I definitely want to have a reason, and you gave some good ones. This particular person really does like using epithets, but I think it's possible I can convince them not to, or at least to use them more sparingly. I can understand wanting variety, but epithets just tend to pull me out of the story even more than repetition of a name. While I don't want to hurt any feelings, I really don't think I'm doing my best as a beta, or doing the writer any good, by not mentioning the issue. Thank you so much for the advice! :D