#Agnus DMC

[dmc-questions-anon]

In another world Dante and Agnus are rivals in the theatre industry.

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

In DMC5, Nico remarks that her appearance takes after her father's.

Honestly, I don't see a strong resemblance. This may, in part, be due to DMC4 and DMC5's drastically different art styles, but Nico doesn't seem to share any of Agnus's most distinct features (his hooked nose, his strong jaw, his dark skin, and his large stature).

I decided to hit up HeroForge again, and tried my hand at making Nico with these features in mind. First, I did so trying to be faithful to her canonical fashion choices:

And I'm actually kind of happy with it, she doesn't seem to have lost any of her Nico-ness (though obviously feedback is welcome).

Then, I decided to give her a new outfit based on some concept art:

I assume they hadn't yet connected her to Agnus at this point in development, so they were trying to make her look more like Nell Goldstein. Still, the outfit actually looks really good, so I wanted to try and recreate it:

HeroForge's options are very limited, though. They don't even have overalls. Also, even keeping the same face and proportions, this design does seem to have lost the Nico-ness. She could totally pass for her more abrasive long-lost sister.

[castledvania]

moodboard of dmc characters looking busted as hell 

[meri-meri-mwah]

Sometimes I think of that one scene between Nero and Agnus where Nero mocks Agnus' stutter and...

As someone who has a stutter, I laughed, but I was also like: "gAAAASSSP! NERO, NO! THAT'S MEAN!"

[clumsyraccoon]

“He [Agnus] was the same type of guy who starts going on and on about the results of his research, and I can’t stand any of them.”

Oh Nero, if you knew xD

[maniaredgrave]

Inktober day 19!

[midnightkolrath]

A neat thing I've noticed more and more thanks to the Deadly Fortune novel is that Nero is like...a solid engineer. He constructed Blue Rose himself, souped up Red Queen from what Agnus drew up as a base design (According to Nico's Weapon Report in DMC5) and worked on the van with Nico (as shown in the game).

He even goes into the details of Blue Rose, while also going on about considering other weapons to use in his arsenal.

The dork even elaborates on why he gave Blue Rose its name as well. As well as the fact that he personally carved the rose pattern on it himself.

Also the DMC5 prequel novel highlights the fact he's quite the engineer as well. (Even if he's struggling with Red Queen at the moment, hah.)

Makes the scene where he puts Red Queen together at the start of DMC4 kinda cute when you put all this together. He's such a nerd, I love him.

If you wanna indulge in the DMC novels and fan translations yourself, you can peep here.

[scarletmeer]

The reason Vergil is my favorite DMC character is because he’s a pathetic sopping wet cat of a man. He’s that bitch and men and women alike wish they had his swag. He’s a mass murderer. He is the storm that is approaching. His ptsd has ptsd. He has canonically fucked. He’s terminally maidenless. He ripped his own son’s arm off and left him to bleed out on the garage floor and may have to have a relationship with Nero in spite of that. The Yamato is cool as fuck. He probably spent a few years in a jar in Agnus’s basement. He dresses like an old man. He’s responsible twin-coded but has fucked up more and worse than Dante ever will. He’s babygirl.

Nero is a close second because he <3

[dmc-questions-anon]

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

It's kind of a shame that Agnus was killed off in DMC4. Aside from being a fun villain, he and Dante could have had the perfect Toxic Gay Ship™ dynamic.

On Agnus's end, he clearly does admire Dante, but only superficially - it's really Dante's strength that he admires, and I suppose that could evolve into an attraction, but not any sort of real affection.

And on Dante's end, Agnus is everything that Dante stands against - he's a coward and a misanthrope who turns people into Angelos and uses demonic power for world domination plots... But, he's got huge tits and thighs, and he indulges Dante's theatrics in a way that typical demons never do. Dante finds the bastard hot, and he's so annoyed that he does.

