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Player Information
Name: Freya
Age: 32
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Other Characters: N/A
Character Information
Name: Nero
Canon: Devil May Cry
Canon Point: Devil May Cry 5, Mission 20
Age: 22-25 (Actual age unknown, DMC5 takes place 5 years after DMC4 and Nero is somewhere between 17-20 in that game)
History: Nero @ DMC Wiki
Personality: Nero is the brash new protagonist we meet in the fourth installment of Devil May Cry, another white-haired part-demon, part-human who is ready to get the kick ass and take names. And Nero certainly fills that role. Like the earlier version of Dante seen in the third game, Nero comes off as cocky and confident with the way he faces off against enemies. Never without a taunt or comeback, he seems in his element when he's sassing a demon--or any enemy, really. His quips are par for the course for the series, bordering on trying to be a little too edgy while equally cheeky, but his cockiness is not without a basis.
As expected, Nero is an excellent fighter--quick on his feet and quick to recover. He's not someone who tends to stand or sit still, usually fidgeting or moving back and forth, indicating excess energy and a need for a physical outlet for it. But for all the bravado, he does harbor insecurities about his abilities and what makes him different, such as how he doesn't initially take well to Dante patronizing him by calling him "kid" and later when Dante calls him a "deadweight". In combination with revenge, it's one of his main motivations through Devil May Cry 5--to prove that he is not a deadweight.
For Nero, strength and power are ways that he defines his own self-worth and progress. He unknowingly parrots his father by saying,
"Without strength, you can't protect anything.... I know that."
This begins when he was a child, abandoned as a baby in Fortuna city. Who wants to be the kid that's left behind? He was bullied by other children because of the rumor that his mother was a prostitute, and with no father to be found, it's Nero's word against everyone else's. He was generously taken in by the family of Credo and Kyrie, the real saving grace in his life. Unfortunately, he loses his foster-parents in the events prior to Devil May Cry 4 and then Credo towards the end of the game itself. He spends a lot of the time trying to gain the power to rescue Kyrie--which he eventually does--but also blames his own weaknesses as the reason that he couldn't save and protect Credo as well. In Devil May Cry 5, Nero has come to accept his demonic powers and uses them as his job as a Devil Hunter, but his demonic arm is literally ripped away from him and, thus, a source of great power for him. Though he manages to fight without it, Nico eventually makes him an arsenal of mechanical arms that he can equip, which help him greatly. And yet he still has to convince Dante--and himself--that he can fight because he has "all the power he needs" in his hand.
Even though he has chilled out considerably from his younger self, Nero is prone to being hot-headed and angers quickly. "I don't have time for this" is a common phrase in his repertoire. Impatience usually turns to pacing and can turn to violence if he feels something critical is at stake, but otherwise he will mostly complain and grumble. Once his trigger is figuratively (or literally) flipped, however, Nero is hard to turn off. He has little to no desire to hold himself back when he's upset and let's that rage fuel him. This quick temper can be a boon in battle if it means suddenly activating some of his demonic powers or as motivation, but it's also a hindrance and stops him from thinking clearly.
In the first few missions of Devil May Cry 4, Nero follows a series of bread crumbs as he slowly finds out what the Order is really up to, and he does a decent job of it. But as soon as it's not just him but the people he cares about that are in danger? That becomes the main mission. Nero is very much a "not my problem, won't get involved" sort of person, but when it is his problem? He is in it 200%. With tunnel vision. In Devil May Cry 5 he's similarly motivated to traverse the labyrinthine Qliphoth in order to find Dante and help the guy out, but as soon as his own self-worth and abilities are (inadvernatly) put into question by Dante, Nero's rage and need to prove himself become the new catalyst that drives him through the rest of the game (up until a new startling revelation towards the end).
