Characters / Girls Next Door

Main Characters

Sarah

Sarah Williams

from Labyrinth

Voiced by Lindsay Zana.

A law and politics student at Saint Jude's. Christine's roommate in Building #42. Possible future Goblin Queen.

• Affectionate Nickname: Sarah's the only one who ever calls Christine "Chris".
• Cuteness Proximity: She has a soft spot for Owl!Jareth.
• Foil: One of the major backbones of the Buildingverse is the idea of taking characters from different stories who are alike and/or serve similar narrative roles, and making them roommates. Sarah and Christine are both Ingenues who have grown into self-assured women. They struggle to reconcile knowing that stalking isn't sexy—they made the "right" choice in canon—but still being attracted to and caring about their suitors.
• I Am Not My Mother: Inherited from her home canon. Sarah's mother walked out on the family and ran off with her boyfriend. In Labyrinth, it's implied that at least part of the reason Sarah didn't stay with Jareth was because going with the man and leaving the child behind would make her the same kind of woman as her mother. This idea reappears in Girls Next Door, not with a child specifically, but with the same general idea of Sarah choosing Jareth over her responsibilities, and abandoning her moral obligation to someone she cares about (i.e. Christine).
  Sarah: Letting other people get hurt because of my soft spot for you? I cannot—I don't want to be that kind of person. I mean—I mentioned my aunt, but aunt nothing. I don't want to become like my mother. I am not going to be a self-absorbed, vain, relationship validated human black hole like her.
• Morality Chain: For Jareth. Lampshaded and deconstructed on page 203—she doesn't want to be his Morality Chain; she doesn't want it to be up to her to decide what kind of behavior she allows of him.
  Sarah: I hate this dynamic. I am not my stalker's keeper.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Meeting Beowulf, she only blushed for one panel or so and kept eye contact with him despite his lack of attire. In contrast with Christine not so much. Well, Sarah is used to guys who are an eyeful.
• "Not So Different" Remark: It's been noted how, for all her denial, Sarah seems to have developed quite a few similar characteristics to the Goblin King. Christine lampshades it by mentioning how well Sarah will fit in with Jareth's family.
• Unexpected Virgin: In their canons, Sarah and Christine are both Ingenues, with elements of of virginal heroine archetypes. But post-canon, Christine has been in a committed relationship with Raoul since the 1800s, and has had sex with him during that time. Sarah, on the other hand, is a virgin. This creates an interesting contrast: Christine (the more traditional, Old World, pure 'n innocent variety heroine) as the modern, liberated, and worldly one, and Sarah (headstrong 20th century gal though she is) as the more traditional, innocent fantasy trope.
• Psychic Link: Jareth and Sarah share a mild mental connection made stronger in the Dreaming. Sarah is shown able to sense a simple wedding-fantasy, and something more complex (like say a would-be-sex dream) overrides her higher thought processes. This connection goes both ways.
• Spy Catsuit: borrows Christines' in order to steal back something from Jareth, he doesn't complain about how tight it is on her.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sarah and Christine, though downplayed (Sarah is a Tomboy with a Girly Streak at least^note —she's eager to try on Christine's corsets, but only when she thinks no one else is home). It's interesting in how part of this comes from their eras (Sarah being from a 1980s story, and Christine from a 1910 one) and part from simply their personalities (Both are very much competent in their own right, but Sarah favors the most direct approach, while Christine prefers more subtle manipulation)
• Tsundere: Downplayed maybe, but Sarah to Jareth, much as she loves to deny it.

Christine

Christine Daaé

from The Phantom of the Opera

Voiced by Kaitlin Wright.

A postgrad music student at Saint Jude's. Sarah's roommate in Building #42.

• Beta Couple: Despite the long distance, she and Raoul provide a much more stable foil to Sarah and Jareth's more dramatic relationship.
• Character Filibuster: She has glorious ones ranting about Love Never Dies on two occasions—the first time, about how it dishonors Erik, and the second time about how it demonizes Raoul, and kills her.
• Characterization Marches On: Early on, Christine was something of a Dumb Blonde a la Discworld. This wore off before long.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Christine when Beowulf appeared, in contrast with Sarah who was Not Distracted by the Sexy.
• Foil: One of the major backbones of the Buildingverse is the idea of taking characters from different stories who are alike and/or serve similar narrative roles, and making them roommates. Christine and Sarah are both Ingenues who have grown into self-assured women. They struggle to reconcile knowing that stalking isn't sexy—they made the "right" choice in canon—but still being attracted to and caring about their suitors.
• Guilty Pleasure: Music snob Christine names American Idol as a guilty pleasure of hers. Erik likes it too, leading to a Engaging Conversation moment, if rather downplayed.
  Erik: What are you watching?
  Christine: American Idol. No comments, please, it's a guilty pleas—
  Erik: Ooh! Is Jenna still in the line-up?
• I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: One of Christine's favorite persuasion techniques is the cleavage squeeze. She also frequently combines it with Puppy-Dog Eyes for maximum effect. (As Sarah pointed it out this only works on guys.)
• Let's Just Be Friends: The situation with her and Erik. They're still fond of each other, but she's with Raoul, and he's with Mag and trying to move on.
• Make-Out Kids: With Raoul, justified because they're in a Long-Distance Relationship.
  Sarah: Don't mind me! I'll just be in my room, then... It's not like I wanted to watch that movie or anything... "Ooh Christine!" "Ooh Raoul!" Ooh puke.
• Mundane Luxury: Christine deeply appreciates 20th century plumbing.
• The Muse: Christine and Erik to each other. They're reciprocal muses.
• Of Course I'm Not a Virgin: In their canons, Sarah and Christine are both Ingenues, with elements of of virginal heroine archetypes. But post-canon, Christine has been in a committed relationship with Raoul since the 1800s, and has had sex with him during that time. Erik is bummed when he finds this out. Sarah, on the other hand, is a virgin. This creates an interesting contrast: Christine (the more traditional, Old World, pure 'n innocent variety heroine) as the modern, liberated, and worldly one, and Sarah (headstrong 20th century gal though she is) as the more traditional, innocent fantasy trope.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Christine is prone to the "gets more (and more and more and more) wordy in emotion fueled rants" type.
• Shipper on Deck: Christine is a Sarah/Jareth fangirl. She also seems to ship Javert/Valjean.
• Silk Hiding Steel:
  Pika: Christine I think is much like her 1900s dresses - they may look all light and graceful and vaporous, but there are slightly evil and highly ingenious parts of steel underneath the froufrous.
• Spy Catsuit
  Sarah: ...and why on earth are you dressed like some kind of... ninja spy...
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sarah and Christine, though downplayed (Sarah is a Tomboy with a Girly Streak at least). It's interesting in how part of this comes from their eras (Sarah being from a 1980s story, and Christine from a 1910 one) and part from simply their personalities (Both are very much competent in their own right, but Sarah favors the most direct approach, while Christine prefers more subtle manipulation)

Jareth

Jareth the Goblin King

from Labyrinth

Voiced by Brent Zuber.

The often absent king of the goblins. Erik's roommate in Building #42.

• Affectionate Nickname: Jareth calls Sarah "Precious" quite a bit.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: As a Fae, Jareth is technically outside of the standard morality spectrum, which is why Aziraphale and Crowley can't really do anything about his shenanigans when Sarah complains. Observing him with Heaven/Hell's tech only results in the ++CUCUMBER ERROR++ as well.
• Catchphrase: "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…"
• Cute Owl: When Sarah's mad at him, he comes to her window in the form of a cute fuzzy owl, and she usually lets him in.
• Diplomatic Impunity: Being the Goblin King, Jareth has diplomatic immunity protecting him from getting arrested for his various crimes of stalking and perving on Sarah.
  Javert: I already tried arresting him for being a menace to the peace... His response, and he is unfortunately correct, what that I have no jurisdiction over the Goblin Kingdom, and that he furthermore has diplomatic immunity as a chief of state. To which he added, and here I quote: "You have no power over me!! Bwahahaha, damn but it feels good to be the one saying that!"
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: He loves his glitter. (Though everyone around him finds in annoying.)
• Foil: One of the major backbones of the Buildingverse is the idea of taking characters from different stories who are alike and/or serve similar narrative roles, and making them roommates. Jareth and Erik are both Stalkers with Crushes; too dark and villainous for their canons to grant them happy endings, but too sexy and sympathetic for the fandoms not to wish it for them. Both are also musical and theatrical, with a taste for the dramatic. On the other side, as alike as they are, Erik has a great deal of fundamental human compassion, and chooses to let Christine go, while Jareth is conversely very inhuman and fae, and truly does not understand that kind of human morality.
• Insistent Terminology: Jareth doesn't pout/sulk.
  Sarah: ...so you're just going to stand there and sulk?
  Jareth: It's called glowering ominously.
• No Sense of Personal Space:
  Sarah: PERSONAL SPACE, JARETH! GET WITH THE NOTION!
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: The peach. Sarah is not going to get over that one.
  Jareth: Oh, sweet Jim, George, and Brian, will you ever let that go?!
• Power Perversion Potential: Jareth has magical scrying powers and stalker tendencies.
  • The Peeping Tom: He uses his Crystal Balls to spy on the girls in the bath/shower.
  • He seems to preserve his more interesting dreams in crystals. (As Pika pointed out it's more stylish than a Porn Stash.)
  • Panty Thief: He uses his minions to steal Sarah's underwear.
• Psychic Link: Jareth and Sarah share a mild mental connection made stronger in the Dreaming. Sarah is shown able to sense a simple wedding-fantasy, and something more complex (like say a would-be-sex dream) overrides her higher thought processes. This connection goes both ways.
• Sexual Extortion: Jareth tries this more than once, although always as a Downplayed Trope. Once it's for a date, and once it's for a kiss, but it's never really about getting the thing in question: it's about getting Sarah to give him a chance—the UST will do the work from there. As Character Development continues, he becomes less and less prone to this.
• Shirtless Scene: Blatantly Invoked in 306 with a Modesty Towel.
  Sarah: ...Jareth we don't even own a towel that small.
• Stalker with a Crush: To Sarah
• Tangled Family Tree: Jareth's inexplicable relation to pretty much every magical blond in fiction (Jadis is his mom, Nuada is his nephew, Howl is his great great great great grand-nephew once removed...) is something of a Running Gag. This comes from Roommates.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: We're pretty sure Jareth reads Shipping Fic about him and Sarah. After a fight he complained about the lack of an "anger fueled make-out session". When Luna accio-ed his pendant back in 217, he was disappointed she "completely destroyed the set up for what was sure to be an epic adventure-romance-hurt/comfort-quest type fanfic."
  Sarah: Eurgh. Whatever you've been reading, you shouldn't be.
• The Trickster
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Jareth is scared of black chikins. This is apparently the result of an attempted coup made by the smarter ones in his kingdom. He doesn't appreciate the humor the rest of the cast finds in it.
• With Friends Like These...: Jareth and Erik co-exist in a state of open warfare punctuated by occasional bouts of empathizing with each other's relationship drama.

Erik

Erik, the Opera Ghost (O.G.) or the Phantom

from The Phantom of the Opera

Voiced by Daniel Merriman.

A music professor at Saint Jude's. Jarath's roommate in Building #42.

• Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Raoul's Betty for Christine's Archie. She chooses the Betty, not because she loves him more, but because he's the one who she can actually have a real, livable relationship with.
  Christine: Erik is—the rush and the beauty and the joy of it—making music. Erik's part of that feeling for me and part of me and I can't not love him just as I can't not sing. I sang my heart out for him when I believed him my angel—not something that doesn't leave a mark. And I adore him and worry for him and wish him well but Raoul is the warm presence by my side, when I step off-stage, that I can joke and bicker and love and live with—someone who knows me rather than idolizes me.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Darkness needs to back off.
  Erik: My basement!! My lines!! My virginal heroine to seduce!!!
• Expressive Mask: Erik's mask. Seen here.
• Foil: One of the major backbones of the Buildingverse is the idea of taking characters from different stories who are alike and/or serve similar narrative roles, and making them roommates. Erik and Jareth are both Stalkers with Crushes; too dark and villainous for their canons to grant them happy endings, but too sexy and sympathetic for the fandoms not to wish it for them. Both are also musical and theatrical, with a taste for the dramatic. On the other side, as alike as they are, Erik has a great deal of fundamental human compassion, and chooses to let Christine go, while Jareth is conversely very inhuman and fae, and truly does not understand that kind of human morality.
• The Gadfly: Let's just say that because a great part of the Phandom would hate whatever Raoul might do, he developed quite the trolling habit.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Erik really does want Christine to be happy, and though he'd rather she be happy with him, he can be at peace with other forms of her being happy.
  Christine: Erik said... he wanted my happiness. Whether I wished to be an operatic superstar or Mme de Chagny the trophy wife, it was my decision and he finally knew to respect that. So long as I was happy. He said he'd like to promise he'd leave for good if I truly wanted it but didn't think he could.
• Let's Just Be Friends: The situation with him and Christine. They're still fond of each other, but she's with Raoul, and he's with Mag and trying to move on.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Erik tried to do this to Raoul so many times it's a running gag.
• The Muse: Christine and Erik to each other. They're reciprocal muses.
• Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker: Erik tells Sarah as much, in the context of not to waking Christine when she finds her sleepwalking toward his room for some late-night music lessons. Sarah dryly informs him that modern science has disproved that notion, but agrees not to interfere with their story on the condition that if he ever finds her sleepwalking, he forget the potential trauma and wake her.
• Skewed Priorities: Let's say you just came out of the shower. However, due to unfortunate circumstances, a younger member of the opposite sex barges in, leaving you one split second and a small towel. What do you cov—no, Erik, not your face…
• Stalker with a Crush: To Christine
• With Friends Like These...: Jareth and Erik co-exist in a state of open warfare punctuated by occasional bouts of empathizing with each other's relationship drama.

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Minor Characters

James & Javert

Commodore James Norrington & Inspector Javert

from Pirates of the Caribbean and Les Misérables respectively

Roommate in Building #42.

• The Alcoholic: James.
• Ambiguously Bi: Javert, who appears to be in a relationship with Valjean but also shows some interest in Clarice Starling. Lampshaded by Christine and Sarah.
• Demoted to Extra: Since the comic focuses on Christine, Sarah, and their respective stalkers, James and Javert get much less focus here than they do in Roommates.
• Drop-In Character: Javert and James are never in their own apartment. Lampshaded:
  Jareth: What are you doing here?
  Javert: Good question. Why are we always loitering here, James?
  James: I dunno. 'Cos Erik has the biggest TV set?
  Jareth: Narrative convenience.
  James: Or that.
• Patriotic Fervor: Downplayed for James, as it’s not something that comes up often. He took the time to attend William and Kates’ royal wedding (and buying the commemorative mugs for it).
  James: ''(With the Union Jack flying in the background no less) I was proud, as an Englishman, to bear witness to the joys and solemn event that is a royal wedding”.
• Those Two Guys: Their role in most of the arcs is to hang in the background and make snarky comments.

Aziraphale & Crowley

Aziraphale & Crowley

from Good Omens

Roommates in Building #42.

• Blue-and-Orange Morality: They have an ongoing debate about whether or not shipping fanservice is inherently good or bad.
  Aziraphale: Are we all on some noble plotted course to character betterment and greater good? Or is it all about wicked, reprehensible, instant gratification...? Narrative prostitution, as it were...
• Fourth-Wall Observer: Downplayed in that everyone acknowledges the fourth wall, but Aziraphale and Crowley talk about it much more than anyone else.
• The Gadfly: Crowley delights in trolling both Aziraphale (about how they're shipped) and the audience (waisting the 100th page of the comic just to be anticlimactic).
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Despite how fervently they are shipped, Crowley is not interested in getting together to please the fangirls.

Raoul

Raoul de Chagny

from The Phantom of the Opera

Christine's long-distance fiancé who sometimes visits. The rest of the time, he lives in Paris and plays Gentleman Thieves with Arsène Lupin.

• Betty and Veronica: Raoul is a Nice Guy, and the Betty to Erik's Veronica for Christine's Archie. She chooses the Betty, not because she loves him more, but because he's the one who she can actually have a real, livable relationship with.
  Christine: Erik is—the rush and the beauty and the joy of it—making music. Erik's part of that feeling for me and part of me and I can't not love him just as I can't not sing. I sang my heart out for him when I believed him my angel—not something that doesn't leave a mark. And I adore him and worry for him and wish him well but Raoul is the warm presence by my side, when I step off-stage, that I can joke and bicker and love and live with—someone who knows me rather than idolizes me.
• Disposable Fiancé: Played with. Because they're in a Long-Distance Relationship and he's not around much, it's easy to count Raoul out. Subverted when he and Christine briefly break up… then get back together. Also lampshaded.
  Crowley: Two fictional character who were in a relatively under-developed, yet, for lack of any evidence to the contrary, happy relationship are split up and made miserable—but this generates fangirl glee elsewhere—isn't that like arguing a car crash is also a good thing because passerbys get a gratifyingly interesting story to tell when they get home?
• Gentleman Thief: Most of time time, Raoul is hanging out in Paris, doing heists with Arsène Lupin and sometimes Irene Adler.
  Pika: There really is a whole other show going on in Paris, where Raoul and Arsène are pulling off all these amazing criminal capers that only target the rich and nasty and Raoul is playing the silly socialite and rich idiot with no job and actually getting all the insider info and stuff while Arsène cracks safes and computer code. It'd be a great spin-off. I really should be telling that story instead.
• Make-Out Kids: With Christine, justified because they're in a Long-Distance Relationship.
  Sarah: Don't mind me! I'll just be in my room, then... It's not like I wanted to watch that movie or anything... "Ooh Christine!" "Ooh Raoul!" Ooh puke.
• Nice Guy: It comes with being a Betty.
  Christine: He tries. Sure, he can't compose a serenade at the drop of a hat, but... there are more important things.
• Rich Bitch: Raoul has moments of it, like in 34.
• Serenade Your Lover: He does this in "Fix Mix Tape". Maybe he can't write a song like Erik, but he can still get a boombox.

Legolas

Legolas

from The Lord of the Rings

Sweeney Todd's roommate in Building #42.

• Captain Obvious
• Narrating the Present/Narrating the Obvious: Legolas really wants to the narrator, but the comic doesn't need one.
• Spy Catsuit: Useful for ninja-ing his way through Erik's bobbytraps.

Cheryl

Cheryl

Original Character by Pika

A waitress at Sakura Sushi, a student at Saint Jude's, and Legolas's girlfriend.

• Audience Surrogate: She just wants Erik, or Jareth, or Legolas...
• Stalker with a Crush:
  Canberra: So tell me, Cheryl, how many of your patrons do you stalk?
  Cheryl: Only the super-hot weirdos on our banned-from-home-delivery list.

Nanny Ogg

Nanny Ogg

from Discworld

• Dirty Old Woman
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Manages to make even Dr. Frank-N-Furter back down.

