McAlister

Alyssa Elizabeth McAlister
Portrayed By	Drew Barrymore
Gender	Female
Date of Birth	June 6, 1983
Age	23
Zodiac Sign	Gemini
Aliases	Ali, "Midnight McAlister"
Place of Birth	Newark, NJ, USA
Current Location	New York City, NY, USA
Occupation	Evening DJ, WYRK
Known Relatives	Alex and Janet McAlister, Parents. Two brothers (one older, one younger)
Significant Other	None, Currently.
Known Abilities	Persuasion
First Appearance

History

A working-class, lapsed-Catholic, Jersey girl from Newark, Ali is the first person in her family to have gone to college, and just graduated this May (2007). A broadcasting major, she worked her way through school as a DJ for WNYU, "Midnight McAlister, queen of Third Shift", playing an eclectic mix of comedy, rock, punk, and commenting on whatever caught her fancy.

Recently, her contract's been picked up by WYRK, a mainstream station on the low end of the FM dial that broadcasts from Brooklyn. Being a late-nite radio jock still doesn't pay the bills (especially when you can't use student loans to help pay the rent) - so she's picked up a job hanging in Jack's bar, which is just up the street from where she works. Opening beers and being sarcastic are right up her alley, and now she's getting paid for it. Rawk.

She's in trouble, financially. Fairly crushing student loans are coming due, and she doesn't make much money. Rent in the Apple is bad enough, but pile on Con-Ed, water, food… she barely makes ends meet. Right now, though? She's doing what she loves, and meeting neat people doing it. That's enough to keep her grinning. Thankfully, with the mess over with - the bit about breaking that kid's arm and the DA's nonsense? WYRK's taken her back in and Ali's found herself back on the air.

The Radio Show: "Midnight McAlister"

The radio show airs five days a week on WYRK, 11PM to 6AM. It's eclectic and quirky, to say the least - cross Ali's love of all things music and her contractual ability to choose her own playlists (as long as she hits a few promos) with a serious command of the mic and her distinctive (and exceedingly quirky) sense of humor?

You've got a show. Sometimes it takes callers. It always takes requests. Songs range from the classic to the modern, from serious power ballads to random local comedy acts. Occasional guests are musicians, politicians, and local notables - she never dips to Stern's level of inanity, but she did land Miss New York from the Drag Queen circuit.

Combining all those elements probably wouldn't work for most people, but tied together with Ali's acid commentary and rock-and-roll attitude? It just falls together.

(The show is largely off-camera. HOWEVER: if you want to be a fan, an interviewee, or even a call-in! Poke me. We'll sort it!)

Highlights:

Current Events

Well, word came down from the DA, and Ali's in it for basically community service and probation. Hallelujah for some small favors - and it does mean a few small favors are owned in return. Rianna and Heidi, in fact, along with Jane and a few others who helped out.

Oddly enough, in the end? Everything worked out - she ran into Erin and ended up discovering a roomate that likely won't kill her and she can be reasonably sure let her stay because she wanted to instead of some misplaced word. Carmine has a kitten that may well soon be hers. The job situation seems to be sorting itself out. All in all? Yeah. Definitely coming together.

But - now it's time to come to terms with what she learned about herself, and has begun to learn about others. Time to chase a few names, and find out about Elle's mysterious employer and the guy that wrote that book. If she's stuck with this thing, she's got to learn how to control it. The question 'why', though, keeps hammering.

Why? Where did they all come from? What's going on? Right now, there's just ideas, not answers.

Powers

PERSUASION

See.. for Ali, the world's a happy place. People are friendly, they tend to listen to her - she couldn't tell you the last time somebody was even rude to her. Even New York is just a flat out good place with only a few bad apples in it, and she scoffs at the cynics that say otherwise. Of course, given that she just found out things aren't quite what they seem? We'll see how long that holds…

Ali, you see, is a Siren. Her voice does something to other people - the longer she chatters on (and she does. At length..) the more inclined people become to listen to her, and the more interested she is in a subject, the more people are disposed to believe what she's saying or do what she asks. All she knows is that when she's excited about something, it's infectuous. If she's pissed about something, other people tend to be. And the madder she is? The more people are inclined to look at her and ask what to do about it.

Spend too much time chattering on with her… and if she's focused enough, she can convince someone to do just about anything. Anything at all.

Luckily for those that worry, her abilities are undeveloped, and without any real control over them, her stunts are more subtle than overtly dangerous. She's used them unconsciously over most of her life, and in the end her ability can be quite formidible… but its real depth has yet to be plumbed.

STUNTS

I /Know/ what I'm Talking About & You /Know/ you Wanna...

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Once Ali's talked to you a while? Well - it gets positively insidious. See - once you start listening to what she's got to say? You've got a tendency to want to agree with her, and help her out with those oh so very reasonable requests. These two stunts really exemplify the raw, dangerous power in her abilities.

If you know you wanna - well, you'll set about doing what she's asked of you, happily, even assuming it's really just being nice to a friend. It lasts for the duration of the task… which is, in itself, an interesting proposition. If she asks you to get a beer.. that's one thing. But what about robbing a bank? Might take a bit longer, really.

The longer the suggestion takes, the more likely it is that the person will come to their senses before it runs its course. Of course, if the suggestion was in line with what you'd have done anyway? That's a different matter. It's harder to ask a nun to become a serial killer than it is to ask a serial killer to kill somebody.

Regardless, the person's mind - even subconsciously - will rebel. The power is Ali's ability vs. the willpower of the target, high roll wins.

More insidious still is the ability to alter a person's core beliefs, their fundamental perceptions of the world. In Ali's case - when she builds a case for her version of reality, she can compel another one to believe it absolutely. Is the sky green? Yup, if she spends enough time explaining it.

This sort of manipulation is inherently fragile - it's enduring, but as soon as the manipulation is proved false? It snaps, leaving no remnant. In other words, if she convinces you the sky's green, you'll firmly believe that until you see a blue one… and then you'll wonder why you ever believed it in the first place. Oddly, this means that beliefs that are actually /true/ (Nathan Petrelli did sleep around on his wife, honest!) or beliefs that are nearly impossible to prove (Aliens have control of the president! It's true!) often are the most lasting.

Again, the target is faced with her abilities versus their willpower - the more 'provable' the falsity of the notion? The easier it is to resist in time.

Into The Breech Dear Friends!

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When people congregate in a group, they tend to act with a sort of group-consciousness, an impetuous to act in a way the group's purpose dictates. The bigger the group, the more that purpose shows itself in its members.

If Ali can address a group of people, she can often change the direction of the group or cause them to act in her own interests. Of course, it does mean people have to be willing to listen to her… and worse? Once something's set in motion, it can be nearly impossible to stop.

I'm Nice, Honest!

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As a side effect of the sonic nature of Ali's powers, her voice tends to attract the attention of others, and, further, predispose them to listen to what she has to say. The practical effect of that is that Ali generally seems harmless, trustworthy, and interesting if one spends any time chattering on with her.

It doesn't preclude someone acting on their natural disposition - hey, if she deserves to get beat, she deserves to get beat. But it /does/ mean that after she's chatted with someone for a while, they tend to lack any reason /not/ to listen to her when she gets around to applying the full measure of her capabilities. That, and.. she tends not to get punched very often. After all, she's just /nice/. Who'd want to? Right? Right?

