Idk If U Got It But Like Deuce As Sayaka Miki From Rebellion Ace As Homura And Yuu As Madoka... Like

that is actually SO CUTE

I received a couple asks asking if I think Kalim picked up on Jamil's habit of hiding when he's embarrassed, and you know what that's adorable and I absolutely agree lmao

If you somehow manage to get him flustered or really embarrassed, yeah he's hiding while trying to laugh it off like he's just fine haha nothing weird he just does this it's totally normal he promises

Leona Kingscholar x Reader: Love Letters (5)

Oops, this was supposed to be done earlier but school got in the way as usual lol

We’ll be meeting Rook soon as well as Trey again! 

Hope you enjoy!

No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 [!] | PART 6 | END

"You scared me. I almost thought you were Rook…" Ruggie shudders, jumping a little. "Uh, who's Rook?" You question him. 

"You haven't felt him yet? I think he's been watching you for most of the day. It's better for me if he targets somebody else anyway, shishi!" He gets up, dusting off his pants. "Oh, the weirdo in the…yeah, right! The letters! It was you, right?!" You accuse him.

He raises an eyebrow before a look of shock crosses his face. Ruggie bursts into another round of giggles. You glare at him, embarrassed. "It's not funny, dude! Just tell me." You huff.

"Hahaha! Ah-" You swear to the great sevens, Ruggie was clutching his stomach, wiping tears from his eyes. His reaction almost made you crack up as well. "You- You're so- Ahaha! I can't believe you…you think it's me!?" Ruggie sneers, his tail wagging slightly, "Just wait till he hears this!"

"He?!" You look at him incredulously. "So, you know who it is! Tell me!" You shake him roughly by the shoulders. 

He pushes out of your grip rather easily, much to your disappointment. "Nope, can't do that. Unless you have more than he's paying, my lips are zipped." Ruggie grins. You glare at him, it totally seems like he's teasing you. Almost everybody at this school had heard that you lived in a ramshackle dorm, therefore it was only natural to assume you have zero cents to your name as well. 

"Uh, what if I hurt you?" You wince upon hearing that come out of your mouth. You know how ridiculous you sound. 

"Shishishi, what are you going to do? You're in a bad spot, y'know." He taunts you. "Hm. If I give you a hint, will you call off your red blue duo and your cat? We can call everything forgiven, right?" This Valentines day has been torturous. It's really not that much to ask in return for information. You're sure he probably has an ulterior motive.

"Um, I can try. They don't really listen to me, and Grim's not a cat!" You scowl, wary. "If you're so sure about that. You better try real hard! Shishishi, if I tell you, maybe he'll start treating me better." He giggles the last part to himself. 

"Right! You've met him before. Pay attention to his face, he's exceptionally handsome and has green eyes." Ruggie tells you, you nod frantically along. 

You only knew about two people with green eyes at NRC that you had talked to. That would be Cater and some random first year who had matching green hair. You really doubted it was Cater and you hadn't talked to that other guy enough to warrant gifts and love letters. 

He also seemed to dislike you, for whatever reason. 

"I gotta go before that Rook finds me. Cya, shishishi!" He picks a handful of dandelions and runs off before you can even get a word in. "T-Thank you?!" You shout after him. "You and him owe me one now!" Ruggie cheerfully waves with his free hand. Then, he's just gone. 

In the distance, you see a red and blue blur approaching. 

"[Name]...stop…running off everywhere!" Ace yells as he sharply inhales, "I don't understand this crazy track-head." 

"Track-head, really? Track is a great sport to build endurance!" Deuce is a little out of breath but otherwise seems to be in better shape than Ace. "[Name]! You were so fast! Are you sure you don't want to join Track?" He turns to you excitedly. 

"Henchman! My legs are all wobbly, I'm so tired dazo!" Grim promptly falls on your feet. You pick him up with a sigh, "I can't, I'm already in the taking-care-of-Grim club."

"Are you sure that isn't a full-time job?" Ace snorts. "Nope, that's why I'm handing him off to you guys after school. Grim-sitting is on you guys in the afternoon." You smile. 

"Why can't I come with, henchman dazo?" Grim whines. "Because I'll be studying and doing boring things. It'll be more fun with ADeuce." You gently convince him. "ADeuce? You better not make that a thing." Ace huffs. "Ever since Cater called us that…I don't want to be associated with him." Deuce shudders. 

"You think I want to be associated with you? Please, you're not very good at making jokes."

"These two…" You and Grim share a look. "Class is probably starting soon, we should get going." You hope to distract them from chasing down that beastman.

