Okay, not really. But we are raising the bar considerably for these last few open positions. You're going to be asked to revise a *lot*, and until you see the word 'accept' somewhere on there, you're not guaranteed a spot. Sadly, some concepts just aren't going to make it that far. Why are we being such horrible evil wenches from space, you ask? Perhaps turned off because the Astrals are harder to do right, or lured in by the "look how shiny and cool I am, I have a weapon" thing, most people who have readily grasped the game concept and got accepted relatively swiftly are in. And they're Primals. I'm not saying that the Astral cast we have is poor in any way - on the contrary, these people should get freakin' medals for being able to work with what is apparently a really hard character concept. I love them all. I worship them all. I bow and scrape and thank them for being able to deal with my crazy-assed ideas about Atlantis and magic and mage-senshi.

The point is, I don't want them to be weakened by a hasty completion of the cast.

Is it fair that the last people have to work harder to get in? Well, no not particularly. But am I going to let the balance of good writing/working well within the theme tip towards the Primals? Hell no. I refuse to let the balance shift one way or another too much, I don't want people to regret that they're not on the side with the better writing results, aka the fun stuff. And furthermore, there are really only a handful of spots open, and the whole rest of the SMRPG community to fill it up. So we're getting picky, and your app will be scrutinized *fairly* and *constructively*, but perhaps more slowly and thoroughly than it would in the past.

I think people are worrying about the Astrals being total wussies in comparison to their buff earthbound cousins. I'll let you in on a little secret - they're going to be better off in a *lot* of the situations the Big Bad Guy(tm) is going to throw their way because they're smarter, more subtle, and more versatile. Meanwhile the Primal Senshi will all be sitting around trying to shove open a door labeled "pull". I also think people are put off by the words "weaker in terms of raw power, with more versatile applications". If you think about this for a while, it's not a declaration that the Primals will always kick their pansy white butts, I *promise*. It means just that - more versatile. And more controllable. Astrals will be able to pick off enemies with their eyes closed, and somewhere a Primal is tending their 3rd-degree burns because they happened to be standing 30 feet away from some wildly-blasting companion - or maybe they'll have to withhold their powers altogether because there happens to be a village nearby, what a waste. And lastly, people may worry that with all the mages running about, the Astral senshi will be laughed right out of their shiny magical kingdom. Bzzt, wrong again. Here's a secret - while it may be well and good to toss magic around for everyday use, or at the cult followers or the pesky little youma, Marduk has ways of warding himself and his acolytes against many of your puny little magey doodads. He laughs in the general direction of your wands and charms and potions. Senshi powers are basically your own blessed powers of PLANETARY STARSEED SMACKDOWN, and are thusly much harder to avoid. Plus, the senshi alone can use that skill, no one else can ever learn it or accurately emulate it with magic. Ah ha ha, and you thought I didn't have this all planned out.

Anyways, what I'm saying is that it will all work out right, but I need people applying to work with me to make it happen. I want two strong, balanced groups of writers and some characters that are going to mesh with the rest and the whole theme. So put on your thinking caps, dust off your old fantasy novels, polish your grammar skills, read up on the other characters to avoid the lurking demon of overlap...

...and for god's sake, give your Astral some spells.

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