Marsha

Marsha Klein

from Spaced

The landlady of Building #42.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Downplayed, but her affections for Legolas sometimes freaks him out.
• Affectionate Nickname:Refers to Legolas as "Leggy".
• The Alcoholic: She manages to keep up with Nanny Ogg.
• Big Brother Is Watching: She has a number of surveilance cameras installed in the building.
  Elizabeth: How many CCTV cameras do you have in the building Marsha?

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Turner née Swann

from Pirates of the Caribbean

A friend of Christine and Sarah's, who sometimes visits. She currenly lives apart form her husband, Will Turner, but together with their son.

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Averted. While she has expressed frustration at Will's absence multiple times and occationally goes partying to get away from the stress of taking care of their son, she would never truly cheat on her husband.
• Action Mom: She has her moments.
• Affectionate Nickname: Sarah and Christine call her "Liz" and "Lizzie".
• I Love the Dead: Arguably. Technically speaking her husband isn't truly alive. Then again he isn't really dead either.
  Sarah: Never have I ever... technically indulged in necrophilia...?
  Elizabeth: That's highly debatable. His heart was still blood beating.
• Kiss of Distraction: She and Christine are fans. Sarah disapproves.
• Long-Distance Relationship: Has this with Will, much to her dismay.
  Elizabeth: Just as I thought it was finally time for him to settle down with us, Jack has dragged him off into a 5th movie—

Luna

Luna Lovegood

from Harry Potter

A cryptozoology exchange student at Saint Jude's. Also a witch. A friend of Sarah and Christine's.

• Cloudcuckoolander: As always
• Sarcasm-Blind: A curios ability in a World of Snark, also it highlights her niceness and naiveté.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Luna takes it a step further in "***-Blocked", casually performing the simple solution to finding Jareth's stolen Requisite Royal Regalia—"Accio pendant"—and thus completely destroying "the set up of what was sure to be an epic adventure-romance-hurt/comfort-quest type fanfic."

Goblins

Goblins

from Labyrinth

Jareth's subjects.

• Buffy Speak: The goblins aren't particular eloquent, and they're prone to this in general. The way they title Sarah is a funny example. They can't quite call her "Queen Sarah" yet, so they instead use the Buffy Speak version of the title "Sarah Boss Lady".
• Cloudcuckoolander: They speak with weird grammar, and are affectionate in the same way kindergartners are.
• Our Goblins Are Different: The goblins of Labyrinth can pass as a house-elf of Harry Potter if they shave. (They're the same height, and both have long ears that end in a point.) They're also far more endearing than they are in traditional goblin mythology, or even in Labyrinth. (The fact that they love Sarah now probably has a lot to do with this.)
• What's Up, King Dude?: Jareth is pretty casual with them.

Eponine

Eponine

from Les Misérables

James' girlfriend.

• In-Series Nickname: Pony, from Sarah.

Darkness

Prince of Darkness

from Legend

• Compensating for Something: Jareth thinks this about Darkness' horns. His mother seems to disagree.
  Jareth: Oi! Mister big red oh-no-my-horns-aren't-blatantly-compensating-for-anything so-called Prince of Sodding Darkness!
• Horned Humanoid
• Unholy Matrimony: With Jadis

Jadis

Jadis

from The Chronicles of Narnia

• Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: The page where she talks about the effects of cold air on guys in Painted-On Pants is gold.
• Children Are a Waste: Jadis thinks so, at least about her own. She even sent a Christmas card addressed to the "Despised waste of genes." She apparently also contemplated Offing the Offspring but decided against it because she likes to see him suffer.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: As Darkness points out.
  Jadis: Oh, that's subtle.
  Darkness: I'm not sure how to take that coming from a woman whose gimmick is acting frigid while turning fellows rock hard—with a large wand, no less... which, you may care to note, is not always required.
• Evil Matriarch: Jareth's despised mother
• An Ice Person/Winter Royal Lady: Per canon
• Unholy Matrimony: With Darkness