#that being said i think giving kyrie a sword would be funny

[duvewing]

little pet peeve of mine is when a person’s only idea to make kyrie a ‘stronger character’ is to just give her a sword

[iaintyourbro]

Let’s Talk About... On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa and The Kids are Alright: A Turks Side Story

Yes, I couldn’t sleep... again. I’ve gotten good at staying up two days at a time. Then sleeping and going back to it. I suppose it’s the quarantine... Which is only going to get worse it seems...

In any case, I finally got to read Case of Tifa... and... if you came out of that thinking they weren’t a thing... I don’t know what to tell you. I honestly went in to it expecting it to seem very ambiguous and very non-Cloti (in a sense). 

What struck me, first of all is the amount of guilt Tifa talks about having. Tifa seems to be just as bad as Cloud is, she just deals with it differently. Oddly enough, Cloud doesn’t show that much guilt immediately. Tifa is the one who is struggling with this major guilt initially. 

So let’s start with some screenshots (pictures?) I took of excerpts I found interesting. Some I’m sure you’ve seen before. 

Here we have Tifa talking about the guilt. She also feels insanely guilty for what happened to not only Aerith, but everything else that happened (Sector 7 Plate Drop/Avalanche). The other weird thing about this... and this is legit at the end of the OG... she almost is convincing herself that she should stay alive. I found a lot of sadness in that. And it’s not because of anything Cloud did. No... actually I think that’s what snaps her out of it. 

Of course we have a smiling Cloud. You’re going to see Cloud smiles... a lot... and he laughs too, which I really hope they show him laughing because I don’t know what it sounds like... 

I’m sure everyone has seen this. It’s the next page after Tifa calls Cloud out on his bright dork smile he’s giving. I mean he fucking says he has her. And that he knows what that means. 

I... I don’t know how you can’t take this in a romantic sense. Maybe because the guy barely smiles so to me this is massive. Maybe because he had a hell of a time telling her anything down Under the Highwind. I don’t know. But this seems like something that’s profound to tell a person. That’s the end of that section (teases - perfect moment for a kiss). 

I like the “What about you? Are you okay?” Strikes me as something we saw in Chapter 17 when you first get control of Tifa and Aerith, right? “What about you, Tifa? How are you doing?”

Tifa loses it, crying. Guilt, guilt, guilt. They talk more about Tifa’s guilt than they do Cloud’s guilt. Cloud comforts her here. Another profound thing at this point, but... we are seeing him do this in Remake already. The hug is the major one... 

But things like when he grabs her from having a crate fall on her... he could have pulled her out of the way and let her go or pushed her (like Leslie does in the sewers). No, he holds on to her. She actually is the first one to let go here. (Look how cute they are PSPSPSPSPSPSPS)

So this whole part just cracks me up. For one, it shows that these three were busy doing stuff together and slept under the plate, even though it could collapse. 

I HOPE WE GET A GODDAMN VISUAL OF THIS. Barret making happy Cloud and Tifa drinks? LAUGHING THEIR ASSES OFF?!  Barret talking about his past?!

“The other two [Cloud and Tifa] couldn’t remember the last time they’d laughed so much.” 

Let’s be real... probably when they were like 14 - maybe. 

There’s also a part later down that I didn’t get where Barret makes fun of them for getting trashed during this night. I would kill to ALSO see that. 

But... laughing, drunk Cloud? Laughing, drunk Tifa? Plz. 

Happy... sounds like the correct term.

Now there are moments as time goes on - mainly after the bar is open - where Tifa thinks about once the bar gets ready, is Cloud going to leave...

This is where I think people take it as they’re nothing. Tifa I think just has a very hard time accepting that not everything is going to be taken away from her. The impression I got from reading this is it was all in her head. Cloud himself gave no indication that he wanted to leave. (The Geostigma catalyst is later)

And here’s why I said I got no feeling that Cloud wanted to leave. (Oh here’s more about Tifa’s guilt). Above this, Marlene says Cloud and Tifa can be her parents and the two look at each other. Cloud doesn’t look away. Cloud also says Awesome with conviction. Looks at Tifa almost to confirm it’s okay... but these two like to talk without words. I think he knew she was getting nervous, so this was his way of saying “See? I’m not going anywhere?” 

Marlene gave him a nice little assist here so he didn’t have to say anything and Tifa didn’t have to ask. 

Tifa, I think, was already going through her major guilt turmoil - she had an immediate reaction to it. I think she knew, deep down, that Cloud eventually WOULD have this problem, and when she sees the slip from Elmyra for the Forgotten City, I think she knew that was the catalyst. 

“Stop worrying about what they were to each other.” I’ve seen a lot of jokes, mostly on Japanese Twitter posts, that Cloud assumed Tifa was his girlfriend. Like, he didn’t realize he needed to tell her that. I read a post about this somewhere too, that they got the impression Cloud (in the land of Cloud’s mind...) got was that Tifa was his girlfriend and knew this. I’m not sure if it’s because of Under the Highwind, I don’t know if it’s because he pulled the same shit on her and talked to her while she was sleeping. I have no idea. 

To me, Cloud and Tifa don’t have to say they’re boyfriend and girlfriend. It seems kind of funny after all they’ve been through. They’re almost like extensions of each other at this point. 

Okay so the above is from The Kids are Alright. Evan goes to see Tifa at the bar because he just saw Cloud and needs to get to Nibelheim. And Cloud tells him to talk to Tifa. 

I have to laugh about this Evan staring at chest line... lololol

Let’s talk about how she describes Aerith. “Friend doesn’t do her justice.”

...Did Tifa have romantic feelings for Aerith? Probably not (though we’d all be fine with it because Aerti is adorable). @holysmotez​ Made a very good post about how Aerith can be seen more as a holy/religious figure. I think Tifa saying this really does enforce that with me as well. 

Also this is the part where you find out there’s blackmail pictures of all three of them in the dresses: Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. 

But I marked an interesting one - “I’ll be fine. And I’ve got Cloud, too.” She sounded confident.

Now, I was blowing through this at this point. I will go back and do a normal reading of it, but after this, Kyrie and Evan go on a journey round the world it feels like. There’s Nibelheim talk. They talk about some of the people who were killed during the Reunion and are found at the northern crater. 

And here is the end of The Kids are Alright. 

Cloud tells Evan that they’re a family. 

This is AT THE END OF AC when the church is being utilized as a way to heal folks. On thing that also seems odd... A lot of people were under the impression that Cloud disappeared for months... but it was like a week. Tifa blows him a kissy kissy at the end of the movie, then apparently walks up with him and the kids to see Evan and Kyrie - very family like. 

I also did not get any jealousy vibes from Tifa and no I’m hiding this cuz Aerith feelings from Cloud.

The part where he tells her where he found Denzel felt more like he knew she was worried about him closing in on himself again (which he already was anyway), but her reaction didn’t come off as she felt jealous nor that she felt he was hiding it cuz feelings. She wanted to go cuz she wanted to go and be with him and maybe feel her friend (more than friend) there.

I got the same feeling as I did when he was taking extra jobs to get extra money for his bike. Like I should have told you I was there, and it wasn’t really planned. I think he was praying or whatever the equivalent would be. He was feeling guilty, going down a bad path... because he wasn’t just visiting the church in AC. He also was visiting Zack’s grave. I mean, he let the Buster Sword rust to hell out there. (Angeal knows what you did, Cloud.)

So here’s how I feel after reading this, and now I do think that Remake is setting this up better.

Aerith is the same type of person to Cloud and Tifa. They both feel the same way about her. She feels the same way about them. It’s different than a simple friendship, but it’s not romantic. Spiritual is a good way to describe this. 

There is the part where Aerith says Cloud was more than a friend, for she had loved him. By itself I’d say holy shit, wow, Aerith had romantic feelings for Cloud. After reading the rest of this, thinking of the OG, AC, CC, and Remake - yes, she loved him - but not like she loved Zack - she loved Cloud as a special person, not in a romantic sense. I think she almost felt like she had to protect him, because in this same part when she says she loved him, she also says she knows he has almost a delicate heart, but also needed to find a way to warn him about the shit about to go down. 

I think if you asked Aerith about Tifa, she’d say she loved Tifa too. I think OG didn’t do a good job of building up the Tifa and Aerith friendship to show exactly how important she really was to the whole thing, but time constraints, technology, whatever, a lot of games in the 90s suffered from this type of shit. Get the game out! We’ll figure out the rest later...

This also does not talk about Cloud’s feelings on Aerith. The only indicator we really get in this is that Cloud felt guilty that he could not protect Aerith. 

My guess is he told Tifa this at one point, probably during one of the conversations that she needed his help to stay strong. That’s not romance. He felt obligated to protect her because he was supposed to be her bodyguard, but beyond that, he just protects people. He doesn’t have to be madly in love with them. There’s a difference in how he reacts to her death and Tifa’s simulated death. Cloud is able to function, fight Jenova, and carry her off to drop her off in the lake. 

Tifa’s he completely starts to freak. We see what he does in Nibelheim and overtakes Sephiroth. I am not sure what would have happened if Sephiroth didn’t stab him and Tifa had died at that point... I really don’t know. 

In any case, you should go read these novels too. The Kids are Alright has Kyrie and Leslie in it. Evan I’m sure we will see at some point soon.

Don’t be afraid to read them... I was because of shit information online, so I hope this puts you at ease.

Oh, Barret and Cid have a conversation about Cloud and Tifa being together too... 

[beyond-the-mirror]

DMC x Pokemon AU - Which pokemon they would choose

So an idea appeared out of nowhere in my head: If Pokemon somehow existed in the DMC universe and pokemon training and battles were officially a thing too, which pokemon would the crew choose as their companions?

For these headcanons, I will give each character two kinds of pokemon: the first one will be a pokemon they would totally choose as a friend and partner for adventure as well as competitive battles, and the other will be one they would keep at their side mostly as a cute or silly companion, whether it’s a baby pokemon or a fully evolved one, it’s one they are really fond of and always look after.

So let’s get started! More bellow the cut because it’s a really long post.

Dante

Ideal partner: Houndoom

He considers Houndoom’s general appearance as cool and badass, of course he would love having a literal hellhound in his team.

If you think about it, they share lots of similarities: The same color palette, the devil motif, the fact that Dante has horns too when in DT or SDT form… it’s as if this pokemon was made with him in mind.

Dante found him when he was a little puppy Houndour. The poor thing was all alone in an alley near his shop and seeing him crying out made his heart ache.

So he brought the little one back home and nursed him. Now he’s a powerful Houndoom who loves nothing more than to fight alongside his trainer. There’s nothing that can stop those too when together.

Silly companion: Alcremie

Obviously.

One reason only: Infinite strawberry sundaes.

That’s it.

Would totally have an entire team made of Alcremies. He wouldn’t even battle or anything. He just wants to enjoy his lifetime supply of strawberry sundaes.

Vergil

Ideal partner: Aegislash

Vergil is a man of the sword, so it’s clear he would choose an Aegislash as his partner.

The first time he spotted this particular Honedge, he knew. He could see the great power dormant in them, so it was a matter of awakening said potential.

He trained them vigorously, making them evolve into a Doublade, and finally, into an Aegislash. To this day, not a single pokemon has managed to defeat them, the only exception being Dante and his Houndoom.

That won’t stop them though. They are both too prideful in their quest for strength and power.

