Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sailor Hermes/ Castille Brenna

Name: Castille [ka-steel] Brenna

Nicknames: She hates nicknames!

Age: 15

Birthday: March 7

Sign: Pisces

Gemstone: Aquamarine

Blood Type: AB-

Fav. Food: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, Thai Food (Specifically: Pineapple Chicken), and Pumpkin Pie

Hated Food: Mushrooms, Curry, Plain Milk

School: Meadowview High School

Hobbies:

Photography- Castille loves to take pictures, and pursues a career in photojournalism. Since she has yet to obtain this job, she occupies herself by taking discounted senior pictures for the high school, and has even taken pictures for a wedding or two. Her favorite subjects are not ones that stand and pose for the camera however. She enjoys taking candid shots, moments when a person's true feelings and happiness come through for all to see. Castille also enjoys taking pictures in black and white, using programs to add a splash of color to one object in the picture.

Castille Says: "I love adding one piece of color to an otherwise black and white object. In an otherwise dull, monotonous day ritual, there can always be that one moment, or person that adds a bit of spice to your life.

Finding New Music:- Castille has one addiction, and that’s music. She loves almost any genre, and her IPod library is always filled to the brim with country, rock, metal, techno and much more. She loves to spend a little time on the computer each day, browsing through new artists and downloading songs to create various playlists out of. Her IPod is always with her, and she typically can be seen with one ear bud in, the other dangling down while she has a conversation while simultaneously checking out some new electronic pop band from Wisconsin. Everywhere she goes, that IPod is blaring, and when she can't listen to it, she's humming or singing one of the songs she just listened to. After only a day without her music, she starts to get grumpy and fidgety.

Castille Says: "I'd rather be addicted to music than something that could really harm me!

Summer Camp Counselor - Castille's favorite people are children. For the last two summers she has helped out at the Happy Campers Day Camp, assisting with meals, arts and crafts and taking groups out on nature walks. She loves kids most because they have such big imaginations. She feels like she can relate to children more than kids of her own age.

Castille Says:"They find such wonder in everything around them. Simple things like Trees and birds become magical in their own way through a child's eyes. Teenagers seem to have lost the ability to see all of this magic around them..."

Volleyball:- Castille loves sports, but volleyball is by far her favorite. As a young girl she played for a youth team, and her position of choice was a libero, or digger position. She would spend hours diving to the ground to save a ball that was too low for some of the taller girls to get, and her knees were constantly bruised from hitting the ground. Now she is part of the school team, in the same position that she played as a child.


Castille Says: "Being on the volleyball team is the best! The feeling of being on a team, the whole group striving for something together. And I love when my muscles are sore! I feel like I have actually done something."


Virtues:

Open-minded: Castille doesn't like to judge, and welcomes people openly into her conversations. Because of this, she has a vast circle of friends that she keeps close to her, and she hates to leave anyone out of the loop. She believes that everyone has some good in them, it just takes the right person to bring it out. That person being her.

She also likes to try new things, especially if it involves helping someone else out. It may be as simple as trying a new recipe that one of her teachers raves about, or taking salsa dancing lessons because one of her friends was too embarrassed to do it alone. Most of the time she takes it a step farther than the person originally intended, making enough of the recipe to share with the entire class, or dancing with her friend in the school Talent Show.

Castille Says: "Those lessons were fun! And that Basil Chicken recipe turned out to be harder than I thought...."

It's all about the Balance!: Castille has a knack for multitasking. As a student, this means she can do multiple classes' homework at the same time. She can also take notes while finishing up her homework from her next class that’s due in twenty minutes. At home, she is able to cook dinner while chatting with her friends online and watching her younger brother. She can also hold multiple conversations at once, which helps if four friends are talking to her at once. As a senshi, it wouldn't be hard for her to keep up with her normal life as well as saving the town from youma and the Negaverse.

Castille Says: "Who can be bored when you have volleyball practice, cooking lessons, and a sleepover with friends that night?"

Oh yeah? And then what happened?: Because of her friendly and warm nature, people often come to Castille with their problems, and she is always willing to sit with them on the couch, sharing a gallon of ice-cream and listening to them rant about how their boyfriend doesn't appreciate them, or how a sibling is always treated better than them. She is always willing to give them her point of view, but will ask if they want it or not...she doesn't want to rile the person up and cause conflict. In her mind, if the worried person can smile, and maybe laugh a little at the end of it, then she has done her job well.