This passion is really dedicated to and often trigger by the people he cares about. In Devil May Cry 4 it's mostly towards one person: Kyrie. His love interest and a very honest and sweet person, she is the main focus of his actions and good intentions all throughout the game. It's Kyrie being in danger when Dante first arrives that Nero gets involved--it's Kyrie being used as a hostage against him that sends him into a rage--it's Kyrie's rescue that inevitably drives him to defeat the final boss. In any of the scenes where Nero seems close to blacking out or giving up, it's thoughts of Kyrie that keep him going. Though she doesn't make a physical appearance in Devil May Cry 5, he's seen to keep in frequent contact with her while he's away and confides in her when he's faced with the sudden realization that the demon he's been fighting all this time is really his father. (Hi, Vergil.)
In Devil May Cry 5, it's actually Dante that initially sets him off. Though he doesn't yet realize his relation to Dante, he has looked up to Dante since the events of the fourth game and as an older and more experienced (if sometimes annoying) Devil Hunter. He doesn't express his desire for approval outloud, but Dante's trust in him and of his abilities are very important to him--Dante entrusting him with the Yamato at the end of 4 meant a lot to him, and the subsequent loss of the Legendary Devil Arm when his Devil Bringer was removed is something he feels incredibly guilty about--another thing he wasn't strong enough to protect and a promise he broke. So when Dante calls him a "deadweight" as yet another way Nero has perceived to have let him down, Nero is then driven to prove the opposite and save Dante instead, as well as throwing the insult back in his face.
Kyrie's love and acceptance at the end of Devil May Cry 4 was a big factor in how much grew as a person before the Fifth installment. He started off as a cranky teenager who trusted Kyrie and Credo and that was about it, but by Devil May Cry 5 Nero has not only become a de-facto representative of Fortuna--the one pariah now keeping the reputation of the city as secret and safe as possible while shooing nosey outsiders away--but also a foster-father himself. He and Kyrie have three orphans in their care--Julio, Kyle, and Carlo. He can still be prickly at times, when the arguably shady hooded figure of a dying Vergil makes his appearance at their house in Fortuna, Nero assumes he's a beggar of some sort looking for food and even invites him to dinner. Not one to judge people by their heritage, he and the daughter of the Head Alchemist of the Order--who not only kidnapped Kyrie but was pretty ready to slice and dice Nero for experimentation purposes--Nicoletta Goldstein end up becoming friends and partners in crime for the Fortuna and mobile branch of Devil May Cry. His gentler side is mostly reserved for Kyrie and the kids, but he still gruffly shows he cares to others, such as anticipating Nico's needs for a light even when he bitches about how he hates the smell of smoke, or how he gives V crap about slowing them down but refuses to leave him behind even when it would be much easier for Nero to go on without him. It's clear that he's learned to open his heart to other people, even if he does still play favorites.
What is important to Nero is family. That used to just be Kyrie and Credo, but that's extended to his three foster children and Nico. As noted, Dante is someone he looks up to and he's at least distantly familiar with Lady and Trish. When he finds out that Vergil is his father and Dante is his uncle, Nero struggles what to do with this knowledge, likely fighting with the idea of what family should be based on his experiences with his own adoptive family and the absolute mess that his blood-relatives apparently are. Kyrie assures him that he knows what's right and his decision is immediately that family doesn't engage in petty feuds that end up destroying an entire city and opening portals to hell. In a dramatic sequence running up the Qliphoth to put a stop to Dante and Vergil's fight to the death, he says four simple lines that say a lot about his character:
"I couldn't protect Credo...To this day, I hate myself for not having enough strength."
Much like his father, Nero has always been looking for ways to grow stronger. When he was younger, his strength set him apart in the Order and gave him a purpose--to fight demons. But demons also ended up killing his foster parents and put his adoptive family in danger. Power then became important as a method to protect the people he cared about. Then throughout the events in Devil May Cry 5, Nero lost his Devil Bringer which was a source of great strength for him, and is trying to prove to himself and to Dante that he is strong enough. Not being strong enough is one of his greatest fears.
"But this time is different. I swear! I'm not letting you die!"
