Retribrutus Q&A

Hello, everyone, Retribrutus here. So you could probably guess by the title that I'm going to do a little Q & A for myself regarding the story and potential questions that might shed some light about the story as a whole and how it came to be. Also give you a little insight about my twisted mind when it came to thinking up all of the crazy shit that happens in it. I'm not going to spill spoilers, but just my overall experience and history with Gutsy Sekiryuutei. So strap in and prepare to be either shocked or disappointed because I will be as honest as possible.

Question #1: How were you introduced to the High School DxD series?

Answer: To be honest, I was pretty much around my Junior year of High School when I started watching the anime. Yep, I was an anime only kind of guy back then, I mean, I read the One Piece manga along with the blossoming series of My Hero Academia, but I've never read any light novel for DxD. In actuality, after watching DxD's anime to it's second season, I decided to actually invest myself into reading the novels. Which I'm glad in hindsight after the travesty that was DxD Born, lets just say that if I took the anime to heart, the story that we have now would be drastically different. Also, I was kind of getting into Harem anime at the time since the only Ecchi stuff that I was watching was Senran Kagura, an anime based off of the game. Yeah, I was really hormone driven at that age, but who wasn't as a teenager.

Question #2: What made you want to even make a story for DxD in the first place?

Answer: Well, you see, one day, I was taking a hot shower after football practice after seeing Opening 16 for Naruto Shippuden. Then I started re-watching the whole Issei vs. Vali fight at the end of Season 2, and then this crazy thought popped up in my head: "Hey, these two characters remind me of Naruto vs. Sasuke, wouldn't it be cool to make a story for it?" Then BAM! I made the chapter. Now obviously, I didn't cut to initial part of the story because I actually loved the series as a whole by not butchering it to get instant gratification. Which is why the Michael vs. Vali fight was the longest fight and chapter in the whole story because I've been planning that for years before it had even happened. Now yes, I took obvious inspiration from Naruto, but that was simply their first "civil" fight compared to the ones later down the line.

Question #3: Did you map out the whole story for your fic?

Answer: Ah, good question. Yes and no. Back then I was writing so willy nilly because I didn't think this story wouldn't garner as much attention so I experimented with whatever idea I came up with. Most of you might be shocked, but Michael was originally meant to die to Raynare and follow the plot of the Original DxD story. Now at first I did that because I wanted to be as accurate as possible, then I decided to take a different approach. From all of the other different DxD fics, this was the one thing that most followed, the whole tragic my fake lover killed me and my heart is forever scarred deal that Issei went through in the original. Well, I looked harder at it, and thought, hey, why don't we add a bit more significance to this whole date thing.

Soon enough, I got around to not writing Raynare as the manipulative bitch that she was in the original. Well, after Michael changed her, and that was the key of it all. I didn't just want to just make Raynare into a good person just because but because of Michael. I wrote him in the first chapter as boastful, a screw up and an extremist, but chapter 2 was made to explore his character. Him using up all of his money to barely skirt by for a passable date just to make Yuuma (Raynare) happy, strengthening his best friendship with Saji (further elaborated in the future chapter), and him admitting that he knew the date was fake along with Yuuma's confession not because he figured out her plan and fallen angel status, but because he's competent enough to know that a sudden confession from some random cute girl doesn't just happen for reasons though. That kind revelation that he knew and that he simply wanted to make her happy at the end of the day was perfect enough to sway Raynare. Back then I didn't even know what a Paragon was, so I wrote this by flying off the seat of my pants and it turned out how I saw it especially the fight with Dohnaseek, who I was iffy to make the antagonist, but it somehow worked.

Basically, I do have a set plan for characters and arcs, but I don't have the know how on how to exactly get there. So I basically write what feels natural and see how things go. I try planning sometimes but that usually feels like a checklist that makes writing boring for me. If I get a good idea that pops into my head, I write it down and see where it goes and if I like it, it stays. But if I don't see it connecting well then it goes.

