Application

[whatwalls]

PLAYER

Name: Mab
Journal Username: mabaliciousness
E-mail: Puck_ish@hotmail.com
AIM/PLURK: minuteParoxysm/mabaliciousness
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A


CHARACTER

Name: Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)
Canon: X-Men: Evolution
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Wing Color: Pale pink with white tips

Canon Point: Ascension Part II, during the fight against Magneto
Canon Point Explanation: After the X-Men and their allies split up into four groups to face Apocalypse’s horsemen, Kitty heads to Mexico to take on Magneto, where she is eventually knocked out during battle. I want to take her from this point in canon because of the uncertainty that she’ll be left with upon waking up in Luceti; she won’t know the outcome of the battle, she’ll have no idea that the Brotherhood had a change of heart at the last second and showed up to lend their aid, and she’ll never be quite certain that the X-Men weren't actually defeated that day, or that her sudden arrival in Luceti wasn’t the result of some diabolical plan enacted by Apocalypse.

History: Shadowcat on the X-Men Evolution Wiki.

Personality:

With the exception of her mutant abilities, Kitty Pryde is your typical teenage girl. She is bubbly and friendly, she likes talking on the phone and going to the mall, and she flirts and giggles with the cute boys that she runs into in the halls of her high school. Kitty often speaks like a valley girl – especially around others her age – but she does well in school, even if she has been known to skip class from time to time, a fact that can mostly be attributed to her curiosity getting the better of her and her inherent eagerness to help out her friends.

Kitty is an earnest girl whose genuine kindness allows her to see the good in people; she is able to forgive those who make mistakes and she is always encouraging, especially when it comes to her friends. Once she knows you have her back, Kitty will always have yours, even to the point that she has to be dragged away from situations where she is outmatched yet refuses to leave a friend behind. Kitty never forgets a favor owed, and while she always adheres strictly to her own moral code – following her gut instinct and doing what she feels is right – she manages to get along even with those whom she doesn’t agree with. She works hard as a member of the X-Men team, giving her all in an effort to pull her own weight and remaining willing to compromise when it is needed.

Although Kitty has a good relationship with her parents – writing them detailed emails on a regular basis once she has moved into the Xavier Institute – she is not without a rebellious streak. She has snuck out of her house against her parents’ wishes, tricked the older students out of the mansion in order to throw a party, and slipped off to follow potentially dangerous leads without alerting the whole team. She also refuses to be pushed around, even when she's uncertain of exactly where she stands, and occasionally, she shows a competitive side that speaks to her dedication to self-improvement. Kitty is unafraid to stand up for what she believes in; she will voice her objections when she thinks someone is in the wrong, especially if that someone is taking advantage of or mistreating someone she cares for.

While Kitty rejects her mutant abilities at first, her drive to maintain control over her life ultimately leads her to join the X-Men at the Xavier Institute, where she adjusts fairly quickly despite the strangeness of her new situation and her new companions. Soon enough, she learns to view the members of the X-Men team not only as her friends, but as her family, and together with the other students she learns and grows, developing confidence in herself and her unique abilities, while still managing to goof off and have fun.

Strengths

Physical: As a mutant, Kitty has the ability to pass through solid objects by making herself intangible via a process called ”phasing.” Phasing allows Kitty to merge with another mass on an atomic level by moving through the spaces between atoms, which frequently gives the appearance that she is levitating. Since the process disrupts the flow of electrons between atoms, any electrical system that Kitty phases through will short circuit and malfunction. By phasing, Kitty can pass through walls, solid rock, and even other people, meaning that she can easily slip from someone’s grasp, free herself from restraints, and cause projectiles hurtling in her direction to pass right through her. Kitty can also phase both objects and people along with her, provided that they maintain some form of physical contact with her; on several occasions, Kitty manages to phase entire vehicles through oncoming obstacles, although this drains her strength rapidly and is not always wholly successful. Finally, she is fairly agile, most likely a result of her learning to control her phasing ability, and she tends to land on her feet.

