Application
Senshi: Sailor Camael, Malachim Senshi of Joy
Name: Kamila Rhian Tatum
Meaning: "Young Maiden of Joy"
Age: 20
Birthdate: October 4
School/Occupation: Kamila works full time at a small hair salon "Curl Up & Dye" specializing in alternative colors and styles. She off-and-on contemplates attending the local community college but always ends up shrugging it off. This is often followed by saying something about how content she is with her current life and the tediousness of badgering high schools for transcripts.
Major NPCs:
Parents:
Whelan (50) and Dixie (50) first became acquainted in their small hometown of Christmas, Florida when friends pointed out their similar culinary interests. Dared to attend a group date with friends for fun in high school (mainly because Dixie would object otherwise), the two hit it off almost immediately and have been nearly inseparable ever since. Whelan's family owned the only barbecue joint in town and Dixie's parents ran the local diner; both worked in their respective family's eateries and their meeting was practically love at first sight.
After graduation, they married at the nearby church and the two families soon went into business together. Their initial business consisted of merging the diner and the barbecue joint into a full-blown, Southern style restaurant "The Christmas Café" worth driving miles to and often ended up in the neighboring town's papers. Besides early infidelity and several clashes between family members putting tension on their relationship, Whelan and Dixie have had a happy, successful marriage.
Dixie's quick transformation from waitress, to restaurateur, to (victorious) barbecue competitor across the American South, to television personality of "Dixie Tatum's Southern Home Kitchen" has left Whelan in awe of his talented wife. Dixie's accomplishments have made her the face of the family - and of the town - while Whelan assists her off-screen by tossing around ideas for the next show and managing her schedule. Since their first daughter's birth, the family has moved to Orlando, conveniently 20 minutes away from the couple's hometown and relatives.
When the two aren't occupied with their intertwining careers, they adore hosting Sunday football parties to catch up with their closest friends, this party includes plenty of Dixie's signature buttermilk biscuits and Whelan's barbecue. If the chance arises that they can recall all three of their daughters back home, the Tatums would love nothing more than to spend quality time with the girls on their lakefront property in Orlando, Florida.
Siblings:
Kamila's oldest sister, Tallulah (24), is the apple of her parents' eyes; she too had an early love for cooking much like her parents and brings a strong pastry background to the table after graduating from the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin. Tallulah practically grew up on her mother's show, watching her mother instruct the masses on how to properly prepare corn puddin' and fried green tomatoes when not adorably making guest appearances to help mom out. Of all Dixie's fans, Tallulah remains her biggest supporter and truly believes that her mother is a hero.
She's generally nice to others but very immature toward particular family members. She has a tense relationship her sisters; Tallulah appears threatened if either captivates their parents' attention versus her. Tallulah has always been praised for her culinary passions and talents and believes that she is the sole prodigy of this cooking duo. In fact, Tallulah wishes she was an only child and didn't have to grow up sharing parents with Kamila and Tuesday.
She never tries to communicate with her siblings unless nudged to do so by relatives. As a graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy, she's focused on her career as pastry chef in an upscale eatery in New York City - and no, she's not pleased at all that Kamila lives in the same city as her. Ultimately, she hopes that experience in the industry and her mother's ever-rising popularity will eventually land her a job as a television host in years to come.
Any time Tallulah talks down to Kamila and insults her, it tends to piss Tallulah off as she can't seem to pierce the impenetrable skin of her middle sister. Tallulah especially loves to boast to Kamila about how she's the only sister who managed to graduate college. Kamila discredits her offensive demeanor as simply never growing out of the childlike phase where a person is territorial over the ones they love the most, and believes that Tallulah means no serious harm with her words.
Tuesday (19), on the other hand, tends to give her parents headaches with the amount of trouble she causes. Girl booted out of high school for starting a fight? Tuesday. Girl banned from all parks in Orange County for smoking weed with her friends? Yep, Tuesday. Girl kicked off campus for jumping out of a window nearly naked on Fraternity Row? Tuesday indeed, and she'll speak of the incident with pride and wonder why more people didn't take cell phone pictures of the glorious event. Girl in minor car accident due to a (very) questionable blood alcohol concentration level? Oh yeah, definitely Tuesday - but no worries, her parents will pay to get their car fixed and more, just so long as they don't call the cops!
Troublemaking Tuesday may be a bit misguided but she's a girl who knows how to have fun and is willing to try anything. When asked why she's always getting into so much trouble, she blames it on her spoiled childhood with a mother who gave her daughter anything she asked for. She knows it isn't right to feel entitled and to think that she can weasel her way out of any problem through her parents and their statuses, but does so anyway. Another infamous way that she excuses her behavior (Uber brat alert): "It's not MY fault that no one else knows how to have fun. Why should I have to give up my enjoyment for some crappy rule? This is MY life and I'll do what I want!"
As the youngest daughter of the Tatums, Tuesday has had more freedom due to her parents' busy schedules and tends to run wild with the amount of leeway she's been given over time. Nonetheless, she still attends school at the University of Central Florida as a part-time student majoring in event management; her schoolwork is half-assed to say the least. Her family has bailed her out of academic probation several times already.
Of her sisters, Kamila feels closest to Tuesday mainly due to Tuesday actually liking Kamila. Whereas Tallulah sees Kamila as a target to taunt and insult, Tuesday thinks that Kamila is a pretty freakin' cool big sister and appreciates Kamila's boundless positivity. Not to mention that every time Tuesday visits New York City, she insists on getting her hair done by her sister and spending as much daytime hanging out as possible. This is - of course - because Tuesday spends the night in NYC partying it up, something that Kamila would never agree to. Kamila appreciates how spirited her sister is and believes that one day Tuesday will grow out of her "troubled teenager" phase into a more well-mannered young lady.
Jalesa Gardner (22) is Kamila's best friend through both childhood and adulthood; they're practically sisters by this point. The two met when Kamila's mother decided to enroll her nine-year-old daughter in a ballet class where she met Jalesa. Hitting it off immediately based off of their dislike for ballet, they would sneak into arts & crafts classes together next door. Their mothers caught on after several calls home from the instructor reporting this ongoing behavior and placed their daughters in any classes where they could draw and color through the years.
Kamila and Jalesa have been indivisible ever since their first meeting. Over the years, teachers and camp counselors have made attempts to separate them in hopes of the two girls making other friends. No matter what, the two girls always end up back together and were a notable pair in their graduating class with names like "Thing One & Thing Two" and "Tweedledee & Tweedledum"; they always playfully argue over who was referred to as Tweedledum, of course.
Jalesa tends to be much louder and more ambitious while Kamila is quite easygoing and agreeable; their personalities compliment one another ideally. What keeps their friendship so strong isn't just personality compatibility but their similar interests. Both laud beauty as an important aspect and wish to share it with everyone, from their colorful collages at school art shows to styling the hair and make-up of girls at their high school prom to their eventual cosmetology licenses post-graduation. For beauty school, Kamila and Jalesa moved to New York as a pair and lived in an two-bedroom apartment until Jalesa moved in with her boyfriend, Cristopher. The two now work together at "Curl Up & Dye" in Greenwich Village.
History
Florida-born middle child of the famous Tatum cooking duo moves to New York City with her best friend in hopes of finding a place where she can thrive and do what she loves best; dyeing and styling hair with creative freedom in the Village.
Twenty years ago, Kamila was born to a younger Dixie Tatum and an unknown lover in the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women in Orlando, Florida. Dixie had come clean and confessed to her husband that she believed the child couldn't be his due to the time frame of conception. Her accidental pregnancy resulted from plenty of drunken partying during her early travels around the country, seeking publicity by collaborating on other chef's shows. Religion dictated that abortion wasn't an option and Dixie wanted to keep the child no matter what, she always had a giant heart for children.
Whelan also came to accept the child and eventually forgave his wife for her promiscuous activity. Forgiveness came after a plethora of heated visits to a marriage counselor who promised utmost confidentiality so that their careers weren't jeopardized by the scandal. Entertaining the idea of a scandal ruining their successful careers in the food and entertainment business was what motivated Whelan to take the first steps of forgiveness and to welcome the newborn child into his family. Time has since healed the wounds of infidelity and Whelan tries to act as much like a father to Kamila as he does to his other two daughters.
A gentle youth, Kamila was raised primarily by her father early on while her mother was flown to the studio to film her next show. Her father stayed behind for both his children and to oversee their restaurant in Christmas, Florida. The family went camping and hiking in Florida backwoods without Dixie's presence. Kamila effortlessly accepted that her mother wouldn't be around as much as her father, Dixie had been part of the television scene far longer than her own existence. On the other hand, Tallulah often whined and cried about missing her mother, and camping trips were cut short. She resented both of her sisters almost immediately and felt threatened the moment her mother had Kamila, Tallulah dearly wanted to be the only child of her parents.
Kamila was more or less a cheerful child, she had a love for getting into her mother's make-up too often when not begging to have her mother style to use the curling wand on her hair, resulting in a Shirley Temple look. She tended to avoid her sister Tallulah who was just as happy to ignore her in favor of kids her age, and played more with her baby sister Tuesday than anyone else, Tuesday would remain the closest family member to her. Her teachers praised her love of coloring and curiosity about animals in classes, and stated she was the most well-mannered child of her group and quite creative. Instead of asking for plastic dolls at the store like many other children, Kamila would pull paper out of the printer and draw hundreds of fashionable paper dolls. Each doll would then have her hair and wardrobes colored in bright hues for both she and her sister to play with.
It wasn't until Kamila was eight years old that she overheard a heart-shattering argument. When in conflict, individuals tend to bring up issues from the past as additional ammo toward their opponent and Whelan was no different. This intense shouting match resulted in Whelan reminding his wife about his acceptance of Kamila, an accidental child who wasn't his, and of his forgiveness toward the situation in general. Both turned to the door and looked down at the open bedroom parallel to theirs, noticing Kamila listening and the fight halted.
Still, the damage was done and Kamila somewhat comprehended what she had just heard. Her heart raced in confusion regarding Whelan's words, and her confusion soon turned to resentment. In passing when observing the Tatum's three daughters, everyone always commented on how much Tallulah and Tuesday looked like their parents while Kamila's features remained quite different, and now Whelan's words fell perfectly into place with those observations.
Dixie and Whelan never brought up the subject again, and Kamila never tried to question it. To combat their daughter overhearing this hurtful information, Whelan made efforts to spend more time beside Kamila, to make it up to her. He invited her to go for Louisiana snowballs (Finely shaved ice with Louisiana-imported syrups) after school almost every day, to go on trips to Christmas where she could follow dad around while he checked up on their relatives' management of the restaurant, and overall tried to make her more apart of his life. Tallulah accused their father of giving Kamila special treatment but Kamila understood why he was doing this. His efforts were met with Kamila's appreciative demeanor. She tried to keep her emotions to herself as she never wished to burden anyone, but continued to stay quieter than normal, the word "accident" echoing over and over in her head despite Whelan's kindness to her.
Finally, Dixie stepped in and decided that what Kamila needed was a hobby outside of school and the home to perk her up. At nine years old, she signed Kamila up for ballet and she dreaded it from the beginning. Dance wasn't something that Kamila ever had an interest in and didn't understand why her mother pushed her out of her home's comfort while Tallulah and Tuesday were allowed to stay inside and do whatever they wished. Still, Kamila found herself willing to open up more in this new environment and befriended a girl named Jalesa Gardner.
Jalesa and Kamila hit it off from the get-go; Jalesa was a daredevil and spoke too loudly which allowed Kamila to open up more as they accompanied one another on adventurous schemes. In return, Kamila's pleasant and peaceful demeanor calmed Jalesa down to the point where she wasn't scolded at as much in school and in their activities. The two girls loathed ballet and would often sneak out to different activities, especially ones that involved art of any sort. If forced to stay in ballet, the two would rather decorate the costumes of their peers for an upcoming recital than perform. Years later, this love for art and decoration would turn into a love for make-up and hair.
From the end of fourth grade up until they received their cosmetology licenses after graduation, Jalesa and Kamila attended the same schools. They were practically glued to one another and would make sure to select similar schedules. Gym was their worst subject as they hated the idea of sweating then attending another class - not to mention, messy hair was the end-all for these two. Instead, they walked around the track versus running the mile lap, resulting in a poor grade. Gym wasn't the only class in which they refused to participate in, there were many more. Several instances of mandatory goggles for science labs ended in Jalesa and her follower Kamila refusing to perform the lab assignment, fearing for their tangled curls and blotted foundation. In their heads, they were protesting in the most peaceful way possible and didn't care if their grades suffered. Boys in their classes considered them prissy girly-girls. Meanwhile, other female students caught onto their love and care for beauty and would begin to ask either girls for styling help or assistance for homecoming or prom. Kamila was delighted to finally find her place in school and shape her life around making others feel - and look - beautiful.
The rewarding feeling of seeing a peer smile into the mirror after having her hair styled, make-up determined, and wardrobe suggested by Kamila was more than blissful, she couldn't get enough of it. It was a way to make friends too; styling paved the way for conversation to take place and for friendships to grow. But more than anything, the feeling of being appreciated for her keen eye and then praised brought a sense of joy; she felt content in a role where she helped others and finally at peace with herself. No longer did she see the glass as only half-full because of Whelan's words and knowing that she may have an unknown father, but felt fortunate for her present life and having found a place in it. With age, Kamila felt that she was lucky to have a father, whether blood or not, who tried to be as much part of her life as he was Tallulah's and Tuesday's and treated her kindly no matter his genetic association. If anything, realizing her interest in cosmetology and the satisfaction in helping others during high school is what brought her this newfound wisdom and contributed to her personality the most.
In high school, Tuesday was often in trouble with both teachers and faculty and Kamila would receive some backlash for it. Teachers were awestruck by how Tallulah was a younger version of their popular mother Dixie; she played into the persona as an outspoken, independent young woman wile Kamila appeared a bit more soft-spoken and quite amiable. As soon as Tuesday shared the same teachers as her two older sisters, all were appalled to see what a nightmare this youngest Tatum was. Teachers pulled Kamila aside to help tone down her little sister's attitude, warning that Tuesday may end up permanently suspended from school if she remained hostile. As a result, Tuesday and Kamila spent a lot of time together in their free moments in high school, from lunch to time between classes. Kamila attempted to enforce a more positive demeanor that would hopefully carry on for the rest of the school day. These talking sessions would continue to last until the present with Tuesday relying on Kamila to tone down her fiery attitude often filled with short-temperedness, and would strengthen their friendship.
As other students took the SAT and wrote hopeful applications for college, Jalesa and Kamila were already devising a plan to attend cosmetology school so that they may become certified in a beauty-oriented profession. Kamila's parents weren't around much due to traveling to a New York studio to shoot their shows and fly elsewhere for guest appearances, but Kamila and Tuesday were old enough to live in the family house without a need for supervision. Kamila, content with her life and with her beauty-oriented hobby, simply found that she had no need for university despite her grades indicating an ideal college candidate. Perhaps it was also the lack of parental guidance that enabled her to choose this path, but she felt both proud and fortunate that she had determined her occupational ambition so early on alongside her best friend counterpart.
When Kamila's parents discovered that she hadn't any intentions of attending a formal college nor had she filled out any applications, they were floored. Even with their traveling around, they knew that their middle child was one who succeeded in school - minus gym - and was well-liked by most teachers for her class participation. It never once crossed their minds that she would rather become a hair dresser or make-up artist over a profession that would require a standard college education. Knowing that Kamila wanted beauty school and not a four-year university sank Dixie's heart; Tallulah was already enrolled in a Texas culinary school and Tuesday was..well, wherever Tuesday would end up, it would be trouble the entire way. Kamila was Dixie's hope at having someone in the family graduate from a traditional four-year university. While Dixie felt this way, she understood her daughter's passion for her interest very well, considering her own love for culinary arts becoming her career and succeeding at it. She encouraged Kamila to do the best that she could at what she loved, and suggested for her daughter to attend a beauty school out-of-state.
Jalesa was totally psyched ("I can't believe that we never thought about going to NYC before!") about the out-of-state suggestion from the get-go and her parents too were supportive of it. Kamila was iffy about leaving Florida as she hadn't any desire to really travel but Jalesa convinced her that if they were going to do hair, and do it their way without filter, New York City was the place to do it. Kamila then jumped on board; not only would these childhood best friend advance into adulthood together, but both would be in a career together as they always wanted to, just far away from home. Right after graduation, the two girls boarded a plane with Dixie, who frequented New York often due to her show, and headed for their training at Empire Beauty School in Manhattan.
Adjusting to life in New York City initially proved problematic for Kamila; she felt like a small fish in a very, very big sea unlike before. The only aspects that kept her cool-headed were the reminders of her passion that got her there in the first place and that she was fortunate to have parents that supported her both emotionally and fiscally in this voyage to New York. No matter what obstacles stood in her way at school or anywhere else, she felt that she could overcome them by having total confidence in herself - a positive attitude could allow anyone to conquer anything, in her mind.
Together, the Tatums and the Gardners rented the girls out a two-bedroom through cosmetology school. Kamila was surprised by how rooming together turned out; Jalesa utilized this opportunity to invite over friends every night and consume the living room with their loud, sometimes drunk presences. Kamila wasn't fond of this and kept to her bedroom, she was just glad to be in this strange place accompanied by her closest friend at all times.
While Jalesa was more absorbed in socializing with the locals, Kamila rather quietly indulge in her hobbies and perfect her interests. Perfecting her interests resulted in her dying hair so often in any unnatural color that her class mates would coin her names like "Rainbow Brite" for her locks of peculiar colors. To Kamila, the body is a canvas for self-representative art and Kamila celebrated this by dyeing her hair coral among other soft colors that she felt described her best. As Kamila represented herself with an excess of pastel make-up, hair colors, and wardrobes, Jalesa began to represent herself with an individual from The New School nearby; she met him through a friend's friend at Empire. Eventually, this individual would become her long-term boyfriend, Cristopher.
Kamila already had predicted that they'd get together from the moment she saw them interacting, and she respected and supported it the whole way. She understood that both she and Jalesa had been a pair for over a decade now and never had any sort of dating history. It seemed only natural that Jalesa and Cristopher would start a serious relationship sooner or later, and Kamila quite liked him; he made constant pop culture references, cracked jokes about himself, and joined Kamila in playing played video games on their laptops idly while waiting for Jalesa to get ready for a night out. He was down-to-earth and Kamila approved of him, she was glad for her best friend to find a guy like him.
Over the next year, plenty of changes began to take place, some considered inevitable despite Kamila's innermost wishes. Cristopher by this point practically lived at their place and Kamila was totally okay with it, she liked him, however their landlord was not pleased when multiple apartment inspections yielded this third person every time. A final warning was given to both Jalesa and Kamila about taking advantage of the term "guests" and their landlord boasted about how easily replaceable her current tenants were, thus Cristopher came up with a solution: Jalesa could move in with him. Biting her tongue and setting her emotions aside, Kamila gave her best friend her blessing and sent her off, it wasn't like she was far as Cristopher's school was in Greenwich Village too. The two would meet up for lunch practically every day and of course stay inseparable during class.
Even though Kamila tends to be a bit on the quieter side, the loss of her best friend's presence within the apartment felt obvious; the apartment was now silent without her, her boyfriend, and the many locals she invited over. This sense of solitude made Kamila branch out even more so and socialize to make up for this state. The apartment itself has turned into a revolving door of sorts, people came and went and her roommate situation continues to be ever-changing; Kamila has been a roommate to a neurotic intern at The New York Times, a girl who dropped everything to move to New York in hopes of fulfilling her acting dreams, and the coke head who winded up in jail for narcotics and prostitution only two weeks after signing the lease, among other intriguing subjects. Her landlord was right though; tenants were easily replaceable and Kamila had a new one quite often. From watching these individuals, she felt fortunate for her own life and her state of mind, but tried her best to befriend these people in hopes of positively influencing them and for mentally painting a more concrete blurb of their lives.
Graduation also took place later on this year and Kamila received her licensing for cosmetology in New York alongside Jalesa. Upon obtaining their licenses, the two girls were offered a chance to be part of a new, niche salon that an instructor recently purchased and renovated a room for, "Curl Up & Dye." Needless to say, the name and concept behind the salon to focus primarily on alternative styles and colors appeared nothing short of ideal to Kamila and Jalesa. Their past instructor and now boss, Violet "Vi" Lemaître (whose bangs, coincidentally, are violet), has a great reputation around Greenwich for her usage of color and her eye for beauty. She also owns several other salons around New York City and used her contacts at these other locations to bring in customers who are seeking for a more alternative style.
Post-grand opening, business continues to boom and attracts more and more people, plenty of passerbys are intrigued by the salon due to its punny name and walk in. "Curl Up & Dye" is a place that Kamila calls 'home' even if it's her work place: Kamila adores her job, the individuals that she works beside, and her customers with their interesting conversations. Nothing is more heart-warming to Kamila than knowing that a customer is loyal to her and appreciates the creative work that she's done, it re-affirms her decision to fly out to New York altogether and she hasn't any regrets.
In the present, Kamila spends majority of her time working at the salon and hanging out with Jalesa and their co-workers, all who share the same love of hair among other beauty-related interests. Nothing is better than spending a night at the salon after work and having a free-for-all dye roulette over thin mints, synthpop, and good conversation. In New York, Kamila can fully be herself and no one would ever judge her; she can wander down any street with flowers in her pastel hair and her usual Zen-like expression, and no strange glances are ever given. In fact, Kamila's overall look and demeanor could be considered tame in comparison to the other individuals of her age in New York City. She feels at home here despite having a love-hate relationship with the bitter winters versus those in Florida, and is content in bringing happiness to others through creative freedom at her job. Her family still suggests the idea of a proper four-year university education, but Kamila would rather follow this path that brings her joy with her new cosmetology license and friends in Greenwich.
Personality
Kamila's Zen-like demeanor is the most notable when first meeting her. She lives in her own world filled with introspection and celebrates how fortunate she is to have her own mind and not someone else's. Despite how peaceful her mannerisms may appear, Kamila either comes off as annoyingly calm yet positive to the point of being deemed boring or robotic, or arrogant due to how obvious it is that she wants to pass on her self-righteous views to each and every person she comes across. A smile permanently glued to her face and eyes that show serenity, her voice radiates with something optimistic at all times even if she may not necessarily agree with the other individual's stance in the conversation. Kamila sees life with a glass that's half-full - no, totally full and overflowing with sugary content - and is definitely an individual that people tend to either adore or loathe.
What can irritate people the most is that Kamila portrays herself as the world's guardian angel; she hopes that she can influence others to live their lives in the present and with as much alacrity as she does. She doesn't know how to tone down her inevitable demeanor other than keeping silent, which is what she typically resorts to. Often quieter than her peers, Kamila finds her own silence as a means of listening and understanding those around her and how she can affect them. When Kamila listens to another, she doesn't simply listen for entertainment or to pass the time but as a means of figuring out how she can aid them; she genuinely cares for the welfare of others. As demonstrated by her career choice, she derives her satisfaction in life from helping people and making them feel better about themselves. She believes that improving exterior beauty can lead to an improvement in inner beauty as well.
On the topic of beauty, her judging of others is quite notable. Kamila knows that while it may seem shallow at first, if someone is obviously having a crappy day and isn't trying to make themselves feel better via any exterior means, then they're not trying hard enough to combat their own problems. She believes that the inner aspects and exterior aspects of an individual are inter-connected and if one isn't trying to be improved on, then how can the other flourish? Kamila has a tough time understanding other people who may not care or benefit as much from feeling physically attractive, and tends to sigh at people who appear hopeless in this regard. For these people who find themselves in conversation with her, Kamila makes it clear that she's a hairdresser and would love to assist them at her salon. As always, Kamila wants to help out whether or not the person wants it and makes it very apparent that she would love to do so.
There's always that person whose reaction to her is offense; she offends them by offering a suggestion, followed by an insulted reaction: "Uhm, excuse me? Is my hair not good enough or something?" or "I don't need a pep talk about how lucky I am to have this life. Knock it off and quit being so preachy." Kamila can't stand any sort of conflict and will retreat no matter what once any hostility is demonstrated. She comes off as very strong in wanting to assist others, but as soon as the person demonstrates any sort of resentment, she will do whatever she can do avoid conflict. To be blunt, Kamila is not a strong person at all when it comes to others demonstrating any negative behavior. This is where Kamila's superiority kicks in; she's quite guilty of feeling that she isn't ever wrong in offering her help to any person who may seem down on themselves. If they give her a negative reaction, it's their loss and Kamila can just silently turn away from this "lost" individual knowing she tried to offer advice.
Plenty of "lost" people do tend to find their way into Kamila's life though, and she cheerfully accepts each of them. As a counselor for any person considered a friend, Kamila finds her life full of conversation about others' problems. She tries her best to make others feel better through her inflexibly positive demeanor and insight. She's pre-occupied a lot with text messaging friends while at work and uplifting their hopeless days. Jalesa has warned Kamila that some of these strangers she considers "friends" could be using her for the sake of having a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to their problems, Jalesa is most likely correct but Kamila doesn't care. An advocate for others, Kamila finds happiness in seeing others succeed and finds helping each person rewarding if they benefit from speaking to her; she's the world's cheerleader. In fact if it came down to it, Kamila would probably sacrifice something major of her own in order to make another person have a better day because she knows that she will always get by as long as she maintains a pleasant head on her shoulders.
As one-noted and unbreakably positive as she appears on the outside, Kamila does feel plenty of sorrow but keeps it in her own head. Her own suffering will always remain internal and she refuses to show it, even in the face of a situation where she discovered that her father wasn't even truly of her blood early on in her life. In that particular situation where others would confront their parents or feel pissed off about it for the rest of their lives, she'd rather appreciate how fortunate she is to have some sort of fatherly figure who does dearly care for her. Kamila keeps her own anguish bottled up and feels that it's best to not pollute the world by adding more sadness or anger - and yes, she does feel anger just as much as anyone else but tries to channel her own frustrations into something beneficial. Kamila's motto is: "Do as little harm to the world as possible." She strives to fulfill this quote in any aspect that she can, even if it makes her boring to others her age with her lack of drinking, partying (Unless it entails cupcakes and juice, of course! Kamila's dream party is the equivalent of an 8-year-old's poolside birthday.), and consuming any non-vegan food, much to the dismay of her family.
Kamila may be one of the last people that a friend would call up to hang out with at night because she's strict on what 'fun' can and can't consist of in comparison to other adults, but she's okay with this. She realizes that a lot of her opinions aren't shared and tries her best to be tolerant (All the while having a smile on her face and the usual kindness in her voice) of any differences. A lot of her time is spent alone or latched onto whoever may have the most similar values to her own like Jalesa. Besides her beauty-based interests, Kamila finds happiness in crafting, sketching and coloring, and scrapbooking among other hands-on activities, she has a soft spot for virtual pet cell phone games. When crafting hair accessories or designing a shabby chic album on her bedroom floor in silence, she knows that she can reflect on the day without any interruption. Some individuals may require alone time and thoroughly enjoy it, but for Kamila, it brings her inner peace and a means of re-charging herself to interact later on.
Overall, Kamila is grateful for the life she leads, she's very content and this state of contentment is what has shaped the rest of her personality. She firmly believes that living in the present and selecting responsible decisions for the future are for the best, and that every individual should appreciate what's in front of them. To her, there's no point fixating details of the past that can't be changed and she strives to demonstrate this to others. With an energetic personality that seems a bit too optimistic, she can get on the wrong person's nerves quite easily but will always attempt to be a positive influence on anyone if given the chance. A gentle but fragile individual, Kamila's Zen-like expressions and demeanor come to her with confidence in knowing that her perspective on life is imperative for happiness and contentment at a price; she lacks many close friendships because people find her too fussy to invite over or exchange normal, non-advice related talk with.
As a senshi, Sailor Camael's role is primarily defensive support with some offense, and it suits her well. In combat, she will spend a lot of time trying to bolster the morale of her team mates with her aura from "Joyous Choir!" She can also do what she loves doing best without having to care about the consequences - helping others who most certainly don't want her help! When she transfers her aura through "Joyous Transfer!" she can give the enemy a taste of the inner joy she feels in hopes of halting the battle, putting the target into a serene sleep, or inflicting self-harm on the enemy and on any of the enemy's nearby cronies. To Kamila, her role as Sailor Camael is a sign that the direction of her life is destiny and parallels her realm of influence, joy. She sees anyone who too is a senshi as having a special connection to her and will try to initiate friendships.
If Kamila took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, she would be a perfect INFJ: "They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a 'tell me what's wrong' sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs."
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Appearance
Kamila stands at a very innocuous 4'11" and enhances her height by wearing her accumulated array of platform flip-flops, boots, and wedge shoes. Because of her height, Kamila finds that she puts on weight easily. It could be assumed that she'd easily maintain her weight due to her vegan diet, and that's anything but the truth; vegan donuts and vegan cupcakes among other baked goods are her weaknesses. She tries to sparingly consume anything that would offset her thin figure but has her moments where she will binge eat plenty of sweets when alone.
Her demeanor is both serene and static, she never fidgets idly or demonstrates any indication of impatience. Naturally, her lips curl into a subtle smile at all times and it's difficult for her to look upset. An individual who didn't know her could assume that she appears sorrowful; her raised eyebrows slightly dip down toward the sides of her face. There's a bit of a southern dialect in her voice from her mother who has a very defined Florida panhandle accent, Kamila speaks in a soft tone at all times.
Makeup is an essential part of her daily routine and she loves using foundation, blush, and some colorful eye shadow to match her hair color of the moment. Over the years, she feels like her hairline pores have become enlarged due a combination of not properly cleaning off her makeup every day when she was younger and the Florida heat, and has to use AHA/BHA exfoliants to get rid of them. In the meantime, she attempts to cover up any pore issues by using concealer and some loose powder.
Any eye shadow that she uses on her eyelids can hardly be seen; her eyelids are almost nonexistent and are hooded like many children's, giving her a youthful appearance in addition to her height. Her face is rounded and her cheeks are the widest part of her face, she covers the apples of her cheeks in subtle pink and contours her small, flattish nose in hopes of giving it a more defined bridge. Just by looking at Kamila's makeup, it's clear that she has spent a lot of time mastering this craft, from the paper-thin eyeliner to compliment her lack of eyelid, to false eyelashes to further enhance her eyes, to her seemingly blemish-free, beige skin that masks damaged pores beneath.
