I love this! You convey their essence, passion and loyalty so well.

Wow. This is siriusly amazing! The way you describe each of the Blacks... beautiful. I particularly loved how you wrote the Black sisters. The way you used colors to describe them is ingenious and so fitting. The way you put in Bellatrix's character through that simple line "yet the shadows seem to cling to her like a second skin..." is amazing. And how you wrote Andromeda's character with that line about her escaping the blood-forged shackles... wow again. Narcissa is written perfectly, too, with that line about her being the flower. You contrasted Sirius and Regulus so beautifully.

Overall, beautifully written (as usual)!

A revealing peak at a notorious fascinating family on the brink of war. Tragedy, a fall from grace and madness is just around the corner...

Magnificent , simply magnificent . This left me speechless , such a profund descripstion of their character , the last line was simply perfect ! Great work , keep it up !
lazyass out !

This is so beautiful and perfect and lovely. *melts into a puddle of goo*

Look what you have done. I am goo.

Ahem. *composes self* I'm a sucker for well-written introspective pieces and you have a good grasp on each of the the characters personalities. I mean, nothing really happens in the fic except they walk into a room, but the lack of plot does not detract from the story at all because your descriptions and character insights are entertaining enough to not need a backbone of plot to hold them up (if that makes sense).

I loved the lines about Bellatrix being the darkest star and Andromeda escaping her blood-forged shackles. And Sirius ever the rebel, with Regulus as the tagalong.

And the little epigraph at the end ties it all together nicely.

I really, really can't find anything to criticize about this piece. *melts back into a puddle of goo again*

I really loved this because of how you've given such striking, individual descriptions to each character and ended that portion with their name. It really adds to the story. I loved the description of Bella, especially, "yet the shadows seemed to cling to her like a second skin" is an amazing line. I like how you've made each character so similar yet completely different and how you've ended with "They are monsters. They are gods. They are Blacks."

Wow. That's the first word that comes to mind as I finish reading this. It's more of a poetic work of art than fanfiction. And you have a gift for painting beautiful images in the reader's mind with the detailed descriptions you give of each of them, especially the three Black sisters, as they enter the room.

The descriptions are so accurate too. Not just about the clothes they wear but what they value most, how they behave, how they are seen by others as well as how they view those around them. All of it was captured in such stunning detail and accuracy.

I'm especially fond of the way you describe Bellatrix. She is very much a dark beauty, isn't she? I feel that this is the first time any author has truly shown her for what she really is. It's a shame Rowling couldn't describe Bellatrix that well. Makes me think she could learn something from you.

OMG! THIS IS AMAZING, I LOVE IT!

Bellatrix: You really described her madness to the reader in a beautifully written way. The line saying that darkness clings to her like a second skin is amazing imagery. Everything about her is dark and sinister, but you made her have a hook, which just pulled me in. She is dark inside but she conceals it in feminine glamour.

Andromeda: She is the gloriously, almost shamefully, bright star of the blacks. The contrast is so stark and you wrote it amazingly. Andromeda is so pure, but strong. I think the line saying she loves a mudblood shouldn't be there but it doesn't really detract from her section.

Narcissa: THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE SCENE! THAT IS ALL I AM SAYING. WOW! I MEAN, THE LINE ABOUT HER BEING A FLOWER.

Regulus and Sirius: Your comparisons are lovely and I like how you put them together but they are so contradicting, a lion and a snake. They are both stars, but they are so different, standing for different things.

THIS IS FANTASTIC, WELL DONE!

I like the symmetry between the parts, especially the sisters, how the part for each of them takes the same structure and comments on the same aspects. I felt like more could have been done with the boys’ parts to make them the same as the first two. Sirius and Regulus’ read too differently and you left out stuff that you mentioned for the girls.

As well, the lines appear out of order for some of them, like the “proud to…” for Bellatrix is near the end, while it’s in the middle of Andromeda’s part and not at all in Narcissa’s. I think if you were going for the same structure it would have been better to keep a similar order and wording for each of the sisters.

I like the portrayal of Narcissa as the ‘grey’, and the inbetween of Bellatrix and Andromeda. I think it's very true to her personality that she's not on a "side" and is really in it for herself and who she cares about.

As usual, your description is fantastic. I find that often, people have difficulty when changing from past tense to present, but you've managed to get it perfectly. You've also got this gorgeous balance of physical description and personality/emotion description. I love the way you use the colour Black to dive into Bellatrix's personality- it's almost like a brief, haunting character study that is so wonderfully done.

The description of Andromeda is also beautiful and I love the way you contrast her to Bellatrix through the write. It's lovely.

OF COURSE NARCISSA IS GREY, the colour symbolism here is truly stunning and I like how Cissa is a flower, rather than a star and that you've considered how that shapes her identity.

The brothers are also well done and I like how here you've chosen to look at their houses as their loyalties. It's so beautifully done!