Mental: Although Kitty can come off as a bit of a ditz, the show establishes that she is actually acing almost all of her classes. She tones down the valleyspeak when she writes to her parents, and from what we know of the classes she takes, she is fairly adept at science and technology; we see her in chemistry class, Kurt at one point mentions an astrophysics test, and in computer class she is shown working on a programming assignment that uses three separate terminals (all of which she manages to short out, but hey, can’t win ‘em all). Kitty is also confident enough in herself to compete with Rogue for a spot in the school musical, where she will be required to sing and dance in front of an audience, and her willingness to cooperate and compromise means she works well as a member of a team.

One of Kitty’s most striking talents, however, is her ability to keep a level head and talk her way through a crisis situation. During one of her very first missions with the X-Men – while she is still adjusting and feeling “freaked out” by much of what goes on at the Institute – Kitty finds herself separated from the group, completely alone save for an unconscious Nightcrawler. As panic threatens to set in, she begins to speak to herself aloud, calming herself and clearing her head while instructing herself to think, and asking, “What would Wolverine do?” Within moments, she is able to come up with a potential solution to her plight by recalling Professor Xavier’s telepathy, which allows her to reach out to the rest of her group.

Emotional: In a similar instance to the one listed above, Kitty bravely faces a frenzied Wolverine, speaking to him calmly and urging him to remember who she is and to fight the powers attempting to control him. Kitty seems to have an innate ability to form strong emotional connections with even the most antisocial or difficult kinds of people, and her budding bond with Wolverine is what eventually helps him to successfully regain his control.

Her on-going association with Lance Alvers – a member of the rival mutant group, the Brotherhood – serves as a second example of this strength; although Lance holds an opposing philosophy on mutants and their place in the world, and although he continually blunders his attempts at garnering positive attention, Kitty seems to acknowledge his effort to reach out to her, even growing to like him quite a bit despite his frustrating shortcomings. Their guarded feelings for one another result in Lance revealing his good side on a number of occasions, showing up to work alongside the X-Men every now and then, and even attempting to join them at one point. In short, Kitty’s empathy and her understanding nature allow her to connect with others in a manner that proves advantageous both on the field and to the greater cause that the X-Men are working towards.

Weaknesses

Physical: Canon establishes that Kitty is not particularly athletic, although her powers and training help her coordination improve to some extent. It is noted that PE is the only class that Kitty is not acing, and we see first-hand that the long jump is not her forte. She also shows a dislike for the more extreme sorts of physical activities, complaining loudly as she bumps along with the group during a motor cross outing before she ultimately ends up getting into an accident. As Kitty is small in stature, both her strength and her endurance are limited. Though she trains regularly, she can only phase through so many objects in a row, especially when under duress or in an unexpected situation; she has been knocked out before when bombarded by projectiles, and likewise, she has managed to knock herself out on occasion by running into things when perhaps not paying enough attention to focus her abilities accordingly.

Mental: As well-meaning and dedicated to the team as Kitty is, at times she can be painfully oblivious. While she easily picks up on, for example, Logan’s bad moods, she does not always pause to consider the root of his problems. When Kitty narrates an episode, we hear her complaining that Xavier clearly isn’t holding Logan to the same standards as the rest of the group, seeing as how Logan tends to go off on his own instead of treating the group as a family. In typical self-absorbed teenager fashion, she claims, “It’s not like his life is so much tougher than ours,” somehow missing the fact – even when she runs into Logan clutching at his head in pain – that there is a bit more going on with him than simple moodiness. Additionally, Kitty can be impulsive, letting her curiosity get the better of her and diving into potentially dangerous situations without really thinking of the consequences first, which has landed her in trouble on several occasions. She is also a terrible cook, though not for lack of trying.

Emotional: Though Kitty grows quite a bit over the course of the show, she seems to have lived a rather sheltered life up until the time when her powers begin to emerge. Initially, she is quick to write off anything new or unusual as “weird” or “freaky,” even outright rejecting her own powers at first. She has trouble with bullying at school, which leads her to cling to traits that make her feel “normal,” and perhaps even accounts somewhat for her pronounced valley-girl speech at the beginning of the series, a trait which wanes a bit as she grows closer to the other members of the X-Men team.

