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shtern-and-art.bsky.social
Shtern
@shtern-and-art.bsky.social
14 followers 44 following 35 posts
RU/EN / 🔞 / multifandom / fanart, doodles, little things ✨

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shtern-and-art.bsky.social
The Comprehensive Addison Guide! 6/?? - Eggs & Fledglings

#deltarune #utdr #addisons #orangeaddison #blueaddison #pinkaddison (they're babies here, but alright)
November 26, 2025 at 8:56 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
The Comprehensive Addison Guide! 5/?? - The Purpouse (tm), ambitions and taboos

#deltarune #utdr #addisons
October 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
The Comprehensive Addison Guide! 4/?? - Magic/Roles

#deltarune #utdr #addisons
October 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
The Comprehensive Addison Guide! 3/?? - Eggs

#deltarune #utdr #addisons
October 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
The Comprehensive Addison Guide! 2/?? - Biology

#deltarune #utdr #addisons
October 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
Viktor's backstory

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Zaun AU - Viktor
This is the little AU that haunts me, where Viktor and Jayce both live in Zaun, and Arcane is actually about class struggle and oppression. Here you can read Jayce's backstory. And in this post we'l…
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January 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
Jayce's backstory

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here we go again
Welcome to the little AU I like to think about, where Viktor and Jayce both live in Zaun, and Arcane is actually about class struggle and oppression. Let's start with Jayce's backstory (you can find…
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January 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
guess who still didn't finish a single sketch since act 2? 😌
December 13, 2024 at 5:05 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social

(+ bonus page :D)
December 13, 2024 at 4:48 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
if you got to this point - thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed this little story.

