My personal interpretation on the Vergil/Lady in red dynamic goes a little something like this.
Two extremely traumatized teenagers meet and learn how to trust each other. They fall in love but it's not enough to keep them from parting ways. It's not enough to save either of them from their own tragic fates. And it's not enough to save them from themselves.
normalize creators replying to fanon shippers with “that’s great that you’re inspired to write your own version of things. keep doing that! but please respect our version of our story.”
normalize fans being reminded that boundaries between fandom and creators exist for a reason.
normalize fans recognizing their own creative potential without seeking canon validation
normalize the idea that fandom is a hobby, not an identity to threaten and fight and harass people over
normalize a healthy understanding of the boundaries between fiction and reality
Okay. Picking up where we left off. Pt 1 summed up below.
Nero's mom was perfectly set up to follow in the problematic narrative foot steps of all the other Dmc moms. As both a victim and as Nero's link to humanity as a whole. This is a very important part of the overall themes and story of the Devil May Cry series. So why did we never hear anything about her other than she existed and left Nero at an orphanage?
To move forward with this line of thinking we need to narrow our focus to DMC4 and Nero himself. Because DMC4 and Nero where a big change in the series. And thus there were changes to the narrative pattern I identified in part one. Credo is the one who has to turn and directly fight against the ‘holy’ father Sanctus and he is the one who dies for it. In games before this it would have been Kyrie. And Kyrie, who is Nero's main connection to humanity, gets to live! And in the end Nero is free to move forward with the complicated legacy of Sparda on his shoulders. This is the main thing that separates him from Dante and Vergil. Nero doesn't really care about Sparda. He has to deal with beingpart demon but Kyrie is okay with it and her reaction was Nero's primary concern. So at the end of the game Nero has no complex inheritance he needs to confront. (...yet, then DMC5 happens).
But where does that leave the question of Nero's mom? The pattern is broken and DMC is in a new era. How would she even fit into the narrative going forward?
Because from a narrative standpoint she is replaced by Kyrie and Credo. Credo is misled by the order of the sword/Sanctus and dies tragically. Kyrie is Nero's love interest and Nero's primary link to humanity. I'm not going to touch on the implications of Nero's love interest taking on the narrative role that his mother would normally take. But still a woman, but this time one who is not a mother, gets to live.
Okay. So Nero's mom just doesn't fit into the narrative of DMC4. Is that why she was left out? Well…yes that is one answer. She just didn't fit. They could have had her die when Nero was a baby so Nero still ends up in the orphanage. But the narrative wants us to focus more on the importance of Credo and Kyrie. Her apparent abandonment of Nero just puts more importance on the bonds he has with the siblings.
Heck, is there any space for her at all? DMC with Nero in the lead is different from when the series had Dante as the leading man. Mother's could just cease to be major motivations and plot point as the series goes on. Focusing more on found family than blood ties. And that may very well have been true at one point.
But then, as I mentioned previously, DMC5 happens.
And the two eras collide. It's finally confirmed that Vergil is Nero's father. Dante reveals the truth to both father and son. Nero has to confront the reality that is his messed up father and inherit Spardas role as humanity's protector. And Eva, the first lady of the franchise is once again a primary motivation for her son's actions. Found family is still a big part of Nero's motivation. But his blood family isn't any less relevant, and that relevancy is here to stay. The narrative patterns are back and are more important than ever.
And the question is posed again. Where is Nero's mother?
saw your tags @did-sm1-say-catfish and yes, that link is broken! I looked into it, and it's because there are now multiple maps, including a map of India—
Idk why I'm even posting this-BUT NERO'S MOM OKAY???!!!!!
She's such a non entity. We 100% know she exisisted in the devil may cry universe at some point. Yet we know nothing about her but she fascinates so many of us for three main reasons.
Reason A: What kind of insane person would sleep with Vergil?......Actually let me rephrase that. - What kind of insane person would sleep with a emotionally inept, power obsessed, 18 year old hobo with sword fetish AKA VERGIL.
Reason B: What kind of crazy person would an emotionally inept, power obsessed, 18 year old humanity rejecting hobo with a sword fetish AKA Vergil want to sleep with?
Reason C: Why did she abandon Nero?
These are the three main pillars of the mystery that is Nero's mother. But the thing is- ultimately she's not super important to the story of Devil May Cry or to Nero's story over all.
But why isn't she?
Because she should be!!!
It's easy to say that the DMC series as a whole is more focused around paternity and the baggage/responsibility you inherit from your father. Dante inherits Spartas place as the protector of humanity. He then passes this onto Nero who also inherits the Yamato and other issues from Vergil. And Vergil is constantly chasing after Spartas power that he and Dante were meant to inherit, and all the consequences that come with it.