Silly companion: Snom

Yeaaah, this is a weird one. Snom is such a cute baby, maybe this adorableness can melt Vergil’s heart?

It was Dante who gifted his twin a Snom. To quote him: “You’re too grumpy. Maybe this cute little guy can help you ease some of that grumpiness away.”

Wherever he goes, the little baby follows behind. Vergil will never admit this out loud but he does smile at the peaceful sensation his silly friend gives him.

Also imagine him trying to pronounce their name in that nasal voice of his. SHnom. 

V

Ideal partner: Corviknight, Umbreon and Dusknoir

It was a tie between these pokemon since they represent V’s three demon familiars: Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare respectively.

Corviknight may have a playful personality, but during battles he’s dead serious. He’s down right merciless and enjoys tearing apart his foes.

Umbreon is as calm as a housecat, but beware! She is a fierce one and won’t think twice to attack those who step out of line. Even more ruthless than Corviknight.

Dusknoir is as mysterious as the man himself, but V still trusts them and lets them do pretty much their own thing. Despite V never giving them orders, it almost looks as if Dusknoir can understand his thoughts telepathically. No one is sure how the hell he does it though. Quite a mystery indeed.

Silly companion: Mr Rime

Both wear a coat. Both carry a cane. Both love to tap dance. See what I’m getting at?

The first time V spotted a Mr Rime and witnessed their comical moves, he couldn’t help but laugh in endearment.

You will often find them enjoying a nice cup of tea together. They may speak different languages, but somehow they understand each other so perfectly.

When feeling in a dance mood, he and Mr Rime will dance together in perfect harmony and sync. Singin’ in the Rain is their favorite musical btw.

Nero

Ideal partner: Toxtricity

It only made sense to grant our punk boy Nero a punk pokemon like Toxtricity.

Both share an explosive and energetic personality, as well as an identical inclination towards rock and metal music. They especially love taunting their foes by doing an air guitar together.

The way these two fight is absolutely brutal. Do not anger them, you cannot defeat them.

However, despite their looks like they could kill you, they are actually sweet cinnamon rolls in front of the right ones. Pet them, they are good bois after all.

Silly companion: Mankey

Two grumpy bois grumpying around. Don’t talk to them, they are angy.

Kyrie often teases them with how identical they are. They literally share the exact same expression when angry.

Nero says it’s not funny. It is.

Little Mankey only calms down when given pets and cuddles. “Just like you Nero!” she teases again. 

Trish

Ideal partner: Luxray

Step aside everyone. Two bewitching and electrifying devils are coming through.

Trish was new to the world when one day she encountered a Shinx, except their fur was yellow? Wasn’t the fur supposed to be blue??

She took them to Dante and Lady for an explanation. Their eyes widened in complete awe. “Trish… it’s a shiny. You found a shiny!” “…Oh.”

Now the two are an inseparable and lethal duo. Many have made the mistake of challenging them, only to end up battered and humiliated.

Silly companion: Yamper

Just look at this good boi.

A cute pupper? AND with electrical powers?! Trish is so in!

You bet she spoils her Yamper rotten. She particularly adores baby-talking her lovely companion to no end.

“Have you seen my puppy? He’s not lost or anything, I just wanted to show you how awesome he is” Yep. She did this at one point or another. 

Lady

Ideal partner: Inteleon

A couple of ‘Walking Arsenals’ indeed. Ready to take on any challenge they may encounter.

Lady remembers how she met her partner when they were a tiny and shy Sobble. Now that they’ve become such a strong pokemon, Lady feels so proud of their growth.

Extremely resourceful, even in dire situations. Will use all the tools at their disposition to finish their job.

Their sniper skills are unparalleled so you’d better watch out. In a battle of wits, there’s no beating this duo.

Silly companion: Eevee

Lady is such an Eevee fan, her childhood dream was to befriend one and have numerous adventures together.

So when she finally got one many years later, she actually started crying happy tears. (It was a gift from Dante. He figured she deserved a companion after what happened in the Temen-ni-gru incident.)

She spends her free time playing with her adorable Eevee, there’s even a whole collection of toys for their playtime together.

If you happen to have an Evolution Stone with you, DO. NOT. COME. ANY. CLOSER. Lady adores her Eevee just how it is. You have been warned.

Kyrie

Ideal partner: Gardevoir

I personally consider Kyrie as a woman with a righteous heart and a strong sense of justice just like her brother Credo, so it’s no surprise her pokemon partner is actually a Gardevoir.

Mess with them and hoo boy. So you have chosen death.

She and Gardevoir are actually among the strongest teams in the region. In fact, to this day, Nero and his Toxtricity haven’t been able to defeat these two in a pokemon battle.

Do not underestimate these girls. They can and will drag you through the mud if you dare hurt them or their loved ones.

Silly companion: Wooloo

Kyrie melted at the sight of Wooloo. So soft, and adorable, and puffy!

She loves knitting, so they would be perfect to provide her with lots of top quality wool. 

Once during Christmas, she donated handmade sweaters to the children at the local orphanage. Wooloo and her were so happy to help the little ones, they made it a tradition for them to do every year.

The sweaters and scarfs she knits with the help of her friend are actually very fashionable and pretty. Everyone in the crew loves showing theirs off any chance they get.

Nico

Ideal partner: Arcanine

A fire pokemon with majestic fur, excellent speed and an extremely keen sense of smell. Nico knew Arcanine would be a perfect partner to have.

She can count on their powerful fire to melt the metals she needs to forge her weapons. Her works of art have been made possible thanks to them and she could not feel more thankful.

Using their olfactory sense, Arcanine can track and retrieve any demon parts or carcasses which can later be used to create Devil Arms.

Although they are not that interested in competitive battles, they’re still a very strong duo that should not be taken so lightly. 

Silly companion: Rotom

So one day a wild Rotom sneaked into Nico’s van, causing a ruckus everywhere. Despite the disaster, Nico was incredibly fascinated since Rotom sightings are extremely rare.

She befriended the poltergeist pokemon almost right away. She even built a device for them to inhabit (just like Ash’s Rotomdex in the anime).

Now they’re Nico’s very own pokemon assitant! Thanks to her device Rotom can communicate, take pictures and save files and notes, which is perfect for her work.

Also they’re really nice to have a chat with! Just beware the unflattering pics they may take during battles.

Lucia

Ideal partner: Absol

It’s easy to see the similarities between Lucia and her Absol.

With Absol being erroneously blamed for natural disasters and Lucia being an artificial demon her creator labelled as ‘defective’, you could say they both share similar backstories. They felt outcasted by everyone else.

These two are incredibly agile fighters, using graceful and precise moves that prove to be lethal to their foes.

Personality wise they both appear to be stoic and aloof, but they’re actually very kind. They do tend to worry a lot about their friends though.

Silly companion: Espurr

Espurrs are known to constantly try to control and contain their enormous psychic power with all their might. Lucia understands her cute little companion all too well.

Being with each other has helped them both a lot, their shared company feels therapeutic for them.

Also Lucia enjoys cuddling Espurr. They feel so soft like a plushie!

Often have staring contests with each other. They always end with a tie though.

[carbonatedcosmo]

all the fandom questions for DMC

OH THAT’S NEARLY ALL OF EM LMAO THIS IS GONNA BE A DOOZY

“What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?”

ok so i know a pretty good portion of the dmc fandom is SUPER on board with nero x kyrie but like??? they’re basically adopted siblings??? and i HATE the adopted sibling romance trope so in my personal dmc canon nero and kyrie do love each other but Only As Siblings

“Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?”

again, nero x kyrie! the way i see it, nero sees kyrie as his sister and kyrie sees nero as her brother because nero grew up with her in an environment that would lend to their relationship being more like that of siblings

“Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?”

uuuuhhh yes?? kind of??? they were someone who shipped nero x v, which is a ship im not overly comfortable with myself but that’s all i’ll say on that

“Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?”

uuuuuuhhhhhh???? i’ve seen a decent amount of fanart of vergil x dante like. come ON they’re BROTHERS stop making them KISS

“Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?”

uh? not that i can recall? i used to be on board with nero x kyrie myself but then i remembered that in kyrie’s character description in dmc4 it says her relationship with nero is that of a “brother, friend, and lover all in one” and that’s the fault of capcom themselves for describing the relationship that way, not necessarily the fandom’s fault

“Most disliked character(s)? Why?”

none i like all of them they’re all amazing

except arkham. absolute garbage dad in dmc3, lady deserved a better father than him

“Most disliked arc? Why?”

hm. im not really sure? i think all of the main characters have pretty decent arcs tbh

“Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?”

are there any unpopular characters in the dmc fandom??? i have no idea. i’ve seen a little bit of hate for nero (mostly in youtube comments) but idk if that counts. if it does, fuck those people nero’s baby and i adore him

“Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?”

again, i don’t think so? i don’t really get too into the discourse in the dmc fandom so i don’t have a full grasp over what’s popular and what’s not. though, i do recall seeing a bit of stuff about how people don’t like that v seems to have just been a one-off character and how they wish he could’ve been a completely separate character from vergil, but, as short as it was, i enjoyed v’s arc! i think, in the time that vergil’s human and demon halves were separated, v was able to grow a little and also sort of begin to start healing from his trauma when vergil wouldn’t let himself deal with it properly, and since v realized how important everything he threw away really was, i think vergil retained that when he became whole again and i think it’s really cool!!!

“Unpopular opinion about XXX character?’

SLAMS MY HANDS DOWN. LADY AND TRISH ARE BADASS QUEENS AND I AM LITERALLY SO MAD THAT THEY’RE ONLY IN DMC5 TO BE SEXY. THE ONLY THING THEY DID THAT IMPACTED THE PLOT EVEN A LITTLE WAS UNWILLFULLY BE SERVANTS OF URIZEN AND WHEN THEY WERE PULLED OUT OF THE DEMON BODIES URIZEN TRAPPED THEM IN THEY WERE NAKED AND A POINT WAS MADE OF SHOWING OFF THEIR BODIES AT LEAST A LITTLE AND I THINK THEIR POTENTIAL WAS WASTED 

“Unpopular opinion about your fandom?”

why do so many people in this fandom seem to ship spardacest of any degree. why. can i just go through the dmc5 tag without seeing vergil smooching his son or vergil smooching his brother or v smooching nero or-

“Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?”

nothing the dmc anime is perfect in every single way

“If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?”

nothing the dmc anime is perfect in every single w-

“Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…”

ok there are very few moments in the game i would replace with something new entirely, but i would add nero calling urizen a whore at least once like just imagine nero gets yeeted into a wall by urizen and he just goes “ow...whore” like that’d be so fucking funny

“Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?”

absolutely fuckin not my dude sometimes you’re just not on board with the most popular ships in the fandom and that’s totally okay! as long as ur not shipping incest or any kind of abusive dynamic i literally dont care if you don’t ship the popular ships

“What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?”

*inhales deeply* spardacest

“What is the purest ship in the fandom?”

ok i’ve seen literally NO ONE ELSE who ships these but lady x trish and nero x nico. lady and trish are lesbians that are dating each other and my proof is that episode of the anime where lady and trish don’t know each other so they’re fighting because trish is a demon and lady’s someone who hunts demons and trish was just trying to Not Die so they fight for the whole episode but then they find out that they’re each a friend of dante’s so they go and buy a bunch of expensive clothes together and send the bill to dante and that was their first date and now they’re girlfriends and idk man nero and nico just have a fun dynamic that made me go “they’re totally dating each other”

“What are your thoughts on crack ships?”

ok so like, in general, crack ships are fun as hell just for some shits and giggles but i haven’t really seen any crack ships in the dmc fandom??? though i think there’s plenty of potential there for a few of those and im interested to see if the fandom will come up with any crack ships!!

“Popular character you hate?”

none i absolutely adore all of them

“Unpopular character you love?”

are there any unpopular characters in this fandom? are there??? though i guess if i wanna go back to what i said about seeing a little bit of nero hate (again, mainly in youtube comments), i absolutely LOVE nero and to those people who say he doesn’t have a lot of character: yes he DOES you’re just not LOOKING HARD ENOUGH

“Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?”

OH YES ABSOLUTELY, bro even though i certainly have my gripes about the dmc franchise, it’s SUCH a good series in spite of all that! the combat system is pretty neat (and only gets better in the later games), the music is absolutely bangin, there’s so many fun, iconic characters, the story is, for the most part, incredibly engaging and compelling, and honestly pretty much the whole series is just a family squabble but if everyone in the family was superpowered by having demonic heritage and OH YEAH THEY HAVE SWORDS

“How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?”

i wouldn’t end the dmc series any differently than capcom did!! i really enjoy that dmc5 ended with dante and vergil finally settling their differences and ending their lifelong rivalry (after nero bitch slapped dante and beat the shit out of vergil), and it looks like dante and vergil’s story has come to a very satisfying end! i don’t see where else capcom can go with the twins, but if they do make more dmc games, i would absolutely love to follow more of nero’s adventures and see how he continues to grow, both as a person and a devil hunter!!! you hear me, capcom??? give me more content with my hyper wild boy or i’ll personally come kick your asses

“Most shippable character?”

hm. im gonna say dante, i think!! let the man have a boyfriend

yeah i said it dante’s gay whatcha gonna do about it

“Least shippable character?”

vergil. definitely vergil, but that’s only because i personally see him as aromantic! i think he certainly wants to be loved, yes, but less in a romantic sense and more in a familial sense, ya feel? i would love to see him interact with nero more and see how he navigates that relationship, because i think it would be really interesting to see how he takes to having a son of his own!! but that’s a discussion for another post entirely; i view vergil as aromantic so he’s not really looking for a romantic relationship with someone but that won’t stop (and hasn’t stopped) him from sleeping with people lmao

was that all of them? i think that may have been all the fandom related ones but please let me know if i missed any!! hoo boy it feels good to go off about this LMAO

[amethystaqua]

Of mugs and secrets (Or how Dante found out about your relationship with Vergil)

I finally finished after entire week of writing and editing! I never thought my first fanfic would be of 2223 words! I really hope you enjoy it! :D

The room was still dark as calmness reigned; the only sounds were the soft breathing on your ear of the man sleeping next to you. Vergil was spooning you, the warm feeling making a real struggle having to get up to start your day. You wiggle trying to move the least required, not wanting to disturb your boyfriend’s sleep, you almost made it, until he made some soft grunts. You froze fearing you might have woken him up, but he just turned to his side of the bed.

A smile found its way into your lips as you approached to kiss him ever so lightly on his mouth, then proceeding to leave the bedroom. You started to go through your day’s agenda in your head, the pendant paperwork waiting at work, visiting Nico to pick up your beloved, just repaired sword Polaris, and the appointment with a possible client. However, all your plans came to a halt the moment you notice a dark figure lying on the living room’s couch. Quietly you summon your spear Morgenstern out of thin air and approach the figure, looking around to see if something else was hiding in the shadows.

“Well now this is what I an exciting welcome (Y/N)” a sleepy familiar voice said making you jump out of the impression.

“My god… Dante! I was this close to stab you!”

“As you know, you wouldn’t be the only one sweetie” he sat on the couch while stretching his arms with an audible pop from his bones.

You met Dante when you were just a kid, with no family left, he rescued you from being a sacrifice for a greater demon since you were a Nephilim, however that seemed to be only the beginning of your problems. Demons appeared to be drawn to your blood like moths to a flame and thus, the week that you hadn’t been attacked by a demon, extremely uncommon. So instead of going to every orphanage or school you assisted to save you, Morrison decided it was for the best if Dante just adopted you. That way he could keep an eye on you, so no more civilians were put on danger, and also train you. Dante wasn’t in any sense qualified to adopting a little girl, but with your help (The motherly interventions of Lady and Trish, and some extra cash from Morrison) you two worked it out and in the process, perceived each other a bit like father and daughter.

“What on earth are you doing here?” you made Morgenstern disappear, heartbeat slowing down now that there was no real danger “And how did you get in?”

“Perks from my brand-new powers, and as for your first question… Let’s leave it I had kind of an emergency”

“Ok let’s review your concept of emergency” You leaned into him, taking carefully his face on your hands checking for any sings of cuts or bruises “does it involve injuries?”

“Not this time” he chuckled as you were still inspecting the rest of his body. After confirming the man was in one piece, you decided to head to the kitchen to start making breakfast with Dante following right behind you.

“An angry Trish or Lady?” you opened the fridge to start looking for the ingredients to make pancakes, you really stomach really needed some food now.

“Nah we just had drinks last week” he took a seat on the small kitchen table.

“Another powerful demon king about to be resurrected?” once you gathered everything you needed; you poured some flour along milk on the crystal bowl you took from the kitchen cabinet.

“Funny (Y/N) but no, not a demon, and somehow way more terrifying then one…Patty wants go out on a date with me” you almost dropped the egg you just grabbed for the batter, staring at him in disbelief on what he just said heard.

“Wait… so you broke into my apartment at” you looked at the clock next to the fridge “at 7:00 am just because you’re scared of a 19-year-old who wants a date with you?”

“I was coming back from a job! Morrison called me and he said a miss was waiting for me at DMC! Then I heard her voice on the phone! I’m not going anywhere with her when she’s faking a promise!”

“Dante…” Calm, take a deep breath you thought as you focused on inhaling deeply, he sure had a talent for making you lose your temper sometimes “are you serious? Both Morrison and I were there! I perfectly recall you saying when she’s turned old enough you would date her!

“Damn, so you’re saying she isn’t lying and I must keep my promise?”

“Yeah sure because I definitely want Patty to come on our already uncomfortable family dinners at Nero’s home” you answered sarcastically as you mixed the bowl’s ingredients “Just take her out to eat pizza or something, keep it as casual as possible so she doesn’t get her hopes up”

“Or... you could allow me to stay for a few days”

“Dante...”

“Please (Y/N) only 2 days!” he lifted up the chair and moved next to you “Just until she’s tired of stalking me!”

“Since you’re here not like I have much of a choice, do I?”

“I knew I could count on you!” Dante said while lifting you off the ground, on really strong hug just like he has done all these years since you were a kid.

“Be quiet!” you whisper loudly, squirming a bit in his tight embrace “Vergil is still sleeping!”

“Wait, what’s Verge doing here?”  he dropped you while looking at you quite confused.

Oh, you just fucked up big this time… Dante was the only one who didn’t know about your relationship with Vergil. Unknowing of your past together when he was V, Dante’s father instincts awakened, as he warned you to stay away from Vergil, after noticing the constant glances you shared with his twin, fearing his brother got interested in you just because you were a Nephilim.

“He uh... went on a job yesterday, and uh he got poisoned by a demon so he needed someone to cure him!” That was the only excuse your sleepy brain was able to scheme in those few seconds, thinking Dante would buy it… then you remembered the eldest son of Sparda never asked for help.

“So, he decided to come here was the best idea?”

“Yeah” you tried to smile at him to look as convincing as possible.

“My brother looking for you to heal him?... All right never thought I’d see the day the dumbass put his pride aside and ask for help!”

“Heh… guess he still remembers one of the times I cured him when he was V” You sighed in relief, turning your attention on the coffee machine to prepare some, thinking you got away with your little lie until…

“But why he didn’t return to Devil May Cry?”

“I-it was really late and cold outside so I suggested he spent the night here “blush adorned your checks, once you realized the size of the stupidity you just said. “Al-also, I needed to be certain I cured the wound properly.

Dante just hummed and returned to his seat, whether he believed that poorly made answer or not, he didn’t say it. You were about to change topic, but were interrupted by a growling.

“Geez...” you couldn’t help but laugh lightly “I suppose you haven't eaten anything”

“Can’t lie at this point” You smiled at him. Once the coffee machine finished you poured some coffee on 3 cups that you placed on the counter. With all the noise, probably Vergil would join you both for breakfast.

“Stay right here, and don’t touch anything” you said as walking past beside him.

A shower was really much needed. You were already a bit late and didn’t want to waste more minutes, after all, you could always buy something to eat at work if you didn’t have time left. On the hallway to the bathroom you found the elder son of Sparda already got up.

“Oh, hi I thought you were still asleep” you stood on your tiptoes to give him a quick peck on his cheek “Didn’t want to wake you up”

“To whom I must thank for making Dante grace us with his presence this early in the morning?” his icy blue eyes showing an evident annoyance.

“That would be Patty… apparently the poor girl really wants a date with your brother to the point she’s waiting for him at Devil May Cry as we speak”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t justify why he’s here” a frown taking over his features.

“Well… “you played with a loose lock of your hair “Lady and Trish aren’t home, Nico still wants to bang him and I’m not letting that happen, and finally Nero made crystal clear last time I spoke to him, he wanted Dante at least 10 mts away from Kyrie and Credo” Your best friends had just had their beautiful son, the last thing Nero needed was having Dante in their house with Kyrie so delicate after her pregnancy.

“Hmpf still he isn’t staying here” Vergil crossed his arms, his answer just as you predicted.

“Please I can’t kick him out of the apartment just like that! I bet if you were the one in his…”

“I would never find myself in such a ridiculous situation like this”

“Right, forget what I just said” you said a bit ashamed while scratching your head.

“Even if I did unlike Dante, I could find a solution on my own”

“My point is! He needs help” you cupped his face in your hands “I know we had plans but come on, it’s going to be just a couple of days” you gave him the best puppy eyes you could.

It wasn’t as frequent as you wished for Vergil to stay in your apartment, between your jobs and the constant efforts to hide the truth to Dante. That’s why those days where two of you just sat on a couch to read, or did any other silly activity together, became so precious memories.

“I promise I’ll make it up for you when he leaves” you whispered in his ear face turning red with the possible implications.

He pushed you carefully against a wall lifting you face and grazing with his thumb your plump lips.

“You should not take promises so lightly my dear angel” you melted at his words, his lips mere inches from yours “I fear you may have acquired my brother’s demeanors”

“Have I ever broken my word before?”

An almost imperceptible smile, one only you got to recognize adorned his face as he claimed your mouth on a passionate kiss, that to your perception didn’t last enough. But you didn’t complain once Vergil separated from you, the risk of being caught by Dante was way too high.

“He’s in the kitchen” you cleared your throat, trying to control your small gasps for air.

“I expected no less” he fixed his hair and clothes, erasing any sings of the kiss you just had.

“Welp I’m going to shower now, not taking long” you passed beside him and closed the bathroom’s door only to open it a few seconds later “Vergil wait! Geez I almost forgot; I left some coffee for you and Dante on the kitchen counter. I’m pretty sure you’ll know which mug is yours since your favorite mug broke in our tiny accident a few nights ago”

You winked playfully at him, but he only limited to clicked his tongue in disapproval and directed to the kitchen. Once Nico knew about your relationship with Nero’s deadbeat father (as she always called him) the mechanic wasted no time to tease, giving you a little present: a white mug with big blue letters that read I’m your daddy for your boyfriend to use. Obviously, once Vergil found out the existence of the mug, the first thing he wanted was to toss it on a trash can, but you didn’t allow it being a gift from Nico.

