#everyone worth interacting with is there

[storytellering]

Do you think DMC has a incestuous subtext? I am kind of new to the franchise (and also the fandom... Which isn't really respectful that I can see) and I want to know if I am not the only one who thinks that it's pretty obvious why the ships between DVN have many believers.

First of all, welcome to DMC, anon! And OH BOY, you'll definitely find that that's the majority opinion, at least within the Spardacest circles - honestly, most "normie" circles too. Every grass-touching, non-internet poisoned dudebro I've ever met and talked dmc with has made one or two incest jokes at me about it, definitely noting how the rivalry between the twins is very charged - the only people I've found who flat out deny it are the antis. To go more in depth about the actual subtext there - well, one should start with the roots of dmc in dmc1, right? DMC1 is definitely a gothic game - it's everywhere in the aesthetics, the inspirations, the imagery and the environment, and what is gothic horror without the incest? The initial incest in Kamiya's dmc, before Itsuno stepped in, was definitely obvious in Dante and Trish (who I'm pretty sure according to kamiya at least were supposed to be endgame) - and like, c'mon. You can say all you want that she only looks like his mom, she isn't actually Eva, she doesn't even have her personality... but from a moral perspective, that's still weird as fuck if we're going by real life standards, right? You wouldn't fuck a clone of your mom without it being at least a little bit incestuous.

Then Itsuno stepped in from 3 on, and the incestuous undertones became more focused on the immediate Sparda family - the twins, and eventually, Nero.

...Do I need to even explain it? Sure, in 3 the twins bicker and banter like real brothers, but there's definitely a suggestive edge to it - so many quips between them that really cannot be explained by "oh haha brotherly banter" without it getting at least a little bit weird. Not to mention all the "impalement as penetration" comparisons that can be drawn, and I'll leave a nice little video that goes deeper into a lot of that (as well as the gothic inspirations in the dmc franchise) so you can hear it from the mouth of someone far more eloquent than me.

And then in 4... I mean, if the amount of people who almost ubiquitously shipped Dante and Nero as soon as 4 dropped and continued doing so until 5 officially confirmed their relation (which, to be fair, Nero being Dante's nephew had actually been hinted at all along, but exactly because of so many people shipping them and not wanting it to be incestuous/the dudebros not liking Nero very much when 4 was new, pretty much everyone in the english speaking side of the fandom had been in denial about it until 5 spelled it out in big, bold letters) is kind of the test, no? That the tension and chemistry is so obvious the moment the incest element is hidden or unclear, everyone is suddenly in agreement about it. I could go on and on and on about Nero's obvious puppy crush/hero worship on Dante, Dante's immediate fondness of Nero, how if you read the 4 novels it's even more blatant and in your face... but all I'm gonna say is that that initial fight scene was softcore porn and no one can convince me otherwise, lmao. Listen, I'm just saying that if the intention wasn't to be suggestive, having Nero wrap his legs around Dante to pull him closer, bite his gun, and then straddle him like that was a very poor choice. Honorable mention for the reboot, whose devs were VERY aware of the tension between the Spardas in the og franchise, called it out by saying their game wasn't gonna do "all that gay shit" (obviously in the early 2010s the issue wasn't the incest, but it being GAY incest 🙄) and then accidentally made their version of the twins SO very....... whatever the hell is going on with the reboot twins. Not not-incestuous and definitely not straight, I'll tell you that.

And then 5, again. Do I need to explain it? Nero and V are, once again, a perfect textbook example of "couple that had so much natural chemistry everyone was flocking to it before it was revealed to be incest", plus the way everything about Dante's story, at the end, now that he's a weathered old man, is made to revolve around Vergil... yes, Dante is a depressed old alcoholic because he pushed everyone away, because of the laundry list of issues he ended up with because of everything that happened in his life, BUT Vergil was always front and center within it, even when he wasn't there. That Dante's story quite literally begins and ends with Vergil... well. I dunno about you, that just doesn't feel like your regular siblings dynamic. Also another honorable mention: "I'll make you submit" is a totally normal thing to say to your estranged father. Not weird at all with absolutely zero implications. OH, not to mention, even if we stay purely within canon and don't even look deeper at any implications or subtext... the literal only canon couple is incestuous, too. Let's not forget Kyrie and Nero are adopted siblings, Nero was raised as her brother, and the game itself calls it out in the character descritption (in 4's character bios it says Kyrie is at once Nero's "lover and family") + it's quite literally spelled out in the novels (having Nero think that "well, while it's true that he's been raised with Kyrie as siblings, he would've liked her even if they weren't family"). There's SO much more I could still go into, I have quite literally spent the past 3 years replaying the games over and over and overthinking/hyperanalizing every single frame, rereading the novels and the mangas to the point I could cite them by memory, and it's just... I dunno. I saw someone else say this somewhere, but if you're into DMC and grossed out by incest... this might not be the franchise for you.

