#claude rains erik

[strangelittlelad]

So I was thinking about it and-

[luneemeritus]

[aggclarke]

All Phantoms discussing: "No, but I received a kiss from Christine" "I managed to defeat Raoul" "I did more things than you"

Erique Claudin And Erik from the 90s: I at least have hair

[masqueradeball]

Phantom of the Paradise, Mall, Megaplex, and more etc will have their own poll next week, and a separate poll for musical Phantoms will follow as well.

[luigisvampirebae]

Phantom of the Opera is now my current hyperfixation (as evidenced by my three fan cast polls; yes, Gael García Bernal remains my Erik).

So, I'm looking for some recommendations for movies and/or books like The Phantom of the Opera 👻🌹

In the meantime, here's a gif of Claude Rains as Erique Claudin 💕

[vintagetvstars]

Hot Vintage TV Men's Bracket - Round 1 - Part 1/2 (Polls 1-99)

Round 1 (All Polls)

Ted Bessell Vs. Dick Van Dyke

Jonathan Frid Vs. William Hartnell

Claude Rains Vs. William Hopper

Eric Idle Vs. Peter Tork

Henry Winkler Vs. Tom Smothers

Martin Kove Vs. Tom Selleck

Jeff Conaway Vs. John de Lancie

Dave Foley Vs. Michael J. Fox

David Hyde Pierce Vs. Tony Shalhoub

Jason Bateman Vs. Rob Lowe

Ted Cassidy Vs. Boris Karloff

Eddie Albert Vs. Russell Johnson

Bobby Sherman Vs. Micky Dolenz

Robin Williams Vs. Fred Grandy

Kevin Smith Vs. Bruce Campbell

Brad Dourif Vs. LeVar Burton

Seth Green Vs. Brandon Quinn

Matthew Perry Vs. Tim Daly

Mike Farrell Vs. Judd Hirsch

Matt Bomer Vs. Timothy Olyphant

Larry Hagman Vs. Kent McCord

Fred Rogers Vs. Bobby Troup

David Cassidy Vs. Luke Halpin

George Takei Vs. Richard Hatch

Ricardo Montalban Vs. John Forsythe

Richard Dean Anderson Vs. Bruce Willis

Anthony Head Vs. Paul McGann

Thorsten Kaye Vs. Michael Horse

Darren E. Burrows Vs. Dana Ashbrook

Adam Brody Vs. Milo Ventimiglia

Adam West Vs. Richard Chamberlain

Randy Boone Vs. Dean Butler

Clint Walker Vs. George Maharis

Erik Estrada Vs. Paul Michael Glaser

Billy Dee Williams Vs. Rock Hudson

Ted Danson Vs. Jameson Parker

Sylvester McCoy Vs. Armin Shimerman

Joe Lando Vs. Spencer Rochfort

Ben Browder Vs. Keith Hamilton Cobb

Richard Ayoade Vs. Kevin McDonald

Patrick McGoohan Vs. Robert Vaughn

Chad Everett Vs. DeForest Kelley

Jon Pertwee Vs. Mark Lenard

Darren McGavin Vs. Peter Falk

Terry Jones Vs. Alan Alda

Michael Tylo Vs. Timothy Dalton

Sean Bean Vs. Valentine Pelka

Ioan Gruffudd Vs. Colin Firth

David Tennant Vs. Robert Carlyle

Jason Priestley Vs. Tom Welling

Martin Milner Vs. James Garner

David Soul Vs. Lee Majors

Derek Jacobi Vs. Andrew Robinson

David Hasselhoff Vs. Stephen Nichols

Jimmy Smits Vs. Hal Linden

Brent Spiner Vs. Ted Raimi

Patrick Troughton Vs. Andreas Katsulas

Miguel Ferrer Vs. Mitch Pileggi

David James Elliot Vs. Andre Braugher

Blair Underwood Vs. Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Don Adams Vs. Cesar Romero

