Devil May Cry: The Traitor's Bloodline Reboot Plans
Hello everyone, I'd like to apologize for my lack of activity since work and my mental health have both taken a turn for the worse so it's been a very rough few years for me, but I think this year I can get back into writing since there's a lot more inspiration to be had now that Devil May Cry 5 and Disgaea 1 Complete are coming out.
Anyways, when I started DMC:TTB I feel I was all enthusiasm and no structure and while I had fun writing the stories, I think I could've done much better with my current mindset. With that in mind, I plan on rebooting the series with some changed storyline elements and a better writing style. I still like the idea behind the stories, so I'm going to try my best to fully flesh them out this time.
The saga has to rebuilt from the ground up since they all reference each other to some degree, so I can't choose just one arc to remake without contradicting the other and some of the changes are major and might end up being completely different from the original structure and timeline.
Now I'll be discussing the changes to each specific arc.
The Sparda Arc
This arc will undergo the most change since now I have Disgaea 5 to work with as a base. With all the hints of Christo being a young Lamington, I believe Disgaea 5's setting works well as a prequel to the series and Goldion's whole "demons with a heart" mentality lends well to an origin story for Sparda. Sparda will have a connection to Goldion, Void, Liezerotta and Killia but in a less straightforward sense and Mundus will be the reason he fell out with them.
The timeline is set around three thousand years before the events of Devil May Cry 3 and will feature a younger Sparda as a Devil Knight under Mundus, who at this point is still a feudal lord of the Demon World. Krichevskoy, Zenon and Zetta will still appear in the story as Sparda's comrades and Mundus supports the Killia's Alliance for selfish reasons and sends Sparda as his agent. Naturally it will reach the point where Devil May Cry's iconic backstory begins when Mundus shows his true colors. The nature of Mundus' power level in this story is tied to his name, I'll leave you to think about that.
Trillion: God of Destruction was originally considered but ultimately scrapped for this arc, but tell me what you guys think.
The Vergil Arc
This arc will expand the events of the Devil May Cry 3 manga and is set three years before the game begins. Vergil is on a journey to destroy the seven seals that guard the Temen-ni-gru and has to enter select points in both the human and demon worlds. This won't be a 1:1 adaptation and it will make several changes to the lore to adapt to the setting and the idea of multiple Netherworlds will come to play to justify it. Vergil will still meet Krichevskoy, Laharl and Etna and he will struggle with learning how Sparda became as strong as he is and will deny that it was "heart" that was the catalyst since he blames it for his failure to protect Eva and Dante. Supplementary materials of Devil May Cry 3 hint that Vergil wants power as a means of becoming too strong to hurt, but also to relieve Dante of the burdens of his demonic heritage and allow him to live as a human, so that might come into play.
Naturally this also comes to explain the circumstances of Nero's birth so he will have an unstable and reluctant chemistry with Etna that he will be in complete denial about since he's Vergil.
The Dante Arc
This arc will be set during the events of Devil May Cry 3 and the second act will be during the events of the original Devil May Cry. The first act will involve a young Dante in the Evil Academy with Mao and Raspberyl and it takes place parallel to the Vergil Arc before they converge into the events of Devil May Cry 3.
The second act will omit Mallet Island entirely in favor of Krichevskoy's Netherworld, but there will still be castles to explore. Krichevskoy was trusted with Mundus' seal but as he weakened over the years, it slowly started seeping out. This arc will introduce a caring yet comedic dynamic between Dante and Flonne similar to Patty Lowell in the anime. Nelo Angelo will be featured more prominently as both Dante and Etna's rival and Mundus' defeat cements Dante's infamy throughout the Netherworld.
The Nero Arc
Easily my favorite arc to write since it came together the most naturally to me among the stories. This arc will remain mostly unchanged but it will be enhanced with a proper prologue and some structural and quality changes. Nero will be Credo's adoptive brother and a childhood friend of Sapphire Rhodonite. His desire to join the Order of the Sword is out of admiration for Credo and to prove to Sapphire that he won't die like her other heroes.
Nero and Rozalin's relationship dynamic will be one-sidedly romantic on Rozalin's side of things at the start, since trauma from receiving the Devil Bringer suppressed a large chunk of Nero's childhood memories regarding the Hell Gates. Nero starts to reciprocate her affections instinctively at first but then genuinely throughout the course of the story. They met as children because Nero found the location of a prototype Hell Gate in Mitis Forest. If I were to estimate their ages, they knew each other from when they were seven to thirteen years old. Inspiration is partially taken from Hiro and Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx but more recurring than one time.
Nero's interactions with his mother will be vitriolic and comedic at first on his part since like Devil May Cry 3's Dante, he's unwilling to accept his demon half. Etna however adores teasing her son and Rozalin.
One of the many mistakes I made was trying too hard to adapt the story of both games, so I'll try to streamline both stories into something more original and coherent. Some aspects of Disgaea 3 will appear.
The Dante Arc D2
This will be the most dramatic departure from the original series and story since other than using Disgaea D2 and Devil May Cry 2 as a base. Arius and Lucia won't be appearing at all, instead Argosax himself will be a primary antagonist with an androgynous "bishonen" appearance similar to Ryo Asuka from Devilman Crybaby in his human form. The story still preserves the crisis of D2 but has Argosax manipulating the Krichevskoy Faction. Etna's vast power is tied to Argosax and it follows with Devil May Cry's core story principle being a family drama. DmC will be referenced with Sicily and the story will prelude Devil May Cry 5 through glimpses of a "mysterious" cloaked figure.
Side Story/Spinoff: Castlevania: Silver Moon's Promise
While Disgaea 4's story was originally tied to DmC:Devil May Cry, I felt at some point that story was like throwing pasta against a wall until something stuck, but still, I enjoyed writing it and I'm glad some people liked it, but after the third chapter, I felt it was hard knowing where it would go. So the new plan is to expand the short story I did following Soma Cruz/Dracula and Vulcanus/Artina. The Castlevania Anime on Netflix and a subsequent playthrough of Castlevania Symphony of the Night encouraged this decision since Disgaea 4's backstory with Fear Energy, Artina and Valvatorez was fundamentally similar to Dracula, Alucard and Lisa's stories.
This story takes place within the Traitor's Bloodline universe roughly two years after the Nero Arc.
Unnamed Devil May Cry 5 and DmC:Devil May Cry projects
With DMC5 on the horizon, I'll wait for another Disgaea game to be announced as well before making plans for a new arc. As for DmC Devil May Cry, I'm not giving up on its inclusion and it will exist within the timeline through hints and cameos from the D2 Arc. If Crystar is ever localized, that /might/ be what DmC will cross over with.
While on the topic of Devil May Cry, Fairy Fencer N will also be renamed and changed completely. It will be renamed into Devil May Cry F and it will be rebooted to accommodate the changes made to Fairy Fencer F with Advent Dark Force. More details will come later. Its prequel will cross the events of Sparda's legend with Trillion: God of Destruction and it will dive into Sparda's extended family.
Afterword: Again, I'm truly sorry for the lack of updates over the past two years and as stated above, I've been fighting mental health issues, stressful work and other things I won't burden you guys with. Almost all my other stories will be rebooted and or remade as well to ensure better quality with some exceptions, so this might take a while. Some stories might be handed off to other writers, so PM me to ask what's available.
Anyways, thank you all so much for the support I've received over the years and for all the reviews before, I'll try to be better than I was a few years ago. PM me if you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to collaborate with any of you.