#implied past parentification cw

[fletcherwilbury]

@whumpuary Day 2: Secret Revealed

Warning for Physical combat, bruises, blood, implied parentification, overworking, past verbal abuse

[revelisms]

Some (mostly angsty, somewhat wholesome?) Ghost headcanons that have been sitting on the back-burner of my writing recently.

AKA—I'm thinking about these four too much. Please send aid.

CWs: Dysfunctional family dynamics/power imbalance, sibling rivalry, weed, anger issues, parentification, smoking, self-worth issues, implied self-destructive behavior, light NSFW/sexual themes, misuse of magic(?), emotional manipulation(?), withheld birth information(??). Also silliness!

(...They're complicated, okay?)

Primo

Nihil's first child, born from a mother he never met. Sister entered the picture soon after, but was largely standoffish to him at first.

His early years were spent in the back of touring vans or nosing through books on horticulture and spells. He's the most magically-adept of the brothers, having a natural inclination for the craft, which has earned him (somewhat fittingly) a wizard-ish reputation. Since his retirement, he is quite literally the Ministry's ornamental hermit, in more ways than one; if he's not tending to the grounds, he's mulling away on herbal concoctions.

He's a kind man, but can be unsettlingly intimidating. There's an edge to his character that makes one question if a joke about bloodying a rival isn't much of a joke, at all. (The Ministry staff have gossip galore, which most take with a grain of salt...but, like. He definitely killed someone at some point. Maybe.)

As he grew up in the church, he gradually appealed to Sister's favor, becoming the "star child" of the family and leading by example: not only for getting the so-called "Unholy Cause" on its feet, but earning the initial stamp of approval for Nihil's Ghost project.

Secondo and Terzo have grown up in the shadow of this success, frequently being compared to him, and both have varying levels of resentment for it. Primo has always been aware of this; despite playing along with the demands placed on him, he has frequently tried to be more of a source of reassurance for the other brothers, and at times takes on an almost maternal role with them.

Dubbed "the mountain goat" by Secondo, and "the bat-eared one" by one of Terzo's many nicknames. Copia is somewhat skittish around him; from his side, it's strictly "brother" or bust.

He likes cats, springtime, and a nice joint now and then (the touring days left a definite mark). He also grows his own weed that an exclusive few are given access too—absolutely least of all, Terzo, due to an unnamed Incident in the past.

(The fool locked him into the greenhouse for hours once, as a prank. Primo had to occupy himself, somehow...needless to say, it led to the worst crossfade of his life.)

Secondo

Nihil and Sister's first child together, and Nihil's second son. He's the tallest of the brothers, and built like a deadweight champion, which leaves him (often humorously) looming over any eyes in sight.

Major middle child syndrome, and notorious anger management issues. He grew up dead-center in Nihil and Sister's rocky-at-best relationship days, often taking the brunt of their arguing when Primo was out for shows and Terzo was still young. He and Sister can't keep the peace to save their lives, and him and Nihil aren't much better off—but he did his best with the hand he was dealt, and largely won over Nihil's respect by carrying on the prestige of the Cause and generating wider global support for the tours.

This upbringing gave him a fairly wide threshold of annoyances he'll endure, particularly due to the insufferable antics he put up with from a wildly rebellious teenage Terzo (which has, to his utter chagrin, never changed; he can't stand the imbecile). But like anything, he has his limits. Eventually, his frustrations will hit a volcanic peak—once he's turned that corner, run.

Very close to Primo, often almost acting twin-like with him. They both dealt with a similar level of expectation, and both succeeded well in their roles. There's a bit of an older brothers vs. younger brothers separation they've fostered, by nature of this, and the two have found a mutual understanding that the others are more-or-less (and often begrudgingly) their responsibility. The self-appointed "Father" to Primo's "Mother."

Despite his bullish exterior, he's actually the most traditionally romantic of the brothers—sunset drives, candles, flowers, old cinematic jazz, the whole shebang. This tends to get overlooked for Terzo's Casanovian reputation, but there's a handful of those in the church who've had the privilege to see his softer side.

Was a fairly poor student; he dicked around his classes even more-so than Terzo, which is saying something. As a jab to get back at him for this, Nihil frequently assigned him lecture duty for the new siblings—something he unexpectedly found himself enjoying. He's since become a headmaster of sorts in the realm of the Ministry's academics, particularly around the history of the faith and, as a bit of an odd niche, the importance and use of magic objects across various practices in the church.

Despite being a strong performer, he's a brick wall during mass, which all the brothers hold over him like a plague. (He detests the church pulpit, and tends to deliver his sermons like the drier of his lectures; true "preaching" was never his strong suit). During his papal reign, he collected his bounty of masstime regulars, nonetheless, who seemed intent on showing up just to make him blush.

He's actually a very sheepish fellow, and it doesn't take much to have him in a panic (which many find adorable...but wouldn't dare say to his face). Absolutely the most easily flustered of the brothers, and will let you know it, loudly.

Is very particular about his silk ties: he has them all shipped in from one designer on the coast who specializes in the patterns he favors. Also has a collection of worry stones from all the beaches they've visited on tour, and smokes, to some detriment, like a chimney.

He's always been a lover of the sea: some future years in retirement could easily find him putting away as a charter captain for those who want to tour the chapels on the outer islands.

Terzo

Nihil and Sister's second child together, and Nihil's third son. Largely seen as the baby of the family, despite Copia being the youngest, and the shortest of the litter. As one would expect, also tends to claim the loudest personality; it's nigh-impossible to ignore him in a room.

Has a strained relationship with both Nihil and Sister, to a similar but different degree from Secondo. Nihil views him as his last "true" son and final heir to the Bloodline, which has put significant pressure on him to prove himself worthy of the mantle Primo and Secondo have left behind. He's also the most similar to Nihil out of the brothers, particularly in the traits their All-Father detests about himself (aka: KTGG-era recklessness, vanity, etc.), which has earned him some nasty moments on the back-end of Nihil's own narcissism and self-loathing.

Sister is fairly critical and unaffectionate towards him, as she feels he's squandered away much of his potential, and views him as largely uncommitted to the traditions of the church (which, fairly, he is—he's always been vocal on his call for modernization/reform) and his role (which he despises on a bureaucratic level, but genuinely enjoys as an opportunity to mentor the flock—i.e., get praise/attention). He's toed the line of her approval, for years: denying it as much as he craves it. A lot of his (egregious) issues with communication and vulnerability are, to no surprise, rooted from that.

Has been infamously, thanks to Nihil's vocal intervention, involved with ghouls—Omega, in particular—which is a big no-no for a host of legitimate magic-related concerns (and some wholly unwarranted superstitions from the church). Omega was perhaps his first "real" connection, so this is a deeply bitter wound for him. In general, any attempts at long-terms relationships have fallen through (out of his own self-sabotage, or disapproval from the family), so he has largely given up on them, even though he aches for that stability and companionship.

For that reason, despite being the most (in every sense) "open" of the brothers, he is, somewhat paradoxically, also the most guarded. Within the family, his emotions are known to be highly erratic, with a quick-draw inclination for angry meltdowns that rival Secondo's own. He's fairly quiet and anxious underneath the suave exterior.

Has tastes in music, film and literature most would find perplexing at face value (i.e., girlypop meets philosophy-of-death dronings meets eroticism even his idols would blush at). While he's not the sharpest tool in the box, get a few drinks in him and he'll give you a flawless dissertation on the history of European kink and fetish culture. (He's 100% the kinkiest of the group, and the most overtly experimental—both with his own identity and sexual partners.)

Hates winter. Absolutely hates it with his guts. (He slips too much.) Also occasionally smokes; he picked up a liking for the cigarettes Sister would import when he was younger.

The most musically-inclined of the brothers, and a natural charmer at the piano, though he plays it less often now than he did in his earlier/pre-Cardinal days.

Copia

Sister's son, more than likely born from a different father—though, for reasons none of the brothers have been made aware of, he's never been told of either, and any attempts to dig further into that has been dissuaded.

(The abridged version: he's a product of some deeply archaic ritual magic that Sister engaged in, without Nihil's awareness or permission, to extend the Bloodline to its "true" end. He is, by design, meant to be the Antichrist-incarnate, and any accidental explorations he's taken into spellcasting has only kept this hidden by a thread; his magic is extremely powerful—and deadly. He has a bone-deep suspicion that he is part of some predestined Thing, in that vein, and is very disturbed by it; it's information he doesn't feel like he can share with anyone.)

He was adopted into the family from a young age, and faced quite a bit of difficulty transitioning in. Although he immediately created a spike of jealousy in Terzo, it was actually him who took Copia under his wing the most, and the two remain relatively close, despite ongoing tensions between them (particularly due to Sister, who is openly and frequently affectionate towards Copia, and behaves the most "motherly" with him).

Has a lot of bottled frustrations with not understanding who or what he is, or the purpose he feels he is meant to deliver on—both from Sister's vagueness around his origins and Nihil's complete dismissal of him being part of the Bloodline. He's spent much of his adult life working to prove that he is good enough to belong to both: hence, his frequently high performance reviews in the church.

Has a very wry sense of humor once one cracks through his awkwardness, and a giant heart. He does, however, have the capacity to let an ugly streak sail out now and then (and has)—particularly when he feels he is being lied to, or having his agency pulled away from him.

The most cinematically-engaged of the brothers, particularly for classic films. One of his prime night routines is holing up with a plate of comfort food and throwing on a dismal black-and-white romantic drama that'll make him cry. (He's incredibly lonely. Terzo gets that, more than he realizes.)

Surprisingly, has a innate fashionability, but often doesn't have the chance to really flaunt this (until his papal ascension, at least). He loves vintage suits and blazers, and has a collection of antique cufflinks.

Has named every single rat and mouse in the Ministry, and explicitly banned pest control. Also drinks the most grotesquely sweet cocktail-adjacent mixtures one can make; Secondo calls his version of tinto de verano "bird nectar."