One of my favorite aspects of VoV is the symbolism and the details that symbolism gives us about Vergil as a character. By now, I think most people are aware of the Blake book V carries around being referred to as "Vergil's heart" but there's a lot more to the scene than just that-- its not only about Vergil humanity, it's about his relationship with Dante too, that is also instrumental in Vergil's return to himself.
The interactions between V and baby Vergil are very interesting to me. Vergil's subconscious is portrayed as his child self, which could honestly be a whole other post on its own because fuck... the implications of that, but I think the fact that it's specifically his child self from the night of the attack is extremely important. Baby Vergil is portrayed as wearing a cloak, which he uses to hide himself, but as we know from the flashbacks, Vergil wasn't wearing a cloak when he was attacked, which led to his clothes being torn off. So I also find it interesting that he manifests a cloak to shield himself in his subconscious. But very notably, Vergil is afraid of V. He's running around, through the flames and hordes of demons, exhausted but continuing to fight because that's the only option he has. He's quite literally stuck in a perpetual state of fight or flight-- slaying the demons with Yamato and running away until eventually he bumps into V, who he then immediately tries to take out with the Yamato because he's afraid of him.
But during this first interactions, Vergil isn't cleaned up and wearing the cloak-- V sees him as he was that night; his clothes torn off, covered in blood, absolutely terrified. And Vergil's eyes are wide and terrified, and he swings on V immediately.
And so V gives Vergil the book but as is plainly stated, it's not just a book, its a representation of everything that was taken from Vergil-- his childhood, his family, and the simple pleasures of life he used to enjoy as a kid. Just seeing the book launches Vergil back into a state of fight-or-flight-- he's back in front of the fire, eyes wide, the demons attack again and he's trying to outrun then.
Baby Vergil start to cry, running away and hiding in the cloak now, but V grabs him and covers his eyes. Because the demons and the fire aren't real. He's not there again physically; he's making himself feel this way by fixating on the past. And the demons disappear when Vergil let's go.
But then we get the moment of truth; V consoles Baby Vergil and tells him what he needed and wanted to hear all along: he doesn't have to be alone anymore, he doesn't have to constantly relive his nightmare in terror, he can make new memories with Dante and be with his brother again. Baby Vergil doesn't fully believe him at first, he remembers his (suicide attempt) fall into Hell & Dante watching & he questions why Dante would care about him. But with some reassurance, Baby Vergil accepts the poetry book and merges back with V, and Vergil returns to himself.
VoV is awesome for so many reasons but I absolutely love the details it gave us regarding Vergil's psyche & his emotional state & his relationship with Dante. Their relationship is layered like an onion-- they're not just twins, they're not just rivals/competitors, there so many little nuances to their relationship, but at the end of the day I think it's clear that for all his bullshit, Vergil does love Dante & cares about him. Vergil's lack of self-esteem & his jealousy of Dante (both in terms of Dante's powers/abilities & feeling like Dante was loved more & wishing desperately that their mom had saved Vergil too) very obviously complicates their relationship, but I think it'll be interesting to see where things go from here for the shit twins. Vergil's not dying now, he's a little more chilled out, he's found out he's got a kid, he has his brother back & they were playing around in Hell together, Dante confirmed that Eva did try to save Vergil too, and he's not alone anymore 'cause he's learned to quit pushing people away. It'll be interesting to see what Vergil's like when he's not self-destructing & self-sabotaging his relationship with Dante.
Dig Through the Couch and Look for Those Quarter(Demon)s - part 2
(Nero POV of Cohabiting Half-Demons)
Fandom: Devil May Cry
Ship: Nero/Kyrie will be present, though the overall focus is really on family.
Summary: It's roughly six months post DMC5, Nero has held off a steady stream of demon attacks as a result of the weakened barrier between worlds. Then he discovers Dante and Vergil are back from the Underworld and nobody bothered to tell him! He's wanted them to return since the moment they left, but now he doesn't actually know how to deal with them. He doesn't even really know them or their history, not really - and yet somehow, it seems Nero has the singular brain cell between them.
Part 1 | Masterpost
Part 2
It is one in the morning by the time they get home by the mercy of the ferryman Carl, who has had a soft spot for Nero since he saved the guy’s two kids from becoming demon chow. Nico immediately heads for the bathroom calling dibs and the guest room, which they might as well almost dub Nico’s room at this point.
