So I know I just asked a question, but I saw another ask, and it sparked this question that I've had in my brain about bsass.
In DMC5, we see V wave his hand in front of his face when Nico starts smoking, not seeming to like it at all and he immediately leaves. Do you think that it is just V who dislikes smoking while Vergil does? Or do you think that Vergil gained the habit of smoking and then broke it in the regular timeline by the time he severed himself? (Does original Vergil even smoke? Or still smoke? Would Dante have known that?)
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See, I think V is so fragile that smoking one cigarette would make him cough so bad he'd keel over LMAO. But also, I think V probably hated the smell of it! There's different brands of cigarettes that smell more potent or otherwise different from others, and I think Nico probably smokes a harsher brand/type than Vergil did. The cheaper brands that I think Nico probably smokes tend to be more harsh, have a heavier and more chemical quality to them that V/Vergil would turn his nose up at.
To me, Vergil smokes menthol cigarettes. They've got a more "cooling" quality to them, and tend to lean more into the subtler side of smoking. So it would be better on his heightened senses, to smell less like chemicals (and tobacco) and more like just mint (and tobacco). V probably wouldn't mind if she smoked something that was less harsh!
I do think that in the regular timeline, it had been so long since Vergil'd had a cigarette that it would take him a minute to get used to them again, but I think he'd pick smoking back up. Its incredibly difficult for smokers to quit, and I think Vergil-- looking to be in control of his own life again, searching for normalcy, trying to connect with the person he was before Mundus-- would definitely pick a pack back up. For a lot of people smoking is more of a ritual, as well as an addiction. I think Vergil would be trying to reclaim a bit of himself, and the Sparda fam is nothing if not self destructive when they're lost, so picking smoking back up after regaining himself feels right.
In bsass, I don't think Dante knew until well after they got back from Hell and Vergil was just casually smoking on the porch. He probably came back from a job and Vergil is just. Smoking a cigarette. Dante's standing there in shock for a minute before he starts shouting, and they get into a fight about it LOL. But of course, Dante's an alcoholic, and has his own set of issues, so the smoking gets added to the pile of things they try to avoid talking about. Since in bsass Vergil is the one that's human-side, he just keeps chain smoking his way through life and trying to cope in any way he can :)
There's just something about the self destructive tendency of it, that I think fits Vergil so well. It's a gross habit (I don't like smoking lol) but I think he's pretentious enough (and views humanity in such a belittling way) that he doesn't care what other people think of him. But its also such a human vice, and connects him more with his human half. His smoking is something I definitely plan to explore in later chapters, and the mirror to Dante's alcoholism plagues me.
