Riley D’Amico

"'If I give up now, my mistakes will have all been for nothing... I have to make them worth something!'"

Riley D'Amico is one of the two main protagonists of A Few Cruel Twists of Fate.

Background
Riley was born on October 21, 2000. She had certain traits implying she was neurodivergent, like the tendency to experience audiovisual hallucinations and visions. At some point, Riley became heavily dependent on her parents and peers for solving her own problems. Upon hitting puberty, her body began to change in bizarre ways, sometimes morphing into horrifying shapes like tendrils and sharp spikes that she was too scared to tell anyone about. Since she wasn't familiar with dealing with her own issues by herself, she kept these secrets repressed. She enrolled in NCPS at some point and became best friends with Elsie Collins and Jamison Jackson, but after 10th grade and the Genesis Event, most of her other close friends left NCPS and Newheart. Being optimistic, she feels as if this is a sign that it's time for her to take matters into her own hands more.

Appearance
Riley has an average stature and petite physique. She has orange eyes, but becomes heterochromic, with one eye becoming dark magenta. She also has dune-yellow hair that reaches up to her back, but she has it cut to neck-length by Volume 2. Riley has a peachy complexion. She also wears braces.

Outfits
Riley wears the standard female NCPS uniform at school. She usually wears black stockings or socks that reach her shin to accompany them, but she has occasionally forgotten to wear them.

Costume
Riley's initial costume covers much of her skin due to her insecurities, and wears a mask that covers her entire face. It's simple, consisting of light sportswear, a dark jacket, and athletic leggings. She gradually tries to adopt multiple elements from other people's costumes that she's inspired by to suit her own. At some point, she also dons a Domino mask.

Riley's later costume exposes much of her arms and legs so she can use that surface area for her powers. She also wears a chileco vest with updated athletic leggings.

Personality
Riley is at many first glances a mild-mannered recluse who only spends time with her best friend Elsie, but she’s quite the inquisitive charmer once you get acquainted. The fact that many people actually like Riley (whether generally, platonically, or even romantically) is contrast to how she feels about herself. Due to her telepathic bond with Marshie, she has a tendency to copy her behaviors from time to time.

Riley might have an innocent, shy, and naive exterior, but also possesses a soft center, and demonstrates a 'go-getter' mindset, and while she is usually very determined to make positive changes for herself, she is hindered by a habit of procrastinating, and taking time off work to do more trivial tasks or amusing herself with one of her many hobbies and interests. Although she can be known for being stubborn, clumsy, a bit of an airhead, and her attention span seems limited at times and works slowly, she makes up for it whenever she puts all of her focus into one project, showcasing her creativity and determination, even if she's a little late. She can even be charming and charismatic at her best.

She likes to tease her friends and argues playfully. She never intends harm or offense, although she can get carried away and may seem insensitive. Her humor ranges from shallow wordplay to surprisingly dirty jokes to pretending she's narcissistic, but is actually either modest or insecure about herself. However, one of her more blatant traits is her overthinking, which usually gets her anxious and nervous in certain situations that can be a little too demanding of her. She can be insecure of the people around her that she sees are 'better than her'. On the other hand, she can also dismiss things pretty easily, being rather indifferent regardless of the outcome. She does shine whenever she gets out of her comfort zone, as she is first and foremost, an introvert, and would prefer doing things that don't require her to interact with other people or leave the house.

Riley is a pacifist, always looking for alternative diplomatic solutions to problems, like simply talking. She is also very apologetic once she realizes she's done even the slightest of things wrong. Riley has a degree of self-awareness wherein she knows she's unusual and has accepted it, but at the same time is also eager to get to know herself better. She usually has to depend on other people, or usually get her problems fixed for her whether she asked to or not, and aims to move past this particular flaw. She's selfless, but makes sure she doesn't give away too much of herself to the point where it harms her. However, it doesn't keep her from being generous, considerate, empathic, and a willing listener.

Powers
Riley is 1/223rd Ultimordian, a mysterious race with powerful abilities. Not much is known about them, but according to information on the Ultinomicon that Riley was able to decipher, they are a race of 10-dimensional beings that affect aspects of reality and parts of the universe just by existing, even without direct interference. No one knows whether they are benevolent or malevolent entities, as their actions and intentions are beyond our understanding. The Ultimordian traits are recessive, and after several generations, Riley has only come to inherit 1/223 of the ancestry. This is also an extremely rare occurrence, and this condition is relatively unknown to the masses.


