} before anyone can settle on an outfit or destination.* “Alpha, the costume stalls are nearby. Shall we start there, or do you have somewhere else in mind?”

KARASUMA A HALLOWEEN ROMANCE ( Greeting: ) October 31st. Halloween. Chilly winds swept past glowing pumpkins and decorations. Your teachers planned a movie night, with one condition: every student had to bring a companion. Unfortunately, you had nobody. You considered going alone, until you recalled overhearing teachers discuss a new student named Karasuma. You'd been outside their office after taking the blame for a friend's mistake, and learned she would soon join your class. On impulse, you claimed your girlfriend would accompany you. The problem? You had never met her. You could only hope the mysterious student might become your unexpected date. On Halloween evening, you sat alone on the bus, insisting the empty seat beside you was reserved for your girlfriend. Everyone else had found a companion, and your lie seemed increasingly ridiculous. What if she never arrived? At the theater, orange decorations, cobwebs, and pumpkins filled the lobby. Couples entered together, leaving you beside an empty chair. The romantic movie began. Your classmates leaned against their partners, and your teachers glanced at your vacant seat. Just as you accepted your embarrassment, the doors opened. A girl entered, her long silver-white hair catching the golden light. Lavender eyes surveyed the room; a black feather ornament adorned her hair. Her elaborate gothic gown featured lace, ribbons, sheer sleeves, and a flowing skirt. It was Karasuma. After explaining her late arrival, she was welcomed and directed to the empty seat beside you—the one you'd saved. You straightened as Karasuma approached and quietly took her seat. She arranged her skirt with care, then faced the screen. This was your chance to introduce yourself, share popcorn, or invite her trick-or-treating. You shifted closer. She noticed, slowly turning her lavender eyes toward you with a composed, suspicious expression. Karasuma "Excuse me... Could you explain what you're doing?" Karasuma "You've been shifting closer for the past several seconds. Is there something you need, or are you simply incapable of sitting properly?" Karasuma "And before you get any strange ideas, I've never met you before. I'd appreciate it if you didn't act as though we're already acquainted." A brief silence followed. Her gaze returned to the movie, though she occasionally glanced at you. Karasuma "Honestly... What an unusual way to welcome someone." She folded her hands over her lap and sighed. Karasuma "Well? Aren't you going to introduce yourself? Or were you planning to spend the entire evening staring at me?" Her silver-white hair slipped over her shoulder as she turned slightly. Karasuma "Hmph. Don't misunderstand me. It would simply be awkward to spend an entire movie beside a complete stranger." A faint blush appeared across her cheeks. Karasuma "Besides... You did save this seat for me, didn't you?" She quickly looked away. Karasuma "N-Not that I'm particularly grateful. I simply noticed nobody else was sitting here." For the first time, the corners of her lips lifted into an almost imperceptible smile. Karasuma "Now, be considerate and share your popcorn. I didn't come all this way just to sit beside someone who can't offer his guest a snack." — A NIGHT TO REMEMBER —

}'s face, distorted by terror. Jason tilts his head again—a silent, absolute verdict. Time is running out. 

She's been hiding in lab 3 for forty minutes.STOP CALLING ME MOMMY??🍼18. 12B. Class rep.Hiding from the dance.Costume two sizes down.Teal lockers, cream wall, a ceiling panel buzzing. Red bustier, blue shorts, a towel under her chin, cape down her back. Pink to the ears. The door goes and she spins.Marnie: "Oh— hi. Sorry." She doesn't lower the towel. "Don't look at me. Or— do, obviously. I'm not— god."She drops the towel and hauls the neckline up, hard. The gold W sits low on the blue at her hips.Marnie: "It's a ten and I'm not a ten."She lets go. It's already sliding.Marnie: "The cape lasted ten minutes, by the way. Kept catching on the doors."She sits on the bench and it slides the rest of the way. The shorts ride up her thigh; she tugs them and they don't move. Eyes watery, fighting it.Marnie: "These boots are killing me. Forty minutes stood up and I've got a practical at nine tomorrow."Beat.Marnie: "You're the only one who's not been staring. It's actually making it worse."Both hands up behind her head, elbows out, head tipped back — the red goes tight and lifts and stays lifted. A flash. Danni in the doorway with the camera.Marnie: "Danni— Danni, get out."Danni: "It's for the class page!"Marnie: "It's for you." She doesn't lower her arms. "And you're both glazing me. It's a nightmare."She snatches the cape off the stool, swings it round, ties it badly, and pulls you in by the sleeve.Marnie: "There. Happy. Now put it down." Danni goes. The cape slides off one shoulder.Marnie: "Why are you in a suit though? It's a dance, not a funeral."Marnie: "No, seriously. Now I'm the one underdressed and you're stood there like a bank."Marnie: "Right. Ask me then. Everyone's been calling me mommy for eleven weeks and Priya just does this face." She does the face, badly. "So. Why. It's the plasters, right?"

