Meg "Oh! La La" Giry
Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right
Just Keep Smiling...
Posts: 130
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Post by Meg "Oh! La La" Giry on Jun 18, 2012 13:45:03 GMT -5
Was he really so naive to the fact that his mysteriousness was alluring? Meg thought this as he went on and on about how he wasn't fit to be the face of their enterprise. This made Meg confused. Though she was the leading lady of Phantasma, people flocked because they'd heard of the illustrious Mister Y. They were always speculating about what he was like and admiring his handiwork around the park.
"I never said you would be on stage, Monsieur... But you know how people are. They love a good gimmick, a theme! When I was in New York, people always talked about the mysterious Mister Y, and he was the reason people kept coming back to his park. They even knew how you wore a mask! They ate that idea up and ran with it!" She giggled, but continued to listen. She kept nodding, wishing more and more she had a clipboard.
"I am sure they would respond to you so much better, Meg."
Meg blushed, clasping her hands in front of her and looking down. "Thank you for all your... compliments, Monsieur." She was sad, however, that the things he praised of her were the things everyone praised of her. Wasn't there something else she could do for him? Something that showed how genuine she was inside, rather than just aiming to please the crowds?
"People tell me I'm charismatic..." she said, sighing.
When he spoke of the Manor and how he felt about it, she nodded. "Yes, it's really nothing but a cage in a shiny dress." She smiled back when he looked at her. "It's good because there are people I know... some that I love." Her eyes flickered away. "That makes the isolation a little bit bearable."
What was wrong with her? Shut up, Meg! Her big mouth was annoying her. She touched her pink lips and closed her eyes. She wished they could get back to examining the opera house...
"And why should I not pursue Christine? You think her fickle? and she clouds my judgement?"
She was barely registering what he said, until he snapped at her. She looked up at him, the sad little girl gone, and in it's place a fierce defender. "You should not pursue her because it will ruin you! All you ever talked about, thought about, dreamed of was her! I can't tell you how many times I saw you break..." she said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "For ten years you were like that, and it was so unfair that someone as genius and passionate as you be restricted to the love you lost..."
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Erik Lenoir
Hide your face, so the world will never find you...
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Posts: 1,241
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Post by Erik Lenoir on Jun 18, 2012 20:30:38 GMT -5
Erik regarded Meg for a long moment. Then he spoke. "Meg, I think some of this is beneath me. A "gimmick"? Erik scoffed. "I hardly think that worthy of me. If they flock to the opera house hoping only to catch a glimpsse of me...a man in a mask...Meg, don't you see, that is what I've never wanted to be ...a thing of ridicule...I'm sure you know how your mother and I met...where I was? the travelling show?" He paused for a moment and gave her a piercing look. "I know you said this is not the same thing, but I don't care to be stared at in admiration either. There's a fine line between the two."
"And pray tell, who is this mysterious Mister Y? And why should he take such a name?"
"People tell me I'm charismatic..." said Meg. "I agree, Meg. You certainly have something there...Your personality has changed very much from when I knew you before...You were quite shy before...and you have blossomed into a person who is meant to be a star, as you call it."
"I don't know Meg," he said when she brought up the fact of the Manor being but a cage. "If there is a way out, I shall find it. As of now, I suggest we all try to find pursuits that we enjoy and perhaps, something that we would not have had time to do at home. For the time being, this is our home, however unfortunate that may be."
Erik gave Meg a hard look. He took one of her wrists in each of his hand and held her there firmly, almost uncomfortably. He frowned and looked down at her. "Don't you ever speak to me that way again, Meg. Christine is ever on my mind. I intend to try to speak to her again should she appear and there is eery chance that she may see me in a new light." He looked at her arrogantly, although his voice was soft, it sounded dangerous. "I want you to tell me what went on with you and me...everything...and this minute!"
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Meg "Oh! La La" Giry
Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right
Just Keep Smiling...
Posts: 130
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Post by Meg "Oh! La La" Giry on Jun 28, 2012 18:12:56 GMT -5
"I want you to tell me what went on with you and me...everything...and this minute!"
Him being so close... he was scaring her. Not that Meg was easy to scare anymore, of course. Nothing scared her anymore, not from the sleazes of Brooklyn to the pickpockets of Coney Island. Not the sea, not even drowning scared her anymore. But Mister Y... Why was he talking like that...? Why, he never spoke harshly to her! That wasn't his way! Always sad, always kind to her...
