(re-post because Tumblr's a pain)

I was just thinking that things would have turned out A LOT differently if Silver had been the one kidnapped in Ghost Marriage. For starters, the conflict would have been over a lot quicker. Because if Lilia didn’t kick down the doors going hell hath no fury like a father getting his baby back, then Malleus sure as hell would have. (And with his abilities, he would have completely destroyed them.) Seriously, I don’t think even Crowley would have been able to hold them back. Plus, I think the student would be more willing to help him as the first years at least seem to think of Silver as a big brother. (You will pull this headcanon away from my cold dead hands.)

On that topic, I believe that if Silver had gone instead of Sebek, the Princess would have fallen for him, hook, line, and sinker because, other than Malleus, no one is more like a charming Prince. (And before anyone says anything, Vil is a QUEEN, not a Prince.) Though I think the plan still would have failed as Silver would have fallen asleep.

But those are just my thoughts. What about ya’lls? Do you agree or disagree with me?

You Will Stop the Wedding! - Malleus Draconia

SUMMARY: YOU were the one being kidnapped by Princess Eliza to marry her. How would he react and how would he save you? With the aggravation of he already having a crush on you.

CHARACTERS: Malleus Draconia x Reader

TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Declaration

WORD COUNT: 1.540 words

Riddle Rosehearts / Leona Kingscholar / Azul Ashengrotto / Jamil Viper / Vil Schoenheit / Idia Shroud / Malleus Draconia

Rescuing You - Deuce Spade; Jack Howl; Floyd Leech; Kalim Al-Asim

COMMENTS: What have I done? Why did I commit to writing this? And why did I write so much? Why was I so inspired? There were seven of them! Why do I do this to myself? So yeah, this took me a long time. But I hope it was worth it, for me and for you.

CONTEXT: Someone was kidnapped to marry some ghost princess and might end up turning into a ghost too. And they just found out that someone was you.

Malleus wasn't at the Housewardens meeting, but Lilia was. On the outside, he was surprised and worried. On the inside, he was thinking of a plan to ensure that Malleus wouldn't know about this by any chance!

He tasked Silver and Sebek with ensuring that Malleus remained uninterested in what happened. And if they had to tell him what was going on at school, they could tell him the truth with the exception of the identity of the kidnapped student. They should say it was a random student they didn't know.

But Lilia's plan didn't just include Silver and Sebek, he charged all Diasomnia students to follow the same plan. According to Lilia's orders, there was only one event that would force the students to reveal the identity of the kidnapped student to Malleus: all others failing and he being your only hope.

In this scenario, Lilia would be part of the last group. And while some students tried to rescue you, Malleus was completely indifferent to the situation. After all, it wasn't anything that concerned him much, right?

Knowing that Lilia was part of the volunteers who were trying to save the kidnapped student, he would occasionally ask if anyone knew how things were going. The students told the truth, that it wasn't going very well and they were being petrified one by one. They just couldn't reveal your identity. And Malleus replied that it was a shame, but that he hoped everything would end well, and went back to his tasks and hobbies.

Meanwhile, all the Diasomnia students began to worry more and more, knowing that all the volunteers were failing in your rescue. Sebek complained about how incompetent all the volunteers were, except Lilia. And it would have to be him, in the last group, to solve everything.

But unfortunately, he was wrong. Even Lilia failed and ended up being petrified. Sebek still tried to convince the others to let him try to save you, but there was no time for that. There was only one option, your last hope, and the fear of Dioasmonia at that moment.

Of course, it was Sebek and Silver who were in charge of telling Malleus the truth. Sebek tried to beat around the bushes, even if unconsciously, but Silver knew that would only make things worse, so he simply said:

“I deeply apologize for keeping this information from you from the beginning, but it was father's orders.” The three of them were the only ones in the room, the other students were too scared of Malleus' reaction. “The kidnapped student is not a person we don't know. The truth is that (Y/N) is the kidnapped student. All the volunteers including father failed and you are the only one who can save them now.”

“WE WILL ACCEPT ANY TYPE OF PUNISHMENT IF YOU WISH, MY LIEGE!” Sebek said and the two knelt in forgiveness in front of Malleus.

A very loud thunder was heard outside and everyone inside the castle felt it. “How dare...” Malleus started to say, but remembered that Silver had said that it was Lilia's plan, so that would have to be resolved later. “Very well. Where are they?”

The moment you feared was getting closer and closer. The wedding had already begun when a storm began to approach. At first the princess didn't pay any attention to him, until the rumble of thunder was so loud that people's voices could barely be heard and she began to get really scared.

The entrance doors didn't simply open, they were slam into the wall, and Malleus slowly entered the ceremony hall. Everyone without exception could feel his terrifying aura.

“I apologize for entering this way into a ceremony to which I was not invited.” He was just being polite, he clearly wasn't sorry in the slightest. He stops. “Well, quite a glittering assemblage, Princess Eliza. Royalty, nobility, the gentry. It's a pity there won't be anything to celebrate.”

The princess says, "Of course there will be! Our wedding." pointing at herself and you.

“Truly?” He walks towards you again only to be stopped by the guards who stand in front of him. He looks at you “Tell me, Child of Man, do you wish to marry Princess Eliza?” he was fully confident that he knew your answer.

You frantically shake your head and say no. What increases Malleus's smirk towards the princess and the guards.

“From my understanding, marriage must be unanimously accepted by both people in the couple. So if (Y/N) doesn't want to marry you, there will be no marriage. Correct?”

The princess starts defending herself, saying that you still don't know what you want, but that after you get married you will see that you love her... But her speech is quickly interrupted by the rumble of thunder outside. And by the shudder that the building felt with them.

“With all due respect, princess, but your desires and illusions don't matter to me. You will release (Y/N) and give up on the marriage.” The guards prepare and attack Malleus to defend the princess. “Fools. All of you.”

In an instant, Malleus takes out all the guards with practically no effort. And when the last guard turns into a giant ghost, the same happens to him, defeated by Malleus without much effort.

“Oh no! Noooo!” The princess screams. “No, no, no...”

“You lost all your guards, princess.” Malleus continues. “It pains me to make such a cruel request, but the choice is yours. Either you release (Y/N) peacefully now or...”

“PUFFY!” The princess "runs" towards the ghost that Malleus has just defeated.

Malleus himself is confused, but he lets whatever was going on happen. The rest, you already know, they have a conversation in which they realize that they actually love each other and the princess ends up marrying the guard.

Malleus undid the paralyzing effect of the princess's slap and let the others deal with the rest of the problem, while he took you away from there without anyone noticing. He picked you up bridal style and disappeared with you. You appear in front of the entrance to Ramshackle Dorm. You appear in front of the entrance to Ramshackle Dorm and he sets you down on the ground.

“Are you well, (Y/N)?” Malleus asks you. “Did the princess mistreat you?” You tell him that, other than the kidnapping, she didn't hurt you, and that you're okay, just still a little scared about everything that happened.

“Forgive me for not showing up sooner.” His voice became softer, more apologetically. “I was unaware that the student who had been kidnapped was you. The truth is that Lilia ordered everyone to keep that information from me.” He was a little upset when he said this last part.

You try to reassure him by saying that Lilia certainly had a good reason for doing that and that the others were not to blame, they were just following his orders, believing it would be the best for everyone.

