Chapter 18 : Love to see stuff like this

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As for Xenovia, all I can say is that I think you're giving DxD canon way too much credit. How Xenovia ended up in Rias' peerage and the subsequent complete re-write of her character made no sense with what is established about her before or after.

No actual Catholic would ever believe a Fallen Angel telling them that God is dead (this goes against the most fundamental beliefs of the Catholic faith), no actual Catholic would ever be okay with being turned into a demon under any circumstances, and the idea that a Catholic girl who isn't a nun wouldn't be allowed to have kids is laughable. Assuming it's within the context of marriage, the Catholic Church is a-okay with women having kids.

So, yeah, I can't say I think keeping Xenovia's personality on the track it jumped to in canon is a good idea."

Wow, this is a long one, let me dive into it point by point.

First of all, I understand that some people just don't like Issei as a character even in canon, that's perfectly fine. Like everyone else in the story, I have a few ideas to try and give him some depth and character development that you're saying he's lacking. Maybe I am giving Issei too much credit, probably, I like to read into characters a lot, and sometimes that can lead to me having different perceptions of characters compared to others.

As for Xenovia, well I have plans to circumnavigate a lot of the criticism you mention about DxD canon Xenovia. As for the part about how she shouldn't trust Kokabiel's word that God is dead, I think it's justified since she sees the thought process laid out before her, Kiba just got a sword that by all laws of the universe should not be able to exist, and Kokabiel killed one of his own allies for discovering the truth. Plus, even if she didn't believe him, she still called the church, and asked them herself, and well… yeah, they ended up confirming it as true, and excommunicated her as a result.

In terms of Xenovia turning into a devil, let's break it down: after being excommunicated, she's homeless, her best friend thinks she's a traitor, she's broke, can't return back to Griselda due to being excommunicated; all roads lead to her turning to the group of people who helped her and Irina out, and obviously have demonstrated that they really care about each other. It was a decision made in impulse and possibly a little bit of spite towards the church for excommunicating her.

Finally, this last point about Xenovia and kids is on me: I didn't word it very clearly last time, so let me clear up the misconception here. It's not that Xenovia could never have kids at the church, it's that she never had a family at the church, Griselda has never, and is never considered by Xenovia to be her mother, just her guardian and mentor. Plus, I do actually doubt that the church would let Xenovia have kids, at least for a long time, since Xenovia is their precious Durandal wielder. They can't have her getting pregnant. It's like how Asia couldn't have a normal life while in the church due to her being constantly treated less like a person and more like a precious resource. So when I say, "Xenovia want's kids because she wants to have what she couldn't have in the church: a family," what I really mean is that Xenovia, due to her position as a warrior and resource of the church could never live the normal life she wanted, she couldn't be Xenovia: the young woman, she probably couldn't have kids, etc. Make more sense? I hope so.

I hope that nothing I said here came off as sarcastic or like I was looking down on you by the way. I think it's great to have conversations like these, it shows different perspectives, and that's important to consider when writing. Also, it's incredibly high praise to be one of only four fanfictions you have favorited on your profile, so I think that speaks to the fact that you're by no means bashing my story. So, thanks for the long and detailed review, and you have a wonderful day!

Tyrant Overlord Killidia says:

"Unlike 'As the Ghost Whispers', I actually am semi-fond of canon Issei and the notion that he doesn't experience any genuine character growth is in my opinion nonsense. While Volume 10 hasn't been officially translated yet, Raynare betraying his trust, spearing him, and then leaving him to die all the way back in Volume 1 set a really nasty case of relationship trauma into Issei that is only truly resolved in Volume 10. It also really doesn't help that the anime doubles down on Issei's perverted antics and downplays his more positive traits.

Now Issei... yeah, there are those who don't like him but Issei views women as actual people instead of as objects to use, abuse, break, and discard like the aforementioned Riser and the nun-hunting serial rapist Diodora Astaroth. His desire to rape and kill Asia actually pissed off Issei to the extent where he uses Balance Breaker and delivers an epic beatdown to Diodora. Issei may peek on a girl, but he would never force himself onto one.

Vin getting Xenovia... honestly, I don't really count Xenovia as part of Issei's harem so I am not bothered by it happening. I know that I should be since I don't like harem stealing, but how easily Xenovia was forgiven by Issei for wanting to kill Asia seemed weird to me."

Love to see stuff like this, discussion is the key to creativity, after all.

I definitely agree with you, that Issei does experience character development. Some of it is pretty downplayed, at least in the anime, like you said, but I love how Issei's character nuances play out, like in truth, the guy is really scared of making genuine connections with women for a while after Raynare. He's afraid of whole-heartedly loving a woman, because the first time ended so badly. Maybe it's my high school psychology class experience talking here, but I always thought that Issei's fixation on breasts could be something more than just lust, and honestly, I think there's a very good case to be made for Issei, perhaps on a deeper subconscious level, being attracted so much to breasts because they symbolize a protective, warm, motherly quality that is symbolic of safety, something that Issei would no doubt want to have after being traumatized by Raynare.

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