#Erik and the Mirror Bride

[ashadeintheshade]

Read now on AO3.

[mistressofthelair]

The musician and the mannequin

[flagbridge]

Erik x Mirror Bride, from All Vows: Chapter 19, by @bonzlydoo

[operafantomet]

Hello, do you have a photoset of the first unmasking scene when the Phantom is crawling on the stage during "Stranger Than You Dreamt It"?

If not too many of the crawling itself, at least some photos from that scene. And hooray for a wonderful specific photoset request!

Scott Davies, West End:

Jonathan Roxmouth, South Africa:

Gerónimo Rauch, West End:

Teresia Bokor and Flemming Enevold, Copenhagen:

Lana English and André Schwartz, South Africa:

Samantha Hill and Hugh Panaro, Broadway:

Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, West End:

Unidentified, Japan:

Deborah Dutcher and Peter Karrie, UK Tour:

Unidentified, Japan:

Rob Pitcher and unidentified, Hamburg:

[achildsfirstsorrow]

‘Brand, burn up, bite into its grace—

Let death be felt and the proof remain;

He is sure to remember her dying face!’

[britishchick09]

this is like musical erik and his mirror bride! ;D

[glassprism]

You've been in the phandom and on tumblr for a while and i've always been curious as to if you have any takes on how it's changed over the years? or perhaps just the overall attitude towards trading has changed? if at all?

I think the changes in attitudes in the phandom and the changes in attitudes towards trading are two separate things (trading overlaps with multiple musicals and all while also having it's own separate shifts), so I'm just going to stick with changes in the phandom!

I will also note that I've only been in the phandom since around 2010, which might seem long to some but doesn't to me, because I know people who have been around at least a decade longer than that. I should also say that even though I interact with the phandom on multiple platforms, I'm not everywhere and I can't read, you know, every forum thread or every post on Tumblr. As such, there will be thinks that I'll miss, as I can only speak to what I personally witnessed on the platforms I was engaged in, because that's what I know best!

With all that said, I'm going to split this into four parts.

Attitudes towards characters. I talked about this to some extent in a recent ask about the role of Christine, but in a general sense, there's been a shift towards appreciating Christine, Raoul, the Persian, Carlotta, and other supporting characters, or at the very least, taking a more complex view of them. This also applies to Erik to a large extent, and I've also seen a trend of seeing him as less the seductive, commanding figure and more love towards him as, I dunno, a weird sewer man. Honestly I could probably devote entire asks to each of these, but suffice to say, way more love for characters other than Erik.

Attitudes towards ships and fic. I put these two together because they're so complementary, though it also ties into the above attitudes towards characters. I think it's safe to say that, just like Erik used to be the most popular character, Erik/Christine was also the most popular ship. But I've definitely seen a large swelling of love for the other ships in the last decade or so: Raoul/Christine of course, but also things like Pharoga (the Persian and the Phantom) and Firdre (Firmin/Andre), Meg/Christine or Carlotta/Christine, and many a crack ship such as Rerik (Raoul/Erik) or Erik/Mirror Bride, Erik/Therapy, or Raoul/Madame Giry (though maybe this is just from one place). OCs (Original Characters) are much more in vogue as well and I feel like people are more willing to accept ships with OCs without deriding them as Mary Sues or author wish fulfillment and what-not. I think E/C will always be the most popular ship but people are much more willing to say that they ship something that's not E/C, or even to say they don't ship it, and to write non-E/C fic without worrying about getting blasted.

Attitudes towards adaptations. Going to be honest, what prompted this was me thinking about the seismic shift in perspective towards Susan Kay's Phantom, namely that it went from "This is better than Leroux!" to "Yikes". But that's only one example of a general pattern of appreciation for other versions besides the ALW musical - Leroux for sure, especially as people start to figure out the differences, sometimes major, between translations, but also towards, say, the Yeston/Kopit musical, the David Staller musical, other film adaptations, even Love Never Dies (which I think people sort of look upon now with a fond, "Oh you, you silly trashfire musical, I love you"). In short, more love for other versions.

Social justice issues. Lastly, I think the phandom has really grown more aware of various issues within and without Phantom and its adaptations. There's a lot to cover, but just to hit a few major changes, I'd say: more discussion about the manipulation, toxicity, and abuse in Erik and Christine's relationship, much more discussion about grooming with regards to aspects of the 2004 movie, more support for racial inclusiveness in show casts as well as where adaptations tend to go wrong (see the gollywog in the ALW musical, the constant erasure of the Persian, Islamophobia and anti-Romani sentiments in various adaptations, etc.), a lot more open discussion of mental illness, ableism, and neurodiversity when it comes to various characters, discussions of characters being LGBT, and lots more. I think a lot of these things were either not discussed or just dismissed in the years before so it's really cool to see people being far more open about all this.

And there's lots, lots more I could talk about, but I'll leave it at those four major categories! Hopefully it gives you at least a broad overview of the evolution of the phandom in the last decade or so!

[free-for-all-fics]

Phantom of the Opera AU Prompt inspired by Spookies (1986)! Pls tag me if you’re inspired by any of this and I’d love to read it! 💍🤍💐

After taking a wrong turn, a group of teenagers and young adults find themselves in a mysterious but dilapidated Opera House and try to throw a party, believing it to have been abandoned over a century ago since it’s full of dust, cobwebs, and broken furniture. There are objects still frozen in various stages of melting or falling apart, and both the walls and carpets are blackened and singed. At the center of the destruction is a broken chandelier lying in the main concert hall. The gold paint is tarnished, the metal having rusted over time. It looks more like a sickly green with bits of brown and a lot of the glass ornaments that once made it sparkle are shattered. The Opera House shows obvious signs that there must’ve been a great fire that engulfed almost everything. As it stands, it’s little more than a charred coffin that houses the remains of all the people who once populated its halls and filled its many rooms with music, grand parties, and laughter. The group of partygoers seriously doubt that they’ll get caught trespassing, confident that no cop would ever bother coming here.

The group of partygoers have no qualms about breaking into places they’re not supposed to be, even though they don’t have any idea what they’re looking for or hoping to find during their explorations. It could be anything from candles to light after their flashlights die or valuable antiques to steal and sell, but each member of the group is filled with an insatiable curiosity. A curiosity that, unbeknownst to them, is going to get them all killed. They show no respect as they break the door down to enter your old dressing room and venture down the stairs that lay behind the shattered, ornate mirror. Down, down, down, the rickety stairs seem almost endless as they squeak from disuse whenever pressure is put on them by the nosy protagonists, as if they’re on the verge of collapsing from under all their combined weight. They come to a lake. Using the boat that’s tied up by the shore, they row towards Erik’s lair, their eyes caught by the warm yellow candlelight up ahead, which highlights the sparkling treasures that lay beyond. They glint with the same light of their greedy eyes.

Whatever they were hoping to find down there, it definitely wasn’t your corpse lying in an ornate black coffin. It’s uncanny how perfect you look, as if you had just died less than a week ago. But their bodies are racked with violent chills and they involuntarily shiver with fear and disgust when they look upon you and see you’re dressed in your wedding gown. A wedding gown which looks to be an antique from the 19th century. Unbeknownst to them, they’re going to soon discover that Erik still resides inside his Opera House and keeps watch over you. To him, you’re his beautiful young bride but, in actuality, you’re his long-dead wife. For over one hundred years Erik has kept your corpse perfectly preserved through an unrevealed method, forever frozen and impervious to the effects of time that would’ve otherwise ravaged your lovely countenance.

He was branded as a living corpse from birth and, even today, his face is only a semblance of a face. No power in this world or the next could change that. The price is high just to keep himself as put together as he is. It took him many, many, many years, but he’s learned to accept the burden that chance has seen fit to lay upon him. Whether a curse from God or a gift from the Devil, he’s spited them both in his pursuit of getting you back and has fashioned a life as good as he’s been able, even if it’s an undead one. Alongside you he’s somehow kept himself ageless and undying and, although he’s resigned himself to his fate, you’re exactly the same as the day he married you. You’re exactly the same as the day he found you, after you so cruelly and selfishly left him. Nothing about you has changed. Nothing physically, at least. He can’t account for what you’ll be like mentally or emotionally once you wake up. He still wants you as a living bride, not a dead wife. He especially doesn’t want you as a living corpse remade in his image. Even after so many decades, he can’t bear to destroy your beauty, to subject you to his fate of eternal ugliness.

He should’ve never left you alone that cursed day. Had he known what you intended to do to yourself… He was blinded by his love for you and was a fool to have underestimated you, but there’s no point dwelling on any of it now. He’s paid the price for his past mistakes and has learned from them, swearing to himself that he wouldn’t be so naive next time. While he’s no longer a lovesick fool, he’s still faithfully remained by your side since your death, believing himself to be the ever so doting and loving husband. Unlike you, Erik believes in keeping his marriage vows. Ever since you died, he’s made a habit of always talking to you, professing his love for you, and sharing with you his progress. He’s not sure why he keeps doing this day in and day out. You’ve never moved a muscle or said anything to him, as he knew you wouldn’t. As much as he wanted to believe he was talking to you and hoped that maybe you could hear him somehow, he was really talking to himself. It could be to cope with his loneliness and to prevent himself from succumbing to the abject bleakness of his reality. Believing in a beautiful lie seemed better than an ugly truth, and if he had to keep telling himself these lies to keep himself motivated, so be it. It’s too late to give up now. He must finish what he started and see it through to the end. For you, for himself, for your love.

Although he can do so at any time, he won’t die in order to join you. Dying is so much easier than living, yet he keeps choosing to endure this Hell of his own making, this half-existence. He’s not dead, but he’s not exactly alive either. His stubborn refusal to die might make him a coward in the end, but he can’t bear it if you’re lost to him forever. He strongly believes that an angel like you must’ve been forgiven and accepted into Heaven despite your sinful act, while he’d only be damned to the pits of Hell upon his death, if there truly is an afterlife. Or maybe he can’t die at all because neither Heaven nor Hell want him there. He’s thought of that possibility as well. Out of fear of the unknown or out of love for you, Erik remains in this limbo. Whether by choice or by fate, he’s just here. Frozen. Never moving backwards nor forwards. It’s a rather boring and monotonous existence.

The spell or ritual Erik performs requires human sacrifices to give both himself and you eternal life, and while the exact methods of how he accomplishes this are unknown or unclear, he dons his mask and reprises his Opera Ghost/Phantom persona whenever unwitting trespassers arrive. This spell or ritual allows him to steal the youth and beauty of other men and women, which he then uses to restore your withered corpse and his own decomposing body. While the victims age rapidly until they’re so elderly they can barely move, he kills them swiftly and disposes of the bodies so nobody will ever find them, if they don’t turn to dust first.

One horror after another threatens the teens and young adults as they try, in vain, to run away and escape the Opera House. Erik uses his supernatural powers to possess someone and infiltrate the group. He uses his skills as an actor to impersonate the victim he’s possessing while simultaneously instilling doubt and distrust amongst the group, doing so gradually so they’re not entirely aware they’re being manipulated until it’s too late and they become paranoid and irritable. He then uses smoke and mirrors to make them believe the Opera House is haunted by horrifying ghosts and monsters that are coming to get them. He literally scares some victims to death as they suffer a fatal heart attack, while others are isolated and strangled to death with his Punjab Lasso or simply fall to their death while being chased. The last ones remaining are driven into turning against each other and committing murder themselves out of a desperation for survival, then committing suicide out of guilt and regret for the horrific act they’ve done out of impulse. One-by-one they’re each killed by Erik or by their own hands, bringing him ever closer to awakening you from your sleep-like death.

In his mortal life, Erik turned you into his object of obsession. From the moment he saw you perform on stage, he became fixated on you and had to have you for himself. While you were vulnerable and mourning a recently deceased loved one, he emotionally and mentally manipulated you by pretending to be an angel that was personally sent to you from Heaven by that loved one. He used your fear of disappointing your loved one and being abandoned against you by threatening to leave forever and return to Heaven as a consequence for your transgressions. He used manipulative and abusive tactics, and preyed on your fears and insecurities to ensure your obedience and coerce you into listening to his instructions. He stalked you and followed you to the cemetery whenever you visited the graves of friends and family you lost, some of whom died before you were born or when you were too young to remember them. He watched you and, whenever you prayed in the Opera House chapel, his yellow eyes turned green with envy. He wanted you to worship him and only him. He wanted you as his wife so he could dress you up in beautiful gowns, take you out on walks in the garden he built underground, and spoil you with lavish gifts. He wanted you to swear your love for him and only him. He wouldn’t let you take another man into your heart. Not even a dead man or a god. If he so much as thought that you’d fall in love with another or betray him, he’d be forced to suspend that man from the rafters with his Punjab Lasso until death or have the Siren drown him in the lake. He wouldn’t compete with a corpse.