Castille Says: "I feel bad when someone is having a bad day. Even if it's not my fault! Since I am happy, why can't I share it with others and make them happy too?"

Only 100%? I can give 110%! When Castille finds something that really sparks her interest, she devotes herself completely to it. That’s not to say that she does it with everything however. But for certain things, like volleyball and photography, she will keep working at it for hours until the results come out the way she wants.

Castille Says: "I can't just leave the gym with my sets going too far right! then I'll play like that in the game tomorrow!"

Flaws:

Enough Pride for all the Lions in the Zoo: She would rather destroy herself mentally than get advice from someone else. Since her family divorced, she took on the idea at a young age that she can do it all by herself, and this is a hard thing for her to shake, even now. As a student, this means she occasionally falls behind in class because she can't grasp the concept before being forced to move on to the next one. As an athlete, Castille will tire herself out and try a multitude of different things to fix whatever problem she is having, be it a missing serve or a crooked pass, until she finally gets it right. As a new Senshi, Castille will likely get beaten in her first one or two solo battles. She will get frustrated and stress herself out over how to be better. When asked by a comrade if she needs help, even if she is clearly losing, Castille will still say no and, if the other person helps anyway, she will thank them and be polite until she gets home, where she will likely burst into tears and stress even more. Given enough of this, she might decide to quit being a Senshi entirely.

Castille Says: "The person I ask for help from isn't going to be around forever, giving me a hand when I need it. Better to just learn it on my own, then I won't need them at all! Why rely on someone else?"

Jack of all trades, Master of none: Castille has a problem of spreading herself too thin. She likes to have multiple things going on at once, and in a way this is good because she can multitask. On the surface, she looks like she is juggling it all very well, but her friends and family know better. She can't devote herself 100% to anything for too long before getting bored. So her homework remains half finished (sometimes not done at all), her drawings are not colored, and that book she was going to read lays by her bedside gathering dust. While being a Senshi may be exciting at first, the conflict, defeat, and time consuming patrols that come with it would eventually wear her out, causing her to want to quit being a senshi entirely. This multitasking also takes a toll on her health, as she doesn't sleep as much as she should because of all the activities she undertakes. The lack of sleep catches up to her, and her mind slows as well as her reaction time, and humor. However, she is always ready with an excuse to explain the lack of commitment.

Castille Says: "Sometimes I get a little stressed, so I have to skip over some things....But I always come back to them! ....most of the time...."

Tick...tick...tick...BOOM: Castille hates causing conflict, and will avoid an argument almost at any cost. This means all of her nasty thoughts and feelings build inside her, where she goes over them over and over again, analyzing and emphasizing the feelings in her mind until they are so huge to her, that she explodes. This leads to shouting, nasty comments, lots of swearing, and usually tears. She tends to hold grudges, even if she doesn't show it. Castille will continue to be pleasant and friendly to the person, but she will be cursing them in her mind. Her lack of assertiveness when it comes to being stepped on leaves her doubting herself and her abilities a lot of the time, and the whirlwind of emotions spins again.

Castille Says: "I'm fine, I really am! It's not like it hurt my feelings or anything....... *stupid b***h*"

There must be another way.... Castille doesn't like to fight. She can't stand the sight of blood, and she doesn't throw punches, even as a joke. As a regular person, this means people often try to pick on her. She would rather calmly talk out the situation than become physically involved. With the elementary children, she is able to diffuse any of their arguments with a few kind words and suggestions. With the kids of her age, she finds it a little harder to connect with them, though it's not for lack of trying. If her pacifist ways go unnoticed or are not well received, Castille will walk away from the decision depressed, or turn to her childish side. As a senshi, this means if a fight were to break out, she would let Hermes take over and take care of it, and not come back until they fight was long over.**

Castille Says: "Physical violence is never an option! There's always better ways to solve a conflict!"

**With Castille being a pacifist, I was hoping to use her becoming a senshi and having to fight as a point of character development. At first, she would retreat willingly and let Hermes take over, refusing to fight. But as her soul become more entwined with Hermes and with help from Hermes herself, Castille would gradually get over her pacifist ways and realize that sometimes, fighting is the only option available.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Round, Deep blue

Hair: Strawberry blonde, little lower than chin length in the front, with double buns (similar to how sailor moon does it, without the ridiculously long flowy hair coming out. Maybe just a little bit hanging down...the point is to make her look child-like.

Face: She has an oval face, small ears and freckles that create a mask-like look around her eyes. She has thinner lips and white, straight teeth. Or they better be, her parents spent enough money on the braces to fix them.

Clothes: N/A



Done by Wonderful Lucifer Force! The other done by me

Senshi: Parallel Sailor Hermes, Senshi of the Mist

Challenge: Trying to come up with somethin good...

Fuku Colour:

Main Color: Light Blue
Secondary Color: Gold
As Well As: The usual black that is required by Parallels

Fuku:

Collar -- Off the shoulder collar that is standard in Parallels, light blue
Bow -- Sash tied with the bow off to the side, preferably gold in color.
Bodice -- Black, standard bodice for Parallels with the light blue details.
Sleeves -- N/A
Brooch -- I believe the Stone Laocoon has is a blue snowflake? Works for me!
Bottoms -- Classic Skirt, light blue in color
Tiara -- Tiara present only if hat idea is rejected.
Choker -- Choker with the same stone as the bodice in it
Shoes -- Winged shoes? Design totally up to artist.
Gloves -- Gloves that come to the wrist, light blue.
Accessories -- Earrings the same color as the choker, bodice jewel. Is this where my hat idea goes?

Hermes is typically depicted with a winged helmet. I was thinking instead of a helmet, maybe something like a fedora? Wings optional and color is totally up to artist.

Attacks: Willing to go with whatever power the staff helps me come up with!

Sailor Scout Attack: ^^

Super Sailor Scout Attack: ^^

Eternal Sailor Attack: ^^

Why Castille for Hermes?

My Image of Hermes:

In Greek Mythology, Hermes was known as the "prankster and inventive genius" of the Greek Gods. The second youngest of the gods, He was the messenger between Heaven, Earth and the Underworld, and one of the few gods that could pass to the Mortal World with no issue, a practice that he loved doing. But he could also act maturely and help those in need. It was Hermes responsibility to guide dead souls to Hades in the Underworld. He also assisted Odysseus and Perseus in their travels. When Odysseus's men were being turned to pigs by Circe, it was Hermes that guided Odysseus to the place where the herb that would resist the spell was. And when Perseus went to fight Medusa, Hermes gave up his winged sandals to Perseus so that he could dodge her more effectively and defeat her.

When I think of Hermes, I imagine a younger girl that loves to laugh and have fun. Someone who has a hard time being serious and is bouncy and silly.

Castille in a Nutshell:

Castille is a determined, outgoing, multitasking firecracker that can be either mature or childish, depending on the situation at hand. With children, she is imaginative and lively and fun. Around her peers or adults, she is quieter, more mature and reserved. Castille is also a helpful person who is willing to sacrifice her time, power and money to help others in need. She loves guiding people toward the right answer.

I see her as someone who can have fun with the right group, but prefers to be the quiet background of the friendship ring, observing.

My Image of Hermes/Castille Together:

I imagine the two having initial difficulties (What two wouldn't? They are sharing a body!), but overall the two would blend well together as they have a lot of similarities, though they aren't perfectly matched:

Holding Grudges: Castille and Amarilla have a tendency to hold grudges for extended periods of time. The main difference is that Castille doesn't express her dislike for someone, where Amarilla will shout it at you from across the room.

Lying: Castille hates the thought of lying. Amarilla simply can't lie to someone. Striving for honesty is something that the two souls would share.

Attention Span: Castille's "Jack of All Trades" Flaw and Amarilla's "Flighty" Flaw tie together. Castille can concentrate for a while on something, but then she finds something new and moves on, but not before getting the gist of what the first thing was. Amarilla's "Flighty" flaw is simply an upgraded version of Castille's. Instead of waiting until the basics are understood before moving on, Amarilla simply waits until she gets bored, and then moves on, ready or not. With this aspect I can see Amarilla as being almost like a younger version of Castille; same mind frame, just a shorter attention span.

