#probably heard Christine talking to Raoul

[vikhorrorschau]

[lunatic-fandom-space]

I just remembered something. One time I was on ao3 reading a bunch of raoul/phantom fics and I stumbled upon this one that was a vampire!eric au but i didnt read the tags properly so didnt know that going in and it took me a really long time to notice because whenever he said anything vampirey I was just like "yep, thats eric alright"

[phantomonabudget]

We need to talk, Pham. Stop shaming Christine Daaé.

I have seen this behavior consistently for the 30+ years I have been a Phan. What's worse is that I see A LOT of it from grown women. I see posts calling her foolish for leaving Erik. Slut shaming her or calling her a gold digger. Calling her stupid, weak, or unworthy because a "real woman" (presumably the women posting these absurd notions 🙄) would have loved him better and been worthy of his awesome talent and capacity for love. 😳🤮

It's disturbing, disheartening, and disgusting. And it needs to stop.

First off, none of these characters are real, so perhaps let's take things a little less seriously in general. It's a fictional story. I get it: we all love it, and probably love the Phantom's character. That's fine....I've made a 20+ year career dressing as the dude, for crying out loud. 🤣 Maybe we all identify with Erik/The Phantom to some degree. Regardless of the version of the story, if the actors or authors do their job well, we *should* feel pity and compassion for him. But feeling compassion and completely ignoring the character's dangerous and abusive behavior are two very different things. It has the potential for some severe consequences in the real world.

By shaming Christine for leaving Erik at the end, you are potentially telling young people that staying in abusive relationships is the right thing. You make them think that if their significant other is talented, misunderstood, been abused themselves etc, then they should stay and love them into a healthy relationship. That if they just love their abusive SO harder, sacrifice themselves a little more or for a little longer, or keep putting that person's needs above their own, that the relationship will suddenly become this wonderful, euphoric experience. It won't. As a survivor of longtime abusive myself, I can tell you from experience: it doesn't happen that way.

Celebrate healthy relationships and enforcing healthy boundaries. Stop shaming Christine for fighting for and winning her life and saving the man she loves.

And please stop calling this a romance. It's the antithesis of romance.

I am sick of members of this Phandom completely ignoring Erik/The Phantom's behavior to justify their blind adoration. Erik is an abusive and dangerous character, and extremely toxic. He lies to and manipulates Christine using her trauma from her deceased father. He kidnaps her, multiple times. Threatens her and her colleagues. He extorts hundreds of thousands from the business managers. He endangers dozens of people with the chandelier crash, and effectively holds hundreds hostage for months or years at a time with his reign of terror at the Opera.

Then there are the murders. Several of them. Probably been at that for awhile so we can assume it's far more than the two we see in the show. We don't know his actual body count, but we do know he's adept and comfortable taking human life.

And yet, I see some mature phans out here completely ignoring all those things and still shaming Christine for leaving him. Why? Because he's "sexy" (author's note: PLEASE go re-read Leroux. Please). And he's talented. And has so much love to give. And is misunderstood. And society was terrible to him...so it's all fine. 😳🤮 She should have just stayed and loved him like he deserves to be loved. 🙄

Recently I saw a post shaming Christine and the justification was that Raoul was so much worse. He isn't. Is he a perfect character? No, not at all. Does he make mistakes and try to use Christine? In some versions, yes. Does he run around extorting, manipulating, threatening, and killing others? Also no.

Pleasw don't ever use LND!Raoul's character assassination as some kind of justification, because he's still the most sane, normal human being in that show, and Erik is still 1,000 times worse than Raoul in LND. Also, using LND as justification for anything makes for a very weak and uninformed argument.

"Hurt people hurt people." Ever heard that phrase? Abused people sometimes abuse others, especially if they haven't done the work to heal themselves. Their previous abuse does NOT entitle them to abuse others. That is always a deliberate choice and those choices have consequences. The dangerous, disgusting rhetoric I see in the Phantom community basically excuses toxic behavior because Erik was previously abused and nothing is his fault. That is simply not true. Those that abused me were previously abused. Didn't make my abuse hurt any less. And I made the choice to do the work so that the abuse stopped with me. Previous trauma is a reason for the behavior, but it is NEVER, ever an excuse.

And don't let the fact the dude can sing or that he's a snappy dresser blind you to his toxicity.

We can all enjoy the Phantom character's complexity and love him, while still acknowledging his flaws and holding him accountable for his deeply inappropriate choices.

We talk a lot more these days about trauma, toxicity, and self care. And yet, as a community, we still shame the character of Christine Daaé for doing the healthy, correct thing. The ONLY thing. And in doing so, we set a disturbing precedent for our young or vulnerable Phans who now might think that staying in toxic relationships in the real world is okay.

Please do better, Phandom.

[spaceagebachelormann]

doing your makeup with phantom of the opera characters !

✧ warnings: none!

✧ characters included: christine daaé, erik destler, raoul de chagny, meg giry, carlotta giudicelli

✧ additional info: these can be read as any versions! however characters like christine and meg are mainly based off the book and musical versions :) can also be read platonically OR romantically

✧ nav. — m.list

*ೃ༄ christine daaé

she does her makeup with you!

i feel like she prefers doing hers with someone in the room so she can a second opinion on how hers looks and she’ll do the same for them

she’d probably ask you to help her put some of it on cause book!christine canonically has bad vision

and she’d ask to do some of urs for funsies :)

despite her bad eyesight i feel like she’s actually very good at it cause she’s gotten used to it

overall a very nice experience cause christine is such a cutie <3

ೃ༄ erik destler

he’s intrigued

i feel like he also knows how to do makeup cause he wanted to cover up his face

anyway!! he’d only know how to use foundation and stuff for ur skin so hes rlly interested in mascara and eyeliner and eyeshadow and that stuff

100% let’s u try lipsticks on his arm

he also gives u his honest opinion on ur makeup when ur finished or almost finished (i hc hes brutually honest)

he also asks like a lot of questions

“what’s this” and he’s holding ur highlighter

probably also wants u to put some on him but is too afraid to ask

ೃ༄ raoul de chagny

he’s kind of like christine

but he’s much more energetic abt it

will suggest u wear the sparkliest eyeshadow he can find 😭

other than that he knows literally nothing about makeup but still wants to try and do it for you

and it’s best to say no because chances are he’ll fuck it up (badly)

he’ll also randomly pick something up and put it on himself for funsies

when he finds ur blush he’ll put them directly on his cheeks in circles like when little kids find their moms makeup

probably takes forever to clean him up too

he’s rlly inquisitive during it and asks nonstop questions but most of them are just to be annoying

ೃ༄ meg giry

almost the same as raoul but she mainly just yaps the whole time

it’s actually a very calming experience with her surprisingly

u just sit there and do ur thing and she’ll mind her own business and talk abt her day and asks abt urs too!

it’s also a gossip session

“i heard that carlotta might get fired and replaced by christine” is probably a common one

another one who’s brutually honest and gives her opinion

is not afraid to tell u if u look like shit but like 99% of the time she tells u look absolutely lovely

ೃ༄ carlotta giudicelli

so as we all know she’s kinda mean.. so she’s also very honest about your makeup

if your friends she’ll most likely just be saying it to make sure u look ur best, even if she is a little rude about it

if she doesn’t like you she just wants to piss you off

but she probably also wouldn’t be there if y’all weren’t friends

i feel like if u were taking too long or just didn’t look good enough (to her standards) she’d just be like “oh my god let me” and start doing it for u

if she’s not doing that she’ll use the time to practice her singing

she enjoys ur company and probably becomes nicer during this time <3

taglist : @faerieroyal (ik ur not on my phantom taglist but i love attention 😭)

[batbusiness-schooldropout]

I've got a lot of thoughts about Phantom of the Opera and I'm going to go through them rapid fire.

Firstly, Carlotta doesn't deserve to be dissed as much as she does. Almost everything she does is reasonable.

She storms out after a set piece falls on her (which could have seriously hurt her) and the owners just brushed it off. Btw similar things have been happening for years at this point.

If THE Prima Donna (who doesn't have an understudy. Which is another failure of the opera house) can't expect to be able to work, then she should walk.

Sure, she comes back, but she's probably got some kind of contract with the opera house. She'd need to return to discuss ending her contract. Or at least empty her dressing room.

Most of the blame for refusing the Phantom's casting is on the owners and Raoul. Carlotta doesn't initially want to continue working there. She has to be sweet talked/ bribed into returning as the lead. So why does the Phantom wreck her voice? She wouldn't have upstaged Christine if the owners didn't beg her to.

And Carlotta is the better opera singer. She has almost the same range as Christine, and the songs she sings are more technically difficult. I haven't heard one version of this damn musical where the actress playing Carlotta isn't just as good, if not better, then the one playing Christine. Yeah, she might not sound better to us, the audience. But most of us don't listen to much opera

[paperandsong]

I present a list of 16 Underappreciated fics with recommendations in the authors’ own words, taken from responses to this post: Unloved Fic Tag Game. Most are Phantom of the Opera fics, but there is one from Rebecca and another from Elisabeth. Take a chance on these hidden gems - many authors say these are their best work. They were written with love. 

Remember that it is never, ever too late to give kudos and leave comments on fics - no matter how old they are!