 * Unknown Attribute: Everyone is surprised to know that not only does Riley have bizarre, terrifying powers, but that they are also magical in nature, which is not normal. The more Ultimordian traits a superhuman possesses, the more potent their power is, the better their understanding of the Eldritch arts, and the more resistant they are to Obliviopsychosis. However, it also makes them susceptible to mental and physical strain.
 * Telepathy
 * Mind-Reading: Riley can read other people's minds to a limited degree when putting her tentacles on the other person's temples. She cannot get clear bits of information, but more snippets and rough, abstract ideas of whatever the other person is thinking at the moment. This leaves whatever information she gets open to interpretation, and she might not be able to get the whole picture.
 * Mind Link: She has a telepathic bond with her pet Shih Tzu, Marshie, who has also assumed the traits of a Lesser Dreadhowl after she was also affected by the Genesis Event. She can interpret Marshie's thoughts, and while Marshie cannot understand most of what Riley is thinking as human thoughts are very complicated, Marshie can understand her emotions, and feels whatever Riley is currently feeling. This also means that Marshie can get anxious and agitated if Riley is (prompting Marshie to turn invisible), but calm and docile if she can keep her composure. They have a deep, genuine connection, and the two are inseparable. She has also used her mind link on a Psychopede to search for their hive-mind queen. It is, however, unknown if she can create mind links with people or other sentient beings.
 * Knowledge Projection: Riley has a limited ability to project Eldritch knowledge into other people’s minds through touch - if the person is capable of comprehending it, that is. Otherwise, it’s likely that the person will suffer from Obliviopsychosis.
 * Psychic Torture: The user can torture target mentally, spiritually and psychologically by projecting Eldritch knowledge unto them.
 * Neurocognitive Deficit: Riley can cause her opponent’s upper brain functions to shut down temporarily through touch, causing unconsciousness.
 * Psychic Shield: Riley is resistant to mental intrusion, including psychic or empathic powers, hypnosis, etc. Anyone who tries to read Riley's mind and is not part-Ultimordian is met with intense, painful, incomprehensible noise as a result, causing temporary or even extensive brain damage, with effects ranging from nosebleeds, migraines, or even becoming unconscious depending on the duration of the intrustion attempt. The effect is a result of Riley being part-Ultimordian, and the things she knows are incomprehensible and harmful to many.
 * Telepathic Static: The user can project telepathic static in the minds of others that disrupts higher brain functions, disrupting their thoughts either by intention or merely by presence. The effects can include the ruination of the concentration of others or causing others to spout gibberish/behave erratically.
 * Psycho Warping: The user is a frightening anomaly in the field of psychic powers. Unlike other psychics, whose abilities simply strengthen in magnitude as they grow more powerful (greater power, larger scale, keener perception, more precise control), for some reason the user’s own underwent a crucial change of nature at some unknown point, forever turning them into something entirely different. From this moment onward, the user starts to exhibit increasingly disturbing feats that go beyond telepathy and telekinesis while retaining aspects of both, as if they were fused into something greater, something beyond patterns and understanding. Sudden hallucinations that turn out to be more, thoughts and emotions permeating people and places to the point of changing them, surroundings and landscapes twisted beyond what physics allows, locations, appearances and even natures (especially user’s) changing drastically without explanation, and inner worlds bleeding in and out of reality are but a few examples of the users' fearsome potential.  In short, users possess downright unnatural psionic might, allowing them to warp the very fabric of reality.
 * Eldritch Comprehension: Riley is able to understand the Eldritch language and concepts to a limited degree. While she is not immune to the risk of Obliviopsychosis and mental strain or damage, she does have an increased resistance against it.
 * Body Manipulation: Riley has extensive control over her own body, including skin, nails, fat, muscles, etc., allowing her to alter and manipulate them. Riley can grow additional appendages (in the form of prehensile tentacles) and body-parts (mainly eyes, teeth, mouths, and bony growths), or even remove/relocate them throughout her body.
 * Auxiliary Organs: She can ideally replicate most of her body parts and organs like eyes, mouths, and teeth anywhere on her body. She was able to duplicate her heart and survive a serious injury on her original heart until it was repaired and healed.
 * Appendage Generation: Riley can also multiply her arms and legs. This comes at a disadvantage though, as movement may become awkward, especially if the new appendages’ placements are improper.
 * Prehensile Tongue: Riley can extend her prehensile tongue, with its maximum length reaching up to 30cm. It can even be barbed.
 * Superhuman Jaw Strength: She has a strong bite when her jaws take on a grotesque, muscular form with razor-sharp teeth. This trait also extends to any other maws on her body.
 * Organic Constructs
 * Blade Retraction: Riley can retract and shift spiky bony protrusions and blades.
 * Fang Retraction: Riley's jaws and auxiliary mouths can harbor rows of large, razor-sharp teeth.
 * Pincer Claws: Riley can form an organic pincer-like appendage with a powerful grip and sharp inward blades.
 * Tentacle Manipulation: Riley's tentacles are almost entirely made of muscle, making them flexible and powerful. They can reach a maximum reach of about 10 feet. They sometimes also possess bony studs for armor as well as razor-sharp tips of bone. She can manifest at most 4 tentacles at once anywhere on her body, but she often only manifests them out of her back. She can use them in combat, where their reach and power comes in very useful, or even in movement.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Capable of a limited regenerative factor that is mostly concentrated on her tentacles and tendrils as they are the most malleable parts of her body. This means that when she's injured, her body focuses on healing her tentacles first, and the rest of the injuries on her body heal slower as a result.

