#nero loves his dads

[devilmayfamily]

You're My Weakness

Vergil x Male!Reader

Vergil never could get over you.

Even when he tried to, he could never let go of you.

Nero brought you home and it was over for the older man since.

You'd "adopted" Nero during the time of Vergil searching for power. The boy has seen you more as a father figure than his actual father and has clung onto you since meeting.

The day he brought you home to DMC was on minor accident. He let it slip that he had to stop by the building for business and you insisted on coming with to meet this family of his.

Originally, Vergil wasn't too fond of there being an outside male in his space. You were competition for Nero's attention, even though the man didn't make himself a worthy option to begin with.

However, after seeing the relationship between you and Nero, he realized instead of being competition, you were an equal. A respected partner. A proper mate. Thus began the mans stupid attempts to become close to you.

Nero was the first of course, to notice this. He became very suspicious of his father, noticing the light (and terrible) flirting going on. He'd never seen his father try to talk to someone so much, it almost disturbed him. He almost lost it on the day he overheard you saying yes to a date with his father.

"You're father is quite a charmer," you say. Nero looks like he might vomit. "Nope. I don't wanna hear about it." You chuckle, ruffling the boys hair. "He's a good man Nero, give him this at least."

Vergil was pacing. He was pacing and sweating up a storm. Dante found it amusing. Vergil found it annoying.

Never in his life had Vergil been this calm and nervous at the same time. He's never had someone make him so weak yet so strong. You'd become his weakness.

Once coming to terms with how he felt for you, he didn't want you to see just how damaged he was. How much bad he'd done before finding himself. He didn't want you to see who he was and walk away.

"I'm not a good person." "I think you are." Vergil chuckles. "Maybe that's were you are blind." You smile. "If so, I don't want to see." Vergil stared into your eyes for a moment, a smile slowly appearing.

Domestic life was not on his mind before. Now, it was all he did. Man's was happy to come home, go straight to the kitchen where he knew you were cooking dinner, and kiss his husband hello. Man's was happy to wake up and get kissed good morning on lazy Sundays.

Nero almost hated it. But he also couldn't help but smile at seeing his father's being happy. He does take every chance he gets to tease and make fun of the two of you though.

"Ew, gross!" Nero yells. Vergil rolls his eyes as you chuckle at your son. "Dante they're doing it again!" he continues. Dante chuckles. He takes a moment to look over at you and Vergil cuddled up on the couch before turning back to his nephew. "You'll live Nero." Nero lets out a dramatic groan. He looks over and smiles at you, his face lit up like a small child. He begins to pester Dante about going out for a training session until the Devil Hunter agrees and the two go out back. "Your son is a handful," Vergil says once they've left. "Well he is your son," you reply. Vergil raises an eyebrow to your comment, moving a little to look at your face. You smile, kissing him to distract him from your teasing.

There were days where Vergil would come home in a panic. Threats from enemies he could easily defeated would send the man into a flurry, racing home to make sure you were still there and unharmed. He will hold onto you a little longer those days.

How the demon world learned of his new relationship (calling him a traitor like his father) he would not know, but it gave him a new reason for wanting to tear the lesser demons apart.

He'll be dammed if one of them got within a centimeter of you. Makes you almost feel bad for the poor demon that decided to test that man. Almost. Because let's be honest, watching Vergil fight is kinda hot.

You are Vergil's weakness.

You would always be his weakness.

But he'd fight for you every day he got to spend with you.

Vergil would never be able to get over you and honestly, he's ok with that.

Because there is nothing better in this world than getting to see you, be with you and love you.

Because what could be better than you? Nothing.

#devil may cry 5 #dmc5 #dmc #dante dmc5 #dmc vergil #dmc nero #vergil sparda #dante sparda #nero sparda #dmc5 vergil #vergil x reader #devil may cry vergil #vergil x y/n #vergil x male!reader #vergil is a big 'ol softy #he loves his husband dammit lol #nero loves his dads #even if they are gross sometimes #Dante just likes seeing his brother happy

[dantesdelulumalewife]

Yes, this is DMC fang propaganda

#devil may cry #dmc #dante #nero #vergil #dmc5 #dmc5 screenshots #I personally love that Nero has baby fangs #unlike his dad and uncle who have more demon in them #its a nice detail

[thirstforhelmets]

Nero: *Smiles from the other sides of couch*

Vergil: *looks at Nero as his wife literally lays over him as the World’s Most Troublesome blanket as she naps while he uses her head as a chin rest and awkwardly reading a book over her*

Vergil: What?

Nero: *Still smiling* Nothing.

#Chaotic Love AU #Vergil #dmc vergil #vergil x reader #vergil/reader #nero wishing the best for his dad #also low key kind of jealous #cause kyrie wouldnt be so bold as to do that #slash embarass him #cause she isnt shameless #like we/q/his wife is

[prototypelq]

I think if Nero ever gave the twins smooches on the cheek - they would implode

for every disgusting person out there - I am talking about family smooches

#i saw an art of it somewhere and i totally support that artistic vision #sadly i cannot provide links because pinterest users are terminally allergic to the word source #also i am a firm believer in nero being the family smoocher from now on #he is a punk boi with a very big heart he has to express himself somehow and family smooching is the perfect outlet for him #(same as vergy) #sparda loser twins exe immediately crashes #(...the last person to kiss them on the cheek with that same familiar tenderness was their mother) #also the twins in general are Badly Equipped to deal with any positive emotion and this would be an equivalent #of a personal-made nuke for them #i just wanna see nero be the softboi he wants to be (same for his dad) #and for twins to be assaulted with love and family and more love #thank you for giving my vision a go #the sparda loser twins #dmc #dante sparda #vergil sparda #nero sparda

[panevanbuckley]

favourite father-son duo is lester and will like these two can have me weeping in just a couple of lines 😭

#it's how much will admires - no ADORES - his dad! and how lester is so so proud of his sunshine son #like he spent the last 3 books randomly mentioning all the awesome stuff will can do and missing him 🥺 #and now i'm on the tower of nero (yes! i know!! i'm actually gonna finish a book series wtf) and they're already making me weak #also just...the love apollo has for his kids 🥺 he loves them all dearly #pjo #will solace #apollo #lester papadopoulos

[zerothisnero]

Man I wish Abel from the jadusable arg was real 😔

#YES IM STILL ON MY ABEL SIMP ARC #THE MAN IS HOT TO ME OK? #idc if we only hear his voice and have so little of context behind his backstory #thats why i came up with one for him #This is why he's Jeans dad 😔 #Bro deserves to be a father #I'd kill to be trapped in the eternal hotel just so i could talk to him and hear his voice #I love you Abel #jadusable #jadusable arg #Abel #nero blabbing #He's so wife material to me

[nearisqueer]

i think human AUs for non-human characters are cool and I think non-human AUs for human characters are sweet. You know what I want? A version of Nero DMC with a full tattoo sleeve replacing his devil bringer. I just think it makes visual sense

#nero #dmc #devil may cry #AU concepts #what if i simply wrote a slice of life human AU dmc fic where dante is a single dad raising his nephew/adoptive son after vergil dips #but dante is too cool an uncle to be a dad so he makes a lot of goof em ups and they have way too casual and unfamiliar a relationship #but they really do love each other and dante is trying his besy #but his best isnt very good #now i HAVE to write this #but only bc i want people to draw fanart based on it

[leonleonhart]

byron laughs and jokes that clive is a terrible liar/actor (proven fact) but as it is shown byron Also does a terrible job at going undercover. meaning clive probably got the terrible acting from byron when they would act out plays together when clive was younger

#thinkin about how clive only found familial love on his dads side of the family and crying #the reunion between joshua and his uncle was so underwhelming #but its likely because a) he was Much younger and b) there's probably not a chance anabella liked byron #cuz of his position and because of his authority #ff16 spoilers #work is boring so hi #nero talks ff16

[flovverworks]

brought it upon myself but in pain over the many familial & teacher-student relations in mhyk again. like the 'this is the teacher for each country' is Obviously there, but anytime i think about snow & white in regards to figaro & oz......T_^?!?!? yknow??!?!?!?! messiest family ive ever known (overexaggeration). that one figaro line in 2nd anni(???) agbout him having taken in kids before. figaro & rutile & mitile. oz & arthur. 13yo chloe who was treated badly by his family & decided to go with rustica. the chloe plot especially gets to me cuz it Always makes me think of natsume asking the fujiwara if he could go with them.....izumi talking to sakuyas relatives...... figaro whos so clearly treated as a guardian-ish for rutile & mitile in the writing (thinks of his june bride training ep 5ever). oz who learned about the world because baby arthur asked the questions that kids does. the oz castle event. tiretta and mithra. strangest uncle of all time. faust & neros care for shino & heath. neros care for riquet.

#stardust speaking ! #lays awake at night thinking about wizards and their relation to one another #im always so attached to charas who treats kids well and ofc the teacher position hands that naturally but also #charas like faust who says they dont care but cares so so deeply #like at the end of the day the only 2 im willing to actually say 'yes that is a dad and his son' is rustica & chloe #but thats fine cuz relations are difficult and family is not only those 2 roles and (writes an essay) #the talk about teacher-student relations too...........u teach them everything u know........u open urself.......u give them the way u thin #and the way u do things and the way u are #its so INVOLVED i love the ties all of them share i love that nero couldnt take seeing brad in danger anymore and left im so sorry he was #forced back into that (in some capacity). riquet who was raised in a cult and now is being told all these other things and tries to navigat #it all and gets angry and sad and cries and how they all try so so hard to treat him well #15yo mitile who doesnt know how to convey or explain his feelings toward how riquet grew up #17yo shino who apologizes with a bouquet of handplucked flowers #heathcliff.................................................... #mhyk.....T___________^

[devilmayfamily]

Day 6 - Family Picnic

Nero held onto your sleeve as you, him and Vergil walked around to find a nice sitting area at the park. You were able to get the father-son due to spend some bonding time together, neither of them knowing how to say no to you.

The three of you found a nice shady spot, Vergil placing down the big picnic blanket you brought on the ground for all of you to sit. Nero sat to your right, Vergil taking your left.

The two were quiet but it was a comfortable silence. It's been about two years since you adopted Nero, one of his birthday presents he had requested that surprised both you and Vergil. Having you as a sort of middle man has helped the two estranged family members get along with one another and form a sort of father-son bond.

The two also now had something they both shared beyond their blood, their love for you. It was no surprise to anyone that the two formed a bond over wanting to protect you, it was one of few things the two agreed on, that you were an important element in their lives.

Vergil could see the love and care you had for his son, treating him as if you had birth'd him yourself. It made him happy to see his son have a mother in his life, even if it was some 20 odd years out. He had to keep you alive, if not for him, for Nero.

Nero could also see the love and care you had for his father, making the old man look like a lovesick teenager from time to time. His father was approachable and not scarce anymore. And though Nero will say "gross" when he see the two of you flirting, it actually makes him happy to see his father have some sort of joy in his life like how Nero felt about Kyrie.

You'd already pulled all the sandwiches and fruit cups you'd packed, displaying them out on the blanket in front of the three of you. Nero found himself eating at almost everything, his father chuckling at him.

"Excuse me for laughing son, I just find you ridiculous sometimes," Vergil says.

"You act like you don't do the same thing when ma cooks dinner," Nero replied, his mouth slightly full.

"Hey, no speaking with your mouth full," you say, closing the boys mouth.

Nero mumbles out an apology, finishing the food in his mouth before putting in more. Vergil smiles, taking a bite of his own mirage of gathered goods. You run a hand through Nero's hair, pushing back stray hairs from his face. You listen as a low purr emits from the boy, Nero smiling as he continued to eat.

"Ma, have I told you you're the best?" Nero asks.

You chuckle, nodding. "All the time sweet pea."

"Well, you're the best," he says, smiling down at you.

"Yes, I have to agree with your son, you are the best," Vergil says.

"Our son," you correct him. "And I agree, I think I'm pretty great."

You wear a smug smile as the boys laugh, you soon following suit. The rest of the day went on peacefully, clear sky and the cool afternoon providing a nice background to your family picnic.

The three of you now laid spread out on the blanket, your head resting on Vergil's lap while Nero laid his head on your abdomen. Vergil read from a book you gifted him last Christmas, looking down at the two of you every now and then with a smile. He watched as you and Nero talked about random things, your fingers subconsciously running through the younger's hair.

Vergil leaned down, placing a kiss on your forehead before going back to reading. You smiled, continuing your conversation with Nero as if it was normal. And it was normal, it had been since the you and Vergil had met and have grown closer as the days go by.

Nero made a face, causing the two of you to laugh, Vergil only smiling as he continued to read.

As the afternoon grew into evening, you packed up everything and made the journey home to the DMC building. Vergil held your hand, Nero clinging to your sleeve once more as if he was only 6 walking with mom and dad.

"How was it?" Dante asked as the three of you return.

"It was actually pretty nice," Nero replies.

Dante smiles, happy to see all of you getting to enjoy some quality time together, he know's it's been a bit chaotic the last few days.

"You enjoy your time Verg?" Dante asks.

Vergil looks over at his brother and just simply smiles. Dante's a little surprised, but smiles back.

Yeah, he could get used to this.

#dmc5 #dmc #devil may cry 5 #dmc vergil #dmc nero #nero sparda #vergil sparda #vergil being a dad #vergil x you #vergil x y/n #dmc5 vergil #vergil x reader #devil may cry vergil #dadgil #nero loves his ma #his ma is you #vergil also loves neros ma #father and son #bonding moment

[lecliss]

OO has me in a fucking vice grip with the urge to lunge at Seph's throat!!!!!!! I can't fucking believe he convinced Kadaj to join him!!!!!! I'm gonna go fucking feral!!!! Leave my sonboy alone!!!!! He has no free will!!! He keeps being used for what Jenova wants cuz of the cells and he keeps being used by Seph as a remnant!!! Daj can never truly have something of his own accord cuz of the very meaning of his existence!!!!! He can never be an individual cuz of them, but without them he wouldn't exist!!!! LET HIM BE HIS OWN PERSON!!!!

And to top it off, Team Ninja dangles a Loz and Yazoo tease in my face after I just said I need Kadaj to have his real brothers back!!!! FUCK!!!! I FUCKING HATE FINAL FANTASY!!!!!!!

#i love kaien trying to help even tho this has nothing to do with him. thank you grandpa 🥺 #kadaj and repliku would be a match made in heaven. i want them to talk and go on a murder spree for funsies together #im gonna kill seph so fucking hard. i hate it here!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 #at least now i know why kadaj and seymour team up to be ducklings to weiss. tho im not caught up to know how/why they leave seph yet #im just. im gonna die man. im so happy OO added kadaj and gave him so much development and i love that the game takes characters seriously #but god. do they have to keep tormenting MY FUCKING SON!?!?!?! #LET HIM RETURN TO HIS NEW MOM AND DAD (zack and aerith)!!!! GIVE HIM HIS LITTLE BROTHERS BACK!!!! GIVE HIM FUCKING FREE WILL!!!! FUCK!!!!! #its such a good time to be so abnormal about a 2005 one off sequel movie villain. genuinely. it just hurts at the same time #i also like how everyone's fine with kadaj and is even trying to help him cuz despite being morally gray. at least hes against seph. #so hes a good kid in their books 🥺 #brb gonna go speedrun the og 7 real quick so i can beat seph's ass in the name of my best boy #also when we get loz and yazoo i wonder if theyll be a joint unit like in brave exvius of if theyll be seperate but released back to back #like reno and rude 🤔 #i was expecting sonon or nero next but i do think they wont come until after part 2. while i want genesis most then. i would actually rather #have the baby bro duo if it means they have a real chance of getting in. i didnt actually believe it would be possible. but no it looks real

[miqojak]

So, after the most hilarious and fun MS roulette/Prae I've ever had, I thought it best I share with you all the wisdom that I bestowed on my party members (and that which they shared with me).

So, Nero gives a speech about 'why didn't Garlond notice me?' and all - and we later find out that Garlond was obsessed with (err...tempered by) Bahamut...and Nero is wearing a Bahamut armor suit - or, as my party pals put it...his fursuit, or 'furmor'.

Nero... got a fursuit commissioned because he so badly wanted his father figure to notice him, and his father figure was obsessed with a dragon, so Nero uh. Dressed up like that dragon (and then it still didn't help him get Garlond to notice him).

#nero #garlond #bahamut #ffxiv lore #ffxiv #ffxiv canon #nero had a fursuit #he literally dressed up like bahamut bc his 'dad' was obsessed with bahamut #what a pathetic little meow meow #and I love him that much more for it

[poptartmochi]

oh rolling girl project diva mv you are doing things to my brain

#need to get back into drawing so i can redraw her in some of the shots 🤪😶🆘 #a very fun thing dawned on me.. in a similar manner to vergil in 5 and v just. Overall. the journey is somewhat suicidal #but kind of the inverse as well. she's going to find out what happened (read: save) her brother or die trying. and then she goes on her #journey with vergil which parallels v's journey with nero‚ in that they're inspired to see a bigger picture. but it falls flat in the end - #despite the journey with vergil‚ when she learns what happens to (saves) benedictus‚ she still goes marching towards her inadvertent death. #despite the journey with nero‚ v still merges with urizen to go kill dante. it's fruitless in a way #but nero is nero and thwarts everything anyways :] him being a Thing pushes gioia to lay the past to rest and begin looking to the future. #and we all know his impact on vergil 🥹 #im rotating (rolling... if u will..) in my mind about it. it might be a tad repetitive but dmc is cylical in nature so 🍻 i think it is ok #also. it solidifies this thought that nero is like.. the GLUE... and i really like that it tightens the knot between them #vergil changes gioia‚ and that's enough of a push for nero to really save her from the brink of it all. and then time goes on and he saves #his dad from the brink of it too... but he wouldn't be the type to do that IF gioia hadn't raised him.. which never would have happened if #vergil didn't change her whole philosophy on things... they all save each other.. do you see my vision 😭🤌🏻 #anyways everyone say thank you nero we love you nerooo 😭 he is the heart of it all 🥺🤌🏻 #sriracha.txt #nero prime

[shuttershocky]

It is just as critically important for the Netflix DMC anime to properly portray Vergil (he's going to be there, of course he is) as it is to portray Dante. Their whole shtick is that one is cool by acting uncool and the other is uncool by repeatedly causing mass disasters in an effort to be seen as cool

Dante doesn't smoke. He exclusively eats pizza and ice cream. He gets stabbed twice a week. He unironically says "Woohoo! Yeeha! Watcha!" All the women in his life keep attacking him and then take all of his money, with the exception of Patty, who got rich and decorated Devil May Cry in balloons and ribbons and then stole Dante's ice cream anyway. His nephew kicked him into a statue and impaled him with his own sword when they first met.

Vergil is a grown-ass man running around with a katana cutting down everything but his mommy issues. He loses every fight. He uses hair gel despite not even living in human society. He attacked his dad's enemy to prove he was just as good and they kicked his ass. He made up his own overpowered self-insert devilsona because he kept losing to Dante and then it kicked his ass. His humansona looks like if Kylo Ren googled what emo was. He killed millions of people for a fruit that makes you stronger and then Dante kicked his ass. And then his son kicked his ass. He has never paid child support. He answered Dante's statement of "You cut off your own son's arm for this?" with "My son means nothing to me" and then gets surprised when told that Nero is his son, implying he's cut so many arms off that his son being Nero never even entered his mind. His own doppleganger summon occasionally dances outside of his control, making him die of cringe.

Meanwhile, Nero, left unsupported by both his father and his uncle for most of his life, got out of a cult, married his love, runs a soup kitchen, has a stable job, can actually hire a mechanic to help out, and owns a car, but somehow he's the loser in the family.

#devil may cry

[icycoldninja]

hello! may i request for a reaction/interaction for the sparda boys about having an s/o who is an artist? (for drawing reasearch and ideas teehee)

Ohoho coming right up!

Sparda boys x Artist!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

-The day he discovered you were an artist was the day you gained a permanent, constantly willing model.

-Always wants you to draw him, no matter what time of day it is. He'll wake you up at 3:00 A.M. because he just put together the most badass outfit he's ever seen and wants you to sketch him in it. (Except it's the same outfit he always wears)

-The drawings you make of him hold more worth than museum art pieces in his eyes.

-Buys you sketchbooks, art supplies and whatever you need whenever he can afford them.

-To him, you are more talented than da Vinci. Not that he knows who da Vinci is, because according to him, you're the best artist in the world.

-Follows you on all your social medias and likes your every post.

■ Vergil ■

-Hangs your art up everywhere like a proud dad; the fridge can now barely be opened because there are so many drawings attached to it.

-He will (with your help) download any digital drawings and use them for a variety of purposes, such as his home screen on his phone, lock screen, etc.

-If you just gift him drawings of himself he will tear up with sentimantality and hastily excuse himself so he can go cry in private.

-Also buys you art supplies, paints, and whatnot whenever you need them.

-If he wasn't such a boomer, he'd follow your social medias too but unfortunately, he is tech-inept, so he can't.

-Loves watching you draw just as much as he enjoys looking at your drawings.

□ Nero □

-Normally, Nero isn't all that into art and really doesn’t care for it, but when you came along, all that changed.

-Now he's suddenly super interested in it and wants to watch you draw or have you teach him to draw whenever he's free.

-He's no Picasso, but he can at least manage a couple of funny looking stick men.

-Really into painting now, mostly because he can use the various attachments on his arm to make different patters on the paper. Yes, this is a complicated way to say he finger paints with his prosthetic arm.

-Any sketches you do of him, any at all, will go into his wallet unless you want to keep them for yourself.

-His wallet is now packed to the brim with folded up pictures of him that you drew, so whenever he's away on a long mission, he can stare at them and remember his badass S/O drew that for him.

● V ●

-You're an artist? V's perfect for you--he's a writer.

-He will write poems about whatever you draw; they're usually short limericks describing the image, praising your talent, or both.

-Looking at your latest masterpieces is the highlight of his day because they inspire him to write more poems.

-Calls you his "Magnificent artist".

-Shows your art to his familiars, who all agree (except Griffon, of course, he always has something to yap about) that it's quite nice.

-Is pleasantly surprised whenever he finds sketches/paintings/drawings of himself and is honored to be your muse.

#Dmc #Dmc5 #Dmc5 dante #Dmc5 vergil #Dmc5 Nero #Dmc5 v #devil may cry #devil may cry 5 #dante devil may cry #Devi #vergil devil may cry #nero devil may cry #v devil may cry #Devil may cry x reader #Dante x reader #Vergil x reader #Nero x reader #V x reader #Dmc dante x reader #Dmc vergil x reader #Dmc Nero x reader #Dmc v x reader #headcannons #Requested #thanks for requesting #icycoldninja writes

[aeithalian]

Rick. Buddy. Amigo. Explain something to me. Real quick, I promise.

[The Trials of Apollo: The Tower of Nero, Chapter 4]

Good genetic package, Rick/Apollo? Are you sure about that?

Listen.

Estelle's physical description *clap* makes *clap* no *clap* sense. Why on earth does one of the only fully human characters in this series have to have unique and weird physical traits? Also, it makes no sense in the larger scope of Rick's writing style to have chosen this unless he had some sort of larger intention behind it. Not to mention the theories by fans haven't really done much to fully flesh out any perceivable reason as to why this might be:

Poseidon blessed Sally when she was pregnant - By far, this is the most believable to me, but it's still eh, because this feels very weird and I don't get the vibes from Poseidon that he would have done so to the extent that it shows up in Estelle's physical traits. Also if that were true, it doesn't make sense for Rick to just fully drop it in the story without the intention to flesh it out further, because to my knowledge he doesn't have plans for another novel that takes place after ToA.

Paul isn't Estelle's father - Firstly, this is out of character for Sally, and this doesn't fully justify why Estelle has Percy's eyes. PLUS, salt-and-pepper hair still wouldn't be natural for a newborn

Paul is Poseidon in disguise - This explains her traits the best, but Paul's character is so much more satisfying if this isn't true. It's also total bullshit.

Enter me. I have a theory. Yay. But first, we must discuss.

Firstly, I want to talk about her eyes. Going back to the theories, and based on my fair amount of knowledge of genetics (clarification: I write this as I procrastinate studying for my final genetics exam), the eyes are mostly interesting because Apollo specifies that they are immediately similar Percy's. The thing about eye genetics, though, is that they are what we consider to be 'complex traits', meaning that they are influenced by the interactions of multiple genes from both parents. What I mean to point out here is that Sally could definitely have the genes to produce two children with 'sea-green' eyes, considering her canonical eye color is blue. We don't know what Paul's eye color is, which makes my job a whole lot easier because I can assume that it doesn't directly contradict the possibility that Sally just has really strong eye genes (?). ALSO, who's to say that Poseidon didn't just change his eye color to match Percy's when he was born? Ah, yes, the perks of having a shapeshifting dad who seemingly loves you and your eye color a lot (but is still absentee, WHOOPS).

But what I actually found the most interesting about Estelle was her hair color. More specifically, the fact that Apollo says he's never seen an infant with that color hair. And we know Apollo is somewhat of an unreliable narrator (although this rarely affects his descriptions of people other than himself, and has also mostly evolved into a more honest narration since the end of book 3), but I believe we're supposed to trust this dude who just so happens to have been alive for over four millennia. Based on Apollo's previous descriptions of his own powers (see his conversations with Percy in TTC, when he pulls a Mufasa and basically admits to seeing everything the light touches), we know that Apollo knows and has seen a lot of stuff. So, how is this the first time he's seemingly witnessed this type of hair mutation?

I did some research, as one does. To me, it seems as if Estelle has what's called Griscelli syndrome, which is a type of rare autosomal genetic mutation that typically results in phenotypic hypopigmentation of the skin and hair. (It can also result in neurological disorders and immunodeficiency, based on the type, but I digress.) It's also pretty rare, considering both parents have to be carriers, and even then the child still has a one in four chance of being affected. Current statistics from the NIH say that Griscelli syndrome currently presents in less than 1000 Americans, and is rapidly fatal in 1-4 years without aggressive treatment.

That sad note aside, it's weird to me that the way Rick wrote Estelle's physical description makes it seem as if Apollo had never seen anything similar. I feel like a god of both medicine and knowledge would probably be a bit more up to speed with rare genetic disorders, especially because he's so old. The only explanations are that Apollo, in his mortal state, can't make a diagnosis, OR what he's seeing isn't actually something he can diagnose.

FURTHERMORE, from the same chapter, Apollo says something that muddies the waters even further:

It doesn't make sense that Apollo thinks that Zeus would take such an interest in Estelle. Her nature alone doesn't make me think that the king of the gods would take a sudden interest in a literal newborn, regardless of how much Apollo loves her (and honestly, I don't blame him).

What I think? Rick pulled the strings just tight enough that he has a very interesting plot point to go off of if he ever decides to pick up the pen again and write a new book.

What I think? Estelle doesn't have Griscelli syndrome, she is in much more danger than anyone realizes, and Apollo's subconscious put this together from the second he saw her.

Actually, let's rewind. I'm in the process of writing a fic (stay tuned!) and I had a random thought: do the Greeks have an apocalypse story? You know, like Ragnarök in the Norse mythos, and the Revelation stories in the Bible.

The answer? They don't. I guess that's what you get when the Greco-Roman gods are fully immortal and literally can't be killed.

That didn't stop the rabbit hole, though, and what I found was actually very interesting and I couldn't believe what I was reading.

I give you: Hesiod. More specifically, his poem Works and Days. More more specifically, his 'ages of man'. More more more specifically, the iron age.

For context, Hesiod was an ancient Greek poet who lived in the 8th century BC, and was walking right along with Homer in terms of fame at the time. The poem Works and Days is actually more of a really long Facebook post where he complains about anything and everything, especially in his section on the ages of man.

In summary, Hesiod wrote about what he perceived to be the five stages of human life since the creation of mankind by Zeus' hand:

gold: perfect in every way, pious, and blessed by the gods

silver: real bitches, the ugly middle child, so Zeus killed them

bronze: were so violent they wiped each other out

heroic: golden child, contained the heroes of the Greek mythos

iron: middle-aged men still living in their mom's basement

Hesiod wrote his poem during what he perceived to be the Iron age (it's really just him complaining about being born in the wrong generation), but he ends up listing a lot of qualities: 'everyone works too hard, the gods hate us, nobody respects family values anymore', blah blah blah.

I know what you're thinking: Tia, what does this have to do with an apocalypse?

Well, dear reader, bear with me. You see, every time Zeus didn't like an age of mankind, or it became too violent, or it generally wasn't pious enough, Zeus wouldn't hesitate to destroy that race and start over. Basically, an apocalypse.

So, you may ask a new question: what is the criteria for Zeus to destroy the Iron age? And, assuming that this is the age we're currently in, what would it take for Zeus to destroy everything our beloved Riordanverse characters know and love?

My friend, that is where Estelle comes in. Yes, a baby.

Take this excerpt regarding the Iron age:

"And Zeus will destroy this race of mortal men also when they come to have grey hair on the temples at their birth."

I think you see where I'm going with this.

My theory? Estelle, in her unique position as a bridge between not just the mortals and the demigods (eg. her relationship with Percy), but also the mortals and the gods (eg. her great impression on Apollo), is a living, breathing prophecy. A prophecy that the end is nigh for this current age of mankind.

Furthermore, I also think that Apollo made this connection, somewhere in the back of his mind, the very second he realized that her hair was entirely unique. According to Hesiod (who Apollo also mentions later in the book, so we know he knows who Hesiod is), the day that babies are born with gray hair (or, salt-and-pepper for the sake of the theory) is the second Zeus basically get the go-ahead to commit genocide.

This also brilliantly explains why Apollo suddenly, and seemingly without reason, makes to keep Estelle's existence a secret from Zeus, because he knows that it might be the easiest way to get everyone he knows and loves killed by his own father for "the greater good" as I'm sure Zeus will put it. Plus, in his mortal state, Rick didn't have to explain why Apollo did what he did, since Apollo's been having memory issues since the beginning of the series: why would he remember one line from a poem written almost three thousand years ago?

Frankly, Zeus doesn't care about mortals: the only reason he really cares about anyone is if they have enough power to threaten his own, or if they have some sort of power he can benefit from. This, certainly, falls under the category of the latter. Wouldn't you want a chance to remake humanity into the perfect image that it used to be? You would, if you hadn't gone through a five book long grow-a-conscience speedrun like our lovely Apollo over here.

Fortunately for Rick, this is such an outrageous theory that if it never comes to fruition, I won't be surprised. If he ever writes something similar, though, know I called it first.

EDIT: here's the fic i mentioned i was (am) writing

EDIT: a masterlist of my other metas

#riordanverse #trials of apollo #apollogists #also that fic i mentioned will definitely be including this #estelle blofis #theory #fan theory #also if you were wondering my genetics exam went well thanks for asking