 "Yeah, we'll avenge that lost deluxe menchi katsu sandwich dazo!" Grim exclaims. "Maybe you should focus on class more." A lying hypocrite you were. It was a miracle the two of you got the marks you did. Under your collaborative effort as a singular student, you both pass with decent grades. 

"Considering you two barely keep up, it's crazy you two haven't failed yet." Ace snickers. "Don't worry! If we work hard enough, we'll become honor students!" Deuce smiles, a look of determination on his face. You can't deny him. 

"I'll become the greatest magician dazo!" 

"Oh yeah, by the way, I got a hint bout my uh…admirer." You tell them as you all walk back. "Was it that — what did Cater call him again? — guy then?" Deuce curiously asks. "No, I don't think so. Ruggie told me he's attractive with green eyes and that we've met before." You explain.

"Wow, that narrows it down by a lot."

"Shut it, Ace. It's not my fault almost all of the students here are attractive."

"Green eyes…You don't think it's Cater, is it?!" Deuce gasps. "No way! Since that Ruggie guy seemed familiar with him, I assumed the…admirer…would be a Savanaclaw member." You suggest. "What, so you wanna go around Savanaclaw, looking into people's eyes?" Ace questions, clearly doubtful. 

You hadn't planned this far. "Uh…maybe?" You shrug. "And if it's some random Savanaclaw member, what'll you do about it, huh?" You hate to admit that Ace is making valid points.

"There's someone else who we could ask about this." You snap, a light bulb going off in your head, "Do you guys know a guy named Rook?"

Deuce's eyes widen in realization.

"Ah, I think I heard Trey talk about someone named that before!"

Your next lead would be the mystery stalker, Rook.

Ao3: HERE

If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

hi miss raven I have a question to ask. do you know the timeline of each chapters?? like I know the prologue was held at the start of the new academic year, but what about the other chapters? it's been bugging my mind since a long time ago but I just remembered about it😭

The main story gives ample hints that indicate what time of year each episode takes place in! A quick summary for you:

The prologue takes place at the start of a new school year (very late summer, early autumn). We know this because Yuu is isekai’d into Twisted Wonderland around the time of the school entrance ceremony, and due to the timing of the other episodes of the main story.

Episode 1 takes place in early autumn, as we follow the students starting a new semester and getting acclimated to their school lives.

Episode 2 takes place in autumn as well. If I had to put a more specific estimate to it, I would guess October, since this is when many homecoming games in the real world take place (and assuming that the Magift/Spelldrive tournament mentioned in this episode is the TWST equivalent to that).

Episode 3 takes place in late autumn (November) to early winter (December). This is implied via the mention of “final exams” for the semester, as well as Crewel mentioning that people that don’t do well on them will need to take supplemental lessons during winter break.

Episode 4 takes place mid-winter, as Jamil and multiple other characters make explicit mention of winter break, which I assume is the real-world equivalent of that long stretch of no school between Christmas to New Year’s. It being winter break also serves to explain the absence of several characters like Ace and Deuce.

Episode 5 takes place at the start of the New Year and into mid to late winter (January, February). The end of episode 4 has Adeuce mentioning that it’s a new year and a new semester, which means at the earliest, episode 5 opens January 1st. When we factor in the fact that VDC training camp takes place over the course of a month, this brings us roughly into February.

Episode 6 takes place a few days after VDC, as the boys have now been awarded their second place prize money and Crowley mentions calling STYX following Grim’s rock eating incidents; there also appears to be a significant time skip later in the chapter to account for Ramshackle’s renovations (don’t quote me on that second half of the sentence). Sooo let’s just be generous and say that episode 6 takes place over the rest of winter and maybe early spring.

From all of this, we can probably guess that episode 7 will take place squarely in the spring time.

Very interesting! Thank you very muchh! Also, Vil having a peacock emoji is hilarious

If I may add on about the ships, There are specific emojis that indicate that an artist likes that pairing. Examples: 🐉♦️ ; ♣️🌹 ; 🏹👑 in their bio.

Telling this because I had a mutual in the fandom before complaining about it but not directly to the artist thankfully that she didnt know that the artist she likes ships a certain pair when there is the emojis in the artist profile.

I can give examples of twitter artists that makes content for ships but it’s the ones I know of.

