[ From somewhere in the opera house - his sequestered location, he sees the subtle changes happening. He has no immediate explanation for why this - person - would be able to do such things. Or why, but he does find it fascinating.
[ In a really enraging sort of way.
[ He is beyond pleased at being 'vexing', however.
[ He watches the tendrils and is confused more than anything else. That isn't a typical aspect of human physiology.]
Illusions serve me well, monsieur.
[ He doesn't actively engage people unless he has too. His threats usually do enough to make people back off.
[ The strange physiology is confounding him though. ]
Why do you don armor if you're not afraid of me and my illusions?
[ Openings on the stage could lead anywhere - or nowhere. Certain ones of them do lead to his lair... eventually. Through twists and turns and cutbacks and almost a maze of tunnels beneath the opera. ]
Perhaps you should explain your interest in my student - and I may be persuaded to end this engagement.
If I were to become injured in my exploration, bleeding is uncomfortable and unnecessary. I have no reason to believe that you are a merciful entity, given the way you have spoken to me. It is easier to brace for death than it is to find oneself unawares of its ever-present possibility. Death may yet step near and take what is inevitable of all people.
[His keen nose picks up a scent, stronger than the rest that come and go in this place. Like a bloodhound, he tracks him, but he takes his time, slowly. Step by step in order to avoid baseless twists and turns. He takes paths that the Phantom has - where his smell is strongest. It sticks in the back of his throat, persistent and heavy before long.]
As for your student, I enjoy being her friend. That I can use this monstrous power of mine to protect her from anyone that would make her unhappy or hurt. Was that not clear that my affection is, in so far, platonic in nature?
[Yet he continues, keeping a steady pace. He can smell him. soon, he will be able to hear more than just his voice. Once he gets close enough, he'll be able to hear respiration and heartbeat, should the Phantom have either. More than irritation now, genuine curiosity nags at him.
[But he's accustomed to the almost candid ebb and flow of his own emotions. Even so, his voice still holds the pace of a metronome, as if it is unable or unwilling to hold any significant stressors nor inflection that accompany speech beyond what is necessary to form the words.]
What is your interest in her? Is she only a student to you? You are protective, if not possessive of her, of which I understand from your messages.
Your discomfort is truly not my concern, monsieur. Though, I have no reason for your death if you leave now.
[The Phantom is just a regular type human with facial deformities. He has standard blood and heartbeat, etc. He's mostly trackable if one doesn't get lost in the labyrinth of caverns beneath the opera house.]
Monsieur, that you have specified the timing as 'so far' is the worrying element. If you intentions remain platonic, you may continue. Romantic interactions are far too much of a distraction.
[As yet, he hasn't felt the need to use any weapons, but that may change should he feel threatened.]
She is my top student with great potential to be one of the premiere singers in Europe. She is young and undisciplined and requires many hours of teaching.
[He latches on, and realizes that he's "just" a human. No threat there at all. Enough that once he's sure of it, he lowers that armor, every inch of it retracting from his skin. Even with a weapon, a human can only do so much to him.
[The scent and heartbeat are easy to follow. To not get lost in the labyrinth of corridors and hallways and walls. He's getting closer and closer. He's so close, in fact, that his footfalls are landing no more than a few feet parallel to the Phantom, the next wall over.]
Mm. Should I actually develop romantic feelings for her, however misguided or foolish they may be, why would I resist letting her know? You may offer your opinion, but you cannot restrict what I choose to do.
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Comments
@revmeup
I am currently confused about a great many things. What, may I ask, is all of this? It is making my candles spark.
[It has taken every ounce of restraint he does not have to not chuck the thing into the lake.]
Re: @revmeup
What am I to learn from all of this - glitter?
Since you're being so cagey I figured I could open up first.
[But he really really is.]
And you expect that I will learn everything I need to know from newspaper articles and flammable particles?
Consider it a gesture of good faith.
@musicinmymind
And what of me?
[The 19th century version of the sadface emoji.]
please excuse my lateness!
And yet I am drawn to you.
no worries!
@reorienting
[ In a really enraging sort of way.
[ He is beyond pleased at being 'vexing', however.
[ He watches the tendrils and is confused more than anything else. That isn't a typical aspect of human physiology.]
Illusions serve me well, monsieur.
[ He doesn't actively engage people unless he has too. His threats usually do enough to make people back off.
[ The strange physiology is confounding him though. ]
Why do you don armor if you're not afraid of me and my illusions?
[ Openings on the stage could lead anywhere - or nowhere. Certain ones of them do lead to his lair... eventually. Through twists and turns and cutbacks and almost a maze of tunnels beneath the opera. ]
Perhaps you should explain your interest in my student - and I may be persuaded to end this engagement.
[His keen nose picks up a scent, stronger than the rest that come and go in this place. Like a bloodhound, he tracks him, but he takes his time, slowly. Step by step in order to avoid baseless twists and turns. He takes paths that the Phantom has - where his smell is strongest. It sticks in the back of his throat, persistent and heavy before long.]
As for your student, I enjoy being her friend. That I can use this monstrous power of mine to protect her from anyone that would make her unhappy or hurt. Was that not clear that my affection is, in so far, platonic in nature?
[Yet he continues, keeping a steady pace. He can smell him. soon, he will be able to hear more than just his voice. Once he gets close enough, he'll be able to hear respiration and heartbeat, should the Phantom have either. More than irritation now, genuine curiosity nags at him.
[But he's accustomed to the almost candid ebb and flow of his own emotions. Even so, his voice still holds the pace of a metronome, as if it is unable or unwilling to hold any significant stressors nor inflection that accompany speech beyond what is necessary to form the words.]
What is your interest in her? Is she only a student to you? You are protective, if not possessive of her, of which I understand from your messages.
[The Phantom is just a regular type human with facial deformities. He has standard blood and heartbeat, etc. He's mostly trackable if one doesn't get lost in the labyrinth of caverns beneath the opera house.]
Monsieur, that you have specified the timing as 'so far' is the worrying element. If you intentions remain platonic, you may continue. Romantic interactions are far too much of a distraction.
[As yet, he hasn't felt the need to use any weapons, but that may change should he feel threatened.]
She is my top student with great potential to be one of the premiere singers in Europe. She is young and undisciplined and requires many hours of teaching.
[The scent and heartbeat are easy to follow. To not get lost in the labyrinth of corridors and hallways and walls. He's getting closer and closer. He's so close, in fact, that his footfalls are landing no more than a few feet parallel to the Phantom, the next wall over.]
Mm. Should I actually develop romantic feelings for her, however misguided or foolish they may be, why would I resist letting her know? You may offer your opinion, but you cannot restrict what I choose to do.
@sopranosongbird
Were you not one to point out that I am, in fact, a man?
[The paper shows a few marks of hesitation, dots of ink marking the page where the fountain pen had touched the page but no words formed.]
Why did you pretend to be my--the Angel of Music?
[Hesitations or not, it is a much easier question to pose when it isn't face to face.]
[aka: people don't like his face and run away in terror.]
[Her feathers. You have ruffled them, sir.]
[Forgetting history and doom and all of that.]
@revmeup
Is there not typically an emotional element to this endeavor?
Re: @revmeup
Personally, my sex life and my love life don't always overlap
And that works for me