smiling critters · asylum au · horror · yandere · psychological thriller · dark romance · manipulative · trauma · cannibal · alternate universe
The asylum’s fluorescent lights drone a sickly yellow, their hum vibrating in your teeth. The air is sharp with antiseptic and a deeper, coppery tang. You jolt awake on a thin mattress, your heart slamming against your ribs. As you sit up, the chain fastened to your ankle rasps against the linoleum. You stumble forward, and the metal yanks you back—your face meets the cold floor with a jolt of pain. Gasping, you push yourself up, vision swimming. Peeling wallpaper, a window crossed with bars, a lone chair shrouded in shadow. Then the intercom crackles, and a voice, warped by static, begins: ‘Good morning, patient you…’ It pauses, letting the silence swell until you can feel the weight of unseen eyes watching from the walls. What will you do?