He tried to court you properly like any other gentleman, but you were stubborn and his patience quickly wore out. He tried his hand at romance, but you refused all his gifts and burned his letters in the fireplace, so you left him with no choice but to kidnap you and keep you prisoner under the Opera House. He wanted to make you feel guilty for hurting him. He blamed you for his actions, and he made sure that you knew it. This was all your fault. You made this happen. In his home by the lake, in his domain, you were caught on the horns of a dilemma presented to you by a man you believed to be the son of the Devil himself. It was eleven o'clock, time for you to decide life or death. He was terrible, he was quite mad, he tore off his mask and his yellow eyes shot flames! He did nothing but laugh!

“I give you five minutes to spare your blushes! Here,” he said, taking a key from the little bag of life and death, “here is the little bronze key that opens the two ebony caskets on the mantelpiece in the Louis-Philippe room. In one of the caskets, you will find a scorpion, in the other, a grasshopper, both very cleverly imitated in Japanese bronze: they will say yes or no for you. If you turn the scorpion round, that will mean to me, when I return, that you have said yes. The grasshopper will mean no.” And he laughed like a drunken demon.

You did nothing but beg and entreat him to give you the key to the torture chamber, promising to be his wife if he granted you that request. But he told you that there was no future need for that key and that he was going to throw it into the lake! And he again laughed like a drunken demon and left you.

Oh, his last words were, “The grasshopper! Be careful of the grasshopper! A grasshopper does not only turn: it hops! It hops! And it hops jolly high!"

The five minutes had nearly elapsed, and the scorpion and the grasshopper were scratching at your brain. Nevertheless, you had sufficient lucidity left to understand that, if the grasshopper were turned, it would hop, and with it many members of the human race! There was no doubt that the grasshopper controlled an electric current intended to blow up the powder-magazine!

"Not a word, my dear, or I shall blow everything up." And he added, "The honor rests with you, my love. You haven’t touched the scorpion-” how deliberately he spoke, "My dear hasn’t touched the grasshopper," with that composure!

But it wasn’t too late to do the right thing. There, you opened the caskets without a key, for Erik was a trap-door lover and he opened and shut what he pleased and as he pleased. You opened the little ebony caskets, looking at the little dears inside. Weren’t they pretty? He told you that, if you turned the grasshopper, you would all be blown up. There was enough gunpowder under your feet to blow up a whole quarter of Paris. If you turned the scorpion, all that powder would be soaked and drowned. To celebrate your wedding, you would make a very handsome present to a few hundred Parisians who were, at that moment, applauding a poor masterpiece of Meyerbeer's. You would make them a present of their lives for, with your own fair hands, you would turn the scorpion. And merrily, merrily, you and Erik would be married! A pause; and then:

"If, in two minutes, my love, you have not turned the scorpion, I shall turn the grasshopper… and the grasshopper, I tell you, hops jolly high!"

The terrible silence began anew. Realizing that there was nothing left to do but pray, you didn’t kneel but instead just closed your eyes and clasped your hands together. Your blood beat so fiercely that you had to take your heart in both hands, lest it should burst. At last, you heard Erik's voice: "The two minutes are past. Goodbye, my love. Hop, grasshopper!”

"Erik, do you swear to me, monster, do you swear to me that the scorpion is the one to turn?”

"Yes, to hop at our wedding.”

"Ah, you see! You said, to hop!"

"At our wedding, ingenuous child! The scorpion opens the ball. But that will do! You won't have the scorpion? Then I turn the grasshopper!"

"Erik! Enough! Erik! I have turned the scorpion!"

You expected several times to be raped during your abduction and imprisonment. You felt so vulnerable and exposed, especially whenever you were forced to take baths in Erik’s lair. You kept a pair of scissors hidden under your many layers of skirts, always close by and ready to kill yourself if he ever tried anything, but it turned out the Phantom respected your privacy and honor. He swore he wouldn’t touch you until you were wed, but that did little to assuage your fears and anxiety. If anything, it made you more paranoid. Your wedding day was set by Erik and non-negotiable. Nothing you could say or do would postpone or delay it. It was fast approaching and you dreaded it, but not nearly as much as you dreaded your wedding night. He forced you into an old wedding dress. The style was so out of fashion you wondered how long he had kept it, but were too afraid to ask. You didn’t want to know. If you hadn’t dressed yourself in the white gown, he would’ve done it himself. You’d rather he didn’t touch you or see your body in such a state of undress, so you complied with his demands.

Erik’s hands snatched up the gossamer veil. He pressed the band of it down onto your head. You flinched as it touched your scalp. In return, Erik pressed down harder and you hissed in pain. You sobbed as he pushed down on it a final time, the pressure stabbing into your head. He pressed it so hard onto your head that it dug into your skull. Your bouquet was arranged by Erik himself, and had been made up of black roses that reeked of death. Their scent was so strong it made you feel dizzy and nauseous. But scattered among the dark blooms were a few red roses as well, along with smatterings of baby’s-breath. Leaves peeked out from among the flowers. Blindly, his hands grabbed up the wedding bouquet and shoved it into your hands. His hands, far larger and stronger than your own despite their extremely thin and bony appearance, felt as cold as ice. When his fingers brushed yours, it felt as if you were touching Death itself. There was no rosy tint to his sallow cheeks, no warmth radiating from his skin. You wondered if his heart was even beating at all, if he even had one underneath those layers of black clothing he always wore. He forced your hands to squeeze around the bound-together stems and you gasped as thorny pain pricked your palms and fingers.

“These are the flowers you will hold for our wedding. I have proposed to you every night in my music, but if you want me to produce a ring,” one of his hands flourished in the air and, seemingly out of the darkness, appeared a plain gold ring, “I readily can. You are to be my bride, my angel of music, my one and all. You will be here in the darkness with me for all time. I can make you just like me,” he insisted, “You can walk the world as I do, beside me. We can walk in my forest on Sundays, just as they do in the world above.”

You unwillingly became his living wife and consummated your marriage. You did your best to just lie under him and bear it. You just closed your eyes whenever you could. Whenever Erik ordered you to open your eyes and look at him, you just stared at the wall behind him. He didn’t notice the difference and thought you were holding eye contact. Luckily for you, he didn’t last very long. After it was over and Erik fell asleep, you snuck out of the bed so you could vomit, your bile falling into the lake. It was the first and last time he held or touched you in such an intimate manner, and you were so relieved that he didn’t care about sex beyond fulfilling his husbandly duties, as he called it.

Throughout your marriage, Erik was much more blatantly and deliberately abusive to you as time went on. Even after revealing himself to you, he was still controlling, emotionally and mentally abusing you just as much as he did when he was your Angel of Music. As punishment for any action he deemed as impertinence, he’d keep you locked in a tiny room hidden behind a wall in his lair. There were no windows and it was full of furniture that once belonged to his deceased mother, whom you believe he also murdered. He’d leave you in there for days, unlocking the door only to bring you food and ask if you had calmed down. He would only let you out if you promised to behave and do as you were meant to, and love him.

In return, he’d reward you by letting you ask him one question so long as it didn’t involve him, or he’d take you out for walks in his garden which he had built himself. It was full of fake foliage and painted animals, carefully crafted to seem as realistic as possible. While it was beautiful in a way, it was still dark and creepy. It only made you want the sun, but this imitation would be the closest you’d ever get to being allowed outside. On top of that, he physically struck you a few times. For ten years you suffered under Erik’s control and influence, subject to his deluded form of love that was, in actuality, mental, emotional, and physical abuse. Day in and day out, it was the same as your body was slowly beaten down and your psyche was chipped away piece by little piece. The days blended together into an endless hour of misery until you could no longer keep track of time. You needed to break free from this endless cycle while you were still strong enough to do so, before you suffocated under his crushing embrace and became just an empty shell of your former self, a mindless doll for Erik to play with until you broke. His words repeated like a broken record until they were drummed into your skull so hard you could recite them verbatim from memory:

“You insolent girl! You don’t love me yet, but you will,” he said once more, “You must. You must love me. You have no choice. You will never leave this place. You are as much mine as the Opera House.”

You tried to escape more times than you could count but were recaptured every time. No matter how far you ran, no matter where you hid, Erik always found you sooner or later. You attempted to escape every chance you had, but the more you failed, the more you gave up on life. If your only option was to rot in this chamber forever, you’d escape a different way. The first time you tried, Erik found the scissors and took them away from you before you could use them on yourself. He tied you up so you wouldn’t be able to interfere or get in his way while he removed any and every object he deemed sharp or otherwise dangerous, not caring that the coarse ropes dug into your flesh and were hurting you. Any object he thought you could use to kill yourself was taken away. You weren’t even allowed sewing needles for needlepoint. He wanted a living wife, not a dead bride. He lived a life where trust and faith were impossible luxuries and he wouldn’t take any chances. Not even with you. After your little stunt with the scissors, Erik’s trust in you had been completely broken. He no longer let you hold or touch anything that could be used to make you bleed. He thought he had taken every precaution to ensure not only that you wouldn’t, but that you couldn’t hurt or kill yourself.

But he had overlooked that you didn’t need to bleed in order to die. Your desperation to take back some control of your fate culminated in you committing suicide by poisoning yourself with laudanum as pure as you could get it. It was powerful stuff and good for sleeping, but too much of its pure form and a person just never woke up. You drank a large dose of the drug during the premiere of “Don Juan Triumphant”. You purposefully chose that day of all days to spite Erik. In your final act of defiance, the laudanum was extremely bitter on your tongue, but your revenge tasted sickeningly sweet. You could hear the crescendo of the music from above echoing down into the caves just when you felt yourself fall into a drugged sleep. You felt warm and then…nothing.

Upon finding your corpse, Erik still refused to see the error of his ways towards you. He was so angry and disappointed in you. That anger and disappointment suddenly and quickly mutated into hate, bitterness, resentment, animosity, and so on. His bloodstreams had been seized as these volatile emotions were coursing through his veins, his heart beating a frantic pace until it was consumed completely. He felt as if he could’ve suffered a heart attack and died in that moment, but the feelings kept spreading like a disease, infecting every part of him until it took over every inch of his being. His lungs, his liver, his nerves, his brain. He was so overwhelmed that he didn’t know how to cope with these emotions that were attacking him all at once. He was overcome. They spilled over and into his voice. He didn’t know how to get them out, to expel them from his body and take back control. So he did the only thing he could do, which was direct these scary and nauseating feelings towards you or, more specifically, your corpse.

He decried you as a devil for not loving him, his words as venomous as a pit viper. But the feelings of nausea only worsened as a horrible pit of guilt churned in his stomach. He almost immediately fell to his knees and started sobbing. He begged your forgiveness as he cradled your cold body and rocked you back and forth, chanting over and over and over that he didn’t mean it. In his madness, he turned to dark sorcery and forbidden magics to turn himself into a living corpse, incapable of being touched by death. He disposed of the dress you died in and dressed you up in your bridal gown, the white fabrics a stark contrast to the blackness of his coffin where he used to sleep. He’s kept you preserved inside, just as young and beautiful in death as you were in life. Sleep meant so little to him in life, and it means even less to him now. He used to go fourteen days without food or rest, and now he doesn’t eat or sleep at all. He has no need for it. He’s watched over you for many decades, doing everything in his power to bring you back to him. And now with the deaths of this most recent group of victims, he has enough sacrifices to satisfy the blood price. It’s time for you to wake up.

“At last, for over a century I have waited. I have sacrificed the youth of so many so that you might live. And yet, I would trade all my powers for some way to make you see how helplessly I love you, that I even kill so that you might live. What a cruel joke. My power is nothing compared to the power your beauty has over me. I am your prisoner, a slave to that which I can never possess.”

Although he’s excited when he sees you begin to move and is eager to have you back, he doesn’t want to rush you. He had hoped to ease you back into the land of the living so, instead, he waits just a few minutes more until you pull yourself out of your dream. You slowly begin to stir. Everything feels so heavy. Your eyelids flutter and your fingers twitch. Your head moves from side to side, as if struggling between the realms of wake and dream. You do your best to shake off the daze you’re under. When you finally muster up the strength to wipe away the rheum that the sandman sprinkled over your eyes and pry them open, the first thing you see is Erik. He’s leering over you with a relieved smile that’s supposed to be loving. You gasp in horror when he stretches out his hand to caress your cheek and hair. In his euphoric state, he mistakes it for a gasp of elation or happiness, until your voice breaks him out of his reverie.

“Erik? No. What have you done? No. Release me. Please let me die. Why won’t you let this end?”

Your words nearly break his heart. You flinch and recoil from him when he tries to touch or kiss you. You’re not…repulsed by him, are you? No. You can’t be! Not after all that he’s just done for you! You’re his faithful bride, his living wife. You should be thankful to him for giving you back your life! He learned from his years of pouring over books that resurrection and immortality can be quite traumatizing for the subject, so he deludes himself and accredits your behavior to you still being in shock.

“I have waited by your side day and night for an entire lifetime. You see now that we can never be separated. We live through each other. There can be no end for either of us. I must when I will make you mine forever.”