And yet he is not going to let that fear stand in his way when it matters the most. He's lost a lot throughout his life--he started out as an orphan, most of his adoptive family died--and he just found out that he has something that he didn't think he would ever have--actual blood relatives. They're completely bonkers and a hot mess, but they're his hot mess and he accepts them extremely quickly. Unlike Dante and Vergil (who instead began with a family and lost them all), Nero's loses are also paired with gains--his foster family, though now lost, he still has Kyrie and he had a loving household in his childhood, enough so that he's able to provide one to other children in a similar situation. Nero refuses to let this be another loss and through his determination (and, let's be real, shounen-style passion), Nero puts a stop to the battle between brothers and also is able to gain a full Devil Trigger that he was unable to do in his previous game incarnation. Nero, of course, kicks both of their asses in the process, but that's just how Sparda-blood do.
Nero starts out as the snarky, broody teenager who is ready to give the world the finger at a moment's notice for letting him down and becomes a surprisingly well-rounded young man. His cocky attitude has simmered down a bit as he finds himself more comfortable with who he is, coming to the point that he's able to accept the other parts of himself--his family and all their faults and the mess that comes with them--quickly. But they're his mess, now.
Abilities & Skills: Nero has several skills regarding combat, fighting, and endurance...and he's also a secret nerd:
Choice: Monster - Dragon
Reason: Nero is a descendant (grandson) of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, a demon who managed to defeat the King of Hell and seal off the human world from the demon world. What makes this particularly unique is that he's the result of a demon mating with a human, which is something that just doesn't happen in the DMC-verse, making him 1/4 demon and 3/4 human (his father and uncle being 1/2). If dragons are a powerful and rare species, then being one of three people in existence back home fits the bill nicely.
As with the rest of the Sparda family line, Nero ends up being much more powerful than your average human. He's able to perform feats that defy physics (in no small part thanks to ridiculous game mechanics) and hold his own against powerful demons many times his own size. He even eventually manages to stand toe-to-toe against his father, who is twice his age with twice the amount of magical demonic blood to give him power.
When he first got his demon arm in canon, it was something he was ashamed of and hid, then the subsequent loss of it was much worse. Having to relive and adjust to a similar permanent transformation--but something that goes beyond just an arm--is something I'd like to explore. He always defined himself as a human first and foremost, accepting to become a demon if it meant he would have the power to protect the people he loves. How much could he accept that of himself this time around? And what would it mean for him to see other people going through similar changes?
While this could be said of almost any monster transformation, Nero's tendency towards being a loner--while he's grown more, he still has his small core group of people he prefers to spend time with--and his quick-to-anger persona already put him in alignment with some of the potential psychological changes. He can be very cocky and aggressive, throwing himself headfirst into situations. There's a potential for his hot-headedness to affect his ability to adapt.
Sparda's descendants and Nero's uncle and father, respectively, all display dragon-like aesthetics: wings, claws, hardened scales, horns, tails, etc. Nero's own devil bringer was very reptilian in appearance, again with the scaly skin and claws. His awakened Devil Trigger form also has him covered in hardened skin and scales, wings (though notably feathered-looking in contrast with his predecessors), and rounded horns on his head. But Devil Triggers can be turned on and off, leaving him looking entirely human otherwise. This is a transformation he wouldn't be able to just power down--it's the extreme version of awakening his devil bringer the first time.
For an alternative monster, I'd go with Harpy as a play on the aesthetics of the wings in his Devil Trigger--feathered and clawed.
Sample One: TDM Thread
Sample Two: Gen Texting Thread
Sample Three: She was going to kill him.
Well, no she wasn't actually going to kill him, but Nero knew that the look on her face when she came to visit the hospital and found his bed empty would make him wish she would kill him to get it all over with. Disappointing Kyrie was something he always tried to avoid if it was within his power and this definitely was going to be a disappointment. He was supposed to stay and rest--get better, the whole nine yards.
