notes / thoughts on the Papas' (lack of) involvement in the songwriting process and their connections to the concepts / themes of their albums

thanks for the kind words and thanks for the ask! these were great questions and really enjoyed writing this response. your questions really made me think! (and when i start thinking i always think too hard and take forever to answer– sorry this took so long!)

i'm putting these questions together because i feel they are closely related. this is a topic i've recently been thinking about a lot, actually.

A Ghoul Writer was first mentioned in that 2010 interview with Primo. the Ghoul Writer is Special Ghoul, the Nameless Ghoul character who gave interviews in Eras 2 and 3. in interviews with him, either he himself or the interviewers would usually mention he's the Writer. i'm not linking anything specific here because you can find this happening in pretty much any Era 2 / 3 interview. (though there's one Era 2 Nameless Ghoul interview that refers to the Writer as a separate character.)

the only Papa who wrote his own music was Nihil. the music video for The Future Is A Foreign Land shows that he and his Nameless Ghouls wrote the song together, and he's credited as a writer on Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic. (pic: back of the SIOSP record)

after Nihil, none of the Papas were involved in the songwriting process. everything after Nihil was written by A Ghoul Writer.

so the later Papas were interpreters of the music, not writers.

as for the question of whether the Papas embody the sins of society or criticize the sins of society by parodying them, i think it's a bit of both– and i think it depends on which perspective we're looking from.

obviously from a real-world perspective, Ghost as a whole is meant to criticize and parody the issues the music is about, and the personality and characterization of each Papa is closely tied to the themes of his album.

from an in-universe lore perspective, as interpreters of the music, each Papa has his own relationship with the themes of his album. i think the Ghoul Writer writes each album for / about the Papa who's going to perform it. however, this is not necessarily a positive gesture.

here are my notes / thoughts on how each Papa relates to the themes of his album:

(trigger warning for mentions of misogynistic violence / rape / forced pregnancy)

Thanks for the great analysis and for sharing the information!

I've always found it frustrating that Papas don't write songs, as the temptation to link them to the themes of their albums is so great. I look forward to your reflection on Meliora and the relationship between Terzo and Secondo. Tag me please!

Nihil as the embodiment of the tendency to escapism

I really dislike this character, but I will try to be impartial as much as possible. So, Nihil is an illustration of a severe escape from reality, a desire to bring back the past, to stop time. In the era of the Third, he brought back the Middle Ages as Papa Zero. In the Cardinal era, he was slipping his old records onto store shelves (so people would know about them? Or rather to create the illusion that they were for sale again?) and regretted not being allowed back on stage as a frontman. Hence his envy of Copia, his constant belittling of him, emphasizing that he hadn't achieved some results and comparing him to himself. Nihil felt that this place legitimately belonged to him, with no regard at all to his health capabilities. Eventually, he got three of his old songs performed in the era of his successor.

Escape into illusion is the main way Nihil interacts with reality. Immersing himself in his enchanting fantasies where everyone is young and beautiful again, he overlooked a fateful decision and allowed his sons to be killed. The illusions are like a membrane through which he perceives the world around him. Sister got him to appoint Cardinal as frontman because from the depths of his erotic fantasy he answered ‘yes’ to her and that became an answer to her question. In fact, he did not make any decision.

Maybe inhaling oxygen from the life support system is having that effect on his brain. Sometimes I think it's not just oxygen, but something else mixed in. He takes a breath from the tank when he sees Sister wrapped in bandages and confined to a hospital bed - and the semi-darkness of the room immediately turns to sunlight, everyone becomes beautiful and happy, and Sister flirts with him instead of wheezing. Reality becomes bearable. We also hear the sound of breathing into an oxygen mask (similar to Darth Vader's breathing) in the background of the scene in episode 7 when Nihil sees the 'ghosts' of young Sister and himself. Perhaps all that is happening is his hallucination caused by inhaling ether. 

Nihil is so incapable of accepting his current moment of existence that he always keeps his oxygen mask at the ready. He probably sees Sister as the strong, active person who will contact reality in his place while he enjoys his fantasies. We know what Sister is doing behind his back: killing his children and promoting her son, giving him as much patronage and privilege as she can.

Eventually, in the RHRN movie, Nihil seems to finally become able to make contact with reality: he is already a ghost and no longer uses a breathing support system. Sister makes him remember his paternal duties, and he gives parental guidance to Copia. Along the way, he realizes his place in life, in his family and at work. He is finally here and now, not in his fantasy world. It took him dying to do it.

Well, better late than never.

REVENGE - cheaters never prosper

🖤 Nihil 🖤