He smiled. “Even after everything that happened to you today, you still want everything to be resolved peacefully. How wonderful.” He looks at you fondly. “You should be more careful. If you continue to show how charming you are, there may be more people who want to kidnap you for marriage. The kidnapping is undoubtedly outrageous, but I cannot blame them for wanting someone like you by their side for the rest of their lives. Or their afterlife.” He sees that you were flattered, maybe you even blushed.

“You look beautiful in those clothes.” He continues. “Would you like to get married in them or would you like something different?” You ask, surprised, why he was asking that. “I like to know more about you. And, who knows..." He smirks "maybe it will be relevant information for the future.”

He returns to a neutral and slightly more serious face. “I should reveal this to you (Y/N). When I found out that the kidnapped student was you, I felt a tightness in my chest. I felt such wrath that I wanted to hit everyone responsible with lightning and blow them off the face of Twisted Wonderland. At first I thought I only felt this way because someone who was very dear to me was kidnapped. But when I saw you at the altar I realized that it wasn't just that. It was also because... I... was jealous. Of the princess, I mean. The voice of whatever was pressing on my heart told me that I was the one who should be there with you! So, I need to know...” He approaches you and looks at you with bright eyes undecided whether they should reflect hope or apprehension. “Could it be that you might feel the same for me?”

You tell him yes and tell him how you feel about him. And once again he shows you that charming smile of his, the kind of smile of absolute joy that he can't hide. He grabs you by the waist and spins you in the air before hugging you with your feet still unable to touch the ground. He wanted to have your face close to his so he could kiss your lips.

If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX

Ghost Marriage

~*In an AU where the Prefect was kidnapped*~

Twst Boys: Give back our Prefect!

Eliza: You can’t have them! They are my perfect partner!

YN/MC/Yuu: I’ll fight for my own hand in marriage!

Twst Boys & Eliza: *Disappointed*

Grim: Nyahaha~ My henchman rejected all of you! 

good evening twisted wonderland fandom.

The Phantom Bride screenshots without context, Part 1

Sorry for not doing the previous reaction posts like before, but I want to be able to enjoy the event without having to worry about taking screenshots for each post. So it's gonna be some out of context shots from now on--

They found the elusive Phantom of the Opera curled up on pages of strewn sheet music, weeping with such pitiful heartbreak that none in the party dared to approach. “Je Meurs…” the deformed man sobbed to himself, unaware or uncaring that he had an audience. Dr. Watson shifted uncomfortably, “Either of you lads speak French?” he whispered to Quincy and Lawrence. Both shook their heads in dismay and Watson gave a resigned sigh, “I guess we’ll have to hope he speaks English.”

Before the doctor could approach the crying figure Adam Frankenstein stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “I know French. Let me speak to him,” he said in a quiet rumble. Watson wrinkled his mustache. He was fond of The Creature and thought that after several months in his company he’d learned everything he needed to about him. Not the case, it seemed, for it had not even occurred to him that Adam could be a polyglot. Truthfully, Watson barely understood how a creation who had spent so much of his time in isolation knew English, much less French. Holmes would have had him figured out top to bottom by now, he thought to himself with a pang.   “Fine, but please don’t scare him he seems…vulnerable,” he made a resigned gesture. The volume of the sobbing behind him intensified.   “I’ll try but no promises, I daresay I am an even more frightful aberration than he,” the corner of Adam’s mouth quirked upward in a rueful smile, “Perhaps, from one living corpse to another, we may strike a kinship founded on our mutual ugliness” he mused. Watson’s frown deepened but before he could chide Adam he was cut off by a piteous cry: “Christine!” Quincey perked up, “I know that! That’s a girl’s name! You don’t think this is over a girl, do you, Larry?” Lawrence grimaced at him, “God, I hope not. After everything we went through to get down here our sentient zombie better not be dying of a broken heart.” Adam threw them both a look as if to say. Quiet! You’re distracting me. Once everyone had settled, he approached the Phantom and knelt beside him, addressing him in French. “Hello, are you hurt?” The Phantom started, as though he had been shaken from a dream. A bloodshot eye, as yellow as Adam’s own, peeked tearfully through the lattice of bony fingers covering a pallid, badly deformed, face. “What are you?” he asked, pausing his weeping long enough to be cognizant of the monstrous giant kneeling beside him. He turned away and groped behind him for a black mask that had been carelessly discarded on the floor, putting it back on while The Creature waited patiently. Adam did not answer him at first, after a thoughtful pause he offered: “Someone like you.” That seemed to be explanation enough for the wretched man for he resumed his crying “I am dying,” he said between sobs, “I am dying of love.” Adam nodded sympathetically, “Love, and the want of it, are indeed, powerful enough to die from. What happened?” “I kissed her! I kissed her alive! She let me-she let me! I have never…” he trailed off in a fresh wave of tears. Adam patted his back. “Where is she now? Has she forsaken you?” he asked. “Forsaken? No. Never! She would not…she is a good girl…she would have been my bride! My living bride! I could not keep her, not after she allowed me to kiss her. I have freed her!” the Phantom seemed to compose himself a little and he sat up, wiping his eyes on his sleeves. He seemed to notice, for the first time, Watson, Quincey and Lawrence hanging back watching him. “Who are you and why have you come here? I am in no condition to entertain guests. No guests have ever graced my lair save for the Daroga who shall, no doubt, be very cross with poor Erik, and there was Christine who has taken her little chap and fled forever…” The three Englishmen exchanged confused glances and Quincey offered an apologetic shrug. “He wants to know who you are,” Adam clarified, switching to English. Quincey nearly tripped over himself crossing the floor with his hand extended to introduce himself, “Quincey Harker, very nice to meet you! Sorry about your traps, we had to dismantle them to get down here. They were very impressive, by the way! Adam, will you tell him I’m impressed? I’ve never seen such feats of engineering before,” he babbled grasping and pumping Erik’s hand enthusiastically. Erik froze and replied, in slightly accented English, “Thank you…do not touch me,” as his mind finally began to clear he tensed, realization sinking in that there were four men, one of whom was larger than any man he’d ever seen, who had him effectively cornered and at a disadvantage.   Quincey dropped Erik’s hand with a muttered apology and Watson nudged him aside, “I am Dr. John Watson. We’re supernatural investigators. You’ve noticed, surely, that the undead are rising at an alarming rate and we were hoping that, with you being the only other revenant we’ve discovered to be in full possession of his mental faculties,” he gestured at Adam, who grinned in response, “that you might be willing to come with us and lend us some aid. It is my belief that through researching cases like yourself and Mr. Frankenstein here we can derive a cure or at least a way to restore those inflicted to a sustainable quality of life.” The Phantom looked from man, to man, to creature and shook his head, “You are mistaken. Despite the rumors, for which I myself and largely responsible, I am no corpse. Although that shall undoubtedly change very soon. No, I am only Erik.” Adam’s face fell, “Are you saying that you are…alive?” he tried and failed to keep the disappointment from his voice. Erik gave a biting laugh, “I should not be! Nothing that looks like me should have been able to draw breath yet here I am, living as of yet,” he withdrew a little from Adam, who all at once seemed to him, to be much larger and more menacing than before, “Are you not?” he crept back, his long spindly legs bent at the knees in a half crouch as his hand subtly reached inside of his coat, “Are you in fact, one of the undead?” Black lips drew tight and white teeth bared as the creature’s face darkened, “I am! Whatever you’re about to try, don’t. I promise it will not work and the destruction will be your own.” Watson threw out an arm to keep Adam from advancing, “Steady there! No call for that! No one is here to harm or threaten anyone,” he threw Erik a pleading glance, “Please, we’re no danger to you! We’ve no interest in harming you or forcing you to come with us. I see we’ve made a mistake and we’ll leave you in peace. Right, Adam?” Adam looked from Watson to Erik and forced himself to relax, “Right,” he affirmed, though he did not take his eyes off of the thin, crouched man. Like a caged animal The Phantom regarded them before he followed their example and straightened, “I apologize, I am…unaccustomed to civil company, much less when it presents itself with… such a… creature,” he was blatantly staring in a way that made Adam’s hackles raise. “I hardly think that’s fair coming from you. Living or not, you’re not really much different from him, are you?” Lawrence interjected brusquely, “Let’s face facts here, you’re a monster in your own right even if you are only human.” “I suppose there is no denying that,” Erik sighed, “I suppose we should part ways. I cannot linger here and neither should you. No doubt, after they clean up the chandelier, there will be a mob gathering to come and tear this place apart and thanks to you I no longer have the protection of my traps.” “You could come with us,” Quincey offered, “Even if you are alive, we could definitely use someone with your knack for engineering back at our headquarters in London. We have rooms and we’ll give you free food and board.”