But bed rest wasn't going to suddenly replace the loss of his arm--or his power. For however understanding as she tried to be about it, Kyrie wouldn't ever really comprehend all that means to him. Yes, he'll make due--he always does. Yes, he'll adapt--he has to, there's always too much at stake to give up and wallow in self-pity for long. But for as much as he'd hated that arm when it first transformed into that scaled, glowing claw, it's become an integral part of him. It became something he didn't need to hide.
He never thought he would miss it, let alone lose it in the first place.
Who the hell just rips a guy's arm off, anyway?
Nero snorted, mood darkening.
"Demons," he grumbled to himself.
Stupid question.
Pulling his lips thin, Nero forced himself to look down at what remained of his right arm. What once ended in hardened, dark claws now ended right before his elbow, thick gauze covering up the majority of the still healing wound. The short coma had come as a surprise, but the demonic blood that pumped through his veins accelerated the healing faster than the doctors could believe. That would be his excuse as to why he bailed, but he knew that Kyrie wouldn't buy it.
It wasn't really the truth, anyway.
He wanted revenge.
Nero let out a sharp huff through his nose as he lifted his gaze back up to the jacket draped over his chair. The same, trusty jacket he'd worn even on that day, now torn and stained at the same place where his arm had been taken from him. He shrugged it on awkwardly, defiantly, still getting used to doing things a little differently.
The Red Queen stood propped up against the wall and Nero raised his chin as he watched the light that filtered through the blinds reflect off her blade. She'd been neglected for a couple of weeks and it showed.
"Well, we'll fix that." He took the few steps over to the man-sized sword, grabbing her and re-familiarizing himself with the weigh in his hands. "You'll get to see some action, by the sounds of it."
If what that guy said was true--the mysterious man who went by "V" and told Nero that Dante was on a hunt and could use some help--then wouldn't be any better way to jump back into battle than by taking down the demon that took his arm.
And the Yamato.
With as much power as his demonic arm had given him, the legendary sword Yamato that had been stored inside of it had filled him with a different sense of power, a quiet hum in his subconscious that had almost become a part of himself himself after five years. He missed it. He felt a little empty without it. But even more than that, he didn't want to admit that he lost it.
He didn't want to have to tell Dante that the weapon--the gift--Dante's family heirloom--that he'd been entrusted with had been lost. Nero's brows pulled tightly together in a frown. There was only a moment's pause before he snapped the Red Queen onto his back.
"Right." His resolve was as hard as the steel of his blade. "Then let's finish this."
His boots clicked on the linoleum as he left the room, passing the nurses and orderlies who rightfully figured it was better not to say a damn thing. If he'd had any forethought, it was requesting that Kyrie didn't bring the kids to visit. He couldn't handle four disappointed faces when he got back.
Name: Freya
Age: 32
Contact:
Other Characters: N/A
Character Information
Name: Nero
Canon: Devil May Cry
Canon Point: Devil May Cry 5, Mission 20
Age: 22-25 (Actual age unknown, DMC5 takes place 5 years after DMC4 and Nero is somewhere between 17-20 in that game)
History: Nero @ DMC Wiki
Personality: Nero is the brash new protagonist we meet in the fourth installment of Devil May Cry, another white-haired part-demon, part-human who is ready to get the kick ass and take names. And Nero certainly fills that role. Like the earlier version of Dante seen in the third game, Nero comes off as cocky and confident with the way he faces off against enemies. Never without a taunt or comeback, he seems in his element when he's sassing a demon--or any enemy, really. His quips are par for the course for the series, bordering on trying to be a little too edgy while equally cheeky, but his cockiness is not without a basis.
As expected, Nero is an excellent fighter--quick on his feet and quick to recover. He's not someone who tends to stand or sit still, usually fidgeting or moving back and forth, indicating excess energy and a need for a physical outlet for it. But for all the bravado, he does harbor insecurities about his abilities and what makes him different, such as how he doesn't initially take well to Dante patronizing him by calling him "kid" and later when Dante calls him a "deadweight". In combination with revenge, it's one of his main motivations through Devil May Cry 5--to prove that he is not a deadweight.