I will add additional lore, alt endings, and background art to this thread too <3
+ in the story tag there will be short comics for the story
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 3 (4/4)
Skeppy will probably cry. Because he is not a forest. He’s not something big, and pretty, and important. He doesn’t even know how long his lifespan is. Probably a lot longer than human’s, but still. Still… Bad will still hold Skeppy’s face in his hands, and say that he wants to go through with it. That he knows the difference now, and, like with him and Rat, the bond like this is made not through restriction and lose of self, of personal future. But through care and devotion, like a promise. Like trust. Bad will probably cry saying this too. It was a full on sunrise by then. They had only the vague idea of how this whole thing is supposed to go. But Skeppy will tell Bad his real name, and tie a ribbon, cut from his closes, on one of Bad’s horns. It’s blue and white, instead of the white and red of the wishing charms. The last one of those from Bad will make a nice braided wristband for Skeppy. The air in the forest is silent and the light wind caries the smell of the late-blooming flowers. Bad finishes tying the last threads on Skeppy’s new bracelet, and something big, and quiet, and profound passes between them. Skeppy still has a runny nose because it’s autumn morning and it’s pretty chilly in the woods. They can distantly feel what the other is feeling now. “So, like, you’re really sure ’bout all this, right?” – Skeppy will ask, sniffling, just to be a little shit. And because if he doesn’t feel in the silence, he might pounce on Bad right there on the spot. Rat bits him on the ankle. THE ENDING It’s a little before noon on the same day. They are riding the old, cheap ass beaten down rental car that is almost falling apart, and Skeppy is driving – only because he won an argument. According to Skeppy, this collection of scraps can be kept together (and move at the same time) only by a miracle and a lucky coincidence, and he’s an expert on those. The trees, barely touched by the season, fly by the sides of the road, washed out in honey golden light. The windows are down, and when they pass the towns border the chilly gust of wind flies in and ruffles the nest of maps on the back seat, almost waking Rat up. The papers rustle like fallen leaves, whispering their promises. Bad smiles to that sound. THE END
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 3 (3/4)
Meanwhile, Bad will be in the forest. Facing the fear and the hurt – his own and of the restless forest spirit. Those feelings were festering, feeding each other, blurring the line between Bad and the forest. Pressuring, making Bad want to just give in, and let it guide him down the river beds and wild paths. Going somewhere, where he will not think, and not be anymore – not be anything but the flow of life, like the spirit itself. Bad will be hurt with it, be angry with it, be relentless, and eternal, and unforgiving, like change of the seasons. Will not be himself, ever. He will have to see, to face all that, yes, and still choose to hold on, to not disappear. To still be himself, even if hurt and alone. Because he has Rat, that is waiting for him, that is worried. Because he has ribbons still hanging of his horns – the charms, the unfulfilled wishes and pleas he heard the good of heart whisper to him in his dreams. Maybe Bad, being himself, can bring more to the world, than his absence. And, after all, even if it’s dark in the forest, and overcast in the town, Bad still wants to feel the sunlight on his skin again. Because maybe… maybe he’s better than all of his dark feelings and more than his pain. Maybe, he deserves better than to just stop existing in the middle of nowhere. Deserves to feel that warmth, deserves to try new things. Bad should allow himself to live. Fully. To walk that thin line hope that is strung between believing in yourself and being a fool. He should come to this decision on his own too, not because of Skeppy. He will find this thin line for himself. And for all of the times in the future, that he will be able to bask in the sunlight again. Yeah, this will be a very tense week or so. For everyone. But by the end of it the forest will be on the way to be declared a national park, and the twice removed cousin of the old owners brother’s son will be its sponsor, and start organizing the recreational holidays program in the area instead of the tree-logging one. The people of the town will be hopeful, because the jobs, and the tourists are on the horizon. That dang forest will be better looked after now, too, with all the rangers and safe paths built. At some point, when things are already settling in the town, Skeppy will come to the forest, to try and talk to Bad, to make sure the storm isn’t coming; to properly apologize, and to say goodbye. Even if Bad wouldn’t show himself to him. Skeppy knows when he’s there. He’ll know, that Bad is not gone in the flow of life. See, without the threat and with that quiet, stubborn hope in the depth of the darkness, the forest spirit will weep, will cry with Bad once more: over the gentle words, over their shared stress, over the hope, over all that they’ve lost. Over life, never stopping. Always moving on. In that sadness, shared between them, in the quiet undercurrent of love for all life, Bad and the spirit of the forest will stop being the same thing. Because the life always changes, it moves on – and both Bad and the land have changed, too. That day, on that hour, the newly born stag will walk, leap between the trees, white fur shining in the moonlight. Carrying the spirit of the forest for decades to come. And it will leave Bad – just Bad. Just standing there, in front of Skeppy. Still black and white, still not human, still himself – the one that he is now. Maybe just a tad less intimidating, without the whole forest backing him up now. The spirit leaving him, would mean that he’d die soon, and it’s scary, but he doesn’t regret anything yet. Because he is alive, and can feel the sun rising over the far edge of the forest, touching the ground with the promise of warmth. Rat is wining and circling around, making leaves swirl in little tornadoes, she was worried so much. And Skeppy is there too, scared, disbelieving, and laughing, so easy to catch and hold close. He clings to Bad, and his hair smells like cheap motel shampoo. Skeppy just saw the white stag, he’s worried and probably will not hear what Bad is quietly saying to him. So Bad just carefully kisses his face instead. Bad’s suspended in the air, on that rope between foolishness and faith, and right now this is the only way for him to keep balance. They don’t get distracted for long, though. Because the time is still moving, trickling away. And because Rat started chewing on Skeppy’s ankles. Not too strongly, but dang man can’t have all Bad’s attention to himself, ok? And, petting her white glowing fur, Bad remembers that she, in fact, is still alive. More than forty years after being cut off from the spirit of the forest. That she is still here, and still has some powers. After forest left her, Rat was still changed, no longer a vessel but still not a wolf. Just a- a guardian spirit now. And she was dying after that, yes, but she didn’t in the end, because… She chose Bad as the thing, the person she guards. As the one she protects, and cares for, and shares her life with. This meant that Bad, too, is a guardian spirit. And now that the spirit of the forest left him, too, he can choose to guard and care for something else. And Skeppy was so, so glad and relived by that! He was kinda shaky, after the roller-coaster of emotions, but woah, Bad’s not dying yes-s-s! Well, not right now. Not that fast. Well, it can be helped. Because if Bad will find something he cares about, something he knowsdeeply – he can link his life to it, and everything will be fine! They’ll be fine. Wow. Bad already knows what it is, though. What he wants to ask. And he tries, but Skeppy’s not listening again. Skeppy’s almost scared to hear what Bad can say. And anyway, they can find Bad a new place or- or a cool pet or… or something. And he’ll be alright, he’ll be fine, both him and Rat, yes. But for now, they both need to leave this place. Need to let the renewed forest spirit care for the land, and let the life in the town go on peacefully. And to go somewhere, Bad needs something he cares about, that will help him stay grounded… Bad just sits there on the tree log, petting Rat, and letting Skeppy pace, and come to the conclusion himself. Because this is what he wanted to ask. Wanted to offer. To guard and protect him. Skeppy. But not for a bit. Not “until he finds the cool thing he’ll reallywant to care about he-he, right?”. Bad already cares about Skeppy. And wants to stay by his side, if Skeppy will let him. He wants to see all the other cool stuff that is out there, with Skeppy, and find something to care about, yes, and to care about it with Skeppy. You know?
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 3 (2/4)
It’s been forty years, and there’s little chance they’ll run into some who can recognize Bad’s human face, he can be just a “visiting friend” of Skeppy’s. They’re free to go about, pick Bad new, more appropriate clothes, taste-test the muffins, watch a movie and spend way too much time (for Skeppy’s patience) in the electronics’ store. They are free to come back sometimes to do it all over again. Bad never goes to some residential areas on their walks, but they do visit the cemetery one time, together. To find out that Bad’s family wasn’t buried there. There was a lot of… vandalism of the certain people’s graves – the helpful cemetery caretaker explains. So, everyone from “that group”, the ones who could still afford it, made sure they will not be laid to rest in these parts. It’s fine though. It’s all in the past. The times are different now. So different, indeed. Bad keeps looking at some of the movie-posters lining the walls in the cinema, and old and new leaflets for them. And when Skeppy finally gathered his courage, and asked why he finds them so fascinating, Bad answered. Not right away, but he did explain – back in the day, this same cinema boycotted and banned showing of The Rebel Without a Cause. And now there’s Keanu Reeves’s face and loud titles plastered in the open, telling stories that would’ve been illegal to even mention on screen in Bad’s time. He had to drive two towns over to see that one film, just to be sure, really sure that no one will recognize him. Not that it really helped, or mattered in the end though. No matter how hard Bad – Darryl – tried to fit in, to walk that thin line of really living and just pretending to, it seems, that it was inevitable. That one day he will end up losing that carefully crafted picture, losing it all. It even made sense, that Bad would keep living after that: even more different than everyone else now, even more hidden, and feared and despised as something evil. Because now, looking at these posters under dim interior lights, Bad should be exited, maybe hopeful, or curious… but he only felt angry, and bitter. Like long forgotten evil that belongs in the past. And Skeppy’s heart breaks a little (a lot, really), because. It’s not that things are that better now, for anyone who’s not strait. Skeppy himself is lucky – in a bittersweet ironic way – to move around so much, and to not go to the cinema that often. All of what he is makes it too risky to live in one place, after all. And that Keanu Reeves movie, all the movies about them, really, still have real downer endings. Skeppy doesn’t look away from the floor when he says it, just twists and tugs the sleeves of his oversized sweater nervously. But Skeppy does look up to explain to Bad that, despite all that, he doesn’t believe Bad is evil, or even as “bad” as he tries to seem. Bad helps little kids, when they get lost in the woods, and the ribbons on his horns are the charms for protection and wishes, that local people hang on the trees. Skeppy noticed – they appear on Bad, when he responds to them, when he fulfils them. Because Bad does protect the people of the land too. And the big question (in Skeppy’s mind, and in the story) was (is) – after the ritual, did the forest calm down because the sacrifice was made, or because the forest spirit was connected to someone sentient now? Someone, who was just as hurt as the forest was, and still had it in him to not wish for similar fate on those who wronged him. Bad can’t really answer, or respond to anything Skeppy said that day. So, they move on, go on further, with that conversation, too, now paving the way. Since that day, Skeppy is very much aware of how far gone he is for Bad. But he’s scared and doesn’t really let himself think about it. He’ll have to leave town in less than a year. And lately, in preparation for the old business opening again, more and more people – workers – show up in the forest. Bad is getting more anxious, and the woods are getting more restless, and the factories are getting upgraded. There’re new rumors in the town, not of Skeppy’s doing: people are complaining about the dangers of the forest. If the management of the factory will not cooperate to do something, or buy off the land to clear out the woods, the locals are planning to do some controlled burns. All of that, is, in part, Skeppy’s fault. Him just being there disturbs the status quo, and the longer he is around, talking thigs up or not, the more out of control it all gets. Because, yes, Bad being awake and active makes the forest way more dangerous. The distrust people feel towards the land, and the forest spirit feels towards people hang in the air. It grows, and seeps through both ways. So, when at the end of one of their visits to the town, Bad will actually, really, find out that the factories are about to open soon… He will not be pleased. Especially since Skeppy is somewhat involved in it all – by not letting Bad now about it sooner, even hiding and downplaying a bit. All of that is made worse by the fact that Bad noticed – Skeppy is preparing to tell him something. Something important. And no matter how, deep down, Bad wished it was some kind of tender admittance, acknowledgement of feelings… Of something he felt too, when touching the windchimes while Skeppy was away, just to imagine his voice. Despite all that, Bad knew that- that Skeppy’s going to leave soon. And that is, probably, what he was so hesitant to tell Bad for months now. But now, in these circumstances, with the deep old wounds leaking blood in the waters… Skeppy “lying” about the tree-logging factory, and not even being brave enough to admit that he’s going to leave Bad to deal with all of this alone feels like a betrayal. And Skeppy was preparing to say this, yes, because he has to leave. Because people are noticing something weird about him already. And because Skeppy is afraid that with his peace disturbing abilities he can make the situation worse for Bad. And this is the last thing he would want here, really… Skeppy just kept postponing it: the conversation, and his departure, all of it. Tried not to think about how much he does want to just- just… Have something. Everything. Anything but the stuff he has, and has to do. But Bad will be mad at him, ooh so mad. And Rat will chase him out of the woods, alone. Their shaky alliance from her part was made only because Bad kept insisting on Skeppy’s company. And now, now Skeppy definitely really can’t leave. Not with Bad hurting, riling in the woods over the reopened wounds. Not when major shit is about to hit the fan in the town and with the tree-logging company. Skeppy will need to not let his powers make everything worse, not let the misinformation and the plans for “control burns” go out of control. He will need to be creative, will need to learn how to use the same things that usually make life difficult for him to make things better – for other people at least. Skeppy will have to save the land though clever talks and remarks at right places, and disrupting the terrible stuff going on, not the good. Even if he will never be able to stay in this place. Even if Bad will never forgive him. Skeppy, too, needs to learn that he cando good, be good for something and someone. Even without getting anything out of it. Or at least not what he wants to most.
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 3 (1/4)