She had needled at him about how things went with Dante and Vergil, but Nero had stubbornly remained silent. After the anger had left him after the long flight to meet up with Nico, he’d felt kinda guilty and tired.
Now he watches unseeingly as the leftover pasta surprise rotates in the microwave - bless Kyrie for always making too much food. He sighs.
Maybe he overreacted.
He stops the microwave just before it starts beeping. The plate is piping hot (why does the plate always get so much hotter than the food?) and not for the first time Nero kinda misses his demon arm as he has to give up on locating the potholders and settle for a dish towel to help retrieve his food.
He feels marginally better about everything after eating. The water stopped running in the bathroom about halfway through the food, so he can go there directly after putting things in the dishwasher- or he can find the potholders sticking out from under the couch, Carlo’s handiwork probably. He bends down with a sigh, and picks up the potholders… and a book… and a plushie… and- he stretches his arm into the dark for the last silhouette producing Kyle’s favorite action figure.
Okay then.
He puts everything but the potholders on the coffee table, where it will be in plain sight. The potholders go back on their hooks by the oven, unwisely reachable by thieving little hands.
He trots into the bathroom and empties his pockets on the counter. A bit of spare change, a bolt that has him staring straight into thin air for a minute as he draws a complete blank on where he’s gotten that from and whether it could belong to something important - He will ask Nico in the morning.
Then he pulls off all his clothes and stuffs them wholesale into the washing machine, turning it onto its highest setting, and adding a prewash for good measure. He’s really hoping it will remove the slime residue. Fucking demons.
Finally he can get his long awaited shower. His hair stops sticking together in clumps only after the second round of shampoo, but at least it does stop sticking, and it’s not a having to cut it off situation.
He feels human for the first time in days.
And there’s Dante’s genuinely happy greeting shoving it’s way into his thoughts, him designating Nero as his favorite nephew - urgh, he rubs his face. Yes, he feels guilty for yelling at them. Now that he’s acknowledged it can he please stop thinking about it?
No such luck. He sighs and turns off the water. Starts drying off.
Idiots.
Why hadn’t they just told him they’d returned? Would have saved them all this bother.
He huffs and pulls on some fresh underwear. They’d started keeping some in here, because Nico had thrown a fit about him walking from the bathroom to the bedroom in just a towel, calling it trauma waiting to happen due lack of structural integrity, and think of the children! The fact that they were all boys and had at some point objected to clothing all together and streaked through the house like scream-laughing blitzes, was apparently not a valid argument. Sometimes, most times, it was easier to just do as Nico wanted than to argue. Not that Nero hadn’t continued to argue, but it was one of the events that lead to the realization.
Nero still doesn’t really understand Nico on a lot of subjects, or why she gotta drive him up the wall like she does, but she’s a good friend beneath it all.
Nero doesn’t turn on the lights as he heads for the bedroom. He’s always seen well in the dark, never really understood what the issue was - of course he sees better in the light and he only sees color when it’s light, but he sees well enough in the dark.
It got him in trouble a few times in the orphanage, when he’d gotten up after light’s out to go to the bathroom, only to be discovered by the matron, who’d evidently just heard something or maybe she’d intended on using the bathroom herself, but suddenly the lights would turn on, and he’d be startled into a freeze in the suddenly bright hallway and the matron would scream. Nero had certainly felt like she scared him more than he scared her with all her screaming, but he supposed turning the lights on only to have a pale white haired child standing there unexpectedly like some sort of ghost, could be rather shocking. Still, it’s not like she didn’t know Nero - maybe there had been something more eerie about him he didn’t realize at the time? He’d heard her confessing to one of the ladies that volunteered that Nero had to be some kind of demon, throwing glances across the yard at Nero who was pretending not being able to hear her whispering about him.
In retrospect, she had been right. Still sucked at the time.
Now at least, he doesn’t have to worry about screaming old ladies when he moves around in the dark - only the occasional screaming Nico - and this is his and Kyrie’s and the boys’ house, their home, not some place that’d rather Nero got lost some day in the forest and didn’t return. He sighs, letting the feeling of home settle in.
He walks quietly up the stairs, skipping the creaking fourth step by habit.
Their bedroom is at the gable, at the end of the hallway. The sloping walls makes the place feel safely enclosed, while the window faces the Fortuna Castle Town skyline. When he opens the door his lips curl up reflexively, and his heart beats an extra beat; Kyrie.
She’s moved all the way onto Nero’s side of the bed and is hugging his pillow.
