Insanity Clinic: Season Two

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

7 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

She laughed triumphantly, but that cut out too. I- -rks! Eh, I- -ind o- -entine. Na-'s Rui. Ar- -u guys o-y?

Ye- -'re oka-! I did- -tch that firs- -it sa- -gain?

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Goodness this is hard to understand.

It works? Eh, It mind of aventine. Na's Rui? Are you guys okay?

 

Edited May 13 by Ancient Elantrian

[shortcake she/her]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:07 PM, Cash67 said:

Pic nodded. “I have to go,” he sang, but I’ll leave some help for the kid. He turned to Lundyn. 

 

“You can if you sing!” He sang at her. “You’ve sung before, just sing along with me again.”

 

 

On 5/10/2024 at 1:14 PM, Spark of Hope said:

"I'm not trying to die, nor do I think I'm going to soon. But let me put it more into perspective."

She held up one finger. "Elan. I cared about him. He was just killed."

She held up another. "Waylen. I cared about him. When I ran away, he was killed."

She held up a third. The image Quinn had seen before of the man stabbed in the back with a knife. "Alston." She nearly choked on the name she hadn't spoken in six years. "I cared about him. When he chose to get engaged to me, he was killed."

"It's like I'm cursed. If I care about you, you get killed. End of story." She looked back at Quinn. "I don't want to die. But I don't want anyone else to either. That's why I have to leave. It's not even a choice."

 

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im back again

what did I miss

sorry I keep dissappearing

 

[Spark of Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

Ye- -'re oka-! I did- -tch that firs- -it sa- -gain?

 

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It works! Eh, kind of Aventine. Name's Rui. Are you guys okay?

On- -f her al-ers. Ki- of l-ke -e El-s.

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One of her alters. Kind of like the Elans

1 minute ago, shortcake said:

 

 

 

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Not much, that post with Cash that you quoted is the last thing involving you

 

[shortcake she/her]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:07 PM, Cash67 said:

Pic nodded. “I have to go,” he sang, but I’ll leave some help for the kid. He turned to Lundyn. 

 

“You can if you sing!” He sang at her. “You’ve sung before, just sing along with me again.”

 

"Um- okay!" Lundyn begins to sing along with Pic. She starts out quiet but lets her voice grow louder along with pic's humming.

20 hours ago, Cash67 said:

 

@shortcake

 

2 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

On- -f her al-ers. Ki- of l-ke -e El-s.

 

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alrighty!

 

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

3 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

On- -f her al-ers. Ki- of l-ke -e El-s.

 

Oh, o-ay! Ni- -o meet y-. Wh- appen-? Is av- -ood? Wha- need?

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Oh, okay! Nice to meet you. What's happening? Is aventine good? What do you need?

 

[Spark of Hope]

1 minute ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

Oh, o-ay! Ni- -o meet y-. Wh- appen-? Is av- -ood? Wha- need?

 

N-e to m- you -oo. Av-ine ran -ay b-ause she bl-mes hers- for wh-t h-ened to y-. B- -iet! Th- con-tion- otty! He heard a cutting-out sigh. S-ry a-t that. An-ays, she th-ks sh- 'cu-sed' so th- an-ne she c-res -out is k-led. We'r- wo-ing on ge-ting her to c-me b-k.

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Nice to meet you too. Aventine ran away because she blames herself for what happened to you. Be quiet! The connection's spotty! Sorry about that. Anyways, she thinks she's 'cursed' so that anyone she cares about is killed. We're working on getting her to come back.

 

[Cash67 he/him]

1 hour ago, shortcake said:

"Um- okay!" Lundyn begins to sing along with Pic. She starts out quiet but lets her voice grow louder along with pic's humming.

 

 

The staves around her legs grow tighter, and then dissipate. Lundyn begins fading away as she sings, but feels a pull towards Pic grow stronger the louder she sings. 
 

“You’ll be safe, and you only need to sing to find me again.” He hesitates. “Wait a few days before singing. I want to be safe too.”

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

1 hour ago, Spark of Hope said:

N-e to m- you -oo. Av-ine ran -ay b-ause she bl-mes hers- for wh-t h-ened to y-. B- -iet! Th- con-tion- otty! He heard a cutting-out sigh. S-ry a-t that. An-ays, she th-ks sh- 'cu-sed' so th- an-ne she c-res -out is k-led. We'r- wo-ing on ge-ting her to c-me b-k.

 

It- -ot her faul-. She cou-n't have st-pped it. I'm still ali-. Kinda. Wa- me to come ov-r? I can tr-. Tell -er it- not her fau-. And th- I lo- her.

