#Asylum AU

[dissemmiart]

Bsd Asylum AU - Fyodor, Dazai and Nikolai

[radiopixelctive]

Guys check out my new silly art-style

Also i decided to draw some Peppinos

@bobmirum @frostinepac3 @peppizza-au @viki-arts @xbeih @sillykimiko @ali-flaion @nomorething1

man, i think I'm too generous sometimes.......

[masasiblingnaruto]

Also made them into stickers

[vincess-princess]

we, the psychos: masterpost

this fic is growing so fast it warrants its own masterpost now

Fandom: Motley Crue, Guns n’ Roses (secondary), Kiss (secondary), the list may be updated

Summary:

The Feelgood Asylum, home to the sickest and the maddest, welcomes a new resident. That’s Tommy Lee, once a heir to a noble family, and now disowned and sent away for seeing what no one else sees and laughing when no one else laughs. At first horrified by the living conditions and the labor that patients have to perform, he then quickly finds new friends… and enemies.

Nikki Sixx, Frank Feranna for others, constantly loses battles with his own demons. And it’s not helping that the worst patient in the asylum, sex-addicted maniac Vince Wharton is sparing him too much - and at the same time not nearly enough - of his attention. And the new patient disturbs their already turbulent relationship even more.

And Mick Mars, who keeps quiet during the day and screams at night, never wanted any of this.

Warnings: mental illness (duh) and everything that it entails, self-harm, sexual assault, unethical medical treatment, period-accurate homophobia. The list may be updated

This fic was inspired by this post by amazing @smokeandmirrorz

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

AO3

Last updated 21.05.2024

[arsonlookers]

My sweet College Best Friend

Yandere! Psychiatrist Lumine x Reader

You actually coincidentally met with Lumine one of the doctors in the asylum. And she was your best friend in college before she transferred to another college across the country.

The only reason she tells you about her transfer is because of a family matter needs to be resolved immediately. She has also already been accepted to the best medical college near their homeland.

After all, we are talking about Lumine, the greatest and top college medical student in your college she already stands out by her beauty add it to her brain and sweetness, and then you will meet the perfect girl in the world ever.

Though you will never know how this perfect girl has secrets she hides from you and will never let you know about it. ever.

since all of us has secrets we needs to hide.

Yandere College Lumine! Actually had a hidden big crush obsession on you since that day you offered your lunch to her in the garden. She just found you so Cute, so Pure, so angelically Adorable, and sexy at times, she just wants you to be all Her. She doesn't like sharing, so there is no room for other people, except a certain someone.

Yandere College Lumine! Who you have been best friends with for two years never tells you about her personal life, except about her younger twin brother whom she loves so much!

Yandere College Lumine! is so mysterious to you that sometimes you question yourself if you really her best friend? Or even consider you as her friend? But over time you just didn't care anymore since it was her private life and you respected her decision.

Yandere College Lumine! Who never tells you that since the day you met her, she has been sharing all your information with her twin brother from all across the globe.

Yandere College Lumine! who kind of looks exhausted like didn't get a wink of sleep on certain days and you just put it as her studying all night long.

when in reality she has actually been stalking you all night listening to your snores and sleep-talking. Or worse she broke into your apartment just to watch you sleep take some pictures of you and smell your used clothes. Sometimes even gather your hair strands and use your body brands in the house.

You will never even suspect anything since she is very detail-oriented, knows where she moves, and hides the evidence of her breaking in.

Yandere College Lumine! Who casually hugs you as if she is not going crazy inside because you are so close to her that she can smell Everything! She knows when you change your shampoo or if you cut your hair or use a different lotion she knows. it. all.

Yandere College Lumine! Who is so creepy that if you ever know what type of messages she sends to her brother you will immediately need to call the police to arrest her because of how detailed and creepy it is, as if she knows what you are thinking that time or what you are doing in that specific time and how she knows everywhere you are as if she has eyes and ears everywhere. Even you forget this tiny little detail you said or done. Though SHE remembers it all and even lovingly writes it to her brother. you are like an open book to her.

Yandere College Lumine! Who is so saddened by the thought that she needs to leave you behind that she has dreams and a plan to just kidnap you and bring you with her to her homeland and meet her brother!

Yandere College Lumine! who you rarely keep in contact with after she left for her home country to study. except with emails, she keeps sending you for Christmas, thanksgiving, new year, and your birthday. She never forgets a day may it be send late or too early.

Yandere College Lumine! Who you lost contact with for like another 2 years. You have been so extremely worried for her but at the same time saddened to the thought that she has forgotten you as her friend.

Yandere College Lumine! NEVER forgets about you in those 2 years she lost contact with you. [she keeps updates to your social media but didn't approach you directly]

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! You met her again in the asylum as one of the Psychiatrist and were so shocked about her past relationship with Case 01 [childe]

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! is so happy to meet you again [physically] after all these years. Though, if only childe wasn't sent in this same asylum Yan! Lumine would have been so happy to keep that relationship with Childe a secret to you forever. She is not proud of that one. if only she could make him shut up by silencing him for good.

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! Who is Sooo Good at playing mind games with you, she just keeps lowkey manipulating you to believe her about all this warning on a certain patient or doctor in the field. That you should look at for.

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! OF COURSE, you can TRUST her. She is your best friend from college Believe her. trust nobody but her. be with her. Don't be scared to LOVE her.

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! She is a loyal, lovely, psycho, your trustworthy best friend, Stalker, girl boss, Obsessed, possessive, would kill for you, manipulates very sweet to you to no end.

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! Never in her life considered you as a Friend. No. no. no. no. SHE considered, you from the day the two of you met in that little garden, a LOVER that is already meant to be hers. and hers to be OWNED.

Sure she did tell her twin brother about you, but... that doesn't mean that HER twin brother Aether Can have you...

No, you are hers and hers alone, NO ONE can have the privilege to chat with you, to be close to you, to eat with you, to even dream about you. You are hers and hers alone.

Yandere Psychiatrist Lumine! Did I mention, that she is a convincing actress? OH, honey~ she is good at playing mind games with you and it also applies to others as well. She has a reputation and everyone knows that she is a very good girl incapable of even killing, everyone believes her, and her every word is also like a law. She has everyone's side and manipulates it to her liking, that is why she is very good at using people to her daily life.

Just like for EXAMPLE, how she USES Childe and his affection for her to kill that one bastard who follows you on your social media, one day and starts to harass you anonymously. She manipulates everything and tell CHILDE about the guy who is Harassing her [when in reality it is you he harassed] and made up a whole bunch of stories [a lie] a reason for an obsessed Childe to be pissed off and off to kill that Guy. FOR YOU.

Not even childe doubts her, no one doubts her, and if you discovered every dirty thing she has done for you, believe me when I say. NO ONE. I mean NO ONE will believe you if you tell everyone about her dirty act. those accusations of yours will only put you inside the asylum you are already working for. And when that happens then you will be of no escape. She will love to have you as her patient ♥

There will be plenty of things she will love to do to you, bending you down, exposing you to her heart's content, and she can strip you bare in front of her eyes only, as her patient. And NO one will even believe you if you tell them about how she loves to just fucks you inside. ♥

Oh as for your other obsessive admirers inside the asylum, don't worry they won't be dead for a while, after all, she cant take them all. she will be needing a backup. for that. so for now she will just OBSERVE. everything you do and everything they do.

JUST TRUST YOUR SWEET BEST FRIEND, OK? AFTER ALL, SHE IS PERFECT AND ONLY KNOWS AND LOVES WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU ~

A/n : Heyoo, MY FIRST YANDERE FEMALE!! I dont really know what to put anymore:(

Just a reminder LUMINE as a yandere would be a scary admirer, she knows how to manipulate people's feelings and even take advantage of people's feelings to her liking. SHE sees them like a tool of some sort but not you. Of course, you are different. and hint: her brother is very different from her, if she is the dominant not sharing type just imagine a similar but kind of different Aether. Unlike other male admirers, Lumine tends to not get attracted by you because of lust but more on feelings and your innocence and how you make her feel something, not really driven by lust type of admirer. She loves you for your kindness and how warm you are, she may tend to be creepy in a way but her love for you is eternal, possessive, and obsessive. She calls it PURE love but it's not.

Be careful though she is very observant so whatever changes you or other people around you, she will take it in mind and do something about it later on down the road, she is one of the most dangerous admirers... so watch out.

[junocornkiwi]

"... Glad to see you again, Gale. Still think I'm a huge white lizard, i suppose?.." "... Doctor's pet. He was allowed to keep his hair long because doc finds him pretty." "...he would behave normal if it weren't for those pills..." "... Keeps imagining things. Flying cat, God's Chosen? Is he living in a fairy tale?.."

'm so sorry gale i really do

shouldn't have played Alice while being obsessed with him

+ implied durge\gale

[wendigoruble]

I need more ideas to fill the page with but here's my Eddie/Franco asylum au

[saiyanjeku]

New crack ship unlocked! R.M. Renfield x Edward Hyde!!!

Also changed Hyde's fit to get a bit more different to tgs hyde.

Oh and yeah in my au Renfield survives Draculas attack but loses a leg and arm if anyone wonders

Two gay gremlins kissing ✨🎶 :3

[hatelangdon]

Omg just read your fav genre is whump and i literally never seen any whump blog for American Horror Story, lol...

As someone who is also obsessed with AHS and whump myself, can i possibly request a whump story for Kit Walker inside Briarcliff pls? That poor babe just suffered so much in there, but i gotta say i just love the dramatics ��

Tysm, I'd really appreciate that!

Fragile

Kit Walker x Fem!reader ✩ 1.2K words

Summary: Dr Arden was never a merciful man, Kit soon became an interest of his. Someone needs to extend him some kindness and nurse him back to health.

Angst, Hurt-comfort, semi-fluff

**Not proofread and probably an insane amount of commas and other errors but it'll be aight.

Warnings: (🚨 Talks about infected wounds, fever, bruising, medical abuse, Mental abuse, physical abuse, asylums, bleeding, and time period inaccuracies probably 🚨)

(A/n: Kitson, my angel, my beloved. I hate hurting him but I love the angst. Thanks for the request I didn't know what kind of whump you were interested in so I tried to combine all aspects 🤭 I was gonna k!ll him but I was feeling nice)

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆

You and Kit weren't too different from each other, both convicted on crimes you did not commit.

Female hysteria. That's what they call it when a woman was too smart, so a man locks her up to keep her quiet.

This was a cruelty that was extended to you by your own husband.

Kit was thrown in on convictions of murder, bloody face is what they called him. People wanted someone to pin a string of murders on, it was a convincing smear campaign that even you believed at first.

 But as you got to know kit as a person, as you got to know his heart, you realized he could never be capable of inflicting so much pain, especially on a woman. His character proved his innocence.

A friendship blossomed quickly between the two of you, and a delicate love that remained unspoken. It communicated itself through stolen glances and kind words

It was something just for you two to understand.

Kit was always a gentle and kind man. He always stood up for what he believed was right which is what often got him in trouble, he was too headstrong.

It had been three days since the last time you saw him, he had been dragged away by the guards for “inciting a fight” after some pervert had tried to grope one of the newer patients without her consent, you were hoping that he had just been bent over sister Jude’s knee and caned a few times, although she was harsh she sometimes had an understanding side to her

but alas, Kit hadn't returned.

That was until today, when kit was dropped off in the community room completely unraveled from his usual charming self. His eyes were glassy and seemed to stare into a void, and his body was scuffed, scraped, and bruised all over.

“Maybe that fried some sense into you walker” The guard chuckled as he dropped kit’s limp body onto the floor right in front of the couch where you sat.

You felt your throat tighten as the tears welled up in your eyes. You kneeled down to comfort him.

Immediately you pushed his hair back, your hands gentle and forgiving against his damaged skin, you could see where the metal from the shock therapy had burned him, he must've been under it for a while. His cheeks were flushed and feverish, his breaths shallow, you could tell it was hard for him to breathe from the way he winced as his chest rose and fell, the bruises on his back made you wince, the purple wounds spread across the sides like an angel that had its wings clipped.

He leaned into your touch, scanning your face like he was trying to remember who you were, if you were kind or if you would also cause him pain. His eyes were empty and lacked their usual warmth he tried to speak to you, his attempted words becoming sobs when he noticed how you were looking at him. How you pitied him.

"y/n-" he started, his voice hoarse.

“You’re gonna be okay kit, you gotta be okay. Can you walk? I can help you, but I need to get you out of here," You shushed him

He nodded, holding onto your shoulders.

You wrapped your arms around his waist, feeling a wet spot as you pressed your abdomens together.

You looked down...Kit was bleeding, a lot.

",we're going to our special place, okay? I stored some of my things in there"

There was a small storage closet hidden away in the corner that was accessible just down the hall, it was empty except for a couple of desks and chairs from when Briarcliff used to be a school. You and Kit would usually sneak off to smoke together and talk about what you would do when you finally got out of this hellhole.

Since you were technically a non-violent case you weren't searched as thoroughly when you arrived, In school you had received a bit of nursing training, you knew Briarcliff could be rough, you heard the stories and rumours, so you brought a first aid kit in your bags and stored it away the first day you were allowed in the common room.

You two took small unsuspecting steps towards the room making sure that the guards were not looking, as you slipped into the closet, closing the door behind you. 

“Kitson, I'm going to put you down OK?” you warned him

He nodded as you gently lowered him onto the cold ground. He winced feeling the pressure against his bruised back. 

You pulled the first aid kit from its hiding place in one of the desks. It was complete with some gauze pads, rubbing alcohol, a spray disinfectant, rags, medical grade needle and thread, and and a roll of bandages.

 You rolled up his shirt to examine the site of the bleeding, he had been practically cut in half and badly stitched up. The wound was jagged and puffy, it was definitely infected or on its way to being.

"It was Arden," Kit managed to speak up, tears falling from his eyes as he tried to catch his breath "If this takes me, you gotta tell 'em it was Arden." He cried out

"I won't let you die Kit, i'm going to save you," you tried to sound confident, for both of your sakes. You pulled one of the rags out and folded it into a thick square, placing it in between his teeth "This is going to hurt angel, you're gonna want something to bite down on."

He obliged, fully trusting you and biting down.

"Just keep breathing, it'll be over before you know it."

He looked up at you wide eyed as you shook the can of wound wash.

"3....2...1" with that, you sprayed the wound down.

Kit struggled against it, immediately crying out, his face turning bright red as the stinging engulfed his body in what felt like the fires of hell, pure agony.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's to stop the infection. The hard part is over!" You graced him with a kiss to the forehead, as he sobbed.

You covered it in some gauze, applying slight pressure to soak up the fluids of the wound, before gently wrapping his abdomen in bandages to keep it safe from further harm.

"We'll have to change this out in a couple of days instead of everyday. We don't want to run out" you sighed, removing the rag from kit's teeth.

He was still in massive amounts of pain from all of his injuries, the road to recovery would be difficult.

After laying there for a couple of minutes, while you cupped his face, gently rubbing his tears away with your thumb and cooing to him, he spoke up.

"...Arden says I got two days to recover. Then he's gonna continue his research." He swallowed, his tears falling rapidly.

"That's not going to happen, my love," You pressed his hand to your lips ever so gently "save your strength, the rumours of a tunnel to the outside are true, and I know exactly how we can get through them."

Kit looked into your eyes, a glimmer of hope shining. He even managed a small smile.

"I believe in you doll, I always have. I always will."

[radicalrainbow]

Bishops of the Old Faith Asylum

Here they all are! Sorry it took so long, but finally we got all the bishops done✨

[midnightfire830]

(( For the Asylum AU !! ))

Cuphead, whats the most diabolical thing you've done?? Within or Our of (( im assuming )) your room/cell???

Cuphead enjoys his little pranks…

Thanks for the ask!!!!

[cardverseut]

(This is the only photo left of the Crayon's family, the bug always has it hidden in her inventory).

  Asshy and Crayon Queen met at a party that the kingdoms usually throw every year to meet.

It was like love at first sight, they knew that their relationship could never work like the others, so they decided to keep it a secret. After a while they "married", this wedding was secret and only the king of Assy and Crayon's husband were present.

Asshy began to have the queen's last name, since she had no last name or family.

She had a beautiful house near the Spade and Clover border and by the sea.

In that place they had her three children, Geno (the oldest), Error (the middle one) and Fresco (the youngest).

Everything seemed to be going well for the Crayon's family, sometimes they had to leave their children for a long period of time as they had an obligation to their kingdoms and could not stay away for long without raising suspicion, but unfortunately, a few months After Fresh's birth (who had been premature), Asshy was mysteriously killed along with his King and Queen. Crayon did everything she could to help her family cope with the loss, but then her king and her Jack died in an accident, leaving her alone with the work of a kingdom. She couldn't visit her children after that, so she sent babysitters to take care of her children.

[darkcrowprincess]

My asylum au:

*MockingJay: Lucy Gray has managed to smuggle her mentally unstable husband into district 13*

Katniss: My mentors will speak for me on my behalf and deliver my demands.

Coin: Demands?!

In comes Haymitch, Lucy Gray, and her smug smiling(with slight crazy eyes) husband Coriolanus Snow.

Coin scoffs: Your joking.

Snow (after gentlemenly pulling Lucy Gray's seat for her) purposely drags his metal chair loud in the room, than slambs it hard on the floor it makes a louder metal noise that echos. He has the full attention of the room. Just like he wanted. Everyone falls silent. He sits like a king.

Snow finally speaks, looking at Coin: Now let's not lie to each other. Everything will go much simpler if we are both honest. The only reason I have not burned this place to the ground out of pettiness, is because it would have upset my wife.

Lucy Gray grabs Snows hand to keep him calm: Cory

Snow: Now I'm here to negotiate for this one *points at Katniss* who I know that you wish to use as a figure head for your revolution. You rather have Peeta.

Coin goes to deny

Snow: Don't deny it. It's clear on you face. All this, is game. A game against you and the Capital. Katniss is a wild card who cant act to save her life.

Katniss: Hey!

Snow continues: Peeta was the one who can lie, and would be easy for you to control. So your stuck with her. But you see I'm the master at games. I know the Capital and have played their games before. If you want Katniss at all. You'll listen to me, and you'll give her anything that she wants.

Coin: Why are you doing this for her? For Katniss? What do you get out of it?

Snow brings his wife's hands to his lips, gentle and soft. But his eyes have become very cold. Like his name sake.

Snow: Me and my wife have grown quite found of this one and her boyfriend.

Katniss embarrassed: not my boyfriend.

Snow to Katniss(speaking like to a trouble some grandchild): Hush.

Snow back to Coin, eyes cruel: Now I protect the things I'm very fond of. See my wife. I killed for her quite easily. Made sure she was safe in her hunger games. Now imagine the trouble I'll cause you, this district, the whole revolution even. If you don't keep the people I'm fond of safe.

Coin: Alright.

Haymitch:* out right laughs*.

*or what I like to call Snow being a crazy snake on his songbirds and mocking Jay's behalf*

[masasiblingnaruto]

One of my hospital /asylum au as a gift to my sibling

[vincess-princess]

we, the psychos

ch. 5

Word count: 2724 Warnings: violence A/N: i really am spoiling you with all those updates. gene simmons fans, i'm sorry, i needed a bad guy

Vince was suffocating.

Water in his lungs, water in his eyes, water in his nose. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even scream – no sound came out, only bubbling. The coldness burned his skin; he grasped the handles of the chair, but couldn’t feel its wooden texture. And it went on, and on, and on, and the world was just cold and water-

And then it ended. The water trickled down his body and pooled at his feet. Vince opened his eyes, but still couldn’t see anything and for a second panicked. Then he realised it was just his hair covering his eyes. He shook his head to get it out of sight.

His eyes were hurting as they do after you open them underwater, and his vision hadn’t returned to him completely, so he could only see a figure in white coming up to him. But the voice was unmistakable.

“Well, Wharton,” nurse Simmons said, “enjoyed the shower?”

“Screw you,” Vince coughed out.

“Well, you’re the only one screwed here,” nurse Simmons responded cheerily. “You might want to be more polite if you don’t want another shower. And you don’t, do you?”

Vince didn’t answer. Nurse Simmons came close to him and squatted down in front of him so that their faces were on the same level. He smiled. It was all fun and games to him.

“Well?”

“Yes,” Vince croaked. He wanted to spit in Simmons’s face so bad, but that would not help his situation.

“That’s a good boy. Now, I’ll untie you, and don’t you try to pull anything.” Simmons unfastened the belts first on Vince’s legs, then on his wrists.

Vince stood up, stretched his shoulders. And when nurse Simmons turned his back on him to fetch a towel, Vince launched at him.

He jumped on nurse Simmons’ back and clasped his arms around his neck. Simmons staggered back and clutched at Vince’s arms, but Vince clung to him like a tick. Simmons was like a head taller than him and twice as wide in the shoulders, so direct assault would have Vince on the ground the very next moment. This – this gave him a chance. Not to kill Simmons, no. That would be too much. To cause him at least a sliver of the pain and discomfort he just caused Vince.

“Let go,” Simmons croaked. He tried to poke at Vince’s eye with one hand, but missed. Vince bit his finger, and Simmons yelped in pain. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

Vince’s arms began to hurt, so he enclasped Simmons’ body with his legs to give himself some propping. Simmons finally realised trying to reach the parasite on his back was useless and backed into the wall with all the speed he was capable of.

Vince hit the wall with his back so hard all the air went out of his lungs. His grip weakened, and Simmons managed to shove his hand in between his arms. Now that he could breathe again, Simmons began slamming his back into the wall until Vince released his grip and slid to the floor.

Simmons began kicking him in the ribs vehemently, shouting curses along with it. Vince covered his head and lay onto the floor in the pose of an embryo – that minimized the damage to vital organs. And now just to wait, just to endure until Simmons runs out of steam. Blows rained down his back and legs, some even came at the arms covering his face – the nurses usually tried not to hit in the face, but Simmons must have got too carried away.

In a distance, as though through fog, Vince heard another voice – a different nurse. Wonder if he stops Simmons or joins him?..

Then blows stopped.

Stradlin stood over Vince, looking at him with his typical indifference. Nothing ever touched him. Vince wished he could go through life like that – with a glass shield separating him and the world, so that he could see everything but not care about it. Stradlin never got angry, even when a patient was smearing shit all over his face, and barely ever smiled.

But at least he stopped Simmons.

“What’s that again?” he asked Simmons tiredly.

“The motherfucker tried to choke me!” Simmons said, rubbing his neck.

“Why’d you do that?” Stradling now said to Vince, not a change in his tone.

Vince moved his arms away from his face. The back of his palm was bleeding from Simmons’s sharp heel. He licked the blood off and smiled.

“He’s a dick.”

”And what do we do with him now?” Stradlin asked Simmons, losing interest to Vince.

“I’ll go ask Dr. Duren. I don’t even know what else can be done.” Simmons spit on the floor. “Would you mind watching him while I am away?”

“Alright.”

Simmons sent Vince the last hateful look and left. Stradlin picked up the towel that Simmons dropped when Vince attacked him and threw it at Vince.

“Wipe yourself up and dress.”

***

The man Duff delegated Tommy too surely was… peculiar. Long black hair that almost reached his waist that was unusually well-kept for a psycho streamed down his shoulders. Clear blue eyes looked at the world with wariness so old it was almost ingrained in them. His hospital robe was well-worn but clean, without a single wrinkle. This man hardly looked insane, and at first Tommy even doubted Duff told him the truth: how can be this man a patient? But then he looked at his fingers, and they were covered in wounds and scabs; the man kept picking at them absent-mindedly even as he and Duff spoke. Blood was under one of his nails. The man seemed not to notice.

“Bob, this is Tommy Lee. He just arrived to our asylum, so make sure his first impression is good!” Duff said with a smile. “Tommy, this is Bob Deal. He’s one of the oldies. Knows everything around here. He’ll show you around.”

“Hello,” Tommy said carefully to the man, hesitating whether he should offer him his hand. Then he decided to go for it – and the man looked at it like it was smeared with crap.

“Bob doesn’t shake hands,” Duff said apologetically. “He’s very… hygienic. Our laundresses’ favorite patient!”

“Ah, alright.” Well, what else could I expect.

“People used to show their hands to each other to prove they had no weapons. This is where hand-shaking comes from. You both can agree this is not needed in our situation,” the man spoke with a low, slightly hoarse voice. He must be a smoker. Were cigarettes allowed here?

“Well, you know, with some patients you wish they got in the habit of showing you their hands,” Duff laughed. “Not needed with you two, though, that’s true. Alright, I’ll be on my way. Please be back in twenty minutes, gents, or I’ll get into a big trouble. And keep out of nurse Simmons’ sight!”