Kitty is a good girl through-and-through, leaving her somewhat naïve to the true intentions of others; she responds positively to Lance’s appeals to her as a fellow mutant, having no idea – even as she is in the process of breaking into the school office – that he actually intends to use her abilities to steal test answers and change grades. Her trusting nature of those who seem genuine can backfire, and though she does grow wiser as time goes on, her apparent need to find the good in others results in her continually giving additional chances to those who have wronged her. The main example of this is, of course, her relationship with Lance; although we see and hear of many times when Kitty has allegedly stopped speaking to him, inevitably she will find it in her to forgive him the moment he turns around and does something nice, a habit that leads to an on-again-off-again pattern that lasts the course of the entire show.

Anything else?: I suppose that this is the best place for me to note that I am fairly new to X-Men as a fandom. Aside from a general knowledge of the characters and plot that I picked up as a child and learned from the movies, I haven’t delved as deeply into the world of X-Men as many of the comics fans will have done. This will also be my first time playing a character with prominent powers, so I am definitely open to any pointers or suggestions if I seem to be overlooking something, not limiting Kitty's powers enough, etc.


SAMPLES

First Person:

Dear Mom and Dad,

So I guess there really isn’t any way to get this to you, but I’m writing it anyway, since I know you’ll want to know what I’ve been up to all this time once I finally get home. If I get home, I mean. I’m still kinda weirded out by this whole stuck-in-a-bubble thing, and I guess sometimes people get kidnapped like right out of their beds or something, which is seriously beyond freaky. But hey, it’s not all bad! Like we all get these nifty wings, and mine are like, totally adorable! They’re pink and white and I can move them around just like they were really a part of me! Well, okay, I guess they are really a part of me now, but that’s another thing I don’t really get yet. I mean, how the heck do you make people just suddenly grow wings, you know? Kinda creepy to think about.

But anyways, ick-factor aside, like I said, it’s not so bad here. And I’m not all alone, either! A lot of my friends here – Kurt, Rogue, Scott, Wanda (but not Lance, go figure) – even Storm and Mr. Logan are here, so you don’t have to worry. I’m not worried. We’ll get through this just like we always do: together.

Love always,

~*Kitty*~

Third Person:

Everything was different in Luceti. Okay, well maybe not everything; the world looked mostly the same, with lots of green trees and mountains in the distance, even if the village was a little smaller than she was used to and the animals had this habit of talking (totally weird, right?); she still had most of her friends around and stuff between them was just like always, with everyone goofing off and teasing each other until it was time to go and train with Mr. Logan; but still, things were different. Back at the Institute, she'd felt safe. Oh, sure, there was always enough danger to go around, and to be fair, she had essentially been kidnapped right out of her bed once, that time when Mesmero decided to hijack her mind and make her into a glorified henchman, but at least back then, they knew who they were fighting.

That was the heart of the problem, really. No matter how far away the barrier was, in Luceti, they were caged in. There were people outside the barrier who were using them for their powers, but at the end of the day, there really wasn’t any way for them to know exactly who they were fighting and why – a fact that just didn’t sit right with Kitty. At home, she always knew that she was one of the good guys. There might always be challenges and gray areas – friends under mind control or supposed allies who half the time showed up to oppose them – but she had never questioned that she was fighting the good fight. Everything she did, everything she trained for, she always knew that she was using her powers to help people. Just like Jean had said, her powers were a gift – not a curse – and she had learned to control them so that she could always know that she was using them for the right reasons.

Except, in Luceti, a lot of stuff happened to people without any real reason. At least, that’s what it seemed like so far. Kitty was still adjusting, though, and maybe this was just like when she first found out she was a mutant; maybe she just wasn’t used to Luceti yet, and that’s what made everything feel so confusing and wrong. Maybe it was only a matter of time before she would regain her confidence and just know that whenever she was kidnapped and her powers were tested without her being able to remember, whenever she was sent out on a mission to fight someone else’s battle, she was still fighting on the right side, for the right reasons.

A girl could hope, at least.