Ashleigh Yorkward

Ashleigh Yorkward - "Karma"
Portrayed By	Christian Coulson
Gender	Male
Race	Mutant
Date of Birth	June 3, 2248
Age	25
Zodiac Sign	Gemini, Year of the Rat
Alignment	Chaotic Neutral
Aliases	Ash, Karma
Place of Birth	Bleaker
Current Location	Bleaker
Occupation	"Freelance"; Layabout
Known Relatives	Madison Yorkward, father; Artemisia Felan, mother; Tracy Yorkward, grandfather (paternal); Evalisse Quintanilla, grandmother (paternal)
Significant Persons	Lucien Tessier; Samuel Krause
Known Abilities	Fortuity Manipulation
Appearances	Bleaker MUCK
Creation Date	March 15th, 2007

PROFILE BLURB HERE

History

You call this a background?

The Yorkward family owns a small restaurant, the Charisma, on the Upper Level. Tracy Yorkward's father, Vivien Yorkward, was the founder of the establishment, and its ownership has passed down among the men of his family since, with Madison Yorkward being the current owner. Though small, it is a profitable establishment, allowing the family to indulge a fairly comfortable lifestyle.

Ashleigh is the only son of Madison Yorkward and Artemisia Felan; by blood he is three-quarters Hispanic, though his appearance belies it. He is the latest generation in a long family tradition of bestowing (nearly) sexually ambiguous names, which is not, in his views, much of a blessing.

Though he grew up in a comfortable household, Ashleigh is not the sort of person who is amused or satisfied with a dull and pampered life. He is, in fact, a considerable troublemaker. He does not so much enjoy getting into trouble as he does creating it for others, however. Ashleigh is an instigator. It is a great amusement of his to create mischief, trouble, ruckus, panic, anything he can get away with, and then sit back and watch the show, often ending up completely unassociated with whatever he began. There are those who can see through his 'innocent act,' though his mutant abilities and inherent charisma seem more than adequate in getting him out of any trouble that does manage to associate itself with him.

His parents offer no complaint to his mischief, so long as he does nothing rash enough to bring trouble back on them. Their business has seen considerable boom since his birth; they see him as a blessing, a living 'good-luck charm,' and generally repay him by allowing him to get away with whatever he possibly can. His living grandmother, Evalisse, is forever incensed over how 'incessantly spoiled' he is, often ending up in a heated argument with Artemisia. Ashleigh's grandfather Tracy does make attempts to placate her, often drawing the woman's wrath himself, as he too admittedly dotes upon his grandson. If the previous two generations are any indication, Ashleigh seems to be the first male in his family line who is not overall terrified of the family's women, which makes for an additional dynamic of indignation on Evalisse's part and secret admiration on the parts of Tracy and Madison. As far as Ashleigh is concerned, however, his father and grandfather are pushovers, his grandmother is a demon, and his mother is suffocating—which encourages him to be away from his home as often as physically possible.

As such, Ashleigh has made many acquaintances and connections on both levels of Bleaker and in all walks of life the city has to offer. He is not known to be the most reliable person; he makes limited allies and few friends, half because he does not care enough to bother upholding ties and half because most know better than to think him dependable. Ashleigh derives so much pleasure from his own independence and lack of chains that he has been known to break ties for no other reason than that they are ties.

Ashleigh currently has no vocation, occupation, or other such form of categorization. He is purely freelance, and works when and how he feels like at any given time. His services, such as they are, are often purchasable by anyone for any purpose, so long as the price is right.

Personality

Ashleigh is, in short, a punk. He has no real driving force behind his motives other than an interest in his own independence and individuality. He does things for one of only a few reasons: to further his own interests; to preserve his own individuality; to stir things up; or simply to see what will happen.

Ashleigh finds amusement in most things, as he is able to see all sides of a particular issue and choose the one with the least moral baggage and the greatest offer of entertainment.

The strongest part of Ashleigh's notable personality is his charisma. Though he is inherently unreliable and generally untrustworthy, he is incredibly personable and easy to get along with. His natural charm puts him in immediate favor with new acquaintances, which is a helpful counterbalance to his reputation.

Powers

[Fortuity Manipulation] Ashleigh has a useful mutation, which he has dubbed "Fortuity Manipulation." In addition to his own natural charisma, he has the ability to alter the fortunes of others. This is actually as broad an ability as the term implies. He can alter, among other things, another's charisma (for example, rendering the usual ladies' man virtually incapable of wooing even the most desperate woman), material-based fortune (to the woe of gamblers, traders, and merchants alike), or just plain luck (with potentially catastrophic results). This manipulative capability can direct another's fortune in either direction, such that Ashleigh's enemies meet with often twisted and ironic turns of fate while those in his favor reap all the benefits of pure good luck. This adaptation has earned him the nickname "Karma" among his few friends.

Ashleigh's control of this power is one part passive and two parts active: it is a mostly controlled power, though even those in his favor can find themselves meeting head-on with a cruel irony should they accidentally rub him the wrong way.

This ability is most influential upon Truebloods, followed then by vampires and most mutants. Shifters, while still susceptible to his power, have a greater natural resistance due to their greatly nonhuman qualities.

Luck is, of course, only a small part of the factors that combine to play out people's fates, so Ashleigh's gift can only do so much. It is markedly influential, however, and one would find it well worth it to be in his favor.

Strengths/Skills

Ashleigh's greatest skill, oddly enough, is his affluence at cooking. He picked up quickly on this family gift, his unusual charisma ensuring that the majority of his culinary whims turn out greatly for the better.

He is not much of a fighter, though he has marginal self-defense training and often carries a small pistol on his person. If necessary to make use of, he is trained in both fencing and archery according to his father's family's customs—though the odds of simply finding a blade or bow and arrow lying about to make use of are slim, even with Ashleigh's superior luck.

Ashleigh knows a few phrases in French and Latin, though they barely extend beyond the ability to ask for the bathroom or profess his inadequacies in the language. He is fluent in mainland Spanish.

Considering his family background, it's likely no surprise that Ashleigh knows how to act in a "proper" situation, such as among higher castes or classes—despite the fact that he often chooses not to do so.

Weaknesses/Shortcomings

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Equipment and Resources

As previously stated, Ashleigh carries a small, six-shot pistol on his person the majority of the time, and in such cases that he wears a belt or an outfit with proper pockets, may also carry spare ammunition.

Due to his own natural positive fortuity, Ashleigh enjoys a good gamble, and as such carries a slightly-worn but still playable deck of cards at all times.

Physical Appearance

Ashleigh is a tall, thin teen with short, dark, scruffy hair, eyes that range from an olive-hazel to an emerald tone depending on the light, and skin that is neither tan nor fair. His style of dress ranges from tattered t-shirt and pants, sometimes apparently from the nearest dumpster, through a broad spectrum ending at buttoned shirts and ties, depending on the occasion, his destination, his business, and of course whatever mood happened to strike him upon his rolling out of bed.

Trivia

• Speaks perfect "mainland" (as opposed to Latino) Spanish with as much fluency as English.
• Ravenous lover of books. Often found to be reading a battered, well-loved copy of Don Quixote, in the original Spanish.
• Was unknowingly addicted to the mind-altering powers of Lucien Tessier. Underwent an incredibly uncomfortable withdrawal after said character's disappearance from the city, characterized by extreme depression, moodiness, headaches, jitters, phantom itches, tenseness and muscular discomfort.
• Absolute fucking coward. Known to flee at the first sign of danger and beg shamelessly for mercy in life-threatening situations.
• Was slated for an incredibly lulzy relationship with Samuel Krause before the Bleaker reset interrupted said plans.

• Theme Song: [APPLICABLE??]

Gallery

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