#My post DMC5 AU

[skvaderarts]

Petrichor Chapter 72: Permission

Chapter 72: Permission 

Note: Gah! Sorry for the slightly late upload. It’s an hour after midnight. I just noticed the time. My bad!

(-~-)

For a moment, they just stood there, unspoken words lingering on both of their tongues. Neither of them dared speak for want of savoring this moment in its entirety. From a desire to simply stand in one another’s presence and to be well and truly known. To bask in one another’s radiance. To feel the butterflies flutter in their stomachs in a manner not entirely unlike they had when the two of them had first stood together in that little park all those years ago and realized for the first time that they shared a connection.

So many questions. So many emotions. So much history and so many memories. They felt anchored in place by the simple virtue of the fact that they were both present in this moment; standing in this very spot. Alive. The gravity of this moment rendered every passing second somehow more and less believable the longer they lingered in it. It felt like a dream that they would both wake from at any moment only to just lay there afterward, longing for it to have been real, their eyes stinging from the pain that they held behind them.

Vivienne was alive.

He imagined she felt the same in some measure from seeing him again, but he couldn’t fully process that. Not now. He was too stupified by the fact that he was looking at her again. He’d mourned her loss. The loss of both of them. Of everything the three of them could have been together. Of the freedom and the optimism that came from starting over after everything he’d lost just to lose them both and then himself along the way.

Vergil hardly recognized himself when he’d looked in the mirror after he’d lost her. Nothing about his appearance had changed, but everything on the inside had and he could feel it just as much as he could see it when he looked himself in the eyes. Something in him had left him the day he’d lost her, and he felt some twinge of what it used to be within himself again simply because of the fact that she yet breathed. If she was beyond his touch, so be it. He could ask nothing of her, let alone expect anything from her. But he would bask in her radiance in this moment all the same. Because even if that part of him had well and truly been lost forever and he still felt its wound deep in his very being, he would sleep just that little bit better knowing that she still walked the earth. He hadn’t been there when she needed him the most, and he wasn’t sure he could ever overlook that, let alone forgive himself regardless of who was truly at fault, but he could glean some monochrome of satisfaction that his absence hadn’t led to her untimely demise.

But that aside, it was now time for answers. Answers that he owed to her and the answers to questions he could only yearn for the answers to. 

It was time for closure.

Vergil gazed at her silently for another minute, not wanting to pollute this otherwise pristine moment with words. This was an experience beyond the poultry offerings that vocabulary could provide. But he did need to ask her something. It was only polite, after all. And he’d been more than rude enough as it was.

“I… hope you’ve been… well.” Vergil said softly, looking down at her with a special kind of fondness. Her frizzy red hair was just as lovely as ever. The both of them had aged since they’d last seen one another, just as time would expect of them, but if he was being honest, he actually found her even more beautiful now than he had before.

Despite this, he couldn’t help but notice something as he gazed at her. She just looked so… tired. There was a certain weariness to her demeanor that couldn’t have stemmed solely from the no doubt busy day she’d had moving house. It was subtle but he picked up on it almost immediately. And while he knew nothing of what had transpired since they’d last seen one another, he could only guess that she’d been through entirely too much as a whole.

She didn’t respond, instead just continuing to stare at him in silence, the look in her eyes telling him that her thoughts were both present and a thousand miles away. Understandable enough, all things considered. But it did make him wonder where her thoughts had wandered off to.

“Vivienne… May I have a word?” Vergil said almost tentatively. He knew that she was fully within her rights to refuse him, regardless of how much he’d like her to do the opposite. No amount of effort that they’d put into finding her suddenly made her owe him her time, as anxious as the realization of that reality made him. But he would still respect that choice if it was the one she made.

She seemed to think for a moment, looking away from him and out across her yard, something in her eyes betraying her conflict. Part of her couldn’t believe this was actually happening, and another part wasn’t sure what to think at all. She watched the movers continue to pack the truck up with some of her belongings, thinking. Pondering the merits of the notion. And then she closed her eyes and turned back towards Vergil. Something in her just seemed so unsure. It wasn’t something he was used to.

Was… She alright?

“... Come in.” She spoke those words as though her answer was a given and she was surprised that he’d asked, waiving him gently past her and in the direction of the interior of the now mostly empty house beyond her. The front porch wasn’t the place to have whatever conversation they both knew they needed to have, that much was obvious. They would go inside and they would talk. About what, they didn’t entirely know just yet, but they would most certainly talk. There was plenty of subject matter. 

“I’ll um, stay out here. Privacy and all that. Pretty sure you both need it.”

Her brow furrowed to a noticeable degree as she heard him speak, the red-haired woman stepping forward just a bit so that she could look around Vergil to find the source of the sound. But as soon as she saw Dante she looked visibly alarmed, her breath catching in her chest as she stared at him wordlessly before looking back over at Vergil and then back at Dante, moving only her pupils to facilitate this.

Vergil blanked for a moment. He’d genuinely allowed Dante’s presence to slip his mind during the last few minutes. It wasn’t so much that he’d forgotten that Dante had come there with him. It was more that he’d let it slip his mind that Dante was standing right there. He’d been so overcome by the realization that she was genuinely standing in front of him again that everything else had just been brushed aside. “Vivienne this is… ”

“Your brother… “ She finished breathlessly, staring at Dante with wide, disbelieving eyes as though she’d just seen a mythical creature walk past her house. She hadn’t realized that Vergil had turned up at her home with company. Yes. His brother. That was quite evident just by virtue of the fact that she had working eyes. Anyone could tell that they were related with the slightest glance. “... You’re welcome to join us. It’s chilly out here.”

Dante glanced over at Vergil to see if he could detect the dulcid aura of his brother silently requesting that he go literally anywhere else, but he didn’t detect anything. Vergil simply gave him a barely perceptible nod and turned his full attention back to Vivienne and the death sentence equivalent of a conversation that he knew was in store for him as he silently stalked behind her into the inside of the house.

Admittedly, the last thing that Dante wanted to do in this situation was intrude or hinder the conversation that needed to happen. At the end of the day, this was a conversation that he’d love to hear but didn’t feel he had a right to be a part of unless they both wanted him to be there. He was a part of the history between them by proxy at best, and he knew better than to intrude where he shouldn’t, especially when it came to Vergil’s private matters.