For Nero, strength and power are ways that he defines his own self-worth and progress. He unknowingly parrots his father by saying,
"Without strength, you can't protect anything.... I know that."
This begins when he was a child, abandoned as a baby in Fortuna city. Who wants to be the kid that's left behind? He was bullied by other children because of the rumor that his mother was a prostitute, and with no father to be found, it's Nero's word against everyone else's. He was generously taken in by the family of Credo and Kyrie, the real saving grace in his life. Unfortunately, he loses his foster-parents in the events prior to Devil May Cry 4 and then Credo towards the end of the game itself. He spends a lot of the time trying to gain the power to rescue Kyrie--which he eventually does--but also blames his own weaknesses as the reason that he couldn't save and protect Credo as well. In Devil May Cry 5, Nero has come to accept his demonic powers and uses them as his job as a Devil Hunter, but his demonic arm is literally ripped away from him and, thus, a source of great power for him. Though he manages to fight without it, Nico eventually makes him an arsenal of mechanical arms that he can equip, which help him greatly. And yet he still has to convince Dante--and himself--that he can fight because he has "all the power he needs" in his hand.
Even though he has chilled out considerably from his younger self, Nero is prone to being hot-headed and angers quickly. "I don't have time for this" is a common phrase in his repertoire. Impatience usually turns to pacing and can turn to violence if he feels something critical is at stake, but otherwise he will mostly complain and grumble. Once his trigger is figuratively (or literally) flipped, however, Nero is hard to turn off. He has little to no desire to hold himself back when he's upset and let's that rage fuel him. This quick temper can be a boon in battle if it means suddenly activating some of his demonic powers or as motivation, but it's also a hindrance and stops him from thinking clearly.
In the first few missions of Devil May Cry 4, Nero follows a series of bread crumbs as he slowly finds out what the Order is really up to, and he does a decent job of it. But as soon as it's not just him but the people he cares about that are in danger? That becomes the main mission. Nero is very much a "not my problem, won't get involved" sort of person, but when it is his problem? He is in it 200%. With tunnel vision. In Devil May Cry 5 he's similarly motivated to traverse the labyrinthine Qliphoth in order to find Dante and help the guy out, but as soon as his own self-worth and abilities are (inadvernatly) put into question by Dante, Nero's rage and need to prove himself become the new catalyst that drives him through the rest of the game (up until a new startling revelation towards the end).
This passion is really dedicated to and often trigger by the people he cares about. In Devil May Cry 4 it's mostly towards one person: Kyrie. His love interest and a very honest and sweet person, she is the main focus of his actions and good intentions all throughout the game. It's Kyrie being in danger when Dante first arrives that Nero gets involved--it's Kyrie being used as a hostage against him that sends him into a rage--it's Kyrie's rescue that inevitably drives him to defeat the final boss. In any of the scenes where Nero seems close to blacking out or giving up, it's thoughts of Kyrie that keep him going. Though she doesn't make a physical appearance in Devil May Cry 5, he's seen to keep in frequent contact with her while he's away and confides in her when he's faced with the sudden realization that the demon he's been fighting all this time is really his father. (Hi, Vergil.)
In Devil May Cry 5, it's actually Dante that initially sets him off. Though he doesn't yet realize his relation to Dante, he has looked up to Dante since the events of the fourth game and as an older and more experienced (if sometimes annoying) Devil Hunter. He doesn't express his desire for approval outloud, but Dante's trust in him and of his abilities are very important to him--Dante entrusting him with the Yamato at the end of 4 meant a lot to him, and the subsequent loss of the Legendary Devil Arm when his Devil Bringer was removed is something he feels incredibly guilty about--another thing he wasn't strong enough to protect and a promise he broke. So when Dante calls him a "deadweight" as yet another way Nero has perceived to have let him down, Nero is then driven to prove the opposite and save Dante instead, as well as throwing the insult back in his face.