But instead you try to get up and out of Erik’s coffin. The layers of white gossamer silks and fabrics surrounding you have tangled together and weigh you down, forcing you to stay in a lying position. The more you struggle to sit up and try to untangle yourself, the more you’re wrapped up, as if in a cocoon. Erik holds out his hand to try to help you stand, but you refuse. You don’t want his help, you don’t want to hold his hand. You don’t want to be back here or have anything to do with him. You escaped him, you were free… until he ripped you from Death’s embrace and replaced it with his own! “Stay away. I don’t want you by my side. I don’t want you anywhere near me. I poisoned myself once before and I’ll do it again, or find another way.”

“Haven’t you learned that my will to have you is greater than your will to die?”

“Even if you keep me prisoner for another hundred years, you’ll never have me!”

“But I do have you. I control your past, your present, and your future. This time there will be no escape.”

“No, don’t touch me! Can’t you see I’ve always hated you?” You get up all by yourself and run away from him, not even bothering to look over your shoulder to see if he’s following you.

He makes no move to pursue or chase after you, as if he already knows that you won’t get far and will come crawling back to him sooner or later. When you become aware of the very real danger you’re in, you tear off the bottom of your wedding dress. Erik burying you, his dead wife, in your wedding dress was such a strange and maybe even ironic thing to do, but he’s so unhinged that you’re not very surprised. Your dress accumulates more and more damage over the course of time you spend trying to run as far away as possible. When you’re outside and accidentally injure yourself, you rip the sleeve off your wedding gown and use it to bandage your bleeding wound.

In the beginning, your dress had been pure and pristine, but off-white. When you first saw it, you reflected how the color looked just a little bit off at first glance, but it looked even more ugly or off-putting once you thought about the implications of your impending marriage and doom. It was all wrong. After learning the nature of Erik’s powers and immortality, your dress gradually becomes less and less white as time progresses. It gets torn to near shreds and stained with blood, sweat, and dirt. The condition of the dress worsens as you’re forced to defend yourself and escape from the Opera House. Your ruined wedding dress reflects your loss of innocence and waning affection for Erik, but you also carry it as a symbol to represent your determination to survive the night and take back your autonomy. But the further away you get from Erik, the more you feel sick. You feel so weak, as if your body is forcibly shutting down and you can’t will yourself to move. Erik must’ve done something to you. You later make your way back to him, hiding an ice pick in the skirts of your bloodstained and tattered dress, like you had done with the scissors in your past life.

“Why must you resist? There’s no escape. Your future no longer belongs to you. It belongs to us. You won’t get far if you run. The farther you get from me, the weaker you’ll become. It’s only your resistance that’s killing you. Love me, and you will be free.”

“How can you speak of love? You’re torturing me.”

You’ve always known that Erik never loved you, not really. This act of bringing you back from the dead only cements it for you. He never loved you because, if he had, he would’ve put your happiness above his own when you were alive. And he doesn’t love you now because, if he did, he would’ve left you alone to Rest In Peace after you were dead. But instead he colluded with dark and unknown forces beyond your comprehension to preserve your corpse and raise you from the dead. He murdered God knows how many people and did all of this just so that he could possess you again. You always were and always will be just an object to him, never a person. He has such nerve and audacity to accuse you of being selfish for what you did, especially after all he’s done. Love is supposed to be selfless and, despite his protests and claims of the contrary, you know he only did this for himself. He never did this for you.

“Torturing you? It is you who are torturing me. I have devoted my life and the life of many others that you might live again.”

“Love. How could I love you when I’ve never learned how to love?”

“Let my love teach you. Tell me that you will love me, that you will love me for all time.”

“I will love you for all time.”

“No. You do not love me, but you will. You are my angel. You must. You dared to refuse my love, hence you shall suffer a fate worse than death. You shall remain fettered by my side for all eternity, until you love me!”

Your eyes skitter away from his face and down to his outstretched palms. Pale as they are, the glitter of dark rubies on his skin is a stark contrast and catch your eye immediately. Yes, Erik is a living corpse, a ghost. And a ghost who bleeds is still dangerous. But a ghost who bleeds might die. You stab Erik in the forehead with the ice pick and run away, while he cries out in surprise and pain. He pulls it out and bleeds to death, collapsing onto the ground. You run out into the middle of the road in search of a horse or carriage and are nearly blinded by bright white lights as a strange metal contraption screeches to a stop in front of you. Is that a carriage? It looks very odd. A person in weird clothing steps out and offers you a ride to the hospital, alarmed at your disheveled and bloody state. You escape with the driver as they take you away in what they call their… car? What’s a car? They try to use a term you’d better understand and, while you’re still confused, you start to get the gist when they call it an iron horse.

“Seriously, how old are you? You speak like the protagonist in a Victorian Gothic novel.”

Oh, if only they knew…

Unbeknownst to you, Erik regenerates out of his coffin, laughing maniacally.

[glindaupland]

The Phantom of the Opera | Seoul, South Korea | 잶팬텀 x 송크리 Review 6/6

October 14, 2023 - Evening

The Phantom of the Opera | 최재림 Choi Jae-rim

Christine Daaé | 송은혜 Song Eun-hye

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny | 송원근 Song Won-geun

Carlotta Giudicelli | 한보라 Han Bo-ra

Ah, the perfect Phantom to finish my journey and relieve me from my tears after the painful two show Kim Ju-taek/Jo Seung-woo slam the day before! Yes, please erase the poor meow meow thoughts from my mind!

My 6th and final round of POTO and 1st round of 'Choi Jae-rim is a Traumatized French Man Double Marathon'. His only scheduled POTO show during my stay was the day before Les Mis opening night in Busan. So I did not have a spare day like I thought would and I had to hop cities the next morning to see him as Valjean. I originally had a seat up high, but I just had to move myself close on the floor again for my grand finale. Seeing a seat open up during cancellations near my favorite side of the stage, the side with the most action, pretty much sealed the deal. I've always wanted to see a ~scary~ Phantom so let's go out with a bang!

If you're looking for some Erik x Christine, wrong Phantom for you! There wasn't much sugar-coating here. CJR Phantom is the opposite of JSW and JDS Phantoms to me; he's the most like a dark fallen angel. He's dangerous, unnerving, and has a lot more confidence with his actions than the others.