Vergil had been waiting for some semblance of closure from this for two decades. He knew that, but he wasn’t sure that even Vergil himself truly comprehended the gravity of that statement. If he even actually realized that. Something -his entire world- had been wrenched out from under him twice before he’d even reached his twenties, but this one had been different. He’d been born into his family, but the one he had with Vivienne, the one he was supposed to have with Vivienne had been something that he’d created. Something they’d created together. Something that they had both been looking forward to and had felt genuine joy from the notion of.

And something had destroyed that for them. For her, for him… for V before he’d even had the chance to exist. What would have been an environment filled with joy, laughter, and memories both good and bad had been replaced with a lifetime of pain and trauma for everyone involved. But why. What force had collided with them and shorn them apart before they’d been able to make their dreams a reality. What had built a hell from heaven’s despair? What had poisoned everything and even led to all of this?

If they were both willing, then he wanted to know. He wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. He wanted to understand what had been the catalyst for so much of the root cause of so much suffering in his family. He wanted to know just as Vergil wanted to know what had happened after the Darkslayer had departed. It was the only way to have closure. And to answer the questions she no doubt had for him as well.

He would join them.

This conversation was certainly going to be… something.

(-~-)

Hi, everyone! I’m THRILLED with the reception the last chapter is getting! So glad to finally be able to reveal to you guys that she’s alive! I’ve been sitting on that for SO DAMN LONG! But there is more to come! I’ll see you next Friday on the 6th of September and in the comment section! Take care and I hope you have a great week! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Bye bye!

[storytellering]

Killer stare.

[plaguery]

here is my promised dmc oc, romy sears. she is like if a torture device was friend shaped.

these two pics are about a year old now and certainly far from favorites but they show off those tattoo details that the first missed!

she is a post-dmc5 character, remotely working as an advisor of sorts for devil may cry through morrison's adept scouting and by way of her demonological expertise, intel on possible jobs and if she's feeling generous, her casting abilities.

at the time of joining the devil may cry ensemble, she is a thirty-one year old with about two decades of intensive autistic special interest studying and training behind her. a witness to a horrific devil attack at age eleven, she was somehow inspired and propelled into demonology and magical pursuits. her constant, reckless infodumping to helpless shop patrons and workers at her regular haunts made her a name in town to anyone who wanted to work with or against devils, leading up to morrison cracking down on her and setting up a devil may cry exclusive romy deal.

her cover and home base (tag 'home' as literal) is the antiques shop she owns and operates at the very edge of town on the mostly abandoned, eerie but alluring, bramford street. mixed in with your average porcelain antiques are demonic artifacts and 'possessed' items—particularly, dolls. these devils that she has personally conjured and bound are considered friends, while she considers herself a 'caretaker'.

despite her fondness for the demonic, she teams up with devil may cry out of financial need and for the mental challenge that she figures it will present. you can guess that her morals are... pliant.

she is a cheery, talkative, and strangely elegant thing, but do not mistake that for extroversion. more a lively hermit, most of her hours are spent at her shop and she can only be pulled away for the sake of necessity or for furthering her aims of gaining knowledge/'friends'. social skills seem to be something that comes and goes for her: politeness quickly becoming intrusion into personal boundaries, chatter somehow turning every stranger in the vicinity away, picking up on heavily layered context while missing basic cues.

as she'll tell you, pride is her favorite of the cardinal sins, and you'll find her pride in her knowledge, fashion, hair, and accessories. the tuft of white in her victory roll is her favorite badge of honor, as it has grown over the years from exposure to the demonic. most notable though are her golden, clawed fingers: custom prosthetics that she acquired after losing her fingers in a conjuring gone wrong.

if the antiques shop didn't tell you, she loves vintage and is most often seen in 40s or 50s inspired styles. the true mark of devotion is the trans-atlantic accent that she taught herself as a teenager and uses to this day (no, she will not admit to it being taught despite it inherently being a completely fabricated accent).

fun facts:

if she gets close enough to someone she will reveal that 'romy sears' is in fact not really her name and that she started using it after getting disowned at eighteen for accidentally setting her family trailer on fire with her first successful conjure & bind. she will not divulge her true last name but her given name is rosemary. 'romy sear(s)' is just the anagram treatment.

'rosemary', making it an anagram, and the name 'bramford' for the street are references to rosemary's baby. she has never and never will give birth and shes more akin to the creepy neighbors but i love references and she loves taking care of devils!

when she does leave the house, she is rarely seen without a multiseat stroller, seating a select few dolls for that day. as a caretaker, she figures it's important for enrichment purposes to get them out of the shop regularly.

the whole doll schtick is actually the whole inspiration for her character. i started simply with the idea of combining one of my favorite internet browsing activities (looking at haunted/possessed doll listings) with post-dmc5 fuckery.

objects moving and strange noises are part and parcel for the shop. however, there is also a bit of a time vortex due to the massive concentration of the demonic in one spot. it makes the veil between realms thinner but not by too much. it's helped by romy's many wards and charms around and throughout the shop but time still moves differently and is always off by around 5-25 minutes depending on circumstance.

if you read this far, thank you :) i really love her in all her freakishness. im (slowly) trying to work on a written intro* (i guess.. fic) with her. despite all i already wrote there is much more i already have in my mind. questions are welcomed if you happen to have them!

*here's a sneak peek of that ;)

[cocosnows]

A Lone Sword

This is an AU that explores a different outcome on the incident at the twins’ house, as well as insights on Vergil’s attachment to the Yamato and overall a new perspective on their brotherhood.

NOTES: It is super self-indulgent and might be out of character/I got the DMC lore wrong. English is not my first language and I have no experience in writing, so excuse me if it’s poorly written.

Thank you for reading! ^^

———————————————————————

Chapter 1

“Life had always been this way… and it will always be” — a young Vergil pondered as he walked around his house. He had always thought Dante was a spoiled brat. Even as twins, he felt Dante always did whatever he wanted whenever he said so; and the worst part was that his Mother always gave him the right.

The silver haired boys were both 12 years at the time. And they didn’t seem to get along too well, as they both seemed to differ in energy levels and preferred activities. But somehow, Dante, seemed to always win the arguments whenever they fought (which was very often, by the way). This bothered Vergil greatly, as he felt it unfair.

“When am I ever going to get MY time…”, Vergil pondered.

