything just came together and felt RIGHT in a way that none of the other ideas I’d had really did… and I guess the rest is history?

[romantic-ascensionism]

I got some new birthday books 🤭

[granhairdo]

will everyone please thank little fox for being the only thing my youngest daughter wants to watch when im sick and can't get out of bed

[scarlet-lich]

Kinda thinking about how Phantom of the Opera is a lot like Beauty and the Beast (or the other way around idk) and I'm really in love with the whole trope there. But I want to write a fractured fairytale story. I wrote one about Peter Pan being a bad guy. Now I want to write an all new story.

Phantom of the Opera but Christine and Erik are women? Beauty and the Beast but theyre both women? I really want to show off bisexual pride in this story. I need help with ideas.

Idk what to do. Someone help me with this idea that's been gnawing at my brain for the past year!

[ineachretelling]

Once upon a time, a little over a year ago, from the mind of one Conor Duffy and the Fate TTRPG system came a tale about Jean Valjean, Queen Titania, Morgan le Fay, Alice, and Christine Daae being called on to stop a thief from stealing the very power of storytelling, while having to escape Chateau Dif, defeat the Sweet Witch, and persuade the First Goddess along the way. Now in anticipation of its upcoming sequel charity stream, we gather the cast and producers to discuss what inspired the portrayals of these various characters, the nature of storytelling itself, and what makes certain stories stick with us.

[mintbubbletea606]

What Lies Behind the Mask (Chapter Four: The Woman)

"I thought I told you that you should stay still," Orianne said, her heart still hammering against her chest. She shakily smiled as she caught sight of the boy crouching down beside a small opening. "Erik, what in the world are you doing?"

When the guilty eyes of the masked boy flicked up to look at her, her lips fell from her tentative smile. Her hand reached out to pull at his ear, causing the bucket to fall from his hands. Remnants of a red liquid dripped from its insides, catching Orianne's attention.

"There's no point in trying to terrify people. Just try to keep your head low. People are already frightened by the idea of the infamous Opera Ghost-"

"The woman has been trying to find out who I am!" the boy interrupted, picking up the fallen bucket and holding it toward Orianne, who carefully took it from his hands.

"Then, you should not have called more attention to yourself," Orianne responded, a heavy sigh escaping her. "You're a very smart boy, but I don't understand your reasoning at times."

"If she continues to hunt me down and no one is able to stop her, this predicament is going to result in her finding out about me," Erik attempted to explain, standing up and brushing dust from the legs of his pants. "Simply doing nothing will not help our situation."

"We will most definitely be uncovered if you keep drawing unwanted attention toward yourself. I have made a few good connections, and I can find some way to fix this. There is no reason for you to interfere in any sort of way," Orianne said, reaching out to tidy his jet black strands of hair. "Now, come. I still have to make dinner for you before I have to go back to the opera."

Orianne, forcing her lips into a soft smile, grabbed ahold of Erik's shirtsleeve. Trying her very best to not let her fingers touch the yellowed skin of his skeletal hand, Orianne pulled him towards the pathway that led to the house. Their travels were silent, at least until Erik caught sight of the wooden walls of the house. His hand slipped out of Orianne's loose grip, and the little boy raced toward his dwelling. As soon as she was sure that Erik would not see her, Orianne wiped her hand on her skirts, praying to rid herself of his deathly cool touch. The woman continued her leisurely stroll before she came upon the door, which she swiftly unlocked with a key that hung from her neck.

"Go and play the piano. I need to be alone while I'm cooking," Orianne requested, letting out a relieved sigh when Erik stepped into the music room. A challenging piece of music rang out through the house as Orianne began to fix a light dinner for Erik, mindful of his extremely sensitive stomach. Her movements stalled when the piano-playing suddenly halted.

"Mother, why do we have to hide away from other people?" Erik moodily asked, his sudden voice causing Orianne to jump in shock.

"Well, you see..." Orianne started, pausing to gather an explanation for the boy. The woman peeked behind her shoulder at the young boy, who stood in the doorway. "Um-"

"Is it the same reason that I have to wear this mask?" When he did not receive a response, his arms moved to cross in front of his chest.

"Erik, I do not tolerate such questions. When you are older, you can know. However, today is not the day. Now, why don't you play that beautiful song again?"

She let out a relieved sigh when the boy clicked his tongue and stalked back into the music room, the melody soon filling the house again. Orianne focused on preparing his dinner, her eyes wavering to the clock. Upon finishing it, the woman wrapped a shawl around herself and stepped into the music room, tapping Erik's shoulder to alert her that she was leaving the house.

"Mother, are you going to give me a kiss goodbye?"

"Where did you hear about something like that?" Orianne curiously asked, earning an irritated glance from the young boy.

"Such things are in the books that you have gifted to me. Now, are you-"

"I'm going to be running late, Erik. I'll see you tonight!" Orianne interrupted, quickly rushing out of the music room and out of the front door, locking the door behind herself.

Erik, watching the woman leave, let out a soft sigh before turning back to playing his piano. "Goodbye to you too, Mother..." 

[a-hearts-a-heavy-burden]

The way I have been completely losing myself in this book. I freaking love reading so much.

PotO retelling with a PotO instrumental playlist!!

Bliss

[kelefox]

NaNo update (Phantom retelling)

Working title for this project is One Masked Ball, from the original text:

None will ever be a true Parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaiety over his sorrows and one of sadness, boredom or indifference over his inward joy. In Paris, our lives are one masked ball. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Lagging slightly behind target at 13k words, but that's okay. I tend to accelerate towards the end of the month (because that's not stressful at all, haha).

