Reality Shifted
Character: Kate Lockley
Series/Fandom: Angel
Deviance: 3. After Chosen, Kate becomes a Slayer.
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Canon Used: Television series
Appearance: At first glance, Kate looks an average woman. She's not very tall, not very short; her mussed blonde hair is often pulled into a low ponytail; her features are pretty enough, but she never draws attention to them. Her clothes are always plain, in muted colours. She favours button-downs and dark slacks.
Then, when you look closer, you might see that her body is toned, her eyes sharp, and is that a gun her hand just went to?
Yes, it is.
Psychology: Kate's mother died when she was very young, leaving a void in her life that was never filled, becoming the first person to abandon her. Her father was too wrapped up in his own grief to soothe hers.
He'd closed his heart, and she couldn't open it again, no matter what she did - and oh, she tried. She tried to listen to his every word, to follow in his foot steps, to be the best at everything she did.
She became just as distant and hard as he was, and it did benefit her when she became a police offer in his footsteps. She was dedicated, driven, determined, almost to the point of being ruthless. It was her entire life, just as it was his.
As a result, she doesn't easily socialise; it's awkward for her, and not many people can understand her life. Most of her friends were her colleagues.
Then she met Angel, someone who rapidly became an ally, a partner, a friend. Discovering his true nature drove her away from him, for a time. She was plunged into a world she couldn't understand, couldn't control, and it frightened her.
Slowly, she began to cope, and to trust him again, inch by inch - because he was a good detective despite his sordid history, because their friendship had been real despite his secret nature.
When her father was murdered by vampires, she withdrew from him once more, swearing to ride the city of his kind. It became a crusade, an obsession, swallowing her whole. Eventually, it led her to being fired, and a suicide attempt. Being a cop was how she defined herself; without it, she could see no reason to keep going.
Then she realised that, yes, she can still make a difference, and yes, she can move on with her life.
She still hates demons with a lethal passion, she's still socially awkward and defensively snarky, she still spends more time on her job than anything else - but she's healing.
Becoming a Slayer was both a relief - it's much easier to pursue her goals now - and made her a bit indignant; she felt she was doing fine before, too. She'd taken pride in being a natural human fighting a supernatural war. It perturbs her as well because she doesn't quite understand it; she has no one to teach her about the depth and history of her powers, or to sympathise with the dreams of other Slayers.
General Skills/Abilities: Kate has had extensive training as a police officer. She's been awarded a number of Commendations, including the Medal of Valour. As a homicide detective, she learned how to handle tragedy, how to solve mysteries, how to outwit and apprehend murderers.
She's proficient in a number of weapons, though she's best with firearms. She also enjoys explosives.
Kate was always stronger than she looked; years before, she took down a man twice her size and shoved a two-by-four through two vampires. As a Slayer, she has several times as much strength, as well as superior stamina and enhanced healing.
General Weaknesses: Though she's tougher than a normal humans, she can still be injured, and it will still take her time to recover. She can be killed like any other.
For most of her life, she was a normal human; she's still not quite used to her abilities as a Slayer. Her speed and strength can catch her unawares, and she doesn't always use them to their full potential.
History: Kate was raised by a single parent, Trevor Lockley. Though he cared about her a great deal, he wasn't very good at showing it, especially after her mother died.
Desperate to impress him, she strove to impress him, to be as good as he was; as good a police officer.
She succeeded. Kate rose through the ranks quickly, becoming a homicide detective before reaching her thirtieth birthday.
She met Angel in Lonely Hearts, a bar for the desperate and forlorn, while they were both on the trail of a serial killer. Despite their pretensions and ultimate goal, she connected with him. When she thought him the murderer, she was furious - she thought she might have finally found a friend.
In the end, they saved each other, and foiled the demon - though she never knew what it was, nor that he new ally was anything but an awkward, brave, strong, eccentric human.
They would continue to help each other, and grow closer as time went on, working together well despite various arguments. She began to fall for him, though she tried to ignore it.
It only made the betrayal hurt more.
When a vampire Angel sired over a century ago came to Los Angeles, Kate was put on his trail, and followed it with her usual relentless determination. When she confronted him, she realised what he was, and what Angel was - a walking corpse, a mass murderer.
She shoved a two-by-four through his heart and Angel's stomach - when he told her she missed, she informed him that no, she did not.
