Phantom of the Opera? (f)

[Here Secretly]

Cuneas,

I didn't take it as criticism and I'm glad you brought it up, actually! I read Kay's book and I disagreed with a lot of things she did for a lot of reasons, and one of them was the bit about the handkerchiefs. The portion in the Opera takes place in the 1880s during which time a gentleman would ALWAYS have a handkerchief in his pocket, regardless of whether he needed it for things like sneezing and runny noses and the lot. It was simply something gentlemen did, and Erik at times went way out of his way to act like he was a gentleman. He certainly dressed the part, even if he did lose control of his anger a little too frequently, so I think that he would have had one in his pocket anyway.

I ALSO think that the lack of the exterior cartilage portion of a nose wouldn't keep him from getting colds, sinus infections, allergens or whatever. A sneeze without a nose would be a terrible mess, I'm afraid, as the nose directs everything downward. I've toyed with the idea of doing something else for SFF with the Phantom as the sneezer, but I haven't figured out the details nor worked up the nerve yet. There are several issues, of course, the most obvious fact is that he hasn't got a nose, but there's also the fact that he has the mask over his face making even getting the handkerchief to the hole where his nose should be quite a challenge.

But the original author was pretty specific in the description. There's a hole where the nose should be. It says so several times. Therefore, I conclude that he probably breathes rather normally through that hole. THAT means without the nose to filter things out, he'd probably be MORE prone to all sorts of terrible illnesses. A couple of stories address what being noseless might do to a person, but so far, none with sneezing. If I work up the nerve, I'll try it someday.

Speaking of which, I'd love to hear some suggestions on how to pull that off! What do you suppose a sneeze from a person with no nose would sound like?

[Here Secretly]

Random Guy & Thousand Yard Stare:

You guys are brilliant, and you're absolutely right. But I'm too paranoid even for that. Nevermind the fact that the ONLY person who would EVER touch this computer is my husband, and he has NO interest in any of my creative writing projects, least of all the type that are "fan fiction" and such. Further, he's very trusting and not a snoop. Further still, even if he were too snoop, he would never expect me to use a feature like the "hidden folder" thing, therefore he wouldn't change it back. And he wouldn't be angry if I had a password protected file. But even if he would be angry, he wouldn't NOTICE because he wouldn't expect it. And he wouldn't open something with all numbers or in the Windows folder--or in ANY folder because he generally knows where stuff he's looking for IS and he goes right to it.

BEYOND all those factors is the fact that if he DID find it and he asked me "What the heck is this?" I'd just turn all red and probably start laughing and then he'd KNOW and then (oh, joy!) I wouldn't be keeping my terrible secret anymore. Combine THAT with the fact that he is my HUSBAND and we could have quite a lot of fun with it...

But I choose to remain paranoid beyond words and instead just delete my little story. If I ever want it back, I'll just copy copy and paste it from the forum. But the odds of that happening are pretty close to 0. Yeah. I'm THAT paranoid. I'm sure I need psychological help, but then I'd have to reveal to the therapist.... You see my problem?

[Here Secretly]

Random Guy:

The book is TOTALLY different from the musical/movie, but it wouldn't keep you from feeling bad for the Phantom. If anything, it makes him MORE human, more tragic, more pitiable. I always felt like in the musical you didn't get to know him enough to really feel for him. I mean, yes, you feel sorry for him and all, but you don't know much of his character, and he IS a murderer, that is certain. In the book, there's quite a bit of doubt about his so-called murderous past. You get the feeling a lot has been blamed on him because of his monstrous appearance and that a lot of his so called cruelty is really mere self defense. Check the book out if you get a chance. If you like to read, check out the book sometime. It's public domain so it's free online.

Here's a link for anyone who is interested:

http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/34/72/frameset.html

[randomguy]

Okay, Here Secretly, you've convinced me of your paranoia. Don't worry, I know how you feel. That would be why I only visit this site using an "incognito" window in Google Chrome so that it won't save my history. Because I'm totally petrified that somebody will find out my "terrible secret." My parents and sister ask to go on my computer sometimes, and I keep envisioning these situations in which they start to type a web address and suddenly up pops "sneezefetishforum.com." Awkward! Weirdly, though, it's gotten a lot better than it used to be. I used to think of my fetish as this really dirty thing, but I've come to realize that I'm not really different from anybody else. Everybody is turned on by something, and for you and I that something just happens to be sneezes. I've realized that my paranoia results from insecurity, and the same may be true of you. (Or maybe not; it's not like I know you) But it's awfully hard not to be insecure when the majority of the rest of the world has never heard of a sneeze fetish. I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe once you get comfortable with the fact that you have a sneeze fetish, you won't be so afraid. So no, you don't need psychological help. You might be surprised at just how many other fetishists are just as paranoid as you are. Maybe one day people will understand, and then perhaps we can stop hiding it. (Optimism ftw!!! )

[Here Secretly]

Random Guy:

You’re absolutely correct... but also in some ways incorrect. I would say I’ve known about this let’s say... all my life. I tried to tell someone once, unsuccessfully, about ten years ago. I discovered this website and went through the whole “Wow! So I’m not the only one!” thing at least... I don’t know... maybe three years ago? I know what you mean about it seeming “really dirty” and I also know that it’s not, but nothing is going to change that it will always seem that way to me. Not “dirty,” though... that’s the wrong word... I’m not sure what the correct word is. Certainly something private, anyway. I mean, let’s say I decided it was okay not to keep it a secret. Even THEN the only person I’d ever tell is my husband. After all, it’s not like people should go around talking about sex with random strangers. Okay... I know that’s “normal” nowadays and I’m pretty old-fashioned... but whatever. I wouldn’t go around talking about anything sexual, fetish or otherwise. But let me make this really weird. All those references to needing therapy? I actually have a degree in psyche and work as a therapist. How’s that for bitter irony? And yeah... it doesn’t decrease my paranoia or my anxiety any to know what to call it, what causes it, that everyone else has it, etc. I think the reason is more or less what you pointed out: that most folks haven’t even heard of this. I’ll go one step further. I personally believe that most folks would think that makes us sexual deviants. Some would be accepting and understanding and stuff, but a lot wouldn’t. So it’s best to just remain anonymous in that regard.

Of course, there is also the fun of having a secret—of knowing something that no one else in the whole world knows—even if it is just about myself.

But seriously, you know what? I’m really glad we had this conversation. (I’m also totally going to write another one of these things, and not just because it sparks interesting conversation. Say... does it count as threadjacking if I do it to my OWN thread? Hmmmm...)

[randomguy]

Wow, it's really funny that you said it's fun to keep it a secret, because I was going to say that in my last post. I think that you and I are pretty similar in the way we feel about this. Anyway, I look forward to reading your next story. Sorry, I know I've been posting way too much. I can't help it, though, you're too interesting!

[Here Secretly]

I don't think there's such a thing as posting too much!!

I'm enjoying the conversation, too.

Sadly, at the moment, I have to go to work, so bye for now!