Vlad's Erik (Vlerik)

Day 1 on my advent calendar, I got Krampus!

Krampuses (Krampi?) feature heavily in Victorian Christmas cards. They stuff bad children into baskets and take them to Hell, and give those who survive the purge presents.

Here's one of the lovely beasties. The legs sticking out of the basket is the icing on this cursed Christmas cake.

Tell me what you got for today in my ask box, or tag me on a post!

You can get the printable advent calendar with the Krampus and more Christmas critters here:

Ko-fi

Printable Cat Advent Calendar - Purrlock Holmes Books 's Ko-fi Shop

'Tis the season for cat shenanigans! 24 watercolour illustrations of cats up to festive cheer. Includes: -2 A4 pages to make 24 cut-out ca

Phantom of the Opera (1990), you did Erik proud

Alternate title: Christine, we have beef!

(Meme inspired by this post.)

I have not a bad word for this Erik (and not just because I can feel a certain friend of mine holding a chandelier over my head). The 1990 adaptation made some big changes to the story, but it perfectly captured the childlike soul of Leroux's Erik that is often lost in translation but vital to him. (When I was explaining POTO to someone outside the situation, i. e. my mum, two things I kept using as comparisons were a child and Gollum - not because he's a chaos gremlin, I was trying to describe how he has a skewered perspective of the world that isn't evil but doesn't follow the accepted moral system. But that's for another time.)

I found myself trying very hard not to resent Christine - a first time for me. I will defend her choosing the Compte de Chagny over Erik, she doesn't owe Erik love, no matter what he did for her. The problem is that she took on a responsibility she couldn't possibly carry.

Never, ever assume to fully understand someone. Especially someone like Erik, who thinks and exists on a different pane as most people. Christine was wrong, terribly wrong, to assume she 'knew his heart.'

When faced with a person so sensitive, so particular, when you are the one person trusted by someone who trusts no one, don't make huge gambles like that. She shouldn't have assumed she knew what Erik needs better than he himself does - if he told you he is happy with where they were, then stay there with him! Instead, she pulled the 'I can fix him' and shattered him completely. I don't hate her for being unable to catch Erik when he falls, I hate her for blindly promising to catch him and failing him.

(I do realise how much of the above describes myself and my worries about how people treat me, so fair warning, I may be a bit biased.)

An opinion: in most versions of the story, Erik emotionally manipulates Christine, but here, Christine is the one who is emotionally manipulative. ('Manipulative' may sound malicious, but manipulators aren't always aware of what they're doing.)

In the second part of the series, she said at least three times 'If you love me...' Now, that is one of my least favourite sentences to see and hear in the best of times, but this is somehow even worse because Erik DOES do everything because he loves her. In other versions, there is the question of possessiveness against love when it comes to their relationship; in that context, I would accept her saying this, to remind him that he should love and not obsess over her. But here, Erik is not possessive.

As for Monsieur Carrière, I have beef with him, too. It's an even bigger, tougher slice of beef. He is irresponsible: not once, but twice, he got in relationships and then left his partners when they have children. The first time could be a mistake; the second time, especially when kept Erik's mother in the dark about his marriage, is inexcusable. Yes, he stayed with her till the end, but then left their son in a basement. Yes, he reached out to Erik in the end, but too little, too late. If Erik is emotional and irrational, it's because Carrière never gave him the guidance he should have.

Christine and Carrière love Erik, I don't doubt it. But it's still painful to see Erik fall down through everyone and everything that should have caught him: his talent, his parents, Christine.

If you'll excuse me, I need to cry in the catacombs and draw something miserable.

I talk about several other adaptations here!

Hiii, just wanted to say hi and ask how your Halloween was?

Have a lovely day/night

- Jam 🐝 ✨️

Hellow Jam, thank you very much for asking! It always makes me happy to see your little frogger picture!

My Hallowe'en season has been bonkers! I was burnt out from Inktober and also the case-of-internet-identity drama came right on its heels.

It's fine, I'm fine, at least I can have a laugh making Sherlock memes about it!

The most spooky thing I did this year was make a bunch of costumes for my stuffed Purrlock and rant about how Kindle had the AUDACITY to recommend me a Christmas romance on November 1st. Me, whose library is full of rubbishy vampire fiction side by side with Victorian horror classics! All good fun.

I hope you had a good halloween & a lovely day/night!

why is daroga so fat

Because of magnificent fur:

But I don't generally assign body shapes to my goober cats unless it's explicitly in the design of their human counterparts. So he can be anything you like.

Small cats are not always small characters (case in point: Kitty Cherik). I draw whatever best showcases my perception of the character.

(Drawing is from this comic. All Phantom of the Opera art here)

I think I drew an OC versus Creator thing a while back, but I can't remember what I've done with it, so here's one I drew today

I swear I'm not Undead, I'm just cynical as anything and spend too much time squinting suspiciously at people. How I can have such a happy vampire, I have no idea.

Bad day all round for Scrooges, gooses, and aspiring singers/caterwaulers. (My day 2 card!)

Art by @purrlockswatson aka @purrlockholmesbooks

Show me your's!

Phantoms of the Opera + Laplace's Angel

@sonntagskind Voilà, request received. To everyone else should did not ask for Phantom pain, je suis désolée.

Phantoms in order of appearence: ALW Phantom, Leroux Erik, Kay Erik, 1925 Erik, 1990 Erik, 2004 Phantom, Kay Erik, ALW Phantom, 1990 Erik, Kay Erik, Leroux Erik (and the Daroga)

More Phantom: The Persian (cat), POTO adaptation review/rambles, Send me an Angel (of music)

I just started a new journal for the first time in years. Of course, I'm addressing my entries to Count Dracula.