“I was going to wait for death to come and take me but perhaps it is not yet time to bring my story to a close,” Erik considered, taping his chin beneath his mask, “Could I bring a friend? If I am to leave Paris I should not like to go without a companion, though he may finally be through with me after how poorly I have treated him.”

“I don’t see why not,” replied Watson, “We have room and we need as much help as we can get.”

“It is agreed then. I know not what awaits me in London but perhaps it will be better than waiting to die here in this tomb. Allow me half an hour to collect my things and I will join you.”

Love At First Fright

a poem based off of the phantom bride event i decided to finish after several months

i hope you like it :]

After 500 years, Her Majesty walks down the aisle way.

With a flowing, white wedding gown and a flower bouquet.

While the suitors stand still, the gleeful ghosts sing,

As their princess can finally put on her wedding ring!

The gloomy groom shivers in his fancy wedding wear,

His anxious tears matching the blue of his flaming hair.

He didn’t want to die and be left with unfinished business,

But the clock is ticking, waiting for death’s kiss.

Seconds had passed and the statued students cheer.

There was no one left to save him from his fate, he fears.

The bride was only a few steps away,

But lucky for him, there were still suitors determined to save the day!

Some of the suitors weren’t able to get through,

So all that’s left was Trappola and Yuu.

But still, they persist to save the petrified groom,

And they eventually reached the wedding room!

The door was suddenly bust down, leaving everyone surprised.

Someone finally answered Idia’s cries!

“STOP THE WEDDING!” A yell was heard.

The wedding was ruined, leaving princess Eliza disturbed.

The ghosts can’t stand seeing her unhappy,

Especially Eliza’s dear old friend, Puffy.

As he fought in her honor, Eliza then realized…

Puffy was her one true love the whole time.

Alas, the loyal ghost was worn out and fading into mist.

The distraught princess gave him one last kiss.

Like a fairytale, the tired ghost rose back up undead,

And Eliza happily married him instead!

The abandoned man in the wedding suit was still quivering from the stares,

Flustered pink tips forming in his pretty blue hair.

Despite his rejection, at least he can go back to his room,

And he can banish the thought of becoming a groom.

It’s not like he plans to get married anytime soon…

Growing up, even though you never really had an interest in romance, you always admired fairytale princesses who overcame all obstacles through the power of true love since it just made you happy to see these strong women overcoming whatever trials came their way to get their much deserved happily ever after.

You begin to reconsider those feelings, however, when a ghost princess becomes dead-set on marrying a very unwilling Idia, so she can finally have the happily ever after that she's always dreamed of, even if it means having to kill him to make it happen.

Needless to say, this is one happily ever after that you do not want to happen.

TWST fans, I'm curious.

So, last week or so I came up with an AU where Eliza chose Silver as her husband for fun, but now I realize that really could have been a thing. Okay, here are Eliza's requirements;

Some of her qualifications for the perfect prince include:

At least 180 centimeters tall, with an air of nonchalance

Healthy, lustrous skin

Lidded eyes

A charming smile

Bright, shimmering hair

Silver checks all of these. Silver is just lucky she found Idia first or he'd have been married. (Okay, not really because while I'm not a %100 Lilia would have done something I know damn sure Malleus would have. In which case, RIP ye Merry Souls.)

You Will Stop the Wedding! - Vil Schoenheit

SUMMARY: YOU were the one being kidnapped by Princess Eliza to marry her. How would he react and how would he save you? With the aggravation of he already having a crush on you.

CHARACTERS: Vil Schoenheit x Reader

TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Declaration

WORD COUNT: 1.155 words

Riddle Rosehearts / Leona Kingscholar / Azul Ashengrotto / Jamil Viper / Vil Schoenheit / Idia Shroud / Malleus Draconia

Rescuing You - Deuce Spade; Jack Howl; Floyd Leech; Kalim Al-Asim

COMMENTS: What have I done? Why did I commit to writing this? And why did I write so much? Why was I so inspired? There were seven of them! Why do I do this to myself? So yeah, this took me a long time. But I hope it was worth it, for me and for you.

CONTEXT: Someone was kidnapped to marry some ghost princess and might end up turning into a ghost too. And he just found out that someone was you.

Vil wondered who in the entire school would be chosen as the princess's partner instead of someone like him. With someone like him at school, who the heck did they kidnap if they were looking for the perfect person for the princess?

And then he hears your name, and his eyes widen. On the one hand, he now understands. After all, if he himself fell in love with you, who wouldn't? But on the other hand, his pride was still a little hurt. But more importantly, he needed to save you!

When rescue groups are formed, he asks to be in the last one. He knows he will be the best choice for this operation because he is an actor, but to create the perfect “romantic interest”, after all, your life was at risk, he first needed to understand what the princess's “character” was like.

When it's the last group's turn, whenever someone needs to stay behind to tie up the ghosts, Vil tells one of the others to do it. He always displays such confidence and leadership that the others simply followed his orders and stayed behind. One of the boys in the group was Rook, so it was clear that he would follow Vil's orders. Vil ends up being the only one to arrive at the ceremony hall.

Following the plan and after studying the princess's "character", Vil gets into character even before opening the door. He opens the door with a bang and orders them to stop the wedding. And in the first few sentences you already got an uncanny shiver.

“STOP THE WEDDING! Princess! I cannot bear this! My heart cannot bear to see you marrying someone else. Please, my wonderful princess, I beg you to at least give me a chance to prove myself to be a good partner to you!” And he was even being so dramatic talking.

But you couldn't deny that he was an excellent actor. Anyone who doesn't know him, the princess for example, would never realize he was acting. But you knew him, and so you had to try hard not to laugh at how strange that was. He was acting so well it looked like he was possessed. And worse, he was playing... ROOK?