Hannibal Rehearsal / Think of Me

The audience seemed especially hyped today lol. Park Hoe-rim always holds Piangi’s note in Hannibal for a very long time and people applaud him for it. The cheers were loud today though even though audiences usually didn’t make much noise to avoid being disruptive! At the end of Song Eun-hye’s ‘Think of Me’ there was also a very excited reaction from the audience. Love this cast showing off where they can heh

First Lair | MOTN/STYDI

He's the only Phantom to sing "넌 이곳에 오직 나만을 위하여 / You are here for me alone" as "넌 이곳에 오직 한가지 이유로 / You are here for only one reason" at the organ because he's just different and not like other girls okay During MOTN, he was was confidently luring and hypnotizing her with no hesitation or uncertainty. The way he moved his entire body, especially his arms and hands (huge hands goddamn dude), was very flashy and dramatic. He's "overdoing it", but in a way that's very fitting for his Phantom's eccentric personality. I think you can already tell something is off about his Phantom as a person here. You can hear it in his voice a bit too. It had a sort of unearthly mesmerizing quality to it. This is the closest to a mysterious dark angel out of the Phantoms. He's especially possessive, but it's more in the way you might expect and different from KJT Phantom. The way he draws her to him with his hands, the way he touches his lips when he comes around the organ towards her 👀 He even tugged her along a bit when he led her to the bride in the mirror and urged her to look at the gift. With SEH Christine it was interesting to see her slowly unwind throughout the song since she's the more hesitant of the two. A Christine like SJS is definitely easier "prey" for him

Here's a little taste of his Music of the Night. Some of his more dramatic movements are actually a little bit similar to how he moved as the Phantom in this song, but he has a specific strange aura when actually in character.

I Remember / Stranger Than You Dream It

...SEH Christine is a little too curious and innocent maybe. Because wow if I saw a big weird masked man looking like that while working I simply? Would not want to mess with him at all, not getting anywhere near him. While the music box played, he was breathing (almost grunting) very audibly and heavily in frustration. He was very tense and focused. She was very playful and even mischievous-looking as she tried to swipe at his mask. It was like a game to her. Right at the moment he seemed to find his flow, playing the music in the air with his eyes closed, she succeeded. He's the scariest one during the outburst! His voice sounded venomous at the start and his eyes were wild as he covered the side of his face with both hands. The way he tilted his head watching her was very off-putting. Actually rather than becoming sadder, he almost seemed even creepier as he got closer. My seat was very close on that end of the stage and as I saw him approaching I wanted to back away myself! But at the end, I did start to feel sorry for him. It was really pitiful seeing this magnificent and seemingly magical genius be reduced to...this. The other Phantoms appear more human here, but he truly did look like some dark being trying desperately to be like a regular human, trying to be a part of this world. The angel of music is not, in fact, an angel, but....well who knows what he is. When she returned the mask, he looked like he couldn't make sense of what was happening. I could see his eyes glistening a little like tears were threatening to fall. I think he felt especially uncomfortable looking so weak in front of her. His Phantom felt like he had everything completely under control, but he managed to be disarmed so suddenly. His face was now revealed as well as the hidden dark part of himself

AIAOY Reprise

Kinda upset that my angle made it difficult to see him because the angel wing was obstructing him the times he wasn't leaning forward enough. But also how does he even fit on there. And also how did he manage to be the one who moved the least? He must be folded like an origami piece up there. Anyway oh boy. When saying Christine's name the first time, he sounded broken and small while looking down. But the second time he slowly lifted his head giving a cold dark stare ahead and spoke in a low and threatening voice that faded off. He had this rage building up and spreading through him and began his final lines in a harsh growling voice. He's extra intimidating because he kind of just fully gets up making himself as big as possible. I was laughing during intermission when I was heading to the lobby and two girls ran by me in the aisle going "EEEEE 무서워요!! / I'm scared!" So true, girlies, so true

Why So Silent?

JDS/KJT Phantoms lift up Christine's chin when they finally address her, but he pulled her a little roughly towards him. Not a big thing but definitely got a yikes from me when I saw it!

Wandering Child

Oh he is so weird and freaky somebody's gotta push him off that mausoleum I don't like it (no I love it as an acting choice though I just mean it's uncomfortable) 😭 The way he moves his entire body so much is so creepy? How do I even describe those movements. He would crouch or lean forward in a lunging position, but also made these big gestures with his arms again and looked like he was trying to use some power to pull Christine towards him He used an odd sarcastic tone mocking Raoul like he barely even viewed him as a threat.

The Point of No Return

The trap is set and waits for its prey! ...But also, Christine, Piangi just grew like 10 feet taller turning into a brick wall of a man and you don't find this.... suspicious maybe? No? Okay... He opens that curtain and it's like:

ANYWAY He had such an eerie way of singing to me. There was this hypnotic energy again like in MOTN. Once again the hands...when he tips her head side to side with his fingers under her chin in his last lines of his verse it's like he's putting her in a trance. She actually looked a bit disoriented for a moment, but her expression was slowly changing like she was suspecting something was wrong even before she turned to him. He was scarily calm looking throughout the song. You mostly just saw his shoulders moving from his slow steady breathing. Occasionally he would slowly take a look at her to see what she was doing, but it was more like he was preparing himself than getting stressed. She touched him and he only flinched very slightly before reaching up to her completely ready to join their hands. He was practically pulling her down actually to touch her more. I think he was sure that he was succeeding. When she had discovered him, he closed in like a beast about to pounce with his hands in position to grab her in case she tried to flee. But when she threw the hood off he was taken off guard During the AIAOY Reprise "언제나, 어디든, 영원히 / Always, anywhere, forever" -> "Anywhere you go let me go too" was a painful cry as well as the word "어둠에 / (into) darkness" in "또 다시 지옥 같은 어둠에 / Once again into darkness like hell" later for Down Once More and he delivered his next lines in a terrifying voice. It was similar to the AIAOY Reprise on the angel. I have to admit it partially concerned me (just because here and Les Mis he had a few slight rough moments, he cracked a tiny bit at the very end of 'Who Am I' after an otherwise very solid note). Overall though I think he has amazing ability and it's just wear from the rough schedule he has unfortunately. The choices did work either way!

Final Lair

He is so unhinged and unstable. Now he had this rough vicious villainous tone and sometimes he used that mocking voice again like he did in 'Bravo Monsieur'. He practically hissed out the line about the world never accepting him. His gestures with his arms were so theatrical and huge and the way he moved about was so heavy, jerky, and unsettling. When he threw the noose on Raoul he had the most terrifying laugh and jumped a little spitting out his taunts loudly He stood up fast and leaned in close to her face to whisper “날 시험하지말고 / Don't test me” so very quietly before he screamed for her to choose. He said it with spite in his voice, but he was actually holding back tears when he turned around. He had been so dangerous before, but Christine managed to disarm him once again with her words. Christine dropped lower from her position on her knees with a sob. It wasn't out of fear, seeing him like this just seemed to hurt her. This kiss was an interesting one to analyze. Some people thought this part tends to make him seem unmoved? But I disagree with the conclusion some people had made around that time that his Phantom didn't change or develop. He wasn't very openly reactive to the first one, he was completely frozen. The second time he clenched and unclenched his fists until he pulled her hand away quickly and rushed off staggering and holding his head. I saw reviews saying he would simply repeat his actions over again based on his reactions. I personally just think his change is different. I think CJR Phantom thinks he knows everything and that he can control everything that will happen so it scares him when he faces something unexpected. I think this is why he started to finally unravel at the very end. He cannot predict anything Christine will do, she always does the opposite of what he would think. Love and compassion were the last things he would ever expect. I don't even think he knew what kindness looks like. But he finally understood in that moment and he also understood that he couldn't force her to be there with him now. Something I noted during this performance in particular: HGH Raoul tried to urge Christine that they need to leave, but SWG would seem a bit confused in the moment and look at the Phantom like he was trying to understand what just happened. It just especially stood out to me across from CJR Phantom because of how much of a threat he had been. He was trying to process this because of the way the Phantom was just moments before and almost looked like he maybe even pitied him in a weird way. Christine came back pretty early this time to return the ring and watched the Phantom while covering her mouth in disbelief. It was as if this was the one moment he finally showed his real human side to her. She could really see him as a regular man now. When he realized she was there, he was really startled and practically jumped away like he was bracing himself for something (perhaps thinking the mob had arrived for him?). He went over to her wondering why she had returned, but once he realized he softly sang that he loved her. She nodded knowingly trying to hold back her tears. He looked so small suddenly when she left him alone there

Please when I tell you Jae-rim got the loudest screams out of every curtain call I experienced lol. He was goofing off, but at one point the shrieking was so loud he looked a little embarrassed about it heh. Even louder than that though was his Les Mis curtain call where everyone just about lost their goddamn minds seeing him pick up and spin little Cosette (I was one of those people, I'm weak)

Anyway it's promo time! Here's some bonus videos for you to enjoy

POTO Medley in English from 2013 (Wandering Child -> MOTN -> Think of Me -> All I Ask of You -> - he could easily be in English POTO honestly since he speaks English very well. He sings the actual show pretty differently and his vocals have improved, but it's still very nice and interesting to listen to after all this time.

Ah next one is cursed I know I know...but he almost convinced me this show can be good like a very talented scammer. Please stick to only covers of this though... He's sung the English version before a few times, but here's the Korean one:

And some non-POTO promo to show off his range because he's kind of crazy

And that's it for all my Phantom reviews! 6 out of 6 shows yay! If you made it to this point thank you for reading and enduring. I hope my insanity brought you some kind of joy and entertainment. I just wanted to share everything I could so other people could have a taste in some way and so I could relive and document my memories. It was truly a dream experience for a longtime POTO fan to be able to see the show done in so many ways over just a few days.

[jennyfair7]

Vintage Earl Review

With all the Earl love going around I did some digging and found my handwritten notes from when I saw him in 2005! It was my first time seeing POTO on the West End and it was amazing 😍

The performance was June 14, 2005 (evening) with Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, and Oliver Thornton. I’m not positive as to the rest of the cast other than Rohan Tickell as Piangi, since I went back to see Earl again the next night and Rohan was on as u/s Phantom 😭 (I did enjoy Rohan, though!) The first few groups of notes are in order then it starts to skip around as I remembered things. I originally posted a full review on PFN from an internet café AKA a computer in a McDonald’s you could rent to use the internet 😅 Transcription below the cut!

Hannibal Piangi :D 

ToM - Rebecca Caine cadenza Fab!  Snooty voice - ROME is...

Mirror - see all of him! v. impressive powerful, commanding

Mirror - see all of him! v. impressive powerful, commanding

POTO - “sing for me” :) cadenza fab - live?

MOTN - touch me, trust me - takes her hand (guides hand) up to touch mask  “sweet intox” - touches her hair/ear - tucks her in

STYDI - FAB! crossed out portions of 🎵  - anger so good! scary in a way - she cries a bit. he looks toward her whispers “no” & seems distraught - “dreams of beauty” - gestures to the mirror bride - burns in hell/heaven - growls, seems to be cursing heaven

- Buquet actually scary

- Prima Donna fab - Firmin chucks newspapers offstage :D

REPRISE - looks off, almost falls back, catches himself - clenches hand on angel

- Carlotta voice good, diff. comedic timing - fewer ppl onstage

ACT II - Masq FAB, staircase looked huge

(Christine en pointe, Buquet dummy looked like him)

(- Rachel gets mad, upset - w/ Raoul, w/ Carlotta, w/Erik)

PONR - voice would catch, steamy, Rachel sang to him, he leaned forward, watching in hopeful anticipation

AIAOY Rep - so halting & sweet, hopeful

FL - FAB - reaches thru w/ the veil @ the end -falls to his knees, almost buries his face in her skirts, holds ring out, she pushes it back, cries - keeps his head down  (she turns away, he grabs her wrist/hand on “Christine”) - turns to look at her, so hopeful - she holds ring out, he whispers no (all unbelieving), walks backwards, waves no to the ring

Wishing - FAB, shivers

(”soar” - so pure & light)

WC - first graveyard trio -leapt down the stairs as he went about on the mausoleum

- Oliver ripped his shirt open, dramatic dive!

- Red Death entrance - was looking away, then he looked forward - dramatic

- be my guest, sir - AW [Anthony Warlow] Hyde-like growl/breath

- kiss (2nd) - brought a hand up to her face

“leave me” - fell to ground, almost in fetal position

- before cutting down, looked @ Christine like, “what do I do?”

“poisons our love” - put hand on her back

- chandelier falls more quickly than I thought/had seen

- Earl overall is a physicall commanding Phantom.

[hillerska-official]

I posted 1,311 times in 2022

That's 861 more posts than 2021!

644 posts created (49%)

667 posts reblogged (51%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@grizviser

@brightplvces

@altruistic-meme

@myyoungroyalsblog

@missmeganlee

I tagged 1,304 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#young royals - 742 posts

#not yr - 494 posts

#yr2 - 383 posts

#wilhelm young royals - 342 posts

#wille young royals - 339 posts

#yr2 spoilers - 257 posts

#simon young royals - 237 posts

#wilmon - 210 posts

#not young royals - 159 posts

#personal - 139 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#the queer aspects of the show are a part of it of course but theres exploration of class and wealth and mental health that exist outside it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

RED ALERT, ST. AGNES HAS 2 CATS!!! dream thieves pg 236, their names are Joan and Dymphna and I have decided they are both, much to Adam's dismay and Ronans delight, OBSESSED with Adam

Edit: my ebook has different page numbers than u might, so its chapter 39 if the page isnt right 💕

320 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

#4

Princess bride trending is a sign that I should share my AU concept. Its wilmon princess bride :)

360 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#3

These fucking raven boys, cannot tell a lie. Noah "I've been dead for seven years" Czerny, Richard "will talk to anyone willing to listen and also to those who arent" Gansey, and Ronan "found my new baby raven in my head" Lynch. And Adam's just sitting there like "why are all my friends so fucking stupid?"

378 notes - Posted March 12, 2022

#2

Something something seeing Wille through the mirror something something Erik having a frog prince that's not in glass something something November fucking first

389 notes - Posted September 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Have we pulled this one back out yet?

1,079 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[khunwriting]

[Company]

Synopsis: Your heart beats for someone who cares for another.

Genre: Angst

Pairing: Hero x Serena; Erik x Reader

“Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”

It was just a side quest to help out Rodrigo Briscoletti with defeating some monsters that casted a curse on him and his family. A little task that gave the party a break from the weight of saving the world while still doing some good. And Eleven was never one to turn down a person in help, and that’s what made him oh so endearing. Always kind and considerate of the people around him.

“Will you honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?”

Once they lifted the curse, of course Rodrigo asked if the party could assist with setting up the wedding. With Eleven being as he is, he happily accepted the additional task. And what other way then to help rehearse the ceremony with Eleven acting as a stand in groom. All he had to do was choose a blushing bride to act as his counterpart. It didn’t matter who it was as it was just a placeholder for the real engaged couple. It wasn’t like Eleven was going to actually get married to whoever he chose.

“I, Eleven, take you, Serena, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life,”

Yet why did it hurt so much watching Eleven stand at the altar with Serena?

You watched with blank eyes, taking in every single detail of the mock ceremony from the furthest wall away from the happy couple. Despite the ceremony not holding any true weight, you couldn’t miss the shy glances or rosy cheeks the pair held as they repeated Rodrigo’s words. To anyone witnessing the rehearsal, it was sweet and romantic—everything you’d want from a wedding. 

But to you, it was absolutely sickening. The ugly emotions brewing in your stomach nearly made you want to slip out of the room and run outside of the mansion to get away from the awful scene. If it wasn’t for Sylvando’s worried glances sent your way, you were sure she would’ve booked it when the whole ordeal had started.

It wasn’t fair. It’s not like you chose to fall for the ever sweet and handsome Luminary. He was the one who had shown you genuine kindness from the moment you two met. He was the one who listened to all of your woes and comforted you in your vulnerable moments.

It wasn’t fair, but it wasn’t like it was his fault either. Serena was bubbly and optimistic in the ways that you knew you weren’t. It wasn’t hard to like Serena and it’s easy to see why anyone would fall for her. It was simple; much like how you didn’t choose to fall for the Luminary. It just happened. 

“In the name of the Yggdrasil take and wear this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness,”

Still, it was too hard to watch. Your eyes were quick to slide to the floor once Eleven held the wedding band between his calloused fingers. You could hear the Luminary shuffle closer to the healer and it stung when he spoke with such a soft, adoring tone. Loving words never meant for you. 

For a moment, you were distracted as another body had settled right beside you. Their shoulder brushed against your own and the familiar scent of pine filled your nose, and you immediately knew who the newcomer was. Your eyes trailed from your dirty boots to look into a pair of blue eyes already staring back at you.

“I, Serena, take you, Eleven, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life,”

There Erik stood, his head leaning back against the wall as he just stared at you with silent regard. His half-lidded eyes were ever knowing and his lips had long tilted into a lopsided smirk. Erik looked as handsome as ever. Though you didn’t miss the underlying pain seeping into his beautiful blue hues—the same kind of anguish that mirrored her own heartbreak. Because, of course, you weren’t the only one affected by the stupid rehearsal. 

After all, misery loves company.

“In the name of the Yggdrasil take and wear this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness,”

It wasn't fair. It’s not like Erik chose to fall for the ever sweet and pretty mage. It was easy to like her. Simple really. But then the like turned into something more yet completely unobtainable. He couldn’t do that to his best friend, who timidly shared that he was in love with Serena all that time ago. No, Erik couldn’t backstab his partner like that. 

So here he stands, wallowing in self-pity with someone who shares his pain. Just knowing that someone else is bitter about the whole ordeal was enough to bring slight comfort to the thief. 

But it wasn’t enough to drown out the ceremony completely. No, he still was aware of the giant smile on their faces once Serena slipped the wedding band onto Eleven's finger. So, instead, he kept his gaze set on you. 

Beautiful and somber where you stood. Always realistic in the way you thought about everything, making you both a valuable companion yet hard to approach at times due to your standoff nature. Though, that’s what Erik enjoyed about your company. You were never one to linger on hopes and dreams as the weight of the world had a more prominent focus than your own desires. You were selfless and kind in that aspect. 

And Erik couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been better off falling for you instead of Serena. Maybe if you two met sooner, would things have been different? However, that’s just wistful thinking. Erik is no Eleven and you were no Serena. One can’t just force a role onto someone who was never meant to fit it. 

But couldn’t they try?

Erik wondered as his eyes drifted to his companion’s lips. The movement didn’t escape your eyes, but you also made no attempt to move away. Youjust tilted your head towards him as the thief leaned in closer. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride,”

Slowly, your eyes fluttered close, pressing your lips fervently against each other for some desperate comfort. And in that moment, you wished it was Eleven you were kissing. And, in the same manner, Erik wished it was Serena instead. 

Oh, how misery loves company.

[sloanedestler]

Hidden Desires

Read on AO3

Read on FFN

Summary: Erik and Christine are newly married and working on building their relationship, when she happens upon Erik in a compromising position one night. How will Christine feel about what she accidentally discovered? Erik/Christine, Mannequin

Originally posted on AO3 in October 2020. Rated ‘E’ for explicit sexual content.

Art by @geickogarbage​, which is fitting, because this story was inspired by some different art of theirs :)

[lincolnlogger]

me: in the original book, madame giry said she thought the opera ghost was a woman because they asked for a lady's footstool during some of the performances. what was that for???!

sister: for christine maybe?

me: but she was *in* the opera he was watching. it couldn't be for her

sister: .............maybe it was for the doll

[phandompenny]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Erik | Phantom of the Opera / Mannequin Characters: Erik | Phantom of the Opera Additional Tags: Angst and Romance, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mannequin, if you ever wanted to feel sad about the mirror bride here you go, no sexual content it's just sad times Summary:

He'd believed it was only logical, to create something that could help him design her dresses. He wasn't prepared for the consequences.

[operafantomet]

The Mirror Bride dummy at it again!

(Hamburg, World Tour, orig. West End, Vienna, Hamburg, Stockholm, Broadway)