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It's not her fault. She couldn't have stopped it. I'm still alive. Kinda. Want me to come over? I can try. Tell her it's not her fault. And that I love her*.

*(Love platonically. So as to not set her off. Like as a friend)

 

[Spark of Hope]

2 minutes ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

It- -ot her faul-. She cou-n't have st-pped it. I'm still ali-. Kinda. Wa- me to come ov-r? I can tr-. Tell -er it- not her fau-. And th- I lo- her.

 

Y- -an try. W-re all in h- -ad; sh- -leep in r-ity. An- -f you come, -ou sh-d t-l her yo-elf.

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You can try. We're all in her head; she's asleep in reality. And if you come, you should tell her yourself.

 

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

Just now, Spark of Hope said:

Y- -an try. W-re all in h- -ad; sh- -leep in r-ity. An- -f you come, -ou sh-d t-l her yo-elf.

 

Elan struggles, feeling through the alter, into her mind. He senses it, then pulls himself in. In her mind, a fuzzy, ethereal Elan-shaped blob appears. "Hey."

[Cash67 he/him]

15 hours ago, Spark of Hope said:

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Aventine kept walking away - away from the rift, away from Thaidakar and Quinn, away from everyone she didn't want to die. It hurt her inside, but she knew/thought it was best for them. She put her hands in her jacket; her clothes had gone back to normal when she went through the rift. The zinc chain from Waylen was in one of them, as was Alston's handkerchief.

She could feel the alters in her head again. They were all telling her to go back, and she kept ignoring them. They may have been her from other universes, but they weren't her. They didn't understand, not fully. When she wouldn't listen to their words, they began to pull her to sleep, which she resisted as well.

At least, she tried to. That resistance didn't last long.

***

---

She glared at the bathroom door. She was, in her head, in her room in the Clinic. This was where she had made her first connection there, when Jar Man had stopped her from drowning herself. The hole was still in the door.

25 sat next to her, not saying a word. A general air of support and affection came from her presence, but Aventine was trying to block it out. Sass was pacing the floor nearby. Akarui sat in the bathroom with some sort of mechanical rig. She had bulky headphones over her ears. Tena leaned against the doorframe that connected her room to the hallway. Other alters she didn't know were scattered around, some with looks of disappointment and others with looks of sympathy.

"Go back," Eliane said. She was the only alter who didn't seem disappointed or stressed about her choice - she only looked angry. She lounged in the beanbag chair, staring right at Aventine. "This isn't helping anyone."

"It is," Aventine argued. "If I go back, people die. I'm the only constant, I'm the problem. I need to remove myself from the equati-"

"You are such a hypocrite!" Eliane rose to her feet, her voice getting louder. The other alters looked at her, and Akarui yelled from the bathroom, "Be quiet! The connection's spotty!"

Eliane started mumbling, then kept scolding Ave at a slightly quieter volume. "First, you tell Addison that she's not a problem, and that her leaving in one way or another will only hurt people."

"That's different."

"Is it now? Well, I see no difference. You're both idiots."

Aventine's eye twitched. "Too far, Li," 25 said.

Eliane's eyes softened, but only slightly and for a moment. "Sorry. But you guys know I'm right. You two both thought yourselves problems when no one else thought you were. You can't remove a problem where there isn't one."

"I'm not going back."

"Oh, you're going back." Eliane crossed her arms. "Whether you like it or not."

"Not. And you can't make me."

Eliane glared. "We'll see about that." She lunged towards Aventine.

***

---

Static filled Akarui's ears. Just because this rig worked didn't mean it worked well.

Telepathy was an interesting thing. Once a connection was made with someone the first time, it was easier to recreate every time after. Tracing Elan's mind, she was able to make a connection, but due to the nature of the Void, it was extremely unstable and kept cutting out.

"E-an? Ca- -ou h-r m-?"

@Ancient Elantrian

***

---

Eliane held Aventine off the ground by her arms, which she'd pinned behind her back. Aventine tried to thrash against her, but she wasn't letting her go. The other alters had scrambled away at Li's first sign of aggression.

"I CAN'T GO BACK!"

"You have to! More people will be hurt by you leaving than you staying!"

"You're wrong! You're all wrong!" She quickly bashed her head backwards, and Eliane cried out in pain, releasing her. Aventine looked back at her. Her hand was over her nose, and blood seeped through her fingers.

"Cut it out. Both of you."

Aventine turned towards the new speaker. "Ava?"

The future version of herself looked back at her. "I know how much you don't want to go back. Trust me, I've been there. I was you, once."

"I didn't forget."

