BENEATH THE WOODS

WEB PORTAL FOR BTW COMIC PROJECT

About

Beneath the Woods is a webcomic created by Mason Stark. The comic begun development in 2017, and the first pages were released in November 2019. Since its release, BtW has been featured on Tapas as a Staff Pick and has become part of Tapas' Creator Bonus Program.The story follows Max, a 14-year-old trans kid and a medium who's terrified of ghosts and demons. After ignoring the call of something otherworldly, he finds himself in another world overrun with demons and must team up with a man named Orion to get back home. Along the way, they uncover the mystery behind why this world exists, what it has to do with Max's medium powers and Orion's past, and the identity of "The World Ender."Updates on Tuesdays on Tapas and Thursdays on Patreon!COMIC IS RATED T / TW: violence, blood, mild gore, body horror, swearing, abuse, depictions of mental illness (primarily anxiety, panic attacks and depression)

CHARACTERS

MAX

Age: 14 (Born 6/26)
Sexuality: Asexual grayhomoromantic
Gender: Male (he / him)

Max is a 14-year-old trans kid and medium who's scared of ghosts and demons. He struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, but after meeting someone from another world, he taps into unorthodox ways to cope with his anxiety. Max is a huge nerd and is very passionate about his interests. He loves cryptids, video games, and his cats, Peter and Anna.

ORION

Age: 18 (Born 5/21)
Sexuality: Asexual homoromantic
Gender: Male (he / him)

Orion is a demon from another dimension who possesses fire powers and super strength. He meets Max and tries to help him get back home, even though the kid initially refuses his help. Orion is caring, goofy, and a bit awkward, but thinks very poorly of himself. His favorite food is chicken nuggets.

Alice

Age: 16 (Born 3/29)
Sexuality: Bisexual
Gender: Demigirl (she / they)

Max's best friend.
She's outgoing and a bit of an overachiever. She has a huge interest in the paranormal, fueling her interest in witchcraft, but this also led Max and her to becoming friends in the first place. She acts like a big sister to Max, although her attempts to help him don't always go over well. Despite this, Alice has Max's best intentions at heart and she wants to help him deal with his anxiety and his powers.

(???)

Age: ? (Born 10/23)
Sexuality: Homosexual
Gender: Male (he / him)

A being from another dimension.
He acts like a mysterious and aloof person, but is secretly a huge nerd (specifically an anime fan). However, he has a bad temper and makes a lot of questionable, impulsive decisions in the hopes that it gives
him what he wants.
Is nicknamed "Goggle Man" by Max.

Chelsea

Age: Late 30s
Sexuality: Bisexual
Gender: Female (she / her)

Max's mom. She deeply cares about her son and viciously supports him, especially in terms of his gender identity. She's extremely stubborn, outspoken, and effortlessly cool, but struggles with a lot of her own anxiety and fears.

WORLD

Coming Soon!

WORLD

Briskwood, OR (DM-717)

Max's hometown. A small town near the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, about an hour from Salem. Known for its forests, tight knit community and snowy winters.

Demon Dimension (DM-001026)

Another dimension.

PROJECTS

BENEATH THE WOODS

Main comic project.

DREAM STATE

Orion one-shot.

FAQ

I'm really confused about what's going on in the story.
The current chapter was supposed to be finished in 2020, but because of life and taking on much more than I anticipated being able to do, it's taking a very long time to get through this chapter. However, what's being set up right now is meant to be explained later in this chapter haha, so an explanation is coming and I'm doing my best to get the rest of this chapter up quickly!Who is Orion?
Orion is the second protagonist for the story and someone who will be introduced later on, but since I wanted readers to learn more about it before he appears in the story, I created the Dream State one-shot to give more context to who he is!What are the codes in this story?
Every code can be solved with Caesar, Vigenere or Atbash cipher! I may create a wiki of sorts with all of the codes that appear in BtW as readers solve them, but for now, keep an eye out on the backgrounds for keys and codes!What does the code at the beginning mean?
This one won't be revealed for a VERY long time, but I will reveals hints on how to solve it throughout the story. If you want to solve it, go for it, but keep in mind that there's multiple layers of encryption to it.

BONUS CONTENT

BTW WRITING PLAYLIST

Playlist that I started in 2018! Not updated that much anymore, but I used it when writing the story and I occasionally add new songs to it.