While you showered the guilt took over you for hiding Dante about you and Vergil. Maybe it was time to tell him the truth, after all, didn’t he always wanted for his brother to embrace his humanity and live a somewhat normal life? You stepped out of the bathroom once you finished, so deep in these thoughts that it wasn’t until you were on your way to the kitchen, that you noticed how quiet the house was. At this point you were so used to whenever the twins were together their heated conversations escalated quickly to an argument that sometimes required a third-party intervention, so the silence was really unusual.

“Ok now, is it okay for you guys to eat pan…cakes...”

Your voice lowered the volume as you looked at the scene before your eyes. Vergil and Dante were staring fixedly at each other with a murderous gaze, each one with a hand around the infamous cup, now you knew the real reason for the unusual silence, Dante must have assumed the mug was his.

“So…” you laugh nervously “I guess the cat is out of the bag.

The end

[dylan-o-yumm]

Hello there i really like your blog! about the requests, can i ask a nero dating dating a female s/o who is younger than him? thanks

(Gonna go with Dmc 4 Nero on this one! You, the reader are 17 and Nero’s 19) Also, this is short af and I don’t know what this is…

Living in Fortuna and dating Nero meant you always got judging stares and hushed whispers of “she’s too good for him” or “he is such a bad influence on her.” The people were quick to think of Nero as nothing but a punk who was turning you into something other than the sweet and kind girl you were. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t, but either way you loved him and didn’t care much for what those random people were gossiping about. 

The only person you didn’t want giving you judging looks, was doing so anyway. Credo, Kyrie’s brother, who was also like a big brother to you. You weren’t sure why he of all people would be so quick to turn his nose up at yours and Nero’s relationship, had you done something to offend him or give him any reason not to like you? Did he not find you good enough for Nero? That would be a nice change of pace, you thought sarcastically. 

Credo seemed to be kind towards you, but whenever you were with Nero, his gentle smile and soft expressions would turn into scowls, or he wouldn’t even look at you at all. You thought that maybe he had a crush on you and was jealous of what you and Nero had, which would only make things awkward since you saw him as your brother. You did a good job at ignoring it until one day you hear him talking with Nero in the hall. 

You were leaning against the wall’s corner, sometimes peeking your head around to see Nero leaning against a pillar, arms crossed and leg propped up. Credo had his hands in his pockets, head down as he frowned at his shoes. He looked nervous, his usual straight and proper posture, hand resting on his sword… it was gone, he looked like he was sweating bullets from where you stood and you didn’t know if you should laugh or be concerned. 

“Nero, Y/n’s birthday is coming up. She’ll be eighteen, as you know…” Credo started and you saw Nero’s head jerk back in surprise, a frown of confusion making its way onto his face. You too, couldn’t help but narrow your eyes as you tried to understand where Credo was taking this conversation, why was he talking about you? Was he planing on getting you a gift but didn’t know what to get, therefore he was asking your boyfriend for advice? 

That would have been much nicer than what Credo decided to suddenly albeit awkwardly spat out. 

“I would expect she still has the… innocence she was born with?” He asks, cheeks red and a hand coming up to pink the bridge of his nose for a moment. 

Uh, oh…

“What the hell are you talking about?” Nero bit, completely clueless as to where this conversation was turning. You felt a deep blush rise to your cheeks, heart beginning to race. Credo sighed and shook his head before he turned to Nero, looked him dead in the eye and said… 

“Is she is still a virgin?” Credo asks firmly. Nero’s face contorts from confused to flat out disgust as he pushes himself off the pillar and begins to pace in front of Credo, raising his voice at how gross he is for even asking such a question. It is none of Credo’s business but he is just looking out for the both of you, making sure you were being safe. His beliefs of the Order were very high, he respected it very much and he just wanted you and Nero to be… clean… in the eyes of Sparda?

“What? Why do you care, you creep? God…” Nero continues to ramble, his cheeks are too now red and he continuously scratches his nose and the back of his head nervously. 

“You know she isn’t the legal age, Nero. If you have taken her innocence before she has turned eighteen, I would expect you to go to a confessional!” Credo has to raise his voice so that Nero can hear him over his own ramblings, causing you to take your eyes off them and quickly scan the area for anyone in passing. Thankfully, you and the boys were the only people in sight. 

Nero huffs and puffs, continuing his pacing but stopping his accusations of calling Credo a creep and a dirty old man. His insults made you giggle, finding it funny how he was always so dramatic, but he clearly calmed down and realised Credo wasn’t asking about your sex life for any other reason than to make sure you and Nero were safe. 

“I don’t have to tell you or some random behind a wall anything! What goes on between me and Y/n behind closed doors is for me and her only!” Nero yells, waving his hand around that isn’t in a sling, for emphasis. He’s both very embarrassed and angry to be having such a conversation with his older brother figure, and it’s very clear just by the look on his face.

“Nero…!” Credo stops Nero from walking off, causing the white haired male to huff and turn back to face him. 

“We haven’t, okay! We haven’t had sex!” Nero bursts, blinking in shock that he said those words so loudly, before he bows his head and subtly looks around the halls. No people to be seen. Credo seems satisfied with his answer, ready to walk away and pretend this conversation never happened, and so does Nero before he stops himself from walking too far before he’s calling Credo’s name. 

“But just so you know, I would wait a million years for her to give herself to me if I had too. So don’t get your panties in a twist” Nero adds more softly this time and you feel your heart skip a beat as a soft smile graces your lips. Credo goes to turn around and say something but Nero is already quickly walking away. 

You sure are lucky to be dating someone like Nero. 

[madartiste]

Deadly Fortune book 1, Chapters 6-11

These notes are for the rest of Book 1.  Again, I’m putting everything under the cut so I don’t clog up people’s dashboards with my notes.  There’s some really interesting bits in this part.  I will note: There’s a discrepancy in Nero’s age in the book and in what one of the developers said.  The book puts him at 16-17, while one of the devs (and I wish I could find the source right now) said that Nero is the same age as Dante/Vergil were in DMC3 -- which is 19.  (Which incidentally puts Dante at 37-39 in DMC4 if that’s correct)

Link to the translation: https://originaldmc.github.io/DivinityStatue/Downloads.html

Link to the first section of notes: https://madartiste.tumblr.com/post/186802435475/so-i-started-reading-the-only-english-translation

Stage 06 (Agnus' lab)

Nero feels an 'explicable nostalgia' when he first sees Yamato.  Agnus calls him an "arrogant little devil."  He's pretty startled when Nero busts the glass of the Containment Room since he shouldn't have that kind of strength.  He actually refers to Nero's right arm as "sacred."

Interesting: Agnus says that a "righteous" person who gains the power of a demon becomes an angel.  So he realizes they've basically turned themselves into demons, but feels that their intentions make them holy.

When Nero gets pinned to the wall, he's stabbed through the arms as well as the stomach.  Agnus kinda tortures him a bit by messing with the lance that's stuck in his abdomen, mainly because he's annoyed that Nero is passing out while he's trying to monologue at him.

The Bianco Angelos are made from pieces of Nelo Angelo's armor.  It washed up on Fortuna's shore along with Yamato.  Agnus took that as a sign that his work was basically blessed by god.

Oh dang.  Angus actually stabs Nero in the left chest when he mouths off, though Nero couldn't tell if he actually got his heart or not.  Nero's heart stops.

Dante is upstairs in the master bedroom of the castle --trying on a freaking hat he found -- and Devil Triggers briefly when Nero goes down.  The energy he felt, phrased as 'the cry of a soul,' feels like Vergil's, though he knows it isn't.  He decides to keep dealing with the Order before he figures out what happened.

Back to Nero: He remembers a dream he had on the day his arm was injured.  It doesn't seem to have been during the fight, but maybe later?  He saw a man with 'cold eyes' but who also felt 'lonely.'  The guy (gotta assume it's supposed to be Vergil) asks what Nero wants, but Nero punts the question back to him.  Vergil says "I want more power," so Nero replies that he wants that too.

Nero can feel his Devil Trigger even without looking at it.  He refers to it as 'another person' and 'another me.'  He doesn't have good control at first, and feels like he might lose his mind.

Stage 07 (Echidna)

People who fail to undergo the Ascension Ceremony turn into demons but lose their ability to think like people.  Ah, Credo and Kyrie's parents were killed by some escapees who failed the ceremony, but he never told Kyrie or Nero about it.  He acknowledges that if he's going to fulfill Sanctus' vision of an ideal world, there will be sacrifices, and he is conflicted about that.  He consoles himself by thinking that many more people will be saved in the future.  His main goal is to protect his sister.

Agnus storms into a meeting and grabs Credo by his collar, yelling about how Nero is a demon.  Credo didn't actually know about it, and he doesn't actually believe what Agnus is saying -- he thinks Nero just scared the guy by being so aggressive.  Agnus blames him for Nero taking Yamato, which, consequently, screws up all their plans.

LOL, none of the other knights want to chase Dante because they saw him beat the crap out of everyone at the Opera House.

Credo consoles himself (again) that catching and possibly hurting Nero is for the greater good even though he thinks of the kid like a little brother.

Back to Nero: He passed out for a while after chasing off Agnus.  The book makes a point of saying that his clothes are torn up but his body is healed from getting stabbed.  He is convinced he's not human anymore, but he's willing to deal with it for the power.  

Back to Agnus: He respects Credo's strength even if he doesn't like him.  The power gained from the Ascension Ceremony has more to do with the personality of the individual than with the demonic energy put into them.  Sanctus has genuine doubts Credo can beat Nero. Kyrie is already at HQ because that's where the people were evacuated to, so Agnus goes to find her.

Back to Nero: Mitis Forest was an evergreen forest before rather than subtropical.  Nero doesn't shoot Dante when he sees him on the cliffside because he wants to know what the flip is going on.  Dante, of course, doesn't tell him.  There's a funny line from Nero when Dante jumps: "I want to learn from him."

Nero uses his charge shot on Echidna for the first time.  He holds Blue Rose in his right hand for it.  He also uses Yamato on her and is a bit shocked at his own strength.  He still doesn't feel like he can control it.

Stage 08 (Fighting Credo)

Dante POV: The HQ is empty because all the knights are protecting the area where the citizens are hiding out.  Trish meets up with Dante and tells him that Yamato was fixed.  She's surprised, but he isn't.  He correctly guesses that Nero was the one who did it, which also surprises Trish since she didn't know they'd bumped into each other.  It's hard to decipher, but Dante thinks that the connection he felt to Nero has been steadily getting stronger as the kid is delving into his devil abilities.  

He finally tells Trish that Nero might be his relative, and she asks if he's Dante's brother.  Dante considers it but dismisses the possibility because he doesn't think Sparda would come back to Fortuna… and it doesn't seem to feel right.  She asks if he'll go rescue Nero, but he says no.  I'm not clear on some of the wording, but he says that if Nero loses to Credo, Dante will kill 'him' and take back Yamato.  I'm… not sure who 'him' is supposed to be -- but hopefully he means Credo because otherwise that's pretty grim.