Bob Crane Vs. John Astin

Walter Koenig Vs. Davy Jones

Tom Baker Vs. Jamie Farr

Woody Harrelson Vs. John Schneider

John Goodman Vs. Joseph Marcell

Danny John-Jules Vs. Marc Alaimo

Michael Praed Vs. Kevin Sorbo

Mark McKinney Vs. Colm Meaney

Neil Patrick Harris Vs. David Schwimmer

James Arness Vs. Robert Fuller

Clint Eastwood Vs. Robert Conrad

Jonathan Frakes Vs. Michael Hurst

David Duchovny Vs. Michael T. Weiss

Luke Perry Vs. Jeremy Sisto

Matt LeBlanc Vs. John Stamos

Reece Shearsmith Vs. Alexander Siddig

Eric Close Vs. William Shockley

Daniel Dae Kim Vs. Robert Beltran

Scott Cohen Vs. Scott Patterson

Dick Gautier Vs. Michael Landon

Wayne Rogers Vs. Alejandro Rey

Gerald McRaney Vs. Robert Wagner

Simon Williams Vs. John Cleese

Brian Blessed Vs. James Earl Jones

Noah Wyle Vs. Kyle MacLachlan

James Marsters Vs. Paul Gross

Paolo Montalban Vs. Robert Duncan McNeill

Garrett Wang Vs. Nate Richert

Christian Kane Vs. Michael Vartan

David McCallum Vs. David Selby

Leonard Nimoy Vs. Colin Baker

Randolph Mantooth Vs. Michael Nesmith

Demond Wilson Vs. Tony Danza

Ron Perlman Vs. Mr. T

Ron Glass Vs. Dirk Benedict

John Shea Vs. Michael Ontkean

Jeffrey Combs Vs. Rowan Atkinson

Tim Russ Vs. Bruce Boxleitner

Round 1 Polls 100 - 128

[eludin-realm]

Character Name Ideas (Male)

So I've been browsing through BehindTheName (great resource!) recently and have compiled several name lists. Here are some names, A-Z, that I like. NOTE: If you want to use any of these please verify sources, meanings etc, I just used BehindTheName to browse and find all of these. Under the cut:

A: Austin, Aiden, Adam, Alex, Angus, Anthony, Archie, Argo, Ari, Aric, Arno, Atlas, August, Aurelius, Alexei, Archer, Angelo, Adric, Acarius, Achilou, Alphard, Amelian, Archander B: Bodhi, Bastian, Baz, Beau, Beck, Buck, Basil, Benny, Bentley, Blake, Bowie, Brad, Brady, Brody, Brennan, Brent, Brett, Brycen C: Cab, Cal, Caden, Cáel, Caelan, Caleb, Cameron, Chase, Carlos, Cooper, Carter, Cas, Cash, Cassian, Castiel, Cedric, Cenric, Chance, Chandler, Chaz, Chad, Chester, Chet, Chip, Christian, Cillian, Claude, Cicero, Clint, Cody, Cory, Coy, Cole, Colt, Colton, Colin, Colorado, Colum, Conan, Conrad, Conway, Connor, Cornelius, Creed, Cyneric, Cynric, Cyrano, Cyril, Cyrus, Crestian, Ceric D: Dallas, Damien, Daniel, Darach, Dash, Dax, Dayton, Denver, Derek, Des, Desmond, Devin, Dewey, Dexter, Dietrich, Dion, Dmitri, Dominic, Dorian, Douglas, Draco, Drake, Drew, Dudley, Dustin, Dusty, Dylan, Danièu E: Eadric, Evan, Ethan, Easton, Eddie, Eddy, Einar, Eli, Eilas, Eiljah, Elliott, Elton, Emanuel, Emile, Emmett, Enzo, Erik, Evander, Everett, Ezio F: Faolán, Faron, Ferlin, Felix, Fenrir, Fergus, Finley, Finlay, Finn, Finnian, Finnegan, Flint, Flip, Flynn, Florian, Forrest, Fritz G: Gage, Gabe, Grady, Grant, Gray, Grayson, Gunnar, Gunther, Galahad H: Hale, Harley, Harper, Harvey, Harry, Huey, Hugh, Hunter, Huxley I: Ian, Ianto, Ike, Inigo, Isaac, Isaias, Ivan, Ísak J: Jack, Jacob, Jake, Jason, Jasper, Jax, Jay, Jensen, Jed, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jett, Jimmie, Jonas, Jonas, Jonathan, Jordan, Josh, Julien, Jovian, Jun, Justin, Joseph, Joni, K: Kaden, Kai, Kale, Kane, Kaz, Keane, Keaton, Keith, Kenji, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kieran, Kip, Knox, Kris, Kristian, Kyle, Kay, Kristján, Kristófer L: Lamont, Lance, Landon, Lane, Lars, László, Laurent, Layton, Leander, Leif, Leo, Leonidas, Leopold, Levi, Lewis, Louie, Liam, Liberty, Lincoln, Linc, Linus, Lionel, Logan, Loki, Lucas, Lucian, Lucio, Lucky, Luke, Luther, Lyall, Lycus, Lykos, Lyle, Lyndon, Llewellyn, Landri, Laurian, Lionç M: Major, Manny, Manuel, Marcus, Mason, Matt, Matthew, Matthias, Maverick, Maxim, Memphis, Midas, Mikko, Miles, Mitch, Mordecai, Mordred, Morgan, Macari, Maïus, Maxenci, Micolau, Miro N: Nate, Nathan, Nathaniel, Niall, Nico, Niels, Nik, Noah, Nolan, Niilo, Nikander, Novak, O: Oakley, Octavian, Odin, Orlando, Orrick, Ǫrvar, Othello, Otis, Otto, Ovid, Owain, Owen, Øyvind, Ozzie, Ollie, Oliver, Onni P: Paisley, Palmer, Percival, Percy, Perry, Peyton, Phelan, Phineas, Phoenix, Piers, Pierce, Porter, Presley, Preston, Pacian Q: Quinn, Quincy, Quintin R: Ragnar, Raiden, Ren, Rain, Rainier, Ramos, Ramsey, Ransom, Raul, Ray, Roy, Reagan, Redd, Reese, Rhys, Rhett, Reginald, Remiel, Remy, Ridge, Ridley, Ripley, Rigby, Riggs, Riley, River, Robert, Rocky, Rokas, Roman, Ronan, Ronin, Romeo, Rory, Ross, Ruairí, Rufus, Rusty, Ryder, Ryker, Rylan, Riku, Roni S: Sammie, Sammy, Samuel, Samson, Sanford, Sawyer, Scout, Seán, Seth, Sebastian, Seymour, Shane, Shaun, Shawn, Sheldon, Shiloh, Shun, Sid, Sidney, Silas, Skip, Skipper, Skyler, Slade, Spencer, Spike, Stan, Stanford, Sterling, Stevie, Stijn, Suni, Sylvan, Sylvester T: Tab, Tad, Tanner, Tate, Tennessee, Tero, Terrance, Tevin, Thatcher, Tierno, Tino, Titus, Tobias, Tony, Torin, Trace, Trent, Trenton, Trev, Trevor, Trey, Troy, Tripp, Tristan, Tucker, Turner, Tyler, Ty, Teemu U: Ulric V: Valerius, Valor, Van, Vernon, Vespasian, Vic, Victor, Vico, Vince, Vinny, Vincent W: Wade, Walker, Wallis, Wally, Walt, Wardell, Warwick, Watson, Waylon, Wayne, Wes, Wesley, Weston, Whitley, Wilder, Wiley, William, Wolfe, Wolfgang, Woody, Wulfric, Wyatt, Wynn X: Xander, Xavier Z: Zachary, Zach, Zane, Zeb, Zebediah, Zed, Zeke, Zeph, Zaccai

[blackghostm2oart]

As it is customary I’ve doodled Claude Rains’ Erik (the 1943 one) even tho I haven’t really enjoyed his character.

Without reference

With reference

[forthegothicheroine]

I get where stories about Evil Raoul come from- if the love interest you want us to root for is Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, a serial killer, then the line of thinking goes that Raoul needs to be even worse! (The thought that Christine might not go for either of them has never been brought up outside of the Claude Rains movie.) What I think you need to do is face the issue head on. If your version of Christine loves the spooky ugly serial killer (affectionate) then acknowledge it. If this means your Christine has to be a little weird, then embrace it!