“Don’t worry, boss,” Bob Deal said, made Tommy a lazy gesture to follow him and turned around. They went up the pathway circling the asylum.

“Hey, Bob. What’s so bad about nurse Simmons?” Tommy asked. Bob kept silent so long Tommy thought he was ignoring him. What did he do to earn such unfriendliness?

Then he stopped and turned to Tommy. “Two things,” he said. “First: don’t call me Bob. My name is Mick Mars. Nurses mustn’t know.”

“Mick Mars?” The name was more fit for a practicing performer than for a psych patient. Though… these were not too far apart. People of the arts were all a bit cooky. “Alright… And why nurses mustn’t know?”

“They will tell them.” Mick highlighted the last word with his voice. He looked at Tommy with grave seriousness. To laugh now would be to lose his favor for good.

“Oh. Them. Alright. And who are they?”

Mick didn’t answer, just put his finger to his mouth.

Well, if that was the asylum’s most reasonable fellow, Tommy feared to imagine what their worst case looked like. The blonde guy from the canteen? Or something worse?

They stood in silence until Tommy lost his patience.

“What’s the second thing?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mick’s tone switched to lazy casual so suddenly it gave Tommy a whiplash. “Nurse Simmons. Right. Well, he’s very good friends with Dr. Duren. And he tells him about everything he sees. And he usually sees things that we’d rather Dr. Duren didn’t know about.”

“A snitch,” Tommy concluded.

“You could say that.” Mick turned around and continued his path. He was surprisingly fast for a short man that he was - his head barely reached Tommy’s shoulder.

They went up the path and reached the asylum building.

“Alright. This,” Mick waved vaguely in the air, “is out beloved Feelgood Asylum. You feelin’ good here already?”

Tommy snorted. Mick clearly liked that.

“Our beloved asylum contains about seventy patients, give or take. About twenty nurses and then the director, Dr. Duren. He’s the one who’s gonna diagnose you and prescribe you stuff and all. Sometimes he requests help from other doctors when the case is tough, but usually he does it all himself.”

“And what kind of case is so tough Dr. Duren can’t crack it?” Tommy’s father spoke of him with much respect, even reverence. Dr. Duren also treated Tommy’s uncle, and, as far as he knew, successfully. Tommy never met him, but father said he was living peacefully in the Yorkshire countryside. If your treatment goes well, you can join him there, father used to say. That was before Tommy’s psychosis revealed itself, though.

“I think you’ve already met him,” Mick said, looking pointedly at Tommy’s cheek. Tommy couldn’t help but touch the bruise the blonde guy left him. It hurt a bit, and the cheekbone began to swell, but overall Tommy felt pretty good about the fight. He didn’t back off and stood up to himself.

“You saw the fight too?”

“No. But everyone had heard about that already. You did the right thing. Wharton had it coming.”

“He really is… something else.” Tommy recalled the inhuman shriek and shuddered. “Is he always like that?”

“Usually not. But he’s had a bad spell for a couple weeks. Spent almost all of them in a padded cell. Guess that makes a person a little bit… mad.”

Tommy snorted again. Well, at least this old man was fun.

“And what was the consensus on him?”

“I don’t know, but if I were those doctors, I’d say: pour more cold water on the bastard. He surely needs to cool down.” Mick started walking again, and Tommy followed him. “The problem is, he hurts other inmates. Some complain of sexual assault. Some… well, don’t react well to his antics. My advice is: keep away.”

“Alright,” Tommy said. What he saw and heard of Wharton convinced him this was rather sound advice. He only wished Wharton would also keep away from him. For some reason, Tommy doubted it. People like him tended to be pretty vindictive.

“Now, the asylum itself is Building A. Nurses live there – in Building B.” Mick waved at a smaller building a little bit farther away. It was connected with the asylum by a corridor. “We’re pretty far in the countryside, and they can’t commute here from London every day.”

“Looks much newer than the asylum.”

“Because it is. When asylum housed less people, nurses lived in the same building, just in a different wing. Good times those were. Peaceful.”

“You were there already?” Tommy stared at Mick. He didn’t look that old – in his forties, maybe. How long had he spent in the asylum?