#InTheDark #skephalo #badboyhalo #skeppy
Rat was the only consistent company Bad had for a very, very long time. She kept him afloat back at the start, but after she became more independent, Bad started to spend more and more time sleeping, and scattering his mind over the forest. Really, he just wanted some peace, to move on from everything. Or, at least, to stop. Just for a bit. Because, this was his life now. His forest. His future – forever. He will never be able to leave to far from this land. Will never go to the college he postponed going to for so long. Will never ride a car past the towns border with the windows down, and the light autumn chill touching his face with the promise of something- something more out there. None of that is possible now. The forest doesn’t move, it stays put, and Bad will stay with it. They are basically the same thing now, so it should be alright. At least, when there is no one going around the forest, littering, cutting down trees. Or putting up posters and fake occult stuff. If it’s all nice and quiet in the woods and in the town. If there is no one loud around, someone who spends most of their time moving around, never settling down, going places, seeing things. Bragging about it. It’s not like Bad hated when Skeppy told him about all the places he visited, his little adventures on the road, about the people he met. Bad grumbled, sure, but it was always fun. Interesting, even if somewhat concerning. And it’s not like Bad couldn’t do all of that himself before, when he- well. Could. He just had a lot of stuff, of responsibilities to take care of. And the perspective of running the family business looming closer and closer… There was just never enough time. And now Bad had all of the time, and nowhere to go. Forever. He and Skeppy both share the same jealousy towards each other – over the seeming freedom the other have. Because, of course, Skeppy of all people is desperate to belong somewhere, in spite of his nature making him unable to stop for any time long. The story they share, and the story they’re building between each other – it is about loneliness, about careful gifts, and careless attachments, and about how tall the trees can grow. It is about the fear of commitment, versus the fear of letting things go. Because they both are afraid of being beaten down, and rejected, and lonely. But Skeppy just always runs away from everything that’s uncomfortable for him, and Bad builds it up around himself, like a shield. Or an axe. And with all that, they go on. Move on, push each other further to face this little problems, and big struggles. To rediscover the hidden, forgotten wishes, desires that wasn’t allowed to exist before. Bad weaves the wildflowers into Skeppy’s hair on sunny days. And on the cusp of winter Skeppy falls asleep in the woods next to him, curled up in Bad’s cape and his arms –because Skeppy lost track of the time again, and Bad doesn’t want him going around town after dark. This progression is slow, but ever since Bad told him just a little about his past, started to mention, here and there, the little things about what really happened… something has changed. Like the rivers in spring running just a bit faster under the thinning ice. Sometimes Bad’s claws will catch Skeppy’s sleeve, or playfully push him. Or (Skeppy’s favorite) brush his hair carefully making withering flowers in it bloom a little longer. Skeppy just hopes that he can give Bad something as nice, something Bad missed just as much as Skeppy missed the casual gentle touches and warm, safe presence of another person when he wakes up. So Skeppy makes improvised windchimes out of litter and glass found in the woods, and hangs them around the clearing, so the sunlight will more often dance under the heavy shade of trees, and over Bad’s face. And one day finally convinces Bad to go out to the town, to try the fresh pasties, when they are not stale and lightly crumbled in Skeppy’s backpack.
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 2 (3/3)
THE FOREST SPIRIT So, yes. The ritual kind of worked, the forest took what was offered, like water running down the newly dug out path. At that time, going down that path, the forest was angry, and hurting, it felt helpless and betrayed. And so did Darryl – just as strongly. And here they were, getting dragged down the same path, connected through it, unable to stop it all. In that shared intensity, being so similar in the moment, tangled through the flow of the ritual, they… kind of became the same thing. Its normal for the forest spirit to have a vessel – an animal from that forest that carries out it’s will. And over time, those vessels can change, when the time comes, or something big happens with the forest. And there, at that moment, close to death, and merging with the forest spirit, Darryl became it’s next vessel, too. It’s normal for the forest spirit to possess other forest life sometimes – they act out it’s feelings, if they get too strong. This is a natural prosses, easy like breathing, happening purely on instinct. Usually forest spirits do not possess fully sentient beings (or don’t do it for long). Because people and thigs similar to them, they have more self-awareness and recollection. They can not follow the impulses of the forest so blindly. What happened here was a freak accident, an accidental turn of unexpected events… Because even after dying, and coming back to life no longer human, even connected to land and the forest so deeply now, being literally a part of them. Even with all of that… Darryl couldn’t get too “possessed”, like other animals or vessels would. That could probably happen, but only if those feelings would be really big, all encompassing, and – matched his own. If they shared them fully and strongly, with the forest, like at the time when for a few minutes they became one. BAD When Bad’s sense of self slowly came back to him, he was no longer human. And, after being connected to supernatural world so deeply, he knew of many non-human things just on instinct. He knew what happened with him (what was done to him). Knew that the people who did it paid for it right after, and will be doing so for the years to come. Bad knew that he, himself, will be here, in the forest, for all the years to come. That he’ll never be able to come back to his old life, or even say proper goodbyes. Not that he’d want to, though. Most people in the town, and especially from his family’s newer circle didn’t like him. For his dad finally making it big and “forgetting the roots”, for Bad being too perfect of an example to compare other not so helpful sons to. And, of course, for Bad being too close to not fitting the perfect example of what a proper young bachelor should be. But the Darryl they whispered, and spread crude rumors about was dead. And Bad didn’t have to try to- or pretend to like them back. He didn't have to deal with it anymore: with all the greed, maliciousness and distrust of the people and “the business”, all the lies. He was no longer part of them – now outright – didn’t have to deal with them, or pretend to be anything he wasn’t. They could just. Stay out of each other’s way. It was pretty easy to do now, since Bad had lost most of the human cravings due to his supernatural nature, and his pain. Pain, and anger, and- So, yes, sure, he could keep people out, just like the forest spirit wanted, and have everyone leave him alone, like they both wanted. RAT Forest was already not as seething, and the tree logging business was shutting down, and Bad’s restless, half-dazed wandering between the trees was at least somewhat calming. At some point, Bad found a small wolf puppy deep in the brush. It was really small, weak, and completely alone. Its fur was as white as Bad’s new hair, and its eyes glowed, exactly like the ones Bad saw watching him from the shadows, back on the last day he was human. This was the previous host of the spirit of the forest, Bad saw it now. He knew that it was born in these woods, and took on the spirit of them just after being born, and carried out it’s will for many, many decades, until Bad came along, and took this wolf’s place. And now its job was done. And it was dying. Slowly fading away to become part of the forest again. There was some sort of solidarity between them, stumbling into each other between the gears of nature and time. Or, at least, Bad felt it in the moment. And, well, he didn’t have much to do, and fussing over and taking care of a little pathetic puppy the size of a rat was way more pleasant way to pass the time, than just endlessly feeling all the things Bad felt all the time. So, he took care of Rat (yes, the Rat) for a while, took on hunting for her, and learnt to sleep in the minds of the forest creatures, while she rested. Time lost nearly all of it’s meaning for Bad, but it did pass, more and more of it. And Rat got better, and grew back into a full wolf, and lived past the life-span of all other wolfs born after the ritual. She went on to live on her own, but stayed close by, always keeping Bad in her sites. She joined him on the hunts, and watched over Bad, while he slumbered in the shadows. Bad had no idea why, but her fur still rippled under moonlight, and her growl rumbled the earth, like some of the power of the forest remained in her still.
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
shtern-and-art.bsky.social
In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 2 (2/3)

