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Kat McPherson
Topic Started: Mar 13 2008, 09:37 PM (363 Views)
Kat McPherson
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Kathrine McPherson
Nicknames Kat, or Katy to her mother
Age: 14
Voice: Kat’s voice is quite high and has a thin, almost reedy, quality to it. Her accent is definitely Scottish and despite the fact that she has lived in Greave for almost half her life there are faint traces of a Glaswegian dialect. When she’s particularly upset Kat will fall quiet, but the rest of the time she is pretty talkative, in fact it makes her nervous when people don’t talk back. She also has a tendency to talk quickly and run her words together, especially when she is angry or upset. At these times her voice also has an annoying tendency to quaver and sometimes rises to an irritatingly shrill pitch.

Power(s): Kat has a sixth sense…empathy some might call it, although that’s not a particularly accurate description as it’s not focused exclusively on emotions. Instead it’s a broader ability allowing her to blindly experience her surroundings in a way which surpasses the normal five senses. She feels things almost as if they were an extension of self, and any changes in her immediate environment register with her almost as if they were happening to her.

The trouble is that Kat’s powers don’t give her a clear understanding of anything she’s picking up; in fact it’s hard for her to make any sense of the feelings at all. They’re just vague impressions and half formed perceptions in the back of her mind that could often just as easily be her own imagination as anything else. This is why on the good days she can fool herself that she’s just being weird; thinking she’s caught something out of the corner of her eye, or feeling a flash of random emotion for no apparent reason. On the bad days, however, there is a cacophony of noise inside her head which renders her overwhelmed and unable to think straight, and occasionally causes her to freak out over strange things like the texture of next door’s wallpaper, or the way the sunlight travels through a window pane. Man made things seem to have a worse effect on her than natural ones; she has an almost allergic reaction to some toiletries, and the year they spent in the middle of Glasgow she suffered from almost constant migraines, which only eased off when she got further away from the bustle of the city.

The good news is that a more recent development in her powers has at least given them a purpose. On the extremely rare occasion that she manages to concentrate her empathy, Kat can temporarily alter the state of the things she senses. So, in theory, she could say… cause a block of solid wood to turn rubbery and bend, or solidify a patch of air. But at the moment it’s all academic; the times when Kat can cope with her empathy, let alone focus it, are few and far between…

Physical Appearance: Kat stands at roughly 5ft 2’’, has an average build and a tendency to slouch. Her hair is a nondescript strawberry blonde colour, and falls in carefully tended waves to about shoulder blade length. Up until recently she has had a fringe, but this is rapidly growing out, leaving her with runaway bangs that are too short to tie up and so fall in her eyes instead. The eyes in question are small, with grey-green irises and a slightly piercing quality to them. Her face is heart shaped, and also features a large slightly turned up nose, thin pink lips and pale freckles which, along with the odd bout of acne, are habitually covered up by make up.

Clothing: Kat is very particular about her clothes, or at least she was until she wound up at Cathriss gate. She is used to throwing clothes out if they get the slightest rip, so she's still struggling with the whole make do and mend concept.

Genrally Kat likes bright colours and pretty patterns, usually opting for clothes like polka dot dresses over jeans, gypsy skirts and tank tops, or layered T-shirts and yet more jeans. But of course Cathriss gate has less variety than Kat's ever expanding wardrobe at home, so she has become very possessive of what clothes she does have. The converses she arrived in never leave her sight.

Personality: Generally Kat is cheerful and bubbly. She is an intrinsically sociable sort of person- preferring the company of others over being alone. And she also has a strong need to fit in. She tries to look out for her friends, and will definitely be there if they need her...but can feel a little out of her depth in the more serious moments, and will often overcompensate by messing around and trying to bring things back up to a light hearted level- whether its appropriate or not. This is one of the many manifestations of her immaturity, and reluctance to deal with the more serious sides of life. In fact on occasion she does take things too far, and her mischievous streak has lead her into trouble in the past.

But despite this apparent lack of judgement Kat does think things through once in a while, and, when she does, can form some very strong opinions on matters- especially about people. This may in part be down to consciousness of the strong opinions others seem to have of her- most notably that she's a complete airhead. True, she's not known for her intelligence, but she's smart enough, and has a dogged sense of curiosity worthy of the most infuriating reporters.

