OOC - Reposted because of html fail

[chorusangel]

Name: Magic
LJ: truthliesmagic
AIM: truthxliesxmagic
E-mail: b_law06[@]sky.com
This is where you can tell me I'm doing a good job, rant at me if I'm doing a bad one, and check out Christine's relationships. Very much WIP.

Relationships:

Comments

[citheronia]

I finally figured out what it is about your characterization of Christine that frustrates me so much, and rather that putting it out in the open on the HMD day after tomorrow, I thought I'd put it over here where it could be a little more private. The reason I'm not doing this via IM is because, well, you know me--I lose my train of thought so easily that I know one response from you would derail me and I'd never explain things properly.

So, let's get to it.

Christine, in-canon, is extremely empathetic. She feels for Erik after he's unmasked not because of her limited crazy--which I understand she has, madness runs in the Daaé family according to the original novel--but because she feels a measure of his pain and wants to help him feel better. This is an extremely important part of her character.

However, she doesn't want him to feel better if it means others have to be hurt in the process, regardless of who they are. Raoul, Meg and Carlotta alike were all characters she did her best to protect from Erik; not just them, but the entire Opera Populaire. Because she didn't want anyone hurt, regardless of who they were or what they had done. This means that your characterization of her, even after this long on the boat and with all the development she's had, is extremely flawed.

Christine would never, ever say that someone deserved to be hurt, physically or mentally, regardless of what they did. There is no incarnation of Christine--not in film, on the stage, or in the book--who would ever condone what Erol has done. Not his offenses against Jak, not his attacks on Herz, not the mess with Lucy back in the day, none of it. Factor in the fact that he's even beat her to the point that she couldn't walk and her continued devotion and belief in him makes no sense at all.

Christine is not the strongest of women, but she's been in this situation before--she knows how to do her best to get away from horrible, evil, manipulative men. She knows that people like Erol--and people like Erik--are not what they initially appear. She knows that Erik is evil, which is why she leaves him at the end of every version of the story ever.

She isn't stupid. She's a little naive, but even that was considerably dulled after Erik was unmasked and she was engaged to Raoul.

That's also another thing you don't seem to have taken into account; Raoul. His effect on her, his ability to disillusion her regarding Erik, his ability to show her the difference between love and obsession. Also, they're engaged. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall her ever mentioning that particular fact, and considering how much she loved Raoul I find it extremely out of character that she's so easily traded him for Erol.

It just doesn't make sense. As someone who grew up on this story--the music and the novel, obviously, as the film is a fairly recent incarnation--it's extremely frustrating to just sit and hope that you'll start playing Christine in-character. I know this probably won't do much, but I don't think you're doing Christine justice, and it isn't fair to the rest of the players for you to brush off so much crit so many times.

I know you can't just turn around and change her overnight, and I know you don't want to give up her CR for anything--and I don't blame you, honestly, Christine has been pretty integral to the boat now and then, I wouldn't want to lose that either. But I don't understand how you've let her character get this far off the mark, even with people asking you for IC reasons and giving you constructive criticism along the way.

I'm not saying she needs to change instantly, that would be difficult and unfair to you. But she does need to change.