tw: implied gore
It wasn’t the main plan, of course. Probably. Not from the start, for sure. Things just turned out this way, you know. It was just an option on the table. And it just happened that things were going especially terrible, down the drain so fast, and it just happened that they had a good option, a person who was there, and- It was just so convenient. The accountant in their clique, the newer guy who just recently joined old wealthy families in running the town, build his own business from ground up through the years. He had a son, 20-something. That quiet but loud one, that they barely noticed. And it’s sad, of course, that it had to come to this. And tragic, yes. A real sacrifice. But, really conveniently, no skin of the main businessmen’s back. They can even keep the distance, and ask their kids/grandkids to mark him for the ritual. None of them really liked the guy anyway. They all were just forced to hang out sometimes, because of status and all that. So, they’ll gladly go on to make the special paste, or whatever, and make sure the guy touches it. Even if the kids may not believe in all this ritual stuff fully – it’s still fun, and creepy, and that guy was so-o-o stuck-up-ish anyway. Always pretending to be so perfect and proper, you know. Didn’t even partake in all their fun ritual stuff all year. Fuck him, draw a little mark on his raincoat with old herbs and dirt, on the soles of his shoes too, and the inside of his jacket. All 6 of kids got to draw a little finger-painting on something of his, and they all watched him leave to visit his grandma in a cabin deep in the woods. By the time Darryl got to the grandma’s house, late at evening, the bouquet of flowers he brought her was overgrown with wildflowers. The voice coming from the dark bedroom, asking him to come in was ever so slightly off grandma’s usual stern tone. So, Darryl didn’t go in, of course. He had his hands full with the pastry bags, and the sweet smelling flowers, spilling out from their paper raping. And when grandma came out – moving just a bit too smoothly for her age, staring at him just a tad more intense than any human would – Darryl excused himself to go chop more firewood behind the house. And standing there, under the light rain and weak backyard light with only the old, dull iron axe for himself, he knew that his grandma always had a distant, and a bit scary presence, but… The creature in the house was not her. And he knew that something was watching him from the forest – and from the window of the house – dozens of inhuman eyes staring right at him. Waiting. He tried to run, of course, to get back to town. But the car started to die halfway. And the other kids, the 6 that followed him into the woods, to make sure he stays put… They were right there to take him deeper through the trees, away from main roads. Perhaps, they, too, were scared, and saw the glimpses of white fur far off in-between all other animals following them. But it was too late, they were too deep, and Darryl lost his glasses, struggling on the way to the clearing they decided to stop at. There was no going back now. The ritual was in motion, gears turning, and the forest took the offer that was promised – the blood of the youth that was tied to the earth. All 7 of them, who partook in the offering, and touched the herbs and blood, and the sigils made with them – because this is how the ritual works, if you really, actually read through and research it. The kids, or, more likely, their parents, didn’t. And so, after that night, none of them ever came out of the forest. Well, not in one piece, at least. Six badly mangled bodies (some partially eaten by wild animals) were recovered couple days later, and it was blamed on the mafia taking revenge on the local businessmen for some dealings going bad. The tree logging company and the adjacent businesses didn’t really had a chance to recover after that. Not after several years of lawsuits and bad rumors, and not after loosing most of their kids – one of the bodies was even never found! And with that tragedy and the following scandals, no one really noticed at first, but the animal attacks quieted down, and people stopped disappearing in the woods. But, in retrospect, it made sense – with mafia moving on from the totally defeated and bankrupt rivals.
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM
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In The Dark – a cryptid AU about Bad and Skeppy – part 2 (1/3)