Kamila's hair used to change color very often but nowadays she's found a particular combination that follows the ombre color trend and in her case, her ombre hair fades from light to dark. Her hair is naturally the color of unbleached silk and this can be seen on the top of her hair as it fades into a gradient of rose pink and then into a copper color. Kamila's mother jokes that her hair looks like Neapolitan ice cream but it suits her daughter's hooded light brown eyes well. She keeps her hair down most of the time and lets it fall to her mid-back in long layers, she looks like a mermaid with the waves in her colorful hair. Several loose bangs sit on the center of her forehead and she struggles at times to keep them from falling onto her eyes when she leans over in her profession.
As stated earlier, Kamila finds joy in crafting and this can be seen by the hair accessory that she made and continuously wears. The circlet consists of two flexible, twig-like braids looped together surrounding her head and a mixture of parchment red roses and rose buds woven into it. This accessory is also her transformation item, which compels her to adorn it at all times now.
Wardrobe-wise, she prefers light, layered clothing, plenty of scarves, sweaters, and crochet, and has a liking for natural, pale colors and shades of pink. Kamila can often be found wearing sunglasses and has a collection of cheap, decorative sunglasses to cover her eyes when walking through the Village among other places; she enjoys putting bows, rhinestones, and other accessories onto these sunglasses. Fortunately for Kamila, she lives in a place where more colorful styles such as her own are tame in comparison to the choices of others. And unlike Florida, she's hardly given any stares when she strolls down a sidewalk in New York City decked in Neapolitan-dyed hair, a flower circlet, and platform shoes.
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Fuku
Sailor Camael's fuku retains some elements from the traditional fuku; she has a collar made of cloth, it's an off-shoulder shawl gathered into an inverted front pleat. The collar's fabric on the top is a light pink gradient that fades to white toward the bottom and covers her chest. In the center of the collar is a fully-bloomed, deep pink rose placed on a loosely tied ribbon in the same shade of pink as the collar, the ends of the ribbon trail down a bit past her hips.
All of this connects to a cloth dress that travels barely past her thighs; it's quite short and Sailor Camael is fortunate for the light pink shorts beneath her dress. The dress starts off as the color of lemon chiffon, fades into white toward her belly, and then to light pink at the very last few inches of the dress. She has a pocket lined in pink fabric on either side of her hip. The sleeves of the dress are loose-fitting and rolled up to her elbows, the sleeves are light pink much like the collar. On the back of her dress is a matching loose bow and pleated ruffled tail wing, both extending to her knees in the lemon chiffon color and fades to light pink one-fourth of the way down the tail. A particular sparkle glitters throughout her fuku, particularly on the ends of the tail wing, sleeves, and collar and is both embedded in the fabric and part of her aura as Sailor Camael.
Much to Kamila's approval upon transforming into Sailor Camael for the first time, she discovered that her fuku comes with shoes that suit her ideally; platform wedge sandals. These wedge sandals are (surprise!) all pink and have ribbons that lace up three times to a bit above her ankle, then fastened into single bows. A mixture of miniature marigolds and tea roses in shades of pinks, reds, and yellows cover the fronts of the wedges. On her right hand, she wears an open-fingered arm brace with a V-shape at the end; the brace fades from pink at her hand to white toward her elbow. As for her left hand, Sailor Camael wears two simple pink bracelets made of metal leading to a short glove that's primarily white with light pink on the fingertips. A ribbon choker in the same pink shade as the rest of her fuku wraps around the middle of her neck.
When she transforms, her henshin item disperses into the flowers scattered on her fuku and most notably the abundance in her hair. Sailor Camael's hair is tied into a high, wavy ponytail with a braid on each side woven into this ponytail, a piece of her hair wraps around where a ponytail tie would be visible otherwise. Flowers are tucked between the braids in warm tones like light pinks, corals, oranges, and yellows, these flowers are all tea roses and marigolds like those on her wedge sandals.
Transformation
Kamila touches a rose on her flower circlet and calls out "Angel Camael, grant me joy!" From this rose, what appears like thousands of tiny, light pink fireflies spring from that location and encircle her body as her current wardrobe fades into her fuku. The flowers from her circlet scatter into a multitude of colors and place themselves in her hair, on her chest, and on her feet accordingly. The only fireflies that remain at the end of her transformation are the ones that continue to glitter on the bottom tail of her dress, usually followed by Sailor Camael then addressing herself with some sort of fail speech in hopes of pacifying the enemies. "Hi! I am Sailor Camael, joy-bringer and soon to be your acquaintance! I mean, we can be acquaintances, yes?" .. *dodges some enemy's attack mid-speech* @.@ "Or not..never mind. I guess that we will have to fight after all..~.~"
Powers
"Joyous Choir!" Sailor Camael calls out this phrase and activates an aura that lasts throughout the duration of the battle, it can only be used once per day. Sailor Camael's fuku illuminates for several moments and then the light engulfs her in the softest, light pink glow, imbuing her with an aura of joy for the battle's remainder. The aura is shaped like a halo floating less than a foot on top of her head. If an allied senshi or civilian moves within several feet of Sailor Camael, they will inherit her joyous aura's effects. Ultimately, this aura boosts the morale of any allies by easing their minds of any negative emotions clouding their reasoning skill and replacing these feelings with joy. If an ally moves away from Sailor Camael's range, the effect will only last two minutes from the point that the ally was nearby.
As Sailor Camael, this passive ability brings her plenty of enjoyment because she can finally benefit anyone near her who she considers an ally, whether or not they want her help. The most frustrating part about this ability is the range on it; Sailor Camael will find herself darting around the setting in hopes of sharing her aura amongst any and every ally. Because she direly wants to help everyone out, it may prove challenging for Sailor Camael to focus on the fight and not on supporting all of her fellow senshi. Keturah already predicts that a large-scale battle will result in Sailor Camael running around frantically in hopes of spreading joy to each individual or convincing them to stay near her for their own mind's interest.
"Joyous Transfer!" For this attack, Sailor Camael must first have "Joyous Choir" activated. If it's enabled and Sailor Camael calls out this secondary attack, the slightest light pink aura shaped like a halo will then transfer to the foe that she's glancing at. This joyous aura ingrains a sense of overwhelming bliss in the enemy and nearby allies as they fall into a paralyzing giddiness. The lack of control over these emotions which can make them either not wish to fight anymore or do all sorts of weird, delirious things such as crashing into walls while laughing or falling into the most serene sleep due to cheer bestowed upon them by Sailor Camael.
When Sailor Camael uses this attack, she forfeits her ability to uplift her teammates with the previous aura from "Joyous Choir!" for the rest of the battle, thus this attack can only be used once per fight. Essentially, she transfers her aura to the target enemy so that they and their allies within range will feel too joyous to fight, too peaceful that they fall into a deep sleep, or too high on euphoria to the point of self-harm, depending on how that particular enemy handles the infinite joy transferred to them. Meanwhile, Sailor Camael hopes to jab the foe with her wedge sandal until the end of the attack's duration! ^-^ The effect lasts five minutes.
Sailor Camael's attacks have similar names as I consider them two parts of a single aura that she can either choose to hold and benefit her allies, or transfer to her enemies.
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Guardian
Keturah's spirit flitters in the form of a long-tailed skipper butterfly. As a butterfly, she has a bright cerulean body with bits of royal blue and two long, feathery "tails" in a darker shade trailing behind her, she's about 2.5 inches in length counting these tails. Forewings attach to the tails at her sides in earth tones, and small bands of yellow-green pepper these wings. The front of her head fades from a blue gradient to an emerald shade, her eyes are dark blue and elongated antennae protrude above them. All in all, she looks just as vibrant and typical as any other long-tailed skipper butterfly.
It may seem at first that Kamila lucked out without having to take care of a more reliant animal for a guardian, but Keturah makes up for it in personality. Luckily for Keturah, Kamila has plenty of patience and doesn't easily annoy at how dependent this butterfly is on her for constant attention. As far as Keturah is concerned, as long as she's kept entertained in this newfound life as a butterfly, then she can function and work toward her duty as a guardian. Unfortunately, her choices in individuals to talk to are quite limited because only other senshi possess the capability of understanding her. The barrier of communication between she and other humans frustrates her to no end and she feels as though she's living in a different world than them despite her human mind.
She finds herself spending time people-watching "Oh my, humans these days are just so perplexing!" or napping on a twig outside of Kamila's salon during the warmer months, waiting for Kamila to come out for a break to converse with her. When at home, she considers Kamila's windowsill succulent plant her designated living space and spends time chatting away as she rests there. Keturah practically depends on Kamila for any sort of interaction and if anything, she feels very lonely and bored in her butterfly body when Kamila isn't around. A lot of Keturah's time is spent outside of wherever Kamila may be, looking for shards or other senshi to pass the time. Other Seraphim senshi & allies beware: Keturah wouldn't hesitate to become a social butterfly and bug an allied senshi (Puns totally intended!) for the sake of passing the hours while Kamila is at work.
Keturah's personality reflects her past life quite a bit. As the African concubine and little-mentioned final wife of Abraham, young Keturah married for the sake of companionship and as a cure for Abraham's loneliness after his previous wife deceased. While the status of "replacement wife" would dampen the spirits of many newly-wed women, Keturah devotedly accepted this position and cared for Abraham, she bore him six sons who each founded their own Arabian tribes later on. Keturah stayed by the side of her husband at all times, and because of their severe age difference she acted more like a doting daughter than a wife. Their marriage wasn't one of passionate romance but one of sincere love including Keturah's desire to be a help to the very elderly Abraham among the sick in her community.
Because of her previous life, Keturah is anything but independent; from a young age, she always had an individual by her side and cared for them, whether a son or her husband or a sick villager, she was never alone. She joyously partook in any and every duty as a concubine-wife despite knowing that she was merely a replacement for Abraham's beloved Sarah. Nothing brought Keturah down and she was content with her life, although not the same can be said for her current life in New York City where she lacks the same companionship as before.
Keturah has a kind heart but (shamelessly) possesses stalker-like traits; she follows Kamila everywhere and obsesses about her whereabouts if not in view. When the two are separated for long amounts of time, Keturah worries about Kamila's well-being and feels anxious that she may have encountered an opposing senshi. Often this anxiety overwhelms her and she will try to slip through any crack in the apartment room in an attempt to search the city for Kamila. When together, Keturah flutters directly behind her head or perches on part of her flower wreath as Kamila walks.
Other than her role in pointing out shards and senshi, Keturah is a follower that doesn't compliment Kamila well as she too prefers to follow her friends rather than lead. While the two may initially seem like 'peas in a pod' with similarly tender personalities, Kamila finds herself having to be stronger for the both of them in order to make it by as a senshi and guardian duo. Keturah, like Kamila, tries to find optimism in any situation she can but it's often met with loneliness as a butterfly in a human world. This sense of loneliness can, and will, deter her from her duties as guardian. Ultimately, it's up to Kamila to keep her on track with their fate and assure her that she can reside happily in this lifetime as well.
Explanation
Camael, whose name means "one who sees God," is said to be the angel that appeared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. At this crucial time, Jesus needed to be reminded of the joy in his life and Camael was there to provide support, comfort, and encouragement for what he was about to endure. Because of Camael's support in the Garden of Gethsemane, he's now the angel called upon when a person needs guidance in moving forward in their lives, no matter how intimidating the task may seem or how insignificant the person may feel. Camael reigns primarily over joy, beauty, and the balancing of emotions, all of which I aspired to incorporate into Kamila in some way.
I wanted Kamila born under the Libra astrological sign to tie into balance and justice aspect that's often mentioned when authors describe Camael. Camael is also the angel of Tuesday so Kamila's birth date falls directly on a Tuesday. (And yes, I did the math for this one in relation to current time!) As for her career, it seemed perfect for a person whose angel reigns over joy and beauty to be in an occupation that focuses on supporting others by having a beauty-oriented craft. I also think that it would make an excellent place for Kamila to encounter other characters, whether friend or foe - many people get their hair done, and Kamila can be their go-to girl. Hair salons are an ideal place to make conversation and to develop characters over said dialogue so I hope her career can contribute to the game setting. PS: Kamila can also do hair for guys. ^-^
Early on, I strived to make a concrete differentiation between happiness and joy as they're so often confused, and I wanted to make Kamila represent joy and not mistake it for happiness or else it'd defeat the entire purpose of selecting Camael. The difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is situational, it's based on what's 'happening' around that person; an item, a person, or situation may make a person happy, it's temporary and dependent on outward circumstances. Joy is ongoing and based on a person's perception of themselves and their selfless actions. A person who is joyful tends to demonstrate a sense of inner peace and utmost contentment, people who have joy in their lives often care for others by any means possible.
With that being said, Kamila portrays this feeling perhaps even irritatingly as nothing appears to phase her, anything upsetting that comes her way is met with statements of positivity and hopefulness complete with a smile. She displays happiness too and the two emotions can go hand-in-hand; someone who is joyous is generally happy because of the situations they choose to partake in. Kamila isn't an individual who has ever experienced a serious relationship and the heartbreak with it, gone out clubbing/partying/drinking, or anything that may give her regret later on, and she feels proud of the decisions she's made in her life no matter how "boring" or "sheltered" they are. She's totally content with who she is, even if she's not a college student or a rising chef bound to have a television show like her mother and possibly Tallulah, and lives every day in the present with joy for her choices.
I made her a vegan to demonstrate how selfless she can be; Kamila doesn't care too much about the health benefits of veganism and opted for this lifestyle solely to support both the animals and the environment. Giving up the consumption any animal product was a simple task despite her barbecue-famous family's resentment; she rather walk away from any situation that makes her uncomfortable than go along with it for the sake of being social, whether consuming food that makes her feel guilty or drinking some booze with the girls. In any discomforting situation, she rather just go home and spend time alone, crafting or chatting with Keturah near her windowsill and its array of succulent plants.
It's one thing to say that someone is joyous and problem-free, but another is to throw that joyous person into an everlasting situation where it may seem hopeless that they could have such unbreakable joy. In Kamila's case, she battled her emotions internally when discovering, on accident, that her father wasn't at all related to her. She may have sulked as a child initially, but she overcame it and realized that, blood or not, her father treats her just as kindly as he does his related children and to appreciate what she has, from her friends to her own mind. The experience made her mentally stronger and guided her into the joyous state she's in today, she never even thinks about the situation or would feel hurt if it ever crossed her mind. I'm generally not a fan of backstories that deal with unknown parents, deceased parents, etc, but I think an experience like this is one that challenges Kamila's joy and she overcame.
The counselor role derives from the only story about Camael. Camael was the angel who appeared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and brought him comfort with his uplifting nature. Because of this, Camael is considered the angel that people should seek guidance from if they're feeling lost or insignificant. Kamila would bend over backwards to help out anyone and finds her own happiness when interacting with others as a counselor. She may not have nearly as many experiences as others have endured, but her positivity and encouragement are generally what makes her an individual that others come to when they need a bit of reassurance.
Angel Camael's support goes hand-in-hand with the attacks given to Sailor Camael; "Joyous Choir!" is an ability that allows allies around her to rid themselves of any inner conflict and to uplift their spirits, ultimately bolstering group morale. "Joyous Choir!" is a selfless move, Sailor Camael gets nothing out of it other than supporting her allies, and she’s merely the holder of this buff. I selected the word "choir" in reference to Camael's noted leadership of an angelic group, or choir.
