Ashley Phillips (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

Ashley Sheila Fobel (neé Phillips) is a supporting character in the Sims 4 comic adaptation Blood Over Water. She is based on the similarly-named henchwoman of Clyde's from the original 2009 miniseries, as portrayed by actress Angelica McClary, only having been retconned into a more sympathetic character.

Early life
Ashley was born to Eric and Trista Phillips, two well-respected individuals within their church who were two very-loving parents. Ashley got in with a wrong crowd in high school, and a boy her age convinced her to give her virginity to him. She was ashamed of herself, thankful that the boy didn't broadcast it any place she'd get in trouble. However, she felt dirty anyway. This led to a self-image problem that haunted her later in life.

Life after high school
Ashley attended a community college not far from home, where she was in and out of several rocky relationships. At the age of 19, her sixth was with a man named Harry Campelli. What she didn't know at first was that Harry was married - and was about to launch a megachurch. Ashley's discovery of Harry's true nature led to her preserving evidence of their affair in a folder, should there be a need for anything to go to court later. Ashley then took a job at Sleet Mountain.

As some time went by, Ashley got a promotion at Sleet Mountain's northern Michigan bottling plant as a secondary marketing assistant. She thought she'd moved on in life, but times were tough. The company was losing money. New EPA regulations regarding how the plant was to dispose of its waste caused the plant to be operating in the red. Along came a man at the company that quickly worked his way up the ladder: Clyde Spendelworth. Clyde quickly got in good with plant manager Bob Lusital, and seemed to have a lot of ideas for turning things around. Ashley was unsure what to think of Clyde. Something about him rubbed her the wrong way. However, she chose to ignore it.

Ashley, still a romantic at heart, hoped one of her coworkers would take notice of her. Two of them did: Chris Kennal and Mark Stefflin.

Dating Chris and Mark
Ashley continued to work at Sleet Mountain, where she was interested in Chris and Mark - in spite them being best friends. However, time spent visiting with Chris convinced her that Chris was battling several inner demons. Ashley notices Mark's kind demeanor, and decides she can trust him. She warns him that Chris is hardly the first time she's made a bad choice with men, to which Mark admits that he and Chris have both been pretty reckless with women in the past - and that it's a learning experience for all of them. Chris arrives, and the two change the conversation.

Vance goes rogue
A few days later, however, Clyde proposes a big plan to Chris, Mark, Kyle, and Vance: cleanup fraud! They would direct other plant workers to assist with hiding evidence of where the plant would dump its pollution: in a nearby pond. They would forge paperwork for the EPA about pollution cleanup protocols that weren't being utilized. They'd keep the EPA inspectors away from the pond. They'd launder saved funds. Those at the top, would each get rich.

Unbeknownst to Mark, Kyle had already been filled in on this plan early. Yet, Vance was already suspicious something sketchy was afoot. First, there were the rumors about the Hebbleskins. Then, Vance saw a flyer for Gleeful-N'-Young in one of the bathroom stalls. He was skeptical of the outsiders that were allowed into one room on the second floor - that ordinary Sleet Mountain staff weren't allowed inside of.

Vance quickly grows belligerent, leading to Kyle threatening him. Clyde attempts to convince Vance to reconsider his position, and Vance instead quits on the spot. Clyde adjourns the meeting even as Vance is leaving, saying he needs to "take care of" something. Only Kyle is allowed to stay in the room. Chris and Mark head to their own offices, with Ashley inquiring of both what the commotion was. However, Chris decides not to tell her anything. Mark states that Clyde is proposing methods to save the plant money, but that Vance caused a fuss because he feels some of Clyde's ideas were unethical. Mark asks Ashley not to say anything to anyone about it though.

Chatter about Vance
It's not long after Vance leaves the building that Clyde introduces Chris, Mark, and Ashley to George, letting them know that Kyle is going to be working with George on "security details" around the plant. Chris is informed that he may be added to their ranks if need be. Ashley watches the news, and notes that some of the damage on the vehicle in news footage suggests that more happened than simply an insurance fraud case. However, when she calls the news station to ask if anyone else has noted this detail, the news station hangs up on her.

After getting a day off, Ashley and Mark meet up at Mancino's to discuss the details. However, George walks into the Mancino's as they're having their discussion, along with Officer Yorming of DPS. The couple grows uncomfortable with how George appears to be staring at them, with Yorming pretending not to notice or care. Mark offers to take Ashley to his apartment. Mark reveals to Ashley once inside that Vance was disturbed by the one room, and all the cryptic outsiders that were involved with it. He also informs Ashley that Aaron and Monica believe Vance was murdered - and don't believe the official news report about insurance fraud. Mark suspects a coverup.

