Unholyverse

Unholyverse is a very popular fanfiction series by Bexless. One of the most well-known and beloved verses in Bandom, its name is derived from the title of the first installment, "I Have Been All Things Unholy."
Bexless described the Unholyverse as: "Religion! Horror! Exorcisms! Piercings! And Gerard is a priest." (See the priest!fic trope.) It is a AU based on the film Stigmata featuring the members of MCR, their then manager Brian Schechter, and the members of Fall Out Boy.
== Themes and tropes ==
The series is a priest AU with supernatural elements including demonic possession and contains angst, UST and pining. The second part of the series could also be described as a Van Days AU, as the characters road trip around the country in a gross van, not for the purpose of performing in rock concerts but just because they are underpaid.
As a whole, the verse comes with warnings for religious themes, pain, trauma, blood, torture and death.
The writer references Joss Whedon as a major influence; aside from borrowing tropes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is also referenced by the characters on several occasions.
== Description ==
Unholyverse was posted as a WIP, with the three main parts being published from June 2008 to May 2009, along with original art.Unholyverse by Bexless
* Part 1: I Have Been All Things Unholy, written for the bandombigbang challenge, art by zoundsbooth, mix by damson. Pairing: Frank/Gerard. Rated: Mature. Frank pov. The title comes from the St. Francis of Assisi quote: "I have been all things unholy; if God can work through me, He can work through anyone," which prefaces the chapter. St. Francis of Assisi is referenced throughout the story.
* Part 2: Staring Through the Demons, art by _audrey. Pairings: Frank/Gerard, Ray/Mikey. Rated: Mature. Mikey pov.
* Part 3: Heaven Help Us, art by theopteryx. Pairings: Frank/Gerard, Ray/Mikey. Rated: Explicit. Frank pov. Title from MCR's B-side song of the same name.
Two small, happy codas followed in August and September 2009:
* During Working Hours, Ray/Mikey, rated G, Mikey pov.
* Turning Point, Frank/Gerard, rated Explicit, Gerard pov.
== Related works ==
Years after its creation, Unholyverse continues to be featured on rec lists and to inspire fans to post quotes and create art and edits inspired by the story.Tumblr search results for 'Unholyverse' See for example the fuckyeahunholyverse Tumblr.
* Additional art for the story: see for example theopteryx's unholyverse tag and two pieces by clytie.
* Podfics: Several podficcers have tried their hand at the verse. Sadly, the earliest one has since gafiated from Bandom and took their podfic down.
** I Have Been All Things Unholy was recorded by letsgofriday in 2011.
** staring through the demons was recorded by aethel for amplificathon 2016.
** parts 2-5 were recorded by KateMonster in 2016
** Heaven Help Us was recorded by aethel in 2018
** Unholyverse Codas were recorded by greedy_dancer in 2020
* Fanmix: Angels Lead You In by ciel_vert. (Jan. 6th, 2012)
* MCR - I am All Things Unholy fic cover by bunnyluz, posted to deviantart December 8, 2008
* Unholy by vachuu, posted to deviantart July 29, 2012
* illustrations by reflectedeve, posted Feb. 4th, 2009
==Fan Reviews/Reactions==
Examples of comments on the work:
Examples of recs for the verse:
== References ==
Category:Slash Fanfiction
Category:My Chemical Romance Fanfiction
Category:2008 Fanfiction‎
Category:2009 Fanfiction‎
Category:Social Media Feature-Fanwork Friday