Rook x Vil (@Hrmkkuuyo) (@vv_rv0)

First one makes manga type stories and second ones makes cute baby arts. (≧∀≦)

Trey x Jade (@clodol333)

I like that artist artstyle and their coloring method. I look forward to their art a lot. They make kind of story-like content too. (o^^o)

Ace x Deuce (@neterumitai)

I don’t exactly ship them but it seems like a lot of people do judging by their following and likes of Adeuce.

I didn’t give a lot since I prefer self ship so I am not focused on character x character ships but still love it. Hope this helps. ☆彡

[Referring to this post]

Oh shit yeah! This is so useful. Often, artists may use emojis in place of ship names, which will help more with your search.

Each character has a certain emoji or two commonly used, which will greatly help you in sifting for all kinds of fanart. Here’s a list of the emojis used for each character:

NOTES TO READ

As far as I know, most dorms do not have a dorm-specific emoji except for Octavinelle. Octavinelle uses 🐚.

Some characters have more than one emoji.

Ruggie, for example, also has 🐆, though I’ve seen donut being used more often.

Kalim is a special case for having at least 6 emojis for him. 😂 The emoji listed on the image is ☀️, but I’ve seen 🦦, 🕌, 🏝, 🦂, and 🏜.

Vil also has 🦚. Personally from my experience, I’ve seen 👑 used more often, but apparently, 🦚 is common.

Idia also uses 🔥. I think same goes for Ortho.

Sebek’s emoji is actually ⚡️. I’m not sure if people use 🐊 for him.

Silver’s emoji is actually ⚔️. I don’t know if 🗡 is used. He may also have 💤.

Crowley also has 🎩, which might be more commonly used.

Crewel also uses ⚗️. It might actually be the more common one.

Trein’s emoji is also 📖. I hope I got the right book emoji. 😭

Sam also has ☠️, which might be more commonly used.

Every adventure requires a first step.

Vil Schoenheit x Rook Hunt: Shrinking Potion

My first time writing a proper one shot! Writing this gave me second-hand embarrassment lol

Hope you enjoy!

Contains spoilers for Episode/Book 5. Might be OOC.

SUMMARY: Vil stumbled upon a shrinking potion in the snow. Rook comes to the rescue.

---

Vil was merely taking in the winter sights when his boots hit an object beneath the snow. He winced slightly but didn't make a noise. Hopefully, it hadn't ruined his boots. 

He was about to leave when Vil caught a glimpse of pink beneath the fresh white snow. Hm? He crouched down and pushed aside the snow gently with his gloves. 

There appeared to be a bottle of pink liquid. Probably a failed potion. Vil concluded upon not recognizing it. He scrunched up his nose, disposing of a failed potion like this was just distasteful.

With a sigh, Vil carefully handled it and walked toward the nearest trash can. What he didn't account for was the lid not being on properly. A single drop of it on his sleeve was all it took. 

The world suddenly began to spin as the world grew. 

"Oh, please!" He groaned. Thankfully, his voice did not become cartoonishly high. That wasn't one of his main concerns though. 

Vil took his magic pen from his coat pocket and cast a controlled fire shot. The snow melted only for the snow above it to replace the small hole he had made. He knew he wouldn't have enough magic to make his way back to the Hall of Mirrors.

With no other choice, he took his phone next. "Mira Mira, call Rook." Vil sighed. The phone sparked to life as it dialled his vice dorm head. He didn't have to wait long for him to pick up. 

"Vil! I was wondering where you'd gone." Rook gasped. "I was trying to dispose of someone's shrinking potion when it fell on my sleeve." He explained, the irritation slipping through his voice despite his attempts to keep calm. "I will find you immediately, don't worry! I See You!" Vil could hear him cast his unique magic.

Rook had given him a marked matching apple keychain a while back and Vil had taken to carrying it on him at all times. Sure, it was an incredible amount of trust to put in a person but Vil trusted Rook. Maybe sometimes too much. 

To his credit, Vil felt the ground trembling and heard Rook calling out for him quickly. "Roi de Poison! My beautiful Vil!" His frantic shouting rang out through the cold winter air. 

"Down here, by the trash can. Don't step on me." Vil said through the phone. He saw his brown boots before his golden locks and foxy emerald eyes came into view. Anyone seeing that would be terrified but it was Rook. Vil wasn't scared of Rook. 

Rook would only hurt him if it were for his own good, such as during VDC. He couldn't help but recall the way his heart sank as tears welled in his eyes upon the revelation that Rook had voted for Neige. Vil Schoenheit doesn't cry. 

"Let us return now, Roi de Poison!" Rook offered a gloved hand. Vil climbed on gracefully. "Rook, do I seem different?" Despite his obvious state, Rook only smiled in understanding. 