I quote: 'let this Undead creature address her woes to a dead Undead who wouldn't care less if she was putrefying from coffin-rot (bed-rot).'

I had to find some way to amuse myself while trying to be my own therapist.

For the OC and creator ask game😁🥰

2,4,5,8,13,15,17,20,27,30

A,B,D

Have a safe, fun New Year's Eve,and may this new year be one of many blessings and all things good for you and your loved ones!!!

Oh my, thank you for asking! Questions are from this ask game. Lots of good ones here!

2. How easy is it to make them laugh? Pierce and Cleopatra are a pair of clowns at a funeral. They laugh easily, joke weirdly, and fill my carefully crafted gothic atmosphere with too much comedy. Sarah laughs at people's misfortune. Especially when it's Pierce.

4. How easy is it to earn their trust? Pierce trusts on instinct; luckily, it usually works, and he has a gaurd dog (Sarah). Cleopatra holds people at arms length, but she's so outwardly sweet that it's hard to tell. Earning Sarah's trust would take a lifetime, and you'd probably be wasting your time.

5. How easy is it to earn their mistrust? You'd have to do something really horrible to Pierce's Undead heart to earn his mistrust. Cleopatra, fairly easily, but she gives second chances. You have Sarah's mistrust by default.

8. What are they told to stop doing as a child? Little Pierce brought home creatures and friends that he begged to keep but were probably no good for him. When he was older, he had to be told to stop squandering the family fortune. Little Cleopatra had to be removed from her room to be introduced to human company. Little Sarah bit people, swore a lot and terrorised her governesses.

13. Oh, this is a good one! The trio dress according to the three Gothic colours, red white and black. Pierce wears white and pale colours, signifying his role as the 'innocent.' Cleopatra wears red, vitality and passion. Sarah dresses in black, Doom and Gloom and severity.

15. How do they speak? Pierce is equally fluent in eloquent flirting, undignified emotional monologues and spontanious yapping. Cleopatra changes her style according to who she's talking to and what she thinks they expect of her. Sarah has two gears: swearing and death-threats or cold politeness with discreet sarcasm.

17. Are they easily embarrassed? Pierce gets flustered when he meets someone as good at innuendo as him. Cleopatra used to be self-conscious, but not anymore. Sarah is proud, she reacts badly to being demeaned.

20. How would they explain the difference between familial, platonic, and romantic love?Pierce would say platonic and romantic loves are chosen, but familial love isn't, and the difference between platonic love and romantic love is that with romantic love, there's the desire to become part of that person and have a part of them inside you (metaphorically... I think he knows how that sounds). Cleopatra would say the difference is the places they hold in your life and that many kinds of love can't be pinned down. Sarah believes any kind of love is an obligation.

27. What causes them to feel dread? Pierce: when people fall out of love with him. Cleopatra: the sense of being worthless, helpless or purposeless. Sarah: she'd be the last to say so, but she has a fear for anything that cause her physical or emotional harm.

30. Who do they most regret meeting? Pierce can't really wrap his little brain around regret, but he does have many of them. Deep down, he regrets meeting the vampire who made him a vampire. Sarah and Cleopatra both regret meeting Pierce at some point.

A. Are you excited about your oc(s)? Yes. I write about them every day. They don't always give me an easy time, but I love it.

B. What inspired you to create them? Pierce was originally just a happy vampire, but then I started basing him on Dorian Gray, and then I realised that he has a lot of me in him. Cleopatra has a lot of my own traits. Sarah was based on the actress Sarah Bernhardt in the beginning, but now she's a completely different character and only her name, appearances and sass are the same.

D. Have their physical appearance changed? Pierce was once tall. It gave me a shock to read my description of his tallness in earlier drafts. Sarah's dress and hair changed when I changed her backstory. Cleopatra is unchanged, except that I decided that her hair isn't naturally ginger.

If you've come so far, thank you for reading all this! And I wish you and your family a happy New Year as well, all the best with everything!

Phantom of the Paradise, you're a curious one

For some reason, I was convinced PoTP was set in outer space. Star Trek meets Phantom of the Opera, if you will. ⚠️Mild spoilers afoot⚠️

In a way, I'm glad I was ridiculously mistaken. I felt the full shocking impact of a rockstar-biopic-style narrative turned '70s Faust fever dream. The rooftop scene was like waking up in a nightmare: the metaphor coming horribly to life.

Winslow is a great Erik/Phantom incarnation. As a writer, I'm in sympathy with him for being unable to realise his masterpiece because it's "too long" and the entertainment world doesn't care. And horrible adaptations ARE enough to drive one to notoriety, you go, Winslow. Terrible tragedy that he wasn't allowed access to Erik's gunpowder stash, he deserved it.

Beef is probably the most dramatic La Carlotta parallel to exist, and that's saying something. What in the Santa-looking heck was he wearing as a coat during his "I'm outta here" scene? Somebody Super Like You is absolutely delightful - until he started performing, that is.

Phoenix has a stunning voice and a certain something that just screams superstar.

I'm less impressed by Swan. I'm not acquainted to Paul Williams' works, so I'm speaking solely without context about his background. Personally, I don't think he has the devilish, vampiric quality I'd have liked to see in that role. That's the only letdown in the film, honestly.

Rambles about other POTO adaptations here!