"You say that, and yet you ignore the fact that I am also telling you to go back. If you don't..." She shook her head. "This decision will haunt you forever."

"You... You're the future me. You didn't go back. So I don't."

"I'm a future you." Ava stepped forward at put her hands on Aventine's shoulders. "And there's not a day that goes by that I don't regret this decision."

Ava wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "You don't want to do this. You will always look back on it as the biggest mistake in your life."

Aventine's arms stayed by her sides. "But if I go back, won't you cease to exist?"

"You'd think so, but not necessarily. You'll still be able to reach me. I will still exist, if in another world in another timeline. But you will not become me. I will be a 'what if' that you never quite reach. And trust me, you don't want to."

Aventine pulled away from Ava. All of the alters were staring at her (glaring, in Eliane's case, from behind her bleeding nose).

She whispered, "I can't."

There was a moment of silence, no speech and no movement. Then 25 moved first. She looked into Aventine's eyes and wrapped her in a hug. "You won't do it alone."

All - well, most - of the alters moved similarly and joined in the hug. Li put her free hand on Aventine's shoulder, Onnami watched from where she leaned against the wall, and Akarui was still doing... whatever she was doing.

"Will you go back?" 25 asked.

Aventine wrapped her arms around 25, and a tear ran down her face. 

"I will."

---

She lied on the ground quite a ways away from Quinn and Thaidakar's fight.

@Cash67

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Pic runs through the fight and chaos after Lundyn disappears. He frantically runs to the area where Aventine was before, and notices an otherworldly glow from the rift. Aventine’s message is glaring in Pics eyes, but he ignores it. It isn’t Aventine herself, after all. 
 

Pic starts whistling the waltz he and Aventine had danced to for the first time. It was the main thing that reminded him of her. His staves reappeared and wrapped around his feet.

As debris crashed and rained around Pic, he quite literally danced out of the way. Out of the way of pain, out of the way of loneliness, towards hope. His feet were moved by something, or someone, else. When the song came to its final measure, Pic came out of a trance he didn’t quite know he was in, found himself standing over Aventine.  
 

He panicked. 
 

“No no no no,” he said, kneeling down over the unconscious body of Aventine. Pic quickly leaned over her and listened for breathing, and his worries were dampened, but not extinguished. 

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

11 minutes ago, Cash67 said:

Pic runs through the fight and chaos after Lundyn disappears. He frantically runs to the area where Aventine was before, and notices an otherworldly glow from the rift. Aventine’s message is glaring in Pics eyes, but he ignores it. It isn’t Aventine herself, after all. 
 

Pic starts whistling the waltz he and Aventine had danced to for the first time. It was the main thing that reminded him of her. His staves reappeared and wrapped around his feet.

As debris crashed and rained around Pic, he quite literally danced out of the way. Out of the way of pain, out of the way of loneliness, towards hope. His feet were moved by something, or someone, else. When the song came to its final measure, Pic came out of a trance he didn’t quite know he was in, found himself standing over Aventine.  
 

He panicked. 
 

“No no no no,” he said, kneeling down over the unconscious body of Aventine. Pic quickly leaned over her and listened for breathing, and his worries were dampened, but not extinguished. 

She's alive. Elan sent to him, stretching his consciousness to try and comfort him. Barely, I think? But she is.

[Spark of Hope]

52 minutes ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

Elan struggles, feeling through the alter, into her mind. He senses it, then pulls himself in. In her mind, a fuzzy, ethereal Elan-shaped blob appears. "Hey."

She smiled. "Hey." She was about half a foot shorter than Aventine with blonde hair and yellow eyes. "They're right through there." She pointed through the hole in the bathroom door to the group hug.

49 minutes ago, Cash67 said:

Pic runs through the fight and chaos after Lundyn disappears. He frantically runs to the area where Aventine was before, and notices an otherworldly glow from the rift. Aventine’s message is glaring in Pics eyes, but he ignores it. It isn’t Aventine herself, after all. 
 

Pic starts whistling the waltz he and Aventine had danced to for the first time. It was the main thing that reminded him of her. His staves reappeared and wrapped around his feet.

As debris crashed and rained around Pic, he quite literally danced out of the way. Out of the way of pain, out of the way of loneliness, towards hope. His feet were moved by something, or someone, else. When the song came to its final measure, Pic came out of a trance he didn’t quite know he was in, found himself standing over Aventine.  
 

He panicked. 
 

“No no no no,” he said, kneeling down over the unconscious body of Aventine. Pic quickly leaned over her and listened for breathing, and his worries were dampened, but not extinguished. 