"My beautiful Vil, you retain your beauty no matter what form you take. I will always follow you." Rook lifted his palm up to his face, their eyes met. Suddenly, it all became so very clear to him.

"Kiss me."

A brief look of shock crossed those sharp green eyes of his. Vil closed his eyes, their lips gently touched. His world spun again and Vil found himself in Rook's arms. "True love's kiss, of course." Vil scoffed. Rook merely chuckled in response and Vil couldn't stop himself from joining him.

Ao3: HERE If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

An Easter Chocolate Disaster!

Fufufu, posting this a little late in the day (at least where I am) but happy Easter! I hope you had a fun day, packed full of fun activities like egg hunting! Or, if you’re anything like me and didn’t do anything, then, I hope you had a nice day!

Additionally, happy birthday to Vil! Always and forevermore the prettiest one of them all! Hope you enjoy! No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

"Grim, can you even eat chocolate?" You ask skeptically. 

"Yes, henchman. I'm not a cat dazo." Grim rolls his eyes, reaching for another egg. You swat his paw away. "Okay, I'm just making sure." You frown. It's a total lie. You just wanted the chocolate eggs to yourself. 

"Ding dong!" 

"Henchman, the doorbell's ringing dazo! Go shut it up, go!" Grim shouts, eagerly inching closer to the chocolate eggs. "Fine! Just don't- I see that!" You glare at him as you put down the bowl.

Wait, we don't have a doorbell. The thought only crosses your mind as you walk toward the door. You cautiously open it. There's a box in front of you. For some reason, you're relieved it's not a letter. Though, attached to the box is a little card. 

Hey, little demon! We got a new shipment of lovely chocolate eggs just in time for Easter. My friends on the other side suggested sending over a package to you, for your continued patronage at Mr. S's Mystery Shop! Remember, we've got almost everything IN STOCK! 

Happy Easter!

You blink. You reach down for the box and bring it inside. Unsurprisingly, Grim is caught in the middle of shoving another chocolate egg down his throat. He gulps. 

"Don't blame me if you start vomiting and peeing all over the place." You huff, tucking the box under your arms. "Fygaa! I told you, I'm no cat dazo!" Grim insists. "Sure, sure. Since you had all of those, then this box is all mine!" You smirk and watch as his jaw drops, drool almost forming at his mouth.

"Wha-! I want them too dazo!" He gets up immediately, rushing over to your legs and standing. "Nope, they're all for me. Too bad, too sad." You grin wickedly, you open the box and pop a chocolate egg into your mouth. 

It happens too fast. 

Poof!

A cloud of smoke later, everything overwhelms you. "F-Fygaaa!? Henchman!?" Grim's voice is extremely loud and it's…great sevens. You look up, a gigantic Grim towers over you, looking just as shocked. 

What you're even more surprised at is the face that looks back at you in the reflection of Grim's wide blue eyes. A terrified, fluffy bunny. A loud scream erupts from your throat.

I might post this on Ao3? Not sure. I’ll be releasing individual dorm parts (and then maybe individual short headcanons for the boys) as we go!  If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

rolling ik!!

(i've also uploaded this to youtube in case the tumblr player messes up ^^)

and i don't usually say this but if you see this please do reblog T-T this was a heck of a lot of work

Leona Kingscholar x Reader: Love Letters (3)

The 3rd part is here! For the sake of this fic, we'll pretend Episode/Book 2 either never happened or happens later lol

Hope you enjoy! No spoilers or warnings for now but this might change in future installments :)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 [!] | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | END

SUMMARY: To get Ace and Deuce to complete the favor, you must engage in cafeteria warfare to secure deluxe menchi katsu sandwiches! You also meet a mischievous beastman.

Would you really do this much just to get Ace and Deuce to watch Grim? Well, you admit your ulterior motive to agreeing to this was to try out the deluxe menchi katsu sandwich. 

You really doubt you'll get the chance to try out some new foods ever again. Not until the far, far future in which you finally earn some madol. You'd been living off of Crowley's free lunch pass this whole time. You really have to bring up pay at some point with him.

"Go!" You shout as you race forward, holding a tray above your head. Ace and Deuce had gone around throwing a few pieces of food or messing with people's trays and had already incited this chaos. 

Of course, nobody knew it was them specifically with so many people around. They had started an all-out food fight. 

Grim incinerates any food that comes near you with a small puff of blue flames. You catch him also swallowing the incoming food sometimes. He balances precariously on your shoulders. You slip through the disrupted line and finally, you make your way to the front of the queue while everyone is distracted.

