Absolution
An Experiment in Immersive Storytelling
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Behind the Scenes:
Character Chart for Giovanni Rosiello
Role
- Misunderstood by Ksenija. Progenitor of wolves.
Values
- Nothing is more important than the word of God.
- Nothing is more important than keeping his sins a secret.
- Nothing is more important than his own family.
Ambition
- Serve the Lord and spread the word of God.
Goal
- To do good on behalf of God, the parishioners of Naples, and be a good deacon for Santa Chiara.
Conflict
- Naples is quickly growing, and many immigrants from surrounding countries seek refuge from ongoing wars. Giovanni is fearful of strangers and only speaks Italian. He genuinely wants to help the refugees but doesn't speak any of their languages.
Epiphany
- He really needs to learn to speak more than just Italian. Oops.
Backstory
- Giovanni was brought up in a traditional Roman Catholic family in Italy during the early 1600s. He was taught to both fear and love God. He took to the Roman Catholic religion and found his calling as a deacon for Santa Chiara.
Story Summary
- One night, he has an unfortunate run-in with a woman who needs help. They have a horrible misunderstanding, and the woman curses him and the entire Rosiello family for all of eternity.
- Giovanni is content with his chosen path in life as a deacon for Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy. He is happy in his married life and hopes to have children someday.
- Late on Christmas day, while Giovanni is assisting with a Vigil for a church member who died, he hears a loud knock on a side door to the church. He hurries over and opens the door to find a woman on the other side. She drops to her knees and starts speaking in a language Giovanni doesn't understand.
- He steps outside, closes the door behind him, and tries to explain to her that a Vigil is happening. She doesn't seem to understand Italian. He asks her to come back later or wait in another area for a while so he can find someone that speaks her language.
- The woman tries to open the door, but he puts his hand on her to stop her from interrupting the Vigil. She becomes agitated and tries to force her way through him to open the door. Again he stops her. She starts screaming at him, slaps and punches him, and spits in his face.
- Angered, Giovanni raises his hand and slaps her across the face. Giovanni is much larger than her, and he knocks her to the ground with the force of his slap. She looks up at him, narrows her eyes, and pounces on him with incredible speed. She rips out a chunk of hair from his already balding head and dashes off while screaming at him.
- Over the next few weeks, Giovanni has nightmares about the woman. He becomes irritable, restless, and too sensitive to smells and sounds. The nightmares become more intense, and he starts to feel like she was a demon sent to him by the Devil himself. On the first full moon, after he meets the woman, Giovanni becomes feverish and fears he has caught a plague. He blacks out that night only to wake up the following day somewhere in a forest, without clothes and covered in blood that is not his own.
- Giovanni believes he is possessed by a demon because of the woman. He continues attempting to lead a normal life, but every full moon, he is plagued by a sickness that makes him wake up the morning after in a strange location, naked, disoriented, and covered in blood.
- He never tells his wife about his demons. He and his wife have a son together. As his son grows up, Giovanni watches for signs that his demon has passed onto his son. However, he doesn't see any signs that his son has taken on his demons. Giovanni and his wife eventually have two more children, twins, and he lives worry-free that his children are safe.
- On the night of the first full moon after his son's 25th birthday, his son disappears along with 14 other people. His son returns the next morning, naked and covered in blood. Giovanni, distraught about passing his demons onto his son, takes his own life as he begs God for forgiveness and asks for mercy for his family.
Notes
- The name Giovanni means “God is gracious”.
- The full moon in January is known as the “Wolf Moon”.
- The Wolf Moon in the year 1651 was on January 26th.
Goldstine, Herman H. (1973). New and Full Moons: 1001 B.C. to A.D. 1651. Philadelphia, PA: American Philosophical Society. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=lgsNAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA9&ots=HoyRJrOwMy&dq=lunar%20calendar%201651&pg=PA221#v=onepage&q&f=false
- December 29th, 1625: Giovanni is born
- December 25th, 1650: Giovanni crosses paths with Ksenija resulting in her cursing him the same night.
- December 29th, 1650: Giovanni turns 25 years old.
- January 26th, 1651: Giovanni’s first transformation.