Oh im about to re-read this story again :D When will you upload part 2?!

This is such a beautiful, beautiful story. I do hope we get to read Part 2 soon! :)

NOOOO, you've left us in chaos! It's so frustrating and suspenseful and AGH! What did you doooo, Nadir?!

I love love loooove that Julianne fell asleep holding Erik's hand and that he just stayed that way. I'm glad he got that brief window of contentment. It KILLS me how he found the things in her bodice, though. And that he didn't tell her he found them! ARGH, RESOLVE ALL THE THINGS NOW.

And on a lighter note, congrats on finishing part 1. :)

What a beautifully written chapter. Absolutely stunning. First of all i love Julianne's thought process. Its so realistic not all the fluffy stuff (Which is fine for later i love my fluff but in this situation after the cruelty she was shown this is perfect) yet there is still compassion there. She must be so confused. I loved that 'maybe she didn't value her life as much as she thought, or maybe she was going mad herself' Both quite plausible. Yet there is an overwhelming sense of compassion lingering over her. Such a confusing position to be in.
The little mention if the torches being lit solely for her benefit was a nice touch to ;)
Erik's explanation of the music was just OMG ON POINT. PERFECT. FAULTLESS. and stunningly written. It hurt my heart to read. Everything I imagined and felt but couldn't put into words and now it is put before me so clearly. Poor poor Erik what a tortured soul. He has gone from a lethal terrifying raving and unfeeling lunatic to a poor broken shell of a man and you connect it so seamlessly. How you write like this i will never know. There are just no words. Such a talent. Brava. Brava. Bravissima.
And i'm glad we heard about his hand again i hope its getting better ;) His confessions about Christine, beauty and ugliness were heartbreaking. Julianne is such a strong woman. Even though we know of Christine's kindness i doubt anything she said would have got through to Erik like Julianne has. WE ARE BREAKING THROUGH!
The moment Julianne realised he wasn't going to kill her was like a huge weight off my shoulders. Even though i obviously knew he wasnt going to kill her i still felt lighter for her sake ;)
And a beautiful end to a beautiful chapter. WHAT WILL I DO WHEN THIS HALF OF THE STORY IS OVER?! Thank goodness you are writing Kalos Machina otherwise i think i would go quite insane.
As always I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. I don't know how you keep outdoing yourself but you always do keep up the amazing work. You are so much greater than you think you are :)

Touching!

Noooo, what am I going to do when you take a break from this fic? Sob. This is a lovely chapter. I especially love the discussion of beauty and ugliness. Ohhh, and the moment when she realizes he won’t kill her - her relief is so palpable! And the handholding. Oof. I cannot WAIT to read from Erik’s POV next.

I must be a psychic! OH. MY GOSH MY FACE WAS LIKE THIS THE WHOLE TIME :OOOO The angst in this chapter is on point! Erik and his blame game. AND WHEN HE HAD HER IN THE ARM LOCK. I love your description that he was invading her space and that it was like her arm was being pivoted out of its socket. I'm sure Erik is very aware of his own strength but his anger totally blinds him and i think it is so interesting and scary to read about! I think Erik is a bit bi-polar. I love reading about him when he is in one of his insane lunatic crazes Its so scary! I LOVE IT.
THE MASK REVEAL HAPPENED! I HAVE BEEN SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS AHHH! Poor poor Erik my heart hurts for him. Such a tortured soul. He truly cant decipher right from wrong the poor thing... /3
The end. THE END. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. I guess their relationship wasn't all sunshine an roses like we thought. You miss are clever having us think Edouard was Mr perfect and you have been slowly bringing out his true nature. You genius. Erik didn't see it coming either and i liked that it knocked some sense into him. I wonder what approach he will take to this!
I think i will just re-read this chapter over and over again. I will probably read the whole story again in preparation for part 2!
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEEEE.

Oh gosh, this chapter is SOOOO GOOOOOD. YOU are so good! So good at reaching down into the depths of Erik’s character and pulling out this lovable, tortured, dangerous, pitiable mess of a man who ultimately just wants to be loved like everyone else. It’s heart-wrenching.

But Julianne! Now THAT character insight I had not expected here. I actually GASPED at the end when she called him Edouard! Ugh, it’s just all so brilliant and I resent you right now for being so brilliant. Haha. I also really enjoyed the opening paragraphs about how much Erik’s presence turned out to be a comfort for her. I could really feel everything you described.

Congrats to Madame Giry, by the way. ;)

Aahahahah Thankyou! I got some sleep ;) That's why it takes me so long to review because i'm so busy and exhausted. But I always read the chapter as soon as they are released! They are the highlight of my week I check for an update every day haha ;)
Things are starting to move along! I find Julianne's bravery commendable, as does Erik i'm sure. I absolutely loved the mention of Madeline, and how she was an exception to the compassionate title women have earned themselves. I found it amusing then my heart hurt once it set in. What a cruel childhood Erik had... :(
I like that Erik finds her bravery amusing. This is going to be an interesting relationship. I do also hope you touch on her anger again, and how that soothed him. I just found this interesting :)
OOOOHH They are on a first name basis now! Its quite funny, like Erik, I didn't even realise she used his name! How sweet Erik found it so remarkable, but how heart breaking something so simple he has been denied. To have his name spoken without fear... :( Nice save on her behalf using Nadir as a cover on how she knew it. How much more can she fit down her front!? hahahaha
Oooooh a flashback chapter is coming up! Wooo! Good old Giovanni, helping Erik see the light! Poor Erik looking up hoping to see Giovanni standing there. I guess you could even say he was 'Wishing he were somehow here again' HAHAHAH. omg puns. I'm so lame that so wasn't funny. The next chapter will be very sweet.
Also just curious because there are so many deformities in so many versions of phantom, Is this the full face deformity where Erik wears the full mask or the half white one? I know I keep asking questions that have nothing to so with the story i just like to picture things a bit clearer :) How do you see it? Some more descriptions on Julianne would be awesome to, So far all i can gather is that she is short with dark features. I guess theirs not much else i need to know I just like to see things the way you imagine them. Forgive me if i'm making no sense :)

"Had he died at last?" Oh, Erik. Sob.

As sad as it is, I love the bit where he catches sight of his mother's portrait as he's contemplating maternal instinct. I'm kind of surprised that he has a portrait of her! Is that in Kay, or a detail that you added?

Oooh, his reaction to hearing her speak his name is perfection. I also love the part with the compass, though I must admit, I would have expected/hoped for some sort of reaction on Erik's part when Julianne touched his hand. But then, I also have a thing with hands. Ha.

It's lovely to see the tension between them melting, to see the mutual respect forming. I wonder how this situation is going to resolve itself!

Sorry for not reviewing sooner i have been flat out, and i cant be as thorough with this one because im running on about 2 hours sleep but i just wanted to let you know i read it and LOVED it. Chills. Such sympathy for poor Erik, him and his nightmares :( I loved when he talked about how unpredictable he would be after the drug entered his system and how she would ironically be safer in the torture chamber! Like even with everything we know about Erik we still have no idea how dangerous he can be at his full potential. SCARRYYYY. Chills when he bellowed 'Do you have a deathwish you disrespectful little wench' I love how you portray him as actually terrifying. Juliannes strength and sweetness really came out here. She was so brave and that was the sweetest thing having her read the poetry until he fell asleep. I hope she isnt too hurt from her fall. And i hope eriks hand is getting better too. I will review more in depth later because im about to pass out from exhaustion hahah. So excited for the next part to see how Erik reacts to this!

No wonder this was one of your favorite chapters to write; it's my favorite that I've read! Where do I even begin? This was just so, so effective in establishing sympathy for Erik; sometimes he's really little more than a tortured, frightened child at heart, isn't he? I adore Julianne's admirable and stubborn compassion in waking him and especially in deterring him from the morphine. I feel like, despite his intense anger at her (that smoldering gaze! shudder), he must have been truly grateful for her interference given the fact that he did not inject the morphine when he easily could have. And oh my goodness, what better way to end than with a shirtless, sleeping Erik?

Man, I hope she gets a bed soon. The torture chamber floor sounds awful.

HA, you and your Hamilton reference. But damn it's getting dark, so let me spell out my name!

The notion of the china being repaired with patience and skill is so very metaphorical. :) Did you intend it as such? I'm imagining that you did. In any case, it's a nice touch.

I adoooore the fact that she is keeping the child's mask on her person as a reminder of Erik's humanity. It's so poignantly thoughtful. I wonder how he'll react if/when he finds out!

Just when Erik starts going into ass mode again, you have him recite poetry! Oh, how wonderful. To be Julianne in that moment! ;)

The last line... WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE US ON A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT! Dearie me EspiorDio.
How is Erik's poor hand by the way :( And where is the note from Christine?! She cant keep hiding it down her dress forever surely!
I also wonder what she will find while tidying Eriks lair! Many interesting things Erik will not want to talk about no doubt. LIKE THE KIDDIE MASK :OO
I wonder how they will come back from this difficult situation. how will they fall in love while they loathe eachother to some degree! You have made this a hard task for yourself! But no doubt you can do it! Im actually surprised Julianne has been as calm as she has been with Erik - besides her anger slip up where she wanted to break the violin and rightly so considering he KIDNAPPED HER. But I suppose she wants to stay alive so thats fair enough. WHAT DID THE LAST LINE MEAN!?
Also i think its great that you are spliting this story! I'm so happy you care enough to split to make it the best story you can make it but i don't know how i will cope with a gap in the middle i'm so enthralled with this story its literally all i'm thinking about trying to guess what happens next! Weekly updates are still too long to wait! :D
Perfect how Juliannes anger soothed Erik. How interesting! I love this and like Erik hoping to recreate the scene i hope it happens again too its very interesting to read! I do hope you touch more on this as well as Eriks past and his voice tricks!
The way Erik feels about his animals is beautiful. 'drowning a cat, humanity at its most atrocious i am certain.' This coming from a crazed murderer ;) I like that he was expecting Ayeesha to just attack Julianne but Ayeesha just loved her up. They say cats can sense if a person has a good spirit! Too cute.
I love the little details, like how he put the tips of his fingers together and felt the grooves the strings made, that must have been some hardcore playing! And i love that he is still taking pleasure from scaring her. I love the direction this story is taking but i'm already worried about when it will VERY SADLY come to an end! WHAT WILL I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO THEN?! ;)
Honestly as with every chapter i could tell you something i loved about every line but i would be here FOREVER! Just know you are a truly gifted writer and all those little details you spend hours over, we notice every single one! Cant wait for the next update keep them coming!

Erik's reaction to Julianne's behavior is completely believable here. I love that he is so intrigued by her and her response to his music, and that they have something so significant in common.

"It felt odd just being Erik while having someone nearby to witness it" - I love this!

I love that they are conversing now. And about cats! Everything about Erik and cats is adorable.

That last line, though-nooo! Is he saying that just because he's an ass, or has he really decided to do away with her? I have to know! And what is in the brown paper packet!