Because one day, I'll leave you a phantom

[reddosmod]

OCTOBER 2021 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Band playing on moving float with people in masks walking behind.]
[Image Two: Woman in gas mask and elaborate ballgown.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Man looking away while creepy corpse-like woman puts hand on window.]
[Image Two: Two contorted girls crawling across floor with blood flowing out.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Headless horseman with jack-o-lantern rearing on horse.]
[Image Two: Annabelle doll rocking on its own in chair.]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE

WHEN: During the daytime every day of October
WHERE: Throughout the streets of Cellar Door and Willful Machine.
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A

---

The Black Parade has begun in Trench. You will begin to see residents painting skulls and monsters onto their faces, even the ones who abide by practical lifestyles. By the first week of October, you won't see a single resident of Trench without facepaint or a mask of some kind obscuring their face.

"It's for the Black Parade," they say, "It's to keep us safe. You should start painting your face too. You should disguise yourself so they can't find you."

Who, you might ask? Anyone dangerous. It's vague and unsettling, but you think maybe they are onto something. Call it intuition or basic common sense. Stalls pop up all around Trench selling cheap masks and costumes. They aren't exactly Halloween costumes. There's less of a focus on becoming something and more of a focus on looking different than you currently do.

Then the Black Parade really takes off. Black and white confetti seem to fall from the sky and you can hear the distant sound of trumpets and drums. You can feel the earth give small tremors and Trenchies begin to flock to Cellar Door and the Willful Machine. They line the streets and you can see why: a literal parade is coming through. Stages are set with talented musicians rocking out, singing into wireless, floating moonlit mics. Incredible, giant puppets walk through the streets guided by a dozen talented Architects. Other people move about in stilted costumes, elaborate gowns. Some performers set up small, stationary areas to perform for smaller crowds. The sky is filled with massive and unusual kites. Find one among the many stalls or make your own!

Stalls hand out candied applies, foil-wrapped candies, and roasted pumpkin seeds by the bundles. Hot ciders are kept in barrels ready to be served up in tin mugs, with or without alcohol. It's a festive atmosphere that seems to go nonstop 24/7 throughout October but exclusively in these areas. It's a good place to go to avoid some of the haunts of October and to have a good time. Why not get involved? Make your own puppet, float, or costumes, and join in the fun. Chunks of the road are reserved for parades, but others have been sectioned off for people to dance and mingle about. You quickly learn that face-paint and masked/concealed faces seem to be a good way of avoiding the attention of beasts, angry Pthumerians, and other unusual creatures in Trench.

It's not a foolproof method, but October largely celebrates the safety of ambiguity and is one of the few times the practical and pleasure factions get along. Get your face painted up or pick out a costume - it's both aesthetic and life-saving! The Black Parade is held annually every October all October long and is considered a significant Trench holiday. Many people refer to the costumes specifically as "Black Parade" costumes and sentiments commonly exchanged at this time include: Have a blessed and safe Blood Moon; May your Seasons pass unseen; Bless the many faces of cleverness; May you go unseen by the blood; Blessed Black Parade.

QUICK FACTS

1. Halloween costumes you can buy at the store won't be available unless a character intentionally makes one. Most of the costumes in Trench are more or less eccentric make-up looks and unusual masks. They look a lot more like Cirque du Soleil costumes than Halloween costumes.

2. Characters can have multiple costume/face-paint/mask changes throughout the month. No one will be forced into these - but it is strongly, culturally encouraged for everyone's safety to dress up!

LONELINESS KILLS: THE CURSE OF CLOVERFIELD

WHEN: October
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Psychological-based curse, feelings of intense loneliness, mental health.

---

It is said that the Blood Moon reminds Cloverfield of those he has lost over the decades. They say that the howling wind is actually the sound of Cloverfield's cries and there seems to be some truth to that. He can be seen wandering the Farther Shores and watching the moon. If you seek out Cloverfield and offer him comfort and companionship, he will bless you with a worn picture of a loved one or someone you miss desperately or even just a place you miss...Even if it's impossible for such a picture to exist.

Of course, not everyone will visit Cloverfield. Cloverfield's loneliness begins to curse the city of Trench. Sleepers will be impacted the most heavily as their blood will directly react to this curse. Sleepers who have a good sense of relationship may be able to avoid the curse, but those who often feel lonely or homesick will start to feel worse and worse as the days go by.

Eventually, their loneliness begins to manifest as a corpse-like version of themselves or the person they care about most. This corpse follows them around everywhere like a shadow. You won't notice your own Loneliness, but other people might, especially palebloods, Night Walkers, and Disciples. These corpses don't seem to care about anything or anyone and at first don't seem violent...But eventually, this Loneliness becomes consuming.

Once it does, you too will contort, and you and your Loneliness will soon be crawling about on all fours, blood floating out of you in thin streams. You'll be lost to your feelings of loneliness, stalking the streets with your Loneliness, looking for companionship. Of course, you're completely corrupt at this point, so your version of finding companionship most likely involves accidentally suffocating someone or other violent actions. Some people may never become violent once they are in the Final Stage, but the blood constantly flowing from them will create heavy blood pollution and may draw in far more dangerous creatures. You really don't want Lonely People walking around!

Better start some conversations - even if these Lonely People are creepy as hell. But, then again, they are just lonely. Hopefully, you will find peace of mind and find your people. Hopefully, you will banish loneliness...For the time being.

QUICK FACTS

1. This curse will impact people who are more isolated than others. Interaction with other people or animals will alleviate the curse and may completely stop it for some.

2. You can stop the curse at the corpse stage by confronting a Sleeper and opening up an emotional conversation about their loneliness. This may not always work, but the more the conversation works for the Sleeper, the more effective. The corpse will fleck away once the curse has been reversed.

3. Curses can continue to come back throughout October, but once you've experienced it once, it's less likely to occur again.

4. The Final Stage of the curse is the hardest to stop and most of the time, it's easiest to just kill the Cursed. It's easier to kill them than talk them out of their loneliness, but it is not impossible to talk them out of it. It requires dedication, patience, and some serious cleverness on how to survive a monster trying to kill you at the same time.

5. Loneliness can be widely interpreted once in the Final Stage. People should generally still look like themselves. How people act in this stage can vary from character to character and should be centric to how characters deal with their loneliness in general. If they're prone to shutting people out, then maybe their Loneliness is aloof and distant. If they're prone to clinging to toxic people, then maybe their Loneliness is accidentally violent. It's open to interpretation.

LEGENDS OF TRENCH

WHEN: All October
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Ghosts, Themes of death.

---

Unfortunately, not everyone can gain control of their loneliness. As blood is spilled throughout Trench over loneliness, this blood pollution festers and begins to claim poor souls. Corruption leads way to beasthood and people lost to this find themselves transforming into familiar, legendary ghost stories of old-world lore. These Legendary Ghosts come out primarily at night. As the Black Parade established, anyone who keeps their faces disguised with make-up or masks will be completely safe from the Legendary Ghosts. Though if you go after a Legendary Ghost in a costume, you'll only be safe until you attack them. It's not a bad move for a sneak attack though!

...But those who forgot to dress up or felt like such superstitions wouldn't work...

Congratulations, you might come across the path of a Dullahan: a headless horseman carrying a whip made from a spinal cord, ready to throw basins of blood on you and draw in other beasts. Or maybe you encounter a far more subtle Legendary Ghost. Maybe you see a hitchhiker on the side of the road and decide to give them a ride, but when you look in your rearview mirror, they are no longer in your backseat. While most of these Legendary Ghosts are intending to harm you and spread more blood pollution, some just seem to be genuinely lost souls, lost to corruption, lost to their own failures and loneliness. In some cases, freeing them is protecting yourself and others, but in other cases, freeing them is just simple kindness.

You may meet a ghost bride who is waiting eternally for her wedding by one of the shrines in Cassandra. Maybe you meet a ghostly scholar at the Archives in Gaze. The spirits range widely and seem to haunt every corner of Trench - including your own homes. The only real way to deter a Legendary Ghost from your home is by heavily decorating your home with things like jack-o-lanterns, fake blood splatters, fake gravestones, and various other death-centric decor. This seems to repel Legendary Ghosts as they see it as a reminder of their own fate. Some are angered by the decorations while others are terrified by them and seem incapable of telling the difference between real blood and fake blood.