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Btw the message was just "Goodbye"

Her breathing was steady; she was just asleep. She was fine. Her face looked a little red from crying, but she hadn't been hurt. There was, however, a bit of dirt smeared on her face - she'd fallen on the ground.

Edited May 13 by Spark of Hope

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

43 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

She smiled. "Hey." She was about half a foot shorter than Aventine with blonde hair and yellow eyes. "They're right through there." She pointed through the hole in the bathroom door to the group hug.

Her breathing was steady; she was just asleep. She was fine. Her face looked a little red from crying, but she hadn't been hurt. There was, however, a bit of dirt smeared on her face - she'd fallen on the ground.

Elan wanders in carefully, silently. He makes his way towards Aventine, and gently lays a hand on her shoulder. "Ave?" He says softly.

[Spark of Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

Elan wanders in carefully, silently. He makes his way towards Aventine, and gently lays a hand on her shoulder. "Ave?" He says softly.

As he approached, all of the alters pulled back from her. When he said her name, her eyes widened a little. "Real funny, everyone."

"That's not one of us," Sass said. "That's him."

"No, it's not. He's dead, I watched him die. And I doubt Death would let him come to my mind."

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

2 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

As he approached, all of the alters pulled back from her. When he said her name, her eyes widened a little. "Real funny, everyone."

"That's not one of us," Sass said. "That's him."

"No, it's not. He's dead, I watched him die. And I doubt Death would let him come to my mind."

"Ave. It's me. I don't know quite how to prove that to you, but it is." He crouches down so he's on eye level with her, smiling softly.

[Spark of Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

"Ave. It's me. I don't know quite how to prove that to you, but it is." He crouches down so he's on eye level with her, smiling softly.

"We'll, ah, give you two some space," Akarui said. The alters slowly began to fade away, waking up in their own worlds.

She looked through him. "You're dead," she said, but it was barely audible.

[Cash67 he/him]

57 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

She smiled. "Hey." She was about half a foot shorter than Aventine with blonde hair and yellow eyes. "They're right through there." She pointed through the hole in the bathroom door to the group hug.

Her breathing was steady; she was just asleep. She was fine. Her face looked a little red from crying, but she hadn't been hurt. There was, however, a bit of dirt smeared on her face - she'd fallen on the ground.

Pic looked at the falling debris, and decided he needed to go. Still humming Aventine’s Waltz, he picked her up and began running to the beat. He carried her past debris, past danger, all without him thinking. After all, the song came from where he felt most safe.

Soon, he was back with Lyla.

@Thaidakar the Ghostblood

 

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

3 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

"We'll, ah, give you two some space," Akarui said. The alters slowly began to fade away, waking up in their own worlds.

She looked through him. "You're dead," she said, but it was barely audible.

"No, not really." Elan says. He wraps an arm around Aventine, trying to comfort her. "I'm here. I'm still here. I'll am here for you. I promise."

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Just now, Cash67 said:

Pic looked at the falling debris, and decided he needed to go. Still humming Aventine’s Waltz, he picked her up and began running to the beat. He carried her past debris, past danger, all without him thinking. After all, the song came from where he felt most safe.

Soon, he was back with Lyla.

@Thaidakar the Ghostblood

 

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I'll get to it. check my latest SU

 

[Spark of Hope]

1 minute ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"No, not really." Elan says. He wraps an arm around Aventine, trying to comfort her. "I'm here. I'm still here. I'll am here for you. I promise."

“How are you not…” She didn’t finish the sentence. “How…?”

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

2 minutes ago, Spark of Hope said:

“How are you not…” She didn’t finish the sentence. “How…?”

"I'm very resilient. And quite a bit of Tylenol and Ibuprofen." He pauses. "Oh. And yielding my body, separating my consciousness from it."

Edited May 13 by Ancient Elantrian

[Spark of Hope]

Just now, Ancient Elantrian said:

"I'm very resilient. And quite a bit of Tylenol and Ibuprofen."

“I don’t know what those are, but…”

She sighed. “This doesn’t make sense. You were dead, and it was my fault.”

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

Just now, Spark of Hope said:

“I don’t know what those are, but…”

She sighed. “This doesn’t make sense. You were dead, and it was my fault.”

"I was kinda dead. Ish. And now I'm not. Either way, no. None of it was your fault. You couldn't stop it and you didn't cause it. You're not at fault. And I still love you, you're still my friend."

[Spark of Hope]

1 minute ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

"I was kinda dead. Ish. And now I'm not. Either way, no. None of it was your fault. You couldn't stop it and you didn't cause it. You're not at fault. And I still love you, you're still my friend."

She hugged him tightly, shaking from crying.