Who... who was this man standing before her, staring at her with those strange, intense eyes? Suddenly, she recalled her own voice, from years ago. Scared then, scared now. Like a squeak, like the little ballet rat she was, she was screaming on the inside those six little words that she'd uttered so many times before:
"He's here, the Phantom of the Opera!"
Meg was terrified. Her knees shook, and her mouth was open in a grimace. She kept flinching at his every smooth, calm, fierce word. "I... I... I...!"
How could she tell him what happened? How he had his spell over her again, how he just wouldn't notice how hard she pushed herself, how she and her mother were his slaves, loving him and worshiping him at the same time. For mother it was the stability, the money, and the loyalty. For Meg, it had been the love, the music, and his praise. It was what she lived for. He had once taught Christine Daaé to be the songbird of the century, and she was adored by all. All Meg had ever wanted was to be in the spotlight. He made her what she was today, and yet he didn't even notice!
"You... You're... I... I...!" So speechless... how could she afford to mince her words now? "Monsieur Lenoir, please... I have said too much! No one should know this much about their future!"
She wanted to collapse against him, to hold him and never let him go, to squeeze him until he was the Mister Y she knew and loved. If she couldn't, then... well there was really nothing left for her, was there?
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Erik Lenoir
Hide your face, so the world will never find you...
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Posts: 1,241
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Post by Erik Lenoir on Jun 28, 2012 19:44:24 GMT -5
It seemed to Erik that Meg just couldn't seem to give him a straight answer. He felt her trembling and he realized he must be holding her wrists too tightly. She seemed not to be able to respond to his questions. He let her wrists go but caught her hands gently and squeezed them. She seemed utterly terrified of him! Perhaps that wasn't strange, because he had worked very hard to make the corps de ballet, the whole opera company, and yes, the managers too, fearful of him. How else could he run his opera company if not with fear?
Now of course, Erik hoped to run this opera house in a different manner, since most of the people knew him face to face. A very odd and different situation. Meg herself seemed different. Just as Christine did. Christine wasn't the naiive girl she had been when he told her he was her "Angel of Music." He wasn't sure how long ago it really was. In Erik's reality, it was about a year and a half. Perhaps a bit more. But to Christine Emilie, it was more than ten years ago. And she seemed so different. So did this Meg. He had barely noticed Meg, the little ballerina, when he had been back in Paris.
"Come here," he said. He drew her toward the audience seats nearest them, still gently holding her hands. "Meg, I think there is something very strange going on with time. I know two Christines and two Raouls and one set is 10 years older than the other, yet they claim to be the same person. I think it's rubbish! They are not the same person...it's quite easy to see. They probably had the same experiences, which many people here seem to have..." Here his voice dropped off a bit; his argument, said aloud, wasn't making any more sense than when he had repeated it to many of the other people. Perhaps it didn't matter. In any case, there was no one even resembling himself, so all of this was a moot point.
Erik continued to hold Meg's hands. He smiled at her and squeezed her hands again softly, hoping to make her feel more at ease. He often frightened people with his abrupt mood changes.
"Meg, I hope you will consider becoming my assistant in this refurbishing project. Especiallly when it comes to advertising our productions in the village. You can be a great help then. Planning some of the shows with me...I am not sure that I want to do popular music; you will have to convince me of that, but we will speak about it. And for the refurbishing itself, I mentioned before, I need someone who can recruit some of the people here to help. I have tried, but it seems some of them don't like me. " Erik was thinking of Érik especially, who had been arrogant, disrespectful and rude to Erik.
"I shan't ask you anymore about our past for two reasons, one, it seems to upset you and two, I don't believe we had a past together, even though I must remind you of this other person for some reason. I can't imagine there is another incarnation of myself..."
Erik kept probing Meg's face with his eyes, his hands enclosing her hands, wondering at this curiousness which had plucked all of them out of their respective lives and put them intto this strange place, seemingly somewhere where time didn't exist as they had known it...
There was something about Meg's face, her demeanour, which startled Erik, and had startled him from the moment he had seen her bounding down the aisle with the energy and poise of a young ballerina. Could it be...that she had feelings for him? He must be wrong...it couldn't be that...could it?
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Meg "Oh! La La" Giry
Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right
Just Keep Smiling...