Positive: Amarilla's "Positive" Virtue and Castille's "Open-Minded" virtues mesh together nicely, and the "Naivety" flaw also is connected with this aspect. Both Castille and Amarilla are positive beings who like to be around people. Amarilla takes this positivity to the next level and doubts the negativity in people, which makes her more naive than Castille. Again, I see Amarilla as almost a younger version of Castille in this aspect. They are similar, Amarilla just takes it up a notch.

Stubborn Both souls have a stubborn streak, and, though they express it in very different ways the end result is the same. Castille will take whatever is bothering her and attempt to fix it on her own, refusing advice and ignoring any attempt to help. Amarilla will vocally express her dislike for the situation, and basically throw a fit and refuse to listen to compromise, assistance or advice. When the two disagree, it won't be a pretty sight. But I think that the basic trait of stubbornness and pride will bring them together and make them blend eventually into one character.

Random stuff

Hermes is also known to watch over athletes, and he is credited for inventing sports like boxing. Castille loves playing sports of all kinds, though volleyball is her favorite. The athletic side of her would mesh well with Hermes.

I also considered age for the choice as well. Hermes is the second youngest of the Gods, so it would be natural for that soul to want to connect with someone younger as well. Hence Castille's young age.

I chose Hermes name (Amarilla) because it means "Sparkling" I see Hermes as a character who is full of life to the point of almost being obnoxious, so in a way it is like her personality is sparkling.

I WROTE YOU A NOVEL I AM VERY SORRY. >:

CASTILLE

Minor typo – Meadowview

HOBBIES-

Hobbies are looking good! I really like the photography one, it definitely brings out a uniqueness to that hobby that I haven't seen before (and I know a lot of people do have a photography hobby so kudos).

The only one I have trouble with is Elementary School simply because of the logistics. If she's at Meadowview in the traditional school day (let's say, for the sake of argument 8:30 to 2:30) when does she have the time to go to another elementary school and help out? Between her three other hobbies, plus her schoolwork, not only would she be stretched for afterschool time but elementary school also runs at the same time as high school. I can't see her being able to monitor recess when she's in class at Meadowview.

I would suggest, instead, if you want to keep the kids element (because it's really nice) maybe she's a summer camp counsellor? That, or something that can be done on weekends or afterschool rather than during school hours for her (i.e. life guarding at a kiddie pool, elementary tutor, etc)


VIRTUES –
Really liking the virtues section. They're well thought out and adorable. <3 I'd suggest maybe throwing it into a spell-check or Word just to catch a few of the extra little mistakes. (Off the top of my head some of the words that need fixing would be 'interest' in her final flaw as well as thats to that's)


FLAWS –

The first problem I have is a formatting one, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt. Basically, when you create profiles you use levels of headings. The bold, then the italics, then the red and bold for you extra "Castille says" portion. This remains the same until you hit this section, where you're also bolding your 'why this could be a weakness.' This, from a reader's point of view, is extremely distracting. It cuts the idea flow (for me at least) and I have to keep reminding myself I'm still under the flaws subheading rather than in a new subheading all together.

It's also in your best interest to get rid of the "why it's a weakness" section. Weaknesses no longer need to be specified, and I think it would make it look neater if you just compressed each separate section into the main flaw. Most of the time you're just re-iterating what you've already said anyways, just giving new examples. I really like these examples, especially the one about her giving up on being a senshi in the Pride virtue, and I think you should definitely incorporate them as best you can into the main body.

Incorporating it can also strengthen the flaw, as in Jack of All Trades where the extra explanation really adds more definition.

The only flaw where I can see a bit of a problem in is There must be another way, the only reason being that she and Hermes will eventually become the same person. Just sort of glancing down at Hermes, you haven't given her a pacifist flaw, which means they're on two very different pages when it comes to battle. I know you haven't made Hermes super aggressive either, but it's still something you should address if you intend to keep a pacifist flaw. Castille won't always be Castille and Hermes, at one point she'll just be herself with a past life influence, so what would she do then?



HERMES

Does she have any hobbies?

VIRTUES –

I really liked the "Castille says" you had going on up there. Is there any way you'd be interested in doing it down here as a "Hermes says"? biggrin

Overall, you've written the profile for Hermes as if she's a school kid rather than a senshi. I'd maybe use battle or senshi-related examples rather than school examples for her since she wasn't born an Earth school kid. It would make it that much more relevant.

