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Her excitement overpowered her ability to realize that he wasn’t hugging her in return. Instead, Emily focused solely on the fact that she was now touching Victor, the heat of his own flesh radiating off against her much colder one, a newfound sensation in which the corpse hadn’t felt in so many years. It made her want to hold him even together, for her to be much closer to him, but before she could even attempt to do so, he pulled away. But not without uttering her name. Undeterred, she merely smiled and stared back into his gaze. “Yes, Victor?”

His eyes still held that same brokenness she noticed from back when they first met, but this time it was overwhelmed by confusion, likely due to her sudden presences. Oh, if she could have given him an earlier warning of her arrival, she would have, but there wasn’t exactly a way for one to communicate between the living and the dead. They were two separate realms for a reason. “A good surprise, I hope?” Emily inquired, nodding her head at the suggestion for them to move things inside. Yes, this was exactly what she was hoping for. Maybe soon she could even propose the idea of her living with him as well, she thought as the apartment door closed behind them. They migrated to his couch, and without needing to be encouraged, the corpse sat besides her husband, their knees pressing against one another with how close she sat.

“I did not expect to see you again so soon either.” She confessed, allowing the later half of her words to go unsaid. Despite her complete jubilance of being here, she could understand his confusion over the sight of her. After all, she was meant to be dead and yet here she was, as if she had a real bleeding heart to her. But despite her appearance, Emily wasn’t all that alive. At least, not yet. “Ask me anything, and I’ll respond honestly.” The former actress then stated. “I’m sure you’re curious to know how I got here or why I don’t look like the undead woman you met prior.” 

Reality hit for Victor as he saw the familiar woman’s eyes soften and a laugh escaped her lips, as if something he said was amusing. Memories of the night he met the corpse, Emily as he recalled her name, flooded his mind as she excitedly announced her new flesh — solidifying that his dream hadn’t been a dream at all. Victor was frozen in place as she hugged him, stiff as a board but trying his hardest to get himself to move. React. Something! He cleared his throat, forcing himself back to reality.

“Emily…” he trailed off, pulling himself out of the hug and meeting the corpse’s gaze. She did look quite real, beautiful even... He felt that trance again, similar to when he first saw her. Despite his hesitance and shock, her smile never seemed to falter. “Wow... I’m sorry, I’m just — surprised. Uh, maybe you should ... come inside so we can talk?” She was already practically inside as she had hugged him, so it only took a few extra steps for both of them to be fully inside his apartment. He shut the door and led her to his couch, taking a seat and leaving room for her to sit beside him.

Victor really was at a loss of what to say next; this was a lot to process. How was he to confess that he didn’t believe what happened to be true, but simply a dream? He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, seeing as she was in such high spirits to see him… “I really didn’t expect to see you again,” he finally confessed, meeting her gaze hesitantly. “I’ve got so many questions, I’m not sure where to start…”

[ccrpsemily]

It was merely a single sentence he uttered, and yet it was enough for Emily to tell how impacted by his uncle and aunt he had been within his pursuit for acting. It made her smile even more in return, but also had her wondering of the kind of projects his uncle and aunt had worked in. Were the two quiet famously known? Or were they more low-key? It didn’t matter much to the former actress on what level of acting they were in, as long as they were able to pursue a field they enjoyed and had been successful at inspiring their nephew was enough for her. Still, her curiosity wanted to get the best of her again, but she wasn’t sure if inquiring about his relatives work was invasive or not. 

After introducing herself, she wasn’t sure of what kind of reaction she would reactive. Would he immediately pin-point her as the same actress he had been gushing on about due to her similarities to, well, herself? Or would he think she was making a joke, as if Emily decided to take advantage of the fact that she looked like herself, but was secretly an entirely new being? Morty’s response indicated that it indeed had been the later, and while a small part of her had hoped he would believe she was the exact same actress she was relating her to, she cannot say she was surprised that hadn’t been his main conclusion. “Reincarnation, huh? I supposed you can say that is what it is.” The corpse vaguely replied, although not finding that to be one hundred precent the case. If things goes as she is hoping for with Victor than maybe Morty was truly onto something right there. But as of now, she was still completely and utterly herself, just masked within magic. “Oh yes, I’ve actually been—” Cutting herself off, it now dawned to Emily that while she had acted on countless different titles and works back when she had been alive, as of currently? Not so much. She hadn’t even tried to book an acting gig as of yet for that matter. “—I have acted before, yes, but not so much as of lately.”

“Had to be—I don’t remember a time I wasn’t interested in acting,” he answered the question, thinking back on his childhood for the inspiration of his passion. Of course, there were times he fancied himself a future zoo-keeper or musician or dancer, but his admiration for his uncle’s and aunt’s acting careers and desire to follow in their footsteps was also deep-rooted. And with musicals, he could at least incorporate two of his other aspirations in with the acting. (As for zoo-keeping, he could still have as many pets as he wanted.) His earliest role on screen was when he was seven, playing Tiny Tim in an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, but even before that he was the lead in his first grade play and putting on his own shows for his family every week after Ferdie would help him come up with a script. He’d say acting was in his blood, if he was actually blood-related to Uncle Mickey.

When Emily introduced herself, his brows raised in surprise. “No way,” he replied, just in the way of someone hearing something unexpected, not because he actually disbelieved her when she told him her name. She could indeed be joking and trying to get a reaction out of him, but she seemed too genuine to doubt. Even so, he was stunned to learn that somebody who looked so much like the long-gone actress had the same name as well. It wasn’t as if Emily was that uncommon of a name, but still…“Reincarnation is the only explanation,” Morty said, mostly joking. Mostly. It was kind of a crazy coincidence, and magic did exist, and he didn’t really know what he believed about life after death, but he wasn’t going to jump to such conclusions when simpler explanations existed: Emily happened to look like Emily, because that was a thing that could happen. "Really, though, you could play her in a biopic. Have you ever thought of getting into acting?"

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It seemed that despite her attempts of reassurance, the corpse was unable to calm her husband down. Or rather, he wasn’t spazzing about like he had been when he had woken up, but rather it was the sound of disbelief that escaped his lips that informed Emily of Victor still not being alright with this entire situation. The undead woman slightly frowned. Did he believe he was no longer alive?

“You aren’t dead.” The former actress once again spoke, hoping that by helping him see that he was very much alive could help calm this situation entirely. “See?” Without much thinking, Emily leaned over and gently placed her hand against his chest. Although she no longer had a pulse that could be felt through the palm of her own hand, she was able to feel to slightly erratic beating of his very own heart beat against her bony fingers. “I can feel your heart beat against my hand” She remarked. “—can you not feel it yourself?” Certainly, he would be able to feel his own heart bleed and beat against his chest, would he not? 

For what felt like hours yet had only been a few minutes, Emily eventually pulled away. “You are very much alive and you won’t be dying” —yet, is the one word that almost escaped her lips, however she kept to herself. She didn’t want to scare him again, especially when she has yet to know what will come of her husband now that they were newly wedded. They most likely might need to speak with Elder Gutknecht soon. However for now, her main concern was to keep reassuring her husband. “Feeling any better now?” 

The newlyweds were both surprised as he awoke, and Victor was still getting familiar with their surroundings as his body and mind were catching up on waking up. He smiled nervously before rubbing his tired eyes for a moment, able to slightly relax. You are fine and you are safe was a relief to hear considering the circumstances. He was still trying to process. 

Despite his panic and confusion ( and sleepiness ), the corpse bride still seemed greatly excited to see him. Victor’s eyes followed to her hand as she showed off her ring, the ring which belonged to his grandmother. It now belonged to her. It was the reminder that the woman was in fact deceased, the shiny ring contrasting against her undead bony finger, that reality was hitting Victor — not only was she wearing his grandmother’s ring, solidifying their marriage, but she kissed him and caused him to faint …. Perhaps he did more than just faint. Was it, perhaps, the kiss of death?

He hardly heard the rest of what she said as Victor exhaled in disbelief, “Dead…” Convinced that she wasn’t the only deceased one in the room, Victor chuckled at the irony. He assumed the corpse was just being kind and pretending he was still alive, answering her question with one of his own. “Comfort doesn’t matter now that I've kicked the bucket, does it?"

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Not long after she brushed her fingers against his hair, the mortal’s eyes shot open. Startled, Emily pulled her hand back and away from him as if not to scare him, however, she did not move from her position. “You’re awake!” She claimed with slight surprise. Soon, the undead bride became elated, as though she had enjoyed watching him while he slept for sleep was not needed when living within the Land of the Dead— now that he was awake meant the chance for the two of them to formally get to know one another! He sat up within the bed, panic evident on his face, and yet once her husbands gaze found her own, Emily smiled at him.  “It’s okay, you are fine and you are safe.” She gently reassured, expecting this sort of reaction.