You were controlling yourself not to laugh, but some of the students petrified by the princess's slap weren't. And they burst into laughter, especially Leona and Floyd. “Pay these poor rejects no attention, my sweet princess.” Vil continued “They are merely jealous of whoever is worthy of standing next to you at the altar.” He was even imitating some of Rook's gestures, which only made the others laugh even more.

Vil did everything the princess asked of him. He sang with her, answered her questions with the answers he thought she wanted to hear and which from her reaction seemed right. But it seemed like she was never satisfied. Why did it never end? What was going wrong? And it was then that she said that Vil would definitely be a wonderful prince, but she had already chosen you.

“WHAT?! You can not be serious.” Now, the Vil you knew was back, and he was pissed. “I do all this, I answer all these nonsense questions, I try to act in a way that pleases you and it's all for nothing?!” Even the princess was scared by his change in behaviour. And the guards placed themselves in defensive positions. The princess asks what happened to him, what was going on?

“I tell you what is going on. I'm here doing my best to convince a delusional princess to accept me as her husband so I can save the real person I care about and yet I'm rejected after having so much patience with a spoiled girl.” The princess is horrified to know that it was all just an act, she had really believed it, she even starts to cry. And of course, the guards threaten Vil. “Cry all you want, it doesn't bother me, I came here to save (Y/N) and that's what I'm going to do. One way or another.”

And then, a fight between the ghosts and Vil begins. Which he could have almost won if it weren't for that guard who turned into a giant ghost. He suggested that the princess give Vil the slap to petrify him, but she did nothing for a moment. Afterwards, she said that what Vil did was the most evil thing anyone had ever done to her. Playing with someone's feelings like that.

“I know it's one of the ugliest things I've ever done. But I wasn't just playing. I was trying to save the person you kidnapped.” She asks if he can act so well, how would you know if what he says he feels for you is real? He looks at you, confidently, with a loving look and his soft smile. “They know.” He may be an excellent actor, but you know he’s not a liar.

And, out of nowhere, the princess started to feel sorry for herself and jealous of you. She also wanted someone to do all that for her. Pretending to be someone else just to save you, even if it meant being away from you forever. (In the Vils head he was like: Actually I was going to put a ring on your finger to send you alone to the afterlife, but of course, think whatever you want.) And this was the opportunity that the guard who was in love with her found to declare himself. He said he wasn't that good of an actor, but that if he had to, he would do his best. And that whole ending of the princess realizing that she loved him too happens, they get married and happily ever after.

After everything and while the first-years were getting ready to tidy up and clean the cafeteria, you asked Vil to wait a bit. You leave the room so you can talk alone. He looks at you from top to bottom and started fixing your clothes and hair.

“One thing I must admit, those ghosts had some fashion sense.” When he finishes he takes a step back and looks at you. He smiles. “You sure are beautiful.” You throw yourself at him to hug him. “*Sigh* I just fixed your clothes.” but he still hugged you back. “I should teach you some self-defence techniques. It seems like you are becoming too with my help.” Just in case, you ask him if he is really flirting with you at that moment. “Firstly, you don't seem too bothered by it so I assume I'm allowed to do it. And secondly, I'm not Rook. Do you really think I would praise anyone else like this, sweet potato?”

Vil highly values his face. For this reason, you are probably the only person he would let kiss him, both on the cheeks and lips.

If you would like to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX

Steal the Groom

~*During the Phantom Bride Event*~

YN/MC/Yuu: Out of everything I thought I would do at a villain school, never thought stealing the groom would be a thing.

YN/MC/Yuu: Time to get it checked off my bucket list I guess.

Ace: You had it on your bucket list?

YN/MC/Yuu: No, but I should make one. Does this mean that whoever steals Idia has to marry him?

Adventures through Twisted Wonderland-

The Phantom Bride: Love at First Fright

Part 5/15

Previous, Next

Spoilers!

Click pics for better quality

Now for the disaster that is these boys trying to get with Eliza..

Um. As much as most of these guys didn’t actually deserve to be slapped, these two kinda did.

What song are they even singing..? Is it an actual existing song?

Umm.. Silver has a sword.. if that helps out at all

SIMP BIG SIMP ENERGY

Uh oh. I’m getting second hand embarrassment already. I know what he’s about to do and I wish he would stop while he’s ahead-

Goddammit Trey.

Yeah… not really sure what you were expecting when you called her annoying, Floyd.

FLOYD.

Jade. This is the part where you say “No, of course not. Your majesty deserves much better than that.” Or some shit. Not this.

I’m done.✌️

W.I.P: Events in Unnamed Twisted Wonderland AU/Subverse

(Note: Both the AU and Subverse have different versions of Don, spoilers for Twisted Wonderland)

After settling into Ramshackle Dorm, Don starts his new duties in Night Raven College as its sole security guard while learning about the world he ended up in.

(Events in-game)

The Culinary Crucible/NRC MasterChef

- In both Subverse and AU verses, Don is asked to be a judge for the event, accepting without hesitations.

- He also unofficially serves as the kitchen’s supervisor/guard, sometimes giving whoever’s participating in the kitchen some tips on cooking.

- At the end of the event, Don offers to teach the participating students on his cooking from his Southern culture, internally glad to share a taste of the South with those who are interested in it.

Beansfest/Happy Beans Day

- Due to being a staff member of NRC, Don can’t compete in the event, instead assigned by Crowley to be an official/referee for this.

- To avoid being mistaken as a member of either the farmer or monster teams, Don is given a custom-made all-black variant of the beans camo uniforms, although his uniform is more inspired by techwear/military/tactical gear (Along with NRC logo patches to make it official).

- For some reason, Don is given a magically-enhanced kukri machete knife to defend himself against some of the magical items that are permitted for the event, unsure why he’s given it until he uses it to cut down some stray bean shots that were accidentally aimed towards him, making them disappear into thin air or stray wisps of magical smoke.

- The knife is enhanced with Don’s smoke powers in the Subverse, making it a deadly weapon alongside his smoke-made chains.

Fairy Gala: Operation Steal the Show/Festival of the Spring-Calling Fairies

- In both the Subverse and AU verses, Don wakes up to Ramshackle Dorm suddenly having desert-heat temperatures, getting a call from Crowley to come to his office, where it is sub-zero cold.

- Don is asked by the headmaster to be a meditator to the dorm leaders of Savannaclaw and Scarabia, later assigned to assist Ruggie in retrieving the fairy crown which contains the magestone used to regulate the temperature of the campus.

- Subverse! Don mentions that he had training as a proper gentleman in his past alive life (which also includes ballroom dancing at galas as a former cop before the undead apocalypse), having some of the skills retaught to him by Alastor’s fellow ally and friend, the overlord Rosie in Hell while working at the hotel.

The Phantom Bride: Love at First Fright/Ghost Marriage - Proposal of Destiny

- While doing the weekly cleanup duties in Ramshackle Dorm, Don and Grim are confronted by a group of formal-wearing ghosts who kick them out of the dorm so they can use it as a guesthouse for a princess.

- Don learns from Crowley about the princess, who is a ghost bride seeking out her potential bridegroom to wed, using Ramshackle Dorm as a guesthouse.

