Holly Ashe
Holly.jpg
Hollywood
Real Name: Holly Lynn Ashe
Age: 15
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Date of Birth: June 16, 1995
Known Relatives: Maria Ashe (mother), Esperanza Ashe (grandmother), Edward Ashe, Jr. (grandfather, deceased)
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 105 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Grade: Sophomore
Dorm: Prentiss

Background

Holly Lynn Ashe was born on June 16, 1995, a date mostly notable as opening day for the 1995 Disney animated film 'Pocahontas'. Her mother, a high-powered Los Angeles lawyer, was back to work the next day, leaving Holly in the care of her elderly mother. Holly's father was never a factor in her life, and her mother has never told Holly who the man was. She pictures him as a prince who fell in love with her mother, or a spy who was sent away on a mission, and hopes that someday he will return for his daughter. The truth is that her mother, a defense lawyer, had an affair with a client who was subsequently imprisoned and remains behind bars. Disgusted both by the man and her own lapse of judgment, Holly's mother, Maria, pretends it never happened and spends as little time with Holly as she possibly can.

Growing up Holly craved attention. Her grandmother, a religious woman, was far too set in her ways to spend much time acknowledging her granddaughter, born out of wedlock. Holly found her friends on the television in her early years, having long conversations with people who would never respond to her — characters on soap operas and children's programming. She developed a deep love of Big Bird, and watched her Disney videos ceaselessly.

As she grew older and was enrolled in elementary school she discovered that by projecting the attitudes of the characters she so loved, not only would the other children like her more (because really, they'd all seen the same movies, loved the same characters), but she didn't find it so scary to be there. She spent more and more time in the guises of Belle and Anastasia and Buzz Lightyear, and less and less time being Holly Ashe. There was no break from reality — she knew exactly who she was. She was just a very good young actress.

Problems started arising as she entered junior high school. At twelve, Holly was described by her teachers as bright and outgoing, but lacking a grounding in reality, and expressed their dismay that she could not seem to write a sentence without mentioning some television character. By this time, in 2007, she had graduated from cartoon characters to the characters she watched on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon programs intended for girls her age — Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana, Emma Roberts in Unfabulous. Her favorite, of course, was Hayden Panettiere's portrayal of Claire Bennett in Heroes. Other children had long since decided that Holly's portrayals were not so fantastic after all — anything gets old after awhile — so she kept them to herself. She knew what identity she was hiding behind, but didn't need to let everybody else know.

On this particular afternoon she was projecting Claire to the world, knowing full well that she could take anything the world dished out as she marched home from school, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She blacked out on the way home, and awoke hours later in an alley, her arm broken and her clothes torn. Her backpack was missing. Her blonde hair was filthy.

She pieced the afternoon together over the course of the next few months. She had lost herself in the character — she had become the indestructible Claire Bennett in her own mind. She'd become lost and disoriented — in 2007 Claire wasn't familiar with Los Angeles. She'd gone down the wrong street and run afoul of somebody who Claire wasn't afraid of, and became shocked when a knife wound didn't heal. She'd run and fallen, breaking her arm, and kept running in terror until she'd awakened in the alley, hiding behind a dumpster. After that she stopped forcing herself into the mindset of the characters, assuming she'd just gone too far in her own fantasy — fortunately, her family assumed that the experience was so traumatic that Holly just couldn't remember what happened.

The problem was that the characters started to force themselves into her own head, sometimes at the worst times. Channeling Hannah Montana during music class wasn't so bad, maybe, but it was just embarassing to lose her ability to walk in gym class because, she was later told, she had insisted to the coach that she did not have legs, but a fish's tail. The events came more frequently and Holly began to worry for her own sanity. Her teachers, aware of her fascination with television and movie characters, chalked it up to a child's game going too far and she got sentenced to hours of detention. Her mother and grandmother didn't pay enough attention to notice.

As blackouts became more frequent, Holly began to withdraw into herself. She lost her appetite, but often felt very full when she awakened. She rarely remembered going to sleep, but she'd wake up in strange locations. The final straw, and the one that tipped off those around her to the problem, was when she awakened in a police station, handcuffed, with blood on her clothes. She started screaming and sobbing, and was put into a cell apart from other prisoners until a young psychologist came to see her.

Slowly they pieced together what had happened. Holly was cleared of charges, but between the psychologist and her mother it was decided that it would be best for Holly to leave Los Angeles. She was sent to the Steranko Institute in hopes that she could be taught to control her strange abilities before somebody else got hurt.

Personality

Holly is a mixed bag due to the nature of her powers. One minute she will be shy and withdrawn, the next vivacious and outgoing. She can be seductive and teasing or rage and scream at the top of her lungs, or just sit and stare and run her fingers over her cutlery. The fact is, far too much of the time Holly is not Holly at all — she has infinite personalities warring for control of her mind, and isn't always successful at shutting them out.

When Holly is herself, she tends to be quiet and scared, jumping at even moderate noises and frequently displaying tics and twitches. She is very shy around strangers and hides her abilities whenever she possibly can. If she feels an 'episode' coming on she will panic, and when she wakes up, more often than not, she'll break down sobbing. She is working hard to control her abilities and has learned to force herself to channel chosen characters, but resists doing so unless it is absolutely necessary.

Around people she knows, Holly will open up a little. She remains afraid of what she might do if she channels the wrong character, but she can smile, laugh, enjoy herself — even if she's on edge the whole time. Movie nights are choice because she can just relax and watch the movie with friends — she finds that she almost never starts channeling while watching TV.