But let's look at this theme through the supporting cast of DMC. Which is a cast made up almost entirely of WOMEN. Yes, this is relevant. Because where the main male cast get both positive and negative things from their father's the women of DMC are almost always get nothing but pain from the 'father's' in their stories. Lady's father kills her mother, then she kills him in revenge and helps Dante fix what he's done. Trish is a demon made by Mundus to trick Dante. Trish is nothing but a tool to her 'father' and turns against him. She later discovers her own humanity for herself. Lucia was also created as a tool by her 'father' Arius and was cast aside for being defective, and again, turns against him. Nico and her mother Alyssa were abandoned by her father Angus. Nico doesn't have the chance to turn against Angus since he's already dead but she does directly ally herself with Nero and Dante and becomes part of team Devil May Cry so I'm gonna say close enough. (Side note: an argument could be made for Kyrie with Credo as her 'father' figure or Sanctus as a holy father)
For the boys the sins of the father are a mixed bag. For the Girls, they actively turn against and deny their father's because otherwise they'll become their victims. (Except for Nico but let's say she's a victim of abandonment. And I doubt Angus would have had an issue trying to kill her if she showed up in DMC 4)
But the mother's of DMC are pretty consistent for both the boys and the girls of the series. Their mothers are victims and/or are their children's connection to humanity. Alyssa a victim of Angus's abandonment and tragically dead before we get to meet Nico. Lucia has her adoptive mother Matier, who raised her to be human and reaffirms this humanity when Lucia doubts it. Lady's mother was a victim of Arkham and Lady names her signature weapon for hunting demons after her. Then there's Trish. Trish doesn't have a mother, she was created solely by Mundus. But she looks exactly like Dante's mother and this is one of the biggest reasons why Dante wants to help Trish. Which leads her to become more human herself.
Speaking of the twin's mother, let's talk about our queen Eva.
Eva is always, ALWAYS, a core part of her son's motivations. Dante identifies and cherishes his humanity because of her. He keeps her memory close to him everyday. Dante may be son of Sparta, but he is always Eva's son first and foremost.
Vergil on the other hand is bitter towards Eva because he believes she abandoned him. This perceived abandonment is a big part of why Vergil embraces his demonic side. Vergil learning that Eva died looking for him is one of the major reasons why he embraces his humanity in the end. It's also very telling that V, Vergil's human half, looks almost exactly like Eva. She will always be a huge part of who he is.
All of this to say that DMC has a very consistent pattern with both it's father and mother characters. Now, is this all just the misogynistic trope the perfect dead mother playing out over and over again? Yes. But that is the subject of another long poorly edited post written at god knows what hour.
My point stands. Everything was set up for her to be another victim and Nero's link to humanity.
i just think it would be really neat that part of the undercurrent of safi and rachel's dynamic, at least at the beginning, is safi is sort of immune to rachel's charm.
not that she dislikes her, but she doesn't have any reason to prop her onto a pedestal. she didn't know her in high school, most of safi's own energy and focus was dedicated to maya (and then to max).
as time when on, however, they were probably egg each other on, tease and have fun together. rachel would love her poetry. and god, they would be great at teaming up on someone with their acting skills.
this is my depiction of the villain visi route for a s2! visi really thought she would have a free night at the sardine only for robert to be there too oopsie 🤷♀️ they're soulmates ig
So for anyone who cares, I was doing a lot of thinking about Iris and how to design/write her, and… *takes deep breath* okay, gonna be completely honest here… I find Iris to be boring in her basic description and original design. Come on, she’s basically just red-head Lois Lane. Same job, even. So, here’s what I was thinking: first off, I’m going back to her pre-52 situation where she was adopted by her mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. West, and has two adoptive siblings. She, in this version, would be of Puerto Rican decent, while her adoptive family carries the red-head gene, thus keeping Wally West the lovable ginger we know him as. (Where my Young Justice peeps at?!) Secondly, her job. This kinda just came out of nowhere as I was designing the character, but: fashion designer. Her father is this brilliant scientist, yada yada yada, and she’s kinda sick of the nerdy stuff. She wants to pursue this avenue of art instead. But then, when she meets Barry, and he reveals his secret identity to her, she realises that if he’s gonna be a superhero, he’s gotta have a super suit, and while she brings the ace design skills, he brings the science skills that help keep the suit from, you know, burning up under immense friction. Iris, naturally, hates this at first “You’re tainting my fashion with your science!” XD but over time it brings them closer together, and in the future, she goes on to spearhead the super suit design for all kinds of supers.
blakekathryn
jbbartram-illu
andulkaphoto
origamiaround
ellievsbear
snowghoul
