Dr. Kethra Takara
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Doctor, Professor | |
| Dr. Kethra Takara | |
| Player: | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 29 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Kethra Takara |
| Known Aliases: | Tak, Doc, That Snooty Brit |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 31 |
| Height: | 5'11" |
| Weight: | 127 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Mixed ethnicity, caucasian (mother Scottish) and asian (father Japanese). Born in Britain. |
| Occupation: | Psychiatrist, professor, public speaker. |
| Place of Birth: | London |
| Base of Operations: | London |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Father, deceased. Mother, two sisters, grandmother, and daughter. |
| Known Powers | |
| Sensitive psion. The rest remains a mystery. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Dead-calm, wry wit, self control. | |
| Equipment | |
| her dimensional pocketbook and a smile | |
| ' | |
Contents |
OOC Information
Welcome to my character's little bio. Kethra is an amalgamation of a couple a things. First, the name of a main character in a story I wrote when I was literally 12 years old. While the writing was not very exciting (nor well done), I always liked her name. I thought I made it up, then about 15 years later I read some Mercedes Lackey and discovered I wasn't the only one to have the idea.
In real life I'm 31 and yes, one of those rare gamer girls. I live in EST, love roleplay, and have an imaginary dog.
Overview
Kethra Takara was born in London, the eldest of three daughters born to Hideki Takara and Myrna MacEwan. Kethra's father had come to London from Japan as a student, and met Myrna MacEwan at university. The two had a stilted courtship, the fiery woman from Edinburgh quite a match for the reticent Asian man. Yet they married a few years after they met, and shortly thereafter, Myrna gave birth to Kethra, Moira, and Rowan.
It was apparent from a very young age that Kethra and Moira both were very gifted. The two girls went to private schools, and learned that they could feel people's emotions, and even read minds. Their father worked with them, and helped them hone their abilities.
Intellectually, the two girls were off the charts, and Kethra, the less willful of the two, left for university at the age of eleven, a light blue like her father. Cambridge was lonely for the little girl, and although her parents tried very hard to fortify the child's sense of self, she felt even more like a freak than ever before.
While at Cambridge, she continued to do things she loved, such as playing the cello and writing meticulously organized poetry. She didn't seem to make friends, which set the course for much of the rest of her young adult life.
After her undergraduate work, Kethra was at a crossroads. She flirted with the notions of many different careers, but finally settled on medicine. All through medical college, she was certain she would end up in pathology, but at the very end a critical event changed her mind, and she decided to become a psychiatrist.
Friends and Associates
Aidan Casey - Originally Kethra's personal assistant, Aidan has risen through the ranks. As Kethra has invested more time in writing and in her practice, Aidan has taken over Takara Biomedical Research as President, Kethra remaining as owner and Chairperson. There are whispers of romantic entanglement between Aidan and Kethra - many people presume them to be together since they seem joined at the hip - but so far there haven't been convincing confirmations or denials either way.
Nikolai Duro - A former dyne addict who found a bit of redemption for himself before it was too late, Nik is a fast friend and close confidant. Kethra has used his skills to help her procure... difficult to find pharmaceuticals.
David Smith - Once lovers, now fast friends, Kethra depends on David's wise counsel. Few people command more respect from her than David, and she would do just about anything to help him.
Laurel Smith - Kethra and David's adoptive child, this little girl is Kethra's world. In her mind, Kethra sort of marks time in her life as "Before Laurel" and "After Laurel", every moment since Laurel's arrival so much the better than before.
Alfred Polaris - Having taken a shine to Alfred and his fellows with the Zenvious Foundation, Kethra deeply enjoys his company. Some note that she's become quite fond of him, and there are even a few whispers of romance, but she doesn't confirm or deny this rumor, either.
Miscellaneous Quirks and Facts
Kethra is very slender and fine-boned, but has wide hips.
She would rather tear off her own ears than listen to AC/DC or Wagner.
She is a closet gamer, playing a shadowknight in Everquest II on the roleplay server.
Taps her chin when in thought, taking her time to compose her thoughts rather than speak hastily.
Is a very difficult psychic read when she is in control of herself. Her shielding is incredibly strong.
Loves to eat naughty food, but doesn't do it often. She's particularly partial to cheesecake made from goat cheese.
Plays both the cello and the piano.
Is an avid gardener, she has bred her own variety of roses. They are vibrant purple, much like pansies.
Has a deep and ugly scar on her left ribs. She doesn't explain it, generally.
Kethra Fiction
Return to the States
Kethra looked around the place, as if she'd never been there before. It was her home in Paragon City, but she hadn't really been there in quite some time. Everything was just as she'd left it, even though there had been someone who'd rented the house for a long while, keeping the place up in Kethra's absence. But now, her personal things had been returned to the house, and her tour was over.
It had been hard being on the road. She hadn't anticipated all the work that had kept her from her practice. What had turned into a few weeks abroad turned into a sabbatical, her patients farmed out to other psychiatrists, though she often had to teleconference to consult on the more difficult and unique cases.
Then again, that's why she had been away so long.
While Paragon City was where one of the largest concentration of metahumans lived, there were "supers" all over the world, living in societies far less understanding and accepting than the one in Paragon. Because of many of the prejudices the metahumans outside the city experienced, many of them suffered from more acute mental illness than the ones in the city. So, she stayed abroad, consulting with psychiatrists all over the world, from her hometown of London, to small villages in Asia Minor, to seedy sections of Tokyo, to the Australian outback. She felt like she'd been everywhere.
Some days, she rose before dawn, and got to bed only hours before the sun would come up again, traveling to some far-distant hospital to see a patient who had been suffering for a long time. Other days, she would sit in a bookstore for a book signing, and people would break into tears when they got to the head of the queue. The stories were so often the same; what a relief it was that someone was writing a book about what the person had been living all their lives, how moving it was to be understood, how much they identified with the stories in the book.
Yet Dr. Takara had found that not only were healthcare workers reading the book and putting her experiences and advice to use, the people about whom the book was written were also reading it. The Metahuman Mind had been meant to be a primer for mental healthcare professionals to help them care for patients with atypical biologies and experiences. While the metahuman community wasn't enormous, its needs were acute. The more patients Kethra treated and the more she traveled, the more she felt like metahumans were getting substandard care, not for lack of effort, but for lack of understanding.
After over a year on the road, she realized that she was only one person, and she could not help everyone who might need her. It took quite a lot of soul-searching for Kethra to figure out her next course of action. She knew she had to go home. And so, she did.
With the bump of a hip, she closed the door behind her, then looked around. Someone, presumably her housekeeper, had left a bouquet of roses on the table. The place was quiet, almost too quiet after all her time in hotels, many of which were crowded and noisy. She was almost reluctant to go any further into the house, as if she'd made the wrong choice.
Shaking off the sensation, Kethra strode to the back of the house and began putting her things away in her room. Once she'd finished, she went out to the terrace and called her secretary.
"Hello, Renee," she said, her tone very businesslike. "Dr. Takara. Sounds like you got in safely," said the friendly voice on the other end. "Yes yes, I wanted to talk over scheduling with you" "All right, sure. You know that Aidan has blocked your schedule for the next week though, right?" Renee asked. "... No. I didn't know that. Any idea why?" "923b5 is cleared for clinical trials," the American woman murmured. "I'm not sure how Aidan got FDA approval for it, but he did. So it seems he wants to have you meet with all kinds of people. Tim. The board of directors. Lana. Patients." "I can't believe it," Kethra breathed. It was as if her greatest dream had come true. "I will call you back, Renee."