QUICK FACTS

1. These corrupt souls can be saved through blood rituals/magic/ghost banishings relying on blood artifacts. This will usually put the soul to rest - it will not bring people "back to life."

2. While it is mostly Trenchies turning into these beings, Sleepers can also be transformed into Legendary Ghosts. We provide a general outline, but the idea is that people are turning into legendary ghost stories so you can play with your own ideas/canons.

While Trenchies cannot be saved, we leave it up to you if a Sleeper could be brought back to themselves or if they will have to "die" to be cured of their Legendary Ghost status.

3. You can use famous Legendary Ghosts from around the world. We gave a few examples, but have fun with this! The Legendary Ghost-like creature you go with should generally be "ghost-like" / have to do with death specifically. They do not need to be exclusively evil/violent spirits, but many are.

CODING

Comments

Usagi Tsukino || Sailor Moon || OTA

[lightthedarkness]

A. The Black Parade

It's not that Usagi needs a particular reason to dress up, but with costumes and such more readily available that aren't mountains and mountains of black and brown? Well, She definitely bought her fill and you can bet she's changing outfits practically every single day with glee and gusto. She's getting her face painted each new time and just honestly having a blast with the food, the fun, and the fact that she hasn't gone batshit insane and murdered everyone. Chalk this one up as a real and enthusiastic win!

She has even put up her hair in such a way as to hide it and not make it immediately obvious who she is, where would be the fun in that? She's already gotten several people to dance with her and now? When she sees you, wallflower or having a good time, she bounces over to you and holds out her hand.

"Will you dance with me?"

Whether or not you recognize her? Well, who can say.

B. The Black Parade of Food

Usagi Tsukino loved food.

Scratch that.

Usagi Tsukino ADORED food. It was literally tied with her other favorite hobby: sleeping. So with free food being passed out left and right? She was getting her fill! Arms loaded to the brim she found a place to sit and set down her hoard.

She rubbed her hands together, letting out an actual "mwahahaha" before she realized... there was someone else at the table. She blushed when she realized she was being watched.

"Oh! Uh... haaa... hi! Um... have you gotten a chance to try all the food?"

C. The Black Parade I'm Not Okay CW: Slight inebriation

Usagi had been a very good girl and stayed away from the alcoholic cider, mostly because she couldn't really handle more than a single glass of... anything.

But somewhere along the line, she had gotten an alcoholic cider by accident.

And then a second.

And then a third.

And now, cheeks tinted a slight rosy color, she latches onto the next person she sees, cuddling onto them. Usually, she's a sleepy drunk, but before she gets sleepy?

She gets cuddly.

"Heeee, hello! Will you be my friend? You're so pretty!" she smiles at the other person bright and wide and completely tipsy.

D. How was I supposed to know that something wasn't right here?

When Usagi first saw the creatures, she damn near screamed.

Thankfully for EVERYONE'S earbuds, she refrained from doing so.

She watched as the corpses seemed to... decay and decay and shivered because, yes, she's dealt with such things, but that didn't mean she liked it.

Upon seeing one particularly... scary-looking corpse, she couldn't take it anymore. She steeled her resolve and went up to them, smiling at the person but most definitely standing in their path.

"Um... okay this is gonna sound super duper weird but you're being followed and I just want to make sure you're okay?" she glanced over their shoulder, shivering again at the sight of the corpse. "So... yeah... um..." she locked her gaze with the corpse in question, wondering if her acknowledging the thing would make it go away.

E. My Lonilessness is Killing Me

It was all well and good for Usagi to try and help others with their own curse. However, what she did not realize was that, following her, dressed from head to toe in a tuxedo was a certain someone who, while Usagi never brought him up all that much, was always on her mind and always a missing piece to her heart. He was staring at her fondly and gently, standing several feet in height above her.

