fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #815 ]

⌈ Secret Post #815 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.

[Weird Al Yankovic and Stephen Colbert]

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102. [repeat]

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103.

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104.

[Yu-Gi-Oh]

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105.

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106.

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107. [repeat]

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108.

[Rachael Maddow]

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109.

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110.

[The Office]

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111.

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112.

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113.

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114.

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115.

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116.

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117.

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118.

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119.

[Phantom of the Opera]

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120.

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121.

[previously linked wrong]

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122.

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123.

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124.

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125.

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126.

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127.

[hunter s. thompson]

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128.

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129.

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130.

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131. [repeat]

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132.

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133.

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134.

[Hotel Babylon]

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135.

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136.

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137. [repeat]

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138.

[jake hurwitz]

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139.

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140.

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141.

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142.

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143.

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144.

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145.

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146.

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147.

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148.

[but why not the men?]

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149.

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150.

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151.

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152.

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153.

[Naruto]

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154.

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155.

[Naruto]

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156.

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157.

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158.

[Jade Goody]

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159.

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160.

[previously linked wrong]

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161.

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162.

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163.

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164.

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165.

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166.

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167.

[High School Musical]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 11 pages, 275 secrets from Secret Submission Post #116.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 2 3 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 1 2 3 4 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Um. Hi.

I honestly think that if you put some time in and actually try to empathize (not sympathize, empathize) with the character of Erik, it'll make more sense. At least for me, it's not that the relationship itself is attractive, but more importantly his dedication to Christine.

Erik was perpetually abused for something as petty as his looks, and his childhood was filled with violence, hatred, and cruelty. After the circus and up until adulthood, he was isolated from the rest of the world. The only things he's ever known are music, violence, and cruelty.

Enter Christine. She's beautiful, she's innocent, and she's talented. Erik becomes completely obsessed with her-- since music is the only sweet thing in Erik's life, it's no wonder that he projects all of his innermost desires onto her and her voice. He trains her, pushes her career, commits his life to writing beautiful music for her. Sure, it's intense and kind of creepy, but it's really the only way he knows how to express any positive emotions like love and adoration. And Christine doesn't mind so much because she's probably projecting all of her daddy issues onto him-- he's her teacher, her "master," and she probably feels as though he's supposed to father her in some ways.

Erik's obsession becomes dangerous, because his only way of dealing with the things in the way of Christine's career and his relationship with her is through violence. So in the end when it is Christine that chooses Raoul, it kind of makes him crazy because here he is, armed only with the ability to kill, but he cannot harm Christine (even if it means giving her the chance to be happy with someone else).

No, the relationship is not perfect. Or healthy. Or something a sane person would actually want for himself. But I think his devotion to her is something very romantic.

is something very romantic.

WTF!

You consider that romantic? Really? All I can say to that is...

OKAY!

But it's

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But it's <not</i> romantic- that's just it. It's selfish, twisted obsession. I can empathise with the countless wrongs done to Erik due to his disfigurement, but not with his stalking of Christine.

He wasn't stalking Christine; at least, not in the beginning. In the beginning he was her teacher, someone she trusted and (in my opinion) held affection for (whether or not those feelings were romantic is up to interpretation. Personally I think she thought of him more as a father, he took care of her).

It was when he couldn't find a proper outlet for his frustration that things started to go downhill. What's romantic isn't the fact that he killed for her, or followed her, or tried to force her to be with him by threatening her boyfriend. What's romantic is how someone so flawed and so horribly messed up by other people could come to care for someone that much. He really did love her, so much so that his love consumed him.

That's what's romantic about it.

And honestly, I don't see why people are surprised to find that this sort of adoration and dedication appeals to others-- there are a lot of people who feel unloved and lonely, and to want to have someone care that much about you isn't that unrealistic or strange to me.

You would probably think Edward of Twilight is romantic too.

Ew.

Actually, no. A thousand times no. I like to read literature that doesn't seem like it's written by a fourteen-year-old's text message.

I didn't say you like Twilight, just how Edward behaves (stalkerish and controlling) as romantic. He's devoted to her, right? So that makes it ok.

Um. No? I haven't read the books (other than what few pages I could stomach out of the first one) but doesn't he want to eat her? Like, "get in my belly!" kind of eat her?

That's... uh, not quite devotion. I actually have no idea what to call that, but I'm pretty sure it's not devotion when you actually want to harm the person you're interested in. Doesn't he abuse her physically?

As far as I know, Erik never abused Christine physically, just scared her a lot.

OMG!

And wanting to kill people she loves and cares for is totally OK because he doesn't actually hurt her! He scares the bejesus out of her a lot, manipulatates her, controls her, is possessive of her, even grooms her... Now that is devotion, but not the romantic kind.

That's what we call emotional and psychological abuse, it can fuck you up just as much and sometimes more than physical abuse. You really don't get it. You are exactly what this secret is talking about.

God, I love it when people completely disregard my point. Seriously. It's the best.

I'm not saying that killing people is romantic, or that how he treats her is indicative of a healthy relationship. Read my posts. I never said that I approved, or found it appealing.

The fact that you people love to continuously overlook is that Erik did everything he could think of to show Christine how much he loved her. He was a messed up guy, for sure, but he loved her SO FUCKING MUCH that he would do ANYTHING to keep her.

It's the DEVOTION, not his actions, the fact that he loved her enough to do anything for her, is what I find romantic.

Besides, I'm not asking you to agree with it. I'm just demonstrating that not all people who find the story romantic are enamored with men who would treat them poorly.

Becoming obsessed to the point of trying to murder your competition isn't romantic. No. That's just fucked up.

And while Erik may have been abused, that doesn't mean he was right to kill people and extort the owners of the Opera House.

I'm not saying that he was right, and I'm not saying that I think secret admirers trying to kill your boyfriend is romantic either.

The point that I'm trying to make is that Erik really loved Christine-- he just didn't know how to show it, which sucks because that was the main reason they could never be together. His inability to show real love leads him to commit all of these horrible crimes and in the end, he drives her away. But he really did love her, and that's romantic. That someone who has been treated cruelly for their entire life could find someone to care about, that's a beautiful story.

I'm not saying that I want a guy who will kill all of my other potential suitors. I'm just saying that in the context of the story, the Erik and Christine relationship was beautiful and tragic.

I suppose it ends up being YMMV. I see it as tragic, yes, but not romantic, even if I do feel sorry for Erik. Guy had a crappy life.

[ SECRET POST #815 ]

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