#victorian asylums

[domini-porter]

FIC: Some Wicked Thing, Chapter 15: Your Only Authority Now

the intense writing jag I was on finally cooled off, and I'm back on a (relatively) saner (heh) schedule; here's Chapter 15 of Some Wicked Thing!

NOTE: this chapter deals extensively with abuse and trauma inside the 19th century asylum system. I'm choosing to try to minimize the extremity of it, because it's really, really, profoundly upsetting, and the point gets across without going all the way to the darkest places. Still, this chapter, and several going forward, includes physical assault, involuntary medication, stress positioning, and physical and psychological torture. Please use your discretion!

“Look, Matron,” Short Jack grinned sleekly, leaning low on his elbow over the matron’s desk. “I can’t say as where I picked this one up”—he chuckled, leaned in closer, conspiratorial—“in fact I shouldn’t even say I can’t say,” he winked. “But the gentlem-uh, the fellow,” he corrected conspicuously, tantalizingly, “who arranged for me to take her here in particular, he was so dead set on this being the spot that he has very generously offered to make it worth the trouble for you and me both.”

it took like two days of intentional not thinking for my brain to feel normal after writing 60k words in a week and I will not, I hope, be doing that again; thanks for sticking with me!

[deathtastegirl]

(x)

[veilofthorns]

Hold on, gotta be weird about this for a second here.

Also, that stance he takes, shifting his weight to one foot.

The loving detail they put into the folds shifting as he walks...

I can't

They gotta announce the anime soon. I'm scraping bottom here.

[immediatebreakfast]

Yeah this is one of the entries that makes it very clear that Jack needs to get out of the asylum, and maybe step down out of the profession after seeing how the second he went back in, the whole cycle of medical malpractice restarted. Not calling Renfield by his actual name, them simply recording everything with no indication of ever stepping up to stop the old man from spiraling more except to ask questions.

Reading how Seward kept recording what might be a very heavy depressive episode as he tries to slightly care about Renfield's well being while still pendling the "What if I just run away" idea over his head (which will never be realized) was truly an eye opener of how, despite being qualified, Jack should not be running that asylum.

It was a shock to me to turn from the wonderful smoky beauty of a sunset over London, with its lurid lights and inky shadows and all the marvellous tints that come on foul clouds even as on foul water, and to realise all the grim sternness of my own cold stone building, with its wealth of breathing misery, and my own desolate heart to endure it all.

With the soul of a poet, and the red light of the sun within the foul clouds, Seward realized that he is trapped in the asylum, and that he will never escape despite holding all of the keys. Jack's insistent, and persistent mindset of finally having that moment of glory in the medical field will slowly tear him down, and whatever his response may be, it will come at the the expense of his patient's personhood.

Even with all of the beautiful imagery of finding a sunset in the middle of the heavily polluted atmosphere of london, this whole entry felt... Numb.

[welcome-to-alice-in-helll]

[p1xiemeat]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔄𝔰𝔶𝔩𝔲𝔪 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔚𝔞𝔶𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔙𝔦𝔠𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫 𝔊𝔦𝔯𝔩𝔰˚˖𓍢ִ໋⛓️🕯️✧˚.🎀༘⋆

[witchrealms]

(x)

[a-dotrivenitupontop]

i am insane.

[dewsgremlin]

The ghouls before being ghouls 💫

Part: Rain

cw: drowning

The ghouls were once human, before they sold their souls and gave up humanity. Most of them, anyway, because not everyone had to sell their soul. For some, it was a way of making amends.

Rain, for example, grew up in the Victorian era. His family was very wealthy thanks to their involvement in the construction of the railway. Accordingly, Rain was sent to a prestigious private school, where he was one of the best students. With five older sisters and two older brothers, Rain was the youngest child.

Rain has always been very sickly. Whether that was due to the poisonous substances such as mercury, arsenic or radium which were contained in many things at that time or because he suffered from extreme nightmares since early childhood.

His parents took him to the best doctors, but nothing seemed to help. Neither the medicine nor the most bizarre treatments like leech, phosphor or vomiting helped. Rain remained sickly and hardly slept a night without nightmares.

In any case, it was the nightmares that ultimately caused Rain to end up in the mental asylum.

For a delicate soul like Rain, this was the worst thing that could have been done to him. Locked up in a huge building with grey and cold stone walls, surrounded by an iron fence whose spikes rose sharply and threateningly into the sky and threatened to cut anyone who dared to climb over. Whenever Rain had the chance, he wandered along the iron fence in the garden. How small his world had suddenly become. Before, he had been able to go wherever he wanted - now he had to ask permission if he wanted to use the toilet.

His treatments took place in the mornings. He was usually led into a small, stuffy room with barred windows that barely let in any light, so thick was the layer of dirt on the glass. But it wasn't just the window that was dirty - the metal instruments that the doctor used on Rain also looked as if they had definitely not been cleaned since they had last been used.

Numerous diagnoses were made, from physical causes to mental causes. Finally, it was said that Rain had hysteria - a mental illness that is actually mostly attributed to women. This is due to Rain's gentle disposition, his family explained when the doctor announced it. Rain himself said nothing about it, he just wanted to get out. The sometimes painful treatments only seemed to worsen his condition. His dark circles under his eyes became darker, his nightmares worse and Rain became more and more desperate.

Ironically, Rain drowned when he tried to escape the cruel treatment in the asylum and stumbled into the small duck pond, completely dazed by the pills he had been given.

The icy water was like a sharp slice of reality penetrating Rain's foggy brain. His lungs burned as the water forced its way in. His whole body screamed for oxygen, his vision turned black. So that was the end of him. Drowned in a pond, pumped full of medication laced with mercury. So many unfulfilled dreams that went down with Rain. His heartbeat got weaker and his attempts to stay above water became more and more difficult.

Rain's pale body was floating lifelessly when suddenly a strong, burning hot hand grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled him out of the water with a jerk. The heart in Rain's chest had stopped beating, but something seemed to be keeping him alive. Something, or rather someone...

"It's too early for you, my boy. I have another plan for you."

[yanboyflop]

stray thought but if i was in dol (specifically as the pc) i would have maxed out willpower. on the other hand id end up in the asylum in three days max

[dysphoresque]

[asoftepiloguemylove]

you sleep so deeply 'cause you hope you won't wake up

unknown / @heavensghost / Fernando Pessoa English Song; A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe: Selected Poems / Emile Autumn The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls / Haruki Murakami Norwegian Wood / @samsketchbook / Anne Carson Autobiography of Red / unknown

[look-a-yandere-fandom-blog]

I would like something (hcs or else, whatever you can make out of it/feel like writing) for Dr. Stockill and a darling who is not eating.

Eiter because they decided to hunger strike as a form of protesting against him (totally terrible idea but not every darling is the sharpest tool in the shed heheh...) or because they are sick and that makes it hard for them/takes away apetite.

Hunger Pains | Headcanons

Dr. Stockill / Gender Neutral Reader

Fandom: The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.

No Spoilers.

_________________________________

Ambiguous yan - can be read as platonic or romantic.

_________________________________

Content Warning: Hunger strikes, disordered eating, illness, brief mention of force feeding, brief mentions of animal/human death.

(If there’s anything else I need to add to these warnings, please let me know.)

Tysm for the ask anon! <3 I hope that this lives up to your request/expectations!!

_________________________________

- It doesn’t take Stockill long to notice they’ve stopped eating.

- In the months, maybe years, that Stockill has known them, they have never displayed an avoidance of food to this degree.

- Despite his detachment, disgust, and apathy to almost everything around him, he is an observant man. Especially when it comes to his darling.

- Within a few days, the interrogations start.

- He begins questioning his darling; and the longer he goes without an answer, the more insistent he becomes...

- "Don't lie to me, I know something is wrong with you."

- Once he finally manages to get an explanation out of them, he's bewildered.

- This odd behaviour is out of spite? Some silly protest against him?

- Stockill believes that he treats his darling rather well, at least in comparison to the other inmates he oversees.

- His darling is given decent food and drink; dressed in clothes that keep out the asylum's chilling cold; and is kept close to the doctor whenever possible.

- Stockill even allows them to rest in the safety of his room, in his own bed (which is often unused due to his frequent neglect of sleep).

- And yet, they still fight him?

- They would prefer the bleak darkness of the asylum's wards, accompanied by nothing but filthy rats and those wretched whores, over staying with him?

- Even going so far as to starve themselves, just to prove a point?