Techniques

 * Two-Tentacle Stance: Tentacles are tricky to fight around with, especially having to control so many appendages all at once and being aware where everything is. Riley's still working on her tentacle-eye coordination, so she mostly uses only two tentacles at a time.
 * Four-Tentacle Stance: After improving on her control, Riley can use four tentacles effectively in battle.

Abilities

 * Empathy: Riley is very understanding, perceptive, and patient with other people's emotions, and enthusiastically listens to their stories.
 * Graphic Design: Though she takes time to produce content, Riley likes to commit to making her projects look presentable and pretty, especially to make up for a late submission.

Internal

 * Self-Doubt: Riley doesn't see herself as a very accomplished or talented individual, and constantly compares herself to her peers. As such, she lacks confidence. She's insecure and can't trust in her own abilities, which is the main reason she's always repressed her powers as they've always horrified her and chooses to ignore them rather than learn about them and control them.
 * Complacency: While she talks about wanting to change her life for the better, she often holds back from putting in actual effort to do so. She tends to procrastinate a lot, especially when she feels as if she's being pressured to do something or if she's feeling unmotivated. She dislikes peer pressure, and prefers making her own decisions about her life.
 * Dependence: Riley is used to people helping her as she tends to be slow and clumsy. People like her, so they have this natural urge to help her, but because she lacks the confidence to do some difficult things by herself, she's a little used to letting people solve some of her own problems for her. This is her main issue for her second character arc, as she constantly takes inspiration and advice to the people she looks up to but doesn't rely on her own unique traits and skills much.
 * Clumsiness: Her friends know that she's quite clumsy and awkward. She's also known to have a short attention span, tends to be air-headed, and isn't quick to learn about offensive and defensive moves as she's being taught.

External

 * Mental Strain: Riley is under constant risk of physiological brain damage and psychological disorders such as insanity or catatonia. Performing telepathy for too long and too often causes nosebleeds and might render her unconscious. Just reading the Ultinomicon or trying to understand Eldritch information in general gives her a headache that worsens the longer she goes on (as well as suffering additional symptoms), and is also prone to having audiovisual hallucinations.
 * Physical Injury: Shapeshifting causes her intense pain as her organs and bones shift around in her body, come out of her body, and as her body 'creates' new body parts like mouths or tentacles. This is made worse when she suffers extensive physical damage and temporarily cannot shapeshift back to her normal state as a result of those injuries.
 * Obliviopsychosis: She is less susceptible to this disorder as she is more able to understand and comprehend Eldritch than others, but also more susceptible to this disorder as she can be exposed to it more than others.

Equipment

 * Ultinomicon intelligencia: Referred to as the Ultinomicon for short, it is an ancient tome containing Eldritch knowledge. It helps Riley understand her condition and powers better, and provides her with several techniques. It even has forbidden knowledge including how to contact multiple Eldritch entities (Infinicus, Zeroth, Omina, Athazagor, among others) from which the book draws its power from. The tome is known to call to those who are part-Ultimordian to use it through psychic ‘voices’. Riley took it from a library after it whispered to her, and she was advised to control herself and ignore its calls to her from time to time.

Trivia

 * Her first name, Riley, is a reference to 'R'lyeh', a fictional sunken city in Lovecraftian mythology and the prison of Cthulhu. Her last name, D'Amico, is a reference to the 'Damsel in Distress', the character archetype that she was originally based off of.
 * The alias that she picks for herself, 'Beauty and the Beast', is never used by her peers as they find it obnoxious and self-indulgent.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
"This is not for the faint of mind!"

WARNING! A Few Cruel Twists of Fate is planned to be a slightly long-running series, and the following details can contain spoilers ranging from belonging to early in the series to much later. While these details are subject to change, heavy spoilers still lie ahead.

You have been warned.


 * Riley is part-human and 1/920th Ultimordian, which explains the unusual nature of her powers that have existed since birth.
 * By the end of Volume 1, she acquires the Ultinomicon intelligencia, a lost tome rumored to contain Eldritch scriptures and the key to the secret origins of superhumanity and Imuru. It called to her while she was in a library
 * In the original timeline, it's revealed that Riley's ultimate fate was succumbing to obliviopsychosis, becoming completely catatonic and mentally unsound, institutionalized in a mental facility due to the severe degradation of her mind, along with the trauma of having her telepathic link with Marshie severed.