All Imaginable Pangs by @les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques​: It’s a pre-canon Leroux fic set towards the end of the 1860s, told from the point-of-view of a well-to-do Parisian courtesan. Do you like people talking about art and the nature of creating things? Do you like angst about growing older and not feeling at home in your own skin? Do you like lots of incredibly awkward smut and romance?

Annard Noz by @paperandsong:  Little Christine and Raoul roam around Perros-Guirec collecting stories until a vexed old woman frightens them with the legend of the Laveuses de nuit. I wrote this for the Légendes rustiques project which uses French legends recorded by George Sand and reimagines them as stories Christine and Raoul may have heard as children. If you like folklore you might be interested in this series. 

Beneath the Winter Snow by @pianomanblaine​: I wrote this story for the Advent Calendar a few years back. It was the first fandom event I participated in after picking up writing again a few months before, and the response I got made me feel very welcome here. It’s a simple and very fluffy oneshot, and I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope people will have fun reading it as well.

The Day My World Crumbled by @nerdywriter36​: It’s a Nadir/Rookheya fic, which is definitely a rarepair only familiar to those who know Susan Kay’s book. It was basically just a way for me to flesh out part of their story that had been plaguing my mind for a while that needed to get let out.

The Dead Are Gone, They Don’t Come Back by @conquerthenight​: (Mind the tags) Normally I cringe when reading my own writing, but I have yet to do so for any of this series. I would recommend this series to: anyone who wants a reason for Ileana to be so unconfident and scared other than “she just is”, anyone who either wants Maxim redeemed or wants any insight into his POV because the fourth work in this series explores his POV, anyone who wants to read from Rebecca’s POV (the second work in the series is from her perspective), anyone who read the novel Lolita who would’ve rather read from Dolores’ POV instead of Humbert’s, and anyone who believes recovery fics help them cope with trauma.

Digging into the Youth that is you by @enigmawritesstuff​: What you get is a dynamic that deals with trauma in a healthy, heartfelt and loving way, that makes you feel seen and touched. It helps me feel that there is hope that one day you'll be understood as you need, or want, to be, and that's okay. To need someone to help you stand sometimes. Which is why this phic is actually quite dear to me.

A Fierce Inequality of Love by @shinyfire-0​: My most underappreciated fic is the first fic I ever wrote. I wrote it in the late 90s or early 2000s, back when fandom was brutal and people gave vicious reviews if they didn't approve of a fic. This was one was castigated because (spoiler!) Christine does not stay with Erik. I love the tragedy of the man, and so I LOVE a tragic ending for him. And maybe, despite the fact that she escapes him, it's a tragic ending for Christine, too.  Anyway, this one came straight from the heart.

Les Flambettes by @textsfromthefifthbasement​: I think it's probably not as popular due to the archive warning and the fact that it sounds like an R/C fic. But it is a horror story involving the trio with a braided structure alternating between past and present. Part of the Légendes rustiques project. 

Mirrorverse Addendums by @sarcasticdolphin: I know it is a bit dense - there’s a lot of history to cover, and I want to do it correctly. Elisabeth das Musical fandom as a whole lends pretty well or being fandom-blind as it is quite close to historical fiction. 

Notre Dame des Lorettes by @catcorsair​: This is a short prequel story centered on Erik that takes place during the paused construction of the Garnier amidst the fall of the Paris Commune of 1871. Just give it a shot! It’s such a short little one shot, and frankly, I think it’s probably my best fic in terms of writing.

Our Love Brings Ruin by @battydings​: For anyone who wants to read a story about the complicated feelings that revolve around validation and being wanted/needed, but don’t mind a bit of death, this story is for you. Because more than being a story about a couple who are complicit in murder together, it’s about a woman who is willing to step over her own personal values in the name of validation.

Phantoms of Paris by @lincolnlogger​: If you're looking for a story where Andre, yes Manager Andre, gets a lot of narrative POV privileges, you've come to the right place. If you want Erik facing his past head-on via therapy sessions, you've come to the right place. If you want Nadir hanging on by a thread, you've come to the right place.

Philia by @brendadaaedestler: One of the main characters featured in the one shot is a character from Susan Kay’s novel, which [you] not many have read, though you don’t need to have read Kay’s novel to understand the one shot. You would probably like [it] if you enjoy reading fluff content.

Unexpected Variables by @meilas​: Beauty and the Beast 2017. I thought it was funny when I came up with the idea. I actually don't care if anyone else reads it or not.

Vainement, ma bien aimée by @illuminaughti-online​: I think "Vainement" might be my best-written from a technical sense. Also? I genuinely like these kids, as well as the folklore and a nice creepy setting. Give Baby Raoul a chance and you might wind up rooting for him after all as he tries to come to terms with the fact that the world is a terrifying place and that Christine intends to plunge into it headfirst regardless. Part of the Légendes rustiques project. 

You are Music by @apileofpans​: If you like E/C/R getting together in a healthy way with a healthy dose of communication and understanding between the three of them, this is the fic for you! There is a scene between everybody one on one and I just… GAH!!!! It’s like a wonderful hopeful fic with promises to come, it’s just like. Comforting in a way!!!

photo by @shinyfire-0​

[meilas]

Socks Reviews POTO Stockholm 2016 Act 2

Act One

At last! Act two was uploaded! It starts during intermission. It's amazing how these two guys sneaking around in the dark managed to miss each other, until at last bumping into each other. Oh wait, it's the managers! It seems they are attending a party, which makes me wonder how they were wandering around in the dark. Was the party just waiting in the dark on the stairs, or were the managers just sneaking around the dark, empty theatre for some unknown reason?

It looked like Raoul was trying to dance with Madame Giry for a moment after Christine got yanked away by the caped guy, but Giry barely danced before heading off to talk to one of the managers and watch the ballet dancers. Doesn't she ever take a day off?

Red death was springy Act two is much sharper than act one, and Christine's and Carlotta's dresses stand out very well during Notes 2 there is a noticeable lack of zooms during act two, almost as if someone had left the camera running. Christine thumps her head at the beginning of the graveyard scene, as if she were tormented by something. probably the fact that there is a madman running around the opera house tormenting everyone. This Christine has a very nice voice. I am enjoying listening to her. The graveyard trio is one of the best I have ever heard. Raoul's part is actually audible, unlike most productions that include the trio. This Christine really sprawls on the bench. I can't say any more about it if I don't want this post censored by tumblr. The Phantom really scrunches in Final Lair. He's very animated. Much more so than when he was on Broadway. Once again, the singing in Final Lair is very, very good. Peter Joback has redeemed himself for this.

[angel-with-paper-wings]

Modern!AU Phantom of the Opera Headcanons Part 1: Driving

I don’t know what possessed me to think of these, but here are some modern!AU headcanons of what kind of drivers the Phantom crew (Christine, Erik, Raoul, and Daroga/Nadir Khan) are. Enjoy!

Christine:

She is a BAD driver

Every ride with her ends in a wreck

She just gets distracted too easily and can’t focus (especially when her passengers are talking or playing music)

Is on first-name basis with the people at her insurance company, it’s that bad

Definitely eats and drives

ALWAYS wears a seatbelt and insists everyone else in the car do the same

The term “passenger princess” was invented for her

Can change a tire really fast (her dad taught her how when she was a kid and she remembers to this day)

Probably drives something cute like a VW Beetle or Mini Cooper, dream car is something vintage (Pontiac, Cadillac)

Has a couple punny bumper stickers

Erik:

Does not have a driver’s license (for good reason)

Drives like he’s in a car chase even if he’s just going to the grocery store

Daroga has lost years of his life as a passenger when Erik’s driving

He’s skilled, just reckless AF

Music is always turned up to the max

It’s giving Baby Driver (2017)

Seatbelt? Never heard of her, if we die we die

You haven’t seen road rage until you’ve seen this guy’s road rage

When he’s not driving, he is the WORST backseat driver

I’m thinking a black 1967 Ford Mustang (classic, sleek, timeless)

Raoul:

Family bought him his first car when he turned 16 (Porsche or something fancy)

He wrecked it like a week later while out with his friends, his brother made him pay out of his own pocket to get it fixed, he learned his lesson

Loves his car a little too much

Under NO circumstances can you bring food into his car

Christine spilled her coffee in his car once and they almost broke up over it

Pretty decent driving record, has a few speeding tickets and a suspension but that’s about it

Definitely the guy who insists he doesn’t need a GPS, but actually doesn’t know directions (Christine always has to pull up Google Maps and guide them back to civilization when they get lost)

Daroga:

Designated driver 24/7 (he’s the only responsible one)

Perfect driving record (he got a parking violation once, argued with the people over the phone about it so much that they just dropped it)

Usually it’s him driving, Christine in the passenger seat, and Erik and Raoul in the back fighting like siblings

“You two better behave or I will turn this car around!” - Daroga, at some point

Will yell at you for turning on the overhead light, complains he cannot see due to the reflection (he’s so dad-coded I swear)

Drives a Mercedes or some other fancy minivan

The other three always ask him for help when moving something heavy, since he has the biggest car (it annoys him but he does it anyway)

I’m thinking of making these modern!AU headcanons a series, so stick around for more or reply with ideas for more headcanons!

[mazm-imagines]

To Christine and Raoul, what language or languages do you wish you had better experience in?

