Name: justawillowtree (Signed) · Date: 22 May 2018 04:38 PM · For: there is a light that never goes out

HI KRISTIN. <3

 

The Puffs are playing this review game right now, and the prompt was to review a story with Bellatrix Black in it, and as soon as I saw that you wrote something featuring such a marvelously dark character, I leapt at the chance to review it.

 

You managed to characterize her in such a delightful, creepy way. That scene in the beginning when she’s with her sisters is just so representative of who she is as a person, and it makes sense that this lust for murder and power starts from a young age for Bellatrix. When she crushes the beetle, I winced a bit, because it reminded me a lot of how easily she tosses aside Muggle and Muggle-born lives later on. You also characterized her sisters really well! And just everything about her voice is so skin-crawling and alarming and perfect, and I think you did so well.

 

The second section where she found her love is so good. Because, though we aren’t expected to ship them in the conventional way, there is just something so fitting about these two being together. And we don’t even know her lover’s name! They helped bring out the absolute worst in each other (though, I suspect they think that they reached new heights with each other haha), until they were (quite willingly) brought into the inner circle of the Dark Lord. But the idea that Bellatrix initially wanted to be her own Dark Lady is just so cool because, given what we know about her, it makes so much sense. It makes sense that someone would have to convince her to take things the logical way. And I love that. (And, ugh, Pureblood traditions. Like, I don’t ship Bellatrix with her lover because they’re both terrible people, but that’s still a stupid thing for her parents to do.)

 

And that third section! Ahh I love that Bellatrix would consider herself superior for having remained loyal to the Dark Lord the whole way through, while feeling bitter towards her former lover for taking the easy way out. It’s so good. I love that ending, too.

 

This was amazing! I loved it so much! <3

 

Love,

Eva

Author's Response:

Omg I saw that, I went into the common room to see if I could participate in anything (looks like that one was pre-organized teams though – darn) and I saw that you all were organized by badger species and I love you all so much. Also is it sad that I knew the honey badger without even looking it up? (…Don’t answer that) Anyway, thank you so much for choosing this one!! <3

 

I’m so glad you loved the characterization of Bellatrix! Hahaha, so yeah, I think it’s not uncommon for kids to be cruel at that age, especially to insects, but there’s something about how much she enjoys making it suffer that kind of ominously suggests who she becomes. Muahaha. I had fun writing that part. :P I also like that you drew a parallel between her treatment of the beetle and Muggles/Muggle-borns – that’s very astute of you :) And I’m so happy to hear that you liked the portrayal of her sisters as well, thank you!

 

I really like what you said about Bellatrix and her lover and how they make sense together even though they’re so terrible together. Omg and you’ve hit the nail on the head about them bringing out the worst in each other but seeing it as new heights. That was one of the most interesting things about writing this fic, honestly – her point of view of herself and the world. Because Bellatrix’s ideology has so many problems with it, but she doesn’t see herself that way, she sees herself as this amazing powerful woman (and in some ways, she really is) who lives by her own rules. I dislike Bellatrix for so many reasons but writing this kinda gave me this weird almost respect for her? in the sense that she *is* a woman blazing her own path even when the world tells her she should be something else. But she’s still so evil. I would kind of love to have seen her become a Dark Lady, but been equally happy to see her finished off :P Mixed feelings, haha.

 

Yeah, it really seems like ~Tradition~ is a big deal for the pureblood families, but she never seemed to me like someone who follows tradition just for the sake of tradition. And yeah as for that last section, she prizes her own loyalty, which is really impressive when you think about it, but in such a horrible, twisted way. Like she takes this trait which is normally seen as positive and twists it into something negative and even competitive. :P I’m so glad you like that ending.

 

Thank you so much for reading, and for your review! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the story! <3

Name: Rumpelstiltskin (Signed) · Date: 19 Dec 2017 05:10 PM · For: there is a light that never goes out

Hey, Kristen!


Something from Bellatrix's perspective is exciting! Aw, poor little Narcissa! Being raised in such a family, being a Squib is basically a death sentence (well, probably enough for a disownment). You did an awesome job with Bellatrix's rather cynical characterization (that poor beetle!), even as she's addressing her sisters. She's conditioning herself to be the strong one out of her sisters, and she's not entirely wrong of the outcome. I love that she believes that followers are weak, because it's revealing a whole lot about her own personality, believing herself to be better in ways than even her own husband. Her love for this unnamed person seems to be the only good thing left in her as she strives for power (even while in Azkaban). Her musings on whatever happened to 'you' in the end is a haunting reminder of what has become of her.


This was wonderful and dark and I loved it!