Kyrie's love and acceptance at the end of Devil May Cry 4 was a big factor in how much grew as a person before the Fifth installment. He started off as a cranky teenager who trusted Kyrie and Credo and that was about it, but by Devil May Cry 5 Nero has not only become a de-facto representative of Fortuna--the one pariah now keeping the reputation of the city as secret and safe as possible while shooing nosey outsiders away--but also a foster-father himself. He and Kyrie have three orphans in their care--Julio, Kyle, and Carlo. He can still be prickly at times, when the arguably shady hooded figure of a dying Vergil makes his appearance at their house in Fortuna, Nero assumes he's a beggar of some sort looking for food and even invites him to dinner. Not one to judge people by their heritage, he and the daughter of the Head Alchemist of the Order--who not only kidnapped Kyrie but was pretty ready to slice and dice Nero for experimentation purposes--Nicoletta Goldstein end up becoming friends and partners in crime for the Fortuna and mobile branch of Devil May Cry. His gentler side is mostly reserved for Kyrie and the kids, but he still gruffly shows he cares to others, such as anticipating Nico's needs for a light even when he bitches about how he hates the smell of smoke, or how he gives V crap about slowing them down but refuses to leave him behind even when it would be much easier for Nero to go on without him. It's clear that he's learned to open his heart to other people, even if he does still play favorites.
What is important to Nero is family. That used to just be Kyrie and Credo, but that's extended to his three foster children and Nico. As noted, Dante is someone he looks up to and he's at least distantly familiar with Lady and Trish. When he finds out that Vergil is his father and Dante is his uncle, Nero struggles what to do with this knowledge, likely fighting with the idea of what family should be based on his experiences with his own adoptive family and the absolute mess that his blood-relatives apparently are. Kyrie assures him that he knows what's right and his decision is immediately that family doesn't engage in petty feuds that end up destroying an entire city and opening portals to hell. In a dramatic sequence running up the Qliphoth to put a stop to Dante and Vergil's fight to the death, he says four simple lines that say a lot about his character:
"I couldn't protect Credo...To this day, I hate myself for not having enough strength."
Much like his father, Nero has always been looking for ways to grow stronger. When he was younger, his strength set him apart in the Order and gave him a purpose--to fight demons. But demons also ended up killing his foster parents and put his adoptive family in danger. Power then became important as a method to protect the people he cared about. Then throughout the events in Devil May Cry 5, Nero lost his Devil Bringer which was a source of great strength for him, and is trying to prove to himself and to Dante that he is strong enough. Not being strong enough is one of his greatest fears.
"But this time is different. I swear! I'm not letting you die!"
And yet he is not going to let that fear stand in his way when it matters the most. He's lost a lot throughout his life--he started out as an orphan, most of his adoptive family died--and he just found out that he has something that he didn't think he would ever have--actual blood relatives. They're completely bonkers and a hot mess, but they're his hot mess and he accepts them extremely quickly. Unlike Dante and Vergil (who instead began with a family and lost them all), Nero's loses are also paired with gains--his foster family, though now lost, he still has Kyrie and he had a loving household in his childhood, enough so that he's able to provide one to other children in a similar situation. Nero refuses to let this be another loss and through his determination (and, let's be real, shounen-style passion), Nero puts a stop to the battle between brothers and also is able to gain a full Devil Trigger that he was unable to do in his previous game incarnation. Nero, of course, kicks both of their asses in the process, but that's just how Sparda-blood do.
Nero starts out as the snarky, broody teenager who is ready to give the world the finger at a moment's notice for letting him down and becomes a surprisingly well-rounded young man. His cocky attitude has simmered down a bit as he finds himself more comfortable with who he is, coming to the point that he's able to accept the other parts of himself--his family and all their faults and the mess that comes with them--quickly. But they're his mess, now.
Abilities & Skills: Nero has several skills regarding combat, fighting, and endurance...and he's also a secret nerd:
- Skilled Combatant: Nero has worked for the Order of the Sword in Fortuna, defeating demons and protecting the city at large, as there's a large need for knights and fighters. He's shown to be proficient in hand to hand combat, with a sword, and with guns. As with the style of all DMC games, he's known for some gravity-defying acrobatics and a blend of fighting styles.