“It’s always do what Dante wants… but why can’t I do whatever ~I~ want once in a while”

As the child thought this, an idea popped up in his mind. He thought it would be a good idea to watch over the books of the local library as he usually did, to keep those stressful thoughts away; and have that desired alone time after a long day of dealing with Dante’s carefree whims.

When Vergil arrived to the library, the shopkeeper was actually joyous to see him. It seemed that the child’s visits came more and more often as time passed— and the librarian loved his enthusiasm and curiosity towards the books, which was rare amongst the children of that small city.

The child couldn’t stop looking at that one specific book: a collection of poems written by William Blake. The librarian felt some sort of deep compassion and understanding for the child, and turning to him in a gentle voice he said:

“Do you like that book…?”

The child turned to see the man and nodded with a worried expression. The man smiled, and told him:

“It’s ok… you can have it. It’s all yours”

The child’s face lit up.

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

The child picked up a pen and drew his initial on the cover of the book, much to the librarians’ surprise. After he finished drawing, he told the librarian:

“My twin brother… he’s always grabbing my stuff… so I have to make sure this is mine”.

The librarian let out a soft chuckle as he witnessed the innocence and spontaneity of the child.

Vergil thanked the shop owner and took off to his home. The librarian watched over him as he walked away with a fond expression.

—

After some time, Vergil arrived home. He was greeted by his twin brother’s usual high energy, which rarely ever matched his own. Today, he was carrying the wooden swords they use to play with. Vergil’s face instantly turned serious.

As soon as Dante opened his mouth, Vergil already had an answer:

“No, Dante. Not now. I want to read right now, so don’t disturb me”.

Dante frowned and told him:

“You didn’t even hear what I had to say!”,

to which the other child answered:

“I don’t care Dante! Just leave me alone!”.

Dante dropped the wooden swords in an instant and threw a slap to Vergil’s face. After this, they just kept on throwing punches to each other in a very common scene for that family… just until Eva arrived.

“Children! Oh my… what did I tell you about fighting? Look at you, you’re bleeding!”, said Eva to the boys.

The twins, having all sorts of bruises on their faces, stood up in a jolt as soon as they saw her.

“He did it! He started it!”, Vergil exclaimed, pointing at Dante.

“He didn’t even listen to me, mom! He was so rude!”, Dante answered.

The woman just sighed in distress, as she has dealt with these same quarrels countless times, and said:

“Vergil, please don’t ignore your brother—”

Just as she was about to continue, Vergil let out a loud groan.

“It is ALWAYS my fault and never HIS, I am SO DONE”, Vergil exclaimed as he ran away from his family and into the house’s garden.

“VERGIL!” Eva exclaimed, but the child refused to listen.

Dante looked over to the floor and saw the book that Vergil had brought. He picked it up and kept it. His mother decided to leave Vergil alone for the time being, so he had time to unwind. She escorted Dante back inside, while thoroughly scolding him for his aggressiveness and behavior.

Vergil walked over to a little playground and sat down on one of the benches.

“It’s always the same… he gets his way and I’m the one at fault. I can’t stand it.”

Vergil groaned.

“I wanted to read that book so bad and now he completely spoiled my mood.”

The child crossed his arms and pondered for a short while.

“It’s all Dante’s fault as always…”

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a dangerous presence behind him. In just a second, he had a swarm of demons wanting to kill him behind his back.

He swiftly dodged the demons’ attacks, but as he ran towards his home he found a grim scenario that made him froze: his home was burning in a pillar of flames. The moment he stopped in his tracks to watch the horrible scene, the demons took the opportunity and attacked him.

They pierced his body countless times with their long, slim swords. His chest, arms, legs, hands… all pierced by the demons’ weapons.

“It hurts… it hurts… it… HURTS…!”

The child was silent, but under his painful expression lied a yearn for help.

“Someone… anyone… please… help me”

The image of his mother and brother appeared inside his mind…

But no one came to his aid.

And the demons were ruthless in his endeavor, as they pierced his body until they left him unconscious.

After some time, the child woke up. His body ached and everything burned. But even so, he stood up and was determined to walk towards his home. His mind was fuzzy and the tears rolled uncontrollably down his face, but something made him go towards the house- towards his family.

As he walked, he felt some of his wounds closing and healing due to his demonic lineage, which made him able to survive such ruthless and deadly attacks. This allowed him to move a little more freely with each step.

However, the moment he picked up his pace, a second horde of demons approached him. But this time, something unexpected happened: the legendary sword Yamato appeared right before his eyes as if summoned by his desperate cries for help. He picked it up from the ground and wobblily started fending off the attacking monsters.

The boy was panting and grasping for air, but he kept walking towards his burning home, holding the Yamato close and using it to help him walk. His clothes were all ragged: he was left shirtless and covered in his own blood.

As he got closer to his house, he thought of his mother, his brother, the demons… the emotions were overflowing and he couldn’t stop crying. He thought to himself as he sobbed uncontrollably:

“I’m alone… no one is here anymore… Dante and mom… they must’ve fled… they’re… gone… … maybe mom didn’t even—”

Just as he was thinking, he heard a distant sound that made him stop in his tracks. It was a voice… a faint voice. The child’s expression changed from helpless to worried, and he turned desperate to find the source of the sound.

He walked even closer to the house and heard the faint voice again:

“Ver…gil!”

The voice was followed by several coughs.

The child’s eyes turned very big as he let out a big gasp. He exclaimed his brother’s name, hoping for an answer. He ran towards the main entrance of the house, but as soon as he was about to enter, the door busted open.

A sobbing, coughing child came out of the door, extremely agitated.

“VERGIL!”, the child exclaimed as soon as he saw his twin brother, and ran directly into him for a hug.

Vergil was suddenly petrified.

He looked behind his brother, and caught a glimpse of the grotesque scene that occurred inside his home. Dante noticed and immediately ran to close the door, sobbing profusely.

“N-no, Vergil… *hic* y-you can’t see! *hic*”, he exclaimed as he blocked the door with his body.

Vergil, with a somber expression, and tears rolling down his face, asked his brother:

“Dante… what… what happened?”

Dante started sobbing even harder. It was hard for him to catch his breath, as he inhaled a great amount of smoke. He gathered a little bit of air and, just when he was about to speak, a demon peeked behind his brother.

Dante peeled his eyes as he screamed his brother’s name.

“VERGIL!”