He stands there a moment, soaking everything in.
He doesn’t intend to wake her when he slips into bed - on her side cause she has conquered his - but he cannot help moving close to her and encircling her in his arms. She turns towards him, relinquishing his pillow to snake her arms around him in return. Her eyes stay closed, but her lips turns up as she simply says “Nero.”
Nero feels fit to burst with warmth. “Hey, Kyrie. You can keep sleeping, I’m just gonna sleep myself.”
She hums an agreement, relaxing properly.
Nero intends to go to sleep. He even closes his eyes, but his mind circles back around to the events at the Devil May Cry.
“I can hear you thinking,” Kyrie yawns.
“I’m sorry,” Nero hurries to apologize, “don’t mind me.”
“Just tell me what’s wrong, did something happen on your job?”
“Dante and Vergil has returned.”
“Are they okay?” Kyrie asks with worry, raising herself up on an elbow.
“They’re fine,” Nero grumbles, "they returned a whole week ago."
“Oh Nero.”
Nero sighs, “It’s fine, I already yelled at them.”
She huffs in amusement, “Only you could put it like that.”
“Dante called me his favorite nephew, and he actually sounded genuine, but I lost my temper. Vergil, he did nothing but frown at me - I thought - but apparently I’m not important enough to inform of their return, I had to find out from Nico. So I yelled, and maybe I went overboard.
“What if- what if they don’t want anything to do with me now?” Nero finally gives voice to the thought that’s haunted him for hours.
“Nero, honey,” Kyrie says, leaning her forehead on his and he can her the smile in her voice. “I cannot speak for your father, but allyour interactions with Dante consists of you yelling at him.”
Nero’s lips curls up slightly before falling again. Worry, like a persistent worm.
“You didn’t see him Kyrie. He looked so happy and then I yelled until he wasn’t.”
“It seems to me,” Kyrie begins, caressing his cheek, ”that Dante simply showed you what was in his heart all along.”
He presses his lips together, leans into her touch. His eyes, annoyingly, feels a bit moist.
“Had a funny way of showing it,” he grumbles focuses on the annoyance, but there’s hurt he can’t really hide from Kyrie. The ‘dead weight’ still stings, as does the fact Dante had apparently known of their relation since the day they met and never bothered to tell him. Had to be a cryptic bastard.
“In the end, there is only one question, that really matters. Despite it all, do you still want to get to know your father and uncle?”
“You know I do, but what if they don’t, they couldn’t even be bothered- and then I was yelling like a brat-“
Kyrie put a finger on his lips silencing him.
“Then, I will keep you all to myself and they can fuck off.”
“Kyrie!” Nero rears back in startled laughter. Kyrie giggles.
“Don’t get used to it, that felt strange.”
Nero huffs, drawing her close. “What would I do without you?”
It was rhetorical, because it really didn’t bear thinking about seriously. Still, Kyrie answered simply, “What you feel is right, like always.”
-
Hoping you enjoyed :D This is very much a draft (you can tell by how there's a lot of bare dialogue), but I didn't feel like letting it sit. It will be prone to change before being posted on Ao3, and I had to stop now, because I started contemplating how losing Kyrie would really break Nero and whether he would force himself to go on in her memory or he would break, if he would whisper apologies because he couldn't be the man she thought he was - anyways that is way too depressing, and is not gonna happen in this AU, but ah, there's some very angsty potential there.
Next I plan to have some Dante and Nero interaction, gotta ponder how I wanna go about it.
If you have spoons to leave a comment in the replies or the tags, I'd love to hear what you thought, stay safe <3
And so, the woman dies. The woman dies so the man can be sad about it. The woman dies so the man can suffer. She dies to give him a destiny. Dies so he can fall to the dark side. Dies so he can lament her death. As he stands there, brimming with grief, brimming with life, the woman lies there in silence. The woman dies for him.
- The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda
Please keep interacting with this post because when I come to tumblr to procrastinate, this shows up again in my notifications and guilts me into writing again
Please stop trigger tagging with #epilepsy tw/cw/warning/etc.
I need every single person to understand how horrible tumblr’s tagging system is
I go into the tag for epilepsy and its all flashing lights. We can’t use our own tag because people without epilepsy fill it up with improper warnings.
Use ‘flashing’ in place of ‘epilepsy’ in your tags. You aren’t warning people of epileptics, you’re warning us of flashing lights. Please please tag properly. Epileptics say this endlessly and constantly and it’s ignored. You are risking lives by doing this.
