It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? Well, it's time to get back to this.
So, Eric. To my great regret, despite my love for the original, the musical, and some of the film adaptations, I can't come up with a decent canto for him that doesn't copy the book's path or repeat some of the game's character's (Heathcliff, for example). But that's it for now, and that doesn't mean he's a one-dimensional character for me, lacking at least a backstory.
I don't think Eric requires a broad character introduction, but I've made significant changes to his lore. One of them is that he wasn't always a "freak," unlike in the original, where the Phantom suffered from a genetic disorder. It was simply a wish I had, one that would emphasize the tragedy of having LOST something more than "I never had anything, even though I wish I had." I liked the line from the original where the new owners of the Amphitheater complain about the Phantom of the Opera, who's already gotten on their nerves, saying, "Why is he acting like he's the boss here, as if he built this theater?", to which they are told that, actually, yes, he did. So his backstory goes something like this: Eric does indeed build a successful amphitheater in Icorp, but then, through deception and betrayal, his rights to it are taken away from him, and a syndicate is hired to kill him. They also mutilate him to make it harder to identify the body, but Eric survives. He foresaw something like this (though he didn't expect them to try to get rid of him like that), so he used the Catacombs to terrorize all the Amphitheater's inhabitants, looting profits through blackmail.
And gods, I'm glad it's fiction, because I consulted medical sources and people with medical training, who all told me what a nightmare Eric would have faced in everyday life, and also that there was NO WAY he could have been an opera singer. I also had a question: why didn't Eric get prosthetics, even though he could have? Firstly, he's presumed dead, and secondly, he wears his face as a symbol of human betrayal, a grotesque reminder. Although he does have very precise facial attachments for special missions that restore his face, wearing them is morally repugnant to him. But he does have a large collection of masks!
I don't yet have an exact reason or time for Eric joining Limbus. Most likely, everything went wrong when the Pianist Incident happened (and something happened to Christine), and Eric himself went even further crazy. But this is still a WIP, because I was even jokingly offered a polyamorous ending, where both Christine and Raoul fall in love with Eric.
But what can one say about Eric himself? He's a complete narcissist and individualist, believing that the world is every man for himself, but all of this is nothing more than a defense mechanism, because in equal relationships (even romantic ones), he feels too vulnerable. Therefore, his relationship with Christine is always "look at me as a superior being, because only then can I be sure you won't lay a hand on me." But this doesn't mean the Phantom is cruel; on the contrary, he is merciful to those who have not harmed him, and he doesn't forget kindness, as for example in Canto Ravic, when he almost went mad, it was Eric who brought him back to his senses, even though they are complete opposites and hardly get along. He always plays for Orpheus and with her, when things get unbearably hard for her, he always stands up for her. He even tolerates Frida, even though he could have punched her long ago, but her childishly naive admiration for him…almost pierces his dead heart. It's no wonder he's one of the leaders, because despite his nastiness and sharp tongue, he never seems to care, no matter how much he denies it. I wanted to mix the weary aggression and righteousness of the book with a certain… expressive hysteria of the film adaptations.
Facts:
Main Sins: Envy/Pride
Eric's sword is called "Bastard," and bastards were the illegitimate children of nobility.
Ravic jokingly calls Eric a syphilitic because of his missing nose, although he knows perfectly well it has nothing to do with illness.
In total, Eric is missing: the cartilaginous part of his nose, his right eye, PART of his cheek (not all of it, just a small piece), a piece of his right ear, and his right side is chemically burned.
Besides being a good musician and singer, Eric is a skilled architect and engineer.