Whenever she seemed to be especially happy, the corpse's smile would become a bit wider. While she was completely oblivious, the corpse turned to look at you, smiling at you as well, gentle and calm. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on Usagi's shoulder and her smile if only for a moment, fell away, or she'd stop in mid-sentence, eyes looking watery before she cleared her throat and went back to what she was doing.

C

[killed]

[ Oh, what a cute girl. Midori is holding a cup of half-empty cup of cider, steam wafting off of it. He doesn't drink any more than he eats, but it was always better to avoid standing out. He jerks a little when she so suddenly latched onto him, though for all appearances it seems to be more from surprise than any real displeasure He fixes his smile after the initial shock wears off, followed by a mirthful chuckle. ]

Yes, of course! I'd only be too be happy to. One can never have too many friends, can they?

[ Especially not in a place like this, he suspects. He pretends not to notice her inebriation state for now - she seems like the harmless sort so far, so no reason to agitate the situation. ]

I should probably introduce myself them, hm? My name is Midori. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?

[lightthedarkness]

[She snuggles into Midori's arm, her arms wrapped around his. She goes a long while just not talking because she feels warm and bubbly and really content right now. Maybe a little sleepy, but mostly content.]

Mi~do~ri~kuuuuun [She sing-songs.] what a nice name!

[A couple of minutes, her mind provides:]

OH! My name is Usagi! Usagi Tsukino! I'm a moon bunny!

[killed]

[ A nice name... It really is. Miss Sara had chosen perfectly, and his smile brightens a touch at the compliment. It takes a little effort, but he manages to maneuver it under his arm and hold it in place well enough to give her a gentle pat on the head before he slides the drink back into his hand. She's quite short compared to him, but that just makes her all the more charming. ]

A moon bunny? [ It takes him a few seconds, but he offers another soft chuckle. ] ... Oh, that's right, you are a rabbit of the moon, hm? What a cute name, it's perfect for a cute girl like you.

[ He's fairly certain that he's the acting adult in the room, but he thinks he can afford to be a little more casual. ]

Do you live near here, Usagi-chan?

C.

[kroenleinia]

Bella has had a glass or so of cider herself, but she's much more careful about sipping it slowly and carefully, especially after her experience at the, uh...ladies-only bar earlier in September.

So she's definitely sober enough to have to stifle a laugh as Usagi clings onto her. "We're already friends, silly."

[lightthedarkness]

"BELLBELLE!" Usagi is immediately giddy that she has latched onto Bella. "Heee, we're not just friends! We're best friends, I love you so much. You're so pretty, Bellbell!"

[kroenleinia]

Bella is thankfully leaning up against a wall of some sort, cause otherwise that tacklehug would've immediately sent her to the ground. She laughs, hugging Usagi back -- probably the only person who gets an immediate, no-holds-barred hug.

"Thank you. You've...had a little to drink, haven't you?"

E

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz was a pale blood. She was used to seeing ghosts all the time and was beginning to understand that this month was rough for those who were carrying weight around, that it was part of the whole Black Parade deal. Something in a person's heart would cause them to manifest the corpse of someone they cared about, and Luz had done her best to ensure it wouldn't happen to her, because she had quite enough of that last month, thank you.

But upon seeing Usagi, Luz stopped short and watched her friend go about her business, trying to enjoy things, and her heart went out to her. Seeing the expression on his face, Luz had no doubt who this was, and to her shock, Usagi seemed not to notice! That was pretty astounding, and Luz was about to walk over and strike up conversation when she noticed something that stopped her short.

Usagi wavered a moment. Luz saw it and her heart practically broke. Usagi was just...pretending she was all right, that she couldn't see the reminder of someone she loved around her, both missing him and trying to cope, and how much that must hurt.

Without thinking about it, Luz walked over and impulsively hugged Usagi at her back. It wasn't a polite hug Luz gave to be nice: it was one of the hugs she usually reserved for Scorpia, fierce and emotional, and was only a little surprised to find she'd gotten misty.

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi was not prepared to suddenly be hugged from behind. She stumbled a bit forward but managed to keep herself upright so that neither she more Luz fell forward. The corpse of Mamoru also reached out, gently putting his hands on Usagi to help keep her upright, though in truth, he could not really help.