I opted for "Joyous Transfer" and gave it a multitude of effects that are dependent on the character inflicted by the attack. Joy can be demonstrated in so many different ways, everyone feels and deals with joy differently, and I didn't want to pigeonhole anyone who receives her overpowering joyous aura into only feeling pacified and having second thoughts about ending the battle, that would be pretty boring and predictable anyway in terms of RP. So from that, I added other effects depending on how the player wishes to role-play their character when affected by "Joyous Transfer" like a tranquil tiredness or a blissful high.
The sparkles of light "fireflies" mentioned in both her henshin and fuku description are a reference to Camael's role as leader of an angelic choir. When reading about Camael's choir, imagery describing thousands of pea-sized angels following his command came up and it gave another relevant physical aspect to define Sailor Camael by. This light glittering by no means benefits her in any way except for aesthetic purposes.
Color scheme…Sailor Camael went through so many changes with her color scheme (I'm not even joking. She went through. So. Many.) but all were based on warm color palettes. Camael is linked to the colors saffron and marigold, which is why I chose to have a few marigolds in her hair. Upon researching color meanings linked to joy, I found that yellow and all light shades of red were considered joyous colors, and light pink suited her perfectly. (Plus, light pink and light yellow look way more joyous when placed together in the same outfit versus red and yellow. I also considered that there's already a senshi with a beautiful fuku in-game who has plenty of red and yellow that fits her power realm much better than it would Sailor Camael's.)
So, Sailor Camael ended up with a blend of pinks, yellows, and whites. The flowers placed between her braids, on top of her sandals, and one flower on her front bow all generally follow this color scheme. Why flowers? Camael's only solid story deals with appearing as a counselor to Jesus in one of his saddest hours within the Garden of Gethsemane. Camael's flower preferences came up a bit, and always roses so I chose tea roses to be a bit more specific. I tried not to overdo it with flowers though as I probably would have done otherwise; after all, there's still a spot open for Cathetel, Angel of Gardening. ^^
Onto Keturah! I knew from the start that I wanted to play a guardian and that a guardian would benefit Kamila's character. But choosing a lesser-known person from the Old Testament whose story most complimented "joy" proved one of the most challenging decisions of my application. After countless hours of researching different biblical characters and narrowing down my choices, I stumbled upon Keturah out of nowhere. Something about Keturah's story just "clicked" for me instantly and she seemed like a joyful woman. She was selfless in her ways and tried to assist any sick and elderly, she also didn't care that she was considered a concubine-wife to her husband who was much, much older than her. I also derived the guardian Keturah's personality from my interpretation of Keturah as a girl wedded at an extremely young age who probably never had a moment alone in her life. Awakening as a butterfly who is incapable of helping anyone or talking to anyone other than another senshi would prove difficult, and disappointing, for someone like Keturah.
Keturah was originally going to be a hummingbird, I was torn between a hummingbird and a butterfly and sought Em's advice, she pointed me in the direction of the butterfly. Sailor Myth has a history of hosting an aviary worth of guardians and with Em's suggestion, Keturah didn't join the feathered flock. I'm pleased with how much fun it was to make this butterfly. I chose a butterfly, the long-tailed skipper, that resides in the United States and has a bright color scheme like the African, human Keturah may have worn.
The butterfly paired well with Camael; it symbolizes joyousness and has an ability to uplift those around them: "A meaning of the butterfly is about finding joy in life and lightness of being. This power animal invites those who have a connection with it to bring joy and bliss into their lives. Butterflies often have bright colors. By extension, they are associated with aliveness and brightness." The other joy-related animal spirit was the hummingbird mentioned before, and Em helped me decide on the butterfly. (Thank you so much for your guidance, by the way!) Butterflies are awesome.
Writing Sample
Stargazer lilies resided in a vase on the counter, their pale petals pressing up against the mirror like a child's fingers in bewilderment. Next to these flowers were even more flowers - this time a mason jar teeming with chrysanthemums, a straw ribbon tied around the jar itself. Pieces of decorative parchment with writing hung on the sides of the mirror with quotes scribbled, the dot of every 'i' made into a heart: "Work is love made visible to the world." No other neighboring work area appeared quite like her's, and her client sat in the chair soaking in her stylist's environment of flowers, pastel gel pens, and inspirational quotes.
"You know Kamila, it's always freakin' awesome coming in here. You actually make me want to sit down for the four hours and get my hair done," the girl took off her coat and eyed the mirror, grinning at the stylist standing directly behind her.
Kamila clasped her hands together and squinted merrily. Nothing made her feel as overjoyed as when she received a person's appreciation. She felt like starlight in an otherwise somber sky and the feeling made her smile widen. "Aww, you're an angel, Dev. And now that I think about it, it's been a few months since I saw you last, right?"
"Yep, that's right," she pointed at her hair, "You have some sort of magical touch, I swear. It's like the dye stays in forever since I started coming to you." She pointed to the array of violets and crimsons in her hair, still vibrant, and then the inevitable blonde roots.
She combed through the girl's hair, inspecting the way in which she dyed it last and noting the never-ending split ends at the bottom of her longer layers of hair. She'd make sure to trim the ends but Kamila would never point out the damaged hair to her client, she'd always do the opposite. "Oh Dev, you know it's because reds and purples last much longer than other colors; reds and purples are considered natural hair colors and will fade out slowly and gracefully unlike blues and greens. Your hair looks beautiful though, you take wonderful care of your hair for sure."
"Meh, I try. It never looks as badass as it does when I leave this place, I know that much." Dev placed her velveteen bag onto the floor while Kamila tied the lace of a cape around the back of her client's neck.
The way she spoke about her hair, no matter the word choice whether 'freakin' awesome' or 'badass', continued to touch Kamila's heart. Something about feeling needed truly made her complete. "So, how have you been, Dev? I love when you come in, you're always so spirited."
A boot clunked onto the checkered floor and cross-legged Dev adjusted in her seat; Kamila always had to lower the seat by quite a bit to accommodate her small stature. "Ehh, everything is the same I guess. Oh yeah, I followed your advice from last time and moved closer to The Pyramid, I'm hosting there now and loving it. That's kinda why I needed to get my hair done ASAP. What about you?"
The Pyramid was a place that her clientele lauded; a dark, divey goth club with industrial music, dread falls, and plenty of fog permeating through the barely lit interior, it wasn't a place that Kamila would ever consider frequenting. The clubbers glow-stringing ribbons of light outside The Pyramid appeared fascinating, nonetheless.
"I'm so glad that I could help you make up your mind about moving closer to your dream job. It really did seem like the perfect job for you from the first time you talked about it, I know that you will do well." Her hands continued brushing through the hair, making a mental image of her dye task ahead. "And as for me? I can't say I've done much different, I'm not all that exciting, but my best friend did move out since we met last."
A hand holding a blow-dryer waved from the reflection of the mirror, silver bangles jingling in motion. "Hey, Kami! I can hear you, you know." Jalesa's work space stood directly across the room from Kamila's and the two often spoke through their wall mirrors. "Don't make me out like I'm a bad guy! You didn't even give out the full details as to why I moved out, I have a boyfriend now. My first real boyfriend, like ever."
"Well, congrats to you, Jalesa. That's pretty freakin' adorable, first boyfriend ever. Now we need to work on setting up Kamila with a guy and then we can all go for a few rounds at The Pyramid. No third wheels when you have three ladies, all with dates. It'll be my treat," Jalesa and Dev eyed each other in agreement from the opposing mirrors.
Kamila covered her mouth and giggled, "Dream on, girls! I will be right back, I'm going to mix a few colors so we can get started."
Behind that giggle, her heart plummeted; she dearly, and sorely, missed living with her best friend. The desolation in the apartment without her best friend present seemed indescribable, she felt like a twin who had lost her other half. Through childhood and now adulthood, the two were inseparable and Jalesa changed that when she moved in with her love interest. Kamila knew she had to be supportive, it wasn't her place to selfishly cling onto Jalesa.
Perhaps it was for the better, though. Perhaps it was meant to happen. Kamila wrote off anything and everything as destiny anymore, and with a sensible reason. She selected several bottles from the rack and started pulling their caps open, pouring contents into rubber mixing bowls. From the geometric window overlooking the basement salon, a butterfly of indigo and azure gazed down at her longingly. Perhaps fate elected for Jalesa to move out so that Kamila could start another chapter in her life with her newfound guardian and identity. Kamila's doe eyes followed the butterfly and she whispered, "I'll be out there for you soon, Keturah. Please be patient…it'll only be a few more hours."
Questionnaire
Name: Deer
E-mail: xxxxxxx
Homepage: oh-deer.net
Referred by: Oh man, I can't remember that. :( It's been like 13 years!
Other RPGs: I haven't joined any other RPGs in so long. To be honest, I'm really overjoyed that Sailor Myth is back because I've missed the way older games used to run. Games nowadays seem like they're based on instant-gratification and fixated more so on which celebrity should portray which character and less about the application and its crucial role in developing a solid character worthy of joining in the plot. Nonetheless, most of these games seem to die after several months and I've stopped trying to participate as it isn't worth it to me. I will always have faith in Sailor Myth though! This will be my first RPG in many years. \o/
View Application: Sure! I'd love to set an example for future applicants whether positive or negative.
* PS: I naturally tend to write on the long side and I apologize for the lengthiness of this app. I know it ended up being a behemoth of an app..but hopefully it’s a cute, snuggly, but cute, behemoth. Thank you for reading and I hope that I can re-unite with my Sailor Myth brethren!
Name: Kamila Rhian Tatum
Meaning: "Young Maiden of Joy"
Age: 20
Birthdate: October 4
School/Occupation: Kamila works full time at a small hair salon "Curl Up & Dye" specializing in alternative colors and styles. She off-and-on contemplates attending the local community college but always ends up shrugging it off. This is often followed by saying something about how content she is with her current life and the tediousness of badgering high schools for transcripts.
Major NPCs:
Parents:
Whelan (50) and Dixie (50) first became acquainted in their small hometown of Christmas, Florida when friends pointed out their similar culinary interests. Dared to attend a group date with friends for fun in high school (mainly because Dixie would object otherwise), the two hit it off almost immediately and have been nearly inseparable ever since. Whelan's family owned the only barbecue joint in town and Dixie's parents ran the local diner; both worked in their respective family's eateries and their meeting was practically love at first sight.
After graduation, they married at the nearby church and the two families soon went into business together. Their initial business consisted of merging the diner and the barbecue joint into a full-blown, Southern style restaurant "The Christmas Café" worth driving miles to and often ended up in the neighboring town's papers. Besides early infidelity and several clashes between family members putting tension on their relationship, Whelan and Dixie have had a happy, successful marriage.
Dixie's quick transformation from waitress, to restaurateur, to (victorious) barbecue competitor across the American South, to television personality of "Dixie Tatum's Southern Home Kitchen" has left Whelan in awe of his talented wife. Dixie's accomplishments have made her the face of the family - and of the town - while Whelan assists her off-screen by tossing around ideas for the next show and managing her schedule. Since their first daughter's birth, the family has moved to Orlando, conveniently 20 minutes away from the couple's hometown and relatives.
When the two aren't occupied with their intertwining careers, they adore hosting Sunday football parties to catch up with their closest friends, this party includes plenty of Dixie's signature buttermilk biscuits and Whelan's barbecue. If the chance arises that they can recall all three of their daughters back home, the Tatums would love nothing more than to spend quality time with the girls on their lakefront property in Orlando, Florida.
Siblings:
Kamila's oldest sister, Tallulah (24), is the apple of her parents' eyes; she too had an early love for cooking much like her parents and brings a strong pastry background to the table after graduating from the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin. Tallulah practically grew up on her mother's show, watching her mother instruct the masses on how to properly prepare corn puddin' and fried green tomatoes when not adorably making guest appearances to help mom out. Of all Dixie's fans, Tallulah remains her biggest supporter and truly believes that her mother is a hero.
She's generally nice to others but very immature toward particular family members. She has a tense relationship her sisters; Tallulah appears threatened if either captivates their parents' attention versus her. Tallulah has always been praised for her culinary passions and talents and believes that she is the sole prodigy of this cooking duo. In fact, Tallulah wishes she was an only child and didn't have to grow up sharing parents with Kamila and Tuesday.
She never tries to communicate with her siblings unless nudged to do so by relatives. As a graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy, she's focused on her career as pastry chef in an upscale eatery in New York City - and no, she's not pleased at all that Kamila lives in the same city as her. Ultimately, she hopes that experience in the industry and her mother's ever-rising popularity will eventually land her a job as a television host in years to come.
Any time Tallulah talks down to Kamila and insults her, it tends to piss Tallulah off as she can't seem to pierce the impenetrable skin of her middle sister. Tallulah especially loves to boast to Kamila about how she's the only sister who managed to graduate college. Kamila discredits her offensive demeanor as simply never growing out of the childlike phase where a person is territorial over the ones they love the most, and believes that Tallulah means no serious harm with her words.
Tuesday (19), on the other hand, tends to give her parents headaches with the amount of trouble she causes. Girl booted out of high school for starting a fight? Tuesday. Girl banned from all parks in Orange County for smoking weed with her friends? Yep, Tuesday. Girl kicked off campus for jumping out of a window nearly naked on Fraternity Row? Tuesday indeed, and she'll speak of the incident with pride and wonder why more people didn't take cell phone pictures of the glorious event. Girl in minor car accident due to a (very) questionable blood alcohol concentration level? Oh yeah, definitely Tuesday - but no worries, her parents will pay to get their car fixed and more, just so long as they don't call the cops!
Troublemaking Tuesday may be a bit misguided but she's a girl who knows how to have fun and is willing to try anything. When asked why she's always getting into so much trouble, she blames it on her spoiled childhood with a mother who gave her daughter anything she asked for. She knows it isn't right to feel entitled and to think that she can weasel her way out of any problem through her parents and their statuses, but does so anyway. Another infamous way that she excuses her behavior (Uber brat alert): "It's not MY fault that no one else knows how to have fun. Why should I have to give up my enjoyment for some crappy rule? This is MY life and I'll do what I want!"
As the youngest daughter of the Tatums, Tuesday has had more freedom due to her parents' busy schedules and tends to run wild with the amount of leeway she's been given over time. Nonetheless, she still attends school at the University of Central Florida as a part-time student majoring in event management; her schoolwork is half-assed to say the least. Her family has bailed her out of academic probation several times already.
Of her sisters, Kamila feels closest to Tuesday mainly due to Tuesday actually liking Kamila. Whereas Tallulah sees Kamila as a target to taunt and insult, Tuesday thinks that Kamila is a pretty freakin' cool big sister and appreciates Kamila's boundless positivity. Not to mention that every time Tuesday visits New York City, she insists on getting her hair done by her sister and spending as much daytime hanging out as possible. This is - of course - because Tuesday spends the night in NYC partying it up, something that Kamila would never agree to. Kamila appreciates how spirited her sister is and believes that one day Tuesday will grow out of her "troubled teenager" phase into a more well-mannered young lady.
Jalesa Gardner (22) is Kamila's best friend through both childhood and adulthood; they're practically sisters by this point. The two met when Kamila's mother decided to enroll her nine-year-old daughter in a ballet class where she met Jalesa. Hitting it off immediately based off of their dislike for ballet, they would sneak into arts & crafts classes together next door. Their mothers caught on after several calls home from the instructor reporting this ongoing behavior and placed their daughters in any classes where they could draw and color through the years.
Kamila and Jalesa have been indivisible ever since their first meeting. Over the years, teachers and camp counselors have made attempts to separate them in hopes of the two girls making other friends. No matter what, the two girls always end up back together and were a notable pair in their graduating class with names like "Thing One & Thing Two" and "Tweedledee & Tweedledum"; they always playfully argue over who was referred to as Tweedledum, of course.
