Am curious about psych ward ghoap, what happens if they ever get out? Do they follow each other? Do they lead different lives that connect again??
This has to be one of my fav ghoap AUs and Iโm DYING for more, please!
๐ฅบ๐ฅบ thank you so much!! i love this au too, it just hits in such a different way. if iโm honest, i donโt really see them getting out? itโs all about how mental health sometimes canโt be healed, that sometimes you can do all the treatment and take all the medication and it still wonโt change anything especially if you have doctors that see you as difficult to treat or think you arenโt doing enough to help yourself (totally not my disabled ass projecting ๐
)
i think if they ever were released though (likely bc of spacing issues or funding lbr), ghost would need a heavy support system; an externally controlled structure that helps keep him on a schedule to care for himself and survive even if he still is severely depressed. without that guidance, it would be too easy for him to slip back into that apathy and end up just as bad as when he started (sort of like how i wrote him here)
whereas soap needs something that can keep his emotions and impulse control in check and a physical outlet and a way to keep himself grounded in ways other than self harm. socialising is also very difficult bc he can interpret any action as an insult and he canโt stop himself from rising to it
the only way they would ever be able to be released is if they were released together; theyโre too codependent otherwise, too attached to each other, and since their regular therapies already donโt work, thereโs no way they would be able to be coached into separation or a healthy relationship. if say ghost was released bc there was nothing else they could do for him but soap was forced to stay bc heโs a danger to himself and others, ghost would never get out of bed again and slowly waste away and soapโs anger would consume him to the point of prison time. i donโt think he would kill someone, not intentionally, but with ghost taken away from him, he would absolutely beat someone so badly that it comes close
but thatโs where the irony comes in; the specific support they need is exactly what they give each other. soap is happy to help wash, feed and force ghost to work out bc it allows him to have things to do with clear rewards; itโs not as abstract as a garden that may not grow or impersonal as building something he canโt fit in his flat. every action has an immediate effect; he can see ghost is full, can see he is clean, can see his muscles grow. itโs also an effort; on top of working out, hauling a 90+ kilo, over 6 foot man around when he canโt get out of bed isnโt light work and that physical exertion goes far in keeping his emotions in check (so long as nothing happens to ghost; someone giving him a dirty look at his appearance or on days he doesnโt talk is a guaranteed trigger)
and for soap, ghost is the steady presence he needs when he feels out of control and explosive. heโll get cut off at the grocery store and instead of crawling over the trolley to bash their head in, heโll take one look at ghost and see how little he gives a shit about it that he can push that anger back down. and if he canโt, then ghost is there to put a hand on his shoulder and redirect his attention to something else. it still does so much for him that if he does explode, it wonโt send ghost running; ghost isnโt afraid of him or his anger, knows that even if heโs the subject of his rage it will still blow over and he will never actually hurt him. knowing ghost will always be there, that he wonโt lose him the first time he messes up, helps keep him calm, makes him unafraid of his meltdowns so he doesnโt try to suppress them which always just made them worse
is it healthy to hinge all your healing on a single person? hell no. but nothing about them is healthy to begin with and we need to get all the happiness we can out of this world
