this fic was truly SO wild with its developments. I enjoyed Nadir's complex relationship with Erik and how it was through Nadir's intervention that Erik snapped out of his obsessive, bad habits, enabling EC to have a more equal and as close to normal relationship. It's the same canon and usual character arc for Erik and still, I love reading and seeing how other authors put their spin to it! This is a good ending seeing as the story began with Christine's father, alive, and her in an uneasy relationship with Raoul. and while her father is dead at the end and she's with Erik, it's not without its hardship, but Christine is definitely happy. Love to see her gain more confidence by the fic's end and to have seen her assert her choices and personhood. Thanks for the wild ride!

I honestly love how you write Raoul a lot. he definitely cares a lot about her and while his comments in the previous chapter hurt a lot, as a reader, I can understand where he's coming from. he loves Christine but he definitely has his own perspective that clashes with hers. Also kudos to how you write Erik. I laugh at how strange and awkward he is ngl, like with the heart cookies several chapters back. but he's also caring and he seems to be more expressive of that which is great. This fic is so complex with the characters and conflicts even if they're all central to Christine, they're all very interesting to read! ALSO what prompted me to drop a review anyway was I needed to scream about how IM SO HAPPY MEG'S IN THIS FIC IDK WHY I DOUBTED SHE WOULD SHOW UO BUT NOW SHES HERE AND IM HYPE

I find it hard as human reality that Eric, supposedly as human as Christine and any other human can be so boney, yellowed and be healthy. I can see him being skinny and all legs, deformed in face. But a living human skeleton. I guess I hate Leroux s phantom. I think Eric should be a little more realistic. However I am enjoying this story. Miss Ayesha or his horse or both.

No, Erik would not understand Raoul at all! And although he can be unreasonable at times, honestly this isn't one of them. I mean, Raoul's a nice guy in many ways, and I'm glad he had the gallantry to defend Christine to his bitch of a mother back at Christmas. But, A, I think he infantilizes Christine a bit, or rather continues the infantilization her father's done on her - which is kind of ick given that Raoul also wants to sleep with her. And B, excuse me, but Raoul just crossed a major line with that "real job" shit! I mean, wanting her to have a back-up plan is one thing, and that's actually pretty sensible. But his implying that singing isn't a "real job" is crossing over into ass-hole territory! And he obviously doesn't believe in her talent if he thinks she'll just spend a few years in choruses before fading out. So much for him being Mr. wonderful and supportive!

And on that note, I really wish Christine would, as Erik so well put it, stop snivelling. In particular, I wish she'd stop being so in knots about upsetting anyone. And I especially wish she'd stop being so pathetically grateful that Raoul's giving her the time of day! So he's rich and handsome as well as being - ahem, up until that last comment - a genuinely nice guy. But so what? He's not God! How the F did her self-esteem get so low? Though, I will say that, in the last few chapters, she has started to show tiny signs of a budding spine. So I hope that continues! Because, A, Raoul's not wrong about the music world being, sadly, extremely competitive. And unless she learns to stand up for herself and fight, she'll never survive that. But perhaps more importantly, B, unless she learns to know her own mind and heart and stand up for herself, she'll never be able to meet Erik as an equal. And that's key if they're going to have any kind of viable relationship, romantic or otherwise! Erik doesn't need a little girl who needs her Pappa and is afraid of her shadow! He needs a fully grown woman who knows her own heart and mind, who can both anchor him when he's triggered and stand up to him when he's being a jerk, and who has the maturity to be able to tell the difference. And Christine's nowhere near there yet!

Oh, PS. I also really loved that you chose to have Christine seek out the Phantom as opposed to the other way around.

Wow. I read this entire story in 2 days and I don't really have words for how well written and clean it was. Everything tied together so well, you did a wonderful job foreshadowing to elements that later appeared in the story.
You also did a really amazing job sticking to the Gaston Leroux story line, but removing things that were overly outdated (the forced marriage element was handled tactfully).
I could not get over how witty and well-paced some of the dialogue was, I could imagine real people conversing in this fashion.
This story was an emotional rollercoaster, I was giddy in some moments and heartbroken in others. Truly I am so sad to have reached the end.

In my humble opinion you have the makings for a truly publishable piece. You writing is brilliant and I hope to see more of your work in the future!

Thank you so much, this ended up being my favorite fiction on this site and I don't even like modern poto retellings at all. So kudos!

Swoon. This reunion is so poignant. Great job with the emotional tug-o-war.
Your dialogue is phenomenal.

Incredible pacing in this chapter, the action feels realistic. Also, ouch my heart.

So far, your character development is pristine. I love everyone, including Raoul (who I typically love to hate).
Also, I have to say that this is literally the first Modern retelling that I have enjoyed so far. It's quickly becoming one of my all time favorites, I cannot stop reading!

I'm really glad you chose against making him sleep in a coffin, it would have really made this bit terribly unrealistic.

"Parlor tricks"...shrug. scene was perfection.

There really is nothing more endearing than the image of Erik eating pink heart-shaped sugar cookies.

Holy shit, this first introduction was so good.

This is the very first drunk Erik I've ever read. Love it! ;)

I don't have enough words to say how much I loved and enjoyed your story!