Reviews for Perfection is
TheNotSoTalentedPoet chapter 1 . 2/10/2017
I'm unused to reviewing poetry in any setting that isn't academic, so I hope you can excuse the no doubt novice ways I'm going to phrase myself.

Now, as far as having this seem plausible considering both Franziska's character and the way she conducts herself in the games, I found this to be quite believable. Franziska truly is a sad, frightened girl in spite of her aloofness and bravado, and it's not difficult to picture her feeling the self-loathing required to harm herself in such a way. The first two stanzas portray the entire dilemma she faces in a manner that is blunt, succinct, and effective. While giving it a more poetic flair could very well have worked, keeping it so simple and avoiding extraneous fluff or purple prose is preferable for what you're attempting to convey. Good job in that aspect.

Now, for the main body of the poem, I like how you take freeverse's very essence to heart and don't keep a consistent stanza layout or rhyme scheme. It makes it feel more disjointed and, to a point, it comes across in a stream-of consciousness style. She's feeling low, flawed, and as if she is disappointing Manfred, so having her thoughts laid out in a strict rhythm and flow would have come off as somewhat incongruous. Though, while the structure is good, I think some lines don't resonate as well as others do. For instance, "and continues until she's nearly blind" is not bad, but it feels more like it was written to fit the rhyme scheme of that particular stanza than because it fit best. This is actually one of the reasons I find a decent amount of poetry to be hit-and-miss, though that's on my personal preference and no fault of your own. I also think describing someone going blind from pain is a bit trite, but I'm not not saying it doesn't work. I'm not particularly high on the entire stanza after "Papa would not approve." That one line says more than the ensuing stanza, and in fact just tells the reader what that one line should allow them to infer naturally based on the context of the line and her next action of cutting herself. Again, it doesn't kill it for me, but I think that it's entirely unnecessary, and spoon feeds the reader when it is entirely unneeded.

On the whole, though, all of the lines flow well, which is usually the mark of a good poem, and I particularly like the last stanza. I could say it makes her emotions too clear, but it's effective at describing that rush one gets from engaging in self-harm, and it does show that Franziska gets some sick sort of release from the action, and it isn't said in a hackneyed manner. Really, the frankness of this poem is its best aspect, and it helps sell the idea enough for me to enjoy it even with a few quibbles. Hopefully my filibustering can be of use, and good job with this. It's good.
seriousblahblah chapter 1 . 1/20/2017
Absolutely brilliant piece of poetry, genuinely well done. The dark theme here was well executed and your stanzas/line breaks were neatly designed
[The slide of a razor across her wrist, the swift spark of pleasure that should not exist] This line not only rhymes smoothly, it's literally *excuse the pun* cutting and the emotions are there. Why does she get a kick out of hurting herself? Is this kink she has related to the family issues you also mention in the poem?
[A split-second memory of her father is enough to snuff out the spark] this line didn't rhyme as much and I will have to check up on wiki what this means exactly
[Another carefully placed slash parts her flesh and clears her mind] This is harrowing. She is in so much emotional pain she gets clarity from hurt.
Very good poem concrit: try to add more rhymes on the lines more consistent or italicize the parts that do not rhyme and break away slightly from the structure
rustyfeed chapter 1 . 1/18/2017
Short, but deep. A great poem that describes Franziska's struggles when it comes to perfection.
Dragon MoonX chapter 1 . 1/18/2017
This starts out really well by saying "perfection is something she strives for still, perfection is not this." That sets it up and encompasses everything that she experiencing in the moment. A good start in my opinion, and a success at explaining how she feels.

I'm not familiar with the fandom, but I'm guessing that her father is the reason why she does this. There's probably lots of things he wouldn't approve of.

A shame she has to do this in order to cleanse herself of the emotions that she's feeling, but you did a good job expressing everything from beginning to end. And I like the words "another carefully placed slash parts her flesh". Such vivid imagery helps add to the emotion in this piece.
public static void chapter 1 . 1/18/2017
Great poem. I'm not familiar with the fandom, but the emotions of this character are expressed flawlessly.
[that swift spark of pleasure that should not exist.] is a wonderful line and it encompasses everything wrong (and right, for Franziska) about the action.
It's an amazing poem, Lamia.