Ermes Costello


 * The character featured in this article is commonly referred to as "Hermes Costello"."This 'Kiss' is my ticket for revenge."

- Ermes attacking Sports Maxx

Ermes Costello (エルメェス・コステロ) is a core ally featured in Stone Ocean.

Ermes is one of Jolyne Cujoh's strongest allies, befriending her early on.

Appearance
Ermes is a woman of average to above-average height and fit or medium build.

She wears her black hair in locks, and she has long, triangular scars approaching her eyes and lips on her forehead and chin.

Ermes has surgically altered her breasts in order to be able to hide money from their sides.

Personality
Despite a tough exterior, Ermes is proud, loyal, and headstrong.

She does not shy away from a fight and is willing to do just about anything to put herself in a better situation whether it is taking a bet that could risk her organs to even splitting her own body parts with her Stand ability despite knowing that they eventually have to be fused back, wounding her severely.

Ermes shows a severe sense of resilience, as she was still on her feet and moving around even after Marilyn Manson took her liver and survived the shared experiences of suicide attempts from Thunder McQueen. She has a good sense of justice but violently punishes anybody who crosses her way.

Abilities
Ermes' Stand is the humanoid Kiss, of good melee defense and attack, and the unique ability to duplicate objects on which she plants a removable sticker.

History
When Ermes was seventeen, her older sister allowed herself to be spotted by a homicidal car salesman named Sports Maxx, saving Ermes from his wrath but sacrificing her own life in the process. Meanwhile, Sports Maxx was caught and arrested by the police, was not tried for the murder, and was instead sent to prison for tax evasion. Enraged, Ermes purposely had herself thrown in jail, intending to track Sports Maxx down. Her crime was armed robbery and it was not her first offense; her sentence was to be eight years.

Stone Ocean
She first met Jolyne Cujoh when they were held in momentary captivity next to each other. Annoyed by Jolyne constantly banging her head due to her humiliation earlier that day, Ermes yelled at her to pipe down. She was amazed to hear Jolyne confess her innocence to her crime and admired her honesty. On their way to Green Dolphin Street Jail, Ermes warned Jolyne to get her hands on cash, as bribery was the quickest way to escape a lot of the harshness of prison life. In return, Jolyne saved Ermes from a brutal beating using her newfound Stand, Stone Free. Although not cell mates, the two have remained somewhat close to each other ever since.

While in prison, Ermes used money as a medium so when the janitor, Thunder McQueen, stole her money, she pursued him after being in the infirmary six times for a fever. Once she encountered the janitor, she learned that he was severely suicidal and due to his own Stand, Highway to Hell, she was forced to encounter similar experiences whenever he attempted it. While she saved him from the attempts on multiple occasions (even offering him her panties as a way to cheer him up), he still found means to kill himself but not before she split his skull using Kiss, resulting in McQueen being incapacitated and his Stand's hold on Ermes nullifying.

She later volunteers as part of a search group with Jolyne and four others in order to find two lost inmates. In their search, they encounter Whitesnake's stash of isolated Stand Discs and Foo Fighters, who was designated to protect the Discs. After a hard fought battle, F.F. was liberated of its duties and pledged allegiance to the two.

The following days included an encounter with the gambler Miraschon who bet on a game of catch (that Jolyne and Foo Fighters couldn't relay the ball one hundred times). Ermes persuades Jolyne to agree to the bet (which she won) before Miraschon made another bet for more money. The new bet enticed Costello to not only agree but to put herself into the bet so she could get the thousand dollars. Ermes lost the bet and found herself at the mercy of Miraschon's Stand, Marilyn Manson, who took her gold tooth, money from her surgically-altered breasts, and her liver. Jolyne eventually wins the liver and money back from Miraschon.

Ermes remained in intensive medical care after her battle with Sports Maxx and does not appear again until Jolyne escapes from prison. She was one of the final members in the last battle against Enrico Pucci, and dies in the struggle.

After Emporio Alniño manages to defeat and kill Pucci, Ermes' alternate universe counterpart is seen being ejected from a bus for attempting to pay with a fifty dollar bill. The counterpart feels infuriated and even wonders if the bus driver mistook her for an inmate of Green Dolphin St. Jail. She then meets Emporio and asks him for change for the bill. Afterwards, she and Emporio meet Narciso Anasui's counterpart Annakiss and Jolyne's counterpart Irene, who invite them to ride with them in exchange for Ermes' money for gas. Ermes feels skeptical at first, as her older sister told her not to ride with strangers, but the coming rain forces her to give them the gas money and ride with the group. The group later picks up Weather Report's counterpart after refilling the car's gas tank.

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Ermes makes her video game debut in the PS3 title. She was confirmed for the game along with Jolyne, Josuke and Okuyasu. She's the only non-DLC ally character from Part 6.