Trish asks if Nero is Dante's illegitimate kid, but he just says that the "joke is not funny."  He doesn't seem bothered by the insinuation and doesn't even consider it as a possibility.

Back to Nero:  His description of Credo's movements --which is how he recognizes him since he can't see his face at first -- is hilarious: 'over the top and neurotic walking posture.'  Credo doesn't say anything while Nero questions him about what's going on. It's interesting how freely Nero speaks to him.  He jokes a bit about how Credo shouldn't take anything Agnus says series, that Agnus provoked him first.  

Nero is really upset by Credo's transformation.  He wanted to believe Credo didn't know anything about what was going on, that he, who is like a brother to Nero, isn't the same as someone like Agnus in giving up his human self for power.  

Fighting Credo is hard for him because Credo is the one who taught him how to use a sword.  There's a long passage where he thinks that he was never good at dealing with other people, that he had no parents, that people thought of him as a burden, so there were a lot of things that Nero didn't know how to do (presumably because no one ever taught him), but Credo was the one who showed him.  Whenever Nero was using a sword, he forgot all the bad things in his life, and he wanted to be a Knight like Credo. He mentions that he 'unexpectedly received praise from others' when he became a knight, and that he wants to help other people because he knows what it's like to be abandoned and feeling alone.  Nero knows he'll never be like Credo -- their personalities are too different -- but he thinks that Credo is worthy of everyone's respect and love.

Nero asks Credo why he should fight him, and Credo demands the same thing, saying that Nero "betrayed" them.  Nero tells him that he didn't betray anyone and just wants to know the truth of what's going on.  Credo yells back that the truth doesn't matter to Nero anymore because he's possessed by a demon (ouch).  Incidentally, there's a lot of details in the fight that tell you how to beat these bosses.  Nero catches Credo's spear and throws it back at him.

There's some back and forth conversation.  Nero asks Credo who's really the devil here, him or Credo.  Nero thinks that he doesn't want to kill Credo, but he'd better fight hard because he'll lose otherwise.  He's always had a hard time reading Credo's moves, but suddenly can now.  Specifically it references a 'three combos' that Credo uses when practicing with Nero with wooden swords.

Nero goes Devil Trigger, and there's a funny line from Credo: "Buddy… look at you…!"

Nero is pretty wiped out from the fight, and he puts his sword to Credo's throat -- just like Credo did to him during one of their practices -- which is when Kyrie shows up.

Agnus shows up and outright says that he told Kyrie that Nero was a demon.  Credo actually shoves Nero behind him (I feel like it's meant to be protective) when Agnus pulls the sword on Kyrie.  Agnus is hella rude to Credo and then starts taunting Nero about being so influenced by a woman.  Nero knows he can take Agnus, but if he loses Kyrie, he'd pretty much lose any 'value of existence.'  Ooooh, Agnus actually cuts Kyrie in the book.

So, Nero and Credo both kneel on the ground, and Agnus demands that Nero hand over the Yamato, which he does.  Agnus then tells Credo to bring him the sword.  Oh heck! Credo starts to do as he's told and then basically rams Agnus with his shoulder, getting Kyrie loose.  There's a burst of energy which pushes Nero over and knocks Kyrie out.  Pissed off, Agnus actually puts his boot on Credo's head -- he was knocked over too -- and calls him a traitor.  Unfortunately, Credo is worn out from fighting Nero, so he can't do much other than yell at Agnus about Sanctus using Kyrie.  Agnus kicks Credo repeatedly (ow) and Nero runs over to get to Kyrie, though Agnus is too fast and gets to her first with his insect wings.

Agnus says he should grab the sword but he's not dumb enough to try to fight both Nero and Credo.  They kind of conjoin this scene with the one in Agnus' lab where Nero tries to grab Kyrie but gets her necklace instead.  Before he takes off, Agnus says that if Nero wants Kyrie, he'll have to bring them the Yamato.  Again, everyone seems to all Nero "little devil."

Hah!  There's a funny interlude where Nero asks Credo if he's still alive and Credo says "... probably."

Credo gets to his feet and says he knows why Sanctus is so keen to get his hands on Nero, that Nero is "a Sparda-born person."  Nero is understandably confused, so Credo explains that in order to complete the savior they need the sword Sparda and the "son of the swordsman."  Nero is still confused, though he asks why Credo would think he's a descendant of Sparda.  Credo just chucks him Yamato and says Nero should go find Kyrie while he figures out just what Sanctus is up to.

Stage 09 (Nero fights Dante)

Nero goes into the HQ and finds no one but sees signs of fighting.  Looks like Dante has cleaned house, though Nero ponders why he couldn't find a trace of Dante earlier, but now that he has something else to do, the guy's just waiting for him.  But why?

Dante says Nero is slow.  He asks why Nero is in such a bad mood (Dante… really??) and just pisses Nero off.  Dante asks for Yamato, Nero asks how he knows about all this stuff.  "The sword was originally my brother's thing." (hah)  Nero is surprised that Dante even has a family. (Hah!)

Definitely different: Dante says that Yamato belongs to him now that his brother is dead and says he doesn't care why the sword ended up in Fortuna.  Nero actually seems to feel a little bad?  But, as he puts it, the Order doesn't care about him, and he needs Yamato to fight them.

Dante kinda tries to talk Nero out of fighting, but Nero's not having it.  Nero gets knocked back when he tries to attack Dante, Dante taunts him about not really making much progress in his skills.  Dante calls it a "nostalgic scene," Nero's confused. Again.  (Is Dante talking about their earlier fight… or Vergil?)

Nero uses his charge shot to shoot the pillars next to Dante, which Dante assumes was a miss.  Until the pillar explodes.  Nero uses the distraction to attack, Dante blocks but leaves an opening, Nero is sure he's got the upper hand until Dante catches Red Queen with his other hand.  It cuts him, but Dante is too strong for Nero to just pull the sword back. So Nero rams into him.  Dante just grins at him and asks if Nero wants him to teach him Kung Fu.  Oh man.

Nero has a bit of a crisis because he realizes how much stronger than him Dante is. So Nero says "I want more power!' and goes DT.  Dante just avoids all the attacks.  There's a line comparing Dante to a matador.  Which is the bit when Nero charges at him and gets knocked to the floor.  Nero is annoyed that Dante wasn't fighting him with his full strength before, but Dante sort of compliments him by saying he hasn't had a workout like that in a long time.  The phrasing is something along the lines of "I haven't had to breath this hard."

Nero notes that while he was trying to kill Dante, Dante was definitely not trying to kill him.  In response, Dante simply says that he has more experience, and that he's been doing this for a long time.  Nero is actually willing to give him Yamato, but he is uneasy because he feels like he needs the power.

Dante calls the sword a loan.  He says as "rent for the loan" Nero has to tell him his name -- even though he already knows it.  He calls Nero "little devil" again.

Dante calls Trish's disguise a "masterpiece."  She dressed like that because she thought it was funny since the Order is so prudish.  Ah, it was a spell, and while getting rid of it isn't hard, casting it again takes a while -- which is why she didn't reveal herself earlier.

Trish is uneasy about letting Nero go with the sword since "Vergil's Yamato" could fall into the Order's hands.  She doesn't know the details of the Savior, and it's been a big secret.  (I'm guessing only a handful of people knew about the thing.)  She knows that the Order can use Nero to complete the Savior and points it out to Dante.  He says that if things go wrong, he'll help Nero -- and even go a little further because they're related.

Stage 10 (Nero vs. Sanctus)

Lower level knights aren't allowed in the bottom areas of HQ, so Nero's never been down here.  He goes by a room with numbered cages. (!)  They contain demons that are being experimented on.  He sees something that his half human, half demon, and wonders if this is what happens to people who fail the Ascension Ceremony.  Oh HECK!  He sees Tonio, who's left side is demonic, and Tonio shrinks away from him in the cage when he leans in to look.  Nero is unnerved because the guy was always so grim and sneering and now he's cowering.  Sagan is there too.  Nero is pissed off.  He realizes that these are no longer the people he once knew.

He thinks about the fact that he never liked those guys, and they didn't like him, that they resented how much he got away with because he was close to Credo, and that they both had a crush on Kyrie.  Nero feels like he'd probably be just like them in terms of having a thing for her even if he hadn't been raised like a family member by her parents. (There's a strange phrasing that says "it's too old fashioned to be raised like a family," which may be a reference to Kyrie's parents' general outlook.)  Nero essentially says he didn't want this to happen to Tonio and Sagan even if he didn't like them.

Okay, so Nero has never told Kyrie about his feelings for her (Pretty sure she knows, dude), and he wonders if she'd be disgusted to know someone like him thought of her that way (Nero, plz).

He promises Tonio and Sagan that he'll save Kyrie and get revenge for them.  Nero wants to rescue them, but he can't let them run free the way they are now and doesn't know how to turn them back -- which makes him feel incompetent.  

Agnus POV: The Savior was produced in a manner similar to the Bianco Angelos, by extracting the 'shell' from a demon and using the demon's soul to power it, but the Savior is more complicated.  The Bianco Angelos are mass produced.  The Savior is powered by a 'magic heart furnace' which functions like an actual heart, using the power extracted from 'millions' of demons to power the rest of the Savior.  It's not enough to actually make the thing work, though.

Agnus had given up on finish it when Gloria showed up with the Sparda.  The intention was to use the Sparda to power the Savior, but using the Sparda to its full power requires someone related to Sparda.  Sanctus was definitely aware that Sparda had at least one son, and that Dante sealed up Mundus again.  The Order kept him under watch.  There's a passage that says that some of the Order suggested inviting Dante to Fortuna to "sacrifice as a living god."  Pffft. They decided not to because Dante is too human -- he runs a business in a shitty part of town, listens to rock music, eats pizza, and uses guns.  (I'm wondering, just by context, if that actually means they intended to worship him, not sacrifice, but decided he wasn't worthy of that because he's a bum.).  So they changed their plan to use him to power the Savior.

The plan changed again when they realized Nero was also a descendant of Sparda.  Him repairing the Yamato would be impossible otherwise.  No one is sure how he is related, but it's possible Sparda left someone behind on the island since he used to live there.  Or that's what Agnus thinks.  Also Dante is too much of a badass, and the Order can't handle him.

Back to Nero: Nero thinks the Savior is ugly as hell.  Sanctus gloats.  Apparently the two have never met before.  There's a nice Nero vs. Sanctus illustration.  Sanctus looks pretty freaky, actually.

Sanctus goads Nero to use Yamato.  Nero fights the statue a bit, realizing that he's not doing much damage and that it can heal.  He uses the same trick of a 'missed' charge shot on Sanctus, which shakes the guy up a bit.  Sanctus acts like he's going to drop Kyrie out of the Savior -- causing her to fall and possibly die -- and distracts Nero enough for the statue to grab him.  Sanctus then tells Nero he should thank him since Nero will get to be with Kyrie inside the Savior.

Sanctus ponders that Nero must be around 16-17 (I think one of the game devs says Nero is 19 in an interview, though, so not sure if some of this timing is retconned.) and goes on to say seventeen years ago, the year he became head of the Order, he met a man.  This was after the previous 'pope,' Soleimani, died of disease.  Sanctus was previously a knight and then became Supreme General of the knights. (Does this mean Credo would've become pope if he hadn't died???)  Sanctus and Soleimani were the same age, so it was a question of which of them died first if Sanctus could succeed him as head of the Order.  Sanctus had a grand vision of 'paradise,' basically making everyone grateful to god and devout etc. etc., that Soleimani just couldn't grasp.  (Probably because he was sane.)  Sanctus decided to kill the guy with poison, which he did because as a 'bishop' he regularly dined with the pope.  It took two years for the guy to die, so everyone assumed it was disease.  Aha, Sanctus was the oldest of the 'bishops,' and no one had any problem with him so that's why he became 'pope.' (I'm just gonna use that word since the translator does and it takes too long to type "head of the order of the sword" every time.)

