why did it take me so long to read this, i stumbled across it the other day and finished it in one sitting! and then i realized today i never left a review. absolutely beautifully written, i was completely swept away until the last sentence. definitely going into my favorites!

Poor Nadir. Erik has probably taken several decades off his life due to stress and some of his mental acuity with all the head trauma.

Excellent! It's just like the mask; constantly imagining what could be there is much more frightening than whatever is really there could possibly be. Good for Christine.

Big mistake. Imagining what's under the sheet is almost certainly worse than whatever actually WAS under the sheet. That's an old horror movie trick! And poor Raoul...how could he possibly just walk away from Christine now?

I don't know if you're a Simpsons fan, but this chapter made me think of Chief Wiggum's line, "what IS your fascination with my forbidden closet of mystery?" It's only natural to be curious about it! That room needs a big padlock and a "Keep out: Christine, that means you!" sign.

I came across an article about an interesting woman today, Lizzie Velasquez. She has an exceptionally rare genetic condition that prevents her from gaining weight, to the point that she is almost skeletal. Since I've been reading this story, she strongly reminded me of Erik. Someone put her on Youtube as "the world's ugliest woman." But somehow she didn't get bitter about it, she decided to use her experience to become a motivational speaker and author. If you get a chance, you should Google her TED talk. She's quite a vivacious, engaging speaker.

Yeesh. I can certainly understand why Nadir is reluctant to leave Christine there, given what he knows. What's the Shakespeare line..."These violent delights have violent ends"? Erik is amoral at best. Things could still go badly wrong for Christine, even if Erik is currently infatuated with her.

Well, I suppose Christine feels reassured because a.) Erik hasn't done anything to hurt her or demanded much from her, other than that she stay, b.) at least two people have some idea where she is, and c.) Erik did not kill Nadir or become violent towards him (for a given definition of "violent," anyway).

I feel a great deal of sympathy for Raoul...Christine's reactions are confusing. Does she want help or doesn't she? Very hard to tell when Erik has her so cowed. It's sensible of her to keep contact with SOMEONE instead of allowing Erik to isolate her completely, but she's also understandably afraid of what Erik might do to anyone who tries to help her...

EEeeek. I'm kind of afraid of how he's going to react.

I actually feel a bit afraid for Raoul if this version of Erik targets him. Nadir's comments seem to imply Erik may have been working on chemical/biological weapons.

Nice balance of creepy and benevolent with Erik. I was thinking it would be a challenge for him, not occupying the same building Christine lives/works in, but I suppose in many ways a modern setting makes it far easier for Erik to snoop around and stalk people, particularly if he has any skill with computers.

Hmmm, eerie first meeting! At first I was giving Erik the benefit of the doubt - maybe he was trying to check if she was breathing? But it seems clear now he WAS intending to suffocate her, probably for witnessing him taking out Buquet.

By far one of the most exquisite stories I've read on this website. What a fantastic piece of fanfiction. Good work.

Finally, FINALLY, I found an E/C fic that was just what I was looking for. Dark and dreamy and suspenseful. I do indulge in fluff, of course, but too many fics turn Erik into a normal-ish dude and he ain't. You nailed his characterization.

Thank you so much!

::happy sigh::