The child’s reflexes activated instantly, drawing out the Yamato and fending off the demons in a whim. Vergil turned to Dante again and exclaimed:

“It’s not safe here, Dante. We have to go, NOW!”

Vergil’s expression turned serious and determined, but Dante was still inconsolable. Vergil grabbed Dante by the arm and dragged him out of the house.

“With the Yamato…”, Vergil thought, “no demon… no… nothing can hurt us”.

And thus, the silver-haired children ran away from the burnt house that was once their home… with no destination and nothing more than their own company and a lone sword.

CHAPTER 2

[mariyekos]

Okay so I reblogged this once before with some ideas but the post-DMC1 Qliphoth idea I mentioned in the tags of that other reblog is taking over my brain so to expand on that-

Dante beats Mundus in Hell but is so keyed up that he just keeps mowing through things. Bloodlust/rage

Comes across Vergil who he realizes is not dead, but was teleported

While Dante freaks out because Vergil may not be dead but he's clearly *dying*, Trish shows up. She came through the portal

Dante begs her for a way to save him. Maybe Dante tried a vital star and it didn't work

Trish mentions the Qliphoth. It is said to grant ultimate power... and demons have a natural healing factor, so if Vergil becomes more powerful, his healing will improve, and he may live

Dante doesn't want to harm humans. It's not right and he swore to protect his mother's people. But...he swore to protect Vergil too. And it's not like people don't die sometimes. Earthquakes and hurricanes and tornados and other natural disaster kill hundreds or thousands at a time. This'll just be like one of those. They're unfortunate, but the world will move on. And it's not like Dante will permanently unleash the demon world on the human world, he just needs to open it enough to save Vergil, then he'll go and clean up the mess and everything will be normal! It'll be fine! Totally!

So Dante searches for the Qliphoth fruit. Maybe Mundus has the seed since he ate the last one, and he was just waiting for it to germinate, so Trish retrieves it from Mundus' vault while Dante guards Vergil

After a few days (time uncertain in the demon world) Dante decides to start feeding it his blood because hey he's part human maybe that'll make it react. After ??? time (a few weeks) it finally does. Dante gives it some of Vergil's blood too, apologizing to his still-unconscious brother, then plants it.

He returns to the human world. Hides Vergil in the shop, calls Lady, and tells her she should really go on that vacation she's been talking about for months. His little vacation to Mallet Island was nice. He's sure the sunny Bahamas will be way better.

Lady leaves for her trip because sure why not. She doesn't want to deal with the headache of Dante fixing his shop anyway. And it's just in time, because the Qliphoth bursts from the ground like 2 days later.

Dante takes Vergil in, and the empusas don't attack bc it was germinated by their blood and they recognize their master. But the other enemies do. Trish protects Vergil while Dante cuts them down. There aren't that many yet thankfully.

Dante sits Vergil down on the throne and essentially hooks him up to the tree. Dante just patrols but...Trish notices that when he sleeps, the tree feeds him too. Dante doesn't seem to notice how invigorated he's feeling or connect the dots between why he's fine without eating.

Lady shows up almost 3 weeks later, makes it to the throne room. (Since this is pre-cell phone era and the Qliphoth might not have shown up on international news at least at first, Lady was blissfully unaware until it either DID finally hit international news or she got home from her trip). Vergil is still unconscious, so Dante defeats her. He has the tree make her into Artemis for her own protection. That way the demons won't hurt her, and if she's unconscious, she can't hurt herself either. It's for the best. Artemis can take out any hunters that get in deep. He justifies it more by saying he'll free her once Vergil eats the fruit and everything can go back to normal and they can be friends again and it'll be fine!!! Yeah!

Dante feels it when the fruit is ready. He brings Vergil (who is finally starting to wake up, though he's too weak to move and Dante is too excited about the fruit to notice. Plus both of their energies have been distorted by the Qliphoth, so he can distinguish between his own Qliphoth-changed energy sparking and Vergil's).

Before feeding it to Vergil he hesitates. What if Trish tricked him? He'll just take a small bite to confirm. The rush of energy comes and it's so, so hard but he doesn't eat the rest and shoves it into Vergil's mouth instead, who is awake enough that the rush of power overwhelms his normal thoughts and he eats it right away

Once Vergil is healed, Dante is overjoyed. Finally, finally he has his brother back! He didn't kill him a third time! (Childhood by making Vergil leave the house and be attacked alone, Temen-ni-gru, Mallet).

Vergil meanwhile is horrified. While hooked up to the Qliphoth he dreamed a lot, and thought over what Mundus had done, and what their father wanted. He realized he had fallen after the Temen-ni-gru to join their father's world, but the world their father *chose* was the human world, and after everything he'd suffered he decided he should choose it too. Rejecting humanity had only brought him suffering. It was in those few years of childhood that he lived as a human that he prospered and was happy.

Dante is confused why Vergil isn't happy. He saved his life. Shouldn't Vergil be happy? Trish shows up and Vergil says that she corrupted Dante, just like she tried to corrupt him. Stripped away Dante's humanity just like she stripped away Vergil's when she helped Mundus break him enough to put him in the armor. (Remember when Dante says: "That last bit of humanity you had? You just lost it." or something like that when Urizen eats the fruit?)

(Maybe Vergil is also upset because Dante forced something onto him (the fruit) just like Mundus did. Vergil hasn't had a say over his body in nearly a decade. Dante is extremely shocked and offended by Vergil comparing him to Mundus, because he is *nothing* like that bastard. This was the best for Vergil. The armor was for the worst. Dante only wanted to help, Mundus only wanted go hurt. But Vergil argues that they're the same anyway, because they both wanted something that Vergil didn't. They both took his bodily autonomy away from him. They both used Vergil to further their own selfish desires; Mundus to prove his superiority to Sparda and inflict his anger on Sparda' son, Dante to reassure himself that he was a good person and didn't kill his brother. Mundus liked to say he was helping Vergil by making him stronger too. But he wasn't. Vergil didn't want that. Either of them. Dante used Vergil as an excuse for his own gain and he cannot forgive Dante for that.)

Dante also gets upset at Vergil accusing Trish of being bad bc Trish's knowledge is the only reason Vergil survived. He should be grateful. But Vergil argues the cost wasn't worth it. Wasn't Dante upset about the Temen-ni-gru? What changed? Why is it okay now?

Dante argues it's because he's trying to protect Vergil. He didn't do it for power's sake. But Vergil argues that he didn't do it just for power either, he did it for the power to *protect* which means Dante has made the exact same mistake as Vergil.

