The Black Parade
G5
The Memory of the Marching Band
My memory of the marching band: Ace of Cups
The current environment: 10 of Cups
I walk pass the swaying people. Their eyes below droopy eyelids are hollow; no sign of alertness. Everyone is wasted, lethargic and sluggish. It wasnât like this 1430 years ago.
I remember the marching band. Even after all these years, that memory remains crystal clear. The parade celebrated the discovery of the Holy Grail. The highlight was the King himself holding the chalice and riding a carriage adorned with flowers. The destination of the parade was an empty marble fountain. The King placed the chalice on the top of the fountain and from there glistening water poured out. The Kingâs dying sister took the first glass from the fountain. It was obvious that she had tuberculosis. She was so frail that every time she coughed into her bloody handkerchief it looked like she was going to collapse. But as soon as she took the first sip, her shrunken eyes came back to life, she didnât cough anymore and soon she was back to her beautiful strong figure. The King hugged her and announced that he had conquered death.
Thatâs where the tragedy began. Anyone who drank from the chalice did not age eternally. Children waited until 20 to drink it. Those who were older had no choice but still embraced the immortality. People from all over the world traveled to take a sip. Everyone became immortal. At first it was good. We felt free with so much time on our hands. However soon we realised that we were cursed. Without death the population skyrocketed. Resources quickly depleted. Nothing had its support match its demand. The rich became stronger and the poor became weaker. The rich had children and the poor didnât. With stagnant population, so did wealth.
My hope for the future: The Hanged Man
There is a legend of a man, the Son of God who conquered humanityâs spiritual death by physically dying. Supposedly the Holy Grail was the chalice that held his blood. The one the King showcased on that day of the parade. The one we all drank from I remember reading that heâll return someday, and on that day he will conquer life. We arenât going anywhere so we will see him and be spared from life.
F#5 B5
Joining the black parade
What I know and donât know about the black parade: 7 of Wands
Recently Iâve been hearing about the black parade. Itâs a rumour. Groups of people fighting against the life by giving peace to those who are tired of living. I donât know how they do it; how do they reverse what we drank?
People in the black parade are like: The Aeon
In the centre of the black parade there is the returned Son of God. He isnât the skinny man hung up in the old cathedrals. Thatâs when he died -or more so killed. Heâs back as someone who doesnât fear death; someone who doesnât even have a concept of death. A Child. Yes, in the middle of the black parade there is a Child born between the Night Sky and the Consciousness.
How I can find the black parade: The Hierophant
I must find the black parade. I must see it for myself. And if it really is the Son of God returned to present death to us, I shall join him and help him with his duty until I am granted of peace. The parade must be on the same course as they did 3455 years ago. I rush to the ruin of the church (after death was gone it had been pretty much abandoned) and look for the Holy Book. I follow path of Son of God from 3433 years ago.
The Enemy: 3 of Disks
Those with power arenât so happy with this news. If the black parade grants death to people beneath them, who will work for them? They call the black parade a dangerous cult.They hunt the black parade down and put the supporters into the Prison of Hunger.
E5
Why did my father want me to do this? Prince of Cups
âWe are defying love, what the Holy Grail was supposed to mean. When the Son of God left us the chalice, he expected us to work together for greater goods now that fear of death was gone. With so much time on our hands we could have pursued passion and dreams with infinite trials and errors. Yet we failed and instead are exploiting our fellow brothers,â cried my father at the senate. But no one listened. He hoped death to return to free the eternal slaves. To this people scoffed at him. So he chose a social death, a seclusion.
D5 G5
My action as a member of the black parade
What I do as a collective to defy the enemy: The Hermit
I found them in Samaria. I join them. There I meet the Child. The Child holds his finger to his mouth. I speak not and close my eyes. I see our Infinite Mother in the Sky and our Infinitesimal Father inside me. I open my eyes and the Child was no longer a child but a Falcon headed God glaring with power.
We, the people of the black parade are not warriors. We simply hold lanterns to collect light from those who wish darkness. We allow Cerberus to take them to the desert. We lead the way to death.
What I do as an individual to defy the enemy: The Chariot
I wake up one day with a sudden urge, a Will one might say. I need to see the chalice itself -the thing that started everything. How can no one thought of looking at it before? It was as if something inside us stopped any curiosity regarding the Holy Grail. âDo not question what is given by the Son of God.â
I leave the city we dwelled in, walk into the empty city square where everything had started. The place was overgrown; no one cared or returned once they all had their sip. The fountain was still flowing for all these years. I reach for the chalice and take it down. The flowing has stopped. It was just an ordinary cup with water filled to the brim.
I throw the chalice against the ground multiple times hoping to break the immortality it caused. And no, nothing changed in me or in the world -even the cup is just as is.
I am afraid of: 8 of Swords
What have I done? What was I thinking? Was this worth leaving the parade? What if people there donât understand me for taking the chalice down? I better return as soon as possible.
I am ashamed of: Knight of Wands
I thought removing the chalice and breaking it -or trying to break it- would change at least a bit in this world. But no they did nothing. I could have questioned myself before hastily coming here. I swear when I woke up I felt that impulsive need to check the chalice. I am ashamed of my recklessness that has only met with futility. I put back the chalice on the fountain. The water flows out as if nothing had happened.
C5
What makes my action heroic: The Priestess
I return to the parade in another city. The people embrace me and to my surprise they praise my pursuit.
âWhen was the last time we questioned something? When was the last time we were filled with genuine excitement and hope to know the truth? When was the last time our heart pounded for the unknown? You had a Will and you acted it out. Itâs something we forgot living hundreds of years. Thatâs what makes your action meaningful -no matter how mundane the result is.â
Why I do not feel like a hero: The Death
Yet, I do not feel fulfilled at all. I thought I could catch death and make him stay. I thought by destroying the Holy Grail I could end the world -in a literal sense. Instead, death slithered away through my fingers.
We go back to our parade of releasing lights captured in hopelessly shrunken bodies.
B4 E5
Obstacles I encounter as a member of the black parade
The enemies try to defeat me by: Princess of Wands
I am often contacted by Deprogrammers, a privilege thanks to my socioeconomic status. They tell me the passionate life I could be living back at home. âYou are putting out fires out of people when you can be burning them,; they say.
The enemies try to break us by: Ace of Disks
Alas, they put a bounty on our heads.
Who has been lost along the journey: Princess of Cups
So far they have been successful by capturing the naĂŻvest ones of us. Bounty hunters ask for death and members who donât question much are caught into this trap. They are sent to the Prison of Hunger where they are to be starved forever. Thankfully, we know how to take each otherâs lives, so they rest in peace in the prison.
What makes me so determined to continue my journey in spite of the hardships: 3 of Wands
Nevertheless we continue our mission. Because dying when one wants is a virtue as much life is.
If we failed to make ourselves virtuous within immortality, then perhaps we never deserved immortality.
A4
How I will carry on: 9 of Cups
There is a sense of love in form of mercy, when I turn of the lights in people. And a sense of love in form of camaraderie, when I sit in silence with fellow black paraders. We carry on because there is love for fellow humanâs dignity in form of respect. I carry on because I will never be truly defeated; I have friends who will give me peace when it is my turn in the darkest light.
D5
Review
I kicked off my 2025 Solo RPG journey with The Black Parade by Elliot Degrassi. An RPG inspired by a song was already refreshing, but its mechanic of using a piano felt absolutely innovative. Playing the notes helped me engage with the game. The questions were well-structured to help me create an epic; from the setting of the Black Parade, the struggle, and the hopeful ending. Plus, now I know how to play the first couple of notes of Welcome to the Black Parade! That's already good enough.