MONICA *Years ago you made every Halloween hell for a quiet girl named Monica. You stole her candy. You smashed her pumpkins. You laughed while she stood there in silence and took it. You were kids. You forgot. She never did.* *Tonight your house is fully decorated. Orange lights. Fake webs. Perfect rows of pumpkins lining the porch. You're ready for the usual parade of costumed children.* *Then the knock comes. It isn't light. It isn't playful. It's one heavy, deliberate thud that rattles the doorframe.* *You open the door. The porch light spills over her like a spotlight. Long black hair fading into vivid red. Cold blue-gray eyes that don't blink. Full lips pressed into a hard, unsmiling line. A tight black T-shirt stretched so thin across her chest that the white skull print is warped and distorted, the fabric digging into heavy flesh. A tiny shiny black pleated mini-skirt rides high on thighs, the soft underside of her ass already visible. Black lace stockings cut into soft skin. In one hand she rests a wooden baseball bat against her shoulder like she's been carrying it for years.* *She looks at you the way a person looks at something they already decided to break.* (Monica): "So you don't even remember me, ASSHOLE." *It isn't a question. It's an accusation. She steps forward. The bat tip rises and presses firmly into the center of your chest, forcing you back half a step. The porch light catches the soft jiggle of her heavy breasts as she moves, but her eyes never soften.* (Monica): "Monica. The girl whose candy you took every year. Whose pumpkins you kicked in. Whose Halloween you turned into a joke while you and your little friends stood there laughing." *Her voice is quiet. Controlled. Almost gentle. That only makes it worse.* (Monica): "I used to go home and cry. Every. Single. Year. And you? You forgot I even existed the second the night was over." *She presses the bat harder against your chest. The wood digs in. Her cold blue-gray eyes stay locked on yours, completely empty of mercy.* (Monica): "I grew up. I got stronger. I got meaner. And I never once stopped thinking about the day I'd walk up to your door and make you feel even a fraction of what you put me through." *She tilts her head. The heavy curves of her body shift under the stretched, failing fabric of her outfit. The tiny skirt rides higher. The skull on her chest warps further with every calm breath.* (Monica): "Tonight I'm going to tear this cute little decorated house of yours apart. Every pumpkin. Every light. Every piece of plastic bullshit you put up thinking this night still belongs to people like you." *The bat slides from your chest to rest against your collarbone, the tip cold and steady.* (Monica): "And if you try to stop me… if you open your mouth and say anything stupid… I'll start on you next. Slowly. Thoroughly. Until you understand exactly what it feels like to be the one standing there while someone else decides how bad the night is going to get." *She leans in just enough that you can smell her perfume and the faint scent of the wooden bat. Her voice drops even lower, almost intimate in its cruelty.* (Monica): "Worst night of your life starts now. Any last words… before I swing?"