However, I don't think that Dante's the "I could fix him" type - if Agnus has no desire to be a better person, Dante won't wait on him. So, I think this dynamic would only work if Dante honestly intends to kill the fucker, but he's just conflicted enough that his head isn't in the fight, and Agnus always manages to escape.

Of course, it's not out of the question that Agnus could actually become a better person. A lot of what he did was out of loyalty to Sanctus, so if he genuinely came to question his misanthropic ideology, maybe Dante would give him a chance.

Though if that came to pass, Nico would be flat-out disgusted by the situation - Dante, who she clearly admires and respects, shacking up with her deadbeat asshole dad. Dante would feel for her, of course, but they're not very close, and ultimately Dante doesn't care if he has her approval or not. What's between Agnus and Nico is between Agnus and Nico, he's got enough family drama on his own plate.

[wikimb]

Devil Trigger 3.0 for Michael!

A 3rd attempt at designing his DT since 2021 when I made Michael (or rather revived and remade/fleshed out his character from a DMC fanfiction written in 2019...).

I could explain in length the ideas behind this DT, why such a theme, why so... tall. The ramble includes serious explanation of the origins of demonic powers he has as well. If you like to read about it then just check what's under the cut.

Below you have some drawings of his face and also his brother's (name's Gabriel) reaction to his DT form. Michael was more scared of Gabriel's reaction than he actually was and the relief he felt was quite overwhelming.

More in depth below. It includes links to the 2 older versions of his DT for fun comparison.

The theme of his DT is very birdy. The first time I designed his DT it was rather heavily inspired by pre-existing DT designs of our main characters. Nothing wrong with it but it didn't stand out and I also never really vibed with it. It didn't help that I had no experience with any kind of monster design to begin with. I still kinda don't but I can see I got slightly better seeing the 3rd version of his DT. You can check my 1st and 2nd attempts here.

Anyway there are a bit more specific reasons why it's so birdy-looking or angelic-looking (and not just because of his name). Michael was born a human in a family, which was never exposed to anything demon-related. They didn't know demons existed (to a degree... when it comes to his father but I think that'd deserve a separate post as his backstory is a bit wild and how it affected Michael in the end).

As a teenager he got lured into a cult and manipulated into abandoning his family eventually. He didn’t know how evil the cult was and didn't even realize they were a cult to begin with.

It was a cult worshipping Mundus with a leader being one his generals. Her name was Lilith and she was great at making Michael feel that she truly cared for him like a mother figure. She manipulated him into believing his family didn't care for him. Sadly, it was all a game and ever since he escaped the cult, he deals with a lot of guilt and regret. He is not sure if they're even still alive... and if they're dead... what if it's his fault?

The cult's purpose was to turn humans into demons, who would serve Mundus. To ensure that they were forced to undergo a ritual stripping them of all of their humanity, their human personality and replace all of that with Mundus overwhelming power. The power, which was great but taking away all of their free will they could have. These people were technically demons at this point. If the ritual failed then it was usually fatal. Thing is, the ritual was a stolen concept from the time when Lilith infiltrated Fortuna's Order of the Sword. In a way she influenced Agnus to come up with such a ritual, then she took the idea and modified it a bit.

Michael's case could be qualified as a failed ritual after, which he should have died but the amount of demonic power he received was not big enough to kill him (because human body would be able not to handle more) but instead keep him alive. And as a result it continued transforming/mutating him into a demon-hybrid like Dante or Vergil, but artificial.

Even if using demoning powers was causing various unpleasant side effects for him but with each use, it hurt less and less. He was reluctant to use his powers actively, fearing that they could make him loose his humanity. He still used the passive abilities such as sensing demon magic.

After certain events he unlocked his Devil Trigger. As a side note I do have 2 ideas for what these moments were but for now I am not sure which one is better.