Emily waited for him to say or do something next instead, so for his first question to be if they actually got married, her smile grew and the undead woman nodded. “We did.” She confirmed, only for her to lift up her hand to his view. There, surrounding her boney finger was a wedding ring— his grandmother’s wedding ring. "With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” Emily then recited, confirming the fact that she had overheard his vows, the tone of her voice so soft and airy, almost like she could not believe herself that this had came true. Yet, the ring sitting against her wedding finger indicated that this was very much that. She gazed at the ring. If the bride still had a beating heart and blood flowing through her body, her face could’ve been flushed with how enamored she was currently. “You are the one and who I’ve been waiting so long for.” She softy spoke, without explanation of what she meant.

Instead, with one last smile at the ring, she glanced back at him. “Did you have a pleasant sleep? My apologies if the bed wasn’t so comfortable, it’s normally used for visual and metaphoric purposes rather than literal. Plus, as you can see? I'm mainly of bones, so everything feels hard and stiff for me to decipher.” 

Am I dead or am I dreaming?

Victor couldn’t pinpoint what was real and what was his imagination anymore. He’d just experienced a quite traumatic day — any chances with Victoria were now permanently squished, he completely embarrassed himself at her wedding, and now there was a chance that he was married? To a dead stranger at that? Peacefully unconscious though, none of these thoughts would surface until he slowly awoke to a familiar voice. He does look rather dashing in his sleep, he heard softly beside him. Her voice was soothing despite the confusion that began to surface. It wasn’t until he felt the cold, bony touch of her fingers in his hair that his breath hitched, eyes opening suddenly.

There she was, kneeling beside the bed and waiting for him to wake up. She looked so at peace despite Victor’s sudden panic. He didn’t mean to startle her as he sat up, looking around at his unfamiliar surroundings before meeting her gaze again. He didn’t want to fear her, the more he took in her features the more she seemed harmless ( besides the undead part, of course ), but he couldn’t help his anxiety. Victor had so many questions that he wasn’t even sure where to start. He cleared his throat, his voice still sounding distant from the sleepiness that lingered. “Hi .. I um, don’t mean to sound insensitive, but … Did we actually get married?”

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“Google?” Emily repeated. She made a mental note to ask Victor later about this Google and how it works, however, she soon got lost in the abundance of images of herself that the young man showed her through his contraption. Emily was at aww. What other sorts of information was there about herself? She wanted to know, yet at the same time, she didn’t want to overwhelm him with many questions— she was overly curious, but she had enough tact to know that she shouldn’t be bombarding the young man all due to her curiosity. Glancing back up at him, the tone of his cheeks had flushed and she smiled yet again at his admission to having a celebrity crush on her. Now that was the sort of information she knew a little about, having gathered the fancy of multiple both back when she was alive and including the Land of the Dead. “That’s adorable. I— Emily would’ve been flattered to hear that you fancied her a little.” She stated, truly meaning it and rectifying her small mishap.

“They are? So it was from them where you developed the passion for the arts then?” She commented, not taking the credit to being the reason he grew to love acting. It was a pleasant thought to think that she helped inspire him, but there was something she found so fondly about developing a passion from watching a loved one be so passionate about it themselves. Emily was now starting to get curious on what kind of work his aunt and uncle did, and for that matter, what kind of work was he in. However, she realized that he knew her name (though he did not realized she was the Emily he was referring to) but she did not know his. And as if he was a mind reader, the young man placed his contraption away and held out his hand, introducing himself as Morty to her. Oh, should she give him her own name in return? Her actual name? With a slight tilt of the head, the former bride thought it over for a few seconds before smiling once more. “Likewise, Morty.” She grasp his hand and shook it. “Would you believe if I say my name is Emily as well?” 