Ashley states that if anything is fishy at the company, they should start planning ahead to move out-of-state, and find other jobs. Snooping around would only get them killed. Mark makes out with Ashley, to assure her that everything will be fine. However, Mark has already made up his mind what to do. As they fall into each other's arms, they proceed to have sex. What they don't notice is the hidden camera that has already been planted inside the apartment bedroom, as Clyde has already guessed that Mark may have told Ashley too much already. George is revealed to be capturing footage of the two in bed via remote production van. Clyde orders George to keep tabs especially on Ashley. Little else is revealed at that moment, but Clyde enjoys a little too much the voyeuristic footage of Mark and Ashley.

The missing folder
George shortly thereafter breaks into Ashley's home while she's at work. Clyde gives him orders to specifically look for anything in her file cabinet or any photos that might prove damaging. After discovering the folder about Campelli, George knows he has what he needs. He leaves the rest of the house intact, then flees the scene. However, he made sure to leave the top drawer of the file cabinet open - enough to ensure that Ashley would know something was off.

Ashley notices almost immediately that her file cabinet has been messed with, and notes that the folder about Campelli is the only thing missing. She calls Mark in a panic, to let him know that her door has been tampered with and that compromising information about her past has been stolen. Mark suspects that George or Kyle may have committed the burglary, but doesn't name either due to lack of ability to confirm. He wonders why Ashley would be a target. He tells her to head over to his place to spend the night, as he is convinced that it's not safe for her to stay at her own place. She first calls Campelli, to inform him of the missing folder. However, he blows her off. Next, she tries to inform the city police that her door was tampered with. Police respond by saying that someone can look into it in the morning. Otherwise, she should find a safer place to spend the night. Ashley goes to Mark's apartment, as requested. However, the police never bother to investigate. She calls the landlord's office the next day. The landlord finds this strange, but agrees to change the door.

Blackmailed
Ashley noticed Mark, nervous as could be, leaving work early one day. She inquired as to why, but none of the other workers seemed to know anything. That was when Clyde called her into his office, with Kyle personally escorting her. Clyde stated that he knew Ashley has been seeing Mark, even though coworkers dating was frowned upon. Clyde informs Ashley that George is "very zealous" about security details. He then goes on to state that they know Mark stole something important from the office, and would love to have her go over to his apartment and convince him to give it back. He warned her that what Mark stole could be "very damaging," and could even land her in jail!

She asks Clyde why he doesn't take up the matter with the police, to which Clyde asks her why the police dropped the investigation into her home being invaded. Since Ashley never mentioned details about it to Clyde before, this confirmed to Ashley that Clyde was controlling both the police and George! Clyde taunts her that he doesn't think Campelli will be bothered by a little scandal with some factory worker from years earlier. However, he can restore Ashley's privacy if she convinces Mark to give the envelope back that Mark stole. He also informs her that it would be interesting to see how her parents would react if they were to learn the kind of life she'd been living - one very contrary to how she was raised! Ashley, appalled that her boss would threaten to shame her family, realized she had no choice but to find the nearest possible way to escape her living situation!

Unwitting decoy
Unbeknownst to Ashley, Chris was called into Clyde's office shortly after Ashley left, and was asked to also go to the apartment. Clyde claimed to Chris that Ashley had been won over, and was working as a diversion to keep Mark from noticing that he was about to be killed. Chris needed to pull the trigger - for the company. Clyde knew Ashley didn't have the heart to off Mark herself; so Chris would have to do it.

Ashley arrives at Mark's apartment, unaware that Chris is on the way. She reveals that Clyde and George stole her folder, and that they want the missing Confidential envelope. However, Ashley then tells Mark that he shouldn't forsake his mission - not even for her. That they should spend the night. They would have to pack in the morning, with Mark being extra careful to ensure that not even Ashley got to see the envelope. They'd have to run away to the nearest safe place. Mark reminds Ashley that he and Aaron have a "fishing trip," wherein Mark will hand the folder off to Aaron. He reminds her that Aaron's friend Monica is very curious about Vance, and would gladly put to use any evidence gathered. Some sample pond water would be collected, to provide further indictment. After that, the two would flee to Traverse City for the evening. They would journey through the UP and into Wisconsin, and then continue fleeing until they made it to somewhere they wouldn't be too likely to be found - like Nebraska.

Amidst their planning, the two forget to lock the front door. They settle in for the evening, and then begin having sex. Chris arrives and finds the door left unlocked. He quietly opens it, and looks around. Hearing moaning noises from the bedroom, he believes that this is part of Ashley's routine to serve as a decoy. He sneaks into the bedroom, and then assassinates Mark in his own bed with a silenced pistol.

A horrified Ashley, getting out of the way of the gun, demands to know what Chris is thinking. Seeing a terrified look on her eyes causes Chris to snap back to his senses, briefly. Chris tries to explain what Clyde told him, and Ashley informs Chris that she was told a very different story. Realizing they've both been played, Chris puts his gun away, and goes to the living room sofa to calm himself down. Ashley cleans herself up in the shower, and then gets dressed. She begs Chris to grab the first round of the money and then run away with her. She states that this is what Mark wanted for all of them: to get away from Clyde. Clyde, in her mind, was the Devil incarnate! She also mentions Gleeful-N'-Young is tied to Clyde, and that she's pretty certain that the same George that broke into her home also killed Vance.

Chris, remorseful for something for one of the first times in his life, promises to make things right by her somehow - but that he's still not ever going to go to prison. He asks if Ashley can forgive what just happened, and be with him. She informs him that she'll consider it - but only if he can fulfill Mark's wish to send her someplace where she won't get hurt again. Chris claims to make this his goal. After searching through the apartment in parts for the envelope, however, Chris is unable to find it.

He informs Ashley that they need to report back to Clyde if the plan is going to work. But first: they need to clean up the crime scene as best as possible. Mark's body needs to be disposed of. Feeling sick to her stomach, Ashley complies with Chris' wishes. After all: she was now burying her lover in a shallow grave to protect his murderer! The two find a low bank by the Muskegon River, and bury Mark there in a shallow grave. They drop off Ashley's vehicle at her house, and then Chris drives Ashley to Sleet Mountain to report in to Clyde. He tries to assure Ashley that everything will work out; but she's not convinced.

Abducted
No sooner do the two of them arrive at Sleet Mountain, then Gleeful-N'-Young personnel snatch Ashley and haul her away. Chris demands to know what's going on, and where those men took Ashley. Clyde calls Chris into his office, and lectures him about why Gleeful-N'-Young exists. He offers Chris an extra promotion for complying, stating that the stakes have been raised dramatically. Chris silently pretends to go along, but inside begins scheming his own rebellion. For him, Clyde's betrayals of Ashley were Clyde taking things several steps too far!

Rescued by Chris
Ashley spent several weeks in a brothel in Kentucky, being pimped out to clients and tormented to make her despair of her existence. She witnessed dozens of other girls be put through the same treatment. She was also periodically gang-raped, and threatened that it was only due to Clyde's graces that she was still kept alive. After all: most women past a certain age are executed in short order. "Clients usually prefer the YOUNG in our slogan!" the staff would remind her.

They day Chris found her began like any other; except she never got word about an assignment. Instead, panicked brothel staff noted that the man who was to give her one went dead silent. The exterior of the brothel soon turned into a war zone, until Chris was able to shoot his way inside. Chris continued to savagely murder anyone that got in his way, until he found the room where Ashley and only three other still-alive women were being kept. Chris led all of them to freedom on the outside, encouraging the three he didn't know to go to the police, but say nothing about the man who rescued them.

He waited until they were gone, and then unmasked himself for Ashley. Chris explained to her that a lot had changed very suddenly, and that he needed to make things right by her by going to war against Clyde's entire operation. He informed Ashley to go to Tennessee and find Aaron - who was cooperating with the FBI. Chris kisses Ashley goodbye, stating that he knows they can't be together. He failed his promise to keep her safe. Instead, he'll make sure that Clyde pays: whatever it takes.

Aftermath
Main article: Sodality (series)

Ashley heads to a hospital after Chris leaves, and has herself inspected for damages and tested for any possible STDs, given how she was treated in the brothel. She gives her testimony to local police, and then goes to Aaron and Meredith for further help. An FBI agent originally from Evart, MI, Wally Fobel, is assigned down to Tennessee to work the Stefflin case on Sleet Mountain. Ashley and Wally meet, and develop an attraction fairly early on. Wally, touched by all of Ashley's testimony and frustrated that it took this long for anyone to respond to the crisis in Big Rapids, offers Ashley the chance to move in with him after Sleet Mountain is raided.