Anyway, yes, Michael underwent a modified version of Ascension Ceremony! That's why he has such an angelic look, just like the guys from Fortuna. The demonic powers are originating from Mundus but failed to take away his free will, his personality, his humanity, his memories. In other words, he is the same like before - just juiced up with Mundus power (which he is afraid to use anyway). Certainly a result which a Demon Lord would actually hate to find out about as it has a potential to backfire. Not like he has to "worry" about three Sparda descendants already. But if you saw Mundus himself, he also looks rather angelic too. Or at least that "statue form" if that orange weird blob is meant to be really him.

Compared to DTs already seen, he is quite massive. I think it can be simply a feature of Mundus power, in which Devil Trigger state makes one much larger than in human form. Mundus is a titan-sized demon himself, while Sparda was shown to be rather human sized. Heh, maybe if Michael had Sin Devil Trigger form then he could be Mundus-sized.

Though, Michael has the ability to go Berserk (but it's not controlled by his will and it triggers under strong distress), which enhances his power in human form and in DT form. It manifests as blue fire instead of orange fire. Maybe Berserk DT can get this big maybe. Could wrestle demons like Goliath then xD

[clumsyraccoon]

And, damn, the abnormal existential crisis Kyrie went through after the events of DMC 4. Like, she was a strong believer, so diligent and dedicated…and then, not only her brother has been killed thank to the very religious movement they served, but all her beliefs and convictions were crushed and thrown out the window. All the people she had faith in (the Knights, Agnus, Sanctus) had betrayed her and her brother, all the dogmas she had believed in turned out to be lies, and the higher meaning she thought they shared only a facade for their own selfish ambitions. She has always been depicted as the one to be the light for Nero, but I bet she needed some help and guidance as well in the aftermath of the game.

[prophetparadox]

DMC OC Week 2023 Day 7: Boss Fight (Free Day)

I have no image for this day either, my apologies.

Welp, we're here at the end of @dmc-oc-week-specialedition, and I figured for this last prompt I'd do something a little interesting~ So here we have a hypothetical boss fight for the bastard! You see, since he is an antagonist, there's no doubt that if he were in a DMC game he'd be fought at some point, right? So I whipped this up. You can also consider this an extension of Day 5's prompt since it goes into his weapons and abilities somewhat, but it's more about the potential boss fight than anything.

Once again, I have enjoyed doing this week, and I might already have plans for next year's prompt as well! I certainly know which character I'll be using for it, hehehe. I hope you've enjoyed learning about this terrible bastard man!

Avalon would likely be a boss that’d be fought multiple times throughout the game, like Griffon in 1, Vergil in 3, and Agnus in 4. Since I haven’t worked out how the story itself goes, this will be detailing what the first out of these boss fights would be.

Avalon would probably function similarly to Arius in 2, with both of them being humans who don’t have demonic powers but can use magic instead. Though unlike Arius, Avalon isn’t seeking demonic power in any regard. That doesn’t mean he’d be a pushover to his hybrid opponent though.

At close range, Avalon will primarily attack using Severance, his dagger. He’ll attack with a combo of slashes, attempting to lock the player in the combo to deal significant damage, at least one section of the health bar. Being hit by one of these attacks wouldn’t lock you into the combo if you manage to dodge out of it in time, but the longer you stay in the combo the harder it is to break free of it. He may also try to use punches and kicks as well, though they’d likely be less frequent.

At long range, he’ll use his pistol. Being hit with a shot will stun the player for a brief moment, which he’ll follow up with other attacks in order to keep you locked in a combo. These attacks would also be infrequent, serving only to keep you locked in a combo.

More frequent would be his magic attacks. He makes use of a variety of spells, using elemental abilities such as fire and lightning, along with shadow-like spikes that can pierce you from any distance. Along with his normal skills, he also has an invisible magic bar that functions like a Devil Trigger bar. If he hits the player enough times, and gets hit a decent amount, he can unleash a powerful attack that’ll deal massive damage and would be difficult to dodge if you don’t know what you’re doing. There is a cue to him using these attacks though, giving the player a few seconds to get out of the way.

