Tabby
| Tabby | ||||||||||
| Player: @Chase | ||||||||||
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| Tabby in her natural habitat- surrounded by books and fixated on the smartphone. | ||||||||||
| Character Build | ||||||||||
| Origin: | Magic | |||||||||
| Archetype: | Stalker | |||||||||
| Security Level: | 50++ | |||||||||
| Biographical Data | ||||||||||
| Real Name: | Tabitha Lachann | |||||||||
| Known Aliases: | Lolcatgirl, Alleycat | |||||||||
| Age: | 18 | |||||||||
| Gender: | female | |||||||||
| Species: | feliform | |||||||||
| Ethnicity: | mixed | |||||||||
| Birthdate: | ||||||||||
| Birthplace: | ||||||||||
| Relatives: | father (estranged) | |||||||||
| Characteristics | ||||||||||
| Height: | ||||||||||
| Weight: | ||||||||||
| Eyes: | green/gold | |||||||||
| Hair: | grey/black/white | |||||||||
| Complexion: | fur | |||||||||
| Physical Build: | athletic | |||||||||
| Physical Features: | fur covered, tail, cat ears | |||||||||
| Status | ||||||||||
| Alignment: |
Neutral Good | |||||||||
| Reputation: |
Reputable | |||||||||
| Identity: | public | |||||||||
| Years Active: | <1 | |||||||||
| Base of Operations: | ||||||||||
| Citizenship: | USA | |||||||||
| Education: | High School Graduate | |||||||||
| Occupation: | odd jobs | |||||||||
| Marital Status: | single | |||||||||
| Known Powers and Abilities | ||||||||||
| Magic (see text) | ||||||||||
| Equipment and Paraphernalia | ||||||||||
| perpetually-broken cellphone | ||||||||||
| Attributes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Fighting |
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| Intelligence |
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Psyche |
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| Intuition |
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| ReldinBox Template | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
Early Life
Tabitha Lachann hasn't been feliform her whole life, but her whole life has always been a mess. She grew up in poverty- only child of an overworked mother and a disabled father addicted to pain meds and alcohol. Mom died when she was 13, and dad's condition only worsened after that. They lived in old Victorian home on a mostly-overgrown family farm at the edge of small dying Massachusetts town. About her only solace was the attic space she'd adopted as a playroom- full of more books of magic, crystals, and artifacts than you'd find in the MAGI vault (before it's emptied).
They became her obsession.
Over time, she learned these books belonged her mother's twin sister, Tabitha, who she'd been named after. She passed away on her first super heroic adventure before ever meeting her niece.
Aunt Tabitha was only following family tradition- both Grandparents had been heroes in the 60's and 70's. She didn't know much about them, then, but has slowly learned more from the more senior Midnighters now that she's in Paragon City. Her grandfather- the Amazing Arturo Ascani- was a Native American shaman who fought crime and disguised his spellcraft in the guise of an Italian Stage magician. He figured that if Spaghetti westerns could use Italian actors interchangeably with Native Americans, he could reasonably go the other way. Her grandmother, known as Ilona, mixed proto-new-age magic traditions with 60's hippie culture and more than a few gypsy magic stereotypes in a way that made her a popular icon for media covering the hero scene, even if most of those pictures weren't suitable for the front page.
All three were members of the Midnighters, but she never knew any of them. She only had what they left behind.
The Change
The fact that nothing blew up or created a portal to another world in all her childhood play with magic artifacts is a minor miracle itself, but that luck ended on her 14th birthday during an alcohol-infused self-loathing-driven ritual. The ritual promised to imbue oneself with great power. but she'd have been happy if it just made the day end a little faster. Had she read a better translation, she would have recognized it as an invitation for demonic possession.
Something took her up on the offer, much to her dismay. The frantic attempts to find someone to un-do the spell-in-progress included a tri-county car chase, the destruction of sixteen mailboxes, 8 totaled cars (including her dad’s half-reconstructed ’76 duster) driving said unregistered and not-street-legal duster underage, under the influence without a license, speeding, reckless driving, the desecration of a church, the destruction of a centuries-old work of art, and the near-death of one police officer. Tabitha,-needless to say- was remanded to juvie for 4 years (only because the judge couldn’t extend the sentence further). Her work with FBSD is under the "probationary hero" program that lets her work off her thousands hours of community service.
