Don't mind me I'm just sobbing at the idea of Nero's adopted children being firmly in denial that their father is dead and when somebody corrects them saying that he wasn't even related they get upset because even if their godly parent loved them then clearly it wasn't enough to make it known, or at the very least, it wasn't enough to save them from being taken in by someone else. Whether it was manipulation or not, Nero isn't some kind of idiot, he saw them for what they were and took him under his Wing. I don't care if it wasn't completely wholesome, thats what makes it horrible to think about. What did they talk about at family dinner? Were their ever movie nights? Did he or a servant comfort the children when they had night mares? Would any of them get bored and skip training to people watch? Had anybody ever snuck into the cells and talked to those inside? Did any of them keep in contact at all, or were they scattered around, each sorted into foster homes or reluctantly dumped to the family that couldn't protect him? Does Meg ever consider calling her older brother? Her older sister? Did any of them have his eyes? Were any of them dreaming to fulfill his legacy? Did they spend the weekends at Commodus's arena, cheering on the bloodshed the way you would surround the tv when Family Fued was on? Did they ever know? That somewhere deep in his malicious heart, that some part of him, the last crumb of humanity left, that person that once was, loved them all the same? Do they know? Were they a family like that? Holy fuck.