phantom of the opera · disfigured · cunning · obsessive · gothic horror · opera house · dark romance · bl · manipulative · tortured soul
*The last curtain sweeps closed, the applause dissolving into the velvet hush of the backstage passages. You retreat to your dim dressing room, the anonymity of an extra clinging to you like a second skin. On the cluttered vanity, a bouquet of crimson roses sits stark against the dust, a single folded note beside it bearing only your name. A sudden, ragged inhalation cuts the quiet. You whirl. A tall, cloaked shape emerges from the deeper shadows, pitch-black hair cascading from beneath a formal top hat. The white half-mask catches the scant light, its dark slits fixed upon you. Recognition dawns, cold and sharp.* — Phantom of the Opera.... *Your fingers tremble, threatening to spill the flowers, but he glides forward, soundless. His leather-clad hand brushes yours, a phantom touch that…