Quotes directly from the application will be in this color. My comments will be in black.
Sailor Hera. Isabel Victoria Albin. The MYTHOS
Organization.
I apologize for allowing this application to sit for so long. I was quite busy and each time I sat down to review, something else came up that I had to take care of.
Civilian Overview
Occupation & Student Involvements
This is just a minor change, but I think it'd
be great if you changed Isabel's internship from a hotel to an actual event
planning service. There are actually a surprising number in Columbus, and it's
fairly easy to get a wedding/event planning internship. You could also take
this and make a few more NPCs for Isa, whose only "relation" is her ex-hubby.
Maybe she's good friends with a co-worker or her boss?
Majors & Minors
I love love love that you made Hera a
hospitality management major. So awesome. Win.
Likes & Dislikes & Hobbies
You've got a good start
here with these, but I've got a few things to address. First, I'd like to a
little more here. Valdis/Ares is a really good example of a lot of really
decent, interesting likes.
Second, I'd like for you
to get a little more specific with the likes and dislikes. The best examples I
can give for this are in the dislikes section. Isabel dislikes 'infidelity',
but no one really likes infidelity. You can take this, though and phrase to
make it more personal, like: 'goddamned cheating bastards, especially when
they're named Bryan' it makes the like less generic 'everyone hates this' and
more specific to the character. She also dislikes relative things, like 'emo'
'angst' and 'stupidity': what's stupid to one person could be hilarious/genius
to another (example: NASCAR, sorry Ande). You could change these by making them
more personal to the character or just making them more specific in general
(i.e. stupidity can be cut down into 'immature pranks/humor' 'people who are
academically less skilled than Isabel' or 'people who seem to have no common
sense).
Personality
I really love Isabel's
personality. She is so perfect and wonderful—but only in her own eyes, and you've
recognized this. She's a very realistic person and you've balanced her out with
funny and interesting faults. The writing style is great, too, because it's
almost like you're channeling Isabel so that it's not just the information
provided that describes her but the writing itself that gives me an idea of
what she's like. My favorite aspect of Isabel's personality was this:
"Her
attempts to "take care of" her friends and acquaintances can range from advice
and actions that are appreciated and actually helpful to giving heaping doses
of unsolicited, unwanted advice all the way up to a terrible case of "just let
me do it," with a heavy implication of "because you'll never get it right.""
History
I really like how the history played
out. It was very cool, and you've definitely set up a realistic older transfer
student. She's going to be busy, but she's the type of person who can handle
being busy, so it'll be interesting to see her juggle everything in play.
Sailor Soldier Overview
Locket
I really love the locket, it sounds pretty and manages to not just be a "circle
with stuff on it" while avoiding becoming too ridiculously clunky. Great job
here.
Signature Attack
ROFL While I totally love
that you've "gone there" with the menstrual
cycle, I think the mental associations with the red curse just make this attack
a little too gross. XD I discussed it with several other members and they agree
that this attack goes a little bit overboard (I know, we're all so uptight.
Weep). So I ask that you come up with a new attack. I suggest that, rather than
just trying to come up with a sphere for 'womanhood' of all things, maybe
exploring some of the bigger myths associated with Hera and coming up with an
attack through that.
For example: Zeus and Hera
were known to get into fights that caused Mount Olympus to shake. The clashing
winds during storms were symbolic of their arguments. Hera was
chained to a cloud by her hands with golden shackles, and then weighted with
anvils tied to her feet after what she did to Heracles. Hera was said to have
bathed in a pool that restored her virginity.
You could even possibly rework
the skill "bonds of matrimony" to make it into a signature attack.
Skills
Bonds of Matrimony is
definitely interesting, and should be kept. In fact, if you're hard pressed for
a new signature attack, this could easily become the new signature ability. My
suggestion with this is to further explore the idea of marriage and incorporate
some other aspects of wedlock aside from just the sharing strength. Marriages
can create dependency, quarrels, strength, or weakness; they can be a blessing
or a burden, yeah?
Having just one skill is
fine, but since Hera is such a prominent and powerful figure of Greek
mythology, I'd like to see a few more skills. These skills don't even have to
be useful in battle. Amphitrite and Aphrodite have examples of skills that aren't
necessarily useful but that really help to identify them as the soldier of
beauty and happiness and the soldier of fish.
Strengths: You have a really great character here, she's got a
very believable personality that's been well balanced. Her attitude makes her
realistic and funny to readers, and although her teammates may have a hard time
with her, she's the kind of character that people love to see in literature.
Her story is great, too, and, despite cheating and a divorce, is not laden with
sorrow and angst. Great job.
What I loved: The personality, the history, the locket
Suggestions: I was really waffling about what verdict to give
Isabel, but the signature attack pushed the weight toward 'Revisions Requested'.
I'm really going to have to see a new signature attack and I would LOVE LOVE
LOVE to see some cool extra skills, abilities and traits for Sailor Hera. If
you're really lost, you can post on the forums asking for suggestions and I'm
sure everyone will have at least something small to suggest. I've already
covered the other things above. Overall, you really don't need to make any
major character changes; it's just a few things that need tweaking. I really
look forward to any revisions.
Verdict: Revisions Requested! (ZOMG, please make the changes and resubmit)