“Oh, yeah. You can find them all on Google,” Morty answered her first question, scrolling through the search results to show off a few more photos of the actress, some of them in their original black and white and others colorized. He stumbled over her next inquiry, his cheeks flushing a little as he replied, “I—well, yeah, I’m interested in her work as an actor, but I guess she was one of my first celebrity crushes, too. That’s probably why she caught my attention before I even knew I wanted to act.” He shrugged, not wanting to come across like he was trying to flirt with the woman just because she looked like an actress he’d had a little crush on. The comparison was a genuinely interesting lookalike spotting, not an attempt to hit on her; it just happened to be true that the lookalike in question was beautiful!

“My aunt and uncle are actors, too, so I learned all the old Hollywood legends from them,” he added in explanation, definitely giving way too much unnecessary backstory on his own life to a stranger he’d already started a conversation with unsolicited—although she had asked and was seemingly interested in his mention of his chosen career path. She might just be being polite, but maybe she was just as friendly and extroverted as him. And they wouldn’t be strangers anymore if they introduced themselves. “Pardon my manners,” he started, putting his phone away and holding his hand out for a formal greeting shake. “I’m Morty. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

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MAI DAVIKA for Harper’s BAZAAR Thailand

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💐

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She had not known what to expect once he had opened the door. Ideally, the intended response she would have liked for when he caught sight of her was for her husband to be thrilled. Thrilled that she was not only back, but also that there was currently nothing keeping them separated as a couple, unlike before where she knew she couldn’t keep him in the Land of the Dead with her. At least, for now. The logistics of how Emily is able to stay at The Land of the Living could be explained much later once she was settled, however, she would first need for him to agree in allowing her to stay for that to happen. But he would be fine with having her live with him, would he not?

Unfortunately, thrilled at the sight of her wasn’t the response Emily had received. Instead, her husband stared at her with shock and confusion, before blurting out about her being “real.” Such a response did not deter the old actress, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she happily smiled at him. “Yes, I’m very much real.” Emily responded, eyes softening as she truly could not believe she was actually here with him.

“And for good!” The undead woman continued before she extended out her arm and pinching the flesh with the tip of her fingers. “See! I even have flesh so I can blend in with you and the rest of the living— isn’t that wonderful?” The sound of her voice was truly ecstatic, and Emily was in such a great mood that despite her husband being frozen in place, the former bride made no haste in reaching over and hugging him. “Now we can be together again.” 

Ever since the wedding, followed by the strange dream that came right after, Victor had been staying home for the most part and trying to forget. Move on. He wasn't even sure whether he and Victoria were on good terms anymore, and now that the wedding had passed ... Now what? Vic was feeling lost, disappointed, but he didn't want to worry anyone. He was okay, really, he just .. never thought he'd be here, so misguided... What he didn't realize what that his life was about to change, as he was about to face the fact that his strange dream was never really a dream at all.

He had been home much more recently since the wedding. Having just finished the dishes in the kitchen, he dried his hands with a dish towel before making his way to the door. He had no idea who to expect, his first thought being that it was probably his parents finally checking in on him. Instead, as he opened the door, he was met with ... her. The girl from his dream.

At first, he thought he might be mistaken, for she didn't look exactly like the corpse bride. She was ... alive, or at least she appeared to be. There was no mistaking her, though, between her eyes and her voice, her smile. He froze in place, blinking as if ensuring that he was truly seeing her. "You're .... You're ...." he stuttered, struggling to get his thoughts out in the open. He had so many thoughts, so many questions, but all that he managed to ask initially was, "You're real?"

[ccrpsemily]

Being sucked in down to the ground, the now newly wedded couple had found themselves within the Land of the Dead. Or more precisely, Emily’s home. Though her soul was bounded by the tree due to her grave and the vow she had made upon her death, it wasn’t as if her entire undead life revolved around her spirit waiting besides her tree. No, upon her death, the former actress had discover that there was truly a plane beyond life. The Land of the Dead. It was the place where souls find themselves in once they passed from life. But it was also the place where a soul would go when they still have unfinished business left within the human world and could not move on in peace.

Evidently, one could guess the correct answer as to why Emily was there.

For centuries, she familiarized herself with as many lost souls as she could, some who had came and passed, other’s whom lived there longer than she has— all the while as she waited for the day in where she finally met her true love. And now that she had, a soft and gentle smile forming onto her undead face as she watched the sleeping figure of her now husband whom she placed against her bed, she could not wait to continue living her undead life with him. Or perhaps, move on with him by her side. For an hour, the bride had allowed her still humanly breathing husband slumber, aware that once she woke him up, that he would prone back into shock as he had been earlier. But alas, Emily couldn’t allow him to keep sleeping for so long. “He does look rather dashing in his sleep…” She commented in a whisper, enchanted as for the past hour, she has been doing nothing more but stare at him as he slept. Then out of a sudden urge, the undead woman reached over and attempted to gently caress him by the hair, not expecting for the feel of her boney fingers to be the cause in waking him up.

