Aya

I'm imagining that blue bottle as some sort of flavored (maybe berry!) Ishgardian vodka made with a glowing ice shard to keep it cold! Not that it's hard to keep anything cold in Coerthas ^^

Aww there used to be two pictures of Sergeant Osric Aya, and now there's only one! ^_~

Sooooooo many costumes! :bouncy:

There are SO many good ones!

The best I have come up with so far But I usually think of Aya more in reference to the webcomic character I use for my avatar drawings. Aya predates my knowing the character, but once I discovered her the similarities were so obvious it writes itself And I totally agree... Jaques and Vaugh...

Unless, you know, you just consider that its a remote tavern location that rarely has anyone to be bothered by the fact that you're being publicly villainous. Nowhere has to be -perfect-, and I really don't care if some NPC Blades have their feelings hurt (considering that their hands are full with other work, anyway, it doesn't seem likely that they would be too concerned with Ul'dahn-based law enforcement, its like the Wild West out there). Either there or the Coffin and Coffer seem like they would be fine representative spots for more villainous characters to hang out.

Its also annoying to people playing the every-day sorts who such villains tend to prey upon, who are essentially unable to have protection from them. I would think villains would be able to gather at any major area outside of the city-state capitals. It may require a little stretch to imagine that a heinous and wanted outlaw could sit down for a drink at Drybone, but it seems vastly more appropriate than Ul'dah itself Wouldn't Mor Dhana be an area that such types could gather without much fear of being apprehended? Just blending in with the adventurers? The best villain is the one you don't know exists. =P So I don't see a reaosn why the nefariously-inclined shouldn't be allowed to hang out at the hotspots as long as they're not cackling and twirling their mustaches in public. Yeah, I don't think anyone disagrees with that. It's just obnoxious ones that are publicly villainous and then act like nothing can happen to them when they sit down for a drink at the quick sand. Fortunately it's not that common but I have ignored someone doing so before :-X

Okay, this is getting really silly :-X

Aya flashed that bright grin to the Miqo'te, "A Yellow Jacket? Its a pleasure! I'm Aya. I'm a barmaid at the Quick Sand, you'll have to stop by while you're in Ul'dah!"

Its also annoying to people playing the every-day sorts who such villains tend to prey upon, who are essentially unable to have protection from them. I would think villains would be able to gather at any major area outside of the city-state capitals. It may require a little stretch to imagine that a heinous and wanted outlaw could sit down for a drink at Drybone, but it seems vastly more appropriate than Ul'dah itself Wouldn't Mor Dhana be an area that such types could gather without much fear of being apprehended? Just blending in with the adventurers?

If its something minor and all involved parties agree, I can't really object. I'm usually someone willing to offer, or suggest it, in cases where the ramifications to a character may be vastly greater than the player likely expected (see the recent discussion regarding Natalie's death). What I don't like is the idea that large amounts of past interaction can be wiped off the table because their context is now inconvenient or annoying (for example, because you're trying to extricate yourself from a relationship with someone who's quit the game, and don't want to bother writing out an end to it). That to me just really doesn't sit right.

Why not? Why can't such a relationship, no matter how dedicated it may have seemed at one point, end because it no longer suits the characters? That is what relationships do, they can be highly volatile and unpredictable things. It should not be challenging to write a plausible story to extricate a character from such a dead-end "progression story" if that happens, and that seems vastly more appropriate (especially if interactions with other characters have been involved) than trying to write the whole episode out of existence, which leads to all sorts of issues with continuity. I understand retconning out something that has become implausible, casting the entire story of a character in doubt. I can't, however, get behind trying to sweep something under the rug because its inconvenient (unless, perhaps, its a really minor detail that doesn't impact others). I mean, I guess, in a sense, your character's story is your own to control. But you cannot expect unlimited patience by others when it comes to trying to get them to accept that past events did not occur, or occurred differently. That is a two-way street, and one that should not be handled by fiat.

I don't really understand why relationships with someone who quits require any sort of retcon... I mean relationships are wildly mutable things. I would have thought that in cases where it were possible to easily explain something in story, that would be the preferred approach. Character B quite the game? Alright.. then the relationship didn't work out, and there are a myriad of reasons why. Retconning is the preserve of stories that are no longer plausible for whatever reason. If your character did A in their past, only for the player to discover that A was entirely impossible due to the game's lore (perhaps newly learned), then it may be possible to make a minor adjustment to the character by removing A from his past, or changing it in some way to make it plausible. Just because something is inconvenient doens't mean that it should be written out, especially if it impacts other people's stories or interactions in some way. Better I would think, at that point, to consider writing a whole new character, rather than asking people to ignore an entire history of in-character interactions together.

I'm on a quest now!

