Sailor Hera: Isabel Albin

Name: Isabel Victoria Albin

Meaning: Isabel is a variant of Elizabeth, meaning perhaps "my god is abundance." Both Isabel and Elizabeth have been the names of queens. Victoria means, unsurprisingly, "Victory," and was most notably the name of a Queen of England. Albin means "white" or "bright."

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Birth Date: November 6 - Scorpio

Blood Type: 0+

Birth Place: Wauseon, Ohio

Occupation: Intern at Imperial Bridal and Event Planning Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; part-time cashier at Target

Student Involvements: tennis lessons through the athletic department

Academic Standing: Junior

Majors/Minors: Hospitality Management Major

Schedule:

• 552 Introductory Internship (Event Planning @ Imperial)
• HOSP MGT 560 Hotel Systems 1 – Tuesday & Thursday 1:30-3:18
• ENGLISH 202 Selected Works of British Literature: 1800 to the Present - Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-5:18

Likes: cute things (animals, babies, Hello Kitty, etc), baths, weddings, clothes, jewelry, kids, classical music, jazz, eighties music, musicals, herself, peaches and nectarines, specialty coffee drinks

Dislikes: people who wallow in emo/angst and whine about it; liars and philanderers, although really, they're beneath her notice; beer; cigarettes and secondhand smoke; fast food; anything else that's just plain dumb, far as she sees it; people who think they're smarter/better/hotter than she is, injustice genuine and perceived, being upstaged, not getting what she feels she deserves, not being in control of her situation

Hobbies: watching movies, tennis, cooking, reading romance novels

At first glance, Isabel looks like the sort of person who has it all together. She carries an aura of dignity and self-confidence, holds her head high and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Isabel likes Isabel; Isabel thinks Isabel is awesome; and seriously, is there anything wrong with that? She doesn’t see herself as stuck up or arrogant, and if others perceive her as such, well, that’s their problem. She has plenty to be proud of – she’s beautiful, she’s smart, and she’s Going Places. And even if she didn’t have all that going for her, if one doesn’t like and respect herself, why should she expect anyone else to do so?

Since she has such a high opinion of herself, she’s not inclined to do anything that might cause her to lower that opinion. Isabel holds herself to high standards. She has been drunk exactly once in her life, back she was in high school. She won’t try to preach to others so much about drinking – it’s just fine if you want to get rip-roaringly wasted and make a complete fool of yourself, but Isabel is above that. She doesn’t need to drink to escape, and she prefers to stay in control of herself at all times. She’ll happily come along to the bar and sip a glass of wine or a fancy girly drink, but she won’t touch beer for the life of her. In fact, she’ll probably want to come along and make sure you don’t do anything crazy while you’re inebriated. She also hates to be seen looking anything but her best, and always dresses classily – pretty and fashionable, never cheap or slutty. She would never wear jeans to class, let alone pajamas – the very idea horrifies her. How can you expect anyone to respect you if you don’t even get dressed?

Isabel is out to make something of herself; her plan is to be a wedding planner. She isn’t a natural genius when it comes to her schoolwork, but she’s clever enough and disciplined, making time to get her homework and studying done and dutifully visiting her professors during office hours to make sure she understands every little thing. She’d be less inclined to join a student study group. If someone came to her looking for help, though, she’d try to find a way to give them a hand. She likes going out every now and then, too, and strives to keep a balance between work, school, and a social life. When something has to give, it’s sleep that gets neglected.

She likes to think of herself as “above” the drama and foolishness of most college students, and can get downright self-righteous about it. Isabel isn’t what you’d consider a “Mean Girl.” She is, in fact, terribly polite and respectful of others, though her graciousness can be condescending. She insists that she sees everyone as worthy of respect, unless they forfeit their dignity through their own actions. That means that everyone deserves a fair chance to do the things they want to do in life (unless those things are particularly stupid). She doesn’t expect people to live up to the sort of standards she sets for herself, but Isabel generally has a smile to give and is willing to help out friends in need, and it’s rare that she finds it in her heart to outright hate anyone. She’s quite capable of becoming angry with them, and jealous – oh, boy, does she get jealous. And trusting people is a different story all together.

Because, well, people do a lot of stupid things, and make a lot of stupid decisions. (Even Isabel, but this is of course so very rare it's not worthy of mention.) Decisions that are going to cause them trouble, and really, it’d just be better for everyone if they listened to Isabel’s advice in the first place. Isabel likes her friends, and will insist that she doesn’t think that they’re stupid, but she simply doesn’t trust anyone’s judgment completely unless their name is Isabel V. Albin. She especially distrusts men of college age, who are no doubt ruled by their hormones and various organs that are not their brains, but women aren’t much better. 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.”

She means well, for the most part – unless she’s been wronged. Isabel is not the sort of person to overlook a slight, no matter how small or unintended. When someone has done something that offends her, it’s only fair that she retaliates; after all, she has to stand up for herself, and she has a reputation to uphold. Generally, her methods of revenge among her peers involve snubbing the offending party and making disparaging comments to those with who she’s still on good terms, rather than anything nastier. Her tendency to be very judgmental of people and their motives means that she has made some incorrect judgments and taken offense when none was intended or even present. It should be noted that for her to really hate someone, they have to really screw her over; generally, she is more likely just to look down on the poor fools who don’t know any better, and once she feels they’ve gotten their comeuppance she will move on with life.

And she gets jealous something awful. When she does see someone who is doing better than she is in an area she cares about, she seethes with envy, and actively looks for something to discredit the person, at least so she can feel better about herself. It’s disturbing to Isabel when someone is prettier than she is, or smarter, or saw something she didn’t notice when she is trying to see herself as someone on a higher level than the people around her. Especially when someone gets a boon she doesn’t think they deserve. Even if the recipient of good fortune is her best friend in the world, her first instinct is not to be happy for them, but to be envious. Most of the time, she “cleverly hides” her jealousy by getting snippy and sarcastic. “Oh, isn’t that just the most special thing you’ve ever heard? Too bad that scholarship won’t go towards fixing her ugly face.” Occasionally she'll go so far as to throw a tantrum or stomp off in a huff of wounded pride. Her jealousy is generally restrained to brief outbursts that blow over quickly, but they can get nasty while they last.

If she feels as if a professor hasn’t given her the grade she deserves, she’s not shy about confronting them about it, though she will do it in a polite fashion. It is very important to stand up for oneself, and she can’t stand people who don’t have a backbone. She considers herself a feminist, and in most respects she is – she thinks women shouldn’t be held back in the workforce because of their sex or be chained to the stereotypical gender roles of wife, mother, angel in the house, etc. She cares deeply about the welfare of women in the world and has participated in protests, but she lacks a deeper understanding of the currents at hand. For instance, she is still likely to decry her fellow students for dressing like sluts and acting stupidly, and making decisions that must be stupid because she, personally, doesn’t understand the reasoning behind them. She doesn’t see her own interest in clothes as a symptom of oppression because it was her choice and she enjoys it, but she’s likely to see a Muslim woman as a victim of oppression just for making her own choice to wear a hijab, or decry another woman’s choice to wear something “skanky” because she simply doesn’t understand it.

Isabel claims to be quite jaded as far as love goes. She’s been in love, it was okay, and then it went horribly wrong and that’s the way things go. She doesn’t need a man in her life right now because she’s got bigger fish to fry, though she’s more than happy to look at pictures of male models and lust after celebrities. Deep down, however, Isabel hasn’t given up on the notion of true love and a lasting romance that could make a marriage work. Her philosophy is that if Mr. Right comes along, she’s not going to shut him out, but she’s not going to waste her time looking for him, either. She’d like to have a family one day – once her business is established, of course – but it’s not her number one priority. Obviously, rushing into things isn’t the way to go about it – a lesson she’s learned from experience.

Strengths: Isabel is self-confident and self-reliant, always willing to stick up for herself – it is rare that anyone or anything can bring her down. She’s also gracious, classy, and fashionable, and seems to have her life pretty well in order. She is intelligent and hard-working, and willing to help others. Isabel cares about other people and wants to make a difference in the world.

Weaknesses: Isabel tends to believe she is better than other people; she can be condescending, and is definitely stuck-up and subject to outbursts of jealousy that can get ugly while they last. Untrusting of others, she believes that she knows what’s best for other people, even when she can't see things from their point of view. She’s quick to judge and biased to a degree that she doesn’t recognize, and can trample over people even with the best of intentions. There’s some hypocrisy/cognitive dissonance in her feelings on feminism and biases in general.

Grace, poise, style...: Isabel carries herself well, and has a certain presence about her that makes a greater impression on people than her actual appearance or words. She never seems rushed or flustered, and rarely is so much as a hair out of place. She doesn't just look impressive; she also seems responsible and trustworthy, and radiates self-confidence.

Time Management: There is a time for work, a time for study, a time for fun (a time to cast away stones...), and so on, and Isabel knows how to balance her various obligations and still have time to unwind. She's not married to her schedule, but she does plan ahead to make sure she won't be overwhelmed with obligations, and she's quite successful, except when an emergency comes up.

Second Chance: Sometimes, even Isabel isn't able to live up to her obligations. Fortunately, the fact that she's got all the earmarks of a Good Student plays in her favor, as she is good at talking her professors into cutting her some slack when she needs it. This doesn't work on everyone, but if a professor's not particularly strict, she can usually get a little extra time on a project or a chance to make up for a poor grade. If she feels in the least justified, she's not afraid to ask, though she tries not to spoil her chances by overdoing it.

Nothing a Bath Can't Fix: When Isabel is feeling overwhelmed, upset, or downtrodden, she takes a long bath, usually involving all sorts of fancy soaps and bathing products. While this is probably terribly annoying for anyone else who shares her bathroom, she really does send all her troubles down the drain, and when she comes out she will be refreshed, gracious, and altogether untroubled for some time.

Eyes: Isabel’s eyes are her most striking feature. Large and expressive, they are a deep brown in color, framed by dark lashes. There is a kindness and innocence in those eyes, too, to which her personality doesn’t quite live up.

Hair: Golden blonde, more or less straight, and cut just above shoulder length. Isabel's hair is thick and looks a little reddish under the right light. She often pulls it into a half-ponytail, or just leaves it down.

Face: Isabel’s face is best described as pleasant and pretty rather than outright beautiful, and is completely dominated by her eyes. She is never seen without subtle, carefully applied makeup that accents her best features and covers her blemishes without making her look “made up.” Her skin tone is just to the pale side of average (she wishes it were a bit darker, but doesn’t tan out of concerns about skin cancer).

Build/Carriage: Standing at 5’6”, Isabel is well within the range of average height for a woman of her age. Her build is on the skinny side, though she definitely does possess hips and breasts. She has good posture, and carries herself in a manner that says "I know what I'm doing."

Attire: Isabel’s clothing is on the expensive side, generally purchased from moderate-to-high-end mall stores. She does own jeans, but they’re nice jeans, and she only wears them when she’s relaxing – she wears skirts or slacks when she’s working or going to class.

Isabel was born to middle-class parents in Wauseon, Ohio, and her family moved to Oregon, Ohio before she started elementary school. Her parents planned to have only one child, so that they could focus their attention – and monetary resources – on her, remained married and for the most part had a normal relationship. It wasn’t a perfect household, but there were no major issues, either. Her family considered themselves Catholic, but weren’t regular churchgoers and Isabel grew up exposed to a smattering of religious concepts that she gleaned from a few trips to mass and Sunday School. However, her parents did their best to instill their daughter with morality, and encouraged her that she could be anything she wanted when she grew up. Isabel promptly declared her intention to become a princess. And maybe also a doctor.

Her early childhood was unremarkable. She enjoyed dressing up, and mothered a baby doll named Kayla that was “loved” almost beyond recognition. Isabel did well in elementary school, but had a reputation among her peers as a goody-two-shoes and a tattletale. She tried to make friends with everyone, and was the sort of little girl that other parents wanted their kids to be like. She generally didn’t lack for playmates, though she tried to steer her friends away from anything that might get them in trouble. Instead, she tried to instigate “wholesome” fun with mixed success. For instance, she tried to start a Babysitters' Club like she’d read about in the books, but her friends lost interest in it pretty fast, and they were still a little young for parents to trust them to watch their kids.

She was terribly disappointed when she got older and not everybody wanted to get along anymore. By junior high, she was struggling to maintain her status as a perfect angel and still be seen as cool, and she wasn’t doing very well at it. Isabel filled the void in her life with babysitting. Now that she was old enough, she spent most of her weekends – and a couple summers – looking after neighborhood kids. Though her social life suffered, she found that she had the money to buy things that she wanted, like cool clothes and makeup, and the independence that came along with buying your own stuff gave her a new outlook on life. When she started high school, she carried with her an air of self-confidence – not to mention the fact that she looked great – and was ready to tackle that whole “popularity” thing again.

She made new friends through her classes. While not necessarily the popular crowd, they were older than she was and a few of them were on the track team and encouraged her to try out. She did try – and didn’t make the team, at least not her freshman year. Disappointed but not heartbroken, she trained over the next summer and made the team her sophomore year.

This was when she started going to parties held by the older team members, and let go of her “good girl” persona long enough to drink beer and get so drunk that she became sick. A senior member of the team, Bryan Harrison, took notice of her, got her some water to drink and tried to calm her down – she was starting to get panicked about what her parents would think, she had failed them, what if she did something while she was drunk...! Bryan finally was able to calm her down (though he couldn’t keep her from throwing up twice) and drove her home, all the while being the perfect gentleman. They started dating soon afterwards, though things didn’t get serious for another year. However, they were engaged before Isabel graduated from high school.

In the meantime, Isabel distinguished herself on the track team, remained in the top 10% of her class academically, and still went out to parties, though she drank sparingly after her first bad experience. She was happy with her life. Her fiancé still flirted with other girls from time to time, but she wasn’t terribly concerned and not long after graduation, she and Bryan were married in a small ceremony and moved into an apartment together. Her parents weren’t thrilled about their daughter marrying so young, but they figured she was old enough to make her own decisions, and at least their daughter wasn’t living in sin. Isabel worked as a cashier at Target while attending classes at Owens Community College with the eventual goal of getting a degree in nursing. It made for a busy life, and when she was working late nights at Target during the holiday season, she couldn’t really keep tabs on where her husband was. It wasn’t until one of her friends clued her in that she had any idea that he was cheating on her.

Isabel confronted him about it, and Bryan gave a remorseful confession of his infidelity. But she was gone so much of the time, and he had been so lonely, and the Other Woman had thrown herself at him – seduced him! – and he had been so very weak, and he was sorry, and he would never see her again, he promised, and it would never happen again. Isabel, who was acquainted with the other party in the affair and always thought she was kind of a slut anyway, accepted her husband’s apology, and made an effort to spend more time with him, as well as keep better tabs on what he was up to.

The next time he started an affair, Isabel was less inclined to listen to his excuses, deduced the root of the problem, and filed for divorce. All in all, their marriage lasted just over a year. She changed her last name back to Albin, dropped out of her classes, moved back in with her parents for a brief period and moped. Everything had seemed so good at first, but she had been cheated out of a good marriage. Around that time, her cousin got married and had what seemed to be a perfect wedding; Isabel burned with jealousy, and made some snide remarks at the reception that she felt horrible about later. Out of nowhere, she made the decision that she was going to become a wedding planner – perhaps to live vicariously through the weddings of others, and to see what other couples had that her relationship had lacked. She applied for OSU, taking some transfer credits from Owens, and started a new life in an apartment in Columbus. She got a transfer to work at a Target store there.

Three years have passed since she started at OSU (she doesn't consider herself behind because she wasn't always able to go to school full time, and not all of her credits transferred), and she’ll soon be starting an internship at a hotel. She’s been working hard at her studies, but still finds time to get out to see movies, and she’s recently started taking tennis lessons, though she may have to drop those if things get too hectic with the new school year. Thanks to a letter she got recently, this looks all too likely.

Bryan Harrison: Isabel’s ex-husband. Surprisingly, Isabel harbors few hard feelings towards him; mostly because she’s pretty good at not wasting any thought on him at all. He still lives back in Perrysburg, and she’s not in regular contact with him, though occasionally other friends from home will let her know what he’s up to.

Christine Salman: Owner of Imperial Bridal and Event Planning, Christine is Isabel's boss. She's approaching 40 and currently planning her own second wedding. She and Isabel get along pretty well.

Alignment: MYTHOS

Name: Sailor Hera

Element(s) of Influence: primarily Women, Marriage, Royalty, and Fertility

Symbol: A “V” with the ends curling out. Commonly known today as the symbol representing the Astrological sign Aries, in ancient Egypt it represented both the female sex, and cows.

Challenge: “Did you really think you could get away with that? Think again – I, Sailor Hera, will put an end to your mischief.”

Locket: A colorful peacock is inlaid in what appears to be a Cloisonne method on her locket, oulined in silver, its neck and head curving to one side in the center of the locket while its tail feathers are spread out behind it, covering the rest of the surface. Gemstones mark the "eyes" in its tail feathers.

Color Scheme: Royal purple and silver

Description: Starting from the top, Sailor Hera wears a platinum coronet, engraved with a pattern of flowers. Her hair falls loose and straight to just above her shoulders, and the laurels are present behind her ears. Her sailor collar is purple, her bow silver, and her white sleeves are open at the top, and fall to her elbows in drapes where the two ends are tied together. Her minidress has been altered to sweep around behind her like a cape, and has a pattern of peacock feathers that drag behind her in a train. She wears delicate golden sandals that lace up to her ankles and have stiletto heels, and carries a staff, embellished in purple, with a silver lotus at the tip.

Transformation: Hera Power, Make Up!
Description: Isabel opens her locket and holds it out in one hand, beginning to spin. White fabric billows out and wraps around her in a voluminous sort of cape. She throws off the cape, revealing her uniform, and holds out her hands in front of her, and her crown appears between them, glowing. She places the crown on her head, then touches the locket on her chest with one hand to summon her staff, which appears in the other hand, also glowing. The light from staff and crown fades.

Attack 1: Bonds of Matrimony
Description: This skill remains very undeveloped. When it's used between two comrades, she is able to forge a weak bond that enambles them to share energy, but this also means that they will feel the other's pain. It only works when the two being connected are within a few yards of each other, can be broken by any sudden shock to either member, and the break will result in backlash to both members of the partnership. Ideally, it would allow a stronger person to share his or her strength with a weaker or injured ally in a pinch.

"Marrying" an enemy is much more fun. Right now, she can only really "marry" them to inanimate objects, but they still face the same backlash if there's a divorce Hera doesn't approve of. She might bond an enemy to the ground to make it difficult for them to move, or marry them to a wind to send them blowing away. How she uses it would depend on the situation, how creative she's feeling, and what the plot calls for.

As Sailor Hera becomes more powerful, her control over this skill will increase, as will its applications.

Special Skills, Traits or Innate Magical Abilities:

Eyes of the Queen: Hera produces a peacock feather, raises it in her hand, then drops it, letting it waft towards the ground. Just before it hits, however, there's a puff of cloud and it comes fluttering back up. Now it has the form of a creature with one eye in the center and two peacock feathers, one one either side, fluttering madly to keep it aloft - sort of like a golden snitch, only with an eyeball. She whispers her orders to it, and it will fly off to do her bidding. The eyes are able to report what they "See" back to Hera, and will follow their target relentlessly, always hovering just out of reach. The target might have the feeling they're being watched, and may catch a glimpse out of the corner of their eye, but the eyes are difficult to catch or see. She can only maintain two of them at a time, though, and even that would be a big draw on her concentration.

Cloak of Fog: Hera can create an "armor" made of thick clouds, but this defensive ability only covers herself - she can't use it on anyone else. She can wear the clouds like a garment, compressing them into an inch-thick layer that drapes like a long dress. This would deflect most physical attacks, but is less useful against magic.

Weapon: Hera carries a staff, but it doesn’t have a name. She can whack people with it, but she prefers not to because it’s a rather undignified use for what is more or less her royal scepter.

It was her worst tennis lesson yet. It was too hot to be out, too bright, and Isabel's skin was slick with sweat and sunscreen. She knew she looked a wreck, but her tennis partner was faring no better, and unlike Isabel, was already starting to show redness on her exposed shoulders and arms.

But why the hell did every serve that girl hit sail blissfully into the perfect spot, while Isabel counted herself lucky if she even got it over the net? It was a beginners' class, but this chick looked like she was ready for the pro circuit. It was all Isabel could do not to throw her racket on the ground and go home, but she comforted herself with the fact that her opponent's skill at tennis would not spare her a horrible death from skin cancer. Also, she had flabby thighs.

The teacher called the class early, due to the heat. Isabel wasn't heartbroken to leave the sun-baked court behind, though the blast of heat that greeted her when she opened the car door gave her an "out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire" sort of feeling. A glance in the mirror confirmed her suspicions - she looked awful, her hair frizzy and her face just gross, but so long as no one important saw her, she could live with it. The exercise was good for her, after all, and she was pretty sure she was improving at the sport.

The mailbox was full when she got home, but she simply dropped the envelopes on the table and didn’t even look at them until after she’d taken a shower, blow-dried her hair, and changed into a clean outfit. Much better - she at least looked like a human again.She checked her answering machine – the only message was telling her she’d won a vacation, and she deleted it after only a few words.

Finally, she sat down at the table to open her mail. The gas bill had arrived. Isabel fished her checkbook out of her purse and wrote the check, sealed it up in the reply envelope, and put a stamp on it, then put it aside to take the next time she went out. She tore up a credit card solicitation, and turned her attention to a slim, unassuming envelope.

“Congratulations!” she read. She hadn’t heard of the Mythos organization, but the Greek letters led her to assume it was some sort of academic honor society. That was kind of cool, especially if they offered scholarship money. She kept reading, but stopped short when there was a clatter as something fell onto the table.

A locket. It was beautiful, but way too huge and gaudy to wear; it seemed to be made of some sort of enamel, with the design of a peacock on the front. For a moment she was taken with its beauty, but then she started to look around the apartment warily. Where had it come from? There was no way it could have fit into that envelope.

There was an address noted in the letter; she decided she’d go there tomorrow to check out the organization and try to make a good impression. There was something strange going on, but she’d figure it out when she got there. She put the letter and the locket next to the gas bill, put in a DVD, and settled onto the couch to relax for a little bit.