| Teresa Murdoch |
 |
| Sarah Carter as Teresa Murdoch |
| Name | Teresa Murdoch |
| Status | Alive |
| Age | 27 |
| Occupation | P/T Student, Pawn Shop Employee |
| Place of Origin | Maine, USA |
| Date of Birth | August 8, 1984 |
| Player | lind0052 |
| Timezone | PST |
| Notes | Notes for Teresa Murdoch |
A Gloom Touched woman who has very fragile control over fire and immigrated from the States, attempting to reconnect with a world that she's not even sure she's a part of anymore. She goes to Kings College and works part time in her parents' pawn shop.
Background
It's hard when you're Touched.
When being Touched leaves its mark on you.
It's a night that Teresa cares not to talk about, that still seems to chase around her dreams when she sleeps and leaves her waking short of breath. But it happened none the less. Her parents recall that she drove off to a party - a popular young woman with good grades in college and attempting to become a nurse - and never arrived. Her SUV was found with its battery dead on the roadside in the woods of Maine, doors open and keys still in the ignition. She was gone for what seemed like a month till one day, she just returned.
Clothes ragged, screaming, fingernails broken, babbling about demons and things that lurked in the dark. She was brought to and placed into a psychiatric facility with a diagnosis of a psychotic break brought on by her ordeal. Whatever that ordeal was. She was changed though, no longer a carefree young woman fresh in college with a bright future ahead of her. She preferred to stay in her room, wear a little cross around her neck that she claimed kept them away, and was distant with friends and family who tried to visit.
It was there, in the times of solitude and no direct supervision, usually late at night, that she came to discover that she hadn't left the Gloom unscathed. It started with the flicker of a flame in the palm of her hand, a hard night for her mentally, that caught her bed on fire, and the rest of the room - but not her. It was quickly put out by staff, blamed on her roommate who was a smoker and whose friends had smuggled in a pack of smokes and lighter.
Teresa alone knew the truth. She knew what she had seen.
Within a few months, deemed fit enough to be relinquished into the care of her parents, she left. It was not the end of her issues with fire however, something she had confided in her parents about. Mostly because she didn't want them to be caught in a blaze and be responsible for their lives. But she's Touched. This she discovered from her forays onto the internet, to the chat rooms and conspiracy blogs. Touched, and with little control. So it was little surprise that one night, their house went up in flames. Deemed an electrical failure, but with suspicion by the local Watch that resulted in a knock on the door to the hotel room one night, the trio bolted. Her father, being English and having emigrated to the states to marry her mother who had stolen his heart, left England as an option, away from the States and far away from the troubles there.
His family owned a pawn shop in Lambeth that his father relinquished to him when they arrived and ironed out the paperwork and found a home. Retirement was a good thing, especially since he had family to turn it over to. In Lambeth is where they've settled, and very few major incidents have been caused by Teresa as she tries desperately to reign in what the Gloom has left on her. It's a given that the Watch will find out about her, if they don't already know. She's managed to snag a slot at Kings College on their Waterloo Campus in an attempt to become a nurse once again. But it's hard, and she's struggling. Struggling to connect with classmates who sense the Gloom on her - even if they don't know what it is - and avoid her. Struggling to keep the fire inside, from getting out and hurting others. She's one semester away from likely working full time for her parents in the pawn shop instead of part time.
Personality
Teresa is a woman trying hard to pretend that there's nothing wrong, which at times leaves her coming off as very - if overly - sweet. On her bad days though, when she's had very little sleep, and hasn't got control over things, she's a little gruff. The bad days, tend to outweigh the good ones. She's not a party girl, preferring low key and has been known to be a little on the religious side at times.
Paranormal Abilities
Teresa can produce flame, generally from her palm. It is very fragile control, very at the whim of her emotions, and can easily get out of hand, figuratively speaking. She can coat herself in the flames, maintaining a thin layer of air between her and the flame so that it almost looks like she's on fire. It burns usually at the lower end of heat, but when out of control, can turn to the bluer end of the heat range. She can control flame not created by her, but her control of that is just as fragile. She's immune to being burned by flame, but not from other things like scalding water, or super heated metals, etc.
Skills
Driving: She's shitty at driving an as such, tends to not get behind the wheel and keeps to a motorcycle and helmet that allows her to get pretty much anywhere. She's good on her motorcycle though.
Medical: Going through school for a nursing degree leaves her with some skill in things medical. But she's no doctor.
Cooking: she can passably cook traditional english dishes, but is far better with New England fare.
Pawning: Having spent nearly 2 years here, working arm in arm with her parents, she's got a keen eye for what's junk and what will sell in the shop. She can tell a fake from a real item, unless it's a good fake.
Crazies: She has a sixth sense for being able to separate the gloomies from the crazies, as she calls it. Those who are like her (gloomies), have seen what she calls the gates of hell and made it back out. Crazies being those who are just plain crazy. She also can sense, a Gloom touched item, if it crosses her path in the pawn shop.
Photography: She's good with a camera, having a few good ones of her own, that she has become adept at using through trial and error. Part of her self imposed therapy and hoping to find something to connect with other people one. The latter, rarely happening, as her pictures tend to come out with dark themes. Go figure.