“You heard Michael – I’m one of the oldies,” Mick huffed. He looked clearly displeased, and Tommy decided to drop the topic.

“And then the world went crazy, and people went crazy, and the asylum had to take in more and more patients. And now we’re all cramped in here, two, three in a ward… I heard you’ve got it rather fancy?”

“What, the ward?” Tommy clarified. “Fancy” was the last word he could come up with to describe it. But other patients probably didn’t have even that. “Well… the curtains are full of holes and the carpet needs washing, and I’m pretty sure someone bled on my mattress, but otherwise yeah, you could say it’s fancy.”

“Oh-oh, look at him, he’s got holes in his curtains!” Mick teased. “Spoiled little brat, you are. Why aren’t you wearing a robe like us peasants, anyway?”

“Du- Michael said there’s none in my size.”

“Well,” Mick looked him over critically, “your size is probably hard to match, that’s true. But don’t you worry – they’ll dress you up like the rest of us.”

“Oh no,” Tommy moaned. “These look just horrible.”

“You’re in an asylum,” Mick reminded sternly. ”It’s not a beauty pageant.”

“Maybe that’s why you all are crazy here,” Tommy grumbled. “Humans need beauty to live.”

“Humans need food, water and air to live. Everything else is secondary.” Mick waved his hand and headed up the path.

“Now, that’s the laundromat and that’s the kitchen. You might be assigned laundry or kitchen duty some time – if you’re normal around knives, of course.”

At home Tommy was forbidden from going to the kitchen after a maid discovered four knives under his pillow and two in the pockets of his coat. He decided not to tell Mick that, but the old man with his piercing gaze probably saw something anyway.

“So do the patients do all the work around here?”

“Well, not all. There are cooks and laundresses and cleaners. But there are too few of them to service all the patients, so yeah – we have to help ourselves.”

“And why don’t just hire more people?”

Mick stopped dead in his tracks, looked at Tommy, saw he was serious and erupted into laughter.

“Oh, sweet innocence! You do know that services cost money, right?”

“Of course,” Tommy pouted, crossing his arms on his chest in a defensive gesture. “It’s just… doesn’t the asylum have sponsors?”

“Sure it does. But sponsors are also not bottomless moneybags. And they, unlike patients, haven’t doubled in numbers in recent decades.”

“Oh.” Tommy’s father was one of the sponsors, and he never mentioned the asylum was underfunded. And Tommy’s father had no problem with money. Couldn’t he invest even a little in the place he sent his son to?

“Yeah. So that’s why we have to work. Dr. Duren says, of course, that labor humanizes and ennobles, but we all know that’s just an excuse.”

Tommy imagined himself mopping a bathroom floor and shuddered. Working like a servant, getting all sweaty and dirty, fumbling with psychos’ dirty underwear or washing the dishes – horrible, horrible! Maybe his privileged status would also absolve him of all this labor? He was already noble enough.

Duff would probably tell him to get off his high horse, and as much as Tommy liked him, that attitude irritated him. They all may be psychos here, but even among psychos there is variation. He needed to ask Dr. Duren about it. He was friends with Tommy’s father, surely he would cut Tommy some slack?

“And you sure need to learn what real labor is like. You look like you haven’t washed a dish in your life,” Mick added ruthlessly.

Well, he was not wrong. Tommy was used to considering that a reason for pride, but somehow the only thing he now felt was shame. And then – anger. How dares this lunatic shame him?

He just opened his mouth to express his resentment when Mick frowned, staring at the nurses’ dormitory, and then quietly cursed.

“Damn it. Nurse Simmons! He can’t see us!”

Tommy followed the path of his gaze and saw the nurse from the canteen. Even at this distance he instilled some primal fear in Tommy. Especially now, when he was walking in big strides, his hands were clenched into fists, and his coat half-soaked in water.

Mick dashed to the nearest tree and hid behind the trunk. From there he gestured to Tommy to hide behind another tree, which he did.

They watched the nurse enter the building, and even from their spots could hear the bang he slammed the door with.

“Hm. Someone got him real mad.” Mick scratched his stubbly chin. “We better go back to other patients.”

[gummiw0rmzz]

Asylum Sans!