Relationships

Friends:
*Jane Forrest: For some reason (it wouldn't have /anything/ to do with her Ability, honest!), Jane and Ali hit it off early and have managed to stay friends despite the lawyer's knowledge of her own manipulation.
*Elle Biship: An odd choice in a friend, perhaps, but the Electroblonde was no less a victim of a Persuasive tongue and Ali's own disarming nature. At this point, it's safe to say the two really are friends, though how certain that friendship is in the face of potential Company influence, manipulations by the Foundation, and the sheer utility of Ali's potential, well… who can say. For now, the two appreciate each other, and can share a hot dog and a laugh or two, even /after/ kissing. Oi.
*Jack: Jack paid for her bail, covered her ass with a job, gave her a bit of a center and generally has been a true Knight in Shining Drag to Ali from the beginning. While Ali herself is wondering how much of that is real? It's quite likely that she'd defend the Irishman to the death if it came down to it, and she's in the middle of hoping he'll /stay/ a friend despite her own (unintentional) manipulations. Regardless, she owes him more than she admits.
*Heidi: Ali broke the woman's kid's arm (so she thinks.. thought. Still thinks a little.), got her in trouble, Manipulated her against her will, and generally feels as though she's abused this poor woman three ways from Sunday. Doesn't matter - maybe she owes, maybe she doesn't, but Ali has a soft spot here.
*Tamara: Ten minutes into meeting this girl and Ali found a friend… whether Tamara knows it or not. Something about her is compelling, interesting - and they're both odd enough to at least understand each other. No, Ali has no clue what to make of her - but does that really matter?
*Erin: TV star meets Radio personality. Roomates, yes - and.. one of the very few people Ali can be reasonably sure puts up with her because of a basic liking rather than simply 'cause it was mentioned in conversation. More than that, though, the two get along - and share certain opinions. That Erin can theoretically land roomate-pity-dates with hawt soap-opera stars? Definite bonus.
*Trina: Jack's Girl. Like. Nice. Friend! Drinking buddy (probably). Ali was keeping her at arm's length until it turn out Trina got in some sort of wreck and ended up in the hospital. Screw arm's length - whether she knows it or not, Trina moved firmly into the 'damnit, you're family' category.
*Ramon: She's met him once. And in that one meeting, was intimidated, worried, terrified, concerned, caring, and … ultimately - a friend. Whether he knows it or not, she likes him. She doesn't know him - but there's something about the elder Gomez that set her at ease, and that made her wonder. And you know? Whether he knows it or not, he hit the friends list in mere seconds.
*George: Sweet guy. She can't justify liking him, but does anyway - largely despite herself. He's sweet, he's friendly, he's been there whenever she's needed a little help or just a friend… and he knows about her and hasn't run screaming. Maybe it's not ideal, but for now? She enjoys his company - and is careful to keep it only company. At least until she gets a handle on things.

Just Folk:
*Rianna: Frankly? The DJ has no idea what to make of this woman. That she's dangerous, Ali has no doubt - influential? Certainly. And while there's an ulterior motive in helping, she's sure, this woman's warned her against the Company and been nothing but help. Right now, Ali'd reciprocate in kind, but where this ends up is anyone's guess.
*Cass: Owner of that bookstore. The one with the book. Nice enough, but that doesn't matter - the question is: why do the two non-Elle-powerful people Ali's met and talked to friendly-like know this woman, and what does she know about the book and where it came from? It's a place to start, anyway.

Enemies:
Ali has enemies? Honestly - at this point she hasn't got anybody actively looking to rip her face off. Yet. However:

- If there's anything that Ali's wary of, and eyeballing with the Hairy Eye right now? It's this organization that she's never even /started/ running into officially, yet. So far as she knows, there's /something/ out there that exists, that Elle works for, that Jane's terrified of, that Rianna's warned her about… and it's something that shoves people into boxes, uses strongarm tactics, manipulates, decieves, and lacks a conscience. It was the mention of the Company that had her resolve to learn to control her ability… not only because of her own conscience, but in a recognition that it presented a clear and real danger to those she cared about.

And, after all, what's more dangerous than someone Whose Will Will Be Done?

Whether or not those views will change is debatable, but her own conscience, liberal mentality, and distrust may make that difficult.

Trivia

• Ali is practically fearless. No, no, not in that I-can-kick-everybody's-butt way, but more in the 'I'll do anything once' almost to the point of stupid. In fact, her co-workers often catch her out on incredibly silly dares and take horrible advantage of the situation.
• She has a tattoo. Not that she shows it often. It's a dolphin. She's not proud of it. REALLY not proud of it. It was gotten in a fit of drunk in her freshman year and has haunted her ever since.
• Ali is a bookworm. She doesn't look like it, being the terminally hipster bohemian sort, but chances are if it's got a spine, two covers, and pages in between? She'll pull it down, digest it, and even /remember/ most of it later. Her interests are wide ranging - if it's print, it's of interest - and she's a veritable fount of useless trivia and quotes because of it.
• She's smart. Not supergenius smart, but it often comes as a shock to those who talk to her for any length of time. Perceptive and shrewd, she's adaptable where she doesn't have the background to cover it. Underestimate at Own Risk.
• Not common knowledge at all - she wears contacts for very, very nasty nearsightedness. She's not legally blind without correction, but darned if it's not close. Without glasses, she has trouble reading or even discerning people outside of touching distance - she's, practically, never without some form of vision correction. But … she HATES her glasses. Go figure.