Lyndsay Martin
Lyndsay Christina Martin
Lyndsay.jpg
Portrayed By Kat Dennings
Gender Female
Date of Birth August 6, 1985
Age 21
Zodiac Sign Leo
Aliases Lyn, Lynds
Place of Birth Detroit, MI
Current Location New York City, NY
Occupation Criminal/Golddigger
Known Relatives Darryl (father), Donna (mother)
Significant Other None, currently
Known Abilities Persuasion
First Appearance DNA X 2

One part goth, one part emo, one part druggie, and several parts irresponsibility and attitude. Blend well and serve and you'll get something that pretty closely approaches Lyndsay Martin. Born and raised in lower-class Detroit, her future prospects were bleak till it turned out Mother Nature'd given her the best gift a girl could ask for…the ability to make people do what she tells them to!

Needless to say, she's not the type to sit around and use her powers for the greater good, unless you define "greater good" to equal "personal gain". She's come to New York as the best place in the world to do what she does and not get caught. Of course, she doesn't know that New York is Evolved Central, either…

History

Lyndsay was actually born in Detroit. Her father Darryl was a factory worker; the Big Three automakers were the backbone of Michigan's economy back then, and there were an awful lot of blue-collar workers in the state. He worked long hours, and generally only saw Lyndsay for an hour or two a day. It was just as well; he was an abusive parent…not physically, but emotionally, frequently screaming and letting loose vicious emotional tirades on both Lyndsay and her mother. Donna was a Southern girl who'd moved north when her family came to work in the auto industry. Poorly educated and full of low self-esteem, she was a passive woman who worked as a waitress.

Most of the actual work of raising Lyndsay fell to her paternal grandparents. Both were retired; her grandmother had been a homemaker, and her grandfather a retired engineer for Ford Motor Company. Maybe he saw something in the girl; a potential that his own children hadn't lived up to. She had a strong natural intellligence, and her grandfather cultured that, with education disguised as childhood games. Her father, more than a little bit racist, decided that Lyndsay had to go to Catholic school, since the public schools were "too full of blacks". For her part, Lyndsay managed to avoid the racism, and actually grew up an open-minded…if rather cynical…young woman.

Her early high school days were marked mostly by a strong rebellious streak. It was really nothing to be surprised about; it started as a natural reaction to her parents' closemindedness and archaic attitude. It didn't help that she was smarter than most of the other kids in her cass, and school was BORING. She took up with the whole Goth scene…the clothing, the makeup, the music, the works. It certainly managed to confuse and annoy her parents, and honestly, that alone would have been enough to do it.

Of course, THAT was before getting into the drug scene. It was sort of expected, given some of the people the Goth crowd at her school hung out with. Eventually she got caught, and she got herself a three month suspension from school for it. Her parents were, needless to say, not thrilled.

The situation resulted in her father insisting she get a part-time job for the duration, to "earn her keep". She got it. And promptly got herself fired soon after. It was her way of rebelling. Her father, of course, saw it as a direct challenge to authority, and decided to resort to something he hadn't since she was much younger: physical punishment (aka beatings).

Normally it would have worked pretty well. He was a big, strong construction worker, and for all her Gothiness, Lyndsay was still just a teenage girl. But, when he was coming at her, her natural reaction was to scream "STOP IT!" at him. And he did.

It was like something had popped in her mind. A little like that moment when you -first- realize how to ride a bike. An epiphany. She looked back at him and shouted "Piss off and leave me alone!" And she pushed at that same spot in her mind. And sure enough, off he went to the bathroom, to take a major leak.

Lyndsay spent less than a minute deciding this was the COOLEST THING EVER. She got her things together, and left home that very night (after first telling her parents "Don't try to stop me, and don't tell anyone I'm gone"), heading out to try and start making the life she wanted to lead. Step one? Head west, young woman.

The next few years were spent entirely kicking around from town to town, city to city, living pretty much solely on her power. Life was a snap when you could get a new car as easy as walking up to someone and saying "Give me your car." Other physical possessions were just as easy. Oh, sure, eventually the cops would start to get a little too close on her heels, and then she'd just hop to a new city.