For the Sincere virtue, do you mean that Hermes physically can't lie or that she just won't? Because can't almost makes it almost just a trait rather than a flaw or a virtue. Not doing it by conscious choice makes it that much more of a virtue (the converse being lying by choice makes it more of a flaw) and I think this virtue could benefit from that distinction. Her motivations for being so truthful could also add another dimension. Why does she feel so strongly about the truth even at the expense of some hurt feelings?


FLAWS -

The way it's currently worded, Indecisive is a fairly mild flaw. That's okay, provided that you have others to strengthen it, but as it stands now just know that's the way it comes off. If you wanted to strengthen it (purely your choice) I would suggest putting in something more senshi-ish. If she's indecisive in battle and that could cost her companion his/her life in the worst case scenario then that's pretty dangerous.

In Childish you've got one case of using Hermes' original name (Glace). This flaw is also a bit shaky. She's child-like, yes, but she's also childish and the distinction definitely needs to be made between the two. Being child-like has its own set of associated flaws/virtues, and the same for childish. Using both as a flaw makes it hard to move between the ideas and connect them together. If you're going the naivety route then you want child-like. If you're going the immature route then you want childish, and you should focus on whichever you mean more. It's also never a good idea to dictate how other people will react to her behaviour. Speculation is fine (can cause, may cause, etc) but to say for certain that they'll alienate her is not a good way to write a trait. Keep the focus on her instead. What does she do during these fits? How long to they last? Is she a grudge holder like her host?

Flighty and Patient rub each other the wrong way to me, at least in the way they're currently written. If she's so level headed and patient with children, I find it hard to believe that she can also have a short attention span and zoom from place to place because she gets bored. Switching patient to child-like would give her the ability to bond well with children and that aspect, but it would remove her problem solving capabilities and her tolerance. However you choose to do it, I would advise either removing one or changing one so that it can coexist with the other.

Stubborn and Childish are essentially the same flaw. The way you've written stubborn is actually a better version of your childish flaw, so I'd keep the stubborn one and just change it to childish.

Overall, her flaws don't come off as strong as Castille's. I really got the feeling with Castille that you could see how each flaw was detrimental not only to her but to those around her. If it helps you to write out why each is a weakness I would say definitely do it for Hermes, because right now Castille is outshining your Hermes character completely. XD


I'm not going to say too much about her senshi form. Her attacks look like you're still working on them (?) so I'm not sure how much I can say. More on what the mist actually does would be useful for sure, and I'd advise against the use of a Mars-like envelope. It doesn't make sense with her sphere.

As a sort of fun-fact, the blue stones and snowflake jewellery that Laocoon wears is actually Hermes's little "symbol" if you will. If you want to look at matched Cavalier/senshi pairs (Aphrodite and Hector, Alex and Helen) you'll notice that they both have the same decorative symbols on them (H/A's is a pink heart, A/H's is a black circle). Laocoon and Hermes's just happens to be a blue snowflake. biggrin


FINAL COMMENTS:

The Parallel soul forcing the other soul to yield or being too different from the host soul is actually a very bad thing. I believe Shaz has said the host soul will actually try and force the Parallel soul out like an organ that doesn't match so I would be careful how much your Hermes pushes Castille around. Soul rejection is not a good thing D:

On the note of being too different, I'd really like to see more of Castille in your Hermes. Right now I can kind of see some minor likes and dislikes being similar but it should be deeper than that. Imagine a character that has diverged into two different people due to different circumstances but are ultimately the same kind of person at heart. The fact that Hermes won't lie and Castille won't cause conflict is much more important than the fact that they both like children. They should share some basic, core trait that makes them able to empathize with each other and would help them become the same person.

I really, really like Castille. You've basically sold me on her. What you need to do is sell me Hermes. She is equally as important as your host character and I think you should try and do the depth you've got for Castille for her. Try to get her to the point where she could merge with Castille and not create just a jumble of traits.

Good work and good luck! <333

Alright! I completed my list! Now for a lil' bump to the top and some crits/marks!

Well, Castille hasn't been near the top recently so....