PLEASE READ FIRST!

Alright guys. First and most important thing, THIS IS NOT MY STORY. Its a MIRROR from the Homestuck kink meme and was written by ribsgrowback there.

ribsgrowback has given permission for people to mirror their fanfiction, so I am going to do it here. Original can be found here: ht tp: / homesmut .livejournal .com / 9406 . ht ml? thread = 14554302 just remove the spaces.

This is the original promt from the meme:

I've seen things about Karkat having self-harm issues. And it made me think that maybe someone could write an AU where the trolls are in a psychiatric treatment center? And I guess the kids could be the therapists/psychiatrists, especially Rose, since she's into psychoanalysis. No smut necessary, but I like Sollux/Feferi, Gamzee/Tavros, and most other pairings if you want to add it.

I will be updating the chapters as close as possible to when the author post new stuff on the kink meme. Also, rating and genre may (and are quite likely) to change, MAY BE TRIGGER WARNINGS LATER. I WILL MARK THESE CHAPTERS. I say MAY because I have no idea what the original author is planning, seeing as I am just mirroring for them.

This is a really great story, so lets all enjoy it!

== BE THE SHRINK AGAIN

You return to being the shrink. You allow yourself to only be slightly exasperated by Karkat's reticence, but are pleasantly surprised to see the group banding together to show him their support. After a few neat notations and the vaguely disgusting noise of Karkat gnawing a hole through his sweatshirt, you decide to speak.

"Karkat, is there a reason why you won't tell us what brought you here?"

He shrugs.

"Are you embarrassed by it?"

He shrugs again. You wait. Sollux nudges him. He opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it again. You give him a few more seconds, and are about to give up, when he decides to speak.

"I guess," he mumbles. His voice cracks.

"Karkat, there is no need to be embarrassed. Nobody's issues are any more or less important than anyone else's."

"It's just stupid."

"Nobody's problems are stupid, Karkat."

He's staring intently at the floor. His entire bearing has shifted from being a tiny ball of fury to a hunched, tense form who looks like he's on the verge of tears. A few of the other patients look concerned. Terezi offers him the box of tissues-she's holding it out in the wrong direction, but Aradia nudges her arm so it's pointing at him. He gets up and takes one, and blows his nose loudly. You notice that he's not meeting anyone's eyes.

"I can see that you are not yet ready to discuss this with the group, Karkat."

He shakes his head. He's chewing on his sweatshirt again.

"You can have a pass on it for today. But you can't keep all of this inside forever. We'll address this during individual, okay?"

Silence. Finally, he nods without looking up at you. You write a quick note summarizing his behavior for his therapist.

== BE THE PATIENT

You are once again Karkat Vantas, and you are sniffling like a baby. That was the most terrifying five minutes of your life. Next to you, Sollux has started telling everyone how he's bipolar and obsessive-compulsive about the number two. You feel like everyone is staring at you. You look up for a second, notice that all eyes are on Sollux, and heave a sigh of relief. You need another tissue, but the box is all the way across the room. You wipe your nose on your sleeve instead. Equius looks horrified. You don't even have the energy to smirk at that. Instead, you actually start listening to what Sollux is saying.

"...at fiir2t they thought II wa2 2chiizophreniic 'cau2e II would hear voiice2 duriing my maniic epii2ode2, but iit turn2 out that iit'2 ju2t a 2ymptom of haviing bad biipolar, ii2n't that weiird? But yeah, after a whiile II got 2o bad that II couldn't even do my programmiing, let alone go to 2chool, and that 2ucked, 2o my dad2 a2ked around and II ended up here."

You wonder how he can talk about his problems so easily. After Sollux wraps up, Dr. Lalonde caps her pen and asks everyone what they'd like to talk about. You tune her out. You realize that you're exhausted, and find yourself dozing off to the sound of your fellow patients' voices. The doc doesn't seem to notice, or maybe she just doesn't mind after your traumatic introduction. Either way, you spend the rest of Group half-asleep and still sniffling. Sollux doesn't even poke you too hard when you slump onto him, but he does punch you when you start drooling. Afterwards, a few people try to comfort you (and force you to talk about your issues), but they soon get distracted by Vriska trying to run off... again. You're starting to think that you can tolerate it here.