Slowly, she began to accept the strange new world she'd been plunged into, to trust Angel again, because he was a good detective, and the only one she could talk to about monsters.
Then her father was attacked by three vampires, murdered before Angel could save him.
The rage and grief turned her against him, pulled her from everyone - she was on a crusade, to rid her city of the monsters who killed her father, who made everything worse. She was demoted, isolated, jeered at, but it didn't matter.
Eventually, she is fired, thought to be unstable and incompetent. Being a cop was all she'd ever known, and it drove her to an attempt on her own life. After all, what was left for her? What was she good for?
Angel arrived just in time to save her, after he climbed up from his own downward spiral. They connected again, and she recovered her own strength. She decided that there was something there, that they weren't alone in this impossible struggle.
She never invited him in.
It gave her the strength to continue on, to save the world one bit at a time. She spent years as a rogue demon hunter.
In 2004, thanks to Buffy and Willow granting power to all Potentials, she became a Slayer.
Reality Description: Kate's world is one of magic, demons, and wayward gods, and she gets to deal with them every day. In the beginning, these creatures ruled the Earth; they have become diluted, but remain a threat, which is why Slayers are still Called.
Vampires are the most numerous; they're made by a vampire exchanging blood with a human being, whose soul is exchanged with the essence of a demon. From then on, they are ruthless, immortal, powerful predators. They can be killed only by sunlight, beheading, fire, and a stake through the heart.
Demons are far more varied; some aren't threats to human beings at all, preferring to peacefully coexist. Those that choose to be violent, however, almost always have a large advantage over humans. Demons tend to be far stronger and faster, and can have a multitude of abilities depending on the species.
Kate has been hunting them across America for several years; it's now 2005. Eventually, her search for knowledge of Slayers will lead her back to Los Angeles, which is infested with more demons than usual. It's located near a Hellmouth, a weak point between this Kate's dimension and one where pure demons thrive.
First Person Sample:
[a woman walks onto the Plane; she's wearing battered, torn clothes smeared with green, and there are a few fresh cuts and bruises on her bare skin
wide eyes quickly narrow in annoyance and suspicion; a hand rests on the pistol strapped to her hip as she turns her head, shouting behind her]
Hey! Stephen! You there?
[he doesn't answer, and she shakes her head, turning about and trying to assess her surroundings; apparently limitless, with random bursts of colour and no exit in sight]
Well, the stars are nice. Can't see them for shit in big cities, which is usually where the demons are. [she's nervous; she's gotten used to strange things, but this is utterly out of her experience, and she hates that, always has]
Is this some kind of vision? Magic? Hell dimension?
Third Person Role-play Sample:
The craggy pavement warms her feet through worn shoes as she navigates through lines of tiny shops and inviting cafes. The natural tranquillity fractures in her wake; they recognise a soldier when they see one. Some of them even know her name.
Kate has been to this town before. It's a small place, not the sort that usually attracts demons, but they're plagued by a tribe that comes there to breed every three years, using human viscera in the birthing process. She'd promised to return the next time, to limit the damage as much as she could.
She'll be better at it this time. This time, she won't let anyone die.
No, she won't let as many die. Kate learned a very long time ago to be realistic.
She meets Stephen Kay at an old warehouse in the outskirts of town, and recognises him immediately; same shaggy black hair, piercing black eyes, wiry build. Same careful smile and premature wrinkles. He'd been a big help before - knew far more about explosives than she did, at the time.
This time, her battered rucksack is packed with them. (As well as knives, short swords, stakes, medical supplies, canned foods, a few handy magical items…) He's impressed, but tells her to make damn sure she doesn't blow herself up.
The plan is straightforward. They'll patrol the town, intercept as many attacks as they can, use the pattern to figure out where the demons are nesting. The things needed about three months; Kate didn't plan to give them three weeks.
That night, she leaves the rucksack at the hotel she's been staying at (free of charge, because the owners remember her; it's the sort of gratitude she's come to rely on). All she's armed with, when they meet again, is the gun strapped to her leg.
He thinks she's insane, and barely has time to tell her so when they're attacked; the demons know them both.
He stops thinking so when she twists a sickly green head right off.
"Damn, I've been wanting to do that for years."
Did you read the rules? Yes.