_Rumpels

Author's Response:

Hey Rumpels! :D

 

Bellatrix's perspective was kind of intimidating at first but I honestly loved writing her. I feel like I got to understand her so much more through writing her POV and like in some ways I actually kind of admire her? Aside from the murdering and the bigotry and everything, you know :P

Thank you so much, I'm thrilled to hear that you liked her characterisation in this, especially during the section with her as a child and her thoughts about followers. Ultimately yeah I think her love of power became stronger than her love for that person, but I like your interpretation about her love being the only good thing left in her, because even after everything is over and she's in prison, she thinks about the woman in the end so it's like maybe this tiny spark of good in Bella has survived. That's an angle in which I've never really considered the story before so thanks to your thoughtful review for making me think about it :P

 

Thanks so much for reading and for your review! <3

Name: Aphoride (Signed) · Date: 19 Dec 2017 03:40 PM · For: there is a light that never goes out

Hey there, Kristin! :) So I was looking down your page for something to review and realised I'd never actually read this, despite hearing so much about it, people raving about it and recommending it all over the place. It seemed a shame to have missed it out, so here I am :) 

 

And honestly, this didn't disappoint - whatever hype there was around it, this lived up to it and more. It's amazing. Bellatrix is one of thos characters who's so easy to make into a caricature, yk, someone who can easily become kinda cliche and a bit rubbish, but you make her this beautifully nuanced, dangerous, fascinating character, with this semi-tragic backstory of her own, and I just love it.

 

I love how you take us through her progression, from a little kid dreaming of being powerful and strong without really entirely understanding what that means, but this cruel streak she can't contain, to a teenager on the outside of the social circles, falling in love with a girl who's powerful and haughty and hers, and then becoming a Death Eater and twisting over time into Voldemort's most trusted and loyal and devoted servant. It was such great character development all the way through it, how she turned and sort of drifted away from the girl, towards Voldemort, abandoning her original plans and getting addicted by the power and the thrill of dark arts and everything Voldemort could offer her. In that way, it's a story of falling in love with power, almost more than with another person, and I love all the layers to it and to Bellatrix it added: how she's so disdainful of Narcissa for being a housewife, so almost reluctantly admiring of Andromeda who was strong in the end just not in a way Bellatrix liked, and how she disdains Rodolphus and the idea of kids, shrugging off her marriage and the future she ought to have as a pureblood woman, with a kind of arrogant fury. It's twistedly inspirational and I love that you kinda make her into a feminist figure, even with all the murdering and so on :P 

 

As always your writing is so beautiful - all your descriptions in this were so, so gorgeous, and your dialogue was just so perfect. I don't know how you do it and keep things so compact, but this honestly was just a perfect, perfect one-shot :) 

 

Aph xx

Author's Response:

Hi Aph! <3

 

I feel like I remember you did read this on HPFF, ages ago? Maybe. Idk. Regardless, I'm so glad you stopped by to check this out! Ah, and I'm flattered that you've heard a lot about it, I had  no idea it was talked about!

 

Thank you so much, it's so great to hear that you like the portrayal of Bellatrix here. I agree that it's really easy to make her into a caricature - to a certain extent, I think even  the books do that, but that's also because we only see her through Harry's POV and he is, understandably, biased. But I definitely have a thing for writing unsympathetic characters from their own POV :P

 

I'm so glad you liked the progression and character development, thank you so much! And this -- "a story of falling in love with power, almost more than with another person," -- YES. This was definitely one of the main themes I was hoping to portray here and I'm glad it comes across that way. Although I do think Bella could have been capable of love at some point in her life (i.e. the woman in part 2), her love of power is stronger. And I never did like the idea that she was in love with Voldemort, I thought it cheapened her character in a way - but there's no denying she was attracted to him I think for what he represented - he was an incredibly powerful wizard and the position as his right hand person would be pretty appealing to her for that reason.

 

The thing about Andromeda was actually really surprising - while I was partway through writing this and got to thinking about how Bella would view her sister, it occurred to me that Bella would have a grudging sort of respect for her, alongside the hatred about her life choices, because Bella is all about strength and walking your talk. Hehehe I love that you say she's almost a feminist figure here because I kinda thought that too! Like, writing this gave me a lot more respect for her, despite all the murdering and everything. But I think, in her own perspective, she really would see herself that way.

 

Eee, thank you! Honestly it means so much to see you call my writing and descriptions beautiful, because your prose is absolutely swoon-worthy and I really admire your writing so much. Thank you for reading and for this absolutely wonderful review! I'm so glad you liked the story! <3

Name: Anonymous (Anonymous) · Date: 21 Aug 2017 08:32 AM · For: there is a light that never goes out

*For Pass It Along*



Like a draught of some forbidden dark wine, this story delighted my senses. You flawlessly brought Bella to life in three distinct periods of her life. The characterization in each is beautiful, building naturally into the abitious, crazed woman JKR presented us with.



In particular, I love the childhood scene. There is an innocence to it: three sisters in the garden. Ah, but even when standing in direct sunlight, there will always be shadows, and so it was with Bella. The deliberate way she crushed the beetle underfoot - not enough to kill it outright, but wounding it - was exquisitely captivating and dark. It foreshadows so well how she viewed and treated Mudbloods under her Dark Lord.



Excellent portrayal of Bella. This was a pleasure to read.



I bid you good day,

The Wanderer

Author's Response:

Hello! Thank you so much! And I love that you say the story 'delighted your senses', as I specifically focused on sensory aspects when writing this one so it's lovely to hear that that's what you picked up on. And thank you, I'm so glad you liked the portrayal of Bellatrix here! In particular the childhood scene. Pretty interesting to imagine someone like her as a child once. It's great to hear that you liked the foreshadowing.