"I would like to learn Swedish a bit more. It has been a while since I- or heard anyone for that matter speak it. It would be nice to relearn my mother tongue." Christine gave a wistful sigh, Raoul patted her shoulder in turn.

"There there Christine, you can- will go back some day. All in due time. We can even pay our respects to Madame Daae..."

"That would be most appreciated dear Raoul..." Christine gave a cheerful smile before continuing her answer.

"I would like to travel the world some day. For that I cannot exactly learn every language- although I would if given the chance. Instead I would like to increase my proficiency in English. Maybe even Spanish. Spanish is similar to French in a way no?"

"It is, yes. You would probably have an easier time learning Spanish than English. But I believe you can do anything you set your mind to my Christine." The kind encouragement made her beam with affection.

"Thank you Raoul. How about you? What languages do you wish you had better experience in?"

"Oh-! During my time in the academy I had traversed the Middle East. Of the various countries I visited there, the civilians were oftentimes very friendly. I wish I could have talked to them personally instead of relying on a translator." His eyes shone in fond remembrance.

"So perhaps I would like to learn Arabic or Farsi. It's a lovely region despite the well... political conflicts. I wish the residents the best." Raoul looked a bit embarrassed about it considering whose fault it is. He almost felt bad about stepping foot there at all. Christine placed her hand on top of his before entwining them together.

"There there Raoul... We do have the Persian here. Although I'm not too familiar with him, he seems to be a decent man. Maybe you two could talk?"

"...Maybe. Thank you for the suggestion Christine. I will keep it in mind!" Raoul cheered up at the feeling of her hand in his. Enough to keep talking.

"The world is endless! And I would love to traverse it all with my dear Christine. So I must agree with her; I would love to have more experience in every langauge. Chinese looks absolutely fascinating but I have heard it's a bit... difficult to get through."

"Oh dear... well, I am sure once you begin it will come naturally to you? It will work out Raoul."

"Of course my Christine. As long as I am with you it will be okay."

[milady-pink]

Rosewood Manor

Summary: At dinner on the second day we discover how Firmin made his exit from the Manor; along with a not so relaxing spa day.

Warnings: Food, description of death/ murder, alcohol consumption

Word Count: 3061 || Dividers: @firefly-graphics

Complete Series

AO3

————————————————————————————————————————————

Chapter 6

Christine is sitting in her room, reading one of the Sci-Fi books she found on her shelf. The late afternoon sun was perfectly shining off of the pool, causing glimmers to ripple into her room, adding the perfect backlight for the young woman seated by the window in her room. It was nice to escape into the world of science and fantasy when the real world she was living in seemed a little too crazy. Before she finished the fourth chapter, Christine heard a knocking on her door. So she put her book page down, and padded over to the front door. Upon opening it she found Raoul standing there, looking down the hallway.

“Hey Raoul. What do you need?”

He looked at her and smiled, softly and precious that it gave her butterflies yet again. “Christine, long time no see, he. Can I come in?” He asked.

In response, Christine moved to the side of the doorway a bit, allowing him entrance. She noticed Raoul take a folded piece of paper out of his pocket as she closed the door for some privacy.

“I found a blank notebook in my room, and a pen, so I figured I’d draw those symbols the four of us talked about earlier.” He explained as he unfolded the paper in his hands.

The two of them walk over to the desk perched in Christine’s room, that she has been using as a vanity. With the paper unfolded and flat on the table, Christine immediately recognized the one that was in the office.

“That one,” she exclaimed pointing, “that’s the symbol that we found on the safe.”

Raoul circled it with his very fancy pen that he found in his room. “Okay, I’ll be sure to tell Sorelli and Jamie. You should too, if you see them before dinner.”

Even though it looked like his business was done, after he put the paper back into his pocket, Raoul looked like he had more on his mind. His eyes were darting around a bit, making eye contact with Christine once and a while, before looking away.

“Are you okay? You look a little antsy.” Christine remarks.

He looks at her eyes again, seemingly coming to a decision within himself. “I probably should tell you, but…” Raoul trailed off.

“Raoul you can tell me anything, even if it has nothing to do with this weird game.” Christine reassured him.

“Okay,” he said with resolution on his face, “right before I knocked on your door, Andre came up to me in the hallway.”

“Did he do anything?” She questioned him.

“No, but he said something to me.” He revealed, at which point Christine is completely enraptured, wanting to know what words were shared between the two. “He said that in Firmin’s room there was a note that revealed where the Manor’s safe was, and there was something he might be looking for.”

“Wow,” stated Christine in shock, “was that all?”

“No, apparently they couldn’t find anything that looked to be valuable. But, they did find a paper shredder with one shredded page inside.” Raoul shared.

“Well, what did the paper say? Was there something on it?” She interrogated, trying to put the pieces together.

“All he said was that it looked to be something from one of the big banks in town, from the watermark at the bottom, but he couldn’t make out what else it said.”

Christine sat with this knowledge before wondering aloud, “do you think they were bank statements?”

“It’s possible, but why would he want that?” Raoul asked.

“And more importantly, how did this Mr. Y know about them?”

The two of them stood with these questions, and many more, swirling around their minds before Raoul leaves to get ready for this evening’s dinner, leaving Christine to do the same.

Before going down to the dining room, Christine stopped by Sorelli and Jamie’s rooms to tell them about the symbol, and what Andre disclosed to Raoul.

She walked down to the dining room, greeting Piangi and Carlotta who were already sitting at the table, chatting idly; getting a generous smile from the former, and a sneer from the latter. Upon sitting down Christine noticed that on the placemats, where dinner is usually placed, sat a piece of paper, an envelope, and a very fancy pen.

“Do either of you know what these are for?” She questioned, referring to the stationary. Both of them shook their heads and shrugged, then continued to fawn over each other. Christine merely sighed. I’ll just have to wait.

It only took a few minutes before the rest of the party joined. At which point, Erik emerged from the kitchen, carrying with him an air of uncertainty. Clearing his voice before speaking, effectively breaking any lingering conversations that remained.

“Good evening to all. Now that the game has started,” a shiver ran through Christine at his words. It’s just a game, a game Christine, no one is hurt. He continued, “you will have the opportunity to catch the eye of Mr. Y after every victim.”

Christine wasn’t the only one chilled by the thought that death could serve as a game, for she caught poor Jamie looking down at her pen, clearly reminded of that morning. “With the pen and paper in front of you, you shall recount what you think happened to Mr. Firmin, every gruesome detail, and pass them forward to me. After reading them, whoever gets the closest to the bloody truth, will have immunity until next time. Everyone else is free for the taking.”

The room was scary silent as everyone let the information sink in, with the pressure to perform on high. Eventually, however, one by one the guests pick up their pens and begin to write what they think happened onto the paper. Christine sat, trying desperately to think of the order of events that lead to Firmin’s, fake, death. She lists the basics, then tries to fill in the rest.

Note,

Code,

Safe,

Bank Statements,

Shredder,

Strangled

As everyone wrote their hypothesis, the sound of pens on paper filled the room, as Erik simply watched with dead eyes gazing straight ahead. The first one to finish is Carlotta, followed by Piangi, Jamie, Sorelli, Raul, Andre, and ending with Christine. One at a time, they passed their enclosed envelopes to the front, until Erik held them all, at last.

“First you may enjoy your dinner of lobster and pasta with a champagne cream sauce. Afterwards, the true retelling of how Richard Firmin expired.” Christine mentally grimaced at the poor word choice.

After making his exit with the envelopes, the maids come out with serving platters in their hands. Once getting served, Christine thanked them but received no reply, as was expected, and looked down upon her plate. A moderate twirl of pasta, swimming in sauce, contained multiple bits of lobster; even crowning the plate with a claw on top. Without much thought or formality of any kind, the whole table started to dig in; save for the empty chair that remains cold, with one less guest.

Almost one hour later, with bellies full and banter light, an unwanted guest emerges into the dining room. Or rather, re-emerges, as the silent figure who only shows half of his face, known as Erik, has returned. And he comes bearing an envelope. Just like the night before, he took out the letter opener and cut through the spine of Mr. Y’s letter. With the table turned silent, all eyes gaze upon the butler, with various thoughts floating about. He takes a deep breath before starting to read aloud.

“Richard Firmin, ever the eager beaver, could never have enough. He always took risks, and never took advice. How else was he going to learn that champagne flutes broke, if not by an accident befalling him first.” Not one person felt the most comfortable, knowing their host would make them pay even over the slightest thing, like a broken glass.

“It was only the start of the first day, when he received an anonymous note detailing that something he was after could be found in the Manor’s safe. If only the writer had stated where the safe could be found; oh, but I did. After discovering that the safe was in the office, Firmin took initiative to get there, alone, and do what must be done. Once he arrived, the speedy little rat got to trying the combination; only to realize he did not receive a code in my letter.” Erik’s droning voice held no emotion, good or bad, and seemed to be reading as if he was bored.

“Ah, but he didn’t become head financer without some brains. He noticed a symbol carved into the safe. Upon looking around the office for the code, he found, by complete coincidence, the answer to his prayers in a book, layed out to any prying eyes. With no time to waste, Firmin ripped out the page, and rotated the dial as follows: left 70, right 30, ending on left 0. Those are the exact numbers that correspond to the trilogy of numbers the symbol provided.” Christine sat expressionless. She hadn’t thought that the circles could match up to the safe dial.