It's been several years now, and the heat got too hot out west. It was time to relocate…go move to a different part of the country where her tricks are new. And what better place to stay hidden for a while than the busiest city in the country. New York, New York…


Personality

Lyndsay is…well, not quite what one would call sociopathic, but she's definitely a damaged personality. She grew up feeling unwanted, unloved, abused, and generally having her self-worth just -shredded- by her father. Moreover, she grew up in a racist, hate-soaked environment and kept under virtually insane levels of social restriction (not allowed to go outside and play as a child, etc.). Given the situation, there's really only two ways for the mind to react, either you collapse or you find a way to cope.

Lyndsay's method of coping is a general rejecting of everything she was brought up with. She is intellectual where her parents were not, outgoing where she was forced to be isolated, open-minded where her parents were racist. And yet it all covers a very, very damaged sense of self-worth. She views her self-worth as she sees it in the reflection of others…if she's not worthy of their attention, be it good or bad, then she's not worth anything.

Unfortunately, it's much easier to get attention for being bad than good. That's where the goth thing came from, and that's where the drug thing came from. She tends to rebel against authority and be a bad girl to get attention. She's not quite a bully but she is perfectly willing to abuse her power to get what she wants, and her sense of morality is certainly warped…she has a very "me-centric" view of the universe…everything is viewed in terms of how it will affect her, and honest emotion from her is a very rare thing; she keeps her inner self very closely guarded. She's one to let her fists do the talking when she gets angry, and unlike most, she doesn't do much in the way of "light" fighting…no hair pulling, no name calling…if she's fighting you, she's out to HURT you.

Getting a power has given her something to focus on and a goal to aspire to. Let's face it, physical goods/wealth/what you own is one of the biggest means of getting validation out there. She feels that if she can get all the toys, have the nice clothes, the nice cars, the tons of money, that will prove her worth once and for all. Of course, inwardly it's something that she has to resolve herself…but she hasn't come to the emotional development to get to that level. Not yet, anyway.


Timeline

  • June 4 (DNA X 2): Lyndsay is hanging out in a club when Felicity comes by. Drunken conversation leads to revealing conversation and attempts to extort.

Power: Persuasion

Lyndsay's ability is the same as that of Eden McCain; she can compel others to take actions as she directs based on vocal statements she makes. This is essentially a form of mind control, and has even proven effective against telepaths (Eden was able to Persuade Matt Parkman).

The statement requires the ability to hear Lyndsay's voice directly; it will not work if she's prevented from speaking, if the "listener" is deaf, or if her voice is reproduced electronically (so it does not work over telephones or if recorded). The power does require Lyndsay to be willing it to work; casual statement will not trigger it. However, it does not require strong concentration.

Do As I Say: Lyndsay's most basic and core ability. She can force people to do things they wouldn't normally do just by stating it. Lyndsay must clearly state the command, though she can hide it by couching it inside a more innocuous statement. This Stunt is resisted a Willpower roll.

If Lyndsay wins the roll by 1 level, the person is forced to do as she commands, but can hesitate somewhat and will be fully aware of what's happening. They thus might scream for help and will certainly remember afterwards. If Lyndsay scores 2 levels better, the target is likely to not remember her giving the command. However, they won't really have an explanation for why they acted as they did. At 3 levels or more better, the target will not remember Lyndsay giving the command. Further, they will rationalize any taken actions as their own ideas even if the actions were something they wouldn't normally do. Ordering a person to physically harm themselves requires a 1 level better roll, while ordering a person to kill themselves requires a 2 level better roll. All these are cumulative so ordering a person to hurt themselves and then rationalize it as their own action means Lyndsay needs to beat their Willpower roll by 4 levels.

It should also be noted that this only applies if the person is trying to resist, which a person who is unaware of Lyndsay's abilities might not be.

The Body Obeys: It's possible (though more difficult) that Lyndsay's persuasion power can actually cause changes to the target's physiology. A command to "Shut up" might render someone psychologically mute; a command to "drop dead"…well, yeah. Any attempt to cause such an effect in someone works off an opposed power vs. Willpower roll and Lyndsay must beat their Willpower by 3 levels.


Relationships


Quotes

  • "I use my powers on people every day, doc. Sometimes to get things and sometimes just for laughs."

Videos

Lyndsay keeps a video blog where she occasionally puts things up, be they just because it's weird, funny, she's bored, or she wants attention.

Blog Entry 1: Out at the Club

Blog Entry 2: Gold Phone

Blog Entry 3: Ubergoth + Shoutouts (with puppets!)

Blog Entry 4: Love Movie w/Gumby

Blog Entry 5: Psychotic Break

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