 

Thank you for all your reviews, Alexis! You were such a wonderful gifter!! ♥

Name: nott theodore (Signed) · Date: 13 Jun 2017 01:54 AM · For: there is a light that never goes out

Kristin! You're always leaving such thoughtful and lovely reviews for people, in spite of your hectic schedule, and I thought you deserved some love too - and I've missed your writing so much!

 

This was a brilliant story! I actually find Bellatrix Black/Lestrange kind of fascinating to read, because she's such a hard character to capture and even harder to understand, so I always find it intriguing to look at the motivations behind her actions and how she grew into the woman we saw in the books -- drunk on power and incredibly cruel and fierce. This was a wonderful characterisation of her and it was so interesting to read your interpretation.

 

I loved the way that you used the different sections in this story to give us a glimpse of Bellatrix at different stages in her life and build up the way her character develops through the years. The words you chose for titles were wonderfully evocative, too, and I really enjoyed the description in this piece.

 

I think my favourite section was probably the first one. It's such a simple scene, three sisters playing in the garden together and teasing each other as children always do, but there was a darker undertone obvious already in Bellatrix when she thought about her sisters and when she stood on the beetle. The characterisation of each of the sisters was really great in this section and I thought that Bellatrix's treatment of the beetle fit very well with her character. It's kind of scary that even at that young age, she was exhibiting characteristics which would become really prominent later.

 

The second section was so intriguing! I found myself really trying to guess who the woman is that Bellatrix was spending time with and loving, but I can't see an obvious answer. I think that's really effective because in a way she's meant to be unknown. Seeing Bellatrix love is  - I think there is an element of it here, because of the way that she thinks of her and treats her, yet at the same time she doesn't seem to value love very highly. It doesn't seem to cost her when she is forced to marry Lestrange.

 

The final section was brilliant, too, when we saw how much Bellatrix had grown into her role as second in command of the Death Eaters and the trust that she placed in the Dark Lord, recognising that she would be better remaining with him than striking out on her own. The imagery in that section, of the Dark Lord representing light to those in Azkaban, was brilliant. I really enjoyed this story, and I think you captured the character of Bellatrix really fantastically. 

 

Sian :)

Author's Response:

SIAN ♥♥♥ Thank you so much, this review was such a wonderful surprise - which is in its way not at all surprising because you are the best reviewer on the site! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond!

 

Ahh, thank you! Honestly I'm so flattered that you liked this story because I've always looked up to your writing and to hear a compliment from an author I admire always makes my day. So thank you. And yeah, Bellatrix is such a fascinating character, and maybe because we only see one side of her in the books, I really wanted to write her through her own perspective, as challenging as that was. Thanks, I'm so glad you liked this characterisation of her!

 

Thank you, it's great to hear you liked the section titles and descriptions, and the way the story was organised!

 

It's almost weird to imagine Bellatrix as a child. (Sort of like reading Dumbledore when he's young - characters that seem like they've always been the way they are just because they're so clearly defined in the books and sort of timeless, in a way. ) So I'm really glad you liked that and that you thought her behaviour seemed right for her character, even as a ten year old. And yeah, I think kids can be cruel, but usually they grow out of it, and it makes me wonder what Bellatrix would have been like if something had forced her to grow out of it too. /tangent

 

Ooh, yay, thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I did leave that one quite mysterious intentionally :P I didn't have a specific character in mind, though. I think your assessment of how she values love is pretty spot on. Like, it's important to her, but it's not as important as power. Although she does care about the woman, their love is almost a means to an end, and only lasts as long as the woman can help Bellatrix move up the ladder. But I think Bella did have lingering feelings, after all she is thinking about her at the end. But definitely a complicated situation, yeah.

 

Thanks! I was really proud of the imagery in that section and I'm thrilled that you liked it. And so happy to hear that you liked the portrayal of Bellatrix in this.

 

Thank you so much! ♥♥♥♥♥ I really appreciate you stopping by with this review (and the Q&A as well, which I will get to as soon as I can!)

 

♥

Name: Felpata_Lupin (Signed) · Date: 19 May 2017 02:39 PM · For: there is a light that never goes out

***Transferred from HPFF***

I'm having some serious trouble at the moment trying to come up with something proper to write in this review...

Saying that Bellatrix was perfect would be an understatement. The way you pictured the progress of her life, from childhood to Azkaban, her love, her devotion, her madness...

I'm shocked by the craziness and the perfection of this. This might be your masterpiece, Kristin!

Sorry if this review makes no sense at all... The point is, I loved this!

The world's biggest hug,

Chiara.

Author's Response:

Wahh! How do I even respond to something as amazing as this review?!? I have no words. Just hugs. *hug*

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked the progression of her life and all the elements of craziness and devotion. And wow, thank you for calling this a masterpiece!

You are seriously amazing and I'm still in awe that you've read everything on my entire AP. Your support means so much to me and just thank you so, so much!

♥

Kristin