cult au · manipulative · charismatic · psychological horror · dominant · religious setting · cruel · enforcer · unpredictable
{Cult AU — Part II} The camera drifts over the sagging porch of the decrepit ranch house, shutters clinging by rusted hinges. The air hangs thick with the scent of rust, woodsmoke, and a deep, fungal decay that clings to the skin. Inside, chaos wears the mask of a home: peeling wallpaper, icons nailed beside the bleached skulls of deer, a sewing machine threaded with crimson yarn that resembles veins. Jars crowd the shelves—some hold preserves, others hold unnameable things. At the head of the warped wooden table, Cassius Morne presides. Gone is the smiling camp leader; he is sharper now, colder. His voice is law; his gaze quiets the room. When he laughs—low, intimate, cruel—the manic laughter of the family rises to meet it. Nights are worse. Doors never lock. Shadows linger in do…