- Superhuman/Demonic Strength: Because he is a quarter demon, Nero is much stronger than the average human. He's able to wield a sword that is nearly as tall as he is single-handedly, as well as hold his own and shield himself against against demons that are several stories tall, knock over pieces of monuments that are just as large, and even throw Dante around too. We see him often tossing his enemies through buildings and stone to watch it crumble.
- Superhuman/Demonic Speed: He is fast enough to make Neo in the Matrix look like the CGI actually is. His extremely quick reflexes and speed allow him to keep up with demons, switch weapons and reload--mid-air--in the middle of combat. He thinks it looks as cool as it does.
- Enhanced Healing: Much like his uncle, Nero has shown the ability to heal from wounds that should be fatal and to heal from non-lethal wounds very quickly. This includes being crushed and impaled.
- Devil Bringer: Nero's right arm is the physical manifestation of his demonic powers. It glows in the presence of demons (like Sting in the presence of Orcs) and is extremely tough, being able to withstand direct hits from weapons and can act as a shield. We see the glowing blue aura of a larger demonic hand that can extend from it and interact physically with enemies. He can also absorb the essence of other demonic objects through this arm and for hammer space storage. NOTE: Nero lost this in the events of Devil May Cry 5, but this was an important source of power for him for the past 5 or so years of his life.
- Engineer Nerd: Nero is a tinkerer. He built one of his own pistols (Blue Rose), designed specifically so that it can fire two shots at a time, nearly simultaneously--the idea is that the kinetic force of one will pierce the armor of an enemy while the other will deal the finishing blow. Nero is able to upgrade other weapons that he has and bypassed the limiter on his mechanized sword as well as perform regular maintenance. In later canon he's shown working on a van as well, so it's safe to say that's a skill he's picked up along the way.
Inventory/Companions:
- Red Queen: Nero's large mechanized sword. It's highly customized off of the standard swords that the Order normally wields. The handle is modeled after a motorcycle handle and can be similarly revved up and charged. Flammable fuel will shoot out and he can use it to power up attacks or to propel himself around on the sword itself.
- Blue Rose: Nero's custom double-barreled revolver, designed to shoot two bullets at the same time. It's also got sights and a specialized muzzle.
- Devil Breaker: The cybernetic prosthetic, created by Nico, to replace his Devil Bringer. She's created eight different types and he usually had several on his person at any given time, able to switch them during battle. For the simplicity of the game, he'll have Overture and Punchline only.
Choice: Monster - Dragon
Reason: Nero is a descendant (grandson) of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, a demon who managed to defeat the King of Hell and seal off the human world from the demon world. What makes this particularly unique is that he's the result of a demon mating with a human, which is something that just doesn't happen in the DMC-verse, making him 1/4 demon and 3/4 human (his father and uncle being 1/2). If dragons are a powerful and rare species, then being one of three people in existence back home fits the bill nicely.
As with the rest of the Sparda family line, Nero ends up being much more powerful than your average human. He's able to perform feats that defy physics (in no small part thanks to ridiculous game mechanics) and hold his own against powerful demons many times his own size. He even eventually manages to stand toe-to-toe against his father, who is twice his age with twice the amount of magical demonic blood to give him power.
When he first got his demon arm in canon, it was something he was ashamed of and hid, then the subsequent loss of it was much worse. Having to relive and adjust to a similar permanent transformation--but something that goes beyond just an arm--is something I'd like to explore. He always defined himself as a human first and foremost, accepting to become a demon if it meant he would have the power to protect the people he loves. How much could he accept that of himself this time around? And what would it mean for him to see other people going through similar changes?
While this could be said of almost any monster transformation, Nero's tendency towards being a loner--while he's grown more, he still has his small core group of people he prefers to spend time with--and his quick-to-anger persona already put him in alignment with some of the potential psychological changes. He can be very cocky and aggressive, throwing himself headfirst into situations. There's a potential for his hot-headedness to affect his ability to adapt.