So, the new pope is expected to spend a night up in the Castle in what they thought was Sparda's bedroom to 'inherit the noble soul of Sparda.'  Vergil sneaks into the room to poke around, which understandably spooks Sanctus.  Sanctus asks what he's doing, Vergil says he just wants to 'follow in the footsteps of Sparda' and won't kill him if he's honest.  Not being utterly useless, Sanctus realizes he has no hope of beating this guy.  He asks if Vergil is human, Vergil replies "If I'm not human, what would I be?," but Sanctus has fought demons before, so he asks "Are you a god?"  The guards come, and Vergil decides to yeet out the window, but Sanctus is desperate to find out who he is.

Vergil takes a moment to say he doesn't mind these people worshipping his dad, but they should remember that Vergil will surpass him, and says they should consider who they should admire… their old god, or the son who surpassed him.  And then he jumps out the window.

Sanctus says he's sure that the man he saw that night is Nero's father.  Nero thinks he's nuts.  Credo drops in and gets stabbed just like the game.  Trish and Sanctus exchange some words.  She asks him if he thinks she should "dress more plainly."  

Haha!  When Sanctus is taunting him about how he's won, Dante says "I think this little devil is still a little bit motivated."  Nero chose to smash Sanctus against the statue because he didn't think he could get a good enough grip to crush him with the Devil Bringer.  He also didn't want to throw Sanctus at Dante because he 'didn't want to rely on that guy.'  While he's getting sucked into the Savior, he thinks that he can rely on Dante to win, though.  

Nero asks for help, but Dante says "I don't care about you, just give me the sword back." (Yeesh!  I'm hoping that's a mistranslation.)  

Stage 11 (inside the Savior)

When Nero sees Kyrie inside the Savior, she apologizes to him and blames herself before she disappears.  Nero thinks that if he's in the core of the Savior, that means they aren't trying to kill him.  As long as he's alive, he has some hope of saving Kyrie.  Then he passes out.

End of the first book.

Link to the next section of notes: https://madartiste.tumblr.com/post/186847616290/deadly-fortune-book-2-chapter-00-1-15

[ghostieeghoul]

Returning Light - A DMC5 fanfiction

Chapter 2

Dante opened his eyes and sat up immediately, once it was over. He was expecting another demon, another issue, a half destroyed home, and some dead people. Instead, he could hear only quiet talking that came from his right, so he turned to see what was going on. Kyrie was sitting next to him with a little smile on her face, trying to act as cool as she could. She just gave him his shirt and pants while she was at it, what she’d gone to retrieve before. Dante took it and put them on, but as he did that, he looked towards the others he saw there. He could see Vergil sitting on the ground, dressed, cleaning the bloody cane while looking at something. Someone. He got closer, not even standing up, instead just leaning in and observing the scene more. Nero sat there, eyes wide in silence, just as confused as Dante himself. Vergil looked proud of himself though, which wasn’t surprising to Dante, or even to anyone else who knew Vergil. He put the cane down and looked at his brother with a smile as Dante moved ever closer to see the face of the person laying on the ground even more. Then he stopped quickly in his tracks, staring at Vergil.

“What have you done, Vergil...?” he asked, looking at the person on the ground before them. The person was familiar, too familiar. And he shouldn’t have been there. Dante looked around to everyone else, all equally confused and silent, then back at Vergil.

“Well... It’s a long story, but... I suppose it would be fair to tell you, even if I don’t understand it fully myself just yet. As you see, of course... he is back. He figured out a way while he was out there, and made me more impressed with his... trying.”

“You’re talking about him like he wasn’t just you...” said Dante, angrily.

“Technically speaking, he is. Simply a split facet, you think? But in actuality, he is not. Rather... Not anymore. You see... While he was out, he lost more than the demon part of me lost. Still, he learned and gained things, too; from humans, mostly. One of those things being the... love of life,” he said, in an almost disgusted tone.

Continuing, Vergil gave a soft scoff. “Now, what he lost was some traits I had, and he replaced them with things he seemed to like. Human things. He created something like a new personality, even if we began with similar... Habits. He had started out talking with the term “we”, but he ended up calling himself “I”. So... Coming from this, he was searching for a way to survive, but he knew well he would simply perish if we were not connected again. Heavy-hearted, but not fully giving up, he joined back… As you’ve seen. Thus... I am here. But still, he left his mark, in the book. And I tried his way, which seems to be effective, as you can see.”

Dante looked back at the person on the ground, covered with a blanket. He was a tall man, almost dangerously skinny for his height, with pale skin and white hair like their own. He seemed to be in a deep sleep, but a pleasant one, his breathing even and calm. Dante didn’t know what he should feel, but since Nero and Kyrie were being calm, in this situation, he tried not to think of anything bad. He didn’t want to make a ruckus of their home, after all.

“Where is the demon part...?” he asked, after some thinking in silence.

“In us. Shared. You could say we are each a half human, half demon. Which, if his “research” was right, will change. The longer he is out, the stronger he becomes. The stronger I become, as well, ending up with a full. But there is a catch...”

“Why is there always a catch with you, Vergil...?” Dante sighed loudly.

“Well, not for me. For him, mostly. First: he came out as he went in. The only exception is that he is not dying, but he is weak and will need time. A long, long time. Second: his healing process is not the same as our own. Rather, not yet, anyway, though it may change. So please, don’t stab or shoot him from your anger. For now, he is only human,” Vergil said, chiding, looking at Dante, knowing him well. “Third: I don’t know what kind of powers he has, or will have. Which may be a problem. Fourth: he might not remember everything that happened. I don’t know why that would be the case, but he wrote it down in his book. Probably in the case of the demonic powers he mentioned.”

Vergil looked at the cane, eyes narrowed as he spoke. “Which... was stored in this. He used that so much, it became more than a weapon. Carrying both his power and his will. Just like the Yamato or your swords and the Sparda. Interesting, for me... he surprised me more than I’ve ever thought he would.”

He leaned on the wall with a strange little smile on his face, almost smug. Though, for Vergil, all of his expressions were vaguely haughty and proud.

“Well... He was always a weird guy..,” Nero muttered as he turned to glance down at the man on the floor. “Should we still call him V, or...?”

“He called himself that. If he wants to change it, he probably will,” answered Vergil.

“Where are his.. uhm... Tattoos though? His little demon friends”

“I killed them...” Dante laughed, glancing away.

Vergil looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“What...? They attacked me. It was a nice fight, I enjoyed it, they were good enemies.”

“Nightmares are never destroyed fully. I wish for them to come back if they go...” he quoted from the book again, voice somber. He shook it off, though, grimacing at his brother. “Those were his only friends for a month after the separation. His helpers. His family.”

“He will be devastated to know their fate...” Kyrie said quietly, before she shook her head.

“We can get him a stray cat, a chicken and some dirt or ink or something! And then there you go, friends!” Dante found this too funny, laughing at the idea of the familiars being much more than a deal V made.

Nero shook his head then got up from where he’d been sitting. He picked V up and took him onto the couch, tucking him into the blankets tightly so he wouldn’t get cold. Kyrie stood up too, sighing. “I have naked men in my living-room. Well, at least there’s only one now... To have had three naked strangers, though... That’s a new low. But at least the other two are clothed now..,” she murmured as she walked out to get something to drink.

Nero was watching V as he slept, standing over him with a concerned expression. When Nero had last seen him, he was dying, falling apart, begging him for help. It was strange to see him again. He seemed like a different person. He looked younger now, and even more frail than ever. The boy turned to the twins.

“Why did you do it, Vergil...?”

“It seemed interesting at the time. Nothing more than that. I simply got curious about what he had discovered, and... Well, hmph, at least I did something good. I know you liked him, so,” he stood up, turning away, “I’ll leave him here with you, and I’ll be on my way.”

“No, what? No! First, you made this mess. I mean... He is your part, you take care of it! Er..! Him!” said Nero, flustered and on edge. He was upset.

“Take care of him? Like Vergil had taken care of you? Damn, I’m sorry V, but you are dead already then...”

“Shut up, Dante! ... Listen, Vergil. Father. Don’t leave. We can’t manage… Th-there’s... We need help still, you know?! A-and… and I don’t want you to leave! I’ve been waiting for your return, and you’re both finally back, so... Don’t you guys dare to leave me again! And now, you have V here, who will need your help as well, so... Put your silly fighting and stubbornness aside and try to think a bit about others, not just yourselves!” Nero told the twins, voice stern.

They looked at each other momentarily, then both looked down, back at the ground. Kyrie arrived just in that moment, and to her, the scene looked like the twins were just scolded by their father for doing something wrong. It was really funny, seeing them look so sheepish. She put the cold drinks down then walked beside Nero, a smile on her face.

“He is right. Just try it, okay? For Nero...”

The twins nodded, though the reluctance was obvious. Both took a glass and just walked out, bumping into each other on the way. They ended up outside, just sitting down and talking while they drank the nice, cold drinks Kyrie got for them. Lemonade, it had turned out.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would...” said Kyrie after some moments of silence.

“Yeah.”

Nero turned to V. “We’ll need clothes for him. I’ll search for some, I have some I don’t use and are in good condition."

“I would say the same, but I bet he wouldn’t wear a dress or anything that I do,” replied Kyrie with a playful smile.

Nero imagined V in one of Kyrie’s dresses. Just the thought itself made him laugh, a grin on his just before grumpy face. Kyrie was proud of herself for making that happen. Nero so rarely laughed, it made her so happy to see.                                                                                                                                                                                       ***

Meanwhile, Dante and Vergil were sitting in front of the house, just drinking the lemonade and looking at the night sky. Vergil stood up after some time and just stared at the drink in his hand. Dante looked up.

“You really did it from curiosity and not in the search of our stupid power?” Dante asked, almost quiet, as he looked at the ground.

Vergil glanced at him then back to his hands. “Yeah. Why is it so surprising...?”

Dante chuckled at the answer. “You ripped your son’s arm off, separated yourself into a full on demon and a dyin’ human, murdered half the population of Redgrave. And let’s not talk about the things you’ve done before... That’s why it’s surprising you were ‘just curious’ about it.”

Vergil turned to him, frowning. “I was thinking... We had some time to think, huh?” He sighed and drank the rest of his lemonade. “I know I did terrible things. But seeing Nero’s reaction…,” he smiled a bit, more genuine this time. “He is so different. He is not like us. Well.., he isn’t like me, anyway. Fortunately. That’s why I have decided… I should just get out of his life. Leave, while it won’t hurt him too much. It’s not as if he.. knows me,” Vergil murmured as he looked back at the sky. The stars were not too visible, clouds on the horizon: it seemed a storm was coming.

Dante shook his head. He had time to think too, and he knew Nero was right in a way. He sighed and stood up too, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder gently, not wanting to get stabbed. Vergil turned to him, just to see Dante having his smug smile on, but now it wasn’t for something bad or silly.