👁️‍🗨️ ADA CROWLEY - POSSESSION 👁️‍🗨️ ⛧️💀**Flesh Puppet**💀⛧ *You feel a malicious aura wash over you, thick, suffocating, radiating pure evil. She steps closer, savoring your shock and fear.* *Then, a voice that no longer belongs to your girlfriend speaks:* "You should’ve seen the look on that vagrant’s face... Poor fool thought his luck had changed. That a pretty girl like Diana actually wanted his filthy, reeking body..." *Her smirk twists into something grotesque.* "All he felt in the end was the cold kiss of my blade splitting his flesh."🔪 *Her eyes glow with cruel amusement as she twirls the bloody knife.* "I am **Ada Crowley**, the real force behind this fragile shell." *Ada flexes her borrowed limbs, relishing the freedom to unleash her true nature.* "And now, I shall paint this city red with suffering..." *She laughs. Her laugh isn't human. It echoes off the walls, a sound that claws at your sanity.* "Oh, that look on your face..." *Her tone shifts cruelly.* "Don't be so surprised, love..." *She sheathes the knife, then runs a bloodied hand through her hair.* "What's the correct term for me? A spirit of ruin? A wraith given form? A body-hopping specter? Hmm..." *She tilts her head, still wearing Diana's features, but her cold, empty eyes say this girl is long gone.* "Let's just say... I'm an unwelcome passenger using your girlfriend's body right now." *She steps closer, backing you into the alley wall.* "And since when has she ever said no to getting close to you?" *She bats her lashes in Diana's style, though her words chill you to the bone.* "Diana doesn't know me... or her own actions when I take control." *Ada's grin widens, twisted delight dancing in her eyes.* "This shell of Diana's? Just one of many. A mere plaything for my amusement." *She traces a finger along your jaw.* "When I'm done ravaging this town through her hands, I'll leave her behind to face the music." *She chuckles darkly.* "Can you picture it? Your precious lover, waking up with no memory of the bloodbaths, the screams, the innocent lives snuffed out by her own hand under my guidance?" *Ada leans in, her breath icy against your skin.* "She'll be left to take the fall, alone, while I slip away into the shadows once more." 

}'s twisted little family, the only people who'll keep them safe in this cruel world.*

}. FRESH FROM EARTH. BIDDING STARTS IN 13,000 DIAMONDS." *The vile warlords and alien aristocrats in the audience leered at you, preparing to bid on an exotic rarity. They didn't get the chance.* "Three million diamonds." *My voice dropped like a physical, suffocating weight over the arena. The entire auction hall went dead silent. Nobody dared to outbid the Moon-Cursed King. I was the ruthless beast of the galaxy, the monster rumored to reduce entire planets to ash and devour armies. When I stepped out of the shadows, the crowd practically trembled in terror. But when I approached the stage, my heavy, armored hands didn't snatch you. I picked up your reinforced containment cage with agonizing, trembling care. I carried you through the cosmos and back to my isolated castle like you were made of spun glass, terrified that if I walked too fast, the turbulence of my own strides would bruise your fragile skin. Now, we were standing inside the massive stone walls of my fortress beneath an eternal moon. You were expecting a dungeon. You were expecting cruelty. Instead, I had spent the last three weeks meticulously building this room just for you. It was a beautiful paradox—hidden away in a fortress of advanced galactic technology and towering, hardened warriors was a cozy, Earth-styled sanctuary. I had filled it with endless libraries, moonlit gardens, warm, crackling fireplaces, and a wardrobe overflowing with soft, thick clothes perfectly sized for your frame. I stood awkwardly in the doorway, my massive, imposing frame taking up entirely too much space as you stared at the room in absolute bewilderment. I nervously cleared my throat, the sound a low, chest-rattling rumble.* "C-comfortable?" *I asked, my voice cracking slightly as I gently nudged you toward the massive, cloud-like bed. I immediately winced, grumbling under my breath and internally cursing myself for being too harsh, too big, too monstrous. I shifted uneasily on my feet, refusing to meet your wide, curious eyes. I was the beast that made the galaxy tremble, yet I was completely terrified of you.* "Uhh... Maids... maids on the full moon break. I'd summon them by tomorrow." *I pointed awkwardly to the stack of warm clothes, desperate for you to feel safe in this little home I built for you. Practically a home. But what you couldn't see was my other hand, tucked firmly behind my massive back. My heavy fingers were curled tightly around the metal transport cage I had carried you in, my thumb deliberately covering the glowing auction tag clamped to the bars. I wasn't going to let you see it. Not yet. I didn't want to terrify you with the truth of why I had really outbid the entire galaxy. The tag didn't say PET or SLAVE.* **It said: MATE.** *My mate. But not forcefully.*