There, you secure a few deluxe menchi katsu sandwiches with the money Ace and Deuce loaned together. You also get an egg salad sandwich.

You hold them close to your chest, hiding them in your blazer. You're sure if you get caught with these, you were going to get jumped by several people. 

You carefully slip through the crowd until you're near the exit. There you spot familiar green hair and glasses. "Trey! Thanks for the chocolates! Happy Valentines!" You wave at him. Trey notices you for sure and waves back. 

"[Name], are you alright?" He asks, looking a bit concerned. "Yep, Grim's been protecting me." You nodded. "Nyahahaha, I'll eat everything they throw at me dazo!" Grim smirks. 

"Oh? And where's Ace and Deuce? Did they start this?" Trey smiles, looking amused. "What? No, I was with them when it started. But then I lost them in the crowd after everything uh, happened." You lie casually. 

You can feel him scrutinizing you briefly but he relents in the end. You let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Do be careful. Have a happy Valentines day, [Name]." Trey nods with a smile. "You too!" You yell, "Grim!"

"Nyahaha! Leave this to me dazo!" He hops onto the top of the tray you're holding, now above the crowd, he begins blasting fire to stop the incoming food from hitting you. You open the door and quickly flee the chaos. That should've been the signal for Ace and Deuce to leave as well. 

You get out of there and lean against a wall, taking a break. "Uwah, I can smell it from here dazo! Gimme!" Grim grins, he paws at your blazer where the sandwiches are. "Here you go." You pass him the packaged sandwich. 

"Ah crap. I completely missed the lunch time free-for-all. The deluxe menchi katsu sandwich Leona wanted is already sold out." A beastman with dark blonde hair and large animal ears walks out the cafeteria with a sigh. You squint at him, he looked…had you met him before?

There was no way, you really don't remember meeting any guy with adorable, fluffy ears! Plus, his face was cute. Okay, sue you for liking guys with cute animal ears and maybe a tail. You don't spot  a tail on this guy though. If you think about it, they were just like catboys. 

You stop that thought before it can go further. If you want to survive, you can't just approach danger like this! The above average guys here were the worst.

Your friends were definitely attractive in your world's standards. However, in Twisted Wonderland, this seemed to be the norm. Your friends also happen to all be troublemakers, even though some are less obvious.

Therefore, it was best you steered clear of this guy completely. You get up and begin walking away. Grim is too busy munching on the sandwich to question you, he only follows after you, sandwich in hand, "Nyahaha! The taste of victory, I'll take my time savoring it!"

"Hey, you. Is that a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich?" The boy approaches, spotting you two. Grim, why! You panic. "No, what's that?" You turn around with a curious expression. If you ran, you'd end up looking suspicious and you doubt you could outrun a beastman. 

He sniffs the air. Oh god, he could smell them on you. The beastman stares at your chest. "Hey, my eyes are up here." You glare at him. He raises an eyebrow. "Shishi, I didn't mean to! Not that there's anything to see here." He smiles at you with a mock cheerfulness. 

You deadpan at him as he laughs. You watch as his gaze turns to Grim. "The deluxe menchi katsu sandwich is the sandwich your familiar is holding right now." He gestures toward him, staring at you with an amused look. "Hey! Who are you calling their familiar dazo?!" Grim snarls. You don't like this.

"That's pretty great, y'know? You got your hands on a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich, huh." He grins at Grim. "Huh? What's it to you?" He shot him a wary look. 

"I have to get that sandwich no matter what, but they sold out right in front of me. So, I have a proposition." The beastman pouts, his ears tilting downwards, "Could you trade me that deluxe menchi katsu sandwich for my mini bean paste bread?" 

You clench your fists, you must stay strong and resist. "Huh!? No way in hell dazo!" Grim scowls, "We fought for those!" 

You've never been so thankful for this stupid cat. "Now, now, don't say that." He smiles, "...Here you are."

It's as if some will comes over you, your hand reaches into your blazer and you pull out a deluxe menchi katsu sandwich as he does the same, pulling out a mini bean paste bread. 

"Fgyaa!? Henchman, don't give it to him dazo!" Grim gapes, looking betrayed. "My arms and legs are moving on their own! I'm not doing this!" You shout, trying to stop your limbs as you walk closer to him. 

You switch items with him, horrified to see the mini bean paste bread in your traitorous hands. 