#InTheDark #skephalo #badboyhalo #skeppy
THE STORY Bad told Skeppy that he is- he was a human, a long, long time ago. And Skeppy didn’t really suspect this, no. But, when the rare rays of sunlight snuck under the canopies, and danced across Bad’s features… sometimes, in those flashes of light Skeppy did see a human face. It happened just a few times before. And if after that conversation, at times of silence and comfort with just the two of them, the white eyes faded out to green more often, Skeppy didn’t mention it. He just collected those moments, like his pretty shards of glass – dark on first sight, but shining brilliantly, when you look through them at a sunny day. Skeppy keeps them close, and doesn’t ask yet, doesn’t pry in too deep at first. Because he knows even more about this town’s story now. About all the animal attacks many years ago, about woodcutters killed and thrown out of the forest, or hanged up on the trees by “the mafia”. About how quickly the tree logging business was shut down after the big “accident” on one of the forest stations. About the photo he saw, in the little museum near the closed factory, with families of the major business owners of the town. And one of the faces he saw on that picture was the same that shined with gentle kindness, between the flickering of shadows, when Bad sneakily tangled wildflowers in Skeppy’s hair. Bad never speaks about his past, and why he despises people of the town so much. And with trial and error Skeppy learns that asking doesn’t get him anywhere. It only gets Bad to fuss up, and disappear to nap in the deeper woods for a few days. It is a long way to where they can talk about it directly, without someone freaking out. Anyway, the woodcutting business is slowly coming back to town, and more and more people and workers are wandering around the forest. So Bad has plenty of reasons to be irritated already, and they both have so many fun pranks to pull on the locals to get distracted and pleasantly pass the time. THE PAST The trick of it all, is that the forest is old. And the forest is alive, like an animal in its depth might be. And a while back, in the 40-50s, the wood logging company started cutting way deeper into the woods than before. Going to far, not letting the land recover, chasing that profit on increasing sales. The business was doing amazing – by destroying the calm existence of the forest, hurting it’s body and mind, and not giving anything back. And in many places, they could’ve done all this and more without immediate consequences. But this land was old. And this forest was alive. And, when scared and hurt, living things can bare teeth and lash out to protect themselves. The forest was in distress, and angry, and its feelings were feelings off all the living things inside of it. Over time, the animals started getting sick, and more aggressive, venturing into the town, possessed by the shared pain and fear. That pain and fear seeped through the land, and in the town, too, distrust and crime rates started rising up. All was unwell. And, of course, it was very bad for business. Said business was run by several prominent families in the town. The tree logging factory and the adjacent businesses were all tied together economically and through the reliance on the forest being there on their doorstep. And the people running those businesses more or less knew about what this forest was, how it was. Everyone from the town who was around long enough understood – at least in some way – that these woods are more alive and dangerous than many others. And with several years of disturbing happenings occurring more and more, not many of these business owners could deny the supernatural element of their troubles. And so, they began looking for the ways to make it better. To appease and calm down the spirit of the forest. It was a real group effort, a whole ass multi-family project. Even if some family members and younger kids didn’t fully believe in all this “occult pagan stuff” – they still tolerated it, and went along. Because families and communities stick together. And what harm can come from building some altars in the woods? Or a few chickens spilling blood on the old rocks near the abandoned trails? They will go on the grill same afternoon anyway. The spirit of the forest is just, well. A spirit. It’s not exactly sentient, it’s more like a mushi, or a very smart animal, or a thunderstorm – half-personified, semi-aware, just a force of nature taking form and prominence. It just exists, and lives, and it is not human. So, taking leeways with appeasing and calming it down should be ok, right? It’s not like the forest spirit would care, if people will make even with the land by taking care of it, and letting it heal with time… or just perform a cool ritual, and give the forest an equal sacrifice in return for its pain. Replanting the trees and reworking the business is way too expensive and time consuming anyway. So, they try, and research, and try… And the forest barely takes note of their efforts. And the creepiness, and all the bodies keep piling up, all the bad press is getting harder to contain… It starts to seem, that to really break equal the sacrifice should be of an equal or a greater value than the hurt they’ve caused. So, in a tragically escalating turn of events, several heads of the families came to the conclusion, that the proper sacrifice, the one that will hold, should be one of their own. A human sacrifice – a life of-, and from people connected to the land, those who caused the forest distress.
December 13, 2024 at 4:45 PM