#it could also arguably be Terzo but like

[ficandkaboodle]

So there’s this little story my dad told both me and sone of his friends about the passage of time.

He’s walking through the hospital, my then 5-y/o brother’s hand in his and me in my baby carrier in his other hand. He’s going to a doctor’s appointment for one of us. Pretty standard stuff. When suddenly he just. Stops. Just pauses in the hallway, looks at my brother, then at me. And he’s hit with a sudden wonder of

“When did this happen?!?!”

Not in a dismayed “Where did my youth go?” fashion, but in an “I was just attending college courses yesterday and woke up with two children under 6, when did I have the time?!?”

So anyway…

That’s either Secondo or Copia imo~✨💚💙✨

[cyb3r-st4rz]

Disabled Ghouls because I like to suffer

Zephyr having a hard time accepting love because of how broken they feel.

Warning for a lil depressing disability talk but it's very cute. Putting a cut though because I myself am sensitive to angst, if you still decide to read it. thank you <3 this is a topic that is very dear to me.

It's not much, it's not even proof read or anything I just needed to get this out :) also they/them zephyr

Do y’all think when Zephyr was first summoned they felt like they weren’t good enough to deserve the love of their pack because of how broken they were?

Do you guys think they were just waiting for Terzo to tell them, their summoning was a mistake and that they were gonna send them back?

Do we think that Zephyr had made their peace with dying long ago, just barely surviving in the pit, waiting for the final blow to finish them off once and for all. How they're now struggling with their new purpose? 

Maybe we’re even thinking about Zephyr trying not to get too close to their pack because they're scared to loose them or even worse, what if they reject them?

But do we also think that they just can’t help but love their packmates so so much?

Aether, who practises his quintessence with Omega day and night, just to help ease Zephyrs pain.

Dew, who somehow has a sixth sense for when Zephyr feels alone, coming to curl up in their lap, purring like crazy.

Ivy, who always takes them to the greenhouse to just hang out and enjoy the warm sun and the beautiful flowers, the earth ghouls grow in there.

Or, arguably the best of all

Ifrit, him and Alpha wrestling in the common room for fun. Ifrit getting his ass kicked by Alpha, just to turn his head and grin at Zephyr, making their heart monitor act up.

Ifrit, who tries to tell Zephyr how he feels but Zephyr just not being ready to have someone love them.

Ifrit finding Zephyr in the garden, enamoured with the roses Primo has there. The sight of the air ghoul being the closest Ifrit was ever gonna get to heaven. Ifrit finally taking a deep breath to confess “I like you.” only for Zephyr to freeze up and tell him “Don’t do that to yourself.” 

Ifrit, resisting the urge to shake them until they finally come to their senses. Can’t they see how much they mean to him? To all of them? Zephyr telling Ifrit, how he deserves someone that can give him everything he could ever want and Ifrit dropping to his knees in front of Zephyr, taking his hand and looking straight into his eyes saying

“You already are everything I could ever want.”

[simperator]

Haeresis Dea - Chapter Three

AO3 Link

Secondo remembers a Sister and feels warm nostalgia and affection, a Sister knows Secondo and feels nothing but fear.

You look like an idiot right now. Say something, anything, just don’t say that again.

Every thought shooting through Secondo’s head seemed to be running at a mile a minute, and none of them were good. Not only does this girl look absolutely petrified of you, but she also doesn’t know what the hell you’re talking about. To add insult to injury, you can stand there saying you remember her but you can’t even recall the poor girl’s name.

Unfortunately, the only laurel he knew to rest on was the fact he had satanic nepotism, to speak to them as a superior no matter the situation. The thought of it made his stomach churn in pure self-loathing and disgust. His younger brother Terzo had always loved the attention and actively revels in it, and even his older brother Primo is quietly lofty with other people.

“Yes, I think we knew each other as children, Sorella.”

Secondo winced at himself for only calling her by her title. He had always made an effort to learn people’s names but seeing how this Sister hypothetically slapped him on the wrist for it by neglecting to call Copia by his newly ordained name. That was the big lightbulb for him into remembering her, the relationship they shared. No one in their right mind should be talking to an Emeritus that way, correcting them on what they are allowed to call their subordinates. After all, their bloodline has been associated with the satanic papacy since Nihil’s father, his father’s father, and however long Nihil was able to continue on for when reminding the brothers of this fact.

But here the Sister was, not afraid to stand up for the young priest and openly disregard the unholy bloodline, to an Emeritus’ face. She could get many extremely stern talking to’s by her elder Sister’s for doing that. Disrespecting his father and his role in the church. Secondo liked that.

“We… we did?”

In fact, it was that very abrasive attitude that kicked off his memory of this particular Sister. Growing up within the church’s curriculum and subsequent nuns and priests as teachers, obviously there was a level of strictness, which made room for a level of rebellion. Of course, Terzo and some of the young boys were usual problem children, talking back and slacking off on assigned work. Not young Sorella. She was never afraid to stick up for herself and question authority no matter what matter was at hand- a very welcomed blessing in a Satanic environment but it definitely got old for many Sisters after a long day.