Here’s proof of what I mean:
THIS POST IS 100% OKAY TO REBLOG, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITHOUT EPILEPSY TO ESPECIALLY DO SO!
What if the DMC novels were made into animated movies?
I would love nothing more than to see these novels turned into movies. I think this could be a good way to introduce fans to the novels! I was one of many who, for the longest time, had no clue whatsoever that DMC had books or manga. I only found out about their existence thanks to a complete timeline video. Just like the games and novels, it should definitely be directed by (NOT SHANKAR) Hideki Kamiya, Hideaki Itsuno, and by the author themself Shin-ya Goikeda (if Goikeda ever comes back, srsly wth happened to them!? 😢).
Not only would I love to see more of Dante and Vergil's childhood, but I would also love to learn about those who took him in after his mother's death under a new name, his life on Morris Island, perhaps even feature Earnest and Ms. Margaret, and the exact moment he becomes a mercenary. During an interview, Dante's original VA, Drew Coombs, read a sample script from his audition of Dante recalling his life on the streets after he lost his home, and how he was taken in by a different family, the Redgrave family! Even though this never made it into the games, I truly consider it canon! I really, really, really want to see the Redgrave family and meet Aisha, Dante's foster sister! Based on what Drew read, it's clear Dante loved the Redgraves very much. Only to lose another precious family and his new home!!!
We’re definitely going to need a tissue box during the sad scenes! Looking at you, Grue, Jessica, and Nell! 😭
Who do you think should voice the other characters in the novel? What kind of voices do you think should fit them if you are searching for the perfect voice cast?
Characters:
Tony/Dante - Rueben Langdon
Child Dante - ???
Child Vergil - ???
Gilver - Dan Souhtworth
Sparda - Drew Coombs (If Sparda were to be featured in an animated DMC film, you gotta have Drew voice him!!!)
Eva - Sarah Lafleur (Just like Drew, you gotta bring back Trish & Eva's original VA! Or just simply bring back her DMC 5 VA)
Enzo - Chris Coppola (I loved his voice as Netflix Enzo)
I'm not sure what kind of voices these characters would have so i don't know which voice actors could suit them. We don't even know what the Redgraves look like, lol. Do you have any voice actors in mind for these characters?
Nell -
Grue -
Jessica -
Tiki -
Nesty -
Bobby -
Mr. Redgrave -
Mrs. Redgrave -
Aisha Redgrave -
Btw, I made a list of songs that I think would make perfect end credit songs or opening songs for a series. (If it were even possible to make both novels into animated series)
Photograph - 12 Stones
Nutshell - Alice in Chains
Be Yourself - Audioslave
Best of You - Foo Fighters
Not only do these seem like bands Dante would be into, but I think these songs are a perfect representation of what he is going through.
Now for DMC 2's novel!
I love Beryl, and it hurts my heart that there is barely any talk about her, so we totally need an animated film for the DMC 2 novel!!! What would a game adaptation of this story be like? You think it'd be fun?
I love the weird parallel universe Beryl and Dante get warped into, and fight alongside Vergil with his rebel army, which consists of all the DMC 1 enemies, against an army of Trish clones! Imagine all of that being brought to life in animation or game form!
Now, regarding the voice cast for this, obviously, Rueben would be the first choice for Dante, but because this is DMC 2 Dante, I'm so used to Matthew Kaminsky's performance. When watching gameplays and cutscenes of Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, I've always found it so strange hearing Reuben's voice coming out of DMC 2 Dante. It'd be like hearing Dante's voice coming out of Vergil, but oh well.
What kind of voice would Beryl have, and who do you think should voice her? Same with the other characters, Ducas and Chen!
I wasn't really a fan of the time skip at the end of the novel, with Beryl disappearing after Chen's defeat. I'd love for a film adaptation to give Beryl a proper farewell, where she either thanks Dante for his help and then leaves, giving him an idea of what's in store for her now, or at least leaves him a thank-you letter. I do think it's cool she gave her rifle to Dante!
Which animation studio do you think should animate these novels?
I know many would disagree, but I would love it if Madhouse animated the novels. While the animation in the DMC '07 anime wasn't the greatest, especially during the action scenes, I believe there is room for improvement!
But what do you think? Do you have any other studio in mind?
Should both DMC novels even get a film adaptation, or are they fine as they are?
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