"[Name]! What are you doing!?" You can't even turn your head but you can see Ace and Deuce racing toward you in your peripheral. "Negotiations complete. Shishishi! Thanks for being kind enough to trade me! That mini bean paste bread is just as good." He begins backing away as you test your fingers. 

"It being tiny is a defect. Thanks and bye-bye!" He waves and runs off with a smirk. "No!" You cry after him, chasing him. He's too fast as you expected though you chase him down a few hallways before he jumps out a literal open window. 

You bitterly hope he broke his legs or something down there. "Wh-Why in the great sevens would you give away the sandwich?!" Ace pants, running after you. You're all in a random classroom now. You slump against the wall, defeated. 

"I didn't! He must have some sort of magic that takes over your body or something!" You yell, frustratedly waving your hands around. "F-F-Fgyaaa! My deluxe menchi katsu sandwich!" Grim whines. "It could be his unique magic but still…ugh!" Deuce growls, he looks like he's about to punch the wall and you can't say you don't feel the same. 

"Oh I see, you just kinda went along with it. That happens sometimes." Ace hums in understanding. "No, that's not it all! I can't explain your stupid magic stuff!" You glare at him. "Geez, no need to get mad at me. I'm not the one who gave away the sandwich." He rolls his eyes. 

You rip a bite from the mini bean paste bread with a scowl, "It should be totally illegal to have magic that overrides free will!"

"I don't think there's any rule against that."

"Seriously?!"

You completely forget about the letter and card as you all sulk in the empty classroom.

-

"Leona, I'm back with lunch." Ruggie calls out, dangling the packaged sandwich in one hand and holding an ice tea in the other. He nudges aside branches and leaves as he makes his way through the botanical garden.

"Hnh, already afternoon?" In a small clearing lies a handsome beastman with brown locks and braids. His tail with a tassel at the end sways lazily as his animal ears twitch under the warm sun. 

"Were you by chance sleeping here all morning? You're gonna fail another class." Ruggie sighs, handing off the sandwich and ice tea to Leona. He peeks inside the package and shakes it around a little. 

"Seems like you got what I…" Leona pauses suddenly with a frown as he sniffs again, "Where did you get this?"

"Ughh, Leona, you always want the stuff that's the most competitive. It was already sold out when I got there so I 'negotiated' with a random student." Ruggie explains, exasperated. 

"Which student? What dorm did they belong to?"

He raises an eyebrow. He really wasn't sure why the usually apathetic Leona cared so much. Still, he racks his brain to recall.

"Oh, it's the student you kept getting me to secretly deliver stuff to and to find out where they sat, I think!" Ruggie snaps in realization. He suddenly stares at Leona, a look of surprise and confusion painted clearly.

"Ah, wait…it's because you have a…um, on them, right?"

Ao3: HERE

If you see it posted anywhere or by anyone else, it's not me.

poor Sebek

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS MASTERCHEF!! I love this match up so much!!

Bonus meme:

I don't Eliza has ever heard of consensual marriage before. I honestly never liked her. First, she and her ghosts invaded NRC- a place that didn't belong to them and terrorized the students. She KIDNAPPED poor Idia and forced him to be her groom without asking what he wanted. Third, she slapped all the boys who were attempting to rescue Idia (who ungratefully trash talked them in the process). And then there's Eliza's old-fashioned ideals. I could go on, but it'd get too long eheh

!! 👀 No, no! This is actually a really interesting topic of discussion, lemme word vomit my thoughts out, Anon!

I have a lot thoughts on Eliza and on the Ghost Marriage event itself, so I'd like to take this chance to share them. Please take what I say with a grain of salt, as much of it is personal interpretation based on the information presented to us in game.

***Ghost Marriage event and Groom-for-a-Day card(s) spoilers ahead!!***

You're perfectly valid in saying that you dislike Eliza. Everyone's allowed to like and to not like whatever characters they want.

I agree that many of the things she did and said were over-the-top and unwarranted, but I think that was the entire point of Ghost Marriage: to be a parody of the "traditional Disney fairy tale romance", much like how the film Enchanted was. There were just too many not-so-subtle jabs at common romance tropes for it not to be.

For example, Eliza has unrealistic expectations of her future husband, and she thinks everything will magically work out, even though Idia is clearly distressed and against the marriage. Later, when the other boys are deployed to rescue Idia, there are even more jokes made using Eliza's extreme ideals as a springboard to jump off of. Yes, it was wrong of her to slap people around, but it was played off as something to laugh at because she would always be set off by the smallest things.