Jalesa tends to be much louder and more ambitious while Kamila is quite easygoing and agreeable; their personalities compliment one another ideally. What keeps their friendship so strong isn't just personality compatibility but their similar interests. Both laud beauty as an important aspect and wish to share it with everyone, from their colorful collages at school art shows to styling the hair and make-up of girls at their high school prom to their eventual cosmetology licenses post-graduation. For beauty school, Kamila and Jalesa moved to New York as a pair and lived in an two-bedroom apartment until Jalesa moved in with her boyfriend, Cristopher. The two now work together at "Curl Up & Dye" in Greenwich Village.
History
Florida-born middle child of the famous Tatum cooking duo moves to New York City with her best friend in hopes of finding a place where she can thrive and do what she loves best; dyeing and styling hair with creative freedom in the Village.
Twenty years ago, Kamila was born to a younger Dixie Tatum and an unknown lover in the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women in Orlando, Florida. Dixie had come clean and confessed to her husband that she believed the child couldn't be his due to the time frame of conception. Her accidental pregnancy resulted from plenty of drunken partying during her early travels around the country, seeking publicity by collaborating on other chef's shows. Religion dictated that abortion wasn't an option and Dixie wanted to keep the child no matter what, she always had a giant heart for children.
Whelan also came to accept the child and eventually forgave his wife for her promiscuous activity. Forgiveness came after a plethora of heated visits to a marriage counselor who promised utmost confidentiality so that their careers weren't jeopardized by the scandal. Entertaining the idea of a scandal ruining their successful careers in the food and entertainment business was what motivated Whelan to take the first steps of forgiveness and to welcome the newborn child into his family. Time has since healed the wounds of infidelity and Whelan tries to act as much like a father to Kamila as he does to his other two daughters.
A gentle youth, Kamila was raised primarily by her father early on while her mother was flown to the studio to film her next show. Her father stayed behind for both his children and to oversee their restaurant in Christmas, Florida. The family went camping and hiking in Florida backwoods without Dixie's presence. Kamila effortlessly accepted that her mother wouldn't be around as much as her father, Dixie had been part of the television scene far longer than her own existence. On the other hand, Tallulah often whined and cried about missing her mother, and camping trips were cut short. She resented both of her sisters almost immediately and felt threatened the moment her mother had Kamila, Tallulah dearly wanted to be the only child of her parents.
Kamila was more or less a cheerful child, she had a love for getting into her mother's make-up too often when not begging to have her mother style to use the curling wand on her hair, resulting in a Shirley Temple look. She tended to avoid her sister Tallulah who was just as happy to ignore her in favor of kids her age, and played more with her baby sister Tuesday than anyone else, Tuesday would remain the closest family member to her. Her teachers praised her love of coloring and curiosity about animals in classes, and stated she was the most well-mannered child of her group and quite creative. Instead of asking for plastic dolls at the store like many other children, Kamila would pull paper out of the printer and draw hundreds of fashionable paper dolls. Each doll would then have her hair and wardrobes colored in bright hues for both she and her sister to play with.
It wasn't until Kamila was eight years old that she overheard a heart-shattering argument. When in conflict, individuals tend to bring up issues from the past as additional ammo toward their opponent and Whelan was no different. This intense shouting match resulted in Whelan reminding his wife about his acceptance of Kamila, an accidental child who wasn't his, and of his forgiveness toward the situation in general. Both turned to the door and looked down at the open bedroom parallel to theirs, noticing Kamila listening and the fight halted.
Still, the damage was done and Kamila somewhat comprehended what she had just heard. Her heart raced in confusion regarding Whelan's words, and her confusion soon turned to resentment. In passing when observing the Tatum's three daughters, everyone always commented on how much Tallulah and Tuesday looked like their parents while Kamila's features remained quite different, and now Whelan's words fell perfectly into place with those observations.
Dixie and Whelan never brought up the subject again, and Kamila never tried to question it. To combat their daughter overhearing this hurtful information, Whelan made efforts to spend more time beside Kamila, to make it up to her. He invited her to go for Louisiana snowballs (Finely shaved ice with Louisiana-imported syrups) after school almost every day, to go on trips to Christmas where she could follow dad around while he checked up on their relatives' management of the restaurant, and overall tried to make her more apart of his life. Tallulah accused their father of giving Kamila special treatment but Kamila understood why he was doing this. His efforts were met with Kamila's appreciative demeanor. She tried to keep her emotions to herself as she never wished to burden anyone, but continued to stay quieter than normal, the word "accident" echoing over and over in her head despite Whelan's kindness to her.
Finally, Dixie stepped in and decided that what Kamila needed was a hobby outside of school and the home to perk her up. At nine years old, she signed Kamila up for ballet and she dreaded it from the beginning. Dance wasn't something that Kamila ever had an interest in and didn't understand why her mother pushed her out of her home's comfort while Tallulah and Tuesday were allowed to stay inside and do whatever they wished. Still, Kamila found herself willing to open up more in this new environment and befriended a girl named Jalesa Gardner.
Jalesa and Kamila hit it off from the get-go; Jalesa was a daredevil and spoke too loudly which allowed Kamila to open up more as they accompanied one another on adventurous schemes. In return, Kamila's pleasant and peaceful demeanor calmed Jalesa down to the point where she wasn't scolded at as much in school and in their activities. The two girls loathed ballet and would often sneak out to different activities, especially ones that involved art of any sort. If forced to stay in ballet, the two would rather decorate the costumes of their peers for an upcoming recital than perform. Years later, this love for art and decoration would turn into a love for make-up and hair.
From the end of fourth grade up until they received their cosmetology licenses after graduation, Jalesa and Kamila attended the same schools. They were practically glued to one another and would make sure to select similar schedules. Gym was their worst subject as they hated the idea of sweating then attending another class - not to mention, messy hair was the end-all for these two. Instead, they walked around the track versus running the mile lap, resulting in a poor grade. Gym wasn't the only class in which they refused to participate in, there were many more. Several instances of mandatory goggles for science labs ended in Jalesa and her follower Kamila refusing to perform the lab assignment, fearing for their tangled curls and blotted foundation. In their heads, they were protesting in the most peaceful way possible and didn't care if their grades suffered. Boys in their classes considered them prissy girly-girls. Meanwhile, other female students caught onto their love and care for beauty and would begin to ask either girls for styling help or assistance for homecoming or prom. Kamila was delighted to finally find her place in school and shape her life around making others feel - and look - beautiful.
The rewarding feeling of seeing a peer smile into the mirror after having her hair styled, make-up determined, and wardrobe suggested by Kamila was more than blissful, she couldn't get enough of it. It was a way to make friends too; styling paved the way for conversation to take place and for friendships to grow. But more than anything, the feeling of being appreciated for her keen eye and then praised brought a sense of joy; she felt content in a role where she helped others and finally at peace with herself. No longer did she see the glass as only half-full because of Whelan's words and knowing that she may have an unknown father, but felt fortunate for her present life and having found a place in it. With age, Kamila felt that she was lucky to have a father, whether blood or not, who tried to be as much part of her life as he was Tallulah's and Tuesday's and treated her kindly no matter his genetic association. If anything, realizing her interest in cosmetology and the satisfaction in helping others during high school is what brought her this newfound wisdom and contributed to her personality the most.
In high school, Tuesday was often in trouble with both teachers and faculty and Kamila would receive some backlash for it. Teachers were awestruck by how Tallulah was a younger version of their popular mother Dixie; she played into the persona as an outspoken, independent young woman wile Kamila appeared a bit more soft-spoken and quite amiable. As soon as Tuesday shared the same teachers as her two older sisters, all were appalled to see what a nightmare this youngest Tatum was. Teachers pulled Kamila aside to help tone down her little sister's attitude, warning that Tuesday may end up permanently suspended from school if she remained hostile. As a result, Tuesday and Kamila spent a lot of time together in their free moments in high school, from lunch to time between classes. Kamila attempted to enforce a more positive demeanor that would hopefully carry on for the rest of the school day. These talking sessions would continue to last until the present with Tuesday relying on Kamila to tone down her fiery attitude often filled with short-temperedness, and would strengthen their friendship.
As other students took the SAT and wrote hopeful applications for college, Jalesa and Kamila were already devising a plan to attend cosmetology school so that they may become certified in a beauty-oriented profession. Kamila's parents weren't around much due to traveling to a New York studio to shoot their shows and fly elsewhere for guest appearances, but Kamila and Tuesday were old enough to live in the family house without a need for supervision. Kamila, content with her life and with her beauty-oriented hobby, simply found that she had no need for university despite her grades indicating an ideal college candidate. Perhaps it was also the lack of parental guidance that enabled her to choose this path, but she felt both proud and fortunate that she had determined her occupational ambition so early on alongside her best friend counterpart.
When Kamila's parents discovered that she hadn't any intentions of attending a formal college nor had she filled out any applications, they were floored. Even with their traveling around, they knew that their middle child was one who succeeded in school - minus gym - and was well-liked by most teachers for her class participation. It never once crossed their minds that she would rather become a hair dresser or make-up artist over a profession that would require a standard college education. Knowing that Kamila wanted beauty school and not a four-year university sank Dixie's heart; Tallulah was already enrolled in a Texas culinary school and Tuesday was..well, wherever Tuesday would end up, it would be trouble the entire way. Kamila was Dixie's hope at having someone in the family graduate from a traditional four-year university. While Dixie felt this way, she understood her daughter's passion for her interest very well, considering her own love for culinary arts becoming her career and succeeding at it. She encouraged Kamila to do the best that she could at what she loved, and suggested for her daughter to attend a beauty school out-of-state.
Jalesa was totally psyched ("I can't believe that we never thought about going to NYC before!") about the out-of-state suggestion from the get-go and her parents too were supportive of it. Kamila was iffy about leaving Florida as she hadn't any desire to really travel but Jalesa convinced her that if they were going to do hair, and do it their way without filter, New York City was the place to do it. Kamila then jumped on board; not only would these childhood best friend advance into adulthood together, but both would be in a career together as they always wanted to, just far away from home. Right after graduation, the two girls boarded a plane with Dixie, who frequented New York often due to her show, and headed for their training at Empire Beauty School in Manhattan.
Adjusting to life in New York City initially proved problematic for Kamila; she felt like a small fish in a very, very big sea unlike before. The only aspects that kept her cool-headed were the reminders of her passion that got her there in the first place and that she was fortunate to have parents that supported her both emotionally and fiscally in this voyage to New York. No matter what obstacles stood in her way at school or anywhere else, she felt that she could overcome them by having total confidence in herself - a positive attitude could allow anyone to conquer anything, in her mind.
Together, the Tatums and the Gardners rented the girls out a two-bedroom through cosmetology school. Kamila was surprised by how rooming together turned out; Jalesa utilized this opportunity to invite over friends every night and consume the living room with their loud, sometimes drunk presences. Kamila wasn't fond of this and kept to her bedroom, she was just glad to be in this strange place accompanied by her closest friend at all times.
While Jalesa was more absorbed in socializing with the locals, Kamila rather quietly indulge in her hobbies and perfect her interests. Perfecting her interests resulted in her dying hair so often in any unnatural color that her class mates would coin her names like "Rainbow Brite" for her locks of peculiar colors. To Kamila, the body is a canvas for self-representative art and Kamila celebrated this by dyeing her hair coral among other soft colors that she felt described her best. As Kamila represented herself with an excess of pastel make-up, hair colors, and wardrobes, Jalesa began to represent herself with an individual from The New School nearby; she met him through a friend's friend at Empire. Eventually, this individual would become her long-term boyfriend, Cristopher.
Kamila already had predicted that they'd get together from the moment she saw them interacting, and she respected and supported it the whole way. She understood that both she and Jalesa had been a pair for over a decade now and never had any sort of dating history. It seemed only natural that Jalesa and Cristopher would start a serious relationship sooner or later, and Kamila quite liked him; he made constant pop culture references, cracked jokes about himself, and joined Kamila in playing played video games on their laptops idly while waiting for Jalesa to get ready for a night out. He was down-to-earth and Kamila approved of him, she was glad for her best friend to find a guy like him.
Over the next year, plenty of changes began to take place, some considered inevitable despite Kamila's innermost wishes. Cristopher by this point practically lived at their place and Kamila was totally okay with it, she liked him, however their landlord was not pleased when multiple apartment inspections yielded this third person every time. A final warning was given to both Jalesa and Kamila about taking advantage of the term "guests" and their landlord boasted about how easily replaceable her current tenants were, thus Cristopher came up with a solution: Jalesa could move in with him. Biting her tongue and setting her emotions aside, Kamila gave her best friend her blessing and sent her off, it wasn't like she was far as Cristopher's school was in Greenwich Village too. The two would meet up for lunch practically every day and of course stay inseparable during class.
Even though Kamila tends to be a bit on the quieter side, the loss of her best friend's presence within the apartment felt obvious; the apartment was now silent without her, her boyfriend, and the many locals she invited over. This sense of solitude made Kamila branch out even more so and socialize to make up for this state. The apartment itself has turned into a revolving door of sorts, people came and went and her roommate situation continues to be ever-changing; Kamila has been a roommate to a neurotic intern at The New York Times, a girl who dropped everything to move to New York in hopes of fulfilling her acting dreams, and the coke head who winded up in jail for narcotics and prostitution only two weeks after signing the lease, among other intriguing subjects. Her landlord was right though; tenants were easily replaceable and Kamila had a new one quite often. From watching these individuals, she felt fortunate for her own life and her state of mind, but tried her best to befriend these people in hopes of positively influencing them and for mentally painting a more concrete blurb of their lives.
Graduation also took place later on this year and Kamila received her licensing for cosmetology in New York alongside Jalesa. Upon obtaining their licenses, the two girls were offered a chance to be part of a new, niche salon that an instructor recently purchased and renovated a room for, "Curl Up & Dye." Needless to say, the name and concept behind the salon to focus primarily on alternative styles and colors appeared nothing short of ideal to Kamila and Jalesa. Their past instructor and now boss, Violet "Vi" Lemaître (whose bangs, coincidentally, are violet), has a great reputation around Greenwich for her usage of color and her eye for beauty. She also owns several other salons around New York City and used her contacts at these other locations to bring in customers who are seeking for a more alternative style.
Post-grand opening, business continues to boom and attracts more and more people, plenty of passerbys are intrigued by the salon due to its punny name and walk in. "Curl Up & Dye" is a place that Kamila calls 'home' even if it's her work place: Kamila adores her job, the individuals that she works beside, and her customers with their interesting conversations. Nothing is more heart-warming to Kamila than knowing that a customer is loyal to her and appreciates the creative work that she's done, it re-affirms her decision to fly out to New York altogether and she hasn't any regrets.
In the present, Kamila spends majority of her time working at the salon and hanging out with Jalesa and their co-workers, all who share the same love of hair among other beauty-related interests. Nothing is better than spending a night at the salon after work and having a free-for-all dye roulette over thin mints, synthpop, and good conversation. In New York, Kamila can fully be herself and no one would ever judge her; she can wander down any street with flowers in her pastel hair and her usual Zen-like expression, and no strange glances are ever given. In fact, Kamila's overall look and demeanor could be considered tame in comparison to the other individuals of her age in New York City. She feels at home here despite having a love-hate relationship with the bitter winters versus those in Florida, and is content in bringing happiness to others through creative freedom at her job. Her family still suggests the idea of a proper four-year university education, but Kamila would rather follow this path that brings her joy with her new cosmetology license and friends in Greenwich.
Personality
Kamila's Zen-like demeanor is the most notable when first meeting her. She lives in her own world filled with introspection and celebrates how fortunate she is to have her own mind and not someone else's. Despite how peaceful her mannerisms may appear, Kamila either comes off as annoyingly calm yet positive to the point of being deemed boring or robotic, or arrogant due to how obvious it is that she wants to pass on her self-righteous views to each and every person she comes across. A smile permanently glued to her face and eyes that show serenity, her voice radiates with something optimistic at all times even if she may not necessarily agree with the other individual's stance in the conversation. Kamila sees life with a glass that's half-full - no, totally full and overflowing with sugary content - and is definitely an individual that people tend to either adore or loathe.
What can irritate people the most is that Kamila portrays herself as the world's guardian angel; she hopes that she can influence others to live their lives in the present and with as much alacrity as she does. She doesn't know how to tone down her inevitable demeanor other than keeping silent, which is what she typically resorts to. Often quieter than her peers, Kamila finds her own silence as a means of listening and understanding those around her and how she can affect them. When Kamila listens to another, she doesn't simply listen for entertainment or to pass the time but as a means of figuring out how she can aid them; she genuinely cares for the welfare of others. As demonstrated by her career choice, she derives her satisfaction in life from helping people and making them feel better about themselves. She believes that improving exterior beauty can lead to an improvement in inner beauty as well.
On the topic of beauty, her judging of others is quite notable. Kamila knows that while it may seem shallow at first, if someone is obviously having a crappy day and isn't trying to make themselves feel better via any exterior means, then they're not trying hard enough to combat their own problems. She believes that the inner aspects and exterior aspects of an individual are inter-connected and if one isn't trying to be improved on, then how can the other flourish? Kamila has a tough time understanding other people who may not care or benefit as much from feeling physically attractive, and tends to sigh at people who appear hopeless in this regard. For these people who find themselves in conversation with her, Kamila makes it clear that she's a hairdresser and would love to assist them at her salon. As always, Kamila wants to help out whether or not the person wants it and makes it very apparent that she would love to do so.
There's always that person whose reaction to her is offense; she offends them by offering a suggestion, followed by an insulted reaction: "Uhm, excuse me? Is my hair not good enough or something?" or "I don't need a pep talk about how lucky I am to have this life. Knock it off and quit being so preachy." Kamila can't stand any sort of conflict and will retreat no matter what once any hostility is demonstrated. She comes off as very strong in wanting to assist others, but as soon as the person demonstrates any sort of resentment, she will do whatever she can do avoid conflict. To be blunt, Kamila is not a strong person at all when it comes to others demonstrating any negative behavior. This is where Kamila's superiority kicks in; she's quite guilty of feeling that she isn't ever wrong in offering her help to any person who may seem down on themselves. If they give her a negative reaction, it's their loss and Kamila can just silently turn away from this "lost" individual knowing she tried to offer advice.
Plenty of "lost" people do tend to find their way into Kamila's life though, and she cheerfully accepts each of them. As a counselor for any person considered a friend, Kamila finds her life full of conversation about others' problems. She tries her best to make others feel better through her inflexibly positive demeanor and insight. She's pre-occupied a lot with text messaging friends while at work and uplifting their hopeless days. Jalesa has warned Kamila that some of these strangers she considers "friends" could be using her for the sake of having a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to their problems, Jalesa is most likely correct but Kamila doesn't care. An advocate for others, Kamila finds happiness in seeing others succeed and finds helping each person rewarding if they benefit from speaking to her; she's the world's cheerleader. In fact if it came down to it, Kamila would probably sacrifice something major of her own in order to make another person have a better day because she knows that she will always get by as long as she maintains a pleasant head on her shoulders.
As one-noted and unbreakably positive as she appears on the outside, Kamila does feel plenty of sorrow but keeps it in her own head. Her own suffering will always remain internal and she refuses to show it, even in the face of a situation where she discovered that her father wasn't even truly of her blood early on in her life. In that particular situation where others would confront their parents or feel pissed off about it for the rest of their lives, she'd rather appreciate how fortunate she is to have some sort of fatherly figure who does dearly care for her. Kamila keeps her own anguish bottled up and feels that it's best to not pollute the world by adding more sadness or anger - and yes, she does feel anger just as much as anyone else but tries to channel her own frustrations into something beneficial. Kamila's motto is: "Do as little harm to the world as possible." She strives to fulfill this quote in any aspect that she can, even if it makes her boring to others her age with her lack of drinking, partying (Unless it entails cupcakes and juice, of course! Kamila's dream party is the equivalent of an 8-year-old's poolside birthday.), and consuming any non-vegan food, much to the dismay of her family.
Kamila may be one of the last people that a friend would call up to hang out with at night because she's strict on what 'fun' can and can't consist of in comparison to other adults, but she's okay with this. She realizes that a lot of her opinions aren't shared and tries her best to be tolerant (All the while having a smile on her face and the usual kindness in her voice) of any differences. A lot of her time is spent alone or latched onto whoever may have the most similar values to her own like Jalesa. Besides her beauty-based interests, Kamila finds happiness in crafting, sketching and coloring, and scrapbooking among other hands-on activities, she has a soft spot for virtual pet cell phone games. When crafting hair accessories or designing a shabby chic album on her bedroom floor in silence, she knows that she can reflect on the day without any interruption. Some individuals may require alone time and thoroughly enjoy it, but for Kamila, it brings her inner peace and a means of re-charging herself to interact later on.
Overall, Kamila is grateful for the life she leads, she's very content and this state of contentment is what has shaped the rest of her personality. She firmly believes that living in the present and selecting responsible decisions for the future are for the best, and that every individual should appreciate what's in front of them. To her, there's no point fixating details of the past that can't be changed and she strives to demonstrate this to others. With an energetic personality that seems a bit too optimistic, she can get on the wrong person's nerves quite easily but will always attempt to be a positive influence on anyone if given the chance. A gentle but fragile individual, Kamila's Zen-like expressions and demeanor come to her with confidence in knowing that her perspective on life is imperative for happiness and contentment at a price; she lacks many close friendships because people find her too fussy to invite over or exchange normal, non-advice related talk with.
As a senshi, Sailor Camael's role is primarily defensive support with some offense, and it suits her well. In combat, she will spend a lot of time trying to bolster the morale of her team mates with her aura from "Joyous Choir!" She can also do what she loves doing best without having to care about the consequences - helping others who most certainly don't want her help! When she transfers her aura through "Joyous Transfer!" she can give the enemy a taste of the inner joy she feels in hopes of halting the battle, putting the target into a serene sleep, or inflicting self-harm on the enemy and on any of the enemy's nearby cronies. To Kamila, her role as Sailor Camael is a sign that the direction of her life is destiny and parallels her realm of influence, joy. She sees anyone who too is a senshi as having a special connection to her and will try to initiate friendships.
If Kamila took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, she would be a perfect INFJ: "They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a 'tell me what's wrong' sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs."
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Appearance
Kamila stands at a very innocuous 4'11" and enhances her height by wearing her accumulated array of platform flip-flops, boots, and wedge shoes. Because of her height, Kamila finds that she puts on weight easily. It could be assumed that she'd easily maintain her weight due to her vegan diet, and that's anything but the truth; vegan donuts and vegan cupcakes among other baked goods are her weaknesses. She tries to sparingly consume anything that would offset her thin figure but has her moments where she will binge eat plenty of sweets when alone.
Her demeanor is both serene and static, she never fidgets idly or demonstrates any indication of impatience. Naturally, her lips curl into a subtle smile at all times and it's difficult for her to look upset. An individual who didn't know her could assume that she appears sorrowful; her raised eyebrows slightly dip down toward the sides of her face. There's a bit of a southern dialect in her voice from her mother who has a very defined Florida panhandle accent, Kamila speaks in a soft tone at all times.
Makeup is an essential part of her daily routine and she loves using foundation, blush, and some colorful eye shadow to match her hair color of the moment. Over the years, she feels like her hairline pores have become enlarged due a combination of not properly cleaning off her makeup every day when she was younger and the Florida heat, and has to use AHA/BHA exfoliants to get rid of them. In the meantime, she attempts to cover up any pore issues by using concealer and some loose powder.
Any eye shadow that she uses on her eyelids can hardly be seen; her eyelids are almost nonexistent and are hooded like many children's, giving her a youthful appearance in addition to her height. Her face is rounded and her cheeks are the widest part of her face, she covers the apples of her cheeks in subtle pink and contours her small, flattish nose in hopes of giving it a more defined bridge. Just by looking at Kamila's makeup, it's clear that she has spent a lot of time mastering this craft, from the paper-thin eyeliner to compliment her lack of eyelid, to false eyelashes to further enhance her eyes, to her seemingly blemish-free, beige skin that masks damaged pores beneath.
Kamila's hair used to change color very often but nowadays she's found a particular combination that follows the ombre color trend and in her case, her ombre hair fades from light to dark. Her hair is naturally the color of unbleached silk and this can be seen on the top of her hair as it fades into a gradient of rose pink and then into a copper color. Kamila's mother jokes that her hair looks like Neapolitan ice cream but it suits her daughter's hooded light brown eyes well. She keeps her hair down most of the time and lets it fall to her mid-back in long layers, she looks like a mermaid with the waves in her colorful hair. Several loose bangs sit on the center of her forehead and she struggles at times to keep them from falling onto her eyes when she leans over in her profession.
As stated earlier, Kamila finds joy in crafting and this can be seen by the hair accessory that she made and continuously wears. The circlet consists of two flexible, twig-like braids looped together surrounding her head and a mixture of parchment red roses and rose buds woven into it. This accessory is also her transformation item, which compels her to adorn it at all times now.
Wardrobe-wise, she prefers light, layered clothing, plenty of scarves, sweaters, and crochet, and has a liking for natural, pale colors and shades of pink. Kamila can often be found wearing sunglasses and has a collection of cheap, decorative sunglasses to cover her eyes when walking through the Village among other places; she enjoys putting bows, rhinestones, and other accessories onto these sunglasses. Fortunately for Kamila, she lives in a place where more colorful styles such as her own are tame in comparison to the choices of others. And unlike Florida, she's hardly given any stares when she strolls down a sidewalk in New York City decked in Neapolitan-dyed hair, a flower circlet, and platform shoes.
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Fuku
Sailor Camael's fuku retains some elements from the traditional fuku; she has a collar made of cloth, it's an off-shoulder shawl gathered into an inverted front pleat. The collar's fabric on the top is a light pink gradient that fades to white toward the bottom and covers her chest. In the center of the collar is a fully-bloomed, deep pink rose placed on a loosely tied ribbon in the same shade of pink as the collar, the ends of the ribbon trail down a bit past her hips.
All of this connects to a cloth dress that travels barely past her thighs; it's quite short and Sailor Camael is fortunate for the light pink shorts beneath her dress. The dress starts off as the color of lemon chiffon, fades into white toward her belly, and then to light pink at the very last few inches of the dress. She has a pocket lined in pink fabric on either side of her hip. The sleeves of the dress are loose-fitting and rolled up to her elbows, the sleeves are light pink much like the collar. On the back of her dress is a matching loose bow and pleated ruffled tail wing, both extending to her knees in the lemon chiffon color and fades to light pink one-fourth of the way down the tail. A particular sparkle glitters throughout her fuku, particularly on the ends of the tail wing, sleeves, and collar and is both embedded in the fabric and part of her aura as Sailor Camael.
Much to Kamila's approval upon transforming into Sailor Camael for the first time, she discovered that her fuku comes with shoes that suit her ideally; platform wedge sandals. These wedge sandals are (surprise!) all pink and have ribbons that lace up three times to a bit above her ankle, then fastened into single bows. A mixture of miniature marigolds and tea roses in shades of pinks, reds, and yellows cover the fronts of the wedges. On her right hand, she wears an open-fingered arm brace with a V-shape at the end; the brace fades from pink at her hand to white toward her elbow. As for her left hand, Sailor Camael wears two simple pink bracelets made of metal leading to a short glove that's primarily white with light pink on the fingertips. A ribbon choker in the same pink shade as the rest of her fuku wraps around the middle of her neck.
When she transforms, her henshin item disperses into the flowers scattered on her fuku and most notably the abundance in her hair. Sailor Camael's hair is tied into a high, wavy ponytail with a braid on each side woven into this ponytail, a piece of her hair wraps around where a ponytail tie would be visible otherwise. Flowers are tucked between the braids in warm tones like light pinks, corals, oranges, and yellows, these flowers are all tea roses and marigolds like those on her wedge sandals.
Transformation
Kamila touches a rose on her flower circlet and calls out "Angel Camael, grant me joy!" From this rose, what appears like thousands of tiny, light pink fireflies spring from that location and encircle her body as her current wardrobe fades into her fuku. The flowers from her circlet scatter into a multitude of colors and place themselves in her hair, on her chest, and on her feet accordingly. The only fireflies that remain at the end of her transformation are the ones that continue to glitter on the bottom tail of her dress, usually followed by Sailor Camael then addressing herself with some sort of fail speech in hopes of pacifying the enemies. "Hi! I am Sailor Camael, joy-bringer and soon to be your acquaintance! I mean, we can be acquaintances, yes?" .. *dodges some enemy's attack mid-speech* @.@ "Or not..never mind. I guess that we will have to fight after all..~.~"
Powers
"Joyous Choir!" Sailor Camael calls out this phrase and activates an aura that lasts throughout the duration of the battle, it can only be used once per day. Sailor Camael's fuku illuminates for several moments and then the light engulfs her in the softest, light pink glow, imbuing her with an aura of joy for the battle's remainder. The aura is shaped like a halo floating less than a foot on top of her head. If an allied senshi or civilian moves within several feet of Sailor Camael, they will inherit her joyous aura's effects. Ultimately, this aura boosts the morale of any allies by easing their minds of any negative emotions clouding their reasoning skill and replacing these feelings with joy. If an ally moves away from Sailor Camael's range, the effect will only last two minutes from the point that the ally was nearby.
As Sailor Camael, this passive ability brings her plenty of enjoyment because she can finally benefit anyone near her who she considers an ally, whether or not they want her help. The most frustrating part about this ability is the range on it; Sailor Camael will find herself darting around the setting in hopes of sharing her aura amongst any and every ally. Because she direly wants to help everyone out, it may prove challenging for Sailor Camael to focus on the fight and not on supporting all of her fellow senshi. Keturah already predicts that a large-scale battle will result in Sailor Camael running around frantically in hopes of spreading joy to each individual or convincing them to stay near her for their own mind's interest.
"Joyous Transfer!" For this attack, Sailor Camael must first have "Joyous Choir" activated. If it's enabled and Sailor Camael calls out this secondary attack, the slightest light pink aura shaped like a halo will then transfer to the foe that she's glancing at. This joyous aura ingrains a sense of overwhelming bliss in the enemy and nearby allies as they fall into a paralyzing giddiness. The lack of control over these emotions which can make them either not wish to fight anymore or do all sorts of weird, delirious things such as crashing into walls while laughing or falling into the most serene sleep due to cheer bestowed upon them by Sailor Camael.
When Sailor Camael uses this attack, she forfeits her ability to uplift her teammates with the previous aura from "Joyous Choir!" for the rest of the battle, thus this attack can only be used once per fight. Essentially, she transfers her aura to the target enemy so that they and their allies within range will feel too joyous to fight, too peaceful that they fall into a deep sleep, or too high on euphoria to the point of self-harm, depending on how that particular enemy handles the infinite joy transferred to them. Meanwhile, Sailor Camael hopes to jab the foe with her wedge sandal until the end of the attack's duration! ^-^ The effect lasts five minutes.
Sailor Camael's attacks have similar names as I consider them two parts of a single aura that she can either choose to hold and benefit her allies, or transfer to her enemies.
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Guardian
Keturah's spirit flitters in the form of a long-tailed skipper butterfly. As a butterfly, she has a bright cerulean body with bits of royal blue and two long, feathery "tails" in a darker shade trailing behind her, she's about 2.5 inches in length counting these tails. Forewings attach to the tails at her sides in earth tones, and small bands of yellow-green pepper these wings. The front of her head fades from a blue gradient to an emerald shade, her eyes are dark blue and elongated antennae protrude above them. All in all, she looks just as vibrant and typical as any other long-tailed skipper butterfly.
It may seem at first that Kamila lucked out without having to take care of a more reliant animal for a guardian, but Keturah makes up for it in personality. Luckily for Keturah, Kamila has plenty of patience and doesn't easily annoy at how dependent this butterfly is on her for constant attention. As far as Keturah is concerned, as long as she's kept entertained in this newfound life as a butterfly, then she can function and work toward her duty as a guardian. Unfortunately, her choices in individuals to talk to are quite limited because only other senshi possess the capability of understanding her. The barrier of communication between she and other humans frustrates her to no end and she feels as though she's living in a different world than them despite her human mind.
She finds herself spending time people-watching "Oh my, humans these days are just so perplexing!" or napping on a twig outside of Kamila's salon during the warmer months, waiting for Kamila to come out for a break to converse with her. When at home, she considers Kamila's windowsill succulent plant her designated living space and spends time chatting away as she rests there. Keturah practically depends on Kamila for any sort of interaction and if anything, she feels very lonely and bored in her butterfly body when Kamila isn't around. A lot of Keturah's time is spent outside of wherever Kamila may be, looking for shards or other senshi to pass the time. Other Seraphim senshi & allies beware: Keturah wouldn't hesitate to become a social butterfly and bug an allied senshi (Puns totally intended!) for the sake of passing the hours while Kamila is at work.
Keturah's personality reflects her past life quite a bit. As the African concubine and little-mentioned final wife of Abraham, young Keturah married for the sake of companionship and as a cure for Abraham's loneliness after his previous wife deceased. While the status of "replacement wife" would dampen the spirits of many newly-wed women, Keturah devotedly accepted this position and cared for Abraham, she bore him six sons who each founded their own Arabian tribes later on. Keturah stayed by the side of her husband at all times, and because of their severe age difference she acted more like a doting daughter than a wife. Their marriage wasn't one of passionate romance but one of sincere love including Keturah's desire to be a help to the very elderly Abraham among the sick in her community.
Because of her previous life, Keturah is anything but independent; from a young age, she always had an individual by her side and cared for them, whether a son or her husband or a sick villager, she was never alone. She joyously partook in any and every duty as a concubine-wife despite knowing that she was merely a replacement for Abraham's beloved Sarah. Nothing brought Keturah down and she was content with her life, although not the same can be said for her current life in New York City where she lacks the same companionship as before.
Keturah has a kind heart but (shamelessly) possesses stalker-like traits; she follows Kamila everywhere and obsesses about her whereabouts if not in view. When the two are separated for long amounts of time, Keturah worries about Kamila's well-being and feels anxious that she may have encountered an opposing senshi. Often this anxiety overwhelms her and she will try to slip through any crack in the apartment room in an attempt to search the city for Kamila. When together, Keturah flutters directly behind her head or perches on part of her flower wreath as Kamila walks.
Other than her role in pointing out shards and senshi, Keturah is a follower that doesn't compliment Kamila well as she too prefers to follow her friends rather than lead. While the two may initially seem like 'peas in a pod' with similarly tender personalities, Kamila finds herself having to be stronger for the both of them in order to make it by as a senshi and guardian duo. Keturah, like Kamila, tries to find optimism in any situation she can but it's often met with loneliness as a butterfly in a human world. This sense of loneliness can, and will, deter her from her duties as guardian. Ultimately, it's up to Kamila to keep her on track with their fate and assure her that she can reside happily in this lifetime as well.
Explanation
Camael, whose name means "one who sees God," is said to be the angel that appeared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. At this crucial time, Jesus needed to be reminded of the joy in his life and Camael was there to provide support, comfort, and encouragement for what he was about to endure. Because of Camael's support in the Garden of Gethsemane, he's now the angel called upon when a person needs guidance in moving forward in their lives, no matter how intimidating the task may seem or how insignificant the person may feel. Camael reigns primarily over joy, beauty, and the balancing of emotions, all of which I aspired to incorporate into Kamila in some way.
I wanted Kamila born under the Libra astrological sign to tie into balance and justice aspect that's often mentioned when authors describe Camael. Camael is also the angel of Tuesday so Kamila's birth date falls directly on a Tuesday. (And yes, I did the math for this one in relation to current time!) As for her career, it seemed perfect for a person whose angel reigns over joy and beauty to be in an occupation that focuses on supporting others by having a beauty-oriented craft. I also think that it would make an excellent place for Kamila to encounter other characters, whether friend or foe - many people get their hair done, and Kamila can be their go-to girl. Hair salons are an ideal place to make conversation and to develop characters over said dialogue so I hope her career can contribute to the game setting. PS: Kamila can also do hair for guys. ^-^
Early on, I strived to make a concrete differentiation between happiness and joy as they're so often confused, and I wanted to make Kamila represent joy and not mistake it for happiness or else it'd defeat the entire purpose of selecting Camael. The difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is situational, it's based on what's 'happening' around that person; an item, a person, or situation may make a person happy, it's temporary and dependent on outward circumstances. Joy is ongoing and based on a person's perception of themselves and their selfless actions. A person who is joyful tends to demonstrate a sense of inner peace and utmost contentment, people who have joy in their lives often care for others by any means possible.
With that being said, Kamila portrays this feeling perhaps even irritatingly as nothing appears to phase her, anything upsetting that comes her way is met with statements of positivity and hopefulness complete with a smile. She displays happiness too and the two emotions can go hand-in-hand; someone who is joyous is generally happy because of the situations they choose to partake in. Kamila isn't an individual who has ever experienced a serious relationship and the heartbreak with it, gone out clubbing/partying/drinking, or anything that may give her regret later on, and she feels proud of the decisions she's made in her life no matter how "boring" or "sheltered" they are. She's totally content with who she is, even if she's not a college student or a rising chef bound to have a television show like her mother and possibly Tallulah, and lives every day in the present with joy for her choices.
I made her a vegan to demonstrate how selfless she can be; Kamila doesn't care too much about the health benefits of veganism and opted for this lifestyle solely to support both the animals and the environment. Giving up the consumption any animal product was a simple task despite her barbecue-famous family's resentment; she rather walk away from any situation that makes her uncomfortable than go along with it for the sake of being social, whether consuming food that makes her feel guilty or drinking some booze with the girls. In any discomforting situation, she rather just go home and spend time alone, crafting or chatting with Keturah near her windowsill and its array of succulent plants.
It's one thing to say that someone is joyous and problem-free, but another is to throw that joyous person into an everlasting situation where it may seem hopeless that they could have such unbreakable joy. In Kamila's case, she battled her emotions internally when discovering, on accident, that her father wasn't at all related to her. She may have sulked as a child initially, but she overcame it and realized that, blood or not, her father treats her just as kindly as he does his related children and to appreciate what she has, from her friends to her own mind. The experience made her mentally stronger and guided her into the joyous state she's in today, she never even thinks about the situation or would feel hurt if it ever crossed her mind. I'm generally not a fan of backstories that deal with unknown parents, deceased parents, etc, but I think an experience like this is one that challenges Kamila's joy and she overcame.
The counselor role derives from the only story about Camael. Camael was the angel who appeared to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and brought him comfort with his uplifting nature. Because of this, Camael is considered the angel that people should seek guidance from if they're feeling lost or insignificant. Kamila would bend over backwards to help out anyone and finds her own happiness when interacting with others as a counselor. She may not have nearly as many experiences as others have endured, but her positivity and encouragement are generally what makes her an individual that others come to when they need a bit of reassurance.
Angel Camael's support goes hand-in-hand with the attacks given to Sailor Camael; "Joyous Choir!" is an ability that allows allies around her to rid themselves of any inner conflict and to uplift their spirits, ultimately bolstering group morale. "Joyous Choir!" is a selfless move, Sailor Camael gets nothing out of it other than supporting her allies, and she’s merely the holder of this buff. I selected the word "choir" in reference to Camael's noted leadership of an angelic group, or choir.
I opted for "Joyous Transfer" and gave it a multitude of effects that are dependent on the character inflicted by the attack. Joy can be demonstrated in so many different ways, everyone feels and deals with joy differently, and I didn't want to pigeonhole anyone who receives her overpowering joyous aura into only feeling pacified and having second thoughts about ending the battle, that would be pretty boring and predictable anyway in terms of RP. So from that, I added other effects depending on how the player wishes to role-play their character when affected by "Joyous Transfer" like a tranquil tiredness or a blissful high.
The sparkles of light "fireflies" mentioned in both her henshin and fuku description are a reference to Camael's role as leader of an angelic choir. When reading about Camael's choir, imagery describing thousands of pea-sized angels following his command came up and it gave another relevant physical aspect to define Sailor Camael by. This light glittering by no means benefits her in any way except for aesthetic purposes.
Color scheme…Sailor Camael went through so many changes with her color scheme (I'm not even joking. She went through. So. Many.) but all were based on warm color palettes. Camael is linked to the colors saffron and marigold, which is why I chose to have a few marigolds in her hair. Upon researching color meanings linked to joy, I found that yellow and all light shades of red were considered joyous colors, and light pink suited her perfectly. (Plus, light pink and light yellow look way more joyous when placed together in the same outfit versus red and yellow. I also considered that there's already a senshi with a beautiful fuku in-game who has plenty of red and yellow that fits her power realm much better than it would Sailor Camael's.)
So, Sailor Camael ended up with a blend of pinks, yellows, and whites. The flowers placed between her braids, on top of her sandals, and one flower on her front bow all generally follow this color scheme. Why flowers? Camael's only solid story deals with appearing as a counselor to Jesus in one of his saddest hours within the Garden of Gethsemane. Camael's flower preferences came up a bit, and always roses so I chose tea roses to be a bit more specific. I tried not to overdo it with flowers though as I probably would have done otherwise; after all, there's still a spot open for Cathetel, Angel of Gardening. ^^
Onto Keturah! I knew from the start that I wanted to play a guardian and that a guardian would benefit Kamila's character. But choosing a lesser-known person from the Old Testament whose story most complimented "joy" proved one of the most challenging decisions of my application. After countless hours of researching different biblical characters and narrowing down my choices, I stumbled upon Keturah out of nowhere. Something about Keturah's story just "clicked" for me instantly and she seemed like a joyful woman. She was selfless in her ways and tried to assist any sick and elderly, she also didn't care that she was considered a concubine-wife to her husband who was much, much older than her. I also derived the guardian Keturah's personality from my interpretation of Keturah as a girl wedded at an extremely young age who probably never had a moment alone in her life. Awakening as a butterfly who is incapable of helping anyone or talking to anyone other than another senshi would prove difficult, and disappointing, for someone like Keturah.
Keturah was originally going to be a hummingbird, I was torn between a hummingbird and a butterfly and sought Em's advice, she pointed me in the direction of the butterfly. Sailor Myth has a history of hosting an aviary worth of guardians and with Em's suggestion, Keturah didn't join the feathered flock. I'm pleased with how much fun it was to make this butterfly. I chose a butterfly, the long-tailed skipper, that resides in the United States and has a bright color scheme like the African, human Keturah may have worn.
The butterfly paired well with Camael; it symbolizes joyousness and has an ability to uplift those around them: "A meaning of the butterfly is about finding joy in life and lightness of being. This power animal invites those who have a connection with it to bring joy and bliss into their lives. Butterflies often have bright colors. By extension, they are associated with aliveness and brightness." The other joy-related animal spirit was the hummingbird mentioned before, and Em helped me decide on the butterfly. (Thank you so much for your guidance, by the way!) Butterflies are awesome.
Writing Sample
Stargazer lilies resided in a vase on the counter, their pale petals pressing up against the mirror like a child's fingers in bewilderment. Next to these flowers were even more flowers - this time a mason jar teeming with chrysanthemums, a straw ribbon tied around the jar itself. Pieces of decorative parchment with writing hung on the sides of the mirror with quotes scribbled, the dot of every 'i' made into a heart: "Work is love made visible to the world." No other neighboring work area appeared quite like her's, and her client sat in the chair soaking in her stylist's environment of flowers, pastel gel pens, and inspirational quotes.
"You know Kamila, it's always freakin' awesome coming in here. You actually make me want to sit down for the four hours and get my hair done," the girl took off her coat and eyed the mirror, grinning at the stylist standing directly behind her.
Kamila clasped her hands together and squinted merrily. Nothing made her feel as overjoyed as when she received a person's appreciation. She felt like starlight in an otherwise somber sky and the feeling made her smile widen. "Aww, you're an angel, Dev. And now that I think about it, it's been a few months since I saw you last, right?"
"Yep, that's right," she pointed at her hair, "You have some sort of magical touch, I swear. It's like the dye stays in forever since I started coming to you." She pointed to the array of violets and crimsons in her hair, still vibrant, and then the inevitable blonde roots.
She combed through the girl's hair, inspecting the way in which she dyed it last and noting the never-ending split ends at the bottom of her longer layers of hair. She'd make sure to trim the ends but Kamila would never point out the damaged hair to her client, she'd always do the opposite. "Oh Dev, you know it's because reds and purples last much longer than other colors; reds and purples are considered natural hair colors and will fade out slowly and gracefully unlike blues and greens. Your hair looks beautiful though, you take wonderful care of your hair for sure."
"Meh, I try. It never looks as badass as it does when I leave this place, I know that much." Dev placed her velveteen bag onto the floor while Kamila tied the lace of a cape around the back of her client's neck.
The way she spoke about her hair, no matter the word choice whether 'freakin' awesome' or 'badass', continued to touch Kamila's heart. Something about feeling needed truly made her complete. "So, how have you been, Dev? I love when you come in, you're always so spirited."
A boot clunked onto the checkered floor and cross-legged Dev adjusted in her seat; Kamila always had to lower the seat by quite a bit to accommodate her small stature. "Ehh, everything is the same I guess. Oh yeah, I followed your advice from last time and moved closer to The Pyramid, I'm hosting there now and loving it. That's kinda why I needed to get my hair done ASAP. What about you?"
The Pyramid was a place that her clientele lauded; a dark, divey goth club with industrial music, dread falls, and plenty of fog permeating through the barely lit interior, it wasn't a place that Kamila would ever consider frequenting. The clubbers glow-stringing ribbons of light outside The Pyramid appeared fascinating, nonetheless.