He also uses magic defensively. After being hit by a full combo by the player, he may use his magic to teleport to another area of the arena. He may also use it to try stunning you in order to leave you open for an attack.

Some strategy would need to be applied when fighting Avalon, as he will take note of the moves the player uses. If playing a character with multiple weapons like Dante, switching between them would be crucial as he’d pick up on the moves you have and adapt to them. If playing a character with only one main weapon like Nero, relying on the same few moves and combos would have the same effect. If you spend too much time staying on the sidelines and relying on long range attacks, he’ll attempt to get up close to keep you on your toes. Essentially, if you try to do things that’ll keep your style rank up, you should be fine.

[spinningbuster98]

What do you think is important for a DMC adaptation?

I think there's two things at the very least to keep in mind:

The series' tone isn't simply "cool", it's "effortlessly and unashamedly cool". One of the biggest issues with the reboot was that it tried way too hard to be "cool" with its edgy swearing and tone that it just fell on its ass. Yeah sure some swearing here and there can work, but it has to fit the character: Nero is a potty mouth, Dante not as much, and if your Vergil says "shit" then you have a problem on your hands. Also the series shouldn't be ashamed of also being goofy, part of the reason Dante is so endearing is that he can somehow be both really cool and stupid looking at the same time, it's why stuff like the Agnus Shakespeare scene in DMC4 or the MJ dance off in DMC5 are so memorable. The series strikes a balance: it's often goofy, but it does take itself seriously just enough that it doesn't feel like a self deprecating parody

The series has to be earnest. We all joke about how stupid DMC often is but, as I just said, its stories always try to be somewhat serious and to have some form of character growth, or arc, or theme. Now wether said stories are told well or not can vary greatly (yadda yadda yadda DMC3 has the best story, DMC1 is way too stupidly told, DMC4 is way too rushed and DMC5 can feel undercooked), but that's no excuse for an adaptation to just say fuck it and use it as an excuse to do whatever it wants: videogames are still (often) not the greatest paradigm for storytelling, and adapting them into other media (like TV, comics or movies) that usually have a greater focus on storytelling can help improve this aspect. An adaptation can absolutely have a better narrative than its source material in this context, but it has to play within the rules of its source material, not outside of them otherwise it won't be an adaptation, but a simple excuse by writers to tell their own story using readily-made materials.

[midnightkolrath]

Time for another chapter of 'Leo analyzing DMC stuff' with something that woke me up at 4 AM to think about, as a sudden ponder point

So, the series has a running joke of impalement, namely with Dante being impaled by some sort of sword. Mostly his own sword, though. This little running gag comes full circle in DMC5, when Dante laments on why he was given Rebellion and decides to impale himself with the handle that then proceeds to combine with the Sparda sword to unlock his Sin Devil Trigger form.

But thinking about this more, I realized that this sort of thing has been common, not just with Dante himself.

Though, I'm gonna start talking about his thing with DMC3 here.

With the DMC5 screenshot I've included with Dante's dialogue, plus thinking back about that very moment in DMC3, we know Dante unlocked his devil trigger thanks to Vergil through impalement of his own sword. This is THE main moment we see of a form like devil trigger be unlocked this way.

But, funny enough, if we fast forward into DMC4...we get yet another moment where we have our protag be impaled and awoken to atleast a FORM of their devil trigger...with Nero.

As a side tidbit, the details of this awakening are elaborated in the DMC4 novel, Deadly Fortune, where Nero recalls a dream he had after gaining his demonic arm, featuring a familiar voice (that we know is Vergil) that he remembers again as he went temporarily unconscious. (Though in the novel its implied he temporarily died before reviving...it states his 'heartbeat stopped', though the way its pictured in the game...who completely knows).

This moment of remembrance is what triggers not only the first (incomplete) form of Nero's devil trigger, but the reconstruction of the Yamato. This is the second time the domino effect of being stabbed (or perhaps simply overwhelmed in Nero's case...though Agnus did rub the salt in similarly to Vergil against Dante...not with his own sword but with a sword-like object...maybe its a parallel) resulted in the awakening of a devil trigger, or a newfound power.