Did you know that I was planning on making a scene where Michael and Saji go up against the whole of the VVV clan in Kuoh Academy. The premise was supposed to be inspired by Braveheart as the whole Male student body of the academy rushed at them, and the only weapons the two teens had were pairs of sunglasses and a single phone call to...Mil-tan. It felt totally inappropriate during the Treaty Arc, so I cut that out despite wanting to write it.

Question #4: So what made you want to make Michael and Saji best friends? Also why even make Saji such a major character?

Answer: So has anyone here seen this awesome show called Psych because that is one of my all time favorite shows that I used to watch on the Ion network as a kid. I also really loved the whole dynamic between Shawn and Gus, so I decided to incorporate that into my favorite character, Saji. In the Original DxD, back then, Saji was poorly used in the story or completely forgotten about which is pretty okay since he's in Sona's peerage (The B Team). But after reading the chapter were he attains Balance breaker, I decided to give him the spotlight that he deserves and since then right beside Michael, he's my favorite character to write. He's always there to bust Michael's chops should he get too boastful, he's stuck dealing with Michael's shit, and they practically know pretty much everything about each other.

I wrote this friendship as a friendship that I would want in real life. Real friends aren't the ones that you always get along with, real friends are the people who will kick your ass if you mess up and later take you out for ice cream and laugh at you for falling on your face and afterwards you'd laugh with them while secretly trying to kick them in the balls while they're distracted.

So, Saji's awesome. I gave him more character since I didn't want him to be a watered down Issei clone in the story. So instead of being a parallel, I made him a foil to Michael. He's smart, he thinks before he leaps, and he's generally more polite than Michael, he does share Michael's ability to step up for his friends. Writing him, I took some inspiration from Shikamaru from Naurto. However, he overthinks things and does get frightened while Michael doesn't think things through and recklessly fights without considering the consequences to himself. They're opposites and they attract. Heck, if either one of the were a female, I'd have written them as a couple because they mesh so well even for Heterosexual Life Partners.

Question #5: Why do you always give more dialogue to Ddraig in the story?

Answer: Nice question, but allow me to answer your question with another question.

Why doesn't Ddraig have as much dialogue in the original story?

I mean, look at it. Whenever Issei is in a conundrum, he only speaks when the plot demands it or they're making a joke about his illness about the Boob Dragon thing, which is both hilarious and very stupid. Sure, he has moments where he genuinely speaks, but as a voice in Issei's head, he should be way more active than he should considering the crap that Issei has to go through every day as a devil. So I did that with Ddraig's character in DxD and actually gave him what I think is more character for him. He's Michael's second conscience because Michael's prone to actually doing some dumb stuff especially with a literal god killing dragon war machine attached his arm. He acts as a wise elder to steer Michael in the right direction while not being afraid to slap sense into him.

He isn't without fault most of the time, and he's shown to have some character and can develop. Does anyone remember when Tiamat was always brought up before her debut in the original LN and has this foreshadowed rift between her and Ddraig? Well, before Ishibumi decided to take the easy route and make the whole thing about borrowing and never returning her sacred treasure, I decided to make it a point about how serious the rift was during the Familiar chapter. She's literally killed many of Ddraig's old possessors due to her grudge, and when she's about to kill Michael, the two of them stand up for each other and finally show their respect for one another as real partners.

Question #6: Why did you make Michael such an insufferable and annoying character?

Answer: Simple because he needs to be more than just a likable character. Yeah, I know the traps that most harem main characters fall into. They either be cold and distant, which isn't my favorite or just be the plain and normal guy they are with emphasis on them being completely normal. And despite this they get girls clambering onto them for being generally nice. Well, Michael's a nice guy, but you can't have the good without the bad. Sure, he's boastful and sometimes flamboyant, but he can be an asshole. This is where the other characters like Saji, Raynare, Ddraig, Koneko and literally most other come in, they complement Michael's character. He's the protagonist, but he isn't running the whole story by himself, he has other people bouncing off of him to not just make him have different interactions, but to show different sides of his character.

When creating Michael, I obviously took protagonists like Naruto and Luffy into account, but those were inspirations like how Goku was those two character's inspiration. Michael being annoying is intentional, and when I started writing the story, I was already getting backlash for it, and instead of rewriting him to be less annoying, I decided to keep going with it. First, I did this to have fun while writing and second, I can't appeal to everyone on the internet. The haters are gonna hate and you can't do anything about that, you can only control how you let them get to you.

I acknowledge that annoying characters can be bad when their written poorly. An example would be Bendy from Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, you know, the character that basically got Bloo in trouble by framing him for his pranks only to get off scott free in the end when he's been proven to be the true culprit. There's a reason why Bendy was never featured in another episode after that because people hated him. Which is why annoying characters especially assholes need to suffer a comeuppance in order to balance out their character otherwise they'd be less entertaining and hated by the audience. This is why shows like "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" exist along with any Bender scene in "Futurama", these characters do bad and deplorable things and get punished for it. Whether they learn from their mistakes or their actions depend on the type of story and medium, but at the end of the day they still have to suffer consequence. Michael suffers consequence and that could range from hilarity to something gravely serious.

Question #7: Who is your favorite character in the story?

Answer: Koneko. Without a doubt. Raynare comes to a close second. As for the white nekomata, I love her character and saw her no nonsense attitude as a perfect foil for Michael. Since the protagonist isn't a pervert like Issei, Koneko is able to still keep her usual cool attitude even after falling for Michael since Michael will still be Michael... Oh, right, and I was able to make a more organic relationship between the two that doesn't involve in Koneko instantly falling in love with him after saving her from Kuroka. Her feelings actually started growing for him all the way during the Phoenix Rating game and from there, you catch hints and glimpses into how she really feels without being hit over the head about it.

It was so obvious that Michael didn't even have to face Kuroka at all, thanks to Koneko already being honest and assured by him during the Natsuru arc, she was able to change thanks to her interactions with him. And she's written to be more than just the pervert's keeper which can be annoying in the first seasons of the anime and LN sometimes. When I write Koneko hitting Michael its mostly because he DESERVES it. He makes wisecracks about her short height and her flat chest, this is the normal reaction that Koneko should have since she's been known to be sensitive about that stuff.

However, like Saji, opposite attract and out of the whole peerage, Michael has one of the closest bonds with her. Heck, there's a reason why he sent Kiba to get her by labeling her as the "Strongest Person that he knew". Out of both respect and mostly fear.

Question #8: Is your real name "Michael"?

Answer: =]

Question #9: Why did you make a character like Son Kai?

Answer: Ah, Kai the enigma character. The character that readers either love or hate. Well, back in the day, I was crazy about Dragon Ball that I used to binge watch Dragon Ball Z Kai on Nicktoons. You can see how I got the name, then I started integrating him more with Michael and from then on, I planned more for his character. It was always my intention to have him be Michael's half brother. Oh, right, if you guys hadn't noticed in past chapters, Kai has already admitted to this bit of info so its not a spoiler. And before you ask, he even mentions being a half human and half monkey youkai in the past. Him being married to Serafall was an original idea of mine for a story that I might have written before Gutsy Sekiryuutei, but I scrapped it and included it here except this time with Serafall being married to Kai not a teacher Michael. Just don't ask about that idea, the less you know about my huge crush on Serafall, the better.

So writing Kai has been a ball, and his interactions with his son, Shura, and wife Serafall are the best. But the most fun I've written for him was when he's interacting with Sona as her beloved brother in law and basically her caretaker since she's been a baby. This makes her more attached to Kai than even Serafall since the newly dubbed Leviathan was extremely busy. With him, I was able to expand Sona's character from always being so reserved into a more adorable and refreshing outlook on her character.

Now, I made Kai to be a dark reflection of Michael, who was the protagonist of his own story before the events of DxD. I mean, he didn't just up and became Serafall's Queen, the advisor to Sirzechs Lucifer and a major powerhouse overnight. Unlike Michael, Kai has had a rough existence while living in the supernatural world while Michael had a lesser but still rough life in the normal human world. Going further may lead into spoilers, so just keep in mind that he's not meant to be a Gary Stu, he's actually a very "Broken" character past that jovial face of his. Heck, he's a dark reflection of Michael because he permanently broke himself by not heeding a very dire consequence in his early life.

Question #9: What is your favorite scene in the story?

Answer: I'll try not to cheat with the recent funny one. Y'know, the whole Raynare nosebleed scene. So, I'll just go way back to Chapter 35, my first Filler Chapter and my personal favorite. It holds a ton of things that either made me bust out laughing or be reminded of future events to come thanks to the iffy 10 year time bazooka that I introduced and took from Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

My favorite scene would have to be this portion of banter right here:

"Okay, so our goals here are to find the ghosts and capture them are we clear?" Saji wanted to confirm things one more time. Everyone nodded.

"Good."

Everyone started mobilizing down the forest. No matter what happens they must do they're best to support Tsubaki through this.

"Yosh! Let's move out, everyone! Team M.K.G.S is on the move!" Michael cheered.

"M.K.G.S. what does that mean?" Saji asked.

"You know!" Michael rubbed his chin, "It an anagram of our first names Michael, Kiba, Gasper and Saji."

"How come your name gets to be the first one?"

Michael would have expected that comment from Saji, but surprisingly it was Kiba who said that.

"Well, because I'm the Great Hanamura."

"That's not a reason at all, Michael." Saji smiled proudly, "As the one who took this job and formed all of you here, I think I should be the one with the first name in front."

"Well, do you have a Longinus classed sacred gear and 8 pawn pieces?" Michael smirked as he hit a stinging wound towards Saji's pride.

"W-Well no, but-!"

"Of course not, so shut the hell up, and I'm the first letter so get used to it." Michael growled.

"In actuality, I believe I should be the first letter since K goes before M and S." Kiba suggested.

"Quiet, Pretty Boy!"

"U-Um… since I've been a devil longer than all of you, maybe I should be the first letter."

"What? Gasper even you!"

"S-Sorry!" Gasper hid behind Kiba.

Now an argument ensued for 23 minutes as they trudged down the path coming to a solution.

"Okay, so here is what we'll do for each of us. We'll use our first lettered name in the anagram when we address ourselves."

Everyone nods at Saji's suggestion.

"Good for example, I will say mine as S.K.G.M. is that good do we have everyone jotted down as okay?"

"I'm fine with it."

"M-Me too."

"How come my name is the last letter in your anagram?" Michael had to be that guy.

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Saji growled.

Looking back after getting my fill of such Seinfeld humor from shows like "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" this scene would always get a chuckle out of me.

Question #10: Why do you always write in the Third Person Omniscient?

Answer: It may not be satisfactory but because it's easier for me this way. I know that the story can get a bit too much if I'm getting in the heads of so many characters, but I make sure to give a manageable amount for readers to understand the flow of the story. I know Third Person Limited gives readers a more intimate relationship with the character it focuses on, but its not the only way for readers to connect with the story's characters. I'm willing to admit to Omniscient's flaws, but I'm not going to doubt it's benefits such as being more open with other characters in story and seeing their development. Sure, the narrator can tell you undeniable parts of the story to keep you informed, but he's not telling you the whole story in the first few paragraphs.

Like the Michael vs. Vali fight where their thoughts in the battle were portrayed so that you guys can know how intense they were during their clash. Even the Natsuru vs. Kuroka fight had is an example as both nekomata were direct foils and yet similar. Limited's style is good for intimacy, but I'm not going to do that because the world of DxD is just as important as the main protagonist since its rapidly changing and its due to Michael either changing it, or it changing him in return.

So if you have a problem with this style make sure to PM me.

Last Question: Why are you prioritizing Devil of Steel over High School DxD: Tale of the Gutsy Sekiryuutei?

Answer: Because I like superheroes, don't judge me! I'm working on making my own DC Universe with Original stories and taking inspiration from other DC works and properties. Also, I want to try and write something different from time to time. Only this time more often than usual. At least give it a try before you rush at the bit for DxD.

So that's it. I hoped this was enough to palate your appetite about the story as a whole. Welp, I wish you all a happy new years!

P.S.- This story actually has a Tvtropes page in case anyone is interested. Its pretty bare bones, but anyone's allowed to edit it if they want to.

I'm Out So Peace Out and have a lovely day!