"I'm so glad that I could help you make up your mind about moving closer to your dream job. It really did seem like the perfect job for you from the first time you talked about it, I know that you will do well." Her hands continued brushing through the hair, making a mental image of her dye task ahead. "And as for me? I can't say I've done much different, I'm not all that exciting, but my best friend did move out since we met last."
A hand holding a blow-dryer waved from the reflection of the mirror, silver bangles jingling in motion. "Hey, Kami! I can hear you, you know." Jalesa's work space stood directly across the room from Kamila's and the two often spoke through their wall mirrors. "Don't make me out like I'm a bad guy! You didn't even give out the full details as to why I moved out, I have a boyfriend now. My first real boyfriend, like ever."
"Well, congrats to you, Jalesa. That's pretty freakin' adorable, first boyfriend ever. Now we need to work on setting up Kamila with a guy and then we can all go for a few rounds at The Pyramid. No third wheels when you have three ladies, all with dates. It'll be my treat," Jalesa and Dev eyed each other in agreement from the opposing mirrors.
Kamila covered her mouth and giggled, "Dream on, girls! I will be right back, I'm going to mix a few colors so we can get started."
Behind that giggle, her heart plummeted; she dearly, and sorely, missed living with her best friend. The desolation in the apartment without her best friend present seemed indescribable, she felt like a twin who had lost her other half. Through childhood and now adulthood, the two were inseparable and Jalesa changed that when she moved in with her love interest. Kamila knew she had to be supportive, it wasn't her place to selfishly cling onto Jalesa.
Perhaps it was for the better, though. Perhaps it was meant to happen. Kamila wrote off anything and everything as destiny anymore, and with a sensible reason. She selected several bottles from the rack and started pulling their caps open, pouring contents into rubber mixing bowls. From the geometric window overlooking the basement salon, a butterfly of indigo and azure gazed down at her longingly. Perhaps fate elected for Jalesa to move out so that Kamila could start another chapter in her life with her newfound guardian and identity. Kamila's doe eyes followed the butterfly and she whispered, "I'll be out there for you soon, Keturah. Please be patient…it'll only be a few more hours."
Questionnaire
Name: Deer
E-mail: xxxxxxx
Homepage: oh-deer.net
Referred by: Oh man, I can't remember that. :( It's been like 13 years!
Other RPGs: I haven't joined any other RPGs in so long. To be honest, I'm really overjoyed that Sailor Myth is back because I've missed the way older games used to run. Games nowadays seem like they're based on instant-gratification and fixated more so on which celebrity should portray which character and less about the application and its crucial role in developing a solid character worthy of joining in the plot. Nonetheless, most of these games seem to die after several months and I've stopped trying to participate as it isn't worth it to me. I will always have faith in Sailor Myth though! This will be my first RPG in many years. \o/
View Application: Sure! I'd love to set an example for future applicants whether positive or negative.
* PS: I naturally tend to write on the long side and I apologize for the lengthiness of this app. I know it ended up being a behemoth of an app..but hopefully it’s a cute, snuggly, but cute, behemoth. Thank you for reading and I hope that I can re-unite with my Sailor Myth brethren!
Results
Extremely thorough and well-thought-out, though there are some small issues with the powers and fuku. Your application has been Accepted with Revision.
Detailed notes are below. Your application was reviewed by Em and Regina.
Overall
+ R: This has got to be the densest application I've seen yet, and overall it's wonderful. I'll avoid repeating what Em said, and just like to add that it was a pleasure to review.
+ E: Overall a phenomenal application! No need to apologize for length, as it was consistent throughout, making it one of the most impressive applications in SMyth history I think! Kamila is a very well-realized character with a nicely fleshed-out life. Some really brilliant choices throughout. The main issue is that the fuku design doesn't contain any visual clues as to the fact Camael is an angelic senshi originating from an ancient culture. The powers could also use clarification on a few details, and the relic needs to be adjusted or clarified to make clear that it's a regular sort of transformation item. These small things aside, Camael's inclusion in the revamped SMyth is a no-brainer.
Basic Info
- R: Out of curiosity: what language is Kamila's name from? With parents whose names are Whelan and Dixie, I wonder what inspired the unusual naming of their children.
+ E: Hair salon! I LOVE IT SO MUCH. THAT IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA FOR A CHARACTER OCCUPATION. I'll stop shouting now. XD And the name of the salon is just too perfect! <3
+ R: There is a massive amount of detail here and I love it. We also get a feeling for Kamila here as well, based on her relationships.
+ E: Love the inclusion of her family's history, I feel like that often gets overlooked, and it adds such depth. (I say this as someone whose next senshi application has a history section with several paragraphs of history covering events before the main character is even born!) I do wonder how the move to Orlando has affected the Christmas Cafe?
+ E: I also love it when applications contain friends in the NPC list! No senshi is an island, after all. Even the Senshi of Islands. Probably.
History
+ E: Fantastic history, any questions I had were answered with further reading. I mean, if anything it might be too thorough, but frankly I don't believe in such a thing and I will simply celebrate how much history there is and how solidly it's all plotted out.
Personality
+ R: I like her personality, very detailed!
+ E: Yarashiel is probably gonna loathe Kamila, or they will end up very weirdly getting along. XD I look forward to finding out which!
+ E: I am also looking forward to Kamila dyeing Jack's hair. Provided Kamila doesn't expect to be paid for doing so... ;)
- E: Does Kamila retain her cheerful facade even when alone with no one else to see? Is this for her own benefit as much as everyone else?
+ R: The cellphone pet note is adorable.
- E: I do question if Kamila would be labeled as an INFJ in Myers-Briggs just because she seems so interested in engaging other people to solve their problems. I understand she's very private about her own problems, but she doesn't seem particularly introverted where other people are concerned. Luckily, I don't place much stock in Myers-Briggs, so I can't say I'm ultimately bothered one way or the other.
Appearance
+ R: The supplied picture is adorable.
+ E: What the hell, platform flip-flops are a thing!? The world is doomed!
- E: Does Kamila's vegan diet cause her any deficiencies? Does she do a good job, despite the binge eating of sweets, of otherwise getting a good balance? This might be something for the personality or history section, particularly when she started her veganism -- it just occurs to me now because the appearance section is where the bulk of information about her veganism is found at the moment. As someone who is mostly pescetarian and has vegan friends, I know some people have to take a lot of care with their vegan diet, while others seem to do fine on it.
+ E: The amount of detail put into Kamila's makeup is amazing!
- E: I am confused by the circlet somewhat -- how can she have made her transformation item? Her relic should have been given to her by her guardian.
Fuku
- R: My only issue here is that I'm not seeing much that ties the fuku design in with the rest of the Seraph senshi.
+ E: I love your color labels in the application! Rose pink, lemon chiffon...
* E: This fuku has a lot of great things going for it, but problematically, I wouldn't guess this was a Seraphim senshi if you hadn't labeled it as such. The usage of modern fashion motifs and lack of visual cues that scream "angel" (or cultures historically related to angelic mythology) make the design overall more suited to the Celestial team. The fuku needs to incorporate stronger angelic elements. (There is mention of a tail wing, but visually it's a form of half-skirt, and it needs to be more literal.)
Transformation
+ E: Cute transformation!
Powers
- E: You give Joyous Choir's duration as "the battle." Can Camael use Joyous Choir outside of a battle? If so, how long would she be able to keep it up then?
- R: I think a timeframe that might be easier to measure as having a beginning and an end would be preferable.
+ E: It will be interesting to see if Joyous Choir is potentially detrimental to allies by making them less inclined to fight.
* R: Are people likely to act more recklessly while under the influence of Joyous Choir? The mind clouding effect combined with a feeling of elation could cause someone to do something very ill-advised. Is this intentional?
- E: How does Camael define an ally in Joyous Choir? You say anyone she considers an ally, so this includes senshi who she feels are allies even if they're from an enemy team? Even if they are directly attacking her? What if someone she calls an ally doesn't consider her an ally in return, or is merely pretending to be an ally? What about teammates who stab her in back? Can she not use the power on someone who is clearly intending her harm? Or could she label someone attacking her as an ally? What about an ally who is under the affect of an ability that causes them to attack Camael against their own will? Or a power that causes an ally to want to attack her (and thus be an enemy in intent as well as action)? Additionally, is there no limit to the number of people this can rub off on? If she were surrounded by a mob, would it be more stress because the power is affecting more people at once, or is that not an issue?
- R: In Joyous Choir, the effect of the power lingers for two minutes after Camael's ally moves out of range of the aura effect. When she transfers the feeling to an opponent in Joyous Transfer, does this feeling continue to linger in her own teammates or does it cut out immediately?
+ E: I love the idea of an attack that can be shifted into a second form like this! Very clever.
- E: Can the enemy affected by Joyous Transfer define their allies as Camael might, or are the "allies" whichever senshi Camael perceives as the target's allies when she does the transfer? And if the latter, what about late arrivals to the fight?
Guardian
+ R: No issues with Keturah! Carry on.
- E: I'm not sure what "Kamila lucked out without having to take care of a more reliant animal for a guardian" means. Is the sentiment is something along the lines of Kamila lucked out because her guardian isn't a very needy animal species?
+ E: Excellent work with Keturah's personality!
Explanation
+ E: Excellent explaining about happiness versus joy.
+ E: Also great detail with the firefly thought process!
+ E: You are very welcome and I have to say, Keturah as a butterfly is such a beautiful guardian!
Detailed notes are below. Your application was reviewed by Em and Regina.
Overall
+ R: This has got to be the densest application I've seen yet, and overall it's wonderful. I'll avoid repeating what Em said, and just like to add that it was a pleasure to review.
+ E: Overall a phenomenal application! No need to apologize for length, as it was consistent throughout, making it one of the most impressive applications in SMyth history I think! Kamila is a very well-realized character with a nicely fleshed-out life. Some really brilliant choices throughout. The main issue is that the fuku design doesn't contain any visual clues as to the fact Camael is an angelic senshi originating from an ancient culture. The powers could also use clarification on a few details, and the relic needs to be adjusted or clarified to make clear that it's a regular sort of transformation item. These small things aside, Camael's inclusion in the revamped SMyth is a no-brainer.
Basic Info
- R: Out of curiosity: what language is Kamila's name from? With parents whose names are Whelan and Dixie, I wonder what inspired the unusual naming of their children.
+ E: Hair salon! I LOVE IT SO MUCH. THAT IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA FOR A CHARACTER OCCUPATION. I'll stop shouting now. XD And the name of the salon is just too perfect! <3
+ R: There is a massive amount of detail here and I love it. We also get a feeling for Kamila here as well, based on her relationships.
+ E: Love the inclusion of her family's history, I feel like that often gets overlooked, and it adds such depth. (I say this as someone whose next senshi application has a history section with several paragraphs of history covering events before the main character is even born!) I do wonder how the move to Orlando has affected the Christmas Cafe?
+ E: I also love it when applications contain friends in the NPC list! No senshi is an island, after all. Even the Senshi of Islands. Probably.
History
+ E: Fantastic history, any questions I had were answered with further reading. I mean, if anything it might be too thorough, but frankly I don't believe in such a thing and I will simply celebrate how much history there is and how solidly it's all plotted out.
Personality
+ R: I like her personality, very detailed!
+ E: Yarashiel is probably gonna loathe Kamila, or they will end up very weirdly getting along. XD I look forward to finding out which!
+ E: I am also looking forward to Kamila dyeing Jack's hair. Provided Kamila doesn't expect to be paid for doing so... ;)
- E: Does Kamila retain her cheerful facade even when alone with no one else to see? Is this for her own benefit as much as everyone else?
+ R: The cellphone pet note is adorable.
- E: I do question if Kamila would be labeled as an INFJ in Myers-Briggs just because she seems so interested in engaging other people to solve their problems. I understand she's very private about her own problems, but she doesn't seem particularly introverted where other people are concerned. Luckily, I don't place much stock in Myers-Briggs, so I can't say I'm ultimately bothered one way or the other.
Appearance
+ R: The supplied picture is adorable.
+ E: What the hell, platform flip-flops are a thing!? The world is doomed!
- E: Does Kamila's vegan diet cause her any deficiencies? Does she do a good job, despite the binge eating of sweets, of otherwise getting a good balance? This might be something for the personality or history section, particularly when she started her veganism -- it just occurs to me now because the appearance section is where the bulk of information about her veganism is found at the moment. As someone who is mostly pescetarian and has vegan friends, I know some people have to take a lot of care with their vegan diet, while others seem to do fine on it.
+ E: The amount of detail put into Kamila's makeup is amazing!
- E: I am confused by the circlet somewhat -- how can she have made her transformation item? Her relic should have been given to her by her guardian.
Fuku
- R: My only issue here is that I'm not seeing much that ties the fuku design in with the rest of the Seraph senshi.
+ E: I love your color labels in the application! Rose pink, lemon chiffon...
* E: This fuku has a lot of great things going for it, but problematically, I wouldn't guess this was a Seraphim senshi if you hadn't labeled it as such. The usage of modern fashion motifs and lack of visual cues that scream "angel" (or cultures historically related to angelic mythology) make the design overall more suited to the Celestial team. The fuku needs to incorporate stronger angelic elements. (There is mention of a tail wing, but visually it's a form of half-skirt, and it needs to be more literal.)
Transformation
+ E: Cute transformation!
Powers
- E: You give Joyous Choir's duration as "the battle." Can Camael use Joyous Choir outside of a battle? If so, how long would she be able to keep it up then?
- R: I think a timeframe that might be easier to measure as having a beginning and an end would be preferable.
+ E: It will be interesting to see if Joyous Choir is potentially detrimental to allies by making them less inclined to fight.
* R: Are people likely to act more recklessly while under the influence of Joyous Choir? The mind clouding effect combined with a feeling of elation could cause someone to do something very ill-advised. Is this intentional?
- E: How does Camael define an ally in Joyous Choir? You say anyone she considers an ally, so this includes senshi who she feels are allies even if they're from an enemy team? Even if they are directly attacking her? What if someone she calls an ally doesn't consider her an ally in return, or is merely pretending to be an ally? What about teammates who stab her in back? Can she not use the power on someone who is clearly intending her harm? Or could she label someone attacking her as an ally? What about an ally who is under the affect of an ability that causes them to attack Camael against their own will? Or a power that causes an ally to want to attack her (and thus be an enemy in intent as well as action)? Additionally, is there no limit to the number of people this can rub off on? If she were surrounded by a mob, would it be more stress because the power is affecting more people at once, or is that not an issue?
- R: In Joyous Choir, the effect of the power lingers for two minutes after Camael's ally moves out of range of the aura effect. When she transfers the feeling to an opponent in Joyous Transfer, does this feeling continue to linger in her own teammates or does it cut out immediately?
+ E: I love the idea of an attack that can be shifted into a second form like this! Very clever.
- E: Can the enemy affected by Joyous Transfer define their allies as Camael might, or are the "allies" whichever senshi Camael perceives as the target's allies when she does the transfer? And if the latter, what about late arrivals to the fight?
Guardian
+ R: No issues with Keturah! Carry on.
- E: I'm not sure what "Kamila lucked out without having to take care of a more reliant animal for a guardian" means. Is the sentiment is something along the lines of Kamila lucked out because her guardian isn't a very needy animal species?
+ E: Excellent work with Keturah's personality!
Explanation
+ E: Excellent explaining about happiness versus joy.
+ E: Also great detail with the firefly thought process!
+ E: You are very welcome and I have to say, Keturah as a butterfly is such a beautiful guardian!