for She Often Spoke of You10/28/2022 c1 Guest
AAAAAHAHAHAHA
that is perfect your writing is beautiful!
AAAAAHAHAHAHA
that is perfect your writing is beautiful!
2/22/2021 c1 
2Lucyole
Nice, funny and interesting she may have talked about that music box but we all know she meant Erik right? ;p
2LucyoleNice, funny and interesting she may have talked about that music box but we all know she meant Erik right? ;p
11/12/2020 c1 Jackie Ferreri
This was excellent! Such a surprise ending! Loved it!
This was excellent! Such a surprise ending! Loved it!
10/4/2020 c1 2Aphaea21
HAHAHA! Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Yes, taken like that the line does suggest their conversations over the years might have... lacked a little! Nicely done :)
2Aphaea21HAHAHA! Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Yes, taken like that the line does suggest their conversations over the years might have... lacked a little! Nicely done :)
9/28/2020 c1 55Igenlode Wordsmith
I loved this - from Raoul's initial gallant assumption that Christine must have been kidnapped 'kicking and screaming' and his anger with himself for having wasted time over the proprieties of a hat when he could have saved her, to Christine's description of the Phantom's music as being "beaten out of the organ like a punishment". "Pain that both broke Raoul's heart and filled him with cold, silent rage".
And then the deadpan of "Oh no, not *him*, the monkey" ;-D
Followed by Raoul's increasing dismay - oh no, not again! - at his wife's embarrassing tendency to reminisce on the subject at the most inappropriate moments... But I like the way that in amongst the humour you've also got the incidental portrait of a happy lifetime - with a few minor... frustrations! It's beautifully written, from the tears stinging unshaven cheeks to the angel that leans in silent judgement, and I get a real sense of Raoul as a character from it. (Very resourceful of him to think of the steam-roller :-p)
Yes, that line about Christine often speaking of the musical-box really is very incongruous, given that it turns out to play no memorable role in the rest of the plot at all! sparklyscorpion wrote a painfully bittersweet take on the theme back in 2007, with "As Summer Fades"; this one is more lighthearted, but equally effective. I've added it to join my Raoul-based community.
(Typo: "not a member of *the* nobility", I think.)
55Igenlode WordsmithI loved this - from Raoul's initial gallant assumption that Christine must have been kidnapped 'kicking and screaming' and his anger with himself for having wasted time over the proprieties of a hat when he could have saved her, to Christine's description of the Phantom's music as being "beaten out of the organ like a punishment". "Pain that both broke Raoul's heart and filled him with cold, silent rage".
And then the deadpan of "Oh no, not *him*, the monkey" ;-D
Followed by Raoul's increasing dismay - oh no, not again! - at his wife's embarrassing tendency to reminisce on the subject at the most inappropriate moments... But I like the way that in amongst the humour you've also got the incidental portrait of a happy lifetime - with a few minor... frustrations! It's beautifully written, from the tears stinging unshaven cheeks to the angel that leans in silent judgement, and I get a real sense of Raoul as a character from it. (Very resourceful of him to think of the steam-roller :-p)
Yes, that line about Christine often speaking of the musical-box really is very incongruous, given that it turns out to play no memorable role in the rest of the plot at all! sparklyscorpion wrote a painfully bittersweet take on the theme back in 2007, with "As Summer Fades"; this one is more lighthearted, but equally effective. I've added it to join my Raoul-based community.
(Typo: "not a member of *the* nobility", I think.)
9/6/2020 c1 2AnotherSilentObserver
This is really clever! I wonder whether it was hard to write.
Witty, poignant, full of little details that create atmosphereand uild characterisation. And not a word about *him". Very clever.
I loved the ending: it feels very true to the character, and very appropriate. No sugar-coating.
2AnotherSilentObserverThis is really clever! I wonder whether it was hard to write.
Witty, poignant, full of little details that create atmosphereand uild characterisation. And not a word about *him". Very clever.
I loved the ending: it feels very true to the character, and very appropriate. No sugar-coating.
9/1/2020 c1 8cxe128
Love this! I also always wondered why on earth Christine would've spoken about the music box of all things so much. Maybe it haunted her because it was something so beautiful in a hellish place, maybe it haunted her because she associated it with all of her trauma, or maybe because it reminded her of how bad she felt for leaving the Phantom behind. I mean, Christine would definitely have had some kind of PTSD, right?
Anyway, this was equal parts funny and tragic or sweet. I was happy to see that she and Raoul were able to build a beautiful life together. Wow, the ending tho.. :)
8cxe128Love this! I also always wondered why on earth Christine would've spoken about the music box of all things so much. Maybe it haunted her because it was something so beautiful in a hellish place, maybe it haunted her because she associated it with all of her trauma, or maybe because it reminded her of how bad she felt for leaving the Phantom behind. I mean, Christine would definitely have had some kind of PTSD, right?
Anyway, this was equal parts funny and tragic or sweet. I was happy to see that she and Raoul were able to build a beautiful life together. Wow, the ending tho.. :)
8/31/2020 c1 82Starwatcher2018
There are few things more tragic than loving someone only to realize at the end, you were not the one s/he truly loved after all.
82Starwatcher2018There are few things more tragic than loving someone only to realize at the end, you were not the one s/he truly loved after all.
8/31/2020 c1 11Aldebaran8423
Why yes, I AM shamelessly leaving you the exact comment I left on AO3.
This was hilarious! If you are going to tell a joke, tell the WHOLE joke, and boy did you ever! Also made even funnier by the quality of the writing throughout. I really loved this: “those dark horrible chords. Beaten out of the organ, like a punishment.”
And Christine’s airy nonchalance: “I mean, that’s it, I suppose: monkey, cymbals, velvet, papier mache. That pretty much covers it.” And absolute unconcern for the poor Phantom…
Raoul’s increasing tension at the end of each section was just so funny! Fish fork!
I think I heard also, that Christine, after ten long years, urged the family on an expedition to America on a tip that a similar music box might be found there, on Coney Island. The Atlantic passage was grueling for everyone. After they arrived, Christine, especially, was just shot.
11Aldebaran8423Why yes, I AM shamelessly leaving you the exact comment I left on AO3.
This was hilarious! If you are going to tell a joke, tell the WHOLE joke, and boy did you ever! Also made even funnier by the quality of the writing throughout. I really loved this: “those dark horrible chords. Beaten out of the organ, like a punishment.”
And Christine’s airy nonchalance: “I mean, that’s it, I suppose: monkey, cymbals, velvet, papier mache. That pretty much covers it.” And absolute unconcern for the poor Phantom…
Raoul’s increasing tension at the end of each section was just so funny! Fish fork!
I think I heard also, that Christine, after ten long years, urged the family on an expedition to America on a tip that a similar music box might be found there, on Coney Island. The Atlantic passage was grueling for everyone. After they arrived, Christine, especially, was just shot.
8/31/2020 c1 Guest
Oh wow didn't expect that ending. Lol
Oh wow didn't expect that ending. Lol