Dante disagrees. So, there's only one way to settle the argument. To fight.

Who wins? Well Vergil ate more of the fruit, and he was more hooked up to the Qliphoth than Dante. But Dante had a bite, and he was fed by the Qliphoth a little too. And Vergil is hesitant to kill his brother, while Dante is so upset (and has spent the past month plus trying to convince himself that everything he was doing was justified, and is so far in that he can't accept that it *wasn't* bc then he'll have to face the horrible things he's done) that he is able to put so much more of himself than Vergil is. So when you have a stronger guy who isn't trying versus a weaker guy who is giving it everything he has...

:)

This probably isn't as much Vergil turning over a new leaf as you intended since he's pretty absent from most of the story (as in, he's a plot device but isn't awake until the very end) but it sort of fits the bill? Eh, it was fun to think of either way. If I haven't gotten swept up in another idea once I finish my current DMC longfic, I might try to turn it into a proper fic one day!

Role swap AU but not in the typical sense where Dante and Vergil's positions were switched on the day of the attack. Instead it's Dante fucking snaps at some point and when Dante snaps is about the same time Vergil turns a new leaf.

[dmbakura]

posted this on twitter but I wanted to clear something up here too: my durge V isn't a crossover or AU version of V from dmc5. he only looks like him cuz I thought I was being funny when making my durge, but then I actually got attached to the durge storyline and decided to develop him as his own character, so the joke was on me the entire time.

personality or lore wise he isn't really like V dmc at all

[mariyekos]

Last reblog got me thinking about all the DMC longfic ideas I have bouncing around in my brain and so far we've got:

Post-DMC5 Dante Time Travel fic (started December 2023, 105k words in, all unpublished)

DMC1/5 Fusion, slash Dante stuck in Hell post DMC1 (Started February 2024, 101k words in, partially published)

Mundus raises Dante and Vergil in Hell post-fire (a few thousand words, first chapter posted on tumblr).

DMC3/1 Ancient AU, aka Dante and Vergil are actually 2k years old like one of the old manuals/game guides seemed to imply (A few thousand words in.)

DMC4 Ancient AU, alt universe of the above where Lady's family has a Belmont/Alucard situation with Dante, and Nero is still the surprise son with Vergil out of the picture (Exists in a tumblr post as a longer concept, no fic written. )

Nero Early Adoption AU, where Nero's arm changes at 10 and he ends up getting kidnapped & experimented on by the Order, alerting Lady to their actions earlier and causing Dante to investigate and adopt him. (12k words long, current NaNo/writing project)

Then for "longfics" I've started writing that will probably not actually end up as longfics because I don't know where to go with them or otherwise can't get the words to come out even if I do:

Replacement/what if Dante died Post-DMC5 and Vergil took on his identity (2 chapters in, 3rd started but stalled)

Vergil Post-DMC5 Bad Ending Time Travel fic, where his consciousness is inserted into his 6-7 year old self (7k words in but stuck bc of characterization)

On top of these are the various one-shots and fics that will hopefully be under 30k words that I've started which uh. Well there are more of those so I'm not going to bother listing them for now because the point of this post was to talk about my problem with having waaaay too many longfics on my hands. I'm actively working on three of them! Well, two right now. I've stalled with Time Travel fic number one. I'll probably get back to it when I either finish DMC1/5 Fusion or hit the end of November and am not so focused on the Nero fic. We'll see. I actually really like that one conceptually and am only a few chapters from the end, but it needs so much revision bc of lore realizations that it's Daunting and I haven't touched it in a hot minute. Rip.

[put-me-out-of-my-destiny]

I've been far too busy to really participate in this whole weekly prompt thing, but I've already made some posts that fit the prompts, so for the final day, I've decided to link them all here.

Sunday

This prompt was about characters bonding. One of my earlier posts on this blog was a lengthy headcanon that Nero and Kyrie both liked to draw as teens, which brought them together.

Monday

This prompt was about hurt/comfort, and I think the closest thing I have to that is one part of a post where I speculated about Trish's powers.

Tuesday

This prompt was about underappreciated characters, and I think the best choice for this one is my plot in which Kyrie gains demonic minions, similar to the ones V uses in DMC5. I've talked about this a lot in the past, all instances of which are linked in my pinned post.

Wednesday

This prompt was about time travel, and I do have another plot that involves time travel. I've posted about the general premise, as well as how a particular character would get involved.

Thursday

This prompt requested a sad headcanon. I think this one about Trish qualifies.

Friday

One of the options in this prompt was "commune with dead". I made a post speculating about Sparda's experiences persisting in a demon-exclusive afterlife.

Saturday

The final prompt was about a character rescuing another. I think about my AU in which Dante is captured by Urizen instead of Lady and Trish, and while it was made with the intent to remove two characters from the role of being rescued, it ironically does still include some rescuing.

Two posts qualify, one where Dante gets saved, and one where Dante saves someone else. And of course, the whole AU is linked in my pinned post.

[skvaderarts]

This response sent me into a drooling laughing fit in my bedroom at 6:00 a.m. that I was not ready for. The mental image just took me out back and shot me!

I would openly weep if someone drew this 🤣

Which DMC character is obsessed with Bluey?

Discuss.

[skvaderarts]

Petrichor Chapter 71: Melody

Chapter 71: Melody

Note: It’s been FAR too long. To everyone still reading: Sorry. Life happened. A lot. I’m sorry I made you wait so long. Welcome back! I hope I can make the wait worth it for you all!

(-~-)

Time almost seemed to stop as the twins stood there in the yard, genuinely taken aback by the reality of how unfortunate their timing was. They couldn’t tell if they were on a lucky streak for making it this far, or were truly cursed for more than likely being too late after how far they’d come. At present, they didn’t know who was coming or going, but the sheer disbelief that overcame them regardless was stupifying.

Dante resisted the urge to point out the obvious solution of just asking one of the movers or going to find out himself, fully aware that his brother wasn’t dense enough not to have thought of that already. The fact that he was still standing there was a clear indication that he was thinking. Dwelling. Lingering on something pressing that he hadn’t verbally elaborated on.

The younger of the two couldn’t help but notice the irony of their apparently shared propensity towards bad timing, but he couldn’t appreciate the humor in it. This wasn’t the time. Far from it. They needed answers, and they were in the right place to get them. If they didn’t continue stalling from overwhelmed shock, that was.

“Stagefright, Vergil?” The younger devil hunter in red said as he stepped just a bit closer to his older brother. It wasn’t really a joke or a question so much as it was a realization. A way of breaking the ice. An attempt at making an unfortunate situation less agonizing. A bit of brevity in the wake of potential heartbreak. Something neither of them needed more of.

It was undeniable that Vergil was overcome with a conflicting mixture of emotions and reactions; sensations and subtle doubts. A cascade of feelings that he almost seemed to pick through one at a time without really feeling all of them at any individual point. Was he afraid that he’d be overwhelmed by them if he gave them the chance to soak in, to be known? To be felt? It was evident in everything from his facial expressions to the subtle shift in his body language that he was processing quite a bit and not doing a particularly good job of it.

“Hardly…” Vergil said almost too vacantly. He’d heard him and processed what he was saying, but his attention was understandably elsewhere. He was scouring the area around them, looking for something specific amongst the commotion. And he found it. As his gaze fell upon the front door, he folded his arms in front of him,  took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and just stood there for a moment before slowly and evenly exhaling, unfolding his arms, and heading towards the front door. 

There was no point in delaying the inevitable. She was either here or she wasn’t. They needed to know. How could they proceed if they didn’t have the right info?

Vergil looked like a man being marched over to mount the gallows as he approached the front porch with measured, calculated steps. He slowed noticeably as he grew nearer to the front door, his heart rate rising to a perceptible level with each and every step. It was something that he ignored, but something that Dante couldn’t help but notice as he walked past him from behind and walked a few feet over past his brother to the far right side of the porch, leaning back first against the wall. He wanted to be close, but he also figured that giving Vergil space was something of a given under these circumstances.

It was an unspoken measure that Vergil made a subconscious note of, pausing in front of the door and glancing over at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t speak, but he did nod a single time in conformation and appreciation. Yes, Dante certainly had matured a considerable amount since their interactions during their teenage years. He would’ve had to ask him to do this back then, and although he would have obliged, they would have butted heads. Nothing could be said between them back then without a notable air of struggle and animosity to it all. Contaminating everything interaction between them.

… He was glad they had moved past that. He was glad to have Dante back. And he knew that the feeling was mutual.

As he raised his clenched hand up to the door and allowed it to just sort of hover there for what felt like an age as he mentally chastised himself for allowing his nerves to get the best of him, he recalled Dante’s words from a few minutes prior. “Stagefright” felt like an apt description of what he was feeling right now. The anxiety that anchored him. That rose up through him and flooded everything around him like a wellspring of folly and remorse. Was… this what V felt like? In those moments when he couldn’t think? When he couldn’t speak? When he’d been faced with the unimaginable? When he’d put him through all of that back when it had all begun? To face down something so unmovable knowing what the reality of not succeeding would do to him? 

Was this what it felt like to be his son?

And for that matter, Nero?

How had losing his arm affected him? Shaken his view of what he’d been able to accomplish on his own? What he’d been able to protect. It was a commonality between them: the desire to protect themselves so that they could then protect what they loved most. He himself had taken that from Nero once without so much as a thought to it, only truly thinking about it once he realized who Nero was. And even if he hadn’t been his son the loss still would have been the same on his end. That both of his scions had the strength of heart, body, and mind to do what they had back in Redgrave City was a shining testament to their strength. A different value of strength than that of what he himself possessed. A different personal perception of their own value and capabilities. They’d both been on broken, shaky ground but they’d walked the path before them regardless. He would have taken a different, less bountiful both should it have been him. Something more widely destructive instead of personally punishing, of that he was sure. But that just wasn’t who either of them was at their core, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of his own looming terror dissipate at the thought of their strength.

He needed to tell them both how proud of them he was. How impressed by their conviction he’d become. How astounding their level of personal and interpersonal discipline was, something that he and Dante had both struggled with for their entire lives. Two sets of opposites, but where he and his twin had clashed, V and Nero had melded. 

Dante and Vergil were oil in water mixed via emulsification through years of trial and error. V and Nero were an alloy, hardened by fire and pressure into something stronger than their component parts could ever be alone. The devil twins had long been opposing forms of magnetism that could never touch, determined to definitively stand on their own at the expense of everything they could be together. His sons were Ferrofluid.

Perhaps he and Dante had taught them the best lesson they possibly could by never teaching them anything at all. 

By virtue of who they truly were and what their principles stood for, they’d been uniquely suited to repair something that they never should have needed to. Something they shouldn’t have been able to. They’d fixed him. And in doing so, had shown him that there was another way. A way to cut out of what had held in thrall for so long. They’d saved all of them by not being their forbearers. By not embodying some of their least desirable traits, regardless of how understandable the circumstances behind how they developed them naturally were. And he couldn’t be more astonished. And overjoyed.

He wished nothing of the worst of his nature on anyone, least of all his beloved offspring.

“... Perhaps.” He said simply. He agreed with Dante’s assessment of his state of mind. He was anxious. He was listless. He was tired and he hadn’t even started yet. And it was time that he made things right. He knocked on the door.

An eternity passed millisecond by millisecond as he heard nothing. Knew nothing. Sensed nothing. Not a creek of the floor from the other side of the door; not the clack or thump of a shoe approaching the door. Not a voice from the other side of the door assuring their approach. 

And then the lock turned.

He could practically feel each individual cog in the lock’s tumbler turn notch by notch as he heard on lock unlock. And then a second. And then some third sound that sounded like a slide lock being fiddled with but he couldn’t be certain. He felt the door handle turn. And he felt the breath leave him as his heart stopped and his stomach lurched as the door pulled inward away from him and towards whoever had deaned to open it.

They stepped from around the door. And a pair of forest green eyes peered from behind a layer of frizzy red fringe, meeting his own. They suddenly grew wide as the individual took in an audible gasp, nearly choking as they lurched backward, practically jumping backward. And then they were gone in an instant. 

He had never seen a door slam that fast in his entire life.

Dante looked stunned. He couldn’t see her from this angle, but even he had seen how short of a time that door had been open. He felt the deafening vibration that came with its closing as it reverberated through the brick and the wood of the porch. He noted the way that Vergil didn’t so much as blink, let alone move in response. He seemed to be buffering, his reaction delayed as he didn’t even attempt to process what he’d just experienced. Had that been her?

There was a long silence. It lasted a minute. Then a second. Then a third. There was nothing. No sound. No movement. Only the barely perceptible feeling of Vergil’s own breath bouncing back towards him as he stood mere inches from the door, his breathing so shallow that it didn’t quite suffice. He couldn’t remember the last time that he’d felt lightheaded, but he certainly did right now.

Registering anything around him was out of the question. He’d nearly forgotten where he was entirely, let alone that Dante was staring at him or that a few of the movers out front were whispering to one another about what had just happened as they loaded the last of the boxes into the back of the truck, their interest piqued but no action take beyond observing with keen interest and quiet discomfort.

He drew in a more satisfying breath and then let it out so slowly that the movement of his chest was undetectable.

“Viv.” The volume and tone of his voice were so minute that he was almost certain that he was the only one who had heard him speak. The small collection of letters carried with them a measure of pain, fright, and breathless pleading that he didn’t even attempt to conceal. He’d seen her for maybe a quarter of a millisecond but he knew those eyes anywhere. They haunted him every time his mind wandered. Every time he had something that strayed away from a nightmare and closer to a dream. Every time he looked at V. How could he ever forget them?

The door handle turned again. Slowly. Painfully slow as if the person behind it were trying to open it as quietly as possible. It turned with the methodical, deliberate motion of a knife burrowing deeper into a wound that it had already made. It creaked for a moment before the hinge lost all volume and the door eased all the way open, this time stopping when it reached the wall by virtue of an extended arm connected to the person who stood framed by its outline like a treasured photograph.

She didn’t look even a monochrome less beautiful than he’d remembered.

In fact, perhaps he’d misremembered the true extent of her beauty. Because she just stood there, robbing his body of every breath that it should be taking; a theft that he would willingly allow if it gave him just a moment longer to take her in. For it was there in that doorway that a weight both fled him and was instantly replaced by something else. The realization that his affection for her had never weighed. It had just transformed into something else. Something colder at her loss. Something that lacked the beauty she’d once brought into his somber presence. The knowledge that she yet loved now proven as she stood before him robbed him of all the pain her departure and infused into him. Into the very marrow of his bones and the fibers of his nerves. He’d never truly known release for that baseline of agony. 

He hadn’t failed her completely. She was still here. No illusion, listless daydream, or fantasy of a broken, hopeless mind conspiring with a wistful spirit. He’d been mended by virtue of her continued existence alone. The last hair of hope he’s clung to had been vindicated. Even if she hated him as he thought she would. As he reasoned he disserved for everything he had and hadn’t done, warranted or otherwise. And even if she never spoke a single word to him again, she had already done more than enough.

“Vivienne.”

He spoke as if her name was the key to something he’d just recalled he’d lost. He’d been looking directly at her, but as her eyes fell upon him they suddenly shifted downward, past her entirely and towards his boots below. He couldn’t muster the will to look her in the eye. He’d never experienced that before. But after the raging torrent of conflict writhing within him subsided just enough for him to go on living, he tilted his head back ever so slightly, craning his neck to the left just enough to be noticeable, and his redirected his eyes back up to her. Where they belonged. And as they stood there and stared at one another breathlessly, a single tear rolled down the side of her face as she blinked repeatedly. She looked tired. More tired than he’d ever felt. It was written all over her face.

“V-Ver… gil…“ Her voice nearly cracked as she dragged the disbelieving syllables out of her mouth and laid them bare before her. She knew that her eyes didn’t lie. Perhaps her mind and heart had conspired to haunt her with his memory from her past, but her eyes were less easily fooled. How could she even conjure a vision so vivid as this from inside her mind's eye? She took a single step forward and extended a shaky hand out to him, resting it on his lower arm. The same arm she had just extended. Her left. And she gripped it; gripped it so gently as though she thought it might break or vanish entirely if she either let go or held him any tighter.

She gasped shakily as she looked at the point where her hand gripped him, her eyes darting up towards him as he watched her eyes well with unshed tears. Truly this wasn’t a dream. No dream she’d ever experienced had ever been so vivid. And as she stared up at him he couldn’t help but feel something in his chest catch at the very notion of her. Of the fact that this was real. That she was real. And although his own eyes didn’t well in the same maner as hers had by pure virtue of how long it had been since he’d managed such a feat, he felt them burn, and much as she had shed a single tear upon the moment she’d seen him, he did the very same, as shocked to experience such as thing as she was to witness it. “... Vergil…”

As his senses slowly began to recover from their state of numbness, the soft melody of something he hadn’t registered before reached his ears. It was subtle. Subdued. A melody so familiar that he felt he’d been born with it pre-programmed into his head even though he knew that wasn’t the case.

Reverie. She still had the record.

(-~-)

It felt SO GOOD to write this chapter! I’ve been waiting for this moment for SO LONG! Gah! I feel like I just received personal closure! Also, I just realized how long you’ve been sitting on the edge of this cliffhanger, and I can only apologize yet again. What an awful amount of suspense to be stuck on. I can only hope that this next series of chapters will help make up for that, because I’ve had quite a while to think out the fine points of how this is going to play out, and I’m excited to share what I have in store with all of you!

I’m also rethinking the details of the upload schedule. I used to upload twice a week and I’m trying to get back to something at least close to that, so I’m running some numbers and I’ll get back to you on that. I’m sure the more languid pace is torture. Let me see what I can do. It was a lot easier during the pandemic due to my health issues being non-existent along with having been laid off from my job. I had so much more stamina back then, but I still have the same amount of passion and my health is now in a much better place. Not to be cringe, but let me cook lol I’m working on something that works better for all of us! I have some ideas.

Thanks again for reading this chapter. Welcome back! And if you are new, welcome in general! I know I’ve heard from quite a few of you in the last few months. Welcome! I’ll see you next Friday on the 30th of August, and then the Wednesday after that on the 4th of September! Take care and I’ll see you in the comments! Thanks for reading!