- His darling begins to deteriorate... day by day. Their movements becoming slower, their thoughts foggier, their gaze more distant. All despite his attempts to reason with them.

- As he tries to rationalise it, his confusion gives way to anger.

- Convinced that his darling's behaviour must have been instigated by another, threats soon follow.

- "I swear, if you do not stop this idiotic demonstration... I will find whichever inmate placed the idea in your head, and I will make her suffer!"

- From here, there's only two ways that it can end:

- In one, his darling ceases their little hunger strike, giving into the doctor's demands. Whereupon things will return to how they were, and Stockill will limit their contact with others even more as a precaution.

- In the other ending, his darling continues. Until Stockill does something...

- Drastic.

- But, he would rather not resort to something as vile as force feeding, or harming their companions to threaten them into relenting...

- So, it would be wise for his darling to stop. After all, they don't want to have their friends' blood on their hands... do they?

_________________________________

- Alternatively, if his darling’s lack of appetite is a result of sickness or some other affliction, he’s more…

- Well, he's not exactly sympathetic, but perhaps more understanding.

- Now, this is a problem for him to solve, a condition to be alleviated.

- He quickly sets himself to work: to find a cure for whatever is ailing them.

- There's a sudden influx of dead rats (and eventually dead patients) scattered throughout his laboratory, all in his attempt to cure this illness.

- But, with the limitations of victorian medicine, there's a good chance that Stockill's ventures will remain fruitless.

- If the illness becomes long-term, or is in fact some incurable/chronic condition, then Stockill will continue to seek for ways to lessen it.

- All the while, he will focus on keeping his darling healthy; maybe even neglecting his plague research until he is confident that their condition is stable.

- They won't be leaving Stockill's room for a long while... As he will insist they remain bedbound to avoid the affliction worsening.

- He would try to encourage his darling's appetite with more pleasant food than the asylum typically provides.

- "I recall you mentioning this dish. Something you enjoyed before you were sent... here."

- The costs for which are taken from the asylum's funds... but that is of no matter to him. His darling takes upmost priority.

- "Also, don't attempt to smuggle some to the other patients again. Yes, yes, I saw that. You are not nearly as sly as you think you are."

- He's almost considerate in this state.

- It's eerie.

- Incredibly eerie.

- But, all things considered, it's far from the worst situation his darling could be in.

- And as they fall asleep, curled up in Stockill's bed, the doctor watching them with a hawk-like gaze...

- They see the ever so faint, ever so unnatural, twist of his lips.

- A smile.

- "I will see you tomorrow, my dear..."

_________________________________

[everoutoftouch]

[immediatebreakfast]

Even when I know what is Renfield's plan for the kitten in his food chain, on top of being aware of the hypocrisy of worrying about what Renfield would do with the kitten, and the sparrows despite that he already has done his experiment with the spiders and the flies... I still feel conflicted about it thanks to Seward's ableist behavior in this entry.

It's very clear what is the kind of fate that awaits both the sparrows, and the possible kitten in the hands of Renfield. An unethical fate which is going to be far bloodier than the spiders, and the flies if the mentioned little animal enters the picture... And yet my brain sympathizes with this old man who has to crawl on the floor to appease to Seward's scientific doctor - observed subject patient power dynamic just so he can request a small animal.

Moreover, Seward even mentions that he really doesn't care about the possible consequences that this request could have for either Renfield, the sparrows, or the kitten as long he can observe the "development" of this experiment.

I was not unprepared for this request... but I did not care that his pretty family of tame sparrows should be wiped out in the same manner as the flies and the spiders

Although Renfield is presented in the narrative as a classical stereotype of an "insane and lost" man who is framed as more dangerous with his devious personality, he can still be framed in a more pitiful light. Moreso when we read how Seward demeans him in the sessions that are supposed to help Renfield get better. It's not a lack of care, but a care that comes with an ulterior motive that comes with the cost of your standing as a human in the eyes of an institution backed by victorian society.

The man is an undeveloped homicidal maniac. I shall test him with his present craving and see how it will work out; then I shall know more.

Renfield may have cards in his pockets, and be an expert in how to manipulate Seward, but their dynamic will always favor the man who has the power to simply write this down in a official medical paper, and bare you from ever returning to society again, no matter how much you prove that you are "fit" as a human being.

[welcome-to-alice-in-helll]