Five hundred years since her last promise-binding, and the shiver over Viviane's skin was as familiar as if it had been yesterday. A mask. She wondered. It was a coincidence, surely. But again, like yesterday, ancient words drifted through her mind. You don’t have to hide from me. My love, it’s not you. It’s the look in your eyes. Give me the mask.

My WIPs for most of this year so far have been pretty light-hearted, but I wrote that last line at the end of chapter 1 and felt the darkness settle over my soul. And I love it. Hello, my old friend ;)

[lzrdprsn]

"Retelling?" Babe, that's just fanfiction 🥱

[whenpeisleeps]

She had embraced him.

Embraced him.

Held him like close friends might do. Or…perhaps even lovers. She had held him not out of pity but out of compassion. And in that moment, his heart belonged to her. There was no doubt about it—he had fallen once more in love with a woman who would be ripped from his hands by another man.

It was hopeless. It would always be hopeless.

[secretsofthewilde]

Part 2 of random out of context things that occur in Susan Kay's novel Phantom — the I want financial compensation for reading this edition:

The Disney villain tarot card moment occurs again, this time with the Death card and the Lovers, followed immediately by Erik considering if it means the Daroga/Nadir. He immediately shuts this thought down with Susan blatantly going no homo!!

Meg and Christine are friends in an obvious pull from the musical as opposed to the novel this is meant to be based on (in this same section Christine's hair is referred to as being dark, instead of blonde too)

Erik visits his old house and sees his mother's corpse and says he now understands why she hated the sight of him because he is so repulsed by her dead body that he instantly forgives her for all of the abuse

Erik gives himself the initials O.G. in his letters to the managers because he thought Phantom of the Opera being shortened to PTO would be embarrassing

Erik self identifies as a spider and has a crash out when Christine asks him to kill a spider she found in her room (he is valid for this)

Erik is a morphine addict and despite Susan doing her best to say no homo she also wrote Nadir saying "I don't know what you're capable of, Erik, not anymore —not with your veins full of morphine." As if it's not giving a tortured girlfriend giving her addict bf an ultimatum

Christine is genuinely jealous of Erik's cat getting affection and the two are enemies while in Erik's presence

Erik refers to Christine as "my child" far too often for someone he also is incredibly horny over and laments about having a pulsing need for her

Speaking of — Christine is the spitting image of his mother!!!! She even sees a photo and freaks out that they look the exact same

Erik "rapes [Christine] through music" by playing his Don Juan Triumphant score when he gets upset with her and the music makes her so overwhelmed she ends up locking herself in her room and touching herself

During one of his tantrums Erik tells Christine that she doesn't deserve to know about Nadir and their shared history

Erik believes that whoever Christine marries will have to also have to forever be a father figure to her

The torture chamber scene also plays out differently in this, Nadir was never at risk of dying only Raoul. And instead of Christine only kissing Erik on the forehead and crying being what makes him snap out of it and let her go, the two of them have a lengthy kiss and she repeatedly kisses him all over his face

He then let's the pair leave and requests that Christine comes back before their wedding. Christine comes back and spends the whole time in Erik's room (where he is lying down ready to die) having sex an unspecified conversation/reconciliation

Christine gives birth to a beautiful baby boy names Charles who is incredibly musically talented and is also Erik's son. Charles doesn't know this but Raoul is aware of this and loves him even so

When Christine dies Raoul feels at peace because he thinks she has returned to the one she truly belongs to (Erik)

All in all the second half somehow amped up the incestuous vibes even more, continued with the weird rape mentions (forgot to say there was an attempt against Erik in the first half of the novel), and gave us an even worse Phantom love child scenario than Love Never Dies did — the only saving grace of that being that at least there wasn't any overt out of character Raoul bashing here.

A list of random out of context things that actually happen in Susan Kay's novel Phantom:

As a baby Erik's sobs sounded like a sirens call, which his mother was terrified of because it sounded sensual to her (this weird incestuous vibe does reoccur throughout!) and this is the only reason she breastfeed him

When she has this realisation she yeets him from her breast across the bed and then runs to the corner of the room to breakdown in for several hours

Erik manages to, through the use of ventriloquism and his magical sounding voice, hypnotise his mother into genuinely thinking a little Shepard boy figure is alive and that she must care for it like a baby. He later admits that he didn't mean to actually make her crazy

Erik has magical healing powers

At 15 years old is so good at masonry (he has been learning for two years) that he is put in charge of constructing a building instead of the several adults who have been working in masonry for like at least five times as longer

His mother genuinely suspects that when Erik was an infant he thought their dog was actually his mother, since she gave him more affection.

Erik makes a big dick joke in front of royalty

The Daroga does not like cats

Erik puts a little splint on a Lizard's leg at one point and has a whole room full of injured animals he is looking after

At one point in court the Shah's mother asks Erik about his virginity and implies she wants to take his (he is oblivious to this, everyone else in the room is not)

When Daroga asks Erik what he is planning on doing Erik whips out a tarot card to him in answer like a Disney villain and walks off into the night as it ominously reveals itself to be the death card

I am currently only halfway through reading this

[estellamiraiauthor]

Is it OK if I simultaneously love another Phantom retelling and am immensely frustrated that it took off while mine did not? It’s literally free in my pinned tweet! Love my boys! Please? Someone?