[proudsnackeezowner]

*taps mic* is this thing on ?

[louroth]

You reach the table, where Y takes up a quarter of the seating space. Although he is tucked into the corner by the lace-clad window, he is not afraid to take up space, arms outstretched across the bench that spans your booth, a dreamy half-smile on his face. You slide in next to S, opposite Y, and covertly ask, “Did you drug him?” S laughs; a dozen bells, ringing. “Gods no. I gave him a stiff drink, and the band is setting up. He has always fancied live musicians.” Sure enough, there is a band tuning their instruments among the mingling crowd of the dance floor. Just in the middle of it, a carpet designates the space for a cello, drums, musicians. A microphone is tapped, reverberating with feedback; no one flinches. The volume is high enough around the bar already, but it settles the more organized the band becomes, barhand waving people off, shushing, handing drinks over with mirth coursing through every twitch and turn of their all-aware movements. Drink-tray carrying girls swirl through the crowd like leaves on a current, trilling, the occasional slosh of liquid gleaming in the warm glow of gas-lit fire. Deals pass between mumbling gentry at the back. Glasses clink. The perfume of oil permeates, near rancid.

There’s a whole world here.

A whole world.

[bobfloydsbabe]

it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers IT’S NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers it’s not about the numbers

[mo-ok]

mean to himmm

[paper-possum-party-pal]

I’ve decided to draw a bunch of people’s Narrators starting with @betrootsoup’s Narrator!

Don’t mind my sona, they’re just a curious fella!

I’m a sucker for split faced designs and love the outfit that @betrootsoup chose for their Narrator! I really hope I did the design justice!

Closeups

And to everyone else out there, watch out!

Your Narrator’s might be next

[kazucee]

Something must be in the air because all my moots are online and everyone is lovely and the sun is shining and oh god I have work to do.

[ropehanger39]

hi guys i know i said i was gonna be on break but i had to end the break early because the world is a fucking horrible place and social media is my only escape.

anyways hope u guys r having a good day

[janederscore]

our experience of plurality is very funny bc while most people seem to have very well-defined front shifts we're sort of just playing musical chairs in here. think of the car metaphor but you can also borderlands style seat swap mid-sentence

[something-about-sunflowers]

So. Anyway.

I think if you're making a habit of jumping into a tag to talk about how much you hate the character the tag is for and the way other people interpret the character and their relationships with other characters, well, that probably says more about you than it does the people in the tag talking about their enjoyment of the character and how they interpret them and their relationships with other characters.

Maybe get a different hobby. You sound miserable with the current one.

[reinstarnation]

me when the pms intrusive thoughts start:

[broodwoof]

btw, pls do not assume positive fandom bloggers have no critiques and no awareness of any issues c:

[3416]

just need to give a shoutout to all the people who interact w me or the things i make on here for the love and good vibes. twitter's been pissing me off the past couple days and i just think it reaffirms i'll never really leave tumblr bc the fandom culture here is just so much.. more lol

[unproduciblesmackdown]

winston my quant of billions

[butterfly-ribbon]

there's something about someone who consistently says something subtly transmisogynistic until you point this out indirectly and then they decide to stop without much acknowledgement that makes me feel wretched in such a weird way that's hard to describe. i don't think people have malicious intent most of the time and i'm not against anyone messing up while trying to be better, but it's hard to not feel a little frustrated and inherently out of place when you have to constantly bend yourself out of shape and put yourself in situations where you're at risk of being perceived as annoying for 'calling out' people and talking about these things, and this feeling that you have to constantly educate people if you don't want to be made to feel alienated all the time is in itself very alienating. this would not be a big deal if this were a one time problem, but it happens all the time.

[lvmimis]

as a general rule try not to expect validation from people you don’t take seriously

this sounds obvious and self explanatory but i see people drive themselves crazy by the fact that they feel ignored by some person but half the time it’s because they ignored or invalidated them first 😭