Welcome to Gaia! ::

((More characters means that you get to do more as well. I hope you're about ready for the demise of one of them. It's something I've rather been looking forward to.

By the way, the toad sounds will be done by ventriloquism. Even if we're going by the movie's storyline I'm not quite ready to surrender all of the talents of Leroux's Erik.))

A shame is certainly what this poor little performance was turning out to be. Poor Christine's talents were simply being wasted when she was put in a role where she never uttered a sound. He sighed quietly as the audience dutifully laughed at the scene unfolding before them. It wasn't as though they were even paying attention to what was actually going on in the opera. If any of the aristocrats had been paying even the slightest bit of attention to the words (or at least what one could understand of them) there would most certainly have been quite a few red faces among the audience. How many of them played out a similar scene in their own homes on a daily basis. Well, they play it out sans powdered wigs I hope. Whoever decided that such a thing was fashionable should have been drawn and quartered.

Not that he had much room to talk on that matter. He was currently wearing a wig on his own head, but he did not wear it as a fashion statement. He wore it so that he might appear somewhat closer to normal by hiding the thin whisps of hair that were atop his head. It was just another example of how unfair life was. He was only in his mid-thirties, but Reyer had more hair than he did.

Leaning against the railing of the catwalk and resting his chin in one hand, Erik, not for the first time, wondered why these people would actually pay money to hear La Carlotta. Even as he mentally asked himself that question he knew the answer. They did not come for the music or the singing. People like these merely came to the opera so that they could be seen coming to the opera. This was supposed to be the height of culture after all. Bah! These people are about as cultured as those sheep they're using in the ballet.

Hearing someone belch, he lifted his gaze from the floor to see how close the nearest person to him was. Almost instantly his gaze fell upon Joseph Buquet. There was still some distance of twisting catwalk in between them, and he was well-hidden in the shadows. He would have plenty of time to do what he'd planned upon before Buquet had found and reached him. If everything went as it should there was no reason why he could not avoid the filthy man altogether. Everything would be fine as long as Buquet did not catch sight of his yellow eyes in the dim light and he did not do anything to give himself away in advance. It was rather curious why the chief of the flies was not more frightened to find that the phantom was a flesh and blood man instead of a spirit. After all, as a solid, living man he could do much more harm than as an intangible spirit, and he certainly wasn't afraid to prove that point to anyone who sought to do him harm.

Carlotta smiled sweetly at hima nd then hid her face from his as she turened to the side and wispered loudly, "The old fool's leaving!" she smiled and returned to fanning herself. the large dress was ather hot.... and o was this wig... though she resiste the urge to figit with it.

the man once again, placed a hand to the side of his mouth for antoher aside, brushing a stry hair from his face. "I suspect my young bride is untrue to me." he siad, glancing over at the countess. he continued, looking bac at the audiance, "I shall not leave, but shall hide over there to observe her!" he siad, lowering his hand and turning back to his 'love'. "Addio!"

She smiled agian, "Addio!"

They smiled an bowed polightly to each other. "Addio!"

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(( crying i'm sos sorry.. but I have to go away for the weekend.. this will be my last post. i'll put the rest of the play up as well... I'm so sorry... I'll try and get back on sunday... ))

She smiled at the audiances supsised gasps. she smiled at Christine and steped forward to meet her. She licked her red lips and sang, "You cannot speak, but kiss me in my husband's absence!" Witht aht she put up her fan as she leaned over to Christine's face and 'kissed' her.

She stood up streight, resisting the urge to wipe her mouth. she turned back to the audiance and faned herself, nodding to them. "Poor fool, he makes me laugh! Haha, Haha..!" she siad laughing songlike which was very easy for having such strong voice pipes like her beautiful ones. she curtseyed to the page boy. "Time I tried to get a better better half!" she said, giving a dramatic sweep ofher arm at Christeine.

She turned back to the audiance, her dress sirt, sweeping the floor benith her. she put her fan up with that grin of hers on. She sang witht he chorus, "Poor fool, he doesn't know! Hoho, Hoho...! If he knew the truth, he'd never, ever go!"

(( you can copy and paste parts of this into a quote box and add onto it where it stops....? I"m sorry.. maybe i shouldn't but i dint' want yout o have to stop..s ojust thinkof it as posting my parts..? >.O or somehting like that.... sorry... ))

Christine unclasped her skirt and threw it to the side, revealing her manly breeches as Carlotta sang, "Serafimo, away with this pretence- you can not speak but kiss me in my husband's absence." With this, she leaned in for the 'kiss' hidden, thankfully, by the fan. After standing up straight again, her hands on her hips, she had backed away on accident from Carlotta. She walked towards her again perfectly in time with 'if he knew the truth he'd never ever go', her hands still on her hips.

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Christine instantly looked up the moment his voice was heard. She didn't move but stayed as still as a sculpture but looked over at Meg then back up. "It's him.." Carlotta heard the scapegoat Christine had made and pointed her fan accusingly, hissing something under her breath in italian before speaking. "Your part is silent, little -toad-."

With a glare she gave a small giggle before going over to her maid, who in turn, took up the throat spritz and sprayed half-way in her mouth and halfway on her chin. "Mi, mi.. Why-why you spray on my chin all the time, huh?" Then the maid sprayed again, "Ah-hahahaha!"

((I'll take over Carlotta for the moment, Celestial Death. It will be eaiser if I play her while the toad thing is going on.))

How dare that woman insult Christine so publicly. It was one thing to say such things where only a few people heard, but she dared to say such a thing in front of hundreds of the aristocracy. The woman would pay dearly for that. "A toad, madame?" he asked as the visible eyebrow arched in disdain for the Italian woman. "Perhaps it is you who are the toad." He was going to enjoy humiliating her.

Below him, on the stage, La Carlotta began to sing again. "Serafimo, away with this pretense!" She wasn't going to let some silly ghost distract people's attention away from her. She was determined to have the audience focus all of their attention on her, so she went right back into the scene with barely a warning to M. Reyer, who seem to be very seriously considering trying to stab himself with his baton.

He didn't look as though he could take much more of this, but as Carlotta began again the slightly suicidal look in his eye began to fade. Good. She wasn't going to throw a fit and ran off in the middle of a performance. For once her gluttony for glory was a very good thing. "You cannot speak but kiss me in my--Guo-ack!" Oh no...

La Carlotta's eyes widened in shock as she clutched her precious throat. That sound could not have from her mouth. She knew that such a sound had not issued forth from her throat, but it had certainly sounded as though it had. Overhead, a sinister chuckle sounded like a death sentence. 'A disaster beyond your imagination' the note had said. Could this somehow be the doing of the ghost.

Trying to regain her composure and her dignity, Carlotta smiled weakly and continued on. "Poor fool, he makes me laugh! Hahaha! ha--Guo-ack!" It had started again, but this time it didn't stop. As she tried to continue singing the invisible toad within her throat continued croaking. "Guo-ack! Guo-ack! Guo-ack!" it continued with every word that Carlotta tried to sing. All that could be heard was that horrible, horrible toad croaking angrily within her throat. It was only her reputation that had saved her from humiliation the instant she had begun to croak, but as the toad continued laughter slowly began to bubble up from the audience until their laughter even drowned out the horrible sounds of the animal. Even as the woman dissolved into tears on the stage the croaking continued as she tried to call for her maids or for Piangi, but then it stopped.

The toad was suddenly gone from her throat, and she could hear her own voice again as she wept. "No posso piu...I cannot...I cannot go on!" she sobbed as Piangi slowly ushered her off the stage with Reyer motioning desperately for the stagehands to close the curtains. It was up to the managers what to do next, and he prayed to God that it was not something that would further enrage the opera ghost. Quickly he glanced at his baton with that suicidal glint in his eyes, but after a moment of consideration he decided against it.

Satisfied with his little act of ventriloquism, Erik smirked smuggly as he slid further into the shadows. He knew that he should leave now, but he wanted to be there in case the managers still needed more convincing. Certainly they couldn't be that stupid, but from his past experience with them he knew that it would be best to stick around just in case. It would be fine anyway. There was no need to hurry. Buquet would not be able to catch him.

((Hmm...The next question is how we wil do the manager's part. I have heard nothing from Eric_the_Phantom, but I know that Eric has not given up claim to the characters.))