[hoshizorax]

more dmc!noriko stuff (sorry not sorry)

the strength of her powers from dmc1 to dmc5 is nothing to knock on. even pre-dmc1 as it had not been long after the whole ordeal with the demon and coven stuff. she grows to be pretty damn strong by dmc5 while pre-dmc1 and dmc1 she is still learning herself and her powers. by dmc5, you best be running but honestly.. i don't think you'll get far before she catches you.

going onto the powers she has gotten (because my brain was not having a time when i wrote out the au post but).. she can manipulate and control shadows. that's a big part of her magical/witchy side because she is very much a witch.

as time goes on, she grows more accustomed to her abilities. one ability she gets more attuned to is where she can literally mold shadows and darkness around her. becoming the core/lifeline of the shadows themselves but also it creates a barrier between her and any attacks (which only gets stronger by dmc5). she can easily turn into a monster herself.

she can meld with the shadows to hide very easily and she can literally transport that way. even becoming a wisp if needed or wanted.

[togetherhearted]

🌟REQUESTS OPEN🌟

Just sliding in to say that my requests for short drabbles/headcanons are still open.

Things will be soft,things will be funny or maybe a bit spicey or angsty [But not too much,my heart is weak]

Aus are also fine!It can add some flavour to the whole thing

I can do max 3 characters.

I WRITE FOR:

ARCANE/LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

LIES OF P

MARIO UNIVERSE [SPIN OFFS INCLUDED]

DMC5

OVERWATCH

RECORD OF RAGNAROK [I'm kinda new to this so I'll try to avoid spilers as much as I can but feel free to ask me anyone for the funsies]

My askbox is always open to random questions or a lil chat. ^^

Also if you would like to support me feel free to leave a tip in my ko-fi page or commission me [You'll get a free fanart/sketch] You can find everything on the pinned post!

[masquerain-with-a-mask]

This post got kinda out of hand and may be weird but bear with me

For comprehension purposes; pr refers to the panic room au and mmc refers to mutant may cry

I can't stop thinking about mutant may cry characters, dmc characters and the panic room au turtles associated with dmc5 theme songs all meeting

Let me explain

I've said it before, iatstia's creation was triggered by me listening to bury the light, therefore leo, as well as the entirety of iatstia, were HEAVILY influenced by bury the light (but that's something that'll be more apparent later on)

Mutant may cry was created after joking about iatstia leo being vergil, which then made me create a whole ass au about it

Iatstia has an overarching lore called the panic room au and the panic room au contains three alt timelines, each with a different turtle taking leo's place

Therefore, we have unwilling dimensional traveler raph, donnie and mikey, all of which came from different 2012 timelines, which brings us to the next point

Each alt timeline was created due to my friend joking about me making tmnt fics named after lyrics from subhuman, devil trigger and crimson cloud once i was done with iatstia

So now i planned for the future a raph-centric fic influenced by subhuman, a donnie-centric fic influenced by devil trigger and a mikey-centric fic influenced by crimson cloud

And all i can think about is just. iatstia leo, mmc leo and vergil in the same room and forced to interact with each other

But what's funnier is imagining pr donnie, mmc lita and nero in the same room

And i will not even try to imagine pr mikey, mmc donnie and v or pr raph, mmc raph and dante together because there's just so much that would have to be addressed (which implies the other two don't have anything that needs to be adressed which honestly couldn't be farther from the truth)

And that's not even thinking about what would happen if they weren't stuck with just their equivalent and instead putting all three cast together

[trickstersmagic]

Licorice Cookie: I’m-

Devil May Cry fans: 

[emy-san]

Summer vacation [Bonus]

[put-me-out-of-my-destiny]

Two disclaimers:

I haven't read Visions of V, so I don't know the full context of what happened to Vergil the night Eva died.

This is likely going to seem more contrarian than most other answers.

In DMC5, Vergil wonders if he would have turned out like Dante if Eva had saved him instead. And my answer to that is a big fat no.

While knowing that his mother loved him enough to risk her own life protecting him may have been of some comfort to him, I don't think watching her die would do anything to dissuade him from believing that he's on his own, and that the only way for him to be safe is to become more powerful, no matter the cost.

This may sound cynical, but Vergil's question reads to me as little more than a deflection of blame for the pain and suffering that he's caused. Surely Dante would have done the same thing in his position, right? Ignoring the fact that his and Dante's positions weren't really that different.

But I don't disagree that Eva's sacrifice made a big impact on Dante. Contrary to V's description of himself Vergil as Dante's "reason for fighting", Dante plainly states in DMC1 that he became a devil hunter to avenge his mother. And after all, her advice to go into hiding and change his name probably did help him stay safe... Which is my basis for what I think would have happened to him.

Dante wouldn't have lived very long.

Meaning that when Vergil and Arkham raised the Temen-ni-gru, Dante wasn't there to stop them.

And once Arkham reveals his hand and betrays Vergil, he would have to fight the clown by himself.

...Which he could probably pull off? Since he and Dante have a full-on fight immediately afterward, I'm gonna assume the fight was canonically a cakewalk for the two of them, so fighting Arkham alone should be challenging, but not impossible.

From there, things go pretty much the same - with nothing left for him in the Human World, Vergil remains in the Underworld, challenges Mundus, gets completely steamrolled, and gets Angeloed.

But when the time comes for Mundus to make his return to the Human World, Dante isn't there to stop him either. Also, if Mundus's forces had already defeated Dante, it's quite possible that he had access to Rebellion, and who knows what advantages that could have yielded?

So if Mundus is released into the human world, and intends to take over, it would be up to others to stop him. Lucia and Lady are obviously among them, but more interestingly, so is the Order of the Sword - which could very well include Nero, albeit younger than he was in DMC4.

Nero would be the ideal candidate to free Vergil from Mundus's control, using Yamato, which he reassembles along the way. After the fact, I'm not sure Vergil would be in any position to directly help defeat Mundus. I think what he'd do is take Yamato from Nero, whether he likes it or not, and split himself.

Urizen serves as a rival to Mundus, dividing his attention just enough to yield an advantage to the humans, which V would probably help them exploit. V being involved - especially in an AU where Vergil would remember Eva more fondly - would also give Mundus a reason to create Trish.

From there... I'm not sure what happens, and I'd like to leave it to the imagination for now.

But if you didn't care for that, I did make a post more than a year ago speculating about a version of DMC5 where Dante and Vergil switch roles, you can read about that here.

Roleswap AU Question

"That day, if our positions were switched... Would our fates be different? Would I have your life, and you mine?"

While standing on top of the Qlipoth in DMC 5 Vergil posed a very interesting question that got many people wondering: How would the story of DMC go if Dante and Vergil's positions were switched?

That is what I am asking you now to answer. How does this story go in a world where their positions are switched?