Sooooo you canāt talk about Danteās survivorās guilt without confronting the biggest curve ball that life threw at him: Nero
Like, can you imagine what went through Danteās head upon discovering Neroās existence?? That mustāve been one helluva pill to swallow.
Personally, I get the feeling that Dante wars with himself a lot about Nero. On one hand, Nero is (at the time they meet) the last and only family he thinks he has. Dante wants that. He wants family. But on the other hand, being a part of his family is dangerous. Heās lost so many because of it and he doesnāt want Nero to have to face that. Especially since heās got Kyrie. Anyone can see how much she means to Nero and Dante knows first hand what losing someone youāre that close to is like (totally not at all hinting at my excitement for your Dark Nero au there. Yeah.)
So he doesnāt tell him. Dante doesnāt tell Nero theyāre related. But he just canāt push him away and out of his life completely. Because heās FAMILY. And as much as Dante wants to protect Nero from their family problems, he also wants to BE THERE to protect him. Like he couldnāt do for Vergil and their mother.
Nero for his part, isnāt stupid though. I fully headcanon that he knows heās related to Dante, he just doesnāt know how exactly. So he doesnāt say anything...because Dante doesnāt. Did Sparda start a line of descendants in Fortuna back when he was there? Or are they more closely related? Nero definitely thinks about these possibilities, maybe even considers the possibility that Dante could be his father. It would be a logical assumption for him to make. They look similar, theyāre both descendants of Sparda, their ages line up...but, Dante doesnāt talk about his family much so I doubt Nero even knew there was another possibility in the form of Vergil. That is, until the latter was standing right in front of them and Dante had no choice but to tell him.
Just some food for thought š
Thatās funny, I was talking about this exact same thing earlier. Itās like you can read my mind, Suby! Thank you for bringing this up!
I agree with your thoughts completely. On one hand, in my heart of hearts, I want to imagine that Dante kept in touch with Nero between 4 and 5, but itās been pretty well hinted at that the conversation was minimal. Dante heard about Nero picking up his own devil hunting gig (maybe from Nero himself) and sent him that wonderful neon sign. Basically said,Ā āHere, you can franchise.ā That was his blessing, and that was about all there was to it and I somehow doubt Nero was thrilled about any of that.
Dante kept him at a distance very purposely. In fact, Iād say most of what Dante does is incredibly well-constructed, even when flying by the seat of his pants. His biggest strength is his ability to think on his feet, imo.
I think as much as Dante wanted to protect Nero and really thought he was doing him a favor by stepping back, he did him a huge disservice. Iām fully on the same headcanon train as you: Nero isnāt stupid. He sees Danteās physical similarities, is told Dante is a Son of Sparda, is then told heās Sparda kin, and he can connect the dots. Itās a logical conclusion. I absolutely believe he thought there was a possibility that Dante was his father, and what a huge letdown to meet a man you come to idolize who could very well be family, only to be rejected. (Thatās why the wholeĀ ādeadweightā thing hurt so badly, with the addition of Neroās perceived failure at protecting Credo and losing an older brother figure due to hisĀ āweaknessā.) He spends most of his life up to this point feeling like an outcast only to meet someone like him, and then...
I have the feeling that Dante knows this, too. He knows it must suck for Nero, but I can really see him justifying it to himself. āThis is for everyoneās benefit. This will protect him.ā He canāt let Nero and subsequently Kyrie, get hurt because of him, so he disconnects. Heās excellent at letting things fall to the wayside because he doesnāt want to deal with it ā only immediately important if itās directly in front of you, and Nero isnāt banging his door down, so...
And part of him could have had difficulty being around Nero for too long. In a lot of ways, heās his fatherās son. More emotive and explosive, but the similarities are hard to ignore. Seeing Vergil reflected back at him had to hurt. It reminds him of his own failure.
But Iām a little off-topic here.
I think thereās something special that could potentially happen in the next game, assuming it goes the way weāre all secretly and not-so-secretly hoping. That family could really do to have each other in their corners, and while they have a ton to hash out and itāll take time, it could be very good for all of them.
(Also.........
The AU fell off of my immediate wips but itās not forgotten. Iāve got it open right now. Heh heh...)