Logs

Links to logs the character is in here.

Stats


Attr: Str 10 (+0), Dex 14 (+2), Con 12 (+1), Int 13 (+1), Wis 14 (+2), Cha 16 (+3)
(19 pp)

Saves: Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Reflex +2, Will +2

Combat: Attack +1, Defense +2, Grapple +0, Init +1
(6 pp)

Skills: Acrobatics 2 (+4), Athletics 2 (+2) Bluff 4 (+7), Computers 2 (+3), Concentration 2 (+4), Diplomacy 4 (+8), Disguise 2 (+10), Gather Information 2 (+6), Knowledge (TV/Movies) 6 (+7), Perform (Acting) 6 (+10), Stealth 4 (+6)
(10 pp)

Feats: Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Disarming x2, Distract x2, Fascinate x2, Improvised Tools, Inspire x2, Jack-of-All-Trades, Luck x2, Taunt
(15 pp)

Powers:
Variable Structure 5-10 (Movie/Television Character Skills and Mundane Training Powers; Cost: 7PP/Rank; Total: 70PP)

Complications:
Channel Flipping: Holly doesn't know who she's going to be from one moment to the next. At random intervals she will become a different movie or television character, and she can't prevent these transformations without concentrating really hard — and only if she doesn't panic at the first sign of such a change.
Don't Touch That Dial: Once Holly's mind has settled on a character for awhile, she doesn't have much opportunity to change back until that character decides it's ready to leave. This happens whether she randomly flips into a character, or she forces her mind to take one on.
Tonight on the E True Hollywood Story…: Holly grew up in Los Angeles. This means celebrity sightings. The problem is, some of the characters who hover about her brain are triggered by the presence of their 'costars'. So, for example, when she spotted a film star having a drink at a local cafe, it triggered the monster that chased said star through several movies to make an attempt on the woman's life. Holly was the one who took the blame. So there are a few celebrities in Hollywood, people Holly has admired all her life, who think the girl is dangerously insane.
Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel: Somebody who knows what Holly's abilities are can easily take advantage of the fact. By pushing her into situations she might know from movies, by quoting movies or TV shows at her, they may trigger her abilities. If they do, chances are she will be unable to resist falling into the appropriate character — if they said 'What did you do, Ray?', Holly might feel the urge to become Ray Stantz from Ghostbusters and continue the scene. If they continue this, quoting the movie at length, she will likely be stuck in that character, even if that person is in great danger (and thus, so is Holly herself).

Characters:

These are prebuilt characters that Holly can become.

Adventurer (50PP) (I.e., Indiana Jones, Lara Croft):
Dexterity +2 (2PP)
Constitution +2 (2PP)
Toughness +2 (2PP)
Fortitude +2 (2PP)
Reflex +2 (2PP)
Will +2 (2PP)
Defense +2 (4PP)
Acrobatics 4, Climb 6, Escape Artist 4, Knowledge (Archaeology) 8, Notice 6, Search 4 (9PP)
Ambidexterity, Attack Focus/Ranged +6, Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus 2, Elusive Target, Redirect (13PP)
Blast 6 (Whip, Gun) (12PP)

Totals: Dexterity 16 (+3), Constitution 14 (+2), Toughness +4, Fortitude +4, Reflexes +5, Will +4, Acrobatics 6 (+9) Attack 6 (Ranged), Defense +4 (+6/+8) Blast 6 (Damage +6)

Martial Artist (50PP) (I.e., any Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or Jean Claude Van Damme character, ever):
Defense +4 (8PP)
Fortitude +2 (2PP)
Will +4 (4PP)
Constitution +4 (4PP)
Acrobatics 8, Climb 8, Jump 8 (6 PP)
Attack Focus/Melee 8, Defensive Roll 4, Dodge Focus 4, Power Attack, Takedown Attack (18PP)
Strike 8 (8PP)

Totals: Attack +9 (Melee), Defense +6/+10, Damage +8, Fort +5, Will +8, Acrobatics 10 (+12)

Monster (50 PP) (I.e., Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Leatherface):
Strength +4 (4PP)
Constitution +4 (4PP)
Toughness +4 (4PP)
Fortitude +4 (4PP)
Will +4 (4PP)
Climb 4, Intimidate 8, Search 4, Survival 8 (6PP)
All-out Attack, Attack Focus/Melee 8, Diehard, Favored Environment (Varies) 2, Fearless, Power Attack, Startle (15PP)
Strike 9 (9PP)

Totals: Strength 14 (+2), Constitution 16 (+3), Attack +9 (Melee)/+11 (Favored Environment), Damage +9, Tough +7, Fort +7, Will +8

Soldier (50PP) (I.e., Arnold Schwarzenegger as 'Dutch' in Predator, John Cena as 'John Triton' in The Marine):
Strength +2 (2PP)
Constitution +2 (2PP)
Toughness +4 (4PP)
Fortitude +4 (4PP)
Attack +4 (8PP)
Defense +4 (8PP)
Climb 4, Drive 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (Military Tradition) 4, Medicine 2, Stealth 2, Survival 4 (6PP)
Dodge Focus 4, Improved Aim, Accurate Attack
Strike 4 (4PP)
Blast 3 (6PP)

Totals: Strength 12 (+1), Constitution 14 (+2), Toughness +6, Fortitude +6, Attack +5, Defense +6 (+10), Stealth 6 (+8), Strike 4 (Damage +4), Blast 3 (Damage +3)

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