Interesting and lovely yes

interesting

(As I said, here we are.)

This chapter made me lol. Seriously—right about two seconds after I read the words 'Japanese government'. And you definitely made good on that implication. I wonder how Ria would react if she knew she'd just met the REAL Alucard, hee hee. (Oh man, so hoping she finds out. Her reaction should be priceless.)

Bah, still stupidly rooting for some Dracula/Ria—simply because it'd be hella interesting (btw—yeah, you spelled both those words right). Not that I don't like your depiction of Isaac... but Drac trumps almost anyone in my book. :P And now that I smell another Enemy Mine alliance coming soon... :D

Y'know, reading through the Untested and then this in one sitting, the improvement in writing quality is pronounced. I mean, Untested was a very good fic already, but this is shaping up to be brilliant.

Avidly awaiting the next chapter—consider this on alerts!

Fair warning, this is going to be a long and rambling review.

Long ago and far away, I read your three CV & VH D crossovers. I loved them. ‘Al’ is my all time favorite CastleVania character (although Soma Cruz is becoming a fast second), and I’ve always loved D.

You did all the characters within that mini-series true justice. Their characterizations were astoundingly wonderful--nigh on perfect. In short, I’m still waiting (patiently, no rush) for the day you work on the larger story between the two brothers. . . . If you ever do go down that route.

I didn’t review them because, A) I’m lazy; B) I wasn’t saying anything that hadn’t been said before. Bad me, I’m sorry.

Now, skipping forward a little in explanation (but backward in time), I’ve only played a few hours of SotN--back in the day; didn’t make it to 50% completion--and all of DoS just this pasted fall. So I’m really limited in the types of CV fics I look at, although the CastleVania Wiki is starting to help there. It’s a poor excuse for never reading ‘Untested’, but it’s the only reason I have. . . . That and I’m bad with names and didn’t realize that you were the writer of both the endearing mini-series, and the larger story.

So why am I here now? Being sick makes you look at things differently--like why a story staring an OC with only 27 chapters has about 115 reviews. A click of your pen-name, and I began to see why. So after recognizing that itty mini-series I said to my addled self, ‘Hmm, if she did Alucard and D justice, she probably knows how to keep an OC from turning into a Mary/Gary Sue’.

I’m sorry I didn’t start on ‘Untested’ sooner. It was adorable, funny, perfect. I got a kick out of Ria, loved all the nods to HP and BtVS--yeah, I’m a Buffy fan, so I got a ton of the in-jokes. The story flowed well, the characterizations were good, and I just all around had fun with it. Granted I kinda had a bit of a start when Dracula resurrected with Blond hair, but when ‘Alucard’ showed up in the cafe, I kinda figured out what was going on. . . . and just suggesting that he was going to bring her to a hotel room is so NOT Alucard, that I almost fell over laughing. So yes, that was fun when she found out who he really was, and I again loved Isaac’s and everyone’s personalities throughout the read.

Now I know you mentioned that there was a plot-hole when Sophy picked up the whip. I gotta say, to your credit, I didn’t catch it, or even feel that such was true. In hindsight, I still don’t know what you were worried about, but I can make an educated guess:

1) When Sophy picked up the whip, she wasn’t burned. I don’t find this a problem. She should have had the whip, the whip did not reject her--as it did with her brother--so logically she should be able to not only hold the whip, but to use it. I really thought there was going to be a moment near the end when the Vampire Killer would get knocked/forced into Sophy’s hands and she’d end up cracking Walter one. . . . Just because no-one would see that coming. Would she be as good as Ria with the whip? No. But I don’t see why she can’t use it defensively.

2) When Sophy picked up the whip, she didn’t see Sara. Okay, it was mentioned that the female heirs could see Sara, but Ria didn’t see her before touching the whip. More over, she didn’t see Sara right away. On top of that, in situations like this--in other stories--it’s understood that such a power is usually only conveyed to the CURRENT heir of artifact X in said tales. But all in all, I like that everyone got to see her. . . . And that she got to have a shouting match with Dracula. . . . and that’s she’s making Isaac paranoid now. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

(And yes, I do like the little bit of ‘what the hell was that electric bolt between us?’ tension that the kids still haven’t figured out is LOVE just yet. That just makes me giggle uncontrollably. Espeshily if Al gets suspicius of Isaac, and Isaac get protective/defensive of Ria, and then both of them end up in a pissing match over which of them is a better ally for Ria--moreso because Al would not be thinking in romantic terms, and Isaac would. But if that’s too cliché, or just not possible to work in, I understand. A fan can dream.)

So I basically spent all of yesterday and the night before polishing off ‘Untested’, and then jumped straight into ‘Trials’.

I’m glad to say that I’m not disappointed. Ria is still smart and funny, and there is definitely a vein of BtVS logic to her. I like it when the characters are smart. Maybe I’m a little sad that we didn’t get to see Ria fight Dracula, but then if you see one fight with Drac, you’ve seen them all. (Unless the fight involves Soma. . . then it’s just a little odd.) So I understand that we may never see the fight. . . . but I wouldn’t say no to Ria dreaming/remembering/reminiscing on at least the important details about it now and then.