It was definitely a more-than-once-a-week occasion Secondo would be surveying the cathedral halls with his older brother and father and see her sitting outside, slumped over a desk pushed outside grumbling to herself. His father would always lightheartedly chastise her with his shit-eating grin with a line like “You focus better out here?” while Primo tried to silently discipline her by means of a disappointed stare. This vexed Secondo for two reasons. One, shouldn’t they be encouraging rebellion as one of the pillars of their faith? Two, they acted exactly like this toward everyone all of the time. Nihil acts too much like a child to be Papa and Primo acts too much like Papa to be a child. Whenever the two would share their unwelcome two cents with the poor girl Secondo just looked at her and tried to send his sympathies with just a look. Maybe she would remember his attempt at telepathy.

“Yes, I remember you uh… would get in trouble a lot. My brothers and I would see you outside.”

Secondo wanted this to stir up playful nostalgia in the poor Sister but her face contorted into somewhere between a sneer and guilt. “Ah. Right. They sure had a lot to say.” Secondo bit the inside of his cheek. Once again, Secondo’s attempt at honest, light conversation seems to go awry. He knows that he’s intimidating, arguably the most out of all of the Emeritus men, but that didn’t mean he wanted people to fear him. It just sort of… came with the territory of his height, status, and general flat tone. The only thing Secondo could think to do to remedy this would be to squat down to match the young Sister’s eye level but that would be wildly patronizing.

Trying to think fast, Secondo wanted to soothe any feeling going through her head, and let her know that he wasn’t scolding or making fun of her. “I always thought they were a bit hard on you…” Secondo’s eyes were fixed on the hallway ahead, pretending not to be hesitant about looking back to the Sister, whose eyes were wide with surprise. The lack of eye contact gave Secondo the confidence to continue his thought. “My family and the older Sisters.”

Secondo, despite his resting I’m-going-to-maul-you-if-you-say-the-wrong-thing face, was in reality just a shy young boy with insurmountable pressure put on him since the time he was born. Being a bastard son of the reigning Papa and brother to both the most insufferably high-achieving and just regular insufferable left him in an impossible position. Secondo worked hard every day to make up for what Terzo lacked in regards to future Papacy, but was forever cast in Primo’s shadow because he couldn’t help raise his younger brother and aim for perfection in everything he did because it would break him down.

He did not want to disappoint his father but felt as though his very existence did that for him. All of the Emeritus brothers felt that way, they all just coped with it differently. Primo tried to be the best at everything in an attempt for validation, Terzo just coasted through with his looks and charm because he had given up on appeasing Nihil a long time ago. Secondo was in the middle of these two extremes but was not allowed to complain about it at all. Any attempt at venting would result in Primo saying he has no right because he doesn’t work hard enough or Terzo just brushing him off saying that he shouldn’t care. He felt trapped, and anyone who was able to break out of their hypothetical cages- no matter what they were, earned his respect.

He was snapped out of what he believed to be a pity party by a small snort from the Sister. Hearing a small semblance of joy after she was practically radiating fear was a small nugget of pure relief. Secondo turned back to her, her hand covering her mouth. “I’m sorry, Father Emeritus it’s just… really? You looked like you were going to give me a real talking to every time you looked at me.” Damnit. Not only was Secondo scaring the living daylights out of the poor girl all she knows from him is fear. It was right then and there Secondo decided that right now, even if it was just one person, was going to realize how warm he really was.

“Please, if anyone needed to be sent into time-out it’d be my father for teasing children instead of doing any papal duties.” Secondo could feel the tension in the air dissipating, all because he let his mask slip a little. He grew up constantly hearing from Sister Imperator to speak formally with everyone in the Clergy and to always remain collected and professional, which earned him a lot of respect but also made it very hard to make friends. He prayed the Sister wouldn’t notice his discomfort in being comfortable with someone who wasn’t Imperator or his family. Hell, at this rate, he may even end up smiling, which according to Terzo would bring about the apocalypse.

Small, poorly-hidden giggling was echoing through the halls, the young Sister was eating this up. Secondo let a small, awkward smile stretch across his face, and a sense of pride twang in his chest. Being able to convince this girl he wasn’t going to bite her head off and joke about something that the Clergy considers oh-so-serious was a feeling completely foreign to him, but one he was now desperate into happening more often. That’s not even mentioning hearing how he made the young Sister laugh. She sounded so delighted, genuine, and… pretty…

“Father Emeritus, should you not talk about Papa that way? What if somebody hears you?” The Sister chirped through laughter. Secondo wasn’t even thinking about anyone else right now, he didn’t care if anyone, not even Imperator, heard him knocking his father down a few pegs with a subordinate. Secondo decided to push this new feeling even further. “What they do, tell on me? They’ll have to find him dicking off or pestering Sister Imperator first.” Speaking casually with an inferior, making fun of Papa, and now swearing. Secondo was on a roll. It was freeing calling his father out on his shortcomings to someone who was raised believing he was oh-so-all-important, especially when it meant he could see a smile and hear a laugh half as adorable as the young Sisters-

Nope. Too far. Shooting the shit with Clergy members is one thing, finding them attractive is a whole different beast and a whole other world of angry lecturing from Imperator. Secondo tried to nip these feelings in the bud but this conversation was just too good. He liked this new energy he can create, and he liked how she responded to it. That’s totally innocent, right? “Are you going to tell my mentor that I’m laughing at your slander, Father?” Secondo's smile quickly faded. “Mentor?” The not-a-Sister Sister swats a few more laughs from out of the air, but still smiling responded. “Yes, I’m a Novitiate.” Oh no. Not only was he testing out a new streak of cockiness to make a cute girl laugh, but this cute girl also wasn’t even an ordained Sister. They both could get into some serious hot water if this got out. The Novitiate was an adult, twenty at least, so it wouldn’t be like a teenager giggling with their friends and getting him in trouble. During his little crisis she continued, “...Perhaps I should have told you before you called me Sister…” Her smile began to slowly drop.

Not on Secondo’s watch. It was like a line of a drug sharing laughter with a Clergy member, for once as potential friends rather than a business partner. Plus, it would not be out of pity, this notion utterly puzzled him. From what he remembered, despite her constant sticking-to-the-man, she had a lot of potential and much going for her by the time she graduated from the Clerical equivalent of high school. With her passion, she should have been an ordained Sister years ago, what is she doing stuck in that position? Secondo just had to know. “You’re not ordained? Were you not someone apart of top-of-the-class and well-liked among the Clergy?” The Novitiate smirked, meeting Secondo’s green eye. “Smart, maybe. Well-liked by my Sisters? You just mentioned how much of a problem child I was.” Secondo was affronted by this. He knew problem children, he has dealt with some real pieces of work both in the Sister and Priesthood. Someone who was simply just passionate and argumentative should not be held back like this. “That’s ridiculous. Well, if someone like my younger brother could end up an ordained priest 6 years early, you should be fine.” “Your brother is also your brother. It makes sense he’d be ordained and I’m not.”

Right. The whole son-of-the-Papa thing. Secondo felt a strange sense of guilt despite not having any part in anyone’s potential clerical career. Terzo was not ready for ordination, he barely cares about the church. In fact, Secondo barely knew anything about the church until after he was ordained into the priesthood, he had to pick up where his schooling left off by whiling away hours in the cathedral library. He hated unfair treatment and hated how much he benefitted from it. “Besides…” she began again. “I wasn’t born in the Clergy…”

That’s it. He knew about nepotism but had no idea it stretched to everyone who had the so-called honour of being born from a Papa and his Prime Mover, and discriminated against anyone who converted or was left here on the steps… just like him. “There’s no reason why you’re stuck under everyone’s thumb just because you’re not the byproduct of some bloodline bullshit.” His tone was deep and angry, this touched a deep nerve in him so sorely he did not realize the tone of his voice and how passionate he was getting. So much so that his anger made the Novitiate recoil.

Secondo immediately let his fire fizzle out, he hated upsetting people. Especially someone he had been so, perhaps unbeknownst to them, vulnerable with. He put his gloved hands on her shoulders and leaned down to match her eyeline, no longer caring about coming off as anything and simply trying to soothe her. “You don’t deserve this kind of treatment, especially from the people who claim to be family. Now, you tell me if anyone hinders you or makes you feel like you don’t belong here, understand?”

His voice was stern but not out of commanding respect, but out of feeling disrespect for another. Noticing the slightly shaken expression on the Novitiate's face Secondo’s eyes softened. He moved his hands from firmly on her shoulders to holding them in his hands. “I’m on your side. Promise me you’ll tell me.” She blinked a couple of times and then nodded slightly, letting out a small sigh of destressing from the sudden outburst. “Thank you, Father.”

He sighed in a strange sense of embarrassment for letting himself be so emotional, a very typical response for a man in his power but more for potentially upsetting the Novitiate. Not wanting to mess anything up further, he quietly held her hands and slowly glided his thumbs over her soft hands. The two stood there for a few beats, just breathing, quietly rebalancing the comfort felt just seconds before. Secondo looked down at the ground, shamefully.

“Really,” she spoke again, Secondo meeting her eyes expectantly. “Thank you, Father.” She smiled warmly at him, a silent acknowledgment of his fears and a way of soothing him in return, a way of her saying I’m-not-afraid. Secondo stood up and straightened himself up, not letting go of the Novitiate's hands, who was now shyly averting eye contact. “I really must be getting to the Sister’s quarters…” she squeaked out, her face flush. “They’d uhm… get really upset with me if I skipped out on chores.”

Secondo’s shoulders relaxed, now fully safe in the knowledge that she felt safe, but he didn’t want to leave this newfound companion on an awkward note, just parting ways like this didn’t mean something to him or she was just another subordinate to dismiss whenever he pleased. The Novitiate let go of his hands hesitantly, she was absolutely worried she was overstepping holding hands with an Emeritus but Secondo secretly mourned the loss of her touch. Secondo took a leap. “Per favore, lascia che ti accompagni indietro.”

The Novitiate cocked her head, puzzled. Ah, right. “Please let me walk you back,” Secondo repeated, putting his son-of-the-Papa voice on to mask his nervousness. He swallowed a dry throat. “If you would like…” The Novitiate's face got so hot Secondo could practically feel it, which he absolutely adored. “Yes…” she began, voice hoarse. “I would like that.”

The two turned and questioningly took their first steps back towards the Sister’s sleeping quarters. The Novitiate's hands were poised elegantly in front of her while Secondo opted to put his hands in his pockets. He secretly wanted to offer up his arm to hold, more than anything to be a gentleman but also as an excuse to be close to her again, but his shyness got the better of him. The walk back was still pleasant, the two enjoying the other's company in silent comfort. Secondo felt her eyes glance at him, scanning his large frame but when he attempted to look back her eyes darted back forward, which pulled a restrained chuckle out of him. She was making it very hard to repress the feelings he convinced himself he rid of earlier.

It seemed like a minute and they were at the crossroads between sleeping quarters, the hallway stretching with midday sunlight dappling the walls through the tall cathedral windows. The Novitiate continued walking but noticed the presence beside her disappearing. She looked to Secondo, curious as to why he stopped so suddenly. Secondo put his hands behind his back formally, letting his lip twitch before speaking for the first time in a good few minutes. “I don’t want to startle any Sisters.” If he was to be nothing else, Secondo was going to be respectable, and as much as he wanted to ignore any of his duties for the day and spend more time with the sweet girl he just gotten acquainted with he knew better than to impose his presence on potentially unwilling Sisters. Respecting women’s privacy went without saying to him and his brothers of course but any young priest who tried to glance would definitely be subject to cruel and well-deserved punishment- even the old casanova knows that.

“Ah, well, thank you very much for accompanying me, Father Emeritus.” She was putting on her own formal voice now. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you at Papa’s next sermon.” Secondo let that damn smile creep back on his face, hoping the distance between the two of them would render it unnoticeable. “I’m sure I will, but please, you may call me Secondo.” She looked to him, eyes twinkling with disbelief, and then to the floor, her face bright pink and fingers twiddling anxiously. “Am… I dismissed… Secondo?” She was unsure of the new name, Secondo liked how it sounded coming from her voice. “You do not need my permission,” he replied, as warmly as he could muster. The Novitiate looked back to him with a restrained smile on her face, still facing him as she began to walk back to her room. “Farewell, Secondo.” His smile grew wider without his own volition at the unspoken new signal of friendship “Farewell, Sorella.”

Turning away from her before she caught on that he was absolutely bursting with butterflies, he began the long trudge back to the library, contorting his face in all sorts of ways to stop smiling like an idiot. Just because she could see him without the stuffy and aloof act doesn’t mean he’s ready for everyone else to be able to as well. Saying nothing to those he passed by besides offering a curt nod with an unchanging typical Secondo expression his head was absolutely reeling. Replaying the conversation, picking apart all the things he did, and trying to burn the Novitiate’s laugh in his memory.

Standing in front of the heavy doors for the library he entered, with so much of his usual bravado he did not notice that Terzo was in there, book half-open in his hands. When the two’s eyes met Secondo completely dropped into a usual scowl. The library was his safe space, his space to ponder on those moments, and his little brother infecting it. “Since when did you read,” Secondo growled. Terzo’s face went from neutral to a shit-eating grin, very usual fashion for him “Since when did you flirt with the Sisters?”

Secondo’s face rose in temperature rapidly, burning an ever-increasing red. Terzo had very little idea what was going through his head but was very delighted to mercilessly tease the brother that so often scolds him for everything. Secondo let a hand drop over his features in a failing attempt to cover his embarrassed blush. “I was not flirting with anyone!” Terzo let out a laugh. “Ooh! Defensive! This is a big deal, most of us were under the impression you didn’t have feelings!” Secondo was about to slam that door in an attempt to assert his brotherly dominance but Terzo stood with his hands up disarmingly. He loved to tease but truly was invested in Secondo’s little venture. “It’s okay, Fratello, I won’t tell Imperator. But you must tell me who the lucky girl is!” Secondo’s fingers impatiently tapped on the door as he avoided eye contact with his brother.

“Or boy…” Terzo added. Secondo knew that Terzo was absolutely saying that but this was about all he could take. He shut the door behind him, leaving Terzo to simply shrug off what just happened and chalk it up to Secondo being Secondo. Standing outside the library door, he stared into nothing for a few beats, then buried his face and hair into his hands. If he wasn’t overthinking it before, he certainly was now. Did I make her uncomfortable? Does she think I was flirting with her? If I did would she be upset?

Great. Not only did he make himself vulnerable, shortcircuit with social anxiety, and risk getting a royal ass-whooping from Imperator for saying all that stuff about his father, but now his brothers have more ammo to tease him with. Worse yet, he now is stuck with all of these feelings he would never have had if he had just stayed in his library or in his quarters all day. So much Secondo now had to suffer, but the worst part is, he didn’t want it to stop.

[marshmallowsqoosh]

[Ghost(Band) | Space Between Us]

Fandom: Ghost (Band) Title (also AO3 link): Space Between Us Rating: General CW: No major warnings Lesser Warnings: headcanon, based on the grammy event, protective/possessive!Omega (consensual and supported by Terzo), Ghouls getting along... uh... pet names/adorations

Summary: The more Terzo shines, the more popular the band gets, the more people that want to be in his personal space... the more frustrated Omega gets. Pride and frustration are two very difficult emotions for a Ghoul... especially as possessive as Omega can get. A/N: Super short and quick thing for Cetus, based on a thing on the twits yes. ...Yes.

Still don't have a beta reader so if you spot typos/odd spots, lemme know ♥

Extras: Status (and AO3 link!): Complete! Word Count: 1.555

[Space Between Us]

Omega feels the prickles of discomfort crawling on his skin and tries to stay as close to Terzo as possible while still keeping an eye on the others as they're… not necessarily forced to spread out, but they're definitely spread further out than they'd normally be. He lost track of Special probably as soon as they came backstage and hasn't seen him once since the after party officially kicked off. Air's being remarkably social and he's grateful Water manages to stay close because Alpha is… not in the best mood.

Honestly, none of them are; the longer they have to uphold the glamours to appear human, the more exhausted they're all getting. They're all going to be cranky later, which just makes it more imperative that Omega—or Alpha, either of them—keep an eye on Terzo… and, arguably more importantly, keep an eye on the rest of the Ghouls.

Being taller and broader than the others gives them some advantage, but it's still annoying when they get pushed too far away. He feels the beginning sensation of burning when he runs into the other Ghoul and hastily dusts his sleeve down before glaring at him in warning, "Alpha…"

"I'm not trying to start a fire. This time." He sounds equally irate. Still, he is paying attention to his surroundings, given that he manages to catch Water by the back of his uniform before he trips over himself. It seems to serve a double purpose of cooling the Fire Ghoul off before he does set something on fire. He lets out a heavy breath, barely mindful not to release the smoke building in his void. "Well… it's not as bad as the orgies."

"It is significantly worse than the orgies, are you out of your mind?"

Alpha—or Water, he looks equally incredulous, exchanging confused looks with the Fire Ghoul—probably has something to say about the observation; but, Omega's already moved back over to Terzo, taking his spot at the man's shoulder once more, the second he sees a human getting too close to sneaking up behind him. Terzo barely glances over his shoulder, instead relying on the brief contact and leaning back into Omega—like he's intending to step back, only to realise the Ghoul is behind him and quickly correcting himself—to assure him he's aware of Omega's presence.

"There you are. I was worried the others pulled you off to mingle." He'd swear Terzo sounds amused and he simply does his best not to groan.

"They haven't resorted to pranks or felonies, if that's what you meant. … Yet."

He might be a little anxious, realising he still hasn't found Special. He knows Special was… diligent about making sure his hands and neck and face were coated in makeup and paint, just to accommodate not being able to glamour the same way other Ghouls could. Omega knows he doesn't need to worry… but, he also knows they're going to have a lot to explain if any of the makeup comes off. He doesn't get to voice the concerns before Terzo laughs, waving after the latest person to shake his hand and take in the moment of peace where it's just them with people around instead of paying attention to him.

"You're worrying too much, Omega. Special's fine, he likes socialising and he knows how important it is to make sure nothing washes the paint and makeup off. He doesn't get to be around many people at home, like this; let him enjoy it, while he can." Terzo sounds… exhausted. But, he still puts on the practiced smile and accepts the greetings and introductions as they come. Omega makes a point to stay firmly at his shoulder, even as more people start to crowd.

It means people don't come up on Terzo's sides without him being aware—which does seem to help some of the anxiety, for both of them—and, it lets Omega be… discreetly clingy. Constantly brushing imaginary dust and lint off Terzo's jacket, just as an excuse to touch him. Terzo will turn every fifteen or so minutes, just to adjust Omega's uniform—usually giving his grucifix a gentle tug, like he's trying to center it, just so he can press his hand flat to Omega's chest, right over the ring under his uniform—before returning his attention to the conversations around him. Special finally joins them, as people are finally starting to file out, giddy and a little tipsy, purring happily as he clings to Terzo's arm. Omega has to shift to standing a little bit more to his right than he wants to, just to make sure Special's tail stays hidden.

He's grateful when they're all ushered back to the limo to return to the hotel. He wants to pull Terzo into his lap, just to calm the possessive agitation, even a little bit; but, Special sprawls out across his lap—yawning, widely, as Terzo gently takes his mask away—easily taking up one side of the limo with just the two of them and Water trying to wash the make up off the unconscious Ghoul. … Which leaves Omega stuck on the other side with Alpha and Air—Alpha pretending to gag, while Air giggles incessantly, despite being seated between the two so they don't start a fight in the enclosed space.

Terzo helps the situation, a little, by stretching his legs out so he can hook his ankle around Omega's, even when most of his attention is on gently running his hand back through Special's hair and stroking along the edge of his ear, watching it give gentle flickers, just to make sure he stays asleep; or, if he wakes up, that he stays calm while Water's trying to clean the foundation and flesh-coloured paint off of his face.

Some of them grumble about Special getting his own room; Earth makes sure he's in bed before dragging Air off to their shared room. Alpha's still grumbling, even as Water reminds him it's either: Special gets his own room… or Special has to stay in Alpha's room because they're both Fire Ghouls, both hazards, and that's where Water's staying and no one in their right mind would trust Special and Air not to cause property damage after they'd been drinking.

No one bothers pointing out he usually stays in Terzo's room and they're all smart enough not to comment on the fact Omega simply carries Terzo back to their room, over his shoulder, with the most barebone, hasty explanation and order—he's tired, we've all been glamoured far too long, go to bed, all of you.

They might all be tired and a touch cranky, in some cases, but none of them are tired enough or stupid enough to try calling Omega out on the hasty instruction.

Terzo finally laughs when the door gets shut behind them, carefully propping himself up so he can balance himself on Omega's shoulder and deftly takes his mask off. He waits until Omega's adjusted to having the mask removed—once he's stopped shaking his head and adjusted to having his horns back at full length instead of the glamoured alteration under the mask—to adjust himself further. Wriggling about until Omega's forced to lower him, one arm still hooked under his legs and the other around his torso to make sure he doesn't lean too far back or to the side and fall; just enough that Terzo can press a gentle kiss to the tip of his Ghoul's nose.

"You're far too grouchy for how wonderful the evening's been, tesoro."

Omega grumbles, just a little, shifting to where he's confident he can safely keep Terzo held up with one arm, and takes the mask so it can be set aside. Mostly mindful it's somewhere safe before he finally turns and holds Terzo up to the wall for extra support. Not at all because he's heavy; but, using the wall and his own body to keep Terzo held up let's Omega have use of both hands. Specifically, Terzo wrap his arms around Omega's neck and legs secure around his hips so he's mostly holding himself up and Omega can push his hands up under the button up, mindful not to dig his claws in when he grips Terzo's hips.

At first it's just touches and kisses and bites. New claims and assurance things are still the way they're meant to be. Their normal.

It's when a bite on his shoulder finally gets a shuddery exhale and a soft, breathless whine that he only just registers as his name, that Omega finally raises his head.

"No matter what the church says—what they expect—even as the world watches and tries to claim you… nobody has that privilege but me."

It's not his place to be possessive. He knows that. He has his purpose—to serve, to protect, to aid.

But, he also knows Terzo has a very specific purpose for him that isn't included in the contract between summoner and Ghoul. One he always makes sure Omega remembers, no matter how much he teases and mocks the audience, no matter how many one night stands there are. He makes sure Omega knows the truth in the statement.

"Only yours, ombra mio. They are simple moments passing in time; you are eternity. We are eternity."

[ficandkaboodle]

Analyses of Most Ghost Characters be like…

Terzo was a tragic and extremely deep figure who, based off observations provided by his ghouls and Bishop Necropolitis, was a brilliant mind whose ideas were bastardized and squandered, which resulted in a disappointed and bitter husk of a man who still made an effort to display kindness. However, we will likely never truly know the full story of who he was because he lied so damn often.

Most of how we perceive Secondo is arguably the result of Sister badmouthing him as well as ghouls being brutally candid about how he acted in interviews. However, there’s reason to believe Secondo might’ve been just as multifaceted as Terzo, in that he wasn’t being his complete self to the audience. There’s evidence that could suggest Secondo did not enjoy being Papa in its entirety so much as the perks, which were ironically also hindered by him being Papa at the end of the day. It’s not hard to interpret him as someone who might not have enjoyed being a part of the bloodline at the end of the day because of what it meant he had to sacrifice.

Copia is a manchild, likely as a result of how he grew up: Orphaned, likely a social outcast, very likely undiagnosed. As a result, he might’ve become convinced that the only way to rise above it was to become someone worthy of adoration: Papa. But even after he ascended, his troubles didn’t stop: He had to learn his parentage, didn’t address the fact that his brothers were now dead, and spent the last few months he had with the woman he now knew was his mother dissociating because he developed a fear of death. This fear, mind you, that easily ties back into the theorized likelihood that he placed his self-worth into his success. And this is before getting into his willingness to be a puppet —

Papa Nihil’s complexities come in the form of his tendencies to escape reality and the consequences these brought. He was very likely an absent father, which would have had effects on his sons (say, attention-seeking tendencies; a distrust in authority; abandonment issues). In fact, the only things he seems to seek from his youth is his extremely short-lived music career and his unstable relationship with a woman who ultimately kept quiet about their son(s) they conceived together and ultimately played his lust and delusions against him to play nepotism. And by leaning into this, he got his own children killed. He only “became a father” after he died, and it’s sad that he actually seems his most lucid then. What’s all the more mind-boggling and makes you wonder about his tenure is his ability to be in the moment and try and convince Cardi to learn to do the same. It makes you curious: Was Nihil actually a good Papa when he wasn’t distracted?

Sister Imperator is willfully emotionally constipated and will justify it as being “for the good of the church”. She has definitely been affected by her decisions and what she’s done, from her relationship with Nihil to her giving up her babies and watching them at a distance, only interacting from a work standpoint. She lies, keeps secrets, has people killed off, all to tie her spawn into the position as Papa, which is curious considering her position means she’s already above the station of Papa. She does care about Cardi, but she doesn’t care for him the way he needs to be and, as a result, arguably only exacerbates his anxious tendencies. She’s an extremely interesting character but it’s so easy to water her down to just being manipulative and evil.

………………

Analyses of Primo —

Primo is fucking crazy man I don’t — Like, he might be a serial killer; he would punch a panda for profit; we aren’t even entirely certain he’s human like I would legit headcanon that Primo is a changeling and the fandom would run with it because what choice do we have, he honestly actually could be!!!

[ficandkaboodle]

Okay but after making my whole summary of Gonst character breakdowns, it’s got me wondering more than before: Would Copia have turned out any better if Sister had kept him and raised him herself?? (Warning: This post is long by way of me meandering)

I’m just talking rubber duck debugging-style here, I’m not expecting to or even necessarily hoping to come to any kind of fixed conclusion. But Cardi’s current tendencies are absolutely a product of how he grew up: He craves attention, he depends heavily on more decidedly childish activities and comforts, he is socially awkward as balls.

So obviously things would be different if he’d been brought up by Sister. But how different? And would that have been any better for Copia’s sense of self-worth or how he interacts with the world?

Personally, I think no. If anything, in a really sad and arguably disturbing way, how things turned out might’ve been the lesser of two evils. Still a fucked up evil, but the somewhat more survivable one.

In spite of everything she’s said and done, Sister Imperator did love Copia. She just expressed it in a way that wasn’t exactly conducive to his anxieties or just overall respect for him as an adult with needs, sensitivities, and the complexities that come with having the life he’d had. She loved him, but she loved him in a way that aligned with her mannerisms.

We don’t know Sister’s story. We likely never will, at least not in full. But it’s safe to assume that if Sister wasn’t born into the Church, she was definitely brought to it at a defining age and was either bred to or was deemed competent enough to lead it as Imperator. As a result, the Church and its goals became her mission. She might not have started it, but it was her first baby. The irony being that by dedicating herself as staunchly and one-track-minded as she did, she neglected to celebrate it as humanely as she could beyond perhaps just the lust-indulgence.

I will be the first to admit I know virtually nothing about Satanism. But…I dunno, most of the Emeriti (save Primo) seem to be on a similar page on how to interact with their faith: Secondo celebrates indulgence, Terzo embraces the importance of the self and being your own ruler while also being kind to others, and Copia would end rituals reminding people to do both. Sister stands out in that she’s more focused on all work, very little play. As a result, most of what we see of her comes off as very bureaucratic. Business-minded. She’s always thinking of how to keep the Church from fading into obscurity.

As a result of how many of her decisions seem to always have a thread tying back to the Church's well-being, I'd dare say this means more personal decisions tend to be a bit more . . . I wouldn't say "impulsive", but they certainly aren't running on all cylinders if you get what I'm saying.

At any rate, I wouldn't necessarily say the business-mindedness disrupts any maternal instinct in her per se. It could be. But honestly, I don’t think Sister is necessarily cut out for motherhood by nature. And that’s okay! Not every person is meant to be a parent, and AFAB women especially bear the brunt of criticism when they don’t display motherly affection or instinct. Even if she wanted to be more present, I don’t think her mindset would have allowed it to be as easy. And y’all, motherhood is hard enough on its own and under normal circumstances.

Bureaucracy suits Sister because she wants to be there.

What I find interesting is that Sister carried Copia and his twin to term when she didn't have to. So some part of her probably did want to have children. Or maybe she went into it recognizing the importance of having heirs: Legacy is a recurring theme in Ghost's characterization, even if some characters wind up misusing or misunderstanding it.

Ultimately, though, she gave them up and kept her distance except for in the one way she understood how to interact with people: Bureaucratically. And Copia responded to it well (probably because, I dunno, he didn't even know they were blood-related).

Regardless, I think that in a way, the fact this was met positively assured Sister that this was a proper way to go in a sense.

In a way, her giving Cardi the antipapacy is her trying to be a good mother and give him a gift. Yeah, it's a gift coming 50-something years late but the intention was there, I guess. However, it comes at the cost of having his brothers offed to assure no radicalism. Copia doesn’t seem to mind (or at least isn’t written to) but the fact still stands: That’s fucked up, Sister, you can’t go around killing your child’s half-brothers to get him the job.

So now this leads me back to the question I posited earlier: How would things have been different if Sister had decided to keep Copia? Well . . .

I think, had Sister raised Copia herself, Copia would've turned out . . . worse.

He would have likely been more “confident”, but it would’ve been horrifically twisted in and of itself. He’d grow up knowing he was part of the Imperator line (or simply known as Sister Imperator's son at the very least) and that would probably make him feel entitled. He’s essentially a little satanic prince, nobody can tell him no. Nobody who wants to live, anyway.

But he’d also be incredibly lonely. Like, more so than he already is. He may not have friends in the canon but he does have admirers who are drawn to him for his kindness and his willingness to be a bit of a goof. He'd probably be much more depressed than Canon Copia is implied to have familiarity with, and probably sucks even harder at dealing with it. He doesn't have anyone to confide in, and I think he'd never want anyone to know his vulnerabilities because he's the goddamn Imperator's son.

I think in the Copia Imperator timeline, he’d have “friends” but it’s mostly just for clout and/or fear. They're Yes Men he has orgies with essentially and carts around on the Ministry Black Card. He doesn’t have much appeal because he’s a manchild but in an extremely bratty way.

The charm we get from Canon Copia's childish tendencies are completely gone because Canon Copia's antics are the result of coping mechanisms mixed with a mother that coddles him because she doesn't trust him as an adult or see him as much beyond the baby she gave up. In the Copia Imperator timeline, he'd be enabled and probably not given very much reason to be a better person or mature.

Also, he’d probably be more down to kill. I know it's easy to assume this because bratty manchild with power frequently equals a lack of respect for life, but I also think him watching Mommy have people killed off for convenience would have put into his head that he can do the same. Only when Sister does it, it's for the "good" of the Church. If Copia does it, it's probably because he feels that person wronged him. Even if he still had some goofy traits, he’d be reluctant to display them and take anyone witnessing them as slights.

And given Sister’s penchant for putting work above all else, yeah, I think she’d hire nannies. Which wouldn’t likely be conducive to their relationship, so he becomes desperate for her attention and tries to be more like her. He still has Cardi’s mindset that if he does this thing right, he’ll be loved but I think in a weird way, he’d be more cutthroat about it. Probably because he witnessed his mother do the same up close (or as close as he can get from an emotionally and sometimes physically distant mother).

Which means there's probably a huge possibility that, in this timeline, he's more likely to be directly responsible for Papas 1-3s' deaths.

But I dunno, that's just my onion.

We don't know why Copia is as decent as he is, though. We can't say for sure if it's a nature vs nurture thing because as much as we can try and piece things together, we ultimately know nothing of his life growing up. We don't know if he'd been raised by or had a very kind adult in his life, or if he tried being mean and just frankly didn't like it. We don't know if anything from being raised as an orphan impacted his empathy or sympathy.

So obviously, this is all just what I puzzled together from traits of Sister's and how they might translate into motherhood as done by her, and what traits could therefore emerge in her child. How close to the mark I hit is subjective because that's fanon/speculation, baby.

(Though I think there's quite a few of you out there who would've probably loved to have seen Copia acting in this manner.)

Would Sister "raising" Copia have made for a more interesting storyline? Possibly. But as a person, Copia's probably better off this way. Which is depressing considering it's still left him spending most of his life not knowing who his parents were; likely developing a conviction that he's only as good as what he can succeed at; developing thanatophobia in connection to his need to be successful; and also having to recognize that his mother had his half-brothers killed off both to assure his ascendancy and to turn a profit.

Suffice it to say, no one is well. But at least he turned out cute, right?

TL;DR: Sister's focus on the Church and probable incompatibility with a particularly affectionate motherhood affects her relationship in the canon timeline. If she'd kept Copia, he might've turned out worse as a person -- and probably have left him to nannies anyway. This was probably the best possible outcome that could be made based on her poor communication and decision-making when it comes to things outside of her faith.

But that's just my opinion, I could very well be wrong lol