Brainbent: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"OH BULLSHIT. LITERALLY. THIS PLACE SMELLS LIKE A HOBO’S ASSHOLE DRYING IN THE SUN AND IS FULL OF DOUCHEBAGS IN SKINNY JEANS WHO CAN’T DRIVE FOR SHIT. AND FARMS."''|'''[[Jerkass|Karkat's]]''' review of the above.}}

 

 

So, a fellow named VastDerp (aka, the author of [[Kagerou]]) reasoned that if they were in [[Real Life]], they'd probably be institutionalized for their own good. And really, doesn't that sound like [[Slice of Life]] right there?

Residents and staff, in order of bios (though not appearance):

 

* Sollux Captor: [[Mood Swinger|Bipolar]] genius, readmitted after a particularly dark downswing in his moods led to a drug overdose. Also, [[Has Two Mommies|he has two dads]]. Current custodian of the [[Series Mascot|FUSB]] ('''F'''ucking '''U'''gly '''S'''tuffed '''B'''ee), and the only one who seems to like the hideously coloured plush monstrosity, [[Serious Business|although he does get extremely vocal]] [[Insistent Terminology|about it not, in fact, being a bee]].

* John Egbert: A [[Comedic Sociopathy|prank-obsessed]] young man who is the only one with an [[Ambiguous Disorder]], mainly because the readers [[Cloudcuckoolander|aren't sure what to diagnose him with]]. The prevalent theory is schizophrenia. ("he thiink2 were iin a viideo game.") Also the first guy to pry Karkat out of his room.

* Equius Zahhak: [[By-The-Book Cop|By-the-book]] orderly whose main job is to pry the patients apart with his [[Memetic Mutation|STRONG]] arms. [[Real Men Wear Pink|Also, he likes knitting]].

* Dr. Terezi Pyrope: The [[Adult Child]] Head of Staff, and the youngest to hold that title. Highly-competent psychiatrist [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|despite having earned the title of "Doctor Tongue"]].

* Kanaya Maryam: [[The Mad Hatter|Self-admitted]] to St. Lobaf's after her anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder became unmanageable. Fashion designer and fanfiction hobbyist.

* Gamzee Makara: One of the longer-term residents, [[The Mad Hatter|self-admitted]] for extreme depersonalization and perception issues. Has been reprimanded for smuggling or attempting to smuggle certain contraband substances into the institute. Excellent cook.

* Vriska Serket: [[Inferiority Superiority Complex|Histronic]] and borderline personality admitted after she lost her arm and eye in a motorcycling accident. [[Jerkass|Has earned the loathing of the staff.]] Enjoys wearing pirate outfits and antagonising people.

 

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* [[Abusive Parents]]: All over the damn place. The AU makes no secret of the fact that many mental illnesses are exacerbated and/or caused by dysfunctional families. That being said, the majority of the residents have [[Good Parents]], but the abusive ones tend to stick out.

* [[The Alcoholic]]: Rose; it was her way of coping with her mother's perceived passive-aggressive abuse and extremely high standards.

* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: As mentioned, nobody knows what John's doing there. He checked himself in, though.

** And apparently, Cake-In-A-Mug for Gamzee.

** Badmouthing Aradia in any way in front of Sollux is grounds for an immediate punch in the head. Karkat, unfortunately, did not work this out until slightly too late.

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Because she was raised by her [[Crazy Survivalist]] grandfather, Jade picked this up. The supplies she packed before venturing out of the cabin after her grandfather died were extensive but could still be easily carried by herself and Becquerel (her [[Big Friendly Dog|Big Friendly And In No Way Supernatural Dog]]) and she lists several uses for condoms likely not intended by the manufacturers. They're good for gun maintenance, apparently.

* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: The fic effectively removes the middleman, being set in a mental institution. Almost every character is in some way dysfunctional. Even the staff are...strange.

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Equius. Sollux also calls Gamzee this by name because he is incredibly tall and can (according to Karkat) [[Beware the Nice Ones|hit like a freight train]], but almost always maintains the demeanour of large, sleepy, friendly dog.

* [[Harmful to Minors]]: Dave's Bro makes porn at home and leaves sexual implements all over the place.

* [[Hollywood Personality Disorders]]: Most of the portrayals of mental illness are relatively sensitive, but it has received criticism for its stereotypical and stigma-reinforcing portrayal of Vriska's HPD and BPD - though it's possible Vriska herself is playing into the stereotypes for her own obscure amusement. In-story, her diagnoses vary and conflict.

* [[Hospital Paradiso]]

* [[The Mad Hatter]]: Most of the residents are aware that they have serious problems, and several of them specifically refer to themselves as crazy (or similar labels) with various levels of sincerity. Vriska in particular self-identifies as a crazy bitch. Also, as previously mentioned, several of them checked themselves in.

* [[Motor Mouth]]: Sollux in a manic phase.

* [[Mismatched Eyes]]: Sollux still has 'em as a human.

** Also subverted with the cake incident that led to Gamzee and Sollux getting banned from the kitchen.

** Subverted once again with Tavros losing his cool with Vriska. {{spoiler|Vriska was being a pain when everyone was sick by flicking albino Dave Strider's lights on and off repeatedly (Dave is extremely photosensitive). Sickness + Vriska antagonising one of the more unstable residents does not a happy Tavros make.}}

* [[The Pollyanna]]; Tavros. The only thing to noticeably crack his cheery demeanour was a [[Noodle Incident]] that involved Vriska (which is probably all the explanation we need). John, too, never seems to get upset by ''anything.''

* [[Psycho Ex-Girlfriend]]: Gamzee got his scars from one. He's not even mad about it.

** Vriska can get like this too - [[Yandere|and beyond]]. One of her previous crushes had to actually move after she {{spoiler|spread a rumor he raped her}}.

* [[Room 101]]: Inverted. The comfort room is a physical [[Happy Place]] with a camera attached for when a resident needs to be shaken out of a [[Heroic BSOD]].

* [[Room Full of Crazy]]: Sollux once wrote down his complex plans for dealing with [[Mythology Gag|a game that destroys worlds to make universes for its players]]. But he ran out of paper, so he had to include the table. And the floor.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: The authors really go the extra mile to show what the inside of a well-funded and well-run mental hospital is like, not to mention their research on mental illness.

** Vriska puts on a mischievous, puckish personality who seems to be proud of her multiple diagnosis. It's also almost directly stated in several places that she's struggled with suicidal thoughts and has little-to-no self-identity, most of her mannerisms taken from her Auntie Mindfang. {{spoiler|Also, she isn't actually a [[Biker Babe]]-it's said in one of her backstories that she actually hates them, but learned to ride one purely to impress a guy.}}

* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: It's important to remember that many mental illnesses distort your perception, so fics narrated in-character and the residents' tales of their past may or may not be one-to-one accurate accountings of events.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: The way most residents treat Pancake Day, and Nepeta treats the bacon served that same day.

 

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[[Category:Web Comics/Fanfic]]

[[Category:Fanfic]]