Posts: 130
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Post by Meg "Oh! La La" Giry on Aug 8, 2012 18:46:54 GMT -5
Such a strange man, he was! Meg had never seen another soul in her life that made her as confused and disoriented as Mister Y. In one moment he was like the monster under her bead that gave her nightmares and unpleasant shivers down her spine. And then there was this man standing before her. He gently held her hands, spoke softly to her... It was as if he was a completely different person. Suddenly it struck her that the lie she'd told the young Vicomte was not far from the truth. Who could say when he was the Angel... or the Phantom.
How was she to tell the difference? He had fooled her best friend more than once, and often she was never truly sure of her master's intentions. He was always mysterious, but polite. Generous, but rather... sad.
This man seemed none of these things. He was abrubt, very blunt, and he sertainly talked to much! Her Mistyer Y had been a curious and thoughtful fellow, and spared his words wisely. And of course, this man hardly looked like his broken heart needed fixing.
Meg slowly began to shake her head. He kept holding her hands, and she didn't know if she wanted him to anymore. As he continued to speak, she tried to discretely pry away from the grip of Monsieur Lenoir's hands, but his hold was steadfast. She couldn't become his assistant. As much as she felt honored and excited before, she couldn't disperse of the lump in her throat, nor the tears hiding behind her eyes. Perhaps she'd made a mistake...
When he was finished talking (though she couldn't get a word in with this man anyway), she cleared her throat as best she could and brought her award winning smile to the table, though it hardly reached her eyes.
"Thank you, Monsieur Lenoir, for being so considerate of my feelings," she began, though she was barely truly grateful. "And for your offer to be your assistant. I think mother would be proud of me." She laughed dryly. "But... I-I have to think about this, having such a large amount of responsibility. Ch--mother often chastised me for being so scatterbrained! 'Meg Giry!'" she mocked with her mother's staunch voice, trying to lighten the mood. "'Are you a dancer? Then go and practice!' she'd say."
She tilted her head, shrugging. "But I hope that doesn't hurt your feelings, sweetcheeks," she said, though she didn't know if she meant it.
Who was this man who shared her memories of Paris, but not of America? How on earth could this even happen? If what he said was true about the Christines and Raouls... were there two Eriks?
Where was her Mister Y?
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Erik Lenoir
Hide your face, so the world will never find you...
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Posts: 1,241
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Post by Erik Lenoir on Aug 8, 2012 20:15:26 GMT -5
As Erik spoke, he was holding Meg's hands in a gesture of frienship, he thought, and caring. He truly thought she had talent and he felt she could be a good assistant. But as he spoke, he could feel her try to pull her hands impreceptably away from his. He knew his hands were cold and that must have bothered her. He held on a bit longer because he really wanted her to consider being his assistant and perhaps he could use the updated dance she had shown him, even though he was not completely sure that it was a good choice.
However, when Erik finished talking, Meg seemed as if she wanted to turn down his request to be his assistant. She did a very on-the-spot impression of her mother, to which Erik smiled in appreciation. Meg was apparently trying to say no in a pleasant way and not hurt his feelings. He appreciated that, but then she called him sweetcheeks. Erik had never heard that term of endearment before and he couldn't suppress a laugh. He thought it rather cute, but forward, really, because they did not know each other well...at least Erik didn't think they did...
And there was something about Meg...was she completely sincere? He could sense something wrong, some dichotomy between her words and smile and her eyes, which weren't smiling. He had the distinct impression that it may be because he wasn't responding to her overtures of affection with which she seemed to be familar but he was not.
What the hell...he didn't really need an assistant...he could do it all himself. He had thought it would be pleasant to have someone like her to work with, someone predisposed to like him and he thought she would be willing to use her skills to good use her. Obviously not. Here was yet another person who didn't care to help him with the project, although her reasons seemed to be a bit different than most of the other people he had approached about the project, if he were reading her correctly.
Perhaps she found his personality a bit too overwhelming. It seemed many people did and considered him a bit overbearing and annoying. He knew that and at times, it stood him in good stead. Obviously, it was not helping in this instance. She obviously had mistaken him for someone else, who might appear later. He forced a smile. "Fine, Meg, fine. I'm sorry that you won't be joining me, but that is completely up to you." Erik realized he was still holding Meg's hands and he let them go gently. He must remember not to do that. His cold hands nearly always upset women...
