You effectively depict a teenage girl in love, and a self-obsessed one at that. I enjoyed the way she signed her missives, "Amore, Lucia" because she is essentially speaking to herself, and self-love is what most characterizes Lucia. You really pointed this out most excellently when she saw the possibility of two of the sisters having plague as her chance of escape -- with no regard for them!

Lucia's shallowness is also enhanced by the relentless focus on herself: It's all about Lucia. She is so sure of her conclusion that Erik is too handsome for mere mortals to see that she never considers another possibility, and in the end, this is her undoing.

The fact that she turned to self-harm to gain Erik's attention was not lost, nor was that she enjoyed the sensations because of the attention pain has gotten her in the past. You wrote, "The last time I cut myself with a pair of exquisite golden scissors … he didn’t even come to my aid. I suffered quietly in my room reliving that buoyant feeling of pain and pleasure until I drifted off to dreams of Cupid coming to fight off Erik for my hand. Erik always wins." This reminded me of Atropos, the Greek Moirae (Fate) who cut the thread of life with her fatal (sometimes translated as golden) shears. Lucia seals her own fate with her conceit, and ultimately, she inadvertently convinces Erik that he really is a pariah.

Nice work -- in an utterly sad way!

~ml

Irony indeed...
I truly enjoy the things you share with us.
Must spend more time surfing.
Silver

Well done! I'm new to reading "phan phiction," or fan fiction for that matter, but I am truly impressed. As a huge fan of the book, I feel you absolutely captured Luciana's character! The best way you did this was in hinting at the girl's flaws, but also masking them in her view-point. Luciana wouldn't be willing or able to see many of the flaws her father sees, would she? Great, title, two! I hadn't thought of this part of the story that way. The funny thing is that the only version of Cupid's love story that I've heard portrayed Cupid with a massive acne problem! I'll have to read more of these phics. Great job!

I have never seen a fic from Lucianna's point of view before. This really shows her growing frustration with Erik, her desire to see his face leading to insanity. Just like any Mary Sue, she grows desperate for Erik's love and it leads to her downfall... Literally!

I have never read Phantom, but I already know the idea of Luciana due to other stories written. Impudent girl, she seems to be. I have no idea what her age, nor Erik's, in their time of meeting; therefore, she could very well be at an age where it is plausible for her behavior. This story is very amusing though. 'Tis a pity - the theme of women meeting their demise from curiousity.

Original: Okay, I’ll be honest; I have no idea who Luciana is. I’m guessing she shows up in Phantom somewhere? But anyway, it was very interesting to read. I mean, she’s built up this major obsession over Erik based off of a fantasy of what’s underneath the mask! I can just imagine what happens if she finally does succeed in seeing his face. She’s pretty much ruined a good part of her life over something that she doesn’t even know is true (and of course is quite false…). This really made a lovely irony through the whole story. Nice job!

Added: Ohh! This makes so much more sense now! I finally read that part of Kay, and now I get it! Yes, I’ll admit, I did think she was a MS-character when I first read this, but now that I know better… And also when I read it the first time, I might not have caught the full irony of the ending, but I did get a good part of it. You really built Luciana up for major disappointment, and though I didn’t know at the time exactly what she would do, it was still pretty obvious it wouldn’t be pretty. You handled it very well!