[tosatisfymystarryheart]

The Zodiac Sign of Phantom/Erik from Phantom of the Opera

PART 1: MY GUESS

If I were to describe the the Phantom/Erik’s character through astrology, I’d put him as a Scorpio Sun Capricorn Moon due to how his passionate and perfectionist nature blends well with his cold and calculating side. Much like the Scorpio-Capricorn combo, we learn that the Phantom is gifted and driven, a musical genius who knows how to secure position in the opera house. Like a Scorpio, he is intense, seductive and deeply feeling; and, like a Capricorn, he is ambitious and pretentious to hide his insecurity.

The Internet’s take on Scorpio Sun Capricorn Moon

[find more on wordpress link]

PART 2: THE FINDINGS

The chart below shows the number of known actors within each zodiac sign who have portrayed the Phantom/Erik in Phantom of the Opera, with a notable example from each zodiac sign. Though some Scorpio suns are Phantoms and some Capricorn moons are Phantoms, it doesn’t seem like Scorpios or Capricorns dominate.

However, mini win! Gerard Butler (of the 2004 Phantom of the Opera film) happens to be a Scorpio Sun Capricorn Moon (even if many would argue that he was poorly cast for the Phantom).

Interestingly, Mercury-ruled signs (Gemini and Virgo) are well-represented among the actors who have played the Phantom. Perhaps Mercury signs are drawn to the Phantom’s bravado and his mental acuity?

[find the chart on the wordpress link]

Other notable Gemini sun/moon actors: Ben Crawford • Claude Rains (The Phantom of the Opera’ (1943) film) • Colm Wilkinson • John Cudia • Mark Jacoby • Peter Jöback • Robert Englund (The Phantom of the Opera’ (1989) film) • Wayne Brady

Other notable Virgo sun/moon actors: John Cudia • Laird Mackintosh • Leslie Cheung (The Phantom Lover (1995)) • William Finley (Phantom of the Paradise’ (1974))

[glassprism]

It's been said that Webber Christine shows the most strength and fierceness, more than other any other versions. But when watching 2004 movie Webber Christine that same feel isn't there. Why did they insist to have her be a bit more weaker than the stage? Did that look better to do for movie purposes?

Oh, I don't know about being the strongest and fiercest, plus it really depends on the actress. (Meghan Picerno? Very fierce. Sarah Brightman? More dreamy than fierce.) Like, I think Leroux's Christine, who slams a door in Erik's face, wields a pair of scissors in case Erik should "stop acting like a gentleman", lies to Erik's face for two weeks, bashes her own head against a wall - that's pretty strong. Not to mention Claude Rains's Christine, who ditches both men in favor of her own career, or Robert Englund's Christine, who literally sets his lair on fire, both badass in different ways.

I think the best way to say it is that ALW's Christine experiences the most growth and change, since she starts off naive and passive but becomes independent over the course of the show, while others, like Leroux's Christine, are quite strong to begin with but do display less growth as a consequence. (And then there's Kay's Christine who just doesn't mature at all. Just a flat line of character development.)

But anyway, one thing about the movie is that they cut off scenes that show more of Christine's defiance. The big one for me is 'Notes II', a scene in the musical where Christine 1) yells at Carlotta, 2) yells at the managers, 3) yells at Raoul, and 4) yells at everyone before running off. The movie, however, removes most of the scene, leaving only Raoul's plan and 'Twisted Every Way'. This is part of the adaptation process, of course, where scenes get shortened or removed to bring the runtime down, and it makes some sense because 'Twisted Every Way' is moved to after the graveyard scene, not before as in the musical, but it does mean that a moment of Christine actually speaking out for herself is excised.

Another aspect is just the direction given to Emmy Rossum and her acting, such as in 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'. In the musical, most actresses use this scene as Christine's big growth moment - Christine is finally moving on from her grief, she's ready to stand on her own feet, etc. In the 2004 movie, though, Emmy Rossum is just... sad. She's sad. It's honestly a bit funny because it seems like nobody actually listened to the lyrics of the song ("No more memories, no more silent tears, no more gazing across the wasted years!"), as if the director was just like, "Oh, 'Wishing'? It's the sad song, right? Just tell Emmy to play it sad, that's all we need."

And a third factor is the blocking of some scenes. 'Final Lair' is the big stand-out to me, because in the musical Christine is everywhere in that scene: she's trying to free Raoul, she blocks him from the Phantom, she is sometimes actively fighting the Phantom or making him back down or yelling at him, and it really shows how active and defiant Christine has become. But in the movie's 'Final Lair', Christine just stands there, again looking sad ("about as useful as a mannequin" went one review). Maybe she didn't want to get her dress wet, I don't know. The overall effect is that Christine comes off like an observer, not an active participant in the scene.

As for why they did this, there are some possible reasons. I think a big part of is that the movie was made to appeal to a younger, more mainstream crowd, teenagers to very young adults, and one way to do that is to strip the audience surrogate (the character that people will project themselves onto, in this case Christine for young women) of her personality traits. This is something that Stephenie Meyer did with her Twilight series, where Bella was written "so that the reader could more easily step into her shoes", to the point of leaving out even a description of her appearance.

That being said, this isn't necessarily confined to movies for teenagers; it's a fairly common thing to do in romances too, and one thing about the 2004 movie is that it really upped the romantic aesthetic, humanizing the Phantom, making him much more an object of sympathy, and so on.

And of course... maybe that's just how the filmmakers see Christine! Maybe that's just how they see the story overall, as a love triangle with a passive girl being fought over by two men; unfortunately, I think love triangles in pop culture in general come off that way. Heck, women in media are still being written that way, and Phantom is far from the first or the last to have that happen. After all, stripped of blocking and staging and actresses, the story can be seen in that sense. It wouldn't be the first time someone has misinterpreted the musical (ahem restaged tour).

So there you have it.

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

When the Longing Returns (Phantom of the Opera, 2004 Fanfiction) || Erik x Christine

Ch. 2 Author's Notes

Read the Fic here on tumblr or on AO3

◇ Erik strove not to remember the surge of jealous rage that had overtaken him as he had watched the Chagny boy put his dolman around Christine and hold her as she rested her head against his shoulder.

Military fashion is not my area of expertise, but a dolman is the outer jacket part of the uniform that Raoul wears draped over his shoulder for the masquerade.

I can also tell you that it's a Hussar uniform.

Why is Raoul wearing a Hussar uniform when he's not apparently tied to the military in any meaningful way? No clue. Couldn't tell you, you'd have to ask Maria Bjørnsen.

Even more baffling is the fact that Raoul's uniform in the musical is based off of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars. That's right, Raoul is wearing a British inspired Hussar uniform.

My best guess is this is a reference to the Raoul of the 1925 Lon Chaney film (played by Norman Kerry), who is the "Debonair lieutenant and Beau Brummel of the Second Chasseurs",

OR to Anatole Garron, one of the Raoul-type characters in the 1943 Claude Rains film (played by Nelson Eddy), who is also an opera singer, and who plays (I think) a Napoleonic Hussar of the 1st Regiment in the main opera set-piece of that film.

My best guess for an in-universe reason for Raoul to be wearing this uniform? Well, it is a costume ball, so ~shrugs~ it's just a costume?

Now at this point I'm sure the burning question on everyone's tongue is 'What is a Hussar or a Chasseur and what is the difference? '

Well, Hussars (Hussards in French) and Chasseurs (or, more properly Chasseurs á Cheval) were both light cavalry. The difference is that Chasseurs á Cheval were also expected to act as infantry if the situation called for it. Both Hussards and Chasseurs á Cheval had dolmans as part of their uniforms.

What I find quite funny about all of this though is the fact that in the book, Raoul is actually a sailor lad.

◇ "I will tell you all, Christine," his even tone trembling a little. "I only ask that you.... that you try to be gentle in your judgement of me."

Leroux Reference: Erik's History

Erik's whole backstory in this chapter is heavily adherent to Erik's life-story in the book as told in the Epilogue and the Persian's narrative.

Erik's birthplace of Rouen, his father's profession as a mason, his running away from home at "an early age"; his traveling to India, being discovered in Russia, being given immense power by the Shah, committing political assassinations, the "Little Sultana's" gladiatorial matches, the torture chamber, and of course the Daroga saving Erik's life from an order of execution following the completion of the trick box palace, are all detailed in the book, though of course I made some embellishments and alterations to fit Erik's characterization in the movie.

◇ "... and my mother [...] gave me a mask so that she would not have to..."

Leroux Reference: Chapter 13, "Apollo's Lyre"

"Why did you want to see me? Oh, Mad Christine, who wanted to see me! When my own father never saw me, and my mother gave me my first mask so that she would not have to!"

◇ "There was always a week in early August when she... was worse than usual... and I came to assume that these bouts must mark when I was born."

I don't put any stock in astrology in real life, but it is useful for choosing character birthdays.

Christine's generally agreed to be a Libra and that's about as bang on as you can get (though I could also see her as a February Pisces, if the Christine in question has the freaky energy of, say, Meredith Braun).

But Erik a character has about five signs that would suit him with equal perfection. He has the pride and flair for drama of a Leo, the aloof, ruthlessness of a Capricorn, the vicious sensuality of a Scorpio, the enigmatic, dark emotionality of a Cancer, and the violent passion of an Aries. How do you pick just one? I decided on Leo for Gerik specifically. Why? I can't say.

And if anyone is curious, Meg is a Sagittarius and Raoul is a Virgo.

◇ Her tears, warm and sweet, dripped onto his skin and trickled under his mask.

She, Christine, the true angel—who had sought after his kisses, when his own mother had never even tolerated them—she was weeping for his sake.

Her blessed tears mingled with his under his mask, and they flowed down to his lips.

Leroux Reference: Chapter 26, "The End of the Ghost's Love Story":

"And I fell at her feet, crying... and I kissed her feet... her little feet, crying [...] and she cried also... the angel cried!

[...]

"I felt her tears dropping onto my forehead--my forehead! They were warm, they were sweet! They flowed under my mask. Her tears! They mingled with my own tears in my eyes and they flowed into my mouth.... Ah! Her tears, on me!"

◇ Masonry, carpentry, joinery, metalwork; whatever I set my hands to seemed to come naturally, and so skilfully.

Carpentry and joinery, while both aspects of the woodworking trade, are separate skills. In this time period especially, carpentry referred to cutting and rough-work (including building construction), while joinery refers to assembly and fine-work.

◇ "I was brought down from Ninji-Novgorod, in Russia..."

Nowadays transliterated as "Nizhny Novgorod"; the sixth largest city in Russia, located on the Volga River in Western Russia. It is an important transport hub, as well as an economic and cultural centre, to this day.

◇ "as an entertainment for the Shah's favourite who was 'withering away' of boredom"

Leroux Reference: The "Little Sultana"

It was thus that his reputation reached the palace at Mazenderan, where the little Sultana was bored to death.

The "Little Sultana" is a vague but brutal female figure that is mentioned by both Erik and the Persian. In Leroux's epilogue she is called "The Shah's Favourite", almost certainly meaning a favourite wife or mistress. According to the Persian, she took delight in watching Erik kill prisoners in gladiatorial matches, and even persuaded him to teach her how to wield the Punjab lasso herself, using it to indiscriminately murder her own ladies in waiting, and occasionally even those of visiting friends.

M. Grant Kellermeyer speculates the "Little Sultana" to whom Leroux alludes to be based on Jeyran Khanom, the seventh wife of Nasser al din Shah, whom he first took as a mistress in around 1850 following a chance encounter during which he apparently fell in love with her on sight. One story of their meeting even asserts that she was one of his mother's servants.