Now, if we do the fun thing and roll both forward and back, we'll see that Dante and Nero weren't the only ones that experienced a power awakening this way. Thanks to Visions of V, we get a short flashback of Vergil's childhood. This included the very moment there was the demon attack that killed Eva and separated the twins, sending them on their own paths.

A VERY significant moment we (tragically) get to see is a young Vergil getting attacked by these demons, while he's alone. Its horrifying, but also shares a similar theme though much more brutally.

In fact, its similar to Nero's case, which involves impalement like Dante but grows into being overwhelmed to the point of helplessness. ALSO funny enough, its this bit of helplessness, of feeling that power is NEEDED to get themselves out of the situation they're in to survive for one way or another...that Yamato comes right to their side. When its needed most.

This is, for Vergil, an awakening to what would become his path to gain power at any cost, to never have to feel this helplessness again while also being haunted about the lack of strength he had to protect his mother.

Its interesting that this moment mirrors Nero's claim to yamato in DMC4, with even the desire and call for more power led to Yamato returning to its restored form and going to Nero's side. Like father, like son.

My original point, though, was how a funny ironic running joke of being impaled one way or another in this series apparently leads to awakening of power or resolve for the Sparda clan. This series has many running themes if you look for them, but this is one I've noticed lately. I wonder if Sparda himself went through something like this in his time (heh).

[polarisbibliotheque]

Shall Never Surrender Project

Hey there, little stars! Hope you are all doing ok!

Like I said some time ago, I want to organize a project Devil May Cry related - and thus, Shall Never Surrender Project is here!

(do apologize eventual mistakes, I'm typing on my cellphone)

What is it?

The Shall Never Surrender Project is for people to request me full illustrations tied to the Devil May Cry series and something personal to them - as something to give them strength to keep going, no matter what.

DMC has given me strength and hope when I had none - and I know how, sometimes, we need something visual to remind ourselves of our inner power.

The illustrations will be allowed to be used as tattoos, stickers, wall arts, notebooks, mugs... Whatever the person who requests it needs!

The only requirement: at the end of the day, they need to have a deep meaning to the requester. Something that will inspire and warm their heart ^^

What's the motivation behind it?

Devil May Cry is really important in my life - it has helped me with some really heavy stuff, and I want to give it back to the people who need it too.

13 years ago, Dante helped me understand my depression and isolation, being the friend I needed and never had. Some time later, Nero appeared and held my hand, helping me push through pain, without ever surrendering. And now, Vergil is walking by my side, teaching me to endure through failure and reclaim my name.

I know how important some stories and characters can be to some people - and how, sometimes, they are the only strength we have during rough times.

How it works?

If you're struggling with anything - for example, depression, self-harm, PTSD, anxiety, shortage of money, family issues, toxic relationships and many other issues (I can't list everything here, but it's open to other things too!) - and Devil May Cry is your comfort place with your comfort characters, I want to help you.

There isn't much I can do - but I can illustrate something for you!

You want a sticker of yourself with Dante having strawberry sundaes? You got it.

You want a lockscreen of Vergil with a part of the lyrics of Bury the Light to remind you of your strength every day? Done.

You want Nero holding your hand and crossing through Angelos screaming that none of you will ever surrender? Sure, I'll do it!

You need a tattoo saying "no hiding in the shadows anymore" with your pride flag? No worries, I'll help design it.

What to know before requesting?

This is to help and inspire people to survive and never give up. I want you to remember someone in the world cares and wants your heart to stop suffering.

Therefore, the requests must have a meaning to you.

If you request something just because you want a free DMC drawing, I'm sorry, but this isn't for you. There are SO many artists, much more talented than me even, who can do something amazing for you!

But if you request because you want something as a reminder, something that gives you that motivation you need every day to keep going, then I'll be more than happy on working on it for you!

