dr. ASHBY
Character: Samantha Ashby Faceclaim: Blake Lively Age/Pronouns: 32, She/Her Hometown/District: Dallas -> Upper Springs
Headcanons.
Samantha’s parents were both big shot lawyers. Growing up, her mother was involved in a highly covered case. Televised, media headlines, scandals, conspiracy theories. There was a lot of coverage, and growing up her surname preceded her.
She was hellbent against following in their footsteps and ultimately chose medical school. She didn’t always intend to be a medical examiner, but autopsy reports had always piqued her interest prior. They were the very last thing spoken by the victims in her parents’ cases -- not vocalized, yet they told the grisly story of the last few gruesome moments of a life.
Samantha made the decision to trade surgical suites for autopsy suites the night a bullet lodged into her abdomen. Her life had flickered before her eyes, stained crimson as she slowly started fading to be the third body of the Ashby massacre.
She manipulated the death of her parents to appear as a murder-suicide and remove her sibling from the scenario. They were underage and Samantha refused to lose yet another member of her family.
The death of her parents enraptured with headlines and more theories, and it is a shadow Samantha has yet to entirely step out from underneath. They were prominent and things didn’t entirely add up, but Samantha Ashby refuses to let her life be deduced and picked apart in some podcast.
Connections.
** these are not gender specific, and can even be used as jumping off points. they don’t have to explicitly be this character, maybe they’re involved or tied in in other ways, etc.
ex-fiancé/e: Where she went to med school and had her residency isn’t set in stone, so this can be outside of the Texas bubble/anywhere to make it work. Samantha is locked up tighter than a mausoleum, but at one point this person held the key up until Samantha left them jilted at the altar. The timeline is also flexible! Wounds could still be fresh, things could remain unresolved, and things can fall anywhere from unexpected tenderness to something more toxic depending. She could still owe a favor or vice versa. She is guarded and truly scared of offering her heart, and offering that control over her. Samantha simply could have ran believing they’re better off without her.
If more recent, I could even see it involving someone from one side or the other, or even the cartel. It could boil down to her feeling trapped to pick a side, something she isn’t quite inclined to do, as I can definitely see her twisting things behind the scenes for both. She is impeccable and thorough and has yet to do anything to implicate her, but this person could absolutely destroy her or aim to keep her on their side.
no grave can hold my body down: Samantha had a second brush with death, this one with intention to end her. Motives and reasons can be plotted, but there was a period she spiraled and hit rock bottom. She could have witnessed something, been involved in something, but things somehow escalated to her sporting an attempt at a slit throat. It could have been to send her a message or a proper hit, but Samantha recovered and sought revenge on those involved. Samantha survived the hit and put out one of her own. She believed the problem to be handled until their sudden reappearance in her life. She’s aiming to find out why and if she should retaliate, or engage in this game of chess.
siblings: Samantha is one of three, either the oldest or middle depending on if anyone is interested in picking this up. I might pop it in as a wanted connection. The Ashby family dynamic was tumultuous at times, and three children were born into an affluent family where appearances were everything. Both parents were big-shot lawyers that loved each other hard but fought even harder. Samantha basically raised her sibling between their absences and tried to buffer them from the uglier side to the best of her ability. Sam would occasionally check out, but she wanted things to be better – and healthier – for the youngest. Everything went belly up, and they still walk a fine line of contempt and care of each other as the last remaining familial fragments.
to the grave: Samantha has the penchant for getting into situations that she would rather avoid. She usually bounces back remarkably well, though sometimes it takes a bit longer. This could be something she’s vowed to take to the grave. Be it a secret or her as a witness to something, Samantha fully intends to follow through – but not everyone might trust her loyalties.
ride or die: I would absolutely love for Samantha to have that one person. She is guarded and haughty but faces the world with jaded apathy and neutrality, but there is rage and uncertainty and awful dad jokes lurking beneath the surface. She has always gone into things with herself being the only certainty - the only one she can truly rely on. For whatever reason this person clawed their way into her heart. She’d not only take a bullet for them, but fire one as well.
Samantha lives in Upper Springs, but I’d love either a housemate or neighbors, other friends she’s debating about opening up to (someone to eventually screw her over?), friends with benefits, gym partners, someone to blow off steam with either on her bike or the shooting range, etc. She has probably crossed paths with law enforcement and maybe even lawyers.
Anything and everything tbh. She is wide open and I’d love to get something going!
