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[OOC]
Player's Name: Erica
AIM/email: BouncyErbear/Aerocake13@yahoo.com
LJ: bouncy_erbear

[IC]
Character: Karrin Murphy
Series: The Dresden Files
Version: Book
Age: mid-thirties
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Appearance: Karrin Murphy is what some might describe an ‘All-American’ girl in appearance. She has soft features that are only marred by her typical scowl and eyes that have seen a lot more than most. She has blonde hair that is cut short and frames her face and blue eyes. Karrin is not very tall either, nor very large. In fact, if it wasn’t for her training in martial arts she’d probably be considered frail. However, her time as both a cop and a martial artist (black belt) puts her in with fairly good muscle tone. Her skin is on the light side (its not like she has time to go to a tanning booth…nor would she care to). Harry has also described her as “looking like a cheerleader” but the effect is often ruined by her tough girl attitude and no nonsense look she often has. Despite her lack of height, she has a rather commanding presence about herself. You are not going to look over her if she’s in front of you.
Personality: The first thing anyone will say about Karrin is that she is stubborn. She had to be to get to where she is (and to live as long as she has working with someone like Harry). Karrin is also very serious about most things, her job and duty for one, but also most matters concerning the magical world she has found herself coming across. This doesn’t mean she is closed minded, in fact just the opposite, she takes everything Harry tells her about what is going on in the ‘magical’ world very seriously and this serious understanding of what she is getting into has also helped her to survive. She has a good sense of humor though, often relying on sarcasm, much like Harry, and dry wit.

Karrin is a very tough female; she has been through quite a bit of stuff, even more than most of the cops in her city. She can be quick to irritate, especially if you cross her or press her buttons (like being a chauvinistic “pig”). Karrin has a difficult time trusting others because of her own inner emotional baggage: issues with her mother concerning her job, two failed marriages, and scars from being mentally messed with at one point. Her dedication to her job is also an intimate part of her own identity of herself, stemming from her admiration of her father who also worked for law enforcement. She hardly ever shows any emotional weakness because she feels that can be used against her to bring her down. She will also not back down from a fight or in helping those in need, it is part of her duty as a cop and no one is going to take that from her.
Abilities/Weaponry: Karrin is both a martial artists and a cop. She is excellent in both and has numerous trophies for martial arts tournaments and awards for her marksmanship with a gun. Judging by the fact that Karrin has a black belt in martial arts, her hand-to-hand combat is exceptional, and I imagine she has further training in weapons like staff or sword. She is very physically fit and capable at handling most situations. Her typical weapon, however, are the tools of the trade for a cop: a gun and as stated she is QUITE good at using it. Physical abilities aside, Karrin is not a stupid woman, she knows a lot and is observant of her surroundings. She has good instinct. She’ll probably have the gun on her and a pair of handcuffs when she winds up in Paixao.
Weaknesses: Karrin has a lot of emotional baggage and this makes it difficult for her to trust or even rely on others without them proving themselves to her. Harry, for example, has worked very hard to gain this trust and has lost it at one point…it took a long time for him to eventually get back to the way thing were before with her. She also has a difficult time with serious romantic relationships, preferring to get into things “just for fun” and without “the commitment” This likely stems from two failed marriages in the past, one of which tried to get her to become a ‘housewife’ and out of the police force. Her stubbornness also gets her into trouble at times and often hurt, and while Harry often blames himself for this, Karrin sees it as her own decision and one she will not back down from.
History:
Karrin Murphy is the oldest child born to Collin and Marion Murphy and she has two brothers and one sister (at least). Karrin’s interest in law enforcement stems from her respect and love for her father, Collin, who was a senior detective in the Chicago PD, covering a lot of the same stuff as the S.I. department she would eventually work in. Karrin had your typical childhood until she was about 11 when her father committed suicide (related to his work?). She got married at the young age of 17 to a man 13 years her senior and he eventually left her, making her first divorce. She later married another man but also divorced him because he wanted to start a family in an effort to keep her at home and away from her job at the police force.

Karrin, as stated, works for the Chicago Police Department and is eventually put in charge of the Special Investigations division (S.I.), this is where all supernatural cases or cases without and explanation get filtered to and most of the people in this department are officers who are “out of favor.” S.I. gets little respect by the rest of the Department but Karrin doesn’t let that stop her, and in fact, uses it to her advantage when she seeks out and hires a consultant in the form of Harry Dresden, wizard, for most of her tough cases.

In the beginnings of their relationship things were rocky. Harry kept information from Karrin leading to a lot of trust issues between the two, not to mention a lot of strife and probably problems that would have been avoidable otherwise. The more instances he doesn’t give her information the more she tends to lash out against him, both physically and with the law (going so far as to attempt to arrest him, several times). Eventually, Harry starts to learn to trust Karrin with information that is usually very secretive and she starts to become closer to him. It is because of Harry that Karrin gets involved in a lot of the cases she does, handling everything from vampires, to werewolves, fae, demons, and even a giant tree monster (with a chainsaw no less).

While it is true that Karrin is usually the one calling in Harry for help this situation is often also flipped later on when Harry turns to Karrin for support, because he knows she can handle it (and would probably kick his ass for not asking other wise). It is this help that Karrin gives her friend that eventually leads to her demotion in the S.I. She goes from Lieutenant to Sergeant, because she missed an entire day on earth to storm the Winter Court’s fort with Harry. This is a huge blow to Karrin because she worked HARD to get to that position, even in the backwater division of S.I., and she also knows that she will never be able to (or at least it is very unlikely that she will) get promoted back to the position she was once in, mostly due to police politics.

Karrin has often expressed a suppressed romantic interest in Harry as well; several characters have brought this up (especially after Harry loses Susan and starts trusting Karrin more). Karrin, however, has many problems with a relationship with Harry like that and eventually tells him flat out why it could never work. Thankfully, their relationship remains a taboo subject for both of them and something Karrin doesn’t like to bring up if she can.
Recently, Karrin has helped Harry and the Knights of the Cross take on beings known as Denarians (fallen angels, essentially). Briefly, she even comes into the possession of one of the Knights of the Cross’ swords and uses it to defend Harry and save his life. This is basically a job offer from the ‘Big G’ himself to take up the sword to defend the innocent, but Karrin declines it saying that she has already made an oath to protect Chicago.
[~*~}

PB: Tiana Pongs
Karrin Murphy is a character from Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, I have no rights, this is merely for fun.

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