The night ended in the church, immediately after an angry diatribe at a tabernacle, demanding God to "put up or shut up. or something along those lines." She was still drunk at that point, and it all got kinda fuzzy. She blacked out and awoke- aspiring demon possessor gone, but in her current strange catlike form.
She's been trying to reverse it ever since.
Tabby spent 4 years enrolled in St Ives Prep- a juvie facility that’s normally reserved for wayward teenage girls of America’s elite. She was a charity case- one of the poor lower-class that would have had trouble fitting in even if she hadn’t been the only one covered in fur. Socially, she was an outcast rebel dreaming of the day she’d leave, lay low until she found a cure, complete her community service, go to college, and hopefully re-start her life without all that old baggage.
Recently
She arrived in the city a few months ago and proved that there’s no plan- however simple- that she can’t foul up. She hasn’t found a cure, still owes tons of community service, hasn’t secured financial aid for college, and rather than keep a low profile, she’s gained her own unwanted internet celebrity, appearing in hundreds of memes, video shorts, mashups, deepfakes, video game mods, and even appeared on the boxes of a Brickstown pizzeria (“Tastes like Victory”... long story) . There’s even a Tabby Tracker website that trades sighting pics for a chance at a free pizza!
Despite constantly trying to suppress the attention and drive away her unwanted “fans,” she’s now got her own subreddit and was recently the “topic” for a fanfiction site’s 'shipping contest- (take a photo of Tabby and a hero from the tabby tracker, make a story around it. extra points for smut.) This especially dismayed Tabby as she's determined not to fall into the typical catgirl tropes while stuck into this form- and these stories are immersed in them. Of course, this is your typical “internet celebrity” with a rabid, focused fanbase, but for much of the real world, “Tabby, who?” is much more common, so she couldn’t capitalize on this notoriety to pad her forever-shrinking bank account, either.
Midnighter Membership
Tabitha claims to be a full-time student at PCU- NOT a hero and certainly not a Midnighter, but Montague Castanella did offer her a work-study in the library archives, so she can frequently be found there or slinking around the Salamanca PCU occult studies annex (terms in her probation make it unclear if she's ALLOWED to be there.) It's quite a playground for her- so many forbidden objects that might- just maybe- hold the key to transforming her back. Nothing bad (well, not TOO bad) has come of it.. so far, but some do wonder exactly WHAT Montague was thinking by giving her access to the place... chief librarian included.
Personality
Contrary to her (very) catlike appearance, you won't catch her doing typical catgirl things- she doesn't roll her r's and would be mortified if she ever purred publicly. She'd never "groom herself" like a cat- heck, she'd even even get self conscious if caught licking her fingers in times when humans normally would, like eating messy food. She also hates the term "catgirl" even though she sometimes uses it for herself in self-deprecating ways ("feliform" is far more PC). She's been on the 'net enough to know the public perception of catgirl promiscuity and wants nothing to do with it.
There are involuntary similarities- much like a cat, her ear twitches, thrashing tail, large eyes, whiskers, and even the way her fur bristles expresses most of her surface thoughts without her needing to utter a word, much like a cat. She naps regularly and loves sunning, but will adamantly argue that this isn't "catlike" as many women love tanning beds. She's also perpetually hungry and mooching food, which she'll again argue is part of being a starving college student and NOT about being feline at all. She responds... poorly... to ways some people habitually interact with cats. Never try to scritch her ears or chin, never grab her tail, and for all that is holy, if you catch her sunning, never EVER rub her belly.
Overall, Tabby's defined by her contradictions. She's got low self-esteem, but is constantly trying to get other people to take her more seriously. She hated her former life, but seeks to change back to it. She's empathic one moment and the next quite... catty. She hates her toxic fanbase, but constantly checks the fansites seeking some form of acceptance or approval from somewhere. She feels horribly guilty for all the harm she's caused but unjustly persecuted by the fate she's been given. Of course, she's catholic.
Powers
In CoH Terms, Tabby's a Kinetic Melee / Willpower Stalker that identifies as an Energy Blast / Super Reflexes Sentinel (level 50). Thus, she sees herself as a clumsy failure of what she SHOULD BE (lacking a single reliable ranged attack) and unwilling to see that she's pretty darn good at what she actually DOES.