Basically this FIC WAS AMAZING GOOD JOB SHANE!

I love your elegant descriptions of the Blacks, especially the way they are set up as the elite, the very best of pure-blood stock, while simultaneously presenting them as inherently flawed ... monsters, gods, Blacks. This has a lilting, melodious rhythm, reading almost like poetry. The motives and deterrents that affect them are very interesting to explore, and you've done a good job of that here.

Quite the story.

I love how Andromeda and Bellatrix are played up as being evil and good. It's definitely easy to draw that comparison and I enjoyed how it was echoed in Sirius and Regulus to a lesser extent.

What I especially enjoyed was Narcissa and the imagery that came with her, I liked that she values a more earthly set of values, being neither saint or devil. I like how her value for family is brought out, but that fact she doesn't mind using a little manipulation here an there isn't forgotten either.

Very nice job on this one.

I absolutely love the way you wove in the constellations with the characters and how they each represent their own. The depictions of colors in here is greatly done as well, still staying true to their personalities.

One bit I particularly liked was Narcissa's part, where you pointed out how maybe she wasn't a star after all but in fact a flower "that drips venom and honey in equal measure". Using gray as her color of choice was brilliant, showing how despite she was on the Dark side, she still had some Light in her as well. I also see it as Narcissa being a sort of mix between her sisters, with Bellatrix's malevolence with those who dare hurt her family and with Andromeda's overall benevolence to her loved ones. With the line where Narcissa said that she wouldn't choose either side of the war but instead her family, I just have to applaud you for how well you essentially captured her character.

The way you oriented the story was strategically done. In the beginning, with Bellatrix and Andromeda, there was stark contrast between them (black and white). However, there needs to be some middle ground, and that's where Narcissa comes in, someone that is neither wholly good nor bad (gray). And finally, the two brothers arrive as the grand finale, ending the story with flashes of colors that are polar opposites. But like complementary colors, they suit each other well and cover up the other's flaws.

The detailed descriptions really flowed well and was beautifully written. Wonderfully done!

Ooof, I like this, very nice!

Bella: your depiction of her is jus l! I loved it, so much imagery! A few of my favourite lines: "and yet the shadows seem to cling to her like a second skin," "She's the darkest of stars," "She is akin to some of the most venomous serpents, and "Their envy is palpable and she feasts on it, growing bloated with their desires." ooof, so much oomph, so much Bella! I saw no SPaG errors, and I think the structure of this was perfect. My only suggestion would be to find anothr words for "evil" in "the heart of her family's evil." I like the whole darkness/lightness dichotomy, becayuse that still holds complexity, but good/evil is so subjective and takes away from any complexities that may be there. Being evil for evil's sake is very single-layered and does not fit with the level of your writing. Describe the evil, but don't mention it as such, because to have shadows there must be a light somewhere.

Droma: the writing here is very good, but I did not love it the way I loved Bellatrix's. Maybe it is that I have a different view of Andromeda? Either way, there were several lines that stood out to me from here.
"She's a different sort of star, perhaps one that lies in its own universe." "She is proud to love a mudblood." - I love this one because she is using a term that would have been dropped a lot in her upbringing! "Her dress is white, pure and untainted by time or shadows." "She has escaped her blood-forged shackles"
I think "She does not despise them. Instead she pities them..." should be one line rather than two, because the "she pities them" line is the kicker.

Cissy: Yes! I love how self-assured you have made it. I also like that she is the grey area, the balance. "...but she is neither, choosing a path all her own." - nice! Also, "She will always chose family," especially as it's own line is so powerful, so confident and sure. The fact that she all but ignores the other people is soooo Cissa, and I love it.

The Boys: well done, playing them off of each other. I also like how you can tell their are similarities within them. "Redemption. Rebellion. Each stands for one whilst fighting for the other." VERY nice! I think the only qualm I have with this is, after the individual parts for the girls, it sort of takes away from their uniqueness and identity putting them together. I see why you did it, but I also feel like you could write a separate piece for each and achieve the same effect.

Overall: I found no SPaG errors, and it flowed wonderfully. Your imagery is amazing, your characterization of each as well as how they all play into each other is wonderfully constructed. It was rather beautiful.

You love the Blacks and girls with hair to the small of their back. The funny things you learn from reading a bunch of someone's stuff.

Way to get into the mind of crazy tits there. Done right, she's fricken scarier than Voldendork all day long. I like the urges of the blood/whisper of the heart thing for Andy. Lots of nice symbolism here. Some obviously pointed out, like the dresses and the connection to the constellations and other things not so obvious, but nicely tucked here and there.

I like Sirius and Regulus' part as well. Their relationship is only so briefly touched on in the books, and only the surface is scratched so it's nice to delve even just a little deeper into their relationship. Great stuff as per usual. You sure do love the Blacks.