- In both Subverse and AU verses, Don manages to gather his gear used for his investigation work, although AU! Verse Don blames his penchant of being a magnet to the paranormal for causing the sudden eviction of both him and Grim.

- The situation becomes a case for him to solve when Ortho Shroud arrives at Crowley’s office to inform him that Idia was kidnapped by the ghost bride to be wed against his own will (And in Don’s perspective, see to it that the ghost bride is to be banished to the afterlife for not respecting Idia’s consent, and showing his deep dislike of amatonormantivity in the process.)

- Subverse! Don treats the eviction of Ramshackle Dorm and the NRC’s cafeteria as a use of force to claim territory, something he doesn’t take lightly due to what he went through in his past alive life.

- Both Subverse and AU verses will have Don requesting to be dressed not as a potential suitor, but as the Grim Reaper, who comes to reap the ghost bride’s soul and punish her for her actions... Be what she fears more than just not finding her potential bridesgroom... Death itself.

Wish Upon a Star/ Wish Upon a Star ~Dance and Wishes~

- Don and Grim are introduced to the campus’ Starsending event, being told of its origins (an old tale that is based off the tale of ‘Pinocchio’) via their allies in Heartslabyul (Ace and Deuce).

- Both Subverse and AU verses have Don and Grim being asked by Crowley to help the stargazers (Deuce, Trey, and Idia) gather wishing stars from the students to help decorate the wishing tree located at the woods behind the campus.

- Subverse! Don is a bit conflicted on what his wish should be (Wanting Charlie’s dream to become a forever reality or perhaps finally find a way back to Hell without dying a second time), AU! Don considers wishing for a way back home so he can continue his undercover work and fight to end all injustice and corruption... Both verses have him deciding to give his wish to Grim since he’s a student by technicality (As Don is only a staff member and is his ‘handler’).

- Along the way, Don’s usual outfit is modified a bit to fit with the attire that the stargazers have to wear, learning of the ceremony in where the stargazers must play taiko drums and dance.

Camp Vargas: Exercise in Survival/Spring Happening

- Coach Vargas tells all sports club members on campus that they must attend a three-day training camp to build up strength, but face disbandment of their respective club if they fail to complete three of the camp’s challenges.

- In both Subverse and AU verses, Don is recruited by Crowley to be the camp’s record keeper and photographer alongside Grim (Due to Don being given the Ghost Camera at the end of the events of the prologue chapter).

- Subverse! Don utilizes his skills in surviving the undead apocalypse in his past alive life to assist the club members in their challenges, mostly providing advice since he’s not allowed to physically help them in their challenges (This rule also applies to AU! Don as well, his skills mostly coming from previous cases back in his world)

- Halfway into the camp, some students begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances, which leads Don to start an sudden investigation into the disappearances... What he learns next leads him and the remaining students into a fight for survival without any magic or technology.

A Twisted Halloween: Terror Is Trending/Scary Monsters! ~Screaming Halloween Show~

- In both Subverse and AU verses: After a day of classes/duties, Don and Grim return to Ramshackle Dorm suddenly decorated with lanterns and a replica of a long (the Chinese dragon), learning from Lilia Vanrouge and the ghosts of Ramshackle Dorm that the decorations are for Halloween, a day in where ghosts are at their highest peak of power to traverse the living world for various reason on that holiday.

- Subverse! Don tells Lilia, the ghosts, and Grim that Halloween is celebrated not only in his living world (Although his memories of his life before the undead apocalypse are in fragments), but also in Hell, as many demons are also summoned to the living world for various reasons, but are free to roam among the living on that day.

- He also warns Crowley to ask for permission first before using Ramshackle Dorm for events, adding in that he must be informed beforehand to avoid walking into a situation like this next time, but does allow Diasomnia dorm to use Ramshackle Dorm for Halloween.

- Learning that the campus will be open to visitors for a stamp rally, Don decides to help monitor the rally, as unexpected visitors suddenly come to disrupt the rally week.

- With the unexpected visitors comes the news that the final day of the rally, the Halloween Feast, will be canceled, Don and Grim must work with their allies in NRC to prevent this... While keeping the Halloween spirit alive.

(Don’s Halloween costume in both verses is based off The Hunter from Bloodborne(1)(2)(3), telling his allies that he got the idea for his costume after reading a tale of the Hunter’s journey in a history book in the campus’ library)

A Twisted Halloween: Spectral Soiree/Scary Monsters! ~Endless Halloween Night~

- At the end of the Halloween party at NRC, Don and the NRC students turn in for a well-deserved rest, but before things can go back to normal, students are suddenly vanishing out of nowhere... And the night does not go into morning, causing everyone to be stuck in a endless Halloween night.

- Before the remaining students and Crowley can head over to Ramshackle Dorm to ask Don for help in leading a investigation into the strange events, he and Grim are nowhere to be seen... For the both of them have been among the vanished victims.

- A mysterious invite to a party is the only evidence found, and so the remaining head off there to investigate.

- In both subverse and AU, Don is inactive in this event due to being one of the vanished victims, so the event proceeds as in canon.

A Firelit Sky: over the Sands/Scalding Sands' Al'ab Nariya

- Don and Grim drop by the Scarabia dorm to inform Kalim and Jamil that Crowley has granted permission for the both of them to access the Dark Mirror, learning that both of them are returning to their home in the Scalding Sands for a fireworks festival, and that Kalim’s family was chosen to help manage the festival.

- In both subverse and AU, Don is invited to the festival by Kalim, accepting it on the terms that he would come as a chaperone while serving his duties as Grim’s ‘handler’, much to the dismay of Jamil.

- This would be Don’s first time traveling outside NRC, getting the chance to explore a land outside the Isle of Sages.

- Upon learning that Lilia Vanrogue will not be joining the trip due to stomach issues, Malleus would be joining the trip on his own... Without his retainers guarding him... Don quickly resolves this by volunteering to be his stand-in bodyguard until the trip was over, both Jamil and Malleus accept this (Malleus on the opportunity to spend time with Don since the two only see each other on their late night chats outside Ramshackle Dorm)

Twisted Tsumderland

 - In both Subverse and AU, Don discovers a group of mini round plush toys that are sentient and resemble some of NRC’s students, with Crowley calling them ‘Tsums’.

- Don is asked by Crowley to help the students watch their tsum counterparts until he can find a way to return them to where they came from (Don was asleep when the Tsums arrived, thus he isn’t aware of them until morning).

- The tsums remind Don of bean bag plushies, leading him to poke some of them to see if they’re stuffed with bean bags.

- Oddly enough, the tsums don’t attack Don for any reason, instead, they all like him, Don assumes that he is a safe person to them... And maybe that they show respect for him like their original counterparts.

The Harveston Sledathon/Harveston's Kelkkarotu

- In both Subverse and AU, Don and Grim are invited by Epel Felmier to his hometown of Harveston for a magical sled race down the famed Mount Moln.

- While Grim accepts because of being offered the hometown’s signature apples to eat, Don accepts because he wants to continue exploring the lands outside NRC, thus he gets to travel outside a second time for this event.

- Subverse! Don informs Epel that he has unpleasant experiences surviving a blizzard storm in the undead apocalyspe in his past alive life, with Epel reassuring that Mount Moln will not have any blizzards on the day of the race (Don in both verses can’t participate in the race due to the sleds being magically enhanced, Subverse! Don wants to keep his demonic powers a secret to the public, so he keeps on a cover as a magicless security guard at the campus)

Fairy Gala Remix: Operation Illusive Evolution/Fairy Gala What if? ~The Fantastical Festival of Fairies~

- This is an event set in an alternative timeline, so thus the events of the Fairy Gala is set after Book 6.

- Same as the original Fairy Gala event, but Don is recovering from the events of Book 6, who wakes up to Ramshackle Dorm being desert-heat-type hot, forced to cool down in the dorm’s bathroom until he is called by Crowley to his office, which is sub-zero cold.

- In both Subverse and AU, Don is asked by Crowley to help keep the recruited students in check during the event, particularly Ace and Jack (Due to Don being the supervisor to the first years group).

- Just like in canon, he lets the first years meet up in Ramshackle Dorm to help Ortho get some inspiration for his performance, but all of them end up having a impromptu sleepover in the gymnasium due to the dorm’s current warm temperature.

- Don is also active in the event, with Riddle asking him to be Ace’s partner in switching out the Fairy Queen’s staff, so thus the altercation that occurs in the event doesn’t happen due to Don’s guidance.

Camp Vargas 2: The Art of Survival/~Happening Returns~

- This is an event set after the events of the first Vargas Camp, and is implied to be set after Book 6.

- In both Subverse and AU, Don is recovering from the events of the first Vargas Camp, only given a few days to rest before Crowley asks him to reprise his duties as the camp’s record keeper and photographer.

- This time, the participants of the camp are the non-sports clubs, including the one-person clubs (Jade Leech of the Mountain Lovers Club and Malleus Draconia of the Gargoyle Studies Club).

- Like in the first camp, Don is not allowed to physically help the clubs with their assigned tasks, only providing advice while record keeping with Grim... He also utilizes what he experienced in the first camp to provide additional tips for the clubs to remember.

- Very much aware that the past events of the first camp will repeat itself, Don resolves to keep the students safe, but a new threat causes him and the students to once again fight for their survival without magic or technology.

Port Fest: A Striking Performance/~Breezy Brass Beat~

- In both Subverse and AU, Don and Grim run into Jack Howl and Ruggie Bucchi of Savannaclaw Dorm, as the latter two are heading outside the campus for lunch, with Grim deciding that he and Don will join them without asking Don for permission first, he eventually agrees on the terms that he’ll get to explore off-campus.

- Arriving at Craneport, it’s revealed that the port is now a ghost town due to lack of visitors, as it was once well-known for being a hotspot for ships and freights, along with the iconic giant cranes used to transfer goods and shipments.

- Jack’s favorite restaurant is closed after the group run into Rook Hunt and Floyd Leech, due to the owner being overwhelmed with being chosen as a project leader for the harbor’s festival, Port Fest... Ruggie then plans something to resolve this... And get something out of it.

- NRC is chosen to run food booths at the fest, with the 2nd year students as leaders to separate groups for each booth... Which is Ruggie’s plan.

- As per canon, Don is assigned to be the event photographer for the event by Crowley, and is helping Jack, Ruggie, Rook, and Floyd with a surprise as they are the festival’s steering committee.

Glorious Masquerade: Let the Bell of Solace Ring/Glorious Masquerade ~Crimson Flowers and the Bell of Salvation~

- In both Subverse and AU, Don and Grim are among those called to an all-class meeting by Crowley, learning that NRC have been invited to attend a all-arcane academy social event with other arcane students from other magic colleges, and that said social is in Fleur City, where they are celebrating a festival.

- The host for the social is Royal Bell College, a magic school that is usually closed off to the public until now.

- Unfortunately, Crowley only plans to bring 10 students for the social via a random drawing, with Don not included in the drawing (despite being Grim’s handler and being a 2 in 1 student with Grim alongside being a security guard)

- Eventually, Grim confronts Crowley and annoys him enough to allow Grim and Don to attend the social, learning that both of them will be escorted by Prof. Trein (Which Don doesn’t mind, he finds it as a time to spend time with his fellow faculty member) 

- While Don does scold Grim for complaining to Crowley for wanting to come on the trip, he does let it slide on the fact that he gets to once again go outside NRC to explore a new location on Sage’s Island.

- Once arriving at Fleur City and at Royal Bell College, the NRC representatives (plus Don and Grim) meet Rollo Flamme, the school’s student council president... Needless to say, Don can’t help but be reminded of the individual who Rollo is based off on, remaining silent on the matter and instead keeps alert around him for the majority of the event.

- Like Grim, Don also gets his own customized outfit for the masquerade ball, his outfit would be inspired by 18th century masquerade outfits and the character Raphael from the S.oulcalibur games, particularly his appearance in VI... And that also means he gets to wield a sword (a replica of a 18th Century Cavalry Sabre)

 (More events TBD)

The Phantom Bride screenshots without context, Part 2

There are so many good moments in this event that I wish I got a few more screenshots here.

Wed By Candlelight (The Portrait of the Secret Bride)

Supercorp/The Corpse Bride AU

Kara inherits the old ancestral house in Argo when she turns twenty-eight. 

She’s never been there before, never even heard about it -- until she learns about the provision in Alura’s will two weeks after she announces her engagement to Mon-El, and the crusty old executor of her mother’s estate tells Kara that the house is hers, should she want it.

But only if she gets married there, like Alura and all the women in her mother’s family were.

Two weeks into planning the wedding at the elegant old house, surrounded by family and friends who are rushing about to get everything ready for her special day, Kara’s still not sure she made the right decision. 

She’s always been curious about her mother’s family. Even when Alura was still alive, before she was adopted by the Danvers family, Kara never heard much about the Inze family. She knows vaguely that they were well-to-do, but since they moved to Metropolis when Kara was a baby, she never had much of a connection to Argo. Even less when her parents died, and she’d had to move to Midvale.

It’s a beautiful house, Kara thinks. Elegant furnishings, exquisite moldings, and vast open windows to let in the light. It’s warm and open and inviting. She couldn’t have found a more perfect venue for her wedding, even in National City. No wonder the women in her mother’s family always chose to get married here.

But apparently, this wasn’t the only tradition her mother had neglected to share before her death. The antique necklace now hiding in Kara’s pocket is apparently another heirloom Kara has never heard of -- passed down from bride to bride in the Inze family in a generations-old tradition that started almost two hundred years ago. Eliza had suggested that she make it her “something old” at her wedding. 

The wedding that she isn’t even sure about.

It’s not that she doesn’t love Mon-El. They’ve been together for years. It’s just that.... things aren’t always so peachy between them. And marriage, well, marriage is so permanent. At least it is for Kara.

And for her parents too. It’s been so long, and while it hurts a little to think about them, one thing she always remembers about Alura and Zor El is that they were so in love. They filled their home, and Kara’s life with their love for each other, and their love for her. Married for fifteen years, and they were devoted to each other until their last breath.

Is that what she and Mon-El really have?

And all of these new things that have been shoved at her since finding out about her mother’s family. Looking through this house that is somehow disconnected, yet a part of her, seeing the legacy that her family left behind.... It feels a little  like she's cheapening it by going through with a marriage to someone she can only get along with for short periods of time before everything inevitably devolves into an argument.