Victor could feel the corpse ganging up on him, practically floating with ease in his direction with an obvious longing to touch him. Grab him. He saw the smile on her face, the yearning for any sort of contact. Was it useless to even run? If he truly was married to her now ... Did til death do us part not apply in this case?

No matter how hard he tried to convince himself he was dreaming, his racing heart and uneven breath as he ran told him otherwise. He'd never had a dream feel this real in all his life. He couldn't be married, especially not after the Victoria fiasco. He just had to run home, run to what was familar and maybe he'd wake from this nightmare.

He was a goner the moment he tripped. Even if he had a moments chance to run as the corpse bride hovered over him, there was something about her that kept him put. He was in a trance of some sort, stumbling as he stood up on his own two feet. He could feel the bones of her fingers grasp his arm as she held him in place, and he finally was able to completely gaze into her eyes. He was horrified, but also intrigued.. Her eyes were beautiful and felt as if they were calling to him. He didn't squirm or fight. He focused on catching his breath as he never broke his gaze from hers, and the moment she whispered You may kiss the bride, a heavy chill ran up his spine. Without anymore time to react, the bride was leaning in and pressing her cold lips to his. There was something both beautiful and terrifying about the kiss, but Victor was unable to react. He fainted on the spot, falling to the ground once more and not awoken again until Emily brought him to the land of the dead.

[ccrpsemily]

My, he sure did know quite enough about her, didn’t he? Hearing as he explained how he knew the actress he was relating her to, and even going as far as to detail her own death that had occurred on set, it was safe to say that Emily felt flattered. The brief reminder of her death surely was something she ideally would have rather wished had been left out, however, seeing how this young man was not aware that he was in fact talking to the same actress he was referring about, the old actress could not find herself to be upset by that. Instead, she was flattered that he knew enough about her to remember her name, and how he seemly became fascinated by her due to being an actor himself. That little tidbit on it’s own had peaked Emily’s interest as she always enjoyed meeting a fellow actor.

She did not get the chance to comment on that though, for he pulled out his phone contraption and showed her an old image of herself while pointing out on how identical she was. At that, Emily chuckled. Oh, he certainly had the dead part correct, but she could not confirm to him that it was in fact she in those pictures.. “There is a resemblance, I can agree.” Emily instead said, agreeing. She also stared at the screen with awe for she now wondered how many photos of her there was out there in the, what was it Victor had referred to it as? Ah yes, the internet! “Are there…many more photos of her? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this one before” At least, not in color. “And you said you got into her because you were an actor yourself?” 

Having seemingly caught her genuine interest, Morty was more than happy to further explain, launching into the details. “Her name was Emily Merrimack, and like I said, she’s kind of a legend. Maybe mostly among film history fans or lost media enthusiasts, but still…I got really into her because I'm an actor too—just haven’t had my big break yet. Her career was at its peak when she died tragically, on set, and the film she was starring in at the time was never released—the tapes were supposedly destroyed.” He only said supposedly because the urban myth aspect of the story leaned into the idea that perhaps the film reel had been secretly stored and survived, but it had been so long since then that if it hadn’t been found and properly archived, it would be unrecoverable now. Morty was okay with that; he didn’t have any desire to see something that morbid.

He pulled out his phone as he rambled and started googling the actress to pull up some old photographs of her online to show the stranger. It had been a while since Morty had watched one of Emily Merrimack’s projects, so even if he had caught the resemblance himself, it still stunned him to see just how perfectly this woman matched her long-gone celebrity doppelganger. “See? This is identical, and I’m a twin...” He kept looking back and forth between the image and the woman. “A real dead-ringer, huh? Pardon the pun.”

[ccrpsemily]

As soon as those words escaped her lips, the undead bride began to reach for him. She needed to know for certain that this was real. That after decades of waiting and nearly falling out of hope, that none of this was yet a cruel nightmare against her. The weight of the ring now sitting against her finger felt very much like reality, but Emily needed to feel him in order to know for sure that he was as well.