Spellcraft- Tabitha is magically aware and gifted, but not trained- at least not well-trained. She's studied spells (online) that SHOULD release arcane energy blasts, but they "fizzle" (her words- violently explode may be better) shortly after leaving her fingertips. This isn't a flaw in her training, but a condition of the transformation she's under, but nobody's figured that out. She's got some minor protection spells and fiery aura spells she can cast on others (she often accidentally mixes them)
Aura Sight Well, It's more of a aura synesthesia. Where others see auras, someone she encounters may "taste like the color blue" or feel like an electric current tastes. She's got very little control over it and has no idea what it means, but if you have an intriguing aura you want her to notice, share it. Sometimes it can serve a purpose. (use it as you want to for minor things, but never deus ex machina).
Claws She does have catlike retractable claws on her fingers. When retracted, it appears as if her fingers are short- missing a joint. She hates the almost-paw-look so keeps gel-caps snapped on the claws, keeping them extended and more finger-like. They have a tendency of falling off (or failing to come off) at the most inopportune time. The claws are at least as useful as you’d expect from a lesser “great cat” -- intimidating against the unarmored foe but will just get snagged on heavy armor.
Durability Tabby's more than willing to take pride in her feline agility, but that's a bit misplaced. Yes, her heightened senses and agility have saved her in the past, but in many cases she's more like the clumsy cats that dominate YouTube. She has her moments- but more often it's her durability that wins the day- while she doesn’t regenerate or heal up magically overnight, she can take quite a beating and keep on moving. Her ear may be nicked, her face covered in scratches, her tail kinked, and half the fur may be burnt off her buttock, but she’s still able to truck along, cursing and channeling her inner Bruce Willis.
Senses Along with catlike night vision and exceptional hearing, Tabby's sense of touch is highly magnified. This allows her to even sense shifts in the air currents immediately preceding a punch or detecting invisible things moving nearby. Unfortunately, the adage of "rubbing a cat the wrong way" really fits here too. Clothes contacting fur can rub against the fur, at best just stifling this sense of touch, at worst feeling like dozens of needles pricking the skin. The sensory overload is one reason she prefers the "au natural" look.
Astral Shift Tabby IS a stalker and works best when she sneaks up on an opponent. She hasn't quite realized that she's not just hiding- she's subconsciously partially shifting into the astral plane, becoming almost invisible. From her perspective, nothing changes- the aura sight is a tad more intense, but she attributes that to her focus. Other's teammates comments on her going "practically invisible" are just taken as compliments to her for her stealthiness.
Character Hooks
Internet Memes/Rumors- Consider Tabby’s internet notoriety as a collaborative-storytelling game. If you can think up something insane that her "fans" have done or rumors they're spreading about her, I’ll play along. Or, heck, let her see you snap a pic for the Tabby tracker!
Catgirl Reputation- Consider this another collaborative writing project. Catgirls have a... reputation... (think Pocket D) and despite most of those catgirls looking a lot less catlike than Tabby, that reputation carries over to many (TOTALLY UNEARNED) rumors about Tabby. Make one up, and I'll play along- doing my best to deny it while we craft a backstory on how it's all (really) a total misunderstanding that's not at all how it appeared.
Former Classmates- Got a character that had a similar “bad teen” past, or who has a friend of a friend who was enrolled/confined-to St. Ives? Imagine any story about any high schooler’s antics, particularly those that blow up in someone’s faces. Put it in an all-girls version of the bully boarding school. I’ll play along.
Food- If you’re in a place and Tabby’s in a place and free food’s in the place, Tabby’s eyeing it, approaching it, or already eating it. If you’re eating it, then she’s probably doing her best not to watch you eat it while still being unwaveringly drawn by every crunch, chomp, or slurp.
A Past- Due to her juvie record, Tabby’s in the FBSA “special offender” probation program - a group that usually includes far more villainous sorts attempting to go good. Like most juvie records, it's sealed and heavily redacted, but that just leaves people wondering what she did. Among the cops of the Brickstown precinct who’ve also had to deal with incidents involving her, there’s a lot of rumor on what she may have done. No rumor too wild.
Mage Sight- As noted, Tabby can "see" auras. If you have an intriguing aura you want her to notice, share it. She's insatiably curious. If *you* have mage sight, she comes across as a strange amalgam- almost a mosaic of several different auras rearranged uniquely together.