Kara goes for a walk to clear her head. She’s been doing this a lot lately, and a small part of her feels that if she walks far enough, she can leave this whole mess behind.

There’s a trail she’s been following for the past week that she’s found she likes a lot. It’s deserted and a little overgrown, but there’s a sort of tranquility to it as she walks slowly, dried leaves crunching under her boots.

She’d found the graveyard last week, and she’s been going there every day. It's really old, the tombstones are nearly crumbling with age, and there's something..... melancholic about the place. Something sad.

But Kara doesn’t mind. She feels a strange sort of calm here. It's quiet here, no one's fussing over Kara about venues and flowers and seating charts that she really couldn't care less about.

She walks over to her favorite grave, an old tombstone she’d found when she first got there, covered with vines and leaves until Kara had brushed them off and found the name ‘Lena Luthor’ carved into the crumbling, weathered stone. 

She’s visited the site ever since, feeling that vague sense of melancholy again. This person had died almost two hundred years ago. Whoever this Lena Luthor was, she was the same age when she died as Kara is now. For some reason, that makes her inexplicably sad.

Today, she comes bearing a few flowers from the arrangement Eliza had been draping over the church pews. Kara had been planning to place them at the old grave, to brighten things up a bit. 

But before she can approach the familiar tombstone, she hears a quiet sobbing sound. She sees a pale figure kneeling beside the grave, and at first, Kara thinks she's a mourner. Though why another person would be there mourning someone who had passed two hundred years ago, Kara doesn't know --disregarding the fact that that's what she’s been doing every day for the past week.

“Hello?” Kara keeps her voice quiet to avoid spooking this other mourner. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll leave you to it, but I just wanted to make sure -- are you okay?”

The sobbing stops as Kara comes closer, and the pale figure rises. And Kara's jaw drops, as the light reveals that the pale figure is actually a woman -- a very stunning, ethereally beautiful woman.... who is dressed in a bloodstained wedding dress.

What the fuck?

And not just a little bit of blood. The whole front of the dress has been dyed red with blood. And Kara can see where her dress has been slashed open to expose torn, jagged flesh, and Kara gags a little bit.

Before Kara can cry out -- in confusion? Fear? Panic? Before she can even think to make sure that the other woman is okay -- there's no way she is, not with that much blood on her dress -- the other woman turns, and her eyes fix on Kara's, piercing her where she stands. 

A slender hand reaches out, fingers trembling, and pearl-like tears slip down her pale cheeks. 

"Kara...?”  Her voice is soft and tremulous, and Kara is frozen, watching her trembling, bloody hand reach out to touch her face. 

It never does. Kara can see those fingers brushing her face, but she feels nothing. As if the woman in front of her isn’t real. “You’ve come back to me....”

The shock of it breaks the spell. Kara stumbles in her haste to back away from those bloody, outstretched fingers. The other woman steps forward, murmuring her name again, and Kara finally manages to make her legs work. She scrambles to her feet and runs away, nearly missing the trail in her fright.

In her haste, she drops the white flowers she’d brought and crushes them into the dirt with her boot.

_________

When Kara gets back to the house, she tells no one about what happened.

That was... that was just a crazy hallucination, brought on by all the stress of wedding planning and inheritance laws and every crazy little thing she’s been through the past two weeks.

When Mon-El asks where she’s been, she responds with a tight smile that she’s just been out walking. When Alex asks why she’s so pale, she reassures her she’s fine, and accepts the cup of tea she offers before retreating to her room.

That’s the first night Kara dreams of her.

In her dreams, she is still beautiful and otherworldly, but her dress is pristine. Her pale skin is smooth and unmarred, painted amber in the thin light cast by their solitary candle.

In her dreams, Kara knows her name, whispers it into the skin of her shoulder as she slowly unlaces her corset. This is her favorite time of the night, when her lady’s mother is in bed, and Kara has Lena all to herself. When the marionette strings holding Lena up are cut and she falls, eager and pliant, into Kara’s arms.  Lena’s rigid spine melts like candlewax under the heat of her fingers, and she sighs so prettily as her chemise falls to the floor, unheeded.

“I’m sorry about today.” Lena turns around at her vanity, facing Kara. Her eyes are mournful and tired, and Kara’s heart aches for her. “The things Lillian said--”

“That is how one is supposed to talk to the maid.” She makes a half-hearted attempt at mimicking Lillian, but it falls flat, and Lena merely grips her collar with angry fingers. “I’m used to it. You, on the other hand, should stop antagonizing her when she does, or she’ll end up starving you until Christmas.”

“I don’t care! She went too far.” Lena protests in a heated whisper as she pulls Kara closer by her collar, their foreheads touching. “You shouldn’t have to be used to it.”

Kara savors the warmth of her lady’s breath against her cheek, and her hand comes up to mold against Lena’s neck and jaw. “Nor should you.”

Their lips come together in a fierce kiss, tender and hungry, softness yielding to desperation. Lena tastes bittersweet and oh, how Kara loves the taste of her. Kara loves her, and she wants to yell at the unfairness of a world that would ever hurt her lady. She wants to scream and cry and rage at how unfair it is that the only love Lena has ever received is in this cold, damp room lit only by the last of the candles Kara can light for her. Kara loves her so much, she aches with it, with the need to show her just how much. 

Her hands slip over smooth, quivering skin, and as she pulls away from the kiss, Kara breathes the promise into Lena’s open mouth. “One day, I’ll take you away from here. I’ll build you a beautiful house filled with light and warmth, just like you always wanted. And I’ll fill it with books and flowers, just for you.”

“As long as I’m with you.” Lena sobs breathlessly into her mouth, her fingers digging into Kara’s back, “I only want it if it’s with you.”

And Kara wakes in the wide bed of her ancestral home, breathing heavily, with the phantom sting of a lover’s fingernails on her back. 

Beside her, Mon-El snores lightly, completely oblivious.

_________

It’s not the last time Kara dreams of her.

Sometimes, Kara dreams of being a child, running along the fading, derelict halls of what she somehow knows is Luthor Manor, and being whipped viciously by Lillian until her lady intervened and got herself denied meals for the next two days for her trouble. 

She dreams of drawing pictures in the dusty floor for her lady’s amusement, her small clumsy fingers honing their talent first in dust, then the little bit of charcoal she can pilfer, and then -- when Lena secretly spends what little money she’s able to save on a gift for her -- oils and paints, all hidden from Lillian under a loose floorboard in their room.

Kara dreams of a once-great house crumbling down around their ears, of standing dutifully beside Lena and Lillian as the debt collectors took beloved artifacts from the house, one by one -- priceless paintings and sculptures, generations-old; Lena’s precious books and the cherished ornate microscope that had been a gift from her brother -- until they were left with nothing but the shame of an empty house and an empty name.

Kara dreams of her own trembling, yearning fingers helping her lady undress each night after the pompous, oppressive suitors had left and the two of them were alone in Lena’s room, shedding each layer of clothing. Her polite and careful hands unraveling, unlacing and unfurling with a secret pleasure, like peeling away the petals of a flower to reveal the tender, fragile flesh underneath that only Kara was allowed to see, but was forbidden to touch.