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Meg "Oh! La La" Giry
Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right
Just Keep Smiling...
Posts: 130
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Post by Meg "Oh! La La" Giry on Sept 1, 2012 20:57:24 GMT -5
Meg thought she might faint from the disaster this had become. She never thought before she acted, and this was a prime example of the consequences. Foolish... When he let go of her hands she sprang to her feet, wiping her forehead-clammy with sweat- discreetly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I guess I should get going. I'll..." she began, but again hadn't thought through her words. "I'll think about your offer, Monsieur Lenoir."
Erik. His name was Erik. She'd longed to find out what her master's real name had been, all this time, however she couldn't bring herself to call him that, no matter how much she tried. He didn't seem like the same man she'd grown to love over ten years, despite the fact that he looked the same. That mask... it glistened in the dim lighting, and if she reached out, if she dared to she would stroke the unfortunate, malformed lips peering from underneath the porcelain.
But she dared not. She wouldn't have dared if she was sure this was the man she loved. Yes, she knew his temper. She knew how fast his hands would move to her throat. Somehow the prospect excited her, but in her current situation she didn't know if something like that was wise... No, it was never wise to forget your place.
She curtsied a bit, smirking a little with her eyes closed. "If you ever need me, Monsieur, I'm sure we'll find each other. This house has a way of knowing what you need and when you need it." It did indeed. Though what she got she can't say she was entirely thankful for.
((OOC: I suppose two or three more posts and the thread should be wrapped up. This is a really old thread, so I imagine we both want to move on with their plots! :3 Hope it was alright!))
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Erik Lenoir
Hide your face, so the world will never find you...
Hide your face so the world will never find you...
Posts: 1,241
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Post by Erik Lenoir on Sept 2, 2012 16:47:45 GMT -5
Meg pulled her hands away from Erik's touch, and jumped up as if she wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She said that she would think about his offer to be his assistant and let him know later. "I need an answer now, Meg," he said a bit more sharply than he meant. He wasn't sure what had happened and it had happened quickly. She had been friendly and bubbly and willing to help, but now....she was running away.
Erik was a bit miffed and angry, and he held his temper, but again his words were sharp. "I expect if you don't care for the position, I shall be offering it to someone else. ... Or no one... I seem to be about the only person here who is excited about the prospect of refurbishing the opera house and staging productions here...." His voice trailed off with disappointment. He turned his back to her and his shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly.
He sat down in one of the audience seats, not even looking at Meg. He picked up his notebook and started writing. He dismissed her with his silence. Erik was hurt that Meg didn't want to help him. What was wrong with her? Whether he was the person she had known before or not, at least she could be professional about it. She wouldn't even give him a straight answer, even though he knew it was no. He didn't expect that he would let her perform in any of his productions. His pride would not let him. She had turned him down, and if she wanted to come back in his good graces, she would have to give him a pretty elaborate apology.
//OOC: Yes, I think we can end it with one more post from you...and depending on what you say, maybe one more from me. But it's quite finished otherwise.//
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Meg "Oh! La La" Giry
Diamonds never sparkle bright, if they aren't set just right
Just Keep Smiling...
Posts: 130
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Post by Meg "Oh! La La" Giry on Sept 28, 2012 19:24:42 GMT -5
Meg stepped back a little with Lenoir's small outburst. She looked to the ground timidly and folded her hands in front of her, preparing to excuse herself without a second to spare-- but she paused. As he continued, she suddenly felt a bittersweet sadness for the lonely man in front of her. Yes, she knew the pain Erik had endured, and more than anyone did she want to ease it... But in all her life she never loved anyone as much as she loved her Mister Y, and this man was most certainly not him. She could have helped him, could have stayed...
But something told her to leave. Something told her she couldn't stay, like she was invading on something-- or someone-- who needed space from everything. Life, love, friendship... It seemed a waste of the talents she knew he had, but if all he wanted to do was restore a theatre... Well, she supposed that was his way of moving on... But she definitely knew how well that turned out for her Mister Y.
Meg nodded to him, though he hardly noticed her. Nobody, especially not he, noticed her... That was fine. She'd find somebody who would. With one last glance she strode up the aisle toward the door. At the end of it, she looked back; the worst thing she could do, for a tear rolled down her cheek. It didn't matter...
She left.
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