FULL NAME: Ayala Terese Martell
GOES BY: Ayala, Aya, La
DATE OF BIRTH & AGE: June 23rd, 1984 & 27
HOMETOWN: Chicago, Illinois
CURRENTLY RESIDES: Providence, Rhode Island
OCCUPATION: (Half) Owner of Destinations Travel Agency, tattoo artist at the Elektrik Chair.
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Married Single
ORIENTATION: Open-minded, but tends to prefer women.
FAMILY: Donovan Martell (father, deceased), Alice Martell (mother), Arianna Martell (older sister), Adria Martell (younger sister)

A summer girl born in a cold city, Ayala Terese Martell was always the odd girl out in her family. She was the second born of three girls – her eldest sister is four years older than her, and her youngest sister is seven years younger than her – and had her name given to her by her father. While her sisters were the perfect daughters in their own rights, Ayala was fiercely independent, dark and mischievous, reluctant to spend time with her family. She loved them, but she also knew that she was the odd one out: both of her sisters excelled both at singing and school, and they were kept busy with after school activities, voice lessons, and very active social lives. Ayala preferred to keep to herself, half-assing her way through school, and spent her free time reading and drawing. As she grew older, it became clear that while her siblings were musically inclined, she herself was quite the little artist.

Growing up, the Martells never wanted for nothing. Each girl was well taken care of, even Ayala who was the one most prone to getting into scuffles, falling in dirt, and ripping the knees of her jeans. Her childhood was surprisingly average; having shunned the notion of being a girly-girl, Ayala was happy to be outside, climbing trees, jumping into lakes fully clothed. She got along well with both boys and girls, but she was always on the move, never letting anyone get close to her. When she was twelve years old, her father passed away suddenly, leaving behind his family just barely afloat. Alice Martell relied heavily on her husband to supplement the family’s finances; she barely graduated high school and never went on to college, opting to get married and have children instead. With Donovan gone, it was up to her to care for her children and work. Consequently, while their mother was at work, it was up to Ayala’s older sister to help keep the family together.

Ayala did her part as best as she could: she did her chores balking as little as possible, and took care to keep her clothes in relatively decent condition. Learning to survive on as little as possible was difficult, and while her mother and sister did their best, Ayala began acting out nevertheless. Her grades took a nosedive in middle school, and she was getting in trouble on a weekly basis for fighting at school, trouble that earned her the title of bully quickly. She channeled her anger into fighting and art, and as she entered high school, she learned how to master both as best as she could.

A neighbor taught her proper self-defense, how to ready her body and mind for battle, and how to care for herself. She learned how to be light and quick on her feet, and her form became less sloppy and much tighter, even going so far as to take lessons in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kung fu, and boxing. Her freshman year in high school was memorable for two reasons: she met the teacher who would become her art mentor, and she discovered drugs and alcohol. Her art teacher was a young woman fresh out of college, bright-eyed and eager to impart her wisdom upon her students. Unfortunately, the students in 4th period Art 1 had no interest or desire in learning art – except for Ayala. She revered her teacher and formed a connection with her over time, even going so far as to develop an infatuation with her. Of course, such a crush was doomed before it even began, and when Ayala realized this, she became despondent. This combined with her home life and her unsavory group of friends pushed her over the edge, and she began to drink heavily.

Ayala’s alcoholism started at fifteen, and by sixteen, she was abusing crack whenever she could scrounge the money up for it. A few months later, she would lose her best friend to a heroin overdose, and be arrested for public intoxication and drug possession. Shortly after, she dropped out of high school. Frustrated with Ayala’s inability to acknowledge that she had a problem, her mother sent her off to go live with her sister, a travel agent in Providence. Ayala was horrified at the idea of being shipped off to live with an aunt she could hardly remember (and in Rhode Island less!), but in the end she went – and found herself pleasantly surprised.

Aunt Alexandra was younger than Ayala’s mother, unmarried with no children, and ran a very successful travel agency in town. She enrolled Ayala into a private school and frequently took her niece along whenever she traveled. As a result, the teenager got a chance to experience life that she would not otherwise have been able to had she remained in Chicago. With Aunt Alexandra, she got the chance to travel through most of Europe and parts of South America, Africa for a few weeks at a time. Inspired, Ayala drank a little less and focused more on her art and studies, but it was too late: she had wanderlust, and bad. After graduating highschool at eighteen, she decided to travel solo and with her aunt’s blessing (and a little financial assistance) Ayala left the States for well over a year. From Malaysia to Thailand, from Cambodia to Laos, the trip was eye-opening for her.

Even so, it did not help with her drinking. While in Southeast Asia, Ayala partied fiercely with other random travel companions, from raucous parties in Bangkok to popular tourist nightclubs and bars in Laos. Partying enabled her to meet and connect with others, and she networked herself into a place to stay and work in Australia after she left Laos. The first year in Australia, she met Riley Taylor. The two bonded over their travel-heavy, hard-partying lifestyles and got along well. When it came time for Ayala to leave Australia, she married Riley instead so she could stay.

Because their marriage had such a weak foundation, it crumbled within the year. Riley eventually grew bored of globe-trotting and getting wasted on a nightly basis, and started thinking about a career, perhaps even children. Ayala balked at this and a rift was wedged between them. She did not want to give up her newfound adventurous lifestyle, and she had married him out of desperation. With little choice in the matter, Ayala picked up and left Sydney, deciding to head back to the States, stopping along certain spots in Europe along the way. Four months later, she returned Stateside, much worse for wear. Her drinking and drugging was beginning to take a toll on her physically, and it was beginning to show.

By the time she returned to the States, she was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Through sheer will and determination (aided by the insistence of her mother, whom she was temporarily living with again) she scaled back her drinking, focusing more on her art and her family. Ayala spent the summer relaxing: she started drinking again, but nowhere near to the scale that she had been before. Her focus was on her art: she was intent on honing her skill on paper, until a friend suggested that she try out tattooing. It took over a full year to find someone in the Chicago area who would grant her an apprenticeship. Though she was a skillful artist, many established tattoo artists were wary about taking her on. Even so, she started from the bottom and was on the course to climbing her way up.

Life was finally getting on track for Ayala until just after she turned twenty-six. Aunt Alexandra had been killed in a car accident. Along with her mother, Ayala returned to Providence to take care of Aunt Alexandra’s properties and affairs. In the end, Ayala herself walked away with ownership of her aunt’s house, a reasonably significant amount of money, and partial ownership of the travel agency that was split with her aunt’s business partner. She opted to remain in Providence, deciding to live in the house and resume the job hunt in Rhode Island. Her aunt had been her greatest hero and inspiration, teaching her how to be independent and how to see the world differently. She had learned much, and still had far to go – why not stay in the same place where she had learned to be herself? She held the house she shared with her aunt close to her heart because it was here that her world finally opened to something better.

At one point in her life, Ayala was restless, flighty, and ridiculously incorrigible. She hated staying in one place for very long, and she required constant stimulation – from meeting new people, to finding some sort of trouble to get herself into, she needed to be busy. Now that she has matured, these traits are not quite as intense as they once were, but they are still very present. She is a Gemini to the core (though being on the Gemini/Cancer cusp, she embodies certain Cancerian traits as well), and she admits to being a restless individual – after all, it’s hard to commit to a steady job when there’s still a large part of the world out there to explore! Traveling in her late teens and early twenties has helped sate her wanderlust, but there are times where she deeply longs to be back on the road.

A much more grounded person now, Ayala is, by her own admission, an emotional creature. Dealing with her alcoholism has taken massive tolls on her psyche, but she wishes dearly to impart the knowledge that she’s gleaned over the years to other people suffering from addiction in anyway possible. In her heart of hearts, she believes that her purpose on Earth is to help people as much as possible. On that wavelength, she cares very much about people, and will do anything for her friends and anyone else that requires her help. While she is very giving, she takes great care not to be a doormat as she knows weakness can easily be manipulated.

Typically, Ayala is easy going and cheerful, affable and easily approachable. She enjoys getting to know new people and learning their stories, and friends tend to consider her to be extremely trustworthy. She has an arsenal of connections spider-webbed throughout the world, and she has been known for (very) occasionally disappear for a few days at a time – after securing a neighbor to care for her dogs, of course.

✓ Art is a passion for her, and she’s dedicated heaps of sketchbooks and canvases to her craft. She primarily sketches (and tattoos!), but also works well with paints and digital media.

✓ Has two rescued dogs that she loves muchly: a Rottweiler named Kona, and a Siberian Husky named Laika. She got Kona first after she was followed home from the train by a stranger one night, and got Laika from a friend shortly after.

✓ Still married to a man she met while traveling in Australia. She hasn't heard from him at all since their marriage fell apart and she returned home to the States. Divorce papers were never served, and every once in awhile she considers looking him up so they can officially dissolve her marriage.

✓ Very lapsed Catholic. She is more spiritual and less religious, in that she believes in a higher power but disagrees with organized religion. Since getting sober, her spiritual side has grown, though she does her best to remain firmly in reality. Has been studying Buddhism as of late, and meditating though she finds it difficult at times.

✓ Was always athletic. She did well in sports as a child and pre-teen, but when she started drinking and doing crack, she got out of shape. Since moving and easing up on her drinking some, she resumed working out and getting into shape. She does yoga, swims, and boxes/mixed martial arts.

✓ Enjoys writing and reading. She carries at least one notebooks with her at all times along with her sketchbook. From Moleskines to napkins, she will write, doodle, and scribble on any printable surface that she can take with her. She has a special box at home for all her scraps.

✓ Has a loose sense of fashion. Staples include tight black jeans, beat-up combat boots, gauzy flowing dresses, tank tops, lo-top Converse, hoodies, denim jackets, cardigans, and so on. Ayala adores accessories, and prefers interesting earrings and rings overall. She always wears a bracelet which was given to her by the girlfriend she met in Vietnam and subsequently traveled with, a dragon cuff on her right ear, and what looks to be a ruby engagement ring on her left middle finger.

✓ Has several tattoos: left arm, right bicep, right forearm, right lumbar, left shoulder, left ribcage, left hip, both forearms.

~journal Name; Relationship

PLAYED BY: Lights Poxleitner
JOURNAL: ~amartell
OOC INFO: CST! Customs, threads, plotting, and random scenes are all loved and adored like no other. 3rd person storybook please; the more detailed, the bettter! Mature scenes are a-okay, though FTB can also be arranged.
CREDIT: ~lyde