Overall Kat can be friendly and well meaning, but is also spoilt and insecure. She likes to have her own way, and is incredibly stubborn. But if someone puts their foot down and asserts their authority over her then she usually doesn't have the confidence to challenge them outright. When this sort of scenario happens (often with her 'stepfather') then she becomes sulky and petulant, complaining until she either gets her own way or wears herself down to submission.

Likes:
*Shopping
*Television
*Friends
*Fun
*Fruit smoothies
*Trees and fresh air
*Pizza
*Complaining

Dislikes:
*Migraines
*Meat
*Loud noises and strong smells
*Arguments
*Being bossed around
*Pepsi
*Feeling Trapped
*Long car journeys
*Cruelty

Family:

Fiona Doughan - Kat and her mother are very close. They have been through a lot together, and although Fiona is often working, or otherwise busy, she always makes time for her daughter with whom she is a little too soft, and spoils too much.

Glen McPhearson - Kat is also fond of her estranged father, Glen, but resents him for what he put her mother through. Although she doesn’t really know him anymore she holds on to the good memories of her early childhood, and receives his occasional cards and letters with the guilty pleasure of a girl that knows she’s not supposed to miss her father, but does.

Neil Mercer- Inspector with the local police, and soon to be Kat's new stepdad. Neil is a stuffy conventional sort of man. He's a lot stricter with Kat than her mother, and the two didn't get off to a good start. Acceptance has grown with time though, and there is an uneasy sort of tolerance between the two.

He also has two sons; Grant and David, but Kat doesn't get on with them too well either.

History: Fiona and Glen met at school and continued dating until Fiona fell pregnant at nineteen. The couple decided to keep the baby, even though they had no immediate plans to marry and Fiona left college to become a fulltime mum. Kat was born shortly after that, and benefited from a reasonably happy homelife, quickly growing into a bubbly and energetic little kid. She spent most of her time with her mother, (who was besotted with her) seeing less of her father since he was often out working long hours to pay the bills. Probably it was obvious to adults that her parent's relationship was strained, but to Kat - a happy six year old- it was the only family she'd ever known, and as far as she was concerned her parents were the world. So she was shocked and confused when her parents began fighting regularly with each other. After a while Glen had had enough of his gruelling lifestyle and simply left.

This had a devastating effect on both mother and daughter. Kat watched with desperation as her family fell apart, hoping that one day she would wake up and it would be alright again. But things are never that easy...for a short time Fiona worked at the local supermarket, leaving Kat with friends or taking her to work. It soon became clear, though, that this could only be a stopgap solution, and as the bills mounted up, and friends became tired of looking after the child of a 'friend' they hardly ever saw, Fiona took the decision to move them in with her mother in Glasgow. It was hard to move, but Kat was young and adapted quickly, and although Fiona suffered from a temporary sort of depression, she slowly seemed to find herself, and eventually went back to college. Life continued...and things were relatively normal until Kat reached the age of nine. Then she began having migraines and strange flashes, almost like out of body experiences. The doctor examined her and could find nothing wrong...well, 'nothing physically wrong' were his exact words as he frowned over at Kat. It turned out they though she'd been attention seeking...and although Kat knew that wasn't true, after many more hours spent in specialist’s waiting rooms, she had to accept that the migraines would just become another part of her life.

A year later Kat and her mother moved to Greave, to 'start a new life'. It was harder to move this time around but things worked out okay. Her mum got a job as a hairdresser, and she settled into the local school and made friends. Which pretty much brings us up to now...Fiona began dating Neil about a year ago, and soon held some influence over the way Kat was brought up, which she's not too happy about. The announcement a week ago that they would be getting married wasn't a complete surprise, and Kat is happy for her mother, but she still doesn't really want Neil as a stepfather.

Thoughts on current predicament: Well, lets see…her powers = scary, her mum getting married = scary, getting abducted by weird kids = scary, the mansion -waaay more than scary. I’d say she’s a little bit freaked out…

Other: Nope

Watcher: Luke, a random layabout kid who got kicked out of his parent's house when he reached sixteen and figured Cathriss Gate was as good a place to stay as any. Has the ability to case small earth tremors.

Character Played by: Hazel
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