The highlight here definitely has to be Leona and Trey's attempt to woo her with song. Disney is especially known for its songs in movies, and Eliza just takes that idea and runs with it. She expects her ideal prince to perfectly finish any song she starts/serenade to her, as if they're actually in a Disney musical number. Obviously, if anyone attempted that in real life, you'd react the same way the TWST boys did: with confusion.

I think Idia trash talking the rescue attempts is meant to add to the humor. There's a huge contrast in how the boys of NRC see this courtship and "romance" and how Eliza sees it--that's where both the event's conflict and where the bulk of the humor comes from.

What I personally appreciate about Ghost Marriage is that it offers a realistic portrayal of love and marriage when you look past all the silliness of the event. Well, not on Eliza’s part, but on the part of the TWST boys we all know and love.

A mistake that people outside of this fandom often make is that TWST is an otome game, based simply on the fact that the cast is all male and full of pretty boys. However, despite TWST not being an otome, the fandom is very yume-centric and romance focused, because the characters are so appealing. The fact that TWST is based on Disney properties--Disney, who is known for their interpretations of classic fairy tales and their stereotypical happily ever afters--has set up this expectation of romance.

But Twisted Wonderland, the game itself, has a very nuanced and realistic approach in how it addresses romance. It’s played mainly for laughs in Ghost Marriage (and the main story does a good job of highlighting the boys’ unsavory points), but delve into the lines spoken by the characters and the Groom-for-a-Day personal stories, and you’ll see even more of this.

The most obvious example here is our groom, Idia. From the very beginning, he expresses not wanting to marry Eliza, but it seems that this sentiment extends to beyond just Eliza. He has a very negative outlook on romance in general, which is corroborated by many of his Groom-for-a-Day lines. Idia mocks the concept of living “happily ever after” and “eternal love”. He remarks that love is an illusion created by the brain, and even points out that everyone is still a student, so they should prioritize their studies over romance.

While Idia does seem to enjoy romantic materials (games, anime, etc), Idia himself has a very cynical view of “real world” love, and he makes that abundantly clear. To me, Idia represents the person that enjoys romance in media, but is not interested in the pursuit of romance himself. He can enjoy it when he’s an observer, but to actually be involved in romance is a big turn-off.

Okay, but about Idia’s rescuers?

Let’s start with Rook. Of the TWST cast, I would say Rook is the most positive in regards to love. He’s always willing to help others out, and he’s always appreciative of things, even when they’re grim or the circumstances aren’t in his favor. Ace points out to Rook that when he goes around praising everything, it makes Rook seem less trustworthy. To this, the huntsman only says they are his true feelings--he wants to love everything equally.

Rook is a free spirit. He loves whatever and whomever he wishes when it suits him. He can be fickle, but he can also find goodness, something to admire, in everyone and everything. Rook’s love is an all-encompassing and unconditional kind.

Riddle’s personal stories don’t revolve around love in an super overt sense. It’s about him running into Malleus and discussing what makes a worthwhile leader. See, Riddle is a traditionalist (which suits his personality). He expresses that if he gets married, he wants to have a marriage like that of the Queen of Hearts and her husband, which to him was a “loyal” marriage. He wants to have a textbook definition of marriage, and that’s perfectly valid.

Riddle’s personal story also reiterates something that is mentioned briefly in the Ghost Marriage event: that Malleus is royalty, so his proposals are not to be taken lightly. 

This is a feature that helps to define Twisted Wonderland as its own separate entity from other Disney titles and properties. In Twisted Wonderland, being royalty means something. In almost all other forms of Disney media I can think of, being royalty equates to dressing fancy, being rich, and having all the power without any responsibility. But in Twisted Wonderland? They remind you every so often that this character is royalty, and there are strict terms of service and rules that come with that position, including being sheltered and burdened with royal duties (actual politics and governing), and not being able to just “love” whoever you want, even if just for a rescue mission.

Moving on to Epel! In his personal stories, he’s questioning if the “ideal prince” even exists. The line that pops out to me the most is that “the bride seems to care more about the image of an ideal prince than blood lines or family names”. This ties back into how the rest of Disney media often portrays romance as opposed to how TWST portrays it. Heck, in recent years, Disney has tried to subvert its own standing on romance (example: in Frozen, Elsa tells Anna “you can’t marry a man you just met”, whereas in Disney classics like The Little Mermaid, the plot revolves around quickly getting the main couple together).