She dreams of the first kiss shared in that cold, dim room -- when the single candle Lillian had spared for them fizzled out into smoke, and the dark had made her brave enough to trace the invisible outline of her sleeping lady’s lips. Only Lena hadn’t been sleeping, and Kara’s own name was pressed into her impertinent fingertips in an tremulous whisper, and terrified but aching, she had replaced her hand with her own lips instead.

After the fifth night of waking up from dreams that make her heart pound and her whole body ache, Kara can’t pretend anymore. 

These dreams clearly mean something, and the woman in them -- the same woman she had seen bloodied in the graveyard -- is clearly significant.

She slips away from the wedding preparations without being noticed and begins to investigate. A search for the name ‘Lena Luthor’ yields no information on the woman herself, but it does lead Kara to an old family tree that she finds in the old town records.

The Luthors, she discovers, were an old family that used to be very powerful in Argo several hundred years ago. Except their money, it seems, had run out a few generations before, and the last of the line she sees are two names: Alexander and Lena Luthor.

The family tree doesn’t list anymore information on Lena that wasn’t on her gravestone, but it certainly has more information on Alexander “Lex” Luthor. It lists that had been married and had had a child, though both his wife and infant had died during childbirth. 

However, when Kara digs deeper into the story, she finds an old article in an old newspaper that speculates that Lex Luthor had killed his wife and their baby. The article further states that Lex had fled under suspicion of murder, and that all the properties he had inherited as the sole male heir of the dwindling Luthor fortune were seized during the investigation until he could be found.

Kara spends all day in the library, poring over old articles and books, trying to find any more information on the Luthors. Her reporter’s curiosity is piqued by this mystery, and it’s awakened that old instinct to try and dig for the truth. She tries not to think how this has consumed more of her passion and attention than her own wedding, which is a week away.

Instead, she just burrows deeper, trying to find the location of the old Luthor Manor. Unfortunately, she discovers that it was torn down a few years after Lena’s death, and that a new family had built their home on its grounds.

It takes her several tries and the aid of a very helpful librarian, but Kara is finally able to find some records of the sale of the estate, and a current map of Argo to compare with the old map of the town so she can find where the old Luthor Manor was.

Her jaw drops and she has to sit back and exhale slowly when she sees current location. No way. This is too bizarre. But in a weird way, it makes sense.

Kara’s ancestral home has stood for almost two hundred years on the ruins of the old Luthor Manor.

She checks the records of the sale again, and it’s all crystal clear on the page. Luthor Manor and the land it stood on was bought by the artist Kara Inze-Dey nearly two hundred years ago. The old house had been torn down, and a new one built in its place. The same house that stands in that spot to this day. 

The very same one Kara is to be married in and inherit.

Kara returns the books and the maps in a state of muddled shock. How has she gotten so swept up in this? Three weeks ago, she’d never even heard of this house, and now she’s tangled in this mess and having dreams of a long-dead woman who may or may not have appeared to her as a bloody ghost few days ago? Not to mention, her great-great something grandmother was actually a prolific artist and she didn’t even know it? What is going on?

Maybe it’s time to go back home. Put this obsession away, and focus on the important stuff, which is preparing for her wedding. She feels a little guilty. She hasn’t had a proper conversation with her fiancee for a week. She hasn’t shown up to fittings or tastings or any of that. She hasn’t even thanked Eliza and Alex and her friends for all the work they’re putting into preparing the house for the wedding.

When Kara returns to the house, multiple people descend upon her -- the wedding planner, her assistants, people asking her to please make a decision on where she wants the centerpieces, or when Mon-El’s mother is arriving, or whether it should be the white or the pink petals in the flower girl’s basket.

Luckily, Alex, bless her, seems to sense her panic immediately, and she pulls her aside to a quiet corner, and asks her what’s wrong. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. You’ve been distracted lately. You’re barely ever here. It seems like you’re doing everything you can to avoid getting involved in this wedding. Kara, if something’s wrong, you know you can talk to me, right?”

And Kara would appreciate her sister’s genuine concern, and might even be tempted to answer her truthfully, but at that same second, she spies a familiar figure underneath the arch of white flowers on the gazebo outside.

“I’m fine, Alex,” she musters a reassuring smile. “I promise, I’ve just got a lot on my mind lately. Everything’s fine, I promise.”

With a quick hug to reassure her sister, Kara hurries away to the follow the pale figure outside the window. She approaches cautiously, half-expecting her to be a hallucination.

Lena turns to her, and after all those dreams, those green eyes and that small sad smile is so familiar that Kara can feel her fear and confusion fall away to be replaced by a vague familiarity.

"I'm sorry,” The soft voice is familiar too. “I didn't mean to frighten you last time. And I don't mean to frighten you now. It's just.... you look so much like someone I used to know, and I couldn't help it, I had to see you again...."

She looks so sad and beautiful and delicate that Kara's heart just goes out to her. Kara waves her hand and scoffs. "Nah, you didn't frighten me. I'm not scared of you. You just.... startled me, that's all."

Lena chuckles softly, and there’s something almost affectionate in the sound. She reaches out to touch one of the flowers on the arch, her fingertips not-quite brushing the white petals. "Plumerias were always my favorite....She always remembered."

"Who's ‘she’?" Kara asks quietly, even though she thinks she knows the answer. She doesn't really need to whisper, there's no one around, but it feels right in the moment. Like if she speaks any louder, the other woman will disappear.

Tears begin to shine in those luminous eyes. "Kara. My Kara."

Kara swallows.

"She looked just like you, you know..." Lena smiles at her, her fingers reaching toward her instead of the flowers this time. Kara doesn’t mean to, but steps back reflexively, and a flash of hurt spasms across Lena's face before disappearing into another sad smile, this time with a trace of bitterness in it. Her hand drops to her side instead. "I'm sorry. It's just..... I've been waiting for so long, I...."

"What do you mean, 'waiting'?" Kara asks, unable to suppress her curiosity. "What have you been waiting for?"

"For my Kara to come for me."

"You - Why..." Kara doesn't know what to say to that. "How long have you been waiting?"

"I..." Lena trails off, seemingly confused. "I don't know. I just..... a long time."

"You're Lena Luthor, right? That was your grave I've been visiting."

"No - I - yes, I suppose it is." Lena nods, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "Yes, I am Lena Luthor. Or... I was. But... I don't even remember that being a grave. I don't remember anything, except... I was waiting for Kara there. I've been waiting for so long..."

“Why were you waiting there?” Kara presses.

“We were.... We were going to run away together.” Lena murmurs, her voice barely a whisper. “I was finally going to leave that place, with her. Always with her... She said she would come back for me there.... but she never did.... I don’t know, I--”

“Kara? There you are!” Mon-El’s voice cuts harshly across Lena’s soft whispers, and Kara turns to him, startled. “Where have you been?”

“I--” Kara whirls around to see that Lena has disappeared and the gazebo is empty. “I was just--”

“Did you forget? My Mom’s coming over tonight. She should be here any minute. I made reservations at that restaurant in town, and you know she hates when we’re late. C’mon.”

Kara allows herself to be led away, but she casts one last look at the spot where Lena was just a few moments ago.

There’s nothing there.