She stood up straight and looked down to see arms around her middle. She looked behind her and saw Luz, her gaze locking with Mamoru's who merely smiled at her and she swallowed before staring down at Luz, smiling, resting a hand atop her head.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, Luz-chan?" was she alright? Was she hurt? She shifted Luz's grip just enough so she could turn in the hug, wrapping her arms around the other.

"Are you okay?"

[imaglyphwitch]

"I'm fine," Luz mumbled, looking over at Mamoru. How long was Usagi just keeping those feelings inside? Luz may not have known that kind of romantic love herself, but she could see it with Fern and Varian, or Korra and Asami, so she could only imagine how Usagi, always helping people out, was feeling being without her own love.

But how to explain that to Usagi herself?

"I just...thought you looked lonely," Luz lied, managing a small smile. "I wanted to cheer you up!"

A

[faithfulson]

Of course Luke realized it was Usagi bouncing up to him; he had gotten a pretty good sense of her presence that first day, when they went on a food tour of the town. But he got the feeling she didn't want to be recognized, so he would play along, though she could probably see his blue eyes sparkling in amusement from beyond his dragon-like mask, before he dipped down into a bow.

"Of course; I would be honored, my lady," he replied, absolutely hamming it up, because why not.

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi offered a curtsy, rather gracefully at that, since she's such a massive klutz. She grins as soon as she hears Luke's voice and takes his hand.

"A pleasure, my lord," she gently guided him to the middle of the dance. "Are you fond of dancing?"

[faithfulson]

Luke let himself be pulled out to the middle of the floor, careful to avoid the other dancers on the way. He paused once she found a spot, reaching his hands out -- one gloved, the other bare -- letting her determine where she was comfortable with where his hands went.

"I haven't had enough of a chance to do so to form an opinion," he replied, doing his best to keep up with the over exaggerated formal speech. There was only so much a former farmboy could manage when it came to that sort of thing.

A

[chickenchoicejudy]

Ryan doesn't recognize her at all and wouldn't have either way, but it doesn't bother him in the slightest. She might have even already seen him out on the dance floor with others, letting his new coat twirl around with each movement. He's clearly having fun, but also clearly not here with anyone in particular as he's jumped from dance partner to dance partner.

His face paint today is very colorful and sparkly, to make up for all the black in his fancy coat. It really adds something when he smiles brightly at her.

"Sure!" he says, and offers his hand to her in return. "I'd love to."

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi has no idea who this is, but who is she to say no to a possible new friend! She immediately smiles even wider as she takes his hand as they immediately head into the throng of people dancing.

"I'm so glad you said yes! And I love your face paint!"

[chickenchoicejudy]

That's exactly how Ryan is feeling about it. This is a great way to meet people and besides, who wouldn't want to dance with a pretty person given the opportunity? ...Actually, probably plenty of people, but Ryan is absolutely not one of them.

"Thanks! I think this might be my favorite so far," he says. Then he grins, and makes an amendment. "--Except for yours, of course. You look stunning."

He's a bit of a flirt but he isn't overbearing about it by any means - he's someone who casually flirts in regular conversation, just for the fun of it.

Ryan leads her out to the dance floor, and though he doesn't know any particular specific dances, he'll be happy to lead her as though he knows what he's doing - at the very least, he has a good sense of rhythm and won't step on her feet.

E

[droptheious]

While the worst of his corruption is starting to fade, Varian's still not looking super great- but he's considerably better than he was. Between Maul and Usagi's powers, he's starting to finally rest enough to edge out the mess in his head keeping him awake.

Still, panic grips his chest, for a hot second, when he catches the movement behind Usagi in his periphery. He comes closer and it takes a lot of focus (and probably him squinting INTENSELY at her- because that's not weird at all) before he makes out what the shape is- and recognises it. That's Mamoru, he's seen pictures of him plenty of times...but he's definitely not here.

"...Usagi?" he's going to try and broach this...gently, his eyes remaining on the spectre. "Um- have you noticed anything different lately? For yourself...I- I mean."