Obviously, characters can be “perfected” with the magic of media. The image of an “ideal prince” DOES exist because of media, but Epel’s pointing out that it’s not realistic. He’s implying that Eliza is in love with the idea of perfection, and she has lost sight of things that should be important, like blood lines (genetic dispositions and diseases that could carry over to children) or family names (meeting your spouse’s family, getting to know them, etc.). It’s a criticism that can be easily overlooked while you’re too dazzled by Epel riding in on a white horse.

Lilia represents another type of person in regards to love. He’s the person that knows exactly what he wants, but not in the traditional sense. At no point does Lilia ever detail his ideal life partner. Instead, his personal stories are littered with subtle hints that Lilia has no plans to settle down. He never outright says it, but he implies it in other ways, like saying how it’s a shame that Sebek and Silver will never get to see him in a groomsuit.

I don’t think Lilia is as bitter or cynical about love as Idia is, but I think he definitely has his own reasons for not pursuing love. I don’t think it’s related to his age, since Lilia has always marched to the beat of his own drum and done whatever he likes, regardless of his age. He acts super youthful for a fae that’s several hundred years old. No, I believe Lilia just... isn’t ready, nor does he want to, commit.

I don’t have concrete proof or any real information to go off of, but Lilia was able to raise Silver just fine on his own. He may very well just be used to doing things alone, seeing as he enjoys traveling the world by himself. Not to mention, he’s a war veteran. He must have seen many of his loved ones perish in combat--so maybe that’s made him hesitant to be tied down, in case he loses more of them. The reason could be more innocent than that, like maybe Lilia just wants to focus on his duties as Malleus’s retainer, or he just likes his solitude.

In any case, Lilia lacks Idia’s cynical views on love, but he, like Idia, doesn’t plan to get married... and that’s okay. We can see that Lilia is totally happy with himself without romantic love. He has his family and duties to keep him feeling fulfilled. Lilia is a demonstration that platonic love--specifically familial love--is just as valid as romantic love.

And finally, we have Ace.

ACE.

Okay.

You can call him an asshole all you like for ghosting his ex-girlfriend, but honestly? Hats off to Ace. I’m not saying what he did was necessarily right (it’s definitely a jerk move), but it’s realistic.

First of all, it’s pretty rare in these types of games to mention canon romantic relationships at all. I think the reasoning for this is because the mere MENTION of another person being with a character that is pulled from gacha takes away from their “worth”, their “availability”. You’re less incentivized to pull for your waifu or husbando because they’re already “taken”, so good on TWST for changing it up a bit.

Alright, back to Ace’s asshole move. Remember that this dude is 16. JUST 16. Ghosting your S/O or losing interest in them is perfectly reasonable for an immature teenager to do. You’re still young and learning--and heck, many adults still do this. No one is a perfect prince. To quote Trey, “I’m just a high school boy. What do you expect from me?”

Ace is an imperfect boyfriend, despite that speech he gives to Eliza about what the “ideal” partner is like. Ace may know what he wants in a partner, but there’s no guarantee he’s prepared for a relationship himself—and that’s a reflection of what happens in real life. People are imperfect, they fuck up in relationships.

After all, real relationships are the antithesis of Eliza’s ideals.

Real relationships don’t involve one person aggressively imposing their will on their partner. It should be equal parts give and take, and it shouldn’t be rushed or forced.

Real relationships aren’t perfect. Your personality won’t fix itself because of your partner, and your partner’s personality won’t fix because of you. You’ll disagree, you’ll fight, you’ll make mistakes. That doesn’t make the relationship necessarily a bad one, it just depends on how you work together to resolve your differences and move on from the disputes.

Real relationships don’t involve perfect people, either. You’re individuals with your own strengths and weaknesses. You shouldn’t cling to your partner and act like they’re infallible--and neither should they to you.

Real relationships take time and work.

With all of that being said, we can see that TWST has a very unconventional approach to love and romance compared to its contemporaries. They make fun of many common tropes and actually have a more realistic portrayal of “love” than most other mobage I’ve seen. There are some subtle things they do that also lend to this, like not running a traditional Valentine’s Day or White Day event in February/March (instead giving us Vargas Camp), or the Halloween Groovies being actually scary art rather than being traditional fanservice art.

I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to express my appreciation of minor details like that. Ever since the Ghost Marriage rerun, and the addition of the Idia and Lilia cards, I’ve been thinking long and hard about all of this, because I personally resonate a lot with those two in their views on love. I really like the lore and the representation that their Groom-for-a-Day cards add to TWST, that love isn’t treated like this infallible solution for everything like in so many other Disney properties. 

You can praise TWST for a lot of things, but I feel this is something that isn’t appreciated enough... So I wanted to express my gratitude for it.