Jeyran was a formidable figure, and enjoyed many masculine pursuits including hunting and shooting, and not even the Khanom (the Dowager) was able to dissuade Nasser from conferring her the title of Forough ol-Saltaneh, or from naming her son the crown prince (though this decision was stuck in political hell for years because of Jeyran's lack of influential bloodlines). She was the Shah's favourite wife until her early death in 1860 at the age of 29.

It's my feeling, however, that, though likely inspired by Jeyran (and also by her successor as the Shah's favourite, the even more formidable Anis al Dalweh, pictured below)

the "Little Sultana" is an entirely fictional character created by Leroux as a device to instil a deep sense of unease and horror in the reader; a monstrous young woman with bloodthirsty proclivities that stoked Erik's own growing disregard for human life at a time when he was particularly susceptible: best not to associate her too strongly with any real historical figure.

I was particularly eager to explore on this character, having recently read (and despised) Susan Kay's novel Phantom, in which this character is presented, not as the Shah's wife or mistress, but (rather incomprehensibly) as his mother.

◇ "By the time I had finished, the Shah had given me a nickname: 'Derb Mekhefa Met'eseb' which, roughly translated, means 'Trapdoor Lover'."

Leroux Reference: "Trap-Door Lover"

We have it from the Persian in Leroux's novel that this was a nickname of Erik's during the "Rosy hours of Mazenderan".

I have long wondered exactly what that would actually be in Persian. I determined that I wanted Erik to actually say it in the language, rather than just the translation, but reverse translating it has proven difficult. With no knowledge of Farsi as a language myself, I resorted to online language converters and translators, and this seems to be the best I can come up with. I believe it more accurately translates as "Hidden Door Fanatic", but I'm sure there are probably huge contextual problems with this attempt at translation. If anyone reading this speaks or has an understanding of Persian language, or knows someone who does who can give me a better translation, please let me know, I want this to be as authentic as possible.

◇'There, now! you are quite the Don Juan I would say. Any woman that ever saw you would be yours forever.

Leroux Reference: Chapter 13, "Apollo's Lyre"

This particularly cruel blow on Erik's self-esteem from the Shah was directly inspired by one of Erik's own comments during the aftermath of his Unmasking by Christine in the book (one of the most genuinely terrifying moments of the novel):

"He burst into a harsh, rumbling, powerful laughter, repeating the words: 'oh you women are so curious!' And then he said, 'Well, are you satisfied? I am a handsome fellow, eh? When a woman sees me, as you have, she becomes mine! She loves me forever! I am a kind of Don Juan in that way, you know!'"

This is the kind of line that sticks with you. This sarcastic comment is a horrible glimpse into just how deep Erik's self-loathing goes.

It occurred to me that, in my story, this may have been something the Shah might have sarcastically said to him that stuck with Erik, and inspired Erik's Don Juan comparison (and the work into which, as Leroux's Christine says, Erik "poured all of his bitter misery"). The betrayal of a tenuous, but much craved-for paternal figure would be deeply scarring to a young Erik, so it's little wonder he would try to turn the Shah's comment back on itself, to reclaim it.

◇"Daroga helped me to escape—I suppose in return for my once having saved his life—but on one condition. 'No more murders.'"

[...]

"I had never believed in making or keeping oaths and agreed to this one without much real intention of putting any stock in it."

Leroux Reference: Chapter 22, "Interesting and Instructive Vicissitudes of a Persian in the Cellars of the Paris Opera":

"Erik, you promised me: no more murders!"

"Have I really committed murders?" He asked, taking on his most amiable expression.

"Ah, you wretch!" I exclaimed. "Have you forgotten the Rosy Hours of Mazenderan?"

"Yes," he sighed. "I prefer to forget them, though I did make the little Sultana laugh."

[...]

"Erik... Erik swear to me..."

"What for?" he interrupted. "You know I never keep my oaths. Oaths are made for catching fools!"

◇ "I had returned to find the Opera Populaire under new management and it was not long before I observed that the new directors, Debienne and Poligny were far less competent than those who had advanced real talent and taste. Not unlike our present management,” he added under his breath. “In addition to that, I soon discovered that Poligny had, for some time, been defrauding Debienne in their private business ventures, among other... shall we say 'indiscretions'. I was fortunate to also discover that he was quite superstitious."

Book Characters!

Debienne and Poligny are the out-going managers of the Opera in the novel; their counterpart in the play would be M. Lefevre.

The lengthy timeline gave me some room to work. I figured Lefevre wouldn't have lasted a full thirteen years under the Opera Ghost's thumb, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to introduce these two as his predecessors.

Exactly what Erik was blackmailing Poligny over (because this detail is true to the book), is never explicitly stated, but it is implied to regard numerous proclivities, both moral and financial:

" 'Poligny was superstitious and Erik knew it. Erik also knew much about the public and private affairs of the opera.'

"When Poligny heard a mysterious voice whispering to him about the use he had made of both his time and his partner's confidence, he did not question it."

◇ "I worked by fits and starts, composing for weeks at a time during which I hardly ate or slept and lived only on my music."

Leroux Reference: Chapter 13, "Apollo's Lyre"

"I sometimes compose for fifteen days and nights together, during which I neither eat nor drink, and live only on music..."

Depeche Mode References, for those looking for them…

◇ “Did he have any choice but to go down on his knees and pray that she would have the strength to forgive all the things that he'd done?”

From "One Caress" off of Songs of Faith and Devotion:

"Well I'm down on my knees again

And I pray to the only one

Who has the strength to bear the pain

To forgive all the things that I've done"

◇ “A moment of silence as Erik gathered his thoughts, steeling himself against the heavy sense of trepidation that threatened, like a disease, to take hold of his tongue.

Doing his level best to shake it away, he said…”

From “Shake the Disease” off of Black Celebration (Deluxe Edition):

"Here is a plea, from my heart to you

Nobody knows me as well as you do

You know how hard it is for me

To shake the disease

That takes hold of my tongue

In situations like these"

[luneemeritus]

[aggclarke]

Imagine that you pay for classes for a person who doesn't even remember your face or name, they steal your songs and leave your face deformed, do you come out as the villain? Yes, Erique Claudin, you are quite unfair.

[marvelshifter111]

Celestial High

Claude De La Boeuf

Parents: Belle & the Beast

Age: 17

Birthday: 29.09.2003.

Nationality: French

Face claim: Otto Farrant

Likes books, reading, night, roses, coffee, literature, late night talks, winter, studying, rain

Dislikes rude, annoying and loud people, hates getting interrupted, when people bully Lucas, Erik, Fia, Melanie, Duncan

Older brother of Lucas

Reads a lot

Protective of his brother and friends

Nerdy but not as much as Lucas

Teases Lucas a lot

Has a bit of a crush on Amelie, Lilith is trying to get them to be together

Dislikes how people are mean to Lilith, she's like a sister to him

Kinda flirty but really romantic

Doesn't like smoking and drinking too, that's mostly why he doesn't like Duncan

Gentleman

Good friends with Chen, doesn't like how messy he is tho

Good friends with Jacob

Has a good relationship with his parents, is ready to inherit the kingdom

[textsfromthefifthbasement]

Okay, I want to know how the transition of the phantoms deformity happened? How did we start from Leroux full face corpse while being skeleton like thin to ALW half faced deformity and "normal" body?

The musical was actually originally supposed to feature an Erik with a full-face deformity, but in rehearsals leading up to its opening, Michael Crawford found that the full face mask made it difficult to sing properly plus made it difficult to emote in a way an entire theater could see it. That's when they switched to the half-mask. Like, you've probably noticed that the icon for the musical is a full mask, and that's because this was decided so late in pre-production it had been after they had copyrighted that as their promotional icon.

Now, with adaptations in general, the half-face deformity showed up as early as the 1943 adaptation with Claude Rains. But adaptations have always been a bit mixed when showing the extent of Erik's deformity, from the book-accurate Lon Chaney's Phantom to Julian Sands's Phantom, which had no deformity at all. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that so many adaptation also deviate from canon in making Erik's deformity something that happens to him later in life rather than something he is born with. I personally think that's probably because of the misconception that it would make him more sympathetic, but there's Phantom bloggers who know way more about all the history of this than I do.