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi turned and looked at Varian, blinking when he was squinting at her and looked down at herself.

"What, is there something on me? OH MY GOSH, DID I MAKE A MESS?" Oh no! She couldn't wreck her new dress! She inspected it all over for stains and didn't see anything. Mamoru couldn't help but smile fondly, hiding a smile behind his hand as he reached out and lightly ran a gloved hand through her hair.

Usagi shivered and let out a breath. She cleared her throat.

"Um- no, nothing... too different."

The ache was... bigger, but her ache always existed.

[droptheious]

Oh, yeah, no, Varian didn't care for any of this, no thanks. He is at least aware that Mamoru shouldn't be a dangerous figure for Usagi, but he's lived through enough of Deerington to not discount it as a possibility, either. You never know.

"N-no, I mean-"

He steps a little closer, looking past her, to the man, still squinting. No easy way to go about this, so he'll take his usual tactic of just barrelling right into it.

"Usagi uh- have you noticed you have a...ghost?"

B

[undermoonlight]

Mwahaha..?

[Atsushi looks up from his own collection of food. More modest than Usagi's, but he didn't necessarily hold back either. Chances to have good foods were so rare and he wasn't going to waste them.

Still. Looking up to see Usagi's load of food makes him sigh... and chuckle a bit. How he wishes that he had the courage to do the same.]

You find a favorite dish yet, Usagi-chan?

[lightthedarkness]

[She blushed a bit harder at him repeating her little triumphant comment earlier. She looks at all her spread and 'hmm' softly.]

Well, a few are some top runners! They have temaki rolls! AND THE SUSHI IS SO GOOD, SUSHI-KUN! [She grabbed his hand in her enthusiasm.] They even have takoyaki! TAKOYAKI, Sushi-kun! This place has so many favorites from home!

[While there wasn't much in the way of vegetables, have fish, will eat.]

A

[winter_bestowed]

Winter generally didn't have patience or time for parades, but it was something she had been taught to pay attention to by the past occurrences in Deerington. Plus it was only a part of learning about the community and being more involved and ready. The costume she was wearing was certainly different from what she would usually wear, though she had ditched the headdress that it came with for something simpler and allowed her hair to flow rather than being confined to its usual ponytail.

Standing off to the side, a drink in her hand as she kept an eye over everything, somehow she missed as the other approached. Not turning her attention to Usagi until the other asked for a dance. It caught her a little off guard.

"A dance? I guess that one wouldn't be too much trouble."

Winter finished the drink that she had before setting the glass on the table. No need to waste what little had been left.

"Shall I take the lead since I'm taller?"

As a part of the Schnee household of course Winter had learned a number of different forms of a formal dance, and both parts so as to help Weiss when she had been younger.

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi took a look at Winter and her eyes widened. She blinked as she looked at Winter up and down. She couldn't help it when her mouth opened and she asked: "Weiss?" was this Weiss all grown up? Had she come back?

Did she remember her? She shook her head.

"Ah... sorry, you... remind me of an old friend," she blushed. "But yes, you are taller, I can follow your lead!"

b

[facultative]

Anakin stares back blankly at her. He looks a little unwell, a high flush to his cheeks and bags under his eyes, but beyond that there's a definite sense that there's something wrong. Maybe it's his eyes that look like gold at certain angles or the fangs that can be glimpsed when he speaks. Not everyone could sense the Force, but Anakin was so seeped into the dark side that the temperature drops a couple of degrees around him.

"No."

His own plate of food has only a couple of items on it. Something about being sustained by darkness means he doesn't feel particularly hungry.

[lightthedarkness]

Usagi stared at Anakin and oh...

Oh.

She did not like what she saw.

Who knew she'd miss the old days of him crying at her.

Someone please bring back that Anakin right now. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, pressing on. She is going to have to proceed very carefully, though.

"Well! That's okay, Anakin! I can share some of my stuff with you!" she smiled brightly at the infinitely taller even when sitting Jedi (should she still call him that?). She placed some of her food onto his plate, looking into his eyes.

From this angle, they looked gold.

She knew what that color meant for Force users, she was Maul's best friend, after all.