Working on this request from the lovely and talented @anamelessfool was a treat to my heart. I absolutely LOVED the fanfic it is inspired from, The First and The Last, one of the most original Terzomega stories I have read so far.
Take some time to read it, you will be mesmerized by the imaginary of anamelessfoolās world, I promise.
Ps. I still have some requested Iām working on but Iām pondering if closing them as I have a lot of wips in my hands atm. If you have requests to make please do it from now to the next couple of daysĀ š¹
And you can clearly hear āHeās in my bloodā and āIām a slaveā
Did you know that when Year Zero was released, the 10ā vinyl version B-side was a ābackwardsā version, called OreZ Raey? I didnāt! Here it is on YouTube:
Neaples. My beautiful Neaples. My beloved, adored Neaples. It is the city where I studied and grew up in and it is also literally filled with mysteries and legends.
I thought Naples would have been the perfect formation place for a young Secondo Emeritus. Letās see what may have influenced and inspired him in his religious journey.
1 - The musical church.Ā
Ghostās music has always been heavily loaded with the Devilās Tritone: also called Diabulus in Musica or Devilās Interval, it is an unsettling dissonance produced by an unusual arrangement of notes that gives that spooky, devilish tone to music. In Infestissumam, it was featured on 9 out of 10 songs. The use of the Tritone was banned in Medieval times (In Ghost, its use dramatically dropped with Prequelle, with only 2 out of 10 songs featuring it). So what if I tell you that, in contrast, in Naples there is a church that functions as a musical score, whose music protects it from evil?
Basically, there is a church in Piazza del GesĆ¹ that has a particular pointy ashlar on the external facade. Under the side (the one facing the ground, so if you look up from the street you can see them) of each of these little pyramids are carved symbols, which turned out to be Aramaic letters that were later translated into musical notes. So, it turned out that the whole church is a big score, and itās playable. The whole melody, called Enigma, was played for the first time inside the church to celebrate the discovery. You can hear the music here (sound quality is not the best).
Will it protect the church from Ghostās music?
2 - The skull cult.
Naples has very intricate underground galleries, almost all visitable. One of these is Cimitero delle Fontanelle, a famous catacomb where the remains of about 40.000 people who died from plagues are stored. It is said the āanime pezzentelleā cult was born here: it is a particular relationship each Neapolitan establishes with a chosen skull. You literally adopt an abandoned skull, which according to our tradition is the seat of the soul, and your duty is to care for it, protect it and also create a special niche for it. In exchange, the soul of that skull will protect you.
A nice place for a Bone Daddy.
3 - Pretty and Evil like Mergellinaās devil.
Knowing the passion our Secondo has for women, here is a story about a very devilish one.
In Santa Maria del Prato church, in the Mergellina area, there is the only representation of the devil as a woman in a painting.
The legend has it that said woman was the beautiful Vittoria DāAvalos, who seduced the Bishop Diomede Carafa, who commissioned the painting in 1542 to represent his victory against the womanās lust (we're all believing him, right? š).
Now that story has a way of saying that refers to femmes fatales as āPretty and Evil like Mergellinaās devilā.
Iād say she may be considered among the first-ever Sisters of Sin.Ā
4 - Who gives life can also take it.
Infestissumam is filled with references to birth and Jesus, turning it into the birth of the antichrist and creating a narrative that is completely opposite to the birth of the Son of Man. Now, in Naples, there is a statue that embodies both concepts.
Back to Piazza del GesĆ¹: On a very high pedestal in the center of the square stands a statue of the Virgin Mary, the Mother. That's all... until you position yourself at a specific point in the square and look up to see the statue transformed into the Reaper. His face is hidden by the cowl, staring straight at you, with a sickle at its feet and a snake crawling on it.
Depending on your point of view, the giver of life becomes the taker of it.
5 - Body and Bloodā¦ but especially blood.
What never stops to fascinate me about the relationship of Neapolitans with religion is the very thin line between devotion and pure blasphemy. It is the case of the āmiracleā of San Gennaroās blood. It happens twice a year and it consists in bringing the Saintās blood in a liquid state again (after centuries it is obviously solidified). The particular thing is that during this ritual, the worshippers (and the priests too) literally insult the saint to convince him to make the miracle happen, because if it doesnāt work, it means that something terrible is about to happen.
(Last time it didnāt work was right before the Covid pandemic š)
Iād say this could have been a great inspiration for Body and Blood and Idolatrine.
Honorable mention to the fact that I have lived 32 years now on this Earth and I never attended this event even though I would like to.
Bonus: Now, I said that Dante would come back in the chapters, and he is. In fact, not only Virgilio died in Naples (and he is the protector of the city) but, apparently, the gates of Hell Dante mentioned in his comedy were located on the Averno lake, near Pozzuoli, not far from Naples.
Oms I completely overlooked this tag! Tonight is a good night to finish this reading š
Since I posted it for @osirisiii-bc, Iāll stick it here too:
Summary: Omega is slowly being drawn away from Secondo and towards Terzo, the next successor to the dark Papal throne. He will stop at nothing to claim Terzo as his own. But will their forbidden romance cause a rift in the Ministry? Will Omega be banished back to Hell for daring to go against his current Papa? Will he be forced to give up everything he has for the one he loves?
BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD!ā£ļø Once you are given this award you're supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people you adore! Absolutely no pressure but. It's sweet to know someone thinks you're beautiful inside and out <3
As someone whose had a lot of people tell me ideas about Ghost ghouls having animalistic (and often times infantilizing and dehumanizing) behaviours, Iād like to switch this up
They donāt struggle with wanting to eat objects. They struggle when a sibling of the Congregation breaks her arm near them. They see the bone and tendon through broken skin and have to run before they break her far worse
They struggle with getting too close during a sexual encounter, with mouths open over arteries that can kill with a simple knick. They want to feel the life leave their partner so badly, it scares the partner away
They struggle with being seen as disposable by humans. They struggle with violence against those who summoned them. They struggle with controlling their demonic powers and urges is way more fun and honestly way more interesting to see from the perspective as a human who struggles with psychosis and violent, oftentimes unsavoury intrusive thoughts
This is the first of my posts where I locate each Papa in Italian cities based on the occult influences/history of each city. I hope you find it interesting and useful!
Primo Emeritus, The Old One, the embodiment of all that is sacred. A personality like his deserves to be located in an ancient city full of art, poetry, and history, shaped by the esoteric and alchemical obsessions of the Medici family, amidst the enduring shadow of centuries-old Satanic cults.
Letās see why I have chosen Florence for Primo.
In this chapel of ritualā¦
From the early 70s to the late 80s, a series of murders occurred in various regions of middle-north Italy, with the most infamous taking place in Tuscany, known as the case of the 'Monster of Florence' (Mostro di Firenze), which resulted in the deaths of 14 people - officially, but it is believed there were way more.
The theory is that these murders were part of a large network of Satanic rituals involving influential figures from Rome, Perugia, and Florence. This network is supposedly still active. The original cult allegedly responsible for initiating these rituals seems to be the 'Rosa rossa' (Red Rose) cult.Ā
A fertile ground for writing Ritual...
2. The creator of Hell.
Florence is the birthplace of Dante Alighieri, the renowned author of the Divine Comedy and the creator of the now canonical structure of Hell.
Primo could have had many more things in common with Dante than we expect: indeed, it is said that Alighieri was part of an esoteric cult named āFedeli dāAmoreā (Loyals to Love), probably affiliated with the Templars. From there, Dante is said to have drawn inspiration for his symbolic and esoteric tales, as well as his passion for numbers.
Keep an eye on Dante, as he will eventually come back in the next chapters.
3. The ghost behind the open window.
Itās not a Ghost story without an actual ghost.
In Piazza Santissima Annunziata, there is a building, Palazzo Grifoni, that holds a mysterious detail: a window that remains open at all times, whether day or night, summer or winter. Legend has it that a woman of the Grifone family bid farewell from that window to her lover, likely Ferdinando I, who departed for war. She waited for him by that same open window throughout her life, but he never returned, dying in battle. When she passed away, the window was finally closed. However, soon after, numerous mysterious events happened in the building, to the point the residents concluded that the building was haunted by the ghost of the woman, and they have kept the window open ever since not to upset her.
But that's not all: the Ferdinando I statue placed in the square, has his face turned to look right to that windowā¦ At the very end, he finally came back to her.
4. The Boboli alchemical garden.
Boboli represents a very particular case of an alchemical garden conceived to be āaccessibleā only to those who have a strong alchemical and esoteric knowledge. It is built as a symbolic route where you can contemplate the principles of magical and alchemical doctrine along the way. Youāll be welcomed by two fountains, placed one on top of the other: the Moseās (it is an indoor fountain) and the Carciofoās (artichoke). They are believed to represent the esoteric concept of āas above so belowā, but the references to esoteric concepts are present along the whole garden.
BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD!ā£ļø Once you are given this award you're supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people you adore! Absolutely no pressure but. It's sweet to know someone thinks you're beautiful inside and out <3
Summary: In your imagination you would have expected to find him with his traditional corpse paint, almost forgetting that he hadn't been Pope for years; what you were confronted with, instead, was a simple man, tired and in his most vulnerable moment. Yet there is still a dormant beauty in his timeworn features, and you remember what one of the senior Sisters had told you about him:Ā at first, you might think you can't stand him or don't like him at all, but that man is dangerous. He always finds a way.
Or:
Terzo Emeritus is temporarily forced on wheelchair and crutches due to a knee injury. You have to take care of him and his house for a month and a half.
Nothing you havenāt done before, youād think. Well, think again.
**
Chap. 2
A room full of Papas.
You suddenly find yourself surrounded by Emeritus Papas and their guests.Ā
As much as youād like to think that the past is gone, sometimes it comes back visiting.