And now for one last, strange, thing. . . . We seem to think alike. I’ve been waiting since the first story for Al to wake up, and make an appearance. No sooner do I see the words ‘little treat’ in your opening note, then I do a little happy squeal. I honestly didn’t care what incarnation of Alucard you used, I’m just glad he’s here. And I died happy the moment you mentioned ‘Japanese Government’--I had to walk away from my laptop and just bask in unreasonable happiness, and dancing. There was a little bit of dancing.

I admit, I found Genya a little too . . . smiley at first. But then I realized, he was acting. He’s away from any backup he would normally have, and he’s trying to recover the throne with as little fuss as possible. It pays to be ‘friendly’ and ‘non-threatening’ and all around oily if it gets you what you want without having to kill people. I just wonder how long it’s going to take someone to go ‘Arikado. . . Arikado, that’s a weird name. Why does it sound so familiar? Ari- . . . ~flip through the journals~ . . . Ari . . . Alucard?!?! . . . No way, the odds of that are. . .’, or, ‘Arikado? . . . . . Um, you wouldn’t happen to know someone, or have someone in your family history named. . . Alucard, would you?’

(Honestly, I didn’t notice the thing with his name at once, when I started DoS. But then I couldn’t process his name at first. But once I did, I was freaking out. And that’s how I learned of the CV Wiki . . .)

So now I find myself charmed by this series too, and not caring that it wrecks the ‘Aria of Sorrow’ and ‘Dawn of Sorrow’ timelines. You have Al, you have a confused Isaac to tease, and Ria to torment a little before things get better.

I don’t know what you are going to do, but I’ll be cheering you on as you do it.


~ Lynn StarDragon, the Happy Dragon

Squee! Okay, that was obligatory. Glad to get it out of my system. ^_^ And I like how you lampshaded the "treat" by having Ria think about the events of the previous story when Dracula was masquerading as someone else.

Interesting to see that Ria has a school life. Given what's been happening, it's nice to see her in a more "normal" milieu with ordinary friends. If nothing else, it helps to remind us, the readers, that there's a greater world out there beyond the gates of Dracula's Castle that Ria and those on her side are fighting to protect. Mr. Hamm's reaction makes me wonder if it was meant just as a one-scene reaction...or if you're laying the groundwork for him to be revealed later as a minion of someone-or-other.

Meanwhile, Dracula's throne begins to act up...nothing much to say yet about that, as I'm sure future chapters will reveal what the (literal) seat of the Dark Lord's power will mean and who will be fighting over it.

TeeHee! :D *big smile* That treat was better than pumpkin icecream covered in melted mint dark chocolate. Yummy. Hee. Excellent work on this chapter...When Ria was being questioned by her mom over her speed and her mom asked if Sara was agreeing with her, I literally burst into laugher. And I liked seeing Keisha--fun character :)lol. Great job on this. I can't wait for more.

O *squeals for fifteen minutes* Arikado!! Wow so you brought him into the picture! This is going to be VERY fascinating. (I love long chapters btw) This was chock full of goodness and leetsauce and I can't wait to see if the next chapter will be just as exciting! (I bet it will :P)

*squee* One of my personal favorites -Alucard-! Ah, such a good update, and right when I was about to die of boredom. Good job! *hands over a batch of cinnamon rolls*

Yay! She's breaking into the museum! I can't imagine what sort of chaos will ensue, and why do I get the feeling she's gonna drag Isaac and Sara along? XD

Anyway, I had wanted to mention this on my second review, but I forgot, so here it goes. If Keisha's father is part of the military, then is he by any chance Hammer? I dunno, but I feel like he is, and must say, that's pretty cool if so. =D

And even though I've never played the Sorrow games, I like the inclusion of some aspects from it, like Genya. Only this time we have a Belmont hero (Ria, of course.). Also, the humor in this chapter had me giggling aloud. Like always, great chapter. :3

nice

Lovely

Oh, I really liked it! The cult meeting was excellent. Very good "dark" atmosphere in the writing. Well done! It makes me very excited about where the storyline is going. Great work,as usual. And I mean that. I don't think you should doubt yourself. This writing was quite good.

Very nice! Haven't heard from this story in a while. So Galamoth is gonna be a main villain, eh? He was such a touch boss w/o the lightning ring >.< Written beautifully, as usual :P Can't wait to hear from this story again!

Regardless of Ria's absence, it was still a good chapter. It's nice to know how that brief storm started, but I never would've guessed that this cult would summon Galamoth, which clearly spells trouble for the entire world. I like how you incorporated his desire to overthrow Dracula, like in Judgment, plus this is probably the only fic on here with Galamoth possibly achieving that goal. Anyway, like always, great chapter. :3

Fun! Stupid humans and grabbing things they aren't supposed to. Always gets em in trouble >.< lulz. Nice interaction with Ria and Isaac and I hope Sophy isn't dating a bad egg. That wouldn't be good. Awesomely written chapter, love. I can't wait for the next one ^_^