Alas, the raid of Sleet Mountain only yielded bare minimal evidence of Gleeful-N'-Young's damning operations. It bore plenty of damning evidence of pollution cleanup fraud, however. Either way, Clyde was already gone. He'd given law enforcement the slip! Ashley took Wally's advice, and moved in with him in Evart, becoming a stay-at-home partner. As the two developed more and more romantic attraction over several months, they began to see each other as more than just housemates. Within three years, they were married. Ashley giving up her life at 246 Bronson Ave. forever means in short order that the landlord was able to repurpose it. While it was a generic rental before, it became a students-only rental after she left.

By 2015, Wally noticed that the world was spiraling out of control - and he feared the Kirby Act would destabilize and corrupt SCALLOP right at the moment it most needed to be functional at fighting evil. Ashley's name change made it harder for Chris to locate much information on her. Undeterred by being unable to see her or know here whereabouts, Chris continued his quest to bring down Clyde's evil porn and trafficking empire one minion at a time. Ashley was most definitely on Chris' mind both before and shortly after the death of Mike "the Pencil" Javelin.

Wally's fears seemed to be further confirmed after the attacks on Evansville and Gerosha that happened later that year, giving Ashley reason to suggest that they should consider getting him reassigned to another state. Ashley was uncertain how much longer living in Michigan would be safe. After Anarteq prevents the destruction of Sault Ste. Marie, the couple become even more convinced they should move further south. The ravaging of Louisville, Cincinnati, and much of Indiana in 2016 convinces Wally to finally take looking for a new home or a new assignment very seriously. He considers moving west, but the Battle for Brookings changes his mind. After the assault on Hawaii and near-total-destruction of Yellowstone, Ashley points to Texas as a good escape destination.

The Fobels fled to Toklisana in 2018; being among the fortunate to flee in time, along with Matt and Marina Baret. Ashley would cross paths a few times with Aaron and Meredith afterward, and even with the Sodality; but would otherwise continue to live a quiet life with her husband - trying her hardest to leave her origins in the past. The couple find themselves relieved to have escaped not only their own Michigan problems, but also the Seige by Pele and the Horrorday Gang's revenge on Sheriff Estahm.

Personality
Ashley is an introverted hopeless romantic. While fairly competent a worker, her yearning for a man has led to her making a variety of bad choices. She is fearful of her past coming back to haunt her, and also afraid to trust her own family with the truth about her struggles. While she means to do well and be a moral and upright woman, she will readily surrender her body to any man willing to give his heart to her.

However, she isn't completely without standards. Several unsuccessful attempts to find a lover in high school, plus her affair with Harry Campelli, made her not want to sleep with anyone who didn't at least show an interest in her as a human being. Learning that Harry was married - and a preacher - left her disgusted with both him and herself.

She maintained a small amount of contact with him after the affair ended, in the event that it should come back to bite either of them. Her efforts to run away with Mark proved fruitless, as she underestimated Chris' paranoia and Clyde's determination to see Mark dead. When she feels the need to confess to her parents about the way she'd lived her life, she lets Wally Fobel do the talking. She can't bear to face them with the shame of what was done to her at Gleeful-N'-Young.

Trivia

 * This version of Ashley is the most-highly-revised character from her miniseries counterpart, even surpassing Monica Shelly and Vance Lingolin for the top spot. This new continuity goes out of its way to show her as a sympathetic-yet-very-flawed being; instead of the cold-blooded, one-dimensional killer she was in the miniseries.


 * Outside of the events in Blood Over Water, about the only other time she proves significant is when Chris admits her as his prime motivation for what he does in Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil. Getting back at Clyde is Chris' atonement for letting Ashley get abducted.


 * Unlike her no-family miniseries counterpart, this Ashley has a cousin named Janet Phillips- who is in the Society of the Icy Finger. She also has a cousin named Daran, leader of a street gang in Cincinnati known as the Finneytown Ferrets.


 * Her middle name of Sheila is actually a reference to the fact that her Classic Gerosha counterpart's name was originally going to be "Sheila Shones," until miniseries scriptwriter Angelica McClary protested and demanded a name change. She claimed at the time that the name "Sheila" was "racist," but couldn't point to a single shred of evidence.