“Upon opening the safe, he only had eyes for the most valuable piece in there; papers that reveal exactly how he got the money to live the life of luxury, that so many of his colleagues couldn’t even fathom. For you see, dear guests, our Firmin couldn’t have lived an overly comfortable life with the above-average salary he made. So tricky Dick, took a little extra; extra he thought he deserved. The proper word, I believe, is embezzlement, of which our dearly departed guest knew quite well.” How did Mr. Y know this? Christine thought to herself.

“Once secured in the fact that the only evidence of his ‘not so right’ doings was in his possession, Firmin stuffed the code into his pocket, and made haste to his bedroom. There, he disposed of all evidence that he had against him by putting it through the paper shredder. He returned to the library, ever so proud of himself, until he remembered the safe door was left open in his hurry to cover his tracks. Only to be stopped short, when I struck from behind, evidently strangling him. His body fell to the floor, like a shattered champagne glass; which, evidently, was an ingredient in tonight’s meal.”

Oh God.

She continued to stare, foggy eyed at her empty plate, until it became startlingly clear that Christine couldn’t stomach what this evening had brought. Even if it was all a game, the post-mortem letter that was just read gave her the impression that their host is much sicker than she had ever thought possible. How could someone mock another so badly, not to mention laying out his private life and dirty laundry. And for what? Money, money to cover her fathers various debts; a big enough check to help her start a proper life. Even worse, now she has to hope that her mind is crazy enough to conspire how each victim is killed, so she isn’t the next one to lay upon the morgue’s metal table. Sorry, the in house morgue.

On her second night, Christine had a fairly normal dream. Well, as normal as dreams about riding giant underground worms, and kissing Paul Atriedes while covered in sand. That’s what happens when you read before going to bed.

She awoke a little later than the previous day at 7:56, so she went through her morning routine quickly so as not to miss breakfast. Christine ran down the stairs with such speed, in fact, that she almost face planted by missing the last step. Thankfully, her swift arrival meant that breakfast was still on the table. Today was waffles, with complimentary eggs, bacon, and fruit as well. There was also syrup and homemade whipped cream for extra sweetness. After receiving a plate, Christine grabbed two waffles with some fruit and whipped cream on top, with cranberry juice to drink.

Just like day one, Erik went over the various activities that the Manor had to offer the guests, once everyone finished eating. Only today, the guests were offered different spa sessions.

“Facials, hot stone and full body massages for all.” He had stated.

So, once again everyone was corralled into the foyer, before dispersing to their respective spa treatments. But, Christine noticed that Carlotta seemed to be going a different way, not following the maid that served as a guide to the back patio.

“Carlotta, aren’t you joining for the facial?” She asked the full figured woman.

She stopped and turned around, before smiling sickeningly. “You children go and play, I have more important business to attend to before maintaining my precious good looks. Try not to miss me, while I’m gone.” She dismissed with the wave of a manicured hand.

“Trust me, we won’t,” murmured an obviously irate Sorelli, which in turn, caused Jamie to stifle a laugh as they made their way to the back of the Manor.

The patio had two conjoined gazebo tents erected near the outdoor oven and kitchen area. Inside one was massage tables and bowls with different types of masks for different facial needs, like acne, scars, or pre-aging. There were even Egyptian cotton robes for the girls to wear, and sandals to match. The second gazebo contained casual outdoor seating to relax and enjoy the summer breeze that passed through.

It’s some time later when Carlotta finally graces the three girls with her presence, Sorelli making another comment about how her being there has ruined the relaxed atmosphere. Painted with green faces, the trio sits under the patio gazebo while chatting and sharing funny stories, feeling refreshed with the mint and cucumber water that was provided. Jamie and Christine couldn’t contain their laughter when Sorelli picked a cucumber slice off her eye, dipping it and taking a bite after commenting that the face mask smelled like guacamole. Since Meg was Christine’s closest friend, the friendly chit-chat shared between them gave her a great sense of pride in making new friends, and some melancholy for Meg’s absence.

Their laughter and fun atmosphere dropped significantly when Carlotta stepped out of the facial tent, evident by the white paint all over her face, save for her eyes and lips. Her offensive red hair is tied into an elegant bun, while the other girls settled for messy, and wore her jewel encrusted necklace along with the provided robe.

“I’m never going to get any rest and relaxation with you three school girls chittering about. If you need me, I’ll be laying by the pool.” Acknowledged Carlotta, with her honeyed voice.

The three girls watched as she left before any of them dared to say a word.

“Good riddance,” grumbled the smoky voice of Sorelli. Christine and Jamie shared a look, then shrugged, the water of Carlotta’s bad attitude running off their backs.

After a while of sitting around and occasionally talking, Christine felt the California sun getting to her, even through the canvas roof of the gazebo. She started to doze off, but perked up when Sorelli said she felt kind of bad about Carlotta.

“I think I’m going to go check on the big cherry, I’ll be right back.”

Once Sorelli had left the tent, Christine sprung into action, taking off the cucumbers on her eyes. She tried to garner the energy of Meg, who was known in their small circle of friends to act as a proverbial Cupid and play matchmaker for the group. It has actually worked, two of their longtime friends, who have always harbored feelings for eachother, are currently dating. All thanks to Meg and her bow and arrow.

“So, Jamie,” Christine started, “do you think there’s anyone in the house you might like?”

Upon hearing this question, Jamie sat up; so abruptly, in fact, that her cucumber slices had fallen to the ground. Her face had an astonished, almost bewildered, look written on it.

“What?”

“Yeah, do you, maybe, have feelings for one of the other guests?” But after asking she immediately regretted it. Jamie looked at Christine like she had grown two heads, and Christine herself felt like she was trying to wear someone else’s shoes; and she felt very uncomfortable. So, she closed her eyes, then tried again. This time as herself and not flirty, friendly Meg; instead she was honest, awkward Christine. “I just happened to notice that when we were talking yesterday with Raoul, you seemed to be looking at Sorelli with a certain look in your eye. Maybe I'm reading too far into things though, just thought I’d ask. Help a girl out, ya know?”

To this Jamie changed expressions from confused, to surprised , finally settling on slight embarrassment. She couldn’t quite meet Christine in the eye when she responded.

“I-I don’t feel anything like that for Sorelli, it must just be like you said. You’re looking too deep into it.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Sorry for the weirdness.” She laughed off.

“It’s fine. Honestly, I don’t think anyone could rival you and Raoul. I mean you too can’t stop looking at each other for five seconds.”

Wait. What?

“Uh, Raoul and I are friends, but as of right now, that’s all. And, I don’t think I look at him anymore than I look at anyone else.” She insisted.

“Oh, I just mean, Raoul said—”

Hurried footsteps slapped the patio, getting louder until Sorelli ran into the gazebo frantic and stressed, interrupting the two girls’ conversation.

“Carlotta…..face….help…”she gasped out. Christine and Jamie share a look, then run out of the tent, following Sorelli.

When the three girls get to the lounge chairs, it’s too late. Laying next to the chair, sprawled out on the patio was Carlotta. Her face was the first thing Christine noticed; swollen and peach red, and was easily triple the size it normally was. It almost looked like a reaction to nuts, her eyelids swelled up so much so that you couldn’t even see her eyes. The reaction had spread to her neck, stopping just before her hyoid bone.

All of her toxic words and remarks had finally come back to bite her.

Carlotta Guidicelli was dead.

[maleyanderecafe]

Hey there was a mobile game I wanted to recommend you check out! It’s called MazM: The Phantom of the Opera. Obviously the phantom himself is a well-known character and prime example of a yandere, and this version’s Raoul also takes on that trait a little (although it’s mostly because Christine is in a life or death situation and this he’s protective over her), he’s very sweet and doesn’t wait a moment to shower her with praise. Anyway it’s a pretty faithful retelling of the original book and was extra fun for me as a yandere-lover as you play as Christine caught in between the yandere and the actual boyfriend. I think it’s coming to the switch soon as well if you want to wait for that.

...Are you sure that Raoul just takes on this trait a bit...?

Joking aside, sorry it took me so long to answer this ask. I was originally going to watch a walkthrough on youtube, but then I realized that you said it would be on switch and since I just got my switch emulator, I ended up playing with a friend. I will say that there is a lot for me to say about this game, so this will be a long read.

First things first, I'll admit that I've never actually read or watched the Phantom of the Opera before, so I genuinely have no idea what happens in the story. This is where my friend who I was streaming for comes in because she has read the story so she helped fill me in on what happens (she's also making a yandere vn in the future which I will be spamming the heck out of because yandere vn). I think from what she told me, most of the story is relatively accurate, though some parts are changed for one reason or another (for instance, The Persian has a name in this game, but in the original, he doesn't), which has some pros and cons for some characters. Overall though, the story was pretty good for a first timer like me since it really let me experience what the Phantom of the Opera is truly about. I think the creator Mazm did a good job for historical detail, which makes sense considering their platform is about creating games that reinterpret famous stories (they've also done one for Wizard of Oz and Jekyll and Hyde which I sort of want to play), and there are a lot of different notes the player can collect in the game that give more historical insight into what is going on.

The story for the most part is pretty linear. There are some choices you can choose, but except for two, they don't really affect the story. For the most part, the game plays as a visual novel, though you do have to walk around to talk or interact with things to proceed the story. There are cats and notes that lie around the game too, with the notes giving more historical insight and the cats being used as hints in case you don't know where to go. The story is about a detective trying to find out the truth of the Phantom of the Opera at a request of a client whos husband was a victim of him, but most of the story is played through a flashback.

There are also small minigames as well that aren't too difficult, though I honestly felt like some of the minigames got to be tedious at times, specifically the one minigame where you have to press the order of the mirror combo which I found really annoying because besides the fact that I'm bad at those games, you had to do it every time you wanted to enter under the Opera house, which was just... ugh. The game itself seems much more optimized for mobile than it was for switch considering how slow the characters move (and its really slow walking to different places sometimes) as well as the fact that it takes forever to load between different scenes and there's no touch screen option for switch (that I know of). Plus the buttons for moving and pressing hints were annoying to deal with (though this could just be because I'm using an emulator). I also kept getting confused when I was playing, since sometimes I would walk around the entire opera house trying to figure out what to do next, only to learn that I was suppose to talk to someone that was literally five steps from where I spawned. The last thing I found annoying was the fact that there's no option to skip dialogue which is really annoying when I wanted to replay a specific part of the story to take some screenshots. If you play this game, it's probably better to play it on mobile than on switch.

In terms of artwork, Mazm's Phantom of the Opera is really gorgeous, from the overworld sprites to the dialogue sprites to the background and CGs. I love how cute the overworld sprites are (I think Jammes and Raoul's are my favorite, they're both so cute) and every background is really nice to walk through and gives a good atmosphere of what it's trying to show. The character sprites for each characters are nice and varied. I can always appreciate characters that have recognizable faces and shapes, since a lot of times I have face blindness when it comes to characters that look way too similar. The CGs of course are super well done and I love all of them. Overall, the artstyle of this game is very solid and I love the way it looks.

The main character of the story was Christine, who looks really good ( I really love her hair), was for the most part alright initially. While I found her to be a bit naive (because she believed that there was an actual Angel of Music when it was just... the Phantom), she was for the most part alright, and even ended up saving another character from the phantom. However, I found her actions annoying after she met the phantom, specifically the part where she agreed to stay underground with the phantom for two days and would be released as long as she didn't touch his mask, and guess what. Right as she was literally about to leave, SHE TAKES OFF HIS MASK, AND FOR WHAT? YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE?? The other thing that bothered me was the after being trapped with the Phantom for about a month, she is given free reign to go back above ground, under the conditions that she only goes to the opera house and at home. During this time, she's expected to break it off with Raoul, so she fakes a honeymoon with him before he leaves for the artic. However, during this time, she doesn't tell anyone, not even Raoul about what the Phantom is up to. She has an entire month, an ENTIRE MONTH to tell someone that the Phantom is likely to hurt people (as previously he had dropped a chandelier on top of the audience) and she just... didn't. Understandably, she might have been afraid that the Phantom might have heard her, but still, what is he going to do to the possible 100 people that Christine could have told about him. She could have saved people from death if something like that were to happen. Near the end, she does get proper character development and learns to choose things for her sake and not others, which was pretty nice and does stand up to the Phantom after all the trauma (and doesn't get stockholm sydrome, thank goodness), but I still think that a lot of her actions could have probably been written better to make her less naive (since apparently in the original she was about 16ish while in this remake she's about 20 so it's less awkward between her and the phantom).

Raoul is the next character I'll be talking about, because even though he is very adorable, he also has one braincell and talks about Christine way too much. My friend and I actually decided to make a counter on how many times Erik and Raoul say "Christine." Erik says Christines name 128 times and Raoul... says it 340 times. This isn't even counting his introduction and only starts up to when Erik is introduced as a formal character and also doesn't count any time he says it in the overworld. 340! My friend kept on joking around that because Raoul says Christine so much, his brother Phillipe became an alcoholic because he's so tired of Raoul talking about Christine. Raoul only really has like three things going for him: the fact that he was in the military, the fact that he's part of the Chagny household and Christine, and that's it. Throughout the story, his goals are pretty much always related to Christine, whether it be to give gifts to Christine, being worried about her or trying to protect Christine from the Phantom. When the chandelier drops on half the crowd during one of the performances, instead of being worried for them or trying to get out of the Opera House, he instead looks for Christine, who is on stage and quite literally in the safest location within the theater. I would consider him a redeemed/protective yandere though, considering his priority is always Christine (he even gives up his own family name to be with her) and he's always trying to protect her. There's a part of the story where Raoul becomes really unhinged when it comes to protecting Christine, lashing out her her friends and other members of the Opera house. He does some really dumb stuff because of the Phantom, specifically throwing away Christine's ring that she got from the Phantom (that she also literally told him before that as long as she's wearing the ring she wouldn't be harmed by the phantom and he just...?? okay??). When he's tortured in the mirror room, he hallucinates Christine blaming him for her capture, and he even cries while hallucinating that Christine friendzones him (which I though was actually really funny, even if it was a tad bit stupid). His redemption comes near the end of the story where he apologizes for being so emotional and realizing that he was a bit of an obsessive beast, and in one ending he lets Christine go to travel the world. To be honest, I don't know if Raoul would continue to be as protective and obsessed with her even after the Phantom's death, but I guess there's not really any way to know.

The Phantom, or Erik (which I know is his cannon name but it makes me laugh because he really doesn't look like an Erik) is the main villain of the story. Unfortunately, in this version, I don't think I can call him a yandere, for one simple character: Melek. Melek, as far as I know isn't in the original story, is a prisoner that Erik has after she refused to marry her. As a character, I do actually like Melek since she's the one of the more sensible characters in the story and she's the more rational one between her and Christine, but her role in the story basically deconfirms Erik as a yandere, at least in this version. For one, Melek is a blind maid of Erik that he did fall in love with and trap, similar to how Christine was, which kind of comes off as Erik being the kind of person who would trap any girl that he likes. Even if this is the case, I don't understand why Erik would keep her alive even after she fell for Christine. Supposedly the reason is that Erik wanted to make Christine feel despair and he did attempt to kill her, but Melek survives and he just... doesn't do anything with her. Honestly, if Melek were straight up not in the story, I would have put him as a yandere because pretty much all of his other actions point to a more possessive/worship type of yandere, but because of Melek it's just not possible in my eyes. Besides that Erik sort of reminds me of a chunni in this version (he's like this absolute darkness is my curse! Like people with 7th grade syndrom seem to have), it was kind of hard for me to take him seriously in certain times. He is very intimidating when he threatens Christine, but his overdramatic nature (which I know is something he's always known for, just this version is uh...) really makes him seem like a child. Erik is for sure suppose to be more antagonistic in this version, considering the addition of Melek and his general actions of possession towards Christine and his disdain for Raoul, but near the end we do see more of his story and we see just how devastating his life is from the moment of birth. I did feel really bad for him when Hatim/The Persian keeps on mentioning the prince he used to work with because its really obvious that he still has trauma from it (and he keeps begging him to not talk about his past and the Persian just... keeps traumatizing him I guess) and the fact that he was treated so badly because of his appearance, but this doesn't excuse his actions in the story. Christine does try to sympathize with him using her own tragic backstory, which Erik kind of pushes away (like bro, we're not trying to see whose parents are worse, she's just trying to sympathize with you, dang) as not being tragic. I think that Mazm did present him pretty well in this story, not showing just his antagonistic side but also his more tragic side. Sadly, like I said, I can't consider him a yandere because of the addition of Melek, at least not in this version.

In terms of other characters, I really like the trio of Meg Giry, Sorelli and Jammes- the friends of Christine. From what I can tell, they're all a bit more aged up in this version, with Sorelli being the oldest and Jammes being the youngest and I feel like they gave more character to them than in the original version. Sorelli is the head of the dancers and the dating partner of Phillip de Chagny, Raoul's older brother and she's the mature and strong willed one of the group, wielding a blade that she uses to protect her friends. I like the fact that they made her a bit more protective and in one of the overworld sprites its mentioned via rumor that Phillip fell in love with her after he saw Sorelli swing her dagger, which I thought was pretty cute. At the end though, after Phillips death, she realizes that she was struggling too hard to climb up the social ladder and decides to forge her own path. In the beginning she attempts to protect her and her friends from the Phantom, declaring that she'll stab him if she sees him. Next is Meg Giry, and from what my friend told me, she was very young in the original books and kind of scardy cat. In this version, she's a bit older but maintains the scardy cat position, and is very terrified of the Phantom. She does gain more character development during the story, standing up to her mother and the managers and overall being a more assertive and confident person, which I thought was a nice touch. Last but certainly not least is my best girl Jammes. In the original story, she barely makes an appearance, but in Mazm they made her quite literally the best character. For one, the canonical reason why there are so many cats hanging out in the opera house is that Jammes keeps on feeding them and letting them in and she has named all of them after the Opera House staff. Jammes loves to spin and has a cute animation and while she can be loud and a bit strange sometimes, she can be smart and assertive when she needs to. Jammes always pushes the other three into being better and protects them when needed (for instance, when Phillip lashes out at Sorelli, she steps in and demands that he apologize for his actions) and can be really smart at times (she's the only character that attempts to at least cover her mouth when the Phantom's fragrance, a hallucinogenic gas, starts to fill up the box seat, despite others who have been in there not even trying) and is the one who stands up for Christine's abuse as well as for the dancers at the opera house being treated unfairly by the manager as she organizes a strike against them. She also becomes part of the women's suffrage after the events of the story. I could go on and on about Jammes, but instead I'll leave a cute picture of her at the end of this entire analysis. Besides those three, I did like Carlotta, the original singing lead of the opera house. Originally, she became an antagonist towards Christine after she became the lead singer, however, she did apologize to her afterwards and befriended her once more before traveling the world. I love her interactions with Raoul because she basically said that Raoul only has Christine and military training and when he gets angry and lashes out, Carlotta glares and him, causing him to cower (this actually does happen multiple times), and I just found that really, really funny. Mifoid, though useless in the story is actually pretty cute as well, I love his bouncing animation. The last character I'll talk about is Phillip because he became meme material for me and my friend considering he probably is so tired of Raoul talking about Christine (we joked that the reason he was sent to military was so that he didn't have to hear her name again) and while he is mostly a decent but strict character in the story, his last appearance really makes him out as a jerk. I did think it was kind of weird that Phillip was so willing to let Raoul go to the Artic mission considering nobody that has gone there has ever returned, and he was rather elitest towards him, not letting him marry Christine because she's of lower

class but during his last chapter before he dies, he goes on a frenzy after he and Raoul have a fight, revealing to Sorelli that he only dated her for fun and not to actually settle down with her, which is just horrible. It's a bit sad though that Raoul only saw him as someone who tried to get rid of him considering that Phillip did raise Raoul and that his last actions were an attempt to save Phillip from the phantom, and yet Raoul barely has a reaction after seeing his body and doesn't even go to his funeral. It's really sad that Raoul didn't even really cry after seeing Phillip's body, considering that he was basically his father figure.

Overall, it's a good game to play and a good retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. I wouldn't consider the Phantom to be a yandere in this game, but I do think that Raoul is one. Thank you for this recommendation!

[doctorstarlock]

Rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better. Or, y’know. Whoever. (Thank you @thrift-store-tea-cup for tagging me!)

Three ships: Katara/Zuko, Jo/Laurie, Percy/Vex’halia

First ship ever?? Mmm I guess Christine and the Phantom, though at the time I didn’t know it was considered “shipping”, my friend and I just both disliked the movie version of Raoul and came up with alternate endings where Christine stayed with the Phantom lol Or if we’re talking about the first ship where I knew what I was about and did it on purpose…Sherlock and Molly.

Last song: SICKO MODE by Travis Scott I am so embarrassed that’s not at all what I usually listen to, I just had that up cuz I was trying to see if I’d heard it before.

Last film: Something Borrowed, with John Krasinski. I’ve been sick lately so I was watching crappy rom coms and that one was definitely pretty crappy

Currently reading: Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Actually rereading the whole trilogy to decide if I want to keep the books or not (probably not 🙃) Also I’m waiting on The Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust to come from my local library.

Currently watching: “Upstairs/Downstairs” (2011). It’s basically like if Downton Abbey were smaller scale and set in WWII. I’m a sucker for period dramas, what can I say. Also been watching so much King of the Hill I find myself talking with an accent

Currently craving: a blizzard from Dairy Queen

Tagging: @infj-arli @auntcat42 @thegirldownthelaine @pouchedmilk @arihxa @souptag @sevendrunkenknights @wolvesandwerewolvesbaby

[marleneoftheopera]

10 Underrated Christine’s!

Was asked by an anon to do this and I absolutely love the idea! Figured I would give it its own post. I also made a companion podcast episode about this topic, which you can listen to here. 

Also put links to some audio/video of them, so those who haven’t heard of them can have a listen! There are definitely other clips of all of these Christine’s online, and on Tumblr some gifted audios. And of course, all of these Christine’s I have a recording of, so I am always open to trade for them.

There are so many I think are underrated, so this was a hard list. But here 10 I will put up for now (in no particular order).

1. Charlotte Page (London 1999-2000):

I wish she had stayed with the show longer. Stunning all around. Lush, full, operatic voice. Some great acting chops, with some little touches in there. She vocally was different from the Christine’s they had at that time, in the best way. While we only have 2 audios of her, we do also have a full video. Praise.

Here is her Wishing.

2. Sarah Pfisterer (US Tour 1991-95, Broadway 1999-2001):

Was Christine for quite some time, and yet there are no videos of her. Maybe 3 audios, and a handful of photos. i hear she was pregnant a few times, so her being out on leave might explain why. But has such a gorgeous, porcelain look. Beautiful voice, with a perfect balance of vibrato and operatic sound. I sometimes call her the Charlotte Page of Broadway because 1) they were in the show at the same time and 2) I think they had similar voices in terms of that bigger operatic quality. I always liked her vocally and look-wise, but I sat down a few months ago and really listened to her, and she has become such a favorite of mine.

Here is her Wishing, and here is the only video we have of her actually singing in the role.

3. Corinne Cowling (London 2019-2020):

Had a lot of shows as the understudy since the principal and alternate were out or doing too many shows. I would love to see her get a principal run, as it seems do a lot of other phans. Pull a real-life Christine. She reminds me a lot of Holly Anne Hull; this really strong voice full of emotion. She really proved that not only was she able to step into the role when needed, but that she could do it well. Her sister Morgan was Meg in the Restaged US Tour, and I dream of a world where they play Christine and Meg together.

Here is her Wishing, though I definitely recommend getting a full audio. It is well worth it.

4. Jan Hartley Morris (London 1988-89):

Another Christine I wish would have stayed with the show longer. But we do have a video of her, albeit being not of amazing quality. Looks so lovely in the part, and has an absolutely gorgeous voice. Full, lush, reminded me a tad of Amy Manford in how she seemed able to just twist each word out just the way she wanted to. Total control. 

Here is her Think of Me and Angel of Music.

5. Adrienne McEwan (US tour 1993-94 + 1996, Broadway 1998-2003):

Was in the show for some 9 years, including being the alternate for the 10th anniversary on Broadway. Had such a beautiful and unique voice, and not a ton of vibrato like some of the US Christine’s at this time had. So pretty in wig and costume. There are a few videos of her, and a decent amount of audio. And yet, we don't talk about her nearly enough.

Here is her Wishing.

6. Maria Listra (Estonia 2015-16, 2020):

A non-replica Christine! She just looks so lovely in the part and sounds gorgeous. There is a video of her in ‘All I Ask of You’, and she is wonderful in it. I would love to see her do the original version someday. A hidden gem.

Here is her Think of Me, but I would definitely watch the ‘All I Ask of You’ of her on YouTube in the part. She’s so good and the Estonian Raoul and Christine are adorable.

7. Astrid Giske (Oslo 2018-19):

Another non-replica Christine! And a blonde one too! The Oslo production remains a favorite in my book, and Astrid is one of the main reasons. She had a real-life Christine moment, being the understudy Christine, but having to take over for Mira Ormala, who had to depart the production early on due to health reasons. Astrid got a bunch of pictures, and a feature on a Broadway site, and did every show afterward until the production. Besides the very last show; Astrid herself got sick and could not go on. Looked so lovely in the part, and has such a strong and angelic voice. I wish someone would put her in another production.

There are quite a few videos on YouTube of her which you should all watch (including the pro-shot clips from the production), but I put her “soar” here because I just adore it.

8. Julie Goodwin (World Tour 2007-09):

One of the youngest Christine’s; I think she was only 19 when she did the part. Absolutely stunning voice; reminds me a lot of Claire Lyon. That full operatic glory. From pictures and one video we have of her, she seems to have been pretty nice acting-wise. Looks really pretty as well.

Here is her Wishing.

9. Elisabeth Berg (Stockholm 1989-91):

For a Christine who was the principal in the first ever Swedish production, and is featured on said cast recording, she is really not talked about at all. I figure it’s mostly due to her being in Sweden and not in one of the flagships in the pre-Internet days. But still, a Christine on a cast recording I would think would have a bit more notoriety. Anyway, absolutely stunning voice. Like, beyond amazing. I would listen to her sing the alphabet. Such control, so much emotion, I adore her. When they invent the time machine I am going back to see her.

Here is the Swedish soundtrack.

10. Isabel Schwartzbach (Copenhagen 2018-19):

I love how clear and light her voice is. To me, she is the perfect ‘modern’ Christine. Meaning she has that lighter, almost pop sound to her voice, but without the squeaky-ness that we sometimes get. I really wish she would have gotten some promo shots or something. But she looks really pretty in the role, and from what I have heard she was quite good overall. 

Here is her Wishing.

There you have it! I could add at least 50 more to this list, so don’t think that these are the only ones I think could use more love. But this is a nice way to experience other Christine’s with varying kinds of voices in different languages. Especially for newer phans, who have probably only heard Sarah, Sierra, Emmy, and/or their first live Christine.

Again, if you would like more clips of any of these Christine’s or some more actresses to have a listen to, feel free to message me!

[feralnumberfive]

The Rewatch Academy: Episode 1 of Season 1

"We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals”

I am in no way a good analyst so my little analysis and speculations probably sound a bit goofy or pretty wild and probably mean nothing at all. Everything I put into this post about each episode is purely what I noticed or thought, whether it's funny or serious. I will be making jokes, so please just leave it at that (in no way am I trying to make fun of an actor and or character!) I am also in no way saying I noticed this stuff first. This is just what I noticed while rewatching these episodes

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

1x01 | 1x02 | 1x03 | 1x04 |

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

☂️ In the Pilot script, it has a woman giving birth to a baby boy in Poland in 1984 (potentially Five or maybe even Luther??) 

☂️ “Picture Book” is an absolute bop and no one can tell me otherwise

☂️ What if someone saw this parade of carriages and noticed that there were seven? Later Reginald announces that he adopted 6 kids, so I wonder if anyone saw the carriages earlier and heard Reginald's announcement and became confused

☂️ The concert hall in the Pilot script is in New York, which I assume is safe to assume in NYC. The script also mentions later that Diego drops the monocle in the Hudson River

☂️ The Pilot script originally had Allison in LA, and Klaus in Amsterdam (which he was supposed to be levitating in that scene)

☂️ Diego was originally supposed to be pretty brutal and violent

☂️ I am a huge POTO fan so having a medley of the songs from the musical is so awesome to hear. The first time I watched this episode and heard the violin starting to play, I was like “Huh, this really sounds like POTO” and then I realized it was! It gave me chills and still does to this day overtime I watch this scene

☂️ The dark and mysterious tones of POTO really matches the vibes of TUA well. It’s just so good, especially as a way to introduce Vanya. The first song Vanya plays is “Phantom of the Opera” which is a nice symbolism when introducing the Hargreeves Siblings. The song itself is Christine discovering who her true Angel of Music is, a strange masked man that everyone knows well but they truly don’t know who he really is, like with the Umbrellas and their separate personalities and struggles as actual human beings and not just as the superheroes the public knows them as. It also plays while showing Diego, who is a mysterious masked figure at that point. 

☂️ “Angel of Music” is basically Christine asking her angel to guide her, which is ironic that it plays while Klaus is getting out of a place that guides him down the right path, knowing that he’s immediately going to go do drugs again and to go down the “wrong” path

☂️ I wonder if the voice in Luther’s spacesuit as he receives his message is an automated voice or his robot named “Ben” like in the comics. I doubt it’s the latter, but who knows

☂️ Okay, here’s another POTO thing. Diego picks up his knife and wipes the blood off of it and tells the family “Your family is safe now” right as the start of “Think of Me” plays. The first lyrics of the song are “Think of me, think of me fondly” which can be seen as Diego wants the family to truly view him as a hero that saved them

☂️ Aaaand here’s another! Again, while “Think of Me” is playing, one of the parts in the song where Raoul sings “Long ago, it seems so long ago, how young and innocent we were” plays while the paparazzi begins questioning Allison about her father and siblings

☂️ Okay okay, last POTO thing. I especially love that "Music of the Night" plays when Klaus wakes up in the ambulance at night. It's so awesome! Especially since the song is basically about giving into your darkest desires, which Klaus clearly did

 ☂️ Goddamn is the music in the show amazing, and I’m not just talking about all of the fun lyrical songs! Jeff Russo you get a thumbs up from me

☂️ Ta-da! Here’s some portraits that are shown of the siblings with Reginald when they were young that are shown in the show

☂️ Even the first person Vanya sees when she arrives home doesn’t greet her/welcome her back 

☂️ Emmy and Elliot really played that awkward hug and greeting between Allison and Vanya well. You can feel the awkward tension (hey sisters)

☂️ According to the pilot script, Diego wears his mask practically all the time like in the comics

☂️ Luther was literally supposed to have a gorilla body in the pilot script

☂️ “Oh, YoU gOt BiG, lUtHeR”

☂️ Godddd the song playing while Vanya looks at the books on the shelf in including her own is 👌

☂️ Ah, there’s a book called “Lunar Living”

☂️ It might just be me, but it seems like the light shining onto Five’s portrait is ever so slightly askew

☂️ Vanya leaving the lights on and sandwiches for Five reminds me of someone leaving food outside for a stray cat

☂️ Five was originally supposed to be gone for over 22 years in the pilot script

☂️ I wonder at what point in each of the siblings’ lives did they realize, or at least they thought, their brother wouldn’t be coming home 

☂️ Babies 

☂️ There’s so many ape and monkey pictures and diagrams around Reginald’s office. Foreshadowing for Luther?

☂️ I love Klaus’s theme. It’s heard in almost every episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJa9H8SY4wQ&list=OLAK5uy_k2NJivpu0PIwxrOmPVrqN4umBZaahOGWI&index=6

☂️ Why does Reginald have two pictures of himself featuring aircraft? In one of them he’s outside a private jet and the other is him inside a cockpit

☂️ I must say that the dialogue in the pilot script definitely closely mirrors the dialogue of the comics 

☂️ “Told me I should be careful who to trust” 👀

☂️ Something behind Elliot is moving

☂️ I was hoping for this to be a gazelle of some sort above Five’s portrait, but It’s an Gemsbok. However, the Gemsbok is an antelope and all gazelles are antelopes

☂️ “The Walker” playing during the bank robbery scene is 👌👌

☂️ Luther is ready to throw hands

☂️ These robbers really decided to rob a bank at 10:05 am?

☂️ I just love Five popping out of nowhere criss-cross applesauce 

☂️ Something that hasn’t been explained/fully shown is Five’s ability to teleport objects. He teleported the gun out of the guy’s hand and replaced it with a stapler

☂️ Five’s teleportation noise reminds me of something going really fast, like an aircraft breaking the sound barrier. It’s almost like a mini sonic boom, but not as loud

☂️ Okay so I’ve noticed this in most of the episodes, but I don’t think when Five teleports he makes an actual noise. I’ll point this out more as we continue through the episodes. At the bank scene when Five is on the counter, it appears that the first time he teleports the bank robber whips around when Five speaks. The second time the robber turns to Five simply because he doesn’t know where he went and he’s searching for the threat

☂️ “That’s one badass stApler”

☂️ When Ben asks if he has to go into the Vault, he looks at Klaus for reassurance even though Luther is the one speaking to him

☂️ Five was still pretty cocky back in his youth. They, or more like Ben, have more bad guys to take care of and he’s just chilling with his hands in his pockets and leaning back/slouching like he’s bored. His tone with the robber also proves that and the way he just happily bounds out of the bank

☂️ Sir, why are you looking at the camera

☂️ Luther’s little wave to the reporters when the Umbrellas come out of the bank is cute

☂️ The pilot script didn’t include a flashback of a bank robbery, but instead to the Umbrellas training when they were younger. There’s too much to screenshot to I’ll summarize it.

-Luther bench-presses over 500 lbs

-Diego has been holding his breath for about six hours and he flips Reginald off

-Klaus levitates stuff

-Allison is slacking off and when Reginald tells her to continue her training she simply rumors him that she doesn’t have to

-Ben is fighting guards and Reginald calls him “Number Six” to which Vanya, who isn’t supposed to be down there, corrects him that his name is Ben and reminds Reginald that they have names

- Five very quickly and quite brutally rips off the heads and limbs of training dummies, snaps their necks, and stabs them. He is referred to as “A ruthless little war machine.” Reginald calls him “Perfect”

☂️ The pilot script implies that Reginald had alien life mounted on the walls of his office

☂️ There wasn’t a dance scene in the pilot script

☂️ Not to get super into detail about this, but Luther’s room is filled with a lots of models and paintings of aircraft, mainly from WWII. Almost all of them are of Allied aircraft, and more specifially Commonwealth aircraft, like the RCAF. So this could be more of a clue to the Umbrellas living in Canada

☂️ Diego giving that Wildebeest head the stink eye aways makes me laugh

☂️ Klaus is dancing with Reggie’s urn in a Waltz fashion, so maybe he’s just doing that or it’s the ballroom dancing lessons they received as children peeing through

☂️ I love Diego’s dancing skills

☂️ Fuck you Five for ruining their dance party

☂️ Honestly Five’s portal is pretty powerful. Here’s a description of it from the pilot script

☂️ I like that when Luther tells everyone to get behind him and Diego copies him with “Yeah, get behind us” Luther lets his brother use himself as a shield instead be pulling the “I’m the leader, I’m the strongest” card

☂️ When Luther and Diego are shielding their siblings, Diego has his arm stretched out to guard Vanya

☂️ In the pilot script Five’s body is smoking when he comes out of the portal

☂️ What if when Five fell out of the portal he got knocked out so he just laid face down on the ground unconscious aksdhfjsafhd

☂️ “So are we gonna talk about what just happened?” No bitch, let him make his sammie first

☂️ Diego and Klaus had some sort of bet on Five’s time traveling in the pilot script

☂️ Here’s another example of Five’s teleportation possibly not making noise. When he teleports around while his siblings are questioning him, it looks like they only look at him when he appears and not when they hear a noise

☂️ Five in the pilot script is actually 62

☂️ “What part of the future do you not understand?”

☂️ I like that Five styled his hair to the exact style it was when he was actually young, but eventually gets looser throughout the season

☂️ Five is so oddly calm when talking to Vanya in front of his portrait

☂️ “Well, there are worse things that can happen.” “You mean like what happened to Ben?” Yeah there’s also an apocalypse on the way lol

☂️ Five actually got a hug in the pilot script! 

☂️ An ironic moment from the pilot script considering that Five is an assassin and has killed tons of people but this siblings don’t know that

☂️ When Diego is talking about their names and numbers in the courtyard, Five sighs, which I’m sure he’s just bored/has better places to be and is annoyed, but I’d like to view it as “Shit, I don’t even have a name”

☂️ Funny tidbit from the pilot script during the funeral scene “Whatever the hell you are”

☂️ Diego talks about how he assumed Reginald sent Luther to the moon because he couldn’t stand the sight of him, so he must be talking about Luther being like a “failed” leader or something? Like he couldn’t keep the team/his siblings together? Diego doesn’t know about his ape-like body so he’s not thinking about that.....

☂️ I love that Klaus reaches his arm out to guard Five, and that Five simply glares at him and bats his arm away

☂️ When Luther broke Ben’s statue, I can just imagine Ben yelling at Klaus “Seriously? Klaus, why didn’t you stop them?”

☂️ So I’m sure this is just a continuation error, but you can’t see Five walking away in the shot of Ben’s statue hitting the ground. Considering that he had just left, he should still be visible in the background. Again, probably a continuation error or maybe he even teleported inside

☂️ A detail I love about Luther is that his fingernails are dark due to the gorilla DNA

☂️ The bank robbery scene in the pilot script is after the funeral. Not much was changed for the actual first episode, just a few different scenes. Also the Umbrellas were described as gods

☂️ Vanya drawing the tattoo on her wrist hurts my heart

☂️ “Together, you will stand against the reign of evil” gives me chills 

☂️ “This is your home and always will be” is great foreshadowing to S3, and hurts my heart when I think about how it is in fact no longer their home

☂️ When I first watched this episode and saw Pogo watching Vanya I knew something was pretty sus

☂️ Just some gold dialogue from the pilot script during the scene of Five, Allison, and Klaus in the kid area and Five is complaining about coffee (but in the pilot script everyone but Vanya is there)

☂️ “An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, 19 bathrooms” goddamn the Academy is HUGE. Also 42 is just one away from being 43 👀

☂️ “I know how to do everything.” Yeah, like survive an apocalypse and professionally kill people :]

☂️ I’ve pointed this out before, but the license plate on the car that Five takes to Griddy’s says HERMES, which is the license plate of his car in the comics

☂️ The exit sign in the background is only half lit up to where it says EX and if my memory serves me correctly that’s the door Vanya and Leonard enter the Academy through in episode 6

☂️ Diego telling Klaus to lean back is like “Ugh I don’t want him with me, but safety first”

☂️ I love that they added his feral chimpanzee smile from the pilot script into he show

☂️ “You won’t be going home.” Cocky smartass strikes again. Not to mention he smiles when he says that. He also says this to the men before he kills them in the pilot script

☂️ Before I even knew about TUA, I had heard of the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” scene and looked it up. I remember thinking “Wow, that kid is scary.” Now I think “Wow, that old man is scary.”

☂️ I love the little salute he does before he blinks away, and the way his basically just plays with these men like a cat playing with its prey. He knows he’s going to kill them, but he wants to have fun doing so

☂️ Five had some fancy moves in the pilot script

☂️ Five teleporting his tie around the man’s neck is another example of him teleporting an object. Can we see more of this actually happen in S3 please?? I also love the fact that he takes it off the man’s body and puts it back on

☂️ The way he calmly, or tiredly, snaps the man’s neck is chilling to see from a child’s body. This was also included in the pilot script *chanting* Feral Five, Feral Five, Feral Fi-

☂️ It’s honestly such a cool and iconic scene on the show. It truly shows that Five is fully capable of handling himself, and is/was great at his job

☂️ Having the city at night in the background of Diego dropping the monocle is really pretty

☂️ I really like the way they revealed Ben. Having watched both season and now watching this scene again is a bit awkward when Ben doesn’t talk. He’s probably just tired of Klaus 

☂️ “The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.” This line combined with the music and the previous scene of Five in the apocalypse is powerful and chilling and I love it

☂️ I love that they have The Umbrella Academy theme playing during the credits in both seasons

-------

Feel free to comment or reblog with things you have noticed too!

[cowardtranslation]

hiya! same anon from before. sorry to do a followup ask. i'm interested in fanart and i'd love to join a discord for that (i don't mind if it's private as i don't talk much and i'm mostly here for content), but i think the fanartist i'm into is offline (maybe they quit tumblr?) so i don't know how to approach them. also i have super unpopular opinions, esp for longtime fans, so i don't know who would invite me if that makes sense. that's all. sorry about venting, thanks for the advice anyway :)

you're good lol!

honestly, people have heard everything in this fandom. as long as you make sure to clarify a personal headcanon as a personal headcanon not many people will care. there are anti-raoul servers, there are anti-phantom servers, there are probably anti-christine servers somewhere. if you like gerard butler go crazy. phandom's big

as i said before i'm not too familiar with all the servers, so people in the notes will have to chime in

[kcrabb88]

Tagged by @everyonewasabird! Thanks friend <3

1) how many works do you have on AO3?

78

2) what’s your total AO3 word count?

869,705 

(Were Sailing by Orion’s Star still up it would be over a million which is sure something) 

3) how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, Hadestown, Black Sails, TURN, Captain America 

(Older, pre-Ao3 fandoms include Pirates of the Caribbean, Rurouni Kenshin, House MD, Criminal Minds, and I’m sure others I’m forgetting)

4) what are your top five fics by kudos?

Les Hommes de La Misericorde, my epically long OG partial barricade survival AU 

Between the Soul and the Star, my more recent Everyone Survives (including Javert and Valjean AU) 

As If It Might Turn Out This Time, my happier ending Hadestown AU, where Persephone has had enough, and Orpheus saves everyone but in a less tragic way

For the Soul of a Spymaster, my TURN fic that is a canon divergence in season 3, where Ben gets kidnapped by John Andre

When We Had Nothing, a post Winter Soldier one-shot

5) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I often do, yes! I sometimes forget, but I’d say it’s probably a 70% response rate, when I’m able. I love love love hearing what people liked, and I want them to know how much I appreciate them taking the time to comment. Plus, I’ve made several close friends because I responded to their comment, so there’s that! 

6) what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmm good question! The ones that come to mind are May History Remember Us, my 2020 Barricade Day Fic where I was uh, having some feelings, By Force of Friendship, my 2017 Barricade Day fic which is each Amis’ death through Enjolras’ eyes, and then Echoing a Song, my two-part Les Mis Hadestown AU, which has hope at the end for sure, but something near the end is really angsty. 

7) do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

It’s not a crossover exactly, it’s more Les Mis but with worldbuilding elements of Hadestown, but Echoing a Song sort of fits. The most crossover crossover I ever wrote was a House MD/Criminal Minds crossover, back in the day. 

8) have you ever received hate on a fic?

I got one or two mean comments on Sailing by Orion’s Star when it was on Ao3, but otherwise not really? Not since I was a young teen getting the occasional flame for being a new writer, not unlike plenty of others in the early 2000s! 

9) do you write smut? if so what kind?

The only time I’ve written any smut, and it would definitely qualify as light, kind of artful smut was for a few scenes in She Was Bound to Love You and When She Heard You Sing, my lesbian girl Raoul and bisexual Christine series. There’s more in the latter fic, as I got comfortable writing love scenes. 

10) have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don’t think so! 

11) have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, one of my Les Mis ones. Ahhh I can’t remember which one though. 

12) have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not officially, but I’ve had friends who were either betaing for me or who I talked to in-depth about a fic that probably deserve a co-writing credit! 

13) what’s your all-time favourite ship?

Romantic ship is Raoul/Christine, platonic is Enjolras & Combeferre & Courfeyrac. Also Les Mis Wise I do dabble in romantic Poetry Smash, because they are, frankly, irresistible. 

14) what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don’t have any unfinished fics on Ao3, but I do have one on fanfic.net in House fandom that I wish I had finished! I won’t, but it was a good fic. 

15) what are your writing strengths?

I think characterization, for sure. I’ve also been told my descriptions and such have a cinematic quality, which I like! 

16) what are your writing weaknesses?

God, blocking. Not in action scenes, but in simple scenes in a room full of people. Also I think voice, sometimes? I do that thing a lot where I say something like “Character A saw/heard/felt” when I should just be direct rather than using the modifier. Also slipping tenses. 

17) what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I sometimes have little bits and pieces of dialogue in other languages. 

18) what was the first fandom you wrote for?

Rurouni Kenshin. Oh man, good times.

19) what’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I may have turned it into books and made lots of changes, but, the OG fic of Sailing by Orion’s Star. Writing Les Hommes de la Misericorde was where I really started to come into myself, and it showed in that original SBOS fic. Plus like, the fic version of it taught me that I could turn it into an original work, and just the sheer joy I felt while working on that initial version was immense. 

No pressure tagging some folks! @phoenixflames12, @4beit, @amarguerite, @robertawickham, @apaladinagain