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From the moment he first stepped out onto the balcony in St. Peter’s Square as Innocent XIV, Vincent Benítez knew that the days of his papacy were numbered. And yet, when a costly mistake forces him to resign, he doesn’t come prepared for the grief the loss of his office causes him.
Thomas Lawrence naively liked to think that he wouldn’t live to see the end of Innocent’s papacy. He never could have imagined that he, of all people, would be the one responsible for it.
Lost and with their hearts filled with both guilt and unexplored desires, they struggle to navigate the shambles of the life they knew. They find refuge in a place where they least expect it – an old, ramshackle farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, that’s just as desperate for love and forgiveness as them.
Or: The one where Vincent and Thomas get the retirement they both deserve and finally allow themselves to love each other.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
04 Apr 2026
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One year ago, Thomas Lawrence left the Vatican.
Six months ago, the pope was seriously injured after an assassination attempt.
Five months ago, headlines everywhere read, “Pope Innocent XIV steps down following attack.”Now, Lawrence finds himself knocking on the door of a little old house to reconnect with the man he all but abandoned. Can broken trust (and hearts) be repaired?
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
29 Mar 2026
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Sister Rosario thought she knew Pope Innocent rather well, until the impossible happens.
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When Thomas Lawrence came by the papal apartments that evening, he came, unsurprisingly, with a bundle of papers under his arm.
Vincent tried on and discarded four separate teasing comments about it, but didn’t get to decide on one before Thomas silently handed them over, and he realized they were newspapers, opened and refolded over the weekly comics, his favorite. Three of them, one for each week he’d been away.
Ah, he thought, with the feeling of a sudden hard deceleration in his chest, the press it put on his heart. Ah. All right then.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
03 Mar 2026
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“I wouldn’t call it a crush,” he begins, bracing himself for the storm. Be calm, he tells himself. God is with you.
“You wouldn’t?” Lawrence squeaks. His eyes are wide, searching. Vincent would spare a thought for his beauty, if he had any to spare in the first place.
“No.” Vincent shakes his head and sets his teacup down. “I would say that I am in love with you.”
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Or, a companion fic to the love I’m given, from Vincent’s POV.
Series
- Part 2 of the only way to heal now
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
01 Mar 2026
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The pontiff looked at the cardinal beside him. His gaze held all the solemnity of a man turned infallible vessel and all the wistfulness of a lonely child. “You are my closest friend, Thomas. Would you please take my confession?”
“Of course, should you have sin to confess.”
In the first year of Pope Innocent XIV's papacy, Thomas Lawrence and Vincent Benitez struggle to negotiate duty and desire.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 23,382
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 142
- Kudos:
- 1,607
- Bookmarks:
- 246
- Hits:
- 24,864
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
21 Feb 2026
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Thomas Cardinal Lawrence has prayed for a new Pope who doubts, a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and carries on. Instead, he gets a gentle, otherworldly saint who is far above the troubles and failings of ordinary men. Or is he?
The first twenty-four hours of Innocent XIV's pontificate turn out to be the best of Thomas's life, and the worst, and then the best again, and then the worst again… Because sometimes the Holy Spirit sends you certainty, and sometimes he sends you a rollercoaster.
As the wolves snarl and maul, the sheep quail and the sheepdogs scramble to retain control, Thomas learns that still waters run deep, and that friend and foe alike will underestimate this new shepherd of theirs at their peril.
COMMENTS CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
21 Feb 2026
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It took two weeks for the new pope to reinstate Janusz Wožniak as his chief of staff. In fact, Sister Agnes had to tell him about it ahead of time - hoping, presumably, that if he knew his position was safe maybe he'd stop sweating about it so much.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
20 Feb 2026
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Cardinal Lawrence faces the aftermath of the conclave.
It goes like this: he understands his duties, and understands his new position in the Vatican. He unable to understand what he is feeling.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 52,679
- Chapters:
- 8/8
- Comments:
- 426
- Kudos:
- 1,006
- Bookmarks:
- 106
- Hits:
- 11,986
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
18 Feb 2026
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and all manner of things shall be well by intothewildblueyonder
Fandoms: Conclave (2024), Conclave - Robert Harris
24 Nov 2025
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He hesitates. “Do you know, I - I saw a photograph of you, in a magazine. You were standing in the ruins of a church. It must have been while you were stationed there.”
The blush that fills his cheeks tells Vincent, as clear and firm as the chime of a bell, that Thomas had not seen the photo a few days or even weeks ago but perhaps years, and that he had remembered it ever since. He had remembered Vincent, and he is ashamed to admit it although he does not quite know why.
Oh, Vincent thinks, oh – you? And – of course. For there can be no one else. Not for him.
(Vincent remembers, and Thomas forgets.)
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
30 Jan 2026
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Vincent is there beside him. The sun catches in his hair, briefly turning jet black into a golden halo. Lawrence has seen this before. It takes him way too long to realize, and when he finally does, it’s already too late.
*
It's been two months since Vincent Benítez became Pope Innocent XIV and finally, Thomas Lawrence feels like he can catch a breath. That is, until he starts getting the same nightmare over and over again.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 105,988
- Chapters:
- 13/13
- Comments:
- 800
- Kudos:
- 1,183
- Bookmarks:
- 220
- Hits:
- 27,963
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
23 Jul 2025
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Izzy Hands is fairly certain the flower shop across from his tattoo parlour is a money laundering front. There’s hardly any customers, and the owner, a flamboyant man named Stede, seems to have a very laissez faire approach to running a business, allowing his employees to lurk about Izzy’s shop instead of attending to their own affairs.
Izzy gets caught up in untangling the mystery and ends up getting caught in the man himself along the way.Series
- Part 13 of Izzy Hands Bingo 2024
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 8,235
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 16
- Kudos:
- 112
- Bookmarks:
- 15
- Hits:
- 879
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
23 Jul 2024
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Izzy's been on Reddit, he's seen the 'AITA for asking for an open marriage' posts. He knows this is a bad idea. He still says yes when Ed looks at him with his doe eyes.
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Ed and Izzy open their marriage after a decade and a half. Ed reconnects with an old flame. Izzy bumps into Stede Bonnet (literally).Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
14 Jun 2024
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Kinda Like Your Worst Nightmare But Double by StedeBunnett
Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)
12 Jan 2024
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Summary
Tags to update with chapters.
Modern AU. Lucius feels kind of bad about helping to keep his boss's relationship with Ed Teach a secret from Ed's partner - Izzy. But hey, he was just doing his job, right? Ed was the one cheating. And at least Lucius remembered to send a gift for Izzy's birthday.
But, as Stede's just fired him after he spent months planning his wedding... it's now his life's mission to ruin said wedding - with Izzy's help, of course.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
12 Jan 2024
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Congratulations, Mr. Holmes, it's a Ghost! by EventHorizon
Fandoms: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
13 Jul 2017
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A punishing storm strands Mycroft in a remote inn where the residents are friendly, helpful, but not necessarily among the living. The one specifically not among the living takes a special interest in their guest and isn't shy about making that fact known...
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 169,868
- Chapters:
- 38/38
- Comments:
- 1,631
- Kudos:
- 1,028
- Bookmarks:
- 158
- Hits:
- 22,594
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
14 Dec 2023
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In January, Lucius' boss regales him with the story of meeting his new boyfriend, Izzy. A boyfriend that Lucius is hard pressed it believe exists. As the year moves on, Lucius thinks that Stede is just digging himself a deeper hole with the tales of his beau, but the boss is insistent. And who's Lucius to get in the way of happiness? Even if that happiness is most likely imaginary...
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
30 Nov 2023
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The Care and Keeping of Your First Mate by georges1982_96
Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)
01 Nov 2023
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Summary
“Uh, I…hey?” Ed tried.
Izzy and Stede stopped talking and turned to look at him. Stede smiled pleasantly, but Izzy’s expression was harder to read.
“Oh, Ed,” Stede said. “It’s nice to see you on deck. How are you feeling today?”
“Fine,” Ed said. “Fine, I just…uh.” He directed the next thing he said to Izzy. “I thought you might…this is for you.” He offered Izzy the tin mug.
Izzy stared at it without speaking. Hurt, surprise, longing, wariness, wistfulness flickered across his face before he clamped down on them, setting his jaw. He took the mug and dumped it out into the sea.
A fic where Izzy figures out his new place in the world through the love and care of the crew and Ed tries to patch up their marriage through food.
Series
- Part 1 of Ed and Izzy Get Their Groove Back
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
03 Nov 2023
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He checks the knot automatically, it’s fine. Snaps his neck up to do a headcount -
“Edward!”
The yell makes his stomach turn, he hasn’t heard Stede scream like that in a very long time. He wipes the rain out of his eyes and looks towards Stede, whose hands are on the ship’s rail, gazing horrified at the ocean. Ed’s gone overboard.
Or: Izzy needs to save Ed after he goes overboard. He just can't stop remembering the last time he tried to save Ed and how wrong it went.
Or or: Not your usual rescue story.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
01 Sep 2023
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- Words:
- 53,695
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 135
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
05 Aug 2023
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Izzy stared at the tightly clenched fabric in his hands with abject horror, wondering just how the fuck he’d gotten himself here.
or; Izzy has a bit of an identity crisis, and his partners help him through it.
Bookmarked by MuffinExplosion
24 Jul 2023