#potofic

A Life in Your Shape

Christine/Meg, No Phantom AU - In which Meg invents the Phantom so she can be free of her mother's control

If anyone asked Meg who had started the sordid tale of the Phantom of the Opera, she would say she didn't remember.

If anyone asked Christine, she would say the same. If they persisted, she would say herself.

The truth was, she could not be certain after all was said and done.

The Better Man Ch 15 - WIP

So, I almost wasn’t going to post anything because at this point I don’t have any sections that don’t need to be kept under wraps until it’s posted. But, what the hell, how about two sentences, isolated from the surrounding text and vague enough for no spoilers? 🥰

Please do yourself a favor and read this little slice of beauty from Aldebaran. It is partly inspired by my story The Better Man, though you absolutely don’t need to be following that to read this one-shot, nor would it spoil much of anything, if you were planning on it. Also, even if you actively dislike that story, you might still like this one! It stands alone as a thoughtful exploration of the relationship between Erik and Nadir, and is everything I would want to write for them myself...if I wasn’t so busy focusing on Raoul and Erik and their thisclose to literal dick-measuring contests. 😌 Thank you for writing this, Aldebaran! I couldn’t love it more. ♥️♥️♥️

The Better Man Chapter 13 - Preview #2

Full chapter up on Friday! 🎉

In this mid-chapter excerpt, Raoul gets more than exactly what he bargained for. 😅

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raoul ground his teeth. He’d expected the endless needling — it was not appreciated, no, but it was anticipated — however, making this absurd demand which threatened the very integrity of Raoul’s painstakingly constructed plan? Unbelievable. Intolerable! He shot up from his seat, stalking over to the very edge of the slowly dwindling band of moonlight.

“I won’t budge on this,” came Erik’s voice from behind him. ”You can take it or leave it.”

Raoul looked back over his shoulder, squinting across the distance at that brazen masked miscreant, who couldn’t have appeared any more disinterested in Raoul’s answer.

What game was he playing? Surely he was bluffing.

But if not...

How could Raoul possibly agree? Obviously, anything Erik insisted upon could not be trusted — which was why it was so incredibly vexing that he did have some valid points. Too many, Raoul had to admit. He closed his eyes and exhaled. 

“Fine. But I won’t be leaving her down there unless she finds everything to her satisfaction.”

Erik nodded. “Of course. Not to worry,” he said lightly, with a smile so unassuming it absolutely had to be assumed. “I shall see to it that the lady is completely satisfied.”

Blinded by indignation of the most righteous sort fizzing behind his eyes, Raoul nearly sprinted over to slap that smile right off the bastard’s revolting face. But at the last moment, with a silent internal roar of impotent rage, he caught himself — there was nothing to be gained from dignifying that bit of tasteless insinuation with a response.

Besides, Raoul supposed he could only blame himself — he had set that one right up, hadn’t he?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making good progress on the next chapter, in which Raoul, having regained some of his former confidence, prepares to make a deal with the devil which couldn’t possibly go wrong!  

Shaking his head, Raoul checked his pocket watch. The walk had taken longer than expected - only five minutes remained until they were due to meet. He had hoped to get there early enough to get himself settled - both in body and in mind - so that he could start off on the best possible foot. That was one small comfort: at least it seemed impossible to start off on a worse foot than last time. 

Yes...in hindsight, he had made a few mistakes the last time they’d met. He’d allowed inebriation to stand in for courage, had pleaded and begged and humbled himself, rather than present the offer as what it really was: the best damn thing to ever happen to that pathetic, sewer-dwelling scoundrel. Tonight, however, Raoul would hold his achingly-sober head up high and set his terms with confidence...if only he could get his hands to stop shaking.

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Phantom - Susan Kay, Phantom of the Opera (2004) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Christine Daaé/Raoul de Chagny/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Raoul de Chagny/Christine Daaé, Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Raoul de Chagny Additional Tags: Complicated Relationships, Drama & Romance, Content Warning Infertility, Adult Content, Unhealthy Relationships, Anti-Hero, Bad Decisions, Love Triangles, Angst and Romance Summary: