Ghost BC Headcanons and Oneshots!

Papas + Copia HC - Nihil's Sons

Request: Papa Nilhil's reaction to the birth of each of his sons? Also his intital reaction to finding out he's gonna be a father in the first place.

Answer:

as usual I dont like canon and i wont fuck with it: the reason theres such a big age gap between I and II is because I's mother was around for longer. They were together for a while before they had a son, but things were just really bad between them after they did. They barely spoke, mostly co-parenting if you could call it that. they obviously weren't being intimate, so no more children. After they split, Nihil found II's mother. Do things go well!! absolutely not. She gets pregnant and doesn't want to keep it but Nihil convinces her because he wants another son, and she resents him for it. Pretty much a month after he's born, she's flees the scene and leaves them. AND THEN, and this is where it gets interesting: Sister Imperator comes back and gives him yet another son. Yes i AM saying Sister is III's mom. Dont fuck me. But for professional reasons no one knows they were ever more than civil colleagues. Soon after. Boom, copia is born. Sister fucks off again because Oh Dear I've gotten to close. (will i elaborate on all this at a later date? perhaps)

His reaction to the birth of his first son was obvious joy. He's sure now that he'll have a Papa after he dies or can no longer hold the position. the oldest sibling always gets the brunt of the harsh parenting, strict rules, and everything that doesn't quite trickle down to the youngest, but when that oldest child has an important position to fill, well I'm sure you can imagine.

For the middle child, he was of course happy. Another boy. without a mother in the picture for very long after II's birth, Nihil was happy he already had an idea of what he was doing, from stages of life to basic child care. And due to the age gap, he left his first son to look after the younger a lot. Nihil is also beat up about what happened with II's mother, so as per usual but this time with reason, he wasn't around a lot. Papa I had to grown up fast.

And as for our youngest emeritus, Nihil did always want three children, so of course he was happy. But the only misfortune here was that it wasn't a girl. He wanted so bad to have a daughter, and with the Papacy in firm standing to continue with his first two sons, he was hoping for a girl. He thought it best that she might be the youngest, so I and II could protect her and take care of her. Be good older brothers. Those Nihil As A Grandpa hc's would have been how he was as a father if III turned out to be a girl instead. He would have become a very different man and father into his old age, and the Emeritus sons would have been unimaginably different. Softer, I think.

I've said before that Nihil always kind of resented III for being so much like him (as fathers often do). From Mary On A Cross and Kiss The Goat we got to see the they were so similar from a young age, from looks to demeanor. While Nihil had to grow up and become Papa, and had his sons soon after, he had to give up every childish antic. III got to coast in the shadows and live out every rebellious fantasy Nihil never got to, and it carried into his personality even when he became Papa.

Bonus Rat Time: Copia was an accident. A few bottles of wine on a relaxed night when the kids were with a babysitter, Sister got pregnant. But Nihil had only ever wanted three children, and with three sons already, and both of them wanting their relationship to remain a secret to the church, sister left and had the cardinal in secret. Nihil was still a little disappointed when he found out it was a boy, and that he was out of chances to have a daughter for real this time. But theres always that little pin prick of excitement that follows knowing that you've created a life, and you know that life will go on to do wonderful things.