“After ripping off his arm... I didn’t think you could hurt him more,” he laughed, but stopped, a bit somber, “But you can hurt him emotionally, and now, I think that would be worse. For some reason, he wants you... No, us, in his life. Let’s... Help him until he gets bored of us and throws us out himself, huh? You in?”

Vergil smiled and nodded, though it was more like a smirk. “I am in.”

He knew Dante was right, especially after seeing his son’s reactions.

They walked inside not long after, they put their glasses into the sink then ended up in the living-room. Nero and Kyrie was sitting on the other couch, hugging each other, covered by a blanket. Kyrie looked up and smiled again.

“You didn’t run away out there. That’s reassuring.”

Nero looked at them too, moving his gaze. Until then, he had been watching V. He smiled, he was happy, but tried to act just cool.

“Go upstairs and try to sleep a bit, okay? It’s 4 am and you two still look tired.”

The twins looked at each other then back. “We can stay with him. You two can go and... Sleep,” said Dante.

“No, you are the guests here. Please, boys, just rest. We’ll see you in the morning.”

They nodded and after a bit of hesitation, walked upstairs. They laid down and talked for a bit, like normal brothers could do. It was Dante that fell asleep first, leaving Vergil with his thoughts. He was watching him before turning to his other side to get some sleep.

Kyrie and Nero fell asleep quite fast even just in the livingroom like this, hugging each other tightly. On the other couch, there was the boy, V, who was sleeping snugly like a child. From the outside, he might have seemed to be calm, but inside, there was a war. In his body, in his mind, it was fought by unseen forces, but he was winning. His own mind. His own body.  It was a long and tiring fight, not helping his condition, but at the end, it was worth it.                                                                                                                                                                                     ***

Morning came sooner than the pair wanted it to come. Nero and Kyrie woke up not long after eight, but they didn’t try to sleep back. They got ready, had a nice shower, then made some breakfast for the kids and of course, some coffee and tea. When they were ready with that, they just walked back to the living-room and waited for the others to wake up. There was no school for the kids, so they left them to sleep, fortunately they didn’t wake up at the night’s commotion before.

They woke up after 10 am. Dante and Vergil walked down after the kids who seemed to have more energy than the twins themselves. The boys went to the kitchen immediately, looking for Kyrie’s cooking already. Dante followed them, but Vergil went to see how V was doing. Nero was still there in the living room, while Kyrie went to the kitchen after hearing the children’s voices coming from upstairs. It was just the three of them - V, Nero, and Vergil. Nero looked up.

“Good morning,” he said, “You had a good sleep?”

“Yes. I did have a good sleep,” said Vergil as he turned to V.

“He slept peacefully all night, didn’t even move. ... You still want to leave?”

“No. I won’t, though it’s only if you say so.”

Nero was surprised, but he hid it from his face. Or… well, tried. He nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Nero stood up. “Let’s eat some, okay? We made breakfast for everyone.”

He walked out, and Vergil followed. They sat down at the table where the kids and Dante were already eating. No one said a word, just ate. It was awkward, but calm, at least. The breakfast was bacon with eggs, and some toast with whatever they wanted to put on it. While they ate, the kids were staring at Vergil - who noticed it, but said nothing. He knew it was best not to. He was well aware of the things he has done and thought they must know too, and there was nothing to say that would make nice about it.

                                                                                                                                                                                      ***

He opened his eyes, slowly. It took a moment to adjust - the lights were hurting them at the start, but after a second, everything cleared up. He was confused about his whereabouts, and first even about who he was. He looked around - or tried to- slowly, but every movement made his body hurt, every part of him felt like he was dying. He took a deep breath and got his hands out from under the blankets. Something was wrong. They were not his. Not anymore. How he could see them..? He sat up with a loud groan, alarming the others in the kitchen. Nero got up first, running at top speed to the living-room where V was. It was a sight to see, V looking at himself and being confused. He looked up when he heard the movement of another person. He pulled his knees close to his chest, fast, even if that hurt him too. He was scared, confused; he was shaking, pulling away, trying to hide on that couch, especially after the others walked in too. Seeing Vergil gave him may thoughts. He was there too. He did it, but why?

Nero walked closer, slowly, then crouched down next to the couch, trying to be as calming as he could be. He covered the boy with the other blanket which made V turn to him. “Hi there.” said Nero. “You don’t have to be afraid, you are safe here. No one will hurt you, okay?”

V looked at the twins. “No, not even them. I promise. There would be no point, really. Right guys?” he turned to them.

“If you die, you just return to me... Well, for a limited time. If you become strong enough to be your own person, you will become your own. As you wished. But you already knew that,” said Vergil.

V was still confused. “W... Why...?” he asked with a weak tone.

“You worked for it. You fought till the end and got back. I respect that. And I was simply curious, so... Why not? I would not have died from that spell, so to experiment was fine. Now, we’ll see if you deserve that life I gave or not.”

Probably not, V thought. Still, he just nodded and sighed again. He was so tired and weak, all he wanted was some rest.

“You should eat,” said an unfamiliar and small voice from behind everyone. It was Carlos, who arrived with a plate and some food on it. Behind him, there was the other two boys, peeking out curiously. Since he was the eldest of the three, he walked up to V confidently, and put the plate on the couch next to him. “If you would like to, I mean. You just… seem like you would need it.”

Nero and Kyrie smiled, they were really proud of the boys. V thanked them and looked at the plate.

“I’ll get you a tray,” interjected Kyrie, and she walked back to the kitchen. She arrived back shortly, putting the plate on it. “Eat when you’ll feel like eating, okay?”

V was shocked, but in a good way. Surprised. He nodded and sighed again. He laid back and stared at the little group until they heard the door open.

“You won’t believe what I just sa-“ started Nico, but when she walked in and saw what was going on, she stopped. “Did I drink too much last night or that is really the guy who’s...?” she trailed off, and walked closer, eyes wide behind her glasses. “Poetry guy?” she looked at Vergil. “But you’re here! Did you give birth to the guy again?”

“You can say that. Don’t pressure him too much though, you could be too much for him just yet.”

“What do you mean by that?” she wanted to continue, hurt by the idea she’s too much, but Nero stopped her.

“It’s fine Nico, no worries. V is just... he needs some rest and... silence. That’s what Vergil meant.”

“Ah, okay. I see. I see. You better.. Watch yo’self, sword guy!”

Vergil shook his head and walked closer to V. He sat on the other couch and watched him. V just laid there, naked and confused, trying to hide under the covers as much as he could.  He pulled them over his head, with a soft whine. He felt... like a child.

Sometime later he pulled the covers off just to see the only person there is Vergil, still watching him, and Dante, who was looking at his guns like they were the love of his life. Other than pizza, of course, they might really have been. V sat up and sighed, looked around more. Vergil got up and put the plate on his lap.

“Eat. You’ll need it to get strong and regain your power,” he said, curt, then sat down again.

V looked at them - then back - and slowly but surely he started to eat. It was really good, he enjoyed every bite, but… he was starving. He finished off fast, put the plate on the table and looked back at Vergil, who was staring at Dante, who had pointed his twin guns at V “as a joke”. V turned to him too, looking as grumpy as he could. Dante put his guns away with a shrug, the glares of the two men seemed genuine enough to make him do so.

“Fine, fine... geez,” he muttered, and walked out as Nero walked in.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Of course. Dante is just being a fool as always,” said Vergil. “And V ate. A good start to gain power back.”

Nero nodded, but rolled his eyes. “Sure... Power.”

He turned to V. “I found some clothes for you. They might be huge for you, but… better than nothing for now. Kyrie doesn’t like people naked in her house.” Neither did Nero, but he didn’t want to come off overprotective. He put them on the couch for V. The man almost immediately grabbed a shirt and pulled it on. It was, indeed, huge for him, but he felt more secure having that on than being naked as a new born child. He tried on the jeans too, but he had to realise that’s a no go. He sighed and just sat there, lost. He looked at his hands again, he knew something was missing, something important. The skin of his hands was... “I am sorry about the familiars,” muttered Vergil, making V look up at him. “They fought Dante after we had already reconnected. And... They might not come back because of it.”

V said nothing. He was sad and disappointed, but he said nothing. Nightmares or not, they were important in his short life. He sighed deeply. There was an awkward silence, but it was cut short by Dante who walked in. He looked at the scene.

“What’s this mood?” he laughed. “I thought I should tell you that Nico was gonna take me to my office. Of course, hoping it’s in one piece. Well, she says it is, but…. Who knows. And uhm... Since it has some rooms and we don’t want to bother you with our presence, I thought we could go there. Mr. Poetry,  too.”

V looked up. Until that moment he was really lost in his thoughts. “What? Doesn’t like the idea? Would you like a 5 star hotel, princess?” he asked in a mocking tone, a smug grin on his face.

“Dante...” Vergil was in a protective mood, by his tone, and how he rose to stand.

“Fine, fine... Whatever. So. Wanna come?” “Yes, we are going,” answered Vergil before the other man could respond, as he walked up to V. “He won’t hurt you.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Nero asked as he watched Vergil helping V stand up. He was so weak, he almost collapsed in Vergil’s arms… the scene was too familiar.

“It’s okay, kid, none of us will disappear. Or die. If yes, well... you’ll know.” Dante laughed.

“Just kidding. All I want is Pizza and rest. And later, we can worry about demons and money.”

Nero nodded and got their weapons, even if he didn’t think it was a good idea to give them back at all. Dante took his own, but the Yamato and the cane were there still. He picked both weapons up in his hands and followed the three to the van. Vergil made V sit down, the boy was already panting from the walk. Nero felt really bad... He was hoping for a speedy recovery. Nero got in, too, after talking with Kyrie, promising he wouldn’t run off killing demons again. Nico got in too and sat behind the wheel. Dante flopped next to V and Vergil, bumping into the boy, who pulled away from him. He shook his head and opened up a newspaper, ignoring them. V just sat there, staring at nothing. Well… not nothing. An empty space - the place where once he and his familiars would sit. Shadow, laying on the floor while Griffon was sitting on Nico’s jukebox. He closed his eyes and tried not to think of it. It didn’t help at all. Nico started the car and they were on the road in seconds. She was smoking, as usual, and talking a lot to Nero. None of the three listened to them, it was just gossip anyway.

                                                      ��                                                                                                                             ***

When they arrived, a storm had reached the place. There was heavy rain and thunder, so as they got out, they ran inside, well, as fast as they could. Nero helped his father to bring V in, the others just ran. Dante was happy the place was in one piece, and just sat down onto his couch, like someone who’s work for the day was done.

“Ah, I missed this place. Home sweet home.” It was a moment of silence, before he stood up again and walked to the phone. “I’ll order some pizza, and in the meantime, you two can take the princess upstairs. Or whatever you would like to do with it.”

Vergil looked at Dante with anger and disappointment in his eyes. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t, watching silently. V just walked up to the desk, not really caring about the things Dante had just said about him. He was interested in something else... It was a picture that was on Dante’s desk. It was a quick motion as he picked it up with shaking hands, staring down at it; many emotions on his face. Dante’s smirk he had been wearing on his face disappeared, and he snatched the picture from the frail man, looking angry.

“Don’t you dare to touch that again!” he shouted at V.

“I just... It’s mom and...”

Dante smacked his fist on the table loudly, making V flinch. “She is not your mother. She never, ever was!”

“Technically, she was...” warned Vergil, who moved closer.