If he had any intention of fulfilling her wants, he wasn't showing any signs of it! Still, the barmaid paused to listen to his question, her expression softening as she opened her blue eyes a little wider. "Oh.. an adventurer...?" she teased in her Ishgardian accent, the soft open-lipped expression shifted to a knowing, playful smirk. "I can only caution you that there are far worse things out there than a pint of bitter ale~" she finished with a wink, and a grin before waving a hand across the room. "The Quick Sand is filled with adventurers of every sort... sailors, sell-swords, merchants, travelers, nobles, and gladiators. Just stay around and listen for a little while and I am sure you'll find someone who piques your curiosity!"

Aya took a moment to lift herself up, folding her right leg beneath her, she sat back down leaning further back into the cushion as she smiled broadly. "We may not have been there at the same time... I was only there for a few months, myself, after all. But its just too funny that we may have met in such a different place back then!" She tried another chocolate, "mmmming" in absolute delight. "It was my first job after I left home. I know the people of Gridania can be a little difficult to get along with, but I had a great experience! Miounne, especially, was as sweet as could be. Especially to give a strange foreign girl a job in her inn! I have to wonder what she was thinking... you know I can say the same of Momodi!" If she pondered whether or not Mother Miounne had come to regret the decision, considering the sizable debt she had left behind moons later, no sign of it showed on the care-free smile she sported.

The tall, pretty blonde barmaid emerged from the kitchen again a few moments later, carrying the familiar pint mug. With her energetic, bouncing saunter she made her way through the crowd to approach him, offering his drink with slightly outstretched arms. "Here you are! Just as you asked!

As she moved between tables, Aya noticed the fellow coming her way. She stopped, and smiled toward him, cocking her hips and folding her hands together by her waist. "What can I..." she started to ask, as he stepped even closer, suddenly pressing the pint to her stomach, leaning close enough to whisper to her in the conversation-filled atrium. Her eyes widened at the surprise of his close approach, "Don't like our..." "Oh~" she nodded as he finished his requesting, causing her hair to sway a bit, and her earrings to jingle. "Of course!" She took the pint in both hands, turning back toward the bar as she walked off to the kitchen to fill his rather unusual request.

Although she rarely makes her way over to the bar itself, she is a veritable fixture of the evenings in the Quick Sand, providing a sense of cheer and energy. Dressed in her usual short-skirt, high heeled boots, and bodice dress, Aya moves about the tables on the main floor of the Quick Sand. Long blonde hair falls over her bare shoulders, giving the characteristic "exotic Northern" look that Momodi likes her to maintain. Nearly bouncing with energy as she moves between tables, she talks to the patrons, taking and suggesting orders in her light, Ishgardian accented voice. Moving between tables she flashes her bright smile this way, and that, catching for a moment the glance of the fellows at the bar.

As Aya chewed the latest bite of her apple she looked back with slightly widened eyes. Despite being somewhat slight for a Highlander, she still stood a couple of ilms above Coatleque, virtually towering now in her high heels fully over 6 fulms in height. Aya hesitated in replying for just a moment, left to watch as Coatleque fully gave herself away. She turned an apologetic glance toward her friend, never quite letting the friendly smile fully fade from her lips. "Ul'dah really is a lovely place, you shouldn't worry so about visiting!" She looks back to Coatleque, "I'm just on my way back from the Hot Springs!"

Aya grinned happily. If she had noticed the clenched teeth, it didn't show. She made a friendly motion toward Coatleque with the apple in her hand, before taking another bite, "On your way back to Ul'dah? Me too! I sure hope the weather stays nice, it makes the ride so much more pleasant if we can stay above deck!"

The sound of heeled shoes on the wooden decking approached from behind the pair. Followed soon by the crunch of a bite from a fresh apple, and a voice all-too familiar to Coatleque: "Ser Crofte!" she announced with that bountiful cheeriness and foreign accent that seemed to grip her every word, "I didn't expect to see you on the air ship!" In addition to her traveling clothes she carried a heavy bag, the result of a good day's shopping in Limsa. "Who's your friend?" she grinned to the Miqo'te before taking another bite of the apple.

"La Noscea! That's what I thought!" she flahses a brilliant smile and an excited bounce, "She likes to come by the Quick Sand, I just love how people come from all over to have a drink there! Its like the cross-road of the adventurer's world!" She pauses, taking a breath as she glances away, before turning back with an amused smirk, "I'm surprised that you never saw me working at the Carline Canopy while you were there. Did you know that I worked for Miounne before Momodi? It was my first barmaid job, actually, and I met so many interesting people there. But I have to say, not nearly as many as come wandering through Ul'dah."

Tieeeeeeergan hehe we just can't say enough about how amazing your portraits are can we!