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Name: Aya Brea

Game(s): The Parasite Eve series

Archetype: Rogue

Class: Saboteur

Skills/Attributes:

Superhuman mitochondrial abilities.

Accurate marksman.

Cold and efficient demeanor.

Hidden levels of compassion.

Strong sense of good.

Overview:

WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Aya is the main protagonist from the Parasite Eve series (and her body is the main protagonist in Birthday). Aya is fast, nimble, and skilled in combat. She can also use parasite energy granted by her mitochondrial evolution to unleash some serious whoop-ass when she needs to. Her build and combat style place her in the Rogue archetype, but her penchant for unleashing serious physical and mental attacks with parasite energy made me bump her right to the edge of the fighter spectrum, so Saboteur seems like a pretty good fit!

Aya is determined, strong, and resourceful. Her demeanor may seem a bit cold and businesslike, but that’s an understandable side effect of seeing as much death and destruction as she has. At her core, she’s still a compassionate, hopeful individual who is driven by a strong sense of good. Let’s go under her skin and see what makes the savior of humanity tick!

Mitochondrial Combat

In addition to being proficient with various firearms, Aya also uses powerful Parasite Energy attacks and abilities, using them to heal herself, launch psychokinetic attacks, and even physically transform herself. While her combat abilities may be a bit difficult to emulate in real life, we can at least imitate her combat style.

First off, I’d definitely recommend you find you local shooting range and sign up for classes. As I state with any character involving firearms, learning the ins and outs of firearms and proper shooting technique can be as rewarding as any other martial art study. Plus, learning the intricacies of one of the more common weapons of our era can help you in self defense situations, even if you never find yourself carrying a weapon yourself.

For hand-to-hand combat, I would definitely recommend something military oriented. Krav maga immediately springs to mind, as well as various military branch combative styles. Krav maga is beginning to spread around the world due to its reputation as a practical, no-frills style combat method, so you may be able to find a school in your area. Military combative styles are a bit more difficult to gain instruction in if you’re not in the military yourself, but at least the manuals from the various branches of the armed forces are just a Google search away. You may also be able to get instruction from a friend who’s been in the military.

Above all else, be careful you don’t fall for any “Elite Commando” style schools that float around out there. Check out “Beware the McDojo” guide, and keep your eyes and open for any funny business when you go looking for a school.

Parasitic Evolution

Aya’s Parasite Energy powers extend from having advanced mitochondrial reactions to the cornea she had transplanted into her eye from her sister. As stated above, we may have some difficulty emulating these abilities to the letter of the law, but we can come pretty close in some respects. First of all, you should be following the suggestions in the Becoming Superhuman guide. If you do, you’ll experience higher brain function, increased healing, unparalleled energy levels, and a whole host of other benefits.

In addition to this, I’d check out the Gannondorf Character Spotlight, specifically The Sorceror’s Strength section, for a starting point in developing your own superhuman abilities.

Aya’s Guilt

Aya is kind of a unique character in the fact that she carries a not-insignificant amount of guilt around with her. She tries to hide and ignore these feelings, but they still clearly burden her from time to time. The truly ridiculous thing about it, is that she has basically single-handedly saved all of humanity, multiple times, and she still carries guilt around about her own actions (as well as things outside her control).

Sometimes we can be like Aya, in that respect. Have you ever carried guilt around with you over past actions or situations you’ve been involved in? If you have, you know that guilt is a pretty heavy weight to carry around with you. It’s a strain on your emotions, your stress levels, and your general overall well-being.

Here’s the thing: Guilt does no good.

Seriously, the only productive thing that guilt can drive you to do is make apologies, and try to make amends. Once these things have been accomplished (if they’re even necessary), guilt is just a weight you’re carrying around for no reason.

Sometimes the thing you may be feeling guilty for isn’t even your fault! You could be feeling guilty for something completely out of your control! Aya feels guilt and trepidation that she is becoming a monster herself, when in reality she had absolutely no control over getting her sister’s corneal transplant (the thing that granted her her Parasite powers in the first place). If you’re carrying around guilt for something outside of your own control, it is beyond productive, and is doing NOTHING but worsen your life.

Examine your own personal guilt. Examine it, do what you can to amend it, and then drop it. Holding onto it does no good.

That’s it for our character spotlight, I hope you enjoyed it! Up next is The Aya Workout! As always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace