POTO-related

[tangofiction]

Of no interest to anyone except "Phantom" fans. Everyone else can move along.

There is a certain beautiful irony in the fact that the Phantom's downfall is brought about by his own actions.

There is a certain beautiful irony in the fact that the Phantom's downfall is brought about by his own actions. It is almost Shakespearean. I've written about this before, particularly as regards the murder of Buquet, which sends Christine running straight to Raoul for protection. But actually, Erik buggers things up for himself even before that, during Notes/Primadonna.



Consider: Erik had just successfully managed to put Christine onstage, almost without doing anything illegal (other than bullying Carlotta a bit). Christine was duly auditioned, found acceptable on her own merits, and was warmly received by the audience at her debut. So far, so good. Her subsequent visit to the Phantom's lair was also, by and large, a success (discounting his temper tantrum). Things are going swimmingly. Until...



...Erik decides to send those notes. Now, before the managers received the note, they were perfectly happy to have Christine fill any and all vacancies left by Carlotta. When Madame Giry informs them that Christine is back, their first reaction is an enthusiastic "will she sing, will she sing??" For reasons not entirely clear to anyone other than himself, Erik doesn't trust Christine's talent to carry the day, and decides that what is really needed here is a bit of blackmail. Unsurprisingly, this has the exact opposite outcome to the one desired, and the managers shift their attentions back to Carlotta. Who, it must be noted, would not even be there had Erik not sent her a note telling her to stay away. He could not have made more certain of bringing her back if he had sent her an engraved invitation. Equally, he rekindles Raoul's interest in pursuing Christine by sending him his own note, also advising him to stay away.



Yep, Erik is a master manipulator all right -- of seven year old orphans who believe in angels. When it comes to anything more complicated than that, he doesn't have the foggiest idea.



What is interesting about this, to me, is that it provides another example of the story as a tragedy of character. Just like in a Shakespearean tragedy, characters bring about their own downfall through their own nature -- because nature governs actions, and actions have consequences. Particularly in a rarified world like the theatre, where external circumstances are not a significant factor, this makes perfect sense.

Comments

[Гость]

Ah yes, Erik. ITA. Very intelligent but not very smart, eh?



Is it.....wrong that I seek solace from the trials of final exams in the safe, warm bosom of fanfic, not only immediately after said exam, BUT ACTUALLY DURING THE READING TIME?





That's wrong, right?



[/dejected moan]

[tangofiction]

ITA? If That's Alright? In The Atmosphere? Insanely Transparent Acronym?



Yep, common sense is not his strong suit, let alone human psychology. When trying to manipulate people's actions, it certainly helps to understand their motivations.



How the heck do you manage to read fics during the reading time, may I ask? Are your exams online or do you sneak printouts into the exam room?

[Гость]

I Totally Agree. Wait. Are you mocking me?



Yeah, all online. It's terribly tempting for one so inclined towards self-indulgence as myself, particluarly when I'm not feeling super confident about the assessment in question. When in doubt - escape! My motto, if you will.



Feels very strange that all the other uni courses are all just starting up and this is my final two days for my first session. But I suppose you're entering the Home Straight on the T, so I guess I'm not completely out of sync with all things tertiary.



I have, BTW, in glory days past, managed to blatantly scoff Ovalteenies during my Private International Law exam in my degree. But that was one KA-RAZEEEEE course and lecturer. Normal rules didn't apply, fortunately. Sadly, the Ovalteenies did not provide clues or answers. Teach me to trust confectionary as a reliable source of information.

[tangofiction]

I'm not mocking you! I'd never seen that acronym before. So now I know.



When in doubt - escape!

Yep, ITA. (See? I'm learning).



Re the "home straight" -- right now I'm hoping they'll grant me an extension. If not, I'm in deep shit. I'd have to write the remaining two-and-a-half chapters in two weeks, including the literature review. Not a chance.

[Гость]

[/actually stunned into speechlessness]



Must.Resist.Flashback.To.Own.Crappy.Honours Thesis.



Actually.Feel.Nauseous.Now.



Godspeed, my friend.

[tangofiction]

Thanks. I didn't sleep (at all, not even for a minute) for the last THREE DAYS of writing my honours thesis, I just sat there typing. I wrote about half the 100-page thesis in those three days. Let us hope it won't come to that again. I'm not sure I'd survive it.



But so far the school has allowed me the extension, so unless the faculty throws a fit, I should be okay. I hope.

[Гость]

Ah yes. Good times, good times. I was in the same boat, but unfortunately this was after the due date for the rotten thing. I'm sure that my ability to pull all-nighters has been permanently impaired by the experience. In fact I'm pretty sure I can't pull them at all now anymore. Aren't there people who have died from 3 days sleep deprivation after constant computer activity? Those games-freaks? Yeah. They should allow you an extension purely on a human rights basis. Clearly some sleep hasn't made me any more articulate. Too much fretting about why a certain fanfic had made Darcy a Scorpio, I think. I find that really disturbing. The Scorpio thing that is. Not the fretting.



Last assignment for the session due at midnight tonight!



Current word count: 0



YES!

[tangofiction]

Well, to add to my stress, I woke up this morning with a fever and the signature viral headache. Lovely. Time to break out the Vitamin C.



I don't know if anyone has actually died from 3 days' sleep deprivation, but I certainly got my first wrinkles and grey hair afterwards. And I also think my ability to work through the night has gone; I haven't done it since. And don't really want to.

[Гость]

Yes, I am thoroughly convinced that university is fundamentally bad for ones health. This conviction however does not sit well with my abnormally positive mood today. My natural paranoia inclines me towards fearing the other shoe is just about to drop and yet not even a perilously overdue assignment, nor my lack of progress towards proper employment or even setting up the compulsory practical placement can make me feel less than happy today. Most unusual. I thoroughly recommmend the cd of female artists covering the songs of the Finn bros ("She Will Have Her Way"). It's like a hypodermic of sonic joy. Discovering some very good P&P fanfic didn't hurt either (no bizarre astrology in this one!).





Hope you feel better today. Keep on trucking!

[tangofiction]

I do feel better; nipped the cold in the bud, and spent the weekend shamelessly wasting time instead of doing work. However, I have just committed myself to submitting the current chapter in its finished form by the end of the week (egads) which suggests I have entirely too much faith in my ability to pull off a last-minute miracle. Wish me luck.



Tango

[Гость]

Ah, shameless avoidance of work indeed. I dare say our house has not been so assiduously vacuumed, mopped, laundered and scrubbed in quite some time. Would you even believe I have a half-completed long lost 3rd chapter of Serial Killer lurking in the wings?



My mood, as we swing into the latter part of the day, remains undaunted, and so I shall wish you as much luck as you need, and more!

[tangofiction]

I dare say our house has not been so assiduously vacuumed, mopped, laundered and scrubbed in quite some time.

God, I'm glad it's not just me! My house hasn't sparkled like this since the day I moved in. The only thing left is washing the windows. When you think about it, it's really quite insane to avoid white-collar work by engaging in heavy physical labour, but there is that false sense of accomplishment to consider...



Would you even believe I have a half-completed long lost 3rd chapter of Serial Killer lurking in the wings?

Ohh, really? Would you like to share it with the class?

[Гость]

Half complete! Others may not flinch at 3000w chapters, but I struggle with 600 words. Hence my grand tradition of overdue assignments. I'll see what I can do though, I don't like it hanging around unfinished.



I actually would feel a lot more accomplished if only I had got around to dusting the shelves and cleaning my car. So not quite sparkling on my end, but much better than before at any rate



As suspected the other shoe has dropped and so back to my standard grumbling and discontent. Hurrah!

[tangofiction]

Oh, trust me, I flinch at 3000 word chapters. If we're talking fiction, then at my most productive I can write 1000 words a day (if it's a chapter) or 2000 if it's a complete short story; that's it.



Hm, starving, time for lunch. And I've written all of 40 words today... Help.

[Гость]

Well I'm faring better with my late Trade Practices claim than I am with poor old Psycho Killer Erik. However, have sneaking suspicion that whole assignment is framed around a trick question that I have missed, and am now wading into all kinds of drafting errors. Lunch is a most troublesome meal. But have been told I must go fetch something to eat from the town's spare and dull selections. I like talking in an affected attitude. It disarms people and amuses me most pleasingly. Heh.

[tangofiction]

I think it's the Pride and Prejudice influence. The affected attitude, that is.

[Гость]

Oh, most certainly! I am nothing if not a sponge to my environment. My denial of objective reality continues apace.





Really, I must say though, the Bizarro-World Version (P&P'05 a'la Joe Wright) impresses upon me a most delectable, if messy, charm - the more I see of it. And all those sizeable ommissions from the book make for most intriguing fanfic poly-filler. It's just nice and refreshing also to not be considering the mores and minds of people concerned with death and dismay at every opportunity.



I guess it's also a nice contrast to be reading about this very small (and relatively, very safe) world, rather than the everyday terrors of the wider world found in other fandoms. Hmmm, but then as we have noted before, all danger is relative. Hmmmmmm. Oh well, put it down to me enjoying the knowledge of a pre-ordained happy ending!

[tangofiction]

I love "P&P", although not the bizarro-world version, as you so aptly put it. I kind of agree about the charm, but it's just not my sort of thing, especially with that intrusive cinematography. My main problem was that they seemed to miss the whole point of the text (ie, the witty social commentary) in favour of melodrama, and rearranged the accents in the story so that scenes that don't seem particularly dramatic to me gain inexplicable prominence, while the major event (Lydia's indiscretion) turns into almost an aside. But that's JMO, of course.



Of course, there are far worse atrocities than the recent P&P when it comes to film adaptations. Disney are particularly offensive in that regard; what they did to "Hunchback of Notre Dame" had me hissing and spitting for weeks, even though I had sort of expected it. On the other hand, I somehow don't mind their "Little Mermaid", even though it's one of my favourite fairy tales ever, and they turned it inside out just like they did with Hunchback. But at least it was funny.



Tango

[Гость]

Yes, saving graces can be very handy things to behold! Plus, as far as P&P is concerned, I'm am a card-carrying romantic sap, so the melodrama quotient wasn't quite as offensive to me in that respect (once I had come to accept its Bizarro World quality, that is. It was utterly ridiculous to me on first viewing though )



Ah, another day of studied inefficiency. At least most of the claim is written up, no idea if it's near the mark of what's exepcted though. I mean they offer you a sample claim, but then it seems to be a matter of choice between outright plagiarism of the sample or spinning off on your own tangient. <shrug>

[tangofiction]

What a waste of a day. Ack.

[Гость]

Claim submitted. Ack indeed.