Sparda's descendants and Nero's uncle and father, respectively, all display dragon-like aesthetics: wings, claws, hardened scales, horns, tails, etc. Nero's own devil bringer was very reptilian in appearance, again with the scaly skin and claws. His awakened Devil Trigger form also has him covered in hardened skin and scales, wings (though notably feathered-looking in contrast with his predecessors), and rounded horns on his head. But Devil Triggers can be turned on and off, leaving him looking entirely human otherwise. This is a transformation he wouldn't be able to just power down--it's the extreme version of awakening his devil bringer the first time.
For an alternative monster, I'd go with Harpy as a play on the aesthetics of the wings in his Devil Trigger--feathered and clawed.
Sample One: TDM Thread
Sample Two: Gen Texting Thread
Sample Three: She was going to kill him.
Well, no she wasn't actually going to kill him, but Nero knew that the look on her face when she came to visit the hospital and found his bed empty would make him wish she would kill him to get it all over with. Disappointing Kyrie was something he always tried to avoid if it was within his power and this definitely was going to be a disappointment. He was supposed to stay and rest--get better, the whole nine yards.
But bed rest wasn't going to suddenly replace the loss of his arm--or his power. For however understanding as she tried to be about it, Kyrie wouldn't ever really comprehend all that means to him. Yes, he'll make due--he always does. Yes, he'll adapt--he has to, there's always too much at stake to give up and wallow in self-pity for long. But for as much as he'd hated that arm when it first transformed into that scaled, glowing claw, it's become an integral part of him. It became something he didn't need to hide.
He never thought he would miss it, let alone lose it in the first place.
Who the hell just rips a guy's arm off, anyway?
Nero snorted, mood darkening.
"Demons," he grumbled to himself.
Stupid question.
Pulling his lips thin, Nero forced himself to look down at what remained of his right arm. What once ended in hardened, dark claws now ended right before his elbow, thick gauze covering up the majority of the still healing wound. The short coma had come as a surprise, but the demonic blood that pumped through his veins accelerated the healing faster than the doctors could believe. That would be his excuse as to why he bailed, but he knew that Kyrie wouldn't buy it.
It wasn't really the truth, anyway.
He wanted revenge.
Nero let out a sharp huff through his nose as he lifted his gaze back up to the jacket draped over his chair. The same, trusty jacket he'd worn even on that day, now torn and stained at the same place where his arm had been taken from him. He shrugged it on awkwardly, defiantly, still getting used to doing things a little differently.
The Red Queen stood propped up against the wall and Nero raised his chin as he watched the light that filtered through the blinds reflect off her blade. She'd been neglected for a couple of weeks and it showed.
"Well, we'll fix that." He took the few steps over to the man-sized sword, grabbing her and re-familiarizing himself with the weigh in his hands. "You'll get to see some action, by the sounds of it."
If what that guy said was true--the mysterious man who went by "V" and told Nero that Dante was on a hunt and could use some help--then wouldn't be any better way to jump back into battle than by taking down the demon that took his arm.
And the Yamato.
With as much power as his demonic arm had given him, the legendary sword Yamato that had been stored inside of it had filled him with a different sense of power, a quiet hum in his subconscious that had almost become a part of himself himself after five years. He missed it. He felt a little empty without it. But even more than that, he didn't want to admit that he lost it.
He didn't want to have to tell Dante that the weapon--the gift--Dante's family heirloom--that he'd been entrusted with had been lost. Nero's brows pulled tightly together in a frown. There was only a moment's pause before he snapped the Red Queen onto his back.
"Right." His resolve was as hard as the steel of his blade. "Then let's finish this."
His boots clicked on the linoleum as he left the room, passing the nurses and orderlies who rightfully figured it was better not to say a damn thing. If he'd had any forethought, it was requesting that Kyrie didn't bring the kids to visit. He couldn't handle four disappointed faces when he got back.