As one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Ermes can turn Kiss on/off, changing movesets, as well as having access to the Stand Rush ability returning from the Capcom game, being able to attack in conjunction with her Stand.
 * Here's where ya stick it!: Ermes places stickers on her arms and/or legs, duplicating them. An icon showing that she currently has stickers applied appears above the Heat Heat Gauge, with arm stickers appearing on the left and leg stickers appearing on the right (reversed as Player 2). This skill doubles the amount of hits Ermes and Kiss deal in all of their skills and abilities except for her GHA, increasing her overall strength.
 * Sticker Damage: If Ermes is knocked to ground, the stickers on her limbs fall off and disappear, damaging her in the process. Ermes takes more damage if she had stickers on both her arms and legs at the time. She may recover this lost health over time, but must not take any more damage during this process in order to do so.


 * Take it off and it returns!: Kiss swings forward with a sticker in its hand. If it connects, the opponent will have their head duplicated, before Ermes pulls the sticker off, damaging them. Many of Ermes' attacks and skills can combo into this ability.

While Kiss is off:
 * Throw - Get bent!: Ermes pushes the opponent before taking a sticker off of a broom, causing it and its duplicate appearing behind the opponent to smash together, catching them in the middle.
 * Outta my way!: Ermes kicks high, knocking the opponent off their feet. This move can also hit a downed opponent, and Ermes' skills can be performed instantly following it. (Comboable)


 * USHAAAA!: Ermes slides forward and summons Kiss to rapidly punch the opponent, sending them flying with the final hit.

While Kiss is on: Ermes' HHA, "I know what you're after!", is a counterattack, where she puts a sticker on herself and if hit, will kick the opponent away before Kiss delivers a massive counter combo. Ermes will take minor Sticker Damage whether or not the HHA is triggered by the opponent. The HHA's damage is increased if done while "Here's where ya stick it!" is in effect.
 * Uryaaaaa!: Ermes summons Kiss as the both of them unleash an uppercut in unison, knocking the opponent into the air. This move doubles as an anti-air, and if performed on an already airborne opponent, they will be sent much higher. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
 * Pretty handy, huh? (Normal): Ermes uses a duplicated broom to fly at the opponent. Ermes cannot be hit with low attacks during this move, and can even fly past the opponent. If Ermes stops in front of the opponent, the broom will hit them and knock them off their feet. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
 * Uryaaaaaaaaaaa!: Kiss performs a punching combo. This move can be inputted up to twice more to unleash new subsequent attacks. On the second input, Kiss continues its assault by kicking the opponent multiple times and sending them into the air. On the third input, Kiss spins around and backhands the airborne opponent, launching them away. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)
 * Right in your grill!: Ermes and Kiss both unleash a powerful downward spinning kick in unison. If the opponent is hit, they are left crumpling to the ground. (Comboable)
 * Pretty handy, huh? (Stand): Kiss uses a duplicated broom to allow Ermes to fly at the opponent. Ermes cannot be hit with low attacks during this move. If they touch the opponent, the broom will hit them multiple times and knock them off their feet. (Comboable through Puttsun Cancel)

Ermes' GHA, "Eat this! And this! And--", starts with her taking out a sticker and lunging forward. If she lands the hit, she will slap said sticker on the opponent's head, causing it to duplicate as Kiss kicks the opponent multiple times. The Stand then switches to fists and rushes them repeatedly, gradually raising them into the air. Before allowing the opponent to fall, Ermes quickly snatches the sticker off and turns away, dealing damage as the opponent's head violently merges back into one (similar to how she killed Sports Maxx).

Alongside all playable members of Bruno Bucciarati's Gang of Part 5 (with the exception of Narancia Ghirga), Ermes is one of the only characters who activate Preparedness Mode instead of the normal Rumble Mode when low on health. In this state, attacks that do not result in hard knockdowns or blow-backs no longer phase the character.

Ermes possesses one alternate costume, which is the outfit her alternate universe version wears.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Ermes was confirmed as a playable character alongside Jolyne, Pucci, and Weather Report.

She forms a tag team with Jolyne, and their DHA has Ermes attach Kiss' stickers on Stone Free's arms, allowing Jolyne to double the amount of hits in her Stand's barrage as she pummels the opponent into submission.

Tournament
She is paired with Robert E. O. Speedwagon in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Narancia Ghirga and Diego Brando.

Trivia

 * Due to her rather masculine manner and appearance, Ermes was given the endearing nickname aniki (older brother) among Japanese fans.
 * Araki considers the fan nickname a compliment for Ermes because, "It means she looks tough enough to take a real punch and still be in the fight."
 * Araki states that Ermes' position in the story is kinda like a female version of Polnareff.

Gallery
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