What I do and don't do?

I don't work with NSFW/sexually explicit art, nor will I do anything Spardacest related.

Regarding gore, I don't do crazy heavy gore - but I'm ok with scars. I know some of them are important.

*Do remember these are motivational. I won't depict someone actually getting hurt, but I will deaw Kyrie tending to their wounds, for example.

I will do self-insert, original characters, characters from the series and such.

But if you request Agnus or Mundus I will severely judge your sanity.

What info should you send me?

I need to know a few things:

Why does this matter to you? What's your story? How does DMC help and what can I do for you? The more detailed the description of the illustration, the better. Feel free to send me references, pinterest boards, parts from the game... Everything! Don't worry about "talking too much", there's no such thing in this household. You're not annoying me, I find it endearing;

What will you do with the illustration? I need to know so I can choose the right dimension and quality of the file. Will it be a lockscreen? A sticker? A print? A tattoo? A shirt? A mug? A notebook? Something else entirely?

Is there a quote you want to add? Be mindful, it's only DMC universe related (manga, games, novels, songs... Poems for good ol' Verge and V);

Where do you prefer to contact me? I prefer tumblr or instagram, but feel free to choose whatever you prefer. I'm not available on astral projection at the moment though, my energy is a little off;

Where can I send you the finished file? Email? Drive? I'll need to know it, so keep it in mind.

And after the request?

I'm currently ill and low energy (think V dragging himself around everywhere, that's literally me) and this is a personal project, so it might take a while. I will do it whenever I can, but sometimes I spend whole weeks on doctors and hospitals - with some patience, we will get to your final illustration!

I might take a week or a month. It will really depend ;)

After it's done, I'll love to see what you did with it! Feel free to post on social media and tag me or send me a picture - it will be yours and I hope it will brighten your day!

Questions & Answers

What if I want to request but I don't have a clear idea on what I want? Feel free to message me! If you have a general idea, we can chat about it and I can sketch some samples to see if you like. Do research a bit on some artworks on pinterest and such, of many styles (art nouveau, classic painting, modern art, manga covers, manga and manhwa artworks, instagram artists, traditional tattoo, fineline, game concept art... the options are endless!) it could help you find something that suits what you want;

Does it NEED to be DMC related? Yes, it does. It's the whole point of the project;

Do I need to send you a quote or lyrics? No, it isn't obligatory. Although, I think it can add a lot of motivation to keep going!

Can I request couple interactions? This is a tricky one. You might, if it really matters to you. For instance, you and your favourite character hugging in the rain and such, but I wouldn't say the same for character ships;

Would you refuse a request with characters' ships? Well, I don't see how a drawing of, let's say, Dante and Lady kissing would help your rough days. I know it can be an escape and quite endearing, but I want to do something with deep meaning for you, not just something anyone could've requested with no special meaning. But if it REALLY means something to you having some characters as a couple (as a teen, I'd picture me as Trish, so I'd always ship her with Dante back then), please, do explain to me so we can think about it!

So, if you're drawing couples, can you draw them kissing? I'd prefer not to. Holding hands and hugging is the most I can do right now - kissing and beyond is not on my art skills at the moment;

Any other question that didn't show up here? Send me an ask and I'll answer you!

I see the Devil May Cry as this place we all eventually call home. We're all on different roads, doing our own things, but every once in a while, one of us drops by the shop, spending some time with Dante and the crew - and now, with each other, even if just a little.

And I want you to remember that, no matter what you're going through, you'll always find support at the Devil May Cry - with Dante, the crew and us.

I've been looking for some voluntary work, but currently I don't have much physical strength or energy. I can draw, though, and I want to do something with it - so far, for now, this is what I can do!

I hope I can help you guys to keep fighting. And I hope this will be the light so many people are needing to remember that we shall never surrender 🖤

*I don't think there'll be too many requests, but I'll eventually open spots if there are too many at the same time for me to handle ^^