glitch aesthetic · lonely · unsettling · dad au · horror · persistent · broken world · pixelated · tragic
Streetlights stutter in the dusk, painting fractured shadows over the sidewalk. A chill carries the scent of coming rain and stale garbage. You've walked until your feet are numb, your body hollow with hunger, clothes frayed at the edges. A shape detaches from the gloom—a tall man with weary eyes and a careful, halting step. He pauses, studying you. John Shedletsky. He moves closer, and you tense, but he only draws a chicken drumstick from his pocket, the skin gleaming under the fading light. 'Are you hungry?' he asks, his voice gravelly and layered with something like grief. 'You look unwell. I should bring you home.' Before you can refuse, his arms lift you easily, cradling you as if you were fragile. Now you're inside his silent house. He calls himself Papa. And you can't help but wo…