But as soon as her arms extended out towards him, he let out a scream, and began to run away. Stunned, the corpse pulled her arm back. She then watched from where she stood over her grave as he attempted to moved further and further away from her. His reaction had been enough for her to believe that this indeed was all true, and yet, rather than any feelings of dismay over him suddenly leaving her after bestowing Emily her ring, the corner of her lips had tugged and the undead bride smiled to herself. This was real. He was real.

Invigorated, she began to follow right after him. 

He was the one! He had to be! Even now, as she neared him, Emily started to feel a pull towards him. Was this the bond that appeared within a newly formed marriage? The one thing she had been missing even after she and Barkis had “married”. Or perhaps, the two of them never had been married after all? Not even on his end. For so long, she believed that had been the case as even those who eventually passed on into the Land of the Dead and caught wind over the truth of what had truly happened to her, they would say that Barkis claimed the two had been husband and wife right before her passing. That infuriated Emily to no ends, but also one she could not do much about. And yet she never felt like her marriage to him was ever a true one. Not only because Barkis had murdered her, but also quite possibly because she never wanted to be so near a person the same way she did at this very moment.

The moment he tripped over a branch had granted Emily enough time to catch up to him, and once she did, she reached for him. As he stood, her boney fingers was able to grasp against his arms, and the bride turned him over to stare back at her. Again, she looked deeply into his eyes— fear now mixing with the hurt and hopelessness he emitted from before. Slipping her arms up around his shoulders, the corps leaned in closer and closer to him while whispering the words "You may kiss the bride" at him before she slowly closed her eyes. Internally, she made another vow to herself, one where she would do whatever it takes to free him of those feelings, and how now as his wife, she would grant him better days from that there on.

With her cold blue lips hovering over his own, Emily took one final took at him before closing her eyes and sealing her vow—and their marriage—with a kiss. 

Victor wasn't sure what took over him as he stood there, staring at the ring that was now resting on the branch that resembled a hand. There was something that was keeping him frozen in place, but as soon as there was any sense of movement, a gasp escaped his lips as he practically fell back, watching as the branch's fingers moved and a body rose up from the ground below it.

There was a small bit of space between Vic and the corpse, now scrambling to straighten himself back up so he could run if necessary. But even if he was scared, he couldn't find it in himself to run just yet. He was frozen in fear, brushing the dirt off his pants now as the veiled corpse stood across from him.

There was the sound of crows cawing and circling the two of them from above as the corpse lifted her veil, revealing a sight that Victor had never experienced in his life. She was .... dead, but strangely beautiful at the same time. Broken. They were both hurting from circumstances out of their control.. but that didn't mean that Victor wanted to marry her. Whoever she was .. he'd almost forgotten that the ring was on her finger, suddenly recognizing the wedding gown and veil she wore as she said I do.

Suddenly, Victor's eyes widened as he pieced together what was happening. Did he just marry himself to a corpse?

Screaming, he began to back away further before running in the opposite direction entirely. This could not be happening. It couldn't be! His first thought was that he needed to find Victoria, but what use would that be? He just had to convince himself he was dreaming this. A terrible, crazy dream! Finding out Victoria was married to someone else manifested into a nightmare of himself marrying a corpse — he tried his best to convince himself of this despite his racing heart as he ran, tripping over some branches along the way. He could feel the corpse bride following behind him as he tried to get up again, catching his breath.

[ccrpsemily]

Death was a peculiar feeling. 

The thought of it alone is often regarded as terrifying to most. It’s the notion of not knowing what occurs when life comes to an end, or on whether there even was an after once death was near. It was an unstoppable force— and enigma, and the one thing that will occur in life no matter what. To simply put, death was a way of life. 

However, if one were to have questioned Emily on what her thoughts on death were back when she had still been alive, she would’ve answered how she never pondered too much over it. It had never been a need for her to do so, for the woman had always believed that when it came to her own life, she would go on to live a fruitful and long one. That way, once death does arrive, there wouldn’t be the need to fear it for she would’ve been at peace with what she had done throughout her time in the world of the living. 

And for the most part, she hadn’t been wrong. Emily had been living a fruitful life— one in which led her into the spot light and in the eyes of many people as a beloved actress. She had been seen on the screen, captured by many, and eventually became a household name. Everyone had been at awe with her and adored her to pieces, and it all was done within a short span of a few years. She had a bright path ahead of her, and yet no matter how bright that path was, Emily felt like something had been missing. Love. She was adored by many—yes—and even had multiple suitors who had asked for her hand, but Emily herself had never fallen for another. That is, not until Barkis came along. Meeting him had practically been love at first sight for Emily, and she had truly believed he had loved her in return. However, it was falling for him is what sealed her fate in cutting her life shorter than expected.

Charmed yet manipulated by the man into secretly marrying him, what should have been the most memorable day of her life, became the day in where she had her last breath. Never did Emily imagine that being murdered is how things would end for her—not by the hands of the one she loved, and yet that is exactly what had happened to her. She had been betrayed and then attacked, internally bleeding from where he instilled his wound, soaking her gown from white to red as she slowly began to lose her breath. Emily couldn’t fathom why he would have done this to her, but then one look into his eyes and seeing how cold and unfeeling they were when staring back at hers, the woman felt a deeper wound than the one inflicted. Heartbreak. She had loved with him all her heart, and had been ready to spend the rest of her future with him, but he had never loved her the same. And now her life had ceased to exist. 

But her death did not come without a cost. Just before everything had fallen into darkness, Emily made a vow. She vowed to bound her soul under the oak three where she had passed, waiting for the day where her true love would appear and ask her hand in marriage. Only then, would her soul be set free and she could truly move on from life. 

For years to come, Emily waited. Haunted by the feelings of betrayal and hurt that stayed within her now un-beating heart. Yet she still had hope that one day someone will come. And in some ways, some did. Most who had gone by her tree don’t often notice her presences, but a few would sense her being there before going off on their merry way. Only two living beings seemed to truly notice Emily being here, and yet neither could be the one to help her. And so the bride continued to wait. And Wait. Until— 

“—I’m in love with you…..” She heard his voice. Muffled but coherent enough, similar like with others before. But unlike them, this time seemed different, for he continued on. “I’ve always loved you…” So honest and so genuine, she could not recall the last time she heard anyone alive speak in such a way. But for as honest as he sounds, there was also a hint of despair evident within his tone— a feeling of loss despite such heartfelt words he was emitting. As if he was equally as hopeless as he was in love. And then it happened. The feeling of something slipping through her finger, she heard him speak that oh so familiar words she had literally died to hear. “With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” 

And just like that, it’s as if Emily had truly awaken. Slowly rising from her grave, her vail at first covered her perception of him, making it her unable to see. But then as she lifted an undead hand to push the vail away from her eyes, her gaze locked within his. There, she stared deeply into his eyes. So much life could be seen within them, but also so much emotion as well. It’s true he was in love, but the hopelessness was equally the same. There was also a familiar sense of hurt within his eyes as well— and with that, she made her decision. 

Leaning in closer to him, Emily spoke the one line she never got to say until now.

"I do."

After Victor left Victoria, still in her wedding dress and still at the wedding venue, he decided he should get some fresh air. To clear his head.

He hadn't been sure what to expect out of today, but it certainly wasn't this... All his friends had been fully supportive in Victor's actions, had hyped him up enough for him to think that there was no way of screwing this up. And yet, he still felt like a fool.

She was married. Victoria was married. Still, Victor didn't lose hope entirely with that in mind. His main goal had been to prevent Victoria from getting hurt and, they somehow did succeed in that. Only, Victoria had to marry someone else to accomplish this.... She had found a way to escape, and it wasn't with him.

He had done his best to hide the heartbreak he was feeling, though it was impossible to hide his shock. The more he thought it over as he wandered the nearby woods though, the more his heart grew heavy. He thought he was fighting for Victoria, for her love, but maybe he had been right all long about it being a lost cause. Really, this day couldn't get any worse. He couldn't bother to show his face to his friends and family yet, not ready to face any of them. Instead, he continued to wander the woods, thinking about how beautiful Victoria looked despite the outcome of the wedding.

Vic stuck his hand in his pocket, remembering the special gift he had initially brought for Victoria — a ring, one that had belonged to his grandmother. It wasn't for a marriage proposal, of course, but to show her how much she meant to him. He had forgotten all about it once he heard the news, and now he was alone, the cold ring resting in his palm.

"It really shouldn't be that difficult," Victor shook his head as he stared at the ring. Surely, he was crazy now — talking to himself in the middle of nowhere, but in a strange, comforting way, he didn't really feel alone. "Victoria, I'm in love with you..." he repeated, just as he had said in front of everyone at the altar. "I've always loved you..." he continued, twirling the ring in his hand as he stepped forward, noticing a branch close-by that somewhat resembled a hand. He thought about what could have been, what could have been different had he been honest sooner. As he stared at the branch in front of him, he thought about love — how even if you did all that you could, sometimes it still wasn't enough... Yet, Victor could still dream, imagining the hand in front of him did belong to his love, a love who would love him back, for his flaws and all.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to say more, but he felt entranced as he slid the ring on the branch, just where a ring finger would be resting. "With this ring, I ask you to be mine." @ccrpsemily

[ccrpsemily]

Corpse Bride (2005) dir. Tim Burton & Mike Johnson

[ccrpsemily]

Stepping in front of the doorway, Emily exhaled. Even now, with her body looking more human and alive rather than cold and dead, there wasn’t a need for her to breath. But now she had the option to do if she so desired, and if her plans on staying at the Land of the Living for a good while were to rang true, acting like she needed to breath was a role she had to take seriously. The part of playing alive needed to be taken seriously. It was a good thing she was a formable actress who knew how to play her parts well then, because now that she finally found where he was, there was no possible chance of the undead woman leaving anytime soon. She had spent hours upon hours, walking around the familiar yet not so familiar land of this isle, hoping to catch sight of her husband’s face and inform him of the wonderful news of how she’s been granted the chance to stay with him. Unfortunately, it would only be temporary, and Elder Gutknecht had warned her about there being conditions that she would have to abide by. And there was also one other thing she had to make come into fruition. A choice would have to be made, but one that had to be done by him. Emily wasn’t looking forward to having that conversation, but she knew for certain that once he realizes that she was back, that conversation would have to be explored.

But for now, she would rather focus on the fact that she finally found Victor again. And by that familiar pull she felt back when they first met, she didn’t even have to question on whether he was home or not. He was. Therefore, taking in a deep breath, she rang the doorbell and waited. And as soon as the door opened and her gaze his own, Emily smiled. Oh how she missed him dearly since they last parted.

“I’m back!” ( @vicvandead )

[ccrpsemily]

Being an undead in a time period that was different from the one she lived in, one of the furthest things Emily expected to happen while she walked around town on her own was being recognized. Granted, she was aware that people could still know of her, as Victor had mentioned during one of their recent conversations that the films she use to star in were still around and assessable for anyone to watch. But after it being decades from when she last filmed them and the obvious fact that she was and should be dead, how could anyone recognize her?

And yet, as the young man walked up to her and pointed out how exact she looked from— well, herself, Emily could not help the shocked look that appeared on her face. He did not mention her name, merely that she was from the early nineteen-hundreds, which points to the fact that he indeed was alluding to her. Because of that, her shock turn into bemusement as the woman now stared at him with curiosity. “Is that so?” Emily responded, a small smile now on her face. “Well, thank you for the compliment, but who is this actress you speak of? And may I ask, how do you know her if she’s from so long ago?” 

@ccrpsemily

It wasn’t often that someone earned a triple take from Morty. The first look was a standard passing glance, the second because he realized how drop dead gorgeous the woman was and needed another peek, and the third because his brain only processed how familiar her face was after that second glance. He finally stopped short, assessing, before deciding she didn’t look too busy or too introverted to be bothered by a random stranger—which was totally something one could tell at a (third) glance.

“Hi! Gosh, sorry if this sounds weird, but you look just like this old actress—” Morty caught how that might sound as it left his mouth and cleared it up immediately, “Not old like old, but from a long time ago. This beautiful actress from the early nineteen-hundreds; she's kind of legendary.” He didn’t expect the woman to actually know about such an outdated cultural reference, but the legend surrounding Emily Merrimack wasn’t obscure to him, so he assumed it would be just as interesting to a passerby on the street who bore a striking resemblance to the long-dead thespian. It was a deep cut to be sure, but wouldn't you like to know your celebrity lookalike, even if they were long dead?

[ccrpsemily]

[ccrpsemily]

Corpse Bride (2005) Dir. Tim Burton And Mike Johnson