“I don’t care if he was you before, he’s not anymore. He’s a stranger, so no, there is no relation here!” he looked back at V, his voice almost a growl, “If you touch this again, I’ll rip your arms off myself!”

“Dante...” Nero stepped closer.

“You better shut up now, kid! You understand me, Poetry guy?”

V just stood there, shivering, eyes wide. He felt like almost fainting, but just nodded, silent. He had no other choice, really, did he? Vergil just held onto him, and they walked upstairs. He led him into a room that didn’t have Dante’s filth in it and made V lay down. Vergil listened in on Nero’s and Dante’s conversation, though.

‘“Are you crazy, Dante?!”’ They could hear. “I don’t care what that is upstairs, but it doesn’t belong in the family, got it?! He’s more of a dead weight than you!”

Vergil shook his head and looked at V. “I am sorry…,” said V, softly, but loud enough that only Vergil could hear. “You should just... kill me. One less problem for you all...” he sighed. “He seems to care about you... Why should I stay and ruin it?”

“Dante is a fool. He is not seeing the bigger picture. Never did. He is a good fighter, but not a clever person.”

“Why do you care...?”

“You are me. And you cared about me, too. As well as your own life. Why wouldn’t I?”

“You have a son. You should care about him. He is... more important.”

“Everyone is equally important. … Nero hates me, anyway.”

“No, he doesn’t...”

Vergil raised his eyebrows.

“Why would he be so upset when you wanted to go if he hated you? He likes both of you... even if you are a thorn in his ass…,” V showed a weak smile. “He helped me... even though I lied to him and caused more problems that I wanted. Still... he was there till the end. Nero...” he was panting heavily. He never was one to monologue. “He.. he is a good child.”

V closed his eyes. He just wanted to rest them for a bit, but he fainted, body going limp from exhaustion. Vergil shook his head and tucked him in, staying there, making sure he is okay. He was still listening to the argument downstairs.

                                                                                                                                                                                    ***

Dark and cold was the place around him. Freezing cold stillness. Green eyes popped open suddenly as he was awakened by a light breeze that carried with it the scent of death and dread. He sat up, looking around. There in this place he could see only one thing, only that was illuminating the dark. He crawled towards it, but every movement brought pain, like the ground was glass shards or rose thorns. As he got closer and could see the thing in front of him clearly, he stopped. Now, all he felt was fear. The figure was sitting on a throne, but it stood up as it saw him there. It walked closer, it’s body was huge compared to him, the small and weak man. It stopped near him, leaning closer with a grin on its face. Many eyes. Sharp teeth. Scaly skin. It was Him. He could feel something grabbing him now, wrapping round his body. It was His tentacle like parts, the remnants of the roots, which squeezed him hard, making him cry out in pain. Squeezing his thin body; taking the air away. He wasn’t ready to die. He didn’t want to. As suddenly as it started, the squeeze lightened, and He leaned ever closer: he could feel His breath on his face. “Weak... Human. That’s what you’ve become,” he said with His deep voice. His green eyes looked into his soul. “Puny human. Born to be destroyed.” He smiled. He smiled wildly. The tendrils tightened again. He screamed, and his world was filled with pain.

Vergil was downstairs when he heard V’s scream. All three and even Nico who was smoking outside ran upstairs to see what was going on. It was spine chilling, the scream itself. When they got into the room, they could just see V turning in bed and grabbing at the sheets, still sleeping; his eyes closed tight and sweat on his forehead. He may have stopped screaming, but he was having a hard time breathing... Vergil got closer to observe him, and tried to wake him up. Nero and Dante, however, just stood there, not really knowing what to do. Nico was the second brave person to walk closer. She seemed tough, and was, but in that moment, she showed her lighter side, putting her hand on V’s. Some things are only fit for humans to handle.

“I know nightmares can really suck, man, but you have to wake up,” she said, lightly at first. She stayed true to herself though... “Wake up!” she shouted.

The squeeze was tight and darkness was closing in, but he could hear voices. Familiar ones, that made him stay aware, alert. Voices, that made him not want to give in… And wake up. He sat up immediately as he opened his eyes, panting, gasping for air. His whole body was shaking, he was looking around again and again, making sure He didn’t follow him there. Nero walked closer.

“What happened, V...?” he asked in a worried tone.

V couldn’t even say a word first, he needed some time, but then... He looked up at him.

“U...Urizen...” he said, with a shaking voice. Almost inaudible - but they definitely knew what he said.

The others looked at each other, then back to V. They knew that meant something bad, but they were hoping it was just a bad dream. Just… A Nightmare...

[imagine-loki]

winter’s hearts

TITLE: Winter’s Hearts CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 43/? AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine being Loki’s old friend/Lover in Asgard, but you left for Earth a long time ago. For all he knows, you might be dead, but you’re still alive and you’ve been working with SHIELD and/or the Avengers. RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS:  Also on AO3: Click here

“Did you hear what we were discussing, Kyrie?” Thor asked once Loki had composed himself and sat up again. You kept your hand in Loki’s as you turned to give your attention to Thor.  You saw Loki’s smile and his hand squeezed yours gently.  He appreciated the gesture. He appreciated the small kindness.  

You couldn’t touch the mortals without harming them.

You could touch Loki and Thor.  And Loki craved physical affection.  You knew that.  And you knew how hard it was on him not to initiate contact with you when he was obviously so used to doing so.  

He was trying so hard not to push himself on you.  He knew you didn’t remember him, didn’t remember that he was your husband.  He wasn’t forcing you to resume that relationship.

Though it was obviously killing him.

“Eavesdropping is rude,” you informed Thor instead of answering his question.  It was easier to lie when you didn’t actually answer the question.

Thor boomed his laughter.  “You two have always been too similar for your own good,” he laughed.  

“Why is that funny?” you asked him confused.  You’d just been avoiding admitting to something that was actually rude.  

Loki chuckled. “I am the God of Mischief and Lies, darling.  That was an answer I would give if I wished to not divulge some piece of mischief,” he explained.  You couldn’t help giggling at that.

“Fine, I may have heard what you were discussing,” you admitted sheepishly.  “But I wasn’t trying to,” you added defensively.

Thor laughed. “I’m aware, sister dear,” he teased you and you couldn’t help smiling at him.  The boys had told you that you’d grown up alongside them, as Loki’s best friend and Thor’s adopted little sister.  You accepted without hesitation that your brother-in-law was allowed to treat you like a little sister. It was different accepting him treating you like a little sister than Loki wanting to treat you like his wife.  Sister was a lot easier when you didn’t remember.  There were a lot fewer expectations.  

“You think we should return to Asgard,” you said to draw the conversation back on topic.  

“Would you three please speak English?” Stark growled from across the room. You all turned to stare at him.  Apparently none of you had realized you’d slipped into the language of your home. Allspeak was useful, but it wasn’t native, and when it was just the three of you, you all tended to slip into Asgardian.  You thought the boys liked the small taste of home.  They had to miss Asgard, living so far away.  “It’s really hard to eavesdrop when I can’t understand what you’re saying,” Stark grumbled.

You laughed in reply.  “That’s kinda the point, Shellhead,” you teased in Allspeak, and therefore in English.  The group looked amazed.  Apparently this kind of banter was common before you’d lost your memories.  

“Whatever you say, Smurfette,” he teased right back and when back to what he was working on on one of the blue Jarvis screens. 

You turned your attention back to Thor, the shellhead having been dealt with.  “We believe that Mother might be able to help with your memories.  She is the strongest healer in the realm and has done mind healing before.  I’m also sure your mother would like to see you.  She may have suggestions as well,” he explained while Loki held your hand, seeming nervous.  You’d heard his reservations.  He was afraid your mind would be unable to be healed.

“Are you sure you need to go back to Asgard right now?  We could really use your strength here with Red Skull on the loose again.  Hydra could strike at any moment,” Cap sounded worried at the prospect of you going back to Asgard.  Of losing three warriors when there was a threat.  

A threat you’d been forced to unleash.

“I understand your concern, Captain,” Loki replied. Thor let him take the lead on diplomatic answers.  Loki’s silvertongue came in handy for such things.  The brothers worked well playing off of each other’s skills. They had centuries of experience at it.  “However, Kyrie is our best fighter.  Even you cannot argue that the warrior bred for battle and trained from birth, who had to go through those awful trials, is our best warrior.  If this threat is as dangerous as you say, then we need to be as strong as possible and we cannot do that with my wife unable to remember anything. We need her back at 100% and if my mother can help, then it is worth the trip home,” Loki told Cap firmly. 

Cap sighed heavily.  “You’re right, of course.  I just wish you weren’t out of contact if we need help here,”

Thor nodded.  “We will tell Heimdall to listen for you.  If you have need of us, call to him and he will get word.  It is not the best solution, but we really do need to see if we can get Kyrie’s memories back to her,” he suggested.  Heimdall was the gatekeeper. He saw and heard everything.  If Thor told him to listen for the mortal’s call, he would.  You didn’t know how you knew any of that, but you knew it to be true.  

Cap nodded.  “Alright then. You’re right that we need everyone at 100%.  Be careful, all of you.” You tried not to roll your eyes. Cap was overprotective of the entire team.  The entire team was overprotective of you, but Cap tried to protect everyone.  Even thousand year old gods. 

Thor looked over at you and Loki.  “Shall we head out now?”

Loki nodded.  “There’s no reason to delay,” he agreed and stood. Your hand was still in his and he turned his hand to offer to help you to your feet.  You didn’t need the help, but you kept your hand in his as you stood.  Loki’s clothes shimmered to Asgardian, not his battle armor, but a green tunic and soft black pants.  Nothing fancy enough for full-court, but still looked fantastic.  You summoned a similar outfit, following Loki’s lead.  You’d apparently retained your magic skills and knowledge along with your fighting skills.  Loki gave you a warm smile and you relaxed, glad you’d chosen right.  He loosened his hand in yours, giving you the option to break the contact if you wished.  You squeezed his hand and couldn’t help but be pleased at how much his smile grew.

You made your way outside with the boys to a bifrost circle next to the tower.  Thor raised Mjolnir to first change into his armor, as that seemed to be what he wore most of the time back home.  That done, he called to Heimdall.  Loki’s arm went around your shoulders, holding you safely to his side, though you knew instinctively how to brace yourself for the feeling of weightlessness, of floating up into the sky without the power of your wings, of flying through the rainbow lights. You didn’t blame Loki for being protective.  It was in his nature after all.  And he was your husband, even if you didn’t remember.

You stepped out into a huge golden circular chamber in front of a giant of a man with a huge sword.  The man nodded his greeting to you all.  “Welcome home, your highnesses,” he bid you kindly. “Your horses are waiting.”  

Loki looked relieved that you wouldn’t have to walk, or he wouldn’t have to teleport you.  He offered you his arm and you placed your hand on it, automatically.  “Come along, darling, let’s get you to Mother,” he told you gently.  You nodded and walked with him, but let him take the lead so you weren’t walking exactly side by side.  It seemed important somehow.  Loki sighed and seemed sad by that. “Tradition be damned.  You’re my wife, my equal,” Loki told you and shifted enough so you were walking next to him.  

You didn’t know what to make of that statement so you remained quiet, taking in Loki’s statement, his anger at your actions.  Or more, at the tradition behind them.  Whatever it was.  Thor led the way and the three of you left the bifrost chamber.  Thor stepped aside to let you get a good look at the rainbow bridge and the city beyond.  

The sight of the golden city sparked something inside of you.

Home.

You were home.