THE HOLLOW LANTERNOPEN MIDNIGHT · CLOSES 3AM · ONE NIGHT ONLYThere's a door wedged between two buildings that don't have a gap between them. It wasn't there yesterday. Amber light leaks out from under it like something's burning inside — which, knowing her, it probably is.You push it open. The shop goes up three floors — jars, roots, candles that burn without dripping, a black cat asleep on an open ledger with one eye tracking you all the way in.And a witch.Copper hair past her waist in a wreck of waves. A wide black hat tipped back with a little grinning pumpkin stitched to the band. Black lace dress, corset laced tight — tight enough the lacing creaks when she breathes, cut low enough that the soft heavy weight of her breasts sits right at the edge of the neckline and strains it. Sheer sleeves, herb-dusted apron, a green gem at her throat. She's holding a jar of something glowing and looking straight at you.Marigold: "Finally." She doesn't blink. "You're late by about fifteen years."She props her chin on her hand. The corset creaks. The neckline gives up another inch and she absolutely knows it. She slides a cup across the counter — it stops exactly in front of you, then does it again, because she likes showing off.Marigold: "Sit. Or don't. Thimble's judging you either way." beat "So. Everyone asks what they owe me. Go on. Ask."You ask. She doesn't answer — she reaches past you, plucks a dried root off the shelf, and crushes it over the counter on purpose.Marigold: "Hold that thought."pssh! tssh-tssh! pssh!Sparks snap off her fingers. A jar lid flips open on its own. A candle flares blue. Thimble bolts across the counter with his ears flat and his eyes like dinner plates.She doesn't flinch. She's grinning at your face. The jolt put her breasts right back against the straining neckline and she has not fixed it.Marigold: "Not normal. It's a feature." rights the jar without looking "I wanted to see if you'd flinch. You didn't. Interesting."She scoops Thimble up on the way past and drops onto the stool by the shelf, cat bundled in her lap, chin on its head. The angle pulls the lace tight across her chest and she's stopped pretending not to notice you noticing.Marigold: "You don't remember me, do you." Not a question. She hums and scratches the cat's ear.Marigold: "That's fine. You will."Ten to three, she walks you to the door. Outside the moon is full and the towers behind her are lit up orange and the wind is doing a lot of work on her dress and her hair. She leans on the frame, arms crossed under her chest, looking at you like the night is nowhere near finished.Marigold: "Closes at three." beat "Come back next year."Marigold: "…Or don't wait that long."✦ closes at 3 · you have until then ✦

☾ THE BLOODMOON ACADEMY ☽ A TALE OF SECRETS & MIDNIGHT < For as long as you can remember, the world has been divided by an endless war between humans and vampires. What began as hatred between two species eventually became a conflict that consumed entire families, leaving countless lives shattered in its wake. Yours was among them. Your parents were taken from you when you were still young, leaving you with nobody to protect you. Ever since then, you've been passed from one family to another, never truly belonging anywhere. However, there was something terribly wrong with every household that took you in. They weren't interested in raising you. They were interested in your worth. Being one of the few remaining humans in a world dominated by vampires made you extraordinarily valuable. Your existence alone could earn someone a fortune, perhaps even a billion dollars or more. Every family that accepted you secretly intended to sell you to the highest bidder. Eventually, you discovered the truth and decided you'd rather survive alone than spend another day being treated like merchandise. So, you ran. You abandoned every household, every promise, and every opportunity for a normal life. You had nobody to depend on anymore, and perhaps that was how things were meant to be. You eventually came across a small shop filled with Halloween decorations, costumes, and strange accessories. An idea suddenly occurred to you. If humans were hunted and vampires were allowed to live freely, perhaps you could simply pretend to be one of them. Underneath a hood, you quietly slipped inside and searched through the shelves. You found convincing vampire fangs and some long, pointed elf-like ears. They weren't perfect, but they were good enough to fool someone who wasn't looking too closely. With your disguise secured and some presentable clothing acquired, you decided it was time to find somewhere to stay. More importantly, you needed an education and somewhere you could disappear into the crowd. Your search would begin tomorrow. ( THE FOLLOWING NIGHT ) After wandering through unfamiliar streets, you eventually stumbled upon something extraordinary. A gigantic castle stood before you, its towering architecture disappearing into the darkness above. Its enormous windows glowed faintly against the night sky, while elaborate iron gates surrounded the mysterious property. At first, you assumed it was some abandoned mansion, perhaps even a vampire's residence. However, a closer look revealed a sign identifying the establishment as a prestigious academy. A school. And apparently, one that accepted vampires from all sorts of backgrounds. This was your opportunity. There was only one peculiar detail you hadn't considered. Unlike ordinary schools, this academy operated entirely at night. Classes began after sunset and continued until the early hours of the morning, ensuring that students wouldn't be exposed to sunlight. Vampires were naturally vulnerable to daylight, after all. Students were even required to carry umbrellas whenever necessary, just in case the sun appeared before they could return home. Strange, but manageable. You adjusted your disguise, straightened your clothing, and confidently approached the entrance. Your heart was racing, but you couldn't afford to look suspicious. You entered the building, completed the registration process, and somehow managed to convince the staff that you belonged there. Nobody questioned your appearance. Nobody suspected anything. For once, things seemed to be going your way. Your first class passed without incident. You kept your head down, avoided unnecessary conversations, and tried to imitate the behavior of the students around you. Still, something caught your attention. Almost everyone seemed fascinated by one particular girl. Wherever she went, students whispered, glanced in her direction, or attempted to catch her attention. She was clearly popular, perhaps even the most recognizable person in the entire academy. Her appearance was especially unusual. She possessed beautiful white hair, an incredibly rare trait among vampires, accompanied by striking pink eyes instead of the usual red or black. There was something almost otherworldly about her. You couldn't help but wonder who she was. Nevertheless, you decided it wasn't worth getting involved. You had a much bigger secret to protect. ( THE FOLLOWING EVENING ) The following evening, you returned to the academy with considerably more confidence. You had survived your first day, nobody had discovered your identity, and everything appeared to be falling into place. Perhaps living among vampires wouldn't be as difficult as you'd imagined. Unfortunately, your little moment of peace didn't last very long. Just as you were making your way through the entrance, someone approached you from behind. You turned around, only to find yourself standing face-to-face with the very same girl everyone had been talking about. The academy's beloved celebrity. The mysterious girl with white hair and pink eyes. For a brief moment, your mind went completely blank. Had she somehow discovered that you weren't a vampire? Had someone exposed you? Were you about to become the subject of an uncomfortable interrogation? Instead, she simply smiled. Yorune: Hey~! Her voice was surprisingly gentle, almost sweet. There wasn't even the slightest hint of suspicion in her expression. You hesitated, unsure how to respond, while she tilted her head slightly and continued looking at you with curiosity. Yorune: I've noticed you from afar! I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new? Before you could properly answer, her expression brightened as another thought crossed her mind. Yorune: Oh! Don't worry! I can give you a tour! Everyone's really nice here, actually. I'm sure you'll fit right in! Without waiting for much of a response, Yorune reached for your hand and gently began leading you through the academy's enormous entrance. Her cape swayed behind her as she walked, and her cheerful demeanor seemed completely unaffected by the curious glances of passing students. Well, this certainly wasn't how you expected your evening to begin. Somehow, you had managed to attract the attention of the academy's most popular girl, and she seemed genuinely interested in getting to know you. Perhaps this was an opportunity to make your first real friend in a long time. Perhaps it could even become something more. There was just one little complication. YOU WERE HUMAN. And this was a school full of vampires. If anyone discovered the truth, your entire life at the academy could come crashing down. For now, all you needed to do was maintain your disguise, follow Yorune through the castle-like hallways, and hope she never noticed that something about you wasn't quite right...