#lnd meg/erik

[ereyies]

love never dies? love should die.

[musicofthemask]

Okay this was going to be a joke but it turned into character analysis… enjoy.

London Love Never Dies Phantom is so badass for showing up maskless to confront Raoul. He knew he was going to win the bet (let’s not forget he is the one who suggested it) and wanted the vicomte to be left, on some level, traumatised that Christine left him for a man with such a severe deformity because yes, the LND deformity is more shocking than the original one.

Raoul makes his case worse when he makes all of his arguments, comebacks, whatever you want to call them, about Erik’s physical appearance (“…foul as sin, hideous, horrible…”), which he seems to feel better about ten years after Christine confronted and moved something in him (“This haunted face holds no horror for me now, it’s in your soul that the true distortion lies.”) because, let’s be honest, Erik’s behaviour in this sequel shows a lot of maturity and control.

He isn’t angry anymore, he understands his wrongs and wants to right them. Maybe he understands why Christine didn’t stay (looking at you, Ramin’s nod in the 25th), and grew to accept it, worked on himself, and now believes he has earned a second chance. In his mind, he is the one that now deserves her, even more so with Gustave in the picture (in this case he might even feel it’s his duty as well, but for him it’s a delight).

The truth is that Erik has become the healthier choice for Christine by the time the events of the musical happen. He is a respected businessman, who has learned to love himself and dedicated ten years of his life to build his dreamland, where he helps others like him feel safe and accepted so they won’t have to go through the same as him, we see this in “Beauty Underneath”, something Christine taught him about, no doubt.

Not only that, but Phantasma is a charming attempt at helping others see what’s different with, not even compassion, but straight up wonder and amazement.

The Phantom is the ultimate example that some people just deserve a little bit of love (Final Lair kiss) to realise their worth and change for the better.

The MINUTE Christine kisses Erik he becomes a changed man. He lets her go with a man he was clearly jealous of, and he disappears from her life for both their own goods. Erik becomes incredibly selfless while also taking care of himself (GROWTH!).

It isn’t until he feels accomplished and happy on his own that he decides to contact Christine. Even after the rush of emotions inside him tempt him to return to his old ways when he sees her again, Erik gives her the freedom to leave him and is okay with just hearing her sing one last time. No wonder some of Christine’s final words to him are “…take the love that you deserve…” because he should never have had to earn it.

Erik deserved love the moment he was born, and every time he was denied it, he deserved it even more. Going back to the final lair, he is so angry when Raoul, a handsome aristocrat, who is also Christine’s fiancé, asks for compassion. What’s his answer? “The world showed no compassion to me!” Sometimes the actor is sarcastic and sometimes just plain mad which means Erik is either trying to cope or simply gave up on it. If anyone is long overdue compassion, it’s him, not Raoul.

Minutes later he learns love when Christine kisses him, and later on in a certain scene we never get to see (yep, it’s “Beneath a Moonless Sky”), and then a third time when they reflect on what happened that night. “I woke to swear my love…” and what’s the next line? That’s right, “and found you gone instead!” Erik left.

Christine was to be married, and he didn’t want to hurt that part of her life. He also felt ashamed of himself, but he never says it was because of his face, all he says it he was “ashamed of what he was” (someone an engaged woman cheated with? In THAT period in time), not only that but he was afraid to face her. He took the love she had given him and left before it could turn into hate (after all, it had happened in the past… “tears of hate”, anyone?). So yes, this is the first sign of Erik taking care of himself and a further demonstration of his selflessness that we first see in the Final Lair.

After all, what he does with that little bit of love is work on himself and become the man he believes Christine deserves even though she might never even get to see it. He knows she wants him to be okay and as long as she is too, then they both can be alright with being away from each other.

*cue LND overture, the new chapter in their story where Erik finds out Christine isn’t okay at all*

Once more, character development at its absolute finest!

So no, Raoul, you’re not hurting him in the least by calling him ugly. After all, he has found the beauty underneath as well as the love that he deserved (yes, Gustave, that’s you).

Erik discarding his mask for one of the most important scenes in the show is such a power move in his journey to acceptance. Unmatched.

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

Chapters: 13/? Fandom: Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Love Never Dies - Lloyd Webber, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Erik | Phantom of the Opera/Meg Giry, Raoul de Chagny/Christine Daaé, Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Comte Philippe de Chagny/La Sorelli, Darius/Original Male Character, Meg Giry/Original Character(s), Original Female Characters/Original Female Characters Additional Tags: Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Historical, LND critical, Erik is bitter and pathetic just the way i like him, when i say i overcorrect the lnd characterizations i don't exactly mean erik, i guess i'm taking out my lnd rage on him as my alw stand-in Summary:

Erik's redemption still hangs in the balance. His villainy and obsession are far from conquered, particularly when the wrong girl steals the silver screen.

In which I overcorrect the mischaracterizations in Love Never Dies, while also speeding up filmmaking by about fifty years.

Chapter 13

[nebylitsa]

im the cunt you married. the only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like. im not a quitter, im that cunt. ive killed for you; who else can say that? you think youd be happy with a nice swedish soprano? no way, baby! im it.

[friendly-neighborhood-reblogs]

Madame Giry’s line, “I’ve been mother to you and Christine as much as my daughter!” in response to Erik accusing her of stealing Gustave is living rent-free in my head. Like please elaborate. Where are the fics

[forever-and-whats-left]

I saw someone make a headcannon post, so why not?

Erik:

• he knows pressure points, human weaknesses, etc. basically my excuse to say Erik would know how to disarm Meg in LND because what was that.

• good at everything to an infuriating level. (Everything psychological not so much)

• has an arsenal of dad jokes he uses in increasingly insensitive ways.

• has some weird thing about size. Type of guy to call you “small” as a flirtatious move…

• easily hurt, both physically and emotionally, but refuses to take a break or admit it. Unless Christine is concerned, then he’ll do nothing but wail about it for attention.

• his hands are both cold and smelly, take that translation truthers!

• if he were an ordinary man, he’d still be a complete snob.

• when he’s going crazy he vents his emotions out on a Carlotta-esque toad puppet. There is a tiny wooden stick he beats it with.

Christine:

• would love Fiona Apple.

• her love language is tolerating you.

• people call her “nice” because they rarely speak to her at all. Not that she isn’t, but I’ve always thought she was a bit asocial.

• extremely empathetic to animals. She can’t even kill a spider. (Ahem)

• dislikes being touched.

• moved around with her father a lot, so she has some pretty severe attachment issues. She had good reasons to leave Erik, but Raoul(while he can be a jerk) takes the brunt of her poor coping mechanisms.

• In another life, had Erik not been so pushy and murder-y, they would’ve been very very close.

• Asexual. Yeah. Take that.

• Or she at least would dislike the very potent closeness and intimacy the devils tango brings. In other words sex repulsed.

• After the book, I imagine she took a small break from opera. She'd spent so much of her life doing things for others, and now it was time to do something for herself. Maybe she started singing what she wanted to sing, or maybe she pursued something entirely different. My idea: she began writing stories. After all, her connection to them had always been strong.

• a private woman, thus why she didn’t speak with leroux.

Raoul:

• can be an asshole, but more willing to admit it that others. I choose to interpret the fact that he so readily admitted how cruel he was(to a man who would publish this no less!) as an admission of guilt.

• would never take away music from her.

• a bit pudgy, but has some real muscle beneath it. He can’t be a twink doing sailor work I don’t think. (That rhymed!)

• hates Erik for taking his brother from him. He has a hard time watching Christine mourn Erik because of it.

Daroga:

• becomes Christine’s friend after the plot of the book. How, you ask? Beats me.

• I don’t have many headcannons about him I’m so sorry. Please, pitch your own id love to see em! He’s such an interesting character I feel so bad!

[warpweighted]

love never dies doesnt necessarily suck bc it's a bad musical i mean it does suck bc it's a bad musical but that's not why i dislike it so much. i am deeply personally offended by the way that they set erik and christines character arcs right the fuck back to zero except with a kid this time like. What They Did To Meg and What They Did To Raoul notwithstanding (I will not withstand havingto talk about it), christines whole fucking THING was about escaping her abuser and detangling his grip on her psyche, and eriks whole fucking THING was about coming to grips with the fact that he cannot treat people the way the world treated him and he cannot force someone to love him no matter how unjust it is the way hes been treated and no matter how unjust it is that he has never been loved. even fully in the grips of the phantom, christine wants "freedom/ a world with no more night/ and [Raoul], always beside" her so WHY Beneath A Moonless Sky and WHY christine choosing the phantom at the end of it all. and erik LEAVES THE MASK BEHIND. HE LEAVES THE MASK BEHIND you cannot have clearer symbolism than this and from the beginning of lnd we have the phantom of fucking. coney island. because nothing can meaningfully change and we will always be using what worked last time to beat more money out of this dead horse so i guess the real meaning of love never dies is you will eternally be forced to perform your stagnated persona in increasingly cheap and flanderized ways in order to make money doing the thing that was supposed to be your greatest passion but is now just the necrotizing amalgamation of whatever sells.

[pacificknotcity]

RAOuL?

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I guess that's what our viscount do everyday post-lnd for paying his debts(no)

*I Mean....1 minute ago these two are fighting in a bar.

*Yeah Sorry Meg,Erik is watching Raoul dancing instead of watching your performance😅

*CHRISTINE: OK?? No fooling around boys.YOU TWO NEED TO BE READY FOR MY ARIA.

[madreemeritus]

Love Never Dies slander because I can (it's ok if you like the show, I'm just giving my personal opinion)

The wasted potential of Love Never Dies haunts me.

Because a sequel to the musical is not a bad idea, actually. But writing an adaptation of "Phantom of Manhattan" (very famous for being horribly written) was definitely a terrible one.

Andrew basically wrote a bad E/C fanfiction that ignores completely Erik's redemption (and obviously, his past terrible actions) and Christine's arc of empathy and indepedence. Meg Giry and her mother became villains for some reason? And they have the worst swerfy slutshaming against Meg, really disgusting. Gustave is a useless character, he only exists to bring Erik and Christine together (Beneath a Moonless Sky woulndt exist without him, I don't know if that's a bad or a good thing). And, even though I heavily dislike Raoul, I agree that it's pathetic what they did to him. Raoul became an alcoholic caricature of himself that mistreats both Christine and his son for no reason other to make Erik look better. Again, I don't like Raoul, I also think he's toxic and he could be portrayed REALISTICALLY as a bad husband. But not like that lol

And, like. What is the purpose of erasing Erik's redemption and giving him Christine's (and Gustave's) love as a prize if you make him even worse? This Erik abandoned Christine after FUCKING HER. He and Raoul make a bet over owning Christine like if she is some kind of object. This Erik is horrible to Giry, which makes no sense, he even creates a freakshow and exploits disabled people??? Literally what has done to him in the past??? Also, Erik being a rich business man with little to no social struggles is so ridiculously out of character lol. "Mister Y" doesn't act like Erik himself.

The ending is straight up bullshit. It's too ridiculous and irritating to be tragic. Christine has absolutely no agency in LND, her entire arc is choosing between her boring alcoholic husband or the teacher that abandoned her after fucking her 10 years ago (not to mention that Erik's past mistakes, like, idk, maybe KIDNAPPING HER, killing Piangi and Buquet, is not even mentioned. No one remembers that). And then she sings a pretty song, chooses Erik, and dies. Wow. Amazing. She dies by accident by the way, because Meg shot her... unintentionally? Depending on the actress, I think. I won't even talk too much about Meg's character assassination because it just frustates me. "Oh the deranged sex worker that is punished with abandonment and pain by the end". Ugh.

The songs are amazing though. This I can't deny, even like, Bathing Beauty, it has nothing to do with POTO but it's a good song honestly.

Love Never Dies could be a good sequel. Erik trying to make amends for his mistakes, having terrible coping mechanism (as always), maybe they could explore his relationship with Madame Giry (even if she is depicted as a morally grey character). Christine realizing that she and Raoul were too young when they made the decision to marry, and that she has much more potential than what the victorian patriarchal society has to offer her. It could even end with E/C being canon, but like, with actual development??? Him learning how to behave apropriately, actually healing and being a better partner? (because he doesn't grow in Love Never Dies, he just gets Christine for sometime before she dies, he learns nothing, he just becomes an asshole that is portrayed as the good guy 'cause "Raoul is worse")

[blackghostm2o]

Ok… I’ve watched Love Never Dies, the Australian version. Spoilers (if you even care)

The ending is horrible… It feels… Unfinished? Idk if that makes sense and I don’t even know how to explain it. Someone could probably say: “Yeah, That’s how an open ending works.” Ok, but it feels like the play should continue just a lil bit more…

Now… Idk if it’s just me misunderstanding, but at first didn’t Madame Giry say that she and Meg helped MISTER Y (pretty shitty name if you ask me, it would have been a lil better if they used the E to make it sound like Mystery and also allude to the name Erik) to go to the States, like saving him? Later Meg is being: “I’ve come here for him and restarted my own life for him and he doesn’t even care.” (Not really, but you get it).

Madame Giry idolising Mr. Y??? Meg loving Mr. Y (I hate this name, I’ll call him Phantom from now on). Idk… It really feels wrong, really random and out of character. Both of their relationship with the Phantom are strange, don’t like it. Also Meg KILLING CHRISTINE???? They were good friends, but ok… Let’s play the devil’s advocate and say that she went a bit crazy, why tf the Phantom was “Oh! But you are like a rough diamond! The BeAuTy UnDerNeAtH! But btw… Nobody can be like Christine.” DUDE!!! WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU!??! She has a gun and is jealous af rn! Mah… Needless death.

The characters have been butchered, not only the 2 Giry, but also Raoul and Christine.

I’m not a really big Raoul fan (I admit it), but I don’t think he could be a gambler, a raging alcoholic and a shitty father… Nah, that’s not Raoul. His main song is about he being a shitty person and you think “maybe he will get better” WRONG! He takes a bet with the Phantom (he’s a gambler so it checks out). That choke scene??? ,’:)

Christine loving the Phantom… Hmmm, not really in line with ALW poto. Her having sex with the Phantom… Don’t really like it. When would have happened? The ending of PotO wouldn’t make sense if they had sex before.

Another thing that really annoys me is him having a freak show. Even in ALW’s canon he was used as an attraction so why would he open a place like that and inflict to others what happened to him as a kid. I believe that he would burn down a place like that instead of opening one.

Some songs are good and really catchy, others are ok.

LND is basically ALW being the 1st Erikstine fan, that’s it.

[ashadeintheshade]

Thanks Sadie this is fun!!!! @sadeyedlady-writes

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

This is easy because I have relatively few 😂

1. Alaska AU

2. Angel Demon AU

3. LND canon divergent meg/erik fic

@flagbridge @battydings @shinyfire-0

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Love Never Dies - Lloyd Webber, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Erik | Phantom of the Opera/Meg Giry, Raoul de Chagny/Christine Daaé, Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Comte Philippe de Chagny/La Sorelli, Darius/Original Male Character, Meg Giry/Original Character(s), Original Female Characters/Original Female Characters Additional Tags: Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Historical, LND critical, Erik is bitter and pathetic just the way i like him, when i say i overcorrect the lnd characterizations i don't exactly mean erik, i guess i'm taking out my lnd rage on him as my alw stand-in Summary:

Erik's redemption still hangs in the balance. His villainy and obsession are far from conquered, particularly when the wrong girl steals the silver screen.

In which I overcorrect the mischaracterizations in Love Never Dies, while also speeding up filmmaking by about fifty years.

Chapter 12. A terrible song leads to a dramatic confrontation on the beach.

[emotionalmotionsicknessxx]

Ten First Lines Game

Rules: Share the first line of ten of your most recent fanfics and then tag ten people. Don't have ten? Not to worry, just share what you have.

Thanks to @catcorsair and @angel-with-paper-wings for the tags!

Voltige (Horsegirl Erik/Christine)

Christine Daae couldn't remember when she began to love performing. 

Girl in the World (Crack Week Fic where Erik loves Rihanna)

Christine: Caramel Macchiato? Iced?

Well-Suited (Meg in drag in the LND universe)

She held the silk robe tight against her chest, the sea breeze floating through the open window, the night as still as the figure clad in black by the doorway to her bedroom.

And Our Piercing Howls (Meg is a Werewolf, Erik is a down and out Coney Island park owner)

Erik did not sleep.

What I've Tasted of Desire (Meg/Erik LND smut)

Meg stared out the cloudless sky, considered the sun beating down on the boardwalk. 

A Life in the Shape of You (Megstine, Meg is pretending to be the Phantom)

If anyone asked Meg who had started the sordid tale of the Phantom of the Opera, she would say she didn't remember.

If anyone asked Christine, she would say the same. If they persisted, she would say herself.

The truth was, she could not be certain after all was said and done.

Tis the Damn Season (Christine returns to her hometown and old loves, modern AU)

Time flies by; what was once paralyzing stagnation now feels like a car moving too fast. The holiday goes by too quickly, though the speedometer on her trusty Honda only reads 35. 

A Composer....(Meg/Erik LND AU)

"Erik, I am not going to beg you," Meg Giry said through gritted teeth. The night was cold near the river, and she shivered where she stood on the sidewalk. 

Miss Daae Has Returned (The scene from the musical, retold from Meg's POV)

"I thought it best that she was alone," Madame Giry said in the most aloof voice possible.

"She needed rest," Meg added, her own voice shaking. She smoothed her tutu out with a quiver in her fingers. The blood still burned in her ears. Shame. How could she feel this embarrassed when she didn't even know why?

And Now, How You Repay Me... (Meg/Erik LND Angst)

"Meg."

"Councilman" she nodded. It was his title, technically, but in every sense of the word, he was so much more powerful than his "elected" position. She knew it all too well, as did he; yet she insisted she use the title instead of his name. Anything to put a little space between them, now, at this packed dive bar full of people staring.

Tagging (no pressure) @box5intern @from-aldebaran @wheel-of-fish @phannah--montana @les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques @shinyfire-0

[chandra-nalaar]

the worst part of LND is not the horrible song meg has to perform and its not how every character is written so badly it hurts, or that there are significant contradictions in the story, it's that you hate to see erik forced to get a job and pay rent. why must artists pay bills and shit, is it not enough to flop around being dramatic and unemployed all day? and have unbelievable drip?

[phandompenny]

so much e/m… it’s Good 👀😌 a snippet of Young Love, Young Dear, perhaps? 🥺🥹

Thank you for the ask! Given that you've specifically asked for E/M, I feel kind of guilty that you picked one of the angstiest options on the list! This is actually a later part of my LND rewrite series which I've already started posting.

Have a snippet from a slightly less traumatic part of this fic, which is the E/M bedside care after The Events:

“Your dancers need you, Meg,” Erik says. “Phantasma needs you. Christine needs you, she wants you to write to her again. And I…” the words catch in his throat, and no matter how much he berates himself for his cowardice he cannot force them out. The last time he needed somebody she left him, tore his mask off in front of a stage of hundreds and then tore his heart out and returned it to him in the shape of a ring. That’s probably unfair. He survived Christine leaving. He’s not